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daydreamerwonderkid · 10 months

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Me, after doing 15 minutes of excessive googling on every Batfam member's birthday only to then realize I've accidentally missed the majority of them this year, and then also finding out that people are still aggressively debating over whether Bruce's birthday is April 7 or February 19, Dick's birthday happens 3-6x throughout the year, and Stephanie might have just popped into existence for all that DC cares:

Batfam birthday dates btw for anyone who needs them are listed beneath the cut:

DISCLAIMER: DC is notorious for being super inconsistent with everything and I am a mere tadpole caught in the tidal wave of DC's ocean. This post will be regularly updated with edits and corrections so please do not use it as word of law, I am begging you.

Update (8/24/23): To keep things more simple and easier for everyone I am going to start categorizing the birth dates I've collected into 3 categories.

-Most popular: Self-explanatory. These are the birth dates that have been canonized and confirmed by DC and are also more wildly celebrated by the fandom. Typically, this should be the first result you see when you google the character's birthday. But not always because DC sucks ass.

-Other date(s): These are the additional birth dates I come across that have been canonized in some form with multiple sources, but are not as wildly celebrated or popularized by DC and/or the fandom. Why am I including them here? Mostly because I don't want people coming in saying I forgot a date. But also because if I have to see this mess, then y'all have too as well.

-Potential but unconfirmed date(s): This is where I will put all the other additional dates I find, but specifically those that are lacking in complete sources or seem to be highly debated and scrutinized.

Also fun emoji ranking guide for me and me alone:

👑👑: Queen Shit. Characters with a consistent and simple birth date(s). Can absolutely do no wrong.

👑😮‍💨: In the Running. Characters who don't have a set birth date, but the mess is minor and completely DC's fault. They shouldn't have to be punished for DC's crimes.

🤡🤡: Gtfo. Shit is so inconsistent and stupidly messy that it's making me lose my shit. I'm putting DC and the characters on trial for this bullshit.

👑Alfred Pennyworth👑

Most popular: August 18

Other date(s): June 27 or August 10

Potential but unconfirmed date(s): September 19 (fml)

(Yes, I'm including Terry, fuck you lol

Also SERIOUSLY WTF is up with so many of these August birthdays!!!! Fuck, was everyone just getting crazy BUSY in November!!!! What's going on in the DC universe that is making November of all months the HORNY MONTH????!!!!)

(Mini update ((8/18/23)): Well, I just found out that apparently June 27th 2023 is also a highly debated birth date for Terry. As is August 10 2023/2024 and August 18 2023/2024. I even saw a mention of September 19 2023, but I don't know how credible that source actually is. I'm just putting it here because I'm losing my mind and I don't want someone to pop in and say I forgot it omfg I'm dying

I'm just ... why? Why is it so hard to just commit to one month and one date. I'm not even concerned about the exact year. Just commit to ONE, man.

Excuse me while I march over to DC HQ and burn the whole place to the ground iswtfg)

Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on any of these. I have a massive headache now and am open to any suggestions or clarifications y'all have to offer.

Also, I'm going to fist fight Dick in a Denny's parking lot.

Update (8/17/23): So a mini post that I meant to use as a way to vent how insane Dick was making me somehow blew up way more than I ever expected it to, and now I feel obligated to clarify again that I am open to any corrections and additional info that anyone has to offer.

I'm saying this because I've noticed people reblogging this post for actual Batfam bday references and someone already pointed out I fucked up Tim's bday and now I feel bad for everyone who reblogged this post prior to that edit.

It's probably just the anxiety talking, but yeah I just wanted to put that out there.

Also justice for Stephanie Brown! She deserves to have her own special day and if I have to bully DC into giving her a canon birthday, then you bet your ass I fucking will.

(And to all of y'all who are encouraging Dick to keep running his side scam business, I just have this to say: There's an empty Denny's parking lot somewhere out there just waiting for you, too lol)

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osaemu · 8 months

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・𖠗 EMAILS I CAN'T SEND EVENT !

with songs featuring gojo, geto, dazai, chuuya, and childe !

BEFORE YOU LISTEN . . .

careful, there's gonna be some pretty mature themes headin' in . . . sex, cheating, overthinking, y'know, the usual. it's hard being hot !

