#star and kwan’s relationship

[deadsetobsessions]

REVERSE TROPE WRITING PROMPT BY @out-of-jams

TOO MANY BEDS

DCXDP, GEN

——

The Wayne foundation was a giant in the corporate world. What made it impressive was that their company was based in Gotham where, despite or perhaps in spite of the frequent rogue attacks and general hostile environment, the Waynes managed to run a tight and efficient ship. Their operations run extremely smoothly.

However, that was not to say there were no mistakes. There were. Wayne Enterprises usually had enough-more than enough- budget to cover such mistakes.

The employees, after all, were humans (though their new CEO, Timothy Drake, might have been a vampire considering how pale he was) and were prone to make mistakes.

Thus, due to the nature of human mistakes, the visiting senior class of Amity Park’s Casper High found themselves in a rather baffling situation.

“Well, we can’t say there’s not enough beds.” Their chaperone-teacher, Mr. Lancer rubbed the back of his bald head.

Before them laid not ten, not twenty, but fifty five twin beds arranged in neat rows in Gotham Academy’s auditorium.

“What is this, the military?” Their other chaperone-teacher, Mr. Falluca, grumbled.

“It’s not like we haven’t slept in worse places.” Sam grimaced. The class collective shuddered as they remembered the junior camping trip from hell.

“Ugh, my hair is going to get frizzy if we sleep here.” Paulina muttered.

“I thought we were getting called here for cheer or something.” Star frowned. Her boyfriend of four years, Kwan, slung an arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer to comfort her.

The doors open as a harried Wayne Industries employee ran in.

“I am so, so sorry! This isn’t where we were supposed to have you stay but WE mistook the donation request and sent in beds instead of paying for hotel rooms!” They blurted out, looking panicked. “Your hosting class - we’ll have you meet them outside, maybe?”

“It’s fine, right guys?” Danny spoke up, arms crossed. Tucker hummed at his side, tapping quickly at his

“Yeah, whatever Fentina says,” Dash grumbled. After the reveal of Danny’s identity as Phantom, his hostility and bullying died a quick death. Though, Dash kept the nicknames as they were a hard habit to kick and there weren’t any malicious intent behind it. In fact, Dash quickly became one of Danny’s biggest supporters, hidden behind scowls and general posturing.

“We could just meet in here. Get rid of the bedframes and just have a giant sleepover while you guys get everything sorted out.” Valerie volunteered.

“That’s a great idea!”

The class, coordinated from years of ghost attacks, quickly assembled the giant floor mattress. Gotham Academy’s senior class filed in ten minutes later, gaping at the giant floor mattress(es) before whooping and joining Casper High’s seniors in tumbling around.

——

Danny threw an empty plastic water bottle at Kwan’s head.

“Hey! No PDA on the giant mattress!”

“Yeah, get that love shit out of here!” Someone else hollered.

“There might technically be only one bed, now, but it’s still multiple mattresses!” Stephanie Brown, one of Gotham Academy’s seniors heckled.

“Hey, Danny, it’s your turn for truth or dare!” Tim said.

“Truth.” Danny returned.

“Lameeee.”

“C’mon Fenturd, too chicken to do dare?”

“Danny, that’s so boring,” Sam smirked.

Danny scowled. “Hey, whose side are you on?”

Sam and Tucker grinned and said in unison, “The winning side, duh.”

Tim cut in. “So, what’s the worst thing that’s happened to you?”

Danny groaned. “Camping trip, no contest.”

“Camping trip?”

——

[visualtaehyun]

Lots of brilliant, thoughtful, funny posts out there about today's BMF episode so I just wanna jump in with some Thai!

Disclaimer: I'm still learning but want to share my love for Thai more! So feel free to correct me or expand on anything 🙏

What Pisaeng says here is that he wants them to stop using the pronouns กู (guu) / มึง (mueng) that they have both been using with each other so far. From my experience watching Thai series, they're most common in male friendships but Not and Kwan use them with each other as well in this show! In most school and university settings, you'll hear it between guys all the time but they're actually quite rude. You might see parents in Thai shows scold their kids for using them. Here's Punn from Be Mine Superstar using กู (guu) / มึง (mueng) while he's fighting with his little brother in front of their mom and immediately-

You might see someone intentionally switch to these pronouns in anger, like Payu in Love in the Air when Stop spits on his bike. He repeats his sentence, just switches out the polite 2nd person pronoun คุณ (khun) for มึง (mueng).

Between friends they express closeness and there's a long list of Thai BL couples who start as friends or school mates and thus continue to use them after they start dating. But there's also lots who decide to change how they speak to each other. A compromise I see a lot is foregoing pronouns and using names (yes, you can refer to yourself and others by name in Thai, it gives a bit of an intimate or cute feeling though). Like super sweet Khabkluen and Daonuea from Star in My Mind (here Our Skyy 2) who call themselves and each other by Kluen and Dao and also use the polite ending particle ครับ (khab).

Now where the hell am I going with all of this?

After Pisaeng brings up the pronoun thing and Kawi goes "Like what?", I was expecting the option Names. But then Pisaeng pulls a sly happy face and I adjust to expecting เธอ (ter) maybe?? considering its frequent use in (love) songs and in some recent memes such as โอ้เธอหวานเจี๊ยบ (Oh ter! Waan jiab! = Oh you! SO sweet!) - if you at all follow GeminiFourth, you have certainly heard or read it before lol

What Pisaeng actually says though is the epitome of lover-cutespeak:

เตง (dtaeng), a version/shortening of ตัวเอง (dtua-eeng) which originally means 'oneself', and is mostly used along with the 1st person pronoun เค้า (kao), which itself is a version of a 3rd person pronoun. Confused? The idea here seems to be a Call me by your name/I am You, You are Me type of deal. The only couple I can remember off the top of my head who actually uses them is Liu and See-ew in The Warp Effect.

Moving on though! Kawi expectedly and hilariously shoots that down and:

...his 'you' here is มึง (mueng) again, to Pisaeng's disappointment lol

So Kawi repeats his question, using the polite 2nd person pronoun คุณ (khun) and the polite ending particle ครับ (khab), that he intentionally pronounces sweetly by elongating the vowel. Pisaeng responds by using the polite male 1st person pronoun ผม (pom) that works in lots of situations.

Maybe it's that I've been conditioned by too many university settings in Thai BL but I somehow didn't expect these friends-to-lovers university students to go with this choice (P'Waa managing to surprise me again). It reads as mature in a way? Like intentionally being not just polite but formal. It's a thing you might hear from parent characters/spouses but also just normal working adults, like Tan and Bun in Manner of Death. They continuously work towards building a long-lasting relationship while the show keeps subverting expected BL tropes left and right!

Throughout the rest of this episode, they omit pronouns where possible but Pisaeng starts using them repeatedly during dinner at the restaurant and in the preview they both use ผม (pom) / คุณ (khun) comfortably.

After many lines of omitted pronouns during the amusement park date, Pisaeng makes it a point to use ผม (pom) / คุณ (khun) right here, by the way:

[livannasalinger]

Dc x Dp prompt 3

I was thinking lately that most of the prompts and fics that I see, they range from: focus on Danny, focus on Jazz, oneshots here and there with some different characters, maybe sam and tucker, but not much more than that. Of course, ultimately, the idea of Dc x Dp goes through the importance that Danny has to establish this connection (ghost king, meta laws, being a hero, classic black hair and blue eyes of the Waynes, etc etc) and focus more on relationships with DC characters (batfam, superman, Wonder Woman, etc) . At the same time, I've recently been thinking about how there are few fics that portray the rest of the Casper High as a functional group (not counting Everlasting trio). And then, there's this fic that I really like (see prompt 2) that talks about a different way that the incident with Spectra could have happened. With all this, I thought:

- what if, these incidents with the ghosts made the group more cohesive: I'm not talking about everyone being super friends, although that can be cool, but I'm talking about actually seeing them build a dynamic because they need to protect themselves from danger and they can't get help from anyone else -  Justice League doesn't interfere/doesn't know/doesn't believe

- Anyway, X years pass, the events of DP (except Danny's revelation to the world) occur, but unlike canon, the children mature faster, and start to blossom like powerhouses - imagine Assassination classroom and how they became after graduation, that kind of thing.

- But that's when things start to get interesting, because "out of nowhere" a group of people with impressive skills and suspicious training in different areas begins to appear, young people trained in things they shouldn't. At first, the connection was not clear, as everyone is in different areas, but little by little a pattern starts to become clearer: maybe their presence, maybe some more ghostly physical characteristic.

I see two ways this starts to get noticed:

-- At a Justice League meeting, several superheroes start listing people of interest and justifying why. They might have noticed these people as possible future villains, or maybe they want to recruit them, or something like that. The point is: when one person starts talking, another hero starts remembering that he knows a similar person, a pattern starts to be observed, an investigation starts to be made.

OR

-- An investigation is already under way, as there is a group of people who came from the same place, started to become influential in the field of choice, and nobody can prove, but many suspect that this group is responsible for the disappearance of a mysterious government organization called GIW

In any case, an investigation begins showing  the different ways that the Amity Park group has grown to be BAMF including: Tucker Foley, Sam Manson, Jazz Fenton, Valerie Gray, Dash Baxter, Paulina, Kwan, Star, Wes weston.… maybe even Ellie and Dan.

The investigation proceeds, old photos of the group can be found and they notice the disappearance of only one person: Danny Fenton. Which makes no sense, as he is seen multiple times with all the suspects, but effectively there is no record of him anywhere: no college, no job, not even how he gets from one place to another, no plane ticket, nothing.

It would still be really cool if everyone in the group followed certain customs, derived from the lessons they received on how to deal with ghosts or because they are Liminal and that's why they behave a little differently and, even if they've been living with "normal people" for years , sometimes they just forget common sense and scare people without intending to.

The conclusions that the JL, villains  and other groups, can come to are potentially hilarious: are they villains? what are their goals? Are they a secret cult with this Danny as their leader? Are they or are they not doing something illegal? Are they a threat? And if so, a threat to whom?

At the end of it all I can see Mr Lance showing up and thinking "how come this is supposedly the most powerful group of people in the world?!" and in 5 minutes solving any chaos or misunderstanding like:

"Pride and Prejudice, not even Mr. Weston was that bad" (looking at Red Robin's conspiracy board)

[waitmyturtles]

Alright, I was a little late in watching Be My Favorite, episode 9, but I’m all caught up and here’s the late meta: @lurkingshan, I know you hipped to me that the episode was sad, and it was, definitely, but also -- I found to be uplifting, and not just because of that RIDICULOUSLY GORGEOUS dialogue between Kawi and Pisaeng at the end of the episode (could Gawin BE ANY BETTER in this show?! GODDAMN).

But first, a couple quick notes. I didn’t have time to pay my respects through the reblogs earlier yesterday, so: yes to the fat-coding discussion re: Kwan (agree with you, @lurkingshan and @jjsanguine) -- amazing dialogue at the link, and my theory on Not x Kwan is that Not is meant to represent TOTAL heteronormativity, which isn’t a stretch for him, obviously. (When characters are written to be so DESPICABLE, it gets me thinking that the character is actually written really fucking well.)

In this instance, if we are to compare Kawi to Not: Kawi, through his reflections on the future and the past, is slowly working on changing himself (more on this in a moment re: the uplifting bit). He’s learning through his mistakes that he’s either made and/or knows he COULD have made.

Not, I think, represents society’s disinclination to either change, and/or to change AND accept the change of others. I write about behavioral change a lot, because it’s really fucking hard to do, AND people who try to change in their micro- or macro-communities often have a tremendously hard time being accepted... kinda like coming out of a closet, as Kawi and Pisaeng’s relationship is revealed against their will, and Kawi immediately clocks that it’s Not who’s behind it. As well, referring back to the fat-coded discussion re: Kwan -- I get the sense that Not would “never see Kwan that way,” because the fat-coding around Kwan would signal that Not is “lowering his standards” about women, which could affect his reputation with his guy friends. His behavior, I think, is loathsome precisely because it’s rooted in such perfectly delineated heteronormativity -- from spotting Kawi and Pisaeng *not* kissing, to assuming they kissed, to narc-ing to Pear about it, to telling his dudes the next day in class with people around, to knowing that Kawi overheard it. He’s just -- playing the perfect biased het dude, to a tee. Not is playing his own role in society as he believes it should function.

