#but i don't like her enough to watch another 12 episodes

[theheightofdishonor]

GL Recs Masterlist

I've watched a couple hundred gls now and so I thought i'd put it to good use and help other people find some. There's not enough gl rec lists anyway

First things first, I'll like to direct you to https://mydramalist.com/list/1xrpwdW3 which is a gl rec list on mdl with more than 200+ titles + links. It's an EXCELLENT resource, kept up to date and even tracks upcoming titles.

Now for stuff that I've watched and thought are decent. I'll link all of these to their mdl page and the links to watch the show can usually be found in the comments. If you're new to gl, be warned that a lot of these are pretty short, ranging from 1-30 minutes.

1 in 10,000 (2018) Korea. This is a soulmates piece told in 3 parts following two girls through different parts of their lives. I think this got more confusing as it went on but I really liked Act I and I think it's worth watching. It's beautiful and angsty and a bit artsy. I'm pretty sure it has a happy ending but don't quote me on that.

Afraid of (2019) Korea. A short film about a girl struggling with her sexuality. Yeah, I know, there's a THOUSAND of these but I do like this one. It's beautifully shot and there's a lot of heart.

Am I the only one with butterflies? (2018) Korea. A girl blogs about falling in love with the manager at her new job. I like part ii better than part one but it's just cute and the pining is very similar to het kdramas.

Anonymous high school girl (2022) Korea. A low stakes love triangle. Good chemistry, low budget, awful kisses.

The Beauty of the Law (2023) China- If you're not familar with chinese gls, I think it's certainly something to get used to. This is like in the top 1% of the category. It's an ad for Adolph Shampoo and i'm going to let you know that they're going to appear often on this list because they make excellent gls. It's a historical about a female unlicensed lawyer trying to help a woman escape her abusive marriage. Makes great points about gender imbalances and women's historical lack of legal rights in China. (f you like this one, Sheng Wei, one of the actresses stars in 50%+ of all chinese gls, check her out)

Beguine (2018) Thailand - It's if the school dancing scene in My School President was a 30 minute sequence with two girls. No plot but adorable.

Cat in the eastern palace (2020) China - Watch this just to have the surreal experience of seeing like 3 whole cdrama arcs which normally take 20ish eps executed in a 7 minute timeframe. Also because it stars laoji who's in the other 50% of chinese gls. As for plot, it's about a cat spirit and a girl pretending to be the crown prince.

Clasper (2021) Thailand - And they were roommates! I liked the production, the dialogue and the acting was pretty decent.

Couple of Mirrors*** (2021) China- Wait to watch this because it will ruin you for everything else. This is like typical thai bl length, like 12 45~min episodes. It's a historical mystery about a wealthy woman who finds out about her husband's affair with her bff and the photographer she enlists to help her. If you watch one thing out of China, watch this.

Dear My Girlfriend (2021) Korea - A group project ft love triangle. It´s pretty classic. A girl starts dating someone who likes her only to realize she might instead be in love with her best friend. The editing is cute. It's a touch angsty as love triangles are and pretty well done.

Dear Uranus (2021) Taiwan. Another school love triangle. Does feature an adorkable female character, you know a bit awkward, a bit cutesy, if you hate this archetype, ignore this one. Personally I think the chemistry for the lead couple was lacking (genuinely shocking considering taiwan tends to be great at this) but both the love interests are hot and I am not immune to hot women

The Demonic lord and the virtuous cultivator (2021) China - Avoid this if you don't like toxic yuri. I personally love it so this is 10/10 for me. Orphan gets taken in by a benevolent benefactor who turns out to be her parents' killer and eventually....you know what go watch it.

Encore Martha (2021) Taiwan. One of the few gls about older women. A tomboy reunites with her first love. This one's only available on gagaoolala so you'll either need a subscription or sometimes they promote it for free. If you can find it though, it's worth a watch.

Family Plan (2016) Korea. This is a bit of an odd one to describe. The first half is two high school girls who are dating. And then the second half is their relationship as adults where they marry guys and use it to have a kid that they raise as theirs. I liked how this examined how two gay people would go about their relationship in in a world where they can't freely be with each other.

Favorite Girl (2022) Thailand. Very standard plot about a girl suffering from a breakup and her roommate but something about it stuck out to me.

Five steps to accept farewell (2016) Korea. Warning for unhappy ending. This is all pure angst, a 9 minute snapshot into a breakup. I like how it's done and the messiness of the situation.

Fragrance of the first flower (2021) Taiwan. A beautifully shot, beautifully acted, slightly too short show about two ex-lovers reuniting ft. all the angst about living in a homophobic society. It stayed in my head for weeks after I first watched it.

Girls Blood** (2014) Japan. A movie about 4 "girls" in an underground fight club. warnings for rape, trauma, domestic assault. One of the main characters is a trans man. There are sex scenes. It's very queer and I highly recommend.

Girls Love** (2016) China. Pre-censorship China had some very wonderful queer work and one of them was this movie It's about a girl who falls in love with her hot butch roommate ft all the tropes AND we get to see them function in a relationship instead of the movie ending when they get together. Warning for both characters being forcibly outed at the end. (nothing bad really happens to them after though). Also do NOT watch the sequel. If you go to mdl, everyone else will also tell you not to watch the sequel and I foolishly did not listen to those people because I liked these girls so much and I suffered for my mistake.

The Girls on Rela (2016) China. It's an anthology of short, I wouldn't say stories, more like moments, sponsored by a lesbian dating app. Each one's really short but the acting and scripts are all pretty good.

The Girls on Rela Season 2** (2016) China. This is sponsored by the same company but it's a totally different format. It's one long show about two girls cohabiting. Pretty well executed if a bit slow.

Graduation, Present + Propose (2021) Korea. A short about a high school girl giving a graduation present to her crush. What it does it does well. It's pretty.

The Handmaiden (2016) Korea. Historical set movie about a conman and thief girl who plot to steal a heiress’s fortune. I make it sound boring but that's only because it's a pretty popular movie and everything to be said about it has already been said.

Happy to have you here (2021) Thailand. Two friends have a sleepover and figure out their feelings. This is definitely in the top 20% for this trope, even though they rushed just a tad into the kiss.

Hello, spring is coming (2019) Korea. I'll let you read the synopsis for this one. What you need to know is that it's pretty, well acted, has good chemistry and is as brightly colored as a lollipop. It's a bit disorienting, parts of it doesn't make a lot of sense but it's a fun time.

I broke up because of you (2023) Korea- A bartender and their client catches feelings for each other. The dynamic is nice, the kiss less so but it can be forgiven.

I’m her weapon (2022) China- It's kinky, it's angsty, it's 3 minutes long and still fits in a separation arc. I would pay money for an extended version.

Kanojo no Kuchidzuke Kansensuru Libido (2022) Japan - two girls fall in love in a hospital. I like the tone of this one.

The L Bang** (2015) China- Another Rela production. It's a 4 episode comedy about a bunch of lesbians + (1) gay man who live in the same apartment complex. It's got queer friendship, queer acceptance and queer love. It's just wonderful. It feels like 2000s American sitcoms but queer and Chinese.

Led Astray by Love (2022) China- Fairly long for a cgl. A girl gets transported to a manhwa and falls in love with the ruler. Sunshine/grumpy. This baby is 52 minutes long and covers like the same amount of plot as word of honor does in 30 something episodes.

Legend of Yunze (2021) China - A human and a half demon vanquish demons from a village. It has a second season and a special that I haven't watched yet.

The Lost World** [Xia Ye Zhi Dao Feng De Tian] (2023) China - After watching as much cgl as I have, I was shocked to see Laoji in a modern piece. This is a college setting running-into-a-childhood-friend trope. The pacing and chemistry are both pretty good. It's one of my favorites from her.

Love in the Tinder Age** (2019) Korea- A black comedy about a bullied lesbian's failed suicide attempt ft psychics, ghosts and a teacher/student relationship. It's not really a gl because the main character doesn't get a romance BUT it's really fun so you should watch it anyway.

Love of Secret** (2022) Thailand- More of a slice of life than a love story but it's cute and fluffy and the main character very much is in a relationship. The actual plot is about a med student who's hiding both her relationship with her best friend and her dreams to be an idol. I found it positively charming.

Lover’s Concerto** (2002) Korea- Calling this a gl is a stretch. It's more just queer? The girls were most likely in love but they don't end up together and the movie itself doesn't really have a happy ending. I did find it beautiful though.

Mayfly angel (2024) Korea- Classic discovers-feelings-for-bestie-after-a-breakup plot. Warning that this is angsty and they don't end up together. But I found it realistic and I liked that they felt like two real people. Take that how you will.

Miss shen and the woman warlord (2023) China- a woman cross-dresses as another young woman's fiance and they fall in love. Despite how i describe it, there's a decent amount of plot and some political commentary.

More or less than 75 celsius (2019) Korea- A tea master and her supervisor fall in love. It's sparse and short but cute.

My Dear (2021) Thailand. A drunk girl confesses to her friend and luckily for her, it's mutual. It's 5 minutes long but it uses its time well and the acting is nice. It feels a bit like gmmtv's confessions. If you like it, the production company ShakeShoulder makes TONS of gl shorts and i'd recommend checking them out.

No distance left to run  (2022) Hong Kong. a 15 minute short film about how fame causes issues in a pop star's relationship. Unhappy ending. The song's a bop though and it's well done.

Nü er hong** (2023) China. I forgot to mention but this one, the legend of yunze and the lost world are all produced by the same studio. They do a lot of fairly long chinese gls. The story is about these two beings from an alien world who crash land on earth and are hunted. One is a healer and the other is a killer, they're in love, the killer goes insane so her lover kills her. Unbeknownst to them, they're immortal so the killer wakes up with no memories 200 years later. The pacing is better than some of their earlier stuff but it's not quite perfect here yet. It is one of my favorites from the studio though and it ends happily.

Our relationship ended before it began (2022) Korea. A barista falls in love with her manager at a coffee shop ft gender roles, miscommunication and the classic "cool one picks on the nice one to show affection" trope.

Pyramid Game** (2024) Korea. This is more gl adjacent like Devil Judge and Beyond Evil. There is a secondary gl couple that's more explicitly canon though. If you've watched other kdramas about school bullying, this is pretty similar except it's an all-girls school and everyone is so gay. It's got so much heart and is one of my favorite shows of the year.

Really, Lily? (2019) Korea. A 6 minute short about two girls who visit a cafe and beats up two men who were making homophobic remarks about them. It's surprisingly comedic and the coloring is bright to match. Features a pretty decent kiss. Watching it, I wished it was longer but what's there is still good.

Secret of us (2024) Thailand. The only longform thai gl that i've liked enough to finish. It's about an idol who comes back to win over her doctor ex. It falters from ep 6 onwards but until then, the show is really good at showing the emotional thought processes of the characters and the way they construct the story is compelling, even though I don't even like second chance romances.

Shackles (2023) China. Another one from the Chinese shampoo ad. The pairing itself is not my favorite but it's so cool that this is basically a warning against nuclear pollution AND features chinese mythology that's used in the brand's marketing. Like a 3 in 1. It's so interesting.

She Makes My heart flutter (2022) Korea. Baby lesbian finds out her aunt runs a lesbian bar and starts working there. It's so goddamn cute but it has this weird relationship with homophobia where everyone in the show is apparently 100% ok with queerness but a lot of the aunt's actions is so driven by her being a queer person in an unaccepting society. A bit like how Moonlight Chicken deals with Jin and Li Ming's different attitudes towards being queer except they don't dwell on why the aunt is the way she is or what she's been through. Anyways, it's worth a watch.

Sleep with me (2022) Philippines. A 6 episode series about two girls who are disabled in different ways fall in love. One of them can only sleep during the day and the other is in a wheelchair and the show does a pretty decent job at showing how these disabilities affect their lives and their relationship

Soshite, Yuriko wa Hitori ni Natta** (2020) Japan. If you follow me, you may have seen me talk about this show earlier this year because I found it and promptly fell in love. It's not quite gl but Mizuki's actions are all driven by the fact that she's in love with Yuriko. It's queerer than you would expect, less queer than you might want. It's a supernatural-adjacent school horror about a girl who's new school has a weird thing where every year, a girl named Yuriko becomes "Yuriko sama" and rules the school while everyone else in that year with the same name mysteriously dies. Yuriko's best friend Mizuki plots to make the sweet innocent Yuriko the newest Yuriko-sama to save her life. It's weird, there's plot holes everywhere by the end, it definitely vilifies it's gays and the ending is weak but it's such a compelling watch.

