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plutoccult · 3 months

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HAIKYUU X THE OFFICE AU — EPISODE SEVEN: VALENTINE’S DAY

pairing: sugawara koushi x female reader

description: it’s valentine’s day at the office, and you hope for it to be one you’ll never forget. however, everyone seems to be having a better holiday than you.

word count: 4.9k

also available to read on my ao3 here

author’s note: tis the valentine’s episode! plus, it’s episode seven of this au, which is also my favorite number. i wanted to make sure i had this out in time for valentine’s day, so i was really cranking out episodes like a madman. sorry for the content overload! i’ve been looking forward to writing this episode for awhile, and i really wanted to make something cute rather than something absolutely soul crushing (lmao BOOZE CRUISE), so i hope you enjoy it just as much as i enjoyed writing it. happy early valentine’s, everyone! <3

tags: @toorubobatea @intorder @dragon-slayer5 @femme-lune @jeanboyjean @cowgirlikets @darthferbert @kazuchaos @bakagun1312 @beingbrokenfitsus @mumblepingu @daedaep69 @intheewrld @msbyomimi @sukxma @akari-fujikawa @milkteeboba @5sos-wdw @todorokiskitten @intheewrld

taglist form here

as weird as it sounded, you loved spending valentine’s day at the office. it felt like elementary school where you’d share little treats with your classmates. you were notorious for bringing in a box of valentine’s themed candy back in the day, and you lived up to that reputation even now. this year, it was valentine’s fun dip, your favorite.

you’ve spent valentine’s day as an engaged woman for quite a few years now, but you felt this year would be different now that you were less than four months away from your wedding. however, you and ryo promised each other not to go too crazy when it came to gifts. you were trying to save up as much money as possible before your big day. still, you hoped he would put in some effort.

you watched a delivery man enter the office with a big bouquet of red roses. could they be for you? you sure hoped so. you had never received such a bouquet like this before.

the delivery man placed the bouquet on top of your desk. you stand up and read the envelope that came with the bouquet to see who it’s for—hoping it’s for you—but alas, it’s for someone else.

“yachi.” you sigh. it shouldn’t be a surprise, but you couldn’t help but feel some sort of disappointment. still, you had all day to get a gift. you just had to be patient, although that will be a difficult task for you. you don’t even know how you’ve been so patient just for a simple wedding date.

yachi stood from her desk to receive her roses, practically skipping over as she was filled with joy. you look over to see a smile on yamaguchi’s face as he watched her pick up the bouquet, and you could immediately assume they were from him.

“wow, yachi. that bouquet is bigger than your head.” hinata said in amazement.

“i know!” yachi exclaimed. “quick, grab the card and read it out for me.”

“okay…” hinata obeyed, plucking the envelope out of the array of roses and opening up the card. he quickly read it over in his head before reading it out loud. “happy valentine’s day, buttercup. love, yamaguchi.”

“aw, yams!” she cooed. yamaguchi’s cheeks quickly turned pink. “you’re the sweetest.”

you groan as yachi ran over to yamaguchi and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before returning to her desk. they were adorable, you’d give them that, but man. you were already growing impatient.

“hey, y/n. why the sour face?” ukai asked you as he walked up to your desk. were you giving away your bitterness just by the look on your face? no, maybe you just had RSF or something. resting sour face is a thing, right?

“what?” you jump and place your hand over your heart. you really hoped no one else noticed anything off with you. “nothing, nothing. i’m fine.”

“well, i’m heading to tokyo for that meeting soon.” ukai said. right, the meeting. you remembered informing him a couple weeks ago about a meeting in tokyo with other branch managers and the new CFO of the company. you sure hoped he wouldn’t mess it all up. “want any touristy merch? keychain? t-shirt you’ll never let see the light of day?”

“no, i’m good.” you reply. what you really wanted was for ryo to blow you away with a valentine’s gift already.

“ugh, lame.” ukai rolled his eyes. “you want anything, tsukki? i bet they have weird dinosaur crap or something.”

“i’d prefer it if you didn’t do anything stupid in front of the new CFO.” tsukishima said. you were sure everyone was hoping for that.

“what? of course i’m not gonna do anything stupid.” ukai scoffed. “what do you think i am, an idiot?”

“yes, yes i do.” tsukishima deadpanned.

“well, no dinosaur crap for you.” ukai huffed like a child. “tanaka, you’re in charge.”

oh god, this was a match made in hell. why ukai decided to make a decision so randomly like that, you didn’t know, but he could’ve picked anyone else in the office and no one would’ve had a problem with it.

“woah, why him? why not me or suga?” daichi protested. “i’ve proven to be a good leader! i won you that stupid volleyball match with the warehouse guys! suga even took a volleyball to the face thanks to y/n’s fiancé!”

“woah, let’s not drag me into this—” suga began to say. he didn’t want to have to think about that again, nor did he want any extra responsibilities today. suga just wanted a relaxing day.

funny enough, ukai almost forgot about that happening. it felt so long ago, but it only happened in the fall. maybe he should reconsider his choices. “oh yeah… i change my mind. daichi, you’re in charge now.”

“god dammit!” tanaka whined. at least he had his fifteen seconds of glory.

“see ya, bozos!” ukai cackled on his way out.

as soon as the door shut behind him, you all let out a sigh of relief. maybe today wouldn’t so bad without ukai around.

•••

“i’m pretty glad ukai’s not here, actually.” suga confessed without hesitation. you sat next to him, hurriedly nodding in agreement.

“we were all thinking it.” you add on to suga’s statement.

“yeah, i don’t have to worry about him on my back over my love life on a day all about love.” he chuckled. maybe he shouldn’t have said that out loud, but ukai’s absence was a massive relief and breath of fresh air.

“why would he be on your back?” you furrow your eyebrows.

crap. “oh, you know… he’s ukai. he’s always on our backs.”

“yeah, you’re right.” you shrug.

suga was thankful you brushed off any suspicions. that was definitely a close one, especially given recent events.

•••

everyone went on with their day as normal, although some found it odd they weren’t being bombarded or borderline harassed by ukai for once. was it opposite day? no, it was valentine’s day. a weird one, it seemed.

after grabbing a cup of coffee, tanaka returned to his desk. a mysterious package sat next to his keyboard, which wasn’t there before. he looked at the plain, suspicious box in confusion, tilting his head as he tried making sense of it all.

“suga, what’s this?” tanaka questioned, hoping suga would have an answer.

“i don’t know.” he shrugged, which wasn’t the answer tanaka wanted to hear. “it’s yours, not mine.”

“but who put it here?” tanaka asked.

“it was already there when i sat down. just open it and see what’s up.” suga said.

“fine…” tanaka groaned before he reached for scissors and fumbled with opening the box. it took a minute, but he managed to get the job done. inside the box was a card, underneath an unknown item covered in tissue paper. who knows what it could possibly be?

“happy valentine’s day. love, your secret admirer—” tanaka’s jaw dropped to the floor. “holy F*CK! a secret admirer?!”

“i’m not even gonna scold you on censoring yourself.” suga rolled his eyes. he’s had his fair share of dropping bombs on camera too, he surely wasn’t innocent either.

“my word… now i gotta see what’s inside.” tanaka ripped away the tissue paper and picked up a bobble head that resembled him. he instantly loved it upon first sight, but if only tanaka knew who gifted it to him. “it's me… i'm the bobble head. nice!”

from afar, a soft grin crept up on kiyoko’s face, which went unnoticed by everyone in the office. could it be?

•••

“someone in this office has the hots for me and all i know is that it better not be tsukishima.” tanaka said as he stared down the camera. “i mean, i get it, i’m a catch! but why be anonymous with your love? secret admirer, show yourself!”

it was hilarious how tanaka was blind to the only true possibility to the identity of his secret admirer, but the documentary crew would let him take the time to figure it out while filming some television gold in the process.

•••

rather than doing work, nishinoya decided to use his time at the office to make plans for later. asahi was in on nishinoya’s plans, only because he begged him to, allowing his much smaller coworker to do all the talking, starting with suga and tanaka.

“hey, suga.” nishinoya leaned against suga’s desk. “you doin’ anything for valentine’s day?”

suga almost wanted to laugh maniacally. of course, he wasn’t doing anything today. he was pathetically single and had no eyes for other women. saeko was nice, but she was only friend material in suga’s eyes. at least he gained a friend out of that mess from the booze cruise, but tonight? suga planned to be all alone.

“heh, no.” he forced a subtle laugh, holding back on making a mockery out of his pathetic love life. “definitely not.”

“well, me and asahi are going on a bar crawl later. you’re definitely welcome to join.” nishinoya said.

a bar crawl? it didn’t sound like a terrible idea, but suga was worried about who would be attending. “i sure hope hinata isn’t invited. dude cannot handle his alcohol.”

“yeah, i bet kageyama will put a stop to that.” nishinoya chuckled. he didn’t even want to attempt to invite them, really. “so, you in?”

“um…” suga looked over at you. you’re oblivious to his stare as you’re on the phone with someone. of course he stood no chance, so suga quickly looked away to answer nishinoya. “yeah, i’m in.”

“sick! i’ll text you the details.” nishinoya replied. “tanaka, you know you’re always welcome.”

“i don’t know, noya. i might be occupied with a special someone tonight.” tanaka said as he leaned back against his chair, his arms behind his head. totally not for the purpose of showing off his biceps.

“oh, really? with who?” nishinoya questioned.

“oh, boy…” suga groaned. the poor guy had been dealing with tanaka over the moon thanks to this whole secret admirer thing all day so far. if there were a drinking game to take a shot every time tanaka mentioned his secret admirer, suga would be dead by alcohol poisoning already.

“my secret admirer.” tanaka smirked. if only suga had a shot to down right now.

“yeah, okay.” nishinoya scoffed, walking away from what has now become a foolish conversation.

tanaka stood from his desk defiantly, slamming his hands down as he yelled at nishinoya. “my secret admirer is real and i’m going to figure out who it is by the end of the day!”

everyone looked up to watch tanaka’s random outburst, rolling their eyes before getting back to work. suga snickered as a result, receiving a glare from tanaka. as if that guy ever scared him anyway.

nishinoya walked over to kiyoko next, the sound of her name escaping his mouth catching the attention of tanaka. “hey, kiyoko. you doing anything later?”

“um, actually i might have other plans…” she replied timidly.

“okay, that’s cool. have fun.” he said, finding nothing about her response to be suspicious. she was a pretty girl, why wouldn’t she have plans?

however, a light bulb lit up above tanaka’s head. could it really be the woman of his dreams who sent him the mystery package? nah, tanaka figured he was just reaching for the stars. there was just no way.

moments later, a different delivery man walked in with an arrangement of various flowers. just what you needed to see again. it was easy to figure out who they were for, and the card had proven your guess right.

“yachi, guess what?” you call out for her, hiding your jealousy.

“again?” yachi questioned, her puzzled face turning into an overjoyed one upon seeing a new bouquet just for her. “aw, yams, you didn’t have to!”

“rub it our faces, why don’t ya…” you grumble to yourself as yachi took her flowers back to her desk. did she really need another?

•••

“i’m okay! i’m okay, i swear.” you say, your eye twitching as you lie your ass off. “i’m totally not jealous about yachi getting two bouquets already and we’re only halfway through the day.”

“um, i think—”

“i’ll take just a single rose! i don’t care! something! anything!” you exclaim. you had truly gone mad, and the crew was better off leaving you be with your madness.

•••

later, tanaka found kiyoko in the break room making a cup of coffee. he didn’t even want coffee, he just wanted to do some investigating. tanaka just had to know if there was any chance of his dream girl harboring at least a little crush on him. he’d take anything at this point.

“hello, kiyoko.” he said. did that come off creepy? tanaka instantly regretted the delivery of his greeting, that’s for sure.

“hi, tanaka.” kiyoko replied. “i’ll be done in a second.”

“no, no. take your time.” tanaka insisted.

he watched intently as kiyoko made her coffee, grabbing vanilla flavored creamer—her favorite—from the fridge. tanaka always knew she poured it for exactly four seconds before putting in only one sugar packet. as kiyoko always said, the creamer was sweet enough.

“did you hear?” tanaka spoke up. kiyoko looked over to him to see what he had to say. she seemed to be as cool as a cucumber. “i got the best valentine’s day present ever and i don’t even know who it’s from.”

“yeah, we all heard you screaming about a secret admirer.” she giggled. “i’m glad you enjoyed your gift though.”

“oh, i did. i sure did.” tanaka replied with smirk. “did you get anything for valentine’s day?”

“just some candy.” kiyoko said. “y/n saved a blue fun dip specifically for me.”

damn, tanaka got stuck with red. but that wasn’t the point. he had to press the current matter further. “nothing special?”

“nope, i don’t usually get anything big for valentine’s day.” she shrugged.

“maybe this year will be different.” tanaka said, trying his best to come off a little flirty, but in a cool way. he wanted to be the man for her so bad.

“well, i sure hope it is.” kiyoko smiled, tanaka instantly blushing.

tanaka stood as kiyoko left the room with her mug. he didn’t really get any clues from that conversation, but it was worth it anyway because he at least he got to talk to her.

when he returned to his desk a minute later, a note appeared on his desk, just as mysterious as his gift from earlier. “suga? you know anything about this?”

“nope.” suga replied.

“typical.” tanaka scoffed as he picked up the note and read it aloud. “meet me in front of the warehouse at 5:30…”

woah. now things were really getting spicy in here. it was truly tanaka’s lucky day.

while tanaka tried analyzing the handwriting of the note over and over, a sudden commotion in the form of a delivery man struggling through the door with an oversized teddy bear on his back ruined tanaka’s concentration.

“god damn!” he exclaimed. tanaka definitely took the words right out of everyone’s mouths, yours included.

“yachi… hitoka.” the delivery man said out of breath, letting the teddy bear flop to the ground.

“uh… yachi?” you say to catch her attention. it shouldn’t even be a shock at this point. maybe you should blame tsukishima for forcing yamaguchi and yachi to confess their mutual crushes on each other months ago. all that teasing wasn’t enough, apparently.

“what—” yachi turned around. she immediately rushed out of her chair and leaped into the arms of the giant stuffed animal. “oh my god, i love it!”

you gently hit your head against the keyboard. no one seemed to notice your misery.

•••

“i officially give up on valentine’s day.” you let out a loud groan. the crew wondered if the sounds of your agony could be heard from the conference room. unfortunately, it did.

•••

the work day went back to normal, although yachi’s desk was littered with oversized gifts now. daichi couldn’t even see her face behind her computer screen anymore as her desk was crowded with bouquets and cards from yamaguchi. he truly outdid himself, even you couldn’t deny that. your jealousy still lingered, but at least yachi was happy.

without ukai around, you were glad to have a conversation with suga without the two of you being bothered. as he ate the fun dip you gave him earlier—only your most favorite people got the blue flavor—you recall a story from your junior high days.

“this kid gives him the twenty bucks and he actually snorts the pixy stix powder.” you say, detailing the end of your story.

“god, his poor nose…” suga cringed, although an idea popped into his mind. “hm, i wonder if i could snort this fun dip.”

“oh god, don’t!” you beg, grabbing his hand so he couldn’t do anything stupid. suga practically felt his heart jump out of his chest from the sudden contact, even if you didn’t seem to think anything of it. “i can’t lose you to silly candy.”

“it’s yummy though.” he grinned, swiftly moving on from the touch of your fingers grazing against his own, no matter how much he didn’t want to.

“yeah, on your tongue, not up your nose, dummy.” you scold him.

the two of you burst into laughter, the laugh fest interrupted by tanaka walking up to your desk. it seemed quite serious given his demeanor. “y/n. hi, how ya doing?”

“oh, hey—”

“good.” he cut you off. how rude. “listen, uh, may i speak with you... privately?”

“i’m kinda in the middle of a conversation…” you say, looking over to suga.

“y/n.” tanaka stared you down. he always did this when he was trying to get something he wanted. you knew him long enough to recognize the look.

“don’t give me that look, tanaka.” you cross your arms. “you don’t hold authority over me.”

“y/n, please just...” tanaka tilted his head, motioning for you to speak to him in another room. he really seemed desperate.

“do i have to?” you whine.

“love is on the line, dammit!” he yelled out, mayhaps a little too loud, but now you had no choice but to oblige.

“okay, okay!” you stand up from your chair. “let’s go then. sorry, suga.”

suga insisted it was no problem, but you still felt a little bad for cutting off your conversation like this. you and tanaka then walk out of the office and head into an empty hallway. if this was over nothing that important, you were going to be pissed.

“what is it that’s so urgent?” you ask tanaka.

“you’re a girl.” he said plainly. what a great start.

“well, unless my whole life has been a lie—”

“y/n. please.” tanaka interrupted, a pleading look in his eyes.

“sorry.” you say quietly.

“do you… recognize this handwriting at all?” he asked, taking out a card and folded note from his pocket. “it’s from my secret admirer.”

so that’s what this was about. you weren’t sure what tanaka wanted your help for so bad, but you figured it wouldn’t hurt to try and help him. “i guess i can take a look.”

tanaka handed you the notes and you inspect them carefully. it didn’t take you that long to figure out whose handwriting this belonged to. for you, it was clear as day.

“tanaka?”

“yeah?”

without saying another word, you smack him across the face, the sound of the slap echoing throughout the hallway. did your coworkers managed to hear that from inside the office? you sure hoped so. it was so satisfying, and the crew ate up the drama. this was peak television right here.

“what the heck was that for?!” tanaka yelled as his face now stung like hell. “i oughta file a complaint!”

“you’re such an idiot! it’s so obvious who wrote these!” you yelled back, forcing the notes back into his hands.

“well, who?!” he asked.

you purse your lips and cross your arms. you were going to play the petty game. “i’m not saying.”

“please, i’m begging!” tanaka exclaimed. “don’t make me get on my knees.”

“actually, i’d love to see that.” you say. if anyone was going to threaten you with a good time, then you’d accept it happily.

tanaka did exactly as he said he would, getting down on his knees as he gripped the sleeves of your sweater. this instantly made up for the shitty day you’ve had so far.

“y/n, please tell me whose handwriting this belongs to.” he begged.

his desperation was almost adorable. you knew who he wanted to be the person behind everything today. while you didn’t want to totally give away the surprise, you would be glad to give a hint and hope tanaka figured it out in enough time.

“all i’ll say is you better buy this person a lot of tenmusu later.” you tell him, hoping that served as a suitable clue.

“tenmusu…” tanaka tried thinking, but couldn’t come up with anything. “who the heck likes tenmusu?!”

“you know.” you smirk as you walk away. at least you could help someone else be happy today.

you walk back into the office by yourself. suga, now sitting at his desk, looked at you with a raised eyebrow. “what was that about?”

you eye tanaka as he walked back in, rubbing over your handprint on his cheek. you look over to kiyoko who doesn’t notice you’re looking at her nor that you’re aware of her secret identity.

“i’m cupid, biyotch.”

•••

it took tanaka five minutes to figure out who in this office likes tenmusu. he felt like he was on cloud nine if your hint was actually for real.

“could it… could it really be?” he questioned, almost in a love-filled daze. “if it’s really who i think it is, then i hope this dream never ends.”

•••

just what you needed to see, another delivery man. at least it wasn’t anything lavish this time, nor was it for yachi. it was merely a potted plant and a simple card. you would be glad to sign for the delivery man.

you walk over to kiyoko, yamaguchi, and tsukishima’s desks and place the plant in front of tsukishima, the receiver of said plant. “tsukki, it’s for you.”

“please don’t let it be from my mom…” he opened up the card. yeah, it was from his mom. “dammit.”

“haha, lonely, lonely tsukki once again.” yamaguchi laughed at him.

“shut up.” tsukishima rolled his eyes. “you’ve been around me too much, yamaguchi…”

“just be glad you got something today.” you say to him before heading back to your desk. when you return, ryo walked in. hopefully, he finally has the gift you’ve been waiting for all day.

“hey, babe.” he said as he leaned against your desk, watching as you sat down. “you almost ready to go? i’m gonna get the car warmed up.”

you look around. everything was filed in the right places, there weren’t any emails, and nobody was calling. there was nothing else for you to do, but you sure were bummed to have wasted your whole day mindlessly doing office work without any joy or pep in your step. “i guess, yeah.”

“what's wrong?” ryo asked, noticing you looked quite down. you know it’s bad if even he notices.

“nothing, it's just that i had to sit here all day while yachi got like an entire hallmark store delivered to her.” you say, letting out your frustrations. ryo wasn’t exactly the best person to go to when it came to your problems, but you hoped he’d just listen.

“what, are you mad at me or something?” he questioned. that wasn’t the point. he never understood the point.

“well, no—”

“then what’s the problem, y/n? i can’t read minds, ya know.” ryo scoffed.

there was no point in telling him what was wrong. he would never understand. could you really be chained to him for life like your families expected of you?

“nothing. it’s nothing.” all you could do is just bite your tongue. you’ve done it so much that it doesn’t even sting anymore.