Which is why I, along with hopefully everyone in the fandom (lol) loved that Pear rejected him. And I’d call that moment an uplifting one for Pear. We know, in a different scenario, that Pear leaving Kawi COULD HAVE MEANT that she ended up with Not.

Instead, in what’s being presented to us as the active and live world of Kawi’s current truth, Pisaeng had the opportunity to confirm to Pear the HONEST truth about his relationship with Kawi. In the Kawi-is-a-rock-star alt-reality -- Kawi was holding back from Pear, keeping his feelings away from her, and putting himself first. She wasn’t presented with truth from others, and thus led herself to believe that being with Not, in marriage, was going to be the right decision for her and the baby they had conceived of. 

In the current, we’re-still-in-university reality, her friends -- Pisaeng and Kawi -- are honest with her. They both cannot give her the heterosexual love that she desires from a man. Not appears. And she rejects him. 

This is such a complicated and, to me, lovely “reality” to contemplate, and links tremendously with what Pisaeng was saying to Kawi at the end of the show. Reflecting back on the earlier episodes: Kawi could not save his dad. Kwan might be heartbroken. And Pear is heartbroken, twice -- maybe even three times, from her mom, from Pisaeng, and from Kawi. 

Kawi demonstrates through his changing behavior that drinking ain’t gonna solve these problems. Even Pisaeng confirms that, too. 

The show, instead, is inching a bit closer, not to absolute truth, as I dissected when I first binged through episode 7, but instead to a kind of truth that is as best as you can make it, while working on making your life better. 

@sparklyeyedhimbo​ noted that Nietzsche came thru again in this episode (THANK YOU, friend @chickenstrangers, for hipping me to the link!). The quote behind Kawi and Pisaeng is from “Thus Spake Zarathustra”: “He who would learn to fly one day must first learn to stand and walk and run and climb and dance; one cannot fly into flying.”

As Pisaeng said, and I paraphrase: if you want to be happy, you gotta do the work. If you want OTHERS to be happy.... you gotta do the work of making YOURSELF HAPPY, *FIRST.*

And I find that message UTTERLY uplifting, and I think Pear took some of that with her when she walked away from Pisaeng and Kawi to stand up for herself with Not, and to not compromise on her values to potentially be him. I thought that was badass. Pear has a life of change ahead of her.

One final note. Pisaeng’s talk with Kawi at the end of the episode happened to touch me as a mom, even though the monologue was rooted in an uplifting and romantic perspective. It struck me that part of what Pisaeng was saying was -- if we’re happy, people will see that we’re happy, and that might HELP PEOPLE find THEIR OWN happiness.

It reminded me a lot of behavior modeling, which is a wonderful modality for parents/caretakers to practice when raising kids. It’s essentially, like -- we adults will behave exactly the way we WANT our kids to LEARN to behave, and we can show them honest ways of communicating if we communicate well ourselves. If you want your kids to be critical thinkers, for instance -- demonstrate conversations of critical thinking IN FRONT OF YOUR KIDS, and maybe even involve them in those conversations. 

I really believe that being happy isn’t something that any one person, or a coupling, should be judged for. Look at fucking Not -- judgement all over the place. Again: I think he represents heteronormative society, a part of which pooh-poohs deep love happiness for the sake of negativity and criticism. 

Instead, I love that Be My Favorite takes the responsibility of having Pisaeng and Kawi model for us, IN THEIR OWN WORDS AND BEHAVIORS, the very hard work of CHANGING, for yourself, maybe even for the people you love, and showing the people you love, and your community around you, that that change is very much worth making, to find better and more HONEST happiness in your life. THAT’S how Kawi can impact others, in the end.

(Let us hope, oh LET US HOPE, this show continues to be as good as this episode!)

[chickenstrangers]

What really struck me about this final BBxATOTS episode, and in line with the other crossover episodes, was the importance of queer stories, and more specifically, queer community through stories. I keep coming back to the plays conceit in both Bad Buddy and Our Skyy 2 because this is how it best explores the interplay between texts and awareness of itself as a story.

I love that A Tale of a Thousand Stars is the play that Pran chose, outside of it being used to fuel the crossover. Pran found Tian's diary online somehow, maybe looking for other stories of people like him, and it spoke to him. It resonated enough with him that he wanted to put in the extra work to adapt it, and make the trek out to the mountains. Tian is able to tell his story in his own words in a more public way than Pran maybe can, and through that story they connected with each other.

Being able to tell their own stories is so impactful. Tian got to write down and share how he sees his relationship and his journey. Pran explicitly seeks and obtains Phupha's permission, and Phupha even sets the terms upon which he is comfortable with the play, determining who he trusts with their story. It also shows growth that Phupha let them portray his story like that, showing him as a romantic lead, and while there is of course a lot more to his character than his relationship, it shows he's less hesitant about sharing this side of himself more openly.

We got to see Phupha and Tian's reactions to the play highlighted, seeing that they appreciated the portrayal. We also saw Ink and Pa's reactions, how moved they were by the play and Pat and Pran being able to portray it; how the story was received by other queer people. These special episodes are exploring the tension between needing to hide and wanting to be seen and open, and in the play, both Phupha and Tian, and Pat and Pran got to open a little bit about themselves to others. Even though it is Tian and Phupha's story on stage, Pat and Pran are telling their own as well.

The play is an adaptation, and like all adaptations, it revises the original. Pat and Pran are all about revising stories, and sometimes completely rewriting them and throwing away the originals. But unlike with Romeo and Juliet/Kwan and Riam, they don't change the story, though it is nuanced by their performance and the context of it (lines about not sacrificing yourself to repay for someone else's life taking on new nuances when spoken to Pat as Tian as @grapejuicegay brilliantly pointed out; mirroring Phu and Tian's hug before the kiss but at first only intending it to end with the hug because they're not supposed to be publicly affectionate). But they're performing a romance, not a tragedy this time, and they are taking on ATOTS' happy ending for themselves as well.

There's a lot of agency in this act of adaptation, outside of the play itself, in a way that there explicitly wasn't with the first school play in Bad Buddy. This performance parallels so clearly the forced outing in episode 8. The curtain closes on a kiss, and Pat and Pran are aware of their audience during it, instead of the curtain falling open violently on a private moment of affection. Instead of the shocked stares from their peers, the loathing in Wai's eyes, and the subsequent shunning from their friends, Pat and Pran's kiss is met by their community with love and encouragement. Pat and Pran are hesitant to kiss at first, but it is because of the support of their friends that they push past the barriers between the characters and themselves. Ink, Pa, Wai, Korn, Phupha, and Tian are there to witness their public affection, and support them. Rather than rewriting the ending of Romeo and Juliet/Kwan and Riam, this time the show is rewriting part of Pat and Pran's own story, in a way that feels healing.

It's unclear how much Phupha and Tian knew about Pat and Pran's situation with regards to their parents, but in any case, with his one condition, Phupha has given them an opportunity to be somewhat open about their relationship more safely. They get to work together openly to put on the play, similar to how building the bus shelter and Kwan & Riam gave them an excuse to spend time together. They get to be affectionate in public for the first time maybe since they ran away to the beach. Pran's mom sees the video of the play, but doesn't react too negatively because they have the excuse of just playing their characters. But even there we see a softening, because the last time she saw them working on a concert together, she tore them apart. Here it's possible to see her taking small steps towards quietly accepting their relationship.

A lot of Pat and Pran's relationship is about performing. They pretend to be enemies for most of the original show, first to hide their feelings, and then playacting fights and animosity in front of their friends and parents. They even fake a fight to stop Tian and Phupha's argument. But here they get to perform as lovers, as people in a relationship, as something a bit closer to the truth. But its also important that they had a moment as themselves, "Now that we're behind the curtain can we kiss as Pat and Pran?" There's a healthy separation between the performance and their authentic selves.

We saw this episode as both couples were able to be more open about their relationships, in part aided by each other. Pat and Pran helped Phupha get out of his head, modelling a level of affection he wasn't very comfortable with before due to a lot of internalized homophobia as well as other tensions (@wen-kexing-apologist explores this so beautifully). And Phupha and Tian gave Pat and Pran to show a bit of themselves by acting out the play. And most of all, they were able to be more affectionate with their partners due to the sense of comfort their newfound friendship fostered, and building queer community. (And I'm thinking a lot about the ideas of community that Aof often explores, as @waitmyturtles discusses so wonderfully (x, x)). The whole special is brought together by the sharing of stories, by portraying others thoughtfully, by connecting over common experiences.

It's not a perfect happy ending. This episode reminded us of how Pat and Pran are still not as open as they want to be, and won't be able to be for years to come. Having that small moment on stage is bittersweet in the grand scheme of things, but it allowed them to reflect a part of their story in front of others, while also telling Tian and Phupha's love story. But there's still happiness there, and community that they've built with Pa, Ink, Wai, Korn, and now Tian and Phupha. I hope they'll get to visit the mountains again, like they return to the beach, and get those little spots of refuge in their lives. And it's nice to know that we're still just in the middle of Pat and Pran's story.

[stitchlingbelle]

Watching Halo, episode 1

Things I Know About Halo:

The Master Chief is a badass supersoldier who Doesn't Take Off His Helmet.* (I thought it had turned out he was a woman and the fan base rioted but apparently I mixed him up with Samus Aran?) There's a couple AI people, Roland the orange dude and Cortana the hot chick. There's a guy named Arbiter, I think he's an alien? Aliens destroy a lot of planets. There's some sort of mystical Old Ones leftover tech? (Is that the Halo part?) Names I have heard: Miranda Keyes, Dr. Halsey, Makee, Thomas Lasky, Chyler Silva**

That established, let's give this thing a go!

Nice opening scene. The costuming and set design are good, definitely have that Star Wars-esque vibe but are doing some of their own specific things that ground the world. The characters definitely gave you that lived-in-universe feel of established relationships and community right away. (Also I'm delighted by their use of Korean and their made-up alien language. Again, nice worldbuilding.) I am, however, confused. There's also an entire rebelling against the galactic empire thing going on? No one told me this. How do these people find the time with all the aliens?

Oh shit, THEY DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE ALIENS. Oh noooo.

The violence is really well done. The explosion plus blood splatter shot was great. Good use of camera work to minimize the more difficult to pull off FX shots while still getting the brutality across. The helmet-cam shots are a good storytelling choice while also being a fun nod to the games. I do not envy the stunt people fighting in these suits, though. They made them look powerful. They did not make them look dexterous, graceful or effectively designed for hand-to-hand combat.

Noooo they killed the little kid! ...and everybody else. Man, I liked those guys. Poor Kwan. (Is she in the games? Is she this ineffective? She was like, I'm going to help! and then just... didn't.) And then the Spartans just... walk off?

DO NOT TOUCH THE WEIRD ALIEN TECH. You're a Master Chief! I have it on good authority that keeping people from touching things they shouldn't is a major part of your job! Set a good example for your troops! Also, check your six.

It's Dr. Halsey! Mad scientist alert, this woman does NOT seem to adhere to ethical guidelines. Nice lab coat. I don't trust you. Why do you have a person in a pod? (Why do you have them right where your boss can see them if they're not supposed to exist?) Who's Miranda Keyes and why do you have beef with her? Departmental rivalry?

Wow, Miranda is a lot younger than I expected. Also, that was terrible. Take care of the girl, butter her up, THEN ask her for shit. And do it in person, the hologram thing was weird and off-putting. Not sure that Kwan thought this through-- there's a happy medium between agreeing to be their propaganda mouthpiece and openly threatening to lie and say they caused the massacre, sweetie.

Alien homeworld (or homebase, idk)-- very cool design, good effects-- why is there a human here? Oh, THIS is Makee? What is her deal? Great costuming.

HALSEY IS MIRANDA'S MOM??? Wtf. Also I like Miranda, I don't think she knows what she's doing outside of her (own) lab but it sounds like her heart's in the right place. Great parting shot at dad, but also, maybe that's why your parents worked (for however long. Are they still together or not?)

