#also yes anyway i am much better at bingeing shows as much as i like keeping up with D20 live

[sharkieboi]

hi okay so i’m rewatching Starstruck and

a) being able to binge it as the Complete Experience with the Adventuring Party(s) right after each episode is very great and I like being able to revisit the story this way

b) I actually think this is my favorite season of character art in general, and in particular Sundry Sidney’s portrait is no contest my absolute favorite character art of all of D20

[strawberry-cowmilk]

voicemails

-> mc is back in the human world but didn't pick up the phone, so the brothers leave a voicemail

-> brothers x mc

mc's gender is not mentioned, not proof read also kind of trying out a new style hehe

content warnings: kind of angsty maybe, alcohol use, gambling mentions

-----

Lucifer

'good evening, mc. it is a fine evening here in the devildom, I hope it's the same case with you. I have just returned from a meeting with diavolo, we've had... quite the demonus. however I am by no means drunk. anyways I have actually been listening to the record you got for me, a thoughtful gift indeed. I just have a feeling that... it would sound lots better with you in the chair next to me. (he chuckles) well, there's no helping it. perhaps I have to bring you back to the devildom myself?'

'I was hoping to hear your voice, too bad you didn't pick up the phone. are you perhaps asleep, mc? in that case I shall leave you be. sleep well, mc.'

Mammon

'yo mc, why are you not picking up your phone? I just snuck away from home with mine to talk tp you, you know? ugh... that cocky lucifer and his stupid rules. like what do you mean we gotta take turns calling you? no way, I ain't waiting so long to talk to you! just cause he's the eldest he thinks he's all high and mighty!'

'okay anyways, on with the important stuff! so listen up I called because I scored HUGE at the casino today and you know how I won so much huh? I bet on your favorite number, y'know... cause I miss you and all... (he suddenly coughs) ah wait no what I just said ain't true! I bet on your favorite number cause... well... that was my battery percentage or something...'

'okay anyways mc, you better visit the devildom soon! bye bye! have a good day!'

Leviathan

'um hi what's up? how's the human world? did you get the games and anime I asked you to get yet? I totally can't wait to see what kind of stuff you got over there! oh and I can't wait to show you the newest releases here in the devildom! the latest season of 'I went to the fair a 6km distance from my house with my best friend and pet dog but the manager turned out to be my online gaming buddy' came last week and I binged it all!'

'um (pause) but look I kind of called to tell you... well... you gotta come here fast so we can share the stuff you know? ahh it's no good I can't say it! um well look, I miss you!' (he hangs up suddenly)

Satan

'hello mc, I see you're not picking up your phone. are you busy? listen to this voice message any time you'd like then. I hope the human world is treating you well, it's so different from the devildom after all. well at least you won't have to worry about anyone stealing your soul.'

'exam season at rad just ended, I'm satisfied with most of my scores. I am a little disappointed because of my spells and potions grade, a 83 isn't good enough to me. could it be I was distracted because I miss you? (he sighs) well, one more reason for you to hurry back here. everyone's been fighting over who gets to call you first and all that, it's pissing me off. but I get it, I love hearing your voice. well mc I guess this is it, goodbye for now.'

Asmodeus

'hi mc! finally it's my turn to talk to you, but what's up with not picking up hm? well as long as you promise to call me back later, I don't mind leaving a voicemail for you! did you do anything fun recently? I attended some parties but well, they were kind of boring. or was I just... not feeling it? whatever that doesn't matter, I just wanna see you again! how much longer are you going to stay in the human world? I miss you so so so much!'

'I hope you miss me too. do you miss me? when you call me back you have to answer that question, deal? and if yes you have to visit. there's so much I want to talk to you about, so much I wanna show you! like I made into a magazine, you just have to see it! call soon, okay? I love you.'

Beelzebub

hell's kitchen is having a sale. when you but a cheeseburger you get a second one free. of course I took advantage of the deal and got a lot of cheeseburgers. you should visit soon mc, I want to share my food with you. it tastes better like that.' (you can basically hear him smiling through the phone)

'anyways, everyone misses you. sometimes my brothers get really sad, it's kind of hard to watch sometimes. of course I really miss you too. I think about you every time before I fall asleep. it makes me have good dreams. also my team won another game last night, I wish you could have seen it. well, next time right? bye mc, I hope to talk to you soon.'

Belphegor

'hi mc. how are you doing? I hope you're good. listen I'm on the balcony right now and there's stars in the sky. ugh I hate to be that one cheesy guy in your average romance movie but... the stars look like you. I can see your face in them. nevermind just forget what I said that was really sappy.'

'anyways please call me back, I get that you're probably busy or napping right now but I want to hear your voice. I want to hear how you've been there in the human world, hopefully your weather is nice.'

'well I'm running out of stuff to say, bye mc. call me back.'

[absolutebl]

This week in BL - I am all over the place, But Laws of Attraction is Phenomenal af

July 2023 Wk 2

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Laws of Attraction (Thai Sat iQIYI) 1 of 8 - Icky picked it up but it’s not airing for me until Sundays so I held this post specifically to watch and talk about this show. Stars the pair from To Sir With Love with the same production team. IT’S SO GOOD Y’ALL. A morally corrupted trickster lawyer with a tragic past, sad eyes, and a beautiful smile that he uses like a weapon. Meets paladin martial arts instructor from other side of the tracks (who is out, at least to his baby sister). Corrupt police. Spoiled rich kid evil. Ambitious politician. Tragic death. Terrible subs.* This show is very like Manner of Death but so far it is a much better/tighter story. It’s NOT BL but it is fucking phenomenal. And you shoudl watch it. Not wait to binge it. WATCH IT. On a global scale this might be the best thing currently airing featuring gay romantic leads. Its really fucking good. It’s Lawless Lawyer but more complex character motivation and gay af. Fuck yes please and thank you. FINALLY. Triggers for violence, beatings, death & torture depicted on screen. Like MoD they are not holding back.  (* A lot of the familial names they are using are not gendered in Thai but translated as such, like “nephew”. This one is gonna go down a lot easier if you know some Thai.)

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 12fin - 2 years pass and no one’s hairstyle changes? Srs. Them meeting again = hella AWKWARD. Both still pining & hurt. NO SINGING. The reconciliation scene was great. I enjoyed that on the “do over relationship” they went with phi/pom (instead of the super formal khuns). So cute and so much more relaxed. Also lots of neck kisses! Charming final ep. It’s only flaw being they dropped the side couple, but I wasn’t really into them anyway. Ultimately? This is what Boss & Babe should have been and could we please have Up lead out another BL? I miss him and he only gets prettier. Full review below.

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 12fin - I adore the tiny little baby GL thread that we almost got. And I wish we had had more of it throughout the show. The side couple turned out to be good too. Emotional crying kisses are my favorite. Sunshine netted himself an earnest serious romantic boy, we likey. As for the main couple? Well... Tai’s search story arc was dull and dragging in a final ep and it felt bloated and slow as a result. It was a good confession reunion with Tai figuring all of his shit out, not surprising but fine. Kind of a a weak final ep. Full review below. 

Hidden Agenda (Thai Sun GMMTV YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - JoonDunk are back and we have all seen this a million times before, but Thailand never executed a successful formula it didn’t want to repeat a million times over, drunk bathroom and everything. Welcome (back) to Thai BL (and back and back and back). Basically they just added glasses, a new 1-shared-brain-cell friendship group, and different uni departments. Ah GMMTV, forever trying to recreate the magic of 2gether. But also I’m enjoying it. I’m a simple person. (Hi Jamie! Still in college since 2018 I see.) Anyone else notice that Chinese phrase that they did not translate for us? Mmm hum. Cute. Still... NO SINGING. 

Low Frequency (Sat iQIYI) ep 2 of 8 - Thames is in coma and getting slagged off on the socials. It’s moving a bit slowly but the premise is interesting despite the poor quality of the execution. 

Dinosaur Love (Sun iQIYI) ep 3 of 8 eps - Major trigger for self harm depicted on screen in part 2/4. I skipped it. Then there is assault and verbal abuse. I told you Ultimate Troop is NOT to be trusted. 

Be Mine Super Star (Mon Viki) ep 2 of 12 - Look, I don’t really mind this show but I also don’t like second hand embarrassment and I sense a metric butt ton incoming.

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 8 of 12 - I was not best pleased with this episode. Ya’ll round the tumblr-sphere seem to be enjoying it but I have officially hit the wall on Kawi. There is not enough booze for me to cope with his shizz. I may be alone in this. But gotta say how I feel... Unlike him. Trash watch here.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Tokyo in April is... AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 5 of 8 - Poor Ren, he feels compelled to take on the burden of protecting everyone from sexual assault because he blames himself. And he can’t even talk to his boyfriend about it. Oh fuck me the pair of shoes at the door. And neck kisses? TOO MUCH. Argh. Japan. Why must you hurt so good? 

Stay By My Side (Taiwan Fri Gaga) 3 of 10 eps - It’s a very cute show. All the tropes and archetypes with no fuss or attempts to be clever, just executing them (sometimes over and over again). Even hiccoughs as a result of flirting! I haven’t seen that one in ages. The show feels old fashioned as a result. Nostalgic. I’m good with that. 

Tie The Not (Pinoy YouTube) ep 6 of 8 - Sad boys still sad now drunk. (Noooooo shoes on bed! Argh.) Finally kisses! Also good ones for a large portion of this ep. Plus hair pulling. And verse rep! And after sex convo. Then side dishes have a whole proper gay ax covo about top/bottom. Everyone say thank you Philippines! get down with your queer selves! 

Stupid Genius (Vietnam Fri YouTube) ep 6fin - I believe this was the final episode. It was cute. This is a standard sort of semi-crappy VBL high school drama. Enjoyable in its floppy friendliness, weirdly like a queer after school special promoting education. Dead fish kisses but fine for what it is. 7/10 

Minato's Laundromat Season 2 AKA Minato Shouji Coin Laundry Season 2 (Japan Thu Gaga) 2 of 12 eps - Activate cohabitation trope. They okay bfs. Minato not as frustrating this week, but still frustrating for me and Shin. Next week = cute outfits and dumb miscommunication yay!

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) ep 11 of 12 - again it didn’t show up on my dash in time for this. I’ll pop it into next week. 

It’s airing but ...

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.

Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - It’s mostly English & set in LA (shudder) so I’m not bothering.

Stay With Me ... NO I WILL NOT! And you can’t make me.