“well, valentine's day isn't over, babe.” ryo said, trying to cheer you up, but miserably failing. “let’s get you home so i can light a candle and toss some rose petals on the bed or something.”

god. anything but that.

“i just have some things to finish up before i leave.” you lie to him. you just wanted a breather before the dreaded ride home, really.

“yeah, of course.” he replied.

once ryo left, you watch as everyone packed up for the day. tanaka seemed to be stalling his exit in hopes of catching his secret admirer earlier than the planned meetup time, but had no luck. you really wished for the best in his quest for love, especially when the one he wanted for so long.

“happy valentine’s day, y/n.” suga said on his way out.

“yeah, happy valentine’s day.” you reply. suga wouldn’t let you down like this, right? if only things were different. curse the expectations that rest as boulders on your back.

“goodnight, y/n.” yachi said as she and yamaguchi carried out her gifts together. lugging that massive teddy bear seemed to be the biggest struggle of all. at the very least, you didn’t have to deal with that monstrosity.

“night, you two…”

even if your valentine’s day wasn’t what you thought it would be, you hoped someone else—no matter who that may be—had a good day.

•••

(bonus scene)

tanaka waited outside the warehouse, his patience is wavering as it neared the meetup time. he had been dying for this all day, and it felt like time was going slower just for the sake of torturing him.

was this stupid? waiting around here like this? tanaka felt like a total idiot, that’s for sure. part of him almost thought this was one big prank, an insanely cruel one. if it was, then some ass kicking would definitely be in order.

just as tanaka was ready to say “screw it” and leave, his secret admirer finally appeared, the moment he had been waiting for all day. “tanaka.”

you weren’t playing around with your hint, it was kiyoko. come tomorrow, tanaka would give you the biggest hug in the whole world.

“kiyoko? it… it’s you?” he said breathlessly. “you’re my secret admirer?”

“mhm.” kiyoko shyly nodded.

tanaka still felt like he was dreaming. just the possibility felt like one, but knowing now that it truly was real, it was greater than the thought of pigs flying or finding a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow.

“why the anonymity?” he asked her. “you know i’d love anything as long as it’s from you. i mean, i asked you to marry me on my first day here, for christ’s sake.”

tanaka almost let out a laugh looking back at the memory of his first day. when he found out kiyoko would be showing him around the office, the words “marry me” slipped out of his mouth upon her introduction, almost like it came naturally. she didn’t seem phased one bit, simply saying “no” and moving on with the office tour as if nothing happened. kiyoko never once made fun of him for it, even if she had every opportunity to.

“i know. it seems so silly, but i just…” kiyoko paused. “i get shy with this kind of thing.”

“what do you mean?” tanaka asked. the moment of truth, he figured.

“i, uh…” instead of saying anything else, kiyoko gripped the collar of tanaka’s shirt and smashed her lips against his. it didn’t take long for him to reciprocate, immediately meshing against her lips. he felt like he was floating, but if anyone were to keep tanaka on the ground, it would always be kiyoko.

when she pulled away, tanaka immediately fell backwards, a loud smack against the pavement. that had to have hurt, but he truly couldn’t feel any pain after such a movie-like kiss.

“tanaka!” kiyoko gasped as she kneeled down to inspect him for any injuries. “are you okay?!”

“never felt better.” tanaka said, a dopey smile on his face. he truly was adorable in her eyes.

kiyoko softly grinned before helping tanaka back to his feet. the touch of her hand holding his finally allowed him to let the reality of the situation sink in; kiyoko actually liked him. no prank, no sick joke, all real. he couldn’t even fathom what he did to deserve such happiness.

“if it wasn’t obvious… i really like you, tanaka.” she said, any nerves she had throughout the day now faded away. “i’m sorry it took so long for me to catch up.”

“i’m just glad you made it.” he replied, tears forming in his eyes, all from pure joy.

tanaka leaned in to kiss kiyoko, finding solace with his arms around her waist as she wrapped hers around his neck. they kissed again, and again, and again, all without a care in the world. if tanaka could stay like this forever, he would. it felt safer this way.

“you wanna get some tenmusu?” tanaka asked as he pulled away.

“that’s my favorite.” kiyoko replied. “how’d you know?”

“a little birdie told me.” he shrugged, that birdie being you.

for tanaka, this was the best valentine’s day of his entire life. plus, nishinoya was certainly going to lose his mind when he found out about this. there’s truly nothing better than the girl he loved from the start finally feeling the same way.

66 notes · View notes

ashlayan · 4 months

Text

Overworked

I'm late but happy bday Horropedia 🥺🫶🏻

Tw: SFW, written with a fem reader in mind, a smol amount of angst followed by much fluff.

Pairing: Horropedia (Joshua) x reader.

May this year witness the freedom of Palestine 🇵🇸🇵🇸

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

Work in the Foundation was usually fine, the fact you were a Supervising Field Agent usually meant you got assigned, well, interesting field work. But sometimes the higher ups would demand evidence to backup your mission report "Claims", be it for a trial, or an open investigation, and you would need to spend all nighters sifting through both your and your subordinates' files, as well as archived news articles, archived books, archived tapes, or really anything that could be of use.

To say all that left you mentally exhausted would be an understatement.

More than anything, it makes you yearn to finish up work quickly and go home for a hot bath and indulge in your guilty pleasure: Romance Stories.

You're pretty sure anyone of your colleagues hearing about that hobby would be more likely to think they're being pranked than actually believe it.

You, who worked hard and rose quickly within the ranks of the foundation, despite your young age.

You, who thanks to your constant networking and relentless hard work, was the youngest to be awarded with the title of Field Supervisor, bar Vertin of course as she's the Timekeeper.

Exactly why, when asked, you would usually give the far more acceptable "Tennis" as an answer. Really at this point only very few people have any clue about your obsession, and only because they were your classmates back in your more innocent and naive school days. People like this fool who came unannounced, sitting uninvited on your office couch, thoroughly distracting you from your urgent task.

"And then, we're thinking the main character would be revealed to have actually been the real villain all along! Like the serial killer will still remain a separate person, but the way Blonney's thinking of doing it is making Jessica turn out to be even more terrifying!! We'll drop hints throughout the film and-"

And so he goes, on and on. He even stands up and starts pacing as he bothers you further.

You want to groan. This annoying, silly, helpless, cute, sweet, adorkable fool.

"Aren't you supposed to be grounded?" You say deadpan, "What are you even doing here?"

Horropedia stops and turns, facing you properly, "So you can talk!" He practically cries out with mock shock, his face a mask of "disbelief". "Here I thought you'd gone mute, turns out you were just ignoring me." He says as he walks over and plops down on a chair facing your desk.

You roll your eyes refusing to play along. "Some of us have work to get done, Joshua. We're not children anymore, it's high time you start acting like an adult and quit those silly, childish stories."

"Oh?" He says smugly, but you can tell you've definitely hit a nerve by calling him Joshua instead of his preferred nickname. He then proceeds to take a long look around your office, craning his neck this way and that.

You're not sure what he's planning but it can't be anything good.

"Bingo." He says just under his breath as he stands back up and heads for the cupboard you use as a make shift file cabinet. You tense slightly but remind yourself to keep a cool and aloof facade.

He places one hand against a compartment's door and asks: "So then, there isn't a hidden stash of silly, childish romance novels right in here?" He asks, tapping a finger against it.

Go big or go home. "Please, I outgrew that nonsensical hobby ages ago, do you honestly think I have the time to-"

Horropedia then grabs the door handle without permission and proceeds to yank it open-

Or he would have if the door wasn't locked shut. It doesn't even budge.

You smile smugly. "Did no one teach you going through people's belongings is bad manners?"

"Coming from the person who used to steal from my candy stash? I don't wanna hear it." He says dismissively, now focused on intently staring down your cupboard's lock.

You blush, because he's bringing back embarrassing childhood memories of your's, definitely not because he looks really hot when he stops being a lovable goof, or because of the way the light hits his side profile just right and he looks so serious in a rare picturesque way-

You snap yourself out of your reverie just as he brings something out of his utility belt, you blanch when you realize what it is.

"Seriously? Lockpicks? Who goes around carrying those?! Wait- is that how you got out of confinement?!"

Horropedia ignores you and gets immediately to work.

You spring up and rush towards him, only to arrive a second too late as he opens the cupboard with a dramatic flourish, revealing far too many books with cutesy artworks for covers, some with even more tantalizing titles. In fact, their were so many that they proceeded to slide down and out of the compartment, forming a sizeable pile on the floor.

Your stash now exposed, you do the next best thing and head straight for the open office door instead to shut it. This however is far from ideal.

You turn around slowly and as expected, the dork is giving you and adora- Infuriating smirk.

"How. How did you know they were in there-"

"Relax Short-Stuff, I just know you too well." He says, almost preening with pride at his "accomplishment".

You frown, "Don't call me that."

"Don't call me Joshua." He fires back.

You don't reply, and instead take a silent step towards him, then another.

Alarm starts bleeding into his expression, as he himself takes a step back while throwing a glance at the closed door behind you, no doubt gauging the distance in case you decide to attack.

Instead you ignore him and bend down to start gathering your precious but embarrassing treasures.

"What was that about knowing me so well?" You say offhandedly.

"Well- you used to tackle people who pissed you off so- I mean- Forget it."

Now with you both feeling defeated, he bends down to help you gather the books and says: "When do you even find time to read all of these? Everytime I see you you're either writing a report, heading to a mission or coming back from one."

"The car rides are usually pretty quiet, I can read them in peace as long as I hide the covers." You say without looking up.

After a moment of Horropedia not saying anything back or moving to help you, you look up.

"What?" You snap. You know that look, he's judging you. "If you have something to say say it."

"No, no, it's not like that I just... Do you ever get any rest? I'm pretty sure you even work weekends, and I heard you do volunteer work too. This isn't healthy is all I'm thinking."

You blink. Well yes, he does have a compassionate and sweet side too, it's usually hidden by his general tomfoolery though so you tend to forget about it. You also didn't expect him to be keeping an ear out for news about you, it's not like the two of you chat all that often either. You're caught sufficiently off guard that you now have your mouth hanging slightly open with no sounds coming out.

"Earth to (Y/N), you there?" He snaps his fingers a couple of times, and when you're still silent he sighs and continues gathering your babies- your books, and springs back up to stuff them in your cupboard, then dusts his hands off.

You're looking up at his standing form and damn, he actually looks really good from this angle, really accentuates his already impressive height-

This time he forgoes trying to talk to you and just grabs your from the waist and lifts you back to your feet, giving you a quick pat on the shoulder for good measure before letting you go.

Then he seems to think something over and places a hand on your forehead.

"You're not running a fever, but your zoning out is really out of character for ya. Good thing it's 6 already, you can clock out now." He says with a gentle smile.

The smile isn't exactly rare for him, but it also isn't something he usually gives you.

Ever since you set your sights on climbing the corporate ladder... You have been pushing everyone away, even those most precious to you. You've been taking on more and more, piling the tasks and duties up to the point where, sometimes, you just want to do something crazy and impulsive, to get the load off your shoulders even for a short while.

He's still gazing at you, but his smile is wavering. He's still waiting for an answer though.

You consider what would happen if you say yes to clocking out now, if you even gather some additional courage and ask him to hang out? As friends of course! For old times sake! But then again, if you're already that far, what if you ask him out for real? Maybe just for today, you can ignore the far too many responsibilities piled high on top of you and just-

You shake your head. "No sorry, I'm actually spending the night here, I have a lot of work to get done. I know you want to leave though, so you go on ahead, don't worry I won't rat you out so no one should come to drag you back to the school." You say with a chuckle, and wait for him to get going.

But he doesn't move. You can't read his expression, and the way the light hits his glasses isn't helping. Finally what he says is: "I guess you haven't changed that much after all."

Saying you're bewildered would be an understatement. "Huh?"

He loudly sighs, throwing his head back for added effect as he massages the bridge of his nose.

When he's looking back at you his glasses are now sitting crookedly on the space and you have to hold back the urge to reach up and fix them.

Two hands are now on your shoulders, as if to stop you from escaping the truth. "Listen." He says very seriously, all traces of his usually cheery voice gone. "I'm going to say this as plainly as possible. You're working yourself to the bone. I get it, you have some bigger picture in mind, some larger goal that I probably can't see and you're throwing everything trying to reach it but consider this. Maybe it's just not worth it. Not if you'll die long before you get to it within whatever crazy time limit you've set for yourself. Come on (Y/N), you're a field agent for God's sake, how lame would it be if you bite the dust from overworking on reports?!"

He's panting slightly, that speech was clearly coming from the heart and you really appreciate it, you really do, but ever since he first came in today you've had a nagging suspicion you've been trying to stamp down, but it was time to address the elephant in the room.

"Joshua. Why do you care so much? Because honestly the way you're talking right now..." You take a deep breath, "The way you sought me out today, the way you say all of this... I don't want to sound arrogant, but am I correct to assume that- that-"

You can't do this, if you're wrong what's left of your already dwindling friendship with him might be the price.

You back away from him. "I'm sorry never mind, forget I said anything, I'll keep your advice in mind so please just-" just go! I don't want you here when I cry!

But he must see something on your face because he's pulling you in for a hug. It feels so familiar so right that you can't help but melt into it. The exhaustion finally seems to catch up to you and you can't imagine having to trek the walk back to the dorms, much less get any more work done tonight.

You almost miss it, but you just barely make out the words "Yes, you are correct."

And that wakes you right back up.

You push back and straighten up, and he's immediately startling with you. "W-what?" He asks, looking absolutely adorable. This time, you do reach over and right his glasses.

"What did you just say? You whispered something just now, did I hear it right?" You stare at him intently, your gaze unwavering and determined.

He looks to the side, "Don't look at me like thaaaat." He quite literally whines.

"Like what?" You ask, finding yourself genuinely curious as to what he sees in your expression.

He looks back, "Like I'm one of your high priority missions. Don't give me hope if you don't mean it (Y/N)."

You're tired from a long, mentally exhausting day. Your brain to mouth filter is gone, but then again it usually is around Horropedia. You are not thinking straight but you kinda never are around this man.

You grab his necktie and snatch it down, dragging him with it. Your lips are on his in a second, he's reciprocating (thank goodness) the kiss in the next.

When the two of you break it off for air he has the widest grin he has ever given you. No not ever, but in a long time. The intense nostalgia is the last addition to the melange of feelings churning inside of you and the tears finally fall freely.

Predictably, Horropedia panics.

"I'M SO SORRY?! I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID BUT I'M SORRY?!?! WAS IT THE KISS? IT WAS THE KISS WASN'T IT-"

You quickly cover his mouth before he broadcasts any more private information to the whole office floor.

"Shhhh! Calm down! I just... I just needed a good cry I guess..." You end meekly, wiping your tears away.

Horropedia stares at you wide eyed. In another situation this would be the perfect teasing material, (Y/N) actually knows how to cry?! Or something along those lines, but evidently even he has better sense than to do that, so he instead silently hugs you again, and doesn't tighten his hold until you hug him back.

You could stay in his arms forever, which sounds cliche but isn't that amazing? That you could get to think of something so silly and cliche instead of the probability of success of your next mission strategy? You take a small step back without letting go, just to look at the wall clock and debate what to do next. You can tell Horropedia is eagerly waiting for your decision with bated breath. Finally you pull yourself out of the hug.

Only to grab your purse and keys, then quickly come back to his side.

"Alright. You win, what's the plan now?" You ask, twisting a scarf high around your neck to hide your excitement.

He frowns slightly, and hesitantly asks. "Do you still suffer from insomnia?"

Of course he remembers. "It's better now but yes." Is your answer.

"Then we go on the most anti-insomnia date to help you sleep!" He announces, opening the door for you.

You chuckle and head out, waiting for him to follow so you can lock your office.

"And where are we going?" You fiddle with your keys, slipping one in the lock.

"To your dorm room?" He asks more then answers.

You freeze. "Moving a little fast there don't you think?" You turn to face him.

He flushes bright red. "Noooo!! I knew you would misunderstand!!! I meant because your bed is there and you could go straight to sleep once you feel like it!!!"

You giggle. "Oh I know, just teasing." You say wiggling your eyebrows.

He gasps "You! I! Why you! Hmph!" He turns and walks on ahead, but there's a spring in his step and he's headed towards your dorm, so you know he's not actually mad. You jog to catch up to him.

"Geez Joshua, not all of us have long legs wait up!"

And he does slow down, but he also throws you a question. "Why do you keep calling me Joshua? At first I thought it was to annoy me, but that can't be right. So what's your reason?"

You consider this carefully. After everything that just happened, admitting this truth hardly feels like such a hard challenge. You talk as you walk.

"More than one reason I guess... For starters it's what I've always known you as... Despite what I said before, you actually have changed in a lot of ways, heck you used to be shorter than me." You laugh a bit, "The name feels like all I have left from back then." You say with a sigh.

He keeps silent, probably guessing there's more, so you continue, "Also... Well, this is a bit embarrassing but everyone calls you Horropedia... I guess I kinda felt special by being the only one calling you Joshua. It's silly I know."

Horropedia stops walking and grabs your hand, halting you too. He's silent for a moment before he croaks out, voice clearly emotional "You can call me whatever you want." Then he goes back to walking while still holding onto your hand, pulling you along. And that's that.

He walks you all the way to your dorm room then stops.

"You're not coming in? You didn't change your mind already did you?" You ask half jokingly but also kinda worried.

"Nope! I'll go bring my tv and some supplies, I'll be back in an hour or so, that way you'll have time to freshen up and maybe relax for a bit?" He says with a small smile, and ruffles your hair lightly.

You blink, then processing the first part of his sentence you ask: "Why are you bringing your TV? I have a TV."

"You do?" He sounds surprised.

"Of course, how else would I be able to play my romance film tapes?"

His mouth forms an "o" shape. "That actually makes sense, I don't know why I didn't think of that. Well there's still other stuff to be brought but this definitely helps save time, alright see you soon." He gives you a quick hug before parting ways.

Now home, you proceed to tidy up the dorm room and hop in the shower, then get dressed in a comfortable but cute outfit and style your hair into something more relaxed and comfy.

You head to your wardrobe and start opening the large bottom drawers you use to store blankets and pillows, and start constructing a pillow fort on the rug, facing the television.

It's not long until you hear a knock at your door, and with less restraint then you would usually allow, you rush towards it and swing it wide open to reveal a-

A pile of shopping bags and a plushie?

"A lil help here? Actually can you let me in?" You hear Horropedia's voice as he tries to right one of the bags sliding down with his knee.

"Ohhhh!" You intone, mesmerized, "A talking pile of bags and a plushie!"

"Haha, very funny." Horropedia's head pops up and despite his words he's definitely amused.

You quickly begin grabbing the bags closest to you and realize they're pretty much all filled with snacks and fizzy drinks... All of which you know for sure are nothing like those issued by the foundation.

"Where did you even get these?" You ask, as the both of you drag the bags inside. From the corner of your eyes you notice him taking extra care not to drop the relatively large plushie.

"Oh you know, I have my ways~" He replies, going for a mysterious tone.

Do his "ways" include Vertin's suitcase? Probably. But you don't say anything, let him have his moment.

When everything is set up nicely around your pillow fort, you turn to ask him what you're watching when you find him on one knee, dramatically presenting you with the stuffed toy.

"Will you do me the great honor, of accepting my humble offering?" He asks solemnly.

You burst out laughing "Wha- what are you doing..?" You wheeze.

You bend down to grab the plushie and admire it, it's a nice medium size, aka the perfect hugging size.

"I thought you might need a little friend to keep you company as we watch-" He takes out a film tape with a flourish "This movie!"

You blanch. "Is this one of your horror films? Are you serious? I thought we were trying to put me to sleep not keep me up all night." You say with an exasperated shake of your head.

"No no listen, you're used to romance movies, they're no good to help you sleep anymore or they would've worked by now right? Maybe what you need is something to wring out all the nervous energy from you so you can relax!"

Somehow that both makes some sense and no sense at once. But then you have a realization.

You pretend to think it over. "I don't know, even if what you say could hypothetically work, and while your gift is cute, I just don't feel like it's huggable enough, you know?"

His face falls slightly. "Oh? You don't like it do you? I knew I should've brought a bigger one-"

"No, what I'm saying is, it's not the same as cuddling with a warm human being."

You wait for the mostly genius yet sometimes dumb dumb young man in front of you to connect the dots. You can tell he did when his face is the shade of a ripe strawberry.

"OH! Ohhhh!! Oh. Yeah, yeah we can definitely uh- cuddle. As much as you want. Of course."

You laugh "Dude we were just hugging and kissing in my office! Why are you getting all shy on me now?" You tug him along by the arm to set up the film.

"I knoooow," he whines, "it's just this is a step further ok? And that was an I'm-really-worried-about-her hug, and the kiss was a very emotional moment my brain just wasn't braining!"

"Whatever you say." You reply as you poke his right cheek. "You're cute though so it's fine." You giggle.

You wait for him to berate you about calling him, the horror genre enthusiast and connoisseur "cute", but all he does is stare at you with a dopey smile, just making you melt.

