#Nini x Star

[nisuna]

Friendly reminder that most of us can't cum from penetration alone, but need someone to play with our pretty little clits to get us close :'(

#jjk smut #nini's takes♡ #jjk x reader #hsr smut #hsr x reader #honkai star rail smut #genshin smut #genshin x reader #yuji smut #yuji x reader #gojo smut #satoru smut #satoru x reader #geto smut #suguru smut #suguru x reader #blade smut #jing yuan smut #gepard smut #megumi smut #megumi x reader #wriothesley smut #al haitam x reader #ayato smut #ayato x reader #toji smut #nanami smut #choso smut #zhongli smut #itadori yuji x reader

[livelaughlovesubs]

Ermermerm soooo… can u plz do a lil fic where like, reader is a hardworking person and is like working a 9 to 5 job or wtv and one day they get yelled at by their boss and since reader is pissed they come home and takes the frustration out on Kunikida by fucking him HARD and goes on multiple rounds ermmmm…. THIS IS SO BAD IM SORRY ｡ﾟ(ﾟ´Д｀ﾟ)ﾟ｡

Ur fics r my girl dinner. Anywayz… luv u nini!! Thx 4 putting up with me ;3

- 🎀

No no no, it’s alright bae, I don’t mind. Your ideas are always so good too, I’ll work on the other ones soon, it might take a while but.. oh well

Dom!reader x sub!Kunikida

Reader is gender neutral

Warning: pegging (you can read it as strap or not, it’s not mentioned)

“Ugh, who does he think he is?!” You vented, seemingly annoyed. “Screaming at me like that, son of a bitch. Hey, kunikida, the fuck are you doing?” Your grip on his waist tightened, basically pinching him. He arched his back and yelped a little, “ah..! What are you- mhm, doing.” The male was riding you while you held him by the hips, giving him instructions and commands. “You are doing a horrible job, fuck it, I’ll do it.” Without giving him any warnings, you changed positions and got up, caussing him to fall onto his back.

“Ah, y/n?! I- UgH-Hngnn!” Kunikida gasped, now in the mating press with your arms forcing his legs to be raised to his chest. “You see I didn’t have a great day.” He moaned as he felt you deeper inside him, all thanks to this new position. “And I really don’t have any patience now.” Right before you started moving, his reached out to you, his shaking hands gently grabbed your arms. “P-please.. it’s the third round, I can’t do anymore…!”

That was the truth, he’s been riding you for a while now. Though just because that needy whore’s been pleased, doesn’t mean you were satisfied with his performance. “I’ve expected more from you.” You admitted with a cold gaze. Kunikida flinched as he saw your expression, shyly avoiding eye contact. He did kind of expect it, but it still surprised him when you suddenly started moving. Since he was stretched already due to the previous rounds, you were able to move faster from the start. Snapping your hips against his while panting slightly, using your anger as energy and his body as stress relief. “Ah-ahHhAa!” The Blondie cried out, tears rolling down his pretty face and decorating those flushed cheeks. His glasses were placed away on the nightstand, at a save distance. There were times were they broke during your sessions.

His body trembled with each thrust, he bit his lip to suppress those deliciously embarrassing moans he’d make. It was of no use though, because the pleasure was too overwhelming, so much that he was losing his mind. “What’s the problem, kunikida? You are normally so cool headed after all~” you teased him, not stopping with your relentless pounding. Fuck, you just loved that humiliated face of his. The way he shook underneath you, eyes pleading for your mercy, it was absolutely stunning. Like a drug to which you got addicted, and you couldn’t get enough of it.

“Ah- uHhh..! Y/n, y-y/n, MHmmm!” The man whimpered through clenched teeth, you always had to embarrass him like this and he was never able to get used to it. What happened at your work this time? One day he was definitely going to kill that boss of yours. Since when you get furious over them, in the end, he’s always the one to suffer. “What are you thinking about, getting distracted like this?” Your question pulled him out of his day dream, startling him a little. He wasn’t even able to respond before you considered it unnecessary and moved even rougher. Taking away from the speed and instead focusing on reaching deep inside him.

Kunikida could swear he saw stars, the way his entire body tingled each time you touched him was rendering him to a mess. He was getting closer to the edge, his legs wrapped around your waist to keep you closer. You felt a shiver down your spine, he was too cute when like this. “Ah.. ughh, y/n..!” The male groaned again, he used all his strength to whisper a warning but the words didn’t want to come out, “I’m- mhHmm! C-close..” it was just too much for him to handle, he was already sensitive from the previous rounds. It’s not his fault you feel so good.

You didn’t slow down, there was no need for it. Watching him all twitchy and messed up like this was your favourite thing to do after all. He clenched around you as he came, leaking his cum all over his belly. It dripped down his shaft in an erotic way, all the way to his hole, soaking his thighs and the bed. “Uh..HhhMM.!! Ga-gahhhHh..” a chocked out moan slipped from him, lasting until he finished his load. Some tears rolled down the sides of his face, or maybe it was sweat? He looked at you with trembling eyes, a hint of need and undeniable ecstasy present. “Good job.” You praised him, before turning him around onto his belly, licking your lips as you did. “Let’s keep doing that until you forget my name~” Those desperate eyes turned into one of fear and curiosity soon, he just pressed his face against the pillow as he let you do whatever you wanted. What a good little stress relief~

(Tag: @nvllxiety)

#sub character #sub!character #dom reader #dom!reader #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #sub bungou stray dogs #sub bsd #sub kunikida #kunikida doppo #bsd kunikida #bungou stray dogs kunikida #kunikida x reader #kunikida smut #kunikida bsd #🎀 anon

[l1ttl3l0v3]

Cute fluffy Diluc x gn!reader agere fanfic!

Summary: You and Diluc cuddle up by the fireplace while he feeds you a bottle

Warnings: Daddy/papa used in a sfw context, bottles (If that makes some ppl uncomfy), Reader has a common cold, Idk what elese to put cus this is pure fluff

Petnames used: little one, baby, sweetheart, meine liebe (My love/dear in German), Darling

Wordcount: 417

A/N: Hi every kiddo! took awhile off but nowww Im back! I hope you all had a nice September! had a 0-3 regression age in mind, nothing explicitly stated.

"Darling, are you cold?" Your boyfriend Diluc asks, smiling, you had just come back from Dragonspine with Albedo to perform some experiments with the traveler. "A-A bit," You say, before sneezing, it had been a while since you last regressed,

and you were beginning to feel especially drained. you begin to walk over towards Diluc.

He took your hand, you were freezing cold and your fingers were a bright red.

"Meine Liebe… are you sure you're just a 'bit' cold?" Diluc asks, kissing your cold fingers. You nod in response.

"I-I'm okay" You sniffle, feeling the weight of the stress crash down on you and you begin crying.

"Sweetheart…" He mumbles, holding out his arms to give you a tight, warm hug, you obviously hug back, wanting some source of comfort.

"Shh, it's okay meine liebe…" Diluc mutters in your ear, "Do you need to go small, baby?" You smile and nod, glad your boyfriend was so caring.

"Okay little one, I'll start the fireplace, okay?" He asks, you nod back, "Do you want your baba baby?" he inquires. "Wes pwease…" You say, nodding.

"Okay baby, go get your baba, it can be whichever one you want- even the one that is hard to clean," Diluc says as you skip away to go and get your bottle, skipping quickly towards the kitchen.

You get a bottle with blue and purple stars on it and quickly pour milk and some sugar in it, swirling it all around with a metal spoon. you swiftly put it into the microwave, and when you try to get it out, Diluc walks in, chuckling softly.

"You're too small to do that by yourself, meine liebe!" He gets the bottle out and picks both you and the bottle up.

He lays you in his lap, smiling before putting the bottle to your lips, tapping it a few times to tell you to open up, you did just that.

"There we go… thereee we go little one," Diluc says as you begin to suck on the bottle's nipple, tasting the sugary-sweetened milk. It was nice and warm, you loved it, and you sucked that bottle down. He giggles softly.

"Would you like to go nini yet, meine liebe?" He asks and you nod rapidly, ready to go to bed.

"Okay baby, wanna sleep with papa?"

"Wes pwease." You say, doing grabby hands to him.

Diluc picks you up and takes you to his bed, you two begin to cuddle until you both fall asleep.

#sfw agere #im so cool round of a plause for me #genshin agere #genshin impact agere #kit writes #genshin fluff #diluc drabbles #diluc fluff #diluc agere #diluc ragnvindr #diluc

[the-conversation-pod]

Welcome Back My Boyfriend!

AND WE'RE BACK!

It's finally time to discuss Our Skyy 2! We were playing hurt this night: Ben was still recovering from dental surgery (please forgive his voice during this episode) and Nini was nursing a headache. Still, it didn't stop us from discussing all eight shows and talking about the crossover for an hour!

Nini and Ben assess the entirety of Our Skyy 2 and rank the offerings from worst to first.

Listen on Apple Podcasts

Listen on Google Podcasts

Timestamps

The timestamps will now correspond to chapters on Spotify for easier navigation.

0:00 - Welcome 1:15 - Intro 6:07 - Vice Versa 14:23 - Star in My Mind 19:20 - Never Let Me Go 28:00 - A Boss and a Babe 36:45 - The Eclipse 49:50 - My School President 1:00:24 - Badd Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars 1:59:13 - Overall Score for Our Skyy 2

The Conversation: Now With Transcripts!

We received an accessibility request to include transcripts for the podcast. We are working with @ginnymoonbeam on providing the transcripts and @lurkingshan as an editor and proofreader.

We will endeavor to make the transcripts available when the episodes launch, and it is our goal to make them available for past episodes. When transcripts are available, we will attach them to the episode post (like this one) and put the transcript behind a Read More cut to cut down on scrolling.

Please send our volunteers your thanks!

0:00 - Welcome

Nini

Hello, hello! Your QL fandom aunty and uncle are here with giant sunglasses, brown liquor in a flask, a folded five-dollar bill to slip into your hand when no one is looking, lukewarm takes, occasional rides on the discourse, deep dives into artistry and the industry.

Ben

Lots of simping! I’m Ben.

Nini

I’m Nini.

Ben

And this is The Conversation. About once a season, we plan to swan in and shoot the shit on faves, flops, and trends that we’ve been noticing in the BL, GL, or QL Industry. Between seasons, you can find us typing way too many words on Tumblr.

1:15 - Intro

Nini

Hi, Ben. How are you tonight?

Ben

I'm battling my own body's slow recovery from dental surgery but it doesn't matter because we have so much to record so we're sticking to the schedule!

Nini

But, we're gonna be okay. You've got meds, I've got meds—a.k.a. beer—for this headache. We're gonna be fine. We're doing it live. So, what are we talking about tonight? We are talking about Our Skyy 2… What a journey. Ben, explain to the people the concept of Our Skyy.

Ben

Welcome back, my boyfriend! That's it. 

Nini

[laughs]

Ben

Jojo started this off and summed it up perfectly. Our Skyy originally served as a sort of epilogue project for the initial run of GMMTV BLs. 

In the first run we had the Puppy Honey crew with OffGun, the SOTUS pair with Krist and Singto, the InSun pair from My Dear Loser: Edge of 17, Tay and New from Kiss the series—before Dark Blue Kiss, and Drake and Frank from My Tee a.k.a. ‘Cause You're My Boy.

Nini

So, that's the concept of Our Skyy. So, when GMMTV put out its 2023 offerings last year: Surprise! Our Skyy 2. They are giving us epilogues for 2020, 2021, and some 2022 shows. We're gonna dive into these.

Ben

With the original Our Skyy it was kind of chaotic. So, every crew kind of just did what felt right for their characters. 

Like, Pete and Kao basically went on a date that was mostly uncomplicated—something their characters needed. 

OffGun did a body swap which was just so they could let Gun pick on Off for a bit. 

In and Sun got closure—unsurprising, Aof was on that one. 

‘Cause You're My Boy: they just kind of did just a hot mess that was weirdly endearing, which is exactly what their show was. 

And SOTUS did like the the next most logical thing for Arthit and Kongpob, which was them kinda saying goodbye as they were heading into a long distance form of their relationship because Kongpob was pursuing higher schooling outside of Thailand, if I remember correctly?

In a similar vein, this particular Our Skyy run that we're going to be talking about very much captured what I think the core spirit of the original work was, and each team came back to it—for the most part—with something to say that was consistent with their original offerings. 

Nini

Yep.

Ben

We went Never Let Me Go, Star in My Mind, The Eclipse, Vice Versa, My School President, A Boss and a Babe, Bad Buddy? and then A Tale of Thousand Stars.

Nini

I also think that the airing order was very interesting and maybe we'll get a little time to talk about how they chose to air what they did when they did. This Our Skyy, I think, wanted to lean a little bit into the crack. Every single outing had a little bit of a crack element to it—and I quite like that. I enjoyed that. I had fun with that—for the most part—and we'll get to the ones where I did not enjoy that.

Ben

I do think that the Our Skyy project leans into fan service, and not in an inherently negative way? They want the people who enjoyed this show to have fun coming back to the show, and it’s been notable for me that, for the most part, I found that if someone really liked the original show they also really liked their Our Skyy outing. So like, for those of you who've listened to me or followed me, you know what shows I didn't like or despised when they aired and—unsurprisingly—my takes are fairly consistent.

Nini

Maybe it's the corners of the internet that I've been perusing, which you always tell me to stop looking at…I feel like the more that people liked the OG show the more upset they were with the Our Skyy. Maybe that's just the people are being wrong on the internet corners of the internet that I like to occasionally look through. [laughs]

Ben

[laughs] I don't go there.

6:07 - Vice Versa

Nini

Let's delve into it. Let's start talking some specifics. So, if we're going from worst to first my worst without a doubt was the Vice Versa Our Skyy. I am on record as not having watched Vice Versa because I was not interested in Vice Versa. I have tried and failed so many times with Jittirain stories that I knew that I was not going to enjoy this one, and so I never watched the original. But, for the sake of the podcast, I watched every single Our Skyy including this one, except I did not finish this one. [laughs] I started watching it. I was mostly annoyed, and then something happened that just… I just said, “Oh, absolutely not,” and I stopped watching it.

So, the trope—the, the crack trope—for the Vice Versa Our Skyy; the fan fic-y, fan service-y trope is: Add a Kid. I think it's Puen? Puen and Talay have been together for a while now. They're working hard, working a lot. They don't have as much time for each other. And so Talay comes up with the idea of doing a month of special days where they pay very close attention to each other and they do special things together. And it's a really sweet idea and honestly if that had been it I would have been fine. There would have been no problem. 

But then they add a kid, and the way that they add a kid is what pisses me off. One of their friends… essentially delivers his nephew into the care of these strangers… so that they can play house? But it's also like a trick that Puen is playing on Talay. Because this kid just shows up at the house and Talay thinks that it might be his kid. Like, the, the setup of Vice Versa has always—as I have said before—every time I think I know what Vice Versa is about, Ben lets me know that I don't actually know what Vice Versa is about. But there's some way that Talay thinks that this kid is his somehow.

Ben

Would you like the context for why he believes that kid is his?

Nini

Sure, hit me with it!

Ben

So, they basically spend two years in the other world with Nanon and Ohm’s characters in their bodies. Ohm's character, Tess, is an asshole who absolutely ruined Talay’s life for the two years he was in his body. He sabotaged and ruined every personal and professional relationship that Talay had. 

When he got back to his own body he had to spend years fixing his own life. Which sucks, because while he was in Tess's body he basically fixed Tess's life. It's really upsetting for me that Puen, who claims to love Talay, who watched him suffer for all of the things that Tess did to his life would genuinely let Talay believe that Tess saddled him with the responsibility of an unplanned kid… because he thinks his boyfriend doesn't pay enough attention to him… like he makes his boyfriend work outside in a tent in Thailand to do graphic design on an iMac.

Nini

You were really really mad about the tent. [laughs] I remember when we were watching this. You were really pissed about the tent.

Ben

I'm—I'm not over it.

It's humid in Thailand! Why would he be outside with a Mac? Oh my God—

It's frustrating because… On the one hand, I understand the impulse of, like, how do we get these guys to consider a new form of domesticity together? But, like, why do we have to use an actual child? Why can't we use, like, a dog, or a cat? Not coercing a child into letting strangers bathe him, and treat him like he's their son, and sleep with him in their bed. It’s so, so weird… and really unhinged… and it made me like a bunch of characters even less than I already did! 

It was aggravating. It's frustrating because Puen did this through the whole show. Like, he doesn't trust Talay. He lies to him. He manipulates him. Talay and he are both in entertainment and Talay was against a huge deadline the night of Puen’s birthday, and he couldn't take a break from his work to meet his deadline to go do flirty, boyfriend things with Puen. 

Puen expressed this frustration directly the next day in a way that I thought was totally valid and then Talay goes, ‘You are correct. Here is the plan I've come up with for us to make sure that we don't take our own relationship for granted, and keep working at it.’ And they have a really great month doing cute boyfriend date things while trying to maintain their careers. And so the whole secret baby felt completely unnecessary. 

Like, we need something to happen for the plot to justify Jimmy, Neo, Aou, and Sea hanging out together. So, we have to introduce a secret baby, I guess? 

I hated it…[laughs] Like, people joke that I don't often give low scores because I don't usually watch crap. Like, if something is, like, really really bad out of the gate I am like, “Oof! I don't have time for this!” and I'll usually drop it these days, because I got too much to do. But, like, I gave the show a 3 because I was deeply put off by the coercion of a child and the audacity of it all. Because, like, you know what your boyfriend went through because of Tess. 

Why would you pull on that really traumatic thread from five years ago and make him believe that Tess had done this to him as well—knowing that Talay has a strong sense of responsibility, and would of course try to do right by a potential child. 

Like, it's hard to even talk about, like, any of the cute relationship things that may have come out of this because, like, they should divorce.

Nini

I did not enjoy this when it was revealed that the kid was…tricked. I turned it off, and I did not watch the end. 

For every special of Our Skyy, I gave it a drama score and a crack score. My drama score for this was a -5, because I was entirely unamused—like wholly unamused. This is not what I came to see in any way. I don't care if the kid is cute. I don't care if they're all cute together. They're literally using a child to fix their relationship—

Ben

And, explicitly, the child's parents did not know that this was happening.

Nini

—which makes it worse! So, I gave it a drama score of a -5, which is of course an overreaction but it's still getting a 0. Crack score, I gave it a 10, because it is actual crack? Like, this is probably the crackiest thing that happened in all of Our Skyy. But…it's not enjoyable as crack! So, let's give it a… 5 for crack… So, 0 for drama, 5 for crack gives it a score of 2.5, which sounds about correct.

Ben

Yeah, not good. 

Nini

Yeah.

Ben

Pass.

Nini

Not good. Tens or chops? One chop! 

Ben

Two chops!

[both laugh]

14:23 - Star in My Mind

Nini

Let's leave Vice Versa behind in the dustbin where it belongs and let's move on to the next on the list: Star in My Mind. Hoo! 

Ben

[laughs]

Nini

Ben, I can't even remember what happened, I was so bored watching these episodes, like, dead bored. Star in My Mind is also a show that I did not watch the OG show. So, I had no idea what it was about and was going in blind. And, I think that I was correct to not watch the OG show, because… if it was anything as boring as this, I didn't need to see it.

Ben

[sighs] So, the Star in My Mind special is basically just the gang going on a little vacation together, and then New tries to subvert the “You're together now. Let's throw in a jealousy element bit.” Like, you put a note on here that the trope for this one is “trick your friends into going on vacation.” 

So, their friends try to tease Daonuea into believing that maybe Kluen has eyes for some girl, and Daonuea gets jealous about this, and then a fight ensues and the friends get all upset. But we in the audience know that the guys are faking this fight. They knew what their friends were up to, but they were kind of flaking on this vacation. So, he uses this fake fight to force them to go on vacation with them. 

Whatever. 

Like, I think the part of this that was cute was New just throwing away the whole jealousy trope for BL, and then having the gay characters just be like, ‘Yeah, this is stupid. Anyway, we're going to absolutely use this against them because these bitches will not buy their tickets and I'm [gonna] force them to.” And, like, that part was kind of fun.

I'm in my breakup era with New right now. I can see, again, him trying to do something here. New is currently over BL. He’s tired of it. You can feel that in Star in My Mind. Like, he's completely bored with all of this. And so what could have been, like, at least a cute trip, just looks like five straight dudes hanging out in the woods for like an hour.

Nini

I think my notes say “it's two hours of a bunch of dudes vibing without vibes.”

Ben

Yeah, like, it wasn't great, and I don't really like coming for actors like that. But, Dunk is still uncomfortable with on-screen intimacy—or at least it feels like he is—particularly compared to Joong, who does not suffer from being camera shy when it comes to this kind of work. And so while I've seen them in behind-the-scenes stuff, and their variety stuff, and Joong and Dunk are great bros, I'm still struggling with Dunk as a romantic lead because he doesn't kiss well.

Nini

New didn't even phone this in. Like, I think he sent an email? Maybe it was a snail mail. 

This was just—it was boring, which I think might be worse than bad? What do we even say about it? 

Ben

Nothing! There is nothing to say! Like, Pawin was there. He didn't kiss anybody. [laughs]

Nini

I mean… that's really all that you can say about it. It was a waste of Pawin, like.

Probably the only thing that I enjoyed about this was Joong's several pissy faces when Khabkluen is salty because all his straight friends keep interrupting his gay couple time to hang out when all he wants to do is make out. And, like, the pissy faces that he makes are delightful, and they're the only reason this has a score. 

