#in any case I'm still very excited to see what's coming next for these characters

[naur-shaddaa]

I'm still sorting out my mixed feelings re: Ahsoka, but I'll say it felt a little bit like a love letter to Anakin Skywalker (and to Hayden as Anakin) and for that I could never hate it.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Well... at lease we have Wandee & Stand-in?

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

May 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Wandee Godday (Sat YT) ep 4 of 12 - The geept is strong with this one AKA Yak CAN flirt. Wandee now knows he isn’t the only one with a crush on someone else. AND YET they are SO DAMN CUTE together. I do wonder sometime if Yak is running a counter con with Dee pretending to have a crush on Taem. Meanwhile, mad props on the HPV vax public service! Good for them!!! Now that's my kind of product placement. I do have a feeling the sad bit with these two is gonna be VERY sad and last longer than we like. 

My Stand-In (Thai Fri iQIYI) ep 5 of 12 eps - It’s a riveting show. Pleasant? No. Riveting? Yes. Tiny crumbs for Ming’s assistant. Joe is best boy. That is all. I LOVE this show.

We Are (Weds iQIYI) ep 8 of 16 - TOO MANY SOUND EFFECTS. Omg get your fingers off those buttons you computer wanking sound dude (you know it’s a dude) what tf do you think this is? Lovely Writer? Also, they left ALL their drinks! Can you not walk and drink at the same time in a BL? Meanwhile not much happened that hadn’t already happened AKA bit of a filler ep. That said, the friendship group stuff is glorious!!! Also this brand of super gentle flirting suits PondPhuwin better than any of their prior rolls. It reminds me of how much I think they suit a historical. There is a gentle dignity to these two. 

Only Boo! (Sun YouTube) ep 7 of 12 - I love how kindly the turn down was. But most of the dancing stuff was dull. I don’t know I just find the actor playing Kang pretty vacant of appeal I guess. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

At 25:00 in Akasaka AKA 25 Ji Akasaka de (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - As is not uncommon with JBL I’m being to get frustrated with Yuki the Uke. Sigh. I’m probably gonna stay that way for several episodes given the pacing of this show. 

Living With Him AKA Kare no Iru Seikatsu (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 7 of 10 - Also frustrating. Willful misunderstanding. We got us some running of the gays but boy is this drawn out. 

Blossom Campus (Korea Thurs Gaga & iQIYI) ep 3-4 of 6 - The puppy is a bit too much sunshine innocent for me. And the professor is a bit creepy. I don't know, I'm not loving this one like I want to.

It's airing but...

You Made My Day (Thai YT) ep 1 of 5 - mini series staring the I Will Knock You couple Tar & Bom, started but I couldn't find it. I also didn't try very hard.

The Time of Fever AKA Unintentional Love Story 2 (Korea movie) trailer released to Korean theaters 5/25. HoTae & DongHee, side couple from Unintentional Love Story are back! Same actors, same character names. I love them. I NEED TO SEE THIS. How?

OMG Vampire (Thai Sun ????) ep 2 of 10 - yeah I can't find it.

In case you missed it

Crossing my fandoms moment, major Kpop blog ran the following: OMEGA X Hangyeom Talks Jazz For Two, Brotherhood, And More With KpopStarz

Tis the season of remakes? Both Addicted Heroin (August, my love!) and My Love Mix-Up (G4!) are coming from Thailand. I am very excited to see both. I love a Thai remake, often more than the original.

Next Week Looks Like This:

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

May Releases

VBL (Taiwan) is releasing 4 'Special Episode' epilogues to their 4 2023 shows every Friday this month on Gagaoolala, Viki & Viu. Not sure on search terms or how to find these. (Or, frankly, if we need them.)

5/10 – You Are Mine

5/17 – VIP Only

5/24 – Stay By My Side

5/31 – Anti Reset

5/28 My Biker 2 (Thai movie YT?) - trailer

5/30 Knock Knock Boys (Thai Thurs WeTV & Gaga) - I do love Best and I'm interested in seeing him in a new pairing. That said, I'm not wild about Seng. Still, this looks like a chaotic pulpy mess, I'm looking forward to wallowing in it one way or another.

5/31 The Time of Huannan (Taiwan movie) - May not be BL

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

All Wandee Gooday.

Icky no longer allows screen shots or there would have been a bunch from Stand-in.

(Last week)

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

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity

@rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in it's infinate wisdom doesn't like too many tags.

There's these tricks, remember:

[genericpuff]

How long do you plan making rekindled? I loved Lo at some point, But now I cant get enough of your version!! And I wanted to know how did you come up with the darker back stories for Rekindled?

I have a semi-detailed skeleton of the plot with basically every story beat planned out, but I can't definitively say how long it will be as I haven't actually scripted every single episode out yet.

Not to mention a lot of the time my scripts will change from their original versions, by the time I get to an episode I've planned ahead for I've either thought of new ways to do it or don't like how it's paced so I change it. Case in point, there was a specific scene I had planned for the next episode and then wound up not liking the pacing because it was too fast so I moved it to several episodes away and restructured everything on the fly, took a whole new text document and scrapping sketches to figure shit out LOL I actually do have up until Episode 70ish scripted out in my documents with like, actual notes and dialogue for each episode, but I already have sooo many of those crossed out now because of how much I've had to tweak and change as time has gone on. This is why I plan ahead well in advance though, so that if I do need to make those changes, I can make them long before the episodes are even due to be drawn (and believe me, they get changed during the sketching phases too LOL).

What I can confirm for certain is that the current 'arc' we're in right now is definitely the bulk of the story. And that's not to say there isn't any content afterwards, more like the pacing just gets completely turned on its head in the last 30-40% of it where shit gets N U T S and just can't go back to the same energy that it was in the beginning. Without spoiling, there's a certain 'turning point' in the plot and everything after it isn't quite as long as the stint of story we're in now. This is mostly because the arc we're currently in is still establishing a bunch of stuff like the Underworld Corp, Persephone's schooling, etc. and once that turning point hits, it's basically all character development and focusing on the consequences of everything setup in the first arc.

I guess if I had to illustrate it, the story progression in the end will look something like this?

It's basically just this slow and chill climb that, once it hits that sharp peak, doesn't ever return to normal levels LMAO So I guess enjoy this part of the story while you can because it's the chillest it'll ever be w(°ｏ°)w And boy, I am EXCITED for that peak, but we have a long way to go before we get there. As for how long, well, I'm hoping I'll be able to have Rekindled's story wrapped up in the next 2 years, tops. Just depends on how the update schedule goes, and assuming the plans I have put down for the plotting don't change in any major way. I don't have as much of the latter half of the story actually scripted out yet so for all I know it could wind up being way longer than anticipated, but right now I have a pretty good sense of how the story beats will play out in relation to each other.

So it's kind of a wait and see thing, at least until I have every episode scripted out, and even then I won't be 100% sure because things are always being tweaked and fixed and changed on the fly! I'm guessing it won't go much longer than 170 episodes, give or take, but that's a very very VERY rough estimate.

Regardless, Rekindled still has a lot more story to tell, and I'm hoping y'all enjoy the ride with me <3

As for the darker backstories, y'all don't even know yet. Like... I've got stuff planned. Stuff that even Banshriek (my BG assistant) doesn't know about. Stuff that I keep buried very deep in Rekindled's episode documents that won't see the light of day until they have to be ripped out of the deep dark trenches of the characters' own buried secrets, and by that point, the toothpaste will be out of the tube, there will be no going back. So, again... enjoy it while it lasts. Because I don't pull my punches. And maybe even you won't be able to look at me the same way again once the final blow has been dealt.

Sleep well.

:)

[forthegothicheroine]

Do you have any gothic novels that you can recommend off the top of your head? Especially to people who want to try their hand at the genre? I've hit a wall in my project and I need to get some fresh inspiration, but I don't know where to start and the book side of tumblr failed me the last time I tried asking them for recs

Hell yeah! I made some old posts for this a while back, but it's good to look at it again with my more recent taste! Let's see...

Classic Gothics

Dracula: The one, the only. Often imitated, never equalled.

Frankenstein: Short, sad and world changing! Can get a little slow at parts, but definitely worth it. (True story, my parents read this to me as a fetus to calm my kicking, so it's part of my personal mythology!)

