#I do not know enough gl stories

[sprambles]

Calling all sapphic liushen fans could you please recommend me some new gl ships/stories/media that reminds you of this ship. I am severely lacking in gl content and I really like their dynamic

[twig-tea]

With 23.5 finally coming out, the people are rejoicing at finally getting a high profile gl from GMMTV. But there have already been several gls airing this year, including my fav TsukuTabe, that have been flying under the radar with fandom, and in general there are more gls already out there than folks seem to think. I just know you have a list of all the gls we should be watching, please share with the class!

Thank you for the ask! How did you know I had a draft of GL recs to make at some point? [Trick question, I mentioned it to you.]

It may seem like I'm out here hating on GL because i've made a couple of negative reviews of recently airing series recently (Love Senior and Chaser Game W in case you're curious) but I actually have lots of GL that I love and that I wish were better known! Thanks for sending this ask so I am inspired to actually finish it! I've limited myself to series so that I could keep the list and this post to a reasonable length. Where possible I've listed where you can find each of these and included a link. And I've included an 'elevator pitch' summary but I am NOT in marketing for a reason, so please don't roast me too hard for my terrible comparisons. Alright, enough waffling!

Twig's GL Rec List

She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat S1 & 2 (Japan, 2022 & 2024, both seasons fansubbed by @furritsubs; if you need help accessing this show feel free to DM me!)

Elevator pitch: Our Dining Table with lesbians and an even slower burn. Watch for beautiful food, acespec rep, mental health and therapy rep

What might turn some off: Extremely low heat, and quite slow-moving; warning for a disordered eating and family trauma plot (v gently handled)

Let's start with the one you've already mentioned. This is a heartwarming slice-of-life slow burn in which an autismspec-coded woman who likes to eat is invited by her neighbour, a femme acespec woman who loves to cook, to come and eat her food. It starts from a very practical place (when you love making food you need someone to help eat it), but their relationship grows as they spend more time together. The story follows them as they both move towards self-actualization in several ways: as a lesbian, as asexual, at work, with their families, with their friends, with each other. This show is so careful to say the important words aloud. And there is so much delicious cooking! Each episode highlights a particular recipe, and the food porn is real. Do not watch while hungry, but definitely watch. The found famiy vibes in this one one are also immaculate.

She Makes My Heart Flutter (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Younger lesbian friend group tries to help out (slightly) older lesbian bar owner with mixed success. I can't think of a good BL equivalent, The Moment Since feels the closest with its similar bartender/patron romance

What might turn some off: Comedic tone; short runtime; struggles with being closeted

This is a gem of a miniseries about a bar owner and an interior designer who smoulder at one another while an intrepid group of younger bar regulars (including the bar owner's neice) meddle. This series is really cute, solid, and full of sapphics! Once again found family vibes are immaculate (you may sense a theme in my faves). Run don't walk.

Fragrance of the First Flower (Taiwan, 2021, GagaOOLala)

Elevator pitch: Right-person-wrong-time/second chance romance; tonally is a little like We Best Love 2: Fighting Mr. 2nd but with an ambiguous ending.

What might turn you off: Medium heat, second chance romance means they break up once, internalized homophobia, adultery/cheating, at one point there's a creepy dude, child with autism (depicted well), ambiguous ending

At its core this is a story of a woman who can't stop getting in the way of her own happiness. This series is a little more sad than the rest of this rec list but I couldn't not include it because this relationship is so poignant. Plus there's a s2 that supposedly is to come out in 2024 so maybe we'll get our happy ending after all?

Love Greater Than or Equal to 70 Degrees C (Korea, 2019, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Ingredients but with lesbians staring at one another over beautiful tea pairings! What more could you ask for?

What might turn you off: Low heat; short runtime; ambiguous ending; like Ingredients this is essentially a long ad for the café it's filmed at.

This is a Korean miniseries about passionate tea sommeliers making really fancy tea while staring at one another a LOT. Perfect sapphic representation, 10/10 no notes. This one packs a lot of the drama tropes into its short runtime, so even though it's short it's full of butterfly-inspiring moments.

Sleep With Me (Philippines, 2022, GagaOOLala/iWantTFC/Netflix w/VPN set to Philippines)

Elevator pitch: The Truth About Cats and Dogs but the self esteem issues are handled without catfishing. BL equivalent: Hmmm. Closest I can think of is Gaya Sa Pelikula.

What might turn you off: There's some ableism (treated as such) in this show; Open ending.

Stellar GL between a late night radio DJ and an insomniac who listens to her show. One of the main couple is a wheelchair user and the show tackles ablelism and navigating disability in relationship as well as feelings of inadequacy in a relationship and how that manifests as interpersonal conflict.

Our Relationship Ended Before it Began (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Along the lines of I Cannot Reach You; the show gives both perspectives and they are held back by queer angst.

What might turn you off: No kiss (but they make it very clear both want to kiss), internalized homophobia

Really sweet miniseries about having a crush and being afraid of being hurt so you don't actually make a move. I really like the way the girl who has not dated a girl before defaults to gender roles and it throws the more experienced lesbian lol I also really like the way this show makes clear that both of them are waiting for a kiss, and that if you get in your head about things, it can get in the way of your own happiness!

Pearl Next Door (Philippines, 2020, Youtube)

Elevator Pitch: Gameboys but with lesbian vloggers.

What might turn you off: Love triangle, lots of teasing but low heat in the end, a lot of (good) conversations about mental health issues, ambiguous ending

This is the GL spinoff to Gameboys, starring Pearl from Gameboys. Pearl ends up being fought over by the two gorgeous women in the gif, an old love and a new. I love the queer friendships in this story as much as the relationships. I will say it's an open ending (that felt a bit like the showrunners didn't want to decide between ships) and definitely the love triangle features prominently but even in the face of these aspects that would normally turn me off a series I had a good time. The characters and interpersonal conflicts feel very real, and are allowed to be complex even when the show tone is comedic.

Dear Uranus (Taiwan, 2021, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Schoolgirl ensemble GL; a little like My School President but without the singing.

What might turn you off: Short runtime; ambiguous ending; a little bit of bullying; very standard romance trope execution

The first Taiwanese GL miniseries, this series was produced by a Taiwanese lesbian couple (Rabbit & Wolf)! Lots of excellent drama tropes, and incredibly gorgeous women (I think the entire watching audience fell in love with Erol.

Lily Fever (Korea, 2015, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Complete crack; YYY but with more kissing and frankly an even less coherent story.

What might turn you off: The lack of coherent plot; less a romance and more a very thirsty lesbian kissing everyone she can

This miniseries is utter chaos. Nothing really makes sense, it's all just random excuses to cause very suggestive moments (and kissing) to happen. I love so much how this series depicts women being so absolutely thirsty for one another (and yes that date isn't a typo, this series is ~9 years old). Not an "happy ever after" ending but it really isn't that kind of story.

Chasing Sunsets (Philippines, 2020, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: Ocean Likes Me with lesbians. Resort romance with a mental health twist.

What might turn you off: Some of the mental health stuff gets intense, this was filmed in 2020 so the pandemic features heavily; hopeful but slightly ambiguous ending.

A complex story from the Philippines covering mental health and finding yourself. A woman shows up to a resort and befriends one of the women running the resort. They get closer as they spend time together, and the resort owner realizes something is off. There's also a BL side couple in this series.

Show Me Love (Thai, 2023, YouTube)

Elevator pitch: A little like My Day the series with lesbians, in that they work together and fall in love and it's full of tropes

What might turn you off: The advertising for the Miss Grand competition, there is some bullying and cheating (though way less than I was expecting tbh), not a lot actually happens, the editing gets a bit wonky at the end

This is essentially a massive ad for the Miss Grand Thailand competition; this GL was produced by the same company that produces that competition, and the stars are mostly Miss Grand competitors. The main pairing were shipped in the actual competition, and the company decided to make a GL about them. It's very slow paced and low-stakes, and there are better kisses than I expected considering everything I just said about where this show came from. There are a lot of cute moments!

Girlfriend Project (Korea, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Love Class with lesbians

What might turn you off: One of the leads is kind of mean in that pgitail-pulling way? It ends abruptly (but happily)

This is a short miniseries about two girls paired in a class that are assigned to "date". The chemistry is chemistrying. And there is a kiss (a good kiss, and a tiptoes kiss at that!). This show also has one of my favourite tropes, in which someone who seems like a pushover stands up for themselves and their partner finds it very attractive. For the record, in this show they are watching another GL by the same company, Love Tech.

Lulu (Philippines, 2022, Vivamax/grey)

Elevator Pitch: Present Perfect with lesbians (but with a better ending).

What might turn you off: Depictions of panic attacks, brief depiction of drowning, pandemic lockdowns, illness, exes, waffling, happy but open ending (which I actually liked for this story)

Two women trying to move on from the garbage in their lives meet at the beach of a B&B (where one saves the other from drowning) and become one another's company during their escape and then something more. They both have baggage that seems determined to keep them apart even as they continue to be drawn together. In the end, they decide to stick it out and see where they end up, with no guarantee of happily ever after, which I found very sweet. Requires either a VivaMax account or searching the grey for it, but it's worth the effort (check MyDramaList comments for suggestions on where to find it). Plus one of the leads has a cactus as a pet.

Welcome to the Lesbian Bar (Korea, 2023, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: A little like Fudanshi Bartender but without the fudanshi bartender and all of the bar patrons are lesbians lol

What might turn you off: Short, can get a little bit preachy, abrupt ending

Cute short series with different very stories every episode as different patrons visit the bar. The stories range from women who have been together for awhile, to people meeting from an online app for the first time, to someone visiting a lesbian bar for the first time; and yet the story all weaves together in a way that's satisfying though ends abruptly. Includes some solid marriage equality propaganda.

GAP the Series (Thai, 2022, YouTube)

Elevator Pitch: Kind of the vibes of Together with Me but lesbians and in an office instead of school. Angry boss falls for charming new intern and

What might turn you off: This one is the highest heat of all these recs; homophobia especially amongst family, brief depictions of death by car, brief mentions of suicide, cheating, bullying, abuse of power in the office.

A list would not be complete without this one! Honestly the plot is a bit wobbly but the show is a lot of fun. The girls are very cute, the feelings and tension builds really well between them, the friend group is excellent, and in the special we get a wedding.