I give it a drama score of 3, because what was it even about? And I gave it a crack score of 4, and all four of those points are for Joong's pissy faces which I thoroughly enjoyed. So, It was a 3.5 for me not because it was bad but because it was boring.

Ben

I think a show has to be offensive to me in some way for me to go lower than 6 and Star in My Mind is not. It's just boring and because I've been in these gay streets a long time, I've been offended. A lot. And, I will accept boring. It's a 6. It's forgettable. We don't have to talk about it anymore.

Nini

And we will not.

Ben

[laughs]

19:20 - Never Let Me Go

Nini

We're going to move on to the actual fun and interesting ones now. [laughs] There's a definite quality bar in Our Skyy 2. There are Vice Versa and Star in My Mind, which are below the quality bar. And then there's everything else, which is above the quality bar. Now, we're talking about games of inches here. 

Never Let Me Go. So, the Never Let Me Go fanfic trope for Our Skyy was they did a time travel story that was also a—.

Ben

Fated mates.

Nini

—that was also a fated mates, and also a role reversal, and also like a body hopping. Like, there were—there was a lot going on here. It was not boring. Everybody was clearly having a fabulous time making this. And, I actually really enjoyed it. It was two episodes. I could have watched maybe four to six episodes of this no problem.

This was actually incredibly interesting. It was a lot of fun. Pawin, and Pond especially, clearly had a great time. 

Ben

That's true.

[both laugh]

Nini

Pond had a fabulous time. So, the plot of the Never Let Me Go special… You go ahead.

Ben

All right. So, it's been a couple of years since we left the boys in Never Let Me Go, and Nuengdiao has been studying elsewhere. He's coming back to Thailand, and Palm has quietly been setting up shop in Bangkok so that when Nuengdiao comes back to Thailand he can be closer to him. He doesn't want to just stay out by the beach because he wants to see his boyfriend more. 

[Cat begins wailing in the hallway near Ben’s mic]

Nuengdiao was a little bit caught off guard by this, and didn't like him making decisions for them. They run into a fortune teller who tells them that if they don't fix what was originally broken, they won't make it in this life, either. And then the fantasy hijinks kick in, where they are sent back in time to their original pairing… into the bodies of their past selves. And in their past—in their first past together where they become a couple—Palm is the rich lord, and Nuengdiao is essentially sold to him as a slave. Also, Pawin is there in an earlier version of his character. 

And so they have to play their roles. Palm is having way too much fun bossing Nuengdiao around. And also just trying to have sex with him in the past. Over the course of this they end up realizing that they have to help Pawin’'s character hook up with Mark Pahun's character, and so all of the girlies who've been waiting for that ship to reunite were fed. 

Nini is correct. Like, this ended up being really fun, because we got to see Palm and Nuengdiao kind of become like the gays who have it together for other gays.

Nini

It had that crack story but there was also another story going on alongside the crack which I really enjoyed—building on Nungdiao and Palm's actual OG series story—which is that Nuengdiao believes that Palm should make his life about himself, that he should make his decisions about the things that he wants to do without considering Neung. And that they can still be together but Palm shouldn't plan his life around him. When he comes back to Bangkok, it's to tell Palm essentially that he's decided that he's gonna stay away for a longer period of time. He's gonna do graduate school as well. 

And, this is actually a conflict between them that sort of leads into the whole time travel thing, but it's actually a really interesting conflict between them because it builds on their series story in a really interesting way. I enjoyed watching them navigate it and figure it out while they were also navigating and figuring out how the hell to get out of the past. I mean the internal logic of the story just about holds together. It's fun. It's enjoyable. It's emotional. 

Ben

If he looks at you for seven seconds he's into you and we're all like rooting for this under an umbrella.

Nini

It's fun. It's cute. It's got a little bit of a message to it. It's enjoyable. The characters feel like themselves. At one point we get a little montage of smash cuts of Nueng and Palm: they alternate crying over each other's dead bodies through the ages.

Ben

One of them definitely felt like a nod to Aof’s work where Jojo was poking fun at him.

Nini

They were actually dressed like Jim and Wen in Moonlight Chicken complete with Phuwin wearing sunglasses, his corpse wearing sunglasses at night when he's dead and Pond crying over him. It was really funny. It was delightful. That little smash cut montage was really fun and actually upped the crack score a little. Time travel is crack, no way about it. I was fully going to give it a good crack score anyway. But that little sequence upped the crack score by at least a point. It was just very funny. 

And then watching Pawin overexaggerate his “khrub’s” and fall in love with Mark Pahun's character, who's like a jewelry seller at the market. And then when they come back to the present and he's Phum again, they meet Phum at the house—which has been maintained—the lord's house has been maintained throughout the ages.

Ben

Because it had been passed down to his ancestors’ family now because they were all, like, gay besties together.

Nini

Yeah, and like, Phum and Mark Pahun's character are together in this life, too—and they're really cute—and Phum's like, “Yeah, I was a shit to you in high school. I'm sorry about that.” [laughs] It was nice. It was fun. It was enjoyable. I gave it a drama score of 7.5—I think that's reasonable for it. I gave it a crack score of 8.5 so it works out to an 8 for me, which I liked. I liked it.

Ben

I really liked a lot of this. I liked how much fun Phuwin and Pond had in the traditional garb that they were wearing. I like how much fun they had with how often they had to be shirtless. I really enjoyed them writing vows to each other in the past because they didn't know if they would be able to escape. Basically fully committed to each other. That was really beautiful, and not something I expected from Jojo. I was really surprised that Jojo did something that genuinely tender. That really worked for me.

I gave it an 8. It's one of those 8’s where it's, like, if you liked Never Let Me Go, this is going to make it feel a little bit better because the idea that the drama of Never Let Me Go is yet another instance of these two characters trying to be with each other across space and time is super romantic—and that's the kind of shit I love in my big dramas. And I was not expecting this particular show to make me go, “Wow,” [sighs] and look back at the, the original show and go, “Okay. I can see that.”

It was deeply enjoyable. If you liked Never Let Me Go enough, and you feel mildly dissatisfied by it, and you just kind of want some closure to walk away from, watch the special. I felt very good about Palm and Nuengdaio by the end of that, because they felt a little bit more grown. And I kind of like where they left the characters with Palm just being like, “Whatever, I have a rich boyfriend and I've worked very hard. I'm just gonna go hang out with you in Germany for a little while, and then we'll figure it out from there.” And I'm like, more power to you, bro.

Nini

It seemed like yes that they were just going to vibe and enjoy each other, And, after everything that those two went through? Sure! That seems like a great place to leave them. 

28:00 - A Boss and a Babe

Nini

Also in the, for me, 8 category—so there is a tie here—A Boss and a Babe. This kind of…surprised me, because I ended up, with the OG show, being really disappointed by where we landed with it. But I really liked the Our Skyy.

Ben

This is a little bit weird because I think in terms of whenever the rest of you hear this. We're actually, I think releasing this before the episode where we talk about A Boss and a Babe. So, spoilers, a bit, for that particular episode, but, uh, we were…less than impressed with A Boss and a Babe. 

Nini

For sure.

Ben

However, we actually had a decent time with their Our Skyy outing. Nini why don't you walk us through the setup for this particular outing. 

Nini

So, the fanfic trope for the A Boss and a Babe outing of Our Skyy is, I guess, “walk a mile in my shoes” kind of thing? Gun and Cher are happy together. They're sweet loving boyfriends… but the office is in shambles. Because Gun is stressed out and he's stressing everybody at work out. And because Cher knows everybody at work because he used to work there, he has been hipped to the fact that his man is stressing everybody else. And so he goes on a mission to try to get his man to stop stressing everybody at work out. 

So, trying to make him understand that he needs to dial it the fuck back. And the way that he eventually comes up with after trying a few other ways, is that they are going to spend a day walking a mile in each other's shoes. So, he is going to spend a day being the boss, and Gun is going to spend a day being the intern so that Gun gets an idea of the stresses that his employees go through. And Cher is just like whatever I'll just be the boss, and Gun is like, “Oh, it's not as easy as you think.” 

And it actually turns out really fun and interesting to watch them do this. Of course it's a weird, horny sex thing because everything is a weird, horny sex thing with these two. But [laughs] it's, it's fun. It's light. It's interesting. It's…enjoyable. It's a strong conflict. It's a stronger conflict than we get in the actual OG series. It works. I think it's that because it's so short New doesn't really have time to fuck it up.

Ben

[laughs] So, like, I was frustrated because Gun’s being kind of a difficult boss, but being fairly reasonable about why he's a difficult boss. He's like, “We work in a difficult industry where we spend a great deal of time working on something, and then we release it to the public, and then it can flop. And so I have been funding people's jobs for anywhere from two to 12 months working on a project, and we really need strong turnaround for this because these people's jobs are riding on the success of this. So they do need to take their jobs seriously, and when they are given feedback or are given specific directives, they need to accomplish those directives.” 

There's like really interesting tension there between, like, the boss's perspective of, “Y'all can be mad at me, but you want me to cut your checks, right?” versus, “Bro, we are not going to work well under these fucking conditions.” Like, that tension was delivered really well! Gun's perspective comes through in a way that doesn't feel pandering to anyone, and I was like he is a little bit off base in the way he talks to people, but the things he's concerned about are valid for where he sits.

It just pissed me off low-key because, like, we never figured out what Thyme’s whole deal was in the original show. Like, his friend who used to be part of the company. And it feels like that was his job here—was to be like the bridge between Gun and the team. To translate Gun’s directives and frustrations into directives for the team so they could accomplish them and to keep the team motivated. And, like, Cher was helping with that for a while but now that Cher is, like, doing other stuff, like, that has gone away. That's the biggest thing with this one. Like, this was such a solid concept that it made me even more annoyed at how the OG show just sort of fumbled every thread that they were holding.

Nini

Yeah, I have to agree. Like, the workplace conflict on this was really strong and solid, and the workplace stuff in the OG show was kind of weak. And part of the workplace stuff that was great in this was showing that, yeah, Gun does need a balancing force at work. But also, aside from that, surprisingly, Cher is not an idiot. [laughs] Like, Cher is actually pretty competent. He's not, like, ready, clearly, to be the boss of a place like this. But he's not an idiot. 

Like, one of the things that happens is that Gun tries to set him up a little bit by having, like, a client come in and try to, like, have a discussion and talk to him about, like, partnering on a game or something and like talking about ideas and all that kind of stuff. And at first you think that Cher is going to blow it. But then he delivers. He comes into the meeting. You know, he takes a minute to get his bearings and understand what's going on, but then he has actual good ideas? And he can speak to the people in a way that works for the business. 

So, it shows they could probably at some point in the future after Cher has learned more, they could probably run the business together. Because I think that they bring the different perspectives that's required, but, just like Ben said, that also makes me, like, really mad that we didn't get more of the Thyme stuff in the OG series because, to me, that feels like this was what Thyme’s role was. And that just completely got cast aside. So, on the one hand, I thought this was actually pretty good but, on the other hand, it made me think even less of the OG series and I was already struggling with the OG series.

Ben

[sighs] And that's where we are. It sucks because, like, again, like, Force and Book are good. And the cast of this particular show? Very good. They hold together an otherwise weak show but, man, you just really want to see what that cast looks like when they have a really good show under their belt.

Nini

Yeah, and this gives you, like, a kind of an ‘in’ to that. So my score: this was drama score of 8 because I thought it was a solid conflict. Well executed. I give it a crack score of 8 because, quite honestly, once the whole role reversal thing started. Like, if I worked for Gun’s company, I would have taken, like, vacation until that was over because it was just…It was a little too “bring your kinks to work” for me personally. 

[both laugh]

I would have been like, yeah I don't need to see this. I'm gonna take a day off, and tomorrow when I come back, hopefully everything will be normal. Combined like drama score 8 crack score 8 average 8. What did you give it? 

Ben

I gave it an 8, and we were joking with some of our other friends about how most of us gave it an 8, and I think it was ginnymoonbeam who was like, “We all gave it an 8, but these are all very different 8s.”

[both laugh]

Nini

Yes, that is definitely true. These are different 8s that we are giving it. My 8 is like, “Damn it. Now I got to go back and revise my score of the OG series and put it even lower.”

36:45 - The Eclipse

Nini

Moving along from the 8s and now we're starting to get into the top of tops. The top top top tops of the Our Skyy pantheon for me. And next up is The Eclipse. Ben, I'm [gonna] need you to give the people what we're talking about here.

Ben

The Eclipse picks up, it feels like, the summer after the boys have graduated from high school. So, they're away from Suppalo—we're not going to deal with any of the Suppalo nonsense anymore. It's just the two couples, Wat, and…Pawin's character for some reason, because he's always palling around them. They're getting together to help Wat shoot for a film project that he wants to submit to a competition. But we pick up, originally, with Akk and Ayan who were doing boyfriend things, and we are seeing the ongoing deprogramming of Akk continuing. And over the course of the filming for this, we see that Akk and Ayan are basically stand-ins for Golf's very complex ideas about the way our private and public lives inform each other, and how both are inherently political. 

Akk and Ayan over the course of this are having a struggle about whether or not they should care what other people think. Akk thinks that to be part of a civil society you do have to care about how your actions and behaviors impact other people. Ayan, who has seen what a civil society does to people, thinks that that is bullshit and that he should be more concerned about himself and the people he cares about, and not the nebulous feelings of others. And then calls Akk directly out at one point about how his concern for others turned him into the worst version of a cop possible.

And it gets really ugly when they're working on Wat’s film project. These two are having a truly fundamental struggle about whether or not the two of them are even compatible because they do not see eye-to-eye politically. You get the sense that Ayan hoped that, once freed from the Suppalo prefect thing, Akk would start to see things more his way. And Akk hoped that Ayan would stop fighting with him so much, because Akk really just wants to do soft, cuddly things with his boyfriend. But Ayan gets off on fighting with Akk. [laughs] So he is always antagonizing him for sex reasons. 

Nini

It's one of those early relationship conflicts when you're still figuring out how to be with each other. When you're dating at the beginning, you put your best foot forward. In this case, with the two of them, they put their absolute worst foot forward when they were getting together. But there's still that thing about the version of you when you're courting is…different, somewhat, than the version of you when you're not courting. For them, the issue is the version of them when they were courting was exactly who they are, but they didn't think that that was who they were. 

So, like you said, Ayan really thought that out of the pressure cooker of Suppalo, Akk would be a different person, and then he's, like, coming to realize: No, this is really just who he is. And Akk is having that same realization about Ayan. They have to decide essentially—and they do decide via Wat's film—whether what they are to each other is worth bridging that gap between them. The answer that they come to is: yes it is—in a really phenomenal scene that I enjoyed so much.

Ben

Let me tell you. First and Khaotung are just really, really good together. Like, it's amazing how they can play these two characters coming to a precipice of fundamental political disagreement to the point that they looked at each other and they're like, “Is this really who I'm going to be with?” And you can see this almost weird resignation as they turn to face each other and embrace, where there are no easy answers to this. 

They don't see eye to eye politically on a lot of really fundamental things, and yet they still want to choose each other each time. And that is delivered so well. Like, it's hard to watch The Eclipse with your brain off. I watched a lot of people try to do it during the original show and they struggled, because it is not a brains-off show. Golf has a lot to say about the state of their country and is using whatever platform they have to voice some of these ideas, most notably about how sitting on your phone writing mean tweets is not action. That you need to get into the work. That you have to get into the streets with other people. You have to participate in the work. Even if it's just in the support of getting the people who do do the work the tools and food they need to do the work. 

And it's really fascinating that even in this little two-part special, which as far as some people thought, was just First and Khaotung making out for two hours because these boys kissed a lot in this special, they managed to say a lot. Golf managed to express their deep love of Thai cinema with the references that Wat was playing out. 

It also managed to get across how much these two boys really like each other, and it was kind of fun to see Akk and Kan working their way out of their internalized homophobia. Like it was not surprising to me that Akk and Kan wanted to do a lot of touching with their boyfriends. 

Nini

I really liked how it all came together: how Golf used their love of not just Thai cinema but queer cinema to sort of pull the threads together of the fight that Akk and Ayan were having. The petty fight and the serious fight, because they were having a fight on two levels. They were having a petty fight about—well, maybe not petty—but they were having a surface level fight about Ayan   paying attention to Akk and being lovey-dovey and soft with him, versus Ayan wanting Akk to be tougher with him because that's what he likes. And then that going to the deep level of the political, and then, on top of that, that being pulled together by the concept of film. And then even throwing in for us a little side story about Wat and what film means to him, and how he's not necessarily supported by his family—but he kind of is a little bit but mostly not—and how he has things to say and he feels strongly about those things

Like, they managed to do a lot with very little in this special and I really, really enjoyed it. It was very deep for what it was. Very thinkable piece. I really liked it. And then on top of that, they also get to have a little bit of coming-of-age nostalgia moments about leaving high school and moving into the real world. There's so much packed into those two hours. I was really impressed with how much they managed to get in there and have it feel organic.

Ben

I was incredibly impressed by this entire outing.

Nini

I liked the special on its own. I liked it in connection to the OG show. I liked it as a continuation of the OG show. I liked the things that it had to say and the way that it carried through its themes. I was impressed by how much it managed to fit in. I gave it a drama score of 9.5. I really thought it was very, very good.

Ben

But there was singing so she took half a point.

[both laugh]

Nini

I gave it a crack score of 8. The trope really was I guess “secret surprise” because the frame that this is all put in is Ayan preparing a surprise for Akk’s birthday, but it's a secret surprise where he's pretending that he doesn't remember and he's not going to celebrate Akk’s birthday, which is a little weird which is why I took the half point off really, because I hate that secret surprise trope.

Ben

It's one of those things where I don't really like it for Akk, but if fits with Ayan’s sort of, like…Ayan is the queer kid who reads too much theory. Like, he knows more than you. And so he doesn't always see you, specifically. Like, he outs Thua in the first show thinking he's helping him. Like, he kind of is but, like, he outs Thua and oversteps, and it's the same thing here with Akk. Like, he wants to surprise Akk. Like I don't think you should be surprising Akk, because so much of his Suppalo experience is about being guided by the things that are not being said that he's supposed to just interpret. 

If you're trying to deprogram him, you need to not do that to him. And the reason why, like I—I mostly let it go is because, as dense as Ayan can kind of be because he's too fucking smart for his own good, when Akk admitted in, like, the first fifteen minutes of the show that he hoped that they were gonna do cute boyfriend frolicking in the fields and taking pictures together, and Ayan was like, “Oh, I thought you were just kidding about that.”  

And Akk was like, “No! I was serious.” 

It's like, “All right? Well shit! Grab your camera!” And they frolicked! 

Nini

[laughs]

Ben

He gave his boyfriend the cute boyfriend shit he wanted to do, even if he teased him a little bit about it first.

Nini

I did like that too. I like that they don't have it together yet but they're willing to listen, and they're willing to do what it takes, I think. But, like I said, I'm knocking out a half a point for the secret surprise because I hate that trope. The crack score is an 8 because there's these set of dream sequences which are homages to Thai film and queer film, and I thought they were delightful. There's the Brokeback Mountain one and then there's the Golden Eagle one which is a Thai film then there's the Ong Bak one which is another Thai film and then there's another—

Ben

If you have not seen Ong Bak and you like action film, please go see Ong Bak. 

Nini

I have not watched Ong Bak. Of course, Ben has because he's a boy. 

Ben

I am a boy! Tony Jaa is amazing!

Nini

[laughs] I really liked that Golf gets to throw that in there as well. And it's fun. The Golden Eagle one especially is delightful. [laughs] It really is. So that's 9.5 and 8. Let's call that an 8.75. Ooh the maths is coming back! It's coming back! An 8.75 for The Eclipse.

Ben, what’d you give it?

Ben

I gave it a 9 because it's really coherent and that mattered a lot for me, because we had watched a lot of—I don't remember the exact order—but I remember just not being, like, necessarily, like, great at this point because a bunch of them were kind of…stuffed…or boring…and this wasn't. I was fully engaged the whole time, because Golf has such clear ideas in their work and they're all working together at various levels that they really wanted us to not miss.

49:50 - My School President

Nini

Moving on from The Eclipse onto the next rung on the ladder up: My School President. So the My School President fan fiction trope was AU, alternate universe, for all of the characters. I had a fucking blast with this. Ben, explain to the people what happened.

Ben

I'm gonna pre-react to the criticism, unfortunately.

My School President is a high school story about pursuing your long-term crush and the final year of your high school experience. There was no way My School President was going to get an epilogue story. So instead they flipped the seats of a bunch of the characters. 

So, in this version of the My School President story, Gun is the school president and Tinn is the member of the school band. This time named Lion instead of Chinzhilla. Instead of Tiwson being the school president's best friend, they keep Por, who is his bestie in this. Tiwson is a member of the band. Sound and Win switch positions in this, where Sound is the long-term member of the band. Win is the new hot boy who shows up who they recruit. They also decide to flip Yo and Pat in the story with each other, even though they're still both in the band. Gim becomes the principal, and Photjanee becomes the operator of the milk ice cream bar. 

And in the process of this, like, the same beats from the show. We still hit them, but they play out very differently because the core characterization of these couples don't shift. Which forces us to reckon with certain aspects of the characters that kind of get glossed over in the idealism of the original My School President run. For example, Tinn is so much braver than Gun. Gun is kind of a coward who is gripped by an intense sense of self-doubt, and it starts off almost immediately. Like there's some political commentary with the way Gun is selected as the school president. 250 votes were cast by parents to make Gun the president instead of going through the school voting process instead, which works as a quick shorthand for the show, but also works as a commentary on Thai parliamentary politics.