Ended This Week

Step By Step Series Review  

This was Thailand’s answer to The New Employee, and everything I loved about that show I loved about this one. This was an office romance between stern boss and sweet subordinate that felt more authentic to an office environment than previous Thai BLs of this ilk. And that authenticity added tension to the narrative and character development (how novel). Now that might be because it has western source material, or it might be because it is actually kind of old-fashioned (it’s been years since I worked as an office grunt). I also really enjoyed the brothers’ relationship, and kinda wished they hadn’t attempted (and failed) to give said brother his own side BL. That one flaw made it a 9/10 for me. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

La Pluie Series Review

This BL takes to task the fated mates trope and what it means to have love chained intimately to predestination. It’s about how faith in destiny before choice diminishes the authenticity of emotion, relationships, and connection. This is a high concept to examine through the lens of a BL. By activating + examining the soulmates trope this show is challenging a foundation of romance: the idea that there is one person meant to be your one romantic partner all your life. This means that we, as viewers, spend much of the show worried about it having a happy ending, and that’s the source of both its brilliance and tension: would the narrative have the strength to truly challenge its own romantic core? But, ultimately, all this elevated complexity was executed in a somewhat shaky manner with the narrative derailing into some serious pacing issues and characters manipulated by miscommunication. However, with good chemistry and decent acting all around, plus some excellent high heat and representation of consent and a few other rare tropes, this one has to (like it’s sibling show My Ride) earn a 9/10. I enjoyed it even as it made me think, so despite its flaws: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting:  

7/19 Wedding Plan (Thai Wed YouTube & iQIYI)  - It's Mame and she's coming for our GL. She's such a misogynist IMAGINE what we will get with a GL side dish? It's going to be absolute carnage. To crane your neck as you drive by the car wreck or not? That is the question. Me? I'm wallowing in the guts. Trying to decide to trash watch or not... 

7/20 Jun & Jun (Korea Thu Viki) - From 2022 I CAN’T FUCKING WAIT! So excited for this one. 

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

FYI roselle juice is made from hibiscus (a flower) so technically neither a tea nor a juice. (Hidden Agenda)

Tie the Not = all the verse rep this ep. I love this for them. 

The giggling was SO DAMN CUTE (Step by Step, na?) 

We all guessed it but it was still fun. (Stupid Genius) Also miracles of miracles, two actors who actually look like they could be brothers play brothers. 

First time I’ve seen faen translated as significant other. (Laws of Attraction)

THE PAIN! (Tokyo) 

(Last week.)

[bakerstreethound]

A poly relationship with Eddie Munson & Steve Harrington headcanon-Two Loves, One Heart

This is just a few ideas of how I’d imagine this poly relationship going. I recently binged & finished Stranger Things and was intrigued with Steve (he caught my attention in season three) then Eddie came along in season four and I was intrigued and may have a crush on the Steddie ship haha. For the purposes and content of this fic, reader, Steve, and Eddie are in their early-twenties (around 22-24) and everyone is a consenting adult in this relationship. Anyways, I hope you enjoy just some drabbled thoughts and there may be some slight spoilers if you squint. Also, please don’t just leave a like but also reblog! It would mean a lot and feedback is always appreciated (: 

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

Lots of cuddles are involved. Sometimes you'll end up spooning Eddie, your head resting on his chest and Steve would wrap around behind you. They'd both love running their fingers through your hair, pressing soft kisses to your skin as well. 

Many iterations of this arrangement would happen with each one of you in a different spot in any given time, though you secretly like to be sandwiched between both of them. It makes you feel safe and wanted.

In the beginning both Eddie & Steve wondered how to tell Dustin about this arrangement, not thinking he’d figured it out. 

Dustin was actually the one to ask you about it then you tell him how you really love both of them and were together with them. “Are you sure you’re okay with this, Dustin?” You had asked, knowing how much Eddie and Steve meant to him. “Am I okay with this?” Dustin practically screeched, crashing into your arms, wrapping you up in a tight hug. “It’s like I get another bonus parent, no even better, I have another friend! You’ve always been so cool and so awesome!” Dustin is practically beaming at this point when Eddie and Steve walk in. 

“Dustin, listen,” Steve sighs, Eddie sauntering behind him. “We’ve gotta tell you...” 

“IT’S SO COOL YOU GUYS!” Dustin barges into them almost sending them flying across the floor. “I know guys, it’s not like you were being that subtle anyways.” Dustin shrugs, and a blush creeps up on Steve’s face while Eddie ruffles Dustin’s curls then rubs a hand along his neck bashfully as he looks at the floor. 

You can’t help but smile, happy to be surrounded by your friends and those who you love, being so welcoming and accepting. 

Eddie would put eyeliner on Steve and take him to metal concerts for one of their dates. 

“Eddie, is this really necessary?” Steve whines and you chuckle. “You two will have so much fun.”

“Yeah, Stevie boy, we gotta show Dustin how metal we can be!” Eddie cackles, tossing aside the eyeliner to do his signature devil horn gesture, tongue sticking out chaotically. You have to admit it’s a good look.

Eddie would definitely show both you and Steve how to play DnD, but would start you at a much less advanced level than Dustin and his friends.

Lots of these dnd sessions involve Steve wanting to seduce something and Eddie has to physically try not to bang his head on the table in frustration.

Eddie sighs, “No Steve for the fourth time you cannot roll to seduce the elf. She is not the key to bypassing the troll.” 

“Why not?” Steve retorts, “It makes sense to distract the elf then smack them with a bat to get through the door.” Steve looks at you, eyes pleading to help back him up. 

“Eddie, what do I need to open the door?” You ask. Eddie smirks, “atta girl, roll a 4 and then we’ll see.” 

Steve groans in frustration, burying his fingers in his hair. “You mean the door could’ve been open this WHOLE TIME?” “I never said it was locked, genius,” Eddie chortles right as you roll the 4 you need. 

You try on Steve's old Scoops Ahoy outfit when bored one day and although Eddie had to fight off a smile when he saw photos of Steve in it, both of them are practically drooling when you have it on.

This may or may not lead to some spicy cuddles, with them practically worshipping your body. 

“All this for us, yeah?” Eddie coos, peppering your chest with kisses, dragging his tongue over them after while Steve sits behind you kissing your neck, letting his hands wander over your marked chest, murmuring praises.  

Lots of nicknames are involved. Seriously, they both shower you with so many nicknames, pet names, etc. throughout the day and you return the gestures in kind. Steve does love it when Eddie calls him “big boy.” 

Oh, and once you slipped and accidentally called Steve ‘babygirl’ and it so happened to stick. Both you and Eddie say it just on those occasions to tease Steve or to make him blush. (Sometimes the occasion happens a lot hehe).

‘Sweetheart, baby, and darling’ are Eddie’s preferences but he says them with such dramatic flair you can’t help but melt. 

Steve leans more towards ‘babe and beautiful,’ pretty basic but you know he means them with sincerity and love. 

So much bantering and teasing happens, you’re all the triad of chaos. This is especially so during your weekly movie nights where you all build a fort and watch movies. Eddie wants to make sure that Steve is going to be cultured on Middle Earth by the end of the year. 

“Ohhh so that’s Mordor and that’s the Shire.” {insert yet another sigh from Eddie} “Yes Harrington, congratulations.” 

Majority of the time though Eddie would show both of you his newest bit of music he’d been practicing on, and you and Steve would cheer him on, Eddie practically beaming, his heart so full. 

Sometimes Dustin joins in on movie nights, insisting on gathering snacks and popping the popcorn. He also likes to play board games with you guys too and update you guys on him and Suzie, bringing his radio to talk to her on occasion. 

When it comes to gift giving, the Steve and Eddie know you aren’t too materialistic, so Eddie gives you one of his rings, and Steve gifts you with a locket which holds a favorite photo of you pecking his cheek and him smiling stupidly in his Harrington way. You cherish both items regardless, because they’re from the two people you love most in the world and wouldn’t trade them for anything. They wouldn’t trade anything for you either because they cherished you and each other so much. 

Tagging a few people who may be interested: @starks-hero @helloliriels @disneymarina​ @zombiesnips-blog​ @lilythemadqueen​ @ironstrange1991​ @frostandflamesfanfic​

[frecklystars]

I know stsc isn’t one of your main f/os anymore, but I was binging TFP while putting together a cosplay and every time he popped up, I just thought “yeah this is what he does when keri isn’t around.” sorry if that’s weird T-T but your s/i feels like a part of the show to me now

Aww... thank you for saying that. That's not weird, that's sweet 😭😭 wow I'm gonna cry

I miss my starlight so bad. I'm really touched you still think I'm a part of that world. I feel like a part of my heart is still "in" the TFP universe and stuck there, even though it hurts so bad. but it was my greatest comfort I've ever had, and I have had sooo many amazing experiences and opportunities because of TF, it's going to take me a really long time to fully let go of it. but I don't know what's better for my mental health: never touching it ever again (which I've tried since July 2023, it has NOT worked, in fact it has just made me more miserable) or I can try reclaiming it slowly over time (difficult asf I am literally physically ill every time I look at it or think of it). I feel like I can't win here lol. I'll uhhh.... I'll figure something out.

Learning how to make literally hundreds of these characters Not A Trigger Anymore is gonna be super fucking hard, but it's kind messages like this one that make me miss it the most. I don't want my view of TF to stay the same, I want to make it Better, I don't know how though. But nice asks like yours always make me want to do that. i'm a mess rn... "this is what he does when Keri's not around" I always used to think that too!!! haha I always used to think "aww my s/i is off in another dimension and he's committing crimes 🥰🥰" agh... I remember the Red Energon centered episodes were my favorite because I always thought of him making me that necklace from a shard of it. I still have it packed away in a box, I still have starflower seeds I never planted. I used to watch those episodes religiously and heave this big loving SIGH because the idea of him gifting me that and me saying "aw, that's so nice, ty" and he's like "...yes I'm being... nice" and he hisses it like it's a swear word... used to make me feel so good. that's when we'd become Official™. I had it all planned out... Rock Bottom was when we'd finally become friends, Operation BB episodes is when we'd start meeting in the starflower meadow... sometime around Armada we'd have this mutual pining thing going on...

;-; tell my Starlight and my Honeybee that I miss them more than anything and I will come home someday. please. and thank you so much for sending me this ❤

AGH you know what, I can put this under a readmore so I won't accidentally trigger myself with it if I see it tomorrow and I'm in a bad headspace or something. I miss him!!! look at him. ahh. he is everything to me even though its like there's this huge invisible force field around TF that makes me feel like I cannot touch it. he is so-- god. look at him. he's so beautiful. there is nobody I'm gonna love like i've loved him.

i even remember when i made this gif, i was just. ahh. so full of butterflies. that feels so long ago. i miss him!! and!!! i am gonna get him back one day. i just don't know how. 😭 but god damn it ONE day!!!! we were engaged, damn it!!!

anyway. i'm so sorry to ramble holy shit. but thank you so much for thinking of me when rewatching TFP ;-; that means so much to me... makes me feel like I really am still meant to Be There, even if i'm so far away from it now. i was conditioned into believing my ship with him was just some foolish, stupid joke, like I've just been kidding myself for years and there's no way any of the robots wouldn't harm me or do horrible things to me, let alone love me. but this message suckerpunched me in the heart guts like a "hey wait a minute" kind of feeling. ok ok I'll shut up now. i love you anon.

also, your cosplay is gonna be absolutely amazing, i hope you have fun putting it together!!