The Case of Charles Dexter Ward: The most gothic of Lovecraft's work, and possibly my favorite. Novella length, usually found in collections.

The Picture of Dorian Gray: Sinister, sexy, philosophical, with a main character I want to punch in the face!

Carmilla: Another novella, about as lush and swooning as vampire stories get.

The Hound of the Baskervilles: A very readable gothic mystery.

Confessions of a Justified Sinner: This one isn't as action packed, but if you have big religious issues like me, it's incredibly haunting.

The Monk: Like the above, but sleazier and crazier!

Northanger Abbey: A gentle parody of early gothics, starring an adorable proto-goth girl.

The Italian: I'll be honest, I find Anne Radcliffe kind of a slog, but if you liked Northanger Abbey and want to read what Catherine Morland reads, this is probably the most accessible.

A Long Fatal Love Chase: This starts as campy and then takes a plunge into gut-wrenchingly intense. The book Jo March was always trying to write!

The Strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: Another novella, and Stevenson is one of the best writers out there for excitement!

The Werewolf of Paris: Gothic monster as serial killer, still scary today.

Rebecca: The foundation of all gothic romance to come afterwards. A ghost story without a ghost, with an ending that's still debated as happy or sad!

Jane Eyre: The other foundation of all gothic romance to come afterwards. I bounced off the child abuse-heavy beginning a few times, but I'm very glad I finally read to the good stuff!

The Castle of Otranto: Considered the first gothic novel, a goofy b-movie in written form.

Modern-ish Gothics (post-1950 or so)

The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein: Fuck the haters, I love this book.

Mexican Gothic: Genuinely scary, genuinely romantic, genuinely creative. A favorite.

Blackwater: A southern gothic saga of a family in a flooded town, whose scion marries a woman who isn't quite human. A whirlwind ride!

A Bloodsmoor Romance: Another family saga, this one northern gothic, with sisters whose lives all go off the rails in different supernatural ways. Give this a try before writing Joyce Carol Oates off entirely!

The Silver Devil: A nasty, problematic bodice ripper where you'll cheer for the heroine to bring the hero down low!

Interview with the Vampire: To be honest again, I'm not super into Anne Rice, but this is a page-turner, and every vampire book that has come after it has had to respond to it in one way or another. Read the next two Vampire Chronicles books if you like it!

A Taste of Blood Wine: My own preferred sexy vampire romance!

The Bloody Chamber: The ultimate dark sexy fairy tale work, accept no substitutes.

Haunted Castles: Contains the brilliant novella Sardonicus, as well as some other campy gothic stories!

A Great and Terrible Beauty: Many millennials were introduced to the gothic genre via this, Fear Street Sagas, or A Series of Unfortunate Events. This is my favorite of the three, though the sequels are a bit of a letdown.

Gormenghast: This series is a throwback to the pseudo-medieval, Otranto-style gothic, but much better. Don't read Titus Alone.

[red-pill-blue-pill]

As friends.

Pairing: Joel Miller x Miller

Summary: Joel is your friend, he just happens to be really handsome

Warnings: mild spice towards the end ??? just in case, fluff, friends to lovers (just so y'all know I'm a sucker for that shit)

a/n: I wanted to write a little blurb but it got outta hand. This is is my first time writing for the Joel Miller and i'm nervous (I love this character so much) so please be kind 💖

His living room was dimly lit by one of the lamps next to the couch. Something played in the background, blues you think. He had found a record player a couple of weeks ago while he was patrolling with Tommy. He had even come across some records in perfect condition, tucked inside a tattered wardrobe. He was such a lucky fucker. 

When he came back, he showed them off to you while saying something along the lines of “‘f you wanna listen to them you gotta come to mine, sweetheart” flashing you one of his now familiar cocky smiles, as if he needed to convince you to spend time with him.

Your stomach still churns at the nickname and you chastise yourself every time, for letting your mind even dare to go down that path when it’s Joel the one you’re talking about, for even thinking about him that way. Joel, your fucking friend. It had to be the lack of romantic action in your life. It had been so long since you last were with someone that your brain had to be confused. No one in Jackson had caught your eye for the last couple of years, nor tried to make any advances to you, and who would have dared when you were next to Joel —mean scary Joel— every single day?

Still, you didn’t care, you spent most of your free time either with him or at his house, playing games with Ellie while he was on patrol or sipping on wine and talking about your day when he fixed you a nice dinner. Like right now, back at his living room, soft blues playing in the background and the soft orange light from his lamp rendering the room even cozier. 

You were sitting on his sofa, glass of wine in hand. Blues had never been your type of music, at least not until Joel showed you one of the records he found on patrol, an Eric Clapton one, a smile from ear to ear and an excited “Look what I’ve found, I reckon you gon’ love it.” 

But now, as you look at him sprawled on the couch, his head —his big ass, heavy head— resting on your legs with his eyes closed and humming softly to the song, you believe it may be your favorite. 

You sipped on your wine and carded your fingers softly through his hair, relishing in the feeling of his hair through your fingers. You looked down at him, his face was completely relaxed, the familiar pull of his frown nowhere to be seen. He looked so peaceful like this, his long lashes fanned over his cheeks and the light casted soft shadows over his face. He was so handsome.

“You are so handsome” your mouth spoke before your brain could catch up. His eyes opened, orbs completely dark thanks to the lightning, and he quirked a brow, clearly amused at your comment. You tried to recover quickly “And I’m just saying this the way a friend calls another friend cute, don’t get too excited.” You chuckled. 

Lies, lies, lies.

He scoffed, “Yeah, right.” he closed his eyes again, letting himself enjoy the feeling of your deft fingers through his hair. “Who you tryna fool, sweetheart? ‘m as old as time.”

You stretched your arm to place the wine glass on the coffee table, careful to not disturb Joel with the motion. This time, your now free hand went to trace the lines on his forehead so softly, a barely there touch. A shiver ran down his spine. It had been a long time since someone touched him with such care, as if he was some precious relic, only to be treated with care. 

“Hate that you can’t see what I see, Joel” your voice was soft, charged with love, but still stern. You hated when he was self deprecating, which unfortunately was very often. 

“And what is it you see?” he swallowed the lump in his throat. Why were his hands sweating all of a sudden?

Your fingers drifted to the lines around his eyes, tracing them with your fingertips. “For starters you’re rugged and strong and that’s just plain attractive. Besides, you think age kills beauty, but it’s quite the opposite.” His eyes opened once again and gazed up at you, something you couldn’t quite make out swirling in them. You continued, trying to ignore the heat of his stare “The lines in your face… they mean you’ve lived, you’re alive.” you are here with me

“What do you mean?” his voice was barely above a whisper, hoarse because of the sudden dryness that  had taken over his mouth. 

“This one right here” you smoothed out his semi-permanent frown with your thumb “tells me you’ve got very few friends.” 

“m‘kay, that’s rude.” he feigned hurt for a few seconds, then he saw your bright smile. That goddamned smile, the one he never got tired of seeing. And then he smiled too. A small and barely there grin. 

“Then the ones around your eyes”, your fingers skimmed over his crows feet,  “they tell me that you’ve laughed and smiled a lot, that despite this nightmare we’ve found ourselves in, you were happy once.”

Silent fell over the room, Eric Clapton sang in the background as Joel and you played at your personal staring contest, one charged with unspoken feelings. His eyes were wide in surprise, searching your face, looking for something you sure fucking hoped he found in the way your soft eyes looked back at him. Your fingers still threaded through his locks, not once having stopped since he laid his head on your legs. Everything felt intimate, maybe way too intimate for just a couple of good friends having some wine after dinner. 

A nervousness settled in your bones, the kind of feeling you get when you know something’s about to happen but you don’t know what. Your heartbeat picked up, it thumped wildly against your chest, your eardrums, all along your veins. Then you cleared your throat, unable to stand the silence any longer. “Anyway, as I said, you are handsome.” you let out an awkward breathy laugh. “I‘m telling you as a friend” you quickly added. Again. For good measurement, right?

He sat back up on the sofa, his body slightly twisted to face you. In the daze of the moment you had completely forgotten how broad he actually was, his knee pressing against your thigh. “As a friend…” he echoed back at you, a teasing smile spreading over his features. God, he was going to be the death of you. 

