#I love this ask game hehe

[shkika]

they are really sapphic actually

[gallusgalluss]

sorry for not really being active here lately, i've been focusing on college stuff and also decided to suddenly start working on a lil game lol

^ about them btw. their name is MC. they're good at doing stuff.

[game-on-comics]

To the tennis champions — How did you guys meet? Did you two meet through Tennis?

[otomehonyaku]

DIABOLIK LOVERS Chaos Lineage ☽ Ebten WonderGOO Tokuten Drama CD ☽ The Vampire’s Everyday: Board Game Edition (Ruki, Azusa, Kino)

Original title: DIABOLIK LOVERS CHAOS LINEAGE ebten・WonderGOO特典ドラマCD「ヴァンパイア達の日常ボードゲーム編 ─ルキVSアズサVSキノ─ 」 Voiced by Sakurai Takahiro (Ruki), Kishio Daisuke (Azusa), Maeno Tomoaki (Kino) English translation by @otomehonyaku Click here for the audio (thank you to @karleksmumskladdkaka for providing the audio!)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Please do not reuse or repost my translations elsewhere or translate my work into other languages without my permission.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Bet you didn't think we'd get to work on these so quickly! I want to give a HUGE thank you to @karleksmumskladdkaka for acquiring all of these rare CDs and sharing the audio with me for translation (づ>/////<)づ♡ This tokuten was hilarious and the bits where Ruki is trying to catch the Golden Bunny is just... his tactics might not have worked on the bunny (my own pet bunny would be equally unfazed) but I would've jumped straight into his arms. As always, enjoy listening and reading along! (⁄ ⁄•⁄ω⁄•⁄ ⁄)

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

[The scene starts with Kino aggressively tapping on his smartphone as he’s playing a game.]

00:00 Kino: And… I’ve cleared it! Ah, I’ve gotten tired of this game too… I should look for a new one to play.

[Kino searches the app store.]

K: Hm? What’s this? Huh? An app based on a board game? I’m not really into board games, but it’s been newly released, so I should download it just to check it out. Alright! It’s finished downloading. I’m gonna start it right away.

[Kino boots up the game.]

K: Oh! What an interesting opening to the game.

[The world starts swirling around Kino.]

K: Huh? What’s happening?! Why did such a strong wind start blowing all of a sudden? My body is being pulled into my smartphone by an incredibly powerful force. Ah… I can’t hold on… Ah!

[Kino disappears into his smartphone.] 01:13 [The scene shifts to Ruki reading in his room in the Mukami mansion.]

Ruki: Ah… 

[There’s a knock on the door.]

R: Azusa? What’s up?

Azusa: How did you know… it was me?

R: Because Kou and Yuma are both out today. You’re the only one here.

A: Ah… I see. Hey, Ruki. I’m sorry for… interrupting your reading, but…

R: What’s wrong? Is that a smartphone in your hand?

A: Yeah, it is… Kou told me to check out a smartphone game earlier… This game… was released recently… I thought we could play it, but… I don’t know… how to start the app…

R: I see. So that’s what you came to ask.

A: Yeah. Kou isn’t here either, so… Do you… know how to do it, Ruki?

R: Of course. I know that much. Give me the smartphone. So you just want me to download the game that’s on the screen right now?

A: Yeah, I think so…

[Ruki downloads the game.]

R: Hm. This should do it. It downloaded successfully. Now you just have to tap this button to start the game.

A: I got it. So I should tap here… right? Like this…

[Azusa boots up the app and the world starts swirling around him.]

A: Huh? What’s with… this strong wind? Is this… part of the game? Ah… 

R: No, that can’t be it… What’s going on? It’s like I’m being sucked into the smartphone…!

A: It’s happening to me too… Ah!

[Azusa disappears into the smartphone.]

R: Hey, Azusa…! …Shit!

[Ruki disappears along with him.]

03:55 K: Ugh… Ow… That really caught me off-guard. Hey… How long was I out? And where am I? It’s so dark that I can barely see what’s around me. Huh? There’s someone else on the ground, though. There’s two of them… Mukami Ruki and Azusa? Why are they here too?

[Kino tries to shake the Mukami brothers awake.]

K: Come on, wake up, you two. Hey, I’m telling you to wake up, damn it!

[Ruki stirs to life.]

R: Ugh…

K: Damn, you’re slow. Are you finally awake? And how about your brother?

R: Hey, Azusa. Wake up. Open your eyes.

[Azusa stirs to life as well.]

A: Ugh… Where are we? And why is… Kino here?

[Azusa sits up.]

R: Hey, Kino. Where are we?

And why are we here?

K: I don’t know either. When I woke up, I just kinda found myself here.

A: Earlier, we were… trying to play a game, though… What were you doing… before you got here, Kino…?

K: Me? I was just trying to play a game, but I was suddenly sucked into my smartphone. Before I knew it, I found myself in this strange place.

A: I see… So we were doing the exact same thing… The game you were trying to play… was it a… ‘game-of-life’ kind of game?

K: Oh, yes, that was it! You had to spin a roulette wheel. It was kinda like sugoroku (1).

R: I see… So that means that new game is likely the cause of all this. Besides, I’ve been wondering about that thing over there. Look.

A: Oh…? A gigantic… roulette wheel?

[Kino walks over to the roulette wheel.]

K: Oh! Look, look! If you look closely, there are squares (2) on the ground. 

R: Judging from those square spaces, we really do seem to be inside that game. I don’t know what caused all of this, exactly, but that seems to be the most likely explanation. Anyway, let’s stay put until we know more.

07:10 [Kino is already spinning the roulette wheel.]

K: Huh? D’ya say something?

R: Hey…! Why did you spin that wheel?