[theromanticrationalist]

Well, I finished The Big Bang Theory. That was a wild ride! I know this show ran for a long time, but when you binge watch it for several weeks it goes by SO fast, omg. Season 12 felt rather rushed to me, like they had to hurry and get the characters to their end points. I also do not feel like their stories are really finished, but just getting started! AKA if they wanted to make a Sheldon Cooper and Amy Farrah Fowler show, that would be fine be me! I want to see them continue on with their science projects, getting pregnant, having babies, raising children - I WANT IT ALL. GIVE IT TO ME. *ahem*

Some criticism, the emotions at the end didn’t feel necessarily earned. I mean it was beautiful how Sheldon Cooper said he loved his friends and honored them as part of his journey to the Nobel Prize. Only, I am remembering in Young Sheldon, how Sheldon thanked Missy Cooper in his High School President speech, and I was like a MESS. I wanted to just outright bawl my eyes out! There was so much earned emotion there between Sheldon and Missy. Also, Sheldon thanked Missy from his own heart, and wasn’t bullied by his friends and loved ones.

So, I get that this is a sitcom, so it just comes with the territory, but everyone was so angry and upset at Sheldon, when in reality they literally never fully communicated any of their problems WITH Sheldon. They always just enabled him or submitted to him in resentment, when a good direct face to face chat was all they needed to do. Amy does it all the time, when the writers decide to make her smart. I don’t like how utterly clueless everyone acts about Sheldon. He’s like literally autistic, full stop. It is obvious as day. It is so clear that things just have to be explained to him and have it be processed by him in a certain way. Of course he always loved his friends, though! That was so freak’in obvious, these guys are dopes to not see it! Sheldon’s love goes so deep.

Obviously, I am not excusing his selfishness or self-centeredness, which anyone can be these things no matter your cognitive ability, but that isn’t the problem for me about this show. It is the fact that everyone acts like Sheldon is the sole source of the problem, walking on eggshells around him, acting as if he is the vulnerable one everyone needs to protect, when they could have just treated him as an adult to begin with! It is the same mistake Mary Cooper made in raising Sheldon, wanting to protect him vs allowing him to discover the world and learn, like George often argued for (Dad Cooper was right, yo!). Yes, this boy is a sensitive, precious little baby cakes who is rather naive and gullible, but also - he’s a grown ass man. Just because his behaviors are primarily associated with children doesn’t make him an actual child. (At least Mary Cooper had that excuse, she was raising the little green bean!) He absolutely isn’t, though. And as the show proved, Sheldon CAN accept change, be humbled, and express love through physical and emotional means. Guess what guys, HE COULD HAVE DONE THAT THE WHOLE FREAK’IN TIME. No one had to slap him or yell at him or hurt him, they could have just TOLD HIM. You know, like rational adults? So who are the children in this situation, hmm?

Anyway, it is just something I am frustrated with about the whole show, especially since it effected him and Amy and how they communicated. The writing was rather frustrating in many ways. That is why I prefer Young Sheldon as a show and how they handle Sheldon’s character in it, which is with so much more nuance, depth, and maturity.

But again, this is a sitcom. So, whatta ya gonna do? It was an absolute delight, though, and I am going to HYPERFIXATE THE HELL out of Shamy!!

King and Queen of the Universe! Their brains are so much better than everyone’s!! 😍😍😍

[16-animated-rats-in-a-trenchcoat]

Dazai Taking Care of Chuuya After he used Corruption Headcannons

Personally, I refuse to believe that Dazai just leaves Chuuya to rot in the infirmary/hospital after using corruption. Am I delusional? probably. but we have to be a little delulul to live in this fandom. Anyway, enjoy

Dazai always gives Chuuya shit for being injured (in a joking way)

Despite jokingly giving him crap, Dazai feels guilty that Chuuya is constantly nearly dying.

Chuuya really hates feeling useless. This causes some tension between the pair because Dazai feels guilty that Chuuya keeps nearly dying so he tries to help him get better to 'make up' for it. Meanwhile, Chuuya wants to prove he isn't useless and can take care of himself.

Chuuya is really bad at relying on others when he needs help. Eventually, he comes around to Dazai helping him but under the condition that Dazai also reaches out for help if he needs it.

Dazai uses his time with Chuuya to perfect his cooking. there's this common misconception that he can't cook because he doesn't really eat much (and when he does it's instant ramen) but honestly, he could chuck moldy vegetables in a pot and make them taste good. Cooking is a science and Dazai is a genius, it makes sense.

Dazai sometimes pranks Chuuya with his cooking though, he just feeds him the most vile dishes possible.

I feel like Chuuya enjoys writing. He would rather die than tell anyone about it though, let alone Dazai. And yet, without fail, Chuuya's writing notebook and a new ergonomic pen (a pen meant for people with carpel tunnel or other wrist/hand pains) will appear next to his bedside table.

The pharmacy near Chuuya's house knows Dazai's name because he is always doing painkiller runs. At first, they think he is an addict but then he pulls the mafia card and they just... turn a blind eye. (yes the mafia would have their own drug dispensary but it's quicker to go to the local place 5 mins down the road)

They have a huge watch list. Whenever Chuuya is out of action they sit down with the list and decide which movies/TV shows they're going to binge.

They take bets on how the movies will end and what the plot twists will be

[aceinejghafa]

just finished a binge watch of shadow & bone season 2... have some thoughts!

(many many spoilers for every single episode, so I'm putting this under the cut)

generally: absolutely amazing. The incorporation of the crows & the relationships within the crows (cough WESPER WESPER WESPER cough) are especially well done.

however. I gotta say I'm mad about what happens to Alina. So much of the books is about how Alina doesn't want to be the one to fix Ravka—she doesn't want to be queen, she's only doing it because it needs to be done. look at this quote:

“They wanted a Grisha queen. Mal wanted a commoner queen. And what did I want? Peace for Ravka. A chance to sleep easy in my bed without fear. An end to the guilt and dread that I woke to every morning. There were old wants too, to be loved for who I was, not what I could do, to lie in a meadow with a boy’s arms around me and watch the wind move the clouds.”

She wants peace for Ravka, she doesn't want to spend her life ruling the country. That is so much of the point of Shadow and Bone — the happy ending isn't marrying a king and fixing the country; it's an ordinary life, full of ordinary things—if love can ever be called that. (interesting that nikolai was brought into that quote in the show. love that he's a hardcore malina shipper. actually I think I might like nikolai more in the show than in the books, which is saying something).

but ANYWAY the show just. destroyed alina's whole arc there. throughout the show, she's all "I need to fix Ravka" and she seems to want that responsibility, rather than just wanting it to actually get done.

and then the ending. using merzost to resurrect Mal. not losing her Sun Summoner powers (unless you count possibly trading them for Darkling powers, which I don't). MARRYING NIKOLAI. Mal becoming Sturmhond 2.0 is fun & all, and the show did lead up to it pretty well, but it's just not what book!Mal would have wanted. STOP HAVING A CRISIS OF PURPOSE AND LIVE AN ORDINARY LIFE FULL OF ORDINARY THINGS—

so yeah I might be mildly irritated by some parts of the show there

that being said—Nikolai is SO well done

I think I might've mentioned this earlier, but show Nikolai might just be better than book Nikolai (Nikolai in TGT, at least)

like... the whole love triangle situation was significantly better? Nikolai and Mal didn't hate each other—they actually had a pretty great friendship (and I'm guessing people are going to start shipping Nikolai/Mal/Alina a lot more sometime soon)? Nikolai didn't basically assault Alina? I'm actually really impressed since usually a show would Up The Drama, and this one didn't <3

Nikolai giving Alina the compass, which is associated with Mal's whole true north thing... and then Mal getting the compass in the end... actually pretty cool

the quote about hope being the wind in the sails! "when people say impossible, they usually mean improbable"! yes yes YES !!!

zoyalai hints <3 tbh I was hoping for more than that but I am obsessed with what I got <3

also! dominik being alive at the start! so we get to meet him! and get bits of backstory!

and then he died which. I was expecting. but also :(((((((((

speaking of dying.

DAVID AND GENYA OH MY GODS

kinda disappointed that they skipped the "I'm not ruined. I'm ruination" quote

but on the other hand! the I know metal speech! that was AMAZING <333333333 they are so soft

and then they. kill david off. and i CRY

THAT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN UNTIL ROW

so yeah upset about that but not really mad... denya is definitely one of the best ships in the show...

and then!!! the crows!!! the crows!!! the crows!!!

SO MUCH WESPER CONTENT. we are BLESSED guys. Jesper & Wylan having a one-night stand pre-canon??? then getting to know each other??? and having a more serious relationship??? amazing showstopping top-tier content

a bit worried about whatever happens in the soc spinoff when jesper finds out that wylan is a van eck—could be kinda painful

also I'm hoping they entirely skip jesper kissing kuwei, never really liked that bit in the books

"I kinda like your face" <<<< "maybe I liked your stupid face" but admittedly it's hard to do the book quote when you don't have the Kuwei tailoring plot

Wylan saving the day by knowing cool botanical facts <3 I love him so much guys

actually the whole thing with Sankta Neyar is fantastic? like WOW I was expecting to dislike any non-books content but I did NOT that thing was GREAT (and showed that there's a future for superpowerful Grisha that is not becoming the Darkling, which is excellent because it's TRUE).

Inej & Mal & Tolya & Tamar going off to hunt slavers together—some mixed feelings about that. I have faith that Inej & Kaz will meet up again in future seasons, but idk?

kinda weird how all those CK plot elements showed up... Kaz beats Pekka and makes him beg, but then Pekka just starts running Hellgate from inside? no real consequences? unsuccessful revenge? and all the plot from CK (fake plague, Alby) is used up already

so yeah that was annoying

but also the scene where Inej asks Kaz what he wants... and you can SEE the words You, Inej. You running through his head... and then he says "to die buried under a mountain of my own gold"... every time they quote the books I go FERAL and this is no exception

so basically I'm worried about what they'll do with the crows in possible later spinoffs/seasons but also I absolutely adore all the content they gave us <3

fun fact: I watched the whole show on 1.5x speed because I only had 5 and a half hours. I used subtitles so I could always understand what they were saying, the only weird thing was any shot of anyone walking ever. still worth it so that I could watch everything, though <3

[erwinsvow]

I’m having an ok day staying home today cause I’m sick🙁 I’m feverish for the first time in years so I’m being a huge baby about it watching cartoons and whining lol

You’re thinking of writing more season 1 Rafe?? I love that you sprinkled in the movie showing!! he’s so 😵‍💫 that episode there’s this one picture of him I found on Pinterest where he looks like such a moody teen I love it idk if you can send pics through anon but I’ll try

Hope you enjoy your day off!! Get as much rest and relaxation as you can <3

Are you into movies or reading? Do you have any hobbies other than writing?

- 💓

omg im so sorry ur feeling sick!! ugh feel better soon babe <3 don't forget to hydrate! and yess cartoons stop. if u couldnt tell strawberry shortcake is my fave <333 put it on its healing

yess i am omg so he's not my fave because s2 rafe owns me pussy, soul, and all but he's so icky i'd love to make an honest man out of him or at least write about how he deals with a gf who literally hates his behavior with the pogues n everything but theyre still madly in love. lol im such a romantic i cant fathom the idea of writing a rafe that isn't head over heels and trying to better himself for reader, even when i make him cocky n mean hes still in love.

