#don’t get me wrong I do love the show from the 90s

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - So Many GREAT Kisses!

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

(Please notice I am now using 6 dots in all ellipses because according to Taiwanese BL that's how we queers roll. Who am I to argue?)

Sept 2024 Week 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 2 of 12 - A most excellent glow up. And it’s still a great show. And I cannot wait to see the many different faces of War. Bring on the Leverage of One action-packed mess. I'm waiting.  

Monster Next Door (Thai Thurs Gaga ) ep 9 of 12 - I’m gonna say this because it drives me crazy. Why are boys in BL, when out and about the countryside, always dressed inappropriately for Thailand? If it’s hot, takeoff your damn jacket. I don’t mean to be crass or crazy or whatever. But don’t wear a jacket when it’s 90° with 90% humidity. In Thailand, jackets are for malls. Meanwhile, I’m an extrovert and that still seemed like an exhausting trip. Although, I suppose they didn’t show all the drive time in the van, when everyone is asleep.

Meanwhile, why are the sides so frustrating in this show? Authentic friends-to-lovers is always a slog. Finally a kiss! And a decent one.

New character? Aw! Hi Yu!!!! Gosh Putter is so cute.

Where were we? Oh yes, Beer is now heartbroken. Always the great fear in F2L that the friendship will be destroyed as a result. And it’s a decent fear. 

On a completely different note, I cannot help but wonder when somebody’s chue len is Beer, if that is because beer was involved in their conception. Like, it’s the name you give your "oops baby" from that drunken night at the club. Don’t mind me. I’m just over here in the corner being crass.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 8 of 12 - That was one of the cutest wake up sequences ever depicted. Utterly adorable. And now he’s blind again? Oh my God this is such a soap opera, I can’t even. Meanwhile, wicked ice prince finally made his move. Gah! Why aren’t we getting more of this couple? I always love the sides best with this production house.

I Saw You in My Dream (Weds Gaga) ep 10 of 12 - I love a hard fraught game of badminton. Even though we actually didn’t see play. YoIng claiming was so cute!!! And their shower kiss was v hot. Yay little show! Also cute use of the punishment trope!

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 3 of 12 - The weight upon the shoulders of our idiot good guy kidnapper continues to pile up. So does the affection. The dude playing Q has sanpaku eyes. Cool. He’s not a particularly good actor though. Rough because everyone around him is giving their very best.

The problem is. I'm noticing. I shouldn't be noticing all the talent trying so hard. That usually means there is something wrong with the story, or there was something wrong on the set.

I don't know what to say at this juncture except I have the sinking suspicion this might not actually be a good show. (Covers head and cowers. Don't hate me.) I'd loved to be proved wrong, but my faith is GMMTV is only about 50% these days. And it probably should be lower.

Addicted Heroin (Thai Tues WeTV) ep 6 of 10 - I was so confused by how we suddenly got on a trip together, that I went back and re-watched the previous installment. And it still isn’t explained. So I have no idea why our leads are on a trip but apparently that’s the next trope to hit. I also have no idea how they're suddenly boyfriends. I’m just generally confused by this episode. It’s like an alt reality. We skipped over all of the stuff where they actually got into a relationship. In general I wasn’t wild about this episode.

The Trainee (Sun YT) ep 12fin - The most realistic thing about this show is that everybody is everybody else’s ex on any given set. I feel that in my bones. Or do I mean boner?

Frankly, both actors look better after a glow up and I guess pretending to be more their actual ages suits them? Considering what was actually done to invoke youth (a lot of the shine and gloss) aging them was an anti-glow up. A great mattification? Well...... this was a somewhat lackluster finale. (Thank you, thank you, the pun was unplanned. It's a gift.)

I don’t know. I guess I wanted to see Jane suffer? Work HARD to get the kid he abandoned back? I would’ve liked to have seen Ryan a little bit more competent and capable and his job. Maybe dating someone else. But I also do not want any more episodes. This was more than enough. So instead no separation, just boyfriends and a montage of their lives together, getting new and better jobs, moving in together, being supportive and sweet, etc... LOOK: It’s never a good sign when I immediately want to rewrite the show that I just saw.

In conclusion:

A story about a group of interns at a commercial video production company. While I genuinely love OffGun, I’m not convinced this was a good vehicle for them. Is it terrible for me to say, I miss their PickRome days? I don’t think they’ve ever had rolls that suited them better. Still, theirs was the best storyline in this ensemble piece masquerading as a BL, although they still fumbled the ending. Thus, I enjoyed about a 1/3 of it as much as possible, and 2/3 of it less than conceivable. 7/10 and I seriously considered dropping it to a 6/10 so don't push me.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 1 of 15 - Not gonna lie I was very skeptical. But I like it fine. Better than I expected because it’s been changed just enough. But it does need to stay changed. I don’t know what I’m trying to articulate here but…... I guess we’ll see.

Live in Love (Sun Gaga) ep 3 of 5 - It’s cute in a weird disjointed way. I’m enjoying it enough, I guess. I do like how forthright and direct Kla is. 

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Ah. Bully romance. My old frenemy. Of course making this office based means +10 for workplace harassment. Well well well. This will be red flag party town I see. How VERY old school yaoi. It’s all very Cdrama CEO = dudes in suits walking on parquet (minus all the gay sex of course.) The jumping around between times and unfinished scenes is very strange. Is this Starhunter chaos only applied to a timeline?

Imma say this so they hear it at the back. YOU HAVE TO CHANGE THE HAIR. If you do time jumps: change. the. hair. It's the easiest and best clue if you aren't going to apply a filter or other cinematography tricks. JUST CHANGE THE DAMN HAIR STYLE.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

The On1y One (Taiwan Thurs Gaga) eps 9-10 of 12 - And now we all start using six dots in our……? A new coded way to indicate that one is into BL? I did think we were in a slight mire with ep 9, too much teacher filler. Not enough time spent with our boys. Meanwhile, sports day. Pouty Baby utilizing the power of Ge, in front of all of the classmates who do not realize how hard he is flirting and activating babygirl = one of the greatest things ever to happen on my screen. Essentially this was a version of the claiming trope, only nobody knew it but the two of them. Fucking genius. Yes, I watched it multiple times. Then babygirl is injured, the carrying and the flirting!!!! Gah!

I don’t mean to trivialize the show, but this is me and I can trivialize everything even something as brilliant as this. But that conversation about history at the beginning of ep 10...... Was that about topping and bottoming? Because it sure seemed that way.

And then...... Possibly the best only one bed trope twist ever?

This show is so fucking amazing.

And I am so worried about the end.

Sugar Dog Life (Japan Sun grey) ep 7 of 10 - I love the kinkyness of our baby boy’s fantasy. Where he is the gift and his boyfriend is in uniform. Very nice. Thank you Japan. Never one to let kinky dogs lie. Also, the premise continues: one half thinks that they are already boyfriends and acts like it, and the other half is still trying to become a boyfriend. It’s absurd in that way that only Japanese miscommunication extraordinaire can be absurd. Also could Kyosuke be any more under his boy’s thumb? 

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 1-2 of 10 eps - Shiba is a top lawyer, angular aggressive bespectacled workaholic cat-type (Kitten? Babygirl? Tsundere? Some unholy combination of all 3?) I am reminded I should be more considerate of my potted plants. OMG the teasing and the little tongue sticking out. Haruto is such a flirt. I love this dynamic. What fun! Manic pixie dream boy but MAKE HIM EVIL! Or very high? Or a grifter? I have absolutely no idea what’s going on. But I’m enjoying it. It’s very...... very

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 7 of 12 - Oh! Good kiss. Smart to have the younger character initiate. I also like that he put a stop to it and then went and had a long conversation with a friend about it. Cautious boy. Also shows how in control of the situation Sea is becoming. It works for this BL since he has the stronger personality. I don't care what the characters say, this is about Sea becoming a rock for Neil.

But the secondary couple is actually winning this show. I want so much more of them. 

Seoul Blues (Korea Fri? YouTube) ep 8fin - I’m not sure that blackmailing and entrapment, especially of your ex, necessarily justifies cheating. Plus I never like it when it’s gays against gays. But what did I expect from this show? This whole series was basically Korea’s version of messy gay. If you liked Only Friends you’ll probably enjoy this bullshit. And they were quite pretty. I, however, am monumentally displeased. 4/10 FATALLY FLAWED but still, basically, BL, however…... do we want to support this kind of behavior?

KOREA PLEASE GIVE US A NEW PROPER BL!! WHERE ARE YOU? WE ARE SAD AND LOST WITHOUT YOU.