K: Why? Because I felt like it, of course.

R: I just told you to stay put!

K: Oh, it’s alright! You’ll overexert yourself if you get pissed off at me for such small things.

R: If that’s what you think, aren’t you better off not doing those things? Don’t put this on me!

A: You two… now’s not the time to fight…

[A countdown signal goes off.]

K: What’s that sound?

A: It sounds like… something has started.

R: Be careful. It sounds like something’s coming towards us.

[A very large spider comes towards the boys.]

K: Ah! What’s up with that giant spider?! It’s gross!

A: It’s huge…

R: Damn… We’ve been hauled into this unknown place and now we’re being attacked by a gigantic spider? These are some strange things happening… Kino. This is your fault. You take down the spider.

K: What? Why me? Get off your high horse and stop ordering me around. I’m not your little brother.

R: We’re in this situation because you were careless enough to spin that roulette wheel. This is your responsibility, so you should do something about it…

[Ruki and Kino’s bickering fades to the background as Azusa tries to appeal to the spider.]

A: Those two…

[The spider roars.]

R: [In the background] So, that means that you’re under my watch now.

A: [To the spider] I’m sorry… They ended up ignoring you.

K: [In the background] Ha, I get it! You’re just a little weakling, then! That’s why you always order people around!

A: [To the spider] They just kind of… started bickering, and… 

R: [In the background] Heh! 

[The spider roars again.]

A: What should I do…? What can I even do…?

[Azusa walks around.]

A: Ah! 

09:00R: Speak for yourself! You’re looking for excuses because you’re actually not confident that you can defeat that spider!

K: What? D’you think you can just make fun of me?

[The spider roars again.]

K: [To the spider] Hey, shut the fuck up! Take this!

[Kino attacks the spider.]

R: You should stay quiet while people are talking. Good grief, you have no manners.

[Ruki attacks the spider, killing it. Ruki walks over to it.]

R: Finally, you’ve gone quiet.

A: Ah… so you’ve defeated the spider.

R: Yeah, well, this clearly isn’t a place for leisuring. We should look around for clues so we can get out of here as fast as possible.

A: Ah, about that… Look at this. The spot that the roulette wheel landed on… it reads… “a large volume of spiders will show up,” “dispose of them rather than complaining”...

K: A large volume of spiders? So that’s what that spider was just now?

R: I see. So in this realm, whatever is written on the spaces will become reality.

K: Wow, that’s cool! So that means we’re playing a sort of sensory experience game here?

A: What’s written on the spaces… will actually materialise… But this space… doesn’t say anything about one gigantic spider… But we haven’t seen more spiders, either…

K: Aren’t they just talking about bugs? It’s a common occurrence in newly released games. And we’re inside the game right now, so that could explain it.

R: I see. Whatever the case, we should not stick around much longer. We’re getting out of here. Now.

11:05 A: But… how?

R: I have an idea.

K: Well, it doesn’t take a genius to come up with an escape plan. If we’re inside a game, we’ll just have to end the game, won’t we?

A: So, that means…

K: Yep, we just have to clear the game.

R: However, whatever is written on the square spaces seems to actually occur inside this game. Clearing it is not going to be easy.

A: Ah… actually, when you two were fighting earlier… I found something. Look. Come over here.

[Azusa leads them to a different spot.]

A: Look at this space. 

K: Huh? What’s this?

R: It says “Find the Golden Bunny for good luck. You may proceed to the goal immediately.”

K: Well, then, we can clear the game if we find that Golden Bunny, right?

R: I suppose so. Well done, Azusa.

A: Yeah.

R: However, I don’t think we’ll be able to find that bunny so easily…

[Lo and behold, a bunny hops by.]

K: Huh? Was that…?

R: The Golden… Bunny.

[The Golden Bunny happily hops away.]

K: Oh! Stop standing around. Let’s catch it! Come on, you two!

A: Ah… alright.

R: Kino, let’s work together. I’ll lend you a hand this time so we can get out of here.

K: Heh, get off your high horse. But, well, alright. I’ll join forces with you to escape this place. Don’t stand in my way, though.

A: Yes! Let’s all work together, then.

R: Great. We’re going after that bunny!

[The three run after the bunny.]

13:15 A: Haa… haa… Yes! We’ve caught up with it! Hehe. [To the bunny] Hey… you look… pretty tasty. Come on… don’t be scared. I’ll do you a favour… and catch you!

[Azusa tries to catch the bunny but it gets away and Azusa falls.]

A: Oh. Ow…

K: Jeez, don’t just try to grab it like that! Cornering it will only scare it away. You’ll never catch the bunny that way!

A: Sorry… Ah, Ruki… It’s coming your way!

[The bunny hops over to Ruki. Ruki and the bunny have a staredown.]

R: Well. Hey, you! Bunny. Come here. I’ll be nice to you. Now, jump into my arms! 

[The bunny—unlike the translator—is unfazed by Ruki’s tactics and it runs off.]

R: That’s strange… Why didn’t it jump into my arms?

K: What?! Did you seriously expect that to work? Oh, the two of you are completely useless.

R: Hey, Kino! It’s heading your way! Don’t waste this chance. Catch it!

K: What? It’s easy for you to order me around! Did you forget your own failure so easily? This pisses me off. I might be stubborn, but I’m going to fucking catch you!

[The bunny hops by Kino.]

K: Take this!

[Kino throws himself on top of the bunny. Ruki and Azusa run over to him.]

A: Kino!

R: Kino! Hey, did you catch it?

[Kino holds up the bunny.]

K: I did it… I caught it! I did it!

A: What a relief… Now we’ll be able to go home… We were able to catch it… because we all worked together.

R: Yeah, we did. It’s not so bad to help each other out.

