#you can sell a romance without literally showing them kiss

[greenerteacups]

Hi GT, I was reading one of your wonderful responses and you mentioned you don't love what they did to Remus, and I have to say I 100% agree. In my opinion his relationship with tonks is weird (regardless of whether people think he had chemistry with Sirius) like he's at least 10 years older than her and he tries to leave her and it just seems like he goes along with HER infatuation without really caring about her very much. It also puts Tonks back into JKR's frequent dynamic for women, which is "badass who really wants to be with a guy who doesn't seem to appreciate her much" (see Hermione/Ron).

Do you have any further thoughts on that? I always found JKR's writing about women in relationships/who want relationships really weird. You definitely do it better.

JKR has many strengths as a writer, but I don't think anyone would say her romances are one of them. I think a lot of authors either consciously or subconsciously look down on romance as a genre because it's associated with sensuality and frivolousness, but writing and selling the idea that two people should and do want to kiss each other is like, really fucking hard to do, and it requires a certain set of skill checks as an author that not everyone has. Just like writing good horror or good fantasy, good romance has tenets and rules and things you can do to get the audience on board with you, and JKR didn't execute a lot of those things (to my satisfaction, YMMV) in the books. Bad romance is also a high-stakes problem, because it risks flattening out your characters and pitching them into OOC territory if the audience doesn't buy that the dynamic evolution is natural. But again, that's something you don't know if you haven't written romance, or tried to, before.

Mostly, you have to really lean into the vulnerability of the thing. Romance is silly and goofy and embarrassing. It makes you say dumb things and act in dumb ways. It can't be ironic or chilled or demure. At some point, to make a real human connection, someone has to get down, take off their dignity, and bare the rotten core of themselves. When we propose, we kneel on the ground. We get dirty. And all authors have a great terror of embarrassing themselves. They're doing something tremendously vulnerable; of course they want people to think they're cool and intelligent. It's embarrassing to put yourself in the head of a 15-year-old boy with a crush. It's embarrassing to write about a suitor earnestly confessing their love, because — what if this is too much? What if it's corny, what if it breaks the audience's suspension of disbelief? What if my readers are laughing at me? What if I'm the butt of the joke?

Anyway, I think a lot of really great books have terrible romance subplots for that reason. In The Great Gatsby, we never actually see Gatsby and Daisy alone together. We get their story second-hand, from people who can deliver it in a cool, reflective tone of mystery; we don't see them undressed, undone, emptying their hearts to one another. And Nick and Jordan, the romance we actually get to see develop, are easily the weakest plot in the book. Meanwhile, authors like Tolstoy have an incredible gift for writing romance that feels right, and is sensual without verging into purple prose. But Tolstoy is one of the greatest writers of all time. JKR wrote some very good books that a lot of people loved very much, but for her, the romances were accessories to the story. They weren't a focus. I'm certain she cared about Remus and Tonks's relationship, in the same way she cared about Ron and Hermione's relationship. Both take up too much space to explain otherwise.

TLDR: Writing romance is hard because it's really easy to fuck up, even if you care about it. I don't know that JKR put all that much thought into selling us on chemistry and interpersonal dynamics of the couples she threw together; I think she writes for plot, and the couples emerged as a part of that. That means the couples that don't necessarily make sense on paper lose out majorly because the audience doesn't know exactly what they're rooting for, and the couples that do make sense on paper lack a certain... I dunno, va-va-voom.

[mdhwrites]

Why Does The Owl House Feel Like Fanfiction?

So there’s a lot that could be used for this but a lot of it can also go back and forth on simply being bad writing. To genuinely feel like fanfiction, you have to make it clear that as an original writer, you’re still leaning on the biggest joy and sin of fanfiction.

You need to show that you still don’t want to do the setup work for your story. You just want the payoffs.

That is the big strength of fanfiction after all. You don’t need to make the characters, introduce the world, etc. like that. You can just get to the juicy stuff without bogging yourself down. Even AUs often don’t have to actually make new designs or establish what a character’s personality is unless it’s directly opposing the source material because the audience will assume they’re the same otherwise. If you doubt me on that, I will start linking you all the comments I’ve gotten of people having to remind themselves that Odalia isn’t pure evil in my own fanfics.

But that also presents a danger when going to original fiction. After all, if you don’t setup the world, characters, etc. like that and just do big payoffs, they’re going to feel increasingly more shallow as they make less and less sense or don’t feel like they’re happening when they should. The seams of your writing will show if you don’t put that effort in.

A perfect example of this is one of the most celebrated things in the show: The Enemies to Lovers arc. To really highlight this, let’s break it down to what it would look like in fanfiction, what it would look like commonly in original fiction and then how TOH did it.

Fanfiction: The enemy relationship is already made. You don’t have to do that unless you’re changing a LOT. So all you need to do is the inciting incident that makes the two see each other in a new light and the romance can spark from there, possibly without even becoming friends because the writer just wants to see the two kiss and that’s fine. I’ve done plenty of Luscha stuff like this.

Original Fiction: HAHAHAHA! Oh god, fuck this trope in original fiction. It takes SO. FUCKING. LONG. I’m not even just talking about my own stuff. Catradora took THREE SEASONS for a reason. My own works took literally dozens of chapters to even get the characters on SPEAKING terms, let alone as friends and even then, needing to figure out what just friendship looked like to them.

This is because Enemies to Lovers DEMANDS a character arc on multiple sides. It’s a very big change from the introductory dynamic... But you also have to explore that first dynamic. You need to set up that they’re genuine enemies, explore it and sell it to the audience. Then you need to start whittling away at the base of the problem between the two, start showing their other sides like you would a villain redemption arc, and THEN you can start moving towards romance after they’ve stopped trying to fight each other or oppose each other, etc. like that. It cannot be understated that this trope is so powerful because it requires just a fuck ton of effort and patience on the writer’s part and while you can make cheats for it, like I did in Eyes Beneath the Water by making two people ex-friends but neither wanted the friendship to end, you cannot half ass it.

The Owl House: Amity is, at best, an enemy of Luz’s for three episodes. Teenage Abomination, Covention and TECHNICALLY Hooty’s Moving Hassle, even if her social media post feels awkward post Covention because... Why she is still antagonizing Luz? It makes Lost in Language somewhat confusing because she sounds like she was just trying to dismiss Luz. Like, she couldn’t get her quite out of her head but she was ready to leave her alone.

But also... Lost in Language is Amity’s next episode. By the end of it, they’re friends. By the end of Adventure in the Elements, they’re DEFINITELY friends. Period. And by the sixth episode Amity has a major role, fifth if you don’t include Hooty’s Moving Hassle, she’s blushing at holding Luz’s hand because that’s Understanding Willow which leads directly into Grom where she wants to ask Luz out.

That is no time, especially since Adventure in the Elements has Luz and Amity in it but it’s not really about the two of them. It’s kind of an all over the place episode frankly where Amity is in it but could have been swapped with anyone else. In fact, it would have made Luz look less awful for stealing from a friend. But they are enemies, strictly enemies, for three episodes at most. They are friends for three episodes at most and for most those, they aren’t exploring their friendship or their relationship in general. The only time Amity’s enemy phase will be referenced will be once by King and Amity doesn’t even react to it. It’s literally everyone else except Luz and Amity who are talking about as a joke.

It’s them lampshading the fact that they, you know... Didn’t actually do the trope. That they speedran Lumity because they like the Enemies to Lovers trope, wanted the payoffs of smiling, blushing Amity and the two getting together like you get with that trope but didn’t put in the work. They minimally setup up Amity before ripping her character apart so as to do what they wanted. They never explored the different phases of the two together, barely really made any sort of real dynamic between them at any point before they’re just the love interest and hero because... That’s what they were actually interested in.

And this is isn’t just with Amity. The Boiling Isles has all of its world building repeatedly kicked in the dick for the sake of whatever the writers want to do. The magic is abused and contradicted all the time because actually working with it would get in the way of what the writer wanted to do. Eda’s criminal background and Hooty’s strength would have made them not able to send King and Luz off to show a big payoff to Momma Eda. Actually having to show the Owl Family get close to each other would have taken too much effort so immediately after the body swap episode, the first time they ever even try to understand each other, they’re already now best friends and King is acting like he already views Luz as his big sister come Really Small Problems, their second major episode together.

And that is fanficky. It setup such a bare bones world and the like just so it could do what it wanted. It tore apart characters and rushed arcs even back in S1 because those elements would have gotten in the way of actually doing the tropes they wanted. They wanted to just get to the good stuff which is probably why most characters, after their trope hits their highlight, become really boring and one note. The writers don’t care anymore because they no longer have a big moment to work towards.

Why do you think so many fanfics are so short? And... That is the really painful part for someone like me. TOH truly was blessed by the shortening because while this whole blog is about how TOH fucked up in its FIRST season as far as Lumity’s base trope goes, they will still tell me to just blame the shortening. To blame Disney meddling with the show. It’s not fanficky because writers are bad or the writing is bad, it’s fanficky because of things that let you just ignore the rest.

And that makes my stomach churn and my eyes water, both as an analyst, and as a writer who keeps getting scared about new ideas because to do them right, means doing them long and I don’t know if my brain will manage to see it to the end so I can get that payoff.

But I’m not willing to just cheat like TOH did, not with my original stuff, even though TOH’s cheats also made it the most popular of Disney’s recent animated shows. Maybe that just makes me a fucking idiot then.

===============

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[monstersinthecosmos]

i love you asexuality in the VC post! i feel like i don't see people talk about the ace aspect of those books often, even though that was something that really spoke to me so much when i first read them (tbh it also makes me a little burned out to see some adaptations focus so much on the sex too because part of me is like. but i /liked/ the asexuality of it all! that wasn't a bug it was a feature!!)

I can’t always tell why we don’t talk about it more often; sometimes it feels like it’s so obvious that it goes unsaid, and other times I think ace folks in fandom are just so shy to bring it up because historically people have been such rancid cunts about it? I’m not sure.

But again and again, every time I make asexual VC posts, I get so many people commenting, tagging, DM’ing, inboxing to thank me or tell me they feel seen, and that’s what we need more of! 

It’s hard because like, I understand why visual adaptations feel the need to show it visibly, especially because I think it’s easy to forget that asexuality is already so heavily misunderstood/underdiscussed IN the queer community itself, and when we see this bullshit on TUMBLR of all places it tells me that even inside the queer echo chamber we are struggling for visibility. So I don’t expect mainstream audiences and ~ regular people ~ to understand it at all. I also fully respect the politics behind SHOWING SEX and being loud about it. I think that’s very much needed in the current political climate.

There’s a discussion to be had about non-sexual intimacy and split attraction models though; for example, we could also visually communicate with kissing and casual intimacy, touching, cuddling, etc, and the nature of TV and using sex to sell means that it’s not enough. And when you see an adaptation on a network that can’t use graphic sex anyway, it winds up being a lot of telling and not showing, so by that point I wonder why they can’t just be more casually intimate. 

It goes back to the misunderstanding in the books, too, like, the non-sexual romance and intimacy, even the vampire-sensual intimacy isn’t subtext. Not fucking doesn’t make the queerness subtext. It just means they’re not fucking, and I think when fans insist otherwise we’re getting into “all queer people are obsessed with sex” rhetoric that’s extremely problematic, and if you’re keeping score it’s the current talking point of the right to try to erase our existence in public. But the way this gets weaponized within fandom (on both sides) is just so fucking tired lmao. 

The whole conversation can be a huge bummer and I have interacted with tons of ace folks in this fandom over the years and everyone felt the same way about the canon asexuality and appreciated it and felt seen, etc. Especially older fans who didn’t know what asexuality was and likely felt alienated or were made to feel broken. So I just would love if people could discuss it without punching down at ace people and taking away like, the one fucking thing we had lol, and it would also be great if defensive ace folks didn’t overcorrect and try to center sexlessness as a moralizing tool, because it isn’t. I think when we start weaponizing and trying to arm ourselves by turning orientation into ethics we’re losing the plot. I think sometimes allos punch back and get defensive because they think we’re saying they’re gross for wanting to see sex or whatever and that’s not really the point. 

Personally, I read the books young enough that I always felt very supported by them, like I experienced the same confusion and worry about being broken but also the books were such a source of comfort because I was like, oh I just appreciate people the way vampires do.

Anyway it also provides so much rich extra context and framing for some of the characters and their intentions and can inform so much more meta. Like, examining themes of rape (vampire/biting rape vs literal rape) there’s so much to unpack about intention and desire when vampires see humans as food, when pleasure is about thirst and feeding and survival and nourishment and not only about sexual gratification. It just adds a whole other layer to discuss and I think that enhances the stories a lot. And like I said earlier, I understand that reducing it to “asexuality” as a human construct might seem as reductive as reducing it strictly to sex, but I hope one day people can build their cases against it without being so dismissive of ace people because it’s really recognizable and prominent in the text.

[mias-back-from-the-dead]

caught up to wwdits season five and oh my GOD

The turn to Everything Is Genuine with Guillermo's story clicking into place is fucking chefs kiss mua mua

(writing under the cut is mostly me spoilerly-gushing rather than any actual deep analysis)

Cuz like. there's the show-long trend of Nandor constantly pushing Guillermo away from vampirism has been treated as joke, framed as a joke the entire time, exacerbated with a wild amount of emphasis on how Nandor is characterized as a bit of a dummy in social interactions. Every time Guillermo gets closer to either a) Nandor and the other housemates or b) Belonging in Vampirism/being taken seriously as a threat he gets knocked back in one vicious way or another.

And so a lot of the energy in the fandom for the last few seasons has been "lol what if this is like that old romance drama trope where one party's actively putting distance and being cruel because it's what they think will be kinder in the long run for the other party, wouldn't that be so juicy? very regency drama! its way too sappy to be canon, Nandor's not playing the long game, they're OBVIOUSLY gonna play it off as a goof forever but let's play in this space :)"

but no

no that's ACTUALLY what's been fucking going on, at least for the last few years or so in-show!!!!! Nandor CAN'T keep pushing and insisting that he doesn't belong in the dynamic of the house anymore, especially in season 4 with all the bonding done co-parenting with Laszlo and weird family night stuff with Nadja. The group can cut off Guillermo mid-conversation all they want (probably out of rote habit) but literally everyone (except maybe colin? if he never gets his child-season memories back that is) would fucking take a stake for the guy. In Nandor's case literally.

Guillermo's gotten too close to them all so Nandor CAN'T keep running excuses for not turning Guillermo (forced diner comedy voice: haha wouldn't it be sooooo funny if you were a vampire? :)) other than the ACTUAL reason, which is that he's considered vampirism to be a curse for some time now, and KNOWS Guillermo would be miserable with it.

and he was right

Too much time elapsed between his late season 3 descent into "brutal vampire-hunter ready to murder Nandor if needs must" and the time of his turning. He gained and lost a boyfriend, he reconnected with his family, was at Nandor's side for an incredibly human journey of desperately trying to seek happiness via marriage.

The shampoo scene is SUCH a good depiction of it, overhearing all that just confirms Nandor's suspicions of what Guillermo needs. Sure, he knows that Guillermo likes the ceremony and pathos of his little made-up induction, but he knows he NEEDS a real choice to make. One that he's been hoping for (please do not bear the same curse as me, I know you would hate killing innocents) and dreading (does it make me a worse monster if I wanted you to revel in the blood in order to stay by my side), but under all his posturing he knows Guillermo's choice as easily as he would his own.

No more dismissiveness, no more pretending to forget serious things about Guillermo to push him away. He remembers the words spoken from Guillermo over a decade ago, the place where they first met, where he grew up and who his family is.

He knows Guillermo's choice.

I'm just. I'm just frothing at the fucking mouth about this because no amount of cutting Guillermo off mid-sentence is going to put that rabbit back in the fucking hat for season 6. There was still a decent bet on Nandor not turning Guillermo for bullshit and/or comedy reasons if their weird season 3 elopement thing went off without a hitch. For him to mayyybe seem he might not care, or not want to turn him due to purely selfish reasons (like when CEOs sabotage secretaries to keep them by his side).

