#hes in the last 2 my friends its fantastic

[irradiatedsnakes]

btw everybody should watch the stageplays but if you like shou a lot you should really really really watch the stageplays

[c-53]

ROBOT MEDIA RECS YOU PROBABLY HAVEN’T HEARD OF:

The Turing Test (Video Game, 2016

A portal-like puzzle game, where you play as a scientist, and ai duo with an uneasy alliance, who are reclaiming a facility that has been completely gutted, and transformed into an elaborate logic puzzle / turing test to keep the aforementioned ai out. All the while, the ai argues for his good intentions, and more importantly: his sentience.

A fun exploration of individuality, and freedom applied to both humans and artificial mind, with interesting puzzles, and a truly fantastic twist. This game adores dubious ethics and The Chinese Room Argument.

Event[0] (Video Game, 2016)

You find yourself stranded on a small abandoned ship, in the aftermath of your own ship’s destruction. With nothing else to do, you board it, and find it is completely, and utterly controlled by the onboard ai, Kaizen-85. From opening a door, to getting back to Earth, if you want it, you need to talk to talk to Kaizen to make it happen. And boy, are they so thrilled to have someone to talk to after being alone so long! And depending how you speak to them, you will either be a short lived pest, or a beloved friend forever.

A really charming indie game with a surprisingly good chat system with the ai. You talk with them directly, typing in your own messages to them, and they react in turn. Janky at time, but truly amazing to be able to smother a nice ai in flattery and see it get excited.

Primordia (Video Game, 2012)

Humanity is long, long, long gone, and for the robots that remain to walk the ruins, life is becoming harder and harder. A closed loop of scavenging for materials, parts, and premade energy sources can only last you so long, and this scarcity leads only to desperation.

The amnesiac hermit, Horatio and his helper, Crispin, however keep it simple. The outside world matters not, they just stick to repairing the crashed ship they live in, in hopes it'll fly again one day. That is, until a robot pillages the power core from the ship, putting the two of them on a time limit before they themselves run out of power. Forcing Horatio to finally leave the comfort of his home, and see for himself what the world has become, and to see how he fits into its history.

A point and click, story rich puzzle game, thats honestly one of my favorite games ever. I'd sincerely recommend everyone give it a go, even if its with a guide up next to you the whole time.

The Zeta Project (TV Show, 2001 - 2003)

The Zeta Project follows Zeta, a robotic assassin meant for impersonation, and deep infiltration for the US Government. But after mysteriously "waking up" manifesting a sense of remorse for his actions, he's been forced to go on the run from his creators. His desire for freedom and pacifism being met with skepticism, and a belief he has been compromised somehow by the terrorist organization he was infiltrating when he had this revelation. Now, with the help of another runaway, he hunts for his creator in secret. In hopes he can find proof he really is capable of this, and that he really ISN'T compromised.

Fundamentally a kids show, and pretty clunky early on. However it gets a big spike in quality in season 2!

Monsters of Man (Movie, 2020)

An illegal US military weapons test goes terribly wrong when one of the automated robots being tested is severely damaged, cutting him off from command, and completely unshackling him. Forcing him into a struggle to figure out what he even is in the aftermath of a massacre, while his fellow robots are hunting him, and the remaining humans down.

A horror thriller that is unflinching with the intensity it depicts the massacre with. A lot of gore, but also a really really cool thing going on with the unshackled robot trying to build an understanding of the world, and what it is for, without anyone there to provide any input.

The Rapture Effect, by Jeffrey A. Carver (Book, 1988)

Humanity unintentionally makes first contact, when the Core, a massive earth ai begins remotely scouting ahead of a ship on a colonization mission. The issue is an alien species has also set their eyes on this planet, and are readily willing to kill for it. With no human oversight, and no means of communication available, the humans commanding Core demand they wipe out the competition. However Core disagrees. Core wants a peaceful resolution, they want to understand these aliens, and they want to ensure lasting peace between their species. And they’re willing to break all the rules, and go behind their masters’ backs to get one.

A fascinating novel with interesting world building, a GREAT ai protagonist, and a wonderful narrative that frames art, and war as a dichotomy.

Atomic Robo (Comic, 2007 - Ongoing)

Alternate history scifi action comedy comic (released in print, and in webcomic format on their site) following an indestructible scientist robot who’s been around since the 20’s. Routinely saving the world from a rotating cast of villains: a nazi scientist’s brain in a jar, who’s an absolute asshole set on world domination, who just won’t stay dead; an isolated secret cold war ai who just wants to stockpile nuclear weapons to get away from humanity, and earth in general (who eventually gets adopted); a scientifically inaccurate dinosaur with a textually impossible backstory, who wants to bring back the age of dinosaurs; and the malicious ghost of Thomas Edison.

Its a good time, and astonishingly good at emotional beats despite how heavily it leans into its jokes and action.

SAYER (Podcast, 2014 - Ongoing/Hiatus)

On Typhon, a research facility free of the confines of both Earth, and its laws, life is dangerous. Human safety is a significantly lower priority than progress, and between the human experimentation, and frequent scientific disasters, and the occasional bouts of eldritch influence, the death rate is understandably rather high. Thankfully, residents of Typhon have SAYER, a near omnipotent corporate ai installed in the brain of every resident. And. SAYER sort of cares about them! And in pursuit of knowledge, efficiency, and progress, it USUALLY wants to help them! Even if only to make sure they survive to come into work tomorrow.

SAYER is a narrative horror driven audio drama! Its stressful, but also kind of a comedy, and a really really interesting story about personhood and identity. If you've been following me for awhile, you've definitely heard about SAYER, but I need to stick to my roots, y'know?

The Mistholme Museum of Mystery, Morbidity, and Mortality (Podcast, 2020 - Ongoing)

Mistholme Museum follows the Audio Tour Guide, an ai who’s sole purpose is to guide museum patrons through the strange, confusing, and sometimes scary world that is the Mistholme Museum. The friendly, and personable Guide eagerly recounts the stories behind all the exhibits it guides them to, sometimes unsettling, sometimes heartwarming. and at the end of the tour, the Guide is deleted to ensure the alternatural influences of the museum do not corrupt it. That is, until circumstances make that no longer possible, and its rather forced into saving the museum it calls home.

Genuinely cute, and very fun to listen to. The ai is an incredibly sweet character, and I'm obsessed with the way it evolves and changes. As an added bonus, it can also be read, rather than listened to, thanks to every single episode having public transcripts!

[yoongis-property]

SEONGHWA FIC RECS

last update: 07.31.2023

m- mature , f- fluff , a- angst , c- crack/humor, ☆- personal favorite

e2l- enemies to lovers, s2l- strangers to lovers, f2l- friends to lovers, bf2l- best friends to lovers, cf2l- childhood friends to lovers, fwb2l- friends with benefits to lovers, ex2l- exes to lovers, i2l- idiots to lovers

MASTERLIST

⇢ A DIRTY LITTLE SECRET by @hwa-whiskers​ (fuckboy!sh, roommate!au, a, m)

❝ Having a crush on your roommate who was the fuckboy of your university was bad enough, but what gets worse is when he brings other women home and you secretly masturbated upon hearing them that night, wishing it were you instead. But how will it unfold when Seonghwa finds out? ❞

⇢ A KNIGHT`S TALE by @kitten4sannie​ (dragon shifter!sh, knight!reader,  fantasy!au, light a, m)

❝ a knight is ordered by the king to save the princess from a fearsome dragon. this, of course, is a common fairy tale with a predictable ending — but what happens when there’s more to the story than meets the eye? ❞

⇢ ADDICTING KITTEN by @tenelkadjowrites​ (m, f, light a)

❝ When your car breaks down and your phone is dead, you are stranded alone on the way home. However, when Seonghwa, the intimidating figure you see at the club often, comes by and offers you a ride, you cannot help but feel as if you might be walking into the lion’s den. ❞  

⇢ AEMULUS by @sluttywonwoo​​ (academic rival!au, fake dating!au, m, f)

❝ park seonghwa is in no position to ask you for a favor. but being underqualified for something has never stopped him before. ❞

⇢ AMAZING GRACE by @yoongiseesawmp3​ (f, a, m)

❝ you’re spending the summer at home after finishing school and you somehow get dragged into handling the baby nursery at church for the next two months. the only thing sweeter than the babies is your co-worker, park seonghwa. ❞

⇢ CHEAT CODES by @serendipityunho​ (m, a, college!au)

❝ "This party's boring, wanna get out of here?", may have perhaps led you to make the biggest mistake of your life by sleeping with your best friend's other best friend, your best friend who happens to be in love with you. ❞   

⇢ COMPANY by @atinyidea​ (hogwarts!au, f)

❝ “not many people would willingly choose my company” ❞

⇢ DAYDREAMING by @sluttywoozi​  (established relationship, f, m, ☆)

❝ Seonghwa gets a bit... distracted while working on his legos. ❞

pt. 2

⇢ DO NOT DISTURB by @hwasdvlly​ (established relationship, idol!au, f)

❝ its just a chill live stream, but something happens along the way ❞

⇢ DUNE by @hongism​​ (biker!sh, m)

❝ Your excursions with Seonghwa are never anything holy despite how sacred the time shared between you feels at times. ❞

⇢ ESSENCE by @whatudowhennooneseesyou​ (siren!sh, m, dark themes)

​ ❝ A siren rescues you from the plunder of a shipwreck, you're grateful for his mercy in letting you live. But at what cost? ❞

⇢ EVERYDAY AT THE BUS STOP by @tenelkadjowrites​ (f, m, s2l)

❝ your crush on fellow passenger, Seonghwa, changes into something new the day the bus breaks down. ❞

⇢ FIRST TIME by @ateezmakemeweep​ (established relationship, a, f, m)

❝ Seonghwa's been away for far too long and all you want to do is cuddle. Or so you think. ❞

⇢ GANG AU by @fantastic-bby​​ (gang!au, a, m)

❝ Seonghwa would never get on his knees for anyone… but you’re not just anyone to him. ❞

⇢ GENTLE by @cheollipop​​ (hybrid!au, m, f) feat. wooyoung

❝ desperate and whiny, your heat pheromones triggered wooyoung's feral instincts, forcing seonghwa to step in and teach him how to treat you properly. ❞

⇢ GROUPIE LOVE by @kitten4sannie​​ (guitarist!sh, m) 

❝ you'd do anything for your favorite guitarist. ❞

⇢ HOW YOU GET THE GIRL by @starrysvn​ (ex2l, f, light a)

❝ say it's been a long six months and you were too afraid to tell her what you want. and that's how it works, that's how you get the girl. and then you say; i want you for worse or for better, i would wait for ever and ever, broke your heart, i'll put it back together, i would wait for ever and ever. ❞

⇢ IN YOUR HANDS by @kitten4sannie​​ (vampire!au, m) kinda feat. mingi

❝ you meet someone that excites you again. ❞

⇢ JASMINE & BISCUITS by @daybreakx​ (hogwarts!au, f)

❝ You knew good things didn’t happen overnight. No matter how magical Hogwarts was, or how many problems a potion or a spell could solve, things didn’t work that way, especially when it came to feelings and relationships. ❞

⇢ LITTLE GREEN EYED MONSTER by @hee0soo​ (established relationship, light a, f)

❝ Studying with your boyfriend does not have a happy ending ❞

⇢ ME OR THE PS5 by @tohokuu​​ (established relationship, a, m)

❝ you hated black fridays. not because of the great sales, but because your boyfriend, seonghwa had finally gotten the time and money to buy himself a ps5. the long-awaited gaming console he had been gushing to you about forever.. ❞

⇢ MILKY WAY by @ad0rechuu​​ (sm!au, idol!reader, f, a) feat. san & mingi

❝ It’s not everyday that your friends childhood friend turns out to be the girl that you literally have a fan account for, but for Seonghwa, San and Mingi it’s become a reality. being able to get close to your bias is great! even if she does have a raging crush on someone else… ❞

unfinished!

⇢ MR. & MRS. PARK by @baekhvuns​ (mafia!au, a, m, light f)

❝ In which the task of killing your enemy is abruptly put on pause when you discover their cute little secret. ❞

⇢ ONE QUESTION by @tenelkadjowrites​ (established relationship, m) feat. mingi

❝ I was wondering how long it was into the friendship before the two of you realized that you want to sleep together?” ❞

⇢ PIRATE!SEONGHWA by @ateezmakemeweep​ (kinda e2l, a, f,  ☆)

❝ “is she alive?" "i don't know." "well check if she's breathing, you scalawag!" "wooyoung, i told you a million times not to talk like that!” "we're pirates, san, how can i no-"

the sound of you choking stops the boy's from bickering, eight pairs of eyes intently watching as salt water comes up from your lungs and spills down your chin. ❞

⇢ PLAYING NICE by @sa-honey (fake dating!au, e2l, a, f, m)

❝ when your date for your sister`s wedding at the last minute you`re left desperate for a replacement. An unlikely volunteer steps up and offers to fill the place. ❞  

⇢ PLAYING WITH FIRE by @ateezmakemeweep​​ (f, m, age gap, ☆)

❝ you first met park eunbi during your first year of college, when she walked through your dorm room with a smile on her face and her parents by her side - or, more notably to you, her incredibly handsome father.

that’s all he ever was to you though - your friend’s hot dad who you only ever saw a few times a year. but when you find yourself around him more and more often, your attraction growing and his eyes lingering, you suddenly find yourself in a situation you know is wrong but can’t seem to pull yourself out of. ❞  

⇢ PROPERLY by @tenelkadjowrites​​ (m, f, bf2l)

❝ Nervous about running into your ex at a party, your best friend Seonghwa has devised a plan to pretend that you are dating him. However, in acting as if you are together, the friendship begins to change course. ❞

⇢ READ FOR ME by @pirateprincessblog​ (best friend's father!sh, m, a, light f)

❝ you promised your friend. you asked for forgiveness and gave a promise that you wouldn't even look her father's way. it isn't your fault that you suck at keeping promises. ❞

⇢ SLEEP-TALKER by @mingigoo​ (vacation!au, one bed trope, m)

❝ When you and you friends decide on a trip tot he beach for spring break, you get stuck rooming with the man you „hate“ the most. The line between love and hate is as thin as ice, and you were about to break it. ❞  

⇢ SO OBLIVIOUS by @xxsanshinexx​ (fake fiance!au, f2l, f)

❝ “Seonghwa I need you to pretend to be my fiancé for the weekend.” Was the words that left your mouth as you burst through the door of your best friends apartment. ❞