Great scene with Kwan and Master Chief over the meal. Humanize him with a joke and then WHAM, dead mom story. I like how they're not letting you assume that Madrigal's people were just wrong about the Spartans. Nope, straight up, this guy commits atrocities because he never questions his orders. (She implied that she was there? How did that part go down?) Fortunately teenagers question everything, especially orders! Just in time to make you question this one...

From here on out it's action action action, with a lot of quick character bits mixed in (Halsey and Captain Keyes exchanging looks, the Spartans all listening to Halsey above their orders, high command doesn't trust their own creations-- how many different ways of monitoring their own ships do they have? This is taking surveillance state to a whole new level.)

YAY for Kwan getting a useful moment! If human strength does not avail, use guns tools, that's what we invented them for. No, Kwan, this man does not have a plan. I'm kinda sad the alien artifact activated, it would have been entertaining to watch the other Spartans get involved. (John: "This is our new pet. No, we will not be handing her over to be executed. Yes, she hates us all for very specific valid personal reasons. Roll with it.") Aaaand off they go, escaping to where? Not sure they know and I, with approximately 1% knowledge of this universe, certainly do not.

Finally, hopping back to address the One True Issue that divides the fandom: the helmet scene. It depends on how much the Never Remove the Helmet thing is an irl game artistic choice vs an in-universe character choice. If it's not an actual THING for John-117 himself, then I don't have any problem with it. Different mediums and all that. If it's like the Mandalorian thing, then yeah, it felt a little rushed, but still a necessary moment for humanizing him and building trust ASAP with a hostile teenage girl with a gun.

In conclusion: this was much better than I was expecting! I really enjoyed it and will probably watch the rest of the season while I bake today. And honestly it's been so long since I watched scifi on TV that it was sort of nostalgic? I was just ridiculously pleased by things like establishing shots of Reach and futuristic teenager haircuts.

Thanks so much to ATBNL and @sarnakhwritesthings for talking me into this!

*Has anyone done a 'John-117 is a Mandalorian' crossover yet? Someone definitely has, right?

**The last two do not appear in the TV show and also one is dead, except they're actually alive and married because @authortobenamedlater is in charge here.

[wingedflight]

It’s Invisobang time!! And I am so excited to share with you the Hamlet AU I have been working on all summer, illustrated by the amazing @pricklenettle!!

Something Rotten

Or: The Tragedy of the Prince of Ghosts, in Four Acts

Danny’s life has not been the same since his father died under mysterious circumstances. His sister has moved away to college, his coronation as Ghost King is rapidly approaching, and his nemesis has started dating his mom! On top of everything else, Jack’s ghost has begun showing up to demand retribution for his murder.

Now, Danny’s diving deep into the intrigues of his family and friends, while trying to keep up his nightly patrols as local hero Phantom and get a decent grade in English. But the deeper Danny digs, the more it becomes clear:

Something is rotten in Amity Park.

👻👻👻👻

Relationships: Danny & Valerie, Danny & Tucker & Sam, Maddie/Vlad

Tags: Hamlet AU, Ghost King AU, Ghost Prince Danny, Identity Reveal

Content Warnings: Character Death, Ectoplasmic Gore

👻👻👻👻

Excerpt:

Kwan is shivering by the time he makes it up onto the school roof. It is an achingly cold night, the wind sharp with the promise of snow. He hadn’t thought to wear anything warmer than his letterman’s jacket--certainly hadn’t bothered with hat or gloves--and already fiercely regrets this decision. But it is too late to turn back; according to his watch, it’s already five past midnight, and therefore five minutes past the time he’d agreed to meet.

As expected, the rooftop is empty aside from a single figure silhouetted against the night sky. As Kwan steps off the metal ladder, she cries out, “Who’s there?”

“Who’s there yourself,” retorts Kwan. “You been up here long, Star?”

“Not long,” she replies, though her voice is strained from the cold. “I think it’s going to snow tonight.”

Kwan rubs his hands together, trying to warm the palms. His entire body feels like it’s made of ice. “Have you seen anything yet?”

“Any snow?”

“Any ghosts.”

She laughs nervously. “Oh. No, the sky’s been clear. Not even any battles in the distance.”

“And no…?”

The wind gusts, sounding briefly like a eerie moan. Star jumps and glances nervously over her shoulder, but Kwan can’t see any ghosts behind her. He gives her a reassuring smile. She tugs at her woolen hat with a hint of embarrassment, pulling it lower over her ears. “Not yet. It’s barely hit midnight. We’ve got a while to wait, still.”

She gestures behind her, where a blanket has been laid out over the cement bricks. Kwan joins her, pulling from his backpack a collection of chocolate bars and snack-sized chip bags. He wishes again that he’d realized how cold the weather was going to be; he would have brought a thermos of hot chocolate to share. Yet, despite the chill and the moaning wind, the midnight picnic is pleasant enough that Kwan almost forgets the real reason they’ve come up to the roof in the first place.

That is, until a new voice addresses them from the edge of the roof: “Any of that chocolate for me?”

Star squeaks in alarm. Kwan nearly drops his chips. Then he gets a closer look at the newcomer: a woman in red armour poised atop a humming hoverboard. This is the Red Huntress, one of Amity Park’s ghost-hunter vigilantes.

“You got our message,” Kwan says with relief. Seeing as none of Amity Park’s heroes advertise their phone numbers (if they even have phones), he’d submitted the request to a couple of vigilante watch sites and crossed his fingers it would reach the right person. Apparently, his gambit paid off.

“‘Dear Huntress,’” recites the hero in question. “‘Please meet us at Casper High tonight to help us with a weird, ghostly problem.’ No names, no explanations, and no incentive. You’re really bad at this.”

Timidly, Star holds out one of the unwrapped chocolate bars. The Huntress ignores it. The wind gusts again, nearly a shriek this time, and the Huntress ignores that too.

“We do need your help,” Kwan says. “There’s a weird ghost or something that’s been hanging around up here lately. Star first saw it last week from her bedroom window.”

“Paulina says I’m imagining things,” adds Star, “but Kwan’s seen it, too.”

Slowly, the Huntress drifts closer. “Is it causing trouble?”

“I don’t think so,” says Star. “But it looks lost. And… and it looks like…”

Kwan interrupts. “I mean, we’ve been watching from a distance, so it might not be.”

“Might not be what?” asks the Huntress. When the others hesitate, she scoffs, “Don’t worry about it. I���m sure I’ll see soon enough.”

Kwan immediately feels more at ease, not having to actually say the most improbable bit of the whole situation. He’s been a little afraid the Huntress would decide the matter is not worth her attention. She’s a big-time vigilante, surely too important to waste her energy on non-threatening ghosts. Kwan hadn’t entirely expected her to even show up. But here she is, dropping into a crouch on her hoverboard to settle in for the wait.

“You saw it from your window?” she asks Star. “So from… uh, sorry, where is that?”

Star begins a gesture and then freezes, her eyes wide. That’s when Kwan realizes that, sometime during their conversation, the wind has died down.

The moaning has not.

A shiver crawls down Kwan’s back.

Something is floating at the edge of the school’s roof. Something like a green smudge in the air, if that smudge managed to take a human form while somehow still looking very inhuman. What exactly it is that looks wrong, Kwan can not quite identify--is the head too large, the limbs too long, the eyes too fever-bright? And yet, the being still has enough shape and form that it is easily, horribly, identifiable.

“Oh,” breaths the Huntress, her hoverboard sinking down to rest on the rooftop tiles. “I see.”

Kwan sighs in relief, and then shivers as the ghost’s next moan seems to mimic him. “You do? You see why we called you?”

“Yeah.” The Huntress rises from her crouch but her posture is no longer as confident as before. Her hands are clenched in fists but she rests all her weight on her back foot, her whole body screaming her bewilderment. “That’s Jack Fenton, alright.”

[Read more on AO3]

[wonwoonlight]

between season | lee jihoon

A/N: i do not know what this is. but Jihoon has made me feel more like myself after so long and I truly owe him for everything and that's how I ended up with this work. i hope you enjoy nevertheless!

➝ Jihoon x Reader (ft. Seungkwan)

➝ word count: 6.5k~ words.

➝ slice of life // angst // breakup!au // non-idol!au // hurt comfort // it ends happily tho, i promise

➝ inspired by: Taeyeon - 11:11

➝ tagging @boowanie @nothingbutadeadesceane @lily-blue and @hoe4wonwoo thank you for talking to me in the dms when it was hard for me ♥

계절틈에 잠시 피는 낯선 꽃처럼 like a bizarre flower blooming between seasons 하루틈에 걸려있는 새벽별처럼 like a morning star caught between the days 이 모든 건 언젠가는 다 everything that's happening right now 지나가고 말겠지 they will all pass

The calendar in your living room is mocking you.

You frown at the red circle around 18 November, a Friday, doodled over and over again with a little messy heart on the corner. Below it, your own writing reads: “Gapyeong!!”.

It’s a promise. One that you made before the bridge collapsed, not knowing it would happen. Because, surely, you don’t make a promise to go on a trip with someone expecting the relationship would fall along the way, do you?

You bite down your lips at everything; your calendar, the streaking red marker glaring at you, the memories of him. Everything.

Despite the way you almost draw blood at how hard your teeth are digging into your lower lip, the tears fall down and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Just like how you can do nothing but stare at the date in front of you with blurry sight like it would magically disappear.

It didn’t.

“You’re really going?” Seungkwan frowns, his worried eyes wouldn’t stop following you as you continue to pack for your trip.

“Why not?” you shrug nonchalantly, as if you weren’t panicking about your decision just last night. As if it wasn’t Seungkwan who had to force you to eat because everything tasted bitter so you didn’t feel like eating after the break up, if you can even call it that. As if it wasn’t Seungkwan who patiently picked up the pieces of your broken heart, hoping that at least gathering the pieces together in one place would make it easier for you to get back again and fix it at your own pace.

As if it wasn’t Seungkwan who hugged you to sleep last night because you just couldn’t take it anymore.

“I already took the day off. Might as well.”

Your friend bites back a sigh, his brain turning, trying to convince you that it might not be a good idea.

“You can just go somewhere else?” he tries once again, like he hasn’t been saying it since the moment you tell him about the trip. “Or you can just take a rest, you know. You deserve it.”

“I already booked the train ticket, Kwan,” you answer softly, knowing full well that you’re just looking for reasons. You could’ve cared less about your booking even though it means your money would be gone just like that. 

You don’t even know why you try to lie to Seungkwan of all people. Maybe you’re trying to make yourself less pitiful.

He looks at you with a knowing look, and you sigh before putting in the last of your clothes to your small luggage then meet his worried gaze.

“I just… Maybe this would be my closure? One last thing I’d do for our relationship, you know? Going through the last plan I made with Jihoon might help me let go?”

You don’t even sound sure, much to Seungkwan’s distaste and concern. He would’ve come with you if he could, but his cousin is getting married on the 19th and he can’t possibly miss that because he’s been made best man. He doesn’t know what other reason he could use to convince you not to go.

“You do realize it’s only been a month?” he finally says, regretting it a little at the sight of your eyes tearing up. Still, he doesn’t think he should stay silent when his best friend is suffering, and he feels like going on this trip by yourself would just be another form of torture because you’re just going to think of Jihoon the whole time and he wouldn’t be able to be there for you when the situation calls for it. “It’s normal that you haven’t moved on. You were together for four years. You don’t need to rush it.”

A very uncomfortable silence envelops the both of you, but you pull yourself together before you break down into tears yet again, and you exhale a long breath as you start busying yourself to get back to packing.

“I promise I’ll be fine.”

Seungkwan doesn’t say anything, knowing that it’s not him you’re trying to convince.

You grip the shirt in your arms as you press your lips together when you say the words to him, the words ringing in your head: you’ll be fine.

“You’ll be out of town during your birthday?” you pouted, pulling away from his embrace.

Jihoon nodded with a sigh and his arm that was around your waist tightened a little. “Seokmin… got a call from a very big agency and, as his main producer, I’m obliged to attend the meeting with him and his manager. He… he said he’d only consider the meeting if they let him bring me into the possible team of the agency.”

“But it’s two months from now?” You made sure, confused. Who grabbed a date for a meeting from two months prior?

Jihoon said something about the CEO of the agency wanting to meet them personally, that his schedule was packed and that he’s out of the country, so the soonest possible would be then.