There's NO way they're gonna sell that he doesn't care anymore and I'm SO FUCKING CURIOUS to see how that shakes out now.

[chatonnoir]

Adrienette stans wanna gaslight Ladynoir stans who don’t like this plot point and act like Ladynoir was always meant to be platonic from the start and Adrienette was obviously always meant to be the side that would start dating .... No.

My dudes there is a reason Ladynoir has always been more popular than Adrienette among the online fandom. There is a reason the bulk of the fancontent when the show first came out focused on romantic Ladynoir. Hell there is a reason Zag chose for their expensive piece of ship merch to be a $300+ Ladynoir statue. They’re even using romantic Ladynoir scenes to advertise their movie now. Stormy Weather, the pilot episode, the episode meant to introduce us to and sell the show to us and networks, was 99% Ladynoir. Every “Valentine’s” episode (Dark Cupid/Glaciator) has been heavily Ladynoir-centric. Chat Blanc, despite starting with Ladrien followed by an Adrienette dating montage, was heavily Ladynoir centric. “Our love did this to the world" came through Ladynoir. We were shown Ladybug getting upset any time Chat Noir seemed to show interest in another girl. We were given “maybe if Adrien didn’t exist, I’d feel differently about Chat Noir...��� in s1. We were given Ladybug explicitly dodging Chat Noir’s question of if things would be different between them if her “other boy” wasn’t a factor. We were given “maybe if I show Ladybug my true self, she’ll fall in love with me,” followed by that very thing happening. We were given a second coup de foudre in Strike Back. The first kiss in this show happened through Ladynoir. The first kiss they were both conscious of happened through Ladynoir in Jubilation. We were shown Ladybug blushing after Chat Noir kissed her cheek in Glaciator. We were shown Ladybug progressively learning that Chat Noir is more sensitive than she thought and not the kind of guy she thought he was and growing closer to and more fond of him over the course of the series -- the plot of like every good romance worth reading (Pride and Prejudice anyone??).

Everyone picked up on the romantic vibes and the depth of their relationship over the past 7 years and now y’all wanna pretend we were hallucinating all along just because your fav side is canon and y’all don’t want to acknowledge the fact that cutting out Ladybug’s feelings for Chat Noir after 4 seasons of development and literally /3 episodes/ of actual visible feelings is an insane choice because it gets in the way of said side being canon. We all picked up on the fact that Chat Blanc and Ephemeral both told us explicitly that Adrienette can’t safely be together as civilians because Gabriel can and will use it to his advantage even without knowing their identities and now y’all want to pretend we’re the ones who weren’t paying attention when even the show was telling us that Adrienette is the side that can’t happen. Apparently the payoff of the 7-year-buildup of Ladybug realizing her romantic feelings for Chat Noir was ... three whole episodes. Followed by her ditching him entirely. Y’all are okay with completely ignoring the insane choice of having Marinette and Adrien not at all worried about abandoning their partners and spitting on “I’ll never abandon you” and every time they’ve ever said “you and me against the entire world” because all you see is weee cute Adrienette scenes <3333.

Like I said I and many others did not watch this show for a generic school romance we watched this show for a Love Square with identity shenanigans because that’s what was being sold to us yet apparently it was never about the "falling in love twice” and the parallels between the two relationships and two loves even though that’s what the past 4 seasons told us it was because it was actually just “adrienette with some obstacles” all along and oBvIoUsLy it was always just meant to be about romantic Adrienette!!!1!!1 I did not watch 7 years worth of romantic development on the Ladynoir side just for Adrienette stans to decide to tell me that I was actually hallucinating that whole time and that Ladynoir was always meant to be platonic

[stormyoceans]

what the actual fuck i'm so fucking mad you got that message in your inbox, you're like the most loving most positive person here always enjoying your interests in such a nice way like that personally angered me you don't deserve that at all. that was written only to piss you off please don't let them, your love for vice versa and jimmysea is honestly the cutest most endearing thing and it makes me genuinely happy seeing you talk about it so excitedly every day. their episodes were soooo good imho so cute so them! i've missed them a lot and i'll be rewatching FOR SURE! what were your fave 3 moments? if you can choose! fuck that anon and the other ones that might be the same person. love you monica keep loving them as hard as you do <3

ANON YOU'RE MAKING ME TEAR UP THIS IS SO SWEET 😭😭 idk if i deserve all these nice words but please know that i deeply appreciate them and that they mean a lot to me!!!! thank you so so much for this 🥺💜

honestly i LOVED the our skyy episodes like i know im terribly biased, but out of all the ones we got until now i think the plot for vice versa felt the most organic and coherent to the characters and their journey. once again everyone involved in the show put so much care and attention into it, and jimmysea have such a natural easy chemistry to them, they sell the lovesick fools who have been married for five years SO WELL. IDK IF I CAN PICK ONLY 3 FAVORITE MOMENTS BECAUSE THEY WERE ALL SO GOOD BUT LET ME TRY:

1) the beach scene. IRREVOCABLY CHANGED ME MY LIFE MY PERSPECTIVE THE FOUNDATION OF MY PERSONHOOD THE BIOCHEMISTRY OF MY BRAIN AND THE ENTIRE MAKE UP OF MY BEING ON AN INTRINSIC MOLECULAR LEVEL. AGAIN. i haven't even begun to process A QUARTER of the insane amount of parallels they managed to pack in just 3 minutes of screentime and how, by doing that, they were able to show just how far puentalay have come in their journey: from strangers to lovers, from a one sided drunk kiss to a passionate yet tender mutual kiss, from a mouthed 'i like your name' to a mouthed 'i love you', from talay's life ending in the ocean to the ocean being the witness of his love, that same love he once thought was just an annoying distraction in the way to achieve his dreams and that now has become an essential color in the palette of his life..... literally made me experience every single emotion present on the spectrum of human consciousness, im gonna need a 2 weeks long vacation in a controlled environment to decompress and recover from the sheer high romance and the whole entire everything of it all

also not to toot my own horn but i love being correct and never losing:

2) both the birthday conversation and the drawing one. SORRY I KNOW IM CHEATING BUT I JUST CAN'T CHOOSE BETWEEN THESE TWO MOMENTS. WHEN I SAY PUENTALAY INVENTED COMMUNICATION UNDERSTANDING CARE LOVE SUPPORT!!!!!!!! im not mentally stable enough to be coherent about this but like.. one of the reasons i adore puentalay is that since the beginning they have always been willing to try to understand each other. no relationship comes without misunderstandings or conflicts, they're always bound to happen from time to time because we're all different and we all react to things in different ways, but what matters the most is the way you can come together after that to face the issue and make it better. i feel like people often have this idealized vision of love where everything must be perfect and passionate and all-consuming, but i believe love is actively choosing to share your life with someone every day as you help each other navigate through it and enjoy the quiet moments together, and i think these two conversations show that puen and talay have this kind of love, a love that will last forever because whatever happens being together is the most important thing for them

3) puentalay and jigsaw sleeping in the same bed. LITERALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU EXCEPT THAT I PERSONALLY DON'T EVEN WANT KIDS BUT SEEING PUEN AND TALAY BEING SO TENDER WITH JIGSAW AND REARRANGING THEIR LIFE TO MAKE SPACE FOR HIM HAD ME LYING IN THE DIRT SOBBING FOR SEVERAL HOURS TO CLIMB DOWN FROM THE SUGAR HIGH THIS SCENE GAVE ME WITH ITS SWEETNESS. it also reminded me a little of the scene in episode 6 when talay admits everything he has missed about puen: talay has always been more rational and reserved with his emotions compared to puen, but it's in quiet moments like these that you can see how deeply his feelings actually run. both puen and talay have so much love to give and one day, when they will be ready, they're gonna have a kid of their own and expand their family, and this knowledge is gonna MAKE ME DIE HAPPY AND IN PEACE

[microwaving-tesilid-argente]

hestio is a character that tickles me so much. when we get introduced to him he's a tesilid hater and he's like "tesilid is too dumb to come up with a plan like that" and "the instant i get the opportunity to change teams i'm leaving him behind",

and then the next time we see him he's like "if you dont talk to us like your friends then i won't be friends with you anymore!!" and "if you refused to eat then i was considering stuffing the food down your throat",

and then the next time we see him he's like "tesilid, you pathetic idiot! how could you go and just die on us like that?" and "tesilid, you idiot! why didn't you come report to the vatican if you were alive?!?"

the way he went from vocally hating tesilid to actively and vocally showing that he cares is so endearing. and for some reason he hasn't dropped the way he calls tesilid an idiot and that's hilarious, but literally once you look past the name-calling and brash attitude it's like. wow.

"if you refused the food then i would've stuffed it down your throat" -> i know that you have a tendency to neglect yourself for no reason, so if i have to make sure your body is well taken care of for you then i will

"how could you go and just die on us like that? / why didn't you report to the vatican that you're alive?" -> i thought you knew? about how much i care for you? wouldn't you have known how much grief i would feel when i thought i would never see you again? did you not think about how much i would have wanted to know that you were alive and well? why didn't you tell me and cut my anguish short?

like the way that hestio has so little screentime and yet most of it is dedicated to him aggressively shouting that he cares for and supports tesilid is just so fucking much man. falls to my knees.

By this point you can probably tell that I ship them but I don't even mean this post in a shippy way because like. Canon Hestio on his first mission with Tesilette ends it by going wink wonk you two spend some quality time together alright! (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧ Just because he saw Tesilid kiss her hand in the Snow Queen dungeon and off screen presumably went woww I'm going to support my best friend's romantic endeavours!!! (I don't care that legally he's not allowed to have romance!)

Hestio is so fully supportive of Tesilid in all aspects of his life! He cares about Tesilid and he makes sure that Tesilid knows it! They have such a healthy and wholesome and securely attached bond.

I say securely attached because Tesilid trusts him and Ephael unconditionally as well. The instant Tesilid saw Hestio and Ephael he trusted that he could plainly ask them for info and that they wouldn't sell him out. It's remarkable and astonishing that he still trusts them so much when he's gone through so many regressions that he's basically unrecognisable. They must've had a bajillion chances to betray and hurt him and never or almost never did.

And this is So uwarfgrgrhrrgrg when juxtaposed against the way that most of the narrative is focused on Tesilette. On how much Ailette loves and cares for Tesilid unconditionally, and how much Ailette is the only thing that lets him want to live on. What little POV we have from Tesilid never mentions his friends at all. But isn't "how could you just go and die on us like that?" another way of saying "please stay in the 17th with me"? Don't leave me behind, I would be lonely without you.

You can't die so suddenly because we have to live the rest of this life consistently in each other's business and die wrinkly. We have to still be making fun of each other in some retirement home. I'll only accept your death if it's foretold by slowly accumulating signs of old age; if I had the time to see daily the growing hunch of your back and the frailness of your arms and to slowly come to terms with our inevitable parting. Don't you dare leave this world so early, I need forewarning so that I can prepare myself for living in a world without you. How could you just die on us like that?

Obviously I'm filling in a lot of blanks, but like. like. "How could you just die on us like that" is a funny line because Hestio talks about Tesilid's death like Tesilid is just some jerk who betrayed his trust instead of like, being killed against his will. But if Hestio feels betrayed it's because he had taken for granted that Tesilid would remain in his life and is distraught that he is not. I mean there's also the fact that Hestio doesn't know the details of how Tesilid supposedly died, so he can't very well go "he died so painfully im going to cry about that", but it's still very telling that this is how he frames Tesilid's death.

Hestio clearly cares a lot about Tesilid and is really not shy about it. And its so GNGHGNGHGN that this is such a small part of the narrative. Like. This is a big deal!!! This very dramatically changes what Tesilid's experience in the regressions would have been like! If he had someone who so obviously cared for him through both actions and words! And since they were teenagers!!

gnawing at my cage bars. Why is Hestio's obvious and strong friendship not salient in Tesilid's POV and What Does This Tell Us About Him.

Did Hestio's care become unremarkable or even something that he avoids thinking about because it's so closely linked to the trauma of the regressions. Because he's always there. Is Ailette the One thing Tesilid ever really thinks about properly now because it's the only new and refreshing part of his life that isn't weighed down by like All That.

Or maybe people just aren't this crazy about their friends i don't know. But if it were me and I lived in a world where everyone including god was out to get me and I wasn't able to stand up for myself but I had one or a couple of people who consistently and loudly cared for me. I would probably make them the centre of my world and be very not normal about them. i dunno! maybe it's just me.

anyway we stan a man who isn't afraid to wear long hair and to style it in a world where men all have short hair, and who isn't afraid to be extremely vocal about literally all his feelings

[radicalfemimist]

Yes I am, and you seem relatively chill so I’ll explain why. I did not skip the Zuko/Mai scenes and that’s honestly the problem. It’s because he and Mai have no chemistry/attraction are a forced relationship. However, I am not necessarily suggesting that Zuko is gay. In canon, I believe Zuko isn’t written to experience any attraction, though he does actually have some with Jet.

In writing, you have to earn everything. Every relationship, emotional moment, etc. Zuko and Mai are not earned— we are told they are dating in Season 3 but the only indication we’ve been given is that Mai likes Zuko, not that Zuko likes Mai.

There is no Zuko seeing a girl that reminds him of Mai so much it hurts. There is no Zuko writing to Mai when he’s away at sea. There is no Zuko not wanting to fight Mai but having to bc she’s chasing him or anything like that. Aside from the flashback in Zuko Alone, I don’t think Zuko and Mai even interact or are in scenes together prior to them dating.

And because they don’t, Zuko/Mai isn’t earned and is honestly a doomed romance because of it. Zuko is a main character, and the only reason we have for him dating his love interest Mai is that Mai likes him.

Mai is, simply put, convenient for Zuko. She “likes” him, she’s Fire Nation, she’s nobility, she lives right next to the palace, she already has good relations with his family— she is everything Zuko is expected to date as a Prince of the Fire Nation.

He doesn’t seem to know anything about her (offers her a seashell, earlier in the same episode she insults Lo and Li’s seashell bedspread), and calls her “crabby” and “a big blah”— he doesn’t trust her, evidently, because he gets jealous over literally nothing and throws a guy at a wall, causing Mai to dump him. They reconcile later that episode, but it’s just as forced as the rest of their relationship, and Zuko remains a shitty boyfriend and later breaks up with her over text, basically.

The Boiling Rock, Zuko does mention Mai and kinda smiles about it, but too little too late. Mai confronts him later that episode about his break-up letter, and he ends up having to lock her in a cage; the only indication it might have actually meant something to him being that he looks her in the eyes for a moment.

When Mai saves his life, he doesn’t insist on going back for her or anything. They don’t have to hold him back from doing something stupid. He leaves her there, knowing she has betrayed the Fire Nation for him. The one who does save Mai’s life? Ty Lee (and Azula, who didn’t seem to want to execute her despite her directly betraying the crown.)

Even when Zuko leaves to join the Avatar, he doesn’t seem concerned about Mai— he doesn’t ask Azula what she did to Mai during any of their fights, he doesn’t seem to yearn at all. Mai shows up when she’s out of prison, and he seems happy enough to see her— but it ring hollow because none of their relationship has been earned by the writing.

They aren’t a romance, they are a relationship. And like most relationships in media without good romance, their kissing looks passionless and stiff. I’m not asking for them to be ten seconds away from boning, or anything, but I do want them to look like they’re doing it for any other reason than they’re bored or they’re supposed to.

I.E the rest of the significant kisses in the show don’t just happen, they have dramatic music to sell it. In Katara and Aang’s final kiss of the series, Katara kisses Aang and then moves her hands up to his face, and then they wrap their arms around each other, whilst their love theme plays in the background.