And so like he's not the school president because he wants to help Tinn. He's just sort of pushed into the position by his mom, and so the moments that they hit along the way, like the dancing together scene. That plays out differently because Gun backs off and ends up dancing with someone else. The whole Questions thing they did to get close to film the thing goes differently because Gun won't ask Tinn directly, but Tinn does ask him, but Gun backs down. 

It was interesting because, like, everyone still chose each other. But, like, in a weird way Tiwson and Por were the strong couple of this outing, anchoring for the rest of them. 

Like, in the original show Tinn and Gun are so obviously together that the force of their mutual attraction sort of just creates opportunity for the rest of these relationships to bubble up. This time around, Tiwson and Por are working together in the background to help Tinn and Gun get together because they want to come out as a couple. Which I thought was an interesting switch-up as well.

Nini

I really enjoyed that, despite shifting the characters around in terms of their positions and roles, that the cores of the characters remained exactly the same. And you see how the same people living a different life would become a different person. Like you talk about Gun being kind of a coward and he is kind of a coward even in the OG show. Tinn’s the brave one, and Tinn has to be the brave one because Gun's the one who's gonna back down. But also the Gun of the alternate universe—the multiverse of cuteness as it is called—the Gun of the alternate universe hasn't spent his whole life on stage being judged and knocked back. And developing that thick skin that he talks to Tinn about in the OG series, so he is much less resilient than the Gun of the OG series. And that makes a difference in how he navigates his crush on Tinn. 

Similarly to that, Tinn in the AU has not had the strictness of the OG Photjanee forced on him the whole time. The strictness and the straight lace-ness because things are a little looser for him. And so he feels more able to take the ball and run with it when he realizes how he feels. They redo the scene of them spending the night at the school and walking around, and this is where Tinn turns the Gun and is like, “Look, do you like me?” which is something Tinn wouldn't necessarily have asked in the OG series. 

But then Gun, faced with the opportunity to actually lock it down with his crush. He says no and he runs away which is not a thing that Tinn would have done. If Gun had ginned up the, the actual courage to ask Tinn if he liked him Tinn would have been like [inhales] taken a deep breath and been like, “Hell yell, let’s date.” It's really interesting watching how they take the same characters and, just by moving their positions in the story, they create a story that's different. 

Ben

And yet all the people still choose each other. They basically state the big idea at one point. The Gun character says maybe in another lifetime things would have gone better, and the Por and Tiwson of this universe slap that idea down and go, “Yeah, but you're not in those universes. You're in this one. Make the most of the life you have.” 

Nini

I really enjoyed this outing. I enjoyed what they took the opportunity of the Our Skyy special to say and to do. I agree with you. I don't think that an epilogue would have worked. My School President is so of its setting. I do not think that moving the boys into college and following them there—I don't feel like I would have been interested in seeing that because that's not the point of My School President.

My tagline for My School President was “perfect high school romance” and I think that's where it should stay.

Okay, so my drama score for My School President was 9.5, and I took off a half point because nobody made out. And, I'm sorry, I am shallow. I wanted somebody to kiss in this special. I didn't care who. Just somebody. So I took off half a point. But the crack score is a 10 because I mean it's an AU. There is nothing crackier than that, so that works out to what, like a 9.75? Yeah, I'm good with that.

Ben

So, I gave this one a 9 because it was a little heady and My School President is not a really heady show for me. But the whole AU concept was. Now, I liked it, but in terms of, like, recommending it to the people who liked My School President, it's kind of hard because they wanted more of what they loved in My School President and this is not exactly that? So, I gave it a 9. 

But I'm also with Nini, like nobody kissed in this one. And, again, young actors. I'm totally fine with them not kissing, but…their characters in the original show have really specific kisses, and, if they were more experienced and veteran actors, we would have gotten a different type of kiss from these characters because they are coming at each other very differently. And we don't get to offer that particular comparison here. So, minor knock for me as well.

Nini

We didn't even get to talk about the best part which was them doing a fake music video for a fake Aof song that incorporated Aof’s top three hits in the music videos, which are He’s Coming to Me, Bad Buddy, and A Tale of Thousand Stars. 

Ben

We didn't even talk about that.

Nini

Tiw and Por got to do A Tale of Thousand Stars. Sound and Win get to do Bad Buddy. And Gun and Tinn get to do He’s Coming to Me. So they, they paid homage to their granddaddy in "Aof" Noppharnach Chaiyahwimhon. Three of the greatest GMMTV BLs, and also the ones that sort of set the stage for My School President.

1:00:24 - Bad Buddy x A Tale of Thousand Stars

Nini

Onto the main event, and the main event of Our Skyy 2 was "Aof" Noppharnach giving the finger to GMMTV and saying, “Fuck you, I get four episodes to talk about what I want. And what I want to talk about is queer elders coming to terms with themselves, and I'm going to use anybody I want to talk about that.” AKA the Bad Buddy - A Tale of Thousand Stars crossover event. 

Ben, break it down for the people.

Ben

Whereas every other one of these projects except for My School President was in many ways an epilogue this is a mixture of…it's an epilogue or a post-show story for Tian and Phupha, but for Pran and Pat it's set between Bad Buddy episode 11 and Bad Buddy episode 12. It's the senior year for Pat and Pran. They are still closeted and having to keep up the architecture-engineering rivalry, though it looks like they've tried to smooth things over over the years because most of the beef is about who's bringing…brooms to…the charity project now. [laughs] But they're having some consternation because both groups need to put on a play as part of their class president activities, and after the normal Bad Buddy hijinks kick in, Pran reveals that he wants to adapt Tian's diary A Tale of Thousand Stars into a play for the architecture school.

And once they decide to follow this route, their teacher says that, because they don't have permission from the people whose story this actually is, they need to go find them and get said permission. Pran decides that they're going to go to Pha Pun Dao to talk to them directly, tell them how important it is that they want to tell this particular story. 

Before they can leave, Pat is forced to hang out with his engineering buddies and, because he has to pretend like he doesn't like Pran, he says something akin to, “That Pran guy. He'd be useless without me. I'm always having to help him.” Pran felt some kind of way about that and decided to leave Pat behind and go to Pha Pun Dao himself—much to his own chagrin—because he loves that boy, and got so nervous when he was walking around by himself without Pat. 

And over the course of these four episodes, Pat and Pran learn a little bit more about themselves and their dynamic—but mostly they really help Tian and Phupha work past some really fundamental struggles that they were having as a couple that Pat and Pran realized that they had moved past a long time ago. 

This crossover really elevates both works because Aof is obsessed with the idea that queer people make each other better and, by the end of this, we as a fandom seem rather split about it because those of us who liked both A Tale of Thousand Stars and Bad Buddy were able to appreciate how both stories impact each other. But, it seems like if you were really only into one of those stories, you resented the crossover in one way or another.

Nini

I think that's one reaction to it, but, I mean, we've seen among the clowns even people who were really into Bad Buddy but not so into A Tale of Thousand Stars really coming around on Tian and Phupha by the end of the special. I don't think we have like a Vice Versa situation in that, and we can discuss all the reasons that might be, but I think that definitely the crossover has made people who maybe didn't appreciate A Tale of Thousand Stars as much really appreciate A Tale of Thousand Stars and Tian and Phupha more now.

Ben

So where do you want to pick up with the beginning of this discussion? 

Nini

I think I want to start with the idea one of our fellow clowns first espoused, and really sort of set me off on this thought process, that this special—this whole crossover—is all about Phupha. Because, of all four characters in the OG shows, the only character who didn't really get an arc  was Phupha—this is Phupha’s arc. How do you feel about that as an idea—as a concept?

Ben

Since we're gonna start here, I'm gonna come out swinging.

Nini

Do it.

Ben

If you hate that Phupha is the focus character of this particular special, I need you to examine whether or not you actually care about gay men.

Phupha is a poor, hyper-masculine, closeted gay man, who's older than the other characters. He's about 35 at this point. There are so many queer people out there that you're never going to know about because they cannot live their lives loudly. 

We're recording in June right now. Pride month. Phupha’s not gonna show up at Bangkok Pride because 1) he's not coming to Bangkok, and 2) that's just not the place where he feels safe. It's not the place where he feels seen. It's not where all of the quiet gays are gonna go, or where the gays who have to be closeted for one reason or another are going to be. And it's easy to forget them because they're boring or they're less fun. 

I like that the story ends up being about: “How do we help Phupha break out of his own shell a little bit and let Tian love him just a little bit more?”

Nini

Phupha is this sort of stoic, very stern, character. I mean they lampooned that a little bit in the OG series for A Tale of Thousand Stars, and they lampoon him a little bit in the beginning of the crossover here, deflating him a little bit—kind of puncturing the whole stoic seme thing. But this is kind of who he is. 

This is, as you say, he's older. He's got real responsibilities. He's got a community to protect. He's…got people that he cares about that he needs to take care of. He is not the kind of guy who is going to, like you say, go to Bangkok Pride. He is the kind of guy who maybe has some internalized homophobia that he's dealing with—definitely has some internalized homophobia that he's dealing with. He is that guy who is trying to do the right thing all the time. And so often the right thing means him subsuming his actual desires in some kind of idea of him denying himself being what's best for the community.

And one of the things that the crossover brings forward, particularly in the person of Pat, who is diametrically opposed to the idea of subsuming himself for anybody. He only does it for Pran, and only, like, grudgingly. But, to put somebody like Pat, who is just loud and proud and just completely does not care about any ideas of masculinity or propriety or anything like that, and put that character in conversation of any kind with Phupha. It's so delightful to watch that happen because, of course, Pat immediately gloms onto him. He follows him around like a duckling—he imprints on him. 

He's like, “Oh, yes, Stern Daddy. I really, really like this vibe that you're givin’ off here. I'm just going to follow you around and bother the fuck out of you.” 

I think it was wen-kexing-apologist who said that Pat's entire job in the special is to terrorize the local elder gay. I Love it.

Ben

Pat and Pran. They both looked at Phupha, looked at each other, and then both said at the same time ‘WOULD.’ 

[both laugh]

Nini

I did see that. That was funny because it's true. They hang a lampshade on it at two points 1) when Pran runs into Phupha for the first time—him really having, like, a gay boy moment. [laughs] Like, the whole, like, slow-motion, turn-around, like, gasping gay boy moment.

Ben

He's read the, the diary and he's like “I get it.” Immediately!

[both laugh]

Nini

And then, to have Pat's moment come, where—because Pat's flirtation language is competition. So, of course he basically challenges Phupha to a duel in the form of a drinking contest. And then they wake up shirtless next to each other and think that they might have maybe…done something— 

Ben

They definitely did some stuff.

Nini

They made out. Just a little bit. They kissed a little bit. 

But I—I loved that! I loved that they were both really into him. Like it was clear that they were both attracted to him. It was very gay and very fun. But also they're just like, “No, I get it.” They—they both looked and they were just like, “Tian, I get you. I understand why you live in this village with [both laugh] no running water, and you have to sleep under a mosquito net every night. I get you! I understand you because, for this man, I would do these things.” Like, they get it.

It's kind of delightful.

Ben

I like how, when Pran first gets to the village, and Phupha passes out, Tian runs up and Pran’s like ‘who are you’ and Tian's like, “No. Who the fuck are you?”

[Nini laughs]

Ben

And, like, if Tian had been allowed to have a knife…

Nini

Pran would have been stopped at that point—fully stabbed. “Like, who the fuck are you and why are you talking to my man?” [laughs] Like, Tian lives in the village because he doesn't want anybody else to see Phupha. 

[both laugh]

Nini

Because he knows the minute any of these whores take a look at his man, if it's going to be a problem. 

Ben

In terms of the serious stuff. So, they've shown up to convince them to sign these papers. Going into this Pat and Pran are fighting a little bit because Pran feels guilty, and part of this journey for him was maybe seeing, like, if he actually needed Pat as much as he does. And he learns very quickly that he is not at his best without Pat. 

It's funny because Pat always knew this. Pat seemed to know already. Like, he says it in like episode 5 of Bad Buddy that he was not at his best when Pran was gone. 

But Pran wants to prove he doesn't need Pat's help, and when Pran shows up to try and convince him to sign Tian's like, “Fuck yeah! I wrote the diary so people would…maybe want to become teachers and appreciate what I have out here. Absolutely!” Phupha's like, “No, y'all not going to present me as some lovesick fool on your little stage.” 

And then Pran tries to talk to Phupha a couple of times and fails massively at it. Tries to lie to Phupha. And then Pat blocks the shit out of that by calling out the bullshit right away, because he's pissed at Pran for running off without him. So he's sabotaging some of Pran's efforts. And it isn't until the two of them start working together that they actually start making any fucking progress because…that's who they are.

Nini

But I think there's also, like, a really valid point to the fact that Pran—he tries to talk to Phupha about it at first and Phupha is not having it. You're right. But one of the reasons that Phupha is not having it is because he's looking at these kids and he's thinking, “These kids do not understand me. These kids have no idea of what my life is like. These kids have no idea of what our lives are like. These kids have never faced any kind of serious challenge. These are two dumb kids. I'm not gonna give them time of day. They don't get to tell my story.” 

And then, by the end, the thing that actually gets Phupha to agree to let them tell his story…is Pran actually dropping the bullshit—as you said—and saying to him, “You think I don't know what it's like to feel insecure? You think I don't know what it's like to feel like my partner deserves better than me? You think I don't know what that feels like? Oh, believe you me, I know what that feels like.” 

And, because at this point Phupha has spent an enormous amount of time with Pat, he's like,

“Okay, yeah, maybe you do understand what I'm going through.” 

And the way that that works out in the end—and I mean we're kind of skipping back and forth through the story at this point—but the way that that works out at the end is Phupha saying, “Okay, you get to tell my story, but you have to tell my story because you understand me.” His condition for signing off on them doing the play is that they play the roles of him and Tian, because they understand him. I thought that was really—a really great way to follow that thread through the story. I really enjoyed that part.

Ben

I like the subtle way Aof played with our expectations about who would identify with who. Like, they made Tian and Pran resemble each other. Tian was like, “Fuck this twink,” right away as soon as Pran showed up. 

[Nini laughs]

But then, like, Pran helps him. Pran helps him in the class and Tian softens very quickly to Pran. 

Because of how physically macho Pat is—like, there's this expectation that he and Phupha are gonna be super similar to each other—and there's an interesting subtle commentary that Aof does there in that it's the more creative one, who's way too close to his mom, who's more like the hyper-masculine dude, because both of them are masking in their lives. 

Like, Phupha is hyper-masculine because that's what's expected of him. And like people pick at Phupha about this a little bit, but he is trying to live up to the role that he is told he's supposed to fulfill. And Pran also suffers under the expectations of who his mom expects him to be, and it's interesting for me that Aof, over the course of these three episodes when they're all together, Aof says Pran and Phupha have more in common because they are carrying so much homophobia on their shoulders, and that's why the two of them probably understand each other best.

Nini

Using the yaoi tropes again, a talk about who is the seme and who's the uke in the story in terms of who's the pursuer and who's the pursued, and…if you look at it, like, then you can clearly see that it's Tian and Pat who are aligned because Pat pursued Pran and Tian pursued Phupha. They are the semes even though it seems that Tian would be an uke. He's not. He actually pursued Phupha. 

So in the narrative sense. He's the seme. It's just very fun, this playing with the idea of what is a seme and what is an uke. And, again to use the yaoi terms—which you know I don't like to use ‘cause I don't really know the yaoi or rock with the yaoi. But, that idea of who is…pursuing the relationship, leading the relationship—like that's Tian and that's Pat. 

And in terms of who is being pulled along by their partner in a kind of a way that's Phupha and that’s Pran. So, I do like how Aof leans into this…because again, it subverts expectations in a particular kind of way. But also it makes so much sense. 

Ben

There's two subtle things that I really want to point out, and I want to talk about them a little.

First, Pat and Pran use titles for Tian and Phupha the whole time. And the other thing is about how nobody really knows anything about anybody in this. So, like, we're gonna call them Tian and Phupha, Pat and Pran, because we're inside of these people's stories with them. But it's interesting to me that Pran and Pat never cross a familiarity line with Tian and Phupha in the brief time they're with them. They refer to them as Teacher and Chief only the entire time.

Nini

I like that because it's a nod to their roles as adults because Pat and Pran are still kids. They're still college students, and Tian and Phupha are adults to them. But, in some ways, Pat and Pran have progressed much further in their relationship than Tian and Phupha have because they've been through more—just from the nature of their whole history. And they've crossed barriers and boundaries and, and parts of their relationship that Tian and Phupha are just confronting or haven't even confronted yet. And I liked that. 

I liked, also, that interplay of the younger ones being the ones to teach the older ones something. I really like that because I feel like that's what's happening now not just in—not just in queer circles—because that's definitely happening in queer circles. But also just in terms of generalization. Like, if you're not a complete douche and you're our age—well I say our age. I'm about 10 years older than Ben. Not ten, but…when you've crossed a certain Rubicon in the adulting game. Let's put it that way.

Right now. The kids are teaching us like a whole bunch of stuff as long as you're not a dick, like, and you remain open, the kids can teach you all kinds of shit that you never thought was possible to learn about yourself at this stage in your life. And I really like that Aof played with that because Aof’s about my age, and I like that he is the kind of person who understands that the young uns have things to teach us as well. Like, we have things to teach them—clearly and obviously—and we want to make a better world for them—clearly and obviously. But also, there's so much shit that we can learn from them when it comes to just fucking unclenching, because that's what happens here! Like, all of this is in service of Phupha just fucking unclenching. 

Ben

And this is what I mean about having other queer people, like it isn't just about your boyfriend. You need queer friends. Like, Tian blossoms almost immediately when he realizes that Pat and Pran are a couple—that they're not just friends. As soon as Pat flirts with him a little bit at breakfast and Pran shoves a spoon into his mouth, you can see Tian instantly relaxes and it's like, “Okay” and is more receptive to what these two are here for. And for Phupha. Like, yeah, it's one thing to just be into Tian and that be a thing, but to have someone like Pat roaming around actively flirting with him all the time, that also forced Phupha to reckon with who he is. 

And it's funny, because, like, Pat and Pran are actually closeted. They basically, like, admit it to Tian and Phupha as a sort of a de facto thing. But, like, the two of them are away from the world where they have to hide. So they're on top of each other. They're constantly touching each other. They're flirting constantly…

Nini

They're fucking in the tent twenty feet away from them. [laughs]

Ben

We'll get there in a second. We’ll be there in a second. [Nini laughs] But they're so obviously obsessed with each other. And like Nini said, like during the rescue bit, Kampung is not in the tent with them where he's supposed to be. And so the boys are like, “Oh, I guess the kid decided to go stay with Phupha and Tian. Great! My foot is hurting me because I twisted my ankle, but let's get it in!” And then in the morning Pat limps to breakfast asking, “What's my score for last night?”

Nini

I love that they just fuck their way through all their problems. It's delightful. I enjoy it.

Ben

One of the sad things with Tian and Phupha is…they have to keep waiting for the other person to be asleep to be affectionate with them, and that's one of the big things that I'm really glad that they start to work through towards the end of this. Like, I'm really proud of Phupha for listening to the man who he loves, and the person who is inspired by the man who he loves. 

Like, it’s so fascinating. Like—like Pran ran on this whole trip thinking he was Tian, met Phupha, realized he was Phupha, and was able to reach across that gap and say, “Please trust me. We got you.” And Phupha said, “Okay.” 

There's a lot of consternation in the fandom right now about taking score between Pat and Pran about who sacrifices more, or what should or shouldn't be said. I'm not particularly interested in that particular conversation. Pat and Pran love each other. They're adults. They've committed to each other. Sometimes you're gonna be with other gays and you're not going to understand how they work, and you just have to accept that their dynamic is their dynamic. It's not about who wins. It's about who cares for you—and they clearly care for each other.

Nini

I think part of what it is, as well, is—it sounds bad, but go with me on this right? I am a great proponent of therapy. I believe in it. I am in therapy. I have been in therapy for years. I recommend therapy to everybody. But there is a certain level of therapized that I think is not necessarily good for us…And that is as somebody who believes in the power of therapy to change and save lives. I think that this idea that everything is pathologized, that you always have to be on the lookout because somebody's trying to get you in some kind of way—I think that it can be harmful to relationships and to our understanding of relationships in certain ways, because not everything that is unbalanced or imbalanced is harmful. 

And I think that one of the problems that I'm having with…not so much the show, but the fandom reaction to it is…that yes, Pat and Pran’s relationship looks unbalanced from the outside. It probably is unbalanced in certain ways. But that doesn't mean that it's harmful. But there's this idea that because of—again this is a, a therapized lens that unbalanced equals harmful, and I don't think that's necessarily the case. 

One of the things that I really don't grok onto and, to be fair…I am very…I am a Bad Buddy fun. I am a Pat and Pran fan. I am a fan of the characters separately and together. And one of the things that…I am really personally sticky and icky about is this idea in certain parts…that Pat and Pran do not love each other equally, or Pran does not love Pat enough, or Pat loves Pran more—all these ideas of particular kind of imbalances between them. And my whole thing is—Who are they and what do they need and what do they want from each other? What does Pat actually need from Pran? Is he getting it? He absolutely is.