You reached back for your wine glass and nodded absentmindedly before taking a long gulp, not daring to look him in the eyes just yet. Suddenly, his hand cupped your face softly, fingers pressing lightly into your cheeks, encouraging you to look at him. His eyes were filled with tenderness and the kind of hope you have when love is still a possibility. His lips were mere inches from yours, his breath mingling with yours. 

“Would’ya mind if I kissed you, sweetheart?” his voice was low and syrupy and it ignited a different kind of desire in you, something you had never felt before, raw, primal. You inhaled sharply and before you were even able to answer he added “As friends, that is.” he chuckled, clearly proud of himself for teasing you, and you smiled fondly. 

“Ain’t that what really good friends do?” you laughed breathily.

“Oh, I reckon they do a whole lot more than that.” 

His lips pressed softly against yours, a softness you knew Joel was capable of but you had never experienced it yourself. Now, after getting a taste you didn't want to live without it. His hand moved to cup the back of your head, tangling with the hair at the nape of your neck, keeping you against his lips, deepening the kiss. Your hands found purchase on his shoulders, and thank god because suddenly Joel was grabbing your thighs and pulling you to straddle his lap. 

He took advantage of the gasp of surprise that left your lips and licked greedily into your mouth. His hands roamed your back, going down occasionally to squeeze your ass over your jeans, relishing in the whimpers he pulled from you. Your hips started moving on their own accord, rutting against Joel’s growing bulge, making a deep groan rumble on his chest.

You tugged on his hair to break the kiss and stared dreamily at him. His pupils were blown out, his half lidded eyes hazy with lust, his lips swollen and red from kissing and a light shade of red tinted his cheeks. He was positively fucked out. 

“You want this?” he asked while playing with the hem of your t-shirt, ducking his head once again to lick and kiss at your neck.

You could only muster a distracted “Hmh” as you kept rutting your hips against his. “As friends?” you asked between whimpers.

He pulled away to look at you, a hint amusement in his eyes as he took in the cocky grin you were sporting despite the lust filled gaze directed at him. His hands slipped past the waistband of your jeans, grabbing your panties from behind and pulling till the fabric rubbed against your clit. You couldn’t help the moan that escaped your lips.

“As friends” he answered before claiming your mouth once again.

[ninja-muse]

August is over! My reading month felt like it took forever even though otherwise, the month flew by. I blame this half on my top two reads of the month, which I was only reading in short snippets, and half on a number of lackluster reads and DNFs. I'm hoping to get back into my usual habits in September.

I did do better on reading off my physical TBR though! Even though one book was a "aw man, what do I read now?" and two more were, "I'm behind on my goal, quick, read something fast!" Plus the T. Kingfisher, which was graciously provided by my work, as was Running Close to the Wind. (Finally a month where I didn't spend money to add to my library!)

As for my top reads, The Salmon Shanties would be near the top of my list even if there wasn't a degree of reverse-nepotism involved. Absolutely excellent poetry collection, very layered and complex. If you're into Canadian poetry or poetry-of-place, pick it up! And Rose/House, once I got it back from the library because my Libby hold ran out, was absolutely fantastic! As was the quality of the French translation, because it sounded like Martine. So very, very glad I had the nerve (and linguistic ability) to read it. Super-creepy and I'm glad Tor's picked it up so I can hype the heck out of it next year. And then there's Jinn-Bot, which I wrote an actual review for.

On the other end of the list, sigh. I DNFed one book for feeling kind of trite, and another for being too predictable, and probably should have DNFed Voyage of the Damned for being uneven but I needed to know who the killer was. The Library Thief I'm also counting as lackluster—very good book, just wasn't for me or what I was expecting. Still deserves a 7.

Lula Dean, on the other hand, was surprisingly good! Fun and satirical and just plain entertaining. Read it in a couple days and it would likely be higher on my list except my reasons to be "glad to have read them" this month are less about quality and entertainingness than usual. I can't put "really liked this" above "finally I get to read a new book by X!", for instance. Or necessarily above "learned stuff!"

You might notice a distinct lack of any other news, and that's because there is none. September may be marginally more exciting, we'll see. (I know there'll be a bigger book haul.)

Anyway, on to September now, and in the meantime, here's my list everything I read this month, in the rough order of how glad I was to have read them.

The Salmon Shanties - Harold Rhenisch

A collection of poems centered on and celebrating Cascadia in all its facets (or taking it to task, as the case may be). Out in September.

10/10

🇨🇦

warning: mentions racism, colonization, genocide

digital reading copy

Rose/House - Arkady Martine

There is a body within Rose House—two, if you count its architect, who ordered the house shuttered with his passing and left to its AI. Only one person is allowed to enter now, and she’s accounted for. And yet there is a body within Rose House….

9/10

🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: descriptions of a dead body

library ebook

The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport - Samit Basu

Lina and Bador want freedom: from surveillance, from power structures, for their city, for all bots, or just for their family. This might come from cunning, or revolution, or a lost ancient artifact, or an underground bot-battle, or swaying a visiting space hero or the Not-Prince. Much more than an Aladdin retelling.

8/10

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (multisexual, achillean), Indian-coded cast, Indian author

warning: discusses colonization and oppression, references police violence

reading copy

Unwritten, Vol. 8 - Mike Carey with Peter Gross, Dean Ormston, Yuko Shimizu

When Tommy Taylor learns that Lizzie is trapped in the land of the dead, he goes to rescue her—but he’s unprepared for his adventures there, or the wider implications.

8/10

Indigenous Australian secondary character

off my TBR

All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque

Paul Bäumer recounts his time serving in the German army in WWI.

7/10

warning: war, death, animal death, gore, injury

off my TBR

A Sorceress Comes to Call - T. Kingfisher

Cordelia’s terrible mother has decided to marry a squire. Cordelia knows he and his sister don’t deserve that—but how to stop her, when she can do magic?

7.5/10

warning: child abuse, torture, murder, animal cruelty and death

finished copy received through work

A Man and His Cat, Vol. 4 - Umi Sakurai

Kanda gets the courage to make a new friend and revisit an old situation.

7/10

Japanese cast, Japanese author

off my TBR

A Gentleman from Japan - Thomas Lockley

The true story of a Japanese man who was brought to the court of Elizabeth I and influenced early modern English science.

7.5/10

warning: slavery, orientalism, war and violence

library book

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books - Kirsten Miller

In Troy, Georgia, the fight for public decency is kicked off by Lula Dean, who craves attention and loves her Southern history—and her fencepost library, where someone’s put wholesome jackets over books she’s tried to ban….

7/10

ensemble cast including Black, 🏳️‍🌈 (gay, lesbian), and Indo-American POV characters

warning: Nazis, anti-Semitism, anti-Black racism, homophobia, rape, suicide

reading copy

The Library Thief - Kuchenga Shenjé

Florence talks her way into a job repairing a lord’s library, but is quickly drawn in by the mysterious death of the lady of the house. A gothic novel centering race, gender, and other marginalizations in late Victorian England.

7/10

Black British main character, Black British secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (trans woman, sapphic), Black British author

warning: racism, including slurs; rape, abuse, misogyny, queerphobia

library book

The Voyage of the Damned - Frances White

A grand state voyage is upset by murder and it’s up to the lowly, non-Blessed Ganymedes to catch the killer before they dock. Goddess help them all if he doesn’t….

5.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (multisexual), fat protagonist, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (nonbinary, ace, trans man, sapphic, achillean), Indian-, African-, and Japanese-coded secondary characters

warning: murder, injuries, blood, colonial thinking, attempted genocide, suicidal thoughts

reading copy

DNF

Remedial Magic - Melissa Marr

Safe and ordinary Ellie meets a mysterious woman in her library, and is whisked to a fantasy world where she’s probably a witch—and almost certainly in trouble.

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (sapphic), 🏳️‍🌈 author

reading copy

Casket Case - Lauren Evans

Garrett stops to ask for directions at Nora’s casket shop and they hit it off. Unfortunately he works for Death…. Out in September.