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The rest of these have caveats of one kind or another, but i couldn't leave them off a rec list, so here are the side couples and censored stories that are still worth your time anyway (I might do a separate more detailed post for these, as well as for films, one day if there's interest):

Nevertheless (GL side; Korean, 2021, Netflix) Not sure it's worth watching a whole kdrama for side lesbians? Search soljiwan on youtube. They are great. Even the Netflix account stans them. I watched this (ngl, I watched the SolJiwan cut) as it aired and was constantly braced for it to let us down but it did not! A really good friends-to-lovers story.

Friend Zone 2: Dangerous Area (GL side; Thailand, 2019, YouTube): These sapphics are messy and I love them. Decent conversation about dating someone with mental health issues in this series, and they're one of the only couples in this ensemble to get a happy ending. If you're just watching the lesbian couple (which you can, their story is pretty self-contained) you don't need to have seen s1.

Six Survivors (GL side; Japan, 2022, Viki) This show is a horror comedy and it is SO MUCH FUN. Warning for zombies and blood, but way less than you might think. One of the eponymous 6 survivors is a lesbian who keeps trying to convert them to veganism lol. If you watched Chaser Game W you'll recognize one of the actresses in this, the lead actress is from Kamisama no Ekohiiki, and one of the guys is from the prequel series His as well as I Want to See Only You! And yes there is a kiss. Also a surprising number of Mallrats references. Not for people who can't handle gore or relationships being complicated/not a "true love" story/ambiguous ending.

Kamisama no Ekohiiki (complicated question of is it GL in parts, Japan, 2021, furritsubs once again coming through to save the day) This one is a bit complex because there's bodyswap, but the girl who falls for the bodyswapped boy-in-a-girl's-body is clear that she is only interested in the girl. One of the better bodyswap stories because the bodyswap is not a secret for very long, so instead there's a lot of introspection about what gender means and who/what they are attracted to. Feels wrong to call this GL, necessarily, but it's very queer.

Couple of Mirrors (Censored GL, China, 2021, Viki) Story of a rich girl and her assassin girlfriend. This production did an amazing job getting away with what they could, just don't watch the last five minutes and we've got essentially a happy lesbian family.

Legend of Yunze (Censored GL, China, 2021, @douqi7s) Very cute very low budget xianxia miniseries with two seasons and a special. The special is set in modern times in a future lifetime so if you want a cute censored-but-clearly-a-soulmate-love-story this is the one for you. Don't be thrown off by the weird cuts/abrupt episode endings, that's in line with cdramas in general.

Led Astray by Love (Censored GL, China, 2021, @douqi7s) A very fun and adorable isekai story in which a modern day girl is transported to a wuxia novel setting and has to figure out how to get home, and gets romanced by the princess along the way.

And a few additional links for people who even more content:

My Indian sapphic webseries rec list

My suggestions for content with toms (Thai category that's similar to but not exactly the same as butch lesbians) in response to this post.

This really good GL MyDramaList list (not made by me!) lists what seems to be everything I've mentioned and about 200 more. Even I haven't seen a few of these!

My YouTube playlist of sapphic content: This includes anything I stumble across or find in my searches, a lot of music videos and random shorts as well as some microseries and miniseries that I don't consider GL but are WLW/sapphic in addition to true "GL" content. For serialized content, I add just the first ep. A complete mess, but you can trawl through to find stuff to watch, like Hetero!

SOONOTSUE: The same producers of She Makes My Heart Flutter have other short series on their channel worth checking out; if you liked that one, try Out of Breath!

Shakeshoulder: Thai YouTube producers of very pulpy (read: low budget and dramatic plots) shorts

FuFuKnows: This YouTube channel is owned by a gay Taiwanese couple that produces shorts every week, including some with GL mains and sides. These are very low budget but cover a whole swath of queer themes.

@douqi7s is a godsend providing subtitles for all kinds of content, including sapphic shorts and more series than I've listed here. Check their tumblr for links to all of their content; A Practical Guide to Being a Superstar's Assistant has one of the best setups to giving us great moments in the guise of something else so that they get past censorship I've ever seen; I also recommend The Vampires if you're into genre fiction, as well as Legend of Yunqian if you enjoyed the xianxia parts of Legend of Yunze. @wlwcatalogue did an excellent summary of many of the non-wuxia options here.

Quick pitch for the streaming platform GagaOOLala; it's affordable, has a ton of content, including a whack of GLs (originals, license series, and a ton of shorts), and is run by queer people out of Taiwan who care about good quality queer content being made and having an audience, and using the soft power from those successful series to support social change. And if you can't afford a subscription it's worth checking out what they have for free, they open up temporary free access to some things for various events throughout the year.

In searching for gifs for this post I found fellow tumblr user @drowningparty 's WLW compendium list; they've listed more series and films so check it out if you still need more content!

*wipes sweat off brow* that should be enough to be getting on with, but it's really just the tip of the iceberg! If there's something specific you want to see with sapphics let me know and I can tell you if I know it exists. Anyway, I hope this gives you and everyone else a taste of what all is out there! I of course always want more, I am serious about being a sapphic dragon hoarding every crumb i can get my lizardy hands on, but I do think what we have should also be appreciated more. If I missed one of your faves, please tell me!

[sinsandsweetness]

“craving” - part 3 of PICK YOUR POISON - (a dads best friends love story)

part 1 and 2

pairing- (Daryl x fem!reader)

warnings- 18+ content, oral (r!giving), reader being a sneaky lil slut… (drunk off sangria while posting so might not be proofread hehe) 2.6k wc

“Cute skirt,” you feel Shane’s hand graze your lower back as he squeezes between you and the countertop. Making his way to the fridge for another beer. “You uh, wear that just for us?”

You roll your eyes, biting back a smile while peeling what feels like the hundredth carrot of the afternoon.

He glances up, checking to make sure that your father is still deep in conversation with Rick, way over in the living room. And with a brand new, cold beer in his hand, he presses himself behind you, trapping you against the counter. His free hand coming up and brushing your hair out of the way, to leave a sweet kiss on your neck. You can’t help but smile, loving the way his lips feel on your skin. But you gasp when his hand comes down and squeezes your ass, under your skirt. Silently scolding him with your eyes, and stepping away from him. You’d already had a close call with Shane already. You didn’t need to be testing the waters any further.

He only chuckles and makes his way back to the living room, joining in on the conversation between Rick and your father. Something about the job that Deanna has put your dad in charge of. The construction team was doing another expansion, building more and more houses to fit all the newcomers.

Adding all the carrots to a bowl, you look up and notice Daryl making his way to the porch, slipping on his faded, leather jacket. A lighter and a pack of cigarettes in hand. Sweet. Just what you need.

He’s leaned up against the side of the house when you finally get to him. Your bare feet in the cool grass, having only pulled on a cardigan to stay warm in the chilly fall air. He smiles when he sees you, a cheeky, no good, expression splayed on his handsome face.

“Think I could borrow one?” You ask, standing right in front of him, already reaching for the pack in his jacket pocket, before he mumbles a knowing, “Mhm.”

“Light?” You ask, cigarette held to your lips, waiting for him to light it. And he does. Bringing his hand up to block the wind, other one sparking the flame. You take a drag in and lean in as close as you can, letting the smoke tumble out of your soft lips, practically grazing his own. Mindlessly, his hand makes its way to your waist as you lean further into him. One hand on his chest, and the other holding the smoke.

“You can just never behave, can you?” He asks, already knowing what the answer will be.

“Nope.” You smile, tipping your head up and closing the gap between you, pressing your lips against his, hand coming up to the back of his neck to pull him in deeper. The smokes are quickly thrown to the concrete and forgotten. Pulling you against him and tangling his own hands in your hair. Tongues dancing over eachother, him tasting of beer and tobacco. You, of mint and lipgloss. The smell of him, that familiar concoction of smoke and leather, it’s intoxicating. Breathing heavy as you pull at his belt, getting ready to kneel for him, right there in your parents backyard.

“Wait-” his rough hand grabs your own, halting you from taking things any further. He’s breathing heavy too.

“We can’t.”

Immediately you groan. Annoyed and defeated.

Fucking hell. All of them. “we can’t”, “we shouldn’t”, “this is wrong”. It’s all you’d heard from the men for weeks. And while Rick and Shane were a little easier to seduce, breaking down enough to take care of you at least, Daryl had stayed relatively strong. The furthest you’d gotten was a rather heavy make out session in the truck. And he’d halted your hips the second you tried grinding down on him. Searching for any friction between the denim of his jeans and the lace of your panties that you craved so desperately, but he wouldn’t budge.

And now, when all you wanna do is wrap your pretty, glittery lips around his cock, he remains just a strong.

“Daryl, come on,” you whine, stealing another open mouthed kiss. Seemingly the only thing he didn’t feel the need to object. “Don’t you want me?”

“‘Course- fuck- of course I do.” He tugs you by the hair, facing his deep blue eyes. “I do.”

“Then why won’t you fuck me already?”

“We agreed-”

“Screw the agreement. Take me upstairs. Please. After supper, when my dad falls asleep on the couch. Take me upstairs and fuck me so hard I forget my own name.”

He blinks slowly. Keeping his eyes shut for a second to compose himself. Thinking about all the things he’d love to do to you if he did decide to follow you up to your bedroom. White walls and pink sheets. Soft and sweet, just like you.

His tone is firm when he finally speaks.

“We’ve been over this, sweetheart. Not happening.”

Bummer.

You take the rejection with an understanding nod. Being sure to slowly rake your hands down his abdomen, under his jacket, and give him one last peck. Quickly running your thumb over his lips, wiping the evidence of your watermelon lipgloss off his mouth. You give him a coy smile over your shoulder when heading back inside.

Unaware of the way that Daryl wanted to physically kick himself for saying no. Fists clenched by his sides with his eyes closed. Regretting not just taking the opportunity. Regretting not just letting you undo that damn belt and have your way with him, right outside in the backyard of your parents house. Knowing you’d show up for dinner with bruised knees and damp panties. Waiting in anticipation for whatever he might do to you after supper when he’d have you all alone in your bedroom.

Such a damn shame.

Your mother decided to eat on the deck with your aunt and her husband. With their annoying ass kids too. She’d invited you to sit with them, but the open seat next to Rick was way too tempting.