So this idea of keeping score between the characters—or keeping score in relationships in general if you, if you broaden out to the idea of relationships—I feel like it doesn't serve. I feel like it's…reductive. And I feel like looking at these characters through that lens is not the way that Aof is portraying these characters, or wants the audience to look at these characters. Because I think that Aof is a person who is…very tuned into certain ideas that he wants to portray—certain things that he wants to portray about queerness and queer community and queer relationships—and…I think that to reduce probably the greatest queer relationship that he has put on screen in Pat and Pran to score keeping, when score keeping is a part of their history that they have deliberately stepped away from because they were forced into it. I feel like it misunderstands what he's trying to do and say with these characters…

And that's just my opinion, and I will admit a hundred percent that I am very precious about these two particular characters. I'm very precious about a lot of Aof characters because I feel that Aof writes characters in a way that I understand them intrinsically. But these two characters in particular I feel very precious about. And, I feel like to see them like that in the context of somehow keeping score between them is to not see them at all.

Ben

Pat only cares about one score and he asks Pran for it directly every morning.

Nini

And that's a fact. [laughs]

Ben

And that's the big thing for me! Like, they were kind of having a fight and most of it was Pran’s insecurity because Pran is a little bit embarrassed about what he's asked Pat to do for him. And they get over that almost immediately. They get to Pha Pun Dao. They see Tian and Phupha and they're like, “Oh, man. These guys are older than us, but they're like…four episodes behind us. [laughs] So, we got to catch these gays up quick!” And they—they instantly get over whatever their beef is and they start playing out their kinks the way they always do. They start cosplaying as Tian and Phupha…and flirting with each other.

Nini

And they do in the end have a little bit of a resolution to their…really not much of a fight, fight. And, there's two resolutions, really. 

The first resolution is the resolution they get in Pha Pun Dao which is, “Look, I can't fucking live without you, and you can't fucking live without me, and we agree on that. So, let's dead the shit.” And they did! And it was fine, because the shit was never really live in terms of a fight being live in the first place. They were fucking their way through that whole fight…and that's how they deal with things, and it works for them, and it's fine. 

And then they get a second resolution that Phupha gives them—a gift—which is, “I get to be in the open with you, even if it's just on stage. I get to be a lover in public.” And it works for me.

Ben

They even tried to redeem Wai a little bit.

Nini

It's still fuck Wai forever in these parts.

Ben

[laughs] He doesn't drop the curtain this time. Instead, he's like, “Give the people the kiss they need!”

Nini

It's still fuck Wai forever in these parts. [laughs]

Ben

And it's interesting, too, in terms of that particular gift. It works out in a couple of ways because Phupha gets to see a bunch of people react to their story. People are loving it. Lesbians are crying over them. One of the lesbians is moaning, “Why don't they just fuck already!” 

[both laugh]

Ben

He gets to see people love them through this play, and then this gives Pran something that he's wanted: Pran his on socials after the play seeing people making fanvids about him and Pat. Which is something that he wants. He wants to be in the open with Pat because he knows that's what Pat wants, and this is the closest they're gonna get for now. And he is relieved to just see that. 

But again, Pat is not worried about that. He's like, “Oh good, good. Did you get what you want?” and he's like, “All right. Let's stop fucking around with all this other stuff. Can we kiss as ourselves now?” 

And they do!

Nini

We've talked a lot about Pat and Pran here and we've kind of scratched the surface on Tian and Phupha. But I really want to get into Phupha because the main thing that the special is doing is unlocking Phupha for the audience, because—like I said—all the other characters have had their arcs in the OG series that we're looking at. Only Phupha has really been holding the line, so to speak. 

And this is Phupha's unveiling. It's his opening. This is Phupha getting harassed by a baby gay. Terrorized, actually, by a baby gay. Realizing that, “Oh my god. The baby gays came to town, and they fucked in a tent twenty feet away from us, and the world didn't fucking end. So maybe…I, too, can fuck my man and the world won’t end.” 

[both laugh]

And then he proceeds to do just that.

Ben

I really like the way Aof went about doing it. Phupha primps himself up, rents an expensive vehicle, picks up Tian, and then goes with Tian to a cute cafe and lets Tian show him off a little bit, even if it made him a little bit nervous to be fawned over.

Nini

He let Tian, like, dress him up! Like, he let Tian take him shopping! He let Tian babygirl him a little bit. He let Tian spend a little money! It was nice!

Ben

That felt like a big deal because he mentioned it. He's like the money on one of these dishes could feed the village for a week in Pha Pun Dao, but he lets it go. Tian is actually a rich kid. This is part of what Phupha knows Tian gave up to be with him and so, when they're in Bangkok, he relents. He lets Tian dress him up like a Ken until Tian is satisfied with the look. And unsurprisingly, Tian chooses something very sleek, masculine, and comfortable for Phupha.

And then Phupha shows up and meets the parents. This is a huge deal too because Phupha was nervous about this because he feels like he took their son from them, and that he overstepped because Tian's dad was once a superior in the military. And all they say is, “We're gonna give you the thing that's most important to us. Take care of it.” And they acknowledge his filial piety to his father when Tian—when Phupha—admits that the reason he's a forest ranger is because his dad loved that mountain and felt a need to take care of it and the people who maintain it. And they were like, “Respect that.”

And then he proposes!

Nini

Okay y’all know how I feel about the BL weddings and the BL proposals. Y’all know that I am usually kind of, like, sitting in the corner, like, with my hands over my eyes. But this one, y'all, I was deep in my feelings. The tears came out. It was beautiful. I fucking loved this proposal. It was perfect.

Ben

I think I liked it because it wasn't a grand gesture in front of a bunch of people.

Nini

That's exactly why I liked it. [laughs]

Ben

It was for them. It was Phupha finally saying that he wasn't going to hold back anymore, and then they had loud obnoxious sex in the hotel room.

Nini

I just like that the loud obnoxious sex started like way before this. Like, the loud obnoxious sex started—like the idea of loud obnoxious sex of course was started by Pat, because that's Pat's entire brand. When he was walking around in the forest with Phupha, like, pretending to worry about Pran when he knows Pran is gonna be fine, and telling Phupha, like, “I mean I'm just going to sniff him out and, like, what do you mean you're not going to sniff out your man. Like, don't you know what he smells like? He smells so good.”

[both laugh]

Ben

You know, I don't think that's underlined really loudly in the show but like Pat says it quite plainly to Tian. He's like, “We don't need to go roaming around. Phupha’s experienced and good at his job, and Pran's really smart. We should really just stay here.”

[both laugh]

Like, nobody believes in Pran more than Pat.

Nini

Nobody. Absolutely nobody. Pat is like, “Listen. He's gonna be fine. I'm not particularly worried about him.” Like, both times. Both when he was wandering around in the woods with Phupha and when he was trying to get Tian to sit his ass down and be a heart patient like he's supposed to be. Both times he's just like, “I am not worried about Pran. Like, can we just focus on what the real problem is here. The real problem here is that your man is going unsniffed. Y’all are having a fight that y'all don't need to be having.” 

I loved Pat’s whole energy in Pha Pun Dao. He was just like, “I'm just gonna vibe. I'm just glad to be here. I like being able to be out in the open with Pran. We are literally a million miles away from Bangkok. I can just be out here and just love on Pran the way that I feel like lovin’ on Pran—” 

Ben

“I'm here to test the structural integrity of the teacher's house.”

Nini

All of that! “I'm here to fuck in a tent and ask the next morning if I did good.” He was just vibing the entire time, and then he got the bonus vibe of running into Phupha who he has—I'm sorry—a major fucking crush on. He does. It’s canon. We're gonna leave it at that. He brought the sex pest fairy godmother energy to Pha Pun Dao, and he's just like, “Listen, y'all are having a fight. Have you tried fucking about it? I have found that to be a very—”

[Ben laughs]

“—I found that to be very helpful method of solving problems. Y’all should just fuck! Give him a good old sniff. He smells real good. Have you noticed that?” 

And it works! Like, Phupha at first is like, “Oh my God, get this kid away from me.”

Ben

Pat said, “Dick is not magical. It doesn't fix you. But! You look like you could use a little bit of a stress release.”

[both laugh]

Nini

And he's not wrong. And I love that despite the fact that Phupha spends the entire time being like, “Oh my God, child, get away from me. You are so annoying.” The minute Patt leaves, he's just like, “Okay. I'm [gonna] try what the kid said.” 

And he does it!

Ben

He goes back to all of their most romantic moments that he downplayed previously and gives them to Tian. Tian doesn't even know what to do with it at first because they've been so cold for a while.

Nini

He takes Tian back to the waterfall, and he's just like, “You said that I sneaked to look at you and I did but I ain't sneaking now! I'ma look.” And then he goes further than that. He said, “Not only am I going to look. I am going to make sure that you get a good look.” 

Ben

[singsong] Take a good hard look!

Nini

And like, like you said at first Tian is like, “What is happening here?” because Phupha is being so open, which I don't think he's ever been before.

Ben

And, like, Phupha was kind of manipulative about it because he made Tian relent and so Tian thought he was being, like, punished at first. Like, Phupha was teasing him because Tian's never made his attraction really quiet.

And then they finally get the stern dicking they've been needing. And Phupha…steals a line from the kids: “What's my score for last night?”

Nini

It was so fun. And Tian is just like, “Your what?” Like, Tian is fully enjoying this and I love that for him because one of the things I think people forget throughout the course of A Tale of Thousand Stars is that the Tian who starts the tale—he's sexy! Tian at the beginning of the story, he's got this edge to him. The sexy edge, and that kinda gets whittled away a little bit in Pha Pun Dao. But, that's still who he is. 

And I like that at the end of the tale when we get here to the epilogue that he gets to be that again. He gets to pull out that sexy edge that is part of him and use it on his man. Like, he babygirls him, he takes him shopping, and then, when he lookin’ all nice, he leans into him and he be like, “You're real handsome. Do you have a boyfriend?” And I'm just like this is Tian! This is Tian that I remember!

Ben

And then he pushes Phupha in that bed, and he's like, “I've been waiting for five years. I'm ‘bout to get what's mine.”

[both laugh]

Nini

Phupha’s like, “What are you doing?” He's like, “Don't worry about it.” [laughs]

Ben

He’s like, “Don't worry about it, babygirl. I’ma take care of you tonight.”

[both laugh]

Nini

And I love that. I love that so much. Phupha is, like, panicked about it for a minute, and he's like [sighs]. He's decides. He's like, “Let go, let flow.” He's like, “All right. This how you want it?” and Tian's like, “Uh-huh,” and he's like, “All right, let's do this!” [laughs] I loved It. I loved it so much. 

I love that at this stage of his life Phupha just learns to like—you know what? He's like, “Sometimes you just gotta un-fucking-clench.” And he just, he lets it all go.

Ben

I don't usually like talking about sexual positions around here because…of the way people project onto them, but I really like the implication in the final scene that this might be the first time Phupha really switches with Tian in a way that's also him emotionally… because you do have to unclench if you want to enjoy that particular act.

Nini

[laughs] In more ways than one!

Ben

It works really well because of the proposal. Like, Phupha's putting it all in the line. He's actually putting himself on the line. And he's going to be a complete partner to Tian, and is also going to relent and let Tian have some of the things that he wants. 

Like Tian is happy in Pha Pun Dao. He doesn't hate their lives there. He just says, “I want you to come home and see my parents once a year. It's important to me. I just want you to come down for that. And when we're here, let me treat you nicely.” 

Like, even if their lives aren't gonna always be there—like Tian may someday have to take care of the responsibilities of his parents getting older. But, I feel better about them facing that now as two people who are fully committed to each other than Phupha’s whole waiting-for-the-other-shoe-to-drop thing all the time.

Nini

I just…really liked…getting to see…Phupha just…be… We never get to see him just be. Once he internalizes what Pat and Pran say to him, at every point from then what we see is him getting to just be. Yeah, in a slutty way—which I personally enjoy. But also just not worrying so much about what the things he's doing say about him. And yeah, there are, like, moments of that, like, when they get to the play and the curtain goes up, you see him starting to, like, freak out a little bit. But as the play goes on he relaxes.

I like that he leans into both the relaxed energy and the slutty energy, because I feel like the slutty energy is incredibly important. Like, one of the things that I really enjoyed about the final episode of the crossover was that mosquito net moment because—

Ben

Oh my God…finally.

Nini

That's so many things! That's Aof acknowledging that he was maybe slightly too precious with their sexuality in A Tale of Thousand Stars. That's Aof acknowledging that, maybe yeah, they should have kissed there. That's also Phupha acknowledging a bunch of stuff. That's also Tian getting to recast those moments in his mind.

Ben

I also love that Aof basically gave them the Bad Buddy post-credits scene.

Nini

Now, everybody’s saying that, but to me I just remember that the A Tale of Thousand Stars post-credits scene wasn't sideways either. Like, they wrastled in that A Tale of Thousand Stars post-credits scene. Like, Tian had to ask for the dick but he got it.

Ben

I'm just very satisfied by the outing this time.

Nini

I really, really enjoyed it, and I think that a lot of the Sturm und Drang around it is because of these ideas—again once again—these ideas about balance, and feeling like it was maybe unbalanced between Pat and Pran, and Tian and Phupha. But I don't think those ideas of balance are relevant to what Aof was trying to do here. I think that using Pat and Pran—who are a solid, established couple who we know are pulling through anything because we've seen their future already—using them as a conduit, or a catalyst, or a support to pull Tian and Phupha through a hurdle that could break them. I was fine with it in the end. 

Like, I went through a lot of like—you know. I mean, you know because you were in these discussions with me and you and the clowns, like, sort of pulling through, like, how we feel about this. 

Ben

Everybody else is having a difficult time. I was vibing so hard for like—[laughs] for like two weeks! Everybody else is like, “Oh I don't like this episode!!” Like, everybody was mad after episode 3! Me…I thought that episode was great. They're like, “I hate how long they were lost in the woods.” I'm like, “Well, that was the whole point.”

They were lost in the woods. They were all circling around an issue, and the issue is really simple. Like, just sit still and let other people find you. Because that's what you need to do, baby gays, sometimes, it's sit still so we can fucking find you! And help you!

[both laugh]

Ben

All right! Let's talk about the actors.

Nini

Watching these four get to vibe together. I want to see it. And not just the four of them vibing together, but…the…pairings because they gave us like a mix and match. So, they gave us every single pairing that you could get out of these four actors, and everyone was delightful and delectable. And I enjoyed every single one of them, but I particularly enjoyed pairing Ohm with Earth. 

Ben

I really liked… the pairing of Nanon and Mix, and I don't know what we need to do to see those two work together again, but I would like to see the two of them take on meaty characters together.

Nini

I mean they're gonna be in The Jungle together. 

Ben

Are they? Well well well…

Nini

Yeah, maybe you might have to watch The Jungle. [laughs]

Ben might have to watch a straight show!

Ben

No…we just did that! It sucked!

[both laugh]

Ben

I loved Mix in this. Like, we've seen MIx and Earth together a couple of times, and you talked about this during episode two. Their drunken walk home together felt like Phupha and Tian, not Jim and Wen.

Nini

They made it feel so different, even with similar framing, even with similar camera work, even with the same actors, and the same director. They made that moment feel completely different from Jim and Wen's moment doing the same activity, and I—hats off, I bow down. I appreciate actors—y’all know that.

Ben

I like how all four of them managed to make their dynamics feel lived in.

Like, Pat and Pran felt settled. Like, they have some long-term difficulties to deal with—some of which are never gonna go away—but it was kind of interesting for me knowing that they're rock solid by the end of BB 12 that you can see them starting to get there now. Where Pran is nervous that this can't work forever because Pat is too loud. He…needs to be loud about stuff.

But, like, you can see the signs here of them giving themselves openings. Here, like with the play, with Pat going home to his dad later and giving him the liquor that Pran got in Singapore, loudly climbing through Pran's window when he comes back to Bangkok…to go play with his guitar in his room.

Nini

Pat needs to be loud. Pran knows Pat needs to be loud. And the journey that they're setting off on through the special—I can't even say that it culminates in Bad Buddy 12 ‘cause it doesn't. It continues in Bad Buddy 12, but it culminates at some point in a future that we don't get to see. And there's something to be said about Aof putting that way-way off…and the things that he wants to say to the baby gays and the elder gays.

Hoo! Man, I've been feeling Aof lately. Like, Moonlight Chicken, like, unraveled something in me. And going back to some of his earlier works in the light of Moonlight Chicken because part of the whole point of the crossover—and of crossovers in general—but in this particular crossover is intertextuality. When we were talking about Bad Buddy. When we were, like, thick in the things of Bad Buddy. We're talking about text and subtext and metatext working together to tell this story, and the thing that didn't become a part of that story—there were hints of it, mostly in the Pa and Ink storyline—but the thing that was hinted at, but not really fully grasped onto, was intertextuality.

Like, the conversation that different pieces of art are having between themselves. And one thing that this special—that the crossover delves into now—is the intertextuality.

Ben

I particularly like it because you have two leads interacting with each other and I find that sometimes we can get a little too archetypical about the leads of shows. By forcing the audience to consider who Pat and Pran are relative to Tian and Phupha, it forces you to revisit how you've been viewing them the whole time. Like, Pran thinking that he was Tian, and us maybe getting a little too caught up in that. Because, like we called it at the end of the first episode! We're like, “Why does he look so much like Tian? That feels off.” And it was off! 

Oh. I wasn't trying to make a pun there.

He's not like Tian. Like, as soon as I saw them I was like, “Why would they compare him to Tian? He doesn't feel like Tian to me?” I was right! And so, we get to the end of this whole shebang, and I am having a blast. Like I'm watching people having to sort themselves out like “Did I like this? Did I not like this?” 

I was drinking a mojito, having a good time, after this ended. I was drunk at the reception hanging out with some lesbians.

Nini

I mean in the end is it not the place that you want to be? I feel like it all worked out super well, and one of the reasons that it worked out super well is that these two stories had to be in some ways told together. And yeah, one got a little subsumed to the other. But that's the way that it had to be at this point in time.

Ben

I think it was pragmatic.

Nini

Yeah, I think if we had caught up with them and done this crossover at a different stage in each of their relationships a different problem would have come to the surface, and maybe a different arrangement of the two couples might have happened. And that's also something that we need to think about in terms of the specifics of when in the story narrative and the timeline of the stories that Aof chose to set this particular crossover. 

When it comes to Aof I'm always thinking about what he's trying to do, because one of the things that has been very clear to me throughout his oeuvre, but particularly in Bad Buddy, is that…he is always going to tell the story that he wants to tell. He's not overly concerned about making it fit into certain narrative structures. He's not overly concerned about making it fit into audience expectations. He wants to tell certain stories, and that's what he's gonna do. And that was made very clear to me with Bad Buddy 12, because that defied every narrative expectation—every audience expectation—to speak a truth that Aof had on his spirit.

Ben

The other thing for me—this is the part where I’m gonna get a little bit grumpy again. It is expensive to make television. Like, the biggest thing that stands out to me with all of Our Skyy is how stripped-down all of it looked.

Like they filmed in like one or two locations at most it felt like half the time, and they had really short filming schedules, and everybody had to be good very quickly. There's not a lot of runup time. It feels like people just brought whatever they still had left from the last performance and they just ran with it. Everybody had to be really good, and it's expensive to film on that mountain. And so Aof needed to justify that particular crossover, by using the most potent talent he had.

Like, there's a huge Bad Buddy fandom. There's a pretty solid contingent of people who like A Tale of Thousand Stars. And for A Tale of Thousand Stars to get something good, he needed to merge the Bad Buddy budget with the Thousand Stars budget.

But also, they didn't want to touch their ending, which is why he sets Bad Buddy before its ending, but Tian and Phupha only at the beginning of their romance when we leave them. They have more work to do, so they can have an epilogue story that really hammers into some really interesting stuff, which we just spent the last hour or so talking about. 

But it's done really efficiently! Like for the most part we all seem to enjoy Our Skyy, and they manage to do that with their limited budget. Like Pat and Pran are in a different room because it's probably cheaper to use this room. There's less people in Pha Pun Dao this time. Au is running around in the background as an extra! Wasn't he the damn director of the Kwan and Riam play? [shushes] Don't pay attention to that. A bunch of guys are running around with masks on—that's probably just crew members!

Nini

I did sort of love that chewing gum and string energy these productions can bring that is really sort of the heart of the Our Skyy franchise. I feel like I like that because to me that means it's for the art. If you're going to do this on chewing gum and string it's because you really fucking care. Like if you're going to do a story like this on string and chewing gum, it's because you really want to tell this fucking story. And in the end that's where I land on the vast majority of Our Skyy 2.

Ben

So what's our final verdict on Our Skyy then? Worth it? Not worth it?

Nini

Before we get to our final verdict on our Our Skyy, we didn't give our final verdict on the crossover. 

Ben

Oh, it's a 10. [slams desk and laughs]

Nini

It's a 10! It's a 10! It's a 10! Let's just—let's just—let's let it go. Right? It's a 10 for drama and a 10 for crack because what is more cracky than a crossover? And so it averages out to 10. Have I got quibbles with it? Yes. Do they, in the grand scheme of things, matter to my enjoyment of it? Absolutely not. It's a 10—point blank period.

Ben

It didn't waste my time. They set out a really interesting premise: what if Tian published his diary? What if “lonely queer looking for meaning and community” Pran found it? What if he met them? What do they do if they meet each other? Like, they follow through on that in a way that gave us so much to talk about for two weeks. 

And it was fun seeing the whole fandom come alive and see people revisit characters! It was fun seeing people change their opinions on Phupha, and even Earth and Mix as the result of watching this. That was so much fun. 