K: Whoa, now. It’s thanks to my efforts that we’ve got the bunny. The two of you didn’t even do anything. Stop that sappy talk.

15:18A: This bunny… is pretty docile… and fluffy… 

K: It really is. It’s pretty cute with its little twitching nose.

A: Yeah… how cute. Hey, Ruki. Can’t we keep a bunny at home?

R: That’s not a good idea. I’d be the one constantly looking after it in the end.

A: It’s okay. I’ll take good care of it. So… please, Ruki?

K: Do you two always have such dull conversations? A Golden Bunny, though… They’re pretty rare. It would be nice if there were more of them.

[Something starts rumbling in the distance.]

A: Hey… Do you guys… hear something?

[An army of bunnies appears and heads for the boys.]

K: Are those… Why is there a horde of Golden Bunnies?! And why are they all coming our way?

R: Kino, you fool… Because of your careless remark—

K: Ah! Did I do that?!

A: Is this… also a bug? Hehe. There are so many bunnies…

K: Why do you look so happy about it? This is bad!

A: [In the background] Hehe… So many…

K: Agh! I can’t—The bunnies are trampling over me—

R: Fuck! How did it come to—Agh!

[The boys are buried under all the bunnies.]

17:11[Kino shoots upright in his bed.]

K: Ah! I thought I was going to suffocate. But… Huh? I’m in my own bed. Does that mean that wave of bunnies was… only a dream? Well… Of course it was. I wonder why those Mukami brothers were in my dream, though. It felt awfully real. Hmm…

[Ruki and Azusa also wake up in cold sweat.]

R: Ah… The bunnies?! They’re gone…

A: We’re in… your room, Ruki.

R: Apparently, we just fell asleep in my room somehow…

A: Yeah, but… I had a… strange dream.

R: Me too. A bad dream. I saw a giant spider and gold-coloured bunnies. It all sounds like a wicked joke, I’m sure.

A: Same for me… I also saw golden bunnies… Come to think of it… For some reason, Kino was also there…

R: I see. So you saw him too, Azusa… It seems a little too strange to be a coincidence for the two of us to have the same dream.

A: It does… But it was a really strange dream…

R: It was. It felt strangely realistic, too, but it was only a dream, after all.

A: So the giant spider… appeared in your dream too…

R: It did. It was a pretty rude one, at that, because it kept trying to interrupt our conversation.

A: Yeah… but, Ruki…

[The conversation trails off…]

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

双六（すごろく）: Sugoroku is a Japanese board game kind of similar to backgammon and snakes and ladders, where you have to move all of your pieces to the other side of the board as quickly as you can. Sugoroku often incorporates elements from real life—like religion, politics, etc.—into this ‘race’ for storytelling purposes and more exciting play. You could liken it to the Game of Life too, in my opinion.

マス目 （ますめ）：Squares; square-shaped spaces like the spaces you see on the board of a board game.

[blaithnne]

Heyo 👋 warmup suggestions for your consideration: 3A Victoria Van Gale and/or 7C Meiri if you’re up to either :) 👉👈

How have I never drawn Victoria before???

From this ask game!

[ca-3]

I haven't played the game but based on your posts it felt like there were a lot of PegoRyu interactions. Which was your favorite (if any)?

I guess i went insane with the P5/pegoryu spam in general... i can't control the hyperfixation 💀 but yeah, there is a LOT of interactions cause the two are best friends and Ryuji is one of the first characters the protagonist meets! So it's hard to choose a favorite interaction cause there is a lot throughout the games such...

But maybe in P5R in Ryuji's confidant cause of how he thanks Joker for staying with him and not abandoning him... tldr of the story, Ryuji was without a real friend for quite a long time, so you know he really meant that. plus how he says things in his confidant like how he feels free when talking to him and how he's glad he finally found a place to belong and that there was place for Joker too... right next to him... like bro what do you mean?? What did you mean by that?? 😭

[twig-tea]

TWIG! Friend! I couldn't help but notice your tags in my excitement post about getting to La Pluie -- I see that you and I are YYY mutuals. :) Let's call YYY... say... zany or offbeat -- off the beaten path of the usual romance-dominated field of Thai BLs. What are some other "zanier" BLs (not just Thailand, but everywhere in Asia) that you love and would recommend for an off-the-wall experience? And, why?

@waitmyturtles I'm so sorry you sent this a million years ago and then I kept letting it languish. And it's extra rude because I love this question! It's so hard to add something like YYY to a rec list without a billion caveats, so this is a great chance to shout out some of the series & shorts that don't get as much attention. A few of these I know you've seen but I have to include them for completeness.

First, for the sake of other people reading this, as Turtles has written about, Cheewin brings his own kind of zaniness to almost everything he works on; my faves of his other than YYY are Make It Right and Secret Crush on You (the exception is Bed Friend, which is not in any way zany but I still liked it).

Also going to mention that since Turtles asked for off the beaten path zany, I won't be mentioning any of the popular comedies (in case you're wondering why I Became the Lead in A BL Drama or Man Who Defies the World of BL aren't on this list).

Alright now that's out of the way, let's get into the other recs!

Zany lesser-known BLs other than YYY

Ossan's Love Franchise (Japanese, 2016-2024, GagaOOLala)

It is... less true now that this series is lesser-known than it was when I started writing this draft (in uh... August 2023) but I shall persist! The franchise details alone for this series are complete crack:

A 2016 45-minute short [skippable imo];

The 2018 original series which builds the short into a zany 7-episode comedy series about a man in his late 20s who suddenly finds himself the love interest of his older boss (in his ~50s) and his coworker/roommate (in his mid-20s);

The sequel film Ossan's Love: Love or Dead (2019)which turns into an action film halfway through for no clear reason but also remains a romantic comedy in which the mains from the original season decide if they want to stay together

The AU season Ossan's Love: In the Sky (2019) which has the same characters of the lead and his boss from S1 and the short, but this time they work in an airport and all of the surrounding cast is different and leads to a very confusing love rhombus. Incredible 10/10 no notes [people hate this because they like the mains from S1 & the film but I loved the mess]

The sequel season to S1 and the film, Ossan's Love Returns (2024) which you can absolutely watch in isolation and is about the main couple re-establishing their relationship and their found family friend group after being long distance for a few years.