Shane is the weakest, by far. If you were measuring their strength by how likely they were to fuck you, that is. He hadn’t yet, but you’d like to believe that you’re making progress. Rick wants to. You know that. He wants you so bad it actually hurts. And fuck, if he hadn’t felt tempted the other week, upstairs in your bedroom, with his face between your thighs, giving you your second (and most intense) orgasm of the day. The way you begged him to fuck you right then and there had his mind spinning and his dick swelling. But unfortunately, his moral dilemma was saved by the sound of your father calling you downstairs, to introduce you to some new neighbours. And Rick couldn’t help but sigh in relief at the realization that he didn’t have to actually say “no”.

And as always, he’s attempted to claim you as his own. His hand won’t leave your thigh from under the table, as you pick at the turkey and potato’s on your plate. Glancing at him with an innocent smile every now and then. Tingles erupting as he moves his thumb in circles against your skin, all while listening intently to your father go on about all the work around Alexandria that needs to be done before snowfall. Daryl’s sat next to Rick. Replaying the conversation with you from outside, over and over in his head as he shovels the mashed potato’s into his mouth. Thinking about how badly he wanted to give in. To tangle his hands in your hair and guide those rosy lips right on to his dick, fucking your throat and then cumming all over your pretty face. And then Shane, next to your dad, who can’t stop playing footsies with you from under the table. Giving you that fucking smirk that you just wanna kiss right off his face. As if his smile belonged against your lips, and nowhere else.

“Sweetheart, I think me and the boys could use another round. You mind going to the garage and grabbing us some more beers?” Your father gets up, his voice snapping you out of your sinful daydreams.

“Uh- sure.” You smile politely, standing up from the table, and pulling your skirt down in a failed attempt at being modest. You hesitate, heart beating fast while watching your father go up for a second plate of food and then head outside to the deck. Probably just checking in on your mother. Making sure that her and the others were all doing ok and didn’t need another drink themselves.

You don’t even really register what you’re doing until you’re under the table. Moving fast in order to effectively use the moment that your father is finally occupied. Confusion quickly setting on each man’s face until you’re settled between Daryl’s knees. On the floor, completely hidden by the tablecloth. Hands going straight to Daryl’s belt, unclasping it and grabbing the impressively large stiffy he’d been hiding under the table all night.

“Fuck.” You heard him gasp from above. Shane letting out a surprised huff of amusement and Rick whispering something inaudible.

You slip your hand into his boxers and pull him out, licking your lips and then placing a sweet kiss on his tip.

“Oh shit, she’s- fuck.” Daryl’s thighs are tensed as he starts to wrap his mind around what’s actually happening. Around the fact that you’re on your knees in front of him. Glossy lips wrapped around his cock, while your dads right outside, and his best friends are right there.

You take him into your mouth, slowly bobbing up and down, paying close attention to his reactions. To what makes him drop his fork on the table and grunt. Gasping and straining to keep in the sounds you so desperately want to hear come from his throat.

You keep going even when you hear the sliding door to the deck open. Your father returning to the table and continuing his conversation from before. Not that you had been listening. Far too busy thinking about what each man would taste like if they had the decency to put you on your knees, like you’ve asked them to over and over.

“You hear about that run that Deana was planning? She said she’d talk to you about it but I didn’t know if she ever got around to…”

Your father kept talking. Blissfully unaware of the absolutely filthy performance taking place beneath the tablecloth. How on earth Daryl was keeping it together, you had no idea. Holding yourself up with your hands gripping at his thighs, muscles flexed in what you assume is pleasure. But it’s likely that his nerves are playing a roll as well.

Rick makes sure to keep your fathers attention. Asking questions and chatting along. The perfect distraction as you continue the borderline torture on Daryl’s cock. And though you can’t see it, he’s trying his very best to keep it together. Slow blinks, glancing down at his plate of food. Fingers gripping his utensils so hard they could snap. Doing everything in his control to keep breathing like a normal person. To not tip his head back and moan out your name. And Rick and Shane are doing a surprisingly wonderful job at being your accomplices, distracting your father with simple, mundane conversation. Enough to take any focus off the fact that Daryl was a minute away from cumming down your throat. Torn between wanting to last longer and wanting to hurry up so that he didn’t have to hide his reactions any longer.

You assume he’s getting close. His knees becoming all shifty, involuntarily twitching from how good your mouth feels. So warm and wet and taking him all the way down. You feel a hand lace into your hair, though a little confused because you’re pretty sure it isn’t Daryl’s. Coming from beside him, having reached over so nonchalantly, Rick pushes your head down. Clearing his throat at the same time that you inevitably gag on Daryl’s dick. Hiding the noise. And at that, Daryl just about lost it. Every nerve in his body is on fire and you want to taste him so fucking bad. Want to drink down every last drop of whatever he gives you. You reach your own hand down inbetween your legs and press the pads of your fingers to the cotton panties covering your clit. Rubbing little circles to ease your own needs. Dipping lower and realizing that there’s a wet spot from your arousal. Because sucking Daryl off was turning you on. And if he knew that, he wouldn’t have lasted another second.

“Thought your girl was grabbing us another beer?” Shane asks finally bringing attention to the fact that you aren’t sitting at the table. At least not to your dads knowledge.

“Yeah, I thought so. I’ll run to the garage. See if she got distracted with the bar. Gal sure loves her cocktails, I’ll tell you that much.”

Does she ever.

You hear your father walk down the hall, towards the garage. At the same time, Daryl let’s out the breath he’s holding and his hips buck up involuntarily. So fucking close you can tell.

“You got thirty seconds, baby.” Rick warns you. Well, both you and Daryl. That you need to make him come now. Otherwise, daddy’s gonna find out your dirty little secret. And wouldn’t that be such a shame. The fun part’s only just started.

Daryl moans. Louder than you expected but immediately after, you feel him tense up and your mouth fills with his salty fluid. You swallow around him. No hesitation whatsoever. It’s not like you could leave any evidence. And without even helping him get his pants done back up, you crawl past Ricks legs, making sure to use his thigh as a support beam to get back up and slink into your seat. Taking a napkin from the table and wiping your mouth. Giving your best doe eyes to the three men. All of them sporting equally impressed expressions. Not even a hint of jealousy present from Rick, which you found a little odd. Maybe your little show turned them all on. Not just Daryl. And when you look over at the bowman, his face is red. Crimson blush covering his cheeks as he buckles up and straightens himself out. Rick and Shane lightly shaking their heads in disbelief with the sexiest smiles forming on their faces.

“You are somethin’ else, princess. My god.” Shane laughs, kicking your foot under the table. And you can only smile back before you hear the door open and your father come waltzing back into the dining area.

“Where the hell were you? Y’forgot about our beer.” You father says, handing one to each man at the table.

“Sorry - uh- I had to use the washroom. Got distracted.” You smile politely, taking a sip of your own drink as you feel the heat rise to your own cheeks.

“Course you did. Can you grab the pie, pumpkin? Think everyone’s about done eating.”

You nod and get up, sauntering towards the fridge, grabbing the pie along with a can of whipped cream. You make sure to look directly at Rick and Daryl while you shake the can and line your index finger with the sugary fluff. Maintaining eye contact as you lick it up and suck the cream off your finger. Rick rolls his eyes, unable to hide the smirk forming on his face. And Daryl shoots you a warning glare from across the table.

You did warn him you weren’t going to behave. Just decided to prove it too.

part 4

-

(Ricks part is up next bbs<3 )

taglist - @rickswh0r3 @elnyrae @catt-leya @murder-jacket @miinbun @ankhmutes @eternalrose81 @cl0wnb0yyy @grimesthinker @whatthefuuuck @imyourbratzdoll

[respectthepetty]

A Tale of TWO Blue Boys?

It's episode seven of The Trainee and what I know for sure is everyone is color coded, like Ryan is a Green Guy.

Pie is a Red Rascal.

Mee is a Pink Person.

And Pah is a Yellow/Orange Oddity.

These are obvious!

But I was on the hunt for the Blue Boy of the group, and I thought it was Jane!

Because I thought Tae was a Brown Blanket.

Wait, I meant that I thought Tae was a Brown Boy.

So it would make sense that Ryan would wake up in pink (with green) wrapped in a blue comforter since he likes Jane.

And it would make sense that Ryan seeing Jane's true color would stir something pink in Blue Boy Jane.

Since Blue Boy Jane has started wearing his color more and is now wearing both his and Ryan's colors!

But now I think there are TWO Blue Boys in this story!

I've known Tae has blue headphones and a blue cell phone.

And I've known Mee has a blue heart for him in her phone when she is clearly the pink heart.

But then Mee also made Tae coffee in a blue mug to go with her pink mug, and there are the cute color-coded little rabbits that (should) represent them on his desk.

So while Ryan was wearing red like his fellow AD intern Pie and making the same type of mistake she did on the set by when she made costly decisions on her own,

(Which will cause Jane and Ryan to end up in the red next week but hopefully the potential for a blinding light of love is there too *fingers crossed*)

Mee is living the color-coded life she wants to be living with Tae . . . with Judy.

Mee wants someone who is dependable and stable. Mee wants someone she can count on.

And she gets that from Black Brooder Judy.

But what Mee wants, and this hurts me to write because I want my GL couple to sail, is a Blue Boy, which might be the reason why she is wearing blue when kissing Judy.

While Tae has been excelling as an intern, he has been a shit boyfriend, but for their anniversary, he tried to be the best Blue Boy for Mee.

And even tried to show up for her!

But is it too late for Tae to be the Blue Boy(friend) Mee wanted him to be?

I have no idea where this story is going because I'm blinded by my desire for Judy and Mee to be an item, but I do find it interesting that Tae is finally wearing blue in the next episode.

And he will be at his absolute worst surrounding by pink.

While Mee is still in blue, so is she trying to manifest the faen of her color-coded dreams or is Tae actually a Blue Boy, and she is showing him how much she loves him by wearing his color?

Because when Ryan wears blue, its obvious why.

But I don't know what it means for a boy who can't pick what color or what kind of boyfriend he wants to be.

Is this story big enough for two Blue Boys?

[lunerabo]

Been thinking about making this post for a while and only recently figured out a good way to articulate it but I unironically think Gege’s kind of a genius for using what is most definitely censorship of a gay relationship to his advantage in writing whatever was between Gojo and Geto.