Despite your dismay at not being able to celebrate his birthday together, your heart bloomed with pride, knowing full well Seokmin and Jihoon deserved it. Seokmin had been growing slowly but surely as a singer, together with Jihoon who would produce his songs and help with the chorus from time to time–feeling more at home in the studio rather than the stage.

Seokmin was easily one of the most talented and hardworking people you’d ever encountered in your life, along with Jihoon himself, and to know he’s being scouted by a big agency and he insisted on bringing Jihoon with him… You couldn’t help but swell with pride. This might be it for both Seokmin as a singer and Jihoon as a producer.

They had worked too hard with as an independent artist with minimal management. It’s about time they got an actual agency backing them up.

“Should we celebrate it early then?” you suggested as you unlocked your phone and opened the calendar app, your back against his chest. “You’re leaving on your birthday, right? The 18th is Friday, I can take a day off and we can go on that trip to Gapyeong that we’ve been talking about.”

Jihoon hummed, looking at your phone as he dropped his cheek on top of your head. “Sure. We can go back on the 20th. I’ll tell Seokmin I can’t do any preparation during then.”

“Should we book the train now?” you asked, though Jihoon knew you’re talking to yourself–it’s an endearing habit of yours that he’d always found adorable. Sometimes he’d annoy you by answering even though he knew you’re not asking for one, you’d glare at him and he’d plaster his palm over your face just to annoy you more, his laughter rumbling against his chest. “Eh, let’s wait for a discount instead. I think Jisoo said something about it the other day.”

“Ow!” You shout as you fall forward, hissing at the hot coffee spilled over your hand, your elbow holding your weight, and your knees hurting from the way it’s also taking in your whole body. Honestly, how can so many things happen in the span of two seconds? 

And who on earth let their stuff scattered on the ground where innocent passerby could trip over and–

“Oh my God, I’m sorry, are you okay? I–Oh… [Y/N] ?”

You still at his voice, the dull pain on your elbow, knees, and even the burnt on your hand suddenly do not feel as prominent as the loud beating of your heart.

“Jesus, I’m so sorry,” he snaps back to reality, quickly helping you off the ground and wincing at the way your face turns into a grimace when your ankle moves. He looks at the spilled coffee on the ground, steam still coming out of it, your hand must’ve been burnt. “Shit, I’m sorry. Let’s get you cleaned up first.”

It’s so natural that it hurts–for him to hold you by the arm, to help you sit down on the bench and rummage through his bag to look for anything that might help even though you know, you fucking know there’s no way Lee Jihoon, of all people, would have first aid kids in his bag. You were the one who had to bring it around for the both of you–have always been since before.

You softly let the strap of your backpack down as a silent message, and Jihoon bites his lip before he nods in understanding, fully familiar with this backpack that you always use for your short trip. He knows where you’d pack the first aid kit.

He rummages through your backpack, taking the small bag and kneeling down in front of you to inspect your legs after making sure your elbow is not scratched.

You bite down your lip to start your eyes from watering, hoping that if Jihoon notices the quiver of your lips or the tears lining your eyes, he’d be kind enough to pretend that you’re close to tears because of your presumably bruised knees instead of whatever the fuck is happening right now.

“Does it hurt a lot?”

God. His fucking voice. 

You don’t trust yours, so you shake your head in hope he’ll leave you alone after this. He won’t though, you know he won’t.

But still.

He softly calls your name, and you shake your head harder, putting the first aid kit back to your backpack when Jihoon gently grabs your arm and takes a look at your burnt hand.

“Let’s take care of this, yeah?”

“I can do it by myself,” you say, your small voice stinging his heart.

It’s the first time he’s heard your voice since the break up, the first time he sees you since then too; in a busy city like Seoul, it’s unsurprisingly hard to bump into you by accident even though he knows your routine by heart.

Or at least your old routine because you never seem to stop by the usual coffee shop at 7.30 in the morning again, nor do you visit the dessert house that sells your favorite lemon meringue tart according to the much too happy cashier when he dropped by last week (“Oh! Hi! Your girlfriend hasn’t been coming in these days, is she okay?”).

Maybe you’re refusing to bump into him.

His heart cracks a little more at the thought.

“You can barely even walk,” he says sternly, his inside twisting in ways that he doesn’t understand. He just understands that it hurts seeing you hurt and closed up. “Let me help you. Please?”

You want to say no, but you honestly feel like crying because of your knees and his presence, and your ability to walk on your own isn’t exactly existent right now, so you stay silent when he takes your luggage with him and helps you to stand up.

You almost let out a sob at the tender way his arm wraps around your waist.

Jihoon helps you to the restroom, tells you to cool your burn with cold water and that he’ll be waiting outside with your luggage so you don’t have to worry. You’re glad for the time alone at last, and you finally wipe away the tears threatening to fall down and you get yourself together as you hiss against the cold water.

It’s ironic, to be honest, but you’re not going to dwell on it and you’re going to step out of the restroom and thank him for the help then part your way after. You’ll figure out how you’re going to walk to your train later because, frankly, it’s your problem, not his. 

It’s almost ten minutes later that you emerge from the restroom, and you turn to see Jihoon leaning by the wall, your luggage mixed with his on the ground with your backpack hanging off his shoulder. You snap out of it before your thoughts get everywhere, and it’s when you limp your way to him and try to take your luggage from the ground that Jihoon looks up from his phone and asks you what you’re doing.

You look at him, confused, and you thank him for the help but that you’ll manage from here.

You sound almost robotic, as if you’ve practiced this (you have for the last 6 minutes), as if it’s the most comfortable way for you to address him–like he’s a stranger who you bumped into in a train station. You would’ve seen the obvious hurt flashing across his face if your eyes hadn’t been busy burning holes into the strap of your backpack. 

The whisper of your name falls off his lips again, your deluded mind registering it as desperation even though you’re sure it’s nothing but. He was the one who asked for the breakup anyway. There’s no reason for him to sound desperate with you, you think bitterly to yourself.

“At least let me help you to your train. When is it departing?” he tries, hating the way you’d rather suffer by yourself than accept his help when you obviously have a hard time walking.

And whose fault is that? Something within him voices.

He doesn’t even ask where you’re going–of course he knows where you’re going, you planned this trip after all. He just didn’t expect you to still go, much less (finally) bumped into you here.

He was just over the nearest tap water when he heard a soft scream, filling his bottle with water because he figured it’d take a minute and he didn’t think the strap of his bag would be a catalyst to any kind of accident, though he wouldn’t know that it happened because you were zoning out and you didn’t see where you’re going.

He bites his lip in frustration at your silence, but he really can’t blame you for not wanting to see him (yet?) after the whole thing. He did cause this mess after all, letting his stress and anger get the best of him and lashing on you when all you wished to do was to take care of him. 

How much of an asshole can someone be, really?

The sound of an announcement snaps you both out of trance, telling you the train you’ll be departing on has arrived and that it’ll be 30 minutes before departure. Jihoon curiously turns to you to see if it’s also your train, even though he knows there’s no reason for you to be here this early if you’re taking the other train, which is an hour away.

You’re still refusing to meet his gaze, but when he asks if it’s your train, you timidly nod and he can see the way your fingers are digging into your palms.

“It’s mine too. Please, let me help you to the train?” he stubbornly asks despite the gentle tone he’s using. If Soonyoung has seen him like this, he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t believe what he’s seeing. Lee Jihoon isn’t exactly famous for patience and continuous prodding upon turndowns.

He takes your silence as a yes, even though he still wouldn’t let you carry your luggage by yourself if you say no. You can barely even walk.

He turns to you in confusion when he feels a pull from behind, and he finds your fingers wrapped around the strap of your backpack, a silent request to let you at least carry it yourself.

“It’s heavy,” he shakes his head, but he knows you won’t back down so he gives you his small luggage instead. It should be easier for you because it has wheels, would probably help you walk too even slightly. “Take this instead.”

You grab the handle of his luggage, and for the first time that day, you actually look at him. Jihoon has your medium sized backpack on one shoulder and another small bag on the other. His macbook, you assume, he can never go anywhere without that gadget with him even though he’s told you he wouldn’t be working during this trip. 

Maybe that changed. You’re not going on this trip together, anyway, you think as your heart clenches at the reminder.

Anyhow, he looks a little all over the place, and there’s also your small luggage still unattended on the ground. (Why did you pack so much again?) So you pull on your bag to get his attention, not having it in you to call his name.

“Yes?”

“Give me your bag,” you say softly, looking at his shoulder instead. He blinks continuously, but you say it should be light enough for you to take and he has way too many things to hold on to already. “I can put it on the top of your luggage. I’ll just hold on to the strap so it won’t fall down.”

Jihoon tries his best not to smile, heart a little giddy at the prospect of you still being considerate to him. God knows why you still care, he deserves your glare and maybe even a slap on the cheek. He looks at you, eyes casted down and fingers wrapped around the strap of your bag. It still hurts though, how much you’re refusing to meet his eyes and how small your voice is–as if you’re not sure anymore how to talk to him.

Maybe you don’t. He knows he doesn’t.

And so the both of you make your way to the train like that; with him carrying your stuff and you carrying his stuff. No words exchanged though you can’t help but glance at each other from time to time, missing the other’s eyes in a matter of seconds.

You can’t help but think: this isn’t exactly the paint of a broken couple.

Unfortunately, his seat isn’t next to you. Though, thankfully, you’re still in the same compartment and you’re sitting a couple rows in front of him on the other side, so he’s still able to see you from where he’s at.

He knows you’re uncomfortable, so he can’t press you to sit with him or the other way around despite his worry. He’s just going to watch you and maybe help if you ever need him to. He doubts you would though, this is just an hour long ride anyway. But you’ll surely need help in getting your luggage that’s slotted safely in the overhead compartment.

He sighs softly. He can only see the back of your head and the side of your face if he leans over a little. But he knows you’re silently listening to something on your earphone–probably Taeyeon, he muses, you’ve always listened to her music during a trip. He smiles to himself at the thought, though his heart twists a little at the empty space beside you, resided by your bag.

It would’ve been him, had he not been stupid enough to let his ego get the best of him at you that day, telling you that you’re exaggerating and he didn’t need you pampering him. And perhaps it was a bad day for you too, because you had laughed incredulously, the sound of it annoying him by the seconds.

“Maybe if you had cared enough to at least take my call I wouldn’t be here thinking you’re dead? Is your work the only thing that matters?”

He rolled his eyes at your dramatic words, shaking his head before he muttered something to himself that he never thought would sound loud enough for you to hear.

“Maybe if you stop being annoying I would’ve finished faster,” he grumbled. “Leave me alone for once.”

“Sure, if that’s what you want.”

Your voice was barely a whisper, and it’s so cold it still haunts him at night. It didn’t help that it took him a minute to realize that you’d heard him and you’re walking out after that. That he had asked you to leave him alone and you agreed with him. His heart was beating so fast he felt like throwing up at what he might’ve done without meaning to. 

It had only been one minute at most, but he had lost sight of you and he panicked at the slow lamp indicator of the elevator going down, his finger frantically pressing the button to no avail. He ran down the stairs, three flight of stairs shouldn’t take that long, but the security guard told him you had just left with a taxi so he opted on calling you instead. 

Quite obviously, his call didn’t go through, his texts wouldn’t get delivered too, and he was just about to call for another taxi when Seokmin came in and told him they needed to go meet one of the representatives before meeting the CEO, a meeting that he had completely forgotten would take place.

He asked if it’s possible to reschedule, or if his attendance was necessary for this particular meeting. Seokmin looked at him in surprise, obviously feeling the panic in his voice, so he shook his head no and that it should be okay if Jihoon couldn’t come today.

Seokmin didn’t manage to ask, the older guy already out of the door in seconds.

Jihoon blinks at the robotic sound of the announcement, and he looks up to see people getting ready because apparently his destination is 5 minutes away. Has it really been an hour? He leans to the side to catch a glimpse of you, scrolling through your phone without a care in the world.

God, he’s missed you so much it’s not even funny.

You haven’t been answering his calls, and for good reasons too, though he’s stopped calling you a week after that, knowing full well you don’t like it when people force you to take their calls. He had texted you instead, his words you can recite in your sleep.