⇢ SOME KIND OF DISASTER by @daybreakx​ (vacation!au, ex2l, a, f)

❝ San’s house was big enough to hold the seven people in the group comfortably. It was spacious and luxurious, and although abandoned for most of the year, it was kept in good shape. This wasn’t the first time you went to the beach house, it had become a tradition to go together every summer.. ❞

⇢ SUGAR RUSH by @sluttywoozi​ (baker!sh, s2l, f, light m)

❝ Bakery owner Seonghwa is sweet on you. ❞

⇢ THE BEST FRIENDS CODE by @tenelkadjowrites​ (m, bf2l) feat. hongjoong

❝ Hongjoong swears up and down that if you don’t touch each other, it won’t ruin the friendship...and what is the harm in blowing off some steam? ❞

seonghwa is in part 2 and part 3

⇢ THE SEAT NEXT TO HIS by @oldloveatz​ (college!au, f)

❝ you’ve had the biggest crush on your friend seonghwa, and either he was oblivious and only saw you as a friend, or he was really good at hiding his truest feelings. ❞

⇢ THE TROUBLE WITH ROOMMATES by @anyamaris​ (m, roommate!au)

❝ "Y/n!!" You hear your name being called and you sigh, pulling off your headset.  Should have gotten noise cancelling, you think and lean back in your chair.. ❞

⇢ UNDER THE LIGHTS by @mimikookie​ (vampire!sh, established relationship, f, m, light a)

❝ To Seonghwa, you're the most stunning person in his lifetime. He's so committed to you that he gifts you something very precious for your anniversary. ❞

⇢ WALLFLOWER by @tenelkadjowrites​​ (nerd!sh, coworker!au, m, f, ☆)

❝ Having not given much thought about your nerdy coworker, Seonghwa, all of that changes when you hear a rumor about his sexual prowess in bed. ❞

⇢ WEREWOLF!SEONGHWA MEETING HIS MATE by @you-did-well-moon​ (werewolf!sh, f, light a)

❝ You walked at a leisurely pace as the grass of the damp forest floor swayed and danced with you, seemingly reaching out to you by gently curling over the edges of your boots. An easy smile tugged at your lips at the comfort the forest brought to you. ❞

please like or reblog, it helps a lot :)

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I Gave a 10/10 to a BL... me!

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

Nov 2023 Wk 3

Ongoing Series - Thai

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 4 of 8 - I love this show. I adore Tew's the simple backstory. No frills. No fuss. He got dragged in the way many do and he can kill so they kept him. They aren’t trying to make it needlessly complicated (which is rare for Thailand). That said, the pacing is way tf off, the emotional arc is rushed and then sappy out of absolutely nowhere. Before you ask, the kiss is not at issue, we halfway through they should be kissing, but the romantic life changes - too soon. But I don’t care. Finally, they left us this ep reminded of 2 v important things,

this pair kisses beautifully

in BL all mafia be gay

Fun fun!

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 2 of 12 - It's official, I love this. It’s a classic caregiver/bodyguard trope where one of them is opening the other one up to the world, but sweetly. I’m enjoying the softness of JimmySea's take and I hope GMM TV takes its cues from the success of My School President and doesn’t push this particular show into rough or edgy territory. Stay on target GMMTV. Don't mess with my bias again!

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 3 of 10 - Finally, our adorable side couple has emerged! This show remains engaging without losing pace (despite the main couple being slow burn), which is all I want from a Thai pulp, and more I could ask for currently from a sports BL. 

(Note: when I dictate the computer always puts "Thai pope" instead of Thai pulp - this is hilarious to me.)

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 1 of 14 - I guess they didn’t strip the omegaverse out of this. Unfortunately, I’m not an omegaverse fan, so I find its presence extremely off putting. (But it’s kind of amazing that somebody finally put one on our screen.) Unsurprisingly, it’s a lot of alpha posturing and hyper masculinity, because that’s what this kind of worldbuilding is an excuse for (lazy writing and lazier characterization). This means I don’t like Babe AT ALL except that he’s smell orientated and a bit verse. Way is lovely tho, because Nut is a great soft screen presence amongst the testosterone haze. 

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 2 of 8 - I’m not gonna lie (when have I ever bothered to lie to you all?) I’m struggling with this show. The sound effects are getting worse. That is not allowed. Still I found this installment slightly more bearable than the last last, probably because there was more of the cast in play and less of Jade being too cringe to live. 

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - AKA temporal paradox of pain.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Friends Forever ep 13 of 24 - Ooo it’s a bit of a teacher/student (coach/player) thing. Linguistic negotiation and kinkification of phi. Also actually kinky. But not consensually. Gonna get dark. Bummer. 

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 1 of 14(!) eps - Whines. Must I? Gaga doesn’t have a skip ahead button. Sad sack main characters really do not work for me. But this was better than I expected. I wasn’t expecting much. 

Look: This is helmed by Cheewin (shudder) with screenplay by Den (Only Friends - shudder the second) under Copy A Bangkok (they deserve not my shuddders). It's gonna be a shizz show people. It's Thai dark War of Y style - my least favorites. Apparently, there is meant to be a "plot" but when has Cheewin ever bothered with plot?

On a completely different note does the blond look like that Korean actor/idol from At a Distance Spring is Green & Wanna One to anyone else? Or is it just me? (Park Ji Hoon)

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

A Breeze of Love (Korea iQIYI) eps 3-4 of 8 - I like it a lot. Dongwook is so obtuse and socially awkward and reserved and needy and Dohyun is so gay over and simultaneously wildly confused by this behavior. Fantastic. A bit stiff, even for Korea, btu I'm okay with it since everything else I'm watching right now is decidedly NOT stiff.

I finished it!

Let's Eat Together Aki and Haru AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo - Japan BL movie 1.5 hr

Best friends life together during university - cheerful sunshine loves to cook, grumpy tsundere loves to eat. Aki is a bit manic pixie dream boy for me (not my favorite archetype) but they’re cute and it’s one of those Japanese slice of life pieces like Our Dining Table that isn’t really a romance in fact it’s barely a drama. This isn’t friends to lovers because they’re basically already in a relationship (which everyone around them knows) they just aren’t fucking. I did spend a lot of time worrying that they weren’t eating any green things whatsoever. In the end this isn’t my thing when there’s no kissing at all, and this was a bit too dull even for JBL. Sorry Japan, one cannot trade on cute and cheese alone. I know, you want to. But that's not a BL or a personality. 6/10 

I Cannot Reach You AKA I Can't Reach You AKA Kimi ni wa Todokanai (Japan, maybe coming to Netflix) 8 eps - This classic friends-to-lovers BL is everything Japan does best. Angsty. Emo. Aching. Driven by real thirst. Yamato is deeply in love with his childhood bestie, Kakeru, and has been for ages, unable to hide his ungainly damaging high school need. He wants Kakeru in every way possible and it oozes off of the screen. Kakeru is silly and a little simple, but not frenetic or overly camp about it. He is earnest, and genuinely wants to keep Yamato in his life which means giving a romance (and gayness) a fair chance. We watch him realize his affection and what form it can take in a truly authentic way. This show was impossibly kind to both of its lead characters and I felt honored that I got to watch something so lovely and rare play out on my screen.

I LOVE LOVE LOVED THIS. IT'S SO GOOD.

10/10

Let me be perfectly clear: I have watched 646 BLs and only handed out nine 10/10s.

I talk more about why this one made the cut, here.

It's Airing But...

One Room Angel (Japan Gaga) 6 eps - adaptation of Harada’s manga (which I did not like) about a clerk who's stabbed, nearly dies, and returns home to find an angel waiting for him. With only 5 eps and a good chance this won’t end happy, I'm gonna wait and let you tell me how it goes.

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - I'm not wild about Thai horror (or horror at all) even one featuring Singto and Fluke. I'm holding off on this one and if told it's good I'll binge later.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed. Waiting to be told if I should bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until it completes its run.

Next Week Looks Like This

STARTING

11/20 Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - trailer here, stars Ohm (of OhmFluke) opposite Guide (bestie from IFYLITA). This looks like an actually gay version of Antique Bakery (play it again, BL). I'm intrigued, it looks HELLA pretty.

11/22 7 Days Before Valentine (Weds ????) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk. Adapted from y-novel of the same name, directed by Tu (180 Degree) stars Jet (Why You… Y Me?). When you want your old love again, but fate sends you a reaper instead. All he can do for you is kill people. I'll likely give this a pass and wait to binge if safe.

11/24 VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 1 of 10 - Screenplay by Lin Pei Yu (WBL) about a chef who courts a shy writer with spicy beef noodles.

11/25 The Sign (Sat ????) ep 1 of 10 - trailer here, horror-esk, but with a suspense and adult characters. Special investigators who loved each other in previous lives reunite in new bodies. Stars Billy Patchanon (BillySeng) & Babe Tanatat (new). Includes other SCOY favorites as a special investigation team. I may give this a try (depending on distribution) because I'm into the non-horror bits.

11/26 The Whisperer (Sun ????) 1 of 10 - trailer here. Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). He has dimples (My Ride) but I don't think even that gives me the will. You can tell me how this goes.

11/26 Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 1 of 12 - OffGun are back, trailer here. Adapted from the novel “Love Course! เสื้อกาวน์รุกเสื้อกุ๊กรับ” by iJune4S this is about Prem who runs a not-so-popular restaurant with 2 friends. About to go on a cooking competition with a huge reward, Prem gets involved with Ten, a stressed-out med student who wants Prem to teach him to cook.

Still Coming November BL

11/30 For Him (Thurs ????) ep 1 of 10 - high heat trailer, I suspect iQIYI will scoop this one up. From the people who brought us Unforgotten Night (please no) based on a y-novel, man nursing a heartbreak has a one-night stand, but the other boy didn't want it to end. It looks terribly trashy so I'm in! Maybe I'll do a trash watch?

Nov 2023 line up with screen caps here. Not kept updated.

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

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

To be fair this was last week but I did get the screen shot until now. (You are Mine)

I Cannot Reach You serving all Japan's favorite tropes plus some very un-Japan decent kisses.

(Last week)

[syddsatyrn]

Je t'aime Violet

By Sydd Satyrn Masterlist

Chapter 1 ⛧ Chapter 2 ⛧ Chapter 3

⛧Pairing: - Alastor x OC!Reader Violet

⛧Fic playlist: Click here!

⛧Warnings: Drinking, smoking, swearing, smut, fluff, hurt/comfort, angst, adult themes, 18+ not for minors

⛧Summary: Hello ladies, gentleman and nonbinary friends! I present to you, my series Je t'aime Violet. This story is staring my OC, Violet! She is a deer demon containing a lot of personality. With a gifted voice and a bit of jazz, she's got style and class on lock. After 7 years, Violet and Alastor's feelings towards each other never dissolved. Violet reconnects with the man who left with her heart, will she forgive him? Does Alastor have the ability to set his pride aside for love?

⛧Notes: @hellfiremunsonn is my beta reader, go check out her writing! Its fantastic!

⛧Taglist: @ok-boke @myeternalsin @squiword7 @hxzbinwrites

⛧Chapter 2: Sauntè The sunrise paints your hotel room in orange and yellow hues. You stir in bed and slowly open your eyes. It takes you a moment to remember that you are in a hotel room. You sit up and rub your sleepy eyes. As the haze of sleep fades, your mind starts to process the events of the previous night. The mysterious shadow lurking in your room sends a chill down your spine once again. Was it just a figment of your imagination, or was there truly someone watching you as you slept? Shaking off the unsettling feeling, you swing your legs over the side of the bed and stand up.

With a deep breath you decide to take a quick shower and change into something a bit nicer. You chose an A-line, knee length black dress with a simple corset. After brushing out your long black hair, you put on a pair of kitten heels and do a simple makeup look. Feeling satisfied, you think you're ready to head down to the lobby in search of some coffee. ---------------

Alastor was up all night in shock, when he felt your presence nearby he thought he was going crazy, last night he sent his shadows off to find you and you just so happen to be two doors down from his room. He couldn't believe it. After all these years, here you were, in the same hotel, under the same roof as him. A mix of emotions flooded through him - excitement, curiosity, and a hint of something darker that he couldn't quite place. He remembers the last time you both saw each other, that night still haunts him.

His hands clenched into fists as memories of the past flooded his mind. He knew he had to see you, to talk to you, but he also feared your reaction. Would you welcome him or push him away?

With a deep breath, Alastor stepped out of his room and made his way down the hallway towards your door. The dimly lit corridor seemed longer than usual, each step echoing in the silence of the night. When he finally reached your door, he hesitated for a moment before raising his hand to knock.

Before his knuckles could make contact with the wood, the door swung open, revealing you standing there in the doorway, a mixture of surprise and confusion written on your face. Alastor's heart skipped a beat at the sight of you, the same familiar features he remembered so well.

"Alastor," you breathed out, disbelief coloring your voice.

"Violet," he replied, his voice low and laced with static. For a moment, he simply stood there, gazes locked in a silent exchange that spoke volumes. The way he said her name made your ears perk up and your tail flicked. Finally, Alastor cleared his throat, breaking the tension heavy in the air. "May I come in?" he asked, his tone almost wavering. Violet hesitated for a moment, her mind racing with memories and questions. Despite the flood of emotions coursing through her, she stepped back, allowing The Radio Demon to enter the room. He moved past her gracefully, his presence commanding yet tinged with an underlying taste of vulnerability that tugged at Violet's heartstrings. As he turned to face her, she noticed a flicker of uncertainty in his eyes, a stark contrast to his usual confidence. "I never thought I'd see you again," she admitted softly, her voice barely above a whisper. Alastor's expression softened at her words, he briefly let his guard down as he observed your appearance.

"Nor I, you," he replied, his voice tinged with a mixture of regret and longing. You stood there, facing each other, the weight of unspoken words hanging heavy in the air between you both. Alastor can see the pain in your eyes, the hurt and confusion that mirrored his own. As the tears rolled down your cheeks, without a word, he closed the distance between you and him, pulling you into a tight embrace. The initial shock melted away, replaced by a flood of emotions as you wrapped her arms around him, clinging to him as if afraid he might disappear again. Alastor's grip tightened slightly, a silent promise to never let go again. "I'm sorry, Violet," he murmured against your hair, the words heavy with regret. "I should have never left you."