"Are you sure we can't just watch a romance movie?" You ask softly.

"Nah, we're being our own romance movie right now." He says as he grabs your hand and hoists you up with him, leading you back to the pillow fort. "You'll pick the movie next time."

The screen turns on, displaying the title of the horror movie you settled on. “It’s a classic!” Horropedia says, clearly excited to share the movie with you.

As you both sink into the pillows, the opening title sequence of the film begins playing.

As the horror style music plays, you notice Horropedia lean in his body closer to yours, careful to not make it seem like he was trying to get nearer.

"You can come closer I don't bite," you say jokingly, "and if I was uncomfortable with having you here I wouldn't have mentioned cuddling in the first place."

Horropedia's face turns fully red as he realizes he was not being subtle.

"Yeah... sorry."

His body shifts, and he slides one arm around your shoulders. He then speaks, barely above a whisper, "Can I get a hug now...?"

"I didn't know you were the clingy type Joshua," you start to tease, "and before even the first jumpscare hap-" but you immediately get interrupted by a joke jumpscare, a character that is not the antagonist innocently scaring their friends as a prank, yet embarrassingly managing to startle you "Eeep-" your hands instinctively grab onto the nearest object, which of course has to be his torso.

Oh dear lord. You sigh internally.

You look up at his face, finding he at least has the decency to try and stifle his laughter, though he wasn't succeeding much. But his droopy eyes were crinkling at the sides, and his smile was just too beautiful so you couldn't get mad.

Horropedia chuckles at your expression, probably finding the irony amusing, and the fact it was a fake jumpscare that did you in.

He then quickly pulls you closer to give you that hug you were just teasing him about not a moment ago.

You feel your head lean against his shoulder as he pulls you in, wrapping his arms around you as you both settle further into your cozy pillow fort setup.

"This doesn't count you hear? I wasn't scared or anything, I'm just a bit jumpy." You say, trying to preserve your dignity. The last thing you need is the no.1 horror enthusiast to misunderstand and think you're a scaredy cat, you would never hear the end of the teasing.

You could feel his chest vibrating with laughter underneath you, and he reaches up with the opposite hand and ruffles your hair.