Stand-in love (2023) Philippines. 2 best friends have a ‘stand in’ relationship where the straight one helps the lesbian one learn how to court someone but they end up falling in love with each other. Like 20 min long and I love it.

Ti Shen** [The substitute] (2017) Taiwan. The mdl synopsis can describe the plot better than I can but it's a romance between an idol and a normal girl that's split into two parts. The first half is about them meeting in high school, the second is when they reunite later on a movie set where one of them is the other's stunt double. I think the first part could've been a bit longer but it's a great movie.

Transit Girls (2015) Japan. Stepsisters. Happy ending though and it's fairly long. I liked this mostly because I like Japan's moody stuff. I also liked how they handled the male love interest.

Truth or Dare (2022) Korea. A 10 minute short about two girls who like each other playing truth or dare. It does a great job at building tension and revealing things without saying it.

Tsukuritai Onna to Tabetai Onna** (2022) Japan. A woman who loves to cook comes to an arrangement with her neighbor who loves to eat. Japan does food-centered dramas better than everyone else and this is no exception. The romance itself is slow and you watch how their dynamic changes through this and the season two that came out this year.

The Twelve flower gods: Camelia (2020) China. A xianxia romance about a girl falling in love with a flower but it's a minute twenty so I promise you're not watching for the plot. You're watching to witness the ridiculous amount of innuendos that they manage to fit in under two minutes.

Twin souls of destiny (2023) China. Xianxia romance between two elves, one who is made from the memories of the other's past life. I want someone else to watch this so we can discuss whether or not this is selfcest. The color combination is interesting because I very rarely see lovers in red and purple. The time travel is confusing but it's a good time and laoji is in it.

Until Rainbow Dawn** (2018) Japan. Movie about two deaf girls falling in love ft homophobic parents. The director is a deaf lesbian herself so the movie does a wonderful job in how it depicts deafness and their relationship. It's really well done

When the light pours (2022) Korea. A girl's boyfriend wants her to sing him a song so she enrolls in guitar lessons and ends up falling in love with her teacher. The girls don't get together and I really wish they had! So if you watch this, don't watch the ending and pretend that they did end up together.

[nadjabear]

I blanked out and watched 11 episodes of The Apothecary Diaries in December and thinking of it I don't really like it lol but it's so confusing to me because it was boring but entertaining at the same time??? It's pretty harmless but I really don't get the hype it's just pretty average to me

[googledetective]

my thoughts about the new drdt episode...

I want to start off that this episode has not left me in a great mental state and this piece of fiction is starting to effect my reality in a negative way, currently. I do suffer from mental health issues, so please be sympathetic. If something I say seems too emotional or a bit off, that's likely why. My therapist will be hearing about drdt, lol. No hate towards drdt, it's an amazing project, and I'm amazed at how the piece of fiction is able to make me react in such a way.

1. I am not educated on ASPD or anything like that, so if I say something wrong feel free to correct me. I had a feeling that Levi likely had it from his secret, but this is a cool confirmation. I like that this is represented in a really great way, and that the reactions to his confessions are also very realistic. I like Levi a lot, but now I understand him so much more, and it makes me really appreciate him.

2. I find it interesting how Levi is so detached, as Veronika said, to everything. Even if I was not capable of remorse, I would've remembered killing my own father. I wonder what his father did to be so looked down upon.

2.5. OKAY SO HES KINDA JUST LIKE ME FR. like I stated previously I've had some bad mental health issues in the past to the point I've kicked windshields of cars in and attacked people. It is not my proudest moment, but holy shit I can relate to this a lot. It makes me so good to see someone who's done shit like I've done who's trying to change.

3. Ace really did care about Levi and considered him a friend, which warmed and broke my heart at the same time. I really hope Ace finds another friend, because he deserves to feel some comfort and joy. I hope he learns about Levi's ASPD and realizes Levi has no malicious intent towards him. I find it nice that Ace did really trust and look up to Levi though, it proves him capable of friendship and deeper feelings that people usually overlook. Great complex character.

4. I was shocked that Levi sided with David, but honestly I do too. David is a good person, and we see that later in the ep where he doesn't tell Eden what Arei said.

5. J CALLED OUT HU??? UNEXPECTED. called her a stupid argument moderator. Interesting. I love you J, but watch it.

6. Veronika's secret isn't the worst thing she's ever done- interesting. I think it could be the thing she's the most ashamed of, but you never know. It really breaks my heart for Hu, and I hope we get a backstory on her soon.

I'm coming back after point 14 and adding this: these secrets don't seem to be any of the worst things they've ever done, nor relevant to the killing game (besides "Xander's"). These secrets are personal. I think they each have worse secrets but they are too related to the killing game so they couldn't give those out.

7. Excuse you, David. Freaky ass.

8. that is NOT Teruko's secret 😭😭😭

9. This is seriously rich coming from J, as she usually escalates the situation.

10. Eden's monologue broke my heart. I am so glad David lied to her at the end, or I think Eden's heart would've been broken. This just makes me so sad.

11. "That maybe there would be a world in which we would be friends." I'm sure there would be, since your fans have created worlds that you're dating her.

12. Arei needs to genuinely shut up. This is where I get very upset and irrational. I am so fucking mad at Arei for lying to Eden. For the rest of Eden's life she's going to be wondering what she could've done or if her friendship was enough. Why the fuck would you lie and say you believed you could change, only to come back and admit you know you can't. My heart breaks for Arei though, because I believe she could've changed. This especially makes me so upset because as a previously bad person who relates to Arei and tries to change, I feel like I'm going to give up hope to do so too. Obviously I gotta overpower and not let fiction effect my reality, but it really hurts.

13. Arei's worldview that nobody is a good person mirrors David's (though David excludes Xander). Makes me really sad. I can hope, but there's really no hope left.

14. Well we know who attacked Xander (what the actual fuck). I hope we learn how that ties in later. Eden's hidden quote, "you can never go back, no matter how hard you try." maybe it's referring to this incident instead of the situationship with her friends in the past.

15. Love this.

16. WE HAD A JRUKO MOMENT!!! So happy about this!!!

17. Why the actual fuck does Whit know so much about how that hanging mechanism would work. You're making yourself look so suspicious. High and low were highlighted, which was interesting.

18. Whit said this murder would've been hard if Arei wasn't a willing victim. If she was, this just makes this case even more tragic. She may have convinced herself to give up hope and cooperated with the killer, which pains me a lot. I think this was due to David's secret.

19. I love the carousel bit! And the banter between Arturo and Whit. They had banter last trial too, so that's a continuation. Maybe they'll have a confrontation in the future.

20. NICO FUCKED BRO

21. At this point my only logical conclusion of who I think the killer could be is J.

22. Everyone is bringing up Ace's friend- Taylor! It's seriously throwing me for a loop bc that's my name!

ENDING:

To clarify, I think it's sad that Arei believes she can't change and even started doubting Eden.

[kimpossibly]

THE CHAIN -> e. roundtree PART ONE: drummers' curse

PAIRING: eddie roundtree x fem!reader WARNINGS: mentions of minor injuries (NOTE: some warnings for this story include MAJOR spoilers for this series down the line, so I'll put those beneath the cut. If you don't want to get the story spoiled, then just ignore it ― but I did want to provide the chance for you to get an idea of how the story will go later down the line if you have any sensitive topics you'd like to avoid. please prioritize your mental wellbeing!)

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Apologies in advance for making Y/n the drummer and putting Warren on rhythmic guitar. I just loooooooove female drummers. Also can you tell that I love Karen and Camila? Because I love them with alllllll my heart and soul. Another sorry in advance because this one may break your heart a little ― it sure broke mine. NOTES ON THE WORK: I used the timeline from the book, mostly because I couldn't keep track of it in the show haha. I read the book twice before watching what episodes of the show were out, so the lines may blur between the two. For your convenience (and mine, tbh), I'll put the year all the characters were born underneath this note so you can reference it when you need to. I just couldn't keep track honestly. I think in the show they start the band when Graham is fourteen, but in the book he's around 18 when they add Warren on, so it's kind of confusing?? I decided to stick with the book because it was a more physical timeline. Anyways, enough talking, here's your guide! ― YEARS BORN (in order of age) Billy Dunne -> 1947 Camila Dunne -> 1949 Graham Dunne -> 1949 Warren Rhodes -> 1949 Eddie Roundtree -> 1949 Daisy Jones -> 1951 Y/n L/n -> 1951

WARNINGS (SPOILERS INCLUDED): reader has a terminal illness. Discussions about death and loss, depictions of grief, hospitals

It's no secret that the renowned 1970s band Daisy Jones & The Six went through its fair share of ups and downs. Until their inexplicable split on July 12, 1979, they were undeniably one of the biggest bands in the world. While a more detailed account of the band's history will be recounted in a more thorough transcript, this advanced edition will focus specifically on two of the band members: Eddie Roundtree and Y/n L/n. More specifically, it will focus on their individual and combined roles they played in the band's eventual downfall.

THE RISE OF THE SIX (1965 - 1972)

GRAHAM: Y/n grew up next door to us. She was a little younger, two years or so, so we never really gave her a second look. Until the day she wandered into our garage during band practice out of nowhere. She practically ripped the drum sticks out of Chuck's hand and just started...wailing on 'em. I mean, she could make your head spin. Here was this thirteen, fourteen year old girl next door, this kid, and she was the best fuckin' drummer we'd seen. I mean, in the neighborhood. She wasn't Mitch Mitchell, but she was the closest thing we had. And she was too good to be shoved in the back with a tambourine. But we couldn't just take Chuck's spot away and hand it over to the new girl.

CHUCK: I knew right then and there that they wanted to give my spot to the new girl. There was no doubt in my mind. And, you know what? I got it. This chick was good. Way too good. Did I feel threatened by her? Hell yeah, I did. And at the time I probably wanted to tell her to screw off, but now...now I get it.

EDDIE: She was good. Amazing, actually. Graham and I looked at each other and knew that she was something we'd be stupid to pass up on.

BILLY: When Chuck told us he wanted out, we were pissed, of course. We were heading off to open for Winters that week. It felt like things were going to look up, just like I always knew they would, and he was ditching. I know now that that wasn't really what it was ― he'd gotten into college, fan-fucking-tastic. It was a good opportunity for him, a sure thing. But right then it felt like a betrayal.

WARREN: So he ditched, and Billy just turned right to Eddie and said, "Go tell Y/n she's in." And he was just...terrified.

EDDIE: I said, "why me?" You know? It wasn't my band, it was Billy's. And here he was, ordering me to tell some new girl she was in. I was fifteen and could barely ask a waitress for ketchup. At the time, that was probably the last thing I wanted to do.

GRAHAM: He asked why it had to be him, and I told him the truth: he was the least intimidating. Billy, you know him. He had a tendency to get too focused on the task at hand and could get a little...harsh. And Warren? He had one of the biggest personalities you could find. He'd scare her off before we had a chance to offer her the spot...[Pauses] I probably could've done it, in all honesty. I just didn't want to screw it up. Eddie was better with words than I was, and we needed her in our band. Badly.

EDDIE: And I remember thinking, "Here goes fucking nothing."

The doorbell ringing was what got her attention. No one ever used the doorbell. It was always a knock ― that, or someone just walked in. The L/n's front door was hardly ever locked back then. Y/n's mom was a nurse, formerly a school nurse. She didn't want to risk the chance that some kid took a spill and had to limp home on an injured leg. So all the neighborhood knew, if you got hurt playing outside, you could march on over to Miss L/n's place to get yourself fixed up.

Y/n had her own share of walk-ins, too. By the time she was ten, she had seen her mom help out enough kids that she was practically a nurse herself. She could disinfect and bandage and stitch up any old case that walked through her front door. And if someone who was too busted up for first aid? She knew where the keys to the family Winnebago was and how to drive herself and them to the local hospital. She was only fourteen and didn't have a license, but it didn't matter. She was a safer driver than most everyone else on the road.

So when someone rang the doorbell, she assumed that it was someone too injured to knock. She grabbed the car keys and made sure her suture kit was within reach.

When she opened the door, she didn't see the blood and broken bones she was expecting. Instead, Eddie Roundtree stood on her front porch, hands shoved anxiously in his pockets. He looked all right, but that didn't stop her from asking: "You're not hurt, are you?"

"Um. No," Eddie said quickly, taking his hands out of his pockets.

"Okay," she said slowly, eyes narrowing. "Do you want to come in?"

"Yeah, sure."

Y/n turned and walked further into the house, prompting him to close the door and follow her. She led him to the kitchen. "Lemonade? I made it this morning," she offered, already opening the fridge.