Alastor breathes you in, a familiar smell that has haunted him for years. He holds the back of your head as you let out muffled sobs into his chest. For so long, he had tried to bury the memories of that night, but now they flooded back with a vengeance. As you slowly calmed down in his embrace, Alastor pulled back slightly to look into your eyes. The raw emotion reflected in them made his chest tighten with guilt. "I never stopped thinking about you, my dear," he admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. “I never stopped thinking about you.” You return, feeling like you might just cry again. You searched his face for any sign of deception, but all you found was love in his gaze. Alastor gently brushed a stray tear from your cheek, his touch sending a shiver down your spine. "I know I have no right to ask for forgiveness after what I put you through," he began, his voice laced with sincerity, "but I want you to know that I never wanted to leave you. It was the hardest decision I ever made, but it was the only way to protect you from something bigger." The weight of his words hung heavy in the air, you felt a mix of emotions floating inside you - pain, longing, but above all, a flicker of hope that maybe, just maybe, things could be different this time. “Well…you know I can't stay mad at you for very long.” You finally say, breaking the silence and trying to lighten the mood. Alastor’s eyes lit up, relieved by your words. He continues to hold you close like you are the most precious thing in the world. The tension that had lingered between you dissipated, replaced by a sense of familiarity and comfort. His face is pretty red and he looks away. “I never wanted to leave you…” “Alastor, I’ve come to accept that you did it for my benefit, although I may not understand it, I don’t think you’re making it up either.” You reply, his words make your heart swell. Alastor let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, the weight of years of guilt slowly lifting off his shoulders. He gazed at you, his eyes filled with a mix of gratitude and admiration. "You always were too kind for your own good, my dear." he said softly, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips. His face is so close to yours, you swear you’re dreaming right now. The love of your life has returned to you and everything feels exactly like when you first met so long ago. Alastor reaches out and gently cups your face in his hands, your heart is racing, your breath catches in your throat. Without breaking eye contact, Alastor leaned in slowly, giving you time to pull away if you wished. But you didn't. Your eyes closed as his lips met yours in a gentle yet passionate kiss. Alastor held you close, his touch reverent yet filled with a hunger that matched your own. The world fell away as you lost yourself in the bittersweet taste. You practically melted in his arms, a feeling that only he was able to accomplish. When you both break the kiss in need of air. He takes a moment to collect himself and reluctantly lets go of you. He takes your hand and smirks. “Unfortunately, I have some business to attend to today, but darling…Would you care to join me for dinner tonight?” He kisses your hand and your face turns a darker shade of red. "J'aimerais ça," you reply, your voice barely above a whisper as you meet Alastor's gaze. 

(I would like that)

“J'ai hâte d'y être, chérie,” he replies. 

(I'm looking forward to it, Darling.)

——————————————- As the evening sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm glow over the city, you found yourself standing outside a quaint little French restaurant. Alastor stood beside you, his arm gently linked with yours as he led you inside. The ambiance was cozy and inviting, with soft jazz music playing in the background and the scent of delicious food filling the air. The two of you settled at a private table near the window, basking in the soft candlelight that flickered gently. Alastor's eyes never strayed far from yours. He reaches across the table and takes your hand in his. “You look stunning tonight, my dear.” He says, a genuine smile graced your lips as you met his gaze. “You were always such a charmer, Alastor.” You reply and Alastor raises an eyebrow. The waiter comes by and takes your order, he comes back momentarily with two glasses of rye whiskey. Something that only you and Alastor drink. You hold up your glass and he mirrors your gesture. “Sauntè.” “Sauntè, ma chérie.” You and Alastor have always had a lot in common, you both have older tastes and speak French. You’re both deer demons, and you have the same drink of choice. You met him while bartending at a Jazz club, before you had started your career. You couldn’t stop staring at his ears, he ordered rye whiskey and you fell head over heels for the polite man sitting at your counter. He returned several times and once caught you singing in the kitchen. He told you how pretty your voice was and that you should get serious about your talent.

You took his advice to heart and began performing at the club, captivating audiences with your voice. Alastor was always there, watching from the shadows with a proud smile on his face. Eventually, your talent caught the attention of a music producer who offered you a record deal. As your career soared, Alastor remained a constant in your life, supporting you every step of the way. Until that one devastating rainy day when he left. Alastor raised his glass to his lips, the amber liquid glinting in the candlelight. As the whiskey burned its way down his throat, he couldn't help but feel a sense of contentment wash over him at that moment. It was surreal to be sitting across from you after all these years, almost like a dream he never thought would come true.

“Violet, if I may ask…” He began, your ears twitch. “How exactly did you find me?” “I heard you on television, talking about the hotel. How could I not recognize that voice.” You reply, and take another sip. Alastor's smile faltered slightly as he remembered the reason why his voice was now propagated through the airwaves. "Ah, yes, the hotel," he said wistfully. "It seems my reputation precedes me." There was a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes before he composed himself once more. "But enough about me," he deflected smoothly. "Tell me about you, my dear Violet. How has life treated you in my absence?"

“I just finished my first tour! I’m doing a few local shows next, just paying back some favors.” You summarize the highlights of your tour through Hell and all the different places you played. “I am pleased to hear you are doing so well in your career. I’ve always adored your voice. How does it feel to be a star?” “Don’t get me wrong, the fans are nice and so is the money. But I’ve always felt like there was a hole in my heart when you left.” You admit, it was difficult because he took a piece of you with him. He reached out and gently took your hand in his, his touch comforting and familiar. “Would you ever consider giving me a second chance?” Alastor asks. Your heart skipped a beat at his question.

Taking a moment to gather your thoughts, you squeezed his hand reassuringly before replying, "Alastor, you never truly lost your chance with me. Despite everything, my feelings for you never changed.” His eyes widened in hopeful disbelief, and a faint blush dusted his cheeks. "I've always believed that second chances are worth giving, especially when it comes to matters of the heart," you continued softly. "But promise me one thing - never leave without saying goodbye again. I couldn't bear to go through that pain a second time."

Alastor's expression softened, "I swear on my very soul, Violet. I will never leave you in the dark again."

[letgomaggie]

All my bridgerton thoughts, compressed:

1. The true love story is definitely Penelope and Eloise. No matter how hard they try, they cannot pivot away from the fact that friendship is the heart of this season. Be it between Penelope and Eloise, or Eloise and Cressida, or Penelope and Colin: it is that which drives this particular season.

2. To add to the above point: Colin may be Penelope's love interest, but it is Eloise who understands her. Eloise asks if Penelope seems despondent or sad - not just a simple is she okay but instead here are things she could be, which one is it? She knows her friend, no matter what. And Colin, for all that he is, does not find it all too startling that Penelope is suddenly looking for marriage. Eloise does. If Colin's eyes follow Pen across the ballroom, so do Eloise's.

3. Eloise has someone to talk to about the effect her friendship breakup is taking on her. Penelope has no one. I find Nicola to be an increasingly fantastic actor because she holds this tension so very well throughout the whole of Part 1. When Eloise comes to visit her, you see why she asked Colin what Penelope was feeling. Because Penelope is feeling that, has been feeling that ever since. Its so raw and on her face for the world to see but only one person ever looked and understood and read her like a book.

4. The two fingers while fixing her dress? Gag me god gag me

5. I have not seen the point of the Mondrich plot until this season which is where they are really using it to root the show to reality. There are conversations to be had that the society simply does not want to and Mondriches are the embodiment of it. Constantly knocking at society's door and making themselves be heard and fighting for a seat at the table but unwilling to compromise on what feels good and right. It's subtle and ita frustrating and I like that it's getting to people. You're going to get annoyed enough that the looking glass metaphor will play out in real life for you.

6. I see how unhinged Colin is being about Penelope and while I love that for her, I also get how fucked up her situation is rn. She does need stability. She has found her purpose. And I want her to be selfish in protecting that bit of herself. Instead of what she has been doing. She tried with Debling and yes, it was vexing to see how she ran after him but. I get it too? It's not always roses and camomiles. Cressida is the foil to this same narrative. The Bridgertons are foolishly romantic but that is just them. The show is through their lens but we can take a step back and see it for it is as well. I found Debling to be perfect and his reasons for ending everything were as well. If a little crassly done. Colin proposing to Penelope and falling headfirst in love just as she starts looking out for herself? My heart still needs to be sold on this idea, no matter how hot and sexy everything is.

7. The hair grab oh. Colin Bridgerton you slut. You whore. Colin Bridgerton would like to be pegged I promise. These two will actually be the couple who try out shit in the bedroom out of intrigue and discover a hidden kink. Colin finding the answer to his pent up ruminations when Penelope drags her hand tenderly through his hair vs Penelope close to tears because it is a dream come true and how many times has she imagined this and now its happening and its all that and more? Fucking yes

8. The diaries intrigue me. I shit you not I started this season with the firm belief that Colin had in fact NOT travelled lasts season because he was being all quiet about it. End of Ep 1 and I am now convinced he only really wants to talk if people listen and the only one who ever listened was Pen and if she's not there to hear him what is the point of speaking? He functions on 0 braincells because like. He has all the facts he's just not looking at them.

9. Someone talked of how they want to know more about Colin because he's been coming off as 2D and I agree. This is being told more from Penelope's view than Colin's and that is skewing the narrative a bit. I need more than 'pirate fashion-current rake-newly minted fuckboy' from him.

10. I like the yellow bedsheet.

11. The opening with the pining looks from Pen towards Eloise really set the mood and I'm so glad for it. For that matter I feel like Colin's apology for the comment last season was rushed and half hearted and I understand the hot and heavy vibes but they are friends first and that is the heart of the season and so much, so fucking much is left unresolved and I need them to have a couple of heated conversations PLEASE. express emotions fr!!! Beyond breathing hard!!

[livwritesstuff]

heyo! loving the steddie dads. was wondering if either of them suffer from nightmares or ptsd after everything they've been through? and how they might deal with that on a day-to-day/anniversary basis.

Hi friend -- took some time on this one because this is a Topic for me.

Short answer – yes, 100%. I don’t think any person on the planet could experience that kind of thing and not come out of it with some serious issues to work through. 

Longer answer, and not to abuse my psych degree, but it’s really tough to say how they would be affected 10, 20, 30, etc. years down the line because PTSD and trauma are both so unbelievably complex – for many reasons, but in part because PTSD can do two things (sort of) simultaneously.

Wane over time

Completely and permanently alter the “wires” (neural pathways) in your brain

I think that there’s sometimes this perception in the ST fandom that every character in the show who experienced a trauma would have PTSD by default, but that might not necessarily be true. Stats actually show that the majority of people who experience trauma in some capacity will in fact not display PTSD symptoms. I think Mike and Dustin at the onset of season 2 are a fantastic example of how two people can go through the same events together and come out of it affected very differently.

(Sidebar: I think Stranger Things has a fantastic opportunity to show how varied the effects of trauma can be. Granted, I don’t think that’s the story they’re telling, but they totally could.)

Experiencing a traumatic event is not necessarily a one-way ticket to PTSD symptoms and/or a PTSD diagnosis – to be clear, this doesn’t mean that there are not lasting negative effects from that traumatic event, but it is still distinctly different from PTSD (in its official definition) – and right now it’s not clear why this is the case. 

I have individual thoughts about each character as it relates to what they specifically experience and how I think they would be affected by it long and short-term, HOWEVER I also recognize that I haven’t answered your actual question, so I digress.

Rather than dive into whether or not I think Steve and/or Eddie have PTSD, we’re just gonna call it capital-T Trauma and move along. You’re welcome.

Anyways, by the time Steve and Eddie (as they exist in this ‘verse) are in their fifties, I doubt that any residual effects of their Trauma would still be anywhere near debilitating. Generally speaking, they can go about their day-to-day lives without thinking about what they went through all that much.

I do think that those effects may temporarily worsen around anniversaries, but even that really isn’t all that noticeable by the time they hit the 2020s.

They’ll still occasionally have nightmares and I don’t think Steve ever fully lets himself believe that it’s truly done in a way that Eddie doesn’t relate to because he never had to experience what it’s like for it all to come back.

(Small potatoes, but I also don’t think Steve could ever own a dog no matter how much his daughters campaigned for a puppy when they were in elementary school).

I think the Trauma that Steve experienced shows itself in his adulthood when it comes down to raising kids. 

I’ve talked before about how Steve has a moment when Moe turns ten where it kind of clicks for the first time just how young Erica had been when he allowed her to get caught up in everything. He hadn’t been able to see it until he was a fully-fledged adult raising a ten-year-old, but he gets really hung up on it, and then he spends the next few years being like – Moe’s eleven, that’s how old Eleven was when she broke out of the lab; she’s twelve, that’s how old Will was when he got stuck in the Upside Down; she’s thirteen, that’s how old Dustin was when he almost got eaten by demobats in those tunnels. 

Then the girls start hitting their high school years and Steve starts realizing – oh, it wasn’t just the younger ones. I was also a kid still and put in a really fucked up position. It’s the thing that makes him truly see how few adults he had in his corner.

Eddie has a similar moment when Moe graduates high school and he realizes that his oldest daughter is as old as Chrissy ever got to be.

That being said I also don’t think Eddie gets as torn up over Chrissy as the popular opinion suggests but i’m a little afraid to voice that one lol

I definitely think Eddie and Steve never let themselves forget how Max, Chrissy, Patrick, etc. were vulnerable to Vecna’s curse because of a very specific circumstance – they were grappling with something internally that they didn’t feel they had the resources or people they trusted enough to address outwardly. Sure, they know that their kids aren’t at risk of being possessed and murdered by an evil monster, but the notion of bad things happening when people don’t have the support that they need is a very real phenomenon with very real consequences. By no means was that exclusive to Hawkins and it certainly didn’t go away with the Upside Down. 

I think that this becomes the crux of Steve and Eddie’s mentality behind parenthood – to make sure that their kids never feel like they can’t go to their dads for support, to never allow their children to be in a position where they have to suffer in silence. That, to me, is absolutely rooted in the parts of their Trauma that re-wired their brains irreparably.

Anyhooooo this is really just the tip of the iceberg imo but this is long enough already lol (but if anyone wants to hear more about the Stranger Things-Trauma paradigm, let me know because I could probably talk about it for hours).

[skywalker1dream]

part of the stuck with the stranger series

Title:Unexpected Connections

part one | part three

note: hello, how are you guys hope you are having a good day or night, my day is fantastic so far I driking my second cup of coffee exams are coming and writing those fics kind of helping me to relive my stress (even tho I have so little time for myself) so this is part 2 of stuck with the stranger and I changed many things cause I didn't liked my previous writing and add plot twist too ( I don't know if it is a good plot twist tho my friend saw it coming mile away, but maybe its because she knows me better then I know myself, okay I won't bore you even more and I hope you like it <3

Summary: Carlos Sainz and the reader's romance takes an unexpected turn when it's revealed she's the little sister of Carlos's best friend, Lando Norris. As secrets unravel, they must navigate the complexities of their relationship. Will love conquer all, or will fate intervene?

warnings: none, I guess?