SENDDD OMGGG hes so cute in s1 seriously. in my head my reader is in every season pulling at his arm being like be nice !!

anyways tysm bae i will! i just took a long everything shower and its only the afternoon so im gonna write some more and maybe even post??! and yes i am!!! love love love reading i own a million books and my kindle is overloaded with those cheesy mafia romance novel series where each character gets a book. and bridgerton!!! love those books n the show. i love the game of thrones books too but my fave book is east of eden by steinbeck (which i saw online is also drew's fave book?!?!??!?) and movies-wise like i always mention in my fics you've got mail, sleepless in seattle, pretty much any cutie 90s romcom <33333 but on a real note i did see oppenheimer 3 times and even tho we hate the oscars i am glad it won so much!! oh and any jane austen book / movie adaptation!!

however rn im binging jersey shore and love is blind. so it's very all inclusive here.

WHAT ABOUT YOU!! tell me everything u like to watch n read!!!

[olivia-anderson-fanfic]

Into The Unknown, Part 42

First

Previous

Tim laid across the couch, his head in Marinette’s lap as she braided his hair. Steph sat beside her, head on his girlfriend’s shoulder as she absently hugged a sleeping Damian to her chest.

Steph had come over to babysit while they went out on a particularly big grocery run, only to end the day with Damian asleep in her lap. Everyone knows it’s illegal to wake up a sleeping child, so… they were all stuck waiting for him to wake from his nap.

Also, they wanted to hang out. Was that illegal?

Tim closed his eyes, content as he listened to Marinette and Steph chatter on about everything they could think about.

There was something remarkably soothing about having a person’s hands in his hair, so much so that he almost wanted to fall asleep… but, as much as he trusted Marinette and Steph not to hurt him, he didn’t trust them to not draw on his face.

So, he listened to them talk about the new shows that they were binging.

“– yeah, Mari, it’s a great show, you have to watch it,” Steph was saying. “Basically, there’s this spy and he has to pretend to have a nuclear family at threat of a nuclear war.”

Marinette made a tiny choking sound and Tim suppressed his own wince. It was a popular show at the moment, he had heard about Terry and Miranda talking about it a few days back, but it still made him nervous every time it was brought up within earshot. It felt like the universe was hinting that they wouldn’t be able to keep up the act for much longer, like it was warning them that something had to give soon and even if it didn’t they would have to go back home eventually… it wasn’t, he knew, he had even checked their old universe to make sure that the show existed there (it did), but forgive him for becoming a little superstitious when he had only recently learned that there were gods living among them.

Steph either didn’t notice their internal freakouts or didn’t care. “Yeah, and they have all these domestic shenanigans and they slowly turn from a fake family into a found family.”

Marinette hummed lightly. “I’d watch it, but, really, I think I have enough domestic shenanigans with these two,” she said.

Tim stuck his tongue out at her.

She flicked his nose.

Shocked and appalled that his darling girlfriend would betray him like this.

“Hold his hair for a sec so I can get out the hair ties?”

Steph hummed and he felt his hair switch hands.

“... dude,” said Steph. “Why is your hair so soft? What do you put in it?”

Tim shrugged as much as he dared when there were two women currently very invested in how his hair turned out. “Just whatever’s around, I guess.”

“Which is always my stuff,” Marinette said, sounding distressed. “But his hair still manages to be nicer than mine. I hate him.”

If his eyes were open, he would have rolled them. “I just have better hair than you.”

“You know, I once saw him use hotel shampoo,” said Marinette continued on as if she hadn’t heard him, disgust coloring her tone.

He groaned. “When will you let that go –?”

“He what?!” Steph said, just barely avoiding yelling for the sake of Damian.

“Right!”

Great. And now his girlfriend and best friend were bitching about him and his hair care routine right in front of (well, technically, above) him. Fun.

~

Eventually the school year ended for Damian and they were forced, against their will, to hang out with their child… yes, truly, it was a shame…

Anyways.

Arcades, am I right?

Marinette smiled as she watched Damian struggle with a whack-a-mole equivalent, a hammer almost as big as his entire body wobbling uncertainly in his grip as he tried once again to get the game to register his hits. It was cute, and the mild frustration on his face when he actually managed to tap the little lizard person on the top of the head only for his score to not go up due to how lightly he had done it was even cuter.

She took pity on him after a while by picking him up and setting him on the dashboard so he could smack them down with his hands.

She let her gaze fall away from the game as she held the kid’s waist to make sure he didn’t fall. Over to where Tim was playing a shooting game a while away.

(Damian had noticed a giant stuffed bear on the prize wall when they were walking in and one well-timed set of puppy eyes later Tim was sighing and forking over money for his own card to see if he could get enough to win it.)

She smiled as she watched Tim forget, yet again, that he was wearing glasses and accidentally hit himself with the fake gun while aiming for a zombie that was particularly far away.

He caught on to the fact that she was watching him and sent a tiny, slightly sheepish grin her way…

Which, of course, led to him getting killed in-game. He turned back to his screen and sighed deeply when he saw his character getting eaten.

He collected his tickets and then walked over so he could rest his chin on her shoulder. It couldn’t have been comfortable, Damian was squirming in her grip to make sure he hit every target he possibly could, but he didn’t seem to mind.

And then the game was over. Three tickets. Great. Gotta love arcades.

At least Damian seemed happy with his winnings, holding them up and beaming when both of the adults gave the praise he was so clearly asking for.

But he was quickly distracted. Which always seems to be the case with children.

He gasped and squirmed out of her hands so he could go run over to a crane machine.

There, sitting right at the front, was an ArachnidKid plushie. He pointed at it with pleading eyes and they were weak, okay?

So, they tried to get it. Attempted the game an embarrassing amount of times, really. But, the plushie was too close to the front for the claw to reach it and, when they tried to get something else to sate him (a spiky bouncy ball), they discovered that the claw wasn’t even that great.

The adults shared grimaces.

Only for Marinette to get an idea as her eyes landed on Tim’s glasses.

She leaned forward to whisper something in his ear and his lips twitched into a grin.

Marinette handed Damian her phone to distract him for a few minutes. Damian immediately found his way to the drawing app and he started doodling flowers in vibrant colors.

He glanced around before making direct eye contact with a security camera.

And then he reached through a portal, lovingly provided by Kaalki, and grabbed ArachnidKid.

“You know, you’re gonna freak out some poor security guard if they ever check these tapes,” Marinette said, though she was snickering a little at the idea.

“No one will ever believe them,” Tim said, gently dusting off ArachnidKid and then handing him off to an elated Damian.

And then they were back to playing games. 

Damian ended up getting more tickets than Tim.

… well, technically Marinette won the tickets because she was the one to pull the lever on the fishing-themed prize wheel for Damian, but she wasn’t going to tell Tim that. No, he did not need context. All he needed was to know that he lost to their kid.

Marinette was never going to let him live this down.

The slump in Tim’s shoulders as they walked out to the door was only partially because of the giant stuffed bear he was struggling to carry.

Marinette smiled and leaned to press a kiss to his cheek. His expression brightened just slightly.

~

Tim wasn’t quite sure what to do. He stood in the doorway, expression carefully blank outside of the faint blush dusting his cheeks, as he tried to think of anything that would make the embarrassing squeaking sound that came from him the moment he had laid eyes on the alternate version of his father make sense.

And, yes, he had always known that, one day, he would probably end up meeting the Bruce Wayne of this reality. Marinette worked for him, the chances were so insanely high that even someone far less paranoid than he would have expected it.

However, he had simply… figured that he would cross that bridge when he got to it.

And, well, he had gotten to the bridge and immediately driven straight off the side.

Bruce’s smile didn’t waver but he narrowed his eyes in the very slight way he did when he was suspicious about something.

And wasn’t that just a bitch? Steph was so insanely different than the Steph from his own world that Tim had managed to separate the two somewhat in his mind – where this Steph was pessimistic, his own had been optimistic, and where his own had started looking into medical school because she truly wanted to help people (thinking of it as almost an extension of her vigilantism), this one was interested almost purely in the money being a doctor provided – the tiny differences in realities had caused a ripple effect large enough to change the courses of their lives drastically, and, by extension, change themselves drastically… but, somehow, Bruce was still Bruce. So much so that Tim could read his expressions easily even after years apart.

It ached. Like a tiny scrape he had left to heal up naturally, only to find out days later that it had gotten infected.

He loved his new family, yes. He enjoyed staying with Marinette and Damian, so much so that sometimes he found himself selfishly wishing that they could stay in this universe forever.

But he missed his old family, too. Missed Bruce and his brooding nature. Missed Dick and his warm hugs, Jason’s tendency to take Tim out on their bikes when things got to be too much, the way Cass simply knew when he was cold and would wrap him a blanket without either of them saying a word, his old Steph that had displayed her optimism and love on her sleeve, Duke jokingly cursing him out when he realized that Tim had stolen one of his puzzle pieces yet again...

He missed Damian, too. That one didn’t have the easy solution that the others had, though. Marinette and Tim had made sure of that.

Tim met his not-father’s eyes and smiled nervously. “Families of workers are allowed here, right? Mari wasn’t lying to me, was she?”

Tim knew that she wasn’t. Not only would she just… not do that, he had already used the chiropractor a couple of times in the few months since he had received the gift. Someone would have definitely said something by then.

Bruce gave a good-natured laugh that was forced as he shook his head. “No, you’re quite alright.” He glanced Tim up and down once before resting his hands on his hips. “I was expecting Marinette, though. Do you happen to know where she is?”

It was a believable enough story, Tim used a copy of Marinette’s card to get in. But Tim knew better. Bruce wasn’t Batman in this reality, but he was still smart. He wouldn’t make that kind of mistake.

Tim wasn’t going to say any of this, though. Not when Bruce was already wary of him.

“I think she should be with Paige and Ava right now while she winds down from her shift and waits for me –…” His own eyes narrowed. “Wait, she’s off work. Leave her alone.”

Bruce’s eyes flickered with something akin to surprise, and then amusement tugged at his lips. “I see. I suppose it’s not too important, it can wait until tomorrow.”

Tim nodded sharply. Marinette already overworked herself given any kind of opportunity, she didn’t need an enabler.

Bruce smiled and held up his hands in mock surrender, and then slowly turned and walked out of the hallway that he had bumped into Tim in.

Tim huffed to himself and glanced at the time. He should be about ready.

It wasn’t until he was in the elevator and pressing the button to the correct floor with maybe a little bit too much aggression that he realized that Bruce was probably testing him.

The annoyance settled a little, but it was quickly replaced by something else.

He sighed lightly, letting his head tip back against the cool wall of the elevator.

He was a stranger to his own father. To his entire family in this reality (or, at least, the family that existed there).

That…

He really didn’t want to think about that.

The elevator dinged and he was allowed out. His legs took him down familiar hallways as if on autopilot until he found Marinette where she always was.

She was standing in the break room with Ava – Paige must have left already – with a tight-lipped smile as Ava did her best to make her spit out her coffee.

Tim smiled a little and walked over so he could wrap his arms around her from behind and bury his face in her neck.

She didn’t react much, not even when he squeezed her a little tighter than was normal, she just reached down to lace one of her hands with his and continued talking with her friend.

And, if he knew that she didn’t just so happen to pass a photography shop on the way to Damian’s school and just spontaneously decide for no reason that they should go inside and see if there was anything he might like, he was smiling too much to ever say so aloud.