Nini

It was delightful. It was enjoyable. It was meaningful. It was narratively enjoyable at least for me, it was a 10. I loved it and one of the things that I love most about it is that Pat gets to lick Pran's finger this time.

Ben

Oh my god.

Nini

I mean, it's just the slutiness of it all! Pat gets to lick Pran's finger. Phupha gets to touch his titties in a sexy kind of way. They get to make out with that damn mosquito net, and I enjoyed every single second of it. I laughed, I cried, I…felt warmth deep inside. 

1:59:13 - Overall Score for Our Skyy 2

Nini

All that said, in terms of the overall—let’s give an overall score for Our Skyy 2. Ben, what do you think?

Ben

With the caveat that you should only really engage with the Our Skyy content if you liked the original show, it's a 9. 

Like, I didn't like Vice Versa and I didn't like Star in My Mind when I watched them the first time, and so everything I didn't like about those shows was present in their Our Skyy offerings. I don't think it's very fair of me to be especially mean about their Our Skyy offerings when they are in line with what the audience has been taught to expect. If the audience likes that more power to them. But for the six shows that I genuinely liked, I had a good time with these. 

Like, the weakest shows in this that I had a hard time with on the front end were A Boss and a Babe and Never Let Me Go. And I really liked what Jojo did with Never Let Me Go, and I thought that A Boss and a Babe actually had a really interesting story this time. But I loved The Eclipse and I thought Golf was great with this outing. I thought the cast was great in The Eclipse outing, and I felt like that about Bad Buddy and A Tale of Thousand Stars, and I felt like that about My School President. 

I had a great time! It gets a 9 overall. Like, there are quibbles—it's not always the best thing, and it forces you to maybe look back at a show and alter the way you felt about it. And if you'd rather lock the show in a mental prism of where you last left it, maybe don't watch these offerings? But if you grow and change, and you kind of want to imagine what your characters are like if they also grow and change, then maybe it's worth checking out for you. 

It's a 9. Highly recommended.

Nini

For you, the score is always about a recommendation. For me, it's always about do I like this? How much do I like this? And for me, for the vast majority of Our Skyy, I fuckin’ loved it. So I also give it a 9. I don't have any caveats about recommending it to anybody or anything like that. I just had, for the most part, a whale of a fucking time. And so, it's a 9! I enjoyed myself! 

So kind of in our own form of intertextuality harkening back to our Season 2: Electric Boogaloo episode of the Spring Series, and talking about sequels. So, Ben, after Our Skyy 2, how are you feeling about sequels?

Ben

Enthusiastic? [laughs] I mean, come on, man, like, this was fucking good. We need to think about how these characters stay together. That can be so rewarding to think about and it's good for the audience to think about it. 

I hope we see Pat and Pran in 10 years after their little sprout has blossomed, and maybe they're considering something else. I'm totally down to return to characters every couple of years for check-ins. That totally works for me, and I think that there is value in transitioning the types of stories we tell with characters over time, because they're going to face a variety of situations over time, so it can be so, so rewarding for us as viewers to go on those new journeys with them.

Nini

How do I…feel about sequels? Again, it's the same way I always feel. I feel like when there's story still to tell, I'm ready to see it. I'm ready to hear it. And if I feel like there isn't anything left to say, then I'm not interested. That's largely where I landed with the Our Skyy episodes for the most part where I felt like there was story left to tell. I thoroughly enjoyed getting that story and then those, like Star in My Mind, where I felt like there was no story, I wasn’t really interested. 

So, do I feel pumped about sequels and the whole idea of following these boys into the “staying together” part of things? Yes, that's something that I'm always going to enjoy, and if that means conflict, I am fine with that. I enjoy watching them navigate that, whether the conflict is minor or  major, I am having a blast with that in my mind. 

And…I can't wait for Our Skyy 3. 

That is going to wrap us up on the Our Skyy 2 episode. Y'all are going to hear the edited version of this, but I just want you all to know that we've been talking for three hours, and we've been having a great time. See y’all in the next one. Say bye to the people, Ben.

Ben

Welcome back, my boyfriend!

Nini

[laughs] Bye.

#podcast #our skyy 2 #bad buddy #a tale of thousand stars #my school president #the eclipse #vice versa #star in my mind #never let me go #a boss and a babe #thai bl #bl series #ben and nini's conversations #the conversation #on art #season 3 #summer 2023 #summer series #Spotify

[shortpplfedup]

NiNi's Year End Rewatch Project

As we wind down to the end of 2023 (how are there only six weeks left people?!) I find myself wanting to revisit some of the year's highlight shows, plus a few things that have returned to top of mind lately, so I'm setting myself up with a rewatch project, as if I don't already have enough to do! Over the next six weeks, I'll be blogging some of my thoughts and takeaways as I return to these shows having gained some distance from the intensity of live watching. I'm also hoping to use this to stretch my meta writing muscles and ease back into the swing of things after a decent spell away.

Of course, I always love company for the stories, and the commentary and discussion, so feel free to join me! I'm planning to rewatch:

2023: Moonlight Chicken, My School President, Our Skyy x Bad Buddy x 1000 Stars, Our Skyy x The Eclipse and Our Dating Sim.

Pre-2023: Bad Buddy, KinnPorsche, The Eclipse, To My Star, Blueming and Gaya Sa Pelikula.

Will I get around to all of these? Probably not, but right now it's the plan. Will I get distracted by something else? Most definitely, but right now this is the plan!

#nini's 2023 rewatch #bl meta series #on art

[jimblejamblewritings]

luck be a (leading) lady | part 5.

[Posted 2022.09.23]

Summary: Y/N has always been a background character. That’s just life for some folks isn’t it? But what if she’s determined to not just be another member in the ensemble? What if someone helps her step into the spotlight in her own special way?

Warnings for the Series: a teeny bit of angst but mainly fluff

Pairing: ricky bowen x black!reader

Word Count: 3.5k

A/N: I will get back to the Harry Potter series when I finish this one

Previous Part | (Series Masterlist)

Somehow, opening night for the school musical was more hectic than any show you ever did at The Saltwater Company. Everyone but you was running around. You went to the makeup/green room area in between the men’s and women’s dressing rooms. A sigh escaped your lips. 

“Problem?” 

You turned to see Ricky. “Oh, just, it’s nothing.” 

“Tell me.”

“I guess Natalie wasn’t paying attention when she labeled the mirrors for everyone. She gave Nini my mirror. It’s the best mirror and the plushy seat. Gabriella is the star of the musical.” 

“It’s your mirror? For Clara?” 

You opened the drawer attached to the desk part of the mirror revealing all your make-up and hair accessories that were already in it for your other show. Ricky shrugged his shoulders and simply moved Nini’s stuff and label to his mirror. He took his label and put it over the one that Natalie had assigned you. 

“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you. I think Clara deserves her seat.” 

You gave him a small smile and went to start getting ready. Carlos brought in a basket of flowers that someone had delivered for the cast. No one knew who dropped the flowers off and who they were supposed to go to. There was no card attached to the basket. You got ready in a calm fashion, walking constantly between the dressing room and the makeup room. You were finished before anyone else. Ms. Jenn walked in ready to give everyone a pep talk before the show. 

“Alright, team, circle up. As you guys know, our lovely Gina has a family situation and is now on the East Coast. She won’t be joining us this opening night so Kourtney will be filling in as Taylor.”

You ran back to the dressing room when you were no longer needed. Now you could rest for the rest of Act One until “Stick to the Status Quo” came on. There wasn’t really anything to do but rearrange your make-up drawer. You could hear through the intercom where they were in the show. You checked all around to see if you got an opening night card from Nini. Still, nothing. 

“Shouldn’t you be getting ready for the next number?” 

You turned at the voice. 

“Gina?!” 

She set down a container of cupcakes that she baked and ran to hug you. She laughed as you stuttered through many questions about how she was possibly in front of you. The last thing you expected to come out her mouth was that EJ had bought her a ticket to show up. He was on this whole honesty and being a nice person kick ever since Nini broke up with him. Honestly, this was one of the few times you actually appreciated it. The only person more excited than you to see Gina was Kourtney. 

“You don’t understand. Y/N can only teach me so much Argentine Tango. I need you to play Taylor. It was fun and now that fun is over.” 

Ms. Jenn didn’t hesitate to allow Gina to play the part. There was almost a new life in the cast as you all went out to perform the number. That new life quickly died as you chased after Ricky when he finished the basketball number. He had quickly stormed into the dressing room, threw his Troy jersey at EJ, and told the other boy that he needed to help Nini impress some fancy arts school scout by finishing the show instead of him. 

“Ricky, wait!” 

You caught up to him in the lobby of the theater. 

“What happened? You were doing so well.” 

“She brought someone! I don’t even know him and-and sh-sh…”

“Ricky, Ricky, breathe.” 

“Why can’t I—”

“Breathe with me.” You grabbed Ricky’s shoulders and tried to get him to breathe with you. “There we go. Slow… okay. I’m gonna let go of you now.” 

“Thank you. How did you know to do that?”

“Social anxiety. I’ve had a fair share of panic attacks.” 

“Right. Thank you, again.” 

“There's popcorn and hotdogs in the concessions kitchen. You want something?”

“Don’t you have a dance number coming up.”

“Literally no one ever notices me. The background will live without my jazz square. I think my friend needs more help.” 

Ricky followed you to the concessions area. You turned on the lights and put two hot dogs in the warmer along with some fries. Ricky went over to where you pointed to the soda machine to get you both drinks. You guys sat on the checkout counter and ate. Ricky’s mom strolled up to the two of you. 

“There you are. Are you alright? Are you hurt? We were surprised to see you weren’t in the second act.” 

“You didn’t check your texts?” 

“Is it stage fright? Because people are counting on you, honey. You made a commitment.”

“You’re one to talk about commitment… You brought him to the show?” 

You jumped down from the counter. Ricky looked at you when you put a hand on his shoulder. 

“I think this is between you and your mom. I’ll be back in the green room.” 

“Wait, just.” He reached for your hand. 

“You got this.” 

Ricky nodded, watching you leave before turning his focus back to his mom. He looked much calmer when he entered the green room. You had been sitting and chatting with Gina while you waited. She linked arms with you and Ricky. 

“Let’s go cheer everyone on and watch the show.” 

“You know Carlos will never let us live if we miss the bows.” 

“Then get back in costume, Wildcat.” 

For all the ups and downs, the musical ended with a bang. You couldn’t lie and act like no one noticed all the cast changes. But you were positive that the audience enjoyed it. The cast was slowly getting back into normal clothes and preparing to go to Waffle House before saying final goodbyes for the night.  Soon it was just you, Gina, Ricky, and Nini in the green room. You and Gina had taken off all your makeup and were waiting for your third partner in crime. 

“Do you really have to go back?” you asked her as you tied your shoes. 

“No place to stay here. My mom’s job is keeping her in DC. FEMA can’t just let me have a single school year.” 

You shot up. “Stay with me. My sister’s room has been empty for a while now. My parents won’t mind at all.”  

Gina agreed to call her mom and see if it would be okay. Both of you looked over when you heard Ricky and Nini talking— more like confessing their love for each other. You and Gina stood up, linking arms once again. 

“Richard!” Gina yelled out, making him and Nini look over. “Y/N and I are leaving for waffles. We’ll see you later.”

~~

“You know, I’m still not over you living with Y/N,” Ricky said as Gina opened the door. 

“Well, maybe you should get Big Red to live with you and we can all be neighbors.” 

Ricky and Gina smiled at hearing you laugh at Gina’s joke from the kitchen. You set the last coffee cup down along with the pitchers for milk and cream. The three of you had fallen into a very comfortable routine of eating breakfast at your home, switching of carpooling to school, and hanging out at Ricky’s after to do homework. Sometimes there were breaks in the routine, of course, when Ricky went on dates with Nini. You and Gina would simply go home. Occasionally, Ricky would show up after the date to talk and hang. 

“So,” Gina started as you got into Ricky’s car. “Do you have a date with Nini after school or are we spending the first day of winter break trying out that frozen hot chocolate at the skate rink?”

“I am all yours today. Nini and I are going caroling on Saturday… And why is Y/N trying to act like she doesn’t exist by staring out the window?”

“I have rehearsal today. Extra long. I’m also not allowed to skate this close to the show. An injury now won’t be able to heal before. But you guys have fun.” 

Nutcracker rehearsals weren’t exactly your favorite thing in the world. But that was because pointe shoes were never comfortable. You were just glad that Bennet had some strange obsession with sticking to certain parts of the traditional ballet which meant that while you were Clara, you wouldn’t need pointe shoes. Once it was time for the part where you’d be transforming into the Sugar Plum Fairy, you’d be en pointe. 

Now that the show was so close, every performance was in costumes and with tech. You always did at least one run that way and then Bennet let everyone change back into practice gear for the rest of rehearsal. 

“And the leg warmers are back,” Ricky said as he and Gina entered the theater. 

“Aww, I said you guys didn’t have to pick me up.” 

“And make you get a taxi?” Gina handed you a hot chocolate. “They wouldn’t let us take the frozen one to-go.” 

You smiled and took the cup anyway. Gina laughed as you threw your dance bag at Ricky. He lightly hit you with the bag but carried it anyway. You didn’t see much of Ricky or even Gina for the next few days. Taking your car, you went early for practice and got home late. It was all worth it though because it was time for the show. You couldn’t see them but Gina and Ricky were sitting in the theater. They got comfortable in their seats, already eating the concessions offered. 

“Is anyone else coming?” Gina asked. 

Ricky shrugged. “I texted the cast. I guess people still don’t know her that well?”

Gina was going to say something else but the house lights went down. She and Ricky watched with lots of awe as you danced around the stage. Ricky was so entranced with your performance almost jumped out of his seat when someone touched his hand. Nini sat down in the seat next to him, sorry for running late. They stood up to give a standing ovation when you bowed at the current call. You smiled as they made their way to the stage while everyone else was leaving. 

“That was incredible,” Gina and Ricky said at the same time. 

Ricky handed you another bouquet of flowers to add to the ones already in your hands. Seeing you play a lead, he wasn’t sure how you’ve only ever been in the ensemble. Your friends waited for your parents to congratulate you a bunch and for your mom to take your keys to drop your car home so you could go with them instead. You practically crashed into the backseat of Ricky’s car. 

“Richard, I crave sustenance. Can we get cheeseburgers?”

“Cheeseburgers coming right up.” 

You and Gina were dropped back home a little while later. You laughed as Gina danced around the living room pretending to do all of your Clara routines. Having Gina around was a lot of fun. She actually showed up for the rest of your performances. She was basically your second sister. 

You both bounced on the balls of your feet after your last performance— there was technically a week after Christmas that the show was still being performed but the swings and understudies got that opportunity. The door of a house swung open as you and Gina stopped bouncing. 

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Bowen!” 

“Hey, girls. Merry Christm— Hannu— Christmas?”

“Christmas.” You and Gina confirmed. 

Mr. Bowen ushered you two into the house. Gina handed him a Christmas present— fancy cups. Ricky stood up from the couch to hug the both of you. His eyebrows raised in surprise at the present shoved in his hands. 

“Gina and I went half on the present. Nini told us she got you a new helmet and pads set so we decided to splurge for the skateboard.” 

“Oh, thanks. I, um, money’s been tight lately and I barely got Nini—”

“That’s why,” Gina cut him off. “Your present to us is letting us drag you back to our house, bake sugar cookies, and watch movies.”

“I can do that.” 

The three of you waved to Ricky’s dad before leaving. You talked about everything coming up for the next school semester on the short walk. You guys were excited for Ashlyn’s New Year’s party. There was also excitement that Ricky liked the musical so much he was going to audition for the spring one. You all were pretty sure it was going to be High School Musical 2. It was pretty obvious. 

What no one was expecting was for Ms. Jenn to show up to Ashlyn’s New Year’s party and announce that the spring piece wasn’t going to be High School Musical 2. It was Beauty and the Beast instead. Not that you didn’t love the movie but you— and everyone else— were kind of expecting High School Musical 2. But the switch had to be made because you were now competing for really prestigious high school theatre awards. That and you had to beat North High who were performing “The Little Mermaid” because Ms. Jenn’s snarky ex-boyfriend who ended up getting a blossoming acting career was back in Salt Lake as a drama director for their old high school. 

“The Alan what?” Seb asked. 

“The Alan Menken Awards, specifically for High School Theater. We have to do a board-recognized musical to be eligible,” Ms. Jenn explained. 

While the cast wasn’t into it at first but quickly were excited. 

“Nini, you’re going to make a perfect Belle. I can see the gold dress already,” Ashyln said.

Everyone started going on about who would play what roles and how perfect Nini would be as Belle. You guess that confirmed everything. There was no point in even going for the lead. The chatter started to sound dull to you until Nini bursted out a few words that pretty much ended the party. 

“I’m moving to Denver!” 

Maybe you should have been happy about getting a chance but your attitude didn’t change. It was back to school, now without Nini, and the whole cast was sitting around some lunch tables close to each other. Not only was Carlos now trying out but so was Kourtney and Big Red. You had been riding a high at being Clara but it was quickly cut off. Sure, The Saltwater Company finally gave you a chance but at East High you were a nobody. 

EJ moved from the table with his friends to the seat right next to Ricky. “You’re welcome.”

“What?” 

“I’ve decided to take myself out of running for the Beast. I’ve just got so much on my plate, and I should start looking at Duke meal plans.” 

“You officially got into Duke?” Ashlyn asked, excitedly. 

“Well, it’s just a matter of time.”

“Back up,” Ricky said. “You’re not doing the musical either.” 

“No. I can only handle a supporting rol— what do you mean either?” 

“I’m not sure if I’m auditioning this year.” 

“You too?” You asked. 

Ricky turned his head to look at you. “What do you mean, you’re not doing it?”

“I’m not sure yet. I don’t think I’m in a mindset to be another background character right now.” 

“You were literally Clara. How are you possibly going back to the ensemble?” 

You stood up, finished with lunch. “Only you and Gina ever showed up to watch me. Even when I’m Clara, I’m not memorable enough to come see. I just… I don’t know.” 

“Y/N, wait.” Ricky got up to follow you. 

He caught you in the hallway. You took in a breath before turning to face him. Ricky held up a pinky. 

“Okay, I know my crappy reasons for my decision. But you’re too good to not give it a shot, so we’re doing this together, okay. You try out and I’ll try out and we see this dumb musical thing out to the very end.” 

“Okay.” You wrapped your pinky around his. 

Ricky and you practiced together for auditions. He was your hype man as you practiced your song and worked on lines. You guys did all this while packing up moving boxes at his house. He and his dad were downsizing to a more affordable place. The apartment complex wasn’t far away but you guys wouldn’t be down-the-street neighbors anymore. Because it was only a ten minute walk, Ricky promised to come over every morning for breakfast just like before. You made a promise that you and Gina would continue to randomly show up at his place. 

“You know my dad was thinking about giving you guys a house key. I think he just likes that you show up with food almost every single time.” 

“Can we get a gate key?”

“You can absolutely get a gate key. You and Gina better not abuse it.”

“Us? Never.”

Ricky laughed, not believing you at all. You guys went back to packing and practicing. Both of you felt totally ready for auditions. Gina was auditioning as a trio with Kourt and Ash. You and Ricky decided that even though you guys practiced together, you would audition solo and just see what happens. You guys were each other’s anchor during auditions, singing while looking at each other just like you practiced. You especially needed it because some new girl, Lily, decided to try out and she just had to be the star. It was a little unsettling, her entire demeanor. You left Ricky’s side to get water with Gina during the break. Lily approached you— well, Gina, but you were with her. You and Gina share a look as she flipped her blonde ponytail. 

“You sounded really good at warm-up.” 

“Thanks,” Gina said. “For someone who’s never done theater before, you’re a natural.”

“Oh, I meant I’ve never done local theater before. You know, with this kind of crowd.” 

“What are you trying to say?” 

“Come on. You and I both know we’re the only two contenders for lead around here.” 

Gina scoffed slightly. “I think everyone here is pretty amazing. Especially, Y/N.” 

“Who?” 

You sighed while Gina stepped aside to show you. “Y/N. Only the Clara in The Nutcracker.” 

“Oh, right. I remember seeing that. Too bad you lost so much height on your jumps when it was time for the Sugar Plum Fairy dance. Can’t blame you for being too tired, stamina isn’t always easy.”

“I-it was a petit allegro combination, that, that was on purpose.”

“Ooh, well… I mean you were still fine. Just a shame that the Berklee scout was there. He probably thought what we all did. Choreography choices can be so detrimental.” 

Your smile faded. Gina knew you wanted to say something but she could also see your hand opening and closing as you uncomfortably struggled to find words. You ended up tapping Gina on the arm and running back into the theater. Ricky gave you a look when you sat down next to him. You shook your head, not wanting to talk about it. Ricky gently pushed your head down to rest on his shoulder. He knew you’d tell him eventually, just like he did with you. 

Ricky only halfway paid attention to everyone else’s auditions. You got even quieter after Ashlyn, Gina, and Kourtney went in their trio. He could feel your head move in an almost weird pattern. Ricky looked back down to see you grabbing at your leggings, clutching the fabric rather tightly. He gently pushed your head back up so you would look at him. He dabbed at the tears rolling down your face with his shirt sleeve. 

“You’re fine. It’s fine, just breathe with me. Come on, Y/N, let’s just breathe.” 

“Than-thank you,” you said with shallow breath.

Your eyes went wide when Ms. Jenn called you up for your individual audition song. Ricky patted your shoulders and gave you a smile. 

