#kuku rambles

[kukuandkookie]

YO CONGRATS TO LINK CLICK FOR REACHING #6 ON TRENDING HERE!!!! 🥳

It’s genuinely pretty rare for Chinese media to trend on Tumblr (others I’ve seen include MDZS, The Untamed, 19 Days, and TGCF), so I’m really proud of Link Click!! It’s really done well for a donghua!

[aggressiveguitarnoises]

gonna end my A level art course in a psychward i swear

[indihome-suck]

does lintang or friends of lintangcore has super powers. in AU perhaps?

YEAH I HAVE AN AU FOR THAT but the idea is still half baked except for Lintang, since i Made him first.

Lintang's the ability to relive memories, his own or others, from their perspective complete with every sense and emotion they felt. (I'm conflicted between calling it Burning Memory or Remembrance for the Omori reference)

Senja's gravity manipulation, she has a sun motif and sun, as a star, have a lot of gravity lol.

Ratih has the ability to see someone's "true" emotion in their reflection, haven't figured this one fully yet but i think the visual disparity would look real cool.

Hana is umbrakinesis, because i think it's cool as hell.

[chaeoniz]

it truly was past my bedtime now i think of it

[darabeatha]

[creative-heart]

Hey lucia, welcome back to writing <3 can you write something with kuku? Just him being protective and cute after reader's night out taking care of her and everything (maybe some smut?but only if u feel confy with that :)

Hi Sweetheart! I'm sorry it took a while for me to get back to you, it's been a busy birthday weekend here, but alass, here is our loving caring...in many one ways, Esteban Kukuriczka 🥰😍 I hope you enjoy this and that I made justice to what you had in mind when you requested this.

"Into the Morning light" Esteban Kukuriczka x Fem! reader

+18 ONLY If you do not want to read the smut part, stop reading at "Y/N smirked, feeling the older guy’s stare glued to her"

T.W: Mentions of drunkness, smut, Oral (fem receiving), 3pov, fem. reader

Other than that, kuku being an absolut sweetheart taking care of y/n after a night out in more ways than one.

Word Count: 1.6k ish

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Esteban jolt awaken by the call ringtone he had set up especificaly for Y/N, it was 4 a.m and she had gone out to town with her girl friends. He knew nothing entirely good could be up if she was calling him, as he grabbed his phone, he just hoped it wasn’t the worst case scenario running through his sleepy brain “hello?” he cleared the sleep from his throat “Y/N/N baby, everything okay?”.

“Mmhmm, everything’s fine teddybear” she slurred through the phone as Kuku sighed on the other end of the line knowing she was quite drunk if she was calling him that petname, “can you pleeassseee come pick me up?” she pouted to the phone even if the older one couldn’t see it. Esteban hummed in agreement already halfway dressed.

“Stay right there, I’ll be over in 5 minutes love” he hung up and out the door he went walking to the car as he fixed his t-shirt and drove over to the club Y/N had gone out to. When he got there he pulled up and got out of the car walking towards his girlfriend who was resting against a wall. 

“You came baby!!” she giggled and wrapped her arms tightly around the taller man’s neck kissing him shortly. Esteban chuckled at the state his girlfriend was in and pulled away gently placing his hands on her waist. 

“of course I did babygirl, you call, I come” he kissed her forehead wrapping his arm around her waist protectively walking her over to the car listening to her ramble on about her night and looking over at her “I think we’re gonna get you a cup of coffee and a glass of water once we get home, you’ve had some to drink, haven’t you?” Y/N nodded giggling and looking up at the gorgeous man’s eyes slightly closed as he helped the brunette in the car.

~~~

When they got home and Kuku helped her out of the car she had taken her shoes off already “owe, the gravel hurts” she whined pouting, her demeanor always getting whiny when she drank- which Esteban actually found adorable- so as soon as those words got out of his lady’s lips she swooped her up in his arms and placed a short, loving kiss on her lips.

“And we wouldn’t want the princess’s feet to get hurt now, would we?” he said quietly to her ear as she shook her head biting her lip gently- she always found it so sexy when Esteban got all caring and protective of her, even if she was a tad drunk she could feel herself getting turned on by this gorgeous man she called her own- He looked at her and chuckled softly when he realised she was staring at him as he walked them in the house “are you trying to memorize every feature of mine love? you’re staring” placing a small kiss on the tip of her nose he placed her down on the couch as she bit her lip “now, stay here while I get you some water and coffee alright?” she nodded in agreement and sat there, the bodycon dress she had worn out scrunching up a bit around her thighs. He took a quick glance down her girlfriend’s body before walking over to the kitchen. 

Y/N sat back on the couch, legs stretched out and crossed in front of her as she watched him move around in the kitchen love and lust mixing in her eyes as she did- did he suddenly get sexier than usual? or is this just the alcohol in her veins and the love in her heart talking?- no matter what it was, she knew one thing, she loved that tall skinny man with every inch of her body. When he felt his girlfriend’s eyes glued to his back he turned around drinks in hand just as she looked away feeling as if she had gotten caught doing something she shouldn’t be doing. “Where you staring babygirl?” he said in a soft teasing tone, the length of her legs under that short dress that she wore so well not going unnoticed by the man while he handed the coffee over to Y/N.

She bit her lip gently taking the mug “thanks….no…maybe” she blushed and took a sip of the hot, bitter beverage and sight feeling it warm up her insides, or maybe that was just from being cared on like this by Esteban. After the coffee was gone, she drank some water and smiled “already feeling a bit better” she said, still clearly under the influence of the drinks, but a little more put together and definitely feeling a little mischievous she placed a soft kiss on the corner of her boyfriend’s lips and got up, making sure to hold onto his thigh to get up. Esteban looked up at her back as she walked past him, his eyes already darker than before as he kept his eyes glued to her while she made her way up the stairs to their bedroom.