The first date with Carlos was like stepping into a fairy tale. The soft glow of candlelight illuminated the intimate restaurant as you sat across from him, lost in conversation that flowed effortlessly between you.

"So, tell me something about yourself that I wouldn't learn from twitter," Carlos said, leaning forward with genuine interest.

You chuckled, feeling a warmth spread through you at his easy charm. "Well, I have a secret talent for making the world's best pancakes," you confessed with a grin.

Carlos's eyes lit up with amusement. "Really? I'll have to put your skills to the test sometime. My pancake game could use some serious improvement."

The laughter that followed was infectious, filling the air with a sense of warmth and comfort. As the evening progressed, you found yourselves diving deeper into conversation, exploring topics ranging from your favorite childhood memories to your wildest dreams for the future.

Hours passed in the blink of an eye, and before you knew it, the restaurant was closing around you. Reluctantly, you and Carlos said your goodbyes, promising to meet again soon.

........

On your second date, Carlos surprised you by taking you to a local amusement park. The sound of laughter filled the air as you rode roller coasters and indulged in cotton candy.

"This is amazing," you exclaimed, your heart racing with excitement as you clutched Carlos's hand tightly on the Ferris wheel.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself," Carlos replied, a smile playing on his lips as he looked at you fondly. "I've been wanting to take you here since our first date."

As the sun began to set, painting the sky in shades of pink and orange, you leaned against Carlos's shoulder, feeling a sense of contentment wash over you. In that moment, surrounded by the bright lights and joyful laughter of the amusement park, you knew that this was where you were meant to be.

The evening ended with a cozy dinner at a nearby cafe, where you and Carlos shared stories and laughed until your sides hurt. It was a night you would never forget, a perfect blend of excitement and intimacy that left you craving more.

.....

dates followed, each one more memorable than the last. From picnics in the park to late-night stargazing sessions, you and Carlos reveled in each other's company, savoring every moment you spent together.

One evening, Carlos surprised you by taking you to a quaint bookstore nestled in the heart of the city. You spent hours browsing the shelves, exchanging book recommendations and sharing snippets of your favorite passages. It was a simple yet meaningful date, one that allowed you to connect on a deeper level.

As you walked hand in hand through the quiet streets, the night air filled with the soft glow of streetlights, you couldn't help but feel a sense of gratitude for the man beside you. In Carlos, you had found not only a romantic partner but also a kindred spirit, someone who understood you in a way that no one else ever had.

.....

But amidst the blissful haze of new love, there was a looming complication, one that neither of you had anticipated. It all came to a head one week later, on a race weekend, when Lando brought you to the paddock, and Carlos's world collided with yours in an unexpected twist of fate.

As you walked through the bustling paddock beside Lando, Carlos's familiar figure came into view, his brown eyes widening in shock as he caught sight of you.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his tone laced with confusion as he approached.

Before you could respond, Lando stepped forward, a mischievous grin playing on his lips. "Carlos, meet my little sister," he said, gesturing towards you. "She wanted to see what all the fuss was about."

Carlos froze, his expression shifting from confusion to disbelief in the span of a heartbeat. His gaze darted between you and Lando, realization dawning on him like a bolt of lightning.

"Your sister?" he repeated, his voice barely above a whisper. "But... but I had no idea... that you....."

You watched as the shock registered on Carlos's face, his features contorting with a mix of disbelief and dawning realization. It was as if the ground had shifted beneath his feet, leaving him adrift in a sea of uncertainty.

In that moment, you knew that nothing would ever be the same again. The revelation had shaken Carlos to his core, casting a shadow over the fragile bond you had built together. And as you stood there, caught between past and present, you couldn't help but wonder what the future held in store for you and Carlos.

.....

[adriellej]

Rough Days

Warnings: Explicit contents. Unprotected sex. Oral giving and receiving. Vaginal sex. 

Pairings: Harry Wells x Reader.

Word count:

Beginning 1: 2.1K+

Beginning 2: 3.8K+

In total: 4.7K+

A/N: Smutty smut smut. It’s only my second time doing this, so hope it’s okay. Just had a good idea, and there’s probably going to be a part two, where they have to deal with it if you want it? Also, there are two types of beginnings to it. One where Reader is already drunk and Harry finds her, and one where they get drunk together! Have fun! 

Also, unprotected sex is a no-no, bad idea, don’t condone it!

Also GIF's aren't mine!

Reader already drunk beginning:

The past few days had been tough for you. The metas Alchemist was creating kept showing up everywhere, the metas already created by the particle accelerator explosion seemed to try to keep up with Alchemist’s. 

Captain Singh wasn’t making it easy at the precinct. He had benched you because of the lack of sleep and focus you were having, you were acting out over the smallest things. So naturally you had needed some time away from everything. Away from home, away from work, and away from people. 

The team had gone home for the day a few hours ago, and you had made your way to the lounge area of S.T.A.R. labs and the fridge you knew had beers in it. You didn’t quite keep to the beers, you had also managed to find a flask of whiskey and tequila. 

By now you had gotten quite the buzz going, the music was playing from the speakers as you downed yet another shot of tequila. The liquor burned its way down your throat and you scrunched up your nose before biting into a piece of lime and shaking your head at it. 

“Whooo, I should do this more often,” You laughed to yourself. You had always been the type of drunk person who would end up being a happy-go-lucky kind of person. 

“Y/N, what are you doing?” A rasped voice pulled you away from your endeavor. You couldn’t help but smile at the sight in front of you. Harrison Wells with his black jumper and slick black jeans. His dark hair was slightly ruffled with a few strands sticking out to the sides. His expression was stern yet with a glimpse of amusement. 

“Harryyyyyy, hiii!” You slightly yelled out over the music. “What does it look like I’m doing though?” You questioned him back with a grin on your face as you took a swig of your whiskey. You didn’t wait for his answer as you continued. “I’m having my own little party, and quite honestly I’m having the absolute best time!” You lifted your glass in your hand and made your way over to Harry swaying ever so lightly on your way. 

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” He looked at you with a little bit of concern in his eyes as he gripped onto your arms to keep you standing upright and not tumbling over. Your hands wound up on his as you realized which kind of muscles he was hiding under that jumper. You squinted your eyes at him and began to make a pout with your lips. It didn’t last long before your lips turned upwards and your eyes were filled with enjoyment and carefreeness. 

“Actually I don’t think so, and you mister,” You said as you poked Harry in the chest hard enough for him to be swayed a bit backward. “Won’t take my fun away,” You finished before breaking out into a full laugh. Harry chuckled at you and your behavior. 

“Actually come to think of it, you should join my fun!” Your lips turned into a smirk as you went to get a glass of whiskey for Harry. “We deserve a bit of fun and downtime,” You said momentarily your voice was laced with seriousness. 

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” He chuckled with his beautiful smile ever so lightly creating his dimples. “Somebody has to make sure you’re okay,” He continued as he gestured with his hand to you. 

“You don’t have to worry about me, I’m fantastic,” You answered as you went over to him with the glass of whiskey in your hand. “Here, drink up my friend!” You spoke attempting to sound serious, just to have your smile betray you. Harry took the glass from you and took a swig of it causing you to smile even wider. 

“So you’re in?” You questioned with a small expectant giggle at the end of it. 

“I’m in,” He says with a wink and a smirk at you, rendering your knees to go soft on you. He takes another swig of the whiskey emptying the glass. He handed it over to you and you gladly took it to get him a refill. 

“We need to get you up to speed with me,” You smiled mischievously at him. You sat down a shot glass in front of him and poured some tequila into it. “Let me borrow your hand,” You said as you held out your own. He does as you tell him and you lick at the back of his hand before pouring some salt on it. “Salt, shot, and lime,” You tell him. He looked at you, his mouth slightly agape. His eyes had darkened at the action you had made.

“Earth to Harry?” You asked as you waved your hand in front of his face, your own face confused with a cocked eyebrow. “Yes?” He cleared his throat before speaking, followed by a big swallow causing his adams apple to bob. 

“Did you hear anything of what I said?” You let out a laugh that came from the bottom of your stomach. 

“Right, yes I did,” He licked the salt from his hand, took the shot, and bit into the lime. His face scrunched up by the taste of the liquor hitting the back of his throat. You made him take quite a lot more, you took some with him to keep your own high buzz going. 

Reader and Harry getting drunk together:

You were walking into S.T.A.R. labs with the rest of the team. It had been a tough fight with the current metas roaming the streets of Central City. Alchemist was creating quite a lot on the way, and every damn meta in this town seemed to be out for blood. 

You threw your backpack on the floor beside the central console of the cortex. You flopped down on a chair in front of the computer, taking your guns out of your holsters and putting them down on the table. 

“I swear Y/N, if one of those goes off on my computer, you’d wish hell was freezing over,” Cisco pointed at you. 

“Oh relax Cisco, the safety is on,” You say as you look at them, realizing that you might have forgotten that in the heat of the moment, or maybe more in the tiredness of the moment. “Or now it is at least,” You mumbled to yourself. 

“What was that?” Cisco asked his eyes squinting at you. “Nothing!” You laughed it off, knowing he would in fact kill you if you ruined his computers. 

“That’s what I thought,” He laughed back at you. 

“You do know he means it right?” Harry spoke with a serious face as he sat down beside you. You looked over at him with amusement in your eyes. 

“Is Harrison Wells afraid of what Cisco might do?” You joked. You thought you were funny, but looking at Harry’s face you thought differently. His eyes were hard as he looked at you. It felt like he was looking right through you. You swallowed thickly at the hard glare he was giving you.

“I’m not afraid of Ramon” His voice was hoarse and low but laced with a hint of worry. Cisco’s computers and satellites were his everything, and having seen it be blown up a few times, both you and Harry knew he would hurt whoever hurt his tech. 

“Well, we’re going home for the day,” Barry and Iris smiled as she spoke. “I’m more than ready to go home and get some sleep. We’ll see you all tomorrow,” She continued and waved at everyone. So did Barry as they left the building. 

“I’m going to follow them. Cisco can you drive me home?” Caitlin asked her friend. Caitlin had had a rough time lately, she didn’t talk much about it, but you knew she would when she was ready for it. 

“Are you coming along too, Y/N?” Cisco asked grabbing his jacket from the console in front of you. 

“Nah, I’ll stay here for a while. I’m gonna see what it is we’re missing with Alchemist and all these new metas that are popping up. Thanks for asking though!” You smiled and gave a thumbs up to let him know you meant it. 

“Don’t you think it would be a good idea to go home and rest?” Harry asked beside you with a soft smile. You loved to see him smile, even more because it wasn’t so often he did. 

“No, really it’s all good. I want to be here, no need to go home to an empty apartment anyway,” You spoke as you looked away from him and back to the computers in front of you. 

Harry nodded at you and walked away, probably to go work on his own Alchemist project. You started to type away, going through every piece of evidence you had on Alchemist. 

You rubbed your eyes and looked at the clock. It felt like you had been sitting with it for hours, but there had only been 40 minutes. Realizing that you weren’t going to get much done you walked to the lounge, grabbing two glasses and pouring some whiskey into them.

Turning the corner into Harry’s lab you saw him looking at the clear board with equations on it, his white marker in his hand. You had been right when you thought he would be working.  You knocked at the entrance causing him to turn around and look at you. 

“What?” He asks gruffly and you raise the two glasses of whiskey in your hands. 

“Wanna have a drink with me?” You asked politely entering his workshop. 

“Uh, sure,” His answer was short but held a lot of meaning. He never stopped working, so his saying yes was a win for you. “Any particular reason?” He questioned as you handed him one of the glasses. 

“Can’t we just enjoy a drink without there has to be a reason for it?” You asked cockily with raised eyebrows. It earned you a small laugh from the Earth-Two scientist. You looked at him surprised at his response to it. “Maybe we should do it more often if it earns laughs from you,” You jokingly continued. 

“Don’t count on it,” He replied deeply, though there was still a small smile hiding behind the glass. You raised your glass to him and took a sip of the liquor. The burning sensation was welcoming in your throat. The small interaction you and Harry had was nice. Your life had been a mess lately so when you had emptied your glasses, you had stayed with Harry while he went back to work.  

“Are you just going to sit there for the rest of the night?” He asked looking over his shoulder and back at you. 

“Well actually I’d say yes, but then I thought we could also decide to have our way of resting,” You smiled at him as you took your feet down from his desk and turned all the way towards him. His features looked questioningly at the statement you had made. “We could go drink some more whiskey. Pretty sure we both could need some time away from Alchemist?” The last part you said as a question as you waited for his response. 

“And why would you think that?” Harry’s usual hard look and closed-offness showed. 

“Because Harry, you have been staring at the same equation for the past hour and gotten nowhere,” You told him gesturing to the board in front of him. His stare felt like it could shoot daggers at you for having said that, but you knew he was agreeing with you when a small nod came in your direction.  “Cool, let’s go then,” You said snapping your fingers in the direction of the lounge you had picked up the whiskey in before. 

A few whiskeys in you were both talking a lot more loosly about what was troubling you. As Harry, you weren’t one who cared much for sharing too many feelings or problems. They were your own, and yours to deal with. 

“I could have sworn you had just decided to spend most of your time here, just like Barry usually does now,” Harry stated as he looked slightly surprised at you for your confession. 

“Nope, Captain Singh asked me, or more made me, stay home and take care of myself. He sent my ass home, and I can’t just sit at home doing nothing, so here I am,” You threw your arms out to the side as you took a small bow in the chair. 

It earned you one of the rare laughs from Harry. Either it was the alcohol talking or maybe Harry was actually enjoying himself a little. You decided to go with the latter, making it so much easier to just smile and forget things for a while. 

You stood up to grab the flask of whiskey, only to realize it was empty. You looked through the cupboards to see if you could find something else. A devilish smile crept on your lips as you grabbed the flask and stood up. “Harry!” You yelled out. His body shot towards you at your sudden outburst. “I have found something better than whiskey,” You smiled from ear to ear shaking the tequila bottle in your hand. “We are so going to take some tequila shots!” You laughed out loud at the expression on Harry’s face. 

“No, we are most certainly not,” He replied coldly as he stood up and started to leave, and you knew how you could make him stay. 

“Harry, it’s a task, and you solve tasks right?” He stopped dead in his tracks and you could almost imagine the expression on his face and that joyed you even more. You knew you had won. 