African-American secondary characters

reading copy

Currently reading

A Natural History of Dragons - Marie Brennan

A memoir by Lady Trent, renowned natural philosopher and adventuress, but covering her childhood and first expedition, to the mountain highlands of Vystrana, and the troublesome dragons encountered there.

library book

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts. The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle Victorian detective stories.

disabled POV character (limb injury), occasional Indian secondary characters

warning: racism, colonialism

Monthly total: 11 Yearly total: 70 Queer books: 1 Authors of colour: 3 Books by women: 6 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 1 Classics: 1 Off the TBR shelves: 4 Books hauled: 2 ARCs acquired: 3 ARCs unhauled: 6 DNFs: 2

January February March April May June July

[ravi-is-my-beloved]

I can't believe the new Ryan interview dropped while I was showering. Always when I leave to do something, smh.

Anyways, onto my thoughts on this interview! (NOTE: I wrote this as I read the interview.)

So here's where the "he kind of falls in line" quote comes from, but then three sentences after it says that this is "not what Eddie "wants" for his team."

Which dispels any notion that Eddie will be completely fine with what's happening and that makes sense with Eddie's character. And honestly, I'd be really mad if the writers made him be completely fine with Gerrard because that's not how I think any of the main characters would react with him in the captaincy based on how they reacted to the news of his captaincy in the season 7 finale.

An interesting thing that Ryan says is "So it doesn't really affect him as much as some of the other characters who happen to be a little bit more emotional or erratic in their behavior.”

And to me is reminiscent of what Tim said in his interview where he said Buck be the one who wouldn't be used to dealing with someone like Gerrard. (That was me paraphrasing what Tim said, btw.) It's really interesting to me that, if that's the case, they're drawing parallels between Buck's reaction to Gerrard and Eddie's reaction Gerrard. I'm super curious for that.

Ryan said that Eddie's journey this season is about loving himself. I'm very excited for that, very excited on this journey with him. (I know this was short, but to be fair, he only talked briefly talked about it in the interview.)

I find it interesting that when it comes to Buck and Eddie, Ryan (according to the writer, so take that as you will) said that "the duo are still "going strong," noting that Eddie will be a source of comfort for Buck when Gerrard makes things difficult on the job." And the next thing that's in quotations (which are his words) are about how both Buck and Eddie will lean on each other.

Even without taking this in a romantic light, I'm assuming it means that they'll have a lot of scenes together like they did last season. Which I'm personally not mad about because I just love Buck and Eddie's dynamic even if I'm not thinking about it with shipper goggles.

And there are more things after that, but since this post is already long and I've deemed those other things as not really pertaining to be about the storyline for Eddie this season. So this is where my conclusion is coming in.

What I've taken away from this interview is that there are two things that are prevalent in Eddie's storyline in 8A: his journey of self-love and his way of dealing with Gerrard being captain. I do think it's worth noting that by the sounds of it, Buck seems to be intertwined with Eddie's storyline in a way that the others aren't.

I keep saying this, but I truly am excited for this season. I can't wait to see how everyone's storylines pan out. I'm hoping that we get interviews from the other cast members that we haven't seen, because it seems like the storylines this season are really interesting.

[twistedwonderlandimaginesblog]

Hei! I'm new here and on this fandom two questions can I ask from the kissing prompt #4 with Idia? And how many characters is the limit for each ask in this case? Thanks in advance ♥️❤️

(For the kiss prompts it’s only one character per ask and one prompt per request!)

Idia Shroud: 

4. An accidental brush of lips followed by a pause and going back for another, on purpose.

Idia was cornered.

The look on Crewel’s face told him all he needed to know; he would not be exempt from this project, regardless of his avoidance of people. It might be just fine for him to send technology to class instead of himself but this was still something that required two heads, no matter how intelligent Idia insisted he was. He was cut off time and time again with a cruel glare that sealed his fate, a main quest that had first been thought of as a basic side quest.

“We could be partners, if you want. You know me better than most others in the class anyway.” You had offered yourself up so casually, Idia suspected you had no clue that he was on your romance route at the moment; perhaps you were the perfect companion for this quest, just so he could raise his affection with you and unlock more interactions for the future.

This option being presented to him was also assuredly leading him down a certain path, and if he were to deny your kindness… a bad end surely awaited him. He could see the words dripping with blood and ink as your head tilted, awaiting an answer. All he could do was vigorously nod his head yes before disappearing, knowing there was quite a bit of work to do before he could let you step foot in his disaster of a room.

After hours of necessary prep work to not lower your affection you received the all clear from Idia to come over, your notebooks in hand as you prepared to settle down and finish the project in one night. You figured it would make it easiest on Idia but you had failed to notice the difficulty of the prompt Crewel gave, almost as if he purposely made it so Idia would have to have longer human interaction. He’s cursing his teachers name as he researched alongside you, sweating as time marched on.

“Ah, wait!” You pointed at one of his many screens, Idia glancing back to see what had gotten you excited. “I think this is the piece we’re missing! If we add that in, then it’ll all make sense, and we’re done!”

“…! You’re right!” You had found the missing puzzle piece, the final component that would have you both racing to the next cutscene. “There, it’s been added in… We’re done!”

After countless hours of reading over text and desperately problem solving to make the assignment work properly, you’d finally reached the finish line. You’re giddy as you come to sit next to Idia to admire your work, turning to him with a smile so bright it was more blinding than his screens in a dark room.

He must have missed the QTE, hit a wrong button somewhere in his brain, because his body moved before he had any idea what he was doing. In a move that was far bolder than his courage stat could possibly allow he pressed his lips against yours in celebration, the move so quick that you didn’t have much time to react to it. He must not have known the stun effect his lips had but you must have some sort of shield that bounced magic right back at him, as he suddenly became frozen in his spot staring at you.

The excitement that had given a brief boost to powers allowed him to melt the ice that had encased his body, his face and hair becoming a light shade of pink mixed his normal blue. If this were to go poorly he would have lost all your friendship points anyway, so what was one more for the road? He dipped down to steal another kiss, the very last kiss he would ever have in his life, before he pulled away with a concerned look on his face.

Maybe he shouldn’t have gone back for round two.

Maybe he should’ve hit the apology button.

Nothing he could do now except wait for your response.

[daydreamingyuta]

Peaches | Jaehyun

You loved the summertime. The way the sun shines so bright, making everything look so breathtaking. The butterflies fluttering around. And all the best produce was available this time of year.

You and your husband, Jaehyun, had bought some peaches from the store a couple of days ago so that you could make some peach cobbler. You had to wait for the peaches to become ripe enough, and today they were perfect.

Jaehyun is by your side, cutting up the peaches while you start mixing all the other ingredients. Your two young children are playing tag together, running all throughout the kitchen and living room.

It's moments like this that you remember to take a step back and really appreciated the wonderful life and you Jaehyun have built together. You think back to when you two first met, being around peaches always made you reminisce.

⸻

It was your first farmer's market visit of the season. Unfortunately, none of your friends could go with you, but you had time today, so you were determined to go. You packed a tote bag, and then another tote bag inside, just in case you needed it.

Luckily, you chose a good time to come. There was hardly a crowd around which you were very thankful for. The apples caught your attention first. Honey crisp apple were always your favorite since you were a little kid, so you had to buy some.

You start to look around at all the homemade jams they make right there at the farmer's market. Last year you had got the apricot jelly, which was amazing, so you had to buy some more. You also decided to try the strawberry jam.

The next thing that caught your attention was the peaches. Or at least you were pretty sure they were peaches. They were much pinker than what you were used to, and they looked delicious.

As your staring at said peaches, a worker comes next to you, unloading a batch of strawberries in a display.

"I've never seen peaches like this! They are so pretty." You say to the man. You weren't really the type to talk to strangers, but when you're dealing with fate, sometimes it causes you to act a little out of character.

"They taste even better! We get them all the way from Korea." The worker says.

"ohh, I have to get some!" You say as you put your tote bag back on your shoulder so you can pick out the peaches you want. As you're doing this though, he comes over to you and starts picking out the best ones for you to buy.

"Here! Half of these a ripe right now and half aren't, so you can eat some right away and have some for later." He says as he hands you them to put in your tote bag. You thank him, and carry on with your shopping, excited to try them.

⸻

You had tried the peaches right when you got home. Of course, they were amazing, and you had to get more. Which is precisely why you found yourself at the farmer's market again, a week later.