It's like now they discovered boys can kiss they can't be happy.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) ep 1 of 10 - This is a supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion in Chiang Mai being converted into a café. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

Happy of the End (Japan Tues Gaga) - A boy is disowned for being gay, dumped by his boyfriend, and ends up in a dysfunctional co-dependant relationship with his would-be kidnapper. We were due for another messy JBL and it's exactly as expected. I do not like it at all. And ya know what? There is plenty airing. DNF 

In case you missed it

I FINISHED Meet You at the Blossom (China). I ate crow, binged the fucker, and live blogged the experience. I enjoyed it a lot and got quite witty (I think) there are also puns (warning). But if you don't wanna slog though it, here are my final thoughts:

This was undeniably a wuxia and most definitely a BL. Evil stunning princely Cheekbones meets and falls in love with the bisexual disaster Dimples of his dreams. There’s a lot of floaty fighting, tangled plot, and overworked emotions. From start to finish it is exactly as it claims to be, including more than the expected amount of sexual claiming (dubious conscent to the point of rape). I’m not wild about the wuxia genre, but I will tell you what I do like: Very pretty men in flowing robes + eye makeup + hair ribbons wafting about stabbing and kissing each other plus ridiculous soap opera machinations. I also like cheekbones and dimples. AND I love a stupid gay sleeve, okay? There was also truly epic levels of stink-eye, and that too is to be lauded. This show left me grinning like crazy. Was it great? Not really, but it was a great experience and I enjoyed it immensely. 8/10

4 Minutes (Gaga) Ended - Spies reported in to say the ending was not-exactly-unhappy and mostly lackluster. I'm torn over whether to watch. My natural disinclination to binge, meets my dissatisfaction with wishy-washy, is going up against my love of high heat and pretty men. Oh the age old struggle between art and lust.

Mitsuya-sensei no keimakutekina ezuke finished and it’s reported to be solid. Age gap treated with respect. I'm curious, so I'll check it out if I can get hold of non-G-drive subs.

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Still Coming Sept 2024:

9/28 Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YouTube) ?? eps - oh I don't know just Ba Vinh doing his thing with pretty boys again.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

I love love love this execution of the punishment trope. What's Ai going to do to you, Yu? Ride you to death?

I Saw You in My Dream indeed.

Sigh. This show. (Addicted Heroin)

All praise one of BL's best-in-show glow-ups. Nicely done, Jack.

James, on the other hand. Never needs a glow-up. Still the prettiest. Has been since Oxygen. (Battle of the Writers)

He's playing the role of Saint in this show, thank you very much. Speaking of which, wouldn’t that be just the most gorgeous pairing in the entire universe? Saint and James? I’ll be in my bunk. 

Taiwan giving us a boop! Reminds me of Be Loved In House I Do, right up there with TharnType as chronic boopers.

Why is he SO GOOD in this show?

All Frist Note.

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are a pain.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[soapyoapy]

thoughts on dnp's new video

hey y'all. no one asked for it but here's a review of dip and pip's outfits from their new video from a costume design student's perspective.

*disclaimer: this is all for fun and totally my opinion, everyone has a different style, i’m just working with what they’ve worn before and what they seem to like wearing*

Category 1: Y2Gay

Phil:

🤔 i don’t know how to feel about this one… it’s not horrendous but dare i say he didn’t go far enough. i’m an ARMY so i can see j-hope wearing this but perhaps the reason why is would work is because he’d add like a white bucket hat, some sunglasses, and some colorful jewelry to fully commit to the maximalist style. also phil doesn’t really suit the baggy style imo. correct me if im wrong.

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (add some accessories)

Dan:

honestly, i love the sweater. i saw it in the photocards and loved it. this is how dan should wear color tbh. my only critiques would be: a. what are the straps for??? and b. i wonder how it’d look with a dark colored tank top underneath it instead of a black one 🤷🤷

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Category 2: Americore

Dan:

umm…keep the jacket on. i’m sorry, the shirt is too much 😅😅 also i’m so confused by the pants. that’s it. maybe instead of that shirt have just like a nice white shirt. or maybe phil’s out of date gaming console shirt. the eagles are just a lot to look at. also ditch the crocs. again, sorry. a good black chonky sneaker would fit the look better.

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Phil:

i agree with phil that the blue shoes don’t really fit. but i have a solution. wear some white sneakers and the blue mesh top from the q&a video or just a matpat-style blue jacket. other than that, this outfit works. especially with the blonde hair.

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Category 3: Stranger Materials

Phil:

phil, please please please get that jacket fitted. it looks ever so slightly too big on him. hot take: the pants aren’t terrible. it’s just terrible with the jacket. the lines are not going in the same direction and it’s really distracting. i think they’d both have the effect he wanted just on their own. not together.

rating: ⭐️⭐️

Phil pt2:

i agree with dan. the pants are the issue. they aren’t the right shade of blue or the same pattern. major clash and if they were performing, it’d be very distracting.

rating: ⭐️

Dan:

ok. at least it matches 😝 considering he bought is from an ✨adults only website✨ not bad. would probably make too much noise to be an actual outfit he’d wear onstage with mics and all that but for fashion…kinda slays

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Category 4: Serving Shorts

Phil:

🫢 umm…ok so, how did he not know the shorts were see through?? perhaps it did show on the website but if it was from the same place as the vest and the vest was mesh then you’d assume the shorts were too?? idk anyways. its giving backup dancer construction worker if that makes sense. i’d say go all the way add some fingerless gloves and some design to the shirt and/or vest. go full jojo siwa with it. i do also love the color coordination.

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2

Dan:

eh…that’s it. it’s not awful it’s not great. maybe it he coordinated the blue with the top. it just looks like a dude headed to the gym. i like the shoes. they do look like the cover of a 90s boy band album. nothing amazing. if the star was blue and silver i’d like it more

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bonus Round:

Dan:

honestly…as a neurodivergent person, this is just a good item 🤣🤣 it looks so soft. not even from a designer perspective but a sensory perspective. i’d buy it. maybe in a different color but still. (also if it’s like an ✨adults website✨ thing plz let me know idk anything im aroace 😅)

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (for the goofs)

Phil:

question. where would you wear this other than a disco/party? this outfit looks really fun. the only thing i'd add to this would be some white boots or sneakers with rainbow laces.

rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ (for the goofs)

thank you for reading the ramblings of a junior costume design student who is using this video as procrastination from doing their lighting design homework. I hope you all have a good rest of your day! ✌️✌️ go ahead and tell me if any of the things I said were wrong i don't know anything 😊😊

[revserrayyu]

Real quick Wardance thoughts [part 2]

**SPOILERS** for everything happening after the final match. Basically some story stuff and a bunch of goodbyes, but it’s mostly just me loving every second the Yaoqing trio is on screen.

Seeing a younger Jing Yuan is precious, but it was made even better hearing Alejandro’s natural voice during this short scene.

I know Igor was mentioned at the very start of this event and was sort of a constant, small side story amongst everything else, but his history and reason for entering the Wardance really was unfortunate from what I remember (which isn’t much.) Shame he’s no longer around. I would’ve definitely tried pulling for him if he ever had the chance to be playable.

While Jarilo-VI is no longer a small, unknown ball of ice floating in space, I was not expecting it to have more visitors so soon. I wonder how the Belobogians reacted to seeing their first foxian. & is it safe to assume that our pilot, who refuses to fly anymore, took the Astral Express here? Because that’s what I’m going to believe. Also, Seele spotted! Huzzah!! (no Serval at all though. I cry. or Clara now that I think about it.)

More allies, let’s goooo! Dang, imagine how awesome it would be to see Belobog experience other seasons aside from a perpetual winter. Or to have the residents able to travel outside the city’s walls, free from any danger. I adore everyone from Belobog so much and I hope they get the chance to live such fulfilling lives. They deserve it!

I have not checked the museum for myself yet, but if this photo is actually displayed there now, then that is so cute. And I know I can’t be alone in thinking this, but because of the striking red hair, Igor must be some sort of ancestor to Luka, yeah? It might be a stretch but they even got similar big grins too.

Alright, enough of my favorite planet and onto my favorite trio. Jiaoqiu sweetie, I treasure those few days so much! I just wish you were spared from all the trauma.

What a way with words. A poet, even. And yes of course I chose the first option. I feel bad pointing out his little slip up, but I wanted to know his reaction even more.

Pfft, the fact they let him talk for so long without mentioning he was facing the wrong way.. I’ll admit it is a bit comical.

Awww honey no! Don’t apologize! If I were them, I’d move myself in front of whatever direction he was facing so he wouldn’t feel bad.

It’s okay, we don’t blame you! At least he says it’s only his eyes that aren’t of any use instead of himself. That’s thinking positively I guess. I’m sure he’s still quite capable in doing many things, even in a kitchen. I mean, the guy had his eyes closed 90% of the time anyway, so surely he can still cook up a decent meal while blind thanks to muscle memory and his expertise. The other two would gladly assist him as well.

How much you wanna bet our Jiaoqiu isn’t going to listen to any doctor’s order because he’s a healer and knows his body better than anyone else? Feixiao & Moze are gonna make certain he heals up properly. But maaann, I wish they showed us Feixiao in the crowd during the final match, if only for a split second.

A perfect trio. One who can’t compete because of rules, another who wouldn’t fight because that’s not his job and the other who shouldn’t, lest he end someone’s life by accident. Pretty fair reasons.