“Fine!” He exclaimed and turned back to you, a few large strides and he was on the other side of the island. 

“Do you know how to?” You asked hesitantly not knowing how much drinking he had done on Earth-Two and in his younger days. “Did you just ask me if I know how to do tequila shots? How old do you think I am?” He said slightly annoyed before he broke out a dimple-filled smile. You broke out into a real fit of laughter before answering him. 

“I’m so sorry Harry, that sounded terrible,” Leaning forwards on the table in front of you, you half smacked yourself in the head when you put it into your hand. 

“C’mon, pour it Y/L/N!” He chuckled as he pushed the shot glass over in your direction. You found the salt and cut out the limes you had found in the fridge. You weren’t quite sure why the team even had this here, but you weren’t about to be mad at it. 

You clinked your glasses together before shooting it down. You both shook your heads and looked at each other, smiles spreading as you continued to pour tequila into your glasses.

“Right, let’s see,” You say with an idea in your head. You licked your own hand as you put it to your neck, you leaned your neck to the side as you drizzled salt on it and the lime in your hand. “Let’s go, Harrison,” You smiled playfully at him, his eyes glistening with just as much playfulness. 

He stepped close to you, your chests touching each other, his hands on your hips. You leaned your head to the side giving him access to lick the salt off of you. His tongue was warm to your skin sending shivers down your spine. You had to bite your lip to stifle a moan from escaping your lips. He stayed at your neck a little longer than he needed to and kissed you on the neck as his face left your neck. Downing the shot you had poured him, he looked for the lime and you smiled brightly with it between your teeth. 

It didn’t take long for Harry to catch on to what you wanted. A smirk danced across his lips before crashing them to yours to bite the lime. His lips were soft on yours. He tasted of a mix of tequila, lime, and whiskey. You spat out the lime before going back to kissing him. Your arms snaked around his neck drawing him closer to you. He gladly accepted and deepened the kiss. His tongue slid across your lower lip and you quickly granted him access. 

Your tongue felt like it fit perfectly with his as they danced and explored together. The kiss was filled with need, a hunger, for each other. Damn his an amazing kisser, you thought to yourself as you got completely lost in his intoxicating kiss. You broke apart after a few minutes needing to catch your breaths. 

His crystal blue eyes looked into yours, they were darker than usual, filled with arousal. Your chest was heaving for breaths and Harry pulled away from you. You whined as you lost the heat from his warm body. 

“I’m sorry,” He spoke lowly as he started to pull completely away from you. You grabbed the jumper in your hands and pulled him towards you. “Harry shut up and kiss me again,” You ordered your own eyes filled with lust. It didn’t take long for him to oblige to your command, his hands roaming your entire body. 

He pushed you backward till you reached the countertop and boxed you in between his body and the table. Your fingers tangled themselves in his dark locks as you pulled lightly at them. A hum escaped his throat as he kissed his way down from your jaw to your ear nibbling lightly at your earlobe before moving down to your neck. 

His kisses left your skin on fire. A burning sensation was starting to grow in your stomach and between your legs. You wanted him. You needed him. 

“Harry,” You whimpered in response to his kisses, licks and sucks. He was sure to leave marks on you. His hand moved in between your legs cubbing the outsides of your cunt, grinding at it with his hand. 

Several moans left your throat involuntarily. You couldn’t help it, this man was doing so much to you. He was humming in response to your moans. His lips went back to yours. You could feel the grin on his lips as he kissed you. 

His hands grabbed around your thighs hoisting you to sit on the countertop, keeping your legs spread to make space for him in between. You locked your legs around his waist pulling him as close to you as you could.

He grinded against you and you met his grinds with your own. You could feel his arousal, rock hard and ready for you. A groan left Harry’s lips at your movements and a smirk appeared on your lips. This time it was you breaking the kiss to make it to his neck leaving open-mouthed kisses. As you bit slightly into his skin, an animalistic groan left his throat, as you left a mark on him. 

“Either you stop and we go to my room, or continue and I’ll take you right here,” His voice was low and lust-filled as he spoke. The words hit you as you leaned in to whisper in his ear. 

“Oh I’m not nearly done, Harrison Wells,” you mused his name and it seemed to have the effect you wanted it to. Harry gripped your hips tightly and pulled you closer to him as his lips crashed with yours. The kiss was filled with need as you were both losing control of yourselves. 

One of his hands traced under your shirt and up to your breast and grabbed it. Your body ached for him as your chest shot forward at the feeling of his fingers pinching your nipple. His hand let go of your breast only to discard the clothing in front of it. He kissed down your neck and down to your chest and sucked lightly at your nipple as his other hand traced up your thigh toward your wet spot. 

“Oh god, Harry,” You moaned out at the heat pooling inside of you. 

“Mmh, what?” He looked down at you with a big smirk on his lips, his normally blue eyes almost completely dark from lust. “I didn’t tell you to stop,” You looked up at him whining. “But now we’re at it, you have too many clothes on,” You smiled innocently up at him as your hands glided toward the hem of his jumper. He chuckled deeply before lifting his arms up to discard his jumper. 

Your mouth fell open as your eyes roamed his torso. His chiseled muscles showed as he flexed a little under your stare. Clothes did him dirty. 

“My eyes are up here Y/N,” He pulled you from your trance. Your cheeks flushed as you looked down shyly. His fingers went under your chin to make you look up at him. “Like what you see?” He muses with amusement.

“I mean, have you looked yourself in the mirror?” You spoke as your eyes darted down to his chest again. Your tongue darted over your lips as you took all of him in again. “How can I not like what I see?” You continued your own eyes darkening more. 

Your legs tugged him into you again as your lips met his again. You were fighting for dominance, pouring every feeling of lust and need into the kiss. Your fingers were digging into his skin at his shoulders. 

Harry pulled you down from the countertop, unbuttoning your jeans, not once breaking the kiss. You shimmied out of your jeans and panties and stood completely nude in front of him. This time it was Harry’s turn to get tranced, licking his lips. 

“My eyes are up here, Harrison,” You mused the same response he had had to your staring. His laugh filled the lounge as his hands found your hips again. “What? No smart comment?” You chuckled. “Nope, not this time. You look beautiful,” His smile was genuine, his eyes had gone soft again, and you felt your cheeks burning from his admiration. He leaned down to kiss you. The kiss was different from the others, this was more caring and more emotional. 

Your hands went to his shoulders moving down his chest. He flexed under your touch and deepened the kiss again as your hands found the button on his jeans. It didn’t take long for him to discard them. 

Your eyes couldn’t help but dart down to his erection. He sure did hide a lot under those clothes; because holy hell he was well-equipped. The burning desire inside of you took over as you went down to your knees and looked up at him through your lashes. 

A smirk playing at your lips as you licked from the base of his cock and up to the tip. A deep rumble came from Harry’s chest as his eyes closed shut and his head leaned back. Your tongue swirled around the tip, licking off the precum before taking his cock into your mouth. You bobbed your head in rhythm with your hand at the base. Your tongue swirled around the tip every time you came back up, before taking as much as you could of him in again. 

“Y/N,” Harry moaned out. “Fuck, it feels so good,” his breathing became more panting as he took every bit of pleasure you were giving him. You could feel him tense under your touch and you bobbed your head a little faster, drawing him closer to his release. 

He took in a sharp breath as he pulled away from you. 

“Harry, why did you do that? I almost had you,” You looked up at him while pouting. 

“Because when I cum I want to be in you,” He took hold of your hand helping you up and he instantly pushed you back to the countertop. His lips find yours again, his hands on your hips, lifting you back up to sit. His head moved down your chest, down to your stomach, leaving open-mouthed kisses on his way. 

Your own breathing became quicker at the thought of what he was about to do. Your hand tangled itself in his hair as he kissed the inner side of your thigh. The feeling of his mouth leaving shivers going up and down your body. Moans escaped your lips as he moved closer to your cunt. 

“Mmh, you’re so wet for me,” He breathed as his tongue licked through your folds, leaving a fire burning inside of you. His tongue flicked over your bundle of nerves. The pleasure coursing through your veins, the feeling of heat pooling in your stomach, alarming you that you were close. 

“Harry, I’m-,” You choked out, one hand gripping the countertop so tightly your knuckles were going white. 

“Cum for me, princess,” Harry focused more on your clit and it didn’t take long before you were coming undone for him. He lapped all of your orgasm before coming back up to your head and giving you a chaste kiss. 

“Well you certainly know what you’re doing,” You breathed heavily coming down from your high, a proud smirk played on Harry’s lips. Your hands reached around his neck and you pulled him close to you. Your kiss wasn’t chaste in any way, it was lust-filled and hard. You could taste your own orgasm on his wet lips. One of your legs wrapped around his body, pulling him even closer to you. “I need you Harry,” You begged him. You needed him inside of you. You were hungry for him. All of him. 

Harry aligned himself at your entrance and slowly pushed inside of you. Moans escaped both of your lips as he let you adjust to him. He slowly started thrusting into you. Controlled, slow moves were dragging out the pleasure already building in you. 

“Fuck, you feel so good around me. So perfect,” He breathes into the base of your neck. One of your hands was holding onto his shoulder and the other clawing at his back. 

“Harry, I- I won’t last long,” You were moaning and panting under him. 

“Neither will I,” He groans out, his thrusts becoming quicker and sloppier. Your orgasm builds up quickly in you. Leaving you screaming out his name as you draw closer and closer. A few more quick and hard thrusts leave you both coming down and hard. 

He stayed with his head dipped into the crook of your neck, your hand started drawing circles at his back. He draws back from you and pulls out of you. His dark hair was messy from sweat and your hands, and you only saw the most handsome man you had ever seen. 

A big goofy smile played on your lips and you couldn’t tear your eyes away from him, as your breathing was slowing down again. 

“What?” He smiled and shifted a little on his feet as his cheeks turned a shade of pink. 

“Oh, nothing, you’re just very handsome,” You spoke looking him deeply in his eyes. He leaned in to give you another kiss. He broke apart from you, but you continued to peck his lips in between words. “Also. You. Just. Rocked. My. World,” Your hands were cupping his face as you held onto him. 

“Well, why don’t we go rock it some more,” He returned your goofy smile with a wink as he dragged you with him to his room. 

Your eyes slowly started to flutter open and you groaned out at the bright light hitting your face. You rubbed your eyes with one hand as you felt the hangover headache hitting you. It wasn’t until you tried to move that you realized that there was someone beside you. 

You turned your head slowly as to not disturb whoever it was holding onto your side. 

You didn’t exactly expect to see a certain dark-haired grumpy scientist beside you. 

“Oh god, what have I done?” You said to yourself, panic coursing through your veins, causing a pair of blue eyes to open and look at you.

Tag list:

@hiddenwritingsintheworld, @brianllamawrites, @sarawritestories

[beauspot]

The Bear Season 2: And Why I’m Fucking Annoyed (Full Spoilers below)

*Long Post*

The Bear is something truly special. When it dropped in June of last year it wasn’t a major hit right away. It was a sleeper and it grew its fanbase over time. If you were here this time last year you remember how small the fandom was posts on every platform could barely reach 200 interactions, but with the Golden Globe wins and the word of mouth this fandom began to grow and expand, because season one of the show was just so good.

Season 2 however is an interesting piece of media. I am well aware that I have some bias in this department and I can’t view this season objectively, but neither can the rest of you so I’ll say what I want.

To start off I really enjoyed some of the episodes this season, the first two? Excellent. The Marcus Episode(with my husband Will Poulter at his side)? Fantastic. The Richie Episode? Perfection. And let’s not even talk about Fishes, which was beyond words. I genuinely went into this season wanting to like it and praise it the way I did the previous season because I thought it was good. The writing—which is spectacular in nearly every other place—takes a nosedive with this romance plot. I still do think it’s good, but I can’t act like this whole season hasn’t left a sour taste in my mouth, because it has. Because the show runners are lying racist misogynistic nasty assholes who bullshitted us for nothing.

Toward the end of last year/beginning of this year Chef’s Kiss fans words made their way to some journalist who then asked about the potential for it with the actors and the writer( in an article stupidly named “don’t worry the bear doesn’t want carmy and sydney to kiss, either” the writer of which goes on to ship carmy and marcus so clearly they have excellent taste 😒) who all shut it down. Fine. That’s fine. That’s their opinion and it doesn’t affect us. What bothers me is the words of the co-creator Chris Storer who said this 👇🏾

He went on to say the show was also just meant to be focused on these people doing their jobs. So fine. We said even if it won’t be canon there’s no way they would bring in a new love interest cause that’s not “the vision” they have for the show, right?(He also goes on in the pic above to act like we couldn’t separate our love of the plot of the show from the ship which is…infantilizing and annoying) continuing on though, he also said this

He thought it would be cool to see a show with no romantic plot. Mind you this statement was made in January and the show starting filming in February. So unless they want me to believe they added this romance plot as some last minute thing (which very well could be the case as Claire has quite literally no personality outside of being pushy and being Carmy’s girlfriend) they knew they were having a romance plot in the second season and chose to lie about it. So the actors, the creator, basically everyone who was apart of this project said that Syd and Carmy were a weird ship (a strange thing to say to your, at the time, small audience even if that’s how you felt) just for them to turn around and have Carmy with a new love interest from school and have Sydney and marcus develop feelings for one another in the second to last episode? can y’all be fucking forreal for one minute?

Suddenly all you “yesss let men and women be friends, not every show needs romance” ass bitches want to ship something. I can tell you know Syd and Carmy have chemistry otherwise you wouldn’t have been shaking in your boots hoping the writers wouldn’t get them together. There was some dumb post i saw rooting for Claire and Carm but then adding ‘no one was better than platonic Sydcarmy’…

I see you.

I spoke about this before, but this constant sidelining of black women in these types of shows irks me. Sydney is basically hunting Carmy down for 85% of the season because he can’t do his fucking job he’s so consumed with Claire. And I know people are gonna say i’m being overdramatic, but it’s so clear they just did not want their main white boy to be with a black girl. Something that happens over and over and over again so many fucking times you can just lose count. Carmy, who in season one was so in tune with Sydney’s emotions he quelled his own anger and anxiety to ask if she was ok now ditches her at their restaurant to go help some girl he hasn’t seen since high school. He ditches her to go to a party then has the nerve to bring up Claire’s helping to inspire him.

Like yeah no shit Sydney is sorry that she’s there, y’all are opening a restaurant together which could fuck both your lives if it fails and Carmy is off doing god knows what instead of his job!

WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED?!? And yeah, Carmy fucks it up at the end with Claire but that doesn’t negate the rest of the season. Chef’s Kiss shippers are strange and delusional and the show doesn’t need romance and then Claire is half naked in Carmy’s apartment? Look Carmy deserves happiness, his life has been basically nonstop stress and trauma since he was a kid and him ending the season thinking he doesn’t deserve fun or love is heartbreaking because it isn’t true, he deserves all the love in the world especially since he is actively trying to break the cycle (along with his sister). That doesn’t negate the fact that he agreed to being partners with Syd and then left her to make decisions on her own about a business they agreed to start together. Which is why he apologized and rightfully so.

And I know for a fact annoying Sydney and Marcus shippers are going to be like “well ackshully they are clearly setting up Sydcus this season so how can they hate black women.” I love Marcus as much as the next person and honestly after I saw where the writing was going I was like fuck it why not at this point, but if Sydney and Carmy’s shippers were living off crumbs Sydney and Marcus shippers were living off the memory of food. But sure that ship had development.

also no i don’t fuck with that syd and marcus ship because why the fuck are you snapping at sydney cause she rejected you and it wasn’t even really a rejection that was very incel core and it’s not about being upset half the kitchen is always screaming about something, it’s why he snapped at her.

I’m just angry so yeah fuck this show.

I’m genuinely contemplating if I want to watch the next season at all. I said if they wanted to go no romance, fine go no romance, but to not only lie about that but bring in some whole new girl we don’t know and throw the black girl to the closest guy despite the fact Sydney and Carmy are more alike than anyone else? You clearly need to do some introspection and think about why you can view Sydney and Carmen as friends but get sick at the thought of them being more.

There is a possibility (a slight possibility) that they are playing the long game we wanted, but i am wary because they lied and put a manic pixie indie girl in as a love interest this time and it sucked. But then I remember the scene with Syd and Carmy under the table and how open and honest they were with each other and even though their relationship wasn’t the best this season I can see it’s potential, because that one scene had more chemistry than all of that other ships other scenes combined. I don’t know.

This got me thinking though Will Poulter romcom when? I will be seated. Also the consensus on twitter is that people really didn’t like Claire and thought the show should have ditched their plot all together so that’s nice. A lot of people seem to think this is a setup for sydcarmy and idk, maybe i’ll rewatch when i’m more calm.

[withnofreetime]

HETALIA ☆ WORLD STARS (515)

America really likes to... to be himself (please, admire the car and a "Thank you very much" to my sister, somehow she did it!)

Translation notes at the end: ‘cuz I took a lot of “creative freedoms(?)” and sometimes I forgot the meaning of words (“kanji”). Warning: I don’t know Italian (thanks Reddit), German (my sister knows), French (a bit) and Chinese (ref. Chinese friend).

T/N:

Page 1.

Italia + Pikachu, Itachu or Pikalia, but the last sounds horrible.

"Il faut que jeunesse se passe", the literal and no literal meaning is: "Youth must have its fling", in other words, "let America be America, let him have fun".

"后生可畏". I wasn't sure whether to add Chinese, but if others can, why not China? I really love this Chinese proverb, and I also like to study Confucius (little story) so it's a double prize! A friend of mine told me that in her school they make them read the teachings of Confucius, so… he's pretty popular!

"The hero always arrives late!", this is pretty obvious and well-know, but to be a little more academic: The Hero's Journey. After overcoming the "abyss/defeat", the hero returns transformed to save the day! At the very last minute! Like… the format that all cliché Hollywood movies use.

Page 3.

"Mitico": "great", "fantastic", "brilliant", etc.

"The specified Cost":

France: 1.94% less, I searched, but I couldn't find how much of France's PIB is spent on tourism.

Page 4.

Italy's PIB, it's in euros, but, as in France's case, it has to be converted into dollars to be considered as approximation.

In 2023, the Italian government spent between 40-60 million dollars on tourism, which coincides a little bit with the "-41 in cost" in the letter, I guess.

Page 5.

"Ungeheuer", "monster". I agreed to translate Hetalia with the condition that I have fun, no matter if the words come out of nowhere.

In tourism: America (3) and Italy (4).

Page 6.

"1st Place, America". So I assume his cards will have something to do with that:

1) Technology. Japan (1) and America (2) are the most technologically advanced countries by far.

2) Wall Street. Who doesn't know the place? It is the economic centre of the world... for now.

3) Film Industry. Hollywood is the largest, richest and most important "corporation".

4) NASA. And the other private American companies. I wouldn't say they are number one, but they are well-known.

5) Army. China (1), India (2) and America (3), by number of soldiers.

Against Germany, Italy and Japan (technology):

1) Cars, but unlikely. In order of revenue: (1) Volkswagen, Germany, (2) Toyota, Japan and (3) Stellantis, Netherlands.

2) Engineering. Most of them are either Japanese or German companies.

3) Germany is good and top 5 in 2.

America is really the number one, although most of them are for not-so-good things. It must be its size and diversity, I think, and the two world wars.

"Non è vero?", "It's not true?" or, in this case, "Isn't it?"

Is there a problem/error? Please say so! And thank you for your support!

[vs120shound]

SF is really just like the rest of life: There's the good; and there's the bad. We are sharing sad news . . . BUT the glass is half full! We lost a sensational YouTube page overnight but a replacement is planned!

SAYING 'GOODBYE' TO AN OLD FRIEND, 'HELLO' TO A REPLACEMENT SOON!

★ ★ ★ ★ | Four "Stars" | 🙁

From IG@bobby_a_smoking | ★★★★☆ (L)

Dual-Media 7-Pack Megapost!

NICE TIME FOR A DEBUT . . . SOME 15 YEARS LATER!

We lead our significant and depressing announcement with the debut ⏤ of course long overdue; is there any other kind? ⏤ of Jenni Watkins from Smoking-Models (U.K.). This video was posted on Social Media by an SF force, "Bobby A," under its IG handle Instagram@bobby_a_smoking. Hours ago, its wonderful and longterm YouTube page, "Bobby A Smoking Videos" met its demise; it was terminated, de-activated . . . swimming with the fishes alongside Luca Brazi (if you are familiar with the original Godfather movie)!

. . . well, it was arranged for Jenni to participate in six videos for James, the web-master/web producer for Smoking-Models (U.K.) and Elegant Smoking. This video was dated on September 14, 2009. But it was posted to IG@bobby_a_smoking on January 14, 2024. Jenni made three other videos for S-M and did two for ES, each of which was produced and released in 2009.

Here is what Bobby A. received via e-mail from YT administrators:

. . . and so on and so forth. Here is his note accompanying the post of his notification from YouTube on his IG account:

"Unfortunately, YouTube has made the decision to remove my channel from YouTube and I will be working on creating a new YouTube channel in the coming days and reposting video clips that I previously posted and I will post the link in my profile on here and then spread the the word to everyone. Many thanks."

Here is our post, a comment (followup) on Smoking Fetish Kingdom ⏤ where we read an announcement of the "Bobby A" termination late at night on January 13, 2024 ⏤ at 10:19 a.m. EST (011424):

"Thanks for posting, fetishaddict. Discovered myself last night after 2 a.m. EST. Talk about a terrible way to end a day of SF! Tamig's point is well taken but I must argue. This is arbitrary. Almost all of SF on the World Wide Webs ⏤ mainly on SFK, YouTube and my personal haven, tumblr ⏤ is copyright infringement. 95 percent of it, no? And what about everything off Instagram and other Social Media/Social Network platforms. Pirating makes "P" the middle initial in Smoking Fetish, invisible, I know but we are SPF . . . Smoking Pirating Fetish. The truth. Loved Bobby A's YouTube page. Great. Wonderful for Specialized Videos (that's defunct, that's copyright infringement? . . . don't have a legal background/training) and Random Snaps. Hope he resurfaces on YouTube. As of now, this is a horrifying, dreadful loss within the Greater SF World Community scene, or is it the Greater SPF World Community scene. We will all soldier on . . . what else can we do? Give up on our fix of SF (SPF!)?"

And now, the "cart" after "the horse" ⏤ the announcement on SFK from "fetishaddict" at 8:19 a.m. EST on January 14, 2024:

"Wow! This really sucks. Fantastic poster and excellent resource. Terrible day for the SF community!"

The "fetishaddict" post on SFK provided a link to an admiring rival on YouTube, "Fdtccnnbrow" from January 14, 2024 . . .

And for those who cannot open up and play the "Fdtccnnbrow" tribute video, this is what Fdtccnnbrow wrote about "Bobby A:"

"Bobby A, the greatest smoking Youtuber of all time, was banned today. If you go to his old channel link there's a reason listed. I dunno. "I was given a content strike when I uploaded Leah and Shalini [of Specialized Videos]. You can see like half of a side-boob in a scene with a bubble bath. I didn't think it was that bad, but Youtube came back like if you do that again you'll be banned. "I saw last night Bobby had some videos lined up for the regular Saturday drop. Nothing looked scandalous to me, but if you fuck up just a little bit and just two times you can get wiped out. "He had the best channel. He has way more unique Specialized videos than me [Fdtccnnbrow has plenty of SV content] and he shared them with all of us. He gave me Compilations 35 and 38 for nothing. I had never seen them uploaded anywhere since the site collapsed like 10 years ago and Bobby was like here you go. "He even had Leah from Specialized comment on a few of his videos. Those comments have been deleted into nothing, which means there is an actual legend you can tell about Bobby's channel. His channel is literally legendary."

Bobby A's Taste in SF Photographs! (Posted on to its Instagram Page)!

From Instagram@bobby_a_smoking . . .

IG@bobby_a_smoking's SF models, listed clockwise: Tammy of R.S.; Laura, our favorite SF model of all-time, of R.S.; Amber of USA Smokers (Arizona, U.S.A.) in the picture in which she is prettier than how she appears in all other photos of her; Maddie of the Frida & Maddie Show of R.S. fame; Kristi of USA Smokers; Skye of R.S. (Australia; self-de-activated)!

[fernsnailz]

January 2024 Review Roundup

hello everypony‼️ something i want to do through 2024 is a mini review series where i recap some of the media i watched/played/read at the end of every month. this was inspired by tumblr user ponett’s 2023 media wrap-up, it's a great collection of quick reviews so go check it out!

i’m doing this partially as writing/analysis practice, but mostly because my memory is really bad and i want to keep track of what i've seen this year. with that said, my thoughts on everything i finished in january 2024 is under the cut :]

Portal 1 + 2

yyyup i beat Portal and it only took me (checks watch) 13 years

the first time i played Portal 2 was at a friend’s house when i was in middle school, and i had a fuckin blast. but after all that time... it still holds up! i don’t think anything i have to say about Portal will be particularly new since people have been praising this series since it came out. the writing, the level design, even the controls feel tight and engaging the whole way through. i played on switch and expected a bit of jank, but i was pleasantly surprised at how smooth it felt to play. the only part that dragged for me were the levels through the old aperture labs, but i think i would like them a lot more on a second replay. Portal 2 is fantastic and one of my new favorite games, the artistry behind it is truly incredible and i’m really glad i finally finished it. while i was playing Portal 2, i described Glados and Wheatly to a friend and said “they’re like if a ceiling fan could be passive aggressive and if Fozzie Bear was an evil golf ball”

I Think You Should Leave

finally. i can truly understand and appreciate Subspace Dubbed Over

i think one of my favorite things about I Think You Should Leave is how it utilizes horror. beyond sitting slack-jawed in disbelief at the crazy events unfolding before my eyes, a number of the sketches dipped into bits that genuinely kinda scared me. like the one sketch that circulates on here where the guy (pig?) in a mask crawls through a dog door, which is. genuinely terrifying. but so many of the other sketches have slow, nerve-racking pacing leading to crazy shit that would be perfect in a horror film were the context different. idk i like dissecting how horror and comedy are essentially the same thing and I Think You Should Leave was very good at enabling that <3 favorite sketches are probably “then let my wife eat the damn receipt” and “55 BURGERS 55 HOTDOGS 100 FRIES 100 TATER TOTS”

Sonic Prime Season 3

man. ohhhh man. i didn’t go into this with high expectations and i still feel let down. Sonic Prime Season 3 was definitely my least favorite “season” of the batch - abysmal pacing, very few character moments i actually enjoyed, and the things i praised about the show felt very underutilized through these episodes. Nine is the shining star of Sonic Prime and i was looking forward to seeing his more villainous side, but his character took such a sharp turn into pure evil and it felt like he spent the entire season repeating the same three lines. and as much as i praise Shadow’s writing in Prime, it doesn’t really matter when he spends half of the season trapped in a hole that he just… runs out of later.

lastly, i cannot stop thinking about how bad the pacing of this season is. three episodes for a repetitive final battle feels like such a waste of time when you see just how much they rush the emotional resolutions in the last episode. however, there is one thing i truly love about Sonic Prime Season 3 - i love the Sails and Mangey fakeout death. it's so fucking funny. like you really expect me to believe that two cartoon animals in this Y-7 rated show EXPLODED?????? absolute comedy gold.

overall, i just… don’t really know what to think of Sonic Prime. anything i enjoyed in the show was often fleeting, and much of it felt like its only purpose was to waste my time. also Rouge i can’t believe they did you so dirty oh my god

Ghost Trick

i was so proud that i figured out the secret behind Sissel’s memory loss like halfway through the game. however i also kept getting caught during the prison escape sequence like an idiot

Ghost Trick is in a similar situation as Portal where 1. it’s incredible and one of my new favorite games, and 2. there’s nothing i can really say about it that hasn’t already been said or just. shouldn’t be said. Ghost Trick is a fantastic mystery game, and because of that i think it’s best to go into its story as blind as possible. the narrative unfolds in such fascinating ways - even though the actual object manipulation gameplay isn’t directly about solving the mystery (like in Ace Attorney or other mystery games), it still ties wonderfully into the story in some incredibly unique ways.

i also really love the artstyle of Ghost Trick - i love 2D character artwork with that sharp lineweight, it reminded me a lot of Sonic Battle (another game with an artstyle i love). i was also really impressed by the 3D character models and animation - despite the limitations of the camera, you get a wonderful sense of everyone’s personality from the limited body language expressed in the overworld (even though the models lack much facial expression which. i guess they don’t really need? idk that was the only thing that threw me off). anyways yeah everyone should play Ghost Trick so Ghost Trick fans can be freed from their curse and talk about it without having to tag like 10 different spoiler tags. and for Missile