~

Marinette really didn’t expect to have a serious conversation when she went to pick up Damian that day, but the moment she had laid eyes on Damian she had noticed that he looked… more subdued than usual. The thought concerned her more than she would ever admit. Especially when she offered to pick him up and carry him home, something that usually had him immediately livening up and complaining about he was a big boy now that could walk there himself, he simply held his hands up to let her do so.

She picked him up, resting him against her waist, and didn’t say a word when he wrapped his arms around her neck a little more tightly than was strictly necessary.

She pressed a kiss into his hair and then started on the walk home.

It wasn’t until they were both sitting on the subway, her kid in her lap as she ran her fingers through his curls in an attempt at soothing him, that Damian pushed himself closer to her and mumbled, “Why don’t I call you and Tim… Mom and Dad, like the other kids do?”

Marinette was lucky they were sitting, because she was sure she would have dropped him otherwise.

She was quiet for a moment. Serious conversations – and vulnerability in general – were not her forte. She hadn’t had to deal with Hawkmoth in years, but there was still this tiny part of her that shied away from anything negative. Something in the back of her head that whispered that she needed to avoid anything serious at any cost.

She bit her lip, wishing Tim was there.

But he wasn’t, and she doubted that Damian would take it well if she stayed quiet that long.

She sighed lightly. “Because, technically, we aren’t.”

Damian flinched. Something so small that she wouldn’t have even been able to notice if he wasn’t currently pressing against her like he expected her to disappear any moment.

She grimaced. Yeah. Maybe that wasn’t the best way to phrase that. “We’re your siblings,” she explained.

It was quiet for a moment before Damian pulled himself away from her sharply to look up at her with wide eyes. “Siblings aren’t supposed to date!”

Marinette blanched. She was acutely aware that there were suddenly many more eyes on them than there were just moments prior.

“What? No! – I mean, yes, that’s true – but – but – no, that’s not what I meant.”

Damian’s eyes remained wide and confused.

She hesitated slightly. “Well… we… okay, I am your sister, right? Tim isn’t related to you. But, when Tim married me, that made him your brother, too. They call it a brother-in-law, because the law makes you their brother –...”

She trailed off. Damian was giving her a blank look.

At least people weren’t staring anymore? That wasn’t really the win she was most interested in, but it was still a win…?

She looked down at her kid’s wide eyes.

She sighed.

Pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Do you want to call us Mom and Dad, Dami?”

Damian scrutinized her face for a moment, clearly wary, but eventually he nodded.

Her embarrassment faded in favor of something that was somehow both similar and not – there was still that strange feeling of vulnerability, but there was a warmth to it, something that pulled the slightest of smiles to her face and made tears build in her eyes. She leaned forward to press another kiss to the top of his head, and then tugged him close again, her arms wrapping around him securely.

“Then you can, okay?”

He wrapped his arms around her neck again. Tucked his head beneath her chin.

She thought he fit perfectly.

“Okay… Mom.”

Marinette squeezed him a little tighter and allowed a few tears to slip through.

~

Shit. Damn it. Hell.

They had lost Cat.

Tim and Marinette raced around the apartment frantically, practically upending the place in search of the stuffed animal, but it was nowhere to be seen. Damian wailed into Frank’s fur.

Tim groaned and sunk into the couch after an hour. It was definitely not in the house…

Marinette ran a hand through her short hair, thinking.

And then she sighed and pulled her phone out, biting her lip as she typed frantically. Maybe she was texting their friends to see whether they had left Cat at one of their houses after they had babysat? “Uh… alright. Can you check the school?”

“The school? It’s late, it’s definitely clos –,” he started, only to pause when he heard his phone chime.

Go to the store.

He sighed lightly and nodded. “Okay, I guess you’re right, I might as well check…”

She gave him a grateful smile and leaned to peck him on the lips, and then turned back to Damian.

“Alright, Dami, how about we watch some TV while Tim looks for him? How about Elmer?” She was saying, though Tim wasn’t paying much attention.

He rushed to his feet and, in his frantic state, only barely remembered to grab his wallet and keys as he sprinted out the door.

It took three tries, but eventually he found a stuffed animal that looked like the original Cat. He snatched it up immediately, feeling some of the adrenaline fade now that he had a solution in his hands.

He glanced over at the three others that sat behind it on the shelf.

He grabbed those, too. Not having a repeat of this disaster, thanks.

When he got back to the apartment, new Cat in hand and the other three stuffed into his backpack, he found Damian and Marinette still up, watching the promised TV. Damian’s eyes were still rimmed red as he petted Frank’s head in his lap, but it seemed that he had cried himself out as he leaned heavily against Marinette and managed little more than quiet sniffles.

They looked up when the door opened and Marinette’s shoulders relaxed the moment her eyes landed on the stuffed animal. He gave a slight smile when Damian lit up upon seeing Cat#2.

“Look, Dami, it looks like Cat went to the doctor all by themself! Got all cleaned up – and they even fixed their eye!”

Damian’s scrambled off of the couch – Frank huffed a sigh as the hands left her fur, but then her tail started wagging as Marinette obliged in stroking her head again – and grabbed the stuffie from his hands. He hugged Cat to his chest, sniffling sobs starting up again, but this time relief painted his expression.

Tim ruffled his hair and Damian was quick to rush back to Marinette’s side so he could fall asleep.

Marinette was helpless to stop it, really. Hands full of dog and unable to turn down her kid when he had just been crying his eyes out… yeah, Marinette hadn’t stood a chance.

Tim smiled, grabbed a couple of blankets, and took his place on Damian’s other side.

They found their way to their old sleeping position, Marinette and Tim curled around Damian and all of them cocooned in blankets.

Now with the addition of Frank laying across all of their laps, though, so… hopefully, the extra pressure might prevent Damian from kicking out at them during the night.

“Wanna make bets on which will hurt more? Sleeping on the couch or sleeping with Dami?” Tim mused lightly.

Marinette giggled and turned to bury her face in his neck.

Damian’s breathing soon evened out, his grip slackening somewhat on Tim’s shirt.

“... so, why didn’t you take off the eye?”

He blushed bright red. “Felt wrong.”

She pressed her face into his skin to muffle her laughter.

He squeezed the arms around them tighter.