"Uh-huh." Is all he says.

~~~~~~

By the time the movie ends, you're already sound asleep. Horropedia carefully untangles your limbs and carries you off to bed. The day did not go as he'd expected, he'd go as far to say it went more like his fantasies then actual reality.

He tucks you in carefully, being mindful to jostle you as little as possible. He's fairly certain if you go on a second date (you probably will right? This date went great right?!?!) you won't settle for anything other than one of your romance movies.

Not that he minds, really. After today he doesn't think he'll be looking at the characters on the screen with jealousy or disgruntlement. He also thinks he'll enjoy whatever you pick.

He glances at your alarm clock. Oh it was late. He'd better get moving, while he has more freedom under Vertin's supervision now he still shouldn't push his luck. He decides he'll tell you tomorrow about his new, more flexible work arrangement.

He heads for the dorm room entrance, opening and closing the door softly behind him. His last thought before leaving is he'll have to ask what you thought of his movie pick tomorrow.

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

From the river to the sea PALESTINE WILL BE FREE ❤️ ❤️ ❤️ 🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸.

If you pray, please pray for Gaza and the Westbank 🙏🏻🙏🏻

#r1999 #reverse 1999 #gacha games #fanfic #horropedia #joshua #horropedia x reader #Horropedia x y/n #Horropedia x You

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cupids-chamber · 1 year

Text

— “ MIDNIGHT STRIKES “ Commissioned by an anonymous user Gender Neutral Reader / Yandere

You drank down your glass of mixed ‘mystery’ liquid—which you assume was champagne, though what kind you couldn’t quite tell. Though by the looks of the labels on the bottles, which were fancy, and bold; giving off a slight vintage feel, you could only assume the price of whatever you were drinking down, was something way out of your personal spending budget.

When Azul had invited you to a ball, you didn’t really think much of it—the fancy gifts, and outfits he had given you, all for this ‘ball’, never once struck you as unordinary,.. It could’ve been the obliviousness, or trusting nature, you’ve grown to have.. After all, it’s not always that you’d get to experience something as grand as a, grand ball—The name even has the word, grand in it! So, why overthink it?

It could’ve been the alcohol, clouding your judgment at that very moment, but you found yourself interacting with many random people, instead of your original plan of just staying in a corner—and hopefully sneaking a bunch of the snacks and aesthetically packaged candies into your bag. No one could’ve really blamed you for your hustling behavior, after all, the moment you entered Twisted Wonderland, you were put under rather…—poor conditions…

“Hey little shrimpy!”, you froze at the sound of the familiar voice, “Floyd?” you peaked out from your corner spot at the snack table; turning around to face the tall man, “Have you seen Azul?” he asked you, his tone was slightly concerned—something unlike Floyd, but you’d rather not overthink the gesture, after all.. It couldn’t be that bad..

“I’m offended, we haven’t seen each other in so long, and the first thing you ask is, ‘where’s azul?’”, you joked, trying to calm the tense atmosphere around him.

Floyd let out a nervous chuckle in response, “Sorry Shrimpy.. Kinda’ busy here, ya’ see..”, you nod at his response, letting out a soft sigh, “Haven’t seen Azul since morning… sorry.” you shrugged slightly, “Ah— I could’ve sworn he was around here!, hey lil shrimpy’, do me a tinsy little favor, and call me when you see Azul? Kay…?”; you nodded in response, letting out another deep sigh, as you watched the man skim away, into the crowds of people.. Wondering just what kind of a rukus happened, that made Floyd, of all people, worried..

You sat down, in a small corner, it had been an hour since your interaction with Floyd, and you’ve met up with some old classmates, and met many, many new faces—needless to say, you were quite drained from the event, and had hoped there would be something interesting going on, not to mention you were still rather curious about, whatever the hell had Floyd so riled up. You even spotted his beloved twin, Jade, skimming around the ballroom as well—and you assume they were both in search of their friend.

As the clock strikes ten, you couldn’t help but feel bored and quite frankly tired… Until, a certain silver-haired men, appeared.

Azul walked up behind you slowly, nudging your back a bit, “Are you alive, my dear?” he asks with a smile, as he watched your head perk up, “When did you get here?”, you asked, brows raised slightly, “Right now, actually….” he shifts in his spot slightly and you could see how his gaze softens at the sight of you, “The dance is going to start soon, care to join me?”, he lends out a hand, and you graciously accept it, “If I step on your feet, I’m not sorry..”, you joked as he leads you to the dance floor.

You felt his hands wrap around your waist, holding you in place firmly, yet his grip wasn’t as tight as you expected; his hold was secure as the two of you waltzed around the ballroom, staring into eachothers eyes… you sensed something was wrong, as your gut twisted and turned, but you couldn’t quite name it. You didn’t want to name it, as you stared into Azul’s ocean eyes, that seemed so sweet—so pure.. and in love.

The clock struck a quarter past eleven, as the two of you were on the balcony, catching your breaths from racing your way up here, the two of you enjoyed the sight of the stars, together, enjoying eachothers company, talking about all the things you could really chat about—recalling old school memories, plans for the future, going over things, catching up with eachothers lives.. all that fun, friendly stuff..

“You’re wearing the outfit I got you!” he chuckled, his grin growing wide, as he looked at you up and down, “I thought you already noticed—well it is your ball… I should dress in what the host wants, no?”. He chuckled at your response, feeling a slight tint of red approach his cheeks, something you failed to notice, or at least disregarded fully.

Azul carefully lead you back to the dance floor, and the feeling in your gut only surged, and you pushed it to the side, it was probably just jitters of dancing infront of so many others, who seemed to have been staring at you quite intently, you felt their gaze on you, as it dig holes into your skin, “are you ok?” azul asked, slowly raising your chin with his hands, and you nodded slightly, letting out a soft chuckle in response, warmth spread across your face.. He was ever so sweet and gentle, the kindest man you’ve ever met… Caring for your health, and wellbeing, he was always there for you..

“You know y/n… I…” and as he spoke, that clock struck the twelfth hour, his grip tightened on your jaw.. everything went quiet.. The music being the only background noise there was, no one in sight. The crowds were all gone, and those beautiful ocean blue eyes were tinted dark, impure, they looked lovesick—No.. The glint in his eyes was obsessive and cruel, as his soft warm, lively… smile disappeared..

“I… love you, my dear…”

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kawaiichibiart · 3 months

Text

....fuck it, here's more stuff in my AU where Felix becomes Argos as early as S1/S2:

He talks his mom into letting him transfer to DuPont. So what if he's already graduated? This way he and Adrien can bond!!

Kinda a repeat of when Lila joins the class, he's just not lying (much) to people. (By not lying much, I mean he pretends to be a nice, good, boy, but he's secretly enjoying bidding his time to be an absolute menace, bonus points to him if he can get Adrien in on it).

Nino likes him instantly after he hears Felix refer to his uncle as "that whiny, candy cane, little bitch? What about him?"

Lila returns and immediately believes Felix is Adrien but gets surprised when Adrien walks in a few minutes later. To her further surprise, he pulls his "twin" away from her and takes him to the back, to their seats (another thing she was unaware of). Nino is sitting with Marinette and Lila has to sit with Alya.

Felix, indeed, managed to get Adrien to act like a little menace (there are his bonus points). The rest of the class doesn't know whether to feel proud or betrayed.

People send the Ladyblog pic after pic, video after video, of Chat Noir and some guy (?) dressed like a bird. Some have even captured a clearly mad Ladybug in the background.

Argos makes his "official" debut after that.

Reporter: Chat Noir, why have you been patrolling less with Ladybug? Are you replacing her with Argos? Chat Noir:...he knows things about me, I know things about him. It's complicated but only to people who aren't....us. Reporter:... Are...are you not concerned? If he knows things, he could risk your identity!! Chat Noir: Nah, it's fine. He loves me too much. Argos, in the distance: FUCK YOU!! Chat Noir: See? (:

Fast friends with Kagami. Neither have any understanding of social cues.

Unsure where he stands with Marinette. On the one hand, she seems to genuinely care about Adrien and wants to see him happy. On the other hand, where the fuck did she get his schedule? He doesn't believe she uses it for all her friends/classmates. He's calling bullshit on that.

Gives Nino free ammo to use against Gabriel.

Ladybug still tries to get him to hand over the peacock Miraculous, or at least tell her who he is. He continuously tells her to kiss his ass.

He's also done that to Hawkmoth.

Akuma of the Day: HAND OVER THE PEACO- the peacock Miraculous?? But, don't you- Hawkmoth: YES, YES, I WANT THE LADYBUG AND CAT MIRACULOUS, BUT THAT, THAT- Argos: Go ahead, take your time. What am I? Hawkmoth: HE STOLE IT FROM ME, I WANT IT BACK!! Argos: let me think about it... No. Hawkmoth: HAND OVER YOUR, I MEAN MY, I MEAN MAYURA'S MIRACULOUS!! Argos: You can join Ladybug (Ladybug, knowing what's he's about to say: Hey!) and the Guardian in kissing my ass, this Miraculous is mine. Argos: bitch.

#felix graham de vanily #felix fathom #miraculous au #argos #mlb argos #miraculous argos #early bird au

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charlietheepicwriter7 · 7 months

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Hey, Little Songbird

Final Chapter - AO3

Three days after the defeat of Gabriel Agreste and the arrest of Lila Rossi, Felix was invited out for ice cream by his classmates.

A little flustered, he’d agreed without thinking. Rationally, there was little reason to why Lê Chiếninvited him to join, and even less of a reason why Felix accepted. There was still too much to do in the wake of Hawkmoth’s arrest; lawyers to speak to, statements given to police and press alike, entertaining his mother who’d overtaken his home to take custody of Adrien… Frivolities like ice cream socials couldn’t be entertained.

Despite that idea, Felix found himself smiling under the sun, surrounded by classmates as they all took turns at the food cart.

Couffaine and her girlfriend—a few days of diligent study only unearthed a few of his classmates names, not all—stepped out of his way, a sundae to share between the two. He approached the ice cream stall and—“Where is your menu?”

The man, Andre or something similar, smiled merrily. “Ah, so this is your first time at Sweethearts Ice Cream? Allow me to explain.” Picking up his scoop, Andre started to fulfill his order despite Felix having never ordered anything. “Sweethearts Ice Cream has a special ablility; to connect the hearts of two people in love. The harmony of two hearts in love influences the flavors of the ice cream. And there!” With a flourish, Andre offered him his waffle cone ice cream. “Blackberry for her hair, blue bubblegum for her eyes, and black cherry for her secret you keep in your heart.”

“…This is a terrible business model.” Despite his words, Felix paid the man and took his cone. “I don’t even know who this could refer to.”

“Really? You have no idea?”

Nearly dropping his ice cream, Felix whirled around. “M-Marinette!? When did you get here?”

“Just now,” she said, squeezing up beside him at the counter. “Hey, Andre.”

“Marinette! You’re ready to give Sweethearts Ice Cream another chance then?” Andre grinned at them both. “Or… would you two like to try my Couples Sundae? It’s free for new lovers.”

Felix flushed, a protest frozen in his throat. Fortunately, Marinette could still speak. “No, thank you,” she said, voice pitched higher than usual. “Just a regular ice cream, please.”

“Of course, of course.” Changing his scoop for a fresh one, Andre started on a new waffle cone: a base of yellow with dark chocolate, with a scoop of bright blue on top. “Banana for his hair, cotton candy for his eyes, and…” He flipped the cone over and dipped it in chocolate, “…a dark chocolate shell, since you broke through his.”

Blushing, Marinette accepted her ice cream. Felix offered her his arm and escorted Marinette towards a bench separate from the class, who were watching them. Lê Chiến even offered Felix a grin and a thumbs-up, to which he awkwardly returned with a nod.

“How…” She paused to take a bite of her ice cream, dark chocolate snapping between her teeth. “How has everything been? I’m sorry for not being in class the past few days, but it’s been so busy…”

“I can only imagine.” Marinette—or rather, Ladybug—has been in and out of the police station as often as Adrien was, giving her statement. Between that and the press conference Mme. Bustier stopped class to let them watch yesterday, if she’d spent more time as Marinette than Ladybug these last few days, Felix would French-kiss Rossi. “It’s been quiet, especially once Ladybug announced that Gabriel was Hawkmoth. Ms. Bustier tried to make us talk about our feelings, but everyone’s still a bit too shocked to discuss it.” After all, it wasn’t every day when you discovered your classmate’s father was the terrorist who turned you into a supervillain. Reporters had hounded their class from the moment the news dropped.

They were even worse towards his family.

“The school’s talking about shipping in a therapist for us,” Felix explained. “Not only that whole Akuma Class nonsense, but also because we were in direct contact with a terrorist for months on end. So, you have that to look forward to when you get back.” Rossi was allowed unrestricted access to vulnerable minds for over half a year. There was no doubt his class needed therapy… including Marinette.

“At least she’s been expelled from the country,” Marinette said, sighing. “Honestly, that was harder than giving my statement ten times over. The Prime Minister wanted her trial on French soil. I had to argue with the Prime Minister! All for Lila.”

“Why?” Felix would never do anything to help Rossi.

“News of her involvement is going to drop any day now. People are already trying to attack Gabriel in his cell; when the mob of public opinion finds out about her, they’ll start trying to get her too. At least this way she’ll be tried back in her home country, by people who were never directly affected by her actions.”

Felix didn’t like it, but “It’s understandable. People are also trying to get to Adrien, despite his innocence.”

Marinette nodded, half-expected that. “How is Adrien? I haven’t heard from him at all.”

“One of his photographers leaked his phone number, so Mom took his phone away so he wouldn’t have to read all the vile filth people send him. He’s getting a new one soon.”

It wasn’t that Felix didn’t understand why people were so upset. Gabriel turned Paris into a battleground and friends into foes, but… the police had already released a statement denying Adrien’s cooperation regarding Hawkmoth, yet there are still hateful phone calls and texts coming in at every hour from people who wanted someone to blame. At least Mother was keeping a record of who sent the more illegal messages: the threats, the doxing, the… suicide baiting.

Their family lawyer would be well fed in the coming months.

It was hard with Adrien in his house. Awkward. Despite Adrien’s frame-job, he was still family, and Felix was someone who supported his family. But that didn’t mean Adrien was forgiven. Felix didn’t forgive, and he’d never forget.

Surprisingly, the tabloids were kind towards Felix. He made no effort in hiding his involvement in the case, both as the whistle blower for Hawkmoth and as a hero involved in the final take down. Mother had cut out some particularly flattering articles out to hang in their manor parlor, but fortunately the threat of arrest and restraining orders kept most of the rats away.

“How’d Adrien take it?” she asked.

Felix bit his ice cream, so he’d have time to answer. Damn that ice cream man. It was delicious. “He didn’t believe it at first… didn’t want to believe it. He’s seeing a therapist on Friday.”

Marinette wrapped her hands around her ice cream cone. “Poor Adrien…”

“He’ll recover; he’s stronger than you think. He’s already made plans to hang out for the weekend.” He gestured at Alya and DJ Boy, leaning against each other and sharing a sundae. Alya caught his eye and waved. “Everyone’s going to be okay now.”

“Yeah.” Marinette drank in the sight. Not just Alya and her paramour—though they earned a smile for finally making up—but their other classmates as well. Felix had never been invited to a class outing before, but even though they’d broken up into subgroups of couples and friends, everyone looked happy. “We’ll recover.”

The sun shined down on them all, warming skin like a heated blanket. Felix studied the melting treat at hand. “So. Ladybug?”

She flinched.

“I haven’t told anyone,” he reassured. “I understand why it’s a secret. I understand why you didn’t tell me. But…” He sighed. “I’ve been keeping this to myself for days. Can you please just… confirm?”

She took a deep breath. “Yes.” She peeked at him from the corners of her eyes. “This is me, confirming. Yes.”

Okay. A shiver ran through him. Marinette was Ladybug. His best friend was a superhero and trusted him enough to be a superhero too.

He was in love with Ladybug.

As was Chat Noir. And half of Paris. Shit.

“So, what gave me away?” she asked.

“Little things. Nothing anyone else could put together.” Little things that added up into the big picture. The way Ladybug knew he’d worn a hoodie earlier that day, the inherent trust she had in a man she previously punched in the face, the way she looked at him. But most importantly, Felix felt that she’d wanted to get caught, that Marinette had wanted him to know she was Ladybug, and that was what removed the block in his mind preventing him from realizing.

“Small mercies,” she muttered. “Did you really think I was Rena Rogue?”

Felix hid his face in his ice cream. “…It made sense at the time?”

She laughed at him. “Alya’s never going to let you live that down.”

Alya? Why would Alya care—? Oh. He felt his face growing red and it had nothing to do with the weather. “She really won’t, will she?” He asked, sounding faint.

“Yeah, you really dropped the ball on that conclusion. You should have heard her complain! “Your boy is so stupid, how do you even stand him?””

And now Felix was blushing for a different reason. Her boy?

“—I tried to keep her from talking about it in front of the other temporary heroes, but I think Viperion knows. Carapace definitely does.”

“Did she complain in front of Hawkmoth too?” he grumbled, wishing he was wearing a hoodie to better hide his face. “Throw Rossi into the loop while she’s at it? Maybe my mother would like to know all my follies?”

“Oh! Speaking of your mom—” Marinette pulled a chain out from under her shirt. His breath caught in his throat. She’d kept it on her person? “You can finally return this to her.” Threading the wedding ring off her necklace, she placed it his hand, its matching pair resting on his finger.

He squeezed it, the smooth ridges cutting into his palm… and returned it to her. “Keep it. It’s exactly where it needs to be.”

“What? But this is the entire reason you were here!” She tried to give it back again. “It’s your family ring!”

“It’s my family’s wedding ring,” he corrected. “And while most would consider this too forward of an approach, the realization that you’re the most eligible bachelorette in Paris is making me react… strongly. So, I was thinking about a spring wedding? After we graduate Lycée, of course, so it would be a long engagement—”

Marinette covered his mouth, face blush red from the tips of her ears to the neckline of her shirt. “What!?” She asked, voice cracking. “M-M-Marriage!? Felix, we can’t…”

“Well, yes, not right now. That’s why I said after Lycee.” Obviously. “I don’t see what the issue is? My family has had arranged marriages for centuries, and we like each other. Right?” Had he misidentified her feelings? She always acted sweet with him and blushed when he flirted, but what if he was wrong? What if he humiliated himself and ruined their friendship in one swift move—

“Of course I like you, but you haven’t even asked me out on a date yet!” She burst out, causing the rest of the class to glance over. She buried her face in her hands and continued, voice muffled, “Dating comes before marriage; I can’t believe I have to explain this to you!”

Oh. That was the issue. Gently pulling her hands away, he dabbed at her tears with a handkerchief. “I’m sorry, Marinette. I got ahead of myself.” Alya glared at him from over Marinette’s shoulder. Nosy overprotective reporters, getting in everyone else’s business… “I didn’t mean to pressure you. What I mean with the ring is… a promise. I would love to be in a relationship with you, if you’d have me.”

She looked up at him from underneath her lashes. “A promise?”

“To stay by your side and support you in your endeavors.” His family’s marriage vows echoed in his mind, passed down from his grandparents, from his grandfather who was so in love with his grandmother that he couldn’t think of a world where she wasn’t his equal. “As long as you stay by my side and support me in return. To lift you up through the hard times and rejoice with your success. To be equals in all things. That’s what I want to promise you.”

Tears budded in her eyes. “To stay by your side… to be equals… that’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“Then, would you do me the honor of being my girlfriend? And going out on a date with me?”

Her tears ran down her face, but her smile lit up the entirety of Paris with her joy. “Yes. I’d love to, Felix.”

Taglist: @graduatedmelon @novicevoice@dur55@kris-pines04@18-fandoms-unite-08@moonlightstar64@bee-a-garbage-shipper@sol-o-shade@kittyotakunoir666@tinyterror333@allieoftheenemy@marichat00@xgxmxtx@two-faced-biatch@feliciakainzofspades@evil-cricket@emilytopaz@spicybelladonna@chocolateherringtacofan@user00000003@wannajointhecrabcult@happymonster-pants @duquesapincarrasca @throneoffirebreathingbitchqueen @sxltinette @kittydemon9000 @thetrashypanda423 @unoriginalmessess @toodaloo-kangaroo @troycattribunny@nikipuppeteer

#ml salt #lila rossi's lies are exposed #felinette #fandom felix #lila salt #felix graham de vanily #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #hey little songbird #mlb #miraculous fanfic #salt fanfic #thank you all for reading #your comments meant the world to me #except for the lila anon

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lacedteatime · 9 months

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Bakugou should be expelled

If any one of the students of Class 1-A plagiarized one of their essays, they would likely face severe consequences, if not expulsion. Not only is plagiarism wrong, but it shows that they don't have the morals necessary to be a hero.

Why should violence against peers be any different?

Many people in this fandom, including Bakugou stans, are so quick to say that Mineta should be expelled (as he should), but give countless excuses why Bakugou shouldn't.

His actions were before UA? Not all of them; the battle trials and the final exam are examples of it happening under teacher supervision.

He'd become a dangerous villain if he was kicked out? So watch him! Why should him being worse mean that his consequences are less?

He didn't know any better? He shouldn't be a hero if he doesn't know right from wrong.

The villains will go after him? He should have been expelled before the USJ, but with the villains as an issue, again, keep an eye on him! Do not put him in a position of power!

He placed first on the entrance exam and the sports festival, so the public would be upset? It would instill confidence from the public to know that heroes are being held accountable. Though Aizawa said that he would not become a villain at the press conference, but expulsion does not mean that the ex-student was or will be a villain. It's a tricky situation, but that does not mean that the abuser should be put in a position of power!

Anger management and a transfer to either 1-B or 1-C would be a better punishment? Anger management should not be the main punishment. If it is put forward as a punishment at all, it would not work. It is below the bare minimum, though it should happen. This idea of switching classes being a punishment only says that those classes are lesser. They're not, and he does not deserve their prestige, just like he doesn't deserve 1-A's.

Honestly, being held back a year while on probation would be better, as long as his re-enrollment was conditional enough. But like I said before, if a student would be expelled from UA for plagiarism on an essay, a student should be expelled for the level of violence Bakugou has shown.

If you think that a zero on the assignment, some detentions, and a note in the student's records would be the punishment for plagiarism, then it would be fine for that sort of thing (amplified to fit the level of Bakugou's actions) to be his punishment each time he hurts a classmate without good reason. But it should be clearly explained and carried out, as well as increased with each incident.

I still think expulsion is the right answer, but I get that my answer to a problem is not the only answer.

I get that they have bigger things to worry about right now, but he should have been expelled way earlier, and it can still happen once everything calms down -- unless he actually improves enough in the meantime. Leaving it at a half-assed apology and barely any change in behavior is manipulative and not nearly enough. Plus, he has treated citizens badly as well, so just changing how he treats Izuku wouldn't be enough either.

I just wanted to rant. This will probably happen again. If you don't agree, feel free to comment. I will respond, because debate about this stuff is like candy to me, so tell me if you don't want me to respond. If you are genuinely angry about what I said, please do not comment -- at least not without putting forward a legitimate argument. Yes, I have read the manga.

#anti bakugou #anti bakugo katsuki #anti bakudeku #UA critical #Bakugou stans DNI

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absolutebl · 1 year

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2022 BL Wrap Up - All The Shows I Watched... rated

I’m not going to talk about everything BL that I watched in 2022, that would be the longest post ever. But still, this is a really long post. Sorry, not sorry. Everything I watched got a pithy little review.

2022 BL - Watched & Rated

This includes any show that ended in 2022, including those that started in 2021. Alphabetical-ish order.

21 Days Theory (Thailand YT ) 6/10

Tropes: high school, cheating, secret crush, high angst

Initially I REALLY loved this little show. It reminded me of Blueming + Make it Right (never forget I’m the world’s foremost Make It Right apologist, and the lead even looks a little like Fuse). Why did I like it? 1. GAY UNCLE character giving GREAT advice!. 2. Boys in blue shorts are back! 3. Seme is already pining, uke is tsundere but with reason and conflict is set up and executed well as a result. 4. lots of linguistic discussion and flirting (they made the linguistically fascinating couples post). Everything about this show is in my wheelhouse and this would have jumped high in my rating (even at this length) if they had bothered to finish it like the YA romance it clearly was. But the ending was disappointing. I’m not mad about it, but I’m not happy either.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