“Go get ‘em, Wildcat.”

You looked at the cast list after auditions with not much feeling. Everyone else came up after you and left before you. Ricky started to follow before turning around to see you were walking away from everyone. He thought about calling your name but thought it wouldn’t be a good idea. Instead, Ricky just followed you for a bit while keeping a distance. He looked down when his phone vibrated in his hand. 

“Ricky,” you sniffled into the phone. 

“Yes?” 

The voice sounded a bit too loud to be coming just from the phone. You turned to see him behind you. He almost grunted when you practically crashed into him, throwing your head on his chest. Ricky patted your back as best as he could with your backpack in the way. You pulled away from him a little.

“Ensemble, again. I don’t even get a character name.” 

“There has to have been a mistake. There’s no way yo—” 

“Can we just get smoothies?” 

“Of course.” 

Ricky placed both his hands on your shoulders and guided you out of the school.

(part 6)

THIS FIC TAGLIST:

@mishtay​ 

PERMANENT TAGLIST:

@venomsvl @peaches-n-sunscreen @summerellaz @supernaturallover2002 @sambucky8 @9daykrisr @thebitchinleo @23victoria @scarlets-widow @pagetpagetpagetpaget @lovexnatasha @awesomebooklover17 @1234-angelika @imatrisk @blackreaderatrisk @princess-jules47 @alexloveskili @a-marie-a @siriuslysirius1107 

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts fic #ricky bowen x reader

[onlyzhuyilong]

“Our characters are very complicated and are put under a lot of challenges. The whole story (of Lost In The Stars) is exquisitely interesting and enigmatic.” - Zhu Yilong

“The plot was a real head-scratcher with a lot of twists and turns. It will keep you guessing to the end.” -NiNi

[消失的她] Lost In The Stars Leads: NiNi & Zhu Yilong @ Beijing international film festival 2023 x

#zhu yilong #朱一龙 #NiNi #倪妮 #lost in the stars #beijing international film festival #stand by for the queue #NiNi was serving looks 🤌🏽🤌🏽🤌🏽 absolutely stunning #my gifs #you know what is also exquisitely interesting and enigmatic? …ZYL 😔

[stormkobra-5]

Unexpected, Part 1

Poe Dameron x Stormtrooper!Reader

Summary: You're just an average stormtrooper, known as ZA-6721-- although your friends call you Zay. You're a good, loyal member of the crew aboard the Star Destroyer Colonizer, although you're on the lowest rankings possible-- though you and your notoriously incapable crew are now being given the ultimate opportunity: you're assigned to guard the infamous Poe Dameron, who you may or may not have a bit of a crush on.

This story involves a flustered reader, one hot as fuck superstar Poe, and a bumbling stormtrooper clique where the guys sound like surfers and the girls have Beverly Hills accents-- except for reader, unless you do, and then I can't stop you

A/N: So. I've never done a comedy fic. Most of my stuff is fluffy or serious, there's no in-between. And yes. It was loosely based off of the stormtrooper dancing video after I seen a gif and had to find it: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=video&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwiqo7Tn37_3AhXmg3IEHWxQDeEQtwJ6BAgKEAI&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DiyqfHvoUtkU&usg=AOvVaw0-P4g6wNgJbqw6PkpYI5DO

Warnings: This story is rated 14+ for strong/coarse language, some innuendos, and suggestive themes/references.

______________________________________________________________

"Oh my Maker. You're kriffing joking."

"I am so not, Zay," NI-6720 (Or, Nini) says emphatically, slamming her hands down on the table. "It's totally true. They're bringing him here!" In very un-stormtrooper-like behavior, she unleashes some kind of giggling squeal and kicks her legs under the table to try and let off some excited steam.

"Oh my Maker. Oh my Maker." You say, because apparently just saying it once is too little to express your great amount of sheer elation. Your hands are moving around like a posh woman trying to straighten her gown, but you're in your armor, lessening the effect. Your next words (which aren't different at all from your previous two sentences) come out in a strained wheeze. "Oh my Maker."

The Poe Dameron. The hottest, best pilot in the whole kriffing galaxy, has been captured, and he's being brought to your ship. Well, not yours. The Star Destroyer you work on. The Colonizer. But it's not like that's important. What's important is that you've got his Wanted! 2 million galactic credit bounty! poster hung up in your private dorm. So does Nini. So does your other pal, BZ-6719 (or Beezee)(Of course, you take them down when inspection time comes around, 'cause that'd look bad on your records). Hell, even the boys, KO-6722 (Koka) and LV-6723 (Levy), will admit that he's hotter than a trek through the Sandsea of Tattooine while in full armor!

"Poe Dameron. Is gonna be on this ship."

"I haven't even told you the best part," Nini adds, practically squealing. "All the prison guard squadrons are, like, out of commission or something. So guess what we get to do."

The realization hits you like a blaster hilt to the face. "Oh my Maker. You're kriffing kidding me right now."

"I am so not, Zazy."

You and Nini link hands across the table and together, you unleash a squeal unlike any squeal a fangirl has ever uttered.

So, a bit of backstory: around the Colonizer-- or any ship, or any base, or anywhere the First Order is in the whole galaxy-- you and your squadron (led by Koka) have a reputation. Whether it be sanitation, battle, mechanics, it doesn't matter. Whatever it is...

You can't do it.

Like, at all.

You've been somewhat-officially dubbed the "Klutz Crew." You've blown up whole TIE hangars by accident. You've disabled whole planetary shields and broadcasted the location of a secret base. You somehow managed to flunk getting AT-M6 walkers down to a planet's surface and ended up ending the First Order's campaign there. Captain Phasma herself has put you through rigorous exercises to determine your loyalties, but it turns out you're just idiots.

Okay, so not idiots. You really are trying your best. But you guys are clumsy as fuck and it doesn't matter how hard you try, you're eternally causing problems. Eventually, the Klutz Crew was put on standby, stationed on the Colonizer. You've been ordered to do absolutely nothing except be ready for anything, which means, for you guys, sleeping in, working out, and marching around in your armor like you know what you're doing. You've been living the life.

And now Poe Dameron is being brought here. Your crush-of-crushes. The guy you go on and on about on your private, secret blog on the holonet, about how brave and handsome he is. You have a blog dedicated to solely writing fanfic about the hotshot pilot of the Resistance, ranging from fluff to smut and you give no fucks.

Correction: you gave no fucks.

Now you're giving all the fucks.

Because how the hell are you supposed to be professional and menacing if when you look at him all you're gonna be thinking of is your 6k smutty fic you have yet to finish? Dear Maker.

"Kriffing kriff, Nini," You put your helmeted head in your hands. "What the fuck-- aren't they concerned?"

"About putting their, like, absolute worst stormtroopers in charge of guarding the greatest. Pilot. EVer?" Nini giggles to herself. "Who cares, girlfriend?! We get to see Poe Damn-eron!" She reaches across the table to give you a high-five, which you happily return-- you might be worried about approaching Poe Dameron, but hey, at least you'll get to see him, right?

Nini stands up, dragging you with her. "Come on! We gotta get to cell 5-968 in twenty minutes!"

It isn't a long journey, especially since you two are running and the elevators are in perfect working order. Koka, Levy, and Beezee are already there waiting for you. When she sees you coming, Beezee squeals excitedly, which is continued and amplified by Nini.

"Oh boy..." Koka grumbles.

"Chill," Levy urges, gesturing for the three of you to line up with him and Koka.

Koka straightens up, trying to seem all-important. "Okay guys: this is the chance of a lifetime. We do this right, and we might get promoted. We might go from the 'Klutz Crew' to... Um... Something cool."

Levy shakes a hand, thumb and pinky extended and his three middle fingers folded against his palm. "Hear that? We're gonna get promoted, dudes."

Okay.

Maybe Levy is kind of an idiot.

But you guys love him anyway.

Koka sighs heavily, shaking his head. "I said we might get promoted, Levy."

"Oh. Whoops."

Noise outside of the hall makes all five of you go ram-rod straight, at attention immediately. With thudding metallic footsteps, Captain Phasma herself rounds the corner with a regiment of stormtroopers. Of course, all stormtrooper armor is identical without any outward designation, but the helmet's vision automatically shows identifications above people's heads like a video game.

Hence why Captain Phasma immediately groans, halting in her tracks to address the commanding officer of the Colonizer, who is overseeing the transaction, and who you honestly can't remember the name of. "You're putting those fools in charge of something as important as this?"

The man cowers and yet tries to retain his dignity. You and your crew are watching out of the corners of your eyes, not daring to outright look at them. "Y-yes Captain. Th-they're all we have."

"All you have? On a Star Destroyer this size?" Phasma elicits a low growl of frustration. It's not really up to her: her orders were to bring Dameron here, which has been done, and from there it's all up to the commanding officer of the Colonizer. You've never felt so smug that someone made a stupid decision. "Very well. Just remember that Kylo Ren is watching very closely, Ecklett." Over her shoulder she says, "Bring the prisoner!"

Butterflies swirl in your stomach. Beezee jumps a bit on her heels, then remembers her place when Phasma starts to glance over. Once again, you're all frozen and still as statues. Very still, very professional statues. Unconvinced, Phasma steps aside to allow for the passage of the two stormtroopers holding the legendary pilot by his arms. A bag is over his head, which seems entirely unnecessary to you, but, whatever.

You're too busy internally fangirling. Oh my Maker. That's him. That's Poe Dameron. All my life has led to this very moment. I'm seeing Poe Dameron. Oh Maker. If it weren't for the fact that you'd probably be shot on the spot, you'd have fainted by now just from being in the presence of him. You recognize his trademark leather jacket with the red accents. His dark canvas pants (nice ass, by the way). His kriffing shirt. On his body. In front of you. Right now. It's a dream come true.

He struggles against the stormtroopers restraining him and boy, are you invested like you're watching a nature documentary. You feel like you're witnessing something rare and amazing, like a Zalorian rock-lion or something. In awe, all five of you turn to stare regardless of protocol as he's taken into the cell. The hood is yanked off, and you briefly-- just briefly-- catch a glimpse of his face. It's enough to send shivers up your spine. Good lord.

The stormtroopers depart under Captain Phasma's threatening glare, and she follows after with one final warning to Ecklett, who turns to face you guys with as stern an expression as he can muster. Which, he's short and sickly, so it's pretty hard to be intimidated by him.

"If anything happens," Ecklett warns, "You'd better count on more than just reprogramming! You'll be dishonorably discharged, exiled, banished!"

"All at once?" Koka asks tentatively. "Or is that in order of event?"

"Idiots!" Ecklett cries, and waves a finger in Koka's face. "Heed my warning, you bafoons, else you'll regret it!"

As he storms off, you five are left snickering and sniggering amongst yourselves. "Did he just say 'bafoons'?" Beezee giggles behind her hand.

"Who the hell even says that anymore?" Koka guffaws.

"Ecklett, apparently," Levy answers with a snort. "Alright: who's gonna go in there first?"

"Go in there?" Koka repeats, appalled and mildly interested-- he's always going on and on about how Poe would make a damn good TIE pilot, and you're pretty fucking positive he liked your smutty Poe fanfics on his own secret blog, but he's never outright said anything. He gives a couple of exaggerated scoffs, as if the thought is unthinkable. "We can't go in there."

There's a brief silence until Nini suggests, "Well... um... we, like... should take his gag off at least?"

"...I'll allow that," Koka "relents." "That's cool I guess. But who's gonna do it?" There's more silence when everybody's hands pop up to volunteer. "...Let's draw straws."

"We don't have straws, doofus," You point out.

"Oh. Right. Votes?"

Levy scoffs under his breath. "I dunno 'bout you, dude, but I'm gonna vote for me."

"Why don't you go, Zazy?" Nini suggests, and your heart can't decide if it wants to sink or float.

"M-me?"

"You're our local Dameron expert, man," Levy says, gesturing at you lazily. "Why not?"

"Kriff," You squeak, stunned. You hand Beezee your blaster, taking a deep breath to try and prepare yourself for meeting Poe Dameron face-to-face. Just don't think about smut. It's easy. Just pretend the mere concept of getting railed doesn't exist.

Oh Maker. I'm never gonna survive this.

"Good luck, bestie!"

With a shaking hand, you open the door.

There he is. He's somehow caterpillar-crawled to the hard, cold bench on the other end of the cell, and he turns to look at you with a growl of anger and a couple of muffled curses.

He’s bleeding from a cut on his forehead, and he's honestly pretty banged up. You feel kinda bad for him. Honestly, what did anybody do in this war? Can't we all just be friendly? These thoughts are never voiced outside of your crew. But seeing how Dameron's been beat up puts a knot in your stomach. You glance back at your crew for assurance, and each and every one of them lines up to block the door as it closes, keeping careful watch.

You turn back to face Dameron, who's watching you with those big brown eyes warily. You raise your hands, showing you don't have any weapons. "I'm not gonna hurt you. Promise. Can I come closer? Take your bonds off?"

Reluctantly, he nods, so you hurry up as fast as you can without making any sudden movements, undoing his gag first. He works his perfect jaw as you undo the stuncuffs on his wrists, and then lays there for a second to orient himself. Automatically, you reach for the wound on his head, but his hand snaps out fast as a viper and halts you in your tracks.

You freeze up immediately. Oh my kriffing fuck he's grabbing my wrist. Poe fucking Dameron is grabbing my wrist. Hell he has a tight fucking grip. Then you realize he probably thinks you're gonna do him harm. You try to remedy the situation. "Oh! No-- I'm not gonna hurt you! I-- uh, here--" He stiffly lets go of you so that you can reach into your pocket, and you bring out a medical spray that will help his injuries heal. Feeling the need to show him that it's legit, you pull off your glove, draw your knife and cut your finger, and then spray a little bit on the wound. You look at him hopefully. "See? I told you I'm not gonna hurt you."

He sinks to the floor, completely exhausted. You feel even worse for him now, and over the coarse of several minutes you tend to his wounds with the medical spray. For a brief respite of clear-mindedness, you realize that you're not thinking of him as the superstar of the Resistance, but as an injured man that requires assistance.

Then he talks, and it's all over for you. "What's your name?"

You've never heard a sexier voice. Deep, husky, good Maker, you've been blessed by the universe itself. You elicit some kind of squeaky giggle before you compose yourself and clear your throat. "ZA-6721."

"Huh?"

"Oh. Sorry. That's probably too long. I'm Zay. Zay. Yep."

"Zay-Zay?" Dameron asks in astonishment, and you squeak again.

"Eep. Nope. Just Zay. Or Zazy. It's what my friends call me."

Too late. Dameron's clearly exhausted, and he begins to doze off right on the floor. You'd be lying if you said your heart didn't start racing when he mumbled, "Nice to meet you, Zay-Zay..."

You don't even squeal this time. He looks so sad and alone here, and you wonder what he even did to deserve a beating like this. Awkwardly, you pat the uninjured part of his head. "...I'll bring you some food later, 'k?"

You practically skip out of the room, where your friends are waiting anxiously and immediately bombard you with a slew of questions.

"Well? Did he say anything?"

"Was he, like, as handsome as all his posters?"

"Was he as sexy as everybody says?"

"Dude, was he bleeding?"

Your answer to all of those questions and more is a dreamy sigh. You might as well have heart eyes stuck to the outside of your visor. There's a brief silence before Koka says, "Uh-oh."

Levy reaches over and pokes your helmet, but you only sigh again, in shock. "Dude, they've got it bad."

Beezee says with mock worry, "First-hand exposure to Damn-eron? We'll be lucky if they survive this."

"He misheard me," You sigh, "He called me Zay-Zay."