WHAT'S THE ALBUM ABOUT ?

well, i heard some guys from jujutsu kaisen, bungo stray dogs, and genshin impact are involved in the drama, maybe you know them !

TRACK 9: NONSENSE "baby i'm in too deep, here's a lil' song i wrote, it's about you and me"

꒰ pop star!reader x secret lover!gojo

being a pop star is tough, and maintaining a relationship alongside it is even harder. good thing you have a boyfriend to share the nights with, but what happens when those night-time specials start seeping into your daytime routine?

TRACK 10: FAST TIMES "tiptoeing past so many stages, but what the fuck is patience?"

꒰ coworkers with benefits ft. pm boss!chuuya

being a mafia boss is hard, and the stress that comes with it could kill. so, your boss's solution is to take it out on his pretty little secretary — you. one thing leads to another, and soon it becomes a regular thing. it's okay, it's not like he's gonna fuck you during work hours, right?

TRACK 11: SKINNY DIPPING "if we could take it all off and just exist, and skinny dip in water under the bridge"

꒰ break up –> make up ft. criminal!geto

when you found out he wasn't who he said he was, you dumped him on the spot, and after that you didn't see him for nineteen days. so what happens on the twentieth day when you run into him at your local coffee shop, and how did it end with his dick in your mouth?

TRACK 13: DECODE "you're good at impersonating someone who cares, and you had me for a minute there"

꒰ actor!reader x actor!dazai

your co-star is known for his acting prowess, and maybe he's just a little too good, because even when the lights are down and no cameras in sight, you can never seem to figure out if he means what he says. even when he's drunk in your sheets, every word seems carefully calculated to get something out of you — who knows what he wants?

TRACK 15: FEATHER "your signals are mixed, you act like a bitch, you fit every stereotype, send a pic"

꒰ it girl!reader x fuckboy!gojo

you're everything, and he's just another fuckboy. but even though he's the biggest dickhead you've ever met, you can't deny that he's very, very attractive. so what happens when you have one too many drinks and end up moaning his name all night long?

TRACK 16: LONESOME "did you think about her face with your hands around my waist? did you even give a fuck?"

꒰ exes with benefits ft. fuckboy!childe

you probably shouldn't still sleep with the boy who ruined your life, but hey, he's the only one who knows how to fuck you just right. even if he made you cry for a week straight, you'd rather be crying out his name than wallowing in self-pity at home. and it's not like you're gonna get back together with him, are you?

TRACK 17: THINGS I WISH YOU SAID "i saw you met somebody and i'm jealous as hell, that i can't even stomach loving somebody else"

꒰ cheating ft. ex boyfriend!dazai

maybe it's wrong to cheat on your current boyfriend with your ex, but you never moved on and apparently, neither did he. and shit, he's just as skillful with his words as ever, so just one night wouldn't hurt, right?

SO, WHEN CAN I HEAR THE STORIES ?

well, hannah'll tell you whenever she feels like it, but who knows what order she's whisper them to you in ? it'll be a surprise ~

CAN SOMEONE TELL ME WHEN THE STORY'S OUT ?

there's no taglist or anythin', but you can check back here to see if anything's leaked yet ! ++ maybe follow hannah and her tag, 'cause she said she'll post updates there . . . #✧ — emails i can't send

have fun listening! reblogs very appreciated xoxo –> signed, hannah

#✧ — docs #✧ — emails i can't send #jjk x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #bsd x reader #bungo stray dogs x reader #genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #gojo x reader #geto x reader #dazai x reader #chuuya x reader #childe x reader

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chaoticace2005 · 3 months

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The list of regrets I totally have and am not just writing because Charlie is making me, Vagina Vaggie is glaring at me, and I want the free rent:

By Angel Dust, 3 time X-X-X award winner.

(Warning, there is some victim blaming in this. The abuse Angel faces from Val is not his fault, but given that I’m writing this from his perspective I figured it would be something he’d add.)