And he found that he could stay like this forever.

~~~~~

Next

@unoriginalmess @hammalammadamdam @astrynyx @laurcad123 @927roses-and-stuff @toodaloo-kangaroo @queenz-z @imarivers8 @jeminiikrystal @adrestar @twsssmlmaa @literaryhiraeth @trippingovermyfeet @ev-cupcake @its-maemain

[babblingfishes]

So your internet is supposed to be fast but instead it is terrible, and you want to file a complaint about it.

SOME NOTES BEFORE WE BEGIN:

This is a guide to filing a free informal complaint to the United States FCC. I am not a lawyer. I am a nerd. This is NOT a guide to filing a formal complaint.

This guide is not for your average internet problems. There are a lot of reasons internet can be slow: a bad router or modem, wifi interference from neighbors with overpowered routers (try an ethernet cable!), your microwave getting in the way of the wifi signal (ethernet cable!), your Amazon Alexa eating up bandwidth sending everything you say to Amazon, your roommate binging Netflix on their terrifying 4K smart TV... Make sure the problem is coming from outside the home. Specifically coming from your internet service provider.

Contact your provider directly first. They do typically want their service to work. If they keep blowing you off, that's when you get out the paperwork.

Make sure you know the download and upload speeds you are paying for. (Yes, even if it officially only says "up to". If it is "up to 500 mbps" and you are getting 1 mbps that is a major issue.) These will typically be listed when you log onto your account on the ISP's website. You could probably also call and ask customer service, or even visit their office in person if you are scary and I'm afraid of you.

We'll begin our journey at the FCC Broadband Map

This is a government website that lists, for every address in the US, which internet providers are available, what kind of connection they use, and the maximum download and upload speeds they offer.

This is an excellent resource that I highly recommend checking when house/apartment-hunting, especially if you expect internet service to be part of your bills. It's not always 100% accurate, but it is an official record, so if you're getting less than you're paying for you have grounds to challenge it.

If your ISP's stats here are total ass (for example, if they use antique copper wiring that can handle a max 0.2 mbps upload speed) you'll probably be better off switching providers. Even the cheapest fiber or cable plans are going to be faster, better maintained, and more reliable than satellite or copper.

(Sorry, I got really distracted here because I was wondering who the fuck "Space Exploration Technologies Corp." is, offering high-speed satellite to the middle of nowhere. It's Musk. It's Musk and his telescope-ruining yacht-internet. Anyway.)

If your ISP looks good here, and your connection is still hot garbage, it's time to bother them about it.

Gathering data for the complaint

I approach this as a combination bug report and legal case. You'll want to be as detailed as possible. If your ISP doesn't think there's a problem, then they also probably don't know what the problem is, so the more evidence you can supply the easier it'll be to fix. Also, unhappy customer with lots of evidence is VERY scary.

If you get no internet at all, then there's not much data to gather. Just do your best to estimate what time(s) the internet went out and for how long. You might take screenshots of your lack of internet beside your computer clock, or your router's connection status page.

If your internet is only bad during part of the day, take note of when that is. Try to test it when it's working AND when it's not. Take screenshots of the results with your computer time/date visible. Remember that you'll get the most accurate reading when your computer is the only one using the network.

Your biggest tool will be speed tests. If you're here you have probably used this a lot by now. The classic speed test that most people use is Ookla's Speedtest.net. Some ISPs even use it themselves. I've heard claims that providers pump up your speeds to this site to pass these tests, but typically if your connection is that bad, it'll show anyway. (Mine sure did.)

If you don't like Ookla's speed test, Fast.com is another popular speed test by Netflix (make sure you press "show more info" to get the upload speed). There's others out there too, but imo the more mainstream the better if you're trying to back up a legal complaint.

Another, less common thing you can check for is packet loss -- this is when the information your computer sends or receives gets lost in transit (which is bad). This can result in a connection that is both weird and slow, sites loading halfway and proceeding to shit themselves, voice calls connecting but being unusable, etc. Here's a handy HowToGeek article on how to test for it. (Although instead of a random website url I highly recommend using a DNS server like 8.8.8.8 -- this is Google's DNS server which should be extremely fast to respond.) Typically packet loss should be less than 5%. More than than 10% is Bad.

You may also want to keep note of interactions you've had with your ISP if relevant (for example, if their happy-helpful-official-web-chat-support guy told you this was all because of an outage they expected to have fixed by June 1st, and every time you ask them about it, they just keep pushing it back). If your ISP is mega-evil and you think you might end up Actually Suing Them or something, make sure you have copies of bills, documentation of the speeds you are paying for, etc.

Locate that informal complaint page baybeeeee

The FCC's site for formal and informal complaints is here. I recommend reading some of their FAQ's and stuff.

You will want an informal internet complaint, which is free to file. That form is currently here.

Now write the complaint

Again, there's a good chance your ISP doesn't actually Think There's A Problem, let alone Know What The Problem Is, so you'll want to be detailed and to the point.

Pinpoint when the problem started to the best of your ability ("sometime between November 12-13" is fine if that's all you recall). If your connection is only bad sometimes, you'll want to specify when. Explain what rates you are paying for and what happened when you called the company. Be reasonably polite. We are presenting only facts here.

I also like to emphasize the problems this is causing, especially if they can be phrased as common things that a Scary Businessman would expect from the internet, and *especially* if they are things that could be interpreted as losing money. "This is unacceptable because I am completely unable to attend voice calls and video meetings" is a great one. "This prevents me from accessing the tools and videos on my employer's website" is also fun. This reminds your ISP of capitalism and lawsuits, which will give them scary nightmares.

Don't forget to add your screenshots of tests and any other useful attachments.

I suggest keeping a copy of the complaint and everything you attached to it for your own reference as well.

Note: that you will be contacted by your ISP about this! They are required to contact you within 30 days. They will send you a written response and might call as well for more info. Don't freak out.

Ideally this will at least get you in touch with someone in charge of Why Your Internet Isn't Working instead of a random call center employee. Plus the FCC is there to be menacing, now. Good luck!

[the-loststone]

Turkish Dramas I Watched In Order of Love to Didn't Love Part 2

Part 1 | Part 2

I promised myself that when I found a show that I like better than Halka, I'd make a new list. Also I was running out of room in my tags for the last list. So please reference Part 1.

Also please be aware that this list has spoilers! So be prepared. I will typically mark when I reveal a spoiler.

Söz

This review is longer than I thought but I have so much to say about this. I have a longer review linked.

So, what can I say about this show. I previously said that Halka was my favorite show and while I still maintain it is an amazing show, Soz has completely knocked it out of the park. I mean, yes, it is a very patriotic show that is obviously military propaganda, but . . . I mean, sign me up for the military!!! This show was amazing. The acting of the main cast was phenomenal. Tolga Saritas moves into my list of favorite actors. His character Yavus is simply the best. I don't know how to describe besides the fact that he has his shit together. You know how many shows (too many) are about lead characters who don't have their shit together, and then there's that side character who acts as a mentor to the lead character because they do have their shit together, even when they are going through drama. Well Yavus is that side character, except the show is about him and he's the male lead. And I am so happy. So happy we have characters who are competent!! Even when he's losing his shit he's doing it competently! I'm just praising the lord that this man has a brain!!! The other characters (the rest of the team and the girls) add so much to the show. They have story lines, I'm interested in their development and growth. The action was staged but I loved it, and most of it was good! Every episode had an action scene in it, and I don't think I was ever bored by it. And that's another point... this is a long show... and I wasn't bored. I'm shocked. Generally I get very tired by a show (especially considering I'm a binge watcher) but nope, I stayed invested. They did storytelling so well. Balancing gravity, humor, victory, and defeat very well. The death scenes (of which there are multiple so don't go thinking plot armor protects everyone) are so important and acted so well. I was literally a puddle.

Some parts, not gonna lie, were a bit confusing. Especially the ending there. But still so worth it!

Anyways, I'm genuinely upset that this show isn't more popular. It was amazing! I love it! I highly recommend it. (Tolga Saritas has joined Serkan Cayoglu as one of my favorite turkish actors). I will say, that I did like season 1 and 2 a bit more, not because of any shipping drama, but because I can't get enough of Tolga in a uniform 😉.

Çukur

I LOVE MAFIA DRAMAS! And this one takes the cake! It was one of the best dramas I have seen. The main character, Yamac, is perfectly characterized by Aras Bulut Iynemli. (I've only seen a couple of his works but after this show, he's moved into my list of favorite actors). He played so well, completely embodies his character, every emotion is so raw and passionate. He's amazing! Yamac is the youngest of a mafia family, who ran away when he was 18 and is forced to return upon the death of his brother and the hospitalization of his father. From there we see his character shine. It is shown how intelligent he is. He went to college, but it's not just mentioned, but shown! He uses his intelligence. HE'S SO SMART! As a chemist and engineer he loves to blow things up and we see that. As the youngest brother, he loves to play with his older brothers and he has a very playful and childish side. We see his kindness and his love. Is he a criminal, yes. But a competent criminal with a heart of gold and the ability to forgive almost anyone and the patience of a saint. But it's not just him; the portrayals of his family members are done amazingly as well. Each relationship is distinct and I just... I love it. I love his relationships with his brothers: from the support, to the betrayals, to the forgiveness. Throughout the series we see their connection and bond. We see the friendships between other characters. Some of my favorites are Medet and Salih, Celansu and Meke, Yamac and Alico, and Kemal and Metin. My other favorite relationship (and this isn't about shipping wars) is Sena and Yamac. They were my favorite couple. And I won't say any spoilers, but just know that she's my favorite and she has such a presence in the show, whether or not she's in the scene.

Throughout the seasons, we also see how all the characters develop. All of the brothers change, especially Yamac who has to deal with the most and is burdened the most. We see him go from a young man who was happy and in love with his wife and just married and completely unburdened, to a man who is crazed, lost half his family in some of the most traumatic ways, burdened by the pressure to protect the rest while dodging bullets flying at him at all sides (and most of the time getting hit), to a man who's holding on to what's left and trying to rebuild.

I love him, and I love this show, and I can't recommend this enough. The show is very much centered around family. The first season is about betrayals, the second about regret and forgiveness, the third is about madness/insanity, and the fourth was about healing (towards the end at least).

The soundtrack of this show goes down as one of my absolute favorite soundtracks. The music is a character in this show. As a musician, Yamac uses it as an entrance, he's very much a showman. And it shows his crazy side. Speaking of crazy sides, this show has some of the best fight scenes ever done. Very well played and acted. Please please please watch! Longer review linked!

Günesin Kizlari

This was so soapy, I have bubbles coming out of my mouth. I kid you not, I love this so much. It was a great show. Not gonna lie, going in, I thought it was going to be light, but I was waaaayyy off. It was heavy! That was some heavy heavy drama. I LOVED IT! Okay, to start I'm going to say Hande and Tolga are everything! They had the best chemistry I've seen them have compared to other shows they're in so far. I need them to act together in something else! Selin and Ali were my favorite couple; I don't know how, but somehow, at some point, they were the most functional compared to the other couples on screen. I was so surprised because these two are ridiculous. But I love them. They had the best relationship, (fun fact, the movie that they were referencing when playing their game is a French movie called "Jeux D'enfant" or Love me if you Dare, which is amazing too and deserves to be watched) and they were so cute together. Their scenes were everything to me. The characters were great. The kids were hilarious and dramatic and most of the time I was wondering what brain cells they even had to rub together to get ideas out. The adults were the most toxic, dysfunctional people I've seen in a minute. Every adult, even Gunes, was problematic! (And I say even Gunes because there were so many moments, but one that stands out to me is in episode 26, while this kid is reeling from his entire life being a lie, she goes up to him and is like "your dad feels really bad right now, you should talk to him and help him." like no! No!!!) It was ridiculous. Episodes 16 and 17 were obviously my favorite, and every scene with Ali and Selin being cute. I like that there are actual obstacles in everyone's way, especially the kids (since the adults are the obstacles in most cases).

The music was banger! Loved it! The cinematography was kind of shit, which was annoying. Very old fashioned and low cost production type of camera work, especially in the beginning.

Godspeed

This made me cry. I genuinely did not expect that twist at the end there. I mean, it made perfect sense and I don't know why I didn't see it but... Anyway. Tolga and Engin do an amazing job in this.

Baba