EDDIE: That jug of lemonade was bigger than she was. [Laughs] I could barely watch her get it down. I was afraid she'd drop it on her foot. But she just took her time getting it from the fridge to the table. I found out later that her mom bought a pound of lemons a week because Y/n wanted something to offer every kid that came through their front door. [Pauses]. She was just like that.

He gave a nod. Y/n stood on her toes to grab two glasses from the cabinet. She poured one glass, hands shaking from the weight of the jug, and Eddie realized that this awkward silence was probably the best time to transition into his real reason for visiting.

"Chuck left the band."

"Oh," she said simply. "Sorry."

"Don't be."

She paused, looking confused. And Eddie, who's will to live was slowly draining from this conversation alone, raced to finish what he had (awkwardly) started.

"I just mean that...you're in. The band. If you want to be our drummer, you're in."

Y/n paused mid-pour, setting the pitcher down on the counter carefully. She turned around until her back pressed into the kitchen counter, arms crossed over her chest. "And you thought I'd jump at the chance to join?"

"No. No," Eddie said quickly. "We just wanted to offer you the spot if you still wanted it."

"Did I say that I wanted it?"

"No, but―"

"Okay, just making sure," she handed him a glass and hopped up onto the counter, crossing her legs underneath her. "So you need a drummer?"

"Yes. Badly."

She took a sip from her glass and paused, as if weighing her options in her mind. She swallowed. "Are there any other girls in the band yet?"

EDDIE: Yet. Like she knew it was going to happen. It was just a matter of time.

"No, not yet." he replied.

"Then be honest with me: are you guys sleazeballs?"

EDDIE: Sleazeballs. She didn't sugarcoat things. She wanted to know if we were creeps or if we'd let her play drums in peace. I get that, one hundred percent. but back then, it felt like she was trying to accuse us of something.

"No," he said quickly, "Well...Warren can be a little much, but he means well."

She took another slow sip, once again weighing her options in her mind. "When's your next gig?"

"We play pretty much every night, wherever we can find. It might take us a bit to teach you the songs, but―"

"I can learn them," she said confidently. "How soon do you need someone?"

"Soon as possible."

EDDIE: By then, I was terrified she'd say no. All these questions and never once did she seem really interested in joining. I was already trying to figure out which of us would be the least shit at the drums.

"Okay. I'm in."

EDDIE: And that was it. She said yes. I didn't appreciate how much she'd saved our asses right then, but I was relieved. That was for sure.

GRAHAM: Eddie came back, told us she said yes. She couldn't join practice until her mom got home ― she didn't want the house to be empty if some injured kid wandered by ― so we had about an hour and a half to teach her every song.

BILLY: She picked 'em up like [snaps] that. Never doubted it for a single second, either. Once she knew it, she knew it.

EDDIE: She showed up to the first gig in overalls and sneakers. She let Camila put a little makeup on her, too, but we could all tell she hated it.

CAMILA: She was sweet. And, surprisingly, a little shy. I could tell she was a little scared of the boys. That's why she was a little cold to them at first. But she was just the coolest kid. I mean, fourteen years old and joining a rock band? She was a little rockstar, right off the bat. She asked me to put some makeup on her before her first gig with the band. When I gave her a mirror after and asked her what she thought, she said, "I like it, but it makes me feel like a doll. Not a drummer." She liked the glitter the most, though. It became her trademark. She put it on her cheeks, in her hair, everywhere that would catch the light. She'd come off stage and you'd see a little pile of sparkles behind the drum set.

EDDIE: Right off the bat, first gig. It was enough to freak anyone out. She joined the band six hours ago, learned the songs three hours ago, and now she was playing in a club to a couple dozen people. It seems so small now, but back then? It was like starting at Wembley.

Y/n shook out her hands for the eighth time. It wasn't about loosening up for the gig anymore, she just needed something to do that didn't involve throwing a punch or screaming at the top of her lungs. She looked up at Billy, standing at the front of the group, cool and calm as ever, and she had the distinct urge to kick him in the shin. Why did he get to be so calm when she was right behind him, on the verge of throwing up?

She turned to anxiously twisting a single drum stick between her fingers, around and around, faster and faster. Eventually it became so mindless that she barely noticed as the stick slipped from her fingers, clattering to the floor. She bent to retrieve it quickly, hoping no one had noticed.

But, of course, someone did.

"Hey," Eddie said, looking back at her.

"Warren knocked it out of my hands." she said quickly.

Eddie glanced over at Warren, who was a solid two feet ahead of her, physically unable to have knocked a drum stick out of her hands. Y/n knew from that glance that he could see right through her lie. Now she really wasn't in the mood to talk.

EDDIE: She was terrified. And she was lying her ass off about it. I didn't want to run the risk that she choked up in the middle of the show and screwed up our set. So I figured I'd just, talk. And if she wanted me to screw off, she'd tell me. She had a way of saying exactly what she wanted.

"You've heard of the Drummer's Curse, right?" he asked.

She frowned in a way that told him no, she did not.

"First, there's the obvious stuff: drummers have to lug around the most shit out of anyone in the band. Drums sets are heavy and expensive, so there's that. But the worst part is that they're easy to overlook, you know? They're at the back of the stage behind all this shit, everyone stands in front of 'em. Drummers can fade into the background real easy. The best drummers can outshine anyone else onstage. You'll do that one day, but if you're freaked out now, just let yourself fade a little. You'll play better than anyone up there and the crowd'll know it, but you can let them focus on someone else if you want. You get what I'm saying?"

EDDIE: For a second, I thought she was going to punch me.

But then she nodded, wiped off some of the pink lipstick Camila had put on her with the back of her hand, and pushed her bangs to the side. "Drummers' Curse, huh?"

"Some people believe in it, some don't."

"And you?" she asked, turning to him. "Do you believe in that kind of stuff?"

Eddie paused. Shrugged. "Sure. Seems true enough to me."

Y/n nodded. "I don't. It sounds like bullshit to me."

Eddie frowned. She looked up at him. "I'm not going to let myself fade because I'm scared. I signed up for this, you know. The least I can do is own my place. If I outshine you, it's just because I'm that good," she said matter-of-factly. "I will need help carrying the stuff, though."

EDDIE: I didn't know what to say. I mean, [laughs] what the hell do you say to that?

He felt like he'd had the rug pulled out from under him. And then, he surprised himself: he laughed.

And Y/n surprised herself then, too ― she smiled.

EDDIE: That was just...[Shakes head. Smiles.] I don't know.

"I think we can manage that." he said with a smile.

"Ladies and gentlemen...The Dunne Brothers!"

WARREN: If I were still the guy I was back then, I would completely undersell her to you right now. I'd tell you she was an average drummer who was more in it for the thrill than the craft. But that wasn't it at all. She got up there and she just...shined.

GRAHAM: We all knew she'd be scared before the first gig. In fact, she looked about ready to throw up when they announced us on stage. But the second she hit those lights, it was like she was a different person. She waved and smiled like she'd done it a hundred times. The only other person I'd seen do that ― I mean really become another person on stage ― is Billy.

BILLY: That first show with Y/n was a little bit of a trainwreck. We were at least a half beat behind the entire show. And I'm not saying I blame her, but she was new and shiny. We got through it just fine, but I think we all felt it wasn't our best show.

WARREN: That show was bitchin'.

GRAHAM: It was a great show.

WARREN: Back in those days, we'd get off stage and start cheering for ourselves like we'd just won the goddamn lottery. Somewhere along the way, that stopped. We'd just pat each other on the back, say 'good job,' and that was that. But when Y/n got backstage? She was screaming and yelling like it was the best night of her life. And all of us joined in without a second thought ― well, maybe all of us except Billy. He was kind of a hard ass, even then. None of us had ever heard this girl talk louder than a glorified whisper, and then she came out of nowhere with this full-body scream. And who did she run to? Well, I think you can guess.

CAMILA: She just about jumped into Eddie's arms.

Adrenaline is a funny thing. For one, the effect is had on different people can be vastly different depending on who it was. Some people mellowed out, some people amped up. Y/n fell into the second category.

The second she got off the stage, a giddy laugh ripped from her chest, turning more into a scream of triumph halfway through. She was buzzing. Literally. Her hands felt numb ― or, more accurately, they felt like they felt more. Everything she touched was sharp and blinding.

The next person to join in on the screaming and jumping around was Warren. Then Graham. Then Eddie. And then, reluctantly, Billy. Eddie was the last to come off stage, slinging his guitar off his shoulders, and Y/n, without thinking much about it, ran straight to him, leaping directly into his unsuspecting arms.

The others were too hyped up on their own adrenaline rushes to notice that anything out of the ordinary had happened. She wrapped her legs around his waist hanging onto him like a koala. And Eddie, who couldn't deny adrenaline, held onto her back without a second thought.

After a moment, she leaned back, arms still wrapped around his neck, faces inches apart. "Drummers' curse, huh?"

EDDIE: She didn't fade. She couldn't, not even if she tried.

Eddie just smiled and shook his head. "Sounds like bullshit to me."

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

01/18/2024 Crew Recap

TLDR; Summary: #HoistTheAds and Astroglide OFMD both happening tomorrow 1/19/24; UK Fans We Need Your Help!; New Hashtags/Petition Link; David Jenkins/RhysDarby/TaikaWaititi Troll us with Hidden Stuff; More Articles; Petition Status, News That Gives Us Hope for S3, and Rhys Darby in Shorts.

Note: Please feel free to let me know if I missed something important, if I'm incorrect, if the formatting pisses you off, or whatever, I take constructive feedback <3 thx lovelies.

Need to catch up on recaps? ofmd daily recaps

==Things You Don't Want To Miss Tomorrow 1/19/2024 and 1/20/2024==

EDIT: HOIST THE ADS: This might be starting at 12 EST - https://www.tumblr.com/renewasacrew/739916790295052288/join-us-in-just-over-10-minutes-at-midnight-est?source=share

#HoistTheAds is finally coming to NYC and LA tomorrow. There will be Flyovers, Billboards, etc. As of right now it looks like its just happening every few minutes on the billboard for the next day.

Tumblr Info

Twitter Info

==Astroglide Watch-A-Long at 1/19/2024 1 PM PST ==

To clarify exactly how it works, basically what they're doing is asking you to stream on the service of your choice starting at Season 1 Episode 1, and Astroglide (and Squishables might be joining) will be tweeting reactions as they go.

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=UK Fans! We need your help! @lamentus1 was kind enough to give us updates on the efforts going on over the UK!=

UK specific OFMD fans in groups on Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook are trying to come together to push for the BBC to air OFMD Season 2 in the UK since they haven’t done so yet!

So many UK fans can’t actually watch the second season *legally* based off a tumblr poll that @lamentus1 did recently, and a third of fans who voted can’t even watch OFMD because it’s not on in their country!

The current plans are:

Email two key people at the BBC:

Sue Deeks (Brought OFMD to the UK) --- sue.deeks@bbc.co.uk Charlotte Moore (Chief Content Officer ) --- charlotte.moore@bbc.co.uk Email Prompt: if you need an example:

Send Tweets regarding wanting Season 2 to Air on BBC on twitter (same hashtags from @renewasacrew I believe but it that's incorrect please let me know!):

BBC2 IPlayer

The ongoing twitter thread for this is here

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====New Articles ====

BBC fans fight to save cancelled show, with petition reaching 58,000 signatures

'Our Flag Means Death': Fans Rally to Save Cancelled Show'

Our Flag Means Death: Fans campaign to save queer pirate comedy

---Articles in Dutch---

Fans pikken cancellen van Our Flag Means Death niet en tekenen massaal petitie --------------------------------------------------------------------------

=Cast and Crew Seen in the Wild=

**START OF DISCLAIMER: This whole thread on Djenkins and Taika's mother in law is fan theory at this point, read into it as you will, but think of it like tabloid news**

The most exciting and I think ... brain candy worthy today was Rhys and David posting a BTS picture of Rhys in the colonial hat/outfit. It sparked some interesting ideas on the status of season 3.

I have to say, hats off to the folks over on twitter @fowlfiend for making this connection

Earlier today, Chaos Dad, David Jenkins posted the following picture of Rhys that Rhys shared on his Instagram with a song attached to it called "I'm a Man" by Jobriath.

Now, all well and good right? Rallying cry to all the crew! BUT Twitter folks think there's a deeper meaning and I'm inclined to agree.

How fucking cool is that? Thank you to @lamentus1 for pointing out also that Chaos Dad's post had the "three finger" I love you which is yet another 3 today.

Add to that, Taika's Instagram's been pretty quiet lately, and he happened to post a picture today of his mother-in-law @veraora on IG for her birthday, which just happens to have... 3 pigeons in it. Once again, thanks @lamentus1 for bringing this to our attention. ---also please wish VeraOra Happy birthday!