You went at the same time, hoping you would get lucky and miss the crowd. It was a bit more crowded than last time, but still less so than normal. You head straight towards the fruits again, wasting no time, but as you get to the stand, you notice that there isn't any left.

"I'm guessing you liked them." A voice said from behind you. You turn around and see the worker from last time. You pause for a second before answering. How did you not notice how handsome he was last time?

"I did! I came back for some more, but there's no more left?"

"No, we get shipments of them every other week and they're pretty popular, so we run out fast."

"Awe no! I was really looking forward to them. But there will be more next week, right?"

"yeah!"

⸻

You come back to the farmer's market for the third time. You were running a bit late, suddenly wanting to look nice in case you ran into him again.

Since you were later than normal, the crowd was much larger. You hoped that there would be some peaches left for you.

You were halfway to the fruits when he stopped you. "Hey!"

"Hey!" You said, happy that he remembered you again.

"I have a surprise for you." He says, as he walks away, expecting you to follow. He brings you to a back room where there is a basket of peaches. He picks them up and hands them to you.

You took them gladly. "Thank you so much for setting these aside, I was starting to get worried because of the crowd. These look so good!"

"I hand-picked the best for you." He said with a smile that showed off the prettiest dimples you had ever seen in your life.

"That's so sweet, thank you so much. I'm y/n by the way."

"I'm Jaehyun." He says as he takes the peaches out from your hands and motions for you to carry on your shopping.

You had all the groceries you needed from last week, so you head straight to the line to pay. "Wait, you're not going to get anything else?"

"Oh, no. I don't really need anything else."

"Ok." He says as he gets closer to you, "Don't tell anyone I'm doing this for you, but these peaches are on me."

"No! You've already been so nice to pick them out for me, you don't have to buy them for me!"

"Already paid for." He says with that irresistible smile of his. "Where's your car?"

You thank him about five more times as you show him to your car. He loads them in for you and you two say your goodbyes. On the way home you mentally kicked yourself for not getting his number. You weren't sure when the next time you would be able to go back to the farmer's market, but you didn't think it would be anytime soon, especially considering the amount of peaches he gave you.

When you do get home though, you unpack all the fruit and notice a small piece of paper sitting at the bottom of the basket. You open it up and all that's written on it is him name, phone number and a cute smiley face.

⸻

The oven timer beeps, telling you that your peach cobbler is done. Jaehyun beats you to the oven and carefully pulls it out. The entire house smells of the sweet dessert. Out of nowhere your two children come running to the kitchen, impatiently asking if they can have a piece.

"It's too hot right now sweetheart, but as soon as it's ready to eat, I'll cut you a slice." Jaehyun tells your youngest.

You walk over to your husband and give him a quick kiss on the cheek. Surprised by your sudden display of affection, he pulls you closer to him and gives you a big kiss.

"Imagine what are lives would have been like if I wasn't obsessed with those peaches." You said jokingly.

"We would've just found each other in a different way, you were destined to be stuck with me." Jaehyun says, giving you another sweet kiss.

[kaledya]

Hello again !

Oh okay I understand!

Thank you for the explanation! Things make sense in that type it follow more the show seasons development. I forgot that in your SS AU Luci and Charlie are in a bad place. It will help (Not me panicking because Constantine come sooner and I always plan a VERY slow burn romance between him and Lolicia. Ahhh. So excited. Anyway) The more important is that Lucifer and Serenity coming later. Heaven arc last. I get it !

I will take care of your advices 🌸 So greatest showman mini arc incoming let's go!

Ps : glad you like my drawings!🌸 Thank you even if its not the best. Promise I will try to not butcher Constantine and Serenity fanarts ahah

Have a nice day! -marquisev

Hİ!

And I'm really glad to know that I could explain it properly! I hope I could help!

And yes, they are on bad terms right now, generally because Lucifer can't put his pride aside and admitted his mistake, or because he thinks knew what was best for Charlie and saying her plan is Unreasonable and far from reality .He doesn't even let Charlie explain herself and is upset about the fight they had the last time they met. Charlie thinks,

"He won't listen to me anyway, why am I trying any harder?"

Lucifer, on the other hand, cannot go to his daughter and admit that she is wrong, again because of his pride.

(This idea is seriously a wip, I didn't think of that arc in detail ) but when Lucifer comes to the hotel, Alastor criticizes him as a father.(Because by this time, Alastor has been spending a lot of time with Charlie, and they even fight back to back at one point. He can understand Charlie's relationship with Lucifer from her behavior.)

Extra: (Their current reaction is not the same as in this post, I drew this post before I started writing my AU, Alastor does not try to make fun of Constantine in any way (he knows what will happen if he does, he logically does not want to push his luck).)

And after this encounter and some events in between And after a long and touching conversation between Lucifer and Charlie, Their relationship is getting better. In my mind, this scene reminds me of the scene between Joel and Ellie in Last of Us 2.

But they still love each other sincerely. Lucifer was in a bad mood due to Lilith's disappearance and this widened the gap between them.But if they sit down and talk, they won't have much of a problem with time.

OH MY GOD REALLY?? I'm seriously already excited about how you're going to write their interactions! And I have full confidence that you will write a great slow burn romance. I can't wait to see their dynamics.

And yes, Constantine arrives at a time similar to when Lucifer arrives in the series.

Yes!, but it's not too early, I don't have an exact timeline, but seriously important events are happening at the hotel, maybe Angel is getting rid of Val.After the people in the hotel really start to trust each other and show their character development.

The reason I think this is because Charlie invited her brother over to show him her progress.For this, there was a need for arcs in which the team would experience character development.

Yes, Serenity comes to the hotel after the hotel's case with the Vees and after a while, at the right time, she reveals her identity to Alastor .Lucifer arrives shortly after this event.After this there is a heaven arc and the planning is this after this event it's completely blank page, I really don't know what will happen next.

And as I said before, you don't have to follow what I wrote, be free. This is your story.

And believe me, I love your drawing style, I think you draw very well.

And I'm really excited for the next arc!

By the way, I read the latest episodes. It was very nice to read Husk and Lolicia's interactions and I find Charlie's activity very creative!

And Lolicia's new outfit has a really interesting and creative design I love it! And reading that you were inspired by Baldurs Gate 3 really surprised me and brought back memories.I take that outfit in House of Hope too and after wearing it, Gale's comment made me laugh a lot😂

[rainbowlapisart]

Now that time has passed I wanna share my thoughts on Deadpool and Wolverine as a film, though I will preface by saying it isn't very positive... also, I admit I was high in the theaters watching this, so please treat this post like what it is: just an opinion.

The opening dance sequence was of course amazing, though there was some noticeable CGI. And I think the concept alone of Deadpool literally digging up Logan's grave is a hilarious way to start the movie.

Unfortunately Deadpool feels lamer and more like an asshole in this one. Especially after his character development in the last film I just can't see him desperately wanting to join the Avengers of all teams. Nando v Movies mentioned this but what the hell even is the Avengers now? And why is Happy in charge of who gets let in? And why wouldn't they let Wade in? Yeah he's gross and crass but he has special forces training and is nigh-unkillable. Y'all let Hawkeye in but not Deadpool?

The setup is interesting though I can't fully get behind the idea of anchor beings-- and the further idea that their death leads to "associated" universes collapsing as well as theirs? I don't know, it comes off as "yeah we have all these other characters you care about but Wolverine is the important one so they'd die without him", which is kind of an insult to those characters and that universe.

I admit, I was never big on Wolverine as a character, I always thought he was cool as hell but the only movie of his I've seen was Logan, which was awesome. So I admit that it may just be a case of the movie wasn't meant for me, but still I am a Deadpool fan so of course I'm gonna see this anyways. Super glad we got a good suit for him but I wish we didn't have to wait until the very end for him to put the cowl on.

The Johnny Storm/Captain America tease and bit was really funny I will say. Personally I was too stoned to get the joke at first, I honest to god thought he was just Chris Evans, but now that I've sobered up the misdirect is really funny.

Deadpool is directly responsible for getting Johnny Storm killed. I know Deadpool is a murderer and maybe I shouldn't give a shit about this, but it just feels like an unlikable thing for him to do. Like... that's a guy. That's a hero. It's not like he was being an ass to Wade or anything, he was an ally to the two and got killed for no good reason.