Moze is an absolute mood. I’m not a big fan of chatting either. Quite ironic, given how much I can ramble on about this game and its characters, isn’t it?

Her whole “lacking in worries, regrets and rivals” outlook on life is wonder and I love it but NOW our Lacking General has but ONE REGRET! Aaaah.. honestly, I do too. I regret not pulling Jiaoqiu, but IN MY DEFENSE.. Feixiao was right after him and I needed to save big for her. I also didn’t really have a team suitable for our healer to excel in.. but next time for sure! I’ll bring him home!

Son of a bitch they’re so precious and sweet I wanna scream. It’s a blessing in disguise that this entire goodbye scene wasn’t voiced because if I had to hear all the emotion in their voices for this conversation I would’ve been an even bigger, sobbing mess.

Pfftt, thank you Moze for focusing on the task at hand. We can always count on him to be blunt.

Yeah how about NO. I do not wish to see you guys leave me! I’m holding onto that “for now” with such a tight grip. Y’all better return sooner rather than later, you hear me??

I absolutely took my time taking photos of them. I love ‘em with all my heart and can’t wait to see them more in future arcs.. as long as nothing else bad happens. Surely my devotion shall protect them from any troublesome plot! You hear me, Hoyo? Only wholesome and heartwarming stuff from here on out!

I am kinda bummed Huaiyan turned out to be nothing but a unique looking npc. He might not have been a character I might’ve pulled for if he was playable, but he would’ve definitely had some cool combat animations I’m sure.

I know I’ve said it somewhere before, whether in a post of my own or in comments, but Fu Xuan is probably my least favorite character. I just.. don’t vibe with her at all. I dunno. With that said, I didn’t mind that she was practically absent from these entire last two patches. So yes, I called her sassy, lost and short.

Astral Express parents showing up fashionably late to the party. Ya think a black hole or orbital laser could’ve destroyed Hoolay’s blood moon? We shall never know. I do wonder how their own task with those fossils and Ruan Mei turned out though. That’s something I’m looking forward to hearing more about, especially since Yaoguang mentioned at the end of the 2.5 story that our mad scientist has just boarded the Luofu too.

Huzzah, the end~ Much less serious this time around but at least we’re finally done. I wasn’t a huge fan of the Xianzhou during our initial trip here during the story, but these last two updates were some of my favorites for sure. (and I promise it’s not only because of my Yaoqing trio bias)

[emily-mooon]

Emily of New Moon deserves to have its own Anne with an E. It would work so well too considering the fact that the books are very dark and it would do a good job of expanding the characters, particularly my boy Teddy Kent because he was done dirty in the show from the 90s.

[bettysupremacy]

mike def calls his partner 'baby' like 90% of the time. never their real name, just 'baby' not even 'babe'

Yes and the moment he doesn’t call you baby.. somethings wrong.. like call 911 cause this isn’t Mike Schmidt in your home. And Abby knows it too.

“Can you,” he starts, trailing off as he reads from his book at the dinner table. Something catches his attention and he pauses. “can you.. hand me my drink, y/n?”

You stand in the kitchen, soaked to the elbows in sink water. It’s not often you do dishes alone, usually next to Mike who’s murmuring about sharing water later too, but tonight’s been slow, and you don’t mind this labor of love if it means he gets to read.

“Woah,” Abby stops dead in her tracks, slowly pulling out of the fridge to eye where you stand paused. “Are you two fighting?”

“What?” Mike startles, looking up from his book.

She doesn’t say anything, eyeing the both of you warily.

“Why would you think that?” He pushes.

“You called her y/n.”

“That’s her name.” He defends, looking to your pinched eyebrows. “I’m not mad, we’re not arguing.”

She’s unconvinced. “Okay.”

“We’re not.” He presses firmly, looking to you confusedly for confirmation. You only blink, dropping a fork to sink slowly into the filled basin. Rather wetly, you pull your hand out of the suds to motion Abby closer. She obliges, cringing something awful when you touch her hair.

“You should go shower.” You murmur, dropping a kiss into her hair.

“You just gave me one.” She grimaces, ducking out of your grip to head towards the bathroom, though, there’s no argument ready to be quipped.

“Hey,” Mike inches closer, grabbing the cloth to dry your arms.

You eye him as he works the rag over the valleys of your arm. Cautiously, you ask “You’re not mad, right?”

“No!” He laughs, squinting his eyes into yours. His laugh is affectionate, you can’t help but to soften in his hands. “No, I’m not mad.”

“We’re not arguing?”

He snorts, quickly putting on a serious face at your frown. “We’re not.”

“You had me worried.”

“Cause I said your name?”

“‘Y/n’ is not my name to you.”

He laughs at your impression of him. “I’m sorry, baby,” he makes a show of the nickname. “won’t happen again.

[longing-for-rain]

hey there!

please don't take this the wrong way, because i'm genuinely just asking. i've seen your criticism of aang and kataang appear on my dash from time to time, and it just got me wondering: how can you enjoy the show?

i understand that you feel passionate about katara, and i suppose about the entire story, but. aang is like on screen 90% of the time, and he gets his happy ending too (as happy as it can be, of course, with having his entire culture and people on the brink of non-existence). how do you reconcile your love for the show with your dislike for its main character and how the narrative rewards him?

and once again, please understand that i'm not attacking. i'm just curious to see at what point does someone stop being a fan and start being simply critical of a certain media, if you know what i mean.

thank you for answering if you do, and cheers!:)

I just don’t pay attention to him very much. Even in the finale, Zuko’s ending and story stands out more to me. Him standing before the crowd in his sparkling crown, announcing that he wants to bring in a new era of love and peace, that’s powerful to me. Watching Zuko go from an abused boy who thinks his only worth comes from accomplishing an impossible task in his desperation to appease his abuser, to a literal king taking back his power and using it for good, is a powerful story.

As for Katara, to me, her true ending is the Agni Kai. I wrote a whole post about it. That is the culmination of her arc, where she is able to display her power and use it to overthrow the regime that she’d grown up being terrorized by. And then after Zuko was nearly killed, Katara was able to save his life just like he saved hers. The way their stories intertwined was beautiful, and it was a beautiful conclusion to Katara’s story, watching her not have to feel helpless for once and bringing the change she’d always dreamed of.

As you can probably tell, these are my favorite characters so I was satisfied by their endings. To be honest on my rewatch, I usually kind of just skim the Aang vs. Ozai fight because it’s just an anime battle. The characters hadn’t even met prior to the fight, so the emotional depth is lacking compared to the Final Agni Kai.

As for the balcony scene? I don’t watch it. And I think it says a lot that by simply not watching it, nothing is lost. It adds nothing to either character and only serves to give Aang a reward. Before that moment, nothing about the finale suggested Katara wanted that at all. Neither character played a significant role in the other’s finale arc. There was absolutely no narrative significance between them.

But there was for Zuko and Katara.

To me, Katara ended the story as a heroine and warrior, not a love interest. With Zuko, that was her ending. So that’s the real ending to me, because that’s what her character means to me.

[hotteoki]

boyfriend skz things - happy 1k followers!

notes: this was long overdue so i rushed it a bit, but thank you everyone so so much for 1k! here’s a lil celebration that was not proofread 😭

©️ strayedstars | do not repost

chan (방찬) - flirting

despite being in a long-term relationship with him, chan will never stop complimenting you, opening doors for you, spoiling you with gifts etc. it’s so frequent to the point where the others have long given up on making fun of him, opting for a simultaneous groan whenever the both of you share any type of interaction.

just as chan was about to lean in to kiss you, jisung interrupted from beside you, “the parents are at it again!” this created a trend for everyone to follow, screaming a few “get a room!”s or “not again!”s. chan pursed his lips, “i really look forward to the day i move out.” you laughed, “you don’t mean that.” “no i really do.”

minho (민호) - sending filter videos

it was very well known that minho is an avid filter user, using sending random videos to stays on bubble and laughing about them. little did anyone know, the amount of videos or pictures minho posts online were only 1/5th of how many he sends you. without even counting them, you could confidently say that 90% of your gallery was him with some ridiculous filter.

"min, stop sending me stuff, my storage is running out because of you." minho blinked at you slowly, before turning his attention back to his phone, ironically already filming a video with him as a bumblebee, "no." you laughed, "what do you mean, no? i quite literally have more pictures of you than me on my phone-" "good."

changbin (창빈) - reminding you to drink water

knowing how much changbin cares about his health, it was safe to assume that he would care just as much about yours. before he began dedicating his time in the gym, it was always you reminding him to stay hydrated. changbin used to be the most forgetful person ever, and would always be too busy working to drink water. however, after you switched jobs, you were often too stressed to eat or drink at all. thank your lucky stars that changbin is basically a walking alarm.

a glass of water was wordlessly placed beside your laptop on the desk. "binnie, i just drank some literally 5 minutes ago," you looked up from your screen to meet his stern eyes. "no, you drank a sip of my water over an hour ago," changbin crossed his arms, staring pointedly at the clock. you knew he wasn't going to budge until you finished every last drop of that glass, so you complied, downing the water. it was only then did he smile proudly, kissing your forehead quickly before leaving to wash the glass.

hyunjin (현진) - drawing

everyone knows how much hyunjin loves art, most of the pieces he posts on instagram were of flowers, or sceneries. however, he has a notebook that is dedicated to his drawings of you. he knows how you aren't confident in yourself most of the time, but he's determined to prove you wrong. whenever you were with him, hyunjin would always have his notebook and pencil in hand, ready to sketch you.