Now, could all of this be just coincidence? Sure, but where's the fun in that? Seems like we're going on a treasure hunt.

**END OF DISCLAIMER: This whole thread on Djenkins and Taika's mother in law is fan theory at this point, read into it as you will, but think of it like tabloid news**

===Other Chaos Dad Posts on Twitter===

=Hashtag Updates / How you can help=

@renewasacrew Has done some cool stuff and made saveofmd.com direct to the petition site. This should help with being able to share more easily. Full thread here on tumblr

Today's Goals and Hashtags Per @renewasacrew

#ArentYouGLAAD #SaveOFMD #TheNumbersWereThere

=Petition Status Updates=

Petition hit 60K all!!!! GREAT JOB! Just in time for Time Square tomorrow!!

I didn't see a drastic change on a lot of the fundraisers so I'm not adding those today--- I think we've had a big day as it was with the stuff around David posting without posting about season 3.

So I thought I'd end with some more info from our lovely @TheCozyPirate on twitter, the lovely person who exposed the information about how s3 was already in preproduction. They seem to have more insight in a lot of this.

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=So if your question is, is it making a difference? Why doesn't dad just come out and say it? Here's some insight:=

And this next one helps me to feel like we're still heading in the right direction. "If there were nothing viable, he would be able to say that. He would never, never let this go on if hopeless". I think is pretty uplifting.

Lastly, I think you all should be damn proud of yourselves with these calls, as a former Customer Support Person, I appreciate you all so damn much for keeping it kind and polite! Stede would be proud!

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Finally-- one last thing, since today's theme on tumblr is trolls getting all up in our faces, just remember you do not have to engage with them if you don't want to. If you want to have kind discussions, and you feel up for it, go for it, but don't feel obligated to defend the community.

We all know we care, we all know we're doing a great fucking job at taking care of each other, helping awesome causes, and still having fun while doing it. You don't have to prove to anyone that you are allowed to enjoy your pirate show that means something to you and spend a few bucks to support it.

Don't let people who are struggling with their own trouble take your light. Enjoy things, have fun. You deserve it.

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On a lighter note to end on: I have a serious question for all of you.

Who gave this man the right to wear these fucking shorts? Good god.

[wolfgirl-sister]

I want to go on a date with my sister who I've been raised up besides and secretly had a crush on since I was 12 and she asks me out and I start hyperventilating and she ends up having to take me to urgent care but by the time we get there I'm fine again so instead we pick up Indian and go back to my apartment and we eat butter chicken and garlic naan while watching a solid 6/10 horror movie and I make her laugh and I get to see her smile and even if nothing else happened tonight that alone would be worth it and I'm a little convinced that I've passed out and died and am having a vision of a life that could have been, just like Picard in that one star trek episode, but then I'm reminded why solipsism is immature and I decide that the end result is the same no matter what so I might as well take what's in front of me at face value and she asks me what's on my mind and I can see the shine in her eyes that first stuck in my mind when I was just a little girl who didn't really even know what it meant to love someone but knew more than anything that I sincerely loved her and I see that tomboyish smile and I want to ask her if she ever thought about me as more than a sister and what she had been most scared to ask me and she thinks for a while or at least it looks like she's thinking but she might have been just savoring the moment because she bites her lip a certain way when she's mulling over a problem and her lips that I've been looking at all night and all my life don't twitch so much as spread thin when she presses them tighter, and once she musters enough courage and the rhythm of the night feels right she replies that she's always wanted to know if it was okay to have a crush on your sister because it has to be because you can't have kids like that but I tell her that line of thinking is eugenics and she kind of looks at me funny before she laughs and says that she understands, because she always hears what I mean and what I feel, even when I can't get anyone else to understand and even when no one else would think to listen to me, she and I stay up at night arguing over inane bullshit that will never end because we love the argument as much as one another and she trails off and asks what's on my mind, and that's why she's laughing, because she knows that I've been thinking and that my answer was that it's okay now because it's always okay because we love each other in a way that no one can deny and no one should step between and when I kiss her I can taste the syrup from her cherry coke and the coconut chapstick that she's worn since she was 16 and she first kissed a girl and I got mad at her because how could she be gay and I know now that I was upset that she'd kissed a girl who's not me and ever since then her lips have smelled like coconut, but I've never tasted it before because I've never been brave enough to ask to borrow it and what fills my mind and body now is a connection that stretches between two souls to bridge them as one because we feel as one having connected to one another on a level that two humans aren't meant to and we don't really care what humans are meant to do because we've never taken stock in gods or purposes but I have to admit that the softness of her tongue makes me want to pray

[coreancitizen]

'Marry My Husband' episode 12

Some thoughts before tomorrow's episode 13 of "Marry My Husband"

The Yura character — She wasn't introduced out of the blue. She'd been mentioned often enough and teased enough from the beginning that she was bound to show up. I figured it was going to be some kind of stunt casting because the show was hiding her face. Lost on me though, I have no idea who the actress is.

Yura is not in the webtoon — Yes. But she is in the webnovel, on which the series is actually based on. Whether she's the best character/plot the writers of the series could have picked up from the novel is debatable. But they definitely needed something for the leads after the wedding because in the webtoon, the focus pretty much shifts to Minhwan and Sumin's growing misery as well as Juran's domestic troubles.

Jiwon's reaction to Yura's appearance — OK, this is the part that has caused quite a bit of uproar. What I'm getting is that folks are confused, angry at Jiwon because Jihyuk and Huiyeon both explained he didn't cheat on her and yet she cut off the relationship just like that.

I agree this is about cheating, but I think folks may be looking at it wrong — Jiwon was looking at Yura as the one being cheated on, not her. That in this scenario, she, Jiwon, is the other woman. Like her mom who made the one-sided decision to cut off her relationship with her dad and leave them both, Jihyuk made the one-sided decision to call off his longtime engagement to Yura. This was underscored by the flashback at the beginning of episode 12, when young Jiwon comes across Dad sobbing as he watches Mom with another guy. "... no matter how long you endure, those left behind get hurt. No matter what the relationship is, once it's started, I don't think it's right for one person to end it one-sidedly."

Why didn't she listen to Jihyuk or Huiyeon? Because, like Jiwon said, everything sounded like an excuse. The hurt from long ago was blocking all logic for her. Plus, I don't think she really had time to process because they were immediately hit with the whammy that is Manager Yang's cancer diagnosis. There's that whole "oh shit, I transferred my miserable fate to one of my favorite people" mind fuck on top of all this.

Also, she doesn't know what a witch Yura is (hearing about it and seeing it for herself are very different things) . Once Jiwon finds out and then gets the reminder of how shitty her mom is, she goes to see Jihyuk. Doesn't talk to him but it is a step toward him. I can't be mad at that.

Could this angst have been handled better? Absolutely, given how confused people got.

Anyway, this would all be resolved in tomorrow's episode, I feel. Preview shows Jiwon by Jihyuk's side at the hospital. Don't think she'll be stepping back after that and we'll get our power couple in action again soon.

[riverofrainbows]

Ok so the black book episode.

I finally watched it.

It could have done with a double feature. There was so much going on. And it worked, emotionally, but it was a lot. The plot was so fucking condensed.

Fuck when they do something they do it right, don't they. The deaths of the three were fucking harrowing. No fanfare or dramatics, just realistic and dead.

I'm so goddamn impressed by Sophie playing 12 different people. I love her. I know she gets a lot of recognition, but she deserves some more. Holy shit her voice training skills must be off the rocks.

I thought they would have hired Quinn for the police officer, he looked kind of similar, and then i thought it was him and Tara. But with Sophie being on phone theatre, of course Nate was free.

I wonder how fast Sterling figured it out. I think about half a minute into the room with Nate. The rest was just playing along, and hesitating whether to actually go through with the con, while setting up an outcome for both decisions. Usually i really don't think he has it all immediately figured out, but usually he isn't at quite that high alert, and the target isn't that clear and big a deal.

It really should have been a double feature, or a movie length episode. There needed to be more time, to really lay it all out.

I like what they used as the contents and method of collection for the black book. I watched another show (can't remember which) where it was some unsourced collection of various evil people, and that was soo shady and frustrating.

I've come across a bunch of Sterling/Nate shipping by now, and I'm starting to agree. Like that is genuinely a love story for the ages. However i am firmly convinced that it is entirely mental and intellectual. I just really can't see them having any relationship type. Not that Sterling wouldn't fuck Nate but that's just Mark Sheppard's insane gay flirting aura. But mentally, those two are having mind sex, and are tragic soulmate lovers. Also because they have divorced vibes. I'm convinced of the headcanon that they were in a couple friendship driven/held up by their wives socialising, and played 6d time travel chess mind games over barbecue (aka having a mind sex love affair right in front of the salad) (but really low key because they wouldn't actually cheat on their wives).

The way the con failed and they died was really realistic and well done and really stressed me out :(((( not over that.

Also the way this confirmed the Hardison-Eliot ship (platonic or romantic) was. Very much canon thank you. Not to mention the "till my dying day". Like hello??? Also the ice cave and rundown job train scene having already confirmed the depth of Eliot-Parker's bond earlier in the season. (But toxic masculinity and being a show from 2009 impeding the Hardison-Eliot part till the last episode/them dying (rituals to touch other mens skin etc etc flashbacks to superhell love confession sth sth bury your gays (except they lived bitch)).

Also the setup with "do you think you could live a normal life" earlier in the season. Also², annotation to that one: Eliot talking about having to help Hardison's restaurant, as if Hardison didn't buy it for him.

I liked the part about order vs justice. Very 'keeping the peace with an abusive person causing more harm than upsetting status quo'.

It's a good ending for a show. Seriously, it's both end of an era and not destroying everything that was before. Still glad we got leverage redemption tho obviously.

Parker being the new mastermind is great

Her monologue ajsbsjjd. I was cackling so bad. It was a fantastic way to really cinematographically tie up the show though, and she is great for the job. Both Hardison (who already has enough to do) and Eliot (who really doesn't like leading) always get way too deep into stuff, including their respective jobs for it, which is one reason why they're so good though don't get me wrong.

Why did she have slicked back hair with no bangs, and weird eyeshadow :( Awful 1/10. One point for her clearly thinking she needs to put on hair gel for stepping into a Nate role for a con, like that is exactly a logic she would have.

Eliot's blue tinted glasses, love it.

I like that they're not having one of the guys do it just for misogyny reasons, and that at the same time her doing it is very well supported and set up by their characterisations, and not as some sort of disrespectful shoehorned girlboss feminism move. Which ends up with a woman being the new mastermind being actually well done too. Because they never do annoying stereotypes at leverage, and thank fuck for that.

I love that Sterling was there for the last episode. Also, i swear, getting used by Nate for a con (while getting something out of it himself) is a kink thing for him. It happens genuinely almost every goddamn time we see him, while he knows and actively plays along.

I want to see more of Sophies telephone theatre :(

How the fuck did they fake the car accident, they should have shown sth on it.

Only because i knew very securely that they were fine did i not get completely freaked out at Hardison lying there on the ground. And i never ever want to see Eliot gargle up blood ever again. :((((

I was 100% convinced that Parker can hold him with just one hand, i was so shocked. Honestly one of the first clues from the story itself that it was fake. Yes i have that much trust in her. Second clue was the balloon.

No actually, first clue was Nate looking at the cameras. Can't remember which first clue came first in the episode.

I thought Nate gave Sterling something when he distracted him from the trio, and clearly Sterling also thought so, he probably took like several seconds to check if he had gotten anything slipped into his pockets afterwards.

I wish we could have seen more of the "you lied to us?" conversation at the end. Not that that wasn't the tldr of it or needed change, but i want to see the whole conversation.

The tunnels were great. I again wish to have gotten even a crumb more information on that.

It might have done well, and I'm just throwing out ideas here, to be a two parter episode, they could have really used some extra space. The plot was really condensed.

It was q good episode, and a very good ending, something oh so rare in tv shows.

[local-hyena]

Hetalia is my favorite anime ever. It as also a very weird anime that has quite  abad reputation. I watched the entre thing in three weeks (6 seasons of 12 to 24 episodes) in january 2021, then wat hed the movie in february. The 7th season was rekeased in April that year.

The story is... inexplicable. In fact, it doesn't really have a story at all. Hetalia is a parody anime, excepts is parodies History. The characters are human versions of countries. Each episode is 5 minuts long, add to that the opening and ending, they are extremly short. Every episode consist of a couple of skits. As I said, it is a parody anime that bases itself on History, so it somehow has an educative scope. For example, it made me learn that Lithuania was unified in 1236.