~~~

Y/N smirked, feeling the older guy’s stare glued to her ass as she walked, knowing full well a few things, one, Esteban loved that dress on her- he had even said so as she got ready earlier- two her holding onto his thigh could send him spiraling, and three she was determined to tease the living hell out of that poor man, as she walked into the bedroom they shared, she picked up her favorite shirt from him and walked to the bathroom to get ready for bed, she took the dress and underwear off and put on the shirt, buttoning up just enough buttons to have it close at the right places, as she retouched her lipstick she could hear kuku’s footsteps come into the room and then into bed settling himself to go back to sleep, assuming she wouldn’t be in the mood right now, after all it was, almost 5:30 in the morning, so when he saw her walk out of the bathroom in just his shirt he couldn’t help but smirk as he sat up on the bed. “What are you doing wearing that shirt baby?” he said lowly, not even trying to hide the lust in his voice or his stare.

She made her way to the bed smiling innocently “oh, I can totally take it off if you want…”she said cutely aiming for the buttons as she sat right across his lap, one leg on either side of his body. He quickly stopped her and shook his head, “oh no baby girl, leave that on for me” he said quietly as he leaned in to leave a trail of wet  kisses from her lips down her jaw and making his way to the spot below her ear where he gently nibbed at her skin, eliciting a quiet breathy moan from Y/N’s lips at the same time as his hands ran slowly up her thighs, only to find out she was wearing only his shirt he moved his head back eyebrow quirked “oh, that’s how you wanna play it tonight baby?” he growled quietly holding her waist and in one swift motion leaving her trapped against the mattress holding her body there with his.

Esteban kissed Y/N quickly but full of passion an neediness before moving himself down between his girlfriend’s thighs gently pushing her knees apart as he locked eyes with her slowly kissing and nipping up her inner thighs. Y/N’s hands found their place in his hair, racking her fingers through it encouraging him to move a bit faster, even tho she knew he would take his time, eating her out always being his favorite part. He loved the sounds he could coax from the lady’s mouth just by using his. As he looked up through his lashes at her, he took his tongue to her clit savoring it as if it were the best ice cream on the hottest summer day. “Babe” she moaned whining for more, that simple touch not being even nearly enough to calm her ache for him.

“Hmm?” he hummed not moving away from his task sending a delicious wave of vibrating electricity through Y/N’s body causing it to jerk forward seeking more of his touch which he used to slide one of his long fingers inside of her accompassing it to the rhythm of his tongue still lapping at her sensitive nub. He kept moving, taking his clues and cues from the exquisit moans and whimpers that escaped Y/N’s lips as he picked up his pace sliding a second finger in before curling them to graze that sweet little spot inside her that he knew drove her absolutely insane. 

“Fuck Esteban!” she moaned louder as she could feel the tension building inside her lower stomach with each one of his fingers thrusts trying to move against him in the same way “babe… I’m so…I’m gonna… fuck it feels so good” she muttered out in incoherent phrases as her brain grew foggier with lust. 