It's truly excellent comedy, and gets better every outing; there are some barriers that might prevent some enjoying the earlier seasons but the most recent one is really delightful. You can hear me talk more about this series with @bengiyo and @shortpplfedup on The Conversation podcast!

Diary of Tootsies (Thai, 2017, grey/Netflix (for the movie))

I love Diary of Tootsies and the follow-ups so much. SO much. One of the best laughs of my life was the opening to the movie, and I cannot be in a long car ride without thinking about the purse incident in s1. This show doesn't get a lot of BL fandom attention because the romance arcs are not typical for BL (but that's one of the things I love about them). And the friendship in this series is truly what sells it. Season 1 is self-contained, a lot of people dislike the romance plot of S2; I really like the arc across s2 to the movie (as established above, I tend to be less invested in a particular ship across a franchise or multiple franchises). The movie plot is all about reconciling who you thought you wanted and who you are with (amongst all kinds of shenanigans).

HeHe and He (Hong Kong, 2018-ongoing, YouTube)

This mockumentary sitcom-style series does tackle some serious topics and is also absolutely hilarious nonsense across its 3 seasons. The very simple premise is that a gay guy ("hehe" is slang for gay) and a straight guy who are old friends become roommates when the gay friend breaks up with his longterm boyfriend and needs a place to stay, and hijinks ensue. They do direct-to-camera confessionals spliced in with scenes from their lives. I love this show so much, and it would actually be high up in my indie BL rankings if it were completed. I lose it at least once an episode. It's very queer (if you want a show that tackles everything from hookups to turning everything into a joke to being so, so mean to each other while also loving each other dearly to even chemsex, look no further), and I am in love with all of the wacky characters that have formed a love-hate found family that is deeply relatable. The creators posted a video a few months ago saying they're struggling to end it in a way that they're happy with so I'm not sure we'll ever get an ending for the show. But if you like comedy and queer content it's worth a watch even incomplete! I've been very patiently following this project since 2018 and it's legitimately one of my favourite shows.

Rainbow Prince the Series (Filippino, 2022, YouTube)

This is a musical; it is a lot of campy nonsense. There is royalty, political intrigue, a dog, kidnappings, and so. much. singing. The songs are surprisingly catchy and it's all extremely good fun. Also a lot of the dialogue is very clearly improvised.

Hey! First Love (Vietnamese, 2019, YouTube)

This series of shorts are mostly just silly fluff. The very tenuous plot is that these shorts are slice-of-life moments from a young established couple, but it's all really just excuses for Vietnamese comedy and BL romance tropes. If you haven't watched anything from Vietnam, this is a very low-stakes commitment (I think it's under 30 minutes of content all told; there are 4 "episodes" which are spliced together shorts, each of which has a tiny plot but there is not much of an overarching narrative, and then a Q&A with the actors at the end) and gives you a sense of the Vietnamese sense of humour. Both of these actors have gone on to continue to be in other Vietnamese BLs, so if you have watched Vietnamese BL you may recognize them! The production quality on this is charmingly low.

Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan (India, 2019, Amazon Prime)

This film was such a joy to experience in a live theatre. Billed "the first Gay Bollywood RomCom", this movie was a riot of chaos, dance numbers, shenanigans, hilarity, and cuteness. I loved the way this film incorporated the very real legal change to decriminalize homosexuality in its story. Arguably not "BL" as it very much fits in the bollywood tradition not the BL tradition, but OP did ask for all of Asia!

Like Love (China, 2014-15, grey)

And no I don't mean censored--this is from before China started censoring its BLs. This show has kisses as shown in the gif, and even (poorly cropped) sex scenes. It also is super bizarre. I was so confused by this show, the characterization, the fourth wall breaks, and how disjointed it was so I went to read the source material and...it turns out it's one of the most perfect adaptations I've ever seen, the book is in fact exactly like this. The characters are caricatures, there is no bridging between scenes, and the plot is the most absurd take on 'loserfail no-thoughts-head-empty character who doesn't admit he's gay but still ends up in a dedicated and loving relationship with a rich handsome domineering man ' I've ever seen. It's a bewildering experience. Note the sound quality on this one is suuuper miserable. I like s2 way more than s1 (s1 is getting together and includes a lot of the bullying-teasing and I'm-not-gay-I-just-need-him-to-pay-attention-to-me stuff, s2 is the honeymoon phase + getting the homophobic parents on board) but S1 is definitely the zanier of the two. That being said, if you wanted, I think you can dive right in to s2 (there's a direct-to-camera explanation of what happened in s1 at the start of it). Note that they set up a cliffhanger at the end of 2 in anticipation of s3 which was going to be made in 2016 but was cancelled because of the political changes in China in 2016 (this is one of the reasons I went to read the source material; they do get a happy ending in the books).

This is an extremely silly but also touching franchise with a lot of tropes I don't love, but also a lot of things I do (and just neat to see some stuff so early in BL: Underwater kiss? Helicopter ride? Femme fatale becomes friend of the faen? Supportive grandparent? It's all here). There are some fantastic speeches in s2 about supporting your gay children; I liked how in this the kids didn't give up on their parents but try to reconcile their filial piety with their dedication to each other. If you do watch S1, highly recommended you watch the series version rather than the film. For "S2"/the follow-up film, make sure you look for the uncensored film version.