Now how could I talk about Hetalia without talking about its humor ? It is... absurd. Nonsensical. The only thing you think about when watching this anime is "what the sweet fuck is that ?". It's the kind of anime you either obsessively love or hate with a burning passion. I am in the first category.

Another point worth mentionning : the difference between the japanese version and the english dub. It's affected by what I call the "Ghost Stories Syndrome". In case you don't know what Ghost Stories is, it's an anime about teenagers chasing ghosts in their school. The japanese version is perfectly normal, but the english dub it... well, it's quite parodic. Lots of jokes, improv... the most famous clip is one in which a girl brought her dead bunny back to life or something and tells its ghost "it could have never worked between us ! Not because you're a rabbit... but because you're black !" This one : https://youtu.be/RINHjxsPOEg?si=jtWIBZkkWZtzE7U-. See what I mean ? Well, it's the same with Hetalia, excepts that the original material is already unhinged. I watched the japanese version, but watched enough of the english dub clips to admire how insane the english voice actors were.

Hetalia started as a webcomic, then there was the manga, the anime, the movie and musicals. There are also at least two official games, a bunch of albums and various proeminent fan-creations (HetaOni, Auf Wiedersehen Sweetheart, Gutters, The Danish Slaughterhouse, 23.5)

Now, would I recommend this anime ? No. Don't watch it. It's hell in there. Most fans will tell you that they hate this show and it's for a reason : it traps you. Once you're in, you can't get out. They say there is a thin line between crazy and genius, and I am convinced that Himaruya Hidekaz himelf is that line. But that's my thing, I like crazy stuff :]

[wen-kexing-apologist]

Isn't It Difficult Enough to Be Born Poor?

Once again, I must start this post out by saying...Fuck you @respectthepetty. You did this to me, I currently have eleven (11)...ELEVEN (this will be 12) long as all hell analysis posts about Moonlight Chicken and at least half of them are your fault. Because you started posting about colors and then I had to start thinking about my feelings when I watched television. And here we are. If you are worried about what your legacy will be as a role model. Don't be. Your legacy has been talking about colors so much you have converted half the interest in to color analysts. This one isn't about color though, I just needed to curse you out for creating an analysis demon.

All that said, let's get in to Jim and Li Ming this episode.

So, Li Ming has just had a very emotionally draining conversation with his mother, and he is trying desperately to leave the house and just go, go anywhere cause Heart's not home, when Jim comes waltzing in and accidentally blocking his exit. "Where are you going now?" and GOD LI MING DOES NOT HAVE FUCKING TIME FOR THIS.

The most exasperated face to date. But it's not really Jim's fault that Li Ming is acting like this, he's just a casualty of war. A safe vessel that will hold all Li Ming's emotions.

"Outside." "Where?" "Don't know yet," "What do you mean?"

Guess who's making eye contact again after a conversation with his mother where he very rarely looked in her direction????

Side note: I love this line "I haven't decided where I want to be yet," because it can be relevant to so many things and is a foundational theme of this episode, with no one acting on the choices they have before them until Gaipa's mother dies

"Then stay home and study," and here we go, another adult, telling him what to do, not being there for the conversation beforehand and having no idea they are plucking at an already frayed cord.

"I'm going to Heart's home," he tries to leave, Jim stops him.

Li Ming already knows exactly what Jim is implying here. But his mother is home, and he's already exhausted, and he just...he just wants to leave. But he's not afraid, he's calm, if annoyed.

He's happy to entertain the conversation, just not right now. Right now he is tired, and he just wants some time alone, some time with Heart.

Jim, once again, does not respect Li Ming's question, and forges ahead, because he needs to know, needs to confirm his fears.

Get, his ass Li Ming! To me, it helps so much prevent a fundamental breakdown in Li Ming and Jim's relationship here to have Li Ming know that Jim is gay as well. I think that knowledge, coupled with the exhaustion he is already feeling, just lets the rest of this conversation go over surprisingly smoothly.

"Li Ming, I'm your uncle," "Adults can do no wrong? Adults can kiss but kids can't? Is it the wrong thing to do? Is the world coming to an end?"

For Jim? The answer feels like a yes. Because Jim grew up in a very differently world than Li Ming has. He has internalized so much homophobia, not just from society but from his own sister, the person he had to rely on the most when he was young. A person whose opinions are very clearly shown to matter to Jim. Everything Jim has repeated so far in this show that is homophobic is a direct quote from his sister.

To Jim being gay has made life so much harder for him. Hell, he himself was a victim of the legal system, with Beam's family taking all the money he and Beam had saved, because gay marriage is not recognized so they could not open a joint bank account and everything was in Beam's name. This is a very real struggle, and a possibility Li Ming himself could face one day. A reality that Li Ming has no concept of because he's eighteen, and he hasn't lived his life yet, he hasn't faced society the same way Jim has...

But to Li Ming? Being gay isn't a big deal. Because Li Ming was raised by an openly queer man. Even if Jim is far more careful and restrained about showing physical affection or giving too much attention to Wen men in public, his friends all know. Leng teases him about it, Leng teases Gaipa about it. Jam knows about Jim. Beam's family knew. Wen literally walked in to Li Ming's room the night Wen and Jim had their "one night stand". Li Ming knows Jim is gay.

So while Jim and Beam were navigating being queer even just ten, twenty years ago with no one obviously queer elders around them to guide them, Li Ming has grown up around multiple queer seniors, one of whom is his uncle. Of course he has an entirely different perception of how significant it is to be gay. He had nothing but positive queer role models around him to guide him as he grew. Role models who were open. And I love the post from @respectthepetty and this post from @heart-ming that talk about the pressure Jim puts on himself, especially after he realizes that Li Ming is gay. All he can think about is every way that he has failed, when the fact that Li Ming is able to say so casually, so quietly, with a touch of disgust on his face: "So what? What's the big deal [that I'm gay]?" proves that he has succeeded at being a queer role model. Because Li Ming does not hate his queerness.

I love this shot once Li Ming leaves, because there is a moment of recognition. Oh shit, Jam is here.

Followed by Oh shit, I outed Li Ming to his (historically homophobic) Mom. Yet another thing for him to be able to blame himself for.

Something that I have really appreciated about the two Fourth and Gemini shows from this year, is that in both of them, the children are spared from their own parent's ignorance. Li Ming does not know he has been outed to his mother, and he will not hear her say the homophobic things. Jim is the one that will carry that weight. He is the one that will address her concerns, and tell her she is wrong. Li Ming does not need to experience that.

"Was it my fault I left my child in your care?"

YEAH JAM. GIVE HIM A BREAK, HE'S FUCKING RAISED YOUR CHILD FOR YOU.

And God this moment sucks so bad because you know that she is voicing his worst fear. He already blames himself, the sentiment Jam states, and Jim repeats "Li Ming might not have become gay if he didn't live with me," that is 100% what I knew Jim was thinking in this moment in Episode 6. "oh shit, Jam is gonna tell me that I rubbed off on him,"

And it's so interesting to me the way they placed the sequence of events in Episode 7, Jim talks to Jam and Jam asks if she can blame Jim for Li Ming being gay because he wasn't gay when he lived with Jam, and JIM IS IN THAT MOMENT ABLE TO BE LIKE "what if he was that before living with me?", "What's the point of placing blame? He does nothing wrong."

When confronted with ignorance, he is able to stand up against it, speak out about it, and confront his sister's biases. But when he goes to see Wen, he repeats the same thing she did "Li Ming might not have become gay if he didn't live with me,"

Also, best part of the talk between Jim and Jam was this moment:

Jim is finally starting to listen to his nephew's wishes. He will not make a decision as big as having Li Ming move back in with his mother. He understands that Li Ming needs to choose this. And, I will note that this is a conversation she has already asked Li Ming about, and she didn't get the answer she wanted so she has resorted to asking the family member Li Ming loves and trusts to get him to change his mind. And she holds the deed title over Jim's head about it, trying to give him the ultimatum that he can only get the deed if he helps her rob Li Ming of even more of his autonomy. And Jim finally says no. "Don't do this" he begs, and at the end of the episode he returns the deed to Jam.

Cut to soon-to-be-father Leng, talking about how expensive it is to have and raise a child. And this is something Li Ming is painfully aware of in his own right, he's held Jim's "I pay your tuition" statement right back over his head. Li Ming is aware that Jim is struggling to make ends meet, he's aware that they live in poverty.

"Don't have kids," Leng says, only partly joking, but with a smile on his face. And Li Ming has just come from a terrible conversation with his mother where he was faced with the thought of actually having to leave Jim to go back to a home he didn't used to be wanted in. "Did you ever consider abortion?" is a very answer-seeking question, it's intentional, and it's not about Leng, it's about Li "I didn't ask to be born" Ming. Leng is honest "I thought about it, but Praew's parents want a grandchild so I'm okay ot have this baby. But I can barely make it through the day, how am I supposed to raise a child?" and I think that is a wake up call for Li Ming in a way.

Jim is his parent. Jim is barely making it through the day. How is Jim supposed to raise Li Ming? No one knows, but he does it. And he does it cause he loves Li Ming.

To preface this, if Li Ming ends up going to America and doing the Work and Travel thing, I am completely fine with that, but I am on the Interpreter!Li Ming train so I at the very least want a seedling of doubt to be planted in Li Ming's mind. And I am choosing to believe it is this moment. Right after Li Ming is faced with the actual, very real potential threat of having to leave Pattaya, Heart, Jim, his community here, he asks Leng if he would still want to stay with his parents if they were alive. Leng says "Probably not. Everyone has their own life to live. And parents cannot be with us forever," (I see you P'Aof and P'Best, you evil evil motherfuckers)

This is Li Ming's face after Leng makes that comment. That boy is haunted and that boy is thinking. The wheels are turning. He is evaluating.

Cut to Wen and Jim. "What fight did you have with your nephew?" is literally the first question Wen asks when Jim shows up at his apartment. And I both love and hate that Wen so often has to act as the go-between. I mean from the sense that he is between the two generations and can be respected at both ends of it, it's great, and it's nice that we establish that Li Ming trusts, values, and listens to Wen, that Wen fits in this family. On the down side, I really wish Li Ming knew and could see how many times Jim has sought out council to better understand his son nephew.

Heart is Li Ming's safe zone when he feels misunderstood, Wen is Jim's.

Jim gets done denying everything his sister said, telling her she is wrong, that being gay does not work like that, that there is no one to blame, but he internalized that shit and immediately went to Wen to try to process his feelings.

"I can't help blaming myself for it. Li Ming might not have become gay if he didn't live with me."

"How come Saleng is straight? He's been with you for a long time as well. Trust me it has nothing to do with you."

We need this scene to explain Jim's behavior. To show the struggles he is having with his internalized homophobia. To how how deeply he loves and looks up to his family. That he catches and carries the shame, the guilt, the blame of his queerness when it's called in to question by his sister. But that he is able to recognize and shed that shame when Wen asks him very simple questions. Because he knows the answer to them, you can't catch queerness, Li Ming isn't gay because of Jim, in fact, Jim being queer was a protective factor in Li Ming's own relationship to his queerness.

"And what era are we in now?" Wen says "No one really looks for reasons why people are gay anymore."

That is the question of the hour for Jim isn't it? What era are we in now? Jim is stuck in the past. He is trapped under decades of struggle and strife, and the behavior he had to have to survive. He is shifting his paradigm, slowly but surely, and this is the question that Jim will need to answer for himself in order to better understand his nephew and in order to shed some of the weight he carries.

"What era are we in now?"

Not Jim's era. We're in an era of change.

Jim does not remove Wen's hand. We are in an era of change.

"You are gay, aren't you? Why can't you accept your nephew is gay?"

"I can accept that. I'm just worried about him,"

This is Jim's fundamental character trait in his relationship with Li Ming. He's just worried about him.

"You do know that it's not easy being gay in this country. I can't see how he is able to lead a good life."

We are in an era of change.

"If [Li Ming] wants to tell someone you will hear it before me, trust me," Jim says.

"Because you are strict,"

Li Ming has been telling him this from the beginning, but that's his child, and it's difficult to give up that need to protect him. We are in an era of change. It is time for Jim to accept that Li Ming is growing up, and he has to start seeing Li Ming as an adult if he wants Li Ming to trust him.

So it's time to listen:

"No,"

"Why?"

"I hadn't seen her in 5 or 6 years. Out of the blue she showed up and told me she loves me. Do you expect me to love her back just like that?"

"Can't you love her simply because she is your mother?" Jim certainly loves her just because she is his sister. Even though she's hurt him. Even though the blame he places on himself, the internalized homophobia, all of that comes from her.