Surely, soon enough, Y/N bucked her hips forward moaning and tugging kuku’s hair as she reached her high, Esteban helping her ride it out before slowly pulling away and moving up to kiss her, slow and tender, full of love just as her eyes fluttered closed, prisoner to the mixture of pleasure and sleep. He held the love of his life closer and covered themselves up with the bedsheets, all that mattered to him, was seeing her satisfied, he kissed her head and settled down Y/N already half asleep in her boyfriend’s arms after being loved well into the morning light.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I must admit, I am not entirely well after writing this, so I hope you all enjoyed it 😘😉🤭

@madame-fear @cyliarys-starlight @espinasrubi @candycanes19

[shameless-sol-apologist]

(i actually finished this game a couple days ago i just forgot to actually post it lmao)

so um. closing thoughts: [warning: incoherent rambling below]

shocking absolutely no one, this game fucking sucks. most of the characters have two personality traits each. the handling of DID in kukus route is awful. the way the game portrays lunis/liliths toxic unbalanced relationship as romantic is awful. hey at least we get an almost compelling villain this time instead of corruption 3: tokyo drift

imo the main problem with the story is that the author seems terrified of making the main characters look even slightly unlikeable. usually this shows up in the form of retcons: "oh mitsuko wasnt causing mass death because of her own selfishness she was just sooo sad about being abandoned and sooo misunderstood and sooo sad" "oh luni didnt erase her lover/servant who is completely dependant on her she actually just teleported her away somewhere at the last second and their relationship is actually tooootally fine and healthy and cute you guys" "oh kuku didnt repeatedly stalk and harrass kugari it was all her eEeEeEeEeeevil alternate personality" etc

this also brings me to how trauma and mental illness is (imo) only used to make the characters more sympathetic. a characters trauma isnt there to be meaningfully explored, its there so the player can go "awww poor [character of choice] :("

and yet.

as much as i dont want to give lander the slightest bit of credit, i still stand by my statement that gm is the best written game in the series... but only because the bar is in the second circle of hell

also, lander would it kill you to stop thinking with your dick for like five seconds? is an implied sex scene necessary for every route? like im not against sex scenes in art, its just that these dont add anything beyond masturbation material (its not even GOOD material mind you!)

[timelessxmemories]

Squeeee Monaca LOVESSSSS cats!!! There so cute and fuzzyyyy....Monaca has two cats of her own, actually! And Monaca promises to be the best little sister to all of you! Hehe!

-《Monaca》

Yeahhhh!! Cats are niceee! There so cute and they make funny noisesss.....And then when you pet em' they close there silly little eyessss.....And reallyyy!? Rocks are soooo funnnn!! Your daughter seems really niceeee......

-○ ° Jatar0/Jam3s ° ○

Oh! Sorry kuku, My name is Evil. And these losers are the people I call my family, unfortunately./j And they seem to like you, and now Monaca is your sister?- Jeez- She gets so easily attached.

-3v1l

You get easily attached too, dork. You where rambling about how everyone here was nice like- two seconds ago- Kyahahaha!

-JuUzoU/Teeth

...shut up.

-3v1l

Haha! That's alright! Everyone else here kinda just left so it's just me here! But yea! Marlene is really cute! She's super energetic and very easily attached to people and things! But it's nice to meet you, Evil!

Also! Here's my cats! We have Juniper, Rascal and Sand! Juniper's feisty, Rascal is like me! Always hungry! And Sand here is very shy! She's unsure of people!

[kihaku-gato]

I'm growing to find I really like expressive yet large vocal range.

Whether they use said range for lit voice acting or very adorably dorky silly voices is up to the ones with the gift. Still love it all the same.

[modelronpagame]

The Greeting || Prologue IV

After a moment of bated breath, a tall, slender figure clad in a velvety red suit steps out onto the stage, arms raised as he basks in the applause from your fellow students, oblivious to its obligatory nature. He lets out an airy laugh and waves to everyone, before clearing his throat and stepping up to the podium to speak.

“Thank you, you’re all much too kind! I could never get tired of greeting each edition’s fresh new batch of models- and my my, you all sure do look stunning this year!”

He raises a hand to his lips to let out another short titter of laughter, and it’s abundantly clear just how used to being on stage this guy seems to be. His presence up in front of the podium practically commands the attention of the audience, and every gesture and change in expression seems completely and precisely calculated.

“Kukuku!~ I might even venture to call you all the most charming looking class our agency’s hosted to date! Each year HPA sets another impossibly high standard to live up to, don’t they? I’m sure you all are fully aware as to why you’re here…”

Huang begins to stroll about the stage, plucking the microphone from its stand to carry with him as he does so.

“The best of the best! A true mark of HPA’s talent-scouting proficiency, their unrivaled professionalism in the teaching business! What you all stand for is highest quality artistry that Hope’s Peak has to offer! Who else to better represent the essence of success that our fair academy’s built its name upon?”

He opens up his arms in a broad, ostentatious gesture, flashing the crowd a pearly-white grin.

“To be scouted once is truly an honor, but to be scouted twice?? You all really have something to be proud of! Believe me, scoring a spot in our magazine is no easy feat, and the selection process is certainly nothing to scoff at! This opportunity is a once in a lifetime chance, so savor the spotlight while you can! Being designated a page in HP’s Most Excellent will grant VIP access into any career you’ve set your eyes on, and that’s a guarantee!”