1. Writing this list

2. Verbally complaining about writing this list cause now Vagina wants to stab me.

3. Only taking half my usual hit before starting today.

4. Complaining about not being high enough.

5. Not hiding my drugs better

6. Not having more stashes of drugs

7. Calling TV superior to radio.

8. Not killing that snake before he had a chance to go to the hotel.

9. Not “trying hard enough” at this shitty hotel.

10. Being too close to roof so the CRAZY BITCH COULD THROW ME OFF OF IT.

11. Walking up the stairs with Pentious only to have to go IMMEDIATELY BACK DOWN.

12. Signing my deal with fucking Valentino. Seriously I’m a fucking idiot.

13. Even suggesting the idea that Charlie should come to the studio. She’s just going to get hurt.

14. Mouthing off to Val.

15. Not getting Charlie out of the hotel sooner

16. Being such a pathetic, dick sucking ho who isn’t good at anything beyond sex.

17. Not being able to take all of this.

18. Not acting well enough cause some this bitchass cat is seeing through me.

19. Ever offering that bitchass cat my services.

20. Pushing Husk’s boundaries

21. Not being my true self.

22. Acting for so long I don’t even really know who my true self is

23. Being a dick to Charlie

24. Being a dick to Husk

25. Being a dick to everyone

26. Putting my dick in a vacuum cleaner.

27. Calling Smiles a creepy dommy daddy.

28. Letting Niffty know about some of my more kinky films. She’s getting ideas…

29. Trying to play poker with Husk (and not even strip poker!)

30. Testing if my venom works on myself (it doesn’t and now I have pink bite marks)

31. Leaving what I used to clean my bites out because somehow Alastor found them and is now TEMPORARILY PARALYZED AND I DONT WANT HIM TO KILL ME WHEN HE CAN MOVE AGAIN.

32. Not answering Val’s texts.

33. Wearing boots. Seriously these things hurt sometimes.

34. Having ugly feet so I can’t NOT wear boots.

35. Tracking mud into the hotel

36. Mentioning sex around the Egg Bois because now I have to explain what it is.

37. Describing sex as something their boss “has never had,” it got back to Pentious and I’m scared.

38. Mentioning “Vox” anywhere in Alastor’s vicinity.

39. Agreeing to play Monopoly with Niffty. In general Monopoly sucks but Niffty likes to get knives involved?!?!

40. Getting addicted to drugs.

41. Getting caught in that alleyway by my BITCHASS brother.

42. Not trying harder for Molly.

43. Not saying goodbye.

44. Fucking overdosing.

45. Doing literally fucking nothing with my life and nothing with my death.

46. Taking the easy was out and doing whatever pops told me to

47. Yelling “FUCK” loudly in church that one time

48. Not teaching these people at the hotel how to FUCKING MAKE SPAGHETTI RIGHT?!

49. Getting high with Cherri.

50. Telling Val to “fuck off”

51. Flirting with that one cannibal guy because now they all seem to want to EAT ME (and not in the sexy way)

52. Leaving those pot brownies out. High cannibals, Egg Boiz, and Nifftys are terrifying.

53. Letting myself be named “Angel” because this makes shit too damn confusing plus I think Niffty wants to KILL ME?!

54. Not spending more time with these losers

55. Not opening myself up to Husk sooner.

56. Being too much of a coward to tell him how I feel.

57. Mentioning Pent has two dicks to Cherri cause she won’t stop asking about it.

58. Not doing enough to save Pentious.

59. Not telling him how much he means to me.

60. Trying to lift way more than I should have. Apparently six arms doesn’t mean I’m super strong.

61. Calling Niss a short motherfucker who nobody likes. I’m sorry, I’ll be better (and call him something even worse next time.)

62. Still being too much of a coward to tell Husk how I feel.

63. Flirting with Husk in Italian when he UNDERSTOOD ME THIS WHOLE DAMN TIME?!

64. Getting a room on the same side of the building as Alastor’s because he keeps laughing at 3 in the morning???

65. Kissing Husk in public. Val is mad.

66. Trying to even have a boyfriend with Val around. It’s stupid.

67. Calling yourself stupid for wanting to have a boyfriend.

68. Giving my boyfriend access to this list.

69. No regrets. Only 69. :D (Jesus Christ you’re a child.)

#tw: victim blaming #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel memes #angel dust #angel dust hazbin hotel #huskerdust #arackniss #Molly #molly hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel husk #stupid hazbin hotel lists #husker hazbin hotel #hazbin husker #angel x husk #angelhusk #tw: valentino

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befuddledcinnamonroll · 7 months

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After seeing that clip of Pavel getting the role of Babe going around, I had to see more. I had no idea they had done a full reality show on the casting, and although I don't have nearly enough time to watch the whole series, the final role assignment part was so damn cute.