"I know I owe her gratitude. But being a mother or father should not be an excuse for everything,"

Li Ming is smart in this way, he is showing Jim that he has opinions, he has justifications for his behavior, and they go against tradition, sure, but that has always been li Ming's thing. Why do powerful people have the right to hurt us? Why do I have to love someone who's hurt me?

"But I think your mother loves you too,"

"Love can't be forced, right? Just because she gave birth to me, must I love her back? If you ask me if I love you or not, I can answer that more easily,"

"I can easily say that I love you,"

Moonlight Chicken is a show about family, found or otherwise. Li Ming has shown his love for his uncle repeatedly in this show. In the way he steps up to take responsibility for the broken alcohol so Jim doesn't have to stress about money. In the way he listens to Jim and calms down when his emotions get too out of control. In the way he shows up for Jim's birthday party even though they fought. In the way he always looks Jim in the eye. But he hasn't said the words "I love you," to Jim, not since we've been following them at least.

Jim gives Li Ming a olive branch beer.

"Get a taste of being an adult," WE DID IT FOLKS! WE GOT THERE!!! JIM HAS FINALLY DONE IT, HE HAS FINALLY FIGURED OUT WHAT LI MING HAS BEEN ASKING FOR THE ENTIRE GODDAMN TIME!!!! *airhorn noises*

And because this is literally all Li Ming has been wanting, the apologies, the trust, the honesty, the willingness and need to explain, to help Jim better understand his actions follows quickly. And Jim reciprocates that gift with his own, "I wasn't mad at you for the cigarette, I was mad at myself for demonstrating that behavior,"

"What about Heart?" he teases "Have you tried him out already so you know you like him?" and it's not really an apology, but it doesn't have to be. Because I do think Li Ming understands where Jim was coming from, it's difficult to be gay. Uncle Jim is worried about him. But this, again, is Jim's way of showing Li Ming he is on board with their relationship. He is teasing him, and they are back to their regularly scheduled program after this.

God, Jim loves his nephew so much. And God, this is the happiest and most carefree that I have seen Li Ming be outside of when he's spending time with Heart.

[yall-hate-kids-tourney]

Who has been screwed over by the fandom more?

Propaganda below the cut

Amy Rose:

All she did was be a girl with a one-sided crush on the hero and she immediately got branded as a creepy obsessive stalker. Never mind how she has an actual character and personality and interests beyond Sonic himself. All of that gets ignored and her entire being gets boiled down to "yandere for Sonic"

Tails Nine:

it might just be me, but i still keep seeing posts where nine is just summarized as "tails but emo" and it. kinda ticks me off because. nine is very obviously a version of tails that didn't have a sonic – or anyone – to save him, so he grew to rely on himself and *only* himself, and it shows.

there's just... it could've been so easy for the tails we know to have become just like nine if it weren't for sonic. nine never had a sonic to protect him, so he made himself seven metallic tails to utilize instead. nine never had a sonic who made him be proud of his tails, so he makes it look like he only has one. nine never had a sonic who made him feel loved, so he stuck to the ground, because reaching for the sky is something only idiots can hope for.

until he met sonic.

and god, just watching the episodes where these two interact can make your heart feel *so* warm, because nine is finally getting the love he deserves. you watch him reach for the instinctive snark before being shocked by sonic's genuine kindness. you watch him praise sonic even if they had only just met because finally, finally someone cares about him. you watch him *fly*, in front of sonic, and only in front of sonic.

of course, good things can't last forever.

[sonic prime major spoilers territory, don't read unless you've watched all of s2]

this fox has been beaten down by the world around him, it should come as no surprise that when he found out what the full extent of what he could do with the shards is, that his first idea was to create the ideal world out of a wasteland just for him and sonic. only them. because sonic was the only one who showed him kindness. hell, he even remembered the palm trees sonic mentioned. the ideal world just for him and the hedgehog that insists that he's his friend.

and that's where their views collide.

because while nine wants what he never had, sonic wants what he lost.

and doesn't that just hurt? it's rejection. something that he's grown used to. because as much as sonic tries, he never saw nine more than just another alternate version of tails. all those words of his were for someone nine wasn't.

it's rejection, and it just confirms to nine what the world forced him to believe.

he's all on his own.

it's really no wonder he took control of the shards to create his own paradise.

(side note: i don't *fully* blame sonic for this either. while yes, it's primarily his fault, i feel like he's been dealing with the consequences plenty by now. he's just doing his best to fix things back to the way it was before. sonic may be fast, but even a few days isn't enough to process all of that for the world's fastest hedgehog.)

[mamaestapa]

Two Can Play At That Game

•pairing: Joe Burrow x reader

•series summary: Y/N Y/L/N moved to Cincinnati, Ohio for a new start. Move in day arrives and she discovers something terrible...the apartment complex gave her the wrong lease. Instead of living with who she originally was supposed to, she's now living with the hottest quarterback in the NFL, Joe Burrow. Y/N is stuck living in the same apartment with him for a year...which the two are not thrilled about. However, as time goes on, they realize that maybe this wasn't the worst thing that could happen to them. Will Y/N and Joe stay enemies, or will they find themselves falling in love?

•chapter summary: You and Joe go back and forth doing things that bother one another and you get a surprise gym buddy ;)

•word count: 3.1k

•warnings: Language, mentions of condoms and sex, i think that’s all?

Series Masterlist

——————————————————

October 12, 2022

it's been one month since you’ve moved in with Joe. You are basically living the dream that all of the girls in America have right now.

You keep telling yourself it will get better, but you’re not too confident that it will. It's going to take a miracle for you and Joe to become friends.

It's not like you two are enemies or anything like that, You just know how to irritate one another. You started it, on accident of course, when you first moved in.

Remember the pink towels in the bathroom? And the situation with you moving his Sponge bob shoes and condoms from the kitchen counter?

Yeah, well, you’re convinced he still holds a grudge against you for both of those things.

Since that first week, you and Joe have been going back and forth with each other. Both of you doing things that you know will annoy the other.

a few weeks ago...

You were sitting on the couch, watching this weeks episode of The Bachelorette. As you were curled up on the couch, you decided you needed to get a snack.

You cant watch TV late at night without having a snack.

You walked into the kitchen and rummaged through the pantry, trying to find a snack. As you were going through the pantry, you could see wrappers laying on the counter next to the bananas out of the corner of your eye. You closed the pantry and looked to see what was on the counter. You rolled your eyes at the sight.

Condoms. Lots and lots of condoms.

You had just gotten after Joe a few weeks ago about not keeping his condoms in the kitchen.

You picked up one of the wrappers, immediately throwing it to the ground when you noticed it was ripped open and empty.

Good to know he's at least using protection. You don't need any kids running around this place, dealing with Joe is quite enough for you.

"Joe!" you called, placing your hands on your hips.

You heard his bed squeak, signaling that he had just gotten out of bed. His door opened and he walked down the hallway, stopping in front of the kitchen entrance.

"What do you want?"

You rolled your eyes and gestured to the condoms on the counter.

"Oh," he chuckled, "sorry about that."

He walked into the kitchen and picked up the condoms.

"I should be keeping these in here." he said, opening the drawer next to the pantry and throwing them in there.

You put your hand on the handle, stopping him from closing it.

"What?"

You scoffed, "What!?"

He looked at you, confused.

"Joe, I told you not to keep your condoms," you picked up a handful of the trojan wrappers and threw them at his chest, "in the kitchen!"

"Did you? Heh, must've slipped my mind then." He teased, knowing damn well you told him to keep the condoms somewhere other than out in the open in the kitchen.

He was just trying to get under your skin.

You rolled your eyes, "God you're so inconsiderate."

He raised his eyebrows and pointed at himself, "I'm the inconsiderate one? How about you little miss, let's keep my tampons under Joe's side of the sink. OH! Even better, how about putting your thongs in my laundry basket?!"

You scoffed and sighed before saying, “Okay, first of all, it's my bathroom too. I accidentally put them on your side, but they're just tampons? But whatever, I've moved them, so you're welcome. And second of all, if you're talking about that bright pink thong, it's not even mine!"

Joes face dropped, "It's not?"

"Nope." you said with a straight face, "I think it's Amelia's. Remember, the girl that threw the condom at you?"

He sighed, "Yeah, yeah I remember."

You grabbed the rest of the condoms and put them in Joe's hands, "You don't have the best of luck getting laid when these are in our kitchen." you pat his hands and look into the pantry, grabbing the jar of peanut butter pretzels. You looked at him with an amused smirk as he stood there speechless.

"So maybe, you should keep 'em in your room." you said before walking back into the living room, continuing to watch The Bachelor.

end of flashback...

Since the condom ordeal, you started to retaliate and do things that you know get under Joe's skin too. You figured two could play at that game...

a few weeks ago...

You were folding clothes in your bedroom when you heard your name called from somewhere in the apartment.

You smiled to yourself knowing Joe must've found out what you did. You walked out of your room, seeing Joe standing in the doorway of the bathroom with his arms crossed and an unamused look on his face.

"What's wrong?" you asked, crossing your arms as you walked over to him.

"Y/n, your makeup is all over the bathroom."

You looked into the bathroom, a smirk quirking up at the side of your mouth. You had your brushes laying out scattered on the counter, your blush by Joe's toothbrush, your three different mascaras laying next to the hand soap, and your makeup bag placed in Joe's drawer.

"Oops." you shrugged, turning around and walking away. Joe shook his head and reached out to stop you from walking away.

"No, no, no."

You turned around, crossing your arms in front of your chest and looking up at him. His pretty blue eyes looking into yours intensely.

"You're not just going to leave it laying around, I thought I told you to put it-." he sighed as he saw the smirk on your lips.

"This is all because of the condoms, isn't it?"

You furrowed your eyebrows, "Why would you ever think such a thing?" you asked incredulously. You couldn't hide the smile making its way onto your face.

He shook his head, "I can't believe you."

You shrugged and walked into the bathroom, putting your makeup into the right spot.

"Maybe if you kept your things where they're supposed to be," you grabbed your makeup bag and walked back to the doorway, stopping in front of Joe, "maybe I'll do the same with mine."

You looked into his eyes and smiled at him before walking back to your bedroom. Joe just watched in disbelief as you walked away from him.

What you didn't know though, was that this going back and forth with each other was just getting started.

end of flashback...

You know it may be childish of you to retaliate and do things to bother Joe, but he started it!

It's only fair that you do the same to him. You know what gets under his skin, he knows what gets under yours. If he wants to be difficult, then hell, you can be difficult too.

Living with each other hasn't exactly been sunshine and rainbows—for either of you. You might as well have a little fun messing with each other, right?

Oh, that reminds you, Joe's condoms and your makeup aren't the only things you have done to make each other mad.  There's more…

Last week...

You stood from your bed, rubbing your tired eyes as you walked to the bathroom. It was around five o'clock in the morning when you woke up and had to pee. You were half asleep when you walked into the bathroom, squinting as the bright light hit your eyes. You didn't bother to shut the door, knowing Joe was sound asleep and there was no way he'd be awake right now.

You pulled your sleep shorts down and sat down, definitely not expecting to fall into the toilet?!

You let out a yelp as you felt your bare ass fall into the water of the toilet.

Damnit, Joe! He left the toilet seat up again!

You stood from the toilet and groaned loudly, reaching for a towel to wipe the water off of your lower half. As you were wiping your leg off you heard a gasp. Your head shot up and you dropped the towel, immediately covering your lady bits.

"Oh my god!" Joe gasped, his eyes wide.

This was just like when you caught him on the couch after his date.

"What are you doing?" you shrieked, face turning red in embarrassment.

"What am I doing? What are you doing? You're the one that's half naked with the door wide open at five in the fuckin' morning!"

"I had to pee!" you exclaimed, trying to situate yourself so you could cover your parts while you tried to pull your panties back up. Joe covered his eyes and turned around when he saw you just slightly move one of your hands.

You pulled your panties and sleep shorts up quickly, snapping the waistband of your shorts against the skin of your belly. Joe turned around and uncovered his eyes since he knew you were decent.

"You," you said, pointing at him, "left the toilet seat up again, so I fell in."

He chuckled, "You fell in? Seriously?"

You rolled your eyes, "It's not funny, Joe!"

"I mean, come on," he smirked, "It's kind of funny."

You hufffed out a sigh of annoyance, "Shut up. No it's not."

He chuckled and walked away, going into the kitchen and turning the light on to get his pre-work out. After you flushed the toilet and washed your hands, you walked out of the bathroom and went back into your room. As you were walking past the kitchen, Joe chuckled and said, "Sorry about the toilet seat Y/n, I'll try to put it down next time."