Another honeyed laugh, followed by a wistful sort of sigh,

“I remember back when I was a budding young entrepreneur- I’m sure you all know, I used to be the Super High School Level Reality TV Show Host!… And as recent alumnus of Hope’s Peak, ready to go out into the world and show everyone just what I’d learned… I wanted to give the public more insight into the formerly elusive Hope’s Peak Academy- show them just how bright and talented their students really were, let everyone know that yes, these students really are the best of the best!~”

He motions out towards the crowd,

“And that’s where you all come in! For these next few weeks, you’ll be professionally gussied up and photographed for our magazine! I believe I’ve delayed you all long enough with my rambling and gushing-- I’m just very passionate about our lovely agency! Kuku~ In any case, let’s go ahead and get started on a little tour around the place, shall we? We can get into all of the modelling nitty gritty when the time comes! Thank you all again for being a part of our legacy. You kids are making history more valuable than you’ll ever know!”

Huang addresses the crowd with another grand sweeping gesture before bowing and turning to descend from the stage, and the chaperones signal for another round of applause, which resounds shortly after. Huang seems like an odd sort of fellow, especially for a CEO, but in a way he appears to be exactly the kind of person to be running a modelling agency like this. The certain uniqueness in character that all Hope’s Peak students possess is clear in him, even as an alumni.

Huang moves to speak to the chaperones, and the group stays huddled for a moment or two before addressing the crowd again. The suit-clad CEO approaches the front of the crowd again and smiles,

“You all can follow along behind me, I’ll take you into the building. Your chaperones will be keeping everyone together from behind- try not to stray too far from the group!”

And with that, he begins heading towards the door, and the students around you slowly get up from their seats and follow along behind him.

[kukuandkookie]

Wait I’m confused why is Blue’s Clues trending when the posts are all from like,,, 2021 NNGKSHFJS

Edit: oh my god I did not expect this to blow up but—the people replying about needing to hear Steve’s message again are right. Blue’s Clues trending again is what we deserve. 🥺

[kukuandkookie]

Crying at the irony of “queen Elizabeth” trending with “Ao3” as a related tag, and then going into the tag only to see people asking why “Ao3” is trending with “queen Elizabeth” as a related tag (like it got so popular with people constantly asking that the trending tags reversed?? Lmao).

Genuinely baffling, but after a bit of peeking I think I found the culprit. Honestly impressive because from what I can gather it was a single person who did it. 😂

[kukuandkookie]

People keep claiming Chinese BL manhua really only have stories featuring toxic male leads, so I offered to give recommendations with green flags... Someone finally said yes, so here's what I typed up in response!:

I Ship My Rival x Me:

One of my personal favourites!

Based on the hilarious novel, commonly known as I Ship My Adversary x Me and also has an audio drama adaptation on MaoEr FM. Basically a story about two actors who are seen as complete rivals by everyone except the actors themselves, which annoys the main character (Wei Yanzi) enough that when he discovers there are actual fans who ship them instead of pit them against one another, he’s so excited he sort of starts shipping them too (in like, an abstract, theoretical manner lmao). This of course causes shenanigans as he actually gets to know the person who people ship him with/pit him against, Gu Yiliang.

Gu Yiliang is a true sweetheart and the greenest of green flags. He’s a complete puppy and I love him. And this means, naturally, the only misunderstandings in this story are of the hilarious kind (you’ll know what I mean if you read it lol). 😂

This one actually used to be available officially in English on the Bilibili manhua’s international app before it got shut down, but it recently got picked up by Seven Seas, the company behind a lot of official English translations of danmei (Chinese BL)!

Touch Your World:

A literally colour-blind boy (as in, he cannot see colour at all and only sees things in black and white) discovers someone who he can see colour on. This person is a designer who has suffered past betrayal and trauma that has caused him to shut himself up and grow much more on edge, but this chance meeting draws both parties out of their shells.

Pixiu’s Eatery, No Way Out:

Not a green flag top in the traditional sense, but here we meet the mythical Pixiu: an ancient Chinese mythical creature who now runs a restaurant. While he’s a penny-pincher with a temper and he doesn’t get along with his love interest at first (a ghost named Wen Xi who he finds suspicious due to Wen Xi’s ties to a past rival of his named Taotie), Pixiu and Wen Xi eventually grow, quite naturally—and hilariously!—into a found family.

The Wife Is First:

Based on a novel of pretty much the same name (and is written by the same author as the popular manhua and donghua, No Doubt in Us (a heterosexual body-swap romance, which also has a subtle gay side ship)). Here we meet Jing Shao just as he’s about to lose everything: once a royal and a powerful general, he has been betrayed by all those around him…except the husband he has never treated well.