Once again watching a show for Tolga Saritas. I'll say he makes it worthwhile. Baba was a good show, it had a complex story line that was focused on family. Love a father has for his sons, love a father has for his daughter, love a brother has for his sister, love children have for their parents. These themes stayed central to the story line. It was a good show, although I will say that season 1 was better than season 2 (and generally just made more sense). The first season is about a middle-class family entering the class of obscene wealth, and how one son is the only one who can keep them from failing, and all the obstacles in his way. Then season 2 is about how despite all his efforts, the family is now in extreme poverty, and once again the son is tasked with leading his family and the rest of the community.

I noticed, and love, that Tolga Saritas has never played a bad character in the shows I've seen him in. Whoever is his agent does a good job of picking projects for him. I hope to see the trend continue. His character, Kadir, is a great man, who loves his family and is willing to do anything to help people. He is acted wonderfully and has amazing chemistry with his costar Haluk, who plays his father. Their relationship is a big draw to the series.

Religion is also a big aspect of this show, and how it serves as a tool for justice and consequence. I enjoyed that they used it to make people accountable for their actions. Good show overall.

Senden Daha Guzel

A good story. Very cute actors. They had a good chemistry that was very fluffy. It was a simple story. There wasn't much going on or need to put any thought in it. A good little short to pass the time.

Ask 101 (Love 101)

This was cute. I watched it mainly for the Yargi pairing but the kids storylines were cute as well. I found the second season much better than the first. It was very short for a dizi, so I recommend it as a palate cleanser or something to watch when bored. The cast was filled with exceptional actors. The soundtrack was good too. Overall, I'm pleased with this show.

Miracle in Cell No. 7

Remake of a Korean Movie by the same name. Both movies are perfect for sobbing your heart out. Admittedly, the Turkish version does end on a happier note than the Korean version, but both are full of heart-wrenching moments. About a man with mental disabilities who gets sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit. He and his daughter are the miracles in the cell. Very moving story. Absolutely recommend, both versions!

Içerde

I saw this one after Cukur. Aras had impressed me so much that I wanted to watch his other works as well. I'll say that he still is one of the best aspects of the show. Him and Cagatay. They played very well and had excellent chemistry. I think I would have liked it more if they had more scenes together. They had great stories separately but we took forever to get to the reveal and they had so little time together, I felt like there was a missed chance to show off their chemistry, which was really the highlight of the show. Because they were crazy alone, but they were completely chaotic together. These two were crackheads.

Also, what is it with the shows I've watched recently fridging the love interest!!! Why?!?! They need to stop! It upsets me.

I think my biggest criticism with this show is that there is a lot of over acting. Sometimes they'll say things and I'll just be thinking that it's a little ridiculous. Also it went on a little too long. But otherwise, a worthwhile series to watch. Great plot! Mert is a great anti-hero and Sarp is a great hero. I was heartbroken for Mert for a lot of the series but also I was rooting against him for the most part what with him being on the wrong side. But anyway, great series.

Son Yaz

Good show. Not bad. I think what bothered me the most is that there was a naïveté to the characters in the mafia that shouldn’t have been there if they were born in the mafia. I mean, other mafia shows, the characters knew not to trust anyone, and that everyone was out to kill them. And on the off chance that they did trust someone, they were smarter than them so they could counter. But here, the characters are all stupid and trusting. I’m just like… you dumb dumbs. DUMMIES!! WHY!?! Who’s got the braincells here. Maybe Soner? Sometimes? No. That’s not right either. Selim most of the time, but try as I might, couldn’t like him that much. I tried, I genuinely tried to be on board with him, but he was so complicated in a way that was not appealing, mainly because he was an absent father and an overbearing one at the same time, while also having a very narrow view of the world that didn’t allow for other people’s points of view. It sucks because he was the only remotely competent one there. 

That’s another problem. These dummies are so dumb, all their plans are stupid. How did they get this far in life? I say this with love. I mean, it was part of their charisma I guess. They were young, so being stupid is excusable. It’s not like I’m putting them on the same level as Yamac Kocovali from Cukur or something. That guy was in his late 20s at the start of the series and he was smart. Also that series was much more liberal about murder. These kids are just dumb and there’s the stakes are pretty much just being imprisoned. Understandable since it’s not about being in the mafia but trying to get out of it.  

Okay, but besides them being so stupid, their relationships were cute. Naz and Soner were adorable and I love them. Yagmur and Akgun were chaotic little beans who I love so much. They are both so impulsive in different ways. Yagmur is straightforward with her emotions while Akgun is PANIC! EMOTIONS!

Season 2 was definitely better to me. I really liked the darker turn it went to. Good series. Not a bad watch. But it was canceled so the ending is full of plot holes and loose ends. 

UFO

A good movie. It had a nice premise and I enjoyed the actors. I watched it for Mert and it was well worth it. A good little palate cleanser. Not a lot to say about it, but it was worth checking out.

In Good Hands

A good movie. Had an unexpected twist at the end that was very clever. I enjoyed it. Don't have a lot to say about it considering it was only an hour and a half. Heartily recommend as a palate cleanser.

Yali Çapkini

Ongoing while I'm writing this. I dropped it at around episode 17, but I might come back to it if I see that there is an improvement in the characters. Cinematography, acting, music, are all good, but I had to drop because I don't like any of the characters and I'm constantly frustrated by them. I'm sorry, it's not that I don't like them, it's that I don't like that they are the main characters. If Ferit and Seyran weren't the lead couple, I think I would be much more entertained by them, because I wouldn't have to see the consequences of their (Ferit's) actions. But I do see, and Ferit is such a dumbass. If he weren't the lead, I could just call him a himbo and be done with it. But he is the lead so I have say that he's a narcissist, inconsiderate, and immature to boot. So... you see my struggle. I want to like him so much because Mert plays him so well, and he is so charming and good-looking, but, unfortunately, he's a dick. I want to come back to this show when he improves as a character. To be fair, a lot of the situations that happen are not his fault, but he does not make the situation better in a lot of the cases. So I hope they have a time lapse where he improves himself over a course of years and then reunites with his wife or something, or he just is a better character in another 10 episodes. I'll check up on it.

Oh Belinda

Honestly I skipped through most of this movie trying to get to the end. It wasn't terrible but I also didn't really feel the vibe of it.

EGO

I am so sad that I didn't like this. I gave up around episode 9 and I can understand why it was such a short show. It's so complicated. I really could not understand the plot lines at all. Everyone was so toxic and destructive. I love the lead actors and had seen them together in Carpisma where they had such great chemistry but it was the same problem as Carpisma where the plot couldn't save them. Like, the plot buried their natural chemistry. I'm so sorry for it. Just a really boring, complicated show. Not for me unfortunately.

Üç Kiz Kardes

I gave up. I'm sorry but this was just too ridiculous for me. And I'm sorry for it because it's a beautiful show. Like the actors are beautiful, the set is beautiful, the cinematography, the music. Lovely show. Honestly, the plot is not bad, like as in there is a good story in there, but it's . . . how do I put this . . . not well executed. I don't believe the love story, because it's scattered, the parents are either too evil or too good, or too oblivious. The sisters are naive. The boyfriends are either assholes (except Serdar, who's an angel and the only one I rooted for). I gave up at episode 15. I couldn't anymore. Sadly. Maybe someone else will like it. But it wasn't for me.

Duy Beni

Uhhh... this was interesting, in the way that watching a car crash is interesting. These kids are in desperate need of therapy. All of them. None of them are likable. The only person worth rooting for is the mom. Everyone is ridiculous 95.5% of the time. I mean, the main characters aren't even on screen. They have, like, 5% screen time together. Which is a really missed opportunity because they are crazy attractive and have good chemistry. I'm just... no. I started this because I was looking for Gunesi Beklereken (which I can't find anywhere) and this was on it's recommended page and people have said it was good, but I'm just. Not for me I guess. It was way too melo. No one really deserves any sympathy, a lot of problems could have been solved if they just hadn't been so ridiculous. I want to feel bad for the leads, but even then I'm just exhausted by them half the time. The love story was hard to believe because the lead actors didn't have any screen time. Sorry I couldn't like it.

Safir

The amount of disappointment I feel for this drama is incredible. It had the potential to be so good. The casting was great. The acting was good. The scenery and film was perfect. But the plot collapsed! I mean. It was so bad! I disagreed with every choice that was made and I ended hating nearly every character. That's hard to do. Ates is the only character I ended up still liking, and it was mostly out of spite at the end too because I hated every other character who kept f*cking with him so much. I HATE Yaman. I loath him. I think he is the worst character ever and the fact that Feraye stayed obsessed with him in the end. I mean, girl?! This is so dumb of you. You know at this point, they are both so infuriating, they deserve each other. I was justifying her in the beginning because she was going through some emotional stuff, but I cannot support her choices. And just... this is all I can say about this show. It was disappointing. The show could have been great, and it flopped. It flopped hard!

Ferhat Ile Sirin

I didn't understand. I thought it was going to be a love triangle, and it sort of was, but then it went off a deep end and I just didn't understand what happened in the end. Ended on a weird note, probably because it was cancelled. Tolga was the only good thing about it. I mean, the acting and everything was fine, and ignoring the incomprehensible plot it was okay. But . . . yeah... not a worth it watch unless you're doing it for a specific actor like I was.

[absolutebl]

Do you think whether you watch a bl live or binge it affects your viewing experience?

Because for me, when i watch ep by ep, i am always left with time to consume, reflect, and expect... analyze and make theories... etc. Sometimes, i think this causes much more disappointment later on when certain things i thought were important end up simply not being anything, for example. With binge watching, on the other hand, i don't really have time to think much before jumping onto the next episode, so i feel like it doesn't leave a lot of room for criticism or analysis. I used to be strictly a binge watcher before i started liking to live watch for the fandom experience but it can be a bit draining for me to consume a show for a couple of months, especially that i tend to hyperfixate if i like something too much. Anyways, i was curious to know whether you might look at your viewing experience a bit differently as someone who avidly watches most of their shows live

Have a wonderful dayyy

BL Binging Versus the Weekly Watch

Yes! I have tons of thoughts.

It absolutely emotionally and psychologically impacts the experience.

@heretherebedork and I talk about this all the time

Whether you identify as a binger.

There are some people who just like watching one way over the other. They know themselves best. Bingers usually have to make the choice to wait and that takes will power I don't have. Also if they don't like spoilers, they gotta avoid bloggers like moi.

Whether you have binging thrust upon you.

Some of us have life, or access, or other issues. So some shows we must binge by default, and others we don't have to.

As a critic, I have to acknowledge that the means by which I consume a thing effects how I enjoy it. (I would include device and platform here as well.)

I actually like both ways of watching BL.

I don't really fall into either camp. I have no will power and I love gossiping about shows so I watch weekly, but binging is really fun too. Way more immersive. I still wit often pause it to take notes as I go.

But there are certainly times when I feel like binging (or not) effected my experience and opinion of the show - one way or the other. Usually I am more fair to a weekly and less fair to binge. My mind has a chance to be changed via discourse over a weekly show but NOT with a binge. Or someone's opinion foreshadows my binging enjoyment.

Personally: I try to watch weekly and then if I have time (and care enough) rewatch as a binge to be confident in my thoughts.

But the act of watching something the FIRST time is profound, so the initial mechanism of consumption really does matter.

Are BLs better binged or watched in intallments?

I think if the show was designed for cinematic release, then the creators intend it to be binged. So movies should be binged.

So what about those series KBLs that are repackaged as movies? What about KBLs in general, which run much shorter than most other shows? What about JBLs? That entire tradition started out with the movie mentality, and they still kind of have that attitude and approach - their series are structured a bit more like movies than episodes.

I don't have an easy answer.

I find that I enjoy re-watching KBLs because they are so short. I can squeeze them in in under a few hours, so I do tend to reach for them to binge after airing.

Conversely, I find that I rarely have the patience to binge Thai BL without skipping large chunks, side stories, or fast forwarding through them. I find the longer running series with longer episodes each, easier to watch as weekly installments.

Ironically this means I rarely rewatch the best of these. BLs like La Pluie and Step by Step have been sitting on my rewatch pile for ages, but not making it to the top because they're gonna take so much time because I want to rewatch them thoroughly from start to finish, no skipping.

That said, those BLs that have very short episodes but are airing weekly, are much more work to watch weekly, because so little happens it's difficult to remember what occurred in the previous installment.

Since it is all so complicated, I don't think you can make an objective call as to whether the length of a BL, or the country it comes from, predicates that the entire oeuvre be binged or not.

Are there generalities?