There was barely any screentime for the side characters that were some of the best parts of the first films. After Deadpool 2 I was really excited to see the X-Force working together in the next movie. The dynamic between Wade, Cable, and Domino are really fun and I think this Wolverine would've fit right in. It feels like a missed opportunity to not have the X-Force be the team to help fight Cassandra.

Speaking of, how about those cameos? I never watched Elektra or Blade so these kind of meant nothing for me. I watched this with my dad and he got pretty excited. Laura doesn't really do anything that memorable other than talk to Logan, and of course Channing Tatum's Gambit is the best character in all of cinema. Completely and utterly obsessed with him and I need a trilogy about him immediately.

I didn't love Wolverine's whole "letting his universe down" thing. It gets hyped up so much then when we learn what happened it was a bit underwhelming. I just can't see a universe where the X-Men are taken down by a mob of humans.

I laughed my ass off lots of times. "The Proposal. :)", "Suck it Fox, I'm going to Disneyland", "There's only ever gonna be one Blade", "He has risen, babygirl!", and pretty much everything out of Nicepool.

In general it kinda feels like it's regressing what was so good about Deadpool 1 and 2. It also feels like it's more for fans of the Fox Marvel movies than Deadpool fans. I hope that since this movie is "Deadpool and Wolverine" that means we can get a more proper Deadpool 3 in the future that brings back those who I missed dearly.

[nofacednerd]

okay finale thoughts

I don't think they took out any scenes but I do think it's funny that they renamed the title of the episode

hughie's... counter-proposal I guess? was so genuinely sweet that I'm mad it wasn't real

On that. 3rd time in back to back episodes not even 5 minutes in. That's gotta be a record. I thought they were actually going to acknowledge it as assault when he seemingly got very upset about the pegging joke she made and started squeezing the water bottle, but I guess not. My hope is that all the criticism they received while handling all of this, they'll actually take and acknowledge it in the show

Hughie canon bottom but at what cost...........

BUTCHER WITH THE TEMP-V INDUCED WHITE HAIR STREAKS. MY HEADCANON IS REAL

I think it's so funny that Butcher's last wish was for hughie to go to some random hooters in Nevada for him. Part of me wonders if he knew about the stupid Maid in Manhattan tour he went on entirely because it was his dad's last wish and wanted to see what he would agree to if he sounded sad enough about it

Ashley my problematic queen I hope you get to have fucking awesome scary superpowers next season and help take down the supes w the gang

Just. Shoutout to Erin Moriarty for being an insanely talented actress. Love that the shapeshifter just kept biting people as her go-to attack. Fucking knocked it out of the park

Annie choking the shapeshifter to death instead of using her powers felt symbolic somehow but it's 4 in the morning and I can't think about it rn. Good for her either way.

They also never actually explained why her powers just. Stopped working?? I'm guessing it was an emotional thing but I felt like things didn't change THAT much by the end of the season for her to suddenly be charged up enough to fly?

Okay but also. I'm kind of mad that they didn't acknowledge what the shapeshifter did to Hughie was assault and not only that but they had Annie get mad at HIM about it. Like girl hello???? Out of literally everyone I would expect at least Annie to understand, but for some reason they show loves having them have relationship drama that comes from fucking nowhere

That being said, I am SO glad they didn't break up again. That would have fucking sucked. Curious if the engagement thing will ever come up again since she got the ring back. I imagine if it does it'll be the end of the show

Also his little "FUCK YESSS" fist pump to himself. I just need to take a second to appreciate that that was so funny LMAO

I'm not gonna lie... I actually got pretty on-board with the Frenchie Kimiko QPR. aroace Kimiko you still live in my head rent free

I just know. I just KNOW. There's going to be SO MANY tentacle smut fics about Butcher by the end of the week. You horny motherfuckers are going to eat that shit up

Also going to be honest. I'm kind of mad they took out Neuman. She was such an interesting character and I always thought her views didn't conflict at all with the rest of The Boys, so I was really hoping for a redemption arc. She also had such an interesting dynamic with both Hughie and Annie (and Zoe having beef with Kimiko is fucking great). Idk she could have been a fun addition to the group

I was actually kind of excited to see The Boys split off to different countries and have to come back together next season, but I think them all getting kidnapped (and presumably thrown in prisons?) is much more interesting. I kind of hope they let Hughie be the main character again next season now that Butcher has gone off the rails and might? be a villain next season? But I know it's probably going to be Annie

Kimiko speaking I kind of assumed would happen at some point (since they established that as kind of her arc this season with the speech therapy) but I'm excited to see if that goes anywhere next season. I think best case scenario, she has selective mutism and only goes verbal sometimes. They've been pretty good about her disability so far

also speaking of, I've been trying to figure out what her sign for each of The Boys' names are and. is Hughie's supposed to look like someone running away because that's so funny if true (it's hard to tell because the captions are obviously not synced up with the visuals on her signing)

My overall thoughts are kinda... eh. This season ultimately felt directionless to me, too many plotlines trying to happen all at once and while I think individual episodes were really good, as a whole nothing felt super connected (I mean, in episode 6 Hughie was super fucked up over his dad's death and presumably what happened at Tek Knight's party, but episode 7 they just seem to have completely forgotten that he's having an active mental breakdown, a trend that continues into episode 8. And that's just one example from this season). I also think they fumbled the supes' plotline at the very end. I trusted the writers that they actually knew what Sage's plan was, but it mostly just seems like she swooped in at the end to tell us her plan worked, without saying what it actually was. I was hoping there was going to be actual clever writing there, but I guess it's hard to write the world's smartest character if she's only as smart as the writer's room can be.

I understand that, ultimately, it's incredibly difficult to write satisfying arcs with very limited time (this is an issue of streaming in general, not specifically an issue with The Boys), so I don't really fault them for that. I just hope next season is more focused.

The biggest problem with season 3 is, obviously, Hughie getting sexually assaulted three times in 3 back-to-back episodes, with zero acknowledgement (and on one occasion, implied mockery) from the show itself or anyone involved. I REALLY hope they take the criticism and actually make something of it next season, or at least acknowledge that it was fucked up.

Anyway, not a terrible season, but it had a lot of glaring issues. I'm holding out hope for season 5 being good, but it'll be another year or two before we get it anyway, so...

[kyouka-supremacy]

I'm not sure we're even getting cool ep 11 sskk scene in the manga at all in the end... The battle is an evident fast-forward, and I feel like it was inserted in the anime for some very specific goals including but not limited to:

Give the season a cool and exciting finale that keeps the hype high for what's to come next

Allow the protagonist a little spotlight since he barely had any this arc in general and none at all in the last episode specifically

Clear up what it's been of Akutagawa (which I suppose could have been left as a cliff hanger; but they may have wanted to hype Akutagawa and clarify that he's still an active character in the story so to not make the audience lose interest in him (keep selling merch with him)? As a polite guess)

So you see, the season 5 finale used as more of a season 6 teaser; it follows some very specific anime logics that don't necessary work in the manga, where truth to be told it could be a little awkward narrative flow wise to do a fast-forward to the middle of the next arc, then start the arc all over from the beginning as intended.

I obviously hope this isn't the case, but I guess I want to be prepared in case the manga doesn't follow to adapt the scene (╯︵╰,). Either way, it's still a scene we will see in the manga at some point, sooner or later that is.

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 10 Thoughts: History Lessons

What an episode. I'd love to do a bit of preamble up front but there is a load to talk about. No one needs me to ramble before the ramble. This will be a long one so buckle in, kids.

Spoilers for episode 10 below the cut.

Another episode that jumps straight into the incident. I really enjoyed this one. Both for its novel format and also for the way it lays the foundations of what's to come. It's also nice to see an incident that is mostly mundane. There was very little in this, outside of an allusion to something more sinister, that was out of the ordinary. A fairly British dude telling a unique British story. However, I don't think there is an awful lot to say here that isn't quickly expanded upon later in the episode or that won't be best served talking about elsewhere.