If they can have a scene where Sokka and Suki are implied to be about to boink, Zuko and Mai can kiss each other like it matters. But Mai is the only who does all the heavy-lifting of their romance, and Zuko never pays it back. She’s convenient for him and not thing else— someone to listen to his problems, while he goes from yearning for his father to yearning for his Uncle. She is essentially a relationship picked out for him, and they are not in love. Zuko doesn’t even seem to really care about her.

I hate, hate when people decide that characters are bisexual instead of gay because they exhibit obviously forced, obviously fake opposite-sex attraction. I find it really ignorant, honestly, because comphet is a pretty universal gay experience.

Like, maybe Zuzu isn’t bisexual just because he had (1) girlfriend and went on a date with a girl (Jin) once. The latter example of which was accepted on his behalf, and he thought Jin consistently visiting the place he worked and looking at him meant she was trying to expose him as a Firebender. Maybe his extremely forced heterosexual romance is a sham, and he’s really into one of the two guys he breaks into a place with and actually has some chemistry with?

Maybe Mike isn’t bisexual, and is instead just a closeted gay boy in the 80s whose friends accidentally peer-pressured him into dating the girl he was keeping in his basement. Like, are you saying he’s just a shitty person? Because if he is attracted to girls as well, he’s just an asshole and kind of a cheater.

Maybe Jamie Kelly isn’t bisexual just because she decided she has a “crush” on the boy Hudson Rivers she consistently describes as just the eighth-cutest boy in school, whom she literally knows nothing about even though she’s apparently “obsessed” with him. Maybe she’s a lesbian and she’s actually interested in Angeline, the girl she has said:

“Angeline turned her cute up to about a seven, causing anybody directly in front of her to feel a mild, but pleasant, burning sensation.”

“My Superpowers of Boyishness have come with a super-weakness. Just like Superman is vulnerable to Kryptonite, my boy powers have made me weak and vulnerable in the way that Angeline makes ALL boys weak and vulnerable.”

those are lines taken directly from the book btw, and far from the only examples. but for concision I will refrain from talking too much about the things she has said about Angeline vs the things she has said about Hudson.

like what is the obsession with making characters bisexual? I mean, I know what the obsession is— they think it’s more progressive. Some people genuinely think portraying a M/F bisexual couple is just as important as portraying a same-sex couple, even though one of those examples will be dubbed into cousins or dubbed to be heterosexual, and one of them won’t.

There’s an idea nowadays that erasure / invalidation is some of the worst oppression you can face but not when homosexuals face it. It’s apparently biphobia to not want another bland straight romance because one or both characters is bi or commonly HC’d as such. It’s a “slur” to use the word “bihet”. I’ve even been told it’s racist to dislike a bland M/F romance because it was interracial and neither of the characters were white and as such, it’s progressive and must be applauded.

Don’t expect this to be coherent or have a conclusion; I don’t. I wrote all of this specifically because I was thinking about a fic I was reading had a bisexual Zuzu (and several other characters) even though they did not bother to tag it as such, and I was a tad peeved.

[theneondemonx]

HOUDINI | JJK

One Shot

▽ summary: jungkook was your first and only. When he got arrested, you felt like an idiot for always believing his every word and after a few years you decided to date again. But the word somehow got to his ears in jail and he couldn’t let you be anyone else’s but his.

▽ genre: porn with some plot, criminal au, established relationship

▽ pairings: escaped convict!jk x fem!reader

▽ words: 3464

▽ warnings: mention of abusive relationship, mention of alcohol abuse, mention of underage sex, criminal activities, implied murder, possessive behavior, mention of female masturbation, spanking, fingering, female ejaculation, overstimulation, oral sex (m receiving, deep throating), unprotected sex, lots of cum, dirty talk

( ➜ Drabble 1: first meeting ) [⏵playlist]

He hit me and it felt like a kiss He hit me and I knew he loved me If he didn't care for me I could have never made him mad But he hit me and I was glad

You were still very young when you learned that love was nothing like the cheesy romances you’d see on the big screen. Well, you didn’t actually have the money to go to the movies, but sometimes you found the way to sneak in and watch whatever was there to watch. You had a fascination for those stories, for those dancing images on the screen. They were made of pure light. Literally. While everyone was caught in the enchantment of the movie, you were the one to look behind your back and follow the light beam up until its source, looking straight at the small window from which the projector created the whole illusion of life before your eyes.

Most people want to escape from reality. They want to feel like their life has meaning, like it is just one plot twist away from being interesting. I didn’t. Maybe I should have, since mine was pretty shit. But I guess this was the whole reason why I was looking for the disenchantment. It’s like watching a magician. I’ve always been the type to be more observant, to look for the trick. Cause if there wasn’t any, then it would have meant that mine was the only pointless existence.

No one in your block had a penny to their names. Everyone dreamed of going away, of starting a new life and do something meaningful. But you knew that most of them would never make it. They were trapped.

We think of the key, each in his prison. Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison.

Those weren’t your words. They were Jungkook’s. Well, not his own words, actually. He had read them somewhere. He was the type to read, although he didn’t look like it at all. And you know how people who read are: they are good with words. They can shape reality with just a flick of their tongue. And damn if he got a way with words! That’s why you fell for him.

It wasn’t just the fact that he got the looks of an angel. He also talked like one. He could talk his way in and out of everything and you were pretty sure he could lie his way into heaven if he wanted to. He was an exceptional liar, a pathological one too. But you loved him anyway.

You believed him when he told you that he was going to turn your life upside down. Why wouldn’t you? He had already done it more times than you could count. He had done it since the day you first met in that dark movie theatre. You had always believed him and everything he said. He was the only man you ever loved, the first and the last you had sex with, and eventually the one you married.

He reminded you of your father. They had the same dangerous charm. Their eyes gleamed with the same light: that of a man who was willing to con the whole world and make it his own. Your father didn’t make it, though. He became a drunk mess and ended up in prison for attempted murder.

Only a pathetic fuck goes to jail for attempted murder. Either you go down for murder, or you don’t go down at all. That’s how much of a failure he was.

But you didn’t care about him. He used to beat your mother whenever he felt like it. Jungkook, on the other hand, never did that.

So, when he told you those words – “the less you know, the better” – you didn’t question him. You just believed him. And when he came home with a bag full of money and his hands covered in blood, you still didn’t question him. You just did as he asked and bent over the kitchen table to let him fuck you senseless.

You really didn’t care about what he did. Everyone in your block was somehow entangled with criminal activities. That’s just how it is when you can’t afford an honest life. What if he robbed a bank? What if he killed someone to get that money? So what? You’d love him anyway. You’d love him no matter what.

You still loved him when you heard the sirens wailing through the block and stop outside your shared house. You didn’t care about the fact that he just ripped your marriage into pieces. You always knew he was an Icarus.

“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll be home for dinner.” He told you with a cocky smirk, while being pushed inside the police car.

And again, you believed him.

He was the only magician who ever managed to deceive you into thinking that his was actual magic and not just a trick. But when the jury found him guilty of aggravated robbery and murder, you felt like the lights had gone off and the curtain closed on his magic show. It was over. And now you were left standing in a sad empty circus, with just the distant music of the carousel to remind you of the fact that it was all a rouse. A convincing one for sure, but still a rouse.

When you saw him being taken away from the trial, you thought about those words he told you years before.

We think of the key, each in his prison. Thinking of the key, each confirms a prison.

And you smiled to yourself. Somehow, even though your whole life had just gone to pieces, you found them ironic. Who would have thought, back then, that he would end up in an actual prison? Not you for sure.

The years had passed and although you never really moved on from Jungkook, you decided it was time for you to build a life for yourself. You were still young and pretty, so it wasn’t hard for you to fool some stupid rich boy from the city. Kim Seokjin was no Jeon Jungkook, but he had money and a steady job – one that could actually pay for rent, food and vices without raising any question from the authorities.

He didn’t know you were broke as fuck, and you did your best to hide it with the means you had and the cunning that your lowlife background had teach you. You would buy fancy dresses and hide the tag when you wore them, so that you could return them the day after. You would also tell Seokjin to come pick you up at work in Gangnam. You never worked there, of course, but he was dumb enough to believe you. It didn’t really matter: you planned on sleeping with him soon enough and let him knock you up. Men always get way too excited when you tell them that they can fuck you without putting on a condom.

What you didn’t plan, however, was to find yourself with a tattooed hand covering your mouth when one night you came back home from a date with Seokjin. At first you tried to scream and free yourself from the strong grip of the mysterious man that somehow got into your house, but you froze as soon as he spoke.

“Shh be quiet, baby. You want to be the one to rat me out?”

You’d recognize that voice among millions. It was Jungkook.

How did he get out? His sentence is not over yet. He still has to serve twenty more years.

You thought that by being quiet and staying still, he would loosen the grip on you, but he didn’t.

“Fancy dress you got here, honey.” He hissed, pressing his lips against your ear and making you shiver from his touch. His hand trailed along the side of your body, caressing the expensive fabric of the white dress.

“Was your new boyfriend, the one who bought it for you?”

Your eyes widened at that question and you again tried to free yourself without success.

“Yeah.. I know. I was surprised too when Yoongi came to visit me and told me you were seeing some fancy city boy with his head up his tuxedo-covered ass.”

You knew that no matter how soft his voice could sound, he was mad. He was always calm when he was really mad.. until he wasn’t calm anymore.

“I told him: no, Yoongi, there’s no way that’s true. My sweet Y/N would never do something like that. She is a faithful wife, not some dirty whore who’s ready to sell her cunt to the first Richie Rich who comes around.”

He chuckled darkly.

“But he brought me the photos. So I guess I was wrong.”

He abruptly turned you around, pushing your back against the wall. It was then, that you saw him. His hair got longer and he somehow got some tattoos on his right arm. His dark eyes were gleaming in the dark with a mischievous light that you had never seen on him – not when he was looking at you, at least.

His fingers tightened around your jaw, forcing you to look at him straight in the eyes.

“Did you let him touch you?”

“N-no.” You muttered, with your heartbeat racing fast and your eyes wide open like those of an innocent doe who was just caught by a cold-blooded hunter.

He pressed his body on yours, breathing heavily against your lips without breaking eye contact.

“If you are lying to me.. I’ll know, Y/N.” He hissed. And you knew that those words were a clear warning.

“I expect your cunt to be tighter than it was when I left. If it isn’t..” he chuckled, slightly tilting his head to the side and licking his lips while caressing gently your reddened cheek. “..well, I guess I’ll stretch your holes so wide that there won’t be any doubt about whose little whore you are.”

He didn’t give you any time to breathe, let alone answer. He pressed his lips on yours with such passion that he sucked the air out of your lungs. And you melted.

You still loved him, after all. You still craved for his touch, which you missed every single night that you’ve spent in your empty bed. Every time you touched yourself, you always closed your eyes and think of him: his hands, his lips, his toned body, his cock, his breath, his smell.. everything. No man could turn you on like he did.

You could tell he had changed. He got more violent, more possessive. But for some reason, that didn’t bother you. Somehow, in a fucked up way, you enjoyed it. It was like you just had the proof that he truly loved you. That you were sill his.

You run your fingers through his hair, tightening your grip while kissing him deeply. A muffled sigh escaped from your lips when his tongue entered your mouth, exploring every corner of it like that was the last kiss he was ever gonna give you.

“Touch me.” You murmured, like it was a prayer sent straight to God.

The first one that was actually answered, since Jungkook’s hands quickly slipped under your dress while you kicked off your shoes. He turned you around again, face against the wall, and removed your underwear.

You gasped at his touch on your wet entrance, arching your back so that he could see your pussy in its full glory.

“Fuck, I missed you so much.” He murmured, starting to run his palm on your pussy.

You moaned, grinding against his hand in search of his touch while he steadied your hips with the strong grip of his free hand.

“Already purring like a kitten, baby?”

Another moan escaped from your lips, this time loudly, when he inserted his middle finger in your throbbing core, feeling it clench around his touch.

“Such a good girl. You didn’t lie to me.” He commented in a hiss, inserting another finger to test your tightness and starting to pump his digits on your most sensitive spot.

“So tight. Will you be able to take my cock, baby?”

“Y-yes. Yes I will.” You answered in between your heavy breaths and moans, chasing the pleasure that his movements gave you.

You suddenly let out a sharp cry when you felt his hand slapping your ass cheek without notice. But the lingering pain had the only effect of heightening the pleasure and getting you even more wet.

Hu chuckled, spanking you one more time.

“Fuck! Jungkook!”

He had always loved it when you said his name during sex, and he still did apparently, since he started pumping his digits harder inside you. The lewd sounds of your pussy soon filled the silence of the night.

When his other hand reached your clit and started drawing quick circles around it, your legs started shivering and your eyes rolled back from the pleasure. If it wasn’t for the wall, you’d probably fall on your knees when the orgasm hit you. You moaned so loud that you almost sounded like a dying animal.

“That’s it baby. Cum for me.”

His words only made it worse and you couldn’t help but feel like a fire ball hit you right in the belly. Your walls clenched around his pumping digits and soon your climax reached an unprecedented high, making you ejaculate on his hand while waves of pleasure went through your body like an electric shock.

“Oh my God!” Was is reaction to the mess you just made.

He let out a satisfied laugh, retracting his fingers from your overstimulated core just to smear your arousal on your own lips.

“Open your mouth, baby. I want you to taste yourself – the way I make you feel.”

You obeyed, and even if you were still panting and barely able to function, you took his fingers in you mouth, rotating your tongue around them and sucking every drop of your own arousal before letting them out with a pop.

“Good girl.” He praised you softly, caressing your hair. “Now get on your knees for me.”

Again, you obeyed without hesitation while he unzipped his pants and pumped himself a few times in front of your face.

You looked up at him, licking your lips. You could still taste your slick on them, but you wanted something different. You wanted his taste. And you were so eager to get it, that you didn’t waste any time.

You soon wrapped your mouth around his hard cock, sucking it like it was your last meal. But letting you have it your way was not Jungkook’s plan. He grabbed a fistful of your hair, tying them up in a ponytail that was only held by his own hand, and started thrusting inside your mouth until tears were gathering at the corner of your eyes.

A deep growl escaped from his lips at the sight of your mouth stuffed with his cock and your messed up make up smeared all over your face.

“My little whore. Always so good for me.” He said through his panting, face fucking you like there was no tomorrow.

And probably there wasn’t gonna be one. For all you knew, the police could come at any moment and take him back to his cell – this time, forever. But, if anything, the thrill just added something extra to the whole situation, making it even more exciting.

The rhythm of his deep thrusts against your throat soon made you gag. And that was it. That was what he wanted, what he was looking for.

“Oh shit! Fuck, I’m coming, baby.”

His cum shot straight down your throat, filling you with his warm liquid. You loved his taste. You always had since the first time he sucked his cock. You were only fifteen back then, and you had no idea how to do it. But he was older than you and he guided your every movement, teaching you what he liked and what he wanted. You thought you’d spit him out, but you always swallowed. You liked it. You liked the taste of his orgasm and you liked to know that you were the one to make him cum like that.

“Take off your dress and bra.”

Your jaw was still feeling numb and your legs weak when he ordered you to undress, but you still obeyed, in a daze.

“Now bend over the couch.”

Again, you didn’t raise any question. You just crawled towards the couch and rested your chest on the pillows, closing your eyes while you tried to catch your breath. You could feel your heart beating strong, muffled by the padded fabric of the couch. The only other sound was that of his steps, getting closer and closer to you until he dropped heavily on his knees, resting his large hands on your ass cheeks and parting them.

He let out a pleased moan and you could feel his gaze devouring the most intimate part of your body. You didn’t even need to look or feel him to know that he was getting hard again. And you felt proud. You arched your back and spread your legs a big wider, offering him the whole show. You loved to know that he wanted you so bad. Just the thought of his desire aroused you more than anything else.

He chuckled, spanking you again and making you gasp at the sharp feel of his palm against your sensitive skin.

“God, you’ve always loved being a slut for me. Am I right?”