[02:11] Jihoon☁ : I know this might not mean anything to you, but I’m truly sorry. I don’t mean what I said though it doesn’t change the fact that I said them and I hurt you. I’ll give you space and stop calling, okay? Not because I want to but because I know you need it. Please just… talk to me whenever you’re ready? I’ll be waiting.

[03:32] Jihoon☁ : I love you.

Little did he know, Seungkwan has been trying his best to convince you to talk to him. His concern of you going on this trip by yourself goes as far as him not being able to be there for you if you fall down into the rabbit hole of your own thoughts. You’re not someone who can be alone at times like this, and Seungkwan knows you’re aware of that tendency of yours.

He can only guess you purposefully go on this trip to walk down the memory lane, though he doesn’t see how it would work at all. You want to think of Jihoon, and maybe going on this trip, the last one you planned with him, would help you let him go even a little.

Seungkwan doesn’t know either why you’re already jumping into trying to move on. As far as he’s aware, the both of you aren’t officially broken up yet. Yes, Jihoon fucked up (and he already gave the older guy a piece of his mind when Jihoon asked him to meet not long after he stopped calling you), but no one asked to end the relationship and it’s obvious that you both still love each other.

But, then again, you’ve always had a problem dealing with your feelings when you’re overwhelmed. Plus, his words have always been your biggest insecurity: being too much of a bother for someone you hold dear.

As much as you’re the type to confront people when something bothers you, you’d go radio silent when the feeling is too much and you don’t know how to take it anymore. Jihoon knows you’d have days when you think like you’re a burden for everyone. And it’s okay, as he will never get tired of reminding you that he’s lucky to have you by your side and you’re never a bother to him.

Yet there he goes, spewing those words like a foolish man.

Seungkwan can only guess the fight affected you too much and that’s how you ended up where you are.

“Let me,” Jihoon says, not letting you take the luggage down by yourself. Everyone else in your compartment has gotten off the train, and Jihoon has purposely waited for them to get out of his way so he can help you better. 

“I can do it though,” you whisper stubbornly, though you let him be anyway.

You let him carry it to the front of the train station, let him force you to share a taxi with him to the guest house you’ll be staying at, let him help you check in to the place, and let him talk long enough to remind you to get something for your burnt even though it’s not severe and it just stings a little now, and tell you to be careful with your knees.

This much, you let him.

“Thank you,” you say at last, because Jihoon has run out of reasons to keep on staying here when he has his own hotel to check in to and you don’t look like you need his help anymore. It hurts though. The words sound like they hold more meaning than what they appear to be, and Jihoon presses his lips together to appear calm despite the cracking in his heart. “I’ll be fine on my own now.”

It’s selfish, but he doesn’t want you to be fine on your own.

You don’t know who you are lying to by saying that out loud.

“You–what?” Seungkwan almost screams, making you wince at the loud sound blasting through your ears. Thank God you decide to use your earphones before calling him, having the whole cafe listen to Seungkwan nagging you is not on your list during this trip. “And what happened?”

“Nothing,” you answer nonchalantly, the pretense of being okay now coming in quite automatically even though you almost burst down into tears the moment Jihoon kneeled down in front of you to see your legs. “He helped me and I thanked him. Then we parted ways.”

“Are you dumb?”

“Hey!”

Your friend sighs, trying his best to rub away the incoming headache. You can’t see it, but you know Seungkwan is probably massaging his temple at the moment, and you can’t help but feel guilty because you know it’s because of you.

But, eh, he has caused you quite the same headaches just the same.

He huffs softly, and you know whatever he’s going to say, he’s saying it seriously and it’s out of the goodness of his heart. You play with your straw, and your eyes focus on the way your drink is swirling with the movement as you listen to Seungkwan talk.

Your eyes water at his words, and you immediately wipe away the tears before you actually break down in the middle of a cafe. His voice is hushed, because Seungkwan knows it’s the way to make you listen, and as much as you’ve already thought about the words he’s telling you, having someone actually tell you is quite something.

“Maybe talk to him? You’re both on a trip where you’re supposed to be together anyway. I don’t know why you’re pretending like your relationship is over when none of you ended it. Yes, you fought big, and he’s an asshole for taking it out on you that way. But you’re suffering with your own thoughts, and as much as I love you, this isn’t something that I’d be able to help you with. You know I don’t like to meddle and I’ll respect your decision no matter what, but I know you both. Maybe you’re disoriented because you’ve never fought this big, and it’s okay, but it’s been a month and listening to him might do you more good than bad. I don’t want you to end a relationship where you’re the happiest you’ve ever been like this–without clear words and over misunderstandings. You know I won’t say this if I don’t think it’s worth it, right? If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for the sake of your relationship with him. You barely even fought for the four years you were together, please don’t make hasty decisions because of this, okay? Do what you always do when you find a problem: talk through it and find out what’s going to happen next.”

You blink back your tears as you lay on your bed, Seungkwan’s words and Jihoon’s face filling your mind.

“What you have with him is much too precious for you to easily let it go, and I’m saying this as someone who’s known you for a decade. I’ve never seen anyone love you as much as he does. Nor have I seen you loving someone as hard as you do him.”

You close your eyes as you feel the wind grazing your face, thankful for the weather. Autumn is here after all, and you’re glad that today isn’t as cold as usual and the sunlight is hitting just enough for the day to be sunny.

You’ve always wanted to visit the flower garden, though you would’ve preferred it if you’re here since morning. But it’s your fault for sleeping in so now here you are, at 2 in the afternoon, walking through the beautiful garden as you lose yourself in the sight.

You slept at 2 in the morning, thinking over Seungkwan’s words and reflecting on what you have had with Jihoon. It’s true what he said, you barely even fought for the four years you were together, because you’re both cold headed people so you talk when something bothers you.

But it’s always been your weakness–being afraid that you’re a bother for someone close to you has always been your poison. Jihoon knows this, knows that it happens because of something in the past, and he has been nothing but understanding, always reminding you that you’re the best thing he could ever invest his time in and never tires to tell you that everytime it happens.

So to hear Jihoon, of all people, saying that, it’s almost like whatever’s holding you together is being ripped apart just like that. 

You know he’s had a bad day, that he probably doesn’t mean it, and you have no reason except that you’re afraid for confronting him just in case your assumption is, for once, true. What if he wanted to talk just to clarify that, yes, he wants to end it?

Might as well run before it happened.

It’s a stupid decision, you know, even more for someone like you who’s always believed communication is key. But it scares you to lose him, and the possibility of him uttering those words to you… You think it’ll haunt you for the rest of your life if you ever have to experience listening to Jihoon explain to you why he thinks it’s for the best to end your relationship.

“Oof–” you jump as you bump into someone, luckily this time without falling face first into the floor. But you freeze just the same when you see who you’ve bumped into. “Oh… Hi.”

Jihoon looks at you with disbelief, blinking continuously as if unsure it’s really you he’s seeing. A month of not seeing you and suddenly he bumps into you when you’re both out of town? Given, he knows you’ve always wanted to visit this place, but he doesn’t exactly know when you’d go here.

He’s thought you’d go in the morning, and he did plan on coming then just to see if he’d see you in the sea of people. But his online meeting in the morning lasted longer than he expected, and he figures he should just go for the sake of your memory.

He snaps out of it when your soft voice apologizes and you excuse yourself from him. He panics a little for some reason, and he reaches out to grab your arm only for you both to look at each other in surprise.

“Oh, sorry,” he says, unsure.

You don’t know why you’re disappointed at the loss of his touch.

“It’s okay.”

Then you’re both frozen there, eyes locked on the ground instead of each other and no words were spoken. Like you both want to say more but don’t know how to.

You wait for a few seconds, for Jihoon to say something–anything–but he doesn’t and you’re not sure what to say either. You want to believe this is a sign you shouldn’t ignore, even more after the talk with Seungkwan last night.

Truthfully, you thought of texting him last night. But you cowered from the thought and instead chose to prepare your heart first before talking to him. Apparently, the universe has another plan. The question is: do you have to go with it?

“Umm…”

“Can I walk with you?”

The both of you say at the same time, an amused chuckle coming out of your lips before you realize. Jihoon almost sighs dreamily at the sight of your smile, how the fuck did he survive a month without seeing it once?

“Yeah, sure,” you tell him, much to his surprise. Did he expect you to reject him? Maybe. Either way, he’s glad you say yes and now you’re both just awkwardly walking through the path laid out through the garden. He’d rather be awkward with you than not with you at all though.

“Did you sleep well?” he tries, wondering why you’re here at this hour.

“Umm… I slept late because I was talking with Seungkwan on the phone.” A beat, then. “Did you?”

He feels hope blooming a little at your question, at least you’re not shutting him off and you’re not making him talk to himself.

“Not really. I had to wake up early for an online meeting,” he sighs, and, as if he forgets you haven’t been talking in a month, he proceeds to tell you about how the meeting went and which part pissed him off. Maybe he’s rambling, because he’s been wanting to talk to you all these time, or maybe he just wants to talk as much as he can before awkward silence envelops you once again. 

Your presence next to him shouldn’t be in the same sentence as the word awkward.

“Did you just arrive?” he decides to ask. “I thought you’d be going in the morning.”

The familiarity hurts, and you know whatever talk Seungkwan told you to have, it’s going to come up sooner or later because you can’t pretend like you’re not bothered.

“Yeah. Like I said, Seungkwan talked my ear off last night. He’s nervous because it’s Seungcheol’s wedding today and he’s best man.” You joke a little, hoping to ease off the awkwardness somehow. Should you go for it?

Jihoon doesn’t seem to mind though, and he instead asks why you’re not going.

“It’s in Jeju,” you shrug. “And I already booked a train and the guest house for this trip.”

He bites his lips, not expecting you to be this bold out of nowhere. Still, he doesn’t know if you want to talk about it or if you’re just saying it. 

You spend another moment in silence, and it’s about five minutes later that you exhale a deep breath and finally turn to him. He looks surprised at the sudden movement, his eyes meeting yours for the first time that day. He can easily detect the determination flashing through, and he readies himself for whatever you’re going to say.

“Can we talk?”

Jihoon holds his breath before he nods, and you both make your way to an empty bench beneath a huge tree nearby. It’s empty enough for you to talk, and maybe the peace of this place would hopefully bring one into your talk too.

“I… Sorry for ignoring you,” you start, your fingers digging into your palm. Jihoon notices this, and it takes everything in him not to pry your hand open and slot his fingers between yours. He doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable though, so he settles for intertwining his fingers together instead.

“No need to apologize for that,” he says, and you almost cry at how gentle his voice sounds to your ears. “I told you I’d give you space.”

“Still…”

“I don’t want you blaming yourself over something that I did,” he says, his voice firm but not scolding. His hand is already reaching for yours without him realizing and, much to his relief, you grip his hand instead of pushing it away. “And I did say I’ll wait for you. I understand. I said some hurtful things and you need time because of that. I should be the one apologizing to you.”

The words flow rather easily after that, because, apparently, all you needed was his tender eyes and the warmth of his hand covering yours. You almost cry a few times, because how can you not when he’s looking at you like that and you’ve missed him like crazy?

He apologizes, tells you about the stress that day and how it still doesn’t mean he has the right to say those things to you. And you tell him how it makes you feel, why you ignored him, and it hurts him to hear this directly from you even though he knows (and Seungkwan made sure how big his fuck up was) already. He can’t feel much shittier about himself than he’s feeling right now.

You barely even make sense, because talking as you try to hold back your tears isn’t the best way to talk. But Jihoon patiently listens to you, and when it’s clear that you can’t hold it back anymore, he pulls you into his embrace and you sob into his chest as you finally feel the warmth that you’ve been longing for.

Jihoon doesn’t say anything, but he gently shushes you and you can feel his lips on top of your head. His hand cradles your head as you continue crying like you’re not out in the open. Thankfully not a lot of people pass by this section, and the few people who do just look at you in concern before going on their way because this guy holding you seems to be what you need anyway.

When your tears finally die down, you feel his arms tightening around you, but you pull away a little to look at him. A small smile graces his face when you do, though there’s a prominent frown on his face and his thumb immediately wipes the remnants of your tears because they’re the bane of his existence. 

“I’ve missed you,” you whisper softly like it’s a secret, and his lips bloom into a smile before he leans forward to kiss your forehead, heart beating in giddiness at the way your fingers are gripping the front of his shirt. 