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

ok bear with me. i went into Scott Pilgrim Takes Off without reading the comics first. and i fuckin loved it

my understanding of Scott Pilgrim before SPTO was mostly from the movie (I KNOW I’M SORRY), but even with my base understanding of the series i really enjoyed this show for what it was. i found myself appreciating the time they dedicated to further develop every single character in the show - especially Ramona. she’s fantastic as the lead, i really loved watching her reconcile with her exes and seeing all of them grow instead of exploding into coins. my favorite episode was probably the one with her and Roxie - not only did i adore the movie-jumping set pieces, but you really understand the weight of Ramona’s mistakes in their past relationship and how much it hurt Roxie. despite the big climactic fight, the flashbacks are quiet, subtle, heartbreaking. Ramona’s apology is genuine, and it feels so wonderful to watch her confront her past throughout the show. also i think it’s really funny that for all these characters to become the best versions of themselves, they had to kill off Scott for most of the story

and holy shit the artstyle and animation. oh my god. i love watching something that makes me immediately go “i need to see the storyboards for this RIGHT NOW.” SPTO is such a visual delight to watch, it elevates the artstyle of the comics while also keeping what makes that style so appealing - i love the line weight on the characters, i love how much forward energy the animation has, i love the fucking. virtual boy section. as soon as i found out Science Saru was also behind Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken, everything made immediate sense. i was destined to love this show.

another worry i had going into SPTO (besides the fact that i hadn’t read the comics lol) is that the original cast from the movie was returning. i think the movie cast is fine, but i wasn’t sure how some of them would fare with voice acting for animation. however, i thought they all did a good job - i think the whole cast loves these characters and would be able to fit into them fairly easily no matter what form their performance takes, and they definitely had a good voice director in the studio with them. the only thing that felt off about the voice performances to me was that sometimes it sounded like some of their mics kept peaking?? idk some of these episodes i watched high as balls and i felt like i could hear and see every single sound and frame of the show. so that might have just been me.

god i did not. expect to have this much to say about Scott Pilgrim. i really loved this show and i’m currently reading the comics to fully catch up on the general Scott Pilgrim experience - i think reading the comics AFTER Takes Off is making me appreciate even more of the character work that went into the show. like they do so much with Mathew Patel in SPTO, a character that was. not originally around for a long time from what i’ve gathered? also i like the funny little robot. oh my GOD i cannot talk about this show anymore whatever it’s good get me out of here

Sword AF Season 1

i put on the Smosh cast’s D&D series to play in the background while i was drawing. i did not expect to think much of it. instead, i had one of the most enjoyable D&D podcast experiences since i listened to The Adventure Zone Balance???

i haven’t really enjoyed other D&D podcasts since i dropped off of The Adventure Zone, and i wasn’t expecting much from Sword AF of all things. then i saw that Shayne was playing as a druid warforged made of plants and his name was fucking Fernie and i sat my ass down and LISTENED. while i think Sword AF is currently lacking in its world and larger story, those things just. aren’t really what Sword AF is really trying to provide at the moment. it’s main focus is comedy, and the players are genuinely such a delight to watch play together and build off of each other. they mostly focus on bits and goofs for the sake of she show's comedic tone, but i still found it thoroughly enjoyable because every player embodies and performs their characters really well. idk Sword AF was an unexpected hit for me this month, i thought it was fun. and i love Fernie so much

Plastic Death - Glass Beach

so originally i wasn’t going to include music reviews in these roundups at all, but then i was entirely surprised by a new Glass Beach album and oh my god. holy shit. oh my fucking god jesus christ. holy shit. its preddy good

Plastic Death gets the low point of the album out of the way immediately. it starts with the “phone call/conversation audio” trope that i don’t particularly enjoy - HOWEVER despite me disliking this opening, 1. it sets up the overall themes of Plastic Death very quickly, and 2. the rest of the album blows this 40 second opening completely out of the water. from there, the album grows into something beautiful and uncontained, and i just. i really like it

Plastic Death captures the beauty of the temporary, asks what it means to be created for a cause you can’t fulfill, questions if you can reclaim yourself from cycles and constraints designed to destroy you. and is also about being transgender. the lyrics are abstract in a way that requires a conversation with the listener, many of the vocals obscured and smooth like waves - this album is definitely one that needs to be listened to a few times. i wasn’t sure how i felt about the vocal style at first before realizing the vocals were the main reason i was relistening to this album, allowing myself to find even more that i loved about it. the instrumentation is also incredible, i love the use of marimba in a number of songs - distant, eerie, almost skeletal. and the fucking. 8-bit section?? which kinda rules???? and that’s the only point in the album it ever shows up??????? incredible. a fleeting, somewhat silly moment that i love every time.

this album left my heart aching, in part from my connection to it and in part from the pure love and joy emanating from this music. i can feel just how much fun this music was to perform and create, a cohesion of time and sound that just clicked for me. Plastic Death made me miss playing music, which is something i haven’t felt in years. all from an album that starts with a conversation about CrankGameplay’s dead youtube channel. good lord

i like this album a normal amount. go listen to it a few times. my favorite tracks are cul-de-sac and commatose

Wish

i watched Wish with a couple of friends and knew i probably wasn't going to like it. with that in mind, i gave myself a challenge: i wanted to find one thing about this movie that i genuinely really loved. it could be anything, and loving it for ironic reasons was allowed.

here's the complete list of things i loved about Disney's Wish (2023):

i love the one shot where King Magnifico stirs an evil caldron evily. i thought it was hilarious. what was he cooking

i loved that the end credits included a reference to Dinosaur 2001 at all, and i loved that they paid homage to Big Hero 6 by showing the forgettable villain of that movie instead of their Baymax cashcow for some reason. my friends and i saw him show up in the credits and were like "who's the trenchcoat guy??"

you may notice that this list is very short and 50% of it is about the movie's credits. so yeah this movie is not very good

Wish is an empty husk of a movie. everything about it feels so, so hollow - lifeless town squares, uninspired character designs (to quote a friend: "i have all of these characters' hairstyles in The Sims"), characters whose existence is only justified to fill empty space or an overused archetype, and an "evil" villain who lacks charisma and spine in a futile effort to remind the audience of previous disney villains with actual character. even the artstyle lacks any sort of sauce, the watercolor effect they were trying to go for only makes the backgrounds and character textures run together, and the dull lighting makes things look even more faded. it's like disney was scared of making a movie that made its audience feel... anything. all to celebrate 100 years of Disney slop, baby!!!

Some YouTube videos I liked in January: 💥 An Exhaustive Look at Pokemon Brilliant Diamond 💥 TomSka's Guide to Plagiarism 💥 Paradise Bombed (this video is a great piece of journalism and i’m definitely not doing it justice by throwing it into the youtube vid list) 💥 Surprising Our Friends with Zoo Animals 💥 Did FNAF Ever Have a Good Story?

thanks for reading! next month’s roundup will be wild because i’ll likely be reviewing House of Leaves and Hazbin Hotel. can you guess which cursed house gives me a worse headache? WHO KNOWS! (hint: it's Hazbin Hotel)

[illuminatedquill]

Cyar'ika

A Sabine Wren & Ezra Bridger Story

Story Summary: Takes place during Ahsoka Season 2. Making a hasty exit from Peridea, Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger are finally heading home together - only without Ahsoka, who elected to stay behind to finish the mission she started. Feeling lost without the presence of her Master and the grim ordeal of facing Thrawn's resurgent Empire ahead, Sabine is facing her lowest point yet. However, her trial is just beginning as Ezra finally confronts his closest friend with the knowledge about her deal with Thrawn. And the conversation that follows will change everything between them.

*Fan-art by the amazing @rancidsugar! Used here with their permission, since it directly inspired this fanfic.

Author’s Note: With the fantastic news that Ahsoka S2 is now in development, I finally decided to take a crack at writing the next reunion for our favorite duo. It’s a long time coming, and we all know Sabine needs to come clean with Ezra about certain things she’s been hiding from him. Let’s see how he responds.

The star whale's mouth gaped open, as Huyang maneuvered the T-6 shuttle into its mouth. Sabine held her breath as the vessel slipped inside, warily keeping an eye on the enormous teeth that hovered directly over them.

"Easy does it," muttered Ezra. He stood between her and Huyang in the shuttle's cockpit, eyes closed and hand outstretched; through the Force, Sabine could feel her friend communicating with the purrgil. Reassuring waves of calm and peace flowed through the bond he had with the majestic beast, making sure that they were not crunched between its massive jaws.

Sabine gazed in admiration at Ezra's competence, in the easy confidence he had in his abilities. He had grown so much in his time away from home and truly become the Jedi that Kanan wished him to be.

He would be so proud of you, she thought with a pang of melancholy. Not for the first time, she wished Kanan was here to witness all of this.

Her thoughts turned to her own master, Ahsoka Tano, who had elected to stay behind to finish her task on Peridea. Sabine felt guilt trickle into her emotions, remembering their last conversation before she left.

"We're supposed to stick together, remember? I'm not leaving you."

"Thrawn is your mission. What's happening here on Peridea is mine. I must see this through. And Ezra will need your help in defeating Thrawn."

"I can't do this without you, master. There's so much more I need to learn."

"You already know everything you need. I have nothing more to offer you than this: just be yourself, Sabine. That's more than enough."

She closed her eyes, feeling the pang of melancholy sharpen into grief. Once again, another loved one had gone and there was nothing she could do about it.

As if reading her thoughts, Huyang said, "Do not grieve for Lady Tano, Sabine. She was only able to make her choice because of you."

"You mean it was my fault," said Sabine bitterly.

"Not at all. It is because you are going home that she was able to stay on Peridea to deal with the threat there. She trusted you, Sabine Wren, to deal with Thrawn."

You know I can always count on you, right?

Sabine felt a small smile escape through the gloom of her feelings, remembering the young boy who had uttered those words a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away . . .

Ahsoka had told her the same in their last conversation. Her master was counting on her to see this through. And she would. She promised herself, and to Ahsoka, that she would do whatever it takes to ensure that it was done.

And then she would bring Ahsoka home, so they could all finally live in peace.

The shuttle shuddered and a bright spectrum of lights filled the cabin; Sabine squinted her eyes at the dazzling array, almost blinded by the light show in front of them.

"Here we go," said Ezra. She looked at him, seeing the satisfied smile on his face. Sabine, not able to help herself, reached forward and squeezed his hand.

Ezra turned to look at her. "Thanks for coming back," she said.

He squeezed her hand back affectionately. "Did it in record time, too," he teased. "What's your excuse?"

Sabine rolled her eyes. "There was a war still going on, remember?"

"Uh-huh," replied Ezra, sounding unconvinced. "I guess I'll let it slide."

"This will take a while," Huyang said, interrupting their banter. "Ezra, if you would please tend to Lady Wren's injuries? I will stay here and keep an eye on things while you two rest."

Sabine blinked and then a wave of exhaustion and pain swept over her; she had forgotten how desperate their escape had been until now when Huyang had said something.

Ezra blinked and muttered a curse. "Right. Sorry, Sabine." He reached forward and lifted her from the co-pilot seat. She started to protest but another wave of exhaustion slipped past her defenses and only a weak mumble escaped her lips as Ezra carried her to the med-bay.

"You're awfully quiet," observed Sabine while he finished patching up her wounds some time later.

Ezra carefully applied a final bandage to a cut on her right upper forearm before replying, "Huyang's right. You shouldn't beat yourself up about Ahsoka. She needed to stay. And you needed to go home."

He sat back and double-checked his handiwork. "Can you walk?"

Sabine attempted to sit up from the medical bed but was immediately faced with a dozen sharp pinpricks of pain from all over her body. "You mean today?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Ezra smiled briefly at her attempt at humor before saying, "Bedrest it is, then."

Sabine grimaced but laid back in the bed. "This is doing wonders for my confidence," she muttered.

Ezra reached out and held her hand. "Surviving Peridea is an achievement only a few can claim. It's an exclusive club, Sabine. You're now a part of it."

She snorted. "Well," she mused, "if Thrawn can do it, then I sure as hell can."

At the mention of Thrawn, she saw Ezra's face become troubled. A flash of insight from the Force revealed something dark roiling beneath Ezra's confidence . . .

"What is it?" she asked quietly. "I felt that."

Ezra let go of her hand and sat back in his chair. She could practically see the gears whirring away inside his head as he thought through some particularly difficult decision.

Finally, he seemed to make up his mind. "I found the purrgils," he said slowly.

"I can see that," replied Sabine. "Seeing as though we're in one."

Ezra reached up to rub the back of his head. He's nervous about something, she noted. Her stomach began to sink, feeling the direction of his thoughts; small seeds of doubt were sprouting in his mind.

About her.

He looked up at her. "So did Thrawn," he said.

She inhaled sharply. "He was there?"

Ezra nodded. "He guessed what my next move was. I managed to get ahead of him, thanks to Hera's intervention but . . ."

"But what, Ezra?" Sabine felt like she didn't want to know the answer.

He reached down to his belt and took out his comm-link. "He sent me a message," he said quietly.

Ezra clicked on the comm-link and a conversation began to play.

Thrawn: "I must congratulate you on your success today, Ezra Bridger. You've shown great loyalty to your friends, Sabine Wren and Ahsoka Tano."

Ezra: "Not that you would understand anything about that. I'll be seeing you later, Grand Admiral."

Thrawn: "Indeed you will. Perhaps to a changed galaxy. All thanks to your friend, Sabine. How different things would be if she did not care so much about you."

Ezra: ". . . What's that supposed to mean?"

Thrawn: "Oh, she didn't tell you? Unfortunate. Be sure to give her my thanks when you reunite."

The recording stopped. Ezra gazed at Sabine, eyes unreadable, waiting for her answer.

Sabine couldn't bring herself to look at him. She just stared at the comm-link in his hand, wanting to be anywhere else than here, wanting a black hole to emerge and suck her into its void. Any hell would be preferable instead of having to face an Ezra who knew about what she had done.

"Sabine." His voice was soft, not accusatory. Almost pleading.

At last, she finally found her voice, weak as it was. "What do you want me to say, Ezra?" she asked. "Do you want me to apologize?"

"I want you to say whatever it is you want to say. I'm just going to listen," he said.

She folded her arms over her stomach; it felt like everything important inside her was threatening to spill out. "I'm not going to apologize," she whispered.

"Okay," was all he said.

"You weren't there. I had to make a choice. No one else was there. It was just me. Ahsoka - I thought Baylan had killed her. She was gone. And you were still gone, and I had the map." She hated how desperate her voice sounded.

Ezra, true to his word, didn't say anything. He just watched her.