I think what a lot of people get wrong in saying things like how this was a perfect setup for a romance and it’s bullshit that he wrote all that just to label them as best buds is the fact that they’re forgetting that in general homosexuality is nowhere near as accepted over there as it is in the west. BL and GL absolutely exist but read any of them and it becomes very clear to you that the general attitude towards it is that it’s seen as a taboo fetish and not a preference. If you have that in mind, it suddenly makes a lot more sense why they’d want to censor it especially in shonen manga (even though you still get boys falling face first into racks large enough to have their own gravitational fields—something Gege’s also notoriously avoidant of, thank goodness). Not saying it’s right or that it’s not problematic, but when you take into account the differences in attitudes across the board, it’s easier to understand.

Gege’s aware of this. If he wasn’t, and was less careful about putting queer characters in the story, jjk would have never seen the light of day. We know he’s not shy about doing that, as proven by the existence of Megumi and Mai, who are both canonically bi/pan, Kirara, a trans woman, Mahito, who is genderless, and Kenjaku and Uraume, who are loosely implied to be nonbinary or genderfluid. The reason he can get away with this is because none of them are the larger-than-life hero holding the gaze of every fucking pair of eyes on the planet even in death. He’s already toeing the line with the aforementioned characters, for the same reason that other progressive authors only ever seem to make background and side characters queer but never the super important ones. Gojo as a character has a lot of fans and is arguably the thing that attracts readers in the first place, so it goes without saying that a less accepting audience would get turned off by the confirmed queerness of their favorite character. It also goes without saying that this would be very likely to cost Gege his job, so confirming anything is too big of a risk to take. All he can realistically do is tiptoe around it and lay out the signs and hope we read them right.

Gojo and Geto were not in a relationship and couldn’t ever have been simply because Gege wasn’t allowed to write that. So what do you do when something in real life is influencing the story like that? Ultimately, you have to find a way to use a roadblock like that to make it fit in seamlessly, and I think he did a really good job of it. Because the fact is actually that it wasn’t a perfect setup for a romance; the feelings were there but the lives they led were not ones that a relationship develops in, especially not after both of them fell off opposite deep ends in the different ways that they did. What it was a perfect setup for was tragedy. He can’t confirm a relationship but clearly he’s allowed to make them pine for each other, so being barred from bringing them together helped to create a tragic so-close-yet-so-far type of situation that fit everything really well, and made it that much more painful to see them ripped apart.

Idk. I’m tired.

[gffa]

I don't know if you have read about Filoni saying that anybody/everybody can use the force now, that it was GL's vision on the force which is clearly a misinterpretation imo, to me he's just trying to make excuses for his bad writting about Sabine in the Ahsoka series. I do like the idea of everyone being part of the living force but I hardly dislike to think that anyone can be force sensitive and "become a Jedi" like they are trying to imply now. I mean, being a Jedi is more than being sensitive i know but I hope i make sense in what i'm trying to say here. I do like Sabine in Rebels she is such a good character as she is, a badass Mandalorian, why everyone needs suddenly use the force and be a Jedi out of nowhere? I'd like to know your opinion about it if you feel like answering. Thanks.

I mean, I will give Felony this: I'm pretty sure Lucas did say somewhere along the way that the Force is for everyone/that everyone can use the Force. My issue with Felony isn't that Sabine can use the Force, it's that his writing to take her down that path felt disconnected from her entire established story and that he stretched the worldbuilding too far--being able to grab your lightsaber in battle, okay, sure, maybe I could accept that, but the ability to also give Ezra a massive push across that huge of a distance. The Jedi have always said the Force is for everyone, Yoda gives a whole speech to Jek, Thyre, and and Rhys about how they can use the Force to quiet their minds in the very first episode of TCW. I don't have Lucas' quote on hand, so take it or leave it as you will, but I do think "the Force is for everyone" fits with his themes. I just don't think that Sabine being written as a Jedi makes sense for her character, even given how lost and adrift she felt (not that we actually got to see any of the important part of why she would turn down this path, just suddenly she's here! and only monologuing to tell us what happened), beyond Felony wanted her to be special. And I'm all for female characters getting to be special (male characters get to be special all the time) but not at the expense of breaking the worldbuilding, because now being able to wield the Force means less, because it's being handed out like candy to Felony's faves, rather than something that has worldbuilding and thematic rules. But that's also coming from someone who cares more about the Force and the themes of the narrative than almost any single character in Star Wars, so I treat it as being rather precious, and other people aren't going to feel the same way. A lot of people probably did love Sabine getting to use the Force. If Sabine had genuinely only been able to do small things or used it to quiet her mind/feel connected to the galaxy, I would have been perfectly fine with that. That made sense to me. But that giant push for Ezra to get him on the ship? Blehhhhh, that was more about making a Dramatic Moment than it was about keeping to the themes of Star Wars. So, personally, I'm just kind of compartmentalizing it into "Felony's pet fave gets special treatment, I'm not counting it towards worldbuilding" because I just don't care enough anymore. XD

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Oh my GOD, She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat did not have to demolish my emotions like that in episode 8. I am so proud of Kasuga for standing her ground and prioritizing her life, her happiness, and her chosen family over the demands of filial piety. It’s really important to me the way they have always framed Kasuga’s family interactions in relative dark and cramped spaces (she has both of the conversations with her father in the evening in the car) and how every time she has a phone call where it is clear her life holds no value in the eyes of her father, Kasuga enters a space that is bright and warm with Nomoto right at her side. 

This season really feels like it is focusing on a theme of “freedom.” Nomoto freeing herself from her past identities and finding new ones that fit, Nagumo making steps to free herself from the fear of eating food with others, and Kasuga freeing the expectations her father has of her, and allowing herself to live and full and happy life that is her own. 

I love this gl for the women it includes, the “it takes a village” kind of mindset that Kasuga’s relationship to her coworkers, to Nagumo, and to Nomoto are what give her the strength to make that decision is beautiful. It was so important to the story, and also so important to me that Kasuga was able to have that conversation in the restaurant with her coworker. 

To be able to sit with her coworker and hear first hand how much regret and how much identity erasure happens when your own life is disregarded for the sake of upholding misogyny. The way this very directly confirmed what I think Kasuga feared should she return home. The way her coworker was able to hear a daughter be worried for her mother and want to free her, free them both, from playing caretaker. The way Kasuga was able to hear a mother tell her the only thing she wanted was for her daughter to be free. 

The way we know Kasuga feels the same way about Nomoto because of how Kasuga seeks her out. Nomoto is the safety blanket, Nomoto is the hug, Nomoto is light, and warmth, and freedom, and a fully belly she never got to have as a kid. Kasuga just rebelled against the pressures of filial piety, and she needs someone to ground her. I love that Kasuga got to see someone get furious on her behalf, to value her life so highly that they would fight an elder for daring to presume otherwise. 

I, like many, was crying at the scene set to Chosen Family. It was so beautiful to see three independent women coming together around the table, valuing each other as they are, accommodating and considerate of everyone’s needs. I feel like we don’t get enough focus on that in BLs. It’s why I love friend groups like Dean, Pharm, and Manow in Until We Meet Again, or Samsee, Prem, and Dynamite in Cooking Crush, or Toh, Jao, Daisy, Som, etc in Secret Crush on You because that is often the closest we get to chosen family being shown on screen. It’s definitely there, do not get me wrong, but the feeling of a scene like this, of a character rejecting their biological family and sticking to their chosen is rare to me in many of the other shows I’ve watched so far. 

 Anyway, all this to say I am so proud of Kasuga and I am excited to see where the rest of this season takes us if we’re already getting some of my favorite scenes of all time not even halfway through the season. 

And thank you to @furritsubs for taking all that time and effort to sub this show for us <3

[capes-and-arrows]

What we know about the upcoming Green Arrow run by Chris Condon and Montos, from interviews with Condon on the Ideas Don’t Bleed and Sheehan Is Dead Comics podcasts:

- Condon grew up reading GL/GA, mentions loving JLU’s take on Ollie. Kin Shriner’s voice is the one he hears when writing him

- wants to go back down to street level, deal with real world problems, “he’s a lefty asshole, that’s who he is to me.”

- aims to harken back to Denny O’Neil’s, Mike Grell’s, Mike W. Barr’s Green Arrow because Ollie “hasn’t been that way in a minute.”

- has read all the way back to Jack Kirby's Silver Age stories, even mentions reading Ollie's Bronze Age backups in Tec. The legacy and history of previous runs are important to him

- says the run is similar in tone to his indie comic with Jacob Phillips, That Texas Blood vol. 3, as well as Mike Grell’s GA run – “very much the vibe of what we’re doing.”

- also specifically mentions the Mike W. Barr, Trevor von Eeden and Dick Giordano GA 1983 miniseries as an influence (minor spoilers for the upcoming run under the cut)—

—which shares a direct connection to Condon and Montos’ run, and is an “integral part” of the story.

I've been trying to stay cautiously optimistic about this run, but ngl I'm completely sold. Between these interviews and reading That Texas Blood (an incredible series in its own right that I can't recommend enough), I think Ollie's in very good hands. All aboard the Condon train, baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[firstkanaphans]

The way The Trainee disappointed me in episode 10 (I mean imagine queerbaiting in the year of 2024???) I dunno whether should I be excited for even THK....gmmtv is failing big these days

I’m sorry, Anon, but you’re not going to find an ally in me trashing GMMTV. GMMTV tells more consistently good stories than any other production company out there and even if I were inclined to knock them for a few poor writing decisions, I’m smart enough to know that that’s the fault of the literal writers. Not the production company.

But I don’t even agree that what’s going on in The Trainee is bad writing. And I definitely don’t think it’s queerbaiting. When Ba-Mhee kissed Judy, there were real feelings there. Just because she ends up with a guy doesn’t negate that. 

Ba-Mhee’s a very interesting character to me. I’ve seen plenty of people refer to her as bisexual and I think that’s a fair read as well, but I just don’t get queer vibes from her. I don’t think her “relationship” with Judy was ever sexually motivated—and that’s fine. Some people are just straight. Experimentation is a healthy part of any sexuality journey. Ba-Mhee’s problem, as Pie correctly points out, is that she’s still too in love with Tae to sort through her own feelings. She is, in essence, Tae-sexual. Her attraction to Judy was never about Judy herself. It was about filling that void for attention that Tae left inside her.

And Judy knew this! She has always known this. 

I know my post yesterday was pretty tongue-in-cheek, but I actually meant it. I have been Judy. Multiple times. I would love to see this story from her point of view.

The only qualms I have with the writing of this particular show right now are that 1) I feel it was too early for Ba-Mhee and Tae to reconcile—if they even had to reconcile at all. And 2) The JaneRyan plot is moving at an absolutely glacial pace. I admittedly do not like slow burns ever, but this is ridiculous even for a slow burn. 