You just kept walking, too annoyed and too tired to even respond to him.

Joe left the toilet seat up three more times that week.

That same week...

After the problems with the toilet seat, you decided to retaliate and do something that every man hates.

You made the apartment smell like girl.

All of Joe's "manly smells" were covered and replaced with the best fragrance from Bath and Body Works: Champagne Toast.

While Joe was at practice, you lit three champagne toast candles around the apartment. One in the living room, one in the kitchen, and one in the bathroom. Once you had the candles lit, you put out the champagne toast hand soap you had just bought a few days ago. You grabbed your perfume bottle and doused yourself and the furniture with it. You looked at the time on your watch, seeing that Joe would be back at the apartment any minute now. You grabbed the book you were currently reading and sat down on the couch, pretending to read as the door to the apartment opened.

As soon as Joe walked in he immediately started coughing. You bit back a smile as you put the book down.

"Oh god," He coughed, "It smells like a bowl of fruit died in here."

You laughed, "You really think it smells bad?"

He shrugged walking further into the apartment, going into the kitchen and picking up the candle that was burning. He put it up to his nose and sniffed it, cringing as the smell of champagne toast hit his nose.

Joe put the candle down, "It's not that it smells bad, it just, very strong."

He walked into the bathroom, letting out a groan as he saw another candle and the hand soap.

"Y/n, why do you have this scent in every room?” He asked as he walked out of the bathroom, holding the hand soap.

"Because this place needs to not smell like you all the time?"

Joe scoffed, looking offended.

"I think I smell great."

"I didn't say you smelled bad, I just said it needs to smell like something other than you." You shrugged.

"So you think spraying your perfume all over and making the place smell like," he inspected the soap, "champagne toast, is a good idea?"

You shot him a puzzled look, "Yeah?"

He sighed, "I can't have this place smelling like a bowl of fruit ripped ass all over the apartment when the guys come over."

He was being so dramatic over a stupid bath and body works scent.

You sighed and stood from the couch, picking up the bottle of perfume. "Fine, I won't spray it or light any more candles."

"Thank you."

You started walking in Joe's direction, giving him a tight lipped smile as you got closer. He looked down at you and without breaking eye contact as you walked by, you lifted the bottle of perfume and sprayed him with it.

"What the fuck Y/n!?” Joe gasped, pulling his gray t-shirt away from his body.

You just laughed as you walked to your room to put the bottle of perfume away. It was hilarious to see him get so worked up over a little bottle of perfume.

He may think you’re getting rid of the smell, but you truly don't care what Joe wants. The apartment WILL smell like champagne toast as long as you’re around.

end of flashback...

You have to admit, it has been fun messing with eachother. Except, you didn't enjoy falling into the toilet that much.

Other than messing around with Joe, not much has really happened. You’ve been working at CincyStyles and hanging out with Macee a lot. The two of you have become quite good friends already even though you’ve only known each other for a few weeks.

She's such a kind person. You’re so glad you have her as a friend to help you here in Cincinnati.

There is one thing you forgot to mention…remember that conversation with Evan after the game a couple weeks ago?

Well, you two have actually been texting each other quite a bit.

Evan is so sweet, constantly asking you how you are and if you’re enjoying Cincinnati. Not only is he sweet, but he has a great sense of humor and he's such a cutie. You know you said you weren’t ready to get into a relationship yet, but you’d be willing to see where things go with Evan.

Who knows, maybe you’ll be the Bengals new hot couple.

But you'll see how things go, of course.

You were making yourself a protein shake when you heard your phone ding. You picked it up, smiling when you saw that you received a text from Evan.

Evan- Hey Y/n! You busy right now?

You- Hey! I'm actually getting ready to head to the gym

Joe walked out of his bedroom and into the kitchen as you hit send and put your phone down. He opened the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water before he walked over to the stove and turned the light on.

Your phone dinged. You picked it up and read the text from Evan. Blushing deeply from his response.

Evan- Need a gym buddy? ;)

I felt bold, so I decided to respond back in a somewhat flirty manner

You- Only if it's you ;)

Evan- Who else would it be? lol see you soon

You shut your phone off and set it down on the counter. You started feeling nervous as you realized this would be the first time you’ve seen Evan in person since the game. You let out a sigh and looked over at Joe, who was standing by the stove with an amused look on his face as he watched you text Evan.

"Somebody is flustered." He mused, crossing his arms.

You just shook your head and laughed at his teasing.

"Who's got you so worked up?" Joe smirked.

You shrugged, grabbing your shaker bottle and closing the lid as you spoke, "Nobody. Just a friend."

You watched as his lips formed a straight line as you grabbed your phone from the counter and slipped it into the pocket of your leggings. You walked around the corner to the entry way and you put on your Nikes. You grabbed your AirPods, holding those in one hand and the shaker bottle in the other.

"I'm going to the gym, I'll see you in a bit."

Joe nodded, "Sounds good. Want me to leave some chicken and rice for you?"

You nodded, smiling softly at him, "Yeah, that'd be great. Thanks Joe."

"You're welcome." He turned around and gave all of his attention to preparing dinner.

It was a nice gesture for him to make dinner for the both of you. You have done the same thing for him a few times before. Even though you two do things to get on each others nerves, you’re still considerate of one another when it comes to things like dinner or grocery shopping.

You walked out of the apartment and headed to your car, driving to the gym that was only a few miles away. As soon as you got into the building you saw Evan over by the dumbbells. A wide grin graced his face as he saw you walk up to him.

"Hey Y/n!” He greeted, pulling you into a hug.

You smiled, "Hi Evan. Thanks for joining me."

The two of you pulled away, a faint blush was on Evans cheeks as he looked down at you.

"Of course," he said, "I figured you could use a workout partner."

You nodded, "I do. I hate working out alone."

Evan chuckled, "You and me both. I find myself doing better when I have other people with me."

"Same here." you replied. You looked over to your left and noticed there was a mirror along the wall. You decided it would be the perfect spot to take a picture. You figured you’d mess with some of your friends and post a picture of you and Evan together.

"Here, come take a picture with me." you said, gesturing for him to come over to where you were standing in front of the mirror.

He smiled, "Okay." He walked over to where you were standing, he looked at the camera as you held up a thumbs up and captured the picture.

You posted the picture to your Instagram story and put your phone into your pocket.

"Ready?" Evan asked with a smile.

"Yup." you said, walking over to the bench and starting your workout with Evan.

Little did you know that this workout with Evan would eventually create a whole lot of problems...

hey loves!!

this was actually so bad i am so sorry lmao.

i had an idea and i just went with it, didn't really have any direction for it i just kind of started writing lmao

how do we think joe is going to feel when he finds out about you and evan working out together?

we'll have to wait and see ;)

BUT the next chapter is going a fun one...it's everyone's favorite...a guys chat!

i haven't written chats in a little while, so bear with me lol. but it'll be a fun chapter for sure!

ALSO my parents got me a joe burrow jersey and joe burrow socks for my birthday. literally the best gifts ever, my parents are the sweetest<3

hope you're all doing well and enjoying this story<3

lots of love

[risingshards]

Spring 2024 anime review!

It's time for my annual anime season review! I had a lot more shows to watch this season than last, which at times got a bit hectic! It's not quite done yet but it's done enough that I think I can put this up. Warning: Long post incoming where I ramble about the many anime shows I watched and personal reflection about how Going Through It™ affected my watching.

Laid Back Camp Season 3: My fav of the season, I'm obsessed with these camping girlies and any more time with them is always a treat. The combo of the suspension bridge arc with the wacky over the top arc is a fun jarring one, and the last trip was so sweet. Rin and Nadeshiko felt even gayer this season which is impressive, they're the most girlfriends to me, Chiaki and Aoi too (or maybe I should just ship full camping polycule???) It was only a few second scenes too but I love that they added Aya into the later arcs as well. I've been in a rough place mentally for a while and it kicked into a new gear this summer, so the comfort vibes of the show hit differently. I'm a super anxious person so chill times where everything is OK is such a nice escape from the world. Shout out to the OP/ED for being my favs this season! Also highly recommend both sub and dub, because the dub cast is SOOOO good once more. Celeste Perez is so fantastic as Rin, and Morgan Laure Garrett does an incredible performance as Nadeshiko. The whole cast is so great I could ramble on and on about them.

Whisper Me a Love Song: Not technically done yet as eps 11 and 12 are delayed, but in spite of the production woes this one has my heart this season in that "I love the manga and am happy to see this animated, I am hyperfixated, and warts and all I love watching it and get way way WAYYYY too sensitive about it seriously chiral go touch grass instead of having anxiety attacks about an anime" kind of way. The voice cast is SO perfect and everyone fits their characters so well and it's a treat to see the manga adapted. Himari and Yori's fluffy relationship was so sweet and I teared up a lot at their big moments. My beloved Aki got so many delicious angsty scenes while also showing her as not a bad person, just someone who's caught up in a crush while heartbroken about her true love leaving her (a true love that she didn't even realize was true love). Speaking about that true love, Shiho getting to be a feral cat storming into the proceedings is a treat, and I love that we get to see her earlier in the anime than in the manga.

The downsides ofc are the production that delayed two of the episodes, and now has the last two pushed to a later date, and my big qualm is the festival getting skipped over (well still kinda animated in the visual comic they released with the voice actors doing great on it), that's a bummer. I can see structurally what they were going for, 6 eps for Himari/Yori and 6 eps for the very popular Aki/Shiho storyline, and having the 'lost' ep voice acted helps a bit. But ughghggh even with all that...IDK it's still my babg and they're my babygorls so I'm rooting for 11 and 12 to be really great and for me to not engage with any fandom discussion about it LOL. Like I said this one had my heart this season, and when something latches onto your heart like that, I think it's good to cherish that a bit.

Jellyfish Can't Swim in the Night: I heard the buzz a few episodes in about this and was hooked pretty quickly. The animation quality was great, I adored the characters, and I loved the queerness in it with the nonbinary talks, trans yakuza ladie, the kiss, and while I wish they went more in on the romance, we still got a lot of queerness that I don't want to count out. It's another case where I really need to disengage with what people think about something when it's special to me (that might be the moral of the season, honestly). My big downside for this is it got a little too stressful for me, the big fight towards the end of the show kept me up at night. I might be going through it pretty bad if watching anime does that to me BUT we stay silly.

Train to the End of the World: I didn't realize until I saw a post about it like yesterday that this had the same director as Kill la Kill and Gurren Lagann and in hindsight yeah that tracks. This was such a wild ride, I love a good journey story and this scratched that itch well. A group of girls go on a weird, hilarious, and heartfelt journey via train through a bizarre world? It made me really want to write a journey story. Funniest show of the season by far, crazy visuals, fun action, each episode being a strange little journey on its own helped the vibe.

The Many Sides of Voice Actor Radio: This was a really cute one, bubbly gyaru x stoic girlie is a fun dynamic. Going by the structure, I assume this was the first 3 light novels adapted, since each arc was 4 eps IIRC. I hope the light novels get translated here because I'd love to see where the story goes next. My downside to this is this one also got STRESSFUL stressful in that like social kind of way as the main duo deals with stalkers, assholes online, shitty voice directors (I hope that voice director that was giving Yasumi a hard time gets super fired in season 2) and that took away from the fluff at times. Still was a definite highlight of the season.

Nijiyon Animation 2: Maybe even weirder than the first season, I was really glad to get more of this one, weekly 3 minute adventures of a wacky gay harem really is good for the soul. I love the vibe of like "yeah we're doing this premise this week let's just go with it" that a lot of the episodes had. Do Season 3 cmon!

Vexations of a Shut in Vampire Princess dub: I am a big stan for Vexations, and this dub has not disappointed so far (I think just one or two episodes to go for it), VERY well cast with Brittney Karbowski (of Railgun fame) putting in a STELLAR performance as Komari, showcasing all the facets of Komari's personality, like her spoiled bratty princess side, her anxious about being plopped into a dire situation side, the theater kid performance that helps her through this, and many other sides, it's really fantastic work by her. Vill, Sakuna, and Millicent are standouts as well (every Millicent scene I needed to pause afterwards because wow 🥵).

I also watched the back half of Dungeon Meshi (which is so big rn that I feel like I don't know what to add? It's great!), the new Spice and Wolf which was nice, Bartender: Glass of God which was VERY chill, and a coworker friend rec'd Condition Called Love, but I did not really enjoy that one.

All in all despite the bumpy road, I was really happy with this season and got SO much yuri. I do still need to watch Girls Band Cry and will rectify that soon, I just had way too many shows to watch at once.