“I’ve missed you too,” he exhales, relieved that he can finally say it out loud. Jihoon has never been good with saying things out loud, but it’s you in front of him and you’ve always been an exception in his life. “Can I kiss you?”

You smile despite the tears in your eyes, and you relish the feeling of his lips against yours as your own words just a few days ago ring through your mind.

You’ll be fine.

You’ll both be fine.

A/N: i told you idk what is this lollll hope you enjoyed this anyway. please drop by my ask/replies/anything and tell me how you feel about it <3

[telomeke]

GMMTV PRODUCER/DIRECTOR CAMEOS – IT'S NOT JUST FOR KICKS AND GIGGLES

So viewers who are familiar with the progenitors of My School President all had a collective chortle when its producer Aof Noppharnach Chaiwimol appeared in the persona of supertutor Kruu P'Nop (ครูพี่ณพ) in Episode 10:

(above) My School President Ep.10 [2/4] 1.05

This was just the latest instance of a GMMTV director or producer popping up onscreen in their own show. 😍 In A Tale of a Thousand Stars (that he directed), Khun Noppharnach also appeared briefly as a tourist who bought Osmanthus fragrans from a blind man (in turn played by his Assistant Director Phyungsak Naruepai, also nicknamed Aof):

(above) A Tale of a Thousand Stars Ep.5 [1I4] 10.22 – Director Aof is on the left, Assistant Director Aof is on the right and main actor Mix Sahaphap is in the middle (American singer Cassie also has a cameo on Director Aof's t-shirt 😊)

In The Eclipse, Director Golf Tanwarin Sukkhapisit also had their own cameo as the proprietor/manager of the Café for All:

(above) The Eclipse – Ep.4 [3/4] 4.31

However, it was really in Bad Buddy that this trend of having production team cameos got deployed in a big way (possibly because the pandemic simply made it more expedient to use members of the crew as extras and for minor roles – see this blogpost here for more info).

Most notable in BBS was Director Aof's cameo as a pharmacist:

(above) Bad Buddy Ep.1 [4/4] 4.24

Additionally, BBS Assistant Director Au Kornprom also took on a supporting role as Toto, Pran's senior and director of the Kwan-Riam musical, who changed the cishet period drama into a BL production:

(above) Bad Buddy Ep.7 [1I4] 9.39

However, recalling the meticulously clever seed-planting and subsequent plot reveals orchestrated within Bad Buddy itself, we can now tell that this was yet another Aha! moment that they sowed in there – but it was done with the intention for the seed to burst into bloom only later, well after BBS.

For Khun Kornprom's minor role in Bad Buddy as the director of a fictitious BL musical (the story of Kwan and Riam) truly was also foretelling his future role in real life – as the director of an actual BL musical (My School President). 🌼😊👍

So when MSP Producer Aof appeared onscreen in My School President as Tutor Nop, I found myself rooting even harder for MSP Director Au to pop up in a cameo as well, since MSP is in many ways (in its stylings, themes and characterizations) the nong to BBS's phi (and as the younger sibling it also pushes its message out there with a considerably lighter touch, since its target audience is much less mature than BBS's).

With this in mind, for the past 10 episodes I've been on edge awaiting Director Au Kornprom Niyomsil's cameo in MSP – until it hit me that it's already happened:

(top) My School President Ep.2 [3I4] 7.07 – "Suksa" means "education, study or knowledge", while "Niyomsil" refers to the arts, in addition to being Director Au's surname; (bottom) My School President Ep.2 [1I4] 7.18

With the boys' school sharing Director Au's surname ("Niyomsil") this MSP cameo is veiled, rather than openly face-to-face.

But at this point I think the director/producer appearances are not just random anymore – it's possible to read some meaning into them beyond the feel-good giggles each one provokes:

In Bad Buddy, Director Aof's turn as a pharmacist (who provides Pat and Pran with ointment for their injuries) highlights his role in delivering BBS's message of healing, especially the healing of relationships (see this write-up here for more info). This theme of healing is everywhere in BBS – between Pat and Pran (whose relationship was forcefully ruptured by Dissaya in high school), between Pran and Dissaya (after their rift in Ep.10), between Pran and his musical soul (see this write-up here), between Korn and Wai (see this write-up here), between Wai and the world (see this write-up here) and yes even between Ming and Dissaya (see these write-ups here and here – although their process of healing was only tentatively begun and might not ever be complete, like the relationship between the Archi and Engine faculties as well).

In The Eclipse, Director Golf's cameo as proprietor/manager of a café that is open to all, highlighted the role of that series as a safe, non-judgmental space to confront and discuss some hard truths and painful realities with regard to LGBTQ+ issues, especially the experience of growing into your authentic queer self while embedded within an often-oppressive environment.

And in My School President, Director Au and Producer Aof cast themselves in the roles of a school and tutor respectively – they're positioning themselves as educators of the younger set, imparting from phi to nong some heartfelt but no less important lessons on positivity and self-esteem for those just embarking on their LGBTQ+ journey in life (and indeed for their straight allies as well). 💖

I'm less sure of the meaning behind Director Aof's cameo in ATOTS – it was possibly just for fun, since it seems like the first time (or one of the first times anyway) that they did it in a GMMTV series.

But just as Tian in ATOTS helped the villagers sell their tea by perfuming it with Osmanthus fragrans (and in doing so also helped them bypass the mercenary and controlling middlemen), Director Aof may also have been signaling that the soft, sweet-scented mantle of the BL genre could in turn help productions that are supportive of LGBTQ+ equality get their message more directly out to a wider audience. (And if this is indeed the case, I'm not sure he's wrong. 🥰)

It's cool that GMMTV's director/producer cameos can be imbued with significance beyond just the sly wink and chuckle. I'll certainly be watching out for more of them in other shows! 🤩

[ranchthoughts]

thinking about Bad Buddy and prequels and tragedies

I was thinking about how the Our Skyy Bad Buddy episodes are a prequel, since we know where Pat and Pran end up in a few years courtesy of episode 12 of the original series and its time skip. We know where they are going to end up, these episodes just fill in the gaps of how they got there, what they went through along the way.

Then I got to thinking about how the original series of Bad Buddy was like a prequel itself because we know where it was probably going - it was built on a foundation of the BL genre and other romance stories (tragedies) from throughout history like Romeo & Juliet (see @shortpplfedup's series on Bad Buddy's parallels to this play) and Kwan & Riam (see @chickenstrangers' post on Bad Buddy's parallels to this story); the how was the part we didn't know. How was this retelling of classic stories going to follow or diverge from what was familiar to us?

Bad Buddy is a BL, a romantic comedy, so we would expect it to end happily... but there is something looming under the surface as well (@chickenstrangers calls it a "thrum of tension") because Bad Buddy is also a tale of star-crossed lovers, unable to be together because of their warring families. We know these stories, they've been told hundreds of times (Romeo & Juliet, Kwan & Riam, The Cowherd & the Weaver Girl, West Side Story...). We know they are usually tragedies.

Like prequels, with tragedies* we usually know where they are going to end up (and often that's where the pain comes from: knowing what ending is coming and not being able to do anything about it).

And Pran knows all this as well as we do - he looks at himself and Pat, and their families, and he sees no way this can end up happily. I talked here about the genre-awareness of Bad Buddy: Pran (and later Pat) don't know they are in a show, but they can recognize the structure of their lives and their love as something that's been done before, the eternal story of star-crossed lovers, and Pran especially is keenly aware that those stories are tragedies (which contributes to Pran's hesitation on the rooftop and through the rest of the series - why start something that probably won't end well?). Knowing the generations of feuding family romance tragedies out there and how they end, how could Pran and Pat imagine a different ending?

Despite that overwhelming history looming behind them, all the times the star-crossed lovers have been separated or died in the name of love, Pran and Pat take the plunge. Maybe it won't turn out like that this time.

And Pran and Pat didn't leave the "maybe this time it will work out" to chance - they worked for it.

Pat and Pran saw "This story is a tragedy because it didn't have to end this way" and said, well it won't. At the end of episode 11 they choose not to break up but instead to hide their continued relationship from everyone else - they saw the tragic ending, the typical BL episode 11 break up, and they chose not to go there. They see the patterns their story is following, where it could be heading, and they take control of their own narrative.

In her post about Bad Buddy, tragedies, and queer futurities, @chickenstrangers writes "The idea of choosing happiness is at the core of Bad Buddy." At every turn, Pat and Pran choose happiness. From Pran surrounding himself in smiley faces, to the two of them staying together after episode 11, every part of Bad Buddy is Pat and Pran choosing joy and love in the face of it all (their parents, the star-crossed lovers stories their own lives parallel).

And therein lies the thesis of Bad Buddy: maybe we can't change the world, but we won't let the world change us. It doesn't matter if we can't change the world (our families), all that matters is we still have love for one another despite it all.

There's a lot fighting against Pat and Pran - their families' feuds, their faculties' feuds - and by the end of the series they haven't fixed those things (their parents still don't get along, the next generation of engineering and architecture students are still fighting). But it's ok because the world hasn't changed Pat or Pran: they are still in love, still together.

On the other hand, though, a lot has changed. Pat and Pran's story isn't a tragedy, they refused to let it be. They refused to accept that their ending had been written from the beginning, and they took control of their narrative. Pat says, "We might not be able to change the people around us," but their love did make an impact: their friends came around to them and the engineering and architecture squads ended up friendly, Dissaya and Ming are softening to each other and seem to know about their sons' relationship. In Bad Buddy, choosing love and hope can change the story, can change the world. Just a bit, and slowly, but it can.

And thinking of this, I can't help think of the other stories, besides Romeo & Juliet and Kwan & Riam and the like, which Pat and Pran echo: the long history of queer people who have faced discrimination and hatred, often from those closest to them, but have chosen joy in the face of it. Like so many queer people before them, Pat and Pran say "we can't change the world, but the world can't change us." They reject the idea that their lives have to end in tragedy and choose to make their own futures full of queer joy instead.

Like Pat and Pran slowly changing their family and friends through the persistence of their love, so have queer people changed the world and their own families and friends with the persistence of their love and joy. While there is obviously so far to go, look how far we've come. Look how the queer community has refused to let their stories and lives be a tragedy: one person can't change the world, but a lot of them living their lives and choosing joy and love in the face of it all can. Just a bit, and slowly, but they can.

Hadestown "Road to Hell" (inspired by this post)//post by supreme-leader-stoat//post by starpeace//Bad Buddy ep.11 pt.4//Ovid (translation unknown)

*In the same vein, I've been thinking about all the fairy tale references in the Our Skyy 2 eps (I've spoken at length about Snow White here, here, and here) - fairy tales also function like prequels and tragedies. We are so familiar with them we know how they go and how they are going to end, the details are just what change from retelling to retelling.

[imekitty]

Star Error XI

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

Star investigates Danny’s glowing freckles.

-----

"Star, is it true?" asked Paulina in the hallway after the last bell. "Did Danny really dump you?"

"Yeah, he did," whooped Dash. "Didn't you see it on TikTok?"

"Wait, it was caught on camera? Let me see!" cried Kwan.

Dash pulled up the video and played it for Kwan. They snickered and pointed at different moments in the video, mocking Fenton's words. Star imagined slapping the phone right out of Dash's hand and stomping on it over and over.

"Your face is so red, Star," laughed Dash. "Have you seen it?"

"Guys, lay off," said Paulina. "Star's our friend, in case you forgot."

"Come on, a dweeb like that dumping an A-List girl? That's priceless," said Dash.

"But did you really try to kiss Foley?" asked Kwan.

"She and Foley dated before," said Dash. "She was just going back to her ex."

"I was not!" squealed Star, stamping her foot. "And I didn't try to kiss him! I was just—ack!"

Star stormed off, ignoring Paulina's calls to come back. What was the point in trying to explain anything to them? Until she could prove Fenton's freckles glowed, they weren't going to believe her.

She had to find Fenton, confront him, demand to know where he even got the gall to humiliate her like that in front of the entire school.

She searched everywhere around the school, but Fenton seemed to be gone already. She checked the time. She was on the schedule to tutor a couple students but this was far more important.