As far as your concerns about The Heart Killers, that’s completely unfounded. These shows have different directors—and I’m assuming different writers as well, although I still haven’t been able to track down who is writing The Heart Killers to know for sure. But even despite a few bumps in the road, I currently have The Trainee rated 9/10, which is the highest I’ve had a GMMTV show rated in quite a while. So I, for one, would be more than happy for The Heart Killers to live up to those expectations.

I totally understand being annoyed with GMMTV’s lack of GL content (and their treatment of women in general), but I’m never going to knock them for trying to tell nuanced stories. Humans are complicated. We deserve to see that represented on screen.

[top-faye]

Also, this may be a controversial opinion, but I love Wan's mom now.

Now, before y'all come for me! Give me a chance to explain! I still think she's a bad person and mother, but episode 3 had made me a lot more sympathetic to her and had fleshed her out far more. Before, she came across as "generic evil mother in Thai GL" but episode 3 portrayed her as the lesser of two evil parental figures.

We don't know what the full story of Wan's parents are, but Wan was born on the day of their wedding, and it clearly isn't a happy marriage. And I think the fact that Wi is still married to this man and had no support system outside of him and Pleng's parents, her employers, speaks volumes of what her background is like and what her own parents were presumably like.

Wi is awful to her daughter and thinks poorly of her, but it's also clear that the reason she pushes Wan to find a "good husband," is likely because her own regret of her choice of husband—not that she'd ever voice that as she seems to have very traditional values in that regard. She likely married him out of a sense that she needs to and remains permanently indebted to him.

She doesn't want that life for Wan.

She's also someone who has had a difficult and harsh life, so she approaches things far more directly, pragmatically, and harshly. I know some people after episode 3 were bashing Wi for how she treated Pleng, and I agree that she was awful, but I saw it as an example of some genuine "tough" love from Wi.

Because I do think Wi genuinely cares for Pleng. She doesn't want to kick her out, that's what her husband desires and she can't go against him, but she does want Pleng to get better and she wants her to be strong enough to survive it because she knows life is going to be harsh and difficult.

That was my sense of her after episode 3 and episode 4 really solidified that for me especially when Wi refused to take the money and in fact stood up against her husband—the FIRST time we have seen her do that—and really pushed for Pleng to take the money.

Wi absolutely knows that Pleng is likely not going to stay with her aunt, so she isn't going to allow Pleng to leave the house penniless which to me demonstrates the fact that she does genuinely care for Pleng.

But Wi is someone who feels like she has to constantly make sacrifices and compromises. Because life is a competition in a sense.

Wan hid her success because she was afraid of competing with Pleng. And where does she get that impression? Why would she think that her own success would ruin her relationship with Pleng? Because of her mother. Because Wi has an extremely competitive mindset because that is the mindset she has had to develop in order to survive in this world and it is a mindset that she continues to cling to for better and worst.

She's an awful person, but I feel like she's a character who is a lot more nuanced than she initially appears, and I really appreciated that.

[stuckymonkey]

Help Me

BuckyNat

Pairing - buckynat x enhanced!reader

Summary - y/n is having a really rough period and enlists the help of her girlfriend and boyfriend to make the pain go away

Warnings - blood, periods, cramps, oral (f and m receiving), fingering, shower sex

Word count - 2.5k

a/n - I recently had my period, and coming up with this story was the only thing that kept me going

I was embarrassed. This was possibly the most embarrassing thing I've ever done. I called my partners, Bucky Barnes and Natasha Romanoff while crying on the toilet. In my defense, I am enduring the most pain I have ever been in.

Their arrival was made known to me by my front door slamming open and Natasha scolding James for being so rough. He knocked quickly on the bathroom door, waiting impatiently for an answer. "Y/n/n?" he called, his voice much softer than his hurried actions. "Baby? Come in," I whimpered at the end of my sentence.

"Oh sweetheart," Nat said, following Buck into the bathroom. They sat beside me while I cried and whimpered in pain for close to an hour, taking turns making me sip water and wiping a cool cloth over my forehead. After I felt confident enough to venture out of the bathroom, we all sat on my bed.

I enjoyed the comfort of my room and soft blankets with my two lovers sharing their body heat with me. "Have you eaten yet, med?" Natasha asked. I shook my head in response. She tsked at me before declaring she would go prepare us something light.

After twenty minutes and no return of the redhead, Bucky decided to go check on her, leaving me alone in my room with my hot water bottle. I had time to think about how to make myself feel better when an incredible idea came to me. I tried waiting patiently for them to return so I could tell them my idea.

Ten more minutes passed and neither of them had returned. Had they left? I scurried to the kitchen where I saw the two loves of my life arguing about what to put on my toast. I playfully shook my head and rolled my eyes.

Here they were, the cutest ex-assassins on Earth, bickering about whether I would enjoy strawberry jam or nutella better tonight. "Excuse me," I started. Their heads snapped to me standing in the doorway of the kitchen in one of Nat's old shirts, one that she probably stole from Bucky.

"I have a plan. Nat, you're going to sit on my face while Bucky uses his metal arm to take out my uterus." The redhead's eyes darkened and she let out a low moan at my quest. Bucky's, on the other hand, widened as if I had two heads. "God, please malyshka," Came from Nat's mouth at the same time Bucky's produced a "No, Y/n are you insane?! No!"

I whimpered at his words, smirking on the inside as Natty came to wrap herself around me. "Good girl," I purred in her ear. I couldn't help but wince as a wave of cramps hit my lower abdomen. Bucky's facial expression softened at this and he came to join our embrace, kissing each of us on our hairlines.

"I have a better idea, dekta." He spoke against my temple. Nat looked up at him with curious eyes. "You'll feel good too, don't you worry," He said, pecking her cheek as he walked away, motioning us to follow him.

Bucky led us to the large bathroom and started up the shower. I quirked my eyebrow at him, curious as to what he was doing. This didn't seem very pleasurable and I was not in a mood to wait. Slowly he started stripping Nat, kissing each part of her bare skin as it became exposed. Once he was done he coaxed her into the warm shower where she moaned at the comfort of the hot water.

"You next, kitten." His voice sounded rough, filled with held back lust. I was desperately sucking at his neck and collarbone as he undressed me, taking less time than he did with Natasha, knowing my low threshold of patience. "Good girl," He praised as I stood bare before him. I went to help him undress but he quickly nudged me into the direction of the shower.

Upon entering the shower, I saw Nat soaking herself under the water, sliding her hands all over her glorious and slippery body. I moaned and moved over to her, grabbing a loofa and squirting some soap on it, beginning to run it over her body. She watched me with wide and hungry green eyes, her lip caught between her teeth.

As I was working the soap over her body, I felt something come between my legs and push them apart. I looked down to see Bucky with his head between my legs. My mouth hung open at the sight, he kept his eye contact with me as he licked a testing stripe through my folds. "Bucky, the blood," I whined. "Shhh, it's okay, doll. Trust me." He had barely finished his sentence before his mouth was on me again, working his tongue around my clit and teasing my entrance.

While he worked I finished cleaning Natasha, then started giving her nipples some attention. Her head flew back as I started to roll and twist the buds between my wet fingers. I started massaging her right breast, taking my other hand to grab her hair and guide my face to mine. I swallowed her gasp with my lips, capturing her in a messy kiss.

Her tongue danced with mine while I continued to abuse her hard nipples and Bucky moved me closer and closer to the edge. I started grinding on his face, pulling Nat closer by her hair and working my mouth over hers even more. I moaned and whined into the kiss. Bucky moved one hand up to still my hips and the other to tease at my entrance.

I moved myself off Natasha to moan his name, coming out a little whinier than I had hoped. I kept trying to grind on him but he just held my hips tighter, finally sinking two fingers into my soaked heat. Natasha took the lead this time, grabbing me with both hands and bringing my face to hers.

The kiss was messy and exactly what I needed to be pushed to my first orgasm of the night. I squealed into her mouth at the pleasure and kneaded her breasts gently as Bucky licked my cunt to soothe me from my recent high. I started slowing down our kiss, giving her sweet pecks and Bucky moved his head away from my core.

"Taste so good," He said, coming up to kiss Natasha. She kissed me after, letting me taste myself on her tongue. I moved down to face Bucky's girthy cock, giving it kitten licks while looking between him and Nat. He groaned as I took his length further down my throat, almost reaching the base but not quite. I whined when another wave of cramps hit me.

I used one hand to play with his heavy balls and the other to grasp the remainder of his cock. He started to move his his, earning a slap to the thigh from me. "Looks like our kitten has some sass." Nat snickered. "Shut up." He grumbled, to which Natasha replied "Make me."

This led to Bucky roughly making out with Nat and me groaning at the erotic sight. At the vibrations my mouth sent over his cock, Bucky moaned into Natasha's warm mouth. "Fuck," he said, moving his hips a little more, breaking his kiss with Nat to gauge my reaction.

The redhead kneeled down and started massaging my breasts, "Look at our good girl," She cooed, settling beside me to watch as I took Bucky at a fast pace. His hands threaded through my wet hair, I tried to relax my throat as much as I could, giving him permission to use me how I needed.

Nat's hand went to the brunette's ass, encouraging him to snap his hips into my mouth. His balls hit my chin with each thrust, making me wet all over again.

Bucky started moaning more frequently, letting us know that he was close to the edge. He looked so gorgeous when his cock was down one of our throats. His eyes were squeezed shut and his mouth was slightly parted, letting out the filthiest moans at our actions.

A harsh slap was delivered to Bucky's soft ass from Natasha, which brough him to his release. Hearing the noise her slap created his eyes blew wide and he let out a high whine. I groaned as I felt his hot cum shoot down my throat, doing my best to swallow it all. I kept working him through his orgasm, only stopping when he pulled away with a satisfied shudder.

I turned my head to meet Nat in another kiss which got interrupted by Bucky whining at being left out. The redhead pulled back and shared a look with me before standing up and slowly kissing Bucky. He tried to kiss her harder, to which she pulled back completely.

"Take what I give you," She spat, going back to gently kissing his soft lips. I loved when Natasha dominated him but was soft with me. He gave soft whimpers and moans as she worked her lips over his. I went on my knees and started licking at her cunt from behind. I could hear her give a low chuckle into Bucky's mouth, obviously pleased at my actions. I reached around her to grab Bucky's half-hard cock and give it a few tugs, making him harder just like I wanted.