"what are you always drawing?" "hm?" hyunjin hummed, gaze still fixating on his pages. "i mean, you're always drawing something, can i see what it is?" his cheeks turned slightly pink from your attention, "i'll show you when i'm finished." "but you work on a new piece every time?" hyunjin paused, thinking of a reply to that, "i'll show you the entire book when i'm done. i have around 11 pages left or so anyway." you nodded, satisfied with that answer. hyunjin smiled to himself before continuing his work on your eyes, he always thought they were the prettiest he'd ever seen.

jisung (지성) - petting

it started off as a subconscious movement, you were pretty certain jisung hadn’t even realised doing it until you asked him why he was stroking your arm out of nowhere. he responded with a blush, moving away before you could stop him. it was when it happened again that you told him you found it adorable, and that was also when jisung kissed you for the first time.

“i never got to ask you,” you said, nudging jisung's foot with yours, earning a hum from him. “why do you always pet me?” the hand that was caressing your thigh halted, before continuing as jisung thought of an answer, “i don’t know. i think i just got used to petting bbama, and now i pet you.” you kissed his cheek lightly, smiling against his skin, “fair enough.”

felix (용복) - baking

it was regular for felix to bake a batch of brownies for the members and staff, and usually they would all be devoured before you could even get your hands on one of them, which is why felix would always bake a smaller batch reserved just for you. sometimes they would have chocolate chips in them, or m&ms, whatever you were craving, they would probably be put in the brownies.

"yah, felix, do you have any more brownies?" minho yelled from across the room. "no, sorry, that was all!" felix called back. "what do you mean? you literally have a box of them right there?" jeongin pointed out. felix immediately reacted, extending his arm until it was out of jeongin's reach, "they're not yours." "they're mine!" you added in, walking over to felix and taking the box from him, kissing his cheek as a thank you. "ugh, not in here," minho recoiled.

seungmin (승민) - taking pictures

much like hyunjin, he's an avid believer of capturing the moment. seungmin carries a film camera with him at all times, knowing that if he used a regular camera, you would ask to see the picture and instantly ask him to delete it. by using a film camera, you wouldn't be able to see the picture, and seungmin would be able to print them out without your knowing, and pocket them in his wallet.

"when did you take this?" you indicated at the picture of you in his wallet, you swore you've never seen that picture before. "a while ago," seungmin shrugged, taking his wallet from your hands. "do you just take pictures of me out of nowhere?" you laughed. "yeah, all the time. i thought you knew that." you blinked, "i did not." "well now you do."

jeongin (정인) - letting you wear his rings

jeongin's usually very reluctant about letting other people borrow his things, but when he saw you trying on some of his rings, he knew he would let you have anything you wanted that belonged to him. it wasn't even a possessive thing, he simply thought that it warmed his heart to know that you loved him so much you would wear a reminder of him every day.

"hey, can i borrow this for tonight? it goes with my outfit." without even looking up from his phone, jeongin nodded, "sure." "innie, you're not even looking," you stated teasingly. he smiled, "i don't need to. you can keep whatever you want." you gaped, "really?" jeongin switched his phone off, beaming at you, "yeah. what's mine is yours. not my clothes though, i need them for my ootds."

[modawg]

my favorite thing to think about is camp half blood and them as a community so here’s random chb head cannons bc i said so and i love them

this is gonna be long

i’ve said this before i’ll say it again Aphrodite cabin haircut day (which spans abt a week) it’s a whole production they have a sign up system and everything like an actual salon it’s super fun because everyone’s just talking to eachother and laughing as they sit on the floor infront of their “hair stylist”

basically every year like a yearly check up (see point 2) the aph cabin will hold a yearly hair cut day(s) where you can come in and really request anything but it’s really for just trims so no one’s walking around with split ends

don’t get me wrong if you want to cut your own hair you can you can also get a haircut any other time of the year if you want but it’s like a whole thing and it’s just easiest to do it during that time

yearly health screenings!! they also do like a screening when you first come into camp to see if anyone has allergies disabilities etc etc this is also a whole production but is less fun (apollo kids are more strict when it comes to your literal health)

on sunny days people lounge in the grass taking the sheets from their beds to make picnic type blankets but literally once one small group does it the entire field is covered in blankets all connected

when this happens it’s such a fun experience sometimes they’ll have kids dueling to the left while to the right some apollo kids are playing and singing with their friends as they pass strawberries throughout the entire coven and get sunburnt together

there’s a sign next to the dock that says “no running on dock” and edged under it is “unless percy’s on duty”

i feel like when percy is near the water/near the dock it becomes an automatic like safe zone and kids love it bc they can sprint and cannon ball off the dock without embarrassingly slipping and going to the infirmary with their heads down

speaking of percy he has a class teaching kids how to preen and handle the pegasi (pegasus??) where a bunch of them will come and lay out in the sun and he’ll walk around showing on blackjack what feathers to pluck and which to leave alone etc etc

genuinely fuck the godly parent pavilion table rule everyone sits where they want to sit when you first come it’s customary to sit with your siblings just so you get used to the people you’ll be living with but once your comfortable you sit with your friends when you want to

some kids don’t even sit at the table they sit on the floor or right outside the pavilion on the grass or on the edge with their close friend they try to not have kids eating in the big house but who’s to really stop them tbh

(i believe this one’s kinda cannon) but they have a comunal tv inside the big house along with the comunal computer and they have movie nights or you can sign up for a personal movie night but 90% of the time people will probably join you

also comunal landline lol

they also make their own movies and host their own plays when they want to (see next point) normally the apollo and aphro kids help with this but it always comes down to the hephaestus kids who record and convert so everyone can watch it on the big screen

many kids who passed in the wars are preserved in this way

PLAYS they have so many plays hosted normally by the apollo kids hephaestus and aphrodite kids help with the assembly and makeup surprisingly the 2 most cabins who actually preform (aside from apollo) are athena and ares

idk i feel like ares kids need this outlet they always act like they’re doing it only bc a lot of their friends are creatives but it’s a lie

normally the plays are just greek myths that they do with a modern twist but they can also do poems or other fun things the kids want (it’s kinda like a talent show type thing)

camp magazine!! again i’ve said this before but GYATTTT i will die on the hill of camp magazine

the magazine is a short little thing that goes out once a month normally having camp gossip interviews and reminders that go out for the month

every month the cover is decided by the ending of the previous magazine (there’s a poll) sometimes they have special guest models on the front like vogue when the aphro kids are really feeling themselves

percy has been this model on many occasions and tho he doesn’t really know it annabeth has kept every cover he’s on

this magazine was originally run by selina and after she died it was sent out to memorialize the kids who died during the first war with a pic of her and charlie as the front cover; it stopped running after that

yearly ms o’leary camp cleaning day

this is the most hectic day in chb herstory like genuinely

they have to split into 3 groups A B and C once A gets tired B comes in once Bs tired C comes in then it starts again

percy’s there as a constant stream of water and the hephaestus kids make giant scissors so they can trim her along with extra big dog brushes so they can get all her fur (i head cannon her as a HUGE fluffy dog fight with a wall idc) they always finish her off with some bows and a feast to celebrate

athena kids have a sign up sheet outside their cabin where you can sign up to get tutored you just write what you need help with and when you want the help and someone normally can

same with ares kids and learning how to fight

tbh most cabins have this when it comes to certain special talents like learning how to play instruments or gardening

they have a huge bulletin in the big house where people can pin things up have it be reminders about yearly things pictures they want up help wanted posters (lol) drawings really anything

you can leave everything up for a week for everyone to see then it’s a curtesy thing to take it down to make room for new things

help posters are infact a thing normally it’s just with things they can’t get help with day of or something that isn’t actually too important or for something far in the future

ie, if they need more actors for their play or a window won’t close or something

everyday (and this is cannon) you have a chore if you bust your ass to the big house you can sign up to some of the good ones that don’t take as long but the longer you wait to sign up the faster the good ones go

this sets up for a lot of bargaining between campers abt getting different chores but a lot of the times people do them together or with friends and it really isn’t that bad

kids often set up their own stands with different things could be sign up for a 2 minute sketch a lemonade stand or other random things

they sometimes set up field trips out to the mortal world emphasis on the sometimes

if they do it’s normally to a more crowded area like a museum or a park or something so it’s harder for monsters to smell them they also have to go armed and with at least 1 seasoned vet to every 2 campers

this has to be approved by chiron 1 month in advance and has to have said vets signature so kids are just making shit up

these groups don’t really get any bigger than 10 or so campers and they only really stay out for a couple hours but it’s always everyone’s favorite thing

since kids can’t use phones other then the landline they have a lot of cameras like a LOT of cameras every cabin has a couple and there are some in the big house too for kids to borrow and take pics with

if you break it you normally have to take on the chore of whoever’s fixing it along with whatever chiron says

you also sign up for these so they know when you took them when you brought them back and you MUST mark any scratches or anything that might happen so everyone is aware of the status of these cameras (they have monthly maintenance checks)

it’s really funny when you look through the pics different cabins take with their camera you can really tell who’s who’s

at the end of every month they get gone through by the cabin to delete whatever they don’t need and converted into whatever the cabins want so they can be preserved and reused later

camp family album; every year they take a camp picture

in the big house there’s a small library of things ranging from the memorial book to ancient greek books to the family album that holds signatures like a yearbook and camp pictures that chiron loves the most and he keeps in the book

the year(s) the books span over are written on the side so campers can look for themselves and see the history behind chb

ok i’m going to leave that at that bc i need to go clean but i will maybe come back to this later ok byeee～ (^з^)-♡