She exited the school and ran entirely off campus. She hoped Fenton was at one of his known hangout spots around town, but she was willing to show up at the front door of Fenton Works at this point.

She spotted Fenton through a window in the Nasty Burger. He was chatting it up with Manson and Foley, looking very happy indeed as he laughed about something.

Star clenched her fists, her face red as she threw open the door into the restaurant and stomped up to Fenton's booth.

"Fenton!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

Fenton blinked and cocked his head. "Can I help you, Star?"

"You, me, outside," spat Star. "Now."

"Star." Fenton sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry if this is hard for you, but we broke up."

"You broke up with her, if I remember correctly," said Foley cheekily, popping a fry into his mouth.

"Oh, that's right, I did," said Fenton with a smile.

"You don't even have to remember," said Manson, holding up her phone. "It's all on video."

Star became aware of a few Casper High students sitting at other tables. They were turning to stare, whispering behind their hands.

Star leaned over the table and lowered her voice. "Fenton. Don't make me ask you again."

"All right, all right. Just let me finish my milkshake."

Fenton picked up his shake and began drinking it through the straw. The seconds dragged on and on as he noisily slurped it all up. Star watched him, her eye twitching.

At last, Fenton popped the straw out of his mouth and loudly sighed, sounding quite satisfied. "That was so good. You really should get one, Star. I would buy you one, but we're no longer dating, as you know."

"We were never dating!" shrieked Star, about ready to pull out her hair.

"Ouch." Fenton pressed a hand over his heart. "Did our two-day relationship really mean so little to you?"

"Move it, Fenton!" ordered Star.

Fenton smirked as he slid out of the booth and followed Star out of the Nasty Burger and around to the back near the dumpsters. Star checked that no one was around before railing into him, forcing him up against a wall.

"What the hell was that at lunch?" demanded Star. "What were you even doing there? You were supposed to be in detention!"

"Oh, I was," said Fenton. "But Lancer let me out early, so I went looking for Sam and Tuck. Then Sam told me you took Tucker somewhere, and I decided to go find you."

"But why? I mean, why did you have to make such a scene?" Star huffed. "I mean, flowers? Really?"

Fenton grinned. "That was a nice touch, wasn't it? Sam has connections and was able to call up someone who could get them delivered super fast."

"But why did you tell everyone that you were dumping me? I don't get dumped, Fenton! Certainly not by freaky losers like you."

"Hey, don't try to make me the bad guy here. You were the one cheating on me."

Star slammed his shoulder into the wall. "Cut the shit, Fenton. You embarrassed me in front of the whole school."

"Oh, wow, did I?" Fenton's bottom lip trembled. "Being embarrassed in front of the whole school, that's rough, Star. I'm so sorry." He scratched behind his ear. "I mean, I can relate, because, you know, this one time, someone spread a rumor around the whole school that I tape pictures of girls to pillows and dolls and then use them to practice kissing."

"So this was your revenge, was it?"

Fenton shrugged. "Well, you were right that I'm too nice to make up a lie about you and spread it around, but I'm definitely not too nice to take advantage of my supposed girlfriend trying to weasel information out of my best friend by seducing him."

Star grimaced. "I wasn't seducing him."

"Oh? So what you were planning on doing when you were leaning in toward him with your lips all puckered?"

"I—they were not!"

"Star, I saw you. Why are you denying it?"

"But I wasn't really going to kiss him!" protested Star. "I just wanted him to think I was."

"Mmm hmm. Sure. Just like you wanted everyone to think I practice kissing on dolls and pillows."

"You have only yourself to blame for that." Star scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Really, Fenton, I just don't understand why this is such a big deal to you."

"Well, it's pretty embarrassing for everyone to think that I even need to practice kissing—"

"Not that!" hissed Star. "I'm talking about why you're so against everyone knowing about your glowing freckles. I don't get it."

"I wouldn't expect you to." Fenton narrowed his eyes. "But as I've already told you, this is something I have to keep secret. I can't let anyone know."

"Sam and Tucker know, don't they?"

"They're my best friends."

"Well, I know. You even confirmed it for me and let me ask questions about it. Why are you okay with me knowing?"

"I'm not." Fenton groaned. "But I was stupid and let you see them glow. I really hoped you'd leave it alone if I just satisfied your curiosity by answering a few questions."

"Nope," said Star. "I am still very, very curious."

Fenton turned and raised his forearm just above his head, pressing it to the wall as he leaned against it. He hung his head, sighing deeply. Star scrunched her mouth and folded her arms.

Nothing was said for a couple moments.

"Okay, look." Star held up her hands as a gesture of goodwill. "I'm getting real tired of all this back-and-forth tug-of-war between us—"

"You're only tired because I'm winning right now."

Star reddened. "Can we maybe just come to some kind of compromise?"

"Hmm." Fenton held his elbows. "What did you have in mind?"

"How about this? I'll stop trying to prove to everyone your freckles glow if you just tell me why they glow."

"I already told you why."

"No, I don't mean how to get them to glow by getting you excited about something. I mean what it is inside of you that makes it happen."

Fenton frowned and slumped against the wall.

"How did it all start?" asked Star. "I mean, you weren't born like that, right? I know you said it's the reason you can't donate blood, so obviously it's something in your blood that makes it happen, but what is it?"

Fenton shook his head. "I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not a yes-or-no question."

Star's mouth hung open. Fenton smirked.

"Fenton, come on," whined Star. "I really promise to stop trying to prove your freckles glow if you just tell me why it happens."

"No," said Fenton, his smirk vanishing. "That's an even bigger secret I definitely don't want anyone to know."

Star pouted. "I can keep a secret."

"No, you can't," said Fenton. "Everyone knows you're the biggest gossip in school. You'll sell out anyone's secret if it's juicy enough."

Star raised a brow. "I highly doubt that your big secret is juicy, Fenton. It's probably something really dumb."

"Hmm. Well, you go on thinking that."

Star groaned. "Fenton, I'm trying to make peace with you here, put an end to all these silly pranks between us."

"You call making up a rumor that I practice kissing on dolls a 'silly prank'?"

Star sniffed and turned up her nose. "I could've done a lot worse, you know."

"Oh, I have absolutely no doubt about that," said Fenton. "I have no doubt that you're capable of sinking much lower than that."

Star narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms, her nose wrinkling as she exhaled sharply.

"Look, Star, I don't trust you. I really don't," said Fenton. "And you know you've given me no reason to trust you now."

"You're not still butthurt about that picture I took, are you?"

"It's everything, Star. It's everything you've been doing to me." Fenton paused to close his eyes and breathe a moment. "I don't trust you, but I promised you five yes-or-no questions, and you still have one left. So even though you really don't deserve even that much from me, I will answer a final question for you."

Star scrunched her mouth, gliding a manicured nail down her chin.

"But then can we please be done with all of this?" Fenton gestured to the air between them. "Can this game we're playing be over already?"

Star swished her lips back and forth a couple times. "So you won't make me go on a date with you? I can go ahead and ask whatever yes-or-no question I want and you'll answer it?"

"Well, I mean, we're kind of broken up now, but sure, we can go on another date if you want."

"It would be our first date, and no, there will be no date at all."

Fenton shrugged and crossed one leg over the other as he folded his arms and leaned back against the wall. He raised his eyebrows expectantly.

"I'm not asking here next to this dumpster. As if." Star scoffed. "Besides, I need some time to think about it."

"Well, when you think of something, let me know." Fenton kicked himself off the wall. "I'm going back inside." He started heading around to the front of the Nasty Burger.

"Wait!" Star called, holding out a hand to stop him. "I do have a different question. It's not a yes-or-no question, though."

Fenton turned, not looking at all irritated or tired but simply curious, the smallest of smiles tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Those flowers you gave me. How did you know orange is my favorite color?" asked Star.

Fenton chuckled. "I heard you mention it to Paulina in class once."

"What, so you were spying on us? Eavesdropping?"

"It's not eavesdropping if you're talking loud enough for everyone to hear."

Star scowled but could feel herself blushing as well.

"Did you like them?" asked Fenton. "The orange flowers."

"Um. Yeah." Star shrugged, remembering how she placed the bouquet in her locker because she couldn't bring herself to throw it away just yet. "I liked them okay."

"I liked them, too," said Fenton. "I thought they were really pretty."

Fenton gave her a small wave before walking away and disappearing around the corner of the Nasty Burger. Star groaned and released a sigh.

Part 12

[isobelleposts]

5 Sapphic Films to Watch This Pride Month

Carol (2015) directed by Todd Haynes

Films and entertainment remain to be one of the most important platforms for the representation of minorities including the LGBTQIA+ community. Although discrimination has more or less ceased as time passed on since the times of the Stonewall riots in 1969, misunderstandings and hate crimes continue in our modern-day society, and films have served as a source of hope and acceptance for many people. Hence, here are five films that you may watch to feel understood, comforted, and accepted:

Directed by William Wyler

The Children’s Hour (1961)

Starring Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, ‘The Children’s Hour’ shows how much change could happen in your life due to even the slightest rumor of being gay or lesbian. Considering the time this movie was released which was in 1961 before the community was given rights, I could only imagine the amount of impact it could have given someone out there to hear Audrey Hepburn say:

You’re guilty of nothing!

This film clearly depicts the guilt that one feels for being so-called different or irregular from others for finding themselves capable of loving the same sex just as any other person deserves to be loved. This was one of the most heartbreaking endings I've witnessed in cinema, and I may follow up with a separate review for it.

Directed by Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

This film has got to be one of my favorite watches of this year. Not only was it able to take my late-night thoughts about the world and visualize them on screen, but it was also able to depict the hard relationships most kids have with their parents whether Asian, gay, or not. 

I’m tired. I don’t want to hurt anymore and for some reason when I’m with you it just hurts the both of us.

It’s hard wanting to love someone that doesn’t accept you for who you are or constantly points out your flaws and denies the person you’ve become, and ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’ is an action-packed film that makes you ponder more on that thought and how the world cycles around each individual.

Directed by Sammi Cohen

Crush (2022)

For quite a while now, people have been pleading for a queer film wherein homophobia isn’t the main conflict, and finally, released in the second quarter of this year, ‘Crush’ delivers the people’s desires. Although it is important to spread the realities of queerness and the harassment the community faces, it is sometimes alienating to only witness films that include the same plot of coming out and not being accepted by the people you love most.

'Crush' is set in a world wherein not only are the main characters queer but so are the background or irrelevant characters. It is written just like any other rom-com out there featuring a man and a woman and feeds more into the fact that queerness is normal.

Directed by Park Chan-wook

The Handmaiden (2016)

‘The Handmaiden’ sits at the top of my favorite films of all time, in general, and is because of the plentiful amount of plot twists that had me gaping my mouth and gasping unlike any other film has caused me to do before. This film made by the acclaimed director Park Chan-wook is less of a comforting but rather suspenseful film, and what I love most about it is that he managed to create a story centered around a same-sex love trope without having it be the only and complete plot.

If I were asked what movie I would choose to watch for the first time ever once again, my choice would be 'The Hanmaiden' with no hesitation.

Directed by Céline Sciamma

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’ is an Academy award-winning film wherein we witness the loss two people have at freely expressing their love for each other through a beautifully written and directed cinematic sequence. Set in the 1700s wherein their relationship could never have been successful with the lives they wanted to live, we are left to only imagine what could have been if Héloïse and Marianne lived in a different time or if one of them had been a man.

This film allows you to realize the amount of privilege straight people have to be able to love however and whoever they want to, while the LGBTQ+ community is almost forced to keep half of their lives unlived, especially in the prior years of history.

(Click HERE for Writing Commissions)

by Isobelle Cruz, 07/06/2022

[lavendarlily]

AND 46 SHALLOW AMETHYST

my first time writing this ship!

46. secretly holding hands under the table

Sam begrudgingly walked into her fourth period class - chemistry. Usually she didn’t mind this class, as she, Tucker, and Danny all shared it together and normally teamed up for their lab assignments. Unfortunately, Tucker was out sick today and Danny had to dip out to chase down a loose ghost. Sam was on her own today.

The one thing she still secretly looked forward to was sharing the class with Paulina. Although she normally worked with Kwan and Star, they exchanged silent conversations throughout the fifty-minute period from across the room. 