Nat pushed herself back on my face, enjoying the friction. As Bucky's cock hardened up I moved it towards Nat's entrance, watching as I teased it through her folds. She let out soft and sweet noises as I moved her to stand close to Bucky. After some more teasing I guided Bucky's thick length into her warm cunt, enjoying the pleasureful noises they let out at feeling each other.

I moved off of Nat and stood behind Bucky, watching between the two where their bodies met. I held on to Bucky's waist and started biting and sucking on his shoulders as he thrusted into Nat. He wasn't going to last long, and neither was she. I could tell they were close when Bucky's moans became loud and desperate, and Natasha let her head fall into Bucky's neck.

They both came with cries of euphoria. Nat's nails dug into Bucky's marked up shoulders, adding little half moons to my small bruises and marks. He rutted into her slowly, helping her ride out her climax. "There you go, I got you sweet girl." The brunette petted her hair softly as she came down from her high, smiling at me over his shoulder.

I kissed her lips softly and reached around to rub her back. They seperated and we all shared a few lazy kisses, finishing up our shower in lukewarm water. Bucky and Natasha helped me dry off and then sent me to the bedroom where I found the bed made, fuzzy blankets set out and my hot water bottle. I hurried to the kitchen to heat up my water bottle and to take more advil while I waited for them to come out of the bathroom.

When I returned to the bedroom, I noticed that there were black towels placed over the bed. "Guys, how many times do I have to tell you that wet towels do not belong on the nice, dry bed?" I snapped. "Relax doll, they're dry too." Bucky said with a wink. I rolled my eyes and went to take them off my bed when Natasha's warm hand stopped me. "Leave them, malyshka. Trust me." She kissed just under my ear and let her grey towel fall to the ground, revealing her body in all of its glory.

Her breasts were full and round, nipples still perky from being twisted. I could see her cunt and it was puffy from the activities of the shower. "Come here, y/n." She cooed, laying down on the soft pillows and beckoning me to follow her. "Strip baby." Bucky commanded, walking out of the bathroom with still damp hair and a towel slung dangerously low on his waist.

I started at him as a few water droplets rode down his Adonis belt and into the confines of the towel. My eyes snapped to his as he walked closer, and I quickly started to take off my fresh pajama shorts and baggy shirt.

"Lay on Natty for me." He directed. "Ass up." I positioned myself so my chin rested on the redhead's abdomen. Licking around her chest as I waited for Bucky to tell me what to do next. Instead of speaking to me, he ended up pushing my hips so they met the bed. I could hear him shuffling behind me, and I looked to Nat. She was watching him with dark eyes when I felt him sheath himself into my heat. I moaned at the feeling of him sliding against my sensitive walls.

Bucky thrusted slowly into my pussy, letting his balls slowly hit my ass. I felt that familiar feeling in my core, "B-bucky, harder" he listened to my plea, snapping his hips faster, perfectly rubbing my sensitive cervix. "Ahhh," I wiggled around, trying to ensure that he thrusted into my cervix every single time. "There you go pretty girl," he cooed, rubbing his hands over my back. "Is that what you wanted? Needed us to fuck you nice and good? Hitting all the right places in your tight, sensitive little cunt?" He asked. "Yes! Bucky! Please," my eyes started to tear up, Nat started playing with my hair while I sucked on her sensitive nipples, biting at them every now and then, earning sharp hisses from her small mouth.

"Bucky!" I cried, starting to feel my walls clench around him. "Cum for me, doll." His mouth came to suck on my ear as his hips continued helping me through my orgasm. I cried out as his finger played with my clit. I was a whining mess, and shortly after Bucky's hips stuttered and he emptied his hot seed into me.

"Good girl," he praised. I felt Nat frame my face with her hands, brining me off her boob. She kissed my forehead before rolling me over to cuddle into her side. "Bucky?" I asked, noticing his absence. "Right here doll." He smiled. His hair had dried by now and he pulled on some black boxers. "What's in your hand?" I asked from my spot at Nat's side. "Fresh underwear, a pad and boxers." I cooed, taking the items happily.

Our redhead was quick to snatch them from my hands. Throwing the boxers at Bucky and putting the pad on my underwear. She shushed me when I offered to help, lifting up my hips and sliding on the panties. Then bucky put his extra boxers on overtop. I kissed them both in thanks and cuddled more into our girlfriend's side.

Before we went to sleep, Bucky turned off all the lights and got both me and Nat shirts. "Thank you," I mumbled. "Of course, baby." "Anything for you, kitten."

[alciedoodles]

hi!! i saw your other post about how you simplify details and it was really helpful - was wondering if you had any tips abt drawing expressions/poses to express a story/emotions. like i saw your recent sumeru char doodles on twt and the way you draw alhaitham and hungover kaveh is so!!! ahh!! all of the lines feel really intentional, from the expressions to the fabric of the clothing and omg i love it so much. anyways sorry for rambling HAHA thank you sm for sharing your art! gl w art school 💪

Hello!

Thank you so much for the lovely words <3 it's really such a honor to hear that so many people consider my art to be very expressive, which I think is an essential skill to have for storytelling in comics!

First of all, I'd like to say this isn't something I can easily answer... you must already know there's no easy step-by-step guide on how to be "good" at art or expressions or whichever aspect you're trying to improve, the answer will always be observation and practice. However, I can tell you some of my methods I use to make sure emotions are conveyed as efficiently as possible(?). Here are the key points I always try to apply (note that these aren't rules, these are just my guiding points):

Understanding the character(s), the context, and how the two work together

Laying down a foundation

Not letting dialogue be the main driving force behind storytelling

Paneling conveys emotion too, actually

The absence of something can also convey emotion

You didn't specifically ask about comics, but since it's my favorite subject and it ties into your question, I'll be using a lot of examples from the comics I made! And it might interest other people who were curious?

VERY long post ahead :)

1. Understanding the character(s), the context, and how the two work together

This is what I think is the most fundamental part of storytelling! I mean, makes sense, right? Obviously you don't need a PhD in The Character to make stories based off them. I literally cannot tell you every detail about my favorite characters despite loving them very much, but I think understanding them and their relationships on a big-picture level is primordial. What drives them, what are their principles, what are their biggest fears, who do they make exceptions for, etc. Also, to me, understanding their relationships is sometimes more important than understanding the character at a molecular level. We can tell so much about someone just from the way they interact with specific people vs how they interact with strangers. The person I am online isn't the same I am with friends nor even with family-- like one of the reasons some characters can feel one-dimensional is because they don't show variation in their character throughout their relationships (and since you mentioned Kaveh and Alhaitham, I don't need to tell you the way both of them interact with each other is far removed from the way they interact with friends, strangers, etc... I think a lot of people forget who they are outside of their relationship, which a huge point of contention behind mischaracterization in fan works). I don't have much to say about this other than this is something I keep in mind every step of the way through.

2. Laying down a foundation

This is what the majority of my comics look like on second draft:

I said second because the first drafts usually look like this, which are barely comprehensible to anyone but myself:

The purpose of these are not only to give me a better guide for posing than whatever i did on the first draft (storyboard), but also have a first pass at motion and emotion. The expressions and gestures are legible enough that you can probably glean the emotions of each character based off the little sketches. Ultimately, some of the things I'll draft will end up adjusted, changed, expanded on or even removed.

This particular panel of Reigen is a favorite of mine, because the first pass already shows his confusion, but the final one is even more distorted because it felt like it needed to be even more accentuated.

This panel where he mansplains is also a good example, because the first pass gave him too much of an arrogant/uninterested look (notable with his upturned face), whereas Reigen is more likely to take pride in explaining something he knows to make himself look like a wise and mature figure (notable with his slight smirk and downturned face, as if nodding to himself; the hand is also slightly more forward as if inviting rather than dismissing). And since I basically made an example of it above: body language is super important! This applies for everyone. It doesn't stop at characters who make grand gestures and exaggerated poses every waking moment of their life, but also characters who are socially awkward, private, reclusive...

The posing here is intentionally stiff but not entirely closed off, giving the sense that he's earnest, tries his best to make connections , but also doesn't want to take too much space, thinking the smallest wrong move could cause trouble. Also, give room for the body to do its thing. Avoid cropping out things that shouldn't be cropped out. Leave enough room between the edges of the panel and the point of focus to emphasize what you want to emphasize. Close-up shots shouldn't be too frequent (in fact, personally I don't like doing close-up shots but it doesn't mean they're bad or shouldn't be done, again, my word isn't gospel!), especially if what you're conveying isn't too emotionally charged. Lastly, I have terrible news for people who hate drawing hands. Hands are possibly the second most expressive part of our body (if we don't count the body as a whole), so especially for your charismatic characters, you will very often want to use hands as a tool of expression.

(Think how much emotion and personality would be lost if the hands weren't there!)

3. Not letting dialogue be the main driving force behind storytelling

With my comics, I play an incredibly dangerous game called "I'll think of dialogue as I make the storyboard and then when I'm done drawing every page I'll write the dialogue over it guided solely by memory and whatever I drew". Don't do this. Have a script in hand or write it at the same time as you draft your storyboard. The reason I do this is because I'm lazy and I don't want to open a simple writing software to type down a script. Genuinely I have no other reasons. Anyway, the only advantage this gives to my comics is that they will generally be able to stand on their own without much dialogue; obviously dialogue is essential, but what I mean is that we don't need it to have a pretty accurate read on the room.

For example, if I remove all the dialogue from this page, you probably can't guess exactly what's being discussed. However, you can identify through their emotions alone that there is disbelief, bargaining, and finally a pretty devastating info was dropped. Alternatively, cutting down dialogue from your page and leaving room to expressions/body language alone can be entirely more beneficial than having any dialogue to begin with.

AKA Readers aren't stupid (some may be, but the majority can extrapolate just fine). You'll realize how much you don't need words and how your stories can be even more funny/impactful by pushing forward visual storytelling.

4. Paneling conveys emotion too, actually

Being a "good" artist isn't enough to make good comics. The way you panel things is extremely important, because it sets the tone, mood, pace, you name it. Some of the best works out there are the ones with the most care put into the flow of the comic. You need to understand how people will read it, and it starts with what order you deliver the information and how. This is paneling 101, but a page with irregularly shaped panels, multiple changing camera angles and such will be exponentially more dynamic than a page where each panel is the same size, have similar compositions and/or repetitions with little to no diagonal or curved lines of action.