You thought the question was rhetoric, so you didn’t respond. But when he gave you another spank and bent over you, pulling your hair to get your ear closer to his lips, you knew he wanted to hear your voice.

“Answer me. Whose little slut are you?”

“Y-yours, Jungkook. I’m your little slut.”

He chuckled darkly, letting go of your hair while caressing your reddened ass cheek and pressing his lips on your ear.

“Good girl.” He praised you, slowly starting to align the tip of his cock with your wet entrance.

You whimpered at the feel, arching your back even more to look for more friction. Seeing you like that, so eager to have him inside of you, was all it took for him to sink deep inside your core, filling you with all his length and stretching your walls.

“Fuck! You got so tight, baby.”

You did. While he was away, you didn’t have sex with anybody and you only started thinking about that when you met Seokjin. Not because you really wanted to, but because you felt like it was a necessary step to get what you wanted. Sure, Jin was handsome, but he was no Jungkook. Your husband, your first love, your first everything – he was the only one who could make you wet just by staring at you. He had that power – the power to make your head spin like you had too many drinks.

Jungkook hold your hips in place and started pounding you hard, making you moan at every thrust until you were just a hot wet mess at his mercy.

“Jungkook..” That was all you could say, breathless, while feeling your walls clench around his cock like they were holding to dear life.

He went balls deep inside of you, fucking you for all the times he didn’t in the past three years. It was intoxicating, and you knew you could never get enough of that feeling – of him.

“Jungkook.. cum inside me, please.” You whimpered, pleading him with a mere whisper when you felt his thrusts getting sloppier and more imprecise. Your orgasm was close too, but you wanted to make sure he didn’t pull out. You wanted to feel every drop of him.

“Y/N.. fuck!” Was all he said while he sank deep inside your core, filling you up with his cum and pumping it in to get you closer to your climax.

You came with his name on your lips and the lewd sounds of your sex filling your ears like the sweetest music you’d ever heard. Your hands grabbed the fabric of the couch and you could feel your saliva dripping down the side of your lips, parted by the intense sensation of your orgasm.

He dropped with his chest pressing on your back. You could feel his heavy breath against your skin and his heartbeat trying to get a calmer pace while the high of the climax was slowly fading away.

“We are leaving tonight, baby.” He whispered in your ear after a few moments of silence. “I’m not going back to jail. I’m not gonna let them tear us apart again.”

And again, even after everything that had happened, you believed him.

I guess this is my prison. You are. But I don’t want to escape.

“I love you, Jungkook.”

“I love you too, baby.”

[jungshookz]

teeny tidbits: it’s valentine’s day and everyone’s in love 💕💫

i couldn’t let valentine’s day go by without showing you what some of your favourite couples are up to on this romantic day so i hope you enjoy these six teeny tidbits!! 

unfortunately i couldn’t do one for everY single character because i would literally die at my keyboard but i hope these ones still manage to give you all the fuzzy feelings :-) 

happy valentine’s day! 

                                       »»————-　💖　————-««

➳ lveb!namjoon (feat. lveb!yoongi): it’s valentine’s day and namjoon & y/n won’t let yoongi forget it 

“if these come out ugly, can i just eat them?” yoongi asks, his hands starting to tremble as he continues to squeeze the frosting out of the piping bag

he’s been doing this for the last half an hour and his hands are starting to go numb

you shut the oven door before tossing the kitchen towel over your shoulder and turning around to look at how much progress yoongi’s made

…

hm

maybe you should put him on cleanup duty instead

luckily he’s only frosted four and a half so there’s no major loss here

you reach over to pluck the piping bag from yoongi’s hands and he immediately frowns

you don’t need to say anything for him to know what that means 

you never appreciate his hard work!! you’re breaking his heart here!!

“you know, the messiness just makes them more unique.” he points out, gesturing to his beautiful tray of heart-shaped cookies, “it gives your cookies character!”  

“mhm…” you roll your eyes playfully as you turn to grab a tupperware box from the cabinet so yoongi can pack up his cookies to bring home

“all i’m saying is that you never appreciate my artistic abilities.” yoongi murmurs, swiping a glob of frosting off the table and promptly sticking his finger into his mouth to suck it off

“abilities is a reach.”

yoongi gawks, about to respond with a retort about how he doesn’t have to help you but he chooses to because he’s a good friend but he doesn’t get the chance to before he gets distracted by the sound of the kitchen door creaking open

he swivels around on the stool, about to greet namjoon enthusiastically and to tell him all about how you’re refusing to sell his beautiful cookies because apparently they’re ‘ugly’ and ‘look like a two year old decorated it and then sat on it’

namjoon brings a finger up to his lips to tell yoongi to be quiet, yoongi opening his mouth to say something before closing it again

“did you ever return that round container?” you ask, yoongi looking back over at you to see you sorting through the cabinets

“the round container?” yoongi asks dumbly, watching as namjoon crouches down with a devious smile on his face, “uh, yeah! i’m pretty sure i did.”

“really? because i can’t find it anywhere-” you move to turn around, yoongi’s eyes widening as he suddenly gets up from his stool and points to the cabinet so that you don’t notice namjoon creeping up behind you

“there! i see it right there!”

“whe- oh!” you jump in surprise when suddenly an arm slinks around you from behind, a kiss being planted on your cheek a moment later, “you scared me!”

“mm, sorry, baby-” namjoon hums, pulling you closer and squishing another kiss to your face, “i was hoping i’d be back before you got up!”

namjoon left before you woke up but you didn’t have much time to think about it because you had to get straight to baking

for you, valentine’s day is one of the busiest days of the year which means you’re basically in the kitchen all day

you appreciate the business but you’re always so exhausted that you basically pass out covered in flour by the end of the day

yoongi came over to help because he usually helps out anyway (and also because you usually have extras that he likes to take home) but he said that he couldn’t stay for long because he had to prepare for his ‘plans’ tonight

(you know he’s going out on a date with that receptionist girl with the hershey kisses but you haven’t hounded him on the topic because the last thing you want is to freak him out and get him all sweaty before his night of romance)

“where’d you go?” you ask, turning your head and reaching up to turn namjoon’s face towards you so you can give him a proper kiss, a giggle bubbling from your lips when he leans in for another one after you pull away from the first one 

“to get you these-!” namjoon suddenly pulls a lush bouquet of forget-me-nots from behind his back and holds it in front of you, the sweet surprise automatically drawing a gasp of delight from you, “happy first valentine’s day!”

oh :’)

how romantic :’)

“i love them!” you take the bouquet from his hands with wide eyes before turning around so you can face namjoon, “you’re so sweet…”

namjoon purses his lips for another kiss and you immediately hear yoongi let out a groan

“all this kissing is going to make me hurl- also, are there no flowers for me, darling?” yoongi asks sarcastically, clasping his hands together before making obnoxious kissy noises at namjoon while fluttering his lashes, “and why didn’t you get roses instead? that way, i could’ve taken one.” he huffs, frowning in disappointment, “can’t give her stupid forget-me-nots…”

“her?” namjoon perks up, tilting his head in curiosity before looking back at you with a raised brow

he grins when you lean up to give him a sneaky little smooch while yoongi’s distracted

“yoongi has plans tonight.” you hint as you pull away from namjoon, slipping past him so you can grab a vase for the flowers

namjoon’s eyes widen for a second before he looks back over at yoongi with a knowing grin, “ah… plans! sounds fun.”

“uh, yeah, i guess you could call them plans. it’s just, like- we’re just having dinner at my place but honestly i’m probably going to order pizza or something.”

“you know, some places are making their pizzas heart-shaped since it’s valentine’s day. you should consider doing that!” namjoon points out, nodding enthusiastically, “ooh, or maybe you can ask them if they’d be willing to cut the pepperonis into little hearts-”

“that seems like it’s a little much for something casual-”

“casual-” you snort quietly to yourself as you fill the vase up with water, “we all know it’s not casual-”

“it is!” yoongi argues, straightening up a little, “it just so happens that today is valentine’s day, alright? whatever!”

“i still think you should consider the heart-shaped pizza. do you want me to order it for you? ah, what if i take care of dinner for you??” namjoon clasps his hands together, “i love planning romantic dinners-”

“i-it’s not a romantic dinner-!”

“it’s not romantic, but…” you trail off, carefully pulling a couple stems out of your bouquet before pulling one of the satin ribbons that are typically used for wrapping up the boxes off the table, “give this to her! just to be courteous.” you hum, carefully wrapping the ribbon around the stems before handing the mini bouquet to yoongi

yoongi blinks at the mini bouquet before taking it cautiously from your fingers, “courteous?”

“mhm. it is valentine’s day today, after all.” you nod, smiling lightly when you notice yoongi’s cheeks starting to get a little pink, “and if you’re feeling extra courteous, you can even do this-”

yoongi’s eyes pop open when you suddenly lean over and plant a big kiss on his cheek, his face instantly going bright red, “y/n!”

                                      »»————-　💖　————-««

➳ ceo!yoongi; it’s valentine’s day and yoongi & y/n are still very much in love with each other 

“i have to admit that this flavour isn’t actually half bad.” yoongi hums, scooping up a little spoon of ice cream before bringing it up to his mouth, “but the vanilla frozen yogurt is still the best choice here.”

“low-fat, low-fun, old man.” you remind him, reaching up to wipe the chocolate syrup off the corner of your mouth, “but i’m glad you mustered up enough courage to try something new this time!”

yoongi branched out and decided to try the strawberry-chocolate flavoured frozen yogurt because this is his version of spicing things up

in his eyes, he’s an unhinged man tonight!

“you’re just being a hater- you and your ridiculous red-velvet-cake and chocolate syrup nightmare-”

you watch fondly as yoongi continues to rattle off about your questionable choice in ice cream while he scrapes at the side of his cup

the man you love and whose child you birthed hates ice cream and somehow you’re still very much in love with him

“so what else do you have planned for tonight?” you ask, yoongi looking up at you from his cup

you don’t know if maybe it’s because you’re getting old and you like to go to sleep early now but you wouldn’t mind calling it a night after dessert

you had fish tacos for dinner - because of course you did - and now you’re having ice cream for dessert at your favourite parlour in the same booth where yoongi kissed you for the first time - because of course you are

everything about tonight has been perfect and now all you want to do is go home 

yoongi pauses, his eyes narrowing slightly

“well, i was thinking that maybe we could…” he drops the little plastic spoon into his cup before pushing it aside, folding his hands on the table and leaning forward

“we could…?” you ask innocently as you fold your arms up on the table and lean in as well, taking your bottom lip in between your teeth

“you know…” yoongi tilts his head, eyes flickering down to your lips for a brief moment before he looks back up at you “…buy a couple extra-large pints of ice cream to bring home?” he smiles knowingly, “they’re having a valentine’s day discount!”

“min yoongi... that is…” you reach across the table to squeeze yoongi’s wrist, “hands-down the sexiest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

                                     »»————-　💖　————-««

➳ uni!yoongi: it’s valentine’s day and y/n knows the way to yoongi’s heart 

“in my opinion, valentine’s day is silly. it’s an overly commercialized holiday where large corporations take advantage of lovey-dovey couples who are willing to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on each other just to show each other how much they care, you know?” yoongi sighs, watching as you continue to rummage through your backpack, “like, i don’t need one day out of the year to show you how much i care about you when i care about you literally everyda- OOH, a present!” his eyes immediately light up when you pull out a box with his name written on the tag and you can’t help but snort at how quickly he’s changed his tune

“i just want you to know that if you don’t like these, i can totally go back and return them…” you clear your throat, watching as yoongi enthusiastically tugs at the ribbon before tossing it over his shoulder like a madman, “okay, you know you have to pick that up later-”

you’re pretty sure he stopped listening to you like three seconds ago but whatever

“y/n, you could give me a chunk of dirt and i’d still like-” yoongi takes the lid off, a wide grin suddenly stretching over his face, “no way! this is way cooler than a chunk of dirt!”

!!!

they’re a new set of wheels!

for his skateboard!!!!

they’re see-through with little red hearts sprinkled throughout the resin which isn’t usually the style he goes for but nonetheless these are going to look so sick!!!

“they’re new wheels for your skateboard!” you smile, watching as yoongi brushes the shreds of tissue paper off of them, “i know that little red hearts aren’t your thing, but they’re my thing and i thought it’d be nice because you could match with my scrunchie…” you trail off shyly, reaching up to rub the back of your neck, “but, yeah… if you don’t like them, i can return them for something cooler! they had ones with flames painted on them-!”

you don’t get a chance to say anything else before yoongi’s reaching over to grab the leg of your chair so he can yank you towards him for a kiss

“i love them-” yoongi beams, nudging his nose against yours before pulling away, “plus, i needed a new set of wheels so this is great.”

he takes another second or two to admire his new wheels before suddenly looking up at you, “now i feel like my present is super lame compared to yours…”

“oh, don’t be like that.” you frown playfully before bouncing up and down a little in your chair, “what’d you get me??”

“do you remember that polaroid picture we took over christmas?” yoongi asks, twisting in his seat so he can grab his bag, “the one of us sitting by the christmas tree in your apartment?” he pulls a brown paper bag out and hands it to you and you take it with greedy little raccoon hands 

you’ve been looking forward to this all week

obviously you loved his present last year but you have a feeling you’re going to love this year’s present even more!

“mhm. i love that photo! i stuck it on the fridge, remember?” you ask, carefully peeling the tape off and folding the strip in half before setting it on the table

“well, i sent it to this person on etsy…” yoongi trails off, waiting for you to pull his gift out before making his announcment, “…and they turned it into a little keychain!”

!

omg

you can’t help but coo at the miniature polaroid, smoothing your finger over the surface

“oh, yoongi…” you giggle softly, pinching at the little red heart charm attached to the chain before looking up at him, “i love it! this is such a thoughtful present…”

“ah, it’s nothing…” yoongi murmurs, averting his gaze before shrugging, “i just thought it’d look nice on your keys, that’s all.”

“it’s going to look very nice on my keys. thank you, yoongi.” you lean forward to give him a peck, yoongi humming happily as you do so 

“also, before i forget-” he perks up, “i found these and had to get them-” he turns and starts digging into his bag again before pulling out a pair of fuzzy handcuffs (it’s white with red hearts because that seems to be a recurring theme here), “you know, i’ve just been going through an etsy phase. there’s so much cool stuff on there!”

you zip your backpack up before turning back to face yoongi 

“yeah, there’s a lot of stuff you can find on et- yoongi-!” your eyes nearly roll out of your skull at the sight of him twirling a pair of handcuffs around his finger, “oh my god, put those away!“ you hiss, looking around frantically before reaching over to try to grab them from him only for yoongi to raise his arm up  

“what? you keep slipping out of the scrunches so i figured it was time to upgrade to something more secure.” the corner of yoongi’s mouth twitches in a smirk, “and the best part about these was the free shipping-”

“put them away-!”

                                    »»————-　💖　————-««

➳ mechanic!yoongi: it’s valentine’s day and yoongi won’t pay attention to y/n

“yoongi…” you sigh, placing your hands on your hips as you gently kick at yoongi’s feet, “c’mon, pay attention to me!”

you have a surprise for him and he was supposed to take a break like an hour ago!

“gimme one second, doll…” yoongi trails off, his voice muffled from where he is under the car, “i just have to do this-”

“you could be doing something else right now-” you grumble, reaching down to pick at a piece of lint off the jumpsuit you’re wearing

you bought a very pretty lingerie set a month ago in preparation for valentine’s day and you would really appreciate it if yoongi would spare you one second to notice that you’re wearing one of his jumpsuits (which already should’ve raised a red flag for him, but for some reason it didn’t) and underneath this grubby jumpsuit is a very pretty bra and an even prettier pair of panties!

it’s navy blue to match the jumpsuit and it even has little ribbons sewn onto the thigh garters which you know for sure he’s going to be a big fan of

“you said one second like ten minutes ago…” you whine quietly, hoping that yoongi can hear the pout in your voice so he’ll finally wheel out from under this damn car, “don’t you wanna know what your surprise is?”