Sam took her seat at her empty lab table and waited for the class to start. The teacher shuffled papers at the front of the room as he set up for today’s lab. Once the bell rang, he took attendance and began passing the work out. Reaching Sam’s empty table, he gave a thoughtful look, then said, “We’ll have to find you a new group to work with today. This isn’t a lab you can do yourself.”

“She can work with us!” piped a voice from the other side of the room. Sam had to fight her shock. Normally, Paulina didn’t publicly acknowledge her, and vice-versa. Their “relationship” was delicate and new, and neither knew how to proceed in crossing lines across cliques and high school social stigmas. 

Their teacher nodded in approval, and Sam picked up her things and headed to the other students. She dropped her backpack at the corner of the table and took the empty barstool seat across from Paulina, who flashed her sparkling eyes in excitement briefly towards Sam, then averted her gaze before anyone else could notice. Star and Kwan paid her no attention.

Star had already begun gathering the materials for the assignment while beside Sam, Kwan not so inconspicuously tapped away on his phone. Sam rolled her eyes and reached for the worksheet, the same time that Paulina decided to. Their hands briefly brushed, and Sam felt a tint of red fill her cheeks. She quickly pulled the worksheet towards her, and looked up to see Paulina flash her a wink. Her cheeks burned brighter.

“Okay. It says we need to set the burner under an orange flame first,” Star read from the instructions. She turned to Sam. “Make yourself useful and grab the safety gear?” Though it was a request, Sam knew it was meant as an order.

She uncomfortably walked to the back of the classroom and gathered four pairs of goggles and rubber gloves. When she returned, Star and Paulina were deep in conversation. 

“And the way he said it, was just like, so hot. There’s no way he wasn’t flirting with me, right?” she heard Star say. 

Paulina giggled. “Oh, totally. Please tell me you made plans with him.”

Mustering up courage, Sam made an attempt to join in the conversation. “You have a date? That’s exciting,” she forced out. 

Star’s demeanor instantly changed, clouding. “That’s none of your business.” She split from Paulina and grabbed a pair of goggles and gloves and began working. “I can do this part. You guys just take notes.” She glanced at Sam. “And don’t touch anything.”

“Star usually does the experiment-y stuff,” Paulina quickly added, perhaps trying to soften the harshness of the other girl’s words. 

Sighing, Sam grabbed her own safety gear and opened up her notebook. One of her hands lay in her lap, her leg bouncing. Stupid. 

She felt a nudge at her foot, and peered up to see Paulina staring at her, an apology written across her face. Sam quickly looked back down to her notebook. This time, instead of a nudge, a hand reached across under the table and rested on her knee. It crept forward until it brushed the tips of Sam’s fingers. Still facing her notebook, Sam glanced upward across from her. Paulina held a soft smile, one that Sam couldn’t ignore. 

She extended her hand from her lap and met Paulina’s under the table. The other girl gave her hand a squeeze, and Sam relaxed a little. She expected Paulina to pull away, but their hands stayed firmly clasped as Star continued to call out numbers and measurements for the group to record. 

Sam never found it so hard to focus. 

The teacher eventually called out a five minute warning until the period ended so they could begin cleanup and turn in the day’s assignment. Kwan quickly copied down the work from the three girls, as it seemed to be standard practice in their group. The bell rang, and Kwan and Star had no hesitation in leaving the room for the cafeteria. To Sam’s surprise, Paulina hung back while Sam packed her things. 

“I’m sorry. I thought it’d be fun for us to work together,” she whispered. 

Sam forced a smile. “It’s okay. I know you were trying.”

“I’ll get Star to come around,” Paulina promised, then took a quick glance around the room. With all the other students gone, she hurriedly placed a chaste kiss on Sam’s cheek then ran out the door to meet her friends. 

A chill went up Sam’s back, instantly knowing what, or rather who, had just caught the brief act of affection.

“Are you kidding me, Sam?” Danny whispered invisibly behind her.

Sam groaned, and trudged to the cafeteria, dreading the lecture she was about to receive.

But it was still worth it.

doing drabbles from this ask game!

[chickenstrangers]

I knew Our Skyy was gonna give us something to chew on with the architecture/engineering plays plot but this was so good!

I have talked extensively (too much?) about the Romeo and Juliet/Kwan and Riam framework in Bad Buddy, but the new plays fit really well into the themes I explored there. Bad Buddy uses two literary tragedies to explicitly create an optimistic and revisionist story of queer possibility and queer futurity.

The original show follows the story of Romeo and Juliet and Kwan and Riam (Plae Kao). As I wrote before, Bad Buddy uses multiple moments of crises (the outing, the gun shot, and the fake breakup) that specifically emulate these stories but subverts them so that tragedy is averted.

Most relevant for Our Skyy 2, the time jump between episodes 11 and 12, reflects a revised version of Juliet's faked death. While in the play, Juliet fakes her own death and Romeo is deceived, in Bad Buddy, Pat and Pran are both in on the trick, pretending to be dead (broken up) to the outside world while continuing to be together. So this is the moment in time where we find ourselves now.

But now we bring in two additional literary references (yes, one of them is P'Aof's own show, but I am treating it as a literary text in its own right). Both of these texts nuance the original Romeo and Juliet story line.

Snow White and the Seven Dwarves is a fairy tale. Unlike Romeo and Juliet, it has a happy ending, even in the Grimm version. But just like in Romeo and Juliet, it has a false death when Snow White eats the poisoned apple. Just as in Shakespeare's play, people believe her to be dead, putting her in a coffin.

If we take the time gap in episode 11 and 12 as the scene when Juliet has taken the poison and appears dead, these two episodes take place in a very liminal moment between life and death. Like Juliet, Pat and Pran give the appearance of death (that they have broken up), but they are both in on the deception.

The death motif continues into the Snow White allusions as well. They explicitly discuss Snow White's coffin, with Pran playacting as dead. The show is deliberately bringing focus to this part of the story. The four year gap takes place during both Juliet and Snow White's false deaths.

It's also significant how Snow White is buried. She still looks so alive that the dwarves cannot bear to bury her in the earth; instead they put her in a glass coffin. Here she can be seen in her state of death. The glass coffin is analogous to the glass closet that Pran and Pat are in. Many people know or at least strongly suspect that they're in a relationship. Even in the Bad Buddy finale, we see that the parents know even if they're not ready to acknowledge it yet. Pat and Pran are both Snow White, pretending to be dead, their false death on display.

And then we have the A Tale of a Thousand Stars play, which we learn is based on a true story and written by Tian, so presumably it follows the events of the show.

ATOTS is also not a tragedy, but it too inhabits a liminal space, playing with the idea of life and death. Tian nearly dies at the beginning of the series due to heart failure, but like Juliet and Snow White's, it is a false death.

Tian's story is about learning to live again, learning to not feel guilty for his life. He gets a second chance at life, but in his chest beats the heart of a dead girl. Throughout ATOTS, Tian's mortality is a looming question, as he keeps pushing himself harder than someone who just had a heart transplant really should. But being in the mountains is the first time Tian gets to really feel alive.

All of these stories are about death to an extent. Romeo and Juliet and Plae Kao end in both the lovers' deaths. Bad Buddy the series subverts these deaths, refusing to end in tragedy. Now in Our Skyy, we see Bad Buddy specifically aligning itself with stories that have happy endings. Even in this illusion of death, Pat and Pran are living.

I talked before about genre awareness in Bad Buddy, and especially episode 12 is about Pat and Pran taking control of their own narrative, choosing to not become Romeo and Juliet or Kwan and Riam. They break the fourth wall when they narrate in voiceover how they have been dating in secret. This is the exact same voiceover that is used at the start of Our Skyy! Pat and Pran get to tell their own story, subvert the genre conventions of tragedy and romance, and live their life as they want to.

And now we have Tian and Phupha telling their own story as well. Tian apparently wrote it down, and a central tension surrounds whether or not to give away the rights to their narrative, wanting whoever else tells it to tell it with care. Both these shows are about the characters taking control of their own stories, queering the narrative.

When given the choice about which stories to tell, which plays to put on, this time Pat and Pran don't want to tell a tragedy. They want to tell a romance.

[straightbaittournament]

only the straightbait with the lowest percentage will be eliminated; everyone else goes on to round 2! propaganda under the cut:

kit tanthalos and graydon hastur:

Classic arranged marriage trope but the she-hates-him part never goes away because she’s in love with her best friend/bodyguard Jade

tobias funke and debrie bardeaux:

It’s maybe not exactly right but Debrie starred in a series of softcore gay porn films called Straightbait where she seduces a guy but tells him he has to sleep with another man before he sleeps with her to prove how attracted to her he is, thus proving he isn’t gay. Tobias is also super gay. They date for like 40 episodes and raise a son together. Tobias gets left by his first wife for not being sexually attracted to her and then has an affair with a gay porn actress from a series called straightbait I just think it’s pretty funny.

izuku midoriya and ochako uraraka:

It’s the classic main character x friend who is a girl ship. They have no actual romantic interactions outside of their friendship. Ochako has “feelings” for Izuku, but they are clearly feelings of friendship until one of her friends insists that she must have a crush on Izuku, making her feel confused and embarrassed. Izuku clearly sees Ochako as a good friend, but when they first meet, he blushes and thinks “I can’t believe I just talked to a girl.” On the same day, he also blushes when he sees that a famous male hero is proctoring their exams. It’s literally so boring as a romantic ship. They have no chemistry as a couple.

willow park and hunter:

THEY ARE NOT STRAIGHT THEY R BI4PAN BUT IT IS AN M/F RELATIONSHIP They are an M/F relationship in The Gay Show and they are hinted and teased but never confirmed

travis touchdown and sylvia christel:

in the first game travis spends the entire game trying to get with sylvia (HE FAILS MISERABLY) and inbetween the sequel and the spin-off they get married, have kids, you know the drill HOWEVER COMMA in that same period of time travis runs away from said family and later moves in with a man. So.

raleigh becket and mako mori:

Literally everything about the writing of Pacific Rim make it seem like they're setting up for a romance between these two and then they just. Don't. Despite this, "drift compatable" was one of the most popular AUs for couples after the film came out for a hot minute because of how romantic they made the concept seem. *gestures to the entire movie* seriously

jeff winger and britta perry:

the show starts off with jeff creating the study group so that he can get with britta, they serve essentially as narrative foils, with jeff not caring about people and britta caring too much about people, they nearly get married on THREE (3) separate occasions, they're secret friends with benefits for an entire season but break up when the group finds out, they're the only two people from the core group left in greendale when the show ends; but in the end they make jeff's "true love interest" the girl who was half his age when the show started (36/18)...

asuka tenjoin and yuki judai:

The ship name (fianceshipping) comes from the episode where Judai *accidentally* duels some guy to become Asuka's fiance (said guy never asks Asuka how she feels about this, ugghhh greater Duel Academia student body be normal about ladies challenge). Turns out that he *didn't know what a fiance was* and just wanted to have a good ol' time cardgaming. I think that this says more about this ship than anything else I could tell you. During the final season, Asuka almost confesses to him but cuts herself off & they then thank each other for giving each other some clarity of mind because they're both going through pretty rough times at that point in the plot. Looks concerningly like they're about to do a whole "ohh we need to make the main girl and boy romance out of obligation" bit and then they just don't do it. It's great. I have no idea if this counts because I didn't personally feel baited but I think they're very fun as a pair and I like them 🫡. judai is the gayest guy of all time (subtext) and im like 80% sure asuka was experiencing comphet bc he's the only guy in their grade that treats her like a person. besties 4ever!!!!!!!! straightmod has been informed that judai is also textually queer because he is canonically attracted to a non-binary character.

kwan and win:

This is a Thai teen drama that focuses on many teens going through hardships and it's very dramatic and very fun I love it so much THESE TWO. They circled around each other for two whole seasons and the tension was there!! He was a bad boy, she was a good girl, every time they spoke there was something in the air. They were both arguably the leads of an ensemble cast and it really felt like they were being set up to get together but then it just... never happens. This show has been out for 10 years and I'm still mad about it. THE WASTED POTENTIAL OF IT ALL

valkyrie and thor:

Like a lot of ships with a white man and a woman of color, their chemistry and history get shunted to the side by racist writers and fans who refuse to acknowledge them as anything other than friends.

good luck everyone! now go vote!