So let's get to the more interesting bit of this case. For those of you not from here, or a little too young to remember, the reason it's all so authentically British is because Mr. Bonzo is TMP's version of Mr. Blobby. A very real TV show mascot from the 90's. A lot of what was just discussed in that interview is lifted from Mr. Blobby's real history. He first appeared on a Saturday night variety show called Noel's House Party in its "Gotcha" segment. He was first introduced as a children's TV character to prank unsuspecting celebrities. He got very popular and became a mainstay of the series, became a huge icon at the time, launched a fairly massive range of merchandise, plans to create a Mr. Blobby theme park happened, and he even had a chart topping single. Blobby was a big deal and still pops up a fair amount. He didn't do any murders that we know of, and no one dressed as him to kill either. There is also this which I think everyone should watch to better prepare themselves for Mr. Bonzo, or to soothe the horrors he's already inflicted.

Colin's back! He's still weird! Not much to say here but it's nice to see him and Celia interact.

Next up were hear Alice and Sam, via Sam's phone, exploring the damp ruins of the Magnus Institute. There isn't a whole lot to say in this portion of their exploration but it's nice to see them outside of work again.

Gwen's section of this episode was really the standout IMO. Anusia is killing it and continues to kill it more and more each episode. I think Gwen is now my #2 blorbo. Colin had an early lead with a great email but is more of a background character at the moment. I am really excited to see how Gwen is going to react to this down the line. Whether the abject terror of meeting Bonzo is going dissuade her from pursuing Lena's job or further stoke that fire. I also wonder if she's going to assume what a lot of us are assuming. That the more recent Bonzo related murders are perpetrated by Bonzo, and that the envelope she gave him was his next target, which further plays into the golem references. Can't wait to hear more about what his role is in regards to the OIAR.

But no one could possibly replace Mr. Bonzo as #1 and I'm sure we can all see why this episode. Just everything about how he's being handled is perfect. A lot of history to ground him, incredibly ambiguous origins, his teeth are not soft, topped off with one of the most impactful "screen presence" of the entire TMA cast. Everything I was hoping for.

For those not a part of the ARG, and not a part of the Statement Remains discord server for it, Mr. Bonzo quickly became a massive fixture of basically everything that happened on that server. It's where my blog's name is from. Which is to say Mr. Bonzo has been a HEAVILY anticipated character and has had no small amount of hype built up around him. RQ have managed to deliver on that and then some. It's really pretty amazing he's managed to show up and not be a disappointment if you were part of that crowd, but they really pulled it off.

Bonzo Fact: Did you know that Mr. Bonzo is entirely unique in all of TMA? He's the only character to have a canonical design. He's the only character we can truly behold, and his visage is glorious and awe-inspiring. He is, quite literally, more real than any other character in the show. (Ignoring historical characters we never met)

I'm sure lots of you will have seen what Mr. Bonzo looks like but for those who haven't and have missed it on my posts, it's this.

If you checked out the links earlier, which you should have, you'll see that he's very close to Mr. Blobby. And, yes, he is kinda creepy if you're grossed out by weird mascots but he's not "Oh my god!" levels of horrifying. That's the original Mr. Bonzo, Mr. Bonzo the suit, not Mr. Bonzo the monster. This is who Gwen met.

Which really raises a rather interesting question; when did the suit stop being just a suit? Which in turn raises a more interesting one; why did the suit stop being just a suit? It's pretty clear that Mr. Bonzo really did start off as something mundane but whatever he is now very clearly isn't.

After all that excitement we return to Alice and Sam fumbling about in a ruin. Interestingly we're no longer listening through their phone, but a tape recorder. Which is actually a fairly big deal. Not because it's a TMA thing but because it's an analogue format that's not being digitised. So far that's not been something we've been able to listen through. Which means "Freddy" has some tricks up its sleeves, or "Freddy" isn't the one listening. The actual contents of this part isn't terribly important for the most part. Archivist's office, worms and trapdoors for an allusion to TMA, mystical symbols maybe, lots of books, etc. The real revelation here is "why they chose us… why they didn’t choose me". Likely confirming that the contents of CHDB (see masterdoc) was mostly the first step. Sam "failed" and wasn't chosen for whatever came next. It also likely confirms that Gerry wasn't chosen either as the two had remarkably similar test scores. Anyway, after that they call it quits and head on home.

Now, if you weren't reading the transcript's you'll have missed the introduction to a new character, [Error] played by Beth Eyre who voiced Lucia Wright from MAG 130: Meat. As Alice and Sam leave a padlock rattles on a trapdoor before a key twists and the lock pops open. The trapdoor opens and [Error] emerges. Very very little to really say here. Imprisonment below the Institute probably isn't a good sign, and they're the likely immortal overarching villain of either this season, or the show in general. But combined with strange PoV on those events, what was likely a mystical prison, and it being under the Institute that was burned down for a reason it's not good news. Unless it was burned down to free them, then who knows.

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

Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet (I added the Magnus Institute's child psych eval. sheet to it)

Somewhat notably here CAT1RB2275 is also very close to the trailer's case number of CATIRB2275.

DPHW Theory: 2275 is actually a pretty interesting number. For clarity this refers to only the initial recording that Celia heard, not anything related to Mr. Bonzo beyond that. 2 in Death is pretty reasonable as the statement brings the subject of murders up but doesn't dwell on them much. 2 in Pain falls under the same explanation. The 7 in Helplessness tracks well too because not only was the format of the interview a bit of a gotcha, but the content dealt heavily with imprisonment. Both in context to the show's premise and the legacy's impact upon his life. It was also eerie and weird and mascot-centric which is good Weird fodder.

The reason this is all so interesting is because it's possible this is an entirely mundane incident that still happens to line up well with the DPHW of Mascot (Kids). What occurred in the interview didn't seem supernatural, what was described in it also seemed mundane. It's only really the last couple of lines that hint towards something supernatural occurring but notably none of that happens in this recording itself, the details of it discussed, nor are any of the people on the recording first hand witnesses to those events and retelling them. But despite all of that the mundane occurrences of the interview still heavily reflect the supernatural ratings of the section (subsection).

CAT# Theory: CAT1. [Insert your favourite screaming reaction GIF here.] I've got no clue what to make of CAT#'s at this stage. This one wasn't particularly elucidating. Gonna be a long few weeks.

There are a couple of theories floating about that I'll briefly mention because someone will do it if I don't. The Subject/Agent/Catalyst theory presumes a lot of stuff about the OIAR I don't think holds up, and assumes they're happy to throw away information which I don't think they are. See here for more. The Person/Place/Object theory overlooks that Dolls (Watching) is CAT2, and not a place, and that Agglomeration (Miscellany) is about a collection of objects despite it taking place at Hilltop. A location only important to us listeners. If you do like those theories by all means keep liking them. I'm just not convinced by them and it seems prudent to mention that I have seen them.

R# Theory: B is right in line with what I outlined last week. Bonzo-themed murders are not overtly supernatural but they are something that definitely happened. The Klaus doc also have a few incidents with the note "Mr. B", including the only known S rank. With Gwen's reaction being so strong I think it's a good indicator that S rank's follow the pattern.

Header talk: Mascot (kids) -/- murder is just another header that seems pretty weird. The section (subsection) bit is all pretty normal but that crosslink again shows that crosslinks have very little structure to them. I'm starting to wonder if they're actually relevant at all, or pre-assigned like other elements are. They're starting to seem more and more like vibes than anything.

[madschiavelique]

HELLO!

It is I, 🌧️ anon :)

So, I noticed that crown of ink has not continued (which is perfectly okay, don't worry), but also that you are now into baldurs gate?! Omg this is so exciting, who is your favorite character? :0

I'm assuming it's Astarion based on your posts, but I *need* to get this idea out of my brain please I must share it. So Halsin is an elf druid right? and he has a bear wild shape form right? WELL. Imagine he has a halfway form, like just the ears, tail, and claws of a bear, but he still has to sleep through the winter, so he's hibernating, and the reader is still sleeping next to him at night but they go out and hunt and explore and stuff during the day, and after a few days of this, one morning comes and Halsin won't. let. go. And the reader is giggling and trying to get him to stop cuddling them so that they can go do stuff, but Halsin, still not awake, is just mumbling that "they're warm" and "they need to stay with him, please?" and the reader just folds and sleepy morning snuggling and shenanigans ensue.