[scramratz]

Rant abt your Cds I'm curious

OK HERE GOES SCRAMS 2024 CD COLLECTION TIER LIST

(Disclaimer: these are just my personal opinions and if yours differ from mine, fine. It’s not a sin to be wrong)

S TIER-

Goo-Sonic Youth: Straight bangers all the way through. Girls love it when you show them your Sonic Youth cd. Extra points cuz the pamphlet unfolds into a sick poster

Midnight Vultures-Beck: Good album to clean the house to. Every song a banger. Beck as a person sets off alarms, though 🤔

Vivadixiesubmarinetransmissionplot-Sparklehorse: Genuinely my favorite artist and album of all time. Fall asleep to Homecoming Queen often.

Siamese Dream-Smashing Pumpkins: Fire straight though. Good when you’re in a depressed 20-something mood. Better than Mellon Collie in my humble opinion.

Gorillaz-Gorillaz: The start of one of my favorite bands and objectively one of the best bands in the world don’t fight me on it I’ll kill you.

A TIER-

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots-The Flaming Lips: Solid album. Iconic cover art. “Do You Realize??” always got me feeling feelings

Violent Femmes-Violent Femmes: Top 3 favorite band. Every song went platinum in my household. Would have been higher but reminds me of my mom too much.

Dig Me Out- Sleater-Kinney: Got it because the name sounded familiar. Ended up loving them! Doesn’t sound right if it’s not played loud, though, and considering I live in an apartment, I don’t play it often.

Fear Yourself-Daniel Johnston: Got it because I love “Hi, How Are You” but haven’t been able to find it anywhere. Was pleasantly surprised! Hits the same melancholy spot but slightly more upbeat.

Figure 8-Elliot Smith: My favorite sad boy that definitely DIDN’T kill himself. Not my favorite Elliot album but every one of his albums is A tier personally.

The Diary of Alicia Keys-Alicia Keys: WENT QUADRUPLE PLATINUM IN OUR HOUSEHOLD. Prime cleaning the house on Sunday music. Dragon Days is seriously underrated.

Garbage-Garbage: Don’t know how to say this without sounding insane but this album sounds like the color #DC007F and I like that color a lot

2-Mac Demarco: The CHOKEHOLD Mac Demarco had on us artschool bitches in 2016 OMG. Was gonna change my name to Viceroy

B TIER-

Money for Nothing- Dire Straits: Top tier dad music.

Lumine fever- The Adrenals: Got it cuz the cover looked cool. Was pleasantly surprised! They rock the adequate amount

Rocket to Russia- Ramones: They’re good but I don’t get the hype honestly. They’re the Flavor-Aid of Punk

Starfish- The Church: Only love one song on it, the only song anyone likes tbh. The rest are your standard 80s deal

Crooked Rain-Pavement: I really love Pavement but there is a thing as too much Pavement and I think I’ve reached it

Yankee Hotel Foxtrot-Wilco: Honestly should have been in A tier but all the pretentious music dudes I’ve met has soured this album for me so it goes in B outta spite. Jesus Etc my fave song tho

An Evening with Silk Sonic- Silk Sonic: Nice, short, gets me in a happy mood. Does what it needs to do!

Prolonging the Magic- Cake: John McCrea don’t really be singing, do he? He just fancy talkin

C TIER-

Gigantic, Fuel, and The Nixons: I got all 3 on sale and they all sound the same and that sound is…ok? Like it’s alright background music

Blind Melon-Blind Melon: What was with 90’s bands putting random kids as their album covers? Decent listen, though.

Summerteeth-Wilco: Good background music. I can’t remember any songs off it.

Los Angeles/Wild Gift-X: I like X but I hate that fucking album art omg it’s so hard to look at. I like their songs individually but as a cohesive album, eh.

D TIER-

Throwing Copper-Live: bought it on sale with the above 3 but liked this one substantially less. Only redeeming quality to me is the album art.

Ben Folds Five-Ben Folds Five: Misleading considering there’s only 3 of them. He sounds like my ex boyfriend from highschool before I realized I liked girls

F Tier-

The Ragetones/Fall Apart-The Ragetones: Saw them play at a shitting basement show. Everything sounds better when you can barely hear yourself think.

F Punk-Big Audio Dynamite: Found it at the thrift and rehomed it outta pity. Sounds like the 80s in a bad way.

[justauthoring]

this is something that has been bothering me for a while and honestly, i doubt anyone will really care on here since tumblr isn’t the problem but im still gonna say something.

ive been apart of a lot of fandoms—i think that fact is clear by how many i write for—and almost every single one of them is toxic in some sort of way. unfortunately, that sort of thing just happens with fans and people who think they’re entitled to more than they are.

but i am absolutely disgusted to be apart of the cobra kai fandom. there are certain characters/actors that get leeway cause they’re “loved” and sure, that’s fine. you love a character? you have every right to defend them. and hey? you don’t like a character? that’s fine too.

but the actors are not the characters.

there are more actors than just this example but i think this one is the most important — mary mouser is not sam larusso and the comments made about her, her weight, the way she acts, talks, etc. are absolutely ridiculous and disgusting. 90% of the comments i see under instagram or tiktok posts from or about her contain things regarding her weight that are cruel and horrific.

it really puts a perspective on society and how it views women and i wish i could tell her that none of what is being said is true. here is a young women that is not only gorgeous but is incredibly fit and athletic (she’s on a show about karate for gods sake and does a good chunk of her own stunts) and has diabetes which affects her body beyond her control and she is being cyber bullied about how she looks.

and she’s not even overweight!! if she was, it would still be a huge issue but it bothers me how she’s a normal, healthy weight and being made fun of still.

did y’all forget the show started about victims standing up to their bullies??? about how wrong it was to be a bully?????

or about the fact that her cast mates, people you all claim to love and hype up, would be disgusted by your comments?? they’re her friends. i know for a fact ralph, billy, xolo, jacob, tanner, peyton (and more) are all absolutely disgusted by this fandom.

im just so upset by this. by people’s reactions to her and how they’ve treated her — a human being?! it was bad before but it’s reached a new low.

so let me just make this clear — if you in anyway think these comments regarding mary’s body, a women’s body, are funny or cool or anything of the sort you can just unfollow me. and do me a favour and comment so i can block you because it’s just disgusting.

[libertine-past]

Alternate “Love in Vain.” Cody doesn’t call. That’s it! That’s the fic! 😂

Rogue clonked her phone back in its cradle. “Don’t you hate it when you tell someone they got the wrong number, and they argue with you? I know I have a lot of characters floatin’ around in here,” she gestured at her head, “but I’m a hundred percent sure I ain’t Linda from the Yonkers Craft Expo.”

Gambit snickered with a look of pure engrossment, shaking his head in delight. “Indeed. Linda sound pretty boring to me.”

“Oh, I bet you think you could liven her up though, honey-tongue— the way you came in all gussied up to go out on the town.”

“We don’ have to go nowhere. You don’t even have to get out of your nightgown or put down your book, ‘less you want. A date can just be you an’ me in the same room.”

God, this man’s standards couldn’t get any endearingly lower. She puffed some fallen white hair out of her face. “Welp. You ever seen Baywatch? It’s kind of a guilty pleasure, like these Harlequin stories. Hnh. What am I sayin’. Of course you have. Men sure appreciate the um.” She rolled her eyes and made curvy gestures. “Casting.”

“Eh. That show irrealiste. Petty t’ieves always blowin’ up oil rigs or something. Nobody that dumb.”

“So your big takeaway from a show fulla bathin’ beauties is the shitty portrayal of crime?” she laughed.

“Oh, I see them beauties. How do you think I do all my trainin’ for look don’t touch?”

“You can always use more of that. Alright then. You, me, and bad TV it is.”

“Ey, what happen to your bedpost?” he asked, finally noticing.