“i do, baby, but i’m almost done…” yoongi’s hand shoots out from under the car to blindly reach for a wrench and you nudge it towards him with your foot, “thank you, pretty girl…”

“you can’t call me that if you’re not even looking at me.”

you know he’s beefing up the nicknames right now because he knows you love it when he calls you all sorts of terms of endearment and you’re trying noT to let that butter you up but there’s something about the way he says baby that just makes your tummy tingle

...

what were you doing again? 

you shake yourself out of your trance before crossing your arms stubbornly, “you know what? maybe i’ll go and show namjoon what’s under this jumpsuit since you’re obviously a little too busy for me right now- NAMJOON, i need you! can you come out here for a second?”

“mm, you can show namjoon first and then i swear i’ll be done after- wait, under the jumpsuit-?!”

you hear a thud and a low ‘ow, fuck-’ before yoongi suddenly rolls himself out from underneath the car, scrambling up from the ground frantically, “did you say under the jumpsuit?” he asks, reaching up to wipe his face with the back of his hand only to smear more grease across his cheek

“i did.” you nod, placing your hands on your hips again before taking a step back, “and i would let you find out what’s under it for yourself, but your hands are very dirty so you’re not coming anywhere near me- anyways, if you weren’t so busy doing whatever it is you’re doing to that car-” yoongi’s eyelids flutter rapidly when you yank the jumpsuit open in one swift move, his mouth immediately going dry at the sight of… holy shit- “you could’ve been busy doing me.”

“i could’ve-” yoongi chokes, his eyes unable to look away from your chest, “i could’ve been do- we could- yeah, i can definitely do something else right now-”

oh, wow

it matches the jumpsuit and everything 

...he wants to rip it off of you using his teeth.

“y/n! did you call for me?”

“joon! yeah, i was wondering what you thought about this-” you’re about to turn around to see if namjoon will appreciate your present more than your own boyfriend, yoongi lunging forward immediately to keep you from literally flashing namjoon, “yoongi-!” it’s only a second later that you feel yourself being lifted up and practically thrown over yoongi’s shoulder, your head spinning for a second at the sudden movement

“namjoon, there you are!” yoongi clears his throat before gesturing back to the car, “also, could you check on the- uh, the thing for me? the thing i was doing? to make sure it’s working?”

“yoongi, put me down, you lunatic-!”

“what? i don’t-” namjoon blinks owlishly when yoongi slaps a wrench down onto his palm, “i don’t know what you were doing, i’ve been in the office this whole ti-”

“great, thanks!” yoongi gives him a hearty slap on the shoulder before brushing past him, namjoon turning to look as he trots off towards the office with you still hanging over his shoulder

“do not get any grease on me, you brute-!”

why would he-

oh

oh.

“yoongi-” namjoon clears his throat, “remember to hang a bandana on the doorknob this time!”

                                    »»————-　💖　————-««

➳ balletteacher!jimin: it’s valentine’s day and jimin & y/n have to be more careful next year

“okay, i know you told me not to get you anything for valentine’s day, but i couldn’t help myself.”

“jimin…” you turn to glance at him over your shoulder as you continue blindly rummaging through your duffle bag, “i told you i didn’t need anything!”

“but it’s valentine’s day!” jimin argues, shutting the closet door before spinning around on his heels with a cheeky grin, “and they’re just flowers!”

“yeah, but knowing you, they were probably really expensive flowers-” you tease, getting up from the ground before dusting your knees off, “and you didn’t have to get me a whole bouquet, i would’ve been perfectly fine with a single rose like last year-”

“i’m allowed to spend however much money i want on you-” the two of you walk towards each other until you’re standing in the centre of the room, jimin reaching into the bouquet to adjust the little note tucked into the centre of it, “now, i was going to go with roses, but i saw these red gardenias and thought they’d be the better option because i got you roses last year. plus, roses are a little cliché this time of year, don’t you think?”

to: y/n - there’s not enough space on this card to write a lot so happy vday i hope u know how much i care about u

“aw, jimin…” you giggle, unable to fight the grin off of your face after you read the endearing handwritten note, “happy valentine’s day to you too.”

jimin’s eyes widen in surprise when you suddenly pull a little heart-shaped box out from behind your back with a small giggle

“what? i thought you said you didn’t get anything for me?” jimin gasps, tilting his head before taking the box from you, “sneaky!”

“i know. i lied.” you crinkle your nose as you shake the box gently, “i customised it too and chose all your favourite flavours!”

“that’s very thoughtful of you, darling-” jimin smiles softly, wrapping his arm around your waist and pulling you towards him, “i can’t wait to-”

“mr. park, i think i left my-” you immediately spring away from jimin when the door suddenly swings open and smacks against the wall, “oh-!”

“seulgi!” jimin clears his throat, his grip tightening on the bouquet, “hello!”

“what’s… going on…?” seulgi trails off, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the bouquet of gardenias that both you and jimin are still holding onto, “are those flowers?”

“uh…” you look back over at jimin and the two of you exchange brief glances of pure panic, “yes! these flowers…” you trail off, your brain working overtime to come up with a believable reason as to why you and jimin look like you’re exchanging very romantic gifts, “are for everyone!” you chirp, grabbing the bouquet from jimin’s hands before spinning around to face seulgi with a smile, “mr. park wanted to give them out earlier but it slipped his mind so he asked me if i could hand them out to you guys!“

“oh my gosh, really?” seulgi gasps, bringing her fingers up to cover her mouth, “you know, i love gardenias-” she takes her bottom lip in between her teeth as she leans against the door frame, eyeing jimin dreamily,  “that’s so sweet of you, mr. park. we didn’t know you were planning on surprising us again! you really didn’t have to do this!”

“yes, i… really didn’t…” jimin forces a smile on his face, “but i did… because i just… care so much about all of you ladies on this special day…”

“what about the chocolates?” seulgi leans over a little, her eyes flickering down to the box in jimin’s hand

you twist around to look down at it

you knEW you should’ve saved it for later tonight!

now you don’t have flowers and jimin’s about to lose his chocolates!!

jimin pokes his tongue against the inside of his cheek as he stares down at his precious box of chocolates given to him by his very lovely girlfriend that he was planning on sharing with his very lovely girlfriend later tonight

…god damnit.

“…the chocolates are also for you guys.” jimin looks back up at seulgi, trying his best not to look like he wants to strangle her for interrupting what would’ve been a sweet moment, “why don’t you call everyone back?”

“okay!” seulgi practically squeals, disappearing from the doorway in less than a second

a couple seconds of silence pass by before you slowly turn around to face jimin with a sheepish smile, jimin letting out a chuckle before shrugging at you 

“…happy valentine’s day?”

“happy valentine’s day.”

                                    »»————-　💖　————-««

➳ roommate!taehyung: it’s valentine’s day and taehyung can be romantic if he wants to be 

“dark chocolate… oh my god, is this lemon? ew!” taehyung frowns, swallowing the bite before shuddering and placing the other half of the chocolate back into the box, “who in their right mind wants to eat lemon gunk inside a piece of dark chocolate?”

“i got peanut butter chocolate, so i’m happy with my selection.” you hum, dusting your fingers off before peering into the box for another piece

“what?? i wanted peanut butter chocolate!” taehyung whines, picking up the pamphlet to look at the different flavours again, “damnit. there’s only one peanut butter chocolate!”

“hey, you ate the milk chocolate caramel and you know i like that one!”

“everyone likes milk chocolate caramel, y/n. you’re not special!”

“i know you’re just lashing out because you’ve been getting all the gross flavours, so i’m going to forgive you for saying that.”

“like, ten of these pieces look the same…” taehyung scowls and continues to flip through the pamphlet, “i want milk chocolate and almond but it looks exactly like this one that’s milk chocolate with some kind of whipped orange filling inside of it…”

long story short, the two of you have been sitting here for the last half an hour snacking on a big box of chocolates that you decided to splurge on instead of using up all of your money on an overly-expensive dinner

valentine’s day is nice and all but you and tae both agreed that you wouldn’t make a big deal of it

you had a discussion about valentine’s day and the conclusion of that conversation was that you’d go all out on your anniversary but just take it easy on valentine’s day

but then again… a lot of your friends who are also in relationships have been posting cute pictures all day long of them and their significant others

and you know that you literally said valentine’s day wasn’t a big deal but... but the giant teddy bears… and the beautiful bouquets of flowers… the shiny, twinkling jewellery… the fancy dinners at fancy restaurants… it all looks so nice! 

it’s not like you feel like you’re missing out on anything because the only thing that matters is that you and taehyung love each other blah blah blah anD you definitely don’t want to make it seem like you only care about materialistic things but it really makes you wonder if you and taehyung are just... bad at being a couple?

“are we bad at being romantic?” you ask out loud, turning to look at taehyung, “because we basically have no plans for the rest of the day besides gorging on chocolate and… well, gorging on more chocolate.”

“i don’t think we’re bad at being romantic. this is just… our version of romance!” taehyung shrugs, setting the pamphlet down before turning to face you as well, “everyone can celebrate today however they want to celebrate it, and we just so happen to be celebrating it like this!” he gestures to the two of you and the box of the chocolates

you’re wearing a grubby, stained sweatshirt and your fingers are sticky with chocolate and taehyung’s currently trying to fish a chunk of almond out from his molars 

you’re not sure what kind of romance this is but it’s definitely something

“yeah, i guess you’re right…” you trail off, picking at one of the empty paper wrappers in the box

“why do you ask?”

“ah, no reason. you’re right. i mean, i’m the one who said that valentine’s day was-” you clear your throat before dismissing him with a flick of your wrist, “yeah, nothing.”

taehyung’s shoulders droop slightly as he watches you pick at the chocolates with a slight frown on your face 

it’s not like he didn’t have anything planned for valentine’s day - as a matter of fact, he was going to get you one of those fancy buckets of roses that he sees all over instagram AND he was going to place a custom order for a whole bag of candy hearts with your guys’ initials on them - but then you mentioned one night that valentine’s day was kind of a goofy holiday and he immediately changed his mind 

“...okay, c’mon.” taehyung dusts his hands off before getting up off the couch, a couple paper wrappers fluttering onto the floor, “go and get changed.”

“what are you talking about?”

“you want romance? i can do romance! one time i folded a girl’s clothes the morning after, and if that doesn’t scream romance, i don’t know what-” taehyung pauses when he realises he probably shouldn’t be talking about his past girls in front of his current girl (also you’re giving him that look that screams i dare you to continue talking), “i… am going to change the subject now because i feel myself wandering into dangerous territory- the point is: why don’t you change into something a little less comfortable?”

“what- why?” you frown, taehyung reaching down to wrap his hand around your elbow and pull you up off the couch

“we’re going on an impromptu date night, that’s why!”

“all the restaurants in the city are probably fully booked already, though-” you shake your head, reaching down to pick your phone up, “i don’t know…”

“aw, c’mon. looking for a restaurant on one of the busiest nights of the year is all part of our valentine’s day fun!!” taehyung chirps, reaching up to pinch your cheek, “plus, if all else fails, we’ll come home and order takeout like we were originally going to - which will still be super fun and romantic, because everything we do is super fun and romantic. okay?”

a wide grin spreads on taehyung’s face when he notices the excited smile starting to twitch at the corner of your mouth

“…okay!” you giggle, taking tae’s hand as you bounce up and down on the balls of your feet, “okay, let’s go change-” you turn around, pulling tae along behind you, “i bought a new pair of boots and i’ve been dying to wear them out-”

“yay! also, i’m just letting you know now that after we come home i’m going to bone you so romantically that you won’t even know what hit you-”

“tae-”

“what?! you said you wanted romance!”

✨why don’t you explore the rest of the library while you’re here?

💫or perhaps you want something shorter to read?

🌟or something even shorter?

[simeonisalesbian]

After seeing lady demon asks my pan heart just 💥, can I get some general relationship head cannons with these wholesome ladies? I love your interpretation of them

God I'm so fuckin soft for the demon ladies honestly.

Lucifer:

shes very work oriented so you will have to actively work to get her attention.

It's not that she's forgotten you or anything, she's just so use to focusing solely on work

She'll grumble for a second complaining that she has work that needs to get done when you try to pull her away but willingly relaxes as soon as she is out of her office.

She does at least attempt to plan dates for the both of you however when you're working for the prince of the devildom and have 7 siblings stuff happens

Will continuously apologize to you feeling she's not caring for you enough when she has to cancel because beel ate all the food that was for the next few days or when Mammon sells of Levi's stuff causing a full out war within the house

Just reassure her that you understand and you still live her. Family is very important after all.

Also her pride won't let her admit it but she would very much like to be the little spoon every once and a while.

Please hold her so she doesn't have to worry about carrying the weight of everything for a while.

Mammon:

shes clingy af. If she doesn't have anything planned she'll just follow you around like a lost puppy

She'll back of If u need space of course but she will be pouting about it a bit.

Give her shiny rocks. Girls love rocks.

hell give her anything and she will willingly lay down her life for yours.

She'll also end up gifting you various little chrams and stuff whenever she has the cash either saying "it was a 2 for 1 sale so i got us a matching set see?" Or "it just remindedof ya. Not that im thinking of you all the time or anythin"

please please please go on late night drives with her. She doesn't even care where really she just wants to be alone with u for a bit.

This being said she really loves going to the Drive-Ins with you(plus they're usally cheaper than actual movie theaters. And you can sneak in your own snacks easier)

Leviathan:

Look if you don't watch her gaming streams are you really even dating lmao

jk but she would really like it if you'd at least check them out from time to time.

Let her info dump for hours and you'll have a happy demon in your hands.

She's really touch starved but to scared to initiate and sort of physical contact so you'll have to take a bit of initiative

actually if if doesn't have to do with gaming or anime she'd prefer if you took the reins. Her confidence is shitty and she doesn't want to mess anything up around you 🥺👉👈

She really prefers to stay in her room with you all the time but totally understands that you want to go out and about

Suggests aquarium dates after you been together for a while and beach dates for when the weather is warmer.

she would also die if you offered to do couple cosplays with her.

Satan:

She's is the type to judge you based on if you pass a cats vibe check.

So the way to her heart is through her cats that she's snuck in. Befriend them and Satan will love you forever

Another one who will info dump on you but will do it with books that you've read or expressed an interest in. She wants you to take part in the conversation as well of course.

will give you romance novels just to see which tropes you like best. If she acts on some of these tropes well that's just purely coincidental

Cat👏Cafe👏Dates👏 she really just wants to go. Seeing you covered in cats would be the best thin in all. The three realms.

Study dates are another go to. However she does expect you to to actually study. She'll find a way to make it fun though, don't worry.

Asmodeus:

she loves to watch romcoms with you simply to find silly date ideas

she loves to hold onto your arm and call herself your arm candy.

Spa/ self-care days are a must. Any time either of you are even the slightest bit stressed she insists upon a relaxation day.

Will buy outfit that will look good on both of you saying "Your the only one who can't match my beauty darling!"

She'll beg you to go out to parties with you but won't force you if you're uncomfortable with it. She just wants to show off her SO 💖

If you don't see her until after RAD classes or something she will come to you room telling you about her day and any drama she caught up on.

Will pull the "aren’t you forgetting something?" Anytime you try to leave the house without a hug or kiss from her.

Her devilgram will become filled with pictures of you two doing various things with sweet cheesey captions

Beelzebub:

She's not very good at expressing how much she loves you but she does try.

She'll always give you a bit of what ever foods she ordered, smiling brightly always saying "it's good right?"

she's pretty quite but she's really good at listening. So if you just barely hint at wanting something you will have it asap.

she also really cares about her family so if you're both out shopping occasionally she'll pick up something saying how one of her siblings would like it.

She does the same thing with you though so don't worry too much about it. She just has a heart the size of her stomach and wants everyone to be happy 😊

she prefers it when you both work together to plan dates simply because if it was up to her she would pick on food only.

so you both split the planning up. You pick the activity for the date and beel can pick the meals.