The 8.2 Second Rule (Japan YouTube) 6/10

AKA 8.2 Byo no Hosoku

Tropes: secret admirer, food in love, soulmates

Very short BL about a schoolboy who makes magic candy for a series of handsome classmates, questing for a soulmate. Each ep is a new love interest and while the sweets help others, they keep failing to bring him love. Of course h's overlooking someone. The lead was very good and the theme, cooking, and eventually romance were charming, but it is a series of BL vignettes not really a cohesive story, no kisses or anything. Japan doesn’t give us sweet BL this short very often, so it was nice to see them try out the style.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

A Man Who Defies the World of BL 2 (Japan Viki) unrated

I consider this show a documockary, not really a BL. As with the first installment I loved it beyond reasons, I tagged the second season review onto the first. Review here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

About Youth (Taiwan GaGa) 8/10

It’s truly lovely little coming of age high school BL with classic YA low drama but high angst, I didn’t even mind the singing, and that’s saying a lot. It featured Taiwan's modern take on AePete: popular but painfully lonely rich kid, Guang (complete with evil pressure-cooker tiger parents) meets and is basically adopted by poor nerdy (secret rockstar) Qizhang. HE EVEN HAS AE’S TOTE!!! Side dishes are Guang’s adorable bestie, Ray, and even more adorable (also a rockstar) Jian. Lots of BL tropes but also this is quite queer and very Taiwan with an earnestness depth I haven’t seen since My Ride an almost real world authenticity. Not that I normally like that in my BL, but I’ll forgive Taiwan (and the Philippines) for their sticky almost dirty style if it is this endearing and engaging (see also Gameboys). I wish it had been given a bit more room to breathe, but all in all a great edition to the Taiwanese BL lexicon which was in dire need of just this kind of content. Full review.

RECOMMENDED

Ai Long Nhai (Thailand iQIYI) 6/10

Tropes: messy gay, trial relationship, friends to lovers

Look this show was just a typical Thai BL university pulp about a confident gay and a clueless manic pixie dream boy, that had potential, chemistry, and earnestness going for it, but no plot and not enough side dishes. In the end it was boring and you know I always rate boring lower than hot messes. Still it��s better than your average Thai BL, nothing happens but at least the nothing mostly shirtless, the gay dads are the BEST, and that’s about all I can say for it.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

Bad Buddy (Thailand YouTube) 9/10

Tropes: secret lovers, Romeo & Romeo, sunshine/tsundere, enemies-to-friends-to-lovers, GL side plot

GMMTV’s flagship BL started 2022 on a BANG (okay no actual banging but you know what I mean), starring heavy hitters Ohm & Nanon in a pitch perfect university Romeo & Juliet masterpiece that will give you domesticity meets pain whiplash throughout and jet lag at the end. Great production values, killer acting, and some conscious effort to correct for half a decade of Thai BL’s anti-queer mistakes. GMMTV, we forgive you. More. Live blog of this one is here. Full review here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Behind Cut (Korea, Jan Viki) 8/10

Tropes: grown up problems, finding your dreams, friends to lovers

Better than average chemistry (for KBL) and a unique setting almost pulled this show into the realm of something quite special but it never quite managed to get away from the pacing and story structure issues endemic to KBL’s limited time frame and scope. Still It gets the job done. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Big Dragon (Thailand Gaga) 7/10

Tropes: player love-rivals/enemies to lovers, rich/poor

This is a decent execution of true enemies to lovers, these two spy on and bully each other, exploring darker themes. The way the leads transition between anger, resentment, titillation, and flirting (and the way, with kinksters, this can all be the same thing) is really well done. This BL pairing proved itself to be a lot more sophisticated than I expected with nods at kink in a more respectful way than Mame could ever dream, plus excellent chemistry, but something was askew around plot, directing, and ending.

RECOMMENDED FOR THE LEAD PAIR, BUT NOT MUCH ELSE

Blue of Winter AKA Judo Boys (Korea YouTube) 3/10

Tropes: Bad boy/good boy, mad crush, reunion romance

OMG, is that..? Did Korea give us… a pulp? I do believe they did! The sound quality was poor, lighting sub par, even the filming and staging wasn’t on point (for Korea). Sadly none of that was the problem, this could have actually been good, the cast was excellent, but instead it was just really... odd. Focused on the wrong couple in the triangle and spent too much time on some elements and not enough on... ya know PLOT. Not terrible but not good either. in the end I didn’t know what I watched and neither did it.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Bleuming (Korea iQIYI) 9/10

Tropes: enemies to lovers (sort of), coming of age, self worth and self acceptance, lonely prince, sunshine/tsundere

It’s a tiny bit dark and a tiny bit bittersweet, almost too honest to a university experience and first love for BL. I wasn’t into it at first, but both leads turn in solid performances and by ep 5 it got good, becoming a narrative about self discovery, as well as understanding and accepting others people’s flaws without hurting them. Ultimately, we witnessed two characters maturing because of each other and their mutual affection while that affection was never itself the conflict point. Instead, tension was built around other aspects of identity, popularity, and self-worth. While production values were a touch lower than usual, Blueming included decent kisses and other forms of intimacy and a satisfying ending (all rare for Korea) plus there’s judicious and very elegant use of tropes, (which is expected). Full review here.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED

Check Out (Thailand iQIYI) 4/10

Tropes: office, second chance, high heat

Special episode 0 (prequel) filmed in 2021 was the only good thing about this show. Characters lacked motivation, there was no story, the leads were a fine pair but the sex scenes managed to be both good and boring. I nearly DNFed. Ugh.

FATALLY FLAWED

Choco Milk Shake (Korea Strongberry YT) 8/10

Tropes: reincarnation, fated mates, paranormal elements

Choco Milk Shake (Korea YouTube) Stongberry gave us a full length BL on YouTube! It’s a BL miracle and an endless delight. It was wonderfully cute, unexpectedly hilarious but expectedly silly, a little too poignant, occasionally gut wrenching and with a somewhat expected weird (but happy-ish) ending. The actors playing the two pets must have had the best time. As, indeed, did I watching it. Jealous Milk made me cackle so hard it scared the actual cat on my lap, Choco was perfectly cast, and the chemistry was ultimately decent. In Strongberry I still trust. Thank you thank you, may we have another, sirs?

RECOMMENDED

Cherry Blossoms After Winter (Korea Viki) 9/10

Tropes: High school to college, cohabitation, stepbrothers, popular boy/nerd (shy, loner, bullied), orphan protag

Korea took on early Japanese sweet yaoi but gave it their signature softness and precise production style with a STUNNING color palette (beautiful pastels, sun-saturated over-exposure), manga framing style, some traditional BL character archetypes, that tiny edge of bullying roughness and out-of-control seme, plus FINALLY a palatable take on the stepbrothers trope and it was, in a word, classic. Sophisticated and understated CBAW is not slow, it’s just subtle. It's dream-like and atmospheric, as if the whole thing took place under cold water on a warm spring day. Is there plot or peril? Not really. Do we care? Also, not really. Look, I can’t help it, I’m old school and so is this show. I grew up reading sweet yaoi, and this was THAT YAOI just on my screen. There’s no objectivity with me and CBAW. It’s a beautiful pastiche and I loved it for how it made me feel and what it reminded me of. It’s not flawless, but it is a wonderful experience. Full review here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Cherry Magic the movie (Japan grey) 8/10

AKA Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!: The Movie AKA 30-sai made Dotei Da to Mahotsukai ni Nareru rashii

Tropes: LTR, cohabitation, self acceptance, coming out

I liked it, not as much as the original, it lacked the humor. Again no kissing, these actors must be expensive, but some nice domesticity. Still with Thailand bringing the higher heat with such consummate casualness these days (licking ass and taking names) there really isn’t much of an excuse anymore for no kisses, it felt a little phoned in. Even Korea has buckled, come on Japan, grow up.

RECOMMENDED

Close Friend 2 (Thailand Viki) 6/10

Tropes: LTR, adult problems, the closet, coming out

It’s basically dealing with two kinds of closet: the one imposed on us, and the one we impose on ourselves. Honestly Pierce and Phoon are very mature characters for a BL couple - the kind of relationship that only OhmFluke could really portray, and they do it very well. That’s almost the problem - it is too well done and thus discomforting. if you don’t like realism in your BL avoid this show. I liked the celebrityhood vs fandom storyline, although I thought it was too generous to those fans. Both pairs did well but I wasn’t wowed by story or content, over all a bit dull.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

Coffee Melody (Thailand Viki) 5/10

Tropes: cafe setting, food is love, sing your feelings

Stars Pavel (my love) as a cafe owner (Forth in 2moons2) and Benz as a composer (Call it What You Want). This should have been my kind of BL - on the fluffy end of the spectrum plus honestly queer. Unfortunately, the slow pacing, manufactured angst, odd secondary story arcs, and a selfishly immature unlikeable wet dishcloth main character, Yi, meant its flaws outweighed its charm. Jean (flame on snark fairy) is MINE, I love him so much but in the end neither he nor Pavel in an apron could save it for me. It’s not bad. It’s not good either, tho. Ultimately so forgettable I’ve probably already forgotten it.

JUST DULL

Color Rush 2 (Korea Viki) 7/10

Tropes: crush, friends to (almost) lovers, paranormal, suspense, murder investigation

In this second installment the plot revolves around Yeon Woo searching for his mother (and, sort of, his probe) joined by Se Hyun, whose sister is involved. We’re right back in gay allegory territory only this time the question is: Can you miss something you never had? Especially when it has to do with your own identity? Also, has Sehyun switched his (supposedly) natural inclination towards obsession onto Yeonwoo? I liked it. I liked Hyuk a lot more than I was expecting too. Like the prior installment, Color Rush 2 was stylish and clever (although not quite as clever). Honestly, in the end, I don’t know what to say about Color Rush 2. Does it work as the second installment of a trilogy? Absolutely. Does it work as the final installment of a duology. Absolutely NOT. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Cupid’s Last Wish (Thailand YouTube) 6/10

Tropes: pining/tsundere, bodyswap, quest, road trip

Win is such an incredibly unlikeable character I really struggled with this show, no skin off Mix’s acting, but holy fucking irredeemable tsundere. Also I really do not like body-swap. The final ep tried (and for some it may have been successful) but combine this with bodyswap (my least favorite trope) and even EarthMix’s chemistry (which has improved since Thousand Stars) didn’t save it.

WORTH WATCHING FOR SOME, BUT FLAWED

Cutie Pie (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: arranged marriage, age gap, secret identity, cohabitation, rich kid problems, he’s in engineering

Very high production and a lot of visual references to live action yaoi gave this show a whiff of Japan but ultimately it stayed firmly in Thailand’s BL camp veering from absurd to appealing to annoying and then back to absurd again. If you can roll with the arranged marriage conceit and very lifestyle D/s relationships, the chemistry is spot on even if the plot is naff and sappy and driven by miscommunication. Watch this one for the pretty, give it a pass on depth. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Dear Doctor, I'm Coming For Soul (Thailand YouTube) 7/10

Tropes: PNR, grim reaper, enemies to lovers

This is a romance between a doctor trying to save his patients and a reaper who is both his enemy and (eventually) lover. Basically it’s the genius premise of a gay Doom at Your Service. High concept looks good on you, Thailand. I enjoyed it more than it’s ending deserved, and the best I can say is that it’s not strictly HEA but if you’re okay with Life: Love on the Line, you’ll probubly be okay with this BL.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

DNA Says Love You (Taiwan GaGa) 8/10

Tropes: secret identity, reunion romance, queer family, bisexual awakening, sunshine/broken, healing, quest

While this is one of those series (ostensibly) carried by the sunshine seme character (Taiwan is always weak in seme/uke) and he does a stand-up job, Erek Lin, who plays the love interest, Amber, is luminous. I found the twist entirely predictable, but knowing what would happen didn't spoil this show for me, in fact I think I sympathized more with Amber and understood his behavior better, because I knew. The exact way it’s handled (medically speaking) is a little disingenuous to a queer narrative (AKA they could have just GONE there) but I didn’t mind, because all the characters around Amber act with such integrity. Since this is a queer story arc that other shows have systemically mishandled and made depressing, DNA deserves extra marks for its uniquely upbeat approach. It’s full of queer found family representation and an unexpected amount of domesticity, plus it’s Taiwan, so the kisses are great. The last few eps really are special and life/love affirming - and the ending is big-grin charming. Full review here.

VERY MUCH RECOMMENDED

Gen Y 2 (Thailand grey) 5/10

Tropes: this is an insane soap opera

Exactly as chaotically messy as expected, possibly worse, as the four main couples apparently each decided they were acting in a different kind of BL. While I do believe that the world demands the excess Star Hunter provides, it is utterly exhausting to watch. No full review because I live blogged this one here.

WATCH IT ONLY IF YOU NOTHING BETTER TO DO

Ghost Host, Ghost House (Thailand YouTube) 7/10

Tropes: my ghost boyfriend, PNR, domesticity

This is a light horror plus family drama built around a well executed BL trough-line that felt honestly queer with fantastic chemistry from the lead pair. (I hope that we see more of them.) Pluem delivers the softest most seductive krap ever and watching them flirt over noodles is an unalloyed pleasure. Use of I/you pronouns is super interesting and cute. For me personally the surrounding cast, premise, and story didn’t resonate but if you like a touch of gothic in your BL this might appeal.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

The Eclipse (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: sinister boarding school, haze the one you love, suspense, high school setting, coming of age

GMMTV does gay Blacklist with a good boy/bad boy pairing. Starred First & Khaotung plus the side dish pair from FUTS NeoLouis. This is a good show but the cast was excellent and the leads were absolutely flawless. They gave us a nuanced and multifaceted burgeoning relationship: philosophical (and socio-political) conflict contrasted to moments of empathy; flirtation contrasted to moments of genuine affection. This narrative is less about love than it is about courage and tenderness. However, near the end the pacing was off and the plot frustrating. Still, this is an enjoyable watch, with an ending that features verbal consent and a funny blooper reel.

RECOMMENDED

Enchanté (Thailand YouTube) 7/10

Tropes: childhood sweethearts, sunshine/tsundere, secret admirer with a touch of Cyrano de Bergerac and dose of Boys Over Flowers.

Theo returns from France and starts a written flirtation inside a library book (!) at his new uni with the mysterious Enchante. When he and his best friend Akk hunt for Enchante’s real identity, 4 senior boys step forward - all intersted in dating Theo, all with ulterior motives. Can’t fault the chemistry or the classic old school Thai uni BL and Akk (Force) was particularly sympathetic. But the twist over Enchantie’s identity felt disingenuous, manipulative, and unnecessary and the whole narrative was flawed as a result, Theo became unlikeable and irredeemable. GMMTV seems to specialize in squandering great chemistry on shoddy scripts. Honestly it probubly should get an 8/10 by my rating system but I was so disappointed I’m giving it a 7/10 and not bothering to write a full review. Live blog ep-by-ep recap here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Eternal Yesterday AKA Eien no Kino (Japan Gaga) 2/10

Tropes: my ghost boyfriend, paranormal, kill the gay, dark

Smart boy in love with zombie incubus, keeps him alive with sex. This prevailing wistfulness between our leads about the future that they know they will never get to have. The way Michan is constantly listening and feeling for his Koichi’s heartbeat for a reassurance that is never going to come.Japan, king of thirst, gives us both that and PAIN: these 2 are drowning in yearning and loss. Careful with this one - you break it, you bought it, and it'll break you... wide open just to see what color your guts are. After watching, you too might be walking around alone, forgotten, and wondering why no one understands your loss. Not only does it not end happily, it ends hopelessly.

NOT RECOMMENDED (for newer BL fans)

Even Sun (Thailand iQIYI) 5/10

Tropes: vacation romance, enemies to lovers, sunshine/tsundere

The language is fun in this one (they also use chan/nai so I’m guessing it’s and organized crime thing), the cast is excellent, the boxers mildly interesting and BounPrem’s chemistry is unmatched, but... I still disliked it. It was unequivocally boring.

WATCH ONLY IF YOU’VE NOTHING BETTER TO DO

First Love Again (Korea Viki) 7/10

Tropes: fated mates, bodyswap

A popular novelist who remembers his past lives meets his soulmate who has been reincarnated in the body of a man. This one started out a touch mean spirited, but it pulled itself together and we even got a good kiss (for a KBL). Then they went from like to love to boyfriends in a red hot minute. The confession/rejection scene was justified and the reconciliation and ending was... fine. All in all the pacing felt rushed, and the romantic arc was underdeveloped, but that’s par for the course with Korea’s short form. If you don’t mind a heavy does of melodrama in your BL this one has a solid story with a strong concept that’s well acted and produced, making it a classic KBL with better than average chemistry but ultimately a touch forgettable. (Full review here.)

RECOMMENDED WITH A FEW RESERVATIONS

Fukou-kun wa Kiss Suru Shikanai! (Japan Viki & GaGa) 8/10

AKA Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice but to Kiss! AKA Mr Unlucky Can Only kiss

Tropes: opposites attract, accidental relationship, cohabitation

Mr Chronically Unlucky (another adorable chaos muffin) and Mr Always Lucky end up dating after they meet at uni orientation. It’s JAPAN yet they kissed in the first episode. What freaky alt-reality did I enter into? That’s all they kiss tho, over which I was a touch disappointed (I know). Still I spent far too much of my time with this show biting my knuckles and squealing “THEY’RE SO CUTE!” Amusing story: I paused mid the most tooth-achingly adorable first date in the entire universe and Viki was like “something missing?” and I was like “MY HEART YOU BASTARDS” It is very slapstick Japanese style comedic (light) BL reminds me a bit of Kieta Hatsukoi or Cherry Magic. So if you like that style of BL you’ll adore this show.

RECOMMENDED

Happy Ending Romance (Korea Gaga) 8/10

Tropes: office romance, identity theft, cohabitation

As a BL it kinda isn’t (sorry to say). There’s no tropes dropped and no real romance narrative beats. This is about dishonesty and pride and there is an elegance to the theme. Which is essentially the idea that possession is not love, and therefore, those who love the Writer have to prove their love by letting him go. Honestly, I’m not sure how to rate this show as a result. This is a blog about BL and this wasn’t that. Full review.

RECOMMENDED (but not if romance is what you’re primarily after)

Hard Love Mission (Thailand WeTV) 3/10

Tropes: office romance, spoiled celebrity,

Phenomenally dull Thai pulp about a journalist sent to interview a celebrity who ends up his manager, only 4 episodes and it still could’ve been shorter. It’s a bummer, the concept wasn’t bad. ALSO Chinese censorship got its gross mitts all over it (thank you, Tencent). Do not waste your time.

I DON'T KNOW WHAT I’M WATCHING AND NEITHER DOES IT

In Your Heart (Mainland China GaGa) 2/10

Tropes: friends to lovers, codependency, amorphous ending

It’s very mainland China BL, which makes me feel a bit like we are back in 2016 being tormented by nostalgia. It hasn’t a single modern sensibility in it (to be fair neither does China’s het stuff). Which I don’t mind, but it felt off? Messy? Sideways? I was surprised that there was some high heat, but I wasn’t surprised that the couple ended up separated. And yet... If you expect to be disappointed, can you still be disappointed?

NOT RECOMMENDED

Kabe Koji (Japan Viki) 7/10

Tropes: celebrity romance, sunshine/tsundere

Basically this is A Man Who Defies the World of BL + Senpai This Can’t be Love (as @heretherebedork said) and equally painfully EXTRA. Nakao Masaki playing a sunshine bouncy himbo character is a fucking revelation, I didn’t think he had it in him. This should’ve been my favorite BL of all time (IT’S AN IDOL LOVE INTEREST!), but the tsundere is too tsundere for me, I really hate the stalker photograph thing it’s apparently a trigger I didn’t know I had until BL tried to romanticize it. I kept feeling like there were the bones of good story in this drama, and I got glimpses of it, but then it’s covered again - like tasty steak smothered in Kewpie mayo.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai (Japan grey) 7/10

AKA I Only Want to Keep Looking at You

Tropes: friends to lovers, coming of age, high school setting, introvert/extrovert

This is a beautiful piece of cinema well acted, about two boys who are opposite personalities and grew up together. Gifted and serious Sakura (Kura Yuki from His the series) and outgoing eccentric manic pixie dream boy, Yuma. It is very pretty and this is the kind of atmospheric elegantly performed BL that only really comes from Japan (complete with dead fish kisses - what you though Korea invented them? oh no). I felt like I was “supposed to like it” more than I did, ultimately I was left feeling like I had seen it all before. So for me it was lovely but slightly unmemorable.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Kiss X Kiss X Kiss - Perfect Scandal (Japan Billibi) 7/10

SHORT 5-8 minutes sample pack micro-romances: 2 featured BL-ish setups. One with idols in a group together and a secret relationship (Idol Kiss) and another featuring a reluctant boss and flirty subordinate (A Sweet Kiss). Both were cute but mostly just, ya know, kissing. (Reminds me a bit of Korea’s early Triple Do You Want). The interesting thing about the idol one, is one of the leads is ALSO in a het installment. He gives great chemistry with both his partners. And I think he’s a good example of an actor being just, ya know, an actor about the physical part of a romance. Which I take about in terms of never assuming queerness based on performance, here.

RECOMMENDED (for what it is)

KinnPorsche (Thailand iQiYi) 7/10

Tropes: bodyguard, mafia, cohabitation, BDSM, he’s a monster but he’s my monster

VegasPete were in one drama; KimChay were in another; KinnPorsche were in each of those randomly but then sometimes in their own extremely slapstick cheese-fest alt-reality + Tankhun. There were clearly 2 directors with 2 distinct and conflicting points of view, who apparently never had a single conversation with each other. Was this show good? Nope. Was it absorbing as fuck? Sure. Was it well acted, absolutely. Were the sex scenes great? Yes. We the fight scenes awesome? Actually yeah (special props to Jeff for the hand-to-hand stuff). Did I enjoy the kinky bits? Certainly. But all that said: the VegasPete universe of KP was the only universe I really enjoyed and would like to revisit, and I only got that 1/5 of the time. Mathematics is working against this one, for me personally. So I guess I, at least, am still waiting for the perfect mafia BL. I think it might be up to Japan at this juncture. As a result of fan fervor meets my own hearty indifference, I don’t really know how to judge this show but I have to go with my heart, and KP didn’t win it. No full review here on tumbr but I did post on to MDL.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Kissable Lips (Korea Viki) 2/10

Tropes: fated mates, paranormal, vampire, codified chase/stalker/ seme

Vampire has to decide between killing the boy he loves or living longer himself. Perfectly cast with a sexy, deadly, tortured vampire and the sweet uke prey who managed to be soft and appealing without being weak or inactive (props to the actor). Better kisses than your average KBL did not mitigate the fact that they killed 1/2 of the couple. Ultimately, one of my most disappointing BLs of 2022. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

La Cuisine (Thailand GaGa) 7/10

Tropes: crush, campus star, bully trigger, best boys, soft & sweet,

A sweet and kind of pure show, and like Thai desserts perhaps requires too much patience for a layperson. Because of the pacing and the focus on the bad girl character, I did dock it. But if you like stuff in the Oxygen vein, then this show is for you, and far better than most Thai BL pulps. That said, I suspect that I enjoyed it more than many would. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Love Area 2 (Thailand GaGa) 3/10

Tropes: I don’t know and neither does it

Look, it wasn't as bas as Bite Me, but it wasn’t actually good, either. This started out as Thailand tackles love triangles pulp style, but by season two lockdown had changed everything. Valen & Kaitoon dropped some great kisses but traded off crazy hair and makeup in a scene-by-scene whiplash that was clearly pickups done months after initial filming, and the second lead just... vanished. It was surreal. Side dishes jumped up screen time but tackled mental health... badly. A fantastic new queer side character was randomly introduced, June, who was the best thing to happen to BL linguistics in 2022 but had nothing to do with the rest of the cast, show, or plot. What a mess. Yes tehre was some very good chemistry and June is a GREAT queer character... BUT... In the end, I was just confused af. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Love Class (Korea GaGa) 8/10

Tropes: university BL, forced proximity, unrequited love, crush, slight love triangle, triggers (outing, bashing, stalking)

This was a fast-moving, bloated, complicated little show with stronger than usual story structure, well-acted if lacking in chemistry, that managed to be very appealing and engaging despite itself. What it lacked in content it more than made up for in pacing. Both bingable and rewatchable.

RECOMMENDED

Love in Spring (Korea grey) 3/10

AKA Spring of Crush

Tropes: historical, soap opera, fake identity, hidden secrets, cross dressing

This drama was all over the place with uneven acting, narrative, and focus (sometimes it wanted to be a slapstick comedy, sometimes a depressing drama) which meant no one, actors or viewers, took anyone or anything seriously.... AND it’s a bromance. I was left wondering is SalHyung is now code for “they were roommates” in Kdrama historicals but otherwise largely apathetic and unimpressed. Korea, we now know you can do better. Watch Tinted With You or Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding instead. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED, NOT BL