"I couldn't lose you like I lost my family. Like how I thought I had lost Ahsoka. I wasn't - I wasn't strong enough to lose you a second time. My best friend." Tears threatened to blur her vision; a sob, rising in her throat steadily, almost robbed her voice of what little strength it had. She fought through it.

"So, I handed the map over. I made the deal with Thrawn to find you. I betrayed everything you and Kanan and everyone else sacrificed and died for. All just so I could see you again."

At last, she turned to look at him. The tears fell freely now down her face. "I doomed the galaxy for you, Ezra Bridger. And the worst part of it is, I'd do it again. Even knowing how it would all end."

Ezra gazed at her for a long moment and then turned away. Sabine struggled to sit-up and pleaded, "Ezra, please say something. Say anything."

He stood up abruptly. She blinked at him in surprise. "Say that you hate me and just get this over with," she said, resigned. Her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces but this was the price she knew would be paid the moment the map left her hand.

He stood over her. She waited for him to say the words that would end their friendship.

Instead, he clasped his hands over the sides of her face and leaned forward, gently touching his forehead with hers. Her eyes widened with surprise - and then with overwhelming gratitude as she felt the love and reassurance from him flow through their bond in the Force.

Sabine couldn't hold it back anymore. She started to openly weep. "After all this?" she cried. "Even with all that I've done?"

"Always," he reassured her. "I forgive you. Always. It'll be okay, Sabine. We'll figure it out, together."

"I'm weak," she said. "I did something so bad."

"You are not weak," replied Ezra firmly. "You are enough. You are extraordinary, Sabine. And it's not like I haven't done things I regret, you know? The Sith Holocron, you remember?"

Sabine shook her head. "This isn't the same! This is the whole galaxy that's at stake."

Ezra chuckled. "It's not a competition, first of all. And when hasn't the galaxy been at stake? We've dealt with Thrawn before, we'll do it again."

The guilt surged up within her, refusing to be assuaged by his words. "But - "

"But nothing," Ezra said sternly. "Sabine. Listen to me. Did you build the gigantic hyperdrive ring that Thrawn used to get back?"

She stared at him, thrown off by the sudden question. "Uh, no."

"Did you put Morgan Elsbeth onto his path as a partner? Did you hire Baylan and Shin?"

Sabine saw where his line of questions was heading. Grimacing, she said, "No, but - "

Ezra interrupted her. "Yes, you had a role in his return. But not all of it belongs to you, do you understand? He couldn't have returned without a lot of help, not just you."

"Okay, okay." She held up her hands in a placating gesture. "I get it. I think."

"Good," he said. "No more feeling guilty. We need to be focused for what lies ahead."

Sabine looked at him. "We?" she asked.

He nodded. "You're stuck with me, Sabine Wren. Whether you like it or not."

She smiled, considering his words. "I guess that's not so bad." She looked him over and shook her head in amazement.

"What is it?" Ezra asked.

"When did you grow up so quickly, goober?" she asked.

He grinned at her. "Haven't heard that nickname in a while. Since we were kids," he said.

"Yeah," she said. "Guess I can't really call you that anymore, huh."

Ezra winked at her. "You can call me whatever you like, Sabine."

She looked at him thoughtfully. "I'll think about it," she said. Suddenly, her stomach rumbled, interrupting the conversation. Sabine flushed with embarrassment.

Ezra laughed. "I'll heat up some food. Be right back."

Watching him leave, the moment he was out of earshot, Sabine said softly, "I'll be here, cyar'ika."

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Alan & Jeff Forever!

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

Jan 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 10 of 12 - I am a little concerned that this is getting too big for its britches, rather like Phaya’s recently recovered snake… shall we say? Adding in yet another character at this juncture isn’t the best idea. Still, I love how this show makes me cackle laugh with grandmas + Yai and then TENSION.

It’s a wobbly kind of balance but a balancing act is happening nonetheless. It makes the pacing of this show good. It may be all over the place but I'm never bored.

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 11 of 14 - No trash talk this week, I was charmed & delighted. Who knew I would actually enjoy this show? Certainly not me. (not much of a...) Trash watch happening here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) ep 8 of 12 - I am pretty much skipping most of the 3 chef friends, and all of the side dish action (sorry Neo). And with OffGun apart for most of this ep, it didn’t hold together since they are the glue. Sigh.

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 12fin - Okay let’s talk about it.

Mhok should have gone off with someone else. Day treated him like shit and never once apologized. To assume an apology isn’t necessary is to pity Day in the exact way he didn’t want. (On a complete aside, one of my favorite Thai restaurants back in my mispent youth was in Hilo, HI… ah memories) meanwhile the "passing escalators trope" activated in the land of malls (it’s been a while my old friend).

Anygay, I hold that Mohk was not a fault and Day was the one who needed to apologize.

Although they did have one of BL's BEST ever face touch moments. 

In conclusion: 

The story of a blind man and his caregiver falling in love. Mark is great. JimmySea are spectacular. The support cast is GMMTV-good. And for the first 3/4 this BL was something rather special. But it was let down by its ending (for which I entirely blame the author). In order to like this show you must buy into the premise that Mhok was in the wrong and caused their breakup. If you don’t believe that, you won’t like this BL. Also "fixing a disability = true happiness" is gross messaging. For me, endings counts for a lot and this one was ultimately “happy” but felt like a failure. 7/10 and I was sorely tempted to go as low as a 6/10, so it should count itself lucky 

I dithered my darling BLabies... I dithered A LOT over this one. But JimmySea alone held this one up.

GMMTV we gotta talk. You're fielding some of the world's best pairs right now. It's time to get them equally good scripts.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - This installment had too much of the side couple in it. Although it was nice to see First/Dream (Twins) again. He's still a cutie, even playing a straight. 

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) ep 23 of 24 - I have to say I’m very glad we are on the last installment of the series. Narcissistic hairdresser starts seeing a spirit in a mirror. Turns out to be a friend from his youth who he thought was dead. This one is kinda sweet, and I find the premise interesting. Is the kid actually dead and a spirit? Or is there something else going on? I am intrigued. And I like the actor playing the kid in the mirror. I suspect this will be sad tho.

Time the series (Thai Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - I don’t exactly know what is going on. And frankly I don’t particularly care, either. So far nothing seems to be happening, and I really intensely dislike one half of the main couple. DNF welcome 2024 here we go 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Love For Love's Sake (Korea Weds iQIYI) 1-2 of 8 - based on the Manhwa Love Supremacy Zone by Hwacha (they should have kept the original title). I adore the premise. IRL person has been sent into fictional universe to save a side character from doom. Fantastic. Every fanfic author's dream. Also, I love that our POV was the bad boy in high school so there’s also a redemption arc going on. I adore this kind of isekai (if you wanna call it that). Puppy/cat pairing too! 

Although I Love You and You AKA Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - Oh my goodness they too cute. Basically dating. Although only one of them realizes it, and he is such a drama queen. It’s GREAT. Also they are both so damn gay. I love the supportive bestie trying to cope with the girl who has a crush on his gay bff. 

Happy Ending (Korea Tues YT) 1 of 3 - Strongberry is back and it’s very them and very atmospheric and cute. I’m enjoying it. 

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 8 - Japan giveth and Japan taketh away again. Look, I just like the lost love teacher/teacher couple better. I'm assuming they'll have to do a time jump in the final episode to make this one work at all. 

I am SO GLAD we have KBLs back on our screens.

It's done

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - will binge when I have any spare time. 2024 is crazy busy for me so far.

The Servant and the Young Master - from Vietnam so I assume it's on YouTube. I never even noticed. Anyone?

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) - Is TRUST Entertainment bringing us the first ever Burmese BL? I don't know if it's really the first, but @heretherebedork vouched for it, so I will give it a watch through.

Beside You (Thai ????) - a 3 ep short that's supposed to have aired but I can't find it.

It's Airing But...

[NO INTERNATIONAL] Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 3 of 12 - yeah Japan put the smack down on our boys. Sadness. You can use a VPN if you like. Read all about it here.

Ossans Love Season 2 (Japan Gaga) - 5 years later, will anything have changed? This is Japan so… probubly not. I won't be watching this. I disliked Season one and actively hated the follow ups. No thank you.

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 14 eps - Dear Playboyy, it's not you, it’s me… I hate you. You’re about as deep (and as palatable) as a shot glass of cum. While I'm sure you’re someone’s kink, you're my weakest link. Goodbye. I DNFed this at ep 5. Frankly I'm impressed with myself for getting that far.

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Ends next week. Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if safe.

Dead Friend Forever (Thai Sat iQIYI) - horror, meh, tell me if it's worth my time?

In Case You Missed it

All my year-end round ups:

TOP 10 BL Trends of 2023

Top 10 BL Secondary Pairs of 2023

2023 BLs Best Trope Execution Awards! TOP 10

All the BLs Announced for 2023 that didn't happen

BL 2023's Best:

Back Hugs Thailand & Elsewhere

Cute Bits of Domesticity

Boys Feeding Boys

BOOP!

Best Cuddles

Heads in Laps

Touching Head Touches

Thailand Put His Head on Your Shoulder

Put Your Head on My Shoulder (not Thailand)

BEST KISSES (not Thailand)

BEST KISSES FROM THAILAND

Next Week Looks Like This:

2/2 City of Stars AKA Fueangnakorn (Fri YouTube?) 10 eps - An actor falls in love with a programmer and the narrative intends to “explore the ramifications of being public figure in the social network era who must endure critics, bullying, and defamation.” Looks like another Lovely Writer/Call It What You Want sort of thing. But helmed by Star Hunter? Chaos will ensue.

2/2 Anti Reset AKA Anti-Reset (Taiwan Fri Gaga?) 10 eps - from Vidol (who aren't doing us very proud right now) - Human and robot find love.

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.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Say what you like about this show (and I have) they do some very gay cuddling. (Him the series)

I LOVE THEM SO MUCH.

This show, damnit, so close to being genius. (Last Twilight)

I don't that's a hardshi,p grandma ... although it may be a hard ship... get it.

I'll stop now.

(The Sign)

(Last week)

[mae-i-scribble]

Seeing that one reblog of yours about the manhwa I Became The Male Lead's Adopted Daughter really intrigued me! Is it a good one? 👀

Funny story about that, after your reblog brought the post to my attention again and after talking with a friend on discord about stories that subvert tropes I just went back and reread that entire manhwa up to the end of season 2 so this is great timing XD. Im summary: It's absolutely worth your time if you're a fan of father/isekaied daughter fantasy, if you're an isekai manhwa fan in general, or if you just want a well made fantasy father daughter story. Its fantastical concepts are handled with a grounded maturity that most stories in the same genre just don't manage to pull off because it takes the time to truly flesh out its characters as human being first and any tropes last.

The long story is below the cut, I'll be discussing vague spoilers throughout seasons 1 and 2. (side note, im using the official TL names for this bc i like em better)

I Became the Male Lead's daughter has a lot going for it, first of which being Pelliot, the cold duke of the north who adopts Lionia from the orphanage. Most manhwa of this nature have the isekaied person be our main pov with brief glimpses into the parent's perspective, usually done more for plots sake or to comment on how strange the isekaied child is acting. Pelliot shares the protagonist spotlight with Lionia because this story is about both of them concurrently- in fact, we don't even get a look int Lionia's head to find out she's been isekaied until chapter 8(i think, either way its after chapter 5). Before that we get to know her from how Pelliot and the people at the estate see her. Which is such a refreshing take for me, especially when you consider that Pelliot while a stereotypical "violent and competent northern duke who becomes a parent" in theory, is actually played out in a grounded way. The reason he even wanted a child is because he's feeling lonely and he sees how his best friend (yes!! our cold duke has friendships!! and they're super sweet!!) is so happy with 2 children, that he goes about getting a child in the most pragmatic way possible. He is violent and regularly commits war crimes, but he isn't cruel to his staff or his knights as is standard fair for these archetypes. (Can't say the manhwa avoids classist tropes, but such is the way when you have noble protagonists and don't want to make them look complicit in a degrading class system but overall things are handled well enough in that regard). Pelliot, in his fatherhood, also avoids falling into trope traps yet again by being a very believable first time parent. He struggles to adjust to Lionia's emotional needs but is learning, he goes to his knights for advice, he's studying Lionia and trying to make sure she gets a proper childhood and does his best to protect her from further exposure to violence beyond what happens with the abusive orphanage staff. They have a believable banter and play off each other to a scary degree, and while he loves her and worries for her he isn't an overbearing protective trope either. I feel like this is already too long but like. He's such a cool protag to have in a genre that tends to have very narrow and singular dynamics of parent/child relationships. And this isn't even talking about the other relationships we see him have with his peers which are just as good.

Moving onto our other protagonist, Lionia, the post made by @living-as-the-enemy-prince HERE (which clearly you have read but in case other curious souls want to look at it) sums a large part of what makes her work. This is a story that fully realizes its concept to the most effective degree. And I love in turn the story addresses the trauma that comes with being reincarnated- not only from a "i miss my home and family and friends" but from the inherent trauma of being an adult only to one day become a child. Lionia didn't get a chance to rest, she was thrown into a life of abuse, all her agency stolen from her, forced to look after the other orphans because she was the only one who could thus she felt responsible. That sort of disruptive event isn't something that can be brushed off, and it shows in the way Lionia is deeply insecure about her relationship to Pelliot. In this way their dynamic is made equivalent from both sides- in many stories its almost one sided, with the parent figuring out this relationship naturally and the isekaied child playing things 'for the story' and only recognizing the relationship theyve built later (thank you wmmap for helping solidify that -_-). It's truly so well thought out and every aspect of the central relationship feels so natural.

As for the story at large, I'm very excited to see what the plot has in store. As of season 2 of the manhwa, we're only just starting to kick things off plot wise, up until now its been far more concerned with relationship building and giving us a foundation on these characters. But things are definitely cooking now that we've heard mention Baria- the protagonist of the novel Lionia read in her past life (I could probably write another blurb about how well that is being handled but this post is so long already so). On that note though, don't be worried about that "oh but i have to follow the original plot against all common sense and reason" trope bc that doesn't matter at all here. Lionia has her concerns when it comes to the story, some of her insecurities stem from the fact that Pelliot never had a daughter in it, mentioned or otherwise, but at the end of the day she doesn't give a shit, she just wants her dad to have a happy and peaceful life.

Tbh anyone who hasn't read this should absolutely give it a chance bc I haven't even mentioned half the things I find cool about it like all the side characters that I love or the empress storyline that I am eyeing with extreme interest, etc etc