As such, when we first meet him, we actually witness his—and his husband’s—deaths. But then he awakens and finds himself back in time to the night right after he was forced to wed this husband of his, and Jing Shao vows to treat him well from now on because he stuck with him through thick and thin despite everything.

Don’t Say You Love Me:

A high school romance with a supernatural twist: Lin Yutong was confessed to by his best friend, Qin Weiyun, at their graduation party. When he drunkenly freaked out and ran away, Qin Weiyun was hit by a car during the chase…

Devastated by his loss, Lin Yutong quickly wakes up to find himself back at the start of his high school journey, right before he meets Qin Weiyun… And this time, he wants to keep Qin Weiyun safe.

But his overly familiar attitude at first gets the wary Qin Weiyun a tad suspicious, because he’s actually quite an aloof person.

The author and artist of this one is also behind another popular manhua titled Your Dream Is Delicious, which is about a demon named Yi Kui who discovers he enjoys eating the nightmares of Lin You. This eventually leads to them—you guessed it—falling in love.

It’s Not That I Want to Wear Women’s Clothing:

Our main character is hired to crossdress to help this CEO get over his gynophobia (fear of touching women) without him knowing. Naturally, this leads to an awkward romantic journey of both identities of our main character getting close to this CEO…who at first glance seems like the typical cold and aloof CEO type, except he’s actually quite a sweetheart.

Salt Friend:

A slice-of-life high school story about the “school bully” named Tong Yang who’s actually a crybaby and the aloof person named Xiao Zhen who discovers him crying. While the two don’t seem like they’d get along at first glance, this quickly becomes a friends-to-lovers story that navigates family drama alongside the romance.

How’d I Get a Heroine’s Script?:

A transmigration story with a twist. Chao Yi is wheelchair-bound but finds himself eventually as a young lord in what is basically a palace drama (court politics, intrigue, family drama, all that good stuff). His System, Qin Que, tasks him with wooing the difficult 7th prince, Gu Yunheng, who smiles on the surface but is quite cold in actuality.

Despite the two getting off on the wrong foot—mostly because Gu Yunheng is really hard to get close to—they soon end up as unlikely allies…especially since there’s a lot of secrets, such as regarding the death of the body Chao Yi’s occupying, the scheming princes, and even Gu Yunheng himself.

See You My King:

Zhang Li, a student interested in what is basically ancient Egypt, goes on an expedition to the ruined civilization and nearly loses his life. Except at the same time, he discovers an ancient tomb with a statue that actually comes to life and saves him…

And this statue even follows him home. This statue is sweet and loving despite its inability to speak, and Zhang Li grows attached to it (or him)… But then the statue falls apart and Zhang Li is devastated.

In wishing for a miracle to bring them back together, the statue’s stone heart sends Zhang Li back in time…to when this ancient civilization is still present. And that’s how he discovers his stone statue is the “tyrant king” of this region, and as cruel as he seems at first glance, both this king and Zhang Li eventually grow close and unfold the different sides to one another that makes them inseparable in the face of all kinds of threats.

Trapping the Foxy Doctor:

A doctor and a psychiatrist meet…except it doesn’t seem like a perfect love story at first glance. Not because the doctor is traditionally foxy (seductive and/or cunning), but because he’s so silly and on-the-nose that he initially kind of rubs the psychiatrist the wrong way. Except, of course, with the kind of sunny sincerity displayed by our doctor Zhi Banyi, you can’t resist him for long…

And the psychiatrist, Lin Li, is himself quite a polite soul despite his complex upbringing. As such, the two end up together through a series of cases where they have to collaborate and help clients, with a lot of shenanigans sprinkled in between (including the fact Lin Li has a side-job live-streaming as a woman—and “she” just so happens to be Zhi Banyi’s favourite streamer lol).

Pirouette Into My Heart aka Salad Days:

You know the “he was a skater boy and she did ballet” kind of set-up? Well here we have a boxer and a ballet dancer…and hey, “can I make it any more obvious”?

This one is basically a feel-good story of the century. It’s childhood friends to lovers, and it’s soft and cuddly and encouraging, as we follow the main character, Jiang Shen, in achieving his ballet dreams. And on every step of the way, he’s accompanied by the boxer Bai Jinyi, who’s also chasing his own dreams.

The draw of this one is that while there’s obviously conflict to drive the plot along, it’s ultimately a comforting story, so you get all warm and squishy inside reading it. Bai Jinyi and Jiang Shen are very supportive of one another, as is everyone around them.

There’s even extras at the very end that swap the classes of the two main characters, which makes for a similarly compelling AU. 🤭

Beryl and Sapphire:

Not always BL but often is. What do I mean by that? Well it’s a story that can switch to any universe even as the characters stay the same, and some worlds are just one-off gags while some are whole story arcs. The original manhua features stick figures, so if you really want to experience this one, I’d recommend the donghua. The first season also cleverly shows the main characters as actors in the OP, which explains all the world-switching pretty easily haha.