Love in the Air (Thai iQIYI) 7/10

Tropes: enemies to lovers, too stupid to live, stalker/obsession, university setting, grumpy/tsundere, sunshine/tsundere, abuse triggers

What’s it like? Two stories of aggressive player dudes pursuing innocent younger boys. Terrible. Also entertaining and engaging and kinda hot. Like all good dumpster fires. Recommended only if you know you like this kind of thing. Look, you remember in high school drama class where they make you “envision a basket, and put all of your worry, bad mood, and anxiety into that basket, and leave it outside the door”? Well, in order to enjoy this show, you have to do that, only with your morals. Some people have bigger baskets than others. Mame’s creature whipped me into a verbal frenzy, resulting in yet another trash watch.

RECOMMENDED WITH A LARGE BASKET OF RESERVATIONS

Love Mechanics (Thailand WeTV) 6/10

Tropes: messy disaster bi, out gay boy, cheating, drama llamas

My favorite messy cheeky drama-llama boys were back in spades. And initially I enjoyed it more than I should and more than it deserved. This whole series is basically a diatribe against cheating, with the sweet out gay boy reaping all the punishment a disaster bi can enact. YinWar are geniuses at chemistry and good actors, and their new high heat stuff is excellent, but the story was not improved by being given more time to hang itself. Full review on MDL.

WORTH WATCHING FOR THE ACTING BUT SERIOUSLY FLAWED

Love Stage (Thailand Feb-March YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: childhood crush, sunshine/tsundere, unrequited love, secret identity

This BL surprised me with its charm. The acting was good, the leads were appealing, support cast on point, and the production values high. It followed the original manga story arc relatively closely: boy falls in love with girl as a child, grows up to discover girl is actually a very pretty boy. Although there are some quintessentially Thai changes that mellowed, softened, and extended the romance arc. One of the things I’ve always appreciated about this story is that the climax is about coming out as a celebrity couple as well as gay. I like the examination of the nature of celebrity versus privacy, and the contrasting kinds of closets. And I love that they depicted two couples with two different versions of this choice. A solid and enjoyable show. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Meow Ears Up (Thailand GaGa) 4/10

Tropes: PNR, catboy, broken characters, hurt/comfort

Adapted from the Korean manhwa Hey, Your Ears Popped Out. This is interesting, Thailand doesn’t adapt from outside their own y-novel tradition very often. This is a pretty classic version of catboy trope: a lonely orphan comic artist adopts a stray cat who suddenly turns into a human teaches him about love, chaos, and family. SO CUTE it hurts and I got very “indulgent daddy” vibes from Mr. DD, which I’m not mad about it. There’s surprising depth to this very weird little show. It’s touching and relatable, but I guess it was trying to be too Japanese/Korean about it while the set up was all sweetness and Thai style, because they fudged the ending. For me, that’s a fatal flaw. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Minato’s Laundromat (Japan GaGa) 9/10

AKA Minato’s Coin Laundry AKA Minato Shoji Koinrandori AKA Minato Shoji Coin Laundry AKA Wash My Heart

Tropes: age gap, pining since childhood,

A high school student pursues the man of his dreams who happens to run a laundromat in this classic age gap BL. Minato’s Laundromat is so steeped in yaoi tropes and archetypes, not to mention a typical romance arc, that it will be and overload for some fans, but those of who follow this genre for its DNA will adore it. It made me very happy because it did everything I want a BL to do, and there’s not much more I ask of a show than this. It’s the closest Japan has come to perfect live action yaoi since Seven Days. Squee watch along (in lieu of a full review).

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Mr Cinderella (Vietnam YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: forced proximity, cohabitation, childhood sweethearts, opposites attract, good boy/bad boy, domesticity

Higher than normal production values plus experienced BL actors plus two charismatic smoldering leads with good kissing and comfortable body language make this Vietnam’s objectively best BL to date. Plus we got a fabulously (and quintessentially Vietnamese) domestic ending. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

My Only 12% (Thailand iQIYI) 8/10

Tropes: friends to lovers, childhood crush, out gay character, jock/nerd, cancer mom, side noona romance

Neighbors and codependent childhood friends, Cake & Seeiw, have opposite personalities but may be falling in love. Familiar faces include Prem (Between Us) and Peak (Make it Right). This is a complex, nuanced, and well done little BL romance (tailor made for SantaEarth) about holding onto first love and childhood, but it’s buried under waffling family drama and formless side characters so that it took a lot of digging to get at.

RECOMMENDED

My Ride (Thailand GaGa) 9/10

Tropes: sunshine/softie, friends-to-lovers, crush, bisexual identity, out gay, rich/poor

BL grew up with this pulp - a truly lovely and special little show featuring the extremely rare pairing of sunshine/sunshine AKA the cinnamon roll couple. Mature explorations of relationships using one of the softest, sweetest and most innocent friends to lovers vehicles. Kindly overworked doctor meets broken hearted dimpled motorcycle taxi driver in an “other side of the tracks” slow burn romance. With great friendship groups and family dynamics the support cast is excellent. With honest queer rep that adds to, but doesn’t impede the story, good friendship groups and genuine conversation about the nature of class, wealth, and classism, not to mention communication, honesty, and respect for boundaries, you can’t go wrong with this show. In other news, I am a sucker for a single dimple.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

My Secret Love the series (Thailand YouTube) 6/10

Tropes: jock/nerd, enemies to lovers, friends to lovers, reunion romance, secret romance, LTR

Lead couple had a tom/jerry vibe with the uke too stiff and serious and the seme a prankster immature arse - one of my least favorite dynamics (it always seems mean-spirited). They reminded me of My Boy (which I DNFd) X BonDuen from My Engineer (who I dislike). Other pairs include BearBomb, TimMai and ParkLee (LTR whom use ter with each other). The domesticity with the side couples was somewhat engaging, and the sex scenes were descent, but that’s it. The worst thing about this show (aside from leads chemistry) was that the chemistry of the friendship groups felt off too. Normally, Thailand can handle friendship groups fine. But these two different groups? I didn’t believe they were friends at all. Full review on MDL.

NOT REALLY RECOMMENDED

My Tooth Your Love (Taiwan Gaga & Viki) 8.5/10

Tropes: childhood trauma, phobias, doctor/patient, age gap

It’s not love in Taiwan if one of them doesn’t stumble into the other.

From the producers of We Best Love, earnest dentist hottie with sad eyes who worries too much is smitten with an adorable sunshine neurotic bar owner with serious anxiety issues, they fall in love while courting each other with food, plushies, and naps. Then, shocker, talk about their feelings and try to actually sort out their problems so they can have an adult relationship. Bonus 18 year old poor little rich kid in mad crush with a much older man. I really enjoyed this show, it had a fun premise, killer dialogue, there was a solis lead pair with charming chemistry, soft flirtation, and delightful smiling kisses and stinkingly cute domesticity. All that said, I wasn’t wild about some of the darker themes it explored (abuse, panic attacks, abandonment issues), even though it did a good job with them. And while the crumbs and sides were v adorable they were chronically underused. In the land of May/December, baby boy kabedon is my kryptonite! Why so little of them? Kabedon is My Krytonite = also the name of my indie band’s first single.)

In other news: I identify WAY too much with the bartender daddy. He pretty much opens his mouth and says what I’m thinking 90% of the time.

MUCH RECOMMENDED

Not Me (Thailand YouTube) 9/10

Tropes: enemies to lovers, secret identity, identical twins, goodboy/bad boy

GMMTV gave us a dark disestablishment narrative (in a time of civil unrest) with established queer award-winning director Anucha and starring OffGun. THIS IS AN AMAZING THING to get to experience in the BL world - nerve racking but remarkable. But was it ACTUALLY BL? Not Me had a lot of BL elements, but in the end that’s not what the show was about, or even what it was genuinely trying to be. Still an amazing piece of Thai cinema certainly worth your time. Don’t worry, it all ends happily. Full review here. OffGun Eulogy here.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Ocean Likes Me (Korea Viki) 8/10

Tropes: opposites attract, grumpy/sunshine, impossible dreams

This is a solid little KBL, with a good premise and cast. Manic pixie dream boy can get old fast but when contrasted with awkward grumpy chef? Tasty combo that elevates both ingredients. Holland is a charming screen presence, baby boy is HYPNotiC. And while I wasn’t entirely sold on the chemistry with these two they gave us some very good kisses. I grinned through most episodes and I even didn’t mind the standard KBL 1 year separation at the end because it felt very true to the characters. Don’t worry they end up back together.

RECOMMENDED

Oh! Boarding House (Korea Viki) 8/10

Tropes: forced proximity, cohabitation, crush, love triangle

Spoiled rich kid in financial straights has to manage a boarding house full of quirky characters including: bratty cousin, wacko writer, adorable bestie with a crush, and the new hot jock (love interest). All in all, this show ended up being A LOT better than I expected. It was uneven in its attempt to reconcile early sitcom (slightly Thai) style with a serious love triangle and genuine romance but the quality of the performances and the kind and honest treatment of the characters make it definitely worth watching. (Full review here.)

DEFINITELY RECOMMENDED, a lost gem esp for Kdrama fans

Oh! My Assistant (Korea Viki) 7/1O

Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, himbo chaos bi, out gay

This is a very silly show that acts like it comes from a very silly yaoi. Reserved out gay younger assistant (we stan) pretending to be tsundere but is actually just v shy and smitten by his cheerful (seemingly straight) chaos bi himbo artist boss. I think the cross cutting in of old footage with the replacement actor after the re-cast did affect the chemistry with this pair. There was no way around it. Even KBL isn't usually this awkward and repressed. Although this show had the best bisexual awakening sequence ever put in a BL, and I really wanted to love it, I just didn't.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Oh My Sunshine Night (Thailand grey) 7/10

Tropes: university, sickness, fated mates, whipping boy, poor little rich boy, soap opera

Kim, a tsundere musician meets Sun, a transfer student with a weak heart. Also there’s his hot older brother + their household servant, and a couple of fencers for good measure. Initially this pretends to be a normal university, then it slips on wet tiles and falls right on trough multiple shower scenes into ludicrous soap opera territory leaving one with a sensation rather like trying to hold onto soap in a communal shower. Ultimately, everyone seems pretty happy they bent over, but no one actually got clean.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Old Fashion Cupcake (Japan Viki) 9/10

Tropes: office romance, age gap, employee/boss, food is the love language, coming of age late in life

This show had me from the moment they broke the egg yolk with the chopsticks in the opening credits for episode one. It’s about a younger man with a long cherished crush on his boss (ten years older and going through a mid life crisis) who decides to save and seduce said man with pancakes. It’s wholesome, comforting, sexy, and a very necessary narrative about still having hope, interests, and openness to affection at any age. It’s coming of age/queerness packaged in a subtle critique of expectations around masculinity and love and loneliness... and it’s beautiful. Full review here.

ABSOLUTELY RECOMMENDED

Once Again (Korea GaGa) 2/10

Tropes: age gap, childhood trauma, tragedy, time travel, inevitable fate

JaeWoo lives with childhood trauma and gets a chance to travel to the past to fix it by saving JiHoon. But you can’t change fate. From Moving Picture (studio behind equally tragic Kissable Lips)) this one stars actors (not idols) including Moon Ji Young (also in The New Employee) and is very well performed with a great, but sad, actual PLOT. It was a little bit more creepy than romantic, kind of Gothic and tense, but also strangely amusing (this odd kid just keeps hugging JiHoon - that’s like 1000x weirder in Korea than most places) and more enjoyable than it had a right to be with a really interesting take on the childhood crush trope. Ultimately, however, it kills the gay and is very sad.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Our Days the series (Thailand GaGa) 4/10

Tropes: sports romance, messy gays be messy, cohabitation, crush, love triangle, tsundere

Enemies to lovers meets forced proximity (boarding house) in which I couldn’t decide if the unlikable main character was stupid or depressed (story of my life, see also Physical Therapy) but I can’t take yet another emo POV. There was no chemistry from the leads and great chemistry from the ex-friend/second lead. Saint’s dad punishing him, when he doesn’t realize it’s because Saint is gay and heartbroken, really had meat to it as part of a basketball story. But it was such a tiny part of the overall show it felt like eating a meal when all I liked was one ingredient. I’d like to see the actor who played Saint (Offroad) in other stuff but otherwise this one can fade and be forgotten. It was a mess, and not a hot one. Fatally flawed.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Paint with Love (Thailand Gaga) 6/10

Tropes: opposites attract, office romance, sunshine/tsundere, enemies to lovers, wierdo/rulebound

For me the mains were unlikeable and the actors had poor chemistry. So while this offered a lot of what I thought I wanted from a Thai BL - mature characters, office setting, adult themes - I’m wasn’t wild about the execution. I suspect Thai pulps are better when they stick to university/high school. This one felt like a better version of Loveless Society (but that’s not saying much). The side dishes (Yoon & Yacht) gave us more chemistry and a better kiss but had little screen time. It was interesting to see them portray BL actors being shipped and then confessing to actually dating each others I’m not sure how I feel about the handling of it but it was different from Lovely Writer. In the end, this show was nicely grown up but boring and became a matter of endurance for me. I can’t ever see myself rewatching it.

WORTH WATCHING FOR SOME BUT SERIOUSLY FLAWED

Papa & Daddy 2 (Taiwan GaGa) 6/10

I don’t have a good history with 2nd seasons, and Taiwan really likes to make a soap opera out of their queers. Witness that this one starts with a secret baby trope. There’s a lot of lying to each other and evil parents and, of course, 2nd lead syndrome strikes again. The domesticity was, of course, excellent (I love the gay siblings sharing tips on how to parent) and it was actually kind of beautiful to watch them explore ideas around infidelity, affection, lost love, and rediscovery. However, it lost me at episode 3 and never quite got me back, not even with the delightfully cheesy wedding. All in all, this was a serviceable follow up to the first installment, if riddled by unbearable parents, lack of story, and sappiness.

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED

Plus & Minus (Taiwan Viki) 8/10

AKA Plus and Minus AKA PlusMinus

Tropes: friends to lovers, LTR, office romance, (himbo) sunshine/tsundere, found family, himbo

This is a solid safe little BL about codependent besties of 20 years finding their way into a romantic relationship. A bit cheesy, with lots of domesticity and occasional dumb drama. (But gay boys and chaos bis? What can ya do?) It’s not groundbreaking but it is a solid sweet unassuming little show of a style that is perhaps a bit more Thai than it is Taiwanese but I’m okay with that. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Rainbow Prince (The Philippines YouTube) 6/10

Tropes: disney princess, opposites attract, sunshine/tsundere

This long form MUSICAL BL is fucking LEGEND. Also it’s profoundly not good. The acting is absolutely terrible but that’s not the point, the point is that it’s a cheesy af fairy story. Possibly the gayest BL to ever BL and certainly the most camp and very Disney. Watch it of that’s your thing, otherwise hard pass. (Full review here.)

RECOMMENDED ONLY IF YOU ALSO LIKE DISNEY SHIT

Roommates of Poongduck 304 (Korea Viki) 8/10

Tropes: rich/poor, boss/employee, enemies to lovers, office setting, cohabitation

This is a solid little office set KBL about a rich kid who ends up both the boss and tenant of a total sweetheart cutie, and falls madly in love with him. Although the show suffered from KBL’s shorter length, I love the kissable lips pair - they deliver solid all round chemistry despite limited screen time, which is rare from Korea. So I hope they stay branded and we get even more from them in the future. Special extra extended kissing scene.

RECOMMENDED

Secret Crush on You (Thailand YouTube) 7/10

Tropes: stalking, obsession, hottest guy on campus, multiple couples, queer affirming

Previously known as Stalker the series, and you can TELL. Co-produced by and featuring (but NOT staring) Saint and directed by Cheewin (sigh) with all fresh faces it was pure pulp and... I hated the plot. In fact I was ALL OVER THE PLACE with this show. SCOY drove me nuts and made me bush but had flashes of unparalleled genius. It had a ton of things I really did not like (e.g. the humor was crass and awkward, and the whole stalker thing was extremely CRINGE). It also had things that really worked: (e.g. representation of multiple different kinds of queerness, about which it very Taiwanese - in that there was no doubt that the characters really did want to bone). It was the opposite of sanitized gay. Honestly, if you can make it through the first half, and survive the never ending cringe-factor that IS this show, the second half is entirely unique - content we’ve never seen before in BL.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS, but not the usual ones.

Semantic Error (Korea Viki) 10/10

Tropes: opposites attract, enemies to lovers, bully romance, sunshine/tsundere, teasing & pranks

This is my favorite BL of 2022 won a Blue Dragon award. Korea hits it entirely out of both Parks (pun on the actors’ last names intended) by doing a university set BL with everything we might expect done exactly right, their signature quality executed perfectly, and added bonus good story, great pacing, yaoi style filming, and fantastic chemistry. You cannot ask for more from a BL, let alone a KBL. Full review here.

HIGHLY ETERNALLY OMG SO MUCH RECOMMENDED

Senpai, Danjite Koidewa! (Japan Viki) 6/10

AKA Senpai, This Can’t be Love!

Tropes: office romance, object of my affection, boss/employee

Adapted from a manga for the same name, it has a similar creepy worship stalking vibe Secret Crush On You. Look, I admit it, this dynamic (super awkward pining uke, rockstar seme) is one of my least favorites - high cringe factor meets navel gazing obsessive. Japan’s weird hang-up around physical expressions of affection in BL which I expect in their slapstick high school stuff, feels cowardly here. They don't leave out end kisses in their het office romances, time to stop desexualizing the gays, too. For a plot about courage, it’s a bummer that the narrative itself didn’t have any. I can’t imagine ever watching this show again or remembering its existence. When Japan drops the balls they drop all the way to the bottom of the well.

NOT REALLY RECOMMENDED

Something in My Room (Thailand YouTube) 2/10

Tropes: paranormal, cohabitation, my ghost boyfriend, sunshine/tsundere

Horror BL starring Nut (Oxygen) who was a revelation, still a little stiff but he handled a totally different character from Solo with aplomb. Essentially, this was a well done pulp lockdown project version of He’s Coming to Me (with hints of So Much in Love and Peach of Time) but it was its own creature at the last gasp. I enjoyed it when it got a bit creepy but it was so slow it never had a chance to maintain tension. The two leads were ultimately cute together, but, like Peach of Time, we all knew how this one was gonna end. The narrative never left us in any doubt and I don’t like unhappy endings in my BL. So even though the sad was predictable, I won’t give this drama anymore than 2/10. Don’t kill my gays, Thailand, even when they’re already dead.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Star & Sky: Star in My Mind (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: university set, high school crush, jock/nerd, long term pining, secret crush, reunion

This is (sort of) a lost love reunion arc + freshy hotness contest giving it 2 Moons vibes. Look, this is one of those shows that I shouldn’t really like after 400 BLs. It’s not at all unique, just some classic Thai uni folderol driven by miscommunication (or just non-communication) and yet... I COULD NOT STOP WATCHING. Sure it felt like everyone involved with this show was mostly phoning it in, but it was a REALLY nice phone call. It’s basic BL. But honestly, don’t we all need that plain white t-shirt to wear under our engineering smock... in the end? Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

Star & Sky: Sky in Your Heart (Thailand YouTube) 5/10

Tropes: rural setting, country mouse/city mouse, rich/pour, enemies to lovers

A cheap 1000 Stars knock off about a doctor who goes rural and falls in love with a volunteer teacher. This show managed to be boring, corny, AND cheesy? I don’t know exactly how to write a review of this, as “dull” isn’t in my rating system but, it is a BIG SIN for me. I guess this should be added to my short list of BL‘s that are told from the seme’s perspective? Linguistically: these two are formal with each other using pom/khun. Also If you want to hear frozen register spoken, that’s what Prince’s maa speaks to tease Fah. Full review here.

WATCH ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO

Takara-kun and Amagi-kun (Japan GaGa & Viki) 9/10

Tropes: high school crush, chaos baby, high angst, classic seme/uke, secret relationship

I gnawed on my knuckles and squealed a lot with this show. Reserved cool kid who must lean to communicate to keep the tiny disaster nugget he’s madly in love with. It is beyond charming: soft and gentle, packed with cuteness and high school angst. Did anything actually happen? No. Was it emotionally tense and paced well enough for me not to notice? Absolutely. Was there plot? Not really. Did I enjoy the hell out of it, anyway? Oh yes. Full review.

TOTALLY RECOMMENDED

That’s My Candy (Korea Viki) 3/10

Tropes: magical realism, LTR, breakup, amnesia, reunion

KimCop vehicle from Star Hunter, about an LTR between a student Jing (Cop) + nurse Guy (Kim) who have been together for 3 years. Guy is busy all the time so Jing is starting to feel neglected and look elsewhere. KimCop are excellent (no surprise there) but I was not into the story, premise, or concept. Side couple Viking & TamTam stole this one for me but the final ep activates the amnesia trope so even they could save it. Honestly I was left, ultimately with a sensation of: What did I just watch? It was terrible. Full review here.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Tinted With You (Korea Viki) 8/10

Tropes: historical, portal fantasy, time travel

Fun stylish time travel portal fantasy with a likable cast, historical setting, and two actual kisses that mitigate a rough plot and issues around anachronisms. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED

To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories (Korea Viki) 7/10

Tropes: grumpy/sunshine, hurt/comfort, opposites attract, forced proximity, breakup/reunion

If you like angst, wallowing, and realistic relationship struggles in your BL, watch this. If you prefer fluffy comforting BL, avoid like the plague. For me the pay out was not sufficient to the pain. I enjoyed the performances, directing, and chemistry - the leads’ comfort with each other is unprecedented in Korean BL, but that’s not enough for me to rise above the pain of the narrative. This show is a home wrecking hussy, but like super classy about it. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH SERIOUS RESERVATIONS

Triage (Thailand grey) 7/10

Tropes: time loop, age gap, medical drama, fated mates

I thought the plot was good if a little redundant and occasionally exhausting. The pairs were all well done, low heat but with decent chemistry and the support characters were likable (or unlikable as required). I feel much as a did with Manner of Death, which is to say: this feels less BL than it does gay time-slip suspense. If anything, the romance arc detracted and distracted from the main plot. But I’m in BL for the romance, and the rewatchability, and this had very little of either. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

The Tuxedo (Thailand GaGa) 3/10

Tropes: tsundere seme, enemies to lovers, rich/poor

GMMTV be like, “see us squander glorious chemistry on terrible scripts.” The Tuxedo be like, “oh yeah? Hold my beer.” Watching this was like eating a meal of just spices. the spice profile was great, but it wasn’t ON actual food. The show itself had no plot or story and MADE NO SENSE, but I really hope we see these boys again in something more worthy of them.

NOT RECOMMENDED

Unforgotten Night (Thailand GaGa) 5/10

Tropes: mafia, BDSM, not much of either

Adapted from the y-novel Mafia's Bad Love, (originally featured both a gay poly triad and a GL sub plot). Stared Yoon (YYY, Paint With Love, My Ride) as a mafia Dom and Ton (Y-Destiny) as the accountant sub. Kim has a one night stand with a random stranger who becomes obsessed with him. Pretty soon into this I began to think this show should be called Forgotten Kink rather than Unforgotten Night. There isn't any. Mostly there's faucets left on and shower heads used for tie points (don't DO that). But honestly this was just bad. There is a moral to this show but I’m not sure what it is. Don’t combine your BDSM-but-not-really BL pulp with plumbing? In the end, this dumpster fire was extinguished by a garden hose and all we were left with was leaky pipes and the smell of damp trash. The only kinks were in the hose. No full review but I did to a trash watch.

WATCH IT IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO, BUT I WARNED YOU

Vice Versa (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: alt reality, bodyswap, soulmates AKA fated mates, portal fantasy

Jimmy (Puen the super flirt confident king) is insanely charismatic and takes up all the air in (the proverbial cinematic) room, but I warmed up to Sea (Talay the timid acerbic sweetheart) eventually. As a couple they read as more teasing and brotherly than sexy, but that’s GMMTV’s brand. I enjoyed the concept of this show (I’m big into magical realism and skewed reality - see my adoration for Color Rush) but JittiRain’s plot was contrived and weak (normal for them). I find the “writing on each other” habit quite cute. Look, here’s the thing, flaws and all I pretty much spent this entire show smiling. I didn’t even mind being so obviously manipulated. That said, this is never going to be one of my top rewatch rotations, so I’m calling it for an 8/10.