The two examples above are WIPs from 2 different stories so unfortunately you'll have to make do with the rough sketches. That being said, you don't need to know the context of either pages to know the kind of emotion that should be felt through the paneling alone. Give time for the important emotions to be processed by the reader (unless it's intentionally fast-paced). Every emotion that needs to be emphasized should have its own panel.

In this example, I could easily have condensed these two panels into one by transferring the dialogue from the second into the first and jumping on to the next action. However, it would undeniably give much less impact to Kaveh's disbelief. On an inverse situation, sometimes you will want to condense two panels you made into one, because whatever those two panels are doing are perhaps not important enough to deserve separate panels! Lastly, you can notice that the space on the page is not always filled. Leaving space between each panel and/or between the edges of the page gives room for the reader to breathe and slows down the flow; and inversely, if you want to make the situation more frantic, make everything look more tight and constricted.

5. Not showing facial expressions sometimes conveys more emotion than doing so

This ties nicely to the point I made about body language. You don't need to see a character's face to know what they're going through, necessarily. Sometimes, their posture or their dialogue is enough. In my opinion, a story is more compelling when this equilibrium of facial expressions / body language / paneling / dialogue is correctly adjusted-- you will not need to have all the elements to convey the message or it could be a little overbearing. I don't have many examples for this one because they tend to be more relevant in dramatic scenarios, which I haven't done that many of.

(The first one is once again from a WIP)

And that's about it for my insane guide on comic-ing. I hope ANY of it made sense.

***

Here's a round up of extra tips, focused entirely on the drawing part which might be more of what you asked to begin with :'D

- That little line/wrinkle that adds so much character

Yall know what I'm talking about. In my opinion, too many artists are afraid of giving laugh lines/wrinkles because it makes their characters look older, except when it's to add those sexy sexy eyebags. I'm encouraging everyone to add them to their art little by little and see how much it can improve the expressiveness! Obviously, I don't use it everywhere, but it's a very effective way to make your expressions feel even more... well. expressive.

- Line of action

You've probably seen this picture going around before, from Preston Blair:

Although it's called line of action which implies action, this line is important even when the character isn't really in action.

You can gain a lot in expressiveness when you think of the body as one whole fluid instead of a sum of multiple disjointed parts. This is why drawing a very rough base comprised of only lines and circles can help figure out if the posing works before you start refining it.

On a different note, animation principles work very much in comics as well! I recommend looking up animation guides especially those that show how to make key poses.

- Shadows and/or color fill

This is one I will use quite often for different situations.

Shadows can immediately set a tone when they're used dramatically. For example, a shadow over a character's face can convey unease and/or evil intent.

On the other hand, I will use color fills for different purposes:

Differentiating ground layers

This can help with readability.

2. Conveying a certain mood

It can separate the character from the color of their background to give a sense of isolation, reflection, realization, being disconnected from their surroundings, etc...

- Don't be scared of using codes / tropes / archetypes

...As long as it benefits the narrative, of course. By codes / tropes / archetypes, I mean posing or expressions or visual effects that are universally understood and used for specific expressions. The semicircle sweatdrops and blush made with slashes are incredibly typical of manga/anime, but it doesn't mean they're bad! Visual effects are there to help remove the ambiguity of an expression considering a single expression without visual codes could convey multiple emotions!

- Find what inspires you and take notes!!!

In my case, what greatly shaped my art style to what it currently is: One Piece, the Ace Attorney series and Mob Psycho 100 (yes, I only watched the latter last year but it still managed to become a source of improvement/inspiration for my art even at my current level, because you'll never stop improving :) )

I hope this wasn't too long or too off-topic, and I hope it can also help other people who might be interested! Thank you for reading!

[bird-inacage]

Love Sea Episode 9: Lost at Sea before the Finale

Sigh. I had high hopes for this episode, which reached it's apex in the main conflict with Rak's dad (our honorary big bad). But yet again it's at a crucial juncture in the story, where writing and execution have fallen short when it really mattered.

Despite building tension for the past few weeks in service of this moment, it's swiftly deflated with little fuss. I thought the contract-tearing scene would provide a riveting layer of complexity for our characters to navigate. But it's barely a hiccup. The entire pay off we've been hurtling towards just unceremoniously fizzles out.

Here are my observations as to why this episode missed the mark (some of which I hope to dig into when I do a full review of the series).

The 'saviour' plot device. Where a character repeatedly saves the day in service of other characters (regardless of their credentials to do so). This is the role they've boxed Mut in. He swoops in - solves, fixes, pursues, soothes. He's faultless. He's unwavering. He's Rak's hero in shining armour. This isn't fundamentally bad except his capacity is reduced mainly to just that, and the cost is little to no development of his own. I take enormous issue with this because I dearly love Mut. He has great scope for a far more compelling trajectory. We had wonderful insights into his outlook on life in the earlier episodes, which have since taken a noticeable backseat. We are yet to see significant exploration of Mut's struggles, flaws or weaknesses. There appears to be some focus on this in episode 10, but why so little so late?

The women are rendered superfluous. Which isn't helped when we already have a lacklustre GL portrayal. As things go awry - Kwan, Vi and Mook are varying degrees of 'just there'. I would have loved to see the plot utilise the women who know Rak best, to contribute towards bringing Jak down. But the show's priority to aid Mut's heroic efforts, means the women are left with very little to do.

Mut VS Jak. If you compare the two men, Jak is taller and in fairly good shape. Physically, you'd expect more resistance in a fight. When Jak goes down, he barely tries to get up (even when Mut's back is turned). Thus, the outcome of the fight feels unearned, especially if we are to believe this man has violent tendencies that have traumatised his children. (He may not be murderously insane, but still volatile enough to maim his own son). By being so easily overpowered, the takeaway ends up being: 'oh, we needn't have worried'. And this exchange didn't have to be strictly physical either, it could have been psychological. Jak could have taunted Mut like he did in the café, and tried to chip at his resolve. Alternatively, if Rak were the one to overcome his father (in a bid to save Mut), it would show that Rak's love can power through his fear, and he'd gain that lesson through his own agency rather than Mut telling him he should no longer be afraid. (Another symptom of this series is subjugating Rak to a huge degree of passivity).

I'm not sold on Jak's character motivations, based on what we've seen. He's not quite smart or menacing enough to be a calculated sociopath, and he's a shade too conniving for an apathetic loser. If he's as lazy as we've been told, why would he go this far to secure Prin's money, when he's already syphoning finances from Rak and his mother? Couldn't he just sit back and continue to leech with no effort? If his desperation were a result of poor spending, it would at least ground his motive. Or if he's fuelled by the thrill of tormenting his family, we'd need to see mental depravity. Instead, much of Jak's actions feel - dare I say - 'because plot'? (Make your villains more formidable and their eventual downfall will pack more punch).

The few too many plot conveniences. The sillier one being how on earth Rak left the house without anyone noticing? The enormous glass staircase which sits front and centre in an open plan property makes it near impossible to go undetected. Unless he parkoured from his bedroom?

I'm gutted because the show veers towards the more questionable choices at their disposal. The set ups are there. The ideas are there. The parameters are there. It's what they decide to do with them that sadly misfires. This has caused my investment in the story to plummet towards the latter half.

I continue to watch for Fortpeat, and I feel for them because they've worked so hard. There's some lovely acting sprinkled throughout this episode but at this late stage in the series, the plot should be driving things home. Whereas the metaphorical tide keeps moving those goal posts in and out of sight. I hope they can at least round things off on a high note next week.

[shepherds-of-haven]

Sorry if this has already been asked before, but have you ever thought about writing a sequel to SoH? I know you said it would be a stand-alone book, but I think a sequel where we explore different continents would be extremely cool. I just love these character so much and idk if I’m ready to say goodbye. I know we still have a bit left but still…

Hi there, this message has been sitting in a long queue of messages I've fallen behind on answering for a while now, but I just wanted to say thank you for taking the time to send it! It ended up being extremely thought-provoking for me, and you may have single-handedly made me reconsider my stance on a Shepherds sequel! XD

I always planned on this entry being a standalone game, though I was toying with the idea of eventually writing a sequel that follows a separate cast of characters (aka different protagonist and companions, though with room for potential cameos with the old characters). Pretty much like how Dragon Age does it! I won't go into the potential plot details now, but I was thinking it might take place sometime between 10-15 years in the future, and it would follow "a new generation" of Shepherds in a different locale. I've sort of hazily cobbled together ideas for the story/main premise, but companions outside of the main protagonist have eluded me at the moment--I really need to focus on this game, its DLC, and my next book first, so I haven't given it too much thought!

However, your comment has unearthed some feelings I've been having about a potential sequel, too! It's hard for me to feel like I'd be ready to say goodbye to the cast, as well... It's so easy for me to write them because they've been in my head for so many years, and starting an adventure in the world of Blest with different and new characters admittedly feels a bit strange. It's like having to hang back a grade while all of your friends graduate high school and then looking around at the incoming freshman class like "welp, I guess you guys are my friends now! 😒" lol. I'm torn on the issue: I don't want to not challenge myself or refuse to move out of my comfort zone as a writer--in short, I don't want to be the kind of writer who recycles the same characters and material because doing something new is daunting to me, and I don't want you all to feel like I'm making endless sequels/trying to recapture old magic and should just move on to something new, either--but I do love my cast and I'm not sure yet if I should definitively say, "No, their chapter is done with this game and it's on to the next!", because I can see so many adventures happening to them even after this story is over!

The problem lies with endings--there are so many different endings planned for this game that I hesitate in treating any of them as the true or canonical one, but otherwise trying to account for all of them in a sequel feels quite impossible to accomplish when I wasn't planning on a continuation--along with other logistical concerns that I can't get into at the moment. Like, what if you end the game with all of the Shepherds except Halek dead? What if your friend ends the game with all of them alive, but the MC is dead? This game alone is already 1 million words, but a direct sequel would probably wrack up hundreds of thousands of variations based on all of these choices in its first chapter alone! 🤔

That's why I figure DLC is the happy medium here: you can expand on or create new content and adventures for the characters, but slot them into the timeline wherever you wish, like in between Chapter 7 and 8, etc. And episodic adventures might keep things small and streamlined enough that I can update them more consistently, rather than hacking away at one giant sequel game!