She always can spot you in the bleachers from the field during her sport events. She'll always wave to you too whenever she has the chance.

Belphegor:

She's also really clingy. But takes it to a whole and literally clings to you like a baby koala.

She does try to stay more awake when she's around you. As much as she loves seeing you in her dreams, she loves seeing you when she's awake more.

She enjoys picking tiny petty fights with you over little things like which color is better or which constellations are the best.

They rarely ever escalate but if they do she does back pedal imedally letting you have the win. She just likes the playfully banter she doesn't actually want to fight.

she rarely ever plans a date unless it's a special occasion. She always picks a nice scenic place that you can watch the sunset or just stargaze.

The two of you have matching plushies and she carries hers around with her cow pillow.

[you-can-call-me-wanda]

We’re In Love!

Pairing: Michael Monroe x Reader

A/N: How is this my first Michael fic? I love him so much but I honestly am just writing requests at this point so I guess it all depends on what you guys want lol. Although, I know I have at least one more request for a Monroe imagine coming up...

(Y/N) (Y/L/N) and Michael Monroe spotted holding hands and sharing a kiss. Could this be the newest musical couple?

Singer and Rockstar extraordinaire Michael Monroe seen locking lips with pop idol (Y/N) (Y/L/N). Maybe opposites do attract…

Romance is in the air! (Y/N) (Y/L/N) and Mike Monroe could be seen kissing and holding hands this Saturday. Sources say the new couple is meant to be!

These were just some of the headlines of the tabloids and gossip magazines that came out in the days following you and your boyfriend Michael’s first public appearance as a couple. Those ones weren’t so bad. They were rather neutral compared to some of the others.

Can you say downgrade? Singer (Y/N) (Y/L/N) locked lips with none other than Michael Monroe of Hanoi Rocks this past weekend. Yuck!

(Y/L/N) and Monroe may take the prize for worst couple ever. Just look at the two of them together!

No doubt fans of both will be disappointed to see Michael Monroe and (Y/N) (Y/L/N) together.

Of course, you had expected there to be a least some negative reaction to yours and Michael’s relationship coming to light but expecting it didn’t make it hurt any less to see people hating on you or Michael simply for being with the other. You were both relatively famous musicians though and, unfortunately, shitty headlines seemed to come with the job.

“Don’t the Finnish press have anything better to write about?” you huffed bitterly, throwing the latest tabloid to feature you and Michael down on the kitchen table and taking a seat across from your boyfriend.

Michael set down his coffee and picked up the magazine to look at the cover with a disapproving frown.

“You bought this?” Michael asked you.

“Yeah,” you said, already knowing he what he would say. “I know, I know, I shouldn’t be giving them my money. I just wanted to read it y’know? I was curious.”

You knew it was a bad idea to read the hate-filled articles, but your curiosity outweighed your own better judgement sometimes.

“Curiosity killed the cat,” Michael responded teasingly. “Babe, you’re not going to like what you read so don’t bother.”

You flashed him an apologetic smile.

“Too late,” you said. “I already did.”

“You did?” Michael asked, sitting up straighter in his chair. “What did it say?”

“Now look who’s curious,” you teased lightly before an annoyed look took over your expression once again. “It was just more bullshit about how we don’t belong together and what an awful couple we make,” you sighed.

Michael rolled his eyes and tossed the magazine aside without a second glance in its direction.

“Like they know anything about us,” he said. “And if we make such a bad pairing, why plaster us all over the cover?”

“Because it makes a good story.”

“But we’re real people,” he continued, “not some characters in a make-believe story. We didn’t ask for their opinions.”

You frowned. It had been your idea to go public with the relationship, to let the world see who you were with. You and Michael had been dating for almost six months now. It had felt right, but now you were doubting that.

“We never should have gone out for dinner,” you said with a sigh, referring to that fateful Saturday where the papers and cameras had so rudely interrupted your date with Michael.

“What? No,” Michael said, worried you had mistaken his anger towards the paparazzi for anger towards you. “Fuck the papers. Who cares what they think? I’m allowed to take you out on dates, and I’m allowed to love you. No one, and I mean no one, can tell me elsewise.”

Michael’s short tirade left you with a smile on your face. You had been listening to what he said of course, but your focus had been completely and utterly stuck on one word after it was uttered. Love.

Michael took notice of your small smile and mistook it for one of humor.

“I’m serious (Y/N),” he carried on. “The tabloids can all go fuck themselves and I’ll even tell them that next time I have the misfortune of seeing them. It’s ridiculous and I know you say it doesn’t, but it clearly upsets you at least a little.”

You kept on smiling dumbly. Michael furrowed his brow at you.

“What?” he asked. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

You felt your cheeks turn pink as you spoke.

“Love.”

“Love?” Mike said, confused. “What about love?”

“You said you loved me,” you said, leaning your head against your hand as you looked at your boyfriend. “Earlier, you said that you loved me.”

Michael blinked at you as he took in what you were saying. He clearly was repeating his conversation with you in his head, trying to figure out when he said that. At the realization that, yes, he did just say he loved you, a blush rose to his face and he gave you a nervous smile.

“Oh,” he said shyly. “I guess I did say that.”

You ducked your head a bit.

“Yeah.”

“Is- is that alright?” he asked.

You could hear the hesitation in his voice. Neither you nor he had said ‘I love you’ at this point in your relationship. It had been a while too long maybe, but there hadn’t felt any reason to rush things. You and Michael had decided to take things slow at the beginning of your relationship. Your lives were stressful enough as musicians in the spotlight, you had both agreed that going slow would be best for the both of you.

“It’s more than alright,” you said, getting up to move closer to him.

He slid his chair back as you approached and motioned for you to sit on his lap. You obliged and he wrapped his arms around your waist as you got comfortable. You turned slightly so you could face him better.

“I love you too,” you said, kissing his cheek. “I have for quite a while now.”

“Me too,” Michael admitted. “Guess it was about time I said it.”

“Guess so,” you murmured in response.

“And (Y/N),” Michael said, making sure you were looking at him as he spoke. “I’m serious about what I said earlier. Those magazines are a load of crap. Don’t listen to a thing they write about us. They don’t know shit. They just want a headline that will sell.”

“I know,” you said. “I should be used to lies and rumors being written about me I suppose, but I guess I still need a reminder every once and a while to ignore it.”

Michael gazed at you for some time before speaking again.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go.”

“Go?” you questioned. “Go where?”

“Another date,” he said.

“A date?” you asked surprised. You had literally just been discussing the awful headlines that had come of your last venture out with him.

“Yes, a date,” he said. “Let’s go show everyone that we don’t give a fuck what they say, we’re in love and nothing they could write can change that.”

You smiled at him and shook your head at his stubbornness. Typical Michael, wanting to prove everyone wrong.

“Eh, what the hell?” you asked, giving in immediately. “Let’s do it. We’re in love goddammit!”

Michael leaned in one last time to kiss you softly on the lips. He giggled slightly as he pulled away.

“We’re in love!” he cheered, repeating his earlier words with pride and joy and happiness all over his face.

[24-guy]

Whats the show name :o also this ask is an open invitation to rant about said show if you would like :] /nf

SO I WILL.

The show is heartbreak high.

And I'm gonna rant about it under the cut so you are aware of spoilers in case of watching for yourself.

So I'm gonna talk about my favourite couple in the show because I love them. Oh also. Lots of themes of sex in this show. This pairing relates to it but not as much as others.

So we have hypersexual Darren. They're non-binary and into men. Which is immediately a great character. So they are kind of known for sleeping around. Haven't had like. A proper boyfriend.

And then we have ca$h, his real name is Douglas. But imma call him cash. Purely for ease. So he's a criminal. Sells drugs. At one point broke into a store. He's doing it because he is the only one caring for his nan. He's gay but we only find that out through prolonged looks he gives Darren at their workplace, a fast food restaurant, since cash also is a delivery guy.

So they get to talking and flirting and plot happens and they start kissing but nothing more. Literally ever. And so tensions rise because this is a romance series.

And we get to the point where Darren is remarking that they make out with cash to their friends, but he's not made a move so they're getting irritated because you know. Sex.

So Darren tries to be bold about it. But cash kinda beats them to asking them out. They plan to meet up that evening but Cash ends up needing to take his nan to a poker game, so Darren tags along. They end up staying to play a game. At the end, cash apologizes for how the date has gone. Darren confirms it's a date but it doesn't go any further with their prompting.

And Darren, again, gets annoyed. Especially when Cash starts to avoid them. Darren's friends like. Tell them that they should send Cash a nude (this is a show themed about sex and things like that of course it's gonna have talk of these things. No actual genitals are shown by the way. Thought I should mention. It's a 15 in the UK.) And so they do.

We see Cash struggle with responding. But he never does, leaving Darren on read. Darren gets annoyed again at this and kinda rants to their friends more about how they hate boys.

A little time passes and we get back to cash as he's home alone, trying to respond to the nude with one of his own. We get a montage of failed shirtless pics and it's very amusing to watch.

In the end, Cash ends up accidentally dialling Darren, hanging up. And then Darren calls him back and he invites Darren over. They do. And they get to kissing/making out eventually and Cash stops it, asking to just. Stay in that moment. And they end up cuddling through the night.

The next morning, Darren tries to initiate sex, but cash stops them before they can get very far. Darren goes off at him, saying he's just like all the other dudes they've slept with; gay but don't want to be gay and using them.

Cash insists he's not like that, but Darren doesn't hear him out and storms out.

More plot happens and like. Oo. Oo boy. They have a talk at one point and we find out that cash has never enjoyed sex with any men he's been with. Even then it's rare to happen in the first place since he just doesn't like it and yes you're thinking right! Cash is asexual! :DDDD

So Darren says shit that's kinda ace-phobic because they don't understand. And Cash understandably gets upset at that so they're on another break.

But cash is, at this point, plainly in love with Darren. Like it's all over his face every time they talk really. But Darren can't go without sex, that's the only form of intimacy they've had.

Cash says he at least wants to be friends with Darren, Darren says they can be friends.

Darren then, in almost the next scene that centers around them, realizes that they are in love with cash too.

But during all this there has been a heavier plot with this girl called Harper but it's like the biggest spoiler to say it but all you need to know is that cash was involved and he's told, in the aftermath, to stay away from Darren.

So when Darren goes to Cash's house, to tell him that they love him, cash declines. Saying that he can't do it. And then he leaves and Darren is sad.

Cash then repairs his mistake and is being chased down by cops. Long story. He runs all the way from the house to school, right into the classroom and just stands there, stares at Darren and then reveals that he's loved Darren since he was in year 8. That is at least 5 years of a crush. (Year 8 is 13 years old, cash is 18 at the time of the show)(it's set in Australia). And then they kiss and everything is great but then the cops come in and arrest cash and all he's repeating is that he loves Darren.

The show ends with cash in prison and Darren and their friends hoping he gets out soon because of reasons you will find out if you watch it.

I just love how they paired the two together. And I love that cash is ace.

[omegawolverine]

Plesse tell me about queerness in the get down!!

okay okay queerness in the get down let's fuckn goooo

disclaimer: I havent watched this show in full for like 5 months at least, probably gonna get something wrong and/or forget some more important bits. also this wasnt proof read I just word vomited

tws: period typical homophobia, abuse mention, f slur use, bury your gays trope, overdose mention, mention of a creepy possible age gap (the age gap hasnt been confirmed so that's why its possible), cops

going from least to most prominent queer characters, let's start with mylene cruz!

so, from the beginning of this show she has an established romantic relationship with ezekiel (although the status of their actual relationship changes frequently throughout the show) and though this was a relationship she was hesitant to pursue, it is clear that she does have romantic feelings for him and if not for them both having growing careers in very different music genres (zeke specifically working in a genre that she repeatedly labels as bad because she thinks they're ruining records + that it isnt real music because they're using someone elses piece and rapping over it, that's not really important here tho lol) they probably wouldve had a much healthier, smooth sailing romance. that being said theres a few things that happen in the show that, while not explicitly clear, or even really good coding at that—to the point where you wont catch if you really arent looking for it (and trust me, I always look for coding, hers was just so little that it flew over my head until I saw someone else mention it)—are still cool to think about!

so, for starters, I wanna mention the toy box performance, which was performed by mylene and regina, who are best friends. that's all cool and shit, and you dont really think much about it...until you hear about the fact that the show runners purposely colored a lot of the scenes in that performance with the bi colors. like. the writers after the show ended basically said "oh yeah there was plans to make her coding more explicit, but our shit got cancelled soooo" and then dropped the fact that she was gonna be bi (or at least implies bi) in the series, which puts a new twist on a few things.

now, besides the bi coloring in the background of the toy box performance (which was mostly on scenes with her and regina, which involved a lot of uh,, lowkey lewd dancing. with each other. in very revealing outfits. wooooo), there's her music! I dont tend to read too much into this one bc, like I said before, her coding is fucking light and the writers themselves said they didnt really get to do much with it, but I think some stuff with her music is interesting. specifically how her, yolanda and regina's song set me free blew up because dizzee, resident (lowkey enby coded) bicon, got their song played in a queer club. also that the song was majorly important to dizzee and started playing literally right as he kissed a boy for the first time and realized "oh shit I like boys that's bonkers". also that the song can be taken in a gay way since literally the entire thing is about becoming your true self, fully and unapologetically, which is what both dizzee and mylene's entire character arcs are about. dizzee (and a lot of other queer people, apparently), heard this song about being set free and it resonated with them so much that they got that shit most of its popularity.

speaking of dizzee and mylene, they parallel each other a lot in the way that their arcs are about them realizing who they are, coming into themselves and no longer just letting people treat them like shit in a sense (dizzee starting to tell people essentially that they can call him weird all they want, they can make fun of how he acts, what he likes, how he dresses, etc. but he likes how he is and quite literally saying "it's okay to be an alien" as he has consistently compared himself to one throughout the show vs mylene learning that if she wants to be a disco singer she needs to put her foot down, not let anyone, not even the love of her life, not even her abusive father, stop her from achieving her dreams, etc. and continuing to pursue her career with or without their support). one more little parallel that I think is interesting is during I think s2 towards the end of the show is when dizzee and thor are shown together having fun with each other, painting all over the building and each other and are basically just being happy and in love together and then they have these clips of them being interspersed with clips of mylene at a party where she is starting to realize that if she wants to get anywhere she needs to be her own main priority and that she needs to put her career and her dream, which is what makes her the happiest, above all else if she wants to succeed. idk I just think how the show made these two into a weird parallel, accidental or not, is neat. maybe not an explicitly queer parallel, but I think at least how her music and whatnot helped dizzee, the main queer character in this show, blossom, is important.

moving on we got shaolin fantastic also known as "oh no your internalized homophobia is showing-"

so, heres a quick list of...interesting shao facts:

Consistently referred to as fag/faggot (shaolin fanfaggot is my personal favorite); he gets really defensive about this despite nobody actually thinking he's queer, it's just people being assholes to be assholes, and he is the only character consistently referred to using a slur, especially a homophobic one, especially for a "straight" character. dizzee, a canonically queer character, is called a fag less than shaolin is even though dizzee actively goes to gay clubs, has a not so secret dude he "hangs out with" and wont let anyone properly meet, paints his nails, wears less than straight clothes even by the 70s standards and is just all around the definition of fucking queer (and I mean like in the weird way, not the gay way). in fact theres only like once I can remember him being called a fag and it had nothing to do with him actually being gay it was literally just like thrown out there the same way you would call someone a bitch.