RECOMMENDED

Want to See You (Vietnam YouTube) 5/10

AKA Muốn Nhìn Thấy Em

Tropes: whipping boy, disability, secret love

Everyone’s favorite Vietnamese hottie Ba Vinh (O2 Productions: Mr Cinderella etc...) played an arsehole blind man (Jane Eyre feels) who hires a live in nurse and both get taken advantage of by a series of psycho femme fatales characters. The chemistry was okay but not Vinh’s best. Did they serve up prime domesticity? Of course. This is Vietnam, you get what you pay for. But tonally, this show was all over the place, hugely inconsistent in characterization and motivation. No clean narrative through line. Nothing anyone did actually ever made sense, it was mostly just frustrating.

WATCH ONLY IF YOU HAVE NOTHING BETTER TO DO

What If (Thailand WeTV) 4/10

Had promised but was ultimately a complete letdown, not really BL either. It was, in the end, primarily about singing, so you know I didn’t like anything about this.

NOT RECOMMENDED

What Zabb Man! (Thailand YouTube) 8/10

Tropes: enemies to lovers, tsundere seme, rich/poor

WZM was better than we have any right to expect with decent pacing and a foodie theme threaded through the narrative as both love language and plot driver. Basically CEO falls in love with a street vendor’s food, recruits him to work in his hotel, falls in love with him, and that’s the beginning. Class struggles! Kitchen drama! Papaya pounding (not a euphemism)! Chef poaching (not literally)! Spicy scenes (yes literally)! It’s all so delicious. Full review here.

RECOMMENDED, especially if you like Thai food

You’re My Sky (Thailand Viki) 6/10

Tropes: sports romance, friends to lovers, jock/nerd meets sunshine/tsundere, cheating

A serviceable college-set pulp that focused on 3 sports romances with high angst, but was ultimately too slow moving for me, and with only one couple I liked (SaenAei). Main couple, FahThorn = basketball jocks, boring. DomeVee = track & field with a disaster bi cheating with your sister’s boyfriend storyline (by FAR the best sexual chemistry). SaenAei = jock/nerd with a younger puppy sunshine seme, best boys. Saen was my favorite character; relentlessly flirty but always clear about with his interest and steady in his regard, but who wants this many eps for one side character?

WORTH WATCHING BUT FLAWED AND YOU NEED PATIENCE

Work from Heart (Thailand YouTube) 4/10

Tropes: Romeo & Romeo, office romance

Pulp office drama featuring tons of couples starring Gameplay as rich kid terrible dresser Dee who forms an unfathomable and poorly depicted romance with his internship supervisor. Some nifty linguistic stuff and great lead pair chemistry, doesn’t compensate for one of the worst wardrobes and an ultimately unfathomable plot.

FATALLY FLAWED

THE DNF/DNW LIST

Shows I dropped, lost track of, never got around to or otherwise failed to complete.

2 Moons: The Ambassador AKA 2 Moons 3 (Thailand grey)

I hear that it’s pretty banal and I’m just waiting to collect them all and binge. I doubt it will get a high rating from me or monkey with the standings much so I’m not fussed.

7 Days 7 Boys (Thailand grey)

No subs and it is also profoundly not good. Do not bother.

180 Degree Longitude Passes Through Us (Thailand GaGa)

8 eps - This is a queer drama not a BL. It’s fine, reminded me oddly of early Taiwanese stuff, a bit slow moving and oddly paced. But I intensely disliked the lead character. He's a brat in the wrong way. Especially as a 20 year old.

Country Boy 2 (Thailand who cares?)

I barely managed the first installment. No thank you.

Fahlanruk (Thailand GaGa)

I found all the characters profoundly unlikeable. I don’t like any of the couples and the fujoshi framing is repulsive under the context of a narrative trying to be this authentically gay. I lost all patience and cut my losses at ep 5. @heretherebedork said it was BohnDuen 2.0 only worse and that’s my least favorite dynamic of all time, so yeah, not gonna bother.

Fudanshi Bartender no Tashinami (AKA Accomplishment of Fudanshi Bartender) (Japan Gaga)

BL Express posted a review and it sounds A LOT like another kind of Absolute BL thing from Japan, but focused on the fudanshi side of the equation and I could not be less intersted so I did not watch.

Gameboys 2

I have no idea what happened - to me or it. But I remember watching a bit, and then just got distracted or something.

Getaway (Singapore YouTube)

Based on an original story from a gay creator featuring an openly gay cast this vacation romance from Singapore set in Bangkok did nto work for me. The lead was fine but the muscle boy love interest's acting was just bad. Look, I’m the first to admit that there’s a lot of bad and awkward acting in this genre, but for some reason… it feels a lot worse in English. I like how unabashedly gay the show is but (how do I put this nicely, I guess...) if I’m gonna watch English language gay vacay shit – I’d rather watch Fire Island. Still, as one might expect, the heat execution is good (Taiwan still holds the crown, tho). But I eventually just gave up.

In a Relationship (Thailand YouTube)

Thailand’s answer to Gameboys (a bit late, kids). I’m generally not a fan of lockdown romances and this didn’t grab me.

My Roommate (Thailand YouTube)

32 eps of 2 minutes each with such terrible production values I couldn’t be bothered. Def not my thing.

My Tempo (Thailand grey)

A Thai BL movie about the Thai music industry. Yeah, no thank you.

On Cloud Nine (Thailand YouTube)

A country-set atmospheric series from MindTrio about afterlife and awaiting loved ones. Def not my thing.

Physical Therapy (Thailand GaGa)

Milk is basically a Mainland China-style super useless heroine type. He’s, ugh, so totally not cute. I just don’t think emo is sexy (sorry Japan). I don’t understand why anyone likes him: friends, crushes, lovers. And I couldn’t tell if the doctor was faking it or just a terrible actor.

Rak Dao (Thailand grey)

A real sit com that was just too much for me to take. I didn’t even survive the first 2 episodes. And I usually give a drama 3 eps.

Restart(ed) (Thailand grey)

Looked like Top Secret Together meets Y-Destiny but ended up being more like Club Friday. Glimmers of good chemistry and hella queer but even that did not save this from terrible sound and an incomprehensible plot full of completely random characters. An absolute mess.

Scent of Love (Thailand no idea)

Just couldn’t find it. Also it’s the lead pair from My Secret Love so could not be bothered to even try.

SELF (Thailand YT)

Is it sad? Worth watching? I don’t know, no one said a peep about this show but I got a bad feeling about the end so I never bothered.

The Promise (Vietnam YouTube)

Stepbrothers trope, enemies to lovers, high school, reunion romance, grumpy/tsundere. Narrative has a “memoir” framework. Sort of Cherry Blossoms After Winter if they were enemies.

The Miracle of Teddy Bear (Thailand grey)

Surreal drama series with dark elements. Nat's giant teddy bear, Taohu, miraculously turns into a young man but can't remember anything about himself. I found out this has what I COUNT as a sad ending and with it being hard to find i didn’t bother.

The Next Door Crush (Vietnam YouTube)

Reunion romance or something, I couldn’t be arsed.

To Sir, With Love AKA Khun Chai (Thailand grey)

I’m waiting on grey subs for this Thai historical gay soap opera that came outta nowhere. It’s more lakorn than it is BL (soapy) and word is it ends happily. It’s just taking me time to track down.

War of Y (Thailand Gaga)

Tropes: industry self criticism, messy gay, general chaos

COPY A BANGKOK brings us 20 episode of Cheewin’s nonsense starring the boys from Y-Destiny and SCOY. My initial thoughts? It was better than any of us have a right to expect but I hated it. I disliked it for the same reason I don’t like rockstar romances... celebrities (and their people) are assholes. This show features a bunch of actors behaving like actors, managers behaving like managers, all of them predators and victims and both. I’ve dropped before for less (Call It What You Want) and I’ll drop again. Then again I loved Lovely Writer - but I think that’s because Sib is meant to be a sinister dick who’s only an actor because it gets him closer to Gene, and i like that approach. War of Y is just a collection of fragile egos easily traumatized by their own desires (and the needs of others) - it’s brutal to watch. BillySeng are killing it, but.... it hurts, and not in a good way. I’m going to save it and binge all at once when I am feeling bored and resilient. Will I watch it eventually? Maybe? Probably not. I think we have an ITSAY situation going on here. Also BL Express was not best pleased, and I while we rarely share taste, in this instance I trust their reporting.

Ones I Could Not Track Down - Japan of course

Both Me and Him are the Grooms AKA Boku mo Aitsu mo Shinrodesu - Aired March 2022 on KTV & Tver, some see it on Gaga, but not me. This is a coming out drama rama. Ryosuke and Mizuki are getting married but on the wedding day Mizuki finds out that his partner didn't tell his parents, relatives, or friends that he's gay. Catastrophe results: furious outbursts, fighting between the two families, and then Mizuki's ex boyfriend shows up.

Grand Guignol - a horror, paranormal, high shcool movie that released in Japanese theaters middle of the year. Starred Rio Komiya (Eternal Yesterday) and Ryosuke Sota (Mr Unlucky) among others.

Kamisama no Ekohiiki - body swap, paranormal, country set. Amano Yashiro has a crush on his best friend, Nanahara Kenta. Yashiro died in a car accident after being rejected by Kenta. However, due to God's favoritism, Yashiro was reborn as a female student called Tendo Kagura, and lives a new life. Yashiro decides to make use of his girly look to have Kenta fall for him. While Yashiro and Kenta become closer, they were interrupted by Kenta's ex-girlfriend, Torii Rin, who told "Kagura" to stay away from Kenta. Furthermore, it was discovered that Yashiro's body is still alive. What is actually happening?

Melting Night: Secret Kiss - microfilm part of the Kiss X Kiss X Kiss series, featuring the stepbrothers trope that aired on Tiver. A and B are friends who are secretly in love with each other. They became stepbrothers after their parents' remarry. Even though they acted like family, their feelings overflow and when their parents were gone...

Yes I REALLY want to see this one.

Sing In Love AKA Miso's Koi Kogare Utae - movie adaptation of a PNR manga released in theaters, but no word on international distribution. About a teacher who encounters a mysterious man from his past, who is strangely obsessed with him.

2022 BL Announced but Never Aired or Otherwise Confusing

Eye Contact AKA មើលបានហាមសម្លឹង - Cambodia

Tie The Not AKA Under the Same Sky - The Philippines

Ghost and I Becoming Family - Taiwan

God's Military Officer - Taiwan

Melody In Me - Vietnam

The Lost Ring AKA The Ring Goes Missing reboot - Vietnam

KOREAN BL ANNOUNCED FOR 2022 BUT NEVER AIRED

Bon Appetit

Comfort the Boy AKA A Shoulder to Cry On - premiere postponed indefinitely due to actor contract conflict, rated R15+ due to topic & vulgarity

Eccentric Romance - was supposedly in production July 2022. Silkwood’s 2nd Thai/Korean colab but not their last.

Eul's Love

Follow The Wind - supposed to have released in the first half of 2022

Happy Merry Ending

Heesu in Class 2

Individual Circumstances

Jun and Jun - filming Dec 2022

Love Class 2 AKA Love Class Season 2 - filming was to start Nov 2022

Love is like a Cat - supposedly completed filming aug 2022 so I guess stuck in post? stars Mew.

Love Tractor

Secret Relationship - was to be adapted by Cradle Studio (a subsidiary of Kakao).

Space Bakery

Two Game Over

Why R U? Korean remake - supposedly filming Sept 2022

I am assuming most of these can be transferred to 2023 expectations but am not sure.

THAI BL ANNOUNCED FOR 2022 BUT NEVER AIRED

Art Adore En

Bitter Sweet

Boxer In Heart

Buddy Line Y Animal AKA Buddy Line Y(aoi) Animal

Call My Name

Cinderella Boys

City of Stars AKA Fueangnakorn

Destiny Seeker

Future the series

Heart by Heart

Imado Jinja

Intern In My Heart

Love at First Sight

Make a Wish

Mr. Bad Guy

My Broccoli

My Engineer 2

My Last Love

My Lucky Cat

Nilundon

Past Love In The Future

Past-senger AKA Pastsenger

The Sweet Robot

The Theory series

Trouble Maker

Does not include those announced for 2022 but which have since been officially moved to 2023. Those will appear on the 2023 forthcoming lists.

(source)

234 notes · View notes

natsury-kazuki · 11 months

Text

Valentine Card 2023

Hey, like every year there are Valentine's Day cards, this post will be updated as I find the cards, feel free to send me the missing cards! Enjoy - 06.11.23

HEARTSLABYUL

My dear friend─

Riddle Rosehearts : Not found yet

Hello friend ─

Trey Clover : Not found yet

Eyyy, friend!

Sweets aren't normally my jam, but the ones you

picked out were PERF─and they looked great

too! You must've put in some WORK picking

them out.

So, thanks! I'll make sure to do the same for you!

Cater Diamond

My good friend─

Thanks for the amazing gift! You got me those

mega-popular sweets we just talked about, right?

They were so good! It's kind of a shame I ate them

all.

Have you had any? I guess it'd be weird if I gifted

you the same thing, but come shopping with me

sometime and we can pick out some sweets for you.

Deuce Spade

Heya, pal─

I kinda freaked when I saw you left a present at

my door─in a good way! You actually sent me

sweets! You could've just given them to me in

person, you know.

I haven't had any yet, but I'm sure they'll be

great! We should share them at lunch tomorrow.

Ace Trappola

SAVANACLAW

Hey─

You gev me SWEETS? I swear, sometimes I

don't know what goes through that noggin of

yours.

I'll be nice and say I appreciate the

sentiment...this time. But don't expect any

glowing food reviews.

Leona Kingscholar

Welp─

Ruggie Bucchi : Not found yet

Hi.

Jack Howl : Not found yet

OCTANIVELLE

My boon, companion─

Thank you for the heartfelt gift. I suppose I owe

it to you to partake of these sweets. Don't worry.

Once I've analyzed the flavor, I'll gift you

something equally delicious.

After all, fair's fair.

Azul Ashengrotto

My good friend─

You've outdone yourself. Sweets that pair well

with black tea? My deepest thanks. I'm flattered

that you thought of me so when selecting them.

You've inspired me. I'm going to spend my

mountain hhikes pondering just the right tea

blend to suit your palate.

I do hope you'll enjoy it.

Jade Leech

Dear little shrimpy─

I saw your present. You got me candy?

That rules! I saw JUST in the mood for

something sweet. I might not be tomorrow

though, so I think I'll polish them off today.

Thanks.

Floyd Leech

SCARABIA

To my dear friend─

Thanks for the present! What colorful and

sparkly sweets. They look delicious!

I just had an idea! How about we eat them

together after school? Gifts like this taste better

when shared, after all.

I'll pick out a good tea to go with them. Can't

wait to see you later!

Kalim Al-Asim

Hello─

I was suprised to see you gifted me sweets.

At first I wondered if you were hinting for me to

make you something similiar... But when I pulled

the gift out of the bag, I saw all the details you put

into it, right down to the ribbon. It's clear this was

a heartfelt gesture.

I'll treasure these treats as I eat them. Thank you.

Jamil Viper

POMEFIORE

Dearest friend─

Thank you for the gift. The sweets were dazzling

and most attractive.

Did you try to imagine what I'd like when

picking the out?

If so, you made an apt choice.

I'll have something for you later in return.

Vil Schoenheit

Bonjour, and merci beaucoup!

What a lovely batch of confections!

They're so darling that I'm tempted to stow

them away in a brilliant bejeweld box.

Ah, but I jest. I'll enjoy every morsel of this gift

you've so thoughtfully bestowed upon me.

Rook Hunt

Dear classmate─

Epel Felmier : Not found yet

IGHIHYDE

@YOU

huh? What the wha?

im low-key scared here

why would u give me sweets???

ig that sometimes i run low on sugar when ive been

gaming too long and my aim becomes trash...

ok sure, if this is ur way of looking out for me,

ill take it

Idia Shroud

Hello, Perfect─

Ortho Shroud : Not found yet

DIASOMNIA

To my dear friend ─

Thank you. Never did I envision someone

presenting me with the gift of sweet treat.

It would be a shame for me to eat them all by

myself. Ithink I'll share them with you.

Would you be willing to provide the tea to go

with them ?

Malleus Draconia

Greetings!

Your present was delightful.

The treats had a sublte sweeteness that was

perfect for a slightly mature fae like myself.

I'll be making you a lovely treat in return,

I hope you'll enjoy it.

Lilia Vanrouge

Salutations─

Thanks for the gift. I read once that suger can

boost your concentration.

Did you gave me these to snack on when

I'm about to nod off during my studies?

That was very considerate of you.

I think I'll try them out today.

Silver

Human─

Sebeck Zigvolt : Not found yet

NRC STAFF

Dear esteemed student─

Dire Crowley : Not found yet

Dear juvenile─

Mozus Trein : Not found yet

Dear pup-

Is this gift for the staff? Excellent. Now that I

have some treats to sweeten my breaks, I'll be able

to grade your exams with a much more critical eye.

I can see the grimace on your face now.

Relax, it was a joke.

It's usually frowned upon for dogs to be the ones

buying gifts, but since you're suche a loyal pup,

I'll let you off. I'm generous trainer, after all.

Divus Crewel

Dear student─

Ashton Vargas : Not found yet

Yo, little imp!

What is UP? Thanks so much for the gift!

You've got a real eye for quality.

I'll make sure to stock up on goods that'll pique

your interest, so swing by the shop soon!

Sam

OTHER

Dear hench-human─

Mraaah! Is this ALL for me?!

I've never seen such sparkly, yummy-lookin'

candy before! I feel like a king!

But I'd feel bad leavin' you out of this sugar

extravaganza, so I GUESS you can have a small

piece. I'm lookin' forward to more gifts, partner!

Grim

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marina41trench · 4 months

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Yotsuba Tamaki - PTT Xmas RabbitChat [5/5] - An Exciting Day

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Tsumugi: Tamaki-san, congratulations for avoiding supplementary lessons!

I’m glad you could successfully join the party.

Tamaki: It’s easy

Tamaki:

Tsumugi: Iori-san told me you got an excellent score!

Tamaki: I endured Iorin’s strict lessons

Tamaki: I solved the problem many times until I can do it myself

Tamaki:

Tsumugi:

Tsumugi: Thank you for your hard work even when the two of you are busy.

Tsumugi: You’ve studied really hard since then!

Tamaki: Yea

Tamaki: I was able to concentrate thanks to you for letting me use the office

Tamaki: Thanks

Tsumugi: No, it’s because of you doing your best!

Tsumugi: When I saw you studying with Banri-san, I was cheering for you in secret ><

Tamaki: His way of teaching me was easy to understand

Tamaki: I’d be glad to have Ban-chan as my classmate

Tamaki: He’ll gimme a King Pudding as a reward if I pass

Tamaki:

Tsumugi:

Tamaki: Everyone gave us stuff so there’s a lot of candies in my and Iorin’s room

Tsumugi: You received a lot of rewards!

Tsumugi:

Tamaki: Yeah~ it’s really great!

Tamaki: I also gave Iorin and Ban-chan something as gratitude for helping me

CHOICE

1) What did you give to Iori-san?

Tamaki: Class duty assist Coupon

Because having the blackboard erased as class duty is a bit annoying

2) What did you give to Banri-san?

Tamaki: His shoulders are stiff lately so I gave him a shoulder massage coupon

When I did it yesterday it’s stiffer than Yama-san’s

3) What did you reward yourself with?

Tamaki: Fufun, I bought a lot of Christmas limited edition King Pudding!

The special one with lots of cream!

Tamaki: I can’t wait for the party to start!

Tamaki: Aren’t you also excited for the evening to come already?

Tsumugi: I've also been excited since morning!

Tamaki: Sticker20

Tamaki: Me too lolol

Tamaki: But I did an oopsie earlier

Tsumugi: What happened?

Tamaki: I bombed my gift to Iorin

Tamaki:

Tsumugi: Aah, since you’re going to give the present via delivery service, the content is written on it… ><

Tamaki:

Tamaki: Why do you know that

Tsumugi: Yamato-san told me earlier...!

Tamaki: Yama-san’s quick to tell on others

Tamaki: I wouldn’t be exposed even if it’s just a drawing of King Pudding

Tsumugi: Did you write that it was for a gift?

Tamaki: Yeah

Tamaki: The cardboard box was pretty big

Tamaki: Oh well I’d give it to him right way

Tsumugi: But why a King Pudding gift?

Tsumugi: I thought it’s something that’ll make Iori-san happy…

Tamaki: Oh, that

Tamaki: They have a collab with the candy Iorin usually eats

Tsumugi: Ah, is it Animal Gummy?

I happened to see him eating a lot of it recently.

Tamaki: Yeah that

Tamaki: It had those freebies with an animal mascot

Tamaki: Looks like Iorin’s collecting them

Tsumugi: So that was it!

I thought it’s pretty rare to see Iori-san eat candies. I didn’t know that there was a reason behind it.

Tamaki: The candy I was eating had a freebie

Tamaki: Iorin said that if I’m going to throw it then he’ll have it

Tamaki: And just recently it had a collab with King Pudding

Tamaki: Iorin seemed to like completing it so I gave him a box set

Tsumugi: Lining up all the various mascot is certainly cute!

Tamaki:

Tamaki: I’m also looking forward to what Rikkun’ll give me

Tamaki:

Tsumugi: It’s something to look forward to!

Tsumugi:

#idolish7 #i7 #rabbitchat #rabbichat #yotsuba tamaki #ptt xmas #english translation #translation

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officialaemondtargaryen · 2 years

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Trick For A Treat

Summary: When Steve has a date on Halloween night, you and Eddie are put in charge of driving the party around for trick-or-treating.

Characters: Eddie Munson x Reader

Word Count: 2.7k

Trigger Warning: Fluff

Author’s Note: Happy October! Enjoy this little spooky-themed fic. I wrote this for @felteppsters who not only gave me the idea for this but has been the most supportive friend and I love her. Can be read as gender neutral, I believe. I didn't really put any gender-defining slang in here.

There were whispers of a party at Tina's house tonight. Roxanne mouthed the words, "are you going?" to which you shook your head; eyes glancing up at the clock, leg bouncing anxiously, waiting for that last bell to ring. It was Halloween, and it was Halloween on a Friday, which made it even better. Either you could party all night and not have to worry about coming to school with a hangover, or you could stay up all night, watching scary movies and eating all of the candy you could get your hands on.

You had already made plans for the latter.

When the bell rang, some of your classmates cheered at the sound. You all but fell out of your desk as you hurried towards your locker, grabbing your History textbook and your notebooks so that you could study for your test on Monday. Though, you weren't exactly sure how much studying would get done on Halloween weekend, yet, you still shoved them into your messenger bag and headed towards the double doors.

As you walked out to the parking lot, you could see a familiar white van parked towards the back and a familiar mess of shaggy, brown hair head-banging in the driver's seat. You smiled to yourself and shook your head- his music played so loud that you could hear it over the commotion of kids running to their busses, the hollering, and laughing.

Eddie smiled up at you as you stepped up to the passenger side and wiggled the door handle. "This is my favorite part!" He yelled through the closed door as an aggressive guitar riff began to blare through the tiny speakers, the whole van was vibrating.

"Unlock the door!" You called over the music as he played the entire guitar solo; his fingers flying through the air, strumming imaginary strings. His tongue stuck out between his lips as he concentrated on the notes, all you could do was laugh as you watched him. "Eddie!"

As the song came to an end, Eddie reached up to dial back the volume. Your eyebrows were raised as you gestured to the door, jiggling the handle a few more times before you heard the click of it unlocking. You tossed your bag in the floorboard and climbed up into the passenger seat, giving him a look.

"What?" He asked, completely oblivious.

"You couldn't have done that earlier?" You asked. "It's cold outside!"

He rolled his eyes with a smirk, "Sweetheart, did you not see that I was shredding?"

"Let's go, doofus!" You rolled your eyes with a smile as you buckled the seatbelt.

Eddie had asked weeks ago if you wanted to have a horror movie marathon with him this weekend. Three whole nights of scary movies, snacks, candy, and getting to hang out with your best friend- who could say no to that? You already had most of the supplies, but you had to make one last stop at Family Video to pick up the movies. There was a five-movie minimum per customer, so you thought it smart to go together in order to get ten different VHS tapes- which should last the whole weekend, but Eddie was sure that you were going to have to stop in for more movies before it was over.

"I can't not go, Robin, and you can't drive them." You heard Steve's voice as you pulled open the door to the video store, and gave him a head nod upon seeing him standing behind the counter, propped on his elbows as he wrapped the phone cord around his finger. "Actually," Steve continued. "Let me call you back."

"I hope they have a good selection," Eddie muttered as he stepped in behind you and made a bee-line to the horror section. Moments later he sighed heavily and you saw why when you joined him at his side; the shelves were almost empty, save for some pretty bad titles. "Why did we wait til the last minute again?"

"Because you were working," you reminded him.

"Right," Eddie sighed, picking up a couple of tapes, some you had never heard of before.

"You guys having a movie marathon tonight or something?" Steve asked as you made your way over to the children's section hoping to find something.

"We were hoping to," you said as your eyes glossed over a hundred different movie titles. "Ah! Ghostbusters!"

"Sweet!" You heard Eddie from across the store. "I found Poltergeist and Poltergeist 2!" You met Eddie at the checkout counter moments later with a couple of tapes, compared to the six or seven that he was able to find. "I also found Little Shop of Horrors!"

You grabbed the tape out of his hands and smiled before making a face, "Feed me Seymour! Feed me!" Eddie laughed.

Steve stood staring at the two of you for a moment. "You two are so weird." He commented. "Anyways, I have a favor to ask."

"Weird he says," Eddie looked over at you with a smirk playing on his lips. "Yet, favor he wants."

"I know that you guys have plans to watch whatever this is," Steve said as he picked up one of the tapes with a very bloody cover on it. "But what if you didn't do that?"

"What would we do, then?" You asked, your interest genuinely peaked.

"Take the kids trick or treating?" The look on his face was pleading. Both you and Eddie's faces fell. Not that taking the kids, who were almost too grown to go trick or treating anyways, but blood and gore sounded like a much more fun evening. "Look, I've got no one else to ask-" Steve added.

"You want to go pick out some more candy?" Eddie asked you.

"Duh," you replied.

"Please, guys, I'm all but on my hands and knees here." You heard Steve beg as you made your way over to the snack stand to pick up a few more items for your already giant collection of goodies.

Their voices became hushed and you knew that your movie marathon was about to be postponed, at least for a few hours, in order for you and Eddie to take the kids trick or treating. Eddie could never say no when it came to doing something for the party, he was just too kind and cared about those kids too much.

"Just make sure that you take them to Loch Nora," Steve added and you rolled your eyes as you walked back up to the counter. "They give out the full-size candy bars at that one house on the corner with the green door."