Don’t Pick Up Boyfriends from the Trash Bin:

Unfortunately I’m not sure the manhua for this one is still ongoing, but the original novel (all about transmigration and hopping multiple worlds) 100% features a green flag top.

The Guy Inside Me:

I know the title sounds sexual lol but it’s actually a joke about how it’s a body-swap story. 😆

The original Chinese title is “This Question Is Too Difficult”) and of course, the author also wrote Fake Slackers, which has two very smart students act like terrible ones due to not wanting trouble.

Falling to Where I Belong:

The thing about this one is that the top is 100% a total green flag... It's the main character that's more of a red flag, in the sense he at first only asks the top out to humiliate him due to a misunderstanding.

But it's still a heartfelt story filled with regret and growth, and I did really like the portrayal of Cheng Feichi. Personally I think the manhua humanizes him a bit more than the novel since we didn't really get his POV in the novel that often, but I did hope for even more emotion in the ending... Still, it was a satisfying read, and while I would like to comfort the main character, Zhen Yeming, over his regrets, I really want to just give all the good things to Cheng Feichi, who definitely deserves it after everything he went through.

More Than Brothers:

For the "non-freaks" out there, they're not actual brothers, don’t worry; not adopted brothers either. Just a guy who saw his younger friend as his bro…until this friend disappeared from his life and apparently got into a bad crowd… Except in reality he is being harassed and is struggling to leave his abusive family.

The Protagonist Just Wants to Fall in Love:

Kind of a classic in the transmigration genre, except now we get multiple worlds in multiple arcs. Our protagonists are Systems on their final mission, aiming to become human by the end of it, and their task is to guide their protagonists away from the path of "darkening" (essentially corruption).

And each and every one of these systems do so by getting their protagonist to fall in love with them lol.

Unsurprisingly, my favourite arc so far—in the manhua at least!—is the historical one between the advisor and the emperor, but the third—and currently ongoing as the time of me writing this—world between two university students who started getting close during military training and by playing games is also quite cute.

And okay, man I could really keep going, especially with the manhua that are based on novels, but this post is already really long asjakfl. It was, in fact, so fucking long YouTube wouldn't even let me post it at first until I cut it down AMFKGSJDFGS.

But I still want to at least give a shout out to some of the manhua with pretty healthy, green flag tops/gongs!:

Like Han Yuan, despite the characters not getting along at first and Yu Han being rather aloof to the spoiled Luo Linyuan, is still quite sweet at its core. Lovely Allergen is as well, even with their "brotherly" relationship being the forefront of the conflict between Song Yu and Yue Zishi.

Another kind I wanted to bring up is the ones where their worlds or stories are dark, but the characters aren't necessarily. Like The Film Emperor, He Insisted on Being My Patron has a very green flag gong (he's such a puppy!), but he and the main character are up against the reddest of red flags of a villain LMDFKGSJFD.

It's also not a manhua I think people who want green flag leads would necessarily enjoy, given that beyond being "darker," it also goes into the territory of fan service-y and "problematic" nsfw content, but again, the male lead is really quite sweet to the main character despite the shitty situation they're in.

And I thought of Bu Chonghua from Tunhai aka Swallowing the Seas (another one based on a novel), since the main character there, Wu Yu, comes to see Bu Chonghua as so good and just that he pushes him away because he feels like he can't dirty such a man with his own darkness, both in his past and personality. It's a trope I really enjoy.

I'll briefly mention some ⚠️ spoilers ⚠️but the reason I wanted to highlight it is because: the latest chapter of the manhua has Bu Chonghua overhear Wu Yu saying he likes Bu Chonghua, and this is after Wu Yu disappeared and Bu Chonghua is worried he skipped town for good. He follows Wu Yu, all while wondering if the like Wu Yu holds for him is the same as his liking of Wu Yu, and when Wu Yu is about to be gravely injured in an underground fighting ring, Bu Chonghua steps in to save him... The chapter ends with Wu Yu holding him back pleading with him to stop because it's not worth dirtying his hands with such a man as his opponent, and that's such a delicious flavour of angst because like...Wu Yu thinks it's fine for he himself to fight against such a person, but he doesn't want Bu Chonghua to. ;-;

Oops. I didn't mean for this to become a deeper ramble of Tunhai KMSGFKGHSJ. It's just interesting to me since Tunhai and its prequel, Poyun aka Breaking Through the Clouds, may not have what the people who prefer green flag tops want in terms of content, but its tops are technically not that much of a red flag either.