Has only shown sexual interest in women, yet refuses to have deeper relationships with women in general (possibly because of trauma but who knows) but takes his relationships with his "brothers", specifically zeke, very seriously

Tells zeke and zeke ONLY his real name when zeke was planning to stop being his friend bc shao more or less got boo boo, a like 14 year old black kid, arrested for selling hard drugs; he was clearly scared and trying to do anything to keep zeke around, literally chasing him down the street and hounding him until he got zeke to stop and argue with him

Kept threatening to beat up zeke in the end but couldn't actually bring himself to do so, instead saying that zeke is "fucking lucky" before walking away

Let's zeke get away with things that nobody else can, in general just has a weird soft spot for ezekiel that he shows with nobody else

when shao found dizzee with thor in a vaguely compromising situation (like they were just shirtless covered in paint sleeping next to each other but shao had also seen everything they painted on the walls ((which some of it was sus)), it was clear they had painted on each others bodies and dizzee had been routinely disappearing with this guy for weeks now yet not producing nearly as much art, at least, as far as we audience members know) he didnt judge him but instead, waited for him to get cleaned up and then told him something along the lines of "theres a reason why im so secretive blah blah blah [not everyone needs to know everything about me]", which, in context, kinda implies that he might be a lil. a lil homiesexual. jus a lil.

whenever even the possibility of zeke leaving him comes up he absolutely loses it. he has literally cost ezekiel life changing opportunities because he thought zeke would just up and leave him for them. this could be abandonment issues bc he's a severely traumatized character, and that probably does contribute to it, but it also is just not a reaction he has to any of their other friends just randomly dipping in and out of his life soooooo

generally speaking, this mfer has got either bisexual with a big hard on for zeke coding or homosexual with terrible internalized homophobia and still a hard on for zeke coding. either fucking way, that nigga gay. he gay as hell. gay as fuck man. there wasn't really much to analyze here tbh bc the coding is just so fucking obvious if you look for it or you are/have been a gay person who's dealt with at least a little bit of internalized homophobia.

also, just a sidenote, idk how fucking old shao, but I'm praying hes like at max 19 bc I'm pretty sure zeke is a minor in this show and shao definetly is not so the whole him being heavily implied to have a crush on ezekiel thing is kinda. oof. not oof if zeke is like 17 but any younger than that? OOF.

edit: apparently the characters are only supposed to be a year apart in age but i had no clue about that before writing this post and since shaos age was never actually stated in the show i naturally assumed he was an adult since his actor Looks Like An Adult. this is definetly on me to a certain extent, but i also never saw anything about this when trying to find our their ages so 🤷‍♀️ maybe i just didnt look deep enough, sorry!

now moving on to the main event...marcus dizzee kipling :]

so, first things first, let's talk enby coding bc him being bisexual was already confirmed!

um, to start off, I just wanna say I dont think this enby coding was intentional or even really coding, it's just moreso me being a dizzee kin on main and knowing as a transmasc enby he has very transmasc enby vibes. for example:

cool, gender neutral nickname that everyone calls him

paints nails various different colors

the whole wardrobe is just a transmasc enby heaven...fishnet shirts, jean overalls, jackets and cuffed pants galore, the big colorful pins, etc

gender neutral hairstyle (when I had my fro it was very sexy and made it easy to transition between hyper masc and vaguely fem, which is pog)

comparing himself to/representing himself consistently with an alien character (though this is meant to represent his sexuality, it could also double as a gender thing too, not neccesarily bc of the whole nonbinary alien trope but bc an enby who likes aliens might heavily identify or compare themselves to whatever their idea of an alien is, whether that just be a genderless entity or a motherfucker with fly style and no need to be perceived as anything other Wacky As Hell)

moving on from there, let's talk about how his queerness is presented to us and how, while it may be a really good piece of representation, especially coming from netflix, it still lacks in A Lot of places.

so, let's start with good things!

i personally really like the get down's queer rep with dizzee bc it's (for the most part) nonsexualized and very very soft, about dizzee figuring himself out and realizing there is a place where he fits in, and about two teenagers in the 70s falling in love over their shared passion for street art. it also features an interracial couple where both boys challenge stereotypes both about queer men and men of color, which is epic poggers and very sexy. this piece of rep specifically is very important to me bc I am a queer black person and even tho interracial relationships are mostly normalized now, I've still had people give me shit for primarily dating white people in a town that is...primarily white lol

mm anyways, I can also appreciate how in the get down, dizzee being represented by rumi the alien is not a thing specifically related to gender (as it often is) and instead is about his sexuality and just in general weirdness and how it has led to him being alienated amongst his peers, poc or otherwise. him seeing himself as an alien is not about just his queerness, which is important, it is about him being a queer black man who talks different, acts different, dresses different and is "soft"—he isnt a walking black male stereotype and he wouldnt have been seen as masculine back in the 70s by any stretch of the imagination. this can be relatable to a wide spectrum of queer poc, from queer black men currently who still have to deal with this shit or to people like myself who are afab neurodivergent mixed race enbies that have always been signaled out as weird and alienated for it. dizzee is god rep bc while he has a small part in this show, his parts are very impactful, hard hitting and show queer poc of all ages that they arent alone and that it's okay to "weird", you just need to embrace it because somebody will love you for you, as thor did for dizzee.

that being said theres um. some minor problemas here,,,

namely:

dizzee and thors first kiss

the lack of development this pairing got

the way dizzee was confirmed bisexual off screen, he never said the words himself, just showed interest in both genders

the way dizzee and thor were never even confirmed boyfriends or just fwb so most of the fandom just calls them boyfriends bc Why Not

dizzee was implied fucking DEAD??? AT THE END OF THE SERIES?????? AND THOR WAS IMPLIED ARRESTED?????????????

now, these might have been things that wouldve been fine had the show been given it's full run but it wasnt which is why we are now left with probelms.

so, from the top, let's go over these: dizzee and thor's first (and only "on screen") kiss was one that was shown in a montage of other queer people making over and doing other vaguely romantic/sexual things, one of those things being a whole ass naked titty being mouthed at, but the actual kiss...was just not shown? like they really did just say "yes they kissed <3 you know this from the context clues of it being in a montage with kissing, hickey giving and titty sucking <3 but no we will not show it <3" LIKE HELLO? I SAW A NAKED BOOBIE BUT NOT TWO MEN KISS??? HUH????????

also, dizzee and thor were both fucking high as hell during this bit like this isnt a terrible thing but it's also like sometimes you do shit when you're high that you wouldnt do sober and they just never kissed again on screen so like?? like idk that's not that bad but it does kinda irk me since they deadass got no other on screen intimacy after that unless you including painting on eacher other or sleeping next to each other on a shitty mattress but not touching at all during it bc they were both at opposite ends of the mattress like half way off it

so yeah, that was trash. then we got lack of development, which kinda goes with the "dizzee being a bisexual but he never says it in canon" thing cause like...okay dizzee was already sort of a side character from the get go like he wasnt the mc by any means, but he became way more of a background character as things continued until we basically only saw him for performances or when he was with thor, yet they got no fucking development as a pairing other than "dizzee realize he gay, he like thor, he and thor spend time together and ig probably do some gay stuff but we dont really know bc we only ever see them do graffiti together now" like?? tf am I supposed to do with that shit. answer. quickly. and then theres dizzee not being confirmed bisexual, which is just a running problem with shows literally doing everything to say a character is bi except for having the character just...say they're bi? which would be so easy? like a good way dizzee and thor couldve had some development is by thor teaching dizzee things about the queer community that he didnt even know existed, thor couldve helped him understand what being bi meant and helped him label himself and whatnot but instead we got an off screen confirmation that the writers had bisexual in mind when writing him. which is garbagé.

the whole thor and dizzee never having a confirmed relationship status is also a development problem cause like literally nobody knows if they were just friends who made out, maybe fucked, who knows, or if they were dating bc dizzee does give a love confession but a love confession doesn't mean there is a relationship, especially since thor didn't say he was in love either (as far as I remember, I could be wrong, plus whether or not that really happened or was apart of dizzee literally overdosing during a performance is unclear so 🤪)

and now for the biggest issue...bury your gays trope.

during the season 2 finale, dizzee and thor are chased by cops after they are found doing graffiti, one of the cops is able to catch thor while the other chases dizzee into a train tunnel and there is a train seen headed straight for him before the show cuts to black on a train horn. the show writers claim that if they had gotten another season, dizzee wouldve been alive but since they didnt and since that's essentially super fan trivia knowledge, most people dont fucking know that and instead had to watch a black queer teenager chose death over being fucking arrested by a white cop. on top of that, thor didnt see any of that shit because he was caught and the cop started hauling him off while dizzee was still being chased so thor literally has no clue where his friend/possible boyfriend fucking is or that he's likely dead in a goddamn tunnel all alone, unless you count the fucking pig that chased him in there who wouldve died too. this shows rep was so fucking good as far as most shows go on not having major fucking problems, on not being toxic and over sexualized, etc, etc. and then they just. killed a black queer teenager for no fucking reason. like it was literally the last episode ever, it would add nothing to the plot, it would just devastate fans and devastate it fucking did. I dont cry easy but seeing a character I identified with, who I had hyperfixated on, die because he'd rather that than be arrested is terrible. it fucking sucked.

so yeah. that's my all too extensive thoughts/analysis on the get down's queerness. theres definitely stuff I missed, or misinterpreted, or looked too much into, etc, etc., but this was a fun thing to spend time writing sooo yeah!! thanks for the ask anon, sorry this was just a big rambley info dump, but hopefully you get some enjoyment out of it since it took like 3 hours at least 😭😭 feel free to ask clarifying questions lol

[kindahoping4forever]

Take Me Home For Christmas // Ashton Irwin

Thank you to everyone for the incredible feedback about yesterday’s fic! I can’t believe we’re nearing the end of Hoe For The Hoe-lidays - Cass and I hope you’ve enjoyed our holiday stories and that you’ll continue to enjoy them even once the holiday season is over. 

Be on the lookout for today’s Cal blurb to be posted to @cal-puddies​​ and absolutely, 1000% like set a reminder on your phone if you have to, do not forget to come back here to my blog tomorrow for the closing ceremony of The Hoe-lidays: the latest galaxybrain co-write from me and Cass. No spoilers but it might be my fav collab of ours to date.

Warnings: Banter, bonding and boning with stranger in a bar!Ash (the fic is much sweeter than that but I couldn’t resist the alliteration), casual protected sex, female masturbation, use of a vibrator  

Word Count: 3000

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“Two years! Love of my life, best thing that ever happened!” Ashton raises his glass in an exaggerated toast and the inquiring stranger smiles kindly, taking their own drink and walking away.

You don’t know how you managed to wait until the coast was clear before you burst out laughing. He glances behind him to make sure the curious patron is gone before he turns to you, grinning. “Should I have said three or four years, was that too much for two? My relationships typically don’t last even that long,” he admits, shaking his head.

“Listen, if I were well-adjusted enough to know what it’s like for someone to call me ‘the best thing that ever happened’ to them, I probably wouldn’t be spending Christmas Eve alone in a bar,” you point out with a laugh.

“But you’re not alone,” he leans in, nudging you a bit. “You’re out with your boyfriend of two years, celebrating his return home from an extensive and wildly successful world tour with his band.”

You cackle, “OK, that part was definitely a flourish too far, I don’t think anybody bought that.”

He smiles slyly. “You’re probably right,” he lilts, taking a sip, giving you a look over his glass that makes you grateful your holiday had turned out the way it did.

You’d made the tough call not to fly home for Christmas this year; you couldn't afford it and you didn't feel right taking your parents up on their offer to pay. Unfortunately, literally everyone you knew did get out of town for the holidays, leaving you with nowhere to go and no one to see.

On Christmas Eve, you ended up at the corner bar, which was nowhere near as lively as you'd hoped: save for what appears to be an older ladies' night out and a few stragglers, it was deserted. After exhausting your conversation options with the bartender, you ended up chatting with the man a couple stools over from you. He was handsome, charming and seemed to have an opinion or anecdote about any topic you raised. Looking for companionship, or at least some entertainment, you asked him to join you.

His name was Ash and he was in a similar predicament as you this Christmas. You didn't get a chance to get more in depth personally; maybe it's the ease you have with each other, maybe it's the way your outfits happen to complement each other but one by one, the women from the back of the bar approach you to kindly tell you what a nice couple you make and make small talk about your relationship. Rather than embarrass them - and again, for some entertainment - you both silently agree to humor them and answer as if you are together and before long, you've established an elaborate narrative for your romance.

“So where’d you take me for our anniversary this year, babe?” You grin, enjoying this game.

“Surprised you with Disney World,” he says confidently, gesturing towards the Stitch keychain decorating your car keys sitting on the bar. “Hid the plane tickets in your work bag, you found them at the office and called me to scream about it but I was already in the lobby to surprise you for lunch.”

You giggle, “Wow, not to brag about your boyfriend-ing skills or anything.”

Ashton shrugs and clinks your glass. “Nothing but the best for my girl.” You feel yourself flush and know it had to have been from his words, you both switched from booze to water quite some time ago.

“What about my birthday?” He asks, eyes playfully challenging you. “It’s in July, if that makes a difference.”

Out of the corner of your eye, you see one of the ladies you talked to earlier and you lean in, resting your hand on his, continuing to sell your story. “Intimate backyard barbeque with friends, bonfire at night. I saved up and bought that acoustic guitar you’d been eyeing online but I waited to give it to you until everyone left because I wanted it to be a special moment between us,” you say quietly, pleased with your answer.

He smiles brightly and you feel yourself actively suppressing the urge to kiss over the dimples that form on his face. “A guitar, huh? I’m actually a drummer,” he teases.

“When you tipped the bartender, there was a guitar pick mixed in with your cash,” you point out smugly.

“Oh,” he giggles, clearly a little flustered. “Didn’t realize you were payin’ such close attention to me,” he flirts.

“Gotta make sure my man gets what he wants,” you cheekily reply.

He moves in closer and you’re pretty sure he’s about to kiss you when another inquisitive customer interrupts to tipsily assert that Ash is a fool if he doesn’t “put a ring on it” this holiday season. You both take the comment in stride and laugh together when the encounter is over. The heat from your near-kiss is still there but the moment has decidedly passed.

After a few more entries into your pretend love story and a few more close encounters, the bar starts clearing out. You can’t believe you spent the whole evening talking with Ashton but you also don’t want it to end; you haven’t felt chemistry like this with someone in a long time. You walk to the door with him and you’re not surprised when you hear yourself say, “My place or yours, babe?”

He turns to you with a wide smile, amusement and what you’re hoping is lust in his eyes. “I was hoping you might say that,” he admits.

“Can’t let my travel-weary boyfriend wake up alone on Christmas morning,” you chirp, stepping out into the cool night air.

“That part of the story was actually true,” he chuckles. “I did just get home from touring with my band.”

You raise your eyebrows, interested. “Well, the part about me living just down the street was also true, so let’s start walking,” you wink, starting to lead the way. 

He laughs loudly and reaches out for your arm, smoothly pulling you into his arms for a charged kiss, the tension that’s been building all evening finally boiling over. His lips are softer than you imagined but his technique is as fevered and demanding as you’d hoped; your tongue makes its way into his mouth and you murmur when his strokes it in turn.

It’s hard to say if it’s the chilly weather or your desire but you make it back to your apartment in record time. It’s not often you bring home guys you just met but as you lead him to your bedroom, you realize how he doesn’t feel like that at all, almost as if your fictitious history together has bled into reality.

Ash shuts your bedroom door behind him and you waste no time pressing yourself into him, making out and undressing each other until you’re both down to your underwear. He lifts you up by your thighs, wrapping them around his waist; he tries to get fancy and kiss you while he carries you over to the bed, hitting his leg on the edge of the frame and almost sending you both flying.

The two of you break into laughter as he safely drops you on the bed. “Did some rearranging since last time I was over, huh, baby?” He jokes, sitting up against the headboard to rub the knot on his shin.

“Vibes were off without you here, had to get some feng shui happening,” you reply, trying to catch your breath after your giggle fit. You let your eyes roam over his near naked body. He’s fit, almost ridiculously muscular and judging by his biceps, you decide he must’ve been telling the truth about being a drummer. You didn’t expect all the tattoos you’re seeing but you definitely approve and the amused look on his face tells you he’s noticed.