Aaaaaanyway... All this is to say: I have a lot to think about! Absolutely nothing has been decided yet (not even close), but these are just some of the things I've had rattling around in my head. Thank you again for your sweet and honest words: I'm glad you're so fond of these characters and would miss them. I would, too! But whatever ends up happening, I know this game won't be the last time we see them. :)

Thanks again!

[todorroki]

i can't believe it's over wtf (Love Sea final ep thoughts)

its joever yall... it's not even hitting me that it's over because we still have the special ep to go but omg.... it's the end.

hats off to fortpeat. i love them so much i'm so sad that love sea is done (at least, the main story is). i had my gripes with parts of this story but in the end i was mainly here to see these two do what they love.

i believe mut mostly knew how tongrak would react to his confession. his dialogue to mook last episode proved deep down, he already knew the answer. the first few minutes of this episode showed his hesitation and reluctance, but his courage pushed through in the end. i think fort did amazing here. his pain from experiencing a rough rejection was so clearly on display. (and peat does that eye shifting thing with tongrak to show the beginning of panic.)

it's terrible yall. it was hard to watch. i do not like couple fights.

peat's hair here is good tho. omg i was focusing so hard on visuals because i didn't want the pain

big shoutout to vie in this ep. while she didn't spell out what rak should do, she basically held rak's hand through the whole ordeal.

mahasamut's last meeting with meena and kwan omg.. when he started crying realizing tongrak's meaning by the number 8.. how much more can my heart shatter lmao

and big ouch at palm's dialogue here. he meant it in a light way, but mahasamut really DID come back without his heart.

yo tongrak was so heartbroken he started dressing like his face twin from the other mame series.

AND ok like when tongrak chased after the trash car, at first i was feeling the pain and then i remembered how twitter clowned that running shot yesterday and i started LAUGHING oh my god!!!!! like i'm so sorry BUT I DON'T CLAIM THE FAULT FOR THIS everyone was saying he was running after the ice cream truck in the episode poster and i saw it in that moment!!!!!!!

back to regular business, this hits painfully hard actually.

tongrak's main fear being their "end" if they start a real relationship despite not even knowing if it'll come true. it's a very real fear people have (not just for romantic relationships), the mindset that "if it can end badly or if i can't succeed, why try anyways"

i love rak and vie's friendship in this show. dare i say it's way more fleshed out than the GL side plot they have going on. on that note, what even happened with the girls mame... how come they're just together. what HAPPENED.

but vie is The driving factor to pushing tongrak to follow mahasamut. she's so important to tongrak and i love it!

now, idk what was the call here for filming this part at night. it was kinda dark, but mut's pain was clear as day anyways. tongrak, in his own way, wanted to return mut's feelings, but because he couldn't SAY IT, mahasamut ends up misunderstanding his motives.

i really did tear up at rak's recorded confession though. my god i was kinda worried how that would come out, but peat's recording was well done. their confession on the beach was so cathartic to watch. LIKE FINALLY!!!!!!!!!!

and everything after was sooo sweet. fortpeat has the fluff DOWN as always.

but also omg the last scene with rak buying the house. absolutely love how at first he was excited, but then seeing mut's serious expression and realizing he should've said something omg.. the way he shrunk himself. and fort's face here oouughghg HELLO PEOPLE!!! GIVE HIM HIS SERIOUS ROLES ALREADY. I THINK THIS ENTIRE EP IS PROOF ENOUGH.

please i'm so serious he looked so hot in this scene.

BUT I CANNOT BELIEVE IT'S OVER LIKE IT'S /SRS NOT /J FOR REAL FR OVER WHAT

MY MUTRAK!!!!!!!!!! i know we have the special ep still but NOOO

i need fortpeat on screen... oh my god. please......... im at a loss. they love acting and i love watching them act.

[absolutebl]

In Strongberry We Trust

I had a private ask about Strongberry recently so here’s some thoughts.

Strongberry is probably the most established KBL studio, they started in high production shorts/microfilms (as, indeed, did all of KBL) and still specialize in them. They also do some GL. They tend to have very good chemistry, work with professional actors (not idols), and will go high heat. They are now a division of Matchbox, and have been around and steadily producing content since 2017. The CEO is adorable. 

For YEARS Strongberry was the only studio reliably producing BL content out of Korea. And, sometimes the kisses were even good! For real... there was a time, not so long ago, when all we really got was KBL shorts and most of those from Strongberry. Dark days. Except for Strongberry shining one bright light of BL content. They are reliable, HEA, and high quality. 

Hence the fandom slogan...

#In Strongberry We Trust

They often pick odd (or underserved) premises but always execute beautifully. Their stuff is either on YouTube, Gaga, or pay to play on Vimeo, and they do move it around so my links might not always still be working. Vimeo earns them the most money. They are a small, struggling, queer-friendly studio, please support them and their content by not pirating or watching illegally. 

Here's my ranking of Strongberry's offerings.

1. A First Love Story

2021 YouTube short in 2 microfilms 

Tropes: childhood friends to lovers, home setting, soft tone, grumpy/sunshine pairing

Strongberry are true masters of their craft and yet A First Love Story is still one of the best things they have ever produced. It’s the only microfilm every to make one of my year end top ten list. It’s two episodes of about 8 minutes each that manage to perfectly portray the sweetest friends-to-lovers confession ever. It’s joyful, and gentle with its characters, and a little hot. How on earth do they manage to leave us yearning for more yet completely satisfied at the same time? It’s like the perfect amuse-bouche, that one finger food at that one cocktail party that you will never forget. You are a ridiculous human if you haven’t spent 16 minutes with these two boys. Go watch it now. Or go watch it again. It’s time VERY well spent.

2. Long Time No See

2017 Gaga KBL length series (total 1.5 hr, some places packaged as a movie)

Tropes: secret love, enemies to lovers, secret identity, assassins, catfishing, mafia, higher heat, grumpy/sunshine pairing 

One of Strongberry’s few longer pieces and I often wonder whether this is strictly BL. It’s about assassins on either side of a terf war who fall in love not knowing they are on opposite sides. Or do they? Good fight sequences, mature characters, high heat, very suspenseful, AND an HEA. If you like KinnPorsche you will LOVE this one.

3. Some More

2018 Gaga microfilm

Tropes: friends to lovers, hyung romance, self acceptance, countryside setting, soft tone, age gap, country boy/city boy

One of my most favorite of Strongberry’s shorts, about a city boy on a bike tour who gets injured and rescued by a taciturn, but (as it turns out) very gay, farmer. Mentions of pride, adorable supportive cousin. SO CUTE with excellent chemistry and featuring tropes I can never get enough of. 

3. Private Lessons

2019 Gaga microfilm

Tropes: student/teacher, jock/nerd, hyung romance, obsession, crush, university setting, May/December, age gap  

Given it is age gap and teacher/student (AKA P’ABL’s catnip) it should rate higher on my list, but the chemistry is slightly off. Stil I do love this one for the dynamic. Certainly worth watching especially if this is one of your fav yaoi tropes.

4. Step For You

2018 Gaga microfilm

Tropes: friends to lovers, sports, university setting, crush, jock/nerd, soft tone

About a reporter from the student newspaper who has to interview an older dancer and falls in love with him. This may not have been my first Strongberry, but it’s the first one I remember watching. 

5. Please Tell Me So

2021 YouTube microfilm (AKA That's My Mr.Right!) 

Tropes: crush, obsession, cafe setting, sunshine/sunshine pairing 

Cute barista (played by Han Hyun Jun star of Love Class) has a crush on his customer, musters up the courage to ask him out. 

6. My Pistachio

2018 Gaga microfilm

Tropes: friends to lovers, crush, hero worship, hyung romance, university setting, play within a play, grumpy/sunshine 

7. As if You Whisper

2019 Gaga movie

Tropes: friends to lovers, self acceptance, music industry setting, grumpy/sunshine pairing

8. Confidential Coffee Break

2021 Vimeo microfilm

Tropes: mature romance, long term relationship, self acceptance, university setting, one act

It’s a monologue piece about two closeted older gay professors discussing changing times and the nature of acceptance (self and others) in modern day South Korean academic environment. 

9. Hold Me

2021 YouTube microfilm

Tropes: friends to lovers, self acceptance, high school setting

10. Sweet Curse 

2021 Gaga short

Tropes: horror, paranormal elements, ghost story, possession, obsession, gay friendship group, everyone wants that one boy, bad/good

This is a low-gore atmospheric horror, with some very high heat. I’m not saying it’s in the top 10 just because of that, but I am saying when Strongberry does high heat it v good and v gay. 

OTHERS

My Personal Trainer - 2019 short Gaga. It v silly and v gay. Influencer has crush on his personal trainer. 

Secret Roommate - 2020 short Gaga, Cohabit, self acceptance, home setting, family, coming out 

Fingers After - 2021 microfilm Vimeo. Cohabit, morning after, home setting, pining, sunshine/tsundere pairing. 

Secret Spectacles - 2017 microfilm Gaga. Very silly again, friends to lovers, paranormal elements, university crush.

Table Manner - 2018 microfilm Gaga. Cohabit, self acceptance, home setting, long term relationship 

The Summer Pasta Recipe - 2021 short YouTube, reunion, self acceptance, grumpy/sunshine.

There my be a few more I don’t know about, MDL doesn't seem to have a sort function for production company. 

NEW! 

Choco Milk Shake 

2022 YouTube KBL length series (total 1.5 hr) 

Tropes: cohabit, F2L, paranormal elements, home setting, soft tones, sunshine/tsundere. 

Two pets, a cat and a dog, reincarnate as humans to visit their old owner. Stongberry gave us a full length BL on YouTube! It’s a BL miracle and an endless delight. It was wonderfully cute, unexpectedly hilarious but expectedly silly, a little too poignant, occasionally gut wrenching and with a somewhat expected weird (but happy-ish) ending. The actors playing the two pets must have had the best time. As, indeed, did I watching it. Jealous Milk made me cackle so hard it scared the actual cat on my lap. Choco was perfectly cast, and the chemistry was ultimately decent. In Strongberry I still trust. Thank you thank you, may we have another, sirs?

Two Other KBL shorts worth checking out:

Just Friends? 

2009 Gaga short 

I consider this one of Korea’s first actual BLs. Boyfriends, one of whom is on military leave, trying to decide on coming out and their future together. Bonus for out gay director and queer activist. 

Being Me 

2018 short Gaga 

A summer of love for two long term besties who have basically always been boyfriends, but when a girl tries to date one of them, they finally realize it. Beautifully filmed and a STELLAR ending kiss. 

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