Which also get us to the kind of stories where plot can also sort of outweigh whether a top/gong is a green flag or not. Like No Arguing With Mr. Mo has two characters who struggle greatly in their relationship, with the question of "are they in love?" being an overarching issue for them, meaning it's not exactly healthy, and prevents them from being fully either green or red flags.

I also didn't bring up a lot of historical/xianxia manhua, which I'm sure some people may disagree with... Like the leads in Tianbao Fuyao Lu are arguably quite good, and while I haven't read Dinghai Fusheng Lu yet, I assume it's in a similar boat as something set in the same world.

And then there's the ones that develop into green flags... Like Mo Ran starts off awful, yes, but he does become much better later on!! But I don't think that's what those people after green flags want to hear lol. Plus I'd argue Erha is best experienced in novel (or audio drama) form over the manhua anyway—the manhua feels more like something made for established fans in my opinion.

Regardless, I hope this shows that with so many listed above, many manhua actually feature male leads who really do care for their love interests in a healthy, respectful way, whether they're 100% green flags or they develop into green flags or they're not even complete green flags. ^^

Edit: Oh I forgot to link my full list of danmei/baihe manhua recs HMSKFJSKS. I currently don’t have any summaries, tags, or content warnings in this list though, but there’s quite the range of stories!:

[kukuandkookie]

Saw someone who apparently really really hated the new direction Link Click season 2 took, to the point they felt like it ruined season 1 in a way that hurt and so on, and I am not here to attack a solely subjective opinion nor to say that Link Click is perfect. But this belief that season 2 was too different from season 1 did get me thinking, because...

Huh. The biggest criticism people had for season 1 was that the main characters outside of Cheng Xiaoshi (Lu Guang and Qiao Ling) were underdeveloped and/or the origins of their powers were unexplained. People freaking out over season 2 means people care more about these characters now. So it's just interesting in that regard. :ooo

I can't comment on this narratively yet, although I have seen people disagree that this goes against the themes of the show (I actually think it could lead to a really intriguing thematic breakdown, since Lu Guang seems so on top of things in season 1, but he isn't in season 2).

Basically, it already leads to a conversation about grief and regret and letting go. Season 1 very explicitly tells you to do these things, to the point of spelling them out repeatedly. Season 2 and beyond will likely implicitly explore these things, even if they directly state something else.

Contradictory themes can still be meaningful; the world is contradictory, so if we see a series challenge itself with a seemingly different set of themes (at first glance), it doesn't automatically mean it's a bad thing. I can see how it may feel like a sellout, but Link Click explores such complex ideas that there's still lots of themes we can enjoy even in the new direction the show is taking—especially when looking at things about moving on and letting go and being human (which we now know Lu Guang is. He isn't the more "perfect" time diver we saw in season 1). And this does begin to unravel the mysteries set up by season 1, and based on the fandom growth, a lot of fans do like it—which, again, I think this indicates an interesting turn of events.

Because the fact is that before season 2, Link Click has always been praised for its narrative but not really its characters. Now, despite the criticism against season 2, it's being praised for both. If nothing else…

We can see more to these characters now, beyond just Cheng Xiaoshi's pain. Now we see Qiao Ling and Cheng Xiaoshi's childhood, Lu Guang's pain, Cheng Xiaoshi's growth, and how they're not only just a group of friends, but a family.

And given the trend of episodic shows turning more narrative-driven, from Gravity Falls to Steven Universe to SVtFoE to Amphibia and more (even in donghua, we have Scissor Seven and The Legend of Luo Xiaohei and even God Troubles Me basically doing this too)… I think a lot of people do want to tell deep, emotionally-connected stories, and if fandom has proven anything, it's that connecting to the characters are crucial. So at the very least, season 2 has achieved that!

[kukuandkookie]

I don’t feel like making a huge post about it right now since it would require me to write and compile images and I just screamed about it at my friends BUT…

If you’re a fan of Black Butler I recommend you check out 《玷染》 (Dianran) aka Taint 👀

And yeah okay I know the English name is a little awkward considering what “taint” means in English slang, but tbh…considering how horny this manhua is, it’s actually a pretty fitting name. 😂

But yes here’s why:

^ …Yeah I could just leave it at “read it for the hot characters” but actually I will add some more context below hahahaha:

It’s got demons, tentacles, sexualization of the church, mysteries involving dark/demonic entities in a European-inspired setting, and a bit of (not a lot just yet but still seems to be gearing up for more!) commentary on the gaps between classes.

We’ve also gotten a few clues to both main characters’ pasts, and they seemingly involve torture, experimentation, demons, deaths, amnesia, and more suffering.