“Like the new ink, babe? Wanted to surprise you,” he grins, drawing your attention to a large, dark coin decorating the left side of his ribcage. 

You crawl over to him and let your fingertips dance over the tattoo. “Very nice,” you murmur before mouthing over it. He groans when your tongue pokes out at it and you shudder at the sound, continuing to move around his chest, hoping to hear it again.

He lets you play and then flips you over so he can show you some appreciation as well. He nips and nibbles around your neck and chest, doubling back when you breathe a particularly enthusiastic sigh of approval. 

“Love this underwear, by the way,” he comments as he removes your bra. “Just like you wore on our first date. Took you home from a bar that night too”

You giggle at his addition to your story. “Oh did you? I thought earlier we said our first date was at an Italian restaurant.” You gasp as his mouth encases your nipple.

“Well… dinner then drinks, obviously,” he retorts, snickering against you. He pulls back to discard your panties and you swear you can almost feel his eyes devouring you. “Holy shit, you’re gorgeous.”

You beam and beckon him closer; before you can kiss him like you planned, his mouth is back on your neck, trying to relocate that spot under your jaw that caused you to moan so boldly, he felt his cock twitch. His hand is busy between your legs, tracing lightly around your lips before dipping into your folds to see what makes you tick.

You feel him hard against your thigh as he plays with you so you reach down to return the favor; you do your best to maintain a poker face when you feel the size of him through his boxers but Ashton’s fingers inside you undoubtedly feel the surge of wetness your realization brings. 

You eagerly slip your hand inside his underwear and you both groan when you wrap your hand around him. His cock couldn’t be more ready for you, head dripping with precum; you spread it liberally as you touch him, thoughts racing as your hand seems to keep going and going down his length before you reach the base. You give him a squeeze, biting your lip at the feel of his weight and girth in your hand.

He quietly curses as your strokes become more confident; together you get rid of his boxers and as his cock springs free, he teases you with a smile. “Think you can take it, baby?”

“It has been a while,” you admit, slyly adding, “I mean… with you on tour and everything.” He chuckles and gives you a swat as you sit up to dig through your nightstand.

You shoot him a glance over your shoulder and he breaks character for a second, rushing out, “I… did that without even thinking, I’m sorry. Was that OK?”

You toss the condoms and lube on the bed and give his cock a few more tugs as you shrug, “Do it harder next time.”

Ash smirks as he gets situated, rolling on a condom and lubing up his length before tossing you the bottle; when you’re ready, you get up on all fours, flashing him a dazzling smile over your shoulder. “Just like our first date, right?”

He grins, kneeling behind you, large hands covering your ass, squeezing and giving it a couple firm spanks as requested. You gasp as his cock taps against your clit before pushing into you, paying close attention to your breathing to see if you need him to slow down. You hear his breath heavy as well and you know you must feel tight around him, no one has ever filled you like this before; it’s overwhelming but you’re aching with anticipation so you rock back against him, letting out a breathy “Please” for good measure.

The soft way he runs his hands over your back is a fascinating contrast to the rough snap of his hips against your ass as he drives his cock into you. You fuck with a familiarity you didn’t expect, listening to each other’s sounds to tell you what the other needs.

You stretch on the bed more, popping your ass out further, inviting him to really let you have it; the sound of a loud smack on your ass fills the room and his thrusts increase in both speed and impact. You want to think of something clever to say, to let him know how good he’s making you feel and to continue the intimacy of your fictional romance but all you can think about is how full his cock makes you feel.

You hear his breath speed up but feel his hips slowing and you deduce he’s trying to stave off his orgasm; you’re nowhere near close so you decide to improve the situation for you both. “Babe, can we try something else?” You look over your shoulder winningly. “Feels good but I need more.”

Ashton pulls out, taking a few deep breaths while you turn onto your back; he sits upright on his knees in front of you and after some brief negotiations with your flexibility, you swing your legs up on his shoulder before he slips himself back in.

This new position is quickly much more intense than either of you anticipated. He’s hitting deeper than before and you’re in heaven with his hands roving over your stomach and chest; having your legs close together like this makes you seem even tighter and you hear him breathing even faster than before.

He fucks you hard and the combination of hearing your desperate sounds, seeing your tits bounce and feeling your pussy grip his cock so tightly is too much. “Fuck… ‘s too fuckin’ good, baby… fuck,” he groans and within seconds he’s filling the condom with cum.

You moan watching as he loses himself in the feeling, slowing his hips gradually until he’s spent. He carefully slides your legs off his shoulder, offering you a peck and a quiet apology as he gets up to throw away the condom.

Maybe it’s out of habit, maybe you are just that comfortable with this stranger for some reason,  but without hesitation you reach back into your nightstand and retrieve your favorite vibrator. 

You feel Ash get back into bed and you turn to see him propped up on his side, watching you intently as you slick the vibe through your wetness. “No offense...” you start.

“None taken,” he smiles, studying your toy. “I was gonna offer you my mouth, but…”

“This’ll be a lot quicker,” you insist, teasing the tip of the toy at your entrance. “You relax, enjoy the afterglow. I’ll join you in literally like three minutes.” You push it in and click the button to start it vibrating inside you.

He scoots closer, pressing a kiss to your shoulder. “Two years in and the romance is already dead,” he jokingly laments.

You cackle loudly, clenching around your vibe and your laughs turn into a moan. “Goddammit, Ash, you wanna crack jokes or help your ol’ girl out?”

He smiles and pulls you into a sleepy kiss while his other hand grips and massages your breast. His tongue lazily dances with yours and his hands travel over your skin, caressing, teasing, igniting all while you work the vibe between your thighs.

You pull away from his mouth to pant, “Check this shit out.” You click a second button on the toy and the clitoral vibrator whirs to life. Ashton can almost immediately detect the difference in your breathing.

He rolls your nipple between his fingers, watching as your back arches and your hips swirl. “Just like that, baby, come on. Let me see you cum,” he murmurs.

You’re surprised to hear yourself call out his name when you begin clenching around your toy and you especially don’t expect to tug on his hair, silently pleading for him to kiss you while the waves of pleasure overtake your body.

You whimper and pant against his lips until you have to pull away to frantically turn the vibrator off, nearing overstimulation. You close your eyes and catch your breath, waiting for the aftershocks to stop, your legs to stop shaking. 

You finally open your eyes to see him offering you a handful of tissues he thoughtfully snagged off the bedside table; you graciously accept, wrapping them around your toy so you can set it on the nightstand. You look over at him again, gazing at each other for a beat before bursting into euphoric giggles. 

You return to the bedroom after cleaning up to find Ash laying in his boxers, messing with his phone. You don’t know if you should say it out loud but you really hope he’s not ordering a car to take him home.

“Well, I can only speak for myself but I’d call that a decidedly Merry Christmas,” you sigh exhaustedly, flopping onto the bed.

He sets his phone aside and looks you over as you stretch out beside him. “This is cute,” he smiles, pinching at the Christmas cookie themed nightshirt you threw on in the bathroom. “Would you say that was more or less fun than our first Christmas together?”

You grin at him as you try to remember what tale you’d spun back at the bar. “Oh god… car broke down on the way to my parents’ house… seasonally appropriate ‘no room at the inn’ joke… fashioned a Christmas dinner out of motel vending machine snacks?”

“That’s the one,” he cackles. A mischievous look crosses his features and he leans in to you. “You know, we haven’t reminisced about what else went on in that motel room...” He trails off, suggestively wiggling his eyebrows.

You bite your lip, pulling him closer by the chain around his neck. “Hmm... I’m actually having trouble remembering that part,” you flirt, nibbling at his bottom lip. “Maybe you could remind me, babe? And please, take your time.”

————-

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[nomoregoldfish]

I Promised You The Moon rant

Just binged it and this was from the episode by episode reaction/discussion with my partner in crime @glossyboy.

First of all, Oab stole the show, singlehandedly, which he's not supposed to. I don't think anyone expected it including himself. In the very top post when I searched his name on tumblr, he said this lol

But the truth is he played one hell of "villain" that required a very nuanced performance and he delivered it in a believable and graceful manner. Jai became the catalyst of the entire season and his rather complicated relationship with Teh was the highlight of part 2.

EP 1

From the very beginning it's clear that part 2 is very much a Teh's story rather than a balanced story about two young people's journey as a couple in the next chapter of their lives. It makes me uncomfortable they made Oh-aew clingy and pessimistic without giving him any character development.

The best part is probably the opening scene where they went paper-rock-scissors to decide who's gonna buy condoms. It felt authentic, the expectation, the hesitation, the mischievous act, all fits their characters well. Other times ep 1 was more like two adult kids playing house, literally in an empty giant ass upper middle class apartment.

EP 2

It's great that they poked the femininity vs. masculinity issue through Oh-aew, but stopped right there at the surface. Missed a perfect opportunity to go head-to-head with the controversial topic, start a debate, crush the stigma of femininity, bring something new, be a real game changer of the BL genre, and most importantly give Oh-aew some concrete character development. Part 1 showed us a gay character that's very comfortable with his sexuality and femininity, that's almost revolutionary in Asia, not as a comic relief but a leading role. Oh-aew questioned his own sexual identity once in that bra wearing scene, it's straight out of comfort zone, BOLD, and transgressive. So I expected more from part 2.

That's it? And they're already sophomores? Can't believe Oh-aew's character has been marginalized like this. It's pathetic.

But I love the brutally honest conversation at the end where Teh vented his rage and despair regarding his frustration of acting. He was acting like a dick because he's disappointed, and scared. Teh again was not afraid of showing vulnerability, making the reconciliation very realistic and touching.

EP 3

Dare I say I freaking love ep 3! The unresolved (partially sexual, but not entirely) tension between Teh and Jai was over the roof! And the built-up to their kiss was very authentic, which paled Teh and Oh-aew's much sidelined storyline, including the long anticipated sex scene (still can't believe it happened right after Jai explicitly instructed Teh to do it after the two spent a whole night bonding, like wow! Totally TRANSGRESSIVE and to some extent, kinky.) Teh looked up to the senior, idolized him, wanted to be good for him and make him proud, thirsted for the validation from him, which was mixed with affections. The workshop diary was a brilliant idea to let them open up to each other and eventually bring them close. This was what a meaningful arc of a story looked like. By contrast, there isn't a single moment between Oh-aew and Teh in part 2 that made me go "Damn it's soooooo hot!"

I know Jai/Teh wasn't the endgame but I appreciate the storyline so much. It's a very bold move considering it broke the over-glorified "one true love in one's life" fantasy of its target audience, mostly young cis women. The popular narrative of "you can only love one person through your life/one true love" in romance fictions/chick flicks was totally smashed. And it wasn't written just to stir up things between Teh and Oh-aew, it wasn't a silly fling. Instead, it's meaningful, complicated, natural, and realistic, delivered by nuanced and excellent acting from two young actors. It's hilarious that fans hate Jai with a passion and call him names.

And big news, Jai is bi?! Bravo! He's radiating bi vibes since his first appearance.

I kind of gave up at this point, the season wouldn't do Oh-aew any justice. Like my partner in crime pointed out, the costume design literally threw some "incongruous female fashion pieces" on Oh-aew, made him dye his hair red, without...making any actual point of his personality or his character development. Wardrobe was supposed to make a point in storytelling. Yes, PP wearing pink is cute, and? There's nothing else for Oh-aew. Unfortunately he's reduced to this sulky, crying, and wronged partner in a failing relationship.

EP 4

Oab again was killing it. The tension between Jai and Teh...from the rehearsal in front of Oh-aew to the dressing room pep talk, was incredibly intense and hot AF.

Was it a manipulative relationship after all? Oab was so good at conveying a character with many faces. Jai's a mentor to Teh, also a good friend, their relationship was genuine. He's also ambitious with his own goals, he used, challenged, provoked Teh in a way that benefited them both. It made sense the title of part 2, I Promised You The Moon, was from Jai's script. He promised Teh what the junior wanted the most, a bright future in acting. Teh's unconventional and unspoken feelings for Jai was the best part of the entire season in terms of creative writing, it's complicated, fragile, delicate and completely heartbreaking.

The after talk in the hallway was so well-written. It's funny (Teh joking about playwrights always write about their EXs is gold), intimate yet meticulously controlled, no one lashed out or wept. Both knew what they signed up for and Jai particularly made it clear about his motive and the purpose of the "special workshop" beforehand (or right away.) Yet it's no one's fault that Teh got carried away. He's younger, he's immature, he's more into it, it's totally natural. It's so romantic when Teh's singing karaoke in the bar with Oh-aew, yet he couldn't help but desperately staring at Jai on the floor, knowing he and the man who just turned him down were never gonna happen, they were done, but he's still madly attracted to him and his talent. He fancied Jai, at least the idea of Jai, a playwright, a director, someone knew him better than himself. That hurt beautifully.

EP 5

Teh/Oh-aew endgame at this point was pretty meaningless. Oh-aew as a leading character never got any solid character development over a span of four years. What happened between Jai and Teh wasn't just "cheating", though they surely made it look that way, like Teh's empty promise of "I won't see him again after the show ends". No matter how Oh-aew and Teh eventually reconciled, there's no emotional connection, no sparkle anymore between the couple.

But I knew for a fact they had to. Otherwise it's too much of a risk financially for the series. The creators had to take the easy way out like most traditional romances—one of the most contrived and formulaic trope where the male leading character made a mistake (usually cheating) and realized he's wrong, he deeply hurt the female leading character (Oh-aew was merely a girl substitute in part 2), then he completely changed for hell knew what reasons, started doing every nicest thing in the world to try to "win" the female character back. It has been feeding the emotionally-deprived cis female readers/audience who are frustrated with heterosexual relationship irl for decades. The formula that made romance outsell other genres of fictions combined in the 60s and 70s still sells today, under the name of boys' love. It's pathetic to see Oh-aew confess to Bas that he always "lost" to Teh. Love shouldn't be some kind of game or competition, there isn't winner or loser in love. Love is spontaneous. Oh-aew didn't lose because Teh developed feelings for someone else, and he didn't win when Teh begged him for reconciliation. People change, people move on.

And as predicted, they went for it. The ending was so absurd and tedious.

Overall, Jai's probably the hardest villain to play, he needed to be REALLY GOOD to be "the bad guy", to make his role conceivable. Oab absolutely nailed it with his talent and experience. He's not even my type or extremely good looking yet I'm 100% SOLD. I immediately re-watched the scene of him kissing Teh back hungrily at the end of ep 3 like I used to re-watch Teh/Oh-aew's steamy make out session at the end of episode 3 part 1. Coincidence?

I like some parts of both seasons for the same reason, each challenged and tried to break some outdated/contrived narratives in the BL genre. Part 1 took on the sexuality taboo by showing two same sex characters sexually attracted to each other, no more "I'm not into boys, I just happened to fall for someone of the same gender" or "pure love" bullshit. By staying true to the characters' sexuality and actually showing it with explicit, intense (and beautifully shot) scenes, the gay characters were normalized. They weren't just pure and innocent, no one was. And it created two of most unconventional gay characters in Asian pop culture, Oh-aew, a beautiful boy who's very comfortable with his own sexuality and femininity, not passive at all, taking initiative to pursue what he wanted; and Teh, a sensitive, caring and vulnerable boy who cried a lot, he's confused but also sweet and brave.

Part 2 tackled the "You can only love one person through your life" trope with a very nuanced story of "cheating". Yet neither carried out what they started. Part 1 fell short of a revolutionary piece that stayed true to "adolescent sexual turmoil", dismissing bisexuality and becoming a typical unrealistic BL fantasy in the end. And Part 2, ugh, forced a "happy ending" that almost no one digs. I understand it's extremely difficult and risky to disrupt the established norms of a genre. But sometimes being transgressive and progressive could be the same thing. A story, an artwork, has to challenge something in order to create something new and compelling.