"Oh boy," Koka grumbles as your friends collectively aw, and you sigh dreamily again.

~~~

"S'up dudes," Levy says as he enters the hallway where you're all positioned. You've been guarding Poe Dameron for three days, and so far, aside from you guys, no one has come calling on him or has been in his cell. You've given him food, water, and have tended his injuries, and he's spoken to all of you kindly-- he's actually quite nice for a renowned criminal-- although you're the only one that's introduced yourself to him.

On one shoulder, Levy carries a boombox.

"Dude." Koka gestures at him in question. "What the hell, man. We have a job to do, man."

"Yeah, but who says we can't celebrate?" Levy challenges as he sets it down, pressing a button; upbeat music starts blasting from it. "We're alone up here, man. Nobody's gonna know."

"Um," Beezee glances nervously at you and Nini. "Like, what are we celebrating...?"

"Our three days of totally handling this," Levy sets his blaster down, and before you know it, everybody's (even Koka's) has joined the pile. You guys line up. Sure, working out and marching around took up a lot of your guys' time before you were assigned to guide Poe Dameron, but you guys had also spent a lot of it perfecting your rad dance routines.

In perfect sync, the five of you dance like you're an average group at a club, laughing and having a grand old time. Except, none of you notice the fact that obviously someone hacked the systems, because the cell door pops open, completely silenced by the bass of your boombox. Your backs are turned when Poe tentatively steps out, eyes widening with surprise when he finds you guys jamming out with surprisingly good moves. He's even a little impressed.

He takes a second to admire you five-- the stormtroopers with hearts and souls of solid gold despite how badly you're treated by everybody else. The doors aren't exactly soundproof; Poe had heard word-for-word the lot of you comforting Nini (although he doesn't know her name) when she'd been hit in the back of the head with the butt of a blaster for no discernible reason other than violence. He hears you talking about how relieved you all are that you haven't seen useless battle yet, that you wish everybody could just be happy. Poe knows that if he presented you five with the right opportunity, you'd join the Resistance without a second thought. Especially you.

He can tell which one you are even out of all the identical stormtrooper armor sets. You're the one that helped him first, that cut your own hand to prove to him that you meant no harm. Zay-Zay.

Poe knows your designation and your given name, but his misheard interpretation of your name stuck. Until he started calling you that, he'd never seen a giddy stormtrooper. It was kind of cute. And then you'd taken off the helmet when he'd asked you to, had had a conversation with him-- mostly, you asked him questions. About the galaxy, about different planets and animals, but nothing about the Resistance. You're curious like a child, with an infectious sort of happiness that always seems to transfer to those around you, him included.

But he's lingered in the doorway too long, because when your little group turns around, you all freeze. Poe swears there's a record scratch as one of you (Levy) trips on the boombox and lands flat on his face, unmoving in the sudden silence. Poe is frozen in the doorway. The rest of you are frozen in mid-move. One of you (Nini) slowly says, "O," enunciating the letter itself, "M," and Poe takes this as his cue to take off-- he knows that none of you will grab your blasters.

"You guys are great. You should become professional dancers, you'd kill." Then he takes off, and the five of you are scrambling to catch him-- well, four of you. Levy's still stunned.

That number dwindles to three as Koka, too eager to catch him, slips on a puddle of oil (caused by Beezee and Levy having a shooting contest down the hall and busting some wiring) and slams into a wall, whereas Poe leapt over it and continued on with a worried glance as Koka stunned himself, falling to the ground in a daze.

Beezee tries to tip-toe around the puddle, but you and Nini leap clear over it and continue to give chase. Nini, however, trips on a mouse droid and sprains her ankle with a cry, leaving only you to catch Poe.

No pressure.

Just when you're a hair's breadth away, you launch yourself toward him, intending to tackle him--

--but you fall short. You land so hard stomach-first that the breath is knocked out of you.

Great. Wonderful. We're going to be exiled. Banished. Reprogrammed. Disposed of.

You hate it here, in the First Order. All of you do. But you've spent your whole lives as faulty stormtroopers. Who would want anything to do with you? Where would you go? And now you're going to be punished for not serving a cause well that you'd never even signed up to join.

At least, Poe escaped before he fell to some twisted torture. An opportunity the five of you will never have. You'd be lying if you said you didn't sniffle a little.

A pair of hands in your vision surprises you, and you're even more surprised when Poe himself helps you to your feet. You stare at him for a second, shocked. He doesn't let go of your hands, allowing you to squeeze them in surprise. "W-what are you--"

Poe gives you an assuring nod and a small smile. "It's alright, Zay-Zay."

You have no idea what the hell he's talking about until he's stunned from behind, dropping like a stone. You try to catch him and ease his fall, which only earns you scoffs of disapproval from your superior officers, dressed all in black.

Over the next couple of days, all five of you are demoted. Poe is interrogated. A new group of stormtroopers arrive to guard him properly. And the five of you enter a gray area of sullen silence when you're told you're going to be sent elsewhere.

Again.

With heavy hearts, you pack your bags and wonder what backwater base you'll be sent to now, what you'll screw up which will have you moving again before you've even unpacked your bags. The poster of Poe Dameron seems haunting now, and you can only hear him saying "It's alright, Zay-Zay." For all you know, those could've been his last coherent words.

You're boarding the tiny transport when you see an officer coming up the ramp out of the corner of your eye. The five of you stand at attention for a minute... until you realize who the officer is.

Clad in the crisp gray uniform and black leather boots and gloves, it's Poe Dameron himself. His wounds and signs of beatings are gone, his hair is freshly-washed, the dark curls slicked back. You and your buddies look at each other in confusion as Commander Poe Dameron jerks his chin at your group. "Guess they don't trust me very much yet. I'm being sent the same place you guys are-- though it'll be nice to have people I know there with me."

As the ramp closes, his hands gravitate to his hips. "I'll be your commanding officer, so I'll need to know your names."

After a moment more of confusion, Koka straightens up again and begins reciting his designation before Poe stops him. "No no-- your names. What do you call each other?"

There's more hesitation between you, until he stammers out in response, "I-I'm Koka. This is Levy, Nini, Beezee, and you know Zay."

Poe Dameron looks upon you with something akin to pride. None of you know it yet, but he's impressed by the humanity of you five, and has already decided to ask you all to join the Resistance.

After he's done with his mission, of course.

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

Thanks for reading!

I chose the taglist based off of my other posts/asks, but if anyone wants to be added/removed, please let me know!

Taglist:

@poeticsorcery

@dameronsknight

@ahookedheroespureheart

@simonsbluee

@seninjakitey

@jedinerd27

@simonsbluee

@adamcarlsenslvr

@bluestuesday

#poe dameron #poe dameron x reader #stormtroopers #star wars #star wars fic #oscar isaac #may the fourth

[victoria-writes]

Pls ur are like the only person who writes for all saints street I’m begging for more

Ask and you shall receive! Sorry this took so long. It was sitting in my drafts for forever

Bad First Impression, Lynn Angel x Reader (Gender-Neutral)

Word Count: 1,706 Summary: Your first time meeting Lynn doesn’t go very smoothly.  

Read it on AO3 too

When you first met him, you thought he had a stick up his ass. 

You had been friends with Niel and Ira for a while. You’d met online while playing a video game together. After a while, the three of you started hanging out irl. Turns out you had a lot in common with them. You loved animals like Nini and would visit the shop he worked at. You’d play video games with them online. You even guest starred in one of Ira’s streams. Soon enough, the three of you were attached at the hip. One day, as the three of you wandered between shops, an idea came to mind.

“You should come over to our flat sometime”, said Ira in between slurps of his blood boba.

“Sure! I’d love to.” 

The next time the three of you met, you did exactly that. 

“Wooow your apartment’s so big!”

“Let us give you the grand tour”, said Nini excitedly.

First stop was Nini’s room. With a nostalgic smile on his face and his hands on his hips, Ira told you about how he gave it a “hell makeover” for him when he first moved in. Nini’s face scrunches up at the memory. 

After that, the three of you go room by room. You meet Damao and Abu. They both introduce themselves and chat with you for a bit, just basic small talk. The three of you head downstairs to the living room afterwards. It was video game time. You spend a few hours playing game after game, mario kart, street fighter, you name it. Time flew and it had been hours. You hadn’t even realized it was so late until the front door opened. 

Low and behold, there he was. Blonde hair, big white wings, sweatervest, suitcase in hand, and a scrunched up face. Niel and you both turned to face him while Ira kept his eyes on the TV screen, both of his feet propped up on the coffee table. 

“Oh, hi Mr. Lynn. Y/N this is Mr. Lynn. He’s our roommate and superintendent”, Niel said.

“Nice to meet you-”

“No guests after midnight. You should leave. Ira, take your feet off of the coffee table.”, Lynn said coldly, cutting you off before you could finish greeting him. 

“This place is a mess”, he mutters under his breath, loud enough for the three of you to hear. 

Ira slowly took his feet off of the table with a wide-eyed look.

“Is it already that late? Sorry, Mr. Lynn!”, Niel sheepishly replied. “Oh, I didn’t know that was a rule”, you said.

“It is. Please clean up the mess you made and leave”, Lynn’s stern voice hits your ears. He walks into his room and closed the door before you could say anything else.

“Sorry about that, Y/N. Mr. Lynn can be pretty strict about the flat rules”.

“Yeah, he’s not the nicest person when we break them”, Ira says as he puts his feet back up on the coffee table, but not before sparing a glance towards Lynn’s room. 

“It’s fine. It’s late and I should get going anyway. Thanks for inviting me over”, you say as you gather your things and clean up the bags of snacks scattered all over the table. You couldn’t deny you were a bit annoyed by the way Lynn had told you to leave so rudely. Niel grabs the the empty drink containers and throws them into the trash can.

“Sorry for keeping you so late. You’re welcome over any time”, Niel says nervously as he walks you to the front door.

“Yeah, mate, come over soon so I can kick your ass in smash bros again”, Ira gives a lazy wave from his spot on the couch.

You say your goodbyes and head home.

You felt awkward coming over again after that encounter. Niel and Ira told you that Lynn was usually busy and out of the apartment, but still. Niel insisted that Lynn really wasn’t that bad and that you should give him a chance. The next few times you hang out with Niel and Ira it’s at your apartment or places around town. Discord chats consisting of

“Hey, Y/N, wanna come over and play smash?” “I was actually gonna do some shopping downtown. Wanna join me?” “Sure”

“Yeah”

And 

“VR at our place??” “Sure, but how about we grab a bite to eat first?”.

Those “quick bite to eat”s would turn into chatting in a ramen shop for hours until it was too late to come over. You didn’t always do it on purpose! You swore it was a coincidence, but a part of you was glad. 

Eventually, your excuses would run out, like today.

“Y/N!! Come over and have dinner with us! We’re having hot pot :3”

You read the text chat and mull it over for a minute. Damn you, love of hot pot! You folded, like a chair. 

“Sure what time” Niel gives you the details and you come over. You’re not even halfway through the front door when the smell hits you. It’s heavenly. Maybe because Lynn threw in some special angel seasoning. 

“Hey, guys! Woah, food smells great”.

“Y/N! Thanks for coming!”, Niel smiles as he gives you a hug.

“Hey, Y/N. Glad you could make it”, Ira gives you a side hug once Niel’s done with his.

You take off your shoes and follow them into the dining room. The table is covered with plates of food with a huge hot pot in the center. The characters around the table are just as colorful, with some you haven’t met yet. You greet Abu and Damao. 

“You must be Y/N! Nice to meet you! I’m Lily. I like your outfit!”, a young blonde-haired angel enthusiastically shakes your hand. 

“Nice to meet you too. Thank you”, you reply nervously, not having expected the compliment. 

“Lily is my sister. It occurred to me that I never properly introduced myself. I apologize. I’m Lynn. It’s nice to meet you.”, Lynn awkwardly sticks out his hand for you to shake. It seems like he felt a bit guilty for scolding you last time. 

“No worries. It’s nice to meet you too”, you say with a smile as you shake his hand. 

It’s not exactly an apology, but hey, you’ll take what you can get. You did still break the rules after all (even thought you didn’t know about them beforehand). He seems to relax at this and cracks a small smile. That is, until he hears a familiar voice.

“Oh my god. Where have they been hiding you?”, a thick Australian accent hits your ears, but the voice is too deep to be Niel’s. An arm slings around your shoulder. Looking up, you see a demon with dark hair and red horns smiling at you.

“You’re gorgeous. My name’s Nick, but you can call me any time”, he says with a wink.

“Oh, uh, hi”.

“Nick, you weren’t invited. What are you doing here?”, Lynn calls out irritated. 

“Lynn! I’m offended!” “Then you should leave”

“I’ll forgive you if the apology is food”

“You’re not having dinner with us. I only made enough for- hey!” Nick pulls Lynn into a tight side hug, “Don’t worry about cooking more for me. I’ll survive”.

Lynn is getting more irriated by the second as Nick squishes him. 

“Go away, Nick”, Niel chimes in.

You look at him surprised. You’ve never seen Neil so annoyed before. He has such a gloomy aura about him…scary.

Nick gasps dramatically, “Et tu, Neil? So much for family love!”.

“You guys are family?”, you question.

“No”, Neil instantly replies. 

“Neil hasn’t told you about me? I’m his older brother.”, Nick ignores his comment. 

“Half-brother”, you hear Neil mutter. 

“I’m a very loving and nurturing figure in his life. I’m a provider. I provide.”, he smiles at you. The message is clear, “I can provide FOR YOU. You can swoon now.”. You’ve clearly bewitched him with your awkward, slouched figure. That or he’s a playboy. You’ll go with option B. 

“Oh, that’s very… nice of you”, you say slowly.

“Except he’s lying”, Neil spits out hatefully as he crosses his arms.  “We should grab another chair for Nick!”, Lily’s cheery voice cuts through the tension, like a butter knife. 

 Before anyone can stop him, Damao goes into the living room and returns with a chair that doesn’t match any of the others at the table. Whether he was as naive as Lily or if he just wanted the arguing to be over is anyone’s guess. 

Everyone takes a seat. Lynn, Lily, and Neil sit next to each other on one side of the table. Neil looks ecstatic about sitting next to Lily but Lynn looks like he wants to decapitate him. It doesn’t help that across from him is Nick. Who, of course, chose to sit next to you. Damao also sits next to you. Abu and Ira sit at either end of the table. Lynn tosses some meat and vegetables to cook into the hot pot. Lily starts chatting happily about school and others start to chime into the conversation. 

“How about you?”, Lily asks her older brother. 

“Good. My professor said that my thesis has a good foundation but needs more research”, Lynn responds.

“Are you a grad student, Lynn?”, you question.

“Yes, I’m getting my phD in anthropology”.

“That’s great! I’m considering going to grad school too. What do you think of it so far?” “It’s hard work, but rewarding. This isn’t my first time attending a grad school.” “Oh?” “Yes, I have 107 phDs”

“What! 107? That’s insane! That’s so cool!”, you praise him.

His cheeks turn red at the compliment, “Ah, it’s really no big deal”.

“No big deal? One phD is crazy hard, but 107! That’s a huge deal”, you continue.

He’s cracked a rather large smile and is blushing harder than he has in years. Hearing you praise him makes him happy. It doesn’t help that he thinks you’re attractive, not that he would admit that. 

“Would you like more broth, Y/N?”, he offers.

“Yes, please”, you hand him your bowl. 

Maybe the two of you can get along after all. 

#lynn angel x reader #lynn angel / reader #lynn angel x Y/N #all saints street x reader #all saints street / reader #all saints street x Y/N #lynn angel #neil bowman #ira blood #damao #all saints street #nick hoult #abu #lily angel #wan sheng jie

[iammyownsaviour]

As you all know, the Femslash February event of this year is pretty close so I decided I’ll be taking prompts and posting them in my account on AO3 (@/ant1hero) and pseud sunkissed (ant1hero). Here’s the list of all the fandoms and ships I want to write next month, you can send me an anonymous or non anonymous inbox with your prompts and you can even say in the inbox, in case you have an AO3 account, if you want me to gift the fanfic to you!

FEMSLASH FEBRUARY 2023

FANDOMS & SHIPS

SEND ME PROMPTS!!

Wednesday

Wed & Enid

Wed & Bianca

Larissa & Morticia

The Selection

America & Celeste

America & Kriss

Celeste & Kriss

America & Fem!Aspen

Eadlyn & Fem!Kile

The 100

Clarke & Lexa

Clarke & Raven

Clarke & Octavia

Octavia & Raven

Octavia & Emori

Octavia & Lexa

Clarke & Fem!Bellamy

Clarke & Fem!Wells

Raven & Clarke & Octavia

Octavia & Clarke & Lexa

Hunger Games

Katniss & Johanna

Primrose & Rue

Katniss & Fem!Peeta

House of The Dragon

Rhaenyra & Alicent

Helaena & Rhaena

Rhaenyra & Fem!Aegon

Fem!Lucerys & Fem!Aemond

Stranger Things

El & Max

Robin & Nancy

Robin & Chrissy

El & Fem!Mike

Nancy & Fem!Jonathan

Max & El & Fem!Mike  

Star Wars

Padmé & Sabé

Jyn & Leia

Leia & Holdo

Rey & Rose

Rey & Connix

Padmé & Fem!Anakin

Sabé & Fem!Anakin

Leia & Fem!Luke

Leia & Fem!Han

Rey & Fem!Ben

Fem!Poe & Fem!Finn

Sabé & Padmé & Fem!Anakin

Fem!Poe & Fem!Finn & Rey

MCU

Kate & Yelena

Carol & Valkyrie

MJ & Shuri

Natasha & Maria Hill

Natasha & Carol

Natasha & Wanda

Natasha & Cap Carter

Carol & Cap Carter

MJ & SpiderGwen

Wanda & Christine (Earth 838)

Natasha & Fem!Clint

X-Men

Rogue & Kitty

Illyana & Dani

MCU & X-Men

Yelena & Illyana

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Toph & Katara

Adventure Time

Bubblegum & Marceline

SpyxFamily

Yor & Fiona

Yor & Fem!Loid

Yor & Fem!Loid & Fiona

Saiki Kusuo no Psi-nan

Teruhashi & Yumehara

Teruhashi & Rifuta

Cardcaptor Sakura

Sakura & Tomoyo

Sakura & Fem!Syaoran

Steven Universe

Peridot & Lapis

Pearl & Amethyst

Pearl & Bismuth

Pearl & Garnet

Pearl & Rose

Pearl & Lapis

Amethyst & Rose

Peridot & Amethyst

HSMTMTS

Nini & Gina

Ashlyn & Maddox

Ashlyn & Val

Nini & Maddox

Nini & Val

Val & Maddox

Gina & Kourtney

Skam

Noora & Eva

Eva & Vilde

Sana & Noora

Skins

Michelle & Cassie

Effy & Katie

Naomi & Effy

Mini & Franky

Ginny & Georgia

Ginny & Abby

Ginny & Fem!Marcus

That '70s Show

Donna & Jackie

Laurie/Jackie

Donna & Fem!Eric

That '90s Show

Leia & Gwen

Gwen & Nikki

The Wilds

Shelby & Toni

Leah & Fatin

Leah & Rachel

Leah & Nora

Dot & Fatin

Dot & Shelby

Doctor Who

Rose & Martha

Martha & Donna

Amy & Clara

Clara & Rose

Clara & River

Clara & Missy

Clara & Ashildr

Amy & Fem!Rory

Ashildr & Clara & Missy

OUAT

Emma & Regina

Mulan & Aurora

Belle & Red/Ruby

Regina & Red/Ruby

Regina & Belle

Emma & Red/Ruby & Regina

The Walking Dead

Amy & Beth

Andrea & Michonne

Andrea & Maggie

Teen Wolf

Lydia & Cora

Malia & Kira

Malia & Lydia

Allison & Erica

Erica & Cora

Lydia & Erica

Allison & Cora

Malia & Allison

Allison & Fem!Scott

Allison & Fem!Isaac

Lydia & Fem!Stiles

Cora & Fem!Stiles

Malia & Fem!Stiles

Fem!Stiles & Fem!Derek

Erica & Lydia & Cora

Malia & Lydia & Cora

Malia & Lydia & Allison

Harry Potter

Hermione & Fleur

Hermione & Ginny

Hermione & Pansy

Ginny & Fleur

Cho & Ginny

Cho & Fleur

Parvati & Pansy

Luna & Padma

Luna & Cho

Padma & Fleur

Lily & Petunia

Lily & Bellatrix

Lily & Narcissa

Lily & Molly

Lily & Pandora

Bellatrix & Petunia

Narcissa & Petunia

Narcissa & Astoria

Narcissa & Pansy

Rowena & Helga (Hogwarts Founders)

Leta & Tina (Fantastic Beasts)

Lily & Fem!James

Lily & Fem!Snape

Lily & Fem!Sirius

Bellatrix & Fem!Voldemort

Narcissa & Fem!Snape

Leta & Fem!Newt

Helga & Fem!Salazar

Rowena & Fem!Salazar

Hermione & Fem!Ron

Luna & Fem!Harry

Ginny & Fem!Harry

Ginny & Fem!Neville

Ginny & Fem!Tom Riddle

Fem!Harry & Fem!Draco

Hermione & Fleur & Ginny

#femslash february #femslash february 2023 #send me prompts #taking prompts #prompts #prompt #writing prompt #writing prompts #writing ideas #fanfiction #fanfic #fanfic writing #ao3 #archive of our own #fandom list #multifandom #ship list #femslash #femslash fanfic #femslash fanfiction #sapphic #sapphic fanfic #sapphic fanfiction #wlw #harry potter #asoiaf #marvel #teen wolf #doctor who #steven universe

[saw-x]

Honestly, it's weird because it seems more like elton is more concerned with 'losing' to Ricky again than he is with spending time with Gina.

BOOM YOU NAILED IT!!! gina was trying to include EJ in everything and instead of taking responsibility for not spending time with her, EJ tried to pin the blame on ricky for everything so he didn't have to admit his own faults 🥴

It's so wild to me because literally I think there have been intentional parallels drawn between Ricky and EJ in regards to their character development. I've spoken before about how they've shown that Ricky has learned from his mistakes with Nini and he is doing things differently. The opposite can be said about EJ. Literally they have paralleled pw to ej x nini in a few ways, and it seems like they have shown he is doing the same things all over again, because he never really took accountability for his mistakes. For example, him saying Gina was a star was the exact same thing he said to Nini in s1 and in both break up scenes the girls try to explain the issues and he shifts all the blame onto Ricky.

Like he needs to take a look inwards and see that he is the problem not Ricky.

#asks #rina #ricky x gina

[nisuna]

I'm thinking about broadening my writing horizon soooo...

#nini's poll♡ #csm smut #csm x reader #aki x reader #aki smut #aki hayakawa smut #aki hayakawa x reader #hayakawa aki smut #hayakawa aki x reader #hsr smut #hsr x reader #honkai star rail smut #honkai star rail x reader #jing yuan smut #jing yuan x reader #blade smut #blade x reader #hsr blade smut #genshin smut #genshin impact smut #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #thoma smut #thoma x reader #ayato smut #ayato x reader #kamisato ayato smut #kamisato ayato x reader #al haitham x reader #al haitham smut

[livelaughlovesubs]

Nini nini hate fuck with either blade or dan heng pls I beg 🥺💝

I finished this some days ago and it got deleted- also it’s unnecessarily long, and I’m not sure if it’s good… hope you like it anyway 😭😭

Dom!reader x sub!blade (reader is gender neutral)

Warning: pegging (can be read as a dick), chocking, slapping (once), degrading, rough sex, blood (hand injury)

Riiiip

The sound of bandage being ripped.

Blade wrapped his hand with the white cloth, biting one end to tied the other end around it. Slowly the pure colour got tainted with his blood, a crimson colour spreading and seeking though the fabric. He sighed, staring at his own hand with a distaste on his tongue, before glancing at the door. Heavy footsteps could be made out from the other side. Loud and hectic, stomping even. You must have noticed his arrival.

It was just as he predicted. Moments after he finished treating his injury the door got slammed open, a loud bang as the door hit the wall. Your figure stood in the frame, stopping, not entering his chamber. Instead you glared at him and scanned the situation. He instantly noticed how your gaze lingered around his injured hand, and how you were frowning. The man chose to not elaborate, hence you two were holding a starring contest. After a while you closed the door behind you and walked over to him, grabbing his wrist and yelled, “now do you care to explain?”

He knew exactly why you were so angry, but that doesn’t mean he understood it. Not giving him any time to explain himself, something he wouldn’t have done anyway, you continued your nagging, “why do you have to keep going on dangerous missions alone? I can’t reach you at all! It’s not like you use your phone after all.” You stopped for a second, still holding his wrist while he avoided your gaze, gritting your teeth in anger. With an impatient tone you said, “I’m waiting for an answer.”

If it were up to blade, then you could wait until the sun sets. He wasn’t a man of many words, and he didn’t believe he had to tell you everything. That was if it was up to him, because he knew it would get worse if he doesn’t say anything. With his usual deep voice, he uttered, “I wanted to practice.” This was the best excuse he could think of, practicing his sword. It was reasonable, no? “Practice? It’s more like you wanted to get hurt.” “Not get hurt, I wanted to..” he didn’t really want to say ‘die’ in this context, and you didn’t pursue it any further neither. You sighed at him, followed by a rough push from your hands. The male fell backwards, now laying on his back, stabilising himself with his hands.

“Lay down.” You ordered, and yanked the arm with the injured hand away, you didn’t want him to keep using that hand so much. The spot where his hand was has been tainted red. He glanced at you hesitatingly, his dark blue bangs almost covered his entire face. Soon he obeyed your command and laid on his back, you were still raising his arm up into the air. “Keep it raised.” Once again, you gave him another cold order. How did it escalate to this? He was pretty sure he knew what you were going to do, yet he didn’t mind. Just then his speculations were correct, and you pulled his pants down.

He smirked, it was a mocking one, as if he was laughing at you. At this sudden unexpected change in atmosphere. After a bit he asked with a challenging tone, “did the sight of me hurt turn you on?” You knew he was playing now, so why not join in? “Have you finally decided to speak, now that I’m in your pants?” Your hands grabbed his knees, raising them to his chest and folding him apart. It wasn’t about doing him a favour, so you just proceeded to manhandle him, making him spread his legs for you. “So eager, aren’t you? Give me a break.” Blade said, but he allowed you to do whatever you wanted without resisting. Without giving him any glances, you replied “Same goes to you.”