Thank you I just needed to get that out! Hope you've been having a great summer :3

~🌧️ anon

ANON FIRST OF ALL HI BELOVED HRU AND ALSO OMFG IM KISSING UR BRAIN BECAUSE I HAVE THE EXACT SAME FUCKING CONCEPT/IDEA AAAAAAAAAAAA

okay so indeed a crown of ink is not continued BUT who knows whenever inspo might strike again for these idiots in love hehe!

and YES i absolutely adore astarion but honestly i love most characters of the game!! if i had to go in order of the one i romanced/would romance if it were possible you can find (kinda in order of preferences from best to least wanted) astarion, halsin, karlach, haarlep/raphael, and a bit of gale and shadowheart!

NOW THO ONTO THE THOUGHT U HAD

the halfway form has been running in my fucking mind okay ? especially because when you get down to business once you romanced halsussy the fact that there was a bear form you could do the dirty with bugged me and made me so fucking uncomfy ? AND LIKE i have this very vivid image (that i will DEFINITELY DRAW) of that halfway form halsin letting the instincts grow and shit not (i am going feral about it can you tell ?)

i ADORE this lil idea you have about him in hibernation like that is SO SWEET

i could definitely see him getting more reluctant to let you go off his grasp by the DAY. he is supposed to be the (teddy)bear yet he has turned to be the one that needs one - and in that very case, it is you.

What do you mean you have to get out to get some food ? there's enough remaining portions for you to stay a bit longer in here, right ? it's all cold in here without you, even his fur won't be enough (it will be enough, he's just whiny that you're getting away)

the weather outside is so icy that you might even catch a cold, which will let halsin have you all by himself in his arms will prevent you from going out any more so that your symptoms don't get worse :ccc

he'd definitely spoon you, his arm under your neck bended so that he can keep you in a hook as his hand is placed on your shoulder, the other one grabbing your waist to have you pressed against him as he nuzzles his face in the crook of your neck and sighs in content from how good this feels : just you close to him, completely safe and in nature.

ARGH i love this this is absolutely adorable anon i LOVE IT!!!! please if u have any more thoughts on the bg3 gang TELL MEEEE

[starryredpandawrites]

Halloween with the Siblinks

Hey fam, I've been working on the next update and I wanted to post it yesterday for Halloween BUT I'm not quite finished with it yet.

So, instead, have some headcannons of what what I think Halloween would be like for Audrey and Bendy (in both forms) and a rough draft/outline of a scene for their very first one.

Btw, I would love to hear anyone else's headcannons/ideas about what any of the siblinks' Halloweens would be like so feel free to respond/reblog this post with your ideas and/or tag me in any posts that you make yourself :)

For their first Halloween together, I think Audrey would play it safe and plan on the two of them staying home together. She explained the whole holiday to Bendy and he was intrigued (Ink Demon form) and very, very, very excited (toon form) about the whole thing. He wanted to go trick-or-treating but after a few arguments he settled for just giving candy out to people and letting them see him in "costume". Audrey would have been more comfortable just hiding away and setting a bowl of candy outside the door but he gave her puppy-dog eyes and she couldn't say no.

At first, she didn't want to decorate to deter people from coming but realized how out-of-place Bendy would look answering the door to a normal apartment, so she goes all-out with the decorations. Obviously, they carve pumpkins (with Bendy's cartoon as the theme).

During the days building up to the holiday, Audrey talks about Halloween and tells him stories of her experience with it. Joey was too old to take Audrey trick-or-treating (plus, he wanted to keep her existence on the down-low) but he bought her lots of candy each year and she would help him pass it out. At one point, she told a story about a group of teenagers that showed up and took almost all of the candy they had and they ended up running out of treats to pass out super early. Both her and Joey were upset by this and he would talk about it every year after that, so she made a promise to herself to always buy extra candy so they wouldn't run out. She says offhandedly about how she believes teenagers should leave the candy/trick-or-treating to the kids, forgetting once again how Bendy takes everything literally the first time he hears it.

Anyways, the day before Halloween, Audrey is super stressed and has everything prepared in advance (and has had it prepared for weeks). Bowl of candy is filled with backup bags stored in the kitchen, and her costume is nicely laid out so she can jump into it right after work (she dressed as Alice Angel or some cartoon character to fit the theme). She also sets a chair by the door as a plan B just in case she gets caught up at work so that he can just set the candy outside the door.

She goes over the plan/what trick-or-treating will look like to Bendy. She'll do the talking, he'll hold out the bowl, then they'll go back to watching a scary movie together.

However, she forgets to mention her plan B.

Halloween happens and Audrey gets caught up at work. She is really, really sad about it but knew it was a possibility. She's still working on setting healthy working boundaries with her boss/coworkers but at least she gets paid overtime now.

When she gets home, late, she finds the chair exactly where she left it before and all of the candy she bought is gone.

Bendy is in his Ink Demon form, sprawled out on the couch and watching a horror movie. There's a half-full pillowcase of something on the floor next to him and several empty bags scattered on the floor but Audrey doesn't notice them at first.

Audrey: "Bendy! Did you eat all the candy I bought? That was for the kids!"

Bendy, glances at Audrey once before looking back to the TV, clearly unbothered by her anger.

Audrey storms over to the TV and turns it off.

Bendy jumps up with a challenging hiss and goes to turn it back on but she blocks him. Insert tense moment where they're boths staring at eachother, neither backing down.

Finally, Bendy basically asks, WHAT'S YOUR PROBLEM?! but imagine it with spookier, more eloquent words.

Audrey: "You ate all the Halloween candy."

Bendy: I DID NOT!

Audrey: "Then where is it?!"

Our inky demon boy stomps over to the pillowcase, picks it up and, in true asshole fashion, dumps its contents over Audrey's head.

Candy spills out of it, and Audrey is now surrounded by a ring of assorted types of candy. To her growing horror and surprise, she notices a lot of the candy is definitely different from the type(s) she bought at the store.

Audrey, no longer angry, just scared: Where did you get this?

Bendy: FROM THOSE WHO SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN OUT TONIGHT.

With some interrogation, Audrey decodes the Ink Demon's cryptic yet blunt answers and confirms that he did not set the bowl outside the door. Instead, he answered the door himself, switching between his Ink Demon for and his toon form depending on who was outside the door.

At some point, he was running low on candy (he was passing it out in handfuls) and began to panic. However, the next group of people that came to their door was a group of rowdy teenagers and he overheard them making fun of their decorations.

Bendy is now pissed and remembers what Audrey told him about teenagers and how candy should go to kids instead.

So, when they open the door, he pulls a Grunkle Stan and jumpscares them. They all scream and run off, leaving their bags of candy behind.

He didn't expect that but isn't going to just leave free food/candy lying around, so he takes it inside.

When he runs out of Audrey's candy, he starts giving that candy out instead. Whenever he inevitably started running low on candy, he would wait for a group of teenagers to stop by and jumpscare/steal their candy to give out to the little kids. The idea of just giving less candy out to each group of kiddos never passed his mind.

Audrey is horrified (and a little impressed) and fully expects someone to report them and for the police or the Gent Corporation to show up and cart them away. She quickly takes down their decorations and starts preparing for a hasty getaway when someone inevitably shows up to investigate the appearance of the demon in her apartment.

Except, they don't.

A few days pass by and she still hasn't heard from either group. However, she has heard from her neighbors.

Everyone had something to say about her brother(s)* presentation. She gets mixed reviews (all the ones that got Toon Bendy loved it but some of the ones who got the Ink Demon thought they went a little overboard) but overall most people were very impressed.

She debates relaying this to Bendy because she doesn't want him to get too cocky but decides it would be wrong to keep it from him. Sure enough, Ink Demon Bendy is hyped and is now thinking of other ways to scare people next year and Toon Bendy is just excited to see more people. In both forms he is very disappointed to learn that Halloween only happens once a year/every 365 days.

*Everyone assumed Toon Bendy was her little brother but some people were arguing on whether the Ink Demon was her brother, friend, or even boyfriend. She VERY quickly shot down the third option. Now everyone assumes she has a little brother that lives with her full-time and an older brother that stops by every once in a while.

Disclaimer, personally, I have nothing against teenagers trick-or-treating and kept going out with my little sister until her senior year of High School. I just thought it would be funny if Bendy stole candy from kids/teenagers and figured this would be a good excuse for him to do so lol