"Yeah yeah," Eddie replied. "Add these on there," he motioned to the candy. "Don't forget the friends and family discount, big boy."

"Don't drive like a maniac either, Munson, okay? Does your van even have seatbelts?" Steve asked.

"Yes, my van has seatbelts," Eddie replied. "Do you want me to take them or not, Harrington?"

Steve sighed, "Sorry, I just worry about them, you know? Dustin expects to be picked up at 7:00, don't be late. He'll give you shit about it for an entire week."

"Yes, mom." You laughed. "No late fees if these aren't back in time!"

"Ooh! Yeah!" Eddie exclaimed as he held the door open for you. You turned one last time to wave at your friend stuck behind the counter. "Add that to the list, too! No late fees til the end of the year!"

You climbed back up into Eddie's van and buckled yourself in. Eddie tossed the bag of VHS tapes in the back.

"So," you prodded. "What did we get in return for this venture?"

"Friends and family discount and, of course, thanks to your genius, no late fees until the end of the year. There was something else, but it's a surprise!"

"You know I love surprises!"

"Yeah, I know." He smiled.

At 7:00 you and Eddie pulled up outside of Dustin's house and honked the horn twice. Judging by the look on Dustin's face, Steve did not tell him about the change in plans and Dustin argued about it all the way to The Wheelers. To which Eddie mentioned that he was happy to take him back home.

He shut up then.

"Hell yeah!" Max beamed as she walked up to the van. "This is much better than Mr. Mom driving us!" You noticed Eddie's proud smile and couldn't help but smirk.

"You're okay with this?" Dustin asked with shock.

"Uh, yeah!" Mike replied. "Y/N and Eddie are so much cooler than Steve 'I'll-have-them-home-by-nine' Harrington."

The kids piled up in the back of Eddie's van and you were off to Loch Nora for full sized-candy bars. You and Eddie trailed behind as they ran up to every house with a porch light on, making your way through the vast neighborhood. Street after street, you walked, chewing on the candy that you had picked up at the video store; laughing at some of the more obscure costumes that you saw, Eddie jumping out from behind trees to scare the younger kids- he got Lucas really good after Max mentioned how easy he was to scare.

"Alright, I think we've bled this place dry!" Eddie mentioned as he got back into his van.

"Yeah, I think it's time to get you kiddos home!" You joked, but the kids thought you were being serious and whined.

"Come on!" Mike pleaded. "Don't be a lame douche!"

You raised your eyebrows and looked over at Eddie who was smirking. "Alright, alright!" He caved. "There's a real hoity-toity place over in Culver, but if I take you there, you cannot tell Harrington, alright? I don't want him gettin' any ideas, okay? You tell him you like hanging with us more and he'll be pushing you guys off on us every chance he gets. You assholes are cool and all, but-"

"Just shut up and drive, already!" Max yelled.

The Highlands, it was called. The houses were twice the size of the ones in Loch Nora, and every single porch light was on. There were cars lined up on each side of the street, and the decorations were insane. One person had a whole haunted maze in their yard. There was a man grilling hot dogs in his driveway- and he had a line.

"This place is amazing!" Dustin stammered, and he, Will, Mike, and Lucas took off through the sea of trick-or-treaters.

"Hey guys, can you try and stay close?" Eddie yelled, following behind them.

Max stayed back with you, rolling her eyes at the boys.

"How come you and Eddie aren't dating?" She asked out of nowhere. You stopped for a moment, taken off-guard, then turned to look at her. "I mean, you guys are always together and it's obvious he's like in love with you or something."

You laughed, almost snorting through your nose. "Eddie is not in love with me."

It was Max's turn to return the laugh, "Whatever you say," she mentioned as she ran off towards the other party members.

You stood still for a moment in the middle of the street. Was it really that obvious? So obvious, in fact, that you didn't even notice? Yeah, the kids always made little remarks, and you had heard Dustin and Mike teasing Eddie before about it, but you always shrugged it off. Eddie was your best and closest friend. He didn't love you as anything more than that.

Right?

"What's on your mind?" A voice pulled you out of your thoughts as you walked in almost a trance, weaving in and out of costumed children and teenagers.

"Hm? Oh, nothing." You shrugged, looking down at your feet.

"Oh, nothing, my ass." He quipped. "Something's got you thinking."

You shrugged your shoulders again, kicking a small pebble around with your foot with each step. "It's just something that Max said."

Eddie stopped and then you stopped, turning to him and looking up into his deep brown eyes. "What did she say?" He asked, squinting.

"It's nothing, really."

"Tell me."

"Fine," you sighed. "She asked why we weren't dating and-"

"What?"

"She said that you were in love with me."

He sighed, "god damnit., Max."

"But you're not, though, right?"

"I was going to tell you tonight, actually." Eddie sighed again. "Then Harrington kind of delayed my plans." He was staring into your eyes so intently it felt as if he was trying to drown you with them. "You're the happiest part of my life, Y/N. When I'm not around you, it's like I'm being starved. All I want is to hang out with you, talk to you, talk about you. I don't even remember when it happened, it's just sort of always been that way." He had grabbed your hand, his thumb ran over your knuckles. "I understand if you don't feel the same way."

"You do?" You asked.

"Yeah!" He dropped your hand and waved his through the air.

"Well, I do." You said just as fast. "Feel the same way, I mean."

"You do?"

"I think it's always sort of been that way for me, too." You replied with a small smile.

Eddie stood towering over you, his fingers intertwining with yours. All you could focus on was the fact that his lips were inching closer and closer to yours until you felt the warmth of his breath; and when he placed his lips upon yours, all you could do was laugh. You felt Eddie smile against your lips before he pulled away.

"Sorry!" You were still smiling.

"No, it was definitely weird." He laughed.

"Let's try again?" You asked.

Eddie nodded before inching back towards your lips. His lips were warm against yours, soft, and gentle, and tasted like candy. He pulled you closer to him as his arms snaked around your waist.

"Ew, God!" You heard from behind you. It was Dustin.

"Get a room, that is so gross!" Mike chided.

"Finally," Lucas added.

"You owe me five dollars, Dustin." Max chimed.

"I think it's time to get you little shits home," you stated and Eddie nodded. "You've gotten enough candy to last you a year."

You dropped everyone off at The Wheeler's for their slumber party and left a couple of the D-list horror movies with them, as well, on the promise they wouldn't tell their parents- or Steve. Eddie drove you back to his trailer with his hand on your knee the entire time, and you chewed on your lip to keep yourself from smiling so hard that your cheeks cramped up.

Eddie made a bowl of popcorn and tossed you a king-sized Kit-Kat from the bag of candy you had been collecting. He snuggled in at your side and placed the popcorn on your lap.

"One more thing," he muttered as he dug into the Family Video bag. "I told you that I had a surprise for you. I saw it behind the counter being held for someone else, so I told Steve that we'd take the kids if he'd let me rent it." He placed your favorite horror movie in your hands and you smiled.

"You want to put it on now?" You asked.

"Yeah, we can, but I'll be honest I don't know how much of it we're actually going to watch."

He set the popcorn to the side and pulled you closer to him, placing a finger underneath your chin and bringing you to look up into his chocolate brown eyes, once more, before placing his lips on yours.

"Is it way too early for me to tell you that I love you?" He asked, his lips still within centimeters of yours. "Because I totally fucking love you."

"It's not too early when we've been wanting to say it for years," you suggested.

"Good," he smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too." You replied. "Now shut up and kiss me."

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jade-parcels · 2 years

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Dendro visions give their user the ability to grow plants at will. They can wave a hand and a field of silk flowers will sprout up from the moist soil. Flowers bloom when they laugh, petals full of life as the one who created them blushes. Little vines may affectionately crawl up their lover’s arm or leg, the tiniest flowers opening to greet them. Those blessed with dendro visions tend to be romantics, those who desire love, who desire the warmth of another’s embrace

Baizhu is not exempt from these feelings. As much as he may suppress them, they make themselves known through the use of his vision. The Archons blessed him with a useful tool, one that would progress his work in his field of science- however, it also bared his emotions to his peers. When gloomy or tired, the plants surrounding him would droop. When he felt homesick, qingxin would bloom to fill the room with a refreshing, sweet scent. And when he felt the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach, when a blush crept up his cheeks as he admired a classmate from afar, Sumeru roses would pop up through the floor boards, strengthened by his raw emotion. Embarrassed, Baizhu would hastily pluck the flowers from the ground and stuff them into his book bag before anyone saw. He’d mentally scold the vision on his hip, wondering why oh why it had to make his inner feelings so obvious??

Even now as he tries to keep the air of a mysterious, cold doctor, his vision doesn’t care about his facade. The first time you came to the pharmacy to inquire about a new medicine from Natlan, little vines started growing over his feet behind the counter. It took all of his focus to not bring attention to the lotus flowers growing up his legs. Thank the archons that he didn’t have to come out from behind the counter, he would have exposed his silly ‘love at first sight’ affections. Surely this would pass, it had to be something in the air or a sudden burst emotion after bottling it up for so long… but each time he sees you, the flowers make themselves known. Even Qiqi has picked up on it- she points out the silk flowers and cecelias, not knowing that she’s embarrassing him when she exposes the blooms he’s tried to hide with his lab coat

When you hold his hand for the first time, a warm blush spreads across his skin and his heartbeat quickens. A thick vine crawls up the bench where you sit and slithers itself around your hands, forcing them to stay locked together. “Ah- my apologies, I didn’t mean to-“ Baizhu is quick to rip the thing up out of the ground and throw it over the railing into the harbor. His cheeks are bright pink, he won’t meet your gaze as he hurriedly excuses himself… he hasn’t been so flustered since he was a teen. Little moments like these happen so often. Every flower he grows for you out of his love is deemed ‘embarrassing’ and a ‘nuisance’. He claims they grow at the wrong times, out of too strange places and he apologizes for his ‘outbursts’. You’ve tried to tell him it’s cute, you like it, but he won’t accept it. He’s a man of science, not emotion, and when he believes something like “my vision embarrasses me beyond belief”, that isn’t an easy belief to dispel.

His mind is changed when you kiss him. It isn’t just any kiss, you’ve shared a handful of sweet kisses before. This one is special. After bringing him to the Wangshu Inn, treating him to warm dinner and a dance on the balcony. He allows you to pull him in for a kiss, one that tastes of wine and sunsettia candies… he melts into your hold, letting your tongue explore his mouth. Ah, what a lucky man he is to have you by his side. He’s so undeniably in love and it shows when the kiss is broken.

Beautiful flowers bloom over the expanse of the balcony. Bright shades of pink, blue, and violet sprawl over the railings, spilling a waterfall of vines over the edges. The red wood beneath your feet is hidden beneath leaves- not to mention your feet are held to the ground with flowering vines. The sweet, floral scent is inescapable as you’re fully surrounded by a garden born from the love Dr. Baizhu feels for you. When tears fall down your cheeks as you tell him you love it, he finds himself thanking his vision for showing you how he really feels in such a stunning way… He had no idea something on this scale was possible.

When you check out of the inn the following morning and walk hand in hand down the dirt road back to the harbor, you can see the extent of the growth. The whole back side of the inn is a wall of flowers, pretty petals blowing off to shower over the road where you walk <3

#genshin impact #genshin impact writing #baizhu x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin fluff #genshin impact baizhu #genshin baizhu #gn!reader

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omegaplus · 4 months

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# FINAL POST.

Ask me if there was one moment in my life that changed everything for the better. I’ll tell you: it was discovering both Cold Cave’s “Confetti” and Prurient’s Cocaine Death. It’s the Summer of ‘11 when the worst decision of my life was still being played out. I was suffering in a place I never imagined I would be; the product of the late Oughts’ economic crash when I went broke and bounced from job to job. I had no choice but to wave the white flag and take the first thing offered to me. I lost everything a few years prior that made me: a radio show, music shopping, graphics design, writing, and more. When I heard the opening notes to “Confetti”, I felt magic. It gave me a vibe and showed me a beauty I was going to look for in the years to come. Cocaine Death was created by Brooklyn noise artist Dominick Fernow who had a vision and aesthetic that intrigued me so much that I was curious to see what other things surrounded his origins. He was the reason why I discovered Cold Cave. Months passed and despite living through a personal hell at work, “Confetti” and Cocaine Death signified a new beginning for me. I got back into the habit of burning music, resumed Photoshop, and started writing again. I had enough momentum that I decided the time was right to get back into radio. I had a show during my stay at Stony Brook University, which ended when my tenure did. I had just enough music to give it another shot. Finds from Geneva Jacuzzi, Washed Out, Asteroids Galaxy Tour, Glass Candy and Italians Do It Better made me feel something. I got in touch with the current general manager and on December 12, 2012 (12/12/12) Omega WUSB was born.

Around that time, I made friends with some of the other co-workers who were more on my side and knew a thing or two about respect, privacy, and personal space. I helped my ex- moved into a new residence, I caught up with co-workers from previous jobs who gave birth to their first-borns with their deadbeat dads nowhere in sight, and re-united with old classmates from the Brentwood era whom I haven’t seen since. If that wasn’t enough, an all-too-special interest during the Stony Brook era decided to reach out to me - by total surprise - wanting to pick up where we left off. I was finally back into it. The following Summer, that potential and I were getting closer, and I finally got myself a second job to leave the consequences of the first. It’s not even halfway into my first year back that I was going crazy with Omega WUSB, and I was already enjoying it; being back in my element of playing music over the airwaves from a tattered control room with broken antiquated equipment which none have been replaced since the late Sixties. It felt great to be back. For the next ten years, Omega WUSB took me places, taught me things about myself I never knew, and showed me what it took to keep ongoing projects running. Since I’d be constantly finding music to keep my show fresh, why not start a blog and tell my listeners how enthusiastic I was about it? On December 2013, I started Ω+. What really made Ω+? It was a literal reflection of myself; a personal music diary of radio shows I played, releases in my library, purchases, mixtapes, live experiences, random things I listened to, listening habits and more. This was the place where I had no shame telling everyone what I was into, and I did it to prove a point. I aimed to make this blog stand out over everything else here. To do that, I posted about every genre I got my ears on because I truly enjoyed everything I listened to. It’s why you saw everything from indie, hip-hop / rap, post-punk, d.i.y, noise, industrial, shoegaze, d-beat, reggae, jazz / fusion, jungle, and much more to list.

There were also other ideas I had that no other music blog had: numbered posts, seasonal mixtapes, extensive year-end lists and best-of posts, personal insights, and tons of candor - much more to my benefit. Our favorite months were our ‘second issue series’ and ‘clearance sales’ where we posted heavily about alternate covers, colored vinyl and cassettes and other rarities which drew our largest amounts of followers. Plus, plenty of receipts of years past and many from two ‘record store victory tours’ (‘18 and ‘22) covered here. Wanted to know what was on a mix cassette or CD-r my friends gave me, or what played off of my iPhone or iPod during a train ride or walk through Central Park? The song that played on the overhead as a potential, and I sat over ice cream? What I listened to during a specific point in time, or what band tees people wore at a certain show I attended? It was all here. It got off to an inconsistent start (one which I’ll never get over when you see the archives), but eventually it got rolling when I made it a point to post consistently and have a presence because that’s how you got likes and followers. And Christ did I hammer at it. But without Omega WUSB, Ω+ wouldn’t have existed, and you wouldn’t be reading this now. For 10 years it gave you something not many or no other music blog gave you. Now, after lots of consideration, I’m making the decision to finally end Ω+ once and for all. This is our final post. ********************** It started during the pandemic summer when someone I met here left a poisonous impression on me. My anxiety and depression came back and totally threw me off. I couldn’t think straight as I was too busy figuring out the hurt and pain she just created for me. I wasn’t focused and wasn’t posting as much in as I used to. The pushback was enough that I started feeling different about lots of things and seriously wondered what I was still doing here. That was when Ω+ started to suffer.

Up until this point I’ve been falling behind and that’s not good. Once you fall behind on a music blog like this, it’s almost impossible and time-consuming to come back. And to come back, you have to short-change yourself. Cheat, cut corners, and be inconsistent with what’s being posted. After posting at least (on average) 38+ times a month, coming up with new ways of saying the same things over and over and over and over and over again, and writing in a way that keeps readers attention, then after all is said and done, what was I / Ω+ getting back in return? It used to get 250 followers a year, and I had to pull teeth in order to get them. When you put in so much work to show your followers how awesome and crazy an album or single is, only to get an average of 10 likes on each post (barring some of Omega WUSB’s playlists), and see others post the same exact thing for ten times the amount, it does get rather discouraging. I always felt, with millions of readers on here and with music being a universal thing, how and why was it so hard to get more out of what I do?

Some say you don’t do it for the numbers, you do it for personal satisfaction. Getting that personal satisfaction was never an issue by simply running this page because I always loved staying in touch and finding things in common with my followers. Only then I wanted all the numbers coming to me. Not getting that consistency that I wanted, even after 10 years of Ω+, feels like a letdown. I was hoping to have exactly 22 entries per month this year. Then, this happens: instead of privately posting entries on the spot before the month was over, I ended up queuing them at the last minute and miscalculated. Only 11 entries for August were posted, with the others after the fact in September, so there’s zero chance of getting the others back. I fucked up. The final straw was when I have seen my perfect format slightly altered as the header images now became smaller and wasn’t fitting the text column width entirely. It’s bad enough having to spend hours trying to find a working theme, only to see it messed around with no rhyme or reason. I reached a point to where I felt I was throwing my time away for less-than-desired gain, and what was once one of my favorite things to do became tiring and heavy-headed. In short: I’m massively overwhelmed with no end in sight. I’m too exhausted and don’t have it in me anymore in this capacity to keep this going. ********************** I’m in a much better place than I was ten years ago, financially and ambitiously. I still have everything I took back and more. I still have the radio show, and still do graphic design, sound editing, and photography. But there are still things left on the backburner. I haven’t written or created anything in months but want to again. There’s a backlog of music I’ve yet to listen to from last year’s massive island- and city-wide record-store shopping spree that left me 560+ vinyl records, tapes, and CDs richer and $3,000 poorer - and also from another shopping spree on top of that.

There are plenty of books I bought that I need to read up on, and tons of cassettes and VHS tapes I need to digitally transfer. I just started learning Italian thanks to one of the best people ever. I purchased a coding book six months ago that I’ve yet to even open. I’m still recovering from the retail-hell climate that took a daily toll on my mental and emotional health so heavy that it was depleting me. Now, I work at home and managed to stay with the company; essentially keeping my 401K, medical, and my time-off. Total game-changer. Since my dad left, I’ve been practicing self-care in ways I wasn’t allowed to. I took the time to step back, re-assess myself, and be the person I always wanted to be, with no constant surveillance of people keeping tabs on me. I’ve enjoyed many moments - arcades, travels to New York City, holidays with my family, live industrial-music shows in New York City, and meeting specific people - when I have them. My company has changed. Though I parted ways from some of the best co-workers I had, I also did the same from separating myself from the daily cast of the undesirable public.

My vision and state of mind have changed due to anti-depressants, focusing on some specific valuable people, and not having to think about the worst as much. Different things made by different people have happened. I’m welcoming and embracing the changes I’ve made for myself, and there’s plenty more I need to do. Right now, I’m still simplifying my life and focus on what I want to do from now until the day I cash it all in for good. ********************** What Ω+ leaves behind is ten years in the life and diary of one person’s lifetime listening habits and acquisitions of music. Decades of personal mixtapes, gifts from friends, giveaways, and the evolution of listening habits. Plenty of quarterly personal seasonal playlists, playlists of the day, and past WUSB shows when they happened. A roadmap of two record store victory tours, various receipts, and almost all live experiences ever attended. How about those ‘second issue’ series focusing on rare, out of print, and mispressed releases plus alternate covers, color vinyl and cassette editions? A multitude of year-end and even end-of-the-decade best-of lists. Documents of Omega WUSB’s anniversaries and all-out Summer broadcasting seasons. Locales, venues, and what t-shirt everyone was wearing. An enthusiasm of hip-hop’s golden age, post-punk / d.i.y., hardcore / metalcore, industrial, sampling culture, and vinyl treasures. Practically almost every genre, decade, and format Ω+ got it hands on.

Every song, album, purchase, listen, experience, interaction, broadcast, mixtape, playlist, purchase, and venture has all been documented here - and with all the utmost honestly and openness. All of that stops here. We (at Ω+) say this right now to save you the uncertainty: we’re not like those other blogs who abruptly stop posting without a heads-up and leave you hanging for months (or even years) waiting for another entry or at least announcing a hiatus, then decide to pop up once more and swear that things get rolling again. Guess what? You never heard from them again after that. What a surprise. Like unreliables, most promise but don’t deliver. Not us. When we say we’re done, we mean it. We’re done. We’re not posting again after this. There’s no coming back. No false hope or waiting for a day that will never come. (I’m sure you wouldn’t like being lied to or short-changed by anyone, either.) But, I’ll still be filling in the blanks from last year for completeness, as lives up to its name with this final post - in its current form. But, here’s a catch… There’s one follower of Ω+ who happens to be as obsessed and crazy about music as I am. Imagine that. She doesn’t have a dedicated music blog like this, but instead, has loads of Spotify playlists, plenty of audio and video posts all across many different accounts and social media. Between us, we’ve given each other CDs, records, and cassettes for holiday gifts and birthdays. We’ve traded MP3’s, and mailed out entire boxes of tapes from personal collections. We’ve been turned on to other’s recommendations. Our enthusiasm with finding and sharing music is unimaginable; perhaps more than what any normal human being is capable of. We have lots of artists, bands, genres, and even specifics in common that it was almost improbable to have found each other, but we did. She started following us not too long ago, so she’s going to be disappointed to learn that this music blog has come to a full stop. But, I’m not the one to disappoint. That is a total non-negotiable. So, I decided to re-invent it. Ω+ is now dead. Long live ΩRMX.

ΩRMX is a revision of the original with all the seasonal mixtapes, Omega WUSB playlists, personal posts, record-store receipts, live experiences, and other important stuff that made it. Instead of reviews, they’ll be replaced with now- or currently-listening. Tagging will be minimal and not specific, and some other details like numbered posts have been left behind. Everyone passing through will know what I’ve been listening to in real time. It’ll be simpler and faster for me to post without having to spend too much time and be constantly under the gun to do so. Problem solved. As much as I’d love to, I can’t continue with this specific music -blr with how it’s currently done. I really don’t want to completely give up on it altogether. I’ll be doing things a little differently. I’m still curious to see who’s paying attention to what I’m listening now or did XX years ago, or if anyone had experienced what I have. I’d also like to know if what I’m doing still separates myself from the others - if those types of -blrs still even exist. ********************** At this point, Ω+ stays here for posterity’s sake and becomes a curiosity for anyone who accidentally discovers it. I only hope future visitors get what I’ve done and how I’ve done it differently than the other music -blrs found here, or anywhere. To everyone who have followed us back, liked our entries, reblogged, supported, or even messaged us to see what happened to us, I appreciate it all. As we always say, we hope you took something with you.

Ω+: December 2013-December 2023.

#omega #music #personal #the end #fin

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