I I HAD to pick, I'd binge

Korean,

Vietnamese,

Pinoy,

and Taiwanese BL.

And those few Thai BLs that goes lakorn or historical (rare, but things like ICFYLITA or Manner of Death or Laws of Attraction).

Because Korean stuff is so short and tidy and because Taiwanese & Pinoy stuff (and Thai lakorn) is so long, untidy, messy, and frustrating, I hate waiting between episodes. Vietnamese stuff tends to be one or the other of the above styles.

I'd watch Thai BL and Japanese stuff in weekly installments.

Both require more patience and thought between shows.

Although some of my favorite JBLs were binges. (I Cannot Reach You and Seven Days).

So what they hell do I know?

[ghostly-cabbage]

you guys got another one to read/reread alex rider bc of ttb.

i binged the show and am on the third book. the thing is i distinctly remember the end of scorpia and beginning of ark angel (alex getting shot nearly through the heart and then trying to escape something? while in recovery) but that is the only thing i remember after the first book. but it has been something like over 10 years since i read these. speaking of: i did not know there were so many books now?! and apparently anthony is still writing new ones?! though really hoping the 2000’s mmm 😐 moments will fade as the books go on… especially the fatphobia around smithers, and the low key racist stereotypes and side comments. i was questioning myself if i was just looking too far into it thinking that mrs stellenbosch was a transphobic character until the line “she looked like a man in drag” and went yep. fuck she is. now i don’t think any of this was malicious or even on purpose but rereading books you enjoyed as a kid now as an adult really reminds you how it was in the 2000s.

but the show is good and doesn’t have those problems. however, did anyone else notice it’s all the women in special operations that are concerned about alex? obviously mrs jones but i do like her character in the show. but also it was the women in wolf’s crew that spoke up about torturing alex. the other man didn’t say anything. but overall i am appreciating more diversity.

i have so much more to say about the show and the books but i should stop rambling. anyway, ttb is sooooo good and i am eagerly awaiting the next chapter and all those to come. alex rider and danny phantom is such a niche crossover but it works! and the scp stuff? absolutely perfect. you don’t happen to have links to any other scp x dp stuff do you? art or fics.

ps. idk wtf tumblr’s spacing is doing. i’m hoping it evens out when i send this ask and you don’t have to see the large, awkward, uneven gaps between paragraphs

Heheheheh welcome back to the Alex Rider brain worms!! I myself never read the books as a kid and it was totally Fin's doing pspsps'ing kkachi and I into AR (More specifically into an AR fanfic series called of Madness and Mammals, which I read all of without any canon knowledge and it was fantastic dfghjkl After that I started reading the books and then we watched the show!)

As for the 2000's moments..... yeah unfortunately there are some stuff in the early books that aren't great. Though Fin does tell me that the later books do in fact get better about that sorta thing. (i'm still not completely caught up) Some character details just feel so mean spirited and ignorant. I think it's something that was more run of the mill back then but also a symptom of a greater problem as a whole in the "spy fiction" genre. (From what I hear a lot of the Bond books and earlier movies are just so racist and sexist etc, and I think AR was meant to be a "Bond but for tween boys")

As far as the show goes, I think it does a really great job in fixing a lot of the issues the books had, both with plot, tone, and yes the diversity! I think what you pointed out about the women in the Department being sympathetic to Alex is really interesting and I hadn't realized that until you pointed it out! I think that, while Jones and Snake are more vocally sympathetic, I do think the people in the department all care about Alex in... different ways. Wolf's aside with Jones after the K-unit interrogation in Ep two I think proves that he was just as uncomfortable as Snake. I think that her speaking out and reaffirming his own feelings was just the push he needed so say "fuck our orders". There's also the fact that, even if people in the department seem concerned, just like in the books, they still never do anything to actually stop what's happening. They care, but they more or less remain complicit. Never pushing the envelope enough to endanger their own positions even if they know how wrong using a child is. Simple answer for this being that if they did there wouldn't be a show/book series so like asdfghjkl but it's fun to Think about! 👀  I'm so glad that you're enjoying TTB! It's been such a labour of love from the three of us! When we watched the AR show finally we were honestly so shocked. AT that point we'd already started panning TTB and so we were thrilled that the show was tonally so close to what were aiming for. The AR straight up dips into horror at times and its sense of atmosphere is so top notch. When we were approaching this crossover it really was the fact that Canon AR and SCP mesh well together that makes it work so well. It's very much the glue for this crossover! That and we started off characterizing TTB!Danny using a lot of my hcs for SWWDF!Danny and so pushing that even further in the horror/SCP direction was easier than trying to use a base-canon Danny. I think that trying to crossover Canon AR with Canon DP without it just being a fun crackfic would be pretty difficult. bc lets be honest they both can be so cheesy and ridiculous (affectionate) As for knowing of more dp x scp stuff, sadly I do not : (( I know awhile back there was people making a bunch of dp x scp memes, but those don't really have much plot per se. However, maybe if anyone does know they can slap them in the replies of this or I can make a new post to put out some feelers!

[pashminalamb]

okay first of all *clears throat* how are you? are you feeling better? has the tea and comfort show binging been helping? i hope you get better soon!! second I FREAKING LOVE THE NEW THEME THE HECK IT LOOKS SO GOOD!!!! and third for the ask game can I ask 🤩, 🔮, and 💌? and fourth. Oh my God. The fact that you love Haikyuu and Tokyo Revengers is literally amazing adhkkjhhhgf. Who’s your favorite character? Are you caught up in the manga? Did you hear the devestating news that the rest of Haikyuu is gonna be animated into 2 movies? I wanna sob like they can’t do my comfort show like this there are too many scenes they’re gonna have to cut out and God forbid maybe some matches too *sobs*. And Tokyo Revengers only had two chapters left. Yes I’m totally fine what are you talking abt 🙂🙂🙂. Last weeks chapter and this weeks chapter freaking destroyed me. I mean I say that abt every chapter but like THESE TWO GAVE ME SO MUCH WHIPLASH LIKE *screameths*. Anyways. I hope you’re doing good and that your day goes well!! As always *sends many virtual hugs*

- ✨ anon

✨ anon !! Hi lovely !! ૮⸝⸝> ̫ <⸝⸝ ა

I just got back from the doctor's, took my meds and healing, kinda bummed out that my roommates went for a halloween party dressed as ghostface basic bitch and the other was gluskin (he didn't look terrifying but his manners were; 'for the sake of our children') but i got chocolates so i'm happy and November is here (¬‿¬)

AND I HIT 900 FOLLOWERS!!

Its my birthday month so I have an excuse to skip out on No Nut November... but my writing? It's gonna go up a notch (¬‿¬) with the possibility of making it hard for you guys; pun intended.

I'm deciding to roll with pink as my theme. Spooktober is over and now its my month so I'm going with pink cause its my favorite color.

૮ ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶ აThe theme is still in the making... but I'm taking my time with it and trying to make the blog look pretty. Theme said being; dangerous but cute

For the ask game :

🤩 : What led to your interest in the fandom?

I blame my brain, youtube, pinterest and instagram for this.

I was pretty active in the knb and bnha fandom (i was an aomine fanatic, still am tho) and bnha is something I've put on hold for now. With wattpad, tumblr followed and soon ao3 (my ex friend had to teach me how to use it). After instagram came, I got to see edits and that piqued my interest in the anime and I also followed pop culture accounts (that's how I found jjk and tr). Then came the writing. I've always had a knack for it, winning creative writing certificates in school and even writing for papers, there was always an idea that I had so, I decided to use it for writing x reader inserts for characters.

🔮 Any advice for writers working through burnout or writer’s block?

There can be a lot of reasons for a writer to have a burnout or have a writing block but its mostly to do with pressure imo. Can be because you feel that your writing is not good enough, could be that you want to keep the follower count high, could be a rivaling author or any reason.

To avoid a burnout, you need detachment and discipline. Don't write it all in one day (unless you're really up for it) make a bit of progress every day and add content to your writing. Don't let your readers force you into updates, taking your time with it is what makes the writing and reading more savory. If you have a writer's block, try something new. A change in environment always helps and there's not one particular thing you have to stick to. Watching a show and reading books has helped me understand the style of my writing better. You can follow writing prompt blogs as well and build your storyline around it (I prefer to create my own content so I have my own writings prompts).

💌 Is there a favorite trope you like to write?

Enemies to lovers (please the amount of hate sex I thrive on - five wrong one right readers know), forbidden love (planning to start this for Toji), mythology ( i had this in my wip and then I had to take it down), partners in crime (Bllk) and best friends to lovers (planning to write this for Bllk)

Basically, dark romance, slow burn, angsty with comfort themes.

Haikyuu : I really can't choose tbh cause I like all of them... sawamura daichi, miya twins, kuroo, Kageyama, Haiba Lev (victor and yuri's lovechild) and bokuto (the himbo captains sue me)

Tr : I like Shiba Hakkai (mans too precious and is the baby. Can't look a woman in the eye and yes, I like shy boys but he's also kinda a himbo), Mitsuya (must be protected at all costs), Kisaki tetta (his brain is sexy), Wakasa Imaushi, Inupi (reminds me of shoto) and Kawaragi Senjuu.

Tell me your fav characters! (/ω＼)

Oml. The rest of haikyuu is gonna be made into 2 movies? This is as bad as taking beefy Bokuto away from the anime. smh its starting to look like the repeat of beastars and promised neverland (remember how disappointing that was? They literally skipped an entire arc with Hugo in it)

I'll have to catch up with tr. I haven't read the manga in months now but it wasn't a surprise that it was coming to an end; saw a lot of posts instagram about that

Chainsawman on the other hand. You guys aren't gonna like Makima. The manga readers already hate her.

*Sending back hugs*

[quill-and-chalk]

I predict TOH Season 2b even though I’ve only seen 3 episodes so far

Hello I figured this would be a fun little game to play. I didn’t watch season 2b as it aired because I was focused mostly on school and other stuff going on so I am going to be binging it tonight. I have only seen up to like the 3rd episode and have only seen light spoilers so I figured it would be fun for me to predict the rest of this season and we can see how wrong I am in about… 3-4 hours. I will be going by introduced arcs/arcs I remember soo if something new has popped up then I definitely won’t cover that. Anyways I’m gonna go ahead and make a fool of myself.

Kings family Arc

This poor poor man has gotta find his mysterious relative at some point right? Like they wouldn’t leave that plot hook hanging there for THAT long right? I predict that someone from his family (not necessarily his dad. It could be an uncle or something.) shows up and then King has to decide between his family by choice and his family by blood yada yada yada. One things I will add onto this is that I believe his lost family member will teach him how to use his powers better. Annndd that’s like all I got for him.

Raine’s whole being controlled by plant mom™️ Arc

I hope Raine gets better GOD I hope they get better. Based on the fan stuff I have seen people have been focusing a lot on the school experience of Eda, Raine, and Lilith, and that makes me think at some point (hopefully when Raine gets freed from a freaky version of poison ivy) they all talk about or revisit their past. Idk how Raine gets freed but honestly I’m gonna make two bets and it’s either A.) They get freed just seconds too late and the whole worlds merging thing has already happened or B.) They get freed and now Belos has to find a replacement and that’s WORSE. Also this is sad but I assumed even after they are saved they at MAX just blush furiously around Eda. Raineda is just S1 Lumity for the rest of the season and tbh I would be willing to bet money on that.

Eda’s Magic Arc (or should I say lack of magic)

Gonna be honest I think Eda gets her magic back. I think Lilith probably comes up with a plan to save it BUT I also think Eda learns how to work with glyphs and debates whether she even wants to go through that process. Speaking of Lilith based on fan reactions my guess is that her Mom is not the evil backstabbing woman I thought she was… which I sad I really liked that theory but apparently this season had enough sadness with out that soooo ya. Not much to say about this but one out there theory I have is that in like … the finale or something, Eda like regains her full powers and goes apeshit on some one. I only give this prediction a 50/50 shot of happening.

Hunter… also known as Zuko 2.0 arc

Damn y’all really like this boy. Like seriously I know he is sympathetic but it seemed like in the span of 2 week everyone went from ‘Ya he is a sympathetic character and I hope he gets a redemption but he is really morally gray right now’ to ‘OH MY GOD THIS BOY! HE IS SO ME! I LOVE HIM! NO ONE HURT HIM!’ So that was interesting. My guess is that it’s revealed that whole Belos is connected to the brothers theory is true BUT and here me out. Belos is just one clone/magical being in like.. A LONG line of clones/magical beings made from one of the original brothers and Hunter is like supposed to take up Belos’ mantle and therefore inorder to ‘prepare’ him that man decided he was going to gaslight-gatekeep-and-trauma all over hunters childhood. Is that theory out there…. Yes…. But honestly so were all the pre-S2B theories about Hunter so don’t judge me.

Crack Prediction about Willow and Gus

I want Gus and Willow (and Amity if she wants too) to lead a secret rebellion. Please I got a taste of it in S1 finale and now I want the full meal. Literally I would give up EVERYTHING if I am right but I just know I am not. I mean Willow and Gus are such overlooked powerhouses it’s insane and I feel like and arc like this would be suited for them so I am just hoping it happens. Or honestly for them to do anything cool.

Go on and tell me how wrong I am because I won’t be looking at tumblr until I finish the show. I might live blog it’s but only if something insane happens. I WILL be spamming my feed with all the fan content I have missed though once I am done. So yea.