It’s actually really interesting given we’re still early on in the story and we’ve gotten a few big crumbs so far, but they are still crumbs. I’m quite curious as to how all the parts of the backstory revealed so far tie together and led to our protagonists meeting the way they did today. 👀

Also the demon, Cross or Kurose, who has tentacles and is super attached to Eli, a member of the church, is very flirtatious and touchy-feely and even gets tortured and leashed and muzzled…

So you know. If you’re into that stuff, this manhua has a lot of it, even with censorship being in place. I’m genuinely surprised by how much it got away with; like in the most recent chapter (chapter 13 as of the time I’m writing this post), Cross rips off Eli’s underwear. 😂

I hope some people join me in this fandom eventually LGNSKFJSKS. So far it feels like I’ve been bursting to get my friends to read it and share it but I don’t want to be annoying to them haha.

Like if you enjoy Black Butler and I Have to Be a Great Villain and Kiss the Abyss and series like those, this could be up your alley!!

(Of course, do be aware that like those series, this one also contains “dark” content! Specifically violence with blood and all that, some less than consensual sexually tense encounters, and even body horror!)

Although I will say that hell, Cross isn’t that “toxic” or “violently possessive” of a love interest so far. He’s just clearly got his own goals which occasionally clashes with Eli’s, but it’s clear he really really likes Eli and doesn’t actually want him to come to harm, to the point of protecting him. And even when Eli is harsh with him in his distrust, Cross doesn’t mind. It makes for a fun dynamic. 👀

There is an English “fan” translation out there, but the original is on the QQ manhua app!

[kukuandkookie]

NEW SEE YOU MY KING CHAPTER HAS ME SCREAMING REALLY GIDDILY LIKE I CHUGGED A LITRE OF CAFFEINE OMG SOFHWIDHAKDHSIDHAJDNSKBS

THEY’RE JUST SO CUTE I’M GOING TO CRY 😭😭😭😭

ALSO THIS IS LIKE…ONE OF MY FAVOURITE TROPES…

Where Character A sort of experiences seeing Character B get injured (whether due to being inside someone’s memory or here because they look alike) so when Character B shows up, Character A feels the need to hug them and confirm they’re actually okay and safe in front of them.

Zhang Li: Let me hold you for a moment. Just for a moment…

He saw Sute’s puppet brother being torn to shreds by the trap’s thread and immediately thought of Lunkhead falling apart, so he wanted to hug Mimi.

AND WHAT IF I SCREAM…

He’s taking note of how Mimi’s body is trembling and how his heartbeat is strong, meaning he’s still alive and it’s okay. 🥹

This body is trembling… His heartbeat is strong… He’s still alive… Perfectly alive…

He needs the reassurance,,, that he’s okay,,,, 😭😭😭😭

Also speaking of Sute…

He’s pretty terrifying LDGJKSHDSJ. I love insane green tea bitches like him, and it’s really cool to see who he is now that his mask is off. 👀

Zhang Li asked him if his neck still hurt (from when he was grazed by Zhang Li’s arrow), and Sute tackles and strangled him, demanding, “Little guard, does your neck hurt?”

He’s definitely holding a grudge against Zhang Li and has now completely adopted his ragtag corpse puppet as his true beloved, protective brother, with him telling him he’ll get him new hands—and a proper heart—in the future.

Ever since Erha and other similar stories, I do find these kinds of characters—especially with their twisted interpretations of love—really fascinating. He came close to killing Zhang Li today but couldn’t, so I’m excited to see what else Sute gets up to to get back at them.

In comparison to his brother though…

MIMI IS SO PRECIOUS!!

Even Zhang Li now is realizing how much like Lunkhead Mimi is, and he’s wondering when it started or if it’s always been like this… But he also thought about how Mimi is acting like this now because he’s pretending to be his guard.

Something something about their classes and ranks being different and Mimi having to play the part of a tyrant king/pharaoh and all the sad connotations that come with that…

But God, before we get into any of the potential sadder things the author would intend to explore with this couple, I just appreciate them for being them. They’re so adorable. Mimi especially!

In the panel below, he’s asking Zhang Li not to recklessly put himself at risk with no regard for his own life again. Excuse me as I go sob. 🤧

ALSO MIMI YOU’RE SO BAD AT YOUR JOB (those bandages are atrocious) AND I LOVE YOU FOR IT 🥹

He held back his temper at Zhang Li since he’s injured (and because he loves him *cough cough*) but he yelled at Xiao Wei for it. Poor Xiao Wei ahahaha. He had to save Zhang Li and then he gets fed dog food by the PDA of these two and then he gets yelled at by his boss even though he’s injured too lol.

But okay final note because I’ve hit the Tumblr post image limit:

Holy fuck Zhang Li you’re such a boss. You’re one of the most capable protagonists I have ever read about…

Not only did he manage to get back the hands on Sute’s puppet brother for Kaba, he even poisoned Sute. 👁️👁️

So they’re at an advantage now!! I can’t wait to see what happens next!