Even though you two shared such a foul mouthed conversation, the advances you did on him continued. Then you stood up, walked around the room for a bit and came back with a bottle of lube. The blue haired man looked at you awkwardly and waited, feeling a little stupid at the situation in front of him. As soon as you came back, you started working on his abdomen. Opening the bottle, squeezing some of the lube onto his half erect shaft. The cold liquid made him flinch slightly, and he frowned as he watched you keep coating him with that slippery fluid. It flowed all the way down to his hole, and his rim clenched. What a roundabout way to prepare him, he thought you were being unnecessarily childish.

With one of your fingers, you sloppily spread the contents of the bottle around his lower body. Somehow the mood was getting heavier with every second and he didn’t know what to say, until your little comments returned. “Getting exited, little pervert?” You also coated your own dick with the lube, before lining it up with his entrance. “So much that you stopped talking, cat got your tongue?” He wasn’t going to let you go away with that, or at least that’s what he planned. Instead of coming up with a snarky remark he had to bite his lip to stop a moan erupting from his throat.

“Gu-Mhn..! You- fuck..” his eyes widened a little, and he was furrowing his brows even more than before. You sticked it in without some proper preparation, and it caught him off guard. Since you used a lot of lube, the tip still slipped in, but the rest was starting to get difficult. He wanted to curse at you, yet the words didn’t come out, so he just hold it and glared at you. If you didn’t know him you’d think he wants you dead, even so you weren’t pleased by that, so you chuckled, “not with those eyes, bladie. I’m sure your hole can take it, after I fucked it so good last time.” “Shut up- ugHh..! You.. shit.” Suddenly his hand reached out to you. You didn’t know what he was trying to do, which is why you grabbed his arm and kept it in place. His hand was now in the air, some blood drops were dripping onto his belly.

“Keep your pawns to yourself.” You had such an annoying smile while you said that, especially so while you pushed the rest of your length in. “UHh..! Mhm-nGghH..” the male was still trying his best to keep quiet, making some grunts and groans on the way. Fuck, if this was under normal circumstances you wouldn’t be able to keep his hand still like this, he was sure he was stronger. Though this wasn’t a normal situation, with you inside him, spreading him open with your cock. It was strange but he felt a little vulnerable, and so hot.

Sweat was forming on his skin, face turning redder by the second. It must be because he just came back from a mission, he is tired, thats why he is feeling all this heat. He blinked, closing his eyes to focus on the feeling, noticing his heart rate going up and body twitch each time you touch him. When he opened his eyes again you were inches away from his face, startling him a little. With a gentle whisper, unlike your tone before, you mumbled into his ear, “you want to get hurt? I’ll make it hurt.”

The face of the male was crimson red now, matching the colour of his hand. He took a tad longer to process the information, and you didn’t give him that moment. You started moving without giving him a warning, hips snapping against his at an already rough pace. “Ugh-uUugGh..!! Wa-waAaaiit.., oh- fuck, fuck. It mhm.. hurts.” Blade clenched his fists, more red coated his tummy. You slowed down a little, intertwining your fingers with his injured hand, not minding the blood sticking to your palms. Then you resumed to your previous movements, pounding into him like there’s so tomorrow.

The switched between your gentleness and relentless actions made his head spin. He really tried to keep the noise down but to no avail. Without him noticing you went down again to whisper more dirty things into his brain, like calling him degrading names. Blade wrapped his other hand over your neck, gasping and whining as you kept going, whispering as a begging voice, “please.. ah, haah..” “does it hurt?” He answered without thinking, “a-a bit.., uhhh..” to which you asked again, “do you hate it?”

Both of you knew what he would answer, and he didn’t want to cover up the truth as he uttered the words, “no, I love it.” That’s when the insulting really hit off, now that you were sure he enjoyed it too. “You really only go into fights because you’re a fucking masochist, aren’t you?” He shook his head, suddenly so expressive unlike before. “You sure you aren’t actually a male prostitute? Hmm blade? You fucking whore.” Even though you were calling him such hurtful name with such fever, he only felt hotter. The trust and the feeling of your dick rubbing against his walls was unreal, like a dream. And he wasn’t sure if it was a nightmare or not.

“Don’t you fucking dare leave like that again.” You said, panting a little too since you were still rutting into him like a damn animal. Despite all those hateful words, there was no way you actually hated him. You were angry because you cared, that’s all. And he knew it as well. Now your own hand looked like a grotesque mess, mixed with his and stuck to the bandages. He also didn’t feel pain anymore, or rather, it was because the pleasure was too overwhelming. It was all too much, from the way it rubbed against his deepest parts, to the fast pace you set. This felt so good he could cry.

When he still didn’t nod to your demand, you stopped holding his hand, they both instead reached out to his neck. The pale skin was now tainted red on one side. You squeezed down onto his trachea, watching his mouth hung open. “Did you understand me, blade?” He chocked, hand meekly reaching out to yours out of reflex. But he didn’t use any strength to keep you from suffocating him, only staring at you through his clouded vision. You thought you saw the corners of his mouth going upwards into a smile, and you watched his face get even redder. After a while you stopped, he immediately inhaled and panted. A bodily reaction, nothing he could control.

“I still haven’t gotten my answer.” You reminded him and started fucking into him again, at a slower pace. He trembled, his hole clenching around you even more now that you were moving so gently. It was way too late for that, after you’ve been so rough with him, no? Because now it’s not enough for him anymore, he needed you harder and deeper. Out of nowhere he felt a harsh slap on his cheek, causing him to shake. “Ah..” the male whimpered, eyes gazing up at you. You looked at him like he was vermin, akin to one would look at an insect. This alone caused a shiver to run down his spine and an uncomfortable twitch at his lower body.

He knew you wanted him to agree, but he didn’t want to, he wished to keep fulfil those missions on his own. This wasn’t something you could change, and he wasn’t willing to lie to you. Instead of answering your question, he grabbed your hand with his, and begged prettily. In a submissive tone, with a sweet pleading voice he said, “please, it’s not enough… I want you so deep inside me.” You noticed him spread his legs wider for you, and his injured hand being thrown over his mouth. Then he licked some of his own blood off.

You knew he won’t listen to you, after so many tries you knew. So instead of trying any longer, maybe you should go along with his request? Even if it leaves a bad taste on your tongue…

#sub character #sub!character #dom reader #dom!reader #sub hsr #sub honkai star rail #sub blade #blade x gender neutral reader #blade x you #blade star rail #blade honkai #blade hsr #hsr blade #blade x y/n #blade smut #blade x reader #blade hrs

[ofsweetness]

@lcstupstate​​​​ asked:

❛ X Me ❜ (ricky & nini ; family / future )  DRABBLE PROMPTS

(besties this is going to just go under the cut because it’s inordinately long, like over 2500 words long. i do hope you enjoy!)

richard michael bowen was always going to be a part of her family. nini had known it practically since they were six years old. that was when he’d gotten his name from her, ricky, after he gave her hers, nini, when they were five. it was something about them- the way they just clicked. the way they were defined, in a certain way, by how they saw one another at the start. a lot went on, had changed, had grown. they’d blossomed from childhood best friends to high school sweethearts that would so clearly never fall apart. nini salazar-roberts became nini (well- nina) bowen, though admittedly she started calling his father dad before the day she had their same last name. 

it was fate, that had brought them to this point, this fateful day where they’d officially seal their lifelong bond. but really- how new was that? he’s had her heart since middle school, if not earlier. no one else ever truly compared. or even came close. so to say they were already tethered for life before she signed the paper, before she put that ring on her finger, before she said i do and they sealed it with a kiss, it didn’t even seem at all like an overstatement. it was just true. 

their future was somewhere in the stars, she knew it for a fact. he’d been the only name on her lips when speaking of love for as long as she could remember, and being able to bless him with this new love, this new happiness, this new person, it felt like the future was becoming real at a rapid pace. but she didn’t need to slow it down, they could embrace it all together as it came. she wasn’t afraid of any part of it. 

she couldn’t be afraid when it was ricky. he never gave her a reason to be scared of things. 

nini used to be scared, truthfully. just never of him. and even when they were on bad terms, when he’d seemed to have broken up with her that day in her room, when she’d re-broken up with him on the first day of school, she wasn’t afraid of him so much, even as she found him breaking her. she never really thought much about the risks of loving someone. her moms were so happy, she’d never had to be afraid of giving herself to someone. and she always knew who she’d give her heart to. ricky bowen had his place in her heart, and admittedly she thinks that piece indeed lived in his own chest. 

she knows that even the boy whose life reflected a broken love back at him had become a man with no qualms about loving her. and that means the world. particularly now that even as they tell each other they’re each other’s one and only love, she’s found she’s bringing another love into their lives. and while nervous is certainly a feeling she’d agree with, particularly as she figures out the best way to tell her husband about her news, their news, the biggest feeling is excitement. 

she’s not sure that it’d be quite right to say they were trying. they weren’t actively trying to get pregnant, but as she’d told him, she’d be so very happy to have this happen when the universe sees fit. and sure, that day came sooner than she’d expected, but when you’re not trying to prevent something, sometimes it just comes your way. and she’s happy it did. she hopes her husband feels equally enthused by it. 

she knows ricky wants a family just as much as she does. he’d made that clear to her when they’d spent time talking about these things. he’d seen her baby pinterest board when she’d gone to show him her wedding one when they were planning. (though that had certainly gotten some updates since high school). as embarrassed as she’d felt in the moment, it had gotten them talking, and sometimes they still struggled with that when it came to the harder things. but they’d gone into their wedding day with it all laid out in the open, and after it, when she again broached the subject, she’d gotten his agreement, and now here they were. 

she should’ve known better than to worry about his reaction, because ricky had been thrilled when she told him. he’d kissed her hard and she’d jokingly told him she was already pregnant and he could slow down a little. 

she saw how happy he was, the positive test in his hands, and as he asks if she's sure, she understands his nerves too. she has some of her own insecurities about being a parent, though likely for different reasons to her husband. she wants to be as good as her moms. he wants to be better than his parents had been. but they could do it, and they would do it together.

they got the nursery ready early, without waiting the way the doctors’ had advised. they were young and excited and just- eager to have their little family grow. to make themselves a home. nini made a little mobile for over the crib, ricky put together that crib with big red as kourtney laughed when they decided they didn’t need the directions. (ikea furniture can’t truly be that hard to assemble, right?) they had to start over again about halfway through, using the directions this time. 

the four of them ended up polishing off an entire box of pizza from costco and after their friends left, after the sun had gone down and the little curtains had been pulled shut, the young couple had sat down in the middle of the still mostly empty room, ricky had gotten out his guitar, and sang to their baby, a little song he’d written himself. nini had cried, and he’d held her. then, the next day, she asked him to teach her. 

nini never learned to play the guitar, but she learned the words to the song, and then she learned to play it on her ukelele, the same one she’s had since she was a kid. she’d been so excited to show him when she got it down, but he’d promised to always play it for her whenever she wants. to play it for their baby. because that’s what this was- a song for their baby. 

singing along with ricky as he played the song one night was the first time she felt their baby kick, and when she started crying he’d set the guitar aside to hold her, but she tells him what had happened and she smiles one of the brightest smiles he thinks he’s ever seen on her face. though he doesn’t feel the kicking quite yet this first time, when he does, they’re over the moon together, and nini’s not the only one crying. 

it’s a beautiful thing, all of it. even all the ways it drains her body don’t really have her out of the happy throws of her emotions. she’s maybe a bit extra clingy, and a bit extra intense with all that she feels, but that just makes the joy all the more incredible as she goes through this months. 

she’s not doing it alone and that’s the most important thing of all. she has ricky, her husband, and he’s there for all of it. from doctor’s appointments to picking up takeout when it’s late and she’s complaining of pain and asking for very specific foods. she has her moms, who are more than happy to help in any way she needs. despite neither having gone through this, all three of their kids being adopted, they’re familiar, particularly mama d from working in the hospital. her sister’s planning her baby shower and her brother’s coming home from europe when the time comes closer. his family was far more complicated, but admittedly she’s taken a bit of lynne’s advice when it was offered. she had first hand experience with being pregnant, and that’s not something nini could quite dismiss when she got ricky’s blessing to talk to the woman he’d been distant from. 

and all of their friends are so supportive. they’re not always the right people to go to for any sort of real advice, the pair being the first couple to take this step, (which makes sense, they were probably the fastest to get married out of high school), but they would always be there for moral support, and a good distraction. she’s glad ricky has that especially. she knows she’s probably a handful right around this point. but gosh she’s so entirely happy to be at this point. things are looking good, she’s taking her vitamins, he’s massaging her feet, and they’re having their first child, a son. 

she remembers around when they got married they’d started on a list of potential names. it had taken everything in her not to immediately get on the phone and scream to kourtney when he actually liked some of the ones she’d come up with when they were around 13 and she was daydreaming in school about one day being mrs. ricky bowen with no real promise of anything of the sort. but she’d grown up since then, her love had grown up, and her preferences had certainly evolved. 

they settle on a few ideas, a few months before the day comes, but about a week from her due date they know. aster. the perfect name for their perfect baby boy. everything’s going as planned, and when she’s taken to the hospital, it’s on the exact day she’d been predicted to be due. 

labor is somehow long forgotten by the time the baby’s placed in her arms, and she doesn’t really notice anything but those practically golden eyes, the same as ricky’s, staring up at her. it’s not until she has the baby in her arms that she lets go of her husband’s hand, but then he’s pulled back in towards her without her needing to grab him close, as they look at their son, curled up against her chest. 

she doesn’t know how long it takes, when they take their son from her, but it feels like ages, but the smile she and ricky share is enough to take that stress away. she’s sweaty, and exhausted but so entirely happy. she doesn’t know how they’re going to handle this- being parents, but she knows they will be able to. they can do anything together. plus, in a lot of ways raising a child is about love, and love is something they know all too well. their baby was a product of that love they shared, and nini couldn’t be happier to give her heart to someone who was her and ricky both. she thinks this will indeed be one person her husband will be more than happy to share her with. 

aster bowen. her son. with her husband’s last name that had become hers only a few years before this day. she kissed ricky’s lips, and knows he doesn’t mind the way she leans against him instead of going back to kiss him again, because she really is tired. and honestly- when they bring aster back over, she thinks she likes seeing ricky hold their son almost more than holding him herself. 

he’s going to be a better father than he even realizes, and nini can’t wait to tell him how great he’s doing day after day. she’s happy to help him believe in himself, because he really ought to. 

it’s not much longer before their family is let in and everyone takes their turn admiring the newborn. but ricky ends up feeling the tug at his sleeve after a while, and her sleepy eyes have him eventually emptying that hospital room again for her. anything for her. and now for their little boy too. 

they have to go home soon, back to the little house with the nursery all set up, to the crib that was set up in their bedroom for the first while. but right now it’s just their little family, together, nini scooting over to make some room for him to lay next to her for a moment. 

“thank you.” she’d whispered in his ear, kissing his jaw lightly in her tired state. 

he seemed confused, and understandably so. she was the one who’d spent all those hours in labor, and all those months before that carrying the baby. 

but when he asks her what for, her answer is somehow easy. 

“for giving me this life. our life. i love my life, and i love our son. and it’s all thanks to you i get to have this. all of this. i love you. thank you for loving me.”

before he can really think of what to say to that though she’s drifting off, head against his shoulder as he holds their son in his arms, left thinking about what this all is going to mean for him, for them, going forward. 

from the day they got married, he’d known he was taking on some new responsibility, with nini as his wife, but this was another greater one. parenthood was a scary thought when you realize they’re going to let you walk out of that hospital with this tiny infant, and just expect you to figure it out. 

aster blinks back at his dad, and his soft, tired eyes aren’t quite in focus, but ricky thinks he’s looking at him. the color, the softness, was all ricky, and he recognized those eyes easily, but he also sees nini in the warmth glowing from his little smile. 

it’s not long before he’s humming that familiar little song he’d written all those months before, and then aster’s drifted off to sleep like his mom, and ricky just lays awake for a little while, despite what nini’s moms had said about getting in as much sleep as he could when he got a chance. he wants to admire his family as much as he can. even amongst the room full of monitors and things that are just a bit too white and sterile, he sees what nini’d said- about their life, and the love in it, and he just wants to embrace it a moment more. 

they were going home soon, her moms would be back in a half hour with a change of clothes for each of them, and then they’d be immersed in their new reality. but even amongst the fear there was the love that nini mentioned. because he loves her. and he loves their son, perhaps because of how he loves her. how she’s gone through all this to give him this gift. he doesn’t want to mess it up. he can’t. he won’t. 

this was his chance to show himself what he’s made of. because it wasn’t as though it was really anyone else’s doubts but his own at this point. he’s loved nini so long- he knows she’s got him. and he’s got her. that was what would matter as they went forward. their lives could only get better as long as they kept each other going. 

and nini knows with all her heart that they would have each other through it all. 

#lcstupstate #hospital tw #pregnancy tw #//this is like the counter to the angst meme thing earlier it's pure sweetness with a touch of insecurity but- not a ton #//as a note- i highly doubt the other drabbles will be this ridiculously long. but this one is and it's got my heart tbh #//i feel like i just need to post it before i overthink it too much lol #took a few years to soak up the tears but look at her now / nina #nina #nina x ricky ( ship ) #nina ( drabbles ) #//tbh i have zero idea how to tag something like this #//also the fact this could fully be a one shot is... ridiculous to me why did i write this much haha. i hope it's enjoyable to read <3

[californiahq]

✧.* 𝑵𝑬𝑾 𝑹𝑬𝑺𝑰𝑫𝑬𝑵𝑻 ┛ . . . you're officially an angeleno now, nini ! welcome to los angeles, where the ocean meets the city, brunch is a religion and even traffic jams have their own instagram accounts. before you shine bright, take a peek at our checklist and send your account within the next 24 hours.

rudy pankow as jacob christopher bancroft .

sean kaufman as henry lang .

rudy pankow + he/him + cis male –  have you seen jacob christopher bancroft around los angeles? the twenty five year old is usually jamming to star walkin' by lil nas x. word around the city is that they’re compassionate, yet, they can also be restless, but you didn’t hear that from me. they’re currently a/an musician/ songwriter and are typically seen walking the streets of los angeles with his guitar strapped on his back. when i think of them, i think of  broken promises within a broken home, late nights strumming on the guitar and the iron will of never losing hope. let’s hope the city treats them good! ( nini / 29 / she/her / gmt+1 / all already listed )

sean kaufman + he/him + cis male  –  have you seen henry lang around los angeles? the twenty three year old is usually jamming to tissues by yungblud. word around the city is that they’re determined, yet, they can also be resentful, but you didn’t hear that from me. they’re currently a/an professional dancer & choreographer and are typically seen walking the streets of los angeles with his favorite pair of sneakers and a skateboard in hand. when i think of them, i think of scraped knees, dancing like nobody is watching and the fight for your own path and dreams in life. let’s hope the city treats them good! ( nini / 29 / she/her / gmt+1 / all already listed )

#california.accepted

[youllneverknow28]

stars

ricky Bowen x black!reader

not proof read 😭

After opening night me Gina, EJ, Ashlyn kourtney Carlos, and seb all met up at the local pizza shop still in my clothes I tried my very best not to spill tomato sauce on the white dress. I had seen eyes on me, but not just anyone’s eyes. Ricky Bowen‘s eyes I had had a thing for Ricky since third grade, but I shut those feelings away after he started dating nini and honestly I had kind of felt like an outcast. Gina was with EJ gadget was with Ashlyn Jet was with kourtney. And me and Ricky were the only ones single. my hair was braided curls at the end in the white dress that fitted me oh so perfectly. Every time I laughed, smiled, giggled, or even side eyed I could feel Ricky Bowen’s eyes on me. What the fuck I thought after the show at camp shallow lake I was sure him and Gina would hit it off, but EJ swindled his way back to Gina and now they’re living happily ever after. I wasn’t jealous. Why would I be jealous it’s not like the boy. I’ve had a crush on since third grade just kept getting bitches prettier than me but I’m not nini and they’re my friends now and I don’t have those hateful feelings towards them anymore I just wanna live my life and see what happens next. Go with the flow you know? And that’s what I was truly going to stick with until a walk out of the pizza shop, making my way towards my car when I heard a similar voice stop me “ Hey veah you gotta sec” turning around to see Ricky Bowen “ hey Ricky yeah what’s up” “ nothing at my dads out of town and I was just wondering if you’d like to come back for maybe movies in popcorn?” “ oh yeah, yeah shit let me him. Ask my mom she should be fine with it” I said pulling out my phone turning around and calling my mom after a five minute conversation. My mom asked to talk to Ricky which honestly kind of scary but he was a nice boy “ here my mom wants to talk to you” I said awkwardly mouthing the words. I’m sorry as I handed him the phone. “ Hi Mrs. Wallace how are you?” “ hi Ricky look I’m fine with Nevaeh staying over there, but my daughter better not come back pregnant and she sure as hell better not come back with no bruises and she better not come back with any trace of her being unsafe or hungover so basically, my question is, is my daughter gonna be safe” “she will be perfectly safe I promise” hanging up the phone he gave it back to me as we got in his car and made our way back to his house when we arrived he unlocked his door and made a little couch bed “ so what do you want to watch?” Smirking I said “ high school musical” about 30 minutes into the movie. Ricky suddenly screams “ I mean come on who does barges into song like that” giggling, I told him “ Ricky we’re literally theater kids you can’t hate on the movies that we play” “ ok but what the fuck nobody does that in the real world” “ we do that” He looks at me back at the TV and back at me again. “ we do not do that.” “ ok, Mr. Bowen whatever you say.” After the movie was done he popped in the second one. I asked him if he had any clothes, or I could borrow for the night here me a pair of his boxers and oversize T. As I made my way to the bathroom, I realized I only had my curl cream in the bag that I had brought and usually this wouldn’t be a problem, but it was the only thing I had besides the mini brush I carry all the time my hair was long, but not too long which meant It was hard to manage. I heard a knock. “ Hey, you ok in there” I heard Ricky ask opening the door curl cream all in my hand he suddenly walked in, taking some and running it into my hair “ I hope it’s ok sir I’m touching your hair” he says, looking at me in the mirror “ yeah it’s fine. I couldn’t do it all by myself anyway.” after he helped me with my hair we cuddled up and continued watching hsm2 and I was out of it in no time

#hsmtmts #ricky bowen #gina porter #kourtney greene #kourtney kardashian #nini salazar roberts