The Lover Room 709 Cut (Korean/Japanese, 2016, grey)

This starts extremely silly, plays with BL tropes, and gets a little bit serious at the end but is mostly just full of puns and innuendos. Includes one of the most hilarious takes on kabedon, and egregious use of the soundtrack from Brokeback Mountain. Also: fart jokes. Folks worried it was going to stay teasing the audience but it does commit and we do get an actual resolution that is satisfying. I admit I've never seen the whole series (which includes stories of 3 other couples in the apartment building) but the BL cut is readily available if you search. Make sure you look for the deleted scene with the lotion application--this scene walked so IFYLITA could run (I'm kidding, but it's very funny seeing this scene now and thinking about that one).

The Boy Next Door (Korean, 2018, YouTube)

This is another older series playing with censorship (similar to The Lover) in which the two characters end up in BL romance tropes but are not actually in love...or are they? The shenanigans are very fun. This one is left more ambiguous than The Lover, which is one of the reasons it's further down the list.

Go! Go! G-Boys (Taiwan, 2006, grey)

I debated between this and another quirky comedy from Taiwan in the early 2000s, Formula 17, but while that's unequivocally a better movie, this one is lesser known and more zany, so it technically better fits the bill for this ask (but if you haven't, go watch Formula 17!). The plot is a bit cringe--straight boy signs up to gay beauty contest to pay off his girlfriend's debts (accompanied by his gay childhood friend who is in love with him) and finds his truth. Meanwhile a homophobic police officer has also infiltrated the contest for investigative purposes. Amongst all that admittedly not great setup, however, are several bizarre sequences including the incredible Lord of the Rings recreation scene (complete with Gatchaman of course), a killer soundtrack, a random delivery of poultry, someone slapping a cake, and, most absurdly unbelievable at all: police taking harassing death threats to the gay contest seriously. It does a great job of setting up what should be a dramatic scene and then immediately undercutting the tension with something absurd. It's not narratively good, but it is a fun ride! And yes, there is a happy ending. Stick around for a fourth wall break (literally) after the credits.

Something Crunchy Crunchy (Korean, 2018, GagaOOLala)

Extremely bizarre little musical short in which snacks are anthropomorphized as hot guys and they sing songs about being eaten and wanting to be eaten. Played entirely sincerely, but the concept is screamingly funny. Fascinating. Also, kind of poly?

Dom (Korean, 2016, GagaOOLala)

Another hilarious and weird Korean short, this time in which we see the protagonist's sex life from the perspective of the condom boxes that are anthropomorphized and given personalities based on their brands.

And since we can't leave out the ladies,

A few zany GLs:

Lily Fever (Korean, 2015, YouTube)

I wrote about this one a little in my GL rec list; it is absolutely bonkers nonsense. There is not really a plot, it's a fever dream of a show. Chaos! Not so much a romance as an excuse to see cute girls flirt and make out.

Legend of Yunqian (China, 2020, grey)

I debated including this one because only the middle is really the zany part, it's sandwiched with more serious xianxia drama. But in the middle of this miniseries is an extremely cute interlude in which xianxia characters time travel to present day for ~reasons. It's censored but there is very little uncertainty about feelings, and manages to be absolutely charming. Worth the short runtime for this kitten quickcut (subbed "Whomst?!" in the show for ultimate comedy). Warning for character death (but it's ok because time travel to reincarnated character!) Subtitled by the indispensable @douqi7s [see their pinned post for links].

BetCin (Filippino, 2022, WeTV)

A lesbian couple with a YouTube following decide to break up but then find out there's a contest for couples, and they decide to pretend to still be together to try and win the contest rather than tell their fans they've broken up. This series does some really interesting things by starting with a breakup and then looking at how two people who are no longer dating manage BGP while also managing their feelings. There's a lot going on in this show, and the hijinks definitely ensue!

Perfect One Night Stand (Korean, 2020, GagaOOLala)

This is a cute Strongberry GL short in which a friend agrees to help her other friend find a girl to have sex with before the day is over; they go through several quirky candidates looking for the titular perfect one night stand.

[satellite-starss]

Been thinking about making a return to tumblr hehe so have my current blorbos,,,

[2aceofspades]

1A :3

AAAAA-

Hi Somni :)

1.) The most recent character in your photos.

A.) Using your non-dominant hand.

CASEY!!!

(:

[valeriianz]

🖋️

⚡💙💙💙

(love your work 💕)

ahhh thank you ❤️ (i love these emojis for BitB haha) some more quick lines for you!

“Do you know why the roadies get to the venue first?” “To test my patience?”   “To set everything up in time for sound check.” Hob grabs Morpheus’ wandering hands, biting back a smile. “For you.”

Send me a 🖋️ and I will add one sentence to my wip and reply with it

[littencloud9]

yosano and (not out yet) tfem kunikida bonding maybe.. clothes shopping together even... yosano tries something on and upon seeing the way knkd looks, offers for her to try it on too bc they have similar builds. or something :3 (but obviously this is pretty specific so feel free to write only some bits or not use this prompt at all <3<3)

slava this is a banger prompt im giving you a big hug. hope this delivers kfjgkjf

—

Yosano pulls out two skirts from the hangers, one a dark purple and one a light blue. She holds them both up in the mirror, squinting.

“Which one’s nicer?” she asks, turning to Kunikida, who has been dutifully sharing his opinions and giving wonderful fashion advice.

“I think purple matches your hair well,” he says. Yosano nods, putting back the blue skirt and strutting to the changing room.