Next season I am mainly looking forward to My Deer Friend Nokotan, and started watching Suicide Squad Isekai mainly for the ED lol. Next season big goal also: Chiral touches grass and her hypersensitive ass stops getting so worried about what other people think of the anime she watches and to just enjoy the anime hyperfixation while it's in full swing like this.

[crimsonlyinglilly]

Day 26 “Don’t lie to me.”                               

| Rage | Choke | Paranoia |

Second to last fill for @juneofdoom

Klaus arrives too late to the Gilbert house, as he's forced to face the death of a brother .

Back to Taste of Sin, follows on from Part one

Still Set TVD Season 4 Episode 12

-------

He smells it before he arrives, smoke and ash.

‘It's too late’ the horrifying realisation hits Klaus when he gets to the open Gilbert door, white Oak dagger in his pocket to find the Gilbert siblings standing over a burnt body, white Oak stake still in his heart.

He was going to deal with Kol, how dare they-

Another little brother dead because Klaus was too slow, too slow getting Henrik away from the wolves, too slow for Kol, he had planned to dagger him, keep out of the way until the cure business was dealt with.

Like he had every other time Kol started being a danger to himself, he didn't like doing it locking his wild brother away but he was for his own good.

And now he was gone, Klaus had failed him.

“What did you do?�� he forced the words out, easier to sink into rage than grief, ignoring the burning in his eyes, he'd mourn Kol properly later when he dealt with his killers.

“It was an accident, we didn't-” Elena tried, but her voice only stoked his anger

“Don’t lie to me,” he snarled, the aching in his throat from his rage not the growing sorrow “you planned this.”

“It's not-” she tried again,

“He never would've gotten inside if you hadn't set a trap for him.” he spat the words at her cutting off whatever excuse she had, his little brother was lured in and killed, alone. Without his family, he shouldn't have let them leave, let them split up, Elijah would never have let this happen. 

Oh. 

He was going to have to tell Elijah, who already could barely face him.

“No, Klaus, you don't understand.” he ignored her again, nothing his little brother’s murders said mattered other than their dying screams. He sighed looking at the house they were protected, but only as long as they stayed within it.

“I'm going to burn this house to the ground.” he promised, “And then, when you try to flee for your lives, I'll kill you both without blinking.”

“You kill us, you'll never get to the cure. You'll never be able to make any more hybrids.” The little hunter warned and Klaus for a moment re-evaluate his plan, killing Him would leave him dealing with the curse again but perhaps it was deserved for failing Kol and it would be one way to bring Elijah back to him.

“You really think I care for an instant about my bloody hybrids?” he snapped, “I want the cure so I can destroy it. I would've killed you all the second we dug it up, but now I'm just gonna watch you burn instead.”

He barely finished his words before pain hit him forcing him to his knees.

The Bennet witch walked pass him but he didn’t care, not even to question why she told the Gilberts to ‘Invite him in’ he just had to kill them.

“Come in.” the boy said the word he was waiting for.

The witch‘s magic trip him over the threshold 

“Living room. Go!” she shouts as he starts to push himself up, when he freezes. 

Falling into the house had brought him closer to the body, close enough to notice what he hadn’t before.

That wasn't Kol.

Rage vanishes into confusion, horror and fear, a deep fear of the unknown because that couldn’t be-

“‘Lijah?” He speaks without meaning to the name escaping him but it sounds too much like a child as his mind refuses it to accept it, making his thoughts stall.  

The witch's hold on him vanished but Klaus didn't really notice, his body frozen on its own from the growing disbelief and horror.

The body was burnt, almost unrecognisable but Klaus could tell his brothers apart.

A life of watching out for Kol and just watching Elijah make it instinctual, he doesn't need the tattered and charred remains of a suit Kol would only wear if forced to make it clear.

That wasn’t Kol. 

Wasn’t his wild reckless little brother. 

In a way he had been prepared to lose Kol, since he had taken the lost of his magic and their new existence and become even more reckless.

But it couldn’t be, no, it wasn’t-  

Elijah was smart, fast, strong, skilled and not dead. 

He couldn’t be dead.

Klaus had never lived without Elijah being somewhere, never existed in a world without his always caring big brother. 

So the body on the floor couldn’t be- 

Elijah, Elijah, ELIJAH. 

It was a trick. 

Had to be. 

This wasn’t real.

“This is a trick,” he snarls, tearing his eyes from the body to look up at the witch, “make me see one brother in the place of another.”

But she looked confused, smart enough to not take her eyes from him, but clearly unaware of any of it. She had no need of a trick; she already had hold of him the sensible part of his mind that suddenly sounded like Elijah reminded him.

Why? Why Elijah? The one that was always trying to protect them, to temper his worse. He can’t be gone. 

“How?” he ignores the almost break in his voice.

“I thought he’d stop it.” The little hunter explains, sounding confused by it himself.

Klaus could almost imagine it, his brother speaking to them, he just always had to talk, to offer them a chance, the stake taking him by surprise, his brother’s shock as he died.

Died alone, without the family he had worked for so long to protect, to be reunited with.

“He wanted to believe in the best of people, of humans, idealising what we lost.” He admitted, seething rage burning his throat, as he forced him up off the floor “I should have stopped him, made him see.”

He had tried but never completely, grasping at it himself, to Elijah's belief in the best to people, because as long as Elijah believed that then he stayed with Klaus in hopes of Klaus' own redemption.

It was never meant to cost Elijah his life, they were meant to be immortal, he hadn't learnt anything from Finn's death.

He was the oldest, fear shot through him at the realisation, he who led Henrik to his death and joined into Kol’s fun always expecting Elijah to clean it all up.

“I'll make up for that mistake by leaving pieces of your corpses around the town.”

“Klaus you have to understand I never wanted Elijah to be hurt.” The doppelganger swears and Klaus could admit it might be true, his brother was charming, kind and good, the girl wouldn't have stood a chance, and he always had a weak spot for them, ghosts of Tatia.

The thought of them had never made him more sick than now, had Elijah's last moments been looking at the image of his first love watching him die, that she used the image to lure him to his death.

He thought Katarina had been the danger, not sweet innocent Elena.

Elijah was dead, the world was wrong and broken.

He stalked after them, he hadn't felt a rage like this since he woke after the five to find his brothers daggered for the first time.

Any hesitation about killing the hunter had vanished, he'd take the curse again, none of them could be left alive there- this whole town had cost him too much already.

Maybe one of the hallucinations would be Elijah, he could still speak to his brother. He’d take cruel vile words over nothing, a few more years before he had to face a world without his voice.

Oh he had wasted time the last couple of decades, running from Elijah, taunting him because Elijah could never have given up on him. He had pushed it but they were meant to have time for Elijah to calm down to return to Klaus' side.

Like they always did.

Hitting the barrier came as a surprise, but he doesn’t let it stop him as he throws himself at the invisible wall.

Hitting it means he doesn’t have to think about it, about who the body was that the hunter pulls the stake from, the doppelganger slowly backs away from it with fear and almost confusion like she couldn’t understand.

He was going to kill the hunter first so she would understand the pain of losing a brother, maybe he'd kill them all before her; the salvatore brothers, the Donovan boy, find Tyler, drag him back to tear him apart, make her watch as he killed everyone she loved before he left her to rot.

“Witch,” he warned, “you can't do this to me.”

“You have no idea what I can do now.” she replied, he would have laughed if he had more of himself but most of him was howling is grief.

“I will hunt all of you to your end!” he threatened, it was a promise he was immortal no matter where they ran and hid, he was going to kill them, Katarina had only lived as long because Elijah had distracted him from his search when he truly tried in the early days. 

“Elijah was the only thing that ever held me back, what do you think i’ll do to you all without him. Do you hear me!” he screamed.

Klaus roars as they leave, beating his fists against the barrier, clinging to his rage to escape the growing horror and despair at the idea of his brother gone, his lodestone’s absence.

How was he meant to exist without Elijah?

[charredcheddar]

Superstitions in Doctor Who

Spoilers obviously

This started during the three specials with David Tennant. Particularly the salt.

He sprinkles the salt and invokes a superstition at the end of the universe, something regarded to be a bad move.

But it seems to be fine no consequences here. (I'm ignoring the whole Mavity thing because idk if that is a direct consequence of this or not but it is weird so I need to put a pin in that for later) Except...

Another superstition. Stepping on a butterfly changes the entire course of human history. This is not how timetravel works. The timeline normally self corrects. At least that's how I interpret it. Take the conversation between Bill and 12 in 10:3

To paraphrase this entire conversation because it is longer than I thought it was:

"It's just time travel. Don't overthink it."

I'm pretty sure somewhere during the show they have mentioned more in detail how the timeline "corrects itself" but I am not watching through every episode again on the off chance I am correct.

Then we get to The Devil's Chord

Another supersition. And what happens when this chord is played?

The Devil enters the room.

Okay so Maestro isn't literally the devil but a tritone summoning an ancient being? That sounds like a superstition.

So we have superstitions that didn't seem to be there before. Then we have these ancient beings. So far just The Toymaker and Maestro but we know there are more.

The Toymaker's Legions, while potentially including Maestro (though maybe not since their relationship doesn't seem to be great) indicates more than one being. Then we have The One who Waits. Potentially the leader or eldest of these "Gods"

Either way, there's definately something going on. Though the real question is where do the Doctor and Ruby fit into this?

The Doctor makes reference to diagetic music. He winks at the camera. He breaks the fourth wall. He tricks the Gods. He's operating on a similar level to them. I'm assuming this will link into the whole Timeless Child storyline with the fact that the Doctor isn't from this universe.

And Ruby. There's something strange about her. The Doctor has been back to the day of her birth and he seems suspicious.

Suspicious enough to do a DNA scan.

What does any of this mean? Who knows, I certainly don't. But I am excited to find out.

[sword-dad-fukuzawa]

I want to hear the niche anime recs

Oh I GOT you. Most of these are all short watches, 12/13 eps, and absolutely worth anyone's time--there's also enough genres here that I hope there's something you like.

Do you like thrillers, bright colors, and edge-of-your seat scifi dystopia action? Akudama Drive had me so hooked I watched all 13 episodes, no breaks, and then it broke my heart at the very end as a parting gift. Fuckin incredible pacing.

Want a silly crime show that's an easily digestible buddy cop until ep7 takes you for an absolute ride with a skyrocketing body count and tonal whiplash? I watched Millionaire Detective: Balance Unlimited just for the seiyuus originally but the cast made me soft for them. 12 eps, not very high octane, and very sweet.

Interested in a vampire romance that somehow manages to quietly deconstruct heteronormative, allonormative societal constructs about falling in love on top of sick character designs and a gorgeous atmosphere? Call of the Night is a brilliant 12 episodes that had me absolutely whipped for the chemistry between the two leads.

Do you want something dark that nevertheless doesn't take itself too seriously? Hakata Tonkatsu Ramens is an anime about hitmen who play baseball on their off days, but it's also about found family and the lead is a crossdressing, grumpy assassin who ends up in a funny roommate situation as the premise of the show. Fantastic use of the style where each arc is a case, and the characters are both hilarious and heartfelt. Thanks to @neon-snail-city for the amazing rec.

Okay, picture this: sci-fi crime/psychological thriller, except you don't know if the twist is time travel, seeing the future, or something else entirely. Captured criminals take a deep dive into the minds of serial killers in order to catch them in Id:Invaded and it's such a brilliant overlooked anime that I can't believe it's so under the radar. I've heard it's similar to Psycho Pass but I haven't watched that yet, so I can't confirm.

Hear me out here: Interspecies Reviewers may be an ecchi pushing the boundaries of how much titty they can show on TV, but it has the most nuanced and intelligent exploration of kink, sex, and boundaries that I've ever seen in anime. And it's batshit hilarious, so if you like dirty humor, this one is a fun ride.

I can't make a niche anime rec list without Mars Red, either. Another vampire anime, except this one is a lot heavier. If you're a fan of anime that deals with grief, what it means to be human, and how to survive in a fast-changing world, Mars Red has some heart wrenching stories to tell you. I've talked a lot about it on this acc if you search the Mars Red tag :)

If you're a magical girl fan who enjoyed Magica Madoka and you're looking for something else bonkers to fill the void, check out Princess Tutu. It has some of the rawest writing I've ever seen, and it's about characters deciding if they want to fight fate or follow it in a crushing exploration of the fairytale genre--it's incredibly meta and self-aware as its main gimmick, too.

This one was popular enough to get a second season, but I love Snow White with the Red Hair too much not to put it here. It's a sweet shoujo romance with a fairytale setting and the female lead is one of the most badass, headstrong women I've ever seen. She doesn't take shit lying down and the male lead is head over heels for her, plus the side characters are super endearing.