“Trainin’ for knockin’ your dang block off.”

They sat on the rec room futon in the glow of the TV, under a blanket.

“Aw hell, this is one of those filler episodes with like three beach montages,” Rogue said.

“Yeah, I hate watchin’ people just enjoyin’ themselves,” Gambit winked. “You gotta have filler in life, chere. Can’t be all life-or-death drama.”

She looked him over. “The way you dress like Don Johnson on Saturday nights, I feel like we should be watchin’ Miami Vice reruns instead.”

“You love it.” He pulled off his scarf and draped it around her shoulders.

“Didn’t say I didn’t.”

And it happened—the long, hungry look that usually made her run. She didn’t, but she wasn’t above a quick subject change. “God, they use same underwater footage over an’ over.”

“Well, folks can’t hold their breath forever.”

She knew this wasn’t a dig at her, but she retreated into overthinking. “…you’ve been tryin’ for a few years with me, Remy.”

“Chere. Don’t. That’s never what this feel like.” He pulled her hand out from under the blanket and kissed it. “A barrier doesn’t phase me none. It’s you underneath. That’s all that matters. It’s the 90’s. Everyone big on protection, non?”

“Oh yeah, I’m blendin’ right in with today’s generation. …I-I’m sorry. I just can’t seem to stay off this topic, can I?”

The silence wrapped around them as the TV continued its soapy glow on their faces. Gambit didn’t realize that she’d mostly fallen asleep on his shoulder.

“You know why I like this show?” Gambit said. “I can relate, ‘cause Rogue always come to Gambit’s rescue.”

“…..mhm. Cuz iloveyou, caj,” she mumbled.

He exhaled hard. He knew the declaration probably didn’t count, but he clung to it like a life ring.

[anangelinthepit]

Bruise my Bones, but Leave my Heart Alone

Hello, my angels, I'm so sorry it took me forever to get this up. I've been going through a lot lately, but part 6 shouldn't be too far behind. Please enjoy and, as always, I love you all so very much - Magenta 🌹

Warning ⚠️ very sensitive topics, please be advised ⚠️

Part 5

“I’m not sure why they call it heartbreak. My entire body feels like its broken”

Part 5

Delilah’s POV

“What do you mean there's nothing you can do? Y/N wouldn't run off like this! I told you guys what was said during our call. You're not even gonna check it out? Look at this picture. Does this look like a girl who is fucking joking with you?” I said while showing the picture that Y/N sent me. There’s no fucking way they’re blowing me off, this is a girl who’s been kidnapped. Why aren’t they taking me seriously?

“Ma’am I'm sorry, but she's over the age of 18, and you clearly showed a message from her stating that she is alright. The only thing I can recommend is trying to check in with her in a week. If you don't hear from them, then we can do a wellness check, but at this time, it's completely out of our hands.” the officer said, jotting down his notebook

“Yes, but there's a chance the text could also be fake, and what about the phone call? Who jokes like that ?” I said with tears starting to weld up in my eyes

“Hey you know how many times I get the joke “Is your fridge running?” on these lines. It's not uncommon Miss. Again, I'm sorry but there isn't anything we can do for you.” The cop said

“Yeah well, thanks for nothing,” I said turning away from him and Malibu

I stormed out of the police station and sat on the steps with my face on my knees. My best friend is out there, probably hurt and scared. I can't fucking sit here and do nothing, I need to find her, and if the police won't help me then ill take matters into my own hands. It's already bad enough that Jason was hurting her. Now, there is a 90% chance that she was kidnapped by these assholes.

“What's the next step, babe?” Malibu said while sitting down next to me.

“I don't know. She probably thinks I never even tried to look for her, and that's what bothers me the most. I wanted her first concert experience to be something that was out of this world.” I said in between sobs

“Baby maybe she was just joking and it’s a sick prank she and Jason were playing,” Malibu said trying to comfort me.

“You don’t understand booboo look at this picture.”

I pulled up the picture on my phone that Y/N took. You can see someone behind her and she is fucking scared and unaware of what the hell is going on. Her lip is busted with a black eye to go with it.

“I even brightened up the picture to show it's the lead singer standing behind her,” I said, showing boo boo

He looked at the phone and shook his head. The picture itself was disturbing, and the fact that the coos ignored gave me such a strong feeling of rage.

“God I think I’m gonna be sick,” I said, leaning over. My anxiety was making me dryheave from the sight of the picture. It looked like it came straight from a fucking slasher film.

“Y/N has an iPhone right?” Malibu questioned

“Yeah, why?.” I said. “What the hell does it matter what kind of phone she has?”

“Find my iPhone. Even if her phone is damaged or dead we might still have a chance to find her. That's if those fuckers didn't take out her sim card. It's risky but it's the best chance we got right now, Baby.” Boo said

We got up and went back to our hotel to pack and start our search. The police were as useless as they come so taking matters into our own hands was the only option we had to find Y/N. Those fuckers messed with the wrong girl and boy do I have a surprise for them when I find them. If there's one scratch on my sister, there will be trouble. My best friend has been through enough. Those ashsoles don't need her world upside down any more than what it already is. “Y/N stay strong. I'm on my way”

Y/N POV

The water stung my cigarette burns and scratches but felt so relaxing at the same time. I had no effort for ways my body but pushed through, I may be held captive, but I don't need to stink in the process.

*knock knock*

“Y/N I don't mean to rush you doll, but Noah is on his way back. He told me to make sure we were out of the shower by the time he got here.” Nick said through the closed door.”

What kind of controlling shit? Whatever, the last thing I need is for him to rip me out of here. I washed off the remaining soap and got out. Wrapping my towel around my body, I wiped away the fog on the mirror only to be met with a reminder that again I let a man use me as a fucking punching bag. I dried my body and then put on the clothes that Nick left me. The smell of cologne made me weak in the knees, it was the same smell that filled my head when Noah had me over his shoulder. The image came back to my mind, my breast pushed up against the sweat-dripping artwork that colored his beautiful skin or the way he held me so close I could feel his lips near my neck. I can feel myself starting to fall for him and two seconds away from giving in to that angel face who has evil intentions.

I began to feel an ache between my legs that it seemed like only Josh would be able to cure. One gentle kiss on my-

***KNOCK KNOCK******

“Y/N! lets go. You've been in there long enough.” Noah shouted, breaking from my luscious daydream

I'm not sure what it is, but this man being an asshole makes me as dry as the Sahara desert. I put on the clothes that Nick gave me and walked out into the room. I was met with the boys and some. Two random dudes and a cute puppy ran up to me, showering me with kisses I bent and gave her some pets. It's probably the most pleasant experience I've had these last two days, so I wasn't complaining.

“Oh so you're the girl who's got my buddies nuts in a vice,” said the guy sitting next to Noah. Pulling my attention away from the dog, I stood up and stared at the guy.

“I beg your pardon?” I said

“I'm just kidding. I'm Matt, and it's finally nice to meet you. Noah has told me so much about you. I can't believe the stud himself did it.” Matt said jokingly.

“Um did what?” I asked. Am I missing something?

“You know, got himself a very pretty lady. I kept telling him he needed to settle down and get a good girl.”

I stared at him in disbelief. What the hell does he mean to settle down? I'm not this asshole's girlfriend, but then it dawned on me.

“Oh my god, he has no clue they fucking kidnapped me,” I thought to myself

I looked over and saw Noah looking at me with eyes that said “I fucking dare you.”

Hm. It's like we’re already a couple, he kn he exactly what I'm thinking.

I gave Noah a snarky smirk. It's time I start playing the fucking game. Let's see how long you last. I walked over to Noah, sat down on his lap, and threw my arms around his neck, giving him the biggest kiss on those pretty lips of his.

“Oh, angel face shame on you for not introducing me to your friends,” I said

Noah's face turned bright red with disbelief that I had just made that move. He wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me the most devilish grin I've ever seen.

“Hey guys, Y/N forgot something on the bus. We’ll be right back,” he said, grabbing my hand. No one was even bothered by the fact that we ran out the door like thieves on a heist. Finally, after running through the hotel we got out the front to the tour bus. I felt this rush, I couldn't tell if it was adrenaline or a rush of my sexual tension building up. Hell, it could even be both. My mind tried to remind me that this was my captor and that I was supposed to be escaping. Yet my heart yearned for this man to fix the ache I had in my heart. It was more than just lust and more than just trying to get back at them for “ruining my life.”

“I'm falling for him, and there's no stopping it.” I thought to myself.

Noah yanked my arm, ripping me from my thoughts, and slammed me up against the bus door with his hand around my throat. This time was different because even though he did that, I was still able to breathe.

“What the hell are we doing Y/N ?” Noah asked quietly,

“Mmmkay, that was a little aggressive.” I thought to myself.

“I'm sorry, did I do something wrong?” I said, confused

“This game that you and I keep playing can't keep happening. One minute you hate me the next minute you want me. Please make up your mind because I'm going insane” he said, frustrated

“Oh, you're going insane? Dude, you twisted my life upside down in the last two days and traumatized me.