She didn’t actually check the size before she grabbed it. The skirt ends up a few sizes too big for her, hanging loosely around her waist and almost reaching her ankles. With a frown, she holds the skirt up and opens the door of the changing room, where Kunikida is waiting.

“Oh, wow. That’s nice,” Kunikida compliments.

“Really?” she does a quick spin, and the hem of the skirt flares out with her movements.

Flowy clothes aren’t really her style, honestly. Yosano much prefers tighter or more secure clothing so that it doesn’t get in the way when she’s fighting. She’s about to voice that out when she pauses, taking note of Kunikida’s expression.

His eyes are fixed on her skirt, specifically the swish that follows every movement she makes. Maybe she’s wrong, but Yosano thinks there’s something in his eyes akin to… envy?

She doesn’t overthink it. Quick as a flash, Yosano changes out of the skirt and slams open the door, holding it up for Kunikida. “You should try it on.”

Kunikida blinks. “What?”

Ah, shit. She didn’t think this far. “Uh. I just think it’ll fit you way better than me. It’s the perfect length, see?” She holds it to his waist and the skirt falls right below his knees. “Plus, it’ll be fun!”

Kunikida hesitates. Yosano sees the way his eyes dart around the shop for a brief moment before he accepts, taking the skirt gingerly. He disappears into the changing room and Yosano leans against the wall, tapping her foot anxiously.

When the door creaks open, Kunikida’s face pokes out first. He looks a little shy, but there’s a giddy smile on his face. “It does fit perfectly.”

“Show me!” Yosano gasps. The door opens wider and she squeals when Kunikida steps out, showing the full thing. “That’s beautiful. It really suits you!”

Kunikida beams. “Thank you.”

[zukkaoru]

chuuran + sky and/or kunidazai + gold <3

chuuran + sky

“Don’t tell me you’re scared,” Chuuya taunts. “Surely the world’s greatest detective knows better than to doubt my skills.”

“I’m not scared!” Ranpo bites back, his voice pitched slightly too high. “And I don’t doubt your ability; I doubt your desire to keep me alive.”

Chuuya laughs. They hold out a hand, glowing red. “Guess you’ll just have to trust me, then.” He has no reason to do so, really. Chuuya has been mostly hostile towards him since they got out of Poe’s novel. But they know better than to coax him in the sky only to drop him thirty stories.

Something unreadable flickers across Ranpo’s face, and then he places his hand in Chuuya’s. “Fine,” he grins. “Show me the stars, Mr. Fancy Hat.”

-

kunidazai + gold

Kunikida’s hair glints golden in the evening light, and Dazai’s breath catches in his throat. Kunikida isn’t doing anything out of the ordinary; he’s just bent over his desk, absorbed in his work, while Dazai messes around at his own desk and pointedly does not do any of the work he’s supposed to be doing. But he’s never really stopped to just look at Kunikida before.

He’s never observed the way the setting sun paints him golden.

His mouth goes oddly dry, and his chair slams forward from where he’d been leaning back on it.

Kunikida starts at the noise before looking up to locate the source of it. His eyes narrow when they meet Dazai’s, but then his annoyance smooths out into concern. “Are you alright?”

A beat passes. Dazai thinks: Why wouldn’t I be? And then he remembers his face is doing something weird, so he shifts his expression back to his ever-present smile and directs his gaze just to the left of Kunikida’s head before pulling out a response that is probably a lie.

[bookishjules]

2, 3 and 21 for simon lewis/lovelace PLEASE <3

2. A canon or headcanon hill I will die on

simon is bi. fight me

3. Obscure headcanon

yossarian wasn't the lewis family's first cat. simon's dad had a cat who the kids grew up with and who outlived mr. lewis by a couple years. losing that cat was especially hard on simon, who had obviously been the youngest when his dad died and who was kinda mourning anew for him as well as the cat. enter: a stray who wandered into luke's bookshop. when luke saw how much simon opened up with the cat, he let the kid take the stray, which he had already taken to calling yossarian, home. (after confirming with mrs. lewis ofc)

21. Drink of choice (not just alcoholic)

coffee. black out of convenience. different from clary's black, which is because she prefers the taste (and the aesthetic lol)

character asks <3

[hannahmanderr]

HERE TO FIX MY WRONNGDOINGS PITCH PEARL PLSSSSSS

Fenton didn't even have time to react to the sudden drop in temperature before something cold snaked around his arm.

He shrieked. "Getoffofme!" he began shouting in rushed words as he flailed his arms wildly, trying to shake the thing off. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't going to come off so easily.

A moment later, gasps of stifled laughter tickled at his ears, and a moment after that, the sense of familiarity settled into his chest, both at the voice and at the thing wrapped around his arm. He resumed his efforts to rid himself of it, but this time with a bit more thoughtfulness and a lot more anger.

"You. Are. The. Worst!" he hissed. Each word was punctuated with a swat in the general direction of the choked laughter. None of them landed, making the laughter only grow stronger.

Fenton growled and wrenched his arm out of the grasp of the strange, semi-tangible hold. In one motion, he yanked his arm out and quickly twisted it back around to grab at the area where it had been. This time, he landed true, and his hand closed around it.

"Hey!" The protest was accompanied by a flicker of his assailant. "Not cool!"

Fenton simply rolled his eyes and, keeping his grasp on the odd force, stormed into the nearby alleyway. Once safely tucked in between the two buildings, he hurled his hand forward, throwing the assailant into the wall.

Phantom appeared right as his back hit the wall and he let out an oomph. The assailant - his stupid tail - split back into two legs from the sudden shock of the impact. "What was that for?" he whined as he rubbed the back of his head.

"What do you mean, what was that for? How about you sneaking up on me and scaring the crap out of me?"

Phantom grinned sheepishly. "I couldn't help it. No one else was around, it was the perfect moment. Besides," he said, leaning in closer towards Fenton, "I have to come up with more creative ways to get to hold your hand, you know?"

Fenton remained unfazed. "You know you can literally just... hold my hand, right?"

"But that's not as much fun." The ghost lifted himself off of the ground a bit, and his legs reformed into a black, misty tail that began snaking its way towards Fenton again. "I like my way better."

"Oh, would you stop that?" Fenton batted the tail away easily. "You're not gonna get away with it by putting on this little cutesy act. And oh my God, why can I touch it? I thought that thing was like, a cloud or something?"

Phantom stopped in his tracks. He stared at the tip of his tail with a hard look as it floated between them, waving back and forth lazily. "That... is an excellent question," he muttered. Carefully, he experimented with poking and prodding at it himself.

"You mean you don't know?"

"Well excuse me! Just because I'm the ghost in this relationship doesn't mean I know everything!"

"It's literally your tail!"

"It was yours once too, you know!" Phantom huffed and crossed his arms. "It's not exactly something I've paid much attention to before. It's just... been there."

"I just thought it was different than other ghost tails," Fenton said. Now he too was staring at it, though his mind seemed to be in other places. "Like... the Observants. Or Desiree. Their tails are part of their body. But yours, it's not there all the time. You flip back and forth." He paused, then asked, "Are there other ghosts that can do that?"

"What, morph legs into a tail?" Phantom shrugged. "I don't know. I'm sure there are. I can't think of any off the top of my head though. Other than maybe Spectra and Bertrand, but that's because they have human disguises."

Fenton bit his lip and, with one finger, carefully reached out to the tip of the tail. It connected, pushing it just the slightest bit.

Phantom watched in wonder. He knew all the ghost stuff still interested Fenton - how could it not? It had become such an intimate part of his life at this point - but for as fiery as the human could get, he was often hesitant and timid, even around Phantom. Something about the simple action made his stomach flutter.

Granted, that also probably had to do with the fact that Fenton was interacting with his tail.

"It is weird," he said quietly, still watching Fenton poke at the tail, "I know other humans haven't been able to really touch it. Sam tried to hit me just last week and her hand went right through. So..."

Fenton glanced up at him. "Maybe it's 'cause I'm around ectoplasm a lot more? Or something?"

"Or..."

Fenton could recognize the look of a capital-I Idea in Phantom's eyes when he got one, and this was no exception. "Or what?" he asked impatiently.

"Maybe it's not just the ectoplasm," Phantom said, still grinning. "I mean like I said, this was your tail once too. You know it better than anyone else. Maybe you just know the right way to grab onto it."

Fenton's face flushed red. "Oh my God, did you have to make it sound dirty?"

"But think of it this way!" Phantom continued as if Fenton hadn't said anything. "Now..."

Without warning, the tail darted forward and slipped around Fenton's waist before coiling around his wrist, eliciting a yelp from him.

Phantom's grin was even wider now. "... I have an even better way of getting you close to me."

Fenton's eyes widened in realization as the tail began to pull him, closer to Phantom. A second later though, his face twisted into one of frustration. "Oh no you don't!" He dug his heels into the ground. "Don't think I've forgotten about you scaring me!"

"Aww, but darling, I can't apologize when you're way over there," Phantom said with a laugh. Despite the strain against his tail, he managed to stay still in the air.

"I'm about to 'darling' you if you don't let me go!"

"Hmm." Phantom put a thoughtful hand to his chin as he watched Fenton struggle against his hold. It felt strange, to have a human be able to to interact with such a ghostly limb, but he couldn't deny that the idea that this was a trait unique to Fenton didn't send a pleasant buzz through his core.

After a moment spent basking in the satisfaction of it all, he shrugged. "Well, I guess if I can't get you to come to me, I could always just come to you."

"Wait, what?" Fenton stopped struggling for a moment, but it was already too late. Phantom, laughing giddily, had shot forward, and before Fenton knew it, Phantom's tail was wound around him even tighter, pinning his arms into place. Phantom himself had pressed right up against his side and thrown his arms around the human's shoulders. His head was bent in close towards Fenton's.

"I hate you so much," Fenton muttered. He tried to turn his head to look at Phantom, but they were too close for it to be much more than him rubbing his cheek uselessly against Phantom's forehead.

Phantom hummed again before taking one of his hands and cupping Fenton's cheek. Gently, he lifted his head enough to turn Fenton's face to his and place his forehead against the human's.

Like this, they were twined so closely together, the rapid thrum of Fenton's heart was indistinguishable from the pulse of Phantom's core. Warm, shallow breaths tickled Phantom's face. He almost had to go cross-eyed to see into Fenton's eyes, and even though it wasn't the most comfortable thing to attempt, he tried anyway because he wanted to - needed to see his human.

Despite Fenton's pouty demeanor, Phantom could feel the desire radiating off of him. They'd been in somewhat similar positions many times before, and he knew that Fenton knew (and wanted) what always came next.

So instead, he brought Fenton's face just close enough for him to nuzzle his nose lovingly against the human's.

When he pulled his head away, he couldn't help but giggle at the pout that had become even more pronounced on Fenton's face.

"Go through all that trouble and you can't even give me a real kiss for it," he grumbled.

The giggles wouldn't stop coming. "Technically, it's still a kiss."

"... I swear if you don't quit being such a smartass, I will tie you up with your own tail and leave you in the lab for Mom and Dad to find."

Phantom just laughed harder and pulled his tail and his human in closer to deliver the 'real' kiss that had long been coming.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

~~Send me a ship and I'll write the first scene I think of with them!