How is it okay for you to do this, but when I play along, I'm the bad guy?” I said, feeling annoyed

“You're fucking crazy you know that? I saved you from an abusive situation and want to give you the world yet you deny me and try to run away from me. Traumatized you? Seriously Y/N, that man did way worse to you before I even came in the picture.” He said crossing his arms

“Are you fucking kidding me? I never fucking asked you to save me, Noah. You took that opportunity upon yourself while dragging me down with you. You were the one who slit his throat.”

In a quick, Noah covered my mouth and whispered in my ear

“Shut the fuck up before someone hears you,” he said taking his hand off my mouth

There was a moment of awkward silence between the both of us. I’m so angry at him right now yet all I want him to do is hold me. What the actual fuck is wrong with me, this whole thing is confusing. Noah finally decided that he had one more thing to say and broke our silence

“You know what?”

“I could only imagine,” I said sarcastically

“There are million women out there who would be happy to have me save them, yet I saved and wasted time on your sorry pathetic ass. What kind of woman lets a man beat on her? If I didn’t know any better, I bet you liked when he did it so you could fucking play the victim.” He said while glaring at me

I’ve been through a lot of hurt in my life, but for some reason, that is just downright killed me. My lust and love that was here for this man now turned into pure rage. I couldn't control my thoughts or my actions because the next thing I knew, my hand went across Noah's face.

“If you fucking truly feel that way then maybe you should just fucking kill me.”

********************************************

Sorry, it's short lovies, but here we go. Te amo todo all of you ❤️

@reyadawn @bloodylullaby @thisbicc @fadingintothegrey @hurricanesfollowyou @dreamstyles

[blossoms-phan]

Hi! I am a X escapee relatively recent Dan & Phil returnee who loves your posts, you seem so reasonable. I have just been given what felt like a 90 min presentation detailing how my innocent assumption that Dan and Phil were anything other than platonic housemates was incorrect and offensive.

The lecture i was given included every reference that highlighted, amongst other things: their "obvious" separate bedrooms, bathrooms, towels, angles of items shown in bedrooms, closets, mentions of wanting to go out and meet other men, lack of real concern (X words, not mine) at each others medical emergencies and every use of bro and friend that they have said post hiatus. It was very detailed, they were very insistent and I was very apologetic. I decided to flee the X hostility and head back to tumblr, but here everyone appears to think they are together. So now I am confused and don't want to offend a whole new group of people.

I think what set the X people off was i said "partner" as I was under the, I now know, incorrect impression that they went public years ago. Oops. Don't trust the internet is what I have learned from this. I thought all this drama would have died out long ago, but I assume this is a topic to stay far away from still? Thanks

hi anon! first of all, thank you for saying that (still can’t believe I’ve garnered enough attention on here that people specifically like my posts!), I really appreciate it. second of all imma be so real with you I am a person that still primarily refers to “X” as twitter bc I refuse to get with the times so this greatly confused me until I realized there was only one possible platform with those kind of people you could be talking about. i’m sorry you endured that exhausting sounding lecture and welcome you to phannie tumblr with open arms 🫶

i am here to gently reassure you that you can take what dnp say and do and show and form your own opinions about it, don’t let anyone tell you you’re right or wrong for drawing conclusions or making assumptions. however I will also be so bold and tell you why that individual is so blatantly wrong and maybe clear some of your confusion.

first of all, i think dnp would refer to themselves as anything but "platonic housemates." it all comes back to this but i dare someone to look me in the eyes and be so fr when saying that just because they've never stated in words "we're dating/boyfriends/partners etc" the simple fact that they share a mortgage on a "forever home" together, (according to them) spend literally all their time together, are partners in work/life/play (vacations), share families (dan being uncle to phil's niece) implies anything other than them being life partners. i'd also like to draw attention back to possibly the most blatantly open statement either of them has made about the nature of their relationship, in dan's video titled "basically i'm gay" where he describes them as "actual soulmates" and more. there are lots of people who have been discussing/answering posts about the concept of a "hard launch" recently which i could direct you to and i am of the mind that there's nothing wrong with conceptualizing the idea of a hard launch or them being more open to sharing details of their romantic relationship to an extent, but BIG is the most profound public statement of the nature of their relationship and, in my humble opinion, "the" hard launch as dan QUITE LITERALLY says "more than just romantic" and goes on to say he and phil are private people and that that's all he will say of it for now (keep in mind it's been 5 years since this statement- still relevant but minds can change, specifically theirs in terms of what they feel more comfortable and open sharing in a post-comeback world)

now moving on to the "references" you mentioned. again, highlighting literally any of this as "proof" that they are just friends or whatever is utterly ridiculous but i'll still go through it for funsies. i'd like to challenge this person that claims they have "obvious" seperate bedrooms by saying... what is so obvious about it?? dnp are highly aware that whatever they share with us will be analyzed or viewed under a microscope, so obviously they've carefully chosen which parts of the phouse to show us and they're not going to be like oh yeah this is OUR bedroom where we sleep TOGETHER every night. now i'm aware that yes, the "black" bedroom with dan's closet is more obviously a dan room that has been claimed as "his" bedroom. can't find it to link rn but they have posted a photo of the shelf of that room and while it is mostly dan stuff on the shelves, there was also a photo of phil's family and some of phil's books and items on the shelves. storage? sure, but if someone wants to claim that makes it so obviously dan's room then i can say that having phil's stuff in there could also point to them sharing the space. the room that phil films amazingphil videos in has been called a guest room/bed by them both, and in terms of rooms we've seen that just leaves the green room. imho everything points towards this being another guest room/possibly a room for family specifically to stay when they come- iirc nothing has been said to claim this as phil's room other than the fact that there is a painting by his dad and he occasionally films in there. i'm not going to pretend to know the ins and outs of their sleeping arrangements, but i think for two adults that own a huge house together and spend a lot of time together and have a lot of their own things it's perfectly reasonable to have "separate" bedrooms, multiple bathrooms/their own towels (?? i don't get this one i assume they're referring to the part of the golden pig video but like. obviously they have their own towels wtf lmao) and utter those things more on camera and then sleep together/share spaces in their own time.

once again, dan and phil know what they're doing. they are in control of what they show and share. calling each other "bro" and "friend" is an intentional choice and very much second nature at this point after doing it on camera for years. also it's not wrong or implies that they aren't romantic- i am of the opinion that they are friends first and they know that too. however, in a post-hiatus/comeback world, it almost feels pointed at this point. like a joke. a wink wink, nudge nudge, look-to-camera "we know you know" thing that they're keeping going just because they can.

in terms of the "going out and meeting other men" bit i assume they refer to jokes made by dan in the wad era? again, i'm not going to dive deep into this but dan is a comedian and post-coming out, wad and those other shows were the first time in his life he was able to be openly, unapologetically gay and himself and i think he was allowed to make a few grindr jokes for the fun of it. if dan values privacy in terms of his personal life, i highly doubt he would go around telling everyone he was hooking up with dudes- these are jokes plain and simple. but if you're interested @freckliedan has a wonderful post about dnp and the concept of monogamy/them sleeping with other people that i don't entirely disagree with and that is worded much better than i ever could so. i'd also like to talk to this person bc in what fucking world have they EVER shown a "lack of concern" at each others medical emergencies????? this is possibly the most baffling claim out of all of these to me. dan could not have made it more clear how scared/worried/traumatized he was by phil literally almost dying recently, and there have been more instances than i can count of him just being there for phil during all of his more recent health issues/scares. if this is referring to the eye incident, again i'm not going to pretend i know all the ins and outs of their relationship bc i don't- we know what they tell us. literally everything about this they said in a joking way, i don't know why people got their panties in a bunch- phil sending dan alone doesn't mean he doesn't care about him or anything, i honestly don't think he wouldn't have been much help going and i think they both kind of knew this, they were just playing it up to be a funny anecdote because they're entertainers. it's what they do. they've been making stories out of their lives for 15 years.

this is getting far too long and rambley as i don't know how to rein in my yapping when responding to asks but. i promise you're fine. discussing their relationship isn't "drama" or some forbidden thing, it happens on here a lot actually. except you will find most people on here use critical thinking and what dan and phil knowingly share with us, as adults with brains, to draw conclusions about their relationship based on everything from the way they look at each other to the little ways they tell us they care about and love each other bc they do. and that's not something they shy from now. come join us! don't let people tell you you're wrong for thinking they're partners bc in the nicest way possible, they literally are (if you want to sugarcoat it and say life partners instead of romantic go ahead bc they've literally described themselves as companions through life which is a more poetic way of saying partners imo) and respectfully anyone who thinks otherwise is in denial at this point

[olderthannetfic]

So the ‘straight with one exception’ shit that was so prevalent with straight women in fandom a few years ago. Do they find it a romantic notion? I’m bisexual so growing up in the 90s and 2000s most the queer content I could find was fan made. And don’t get me wrong I am grateful for the fandom moms of old for making queer content as a young guy in the 90s figuring myself out there was a lot of fear and self loathing but I always had fandom to make myself feel more normal. But yeah that straight with an exception thing, always really ruined my fic experiences a bit. But I’ve actually started reading older fic because it avoids a lot of the shit I find annoying about modern fics. Can’t escape this trope though it’s like negative nostalgia lol. I know you’re queer but I want to get why straight women love this trope so much. Is a bisexual man so unattractive?

--

Anon...

I hate to break it to you, but when I started interviewing slash writers from the 70s, I heard more than one story that was like "And then I had all these weird feelings for my best friend I was writing with..."

Decades on, these women may have picked some other word than 'straight', but plenty of them did experience You're My One Exception.

Even the horny and self-aware people often find One Exception stories hot, whether it's a villain only being nice to one person or someone who has only experienced attraction one time or someone who is attracted despite their usual orientation. Like 90% of het romance novels include some barf-worthy "It's never been like this before!!!!" observation when they finally get together as though love is more special when you can put down every past partner. People just really, really, really like this trope in all its forms.

The fact that you would think this is a sign of a straight or female writer shows that you are amazingly clueless.

--

That said, yeah, I too found the ubiquity of this in 90s fic annoying. Not a huge fan of the internalized homophobia that everyone was kinking on back then either.

I don't think it's specifically about bi men being attractive or not within fandom, though there is a massive real world double standard against bi men on, for example, OK Cupid.

I think it's more about One Exception as a general trope plus a lot of people being profoundly clueless about bisexuality in the 90s even if they were allies and activists for gay causes.

That was the era of Anything That Moves precisely because the queer community wasn't very hip about bi stuff yet. (And arguably, in recent years, we've backslid, but that's another story.)

--

~Fandom moms~. Yeesh. A lot of those big authors were probably in their 20s in the 90s.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

The DUFF 7

Warnings: groping, insecurity, food and body issues, and the usual. Proceed with caution.

Feedback is always welcome. Love you and thanks for the wonderful responses so far.♥♥♥♥

Image credit (I want to give dues where due but don’t want the creator to keep getting tagged in my posts as I have been approached by some before that they don’t want me in their notifs)

“Threw your clothes in the wash,” Curtis announces as you quickly pull the tee shirt down. 

He wears only a pair of sweats, shamelessly showing off his muscled torso and thick arms. You catch yourself admiring the hair across his chest that trails down his stomach and below the elastic of his pants. He’s so effortlessly hot.

“What?” You face him, over conscious of your lack of coverage past your thighs.

“Yeah, figure I can’t send you home in dirty clothes–”

“How long is that going to take?” You blanch.

His cheek twitches and he quickly forces a smile, well, what could be a smile. You regret your questioning almost immediately. You must sound ungrateful.

“Not too long. You got somewhere you need to be?”

“No,” you sway nervously, “I only… hate to put you out. Thank you. Really.”

“I don’t mind. You can hang out here this afternoon. We can turn on a movie or something,” he offers.

The longer you stay, the more your anxiety builds. It’s not that he’s done anything wrong, it’s just your inner homebody. You like to be in your own space, where it’s all familiar. You find it difficult to relax anywhere else.

“Alright,” you agree as the tension nips up your neck.

He doesn’t move as you approach him. Not until you get close enough to touch. He shifts to the side and lets you through the door. You pass him in the tight breadth of the hallway, brushing against him as you do.

He follows and you tug at the hem of the shirt as you feel your ass peeking out. He purrs as you do. You walk faster as you get to the living room and promptly plop yourself down on the couch. He lets out a rocky chuckle as he patiently grabs the TV remote from the coffee table.

“I can’t help myself. You got a cute ass,” he winks as he nears the couch.

You mutter, not quite a thank you as you pull over a cushion to hide behind. He drops down beside you, legs wide as he flips on the television. He flicks through the options and hums.

“Anything in particular? I don’t watch much so…” he lets his voice trail off and turns the remote, holding it out to you, “here, you choose.”

You hesitantly take it from him. You mostly watch the same stuff over and over. Again, you are a creature of familiarity. The spontaneity of the last twelve hours is jarring to your boring self.

You point the remote at the TV and continue to scroll through the menu. There’s a 90s show you used to turn on after school. That can’t do you wrong, right? He might think it’s a bit lame but maybe he needs to realise that you are exactly that.

He slowly leans over and you flinch as you resist looking over. What is he doing? He slides down to rest his head against the cushion flush against the side of your leg. He wiggles as he gets comfortable, pulling up his legs to bend at the end of the couch. The weight of his head has you rigid and uncertain.

“Oh, I like this,” he wiggles just slightly, “you’re cozy.”

He reaches to tickle your knee and you hold back a squeak. It’s almost endearing, yet you’re not used to the constant proximity. The idea of someone who wants to be so close all the time sure seems romantic but it’s truly overwhelming.

“I could stay like this all day,” he says, “couldn’t you, bunny?”

You try not to fidget as the show starts to play. You place the remote on the armrest and lean your chin in your hand.

“Yeah,” you say softly, “yeah, it’s nice.”

He doesn’t comment on the show. You realise it’s not exactly his demographic. A teenage witch with a talking cat. Not really enthralling entertainment.

You wince as he lifts his arm and blindly searches out your free hand. He pulls it down and guides it to his shoulder. He presses it there and squeezes. You can’t believe how awkward you are. Just the act of cuddling makes you feel like a total idiot. And why? He was inside you half the night.

That thought makes you cringe. You really fucked this stranger. Just like that. And now you’re as good as trapped in his apartment. Hmm, you can’t really say trapped, that’s not fair. He’s been kind and you’re turning his generosity into conspiracy.

You drag your fingertips around his shoulder and he sighs, letting his arm fall down in front him. This isn’t so bad. 

You focus on the screen, trying to calm your rampant heartbeat. You don’t know why suddenly you’re so nervous. The tide ebbs and flows. One minute, you feel okay, like this is all normal, the next you can’t help but fixate on how you are less than normal and you definitely don’t belong here. Or with him.

He chuckles and cracks the ice of your desolate thoughts. He drags his hand down your leg, caressing you lazily.

“I’ve never watched this before,” he remarks, “you like this show?”

“Mhmm,” you hum, “yeah, I don’t mind it.”

“Maybe that’s what it is, bunny,” he runs his finger along your thigh, “you cast your spell on me, didn’t you?”

You stare at him. You can’t see much of his face. Is he joking? You don’t know. It’s a sweet thing to say. He is very sweet. It’s all just a bit much for you.

“I guess,” you force out a laugh, “must be it, huh.”

[paperstorm]

911 Lone Star countdown game

hey look at me participating in a thing! thank you for the tags @lonestar-s5countdown, @bonheur-cafe, @corsage, @strandnreyes, @reyesstrand, and @butchreyes

(1) Which character death in 911 Lone Star hit you the hardest?

Others have said the same, but Charles because I wasn’t expecting it. We had all kind of worked out that Gabriel was going to die so his death definitely was the saddest for me because it was so dramatic and the sort of ‘doomed by the narrative’ aspect of Carlos finally getting something that he’s needed from his father for almost 30 years only to have him ripped away the next day etc, but I knew it was coming. I had no idea Tommy was going to come home to find Charles dead, and then the following episode that focuses on her forcing her way forward and then finally breaking down with Owen at the end is just so heartbreaking.

(2) What is your favorite grief-related moment in the show?

The opening scene of 4x18. It’s like 90 seconds long but “I’ll rub your back” and “Tyler, I don’t …” and “I’m not going anywhere” “You better not” and the Titties of Sadness and the way Rafa has this incredible ability to make his big body look so small in moments like this and the way his face crumples and he leans into TK and is brave enough to be vulnerable … I will weep just thinking about it.

(3) Do you think there will be a character death in season 5? If so, any guesses about who it might be?

My only guess (and I’m hoping to be wrong) is Enzo. I have a vague foreboding feeling he’s dying and Jonah is going to be given to Tarlos but I’m trying to manifest that not happening 😂

(4) Which living character's death would destroy you the most?

Either of Tarlos. Don’t even think about it Tim I will put so many bees in your house and your car and your vacation home and your office and everywhere else. I will bee your whole life. No where will be safe. Where did she even get so many bees, you will wonder? And just when you think you’ve found a safe place that I couldn’t possibly have gotten to because it’s a condo in Palm Springs that you just purchased, you will open a hall closet and BAM, bees.

(5) Which character's childhood trauma do you think was most significant in shaping them?

This is so hard because comparing traumas isn’t really something you can do objectively. It all depends on circumstances, on the individual person, on the support systems they have. I think if you look at whose traumas have led them to the largest amount of harmful decisions, it would have to be Owen and TK. But Paul, Marjan, Judd, Carlos, and Mateo also all have canon childhood traumas that affect them in the present and lead to them being self-sabotaging sometimes so like who’s to say whether any of theirs are actually much bigger than we’ve seen. Trauma runs deep in this family. Luckily, so does love 💛