[pretentiouswreckingball]

hehe hi loops! 🚀

[killingsboys]

You briefly mentioned Gale in your post about Lucy Gray being everywhere (🫶🏻) in District 12 and I wanted to ask what do you think of him as a character. It’s been 10 years since I’ve read the books so I don’t remember exactly how things happened in Mockingjay, but I think it’s unfair how people make everything about the love triangle and in order to praise Peeta for everything he does right, they tend to be really nasty about Gale when imo what happened ~ because ~ of him is really heartbreaking and just shows how war destroys people and who they love. Idk if I’m expressing myself well but I think people do miss the point sometimes. Peeta is a sweetheart but there’s no satisfaction to me in simplifying everything that happen by calling Gale a villain or a toxic guy. This sounds so boring sorry, I just loved your post about Lucy okay? Please yes talk more about books here next year! 💌

hi anon!! thank you for your kind words <3 and thank you for your question! i have THOUGHTS about gale so i am soooooo ready to talk about him <3

first and foremost i am & always have been a peeta girlie, he is truly one of the greatest fictional characters of all time and i'll die on that hill. but i actually do like gale, and i think he gets a very bad rap in fandom!

i think the first mistake people make is assuming that katniss/peeta/gale is a love triangle. it isn't. the struggle of katniss choosing between peeta & gale isn't actually about "omg who will she end up with" but about the life she will choose for herself. katniss herself explains it in mockingjay: it's about choosing the dandelion in the spring, or the fire. she chooses the dandelion in the spring because she needs hope to sustain her. she has enough of her own fire; adding someone else's to it will only hurt her in the end. that doesn't mean she doesn't love gale in one way or another. that doesn't even mean that she condemns the fire. she is the fire! it only means that ending up with gale would hurt the both of them.

gale is not a bad character, and he is not a bad person. it's insane to me that people think he's a bad person, actually! he's a traumatized child whose father was killed in the mines and who has spent the formative years of his life risking his life to break the law so he can provide for his family. exactly like katniss. and he's angry about it. but not angry in an abstract way — he's angry in a directed way, in a way that makes him want to change the world they live in. and he should! that's the whole point of the series!

gale spends most of the first games with katniss's family, because he loves her and he loves them and he doesn't want them to be alone. he promises he won't let katniss's family go hungry if she dies. he takes extra tesserae so his younger siblings won't have to, even though they could use the extra food and fuel, even though it puts him at additional risk. he leads 800 scared, hungry, injured people out of district 12 when they're firebombed. when the bombs are coming for district 13, he goes upstairs to check katniss's family's compartment to make sure they're all safe and to grab the things most precious to katniss and her family, risking his own life in the process. he throws himself over katniss when the bombs drop in district 8 and follows her up to the warehouse roof without pause. he lies for her, a thousand times. he follows her across the capitol on the pipe dream of killing president snow. he doesn't hate katniss for her relationship with peeta — he even says that he knows he can't hate her, that it wasn't fair to her. he isn't even angry. he's heartbroken. he's an 18 year old boy in love with his best friend and the world keeps on ending and she was sent to die and the only way she could survive was by pretending to love another boy sent to die — and she might not be pretending, and she doesn't know, and gale is caught in all the middle of it. he's allowed to be upset! everything is so messed up!

katniss doesn't agree with everything gale does. neither do i! i don't think killing the people in the nut in district 2 was the right choice, and i'm glad katniss interrupted. but it's very easy to see where gale is coming from. one of the core themes of the series can be summed up with haymitch's repeated question: "who is the enemy?" over the course of the trilogy, we see katniss begin to comprehend the true answer. she starts off challenging the idea that the richer people in her district are the enemy, even though they don't have to take the tesserae. then she thinks it's the kids from the richer districts who are her enemy, but when she kills marvel from district 1, it feels wrong to her because he's also just a child being manipulated and used as a pawn by a violent government. like her. like rue. the enemy is not any of the people dying in the capitol's mines and orchards and factories and arenas. and in mockingjay, katniss realizes that the normal civilians in the capitol aren't even her enemy. the enemy is the ring of people at the very, very top.

where gale goes wrong is he doesn't reach the end conclusion of that. gale hasn't gone into the arena, he hasn't had to face down other scared children to atone for the "sins" of people they never met. he doesn't get it. he never will, not in the way katniss does. so he doesn't find the same answer as her.

and as for the bombs that kill prim. you see. i really, truly do not believe that they are thirteen's bombs. snow's points in his discussion with katniss don't hold up enough for me personally, and knowing as much as we do about snow, i truly do think he was trying to mess with her one more time. but within the confines of the story, it doesn't matter who dropped those bombs. in real life, yes, it would absolutely matter. but within the books, it doesn't. what matters is that it could have been either of them. capitol or thirteen. snow or coin. the point was they were trading one evil for another, and katniss couldn't be made in a pawn in that, too.

but it doesn't matter, because she will always associate that with gale. it isn't fair, because even if it was thirteen's bomb, there was no way he would agree to that, no way he would help to kill children to prove a point. but she cannot help but associate that with gale. and gale, oh gale. he will always think it, too. he will always wonder if he was the man that killed prim. the little girl he helped to take care of for years, almost another sibling to him. the little girl he helped katniss bring lady the goat home to. the little girl he would not have let starve if katniss died. the little girl he led to safety when the firebombs dropped on district twelve. he will live the rest of his life having to think he is responsible for her death.

i find gale to be one of the most tragic characters in the series. he tries so hard, to take care of the people he loves, to help others, to build something worth having. and he loses very nearly everything for it. and then the fandom vilifies him and treats him like he's worse than president snow. when really, gale was just another exploited, traumatized child whose life was warped and twisted and burned by the capitol.