I love that they correctly guess Nut as Way, even though he was the very first character announced.

I love Nut's happy little face here.

Pop giving off a salty vibe the entire time, and them all teasing him when he's announced as Winner

and him both leaning into it and being a good sport.

When Alan comes up, everyone immediately knowing it's Sailub, because he's the "uncle" of the group

and his reaction to learning about his love interest

because our boy is ONLY 30 YEARS OLD, and they just told him he'll be into someone 15 years younger, so I get his concern!

The minute that they say North is funny & not serious, that absolutely everyone immediately knows it's Michael, which is adorable.

Them describing Pete as someone who falls for Way, and Nut IMMEDIATELY calling it for Ping

And then promptly dying of embarrassment, so flipping cute.

But oh, the heartfeels, when Pooh gets Charlie, and he's so quiet, but you can tell he's having such BIG feelings - and Pavel is already losing his shit in the back.

And as the names keep getting called, and the cast is narrowed down, and Pavel is trying to act very normal and engaged while also fully aware that it's going to be him.

So of course he loses it at the moment, because he's been holding it in this entire time!

And then the look he shares with Pooh. My heart.

This is such an adorable crew, and I'm happy for them that they are already getting so much attention for the show.

YouTube link to episode 16 here.

#pit babe the series #pavel phoom #pooh krittin #nut supanut #the feels #i know this industry is hard and has a lot of toxicity #i just want all the babies to be happy

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baileypie-writes · 6 months

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Hiii! I love your Velvet and Veneer writings, especially the ones with a younger sibling! Could you possibly do one with a 15-16 sibling who they’ve not seen in a long time due to their career, but once they do they realize the sibling is one of their musical techno rivals?

A/N ~ Sure! Hope you enjoy!

~Unknown Sibling Rivalry~

Velvet and Veneer + Musician!Younger Sibling!Reader

Random: Trolls 3: Band Together

Relationship: Familial

Synopsis: When Velvet and Veneer got to see you for the first time in a while, they were not expecting to also meet their rival.

Warnings: Rivalry, minor swearing

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

Oh gosh. How were you gonna tell them?

You’re the younger sibling of the famous pop stars, Velvet and Veneer. You always looked up to them, ever since you were a kid. So, you decided to make your own music, just like them.

You thought your techno songs wouldn’t get noticed, but to your surprise, your latest few songs were always on the top spots on the charts. Either behind or in front of your siblings’s.

At first, you were excited to share the news with them, but it became clear that they saw you as a rival. You planned on hiding it from them, but as you were on your way to visit them, you realized that might be more difficult than expected.

~~~~

Their house was… big. Way bigger than you expected. You knew they were rich, but damn.

Velvet and Veneer led you to the living room. The TV was on, and was playing a channel about trending music.

“Once again, (your music alias)’s new song is at the top of the charts! And Velvet and Veneer’s song is right behind them!” The reported stated.

Velvet scoffed. “Again? Really? Their music isn’t even that good…” You felt your heart crack, but kept your neutral expression up.

“Oh c’mon Velvet, I know you listen to their stuff all the time. Their music is pretty good. I mean, they are our rival after all.” Veneer said. You couldn’t help but smile.

“What’s so funny (name)?” Velvet asked.

“Nothing, I just can’t believe that you like my stuff.”

Shit.

You slapped your hand over your mouth. You turned towards the twins slowly, hoping that they somehow didn’t hear what you just said. There expressions proved that your prayers were not answered. Their eyes were wide, unblinking. And their mouths hung open.

“I’m sorry… what?” Velvet finally spoke after a good seven seconds.

“Hehehe… surprise?” You gave a subtle jazz hands movement, hoping to lighten the mood.

“You’re (your music alias)?!” Veneer said, pointing to the TV, which was discussing your success. You just nodded, cringing. The twins looked at each other in disbelief, then back at you. Then Veneer’s expression changed to one of pure excitement.

“No way! That’s so cool! I had no idea you were so talented! Great job (name)!” He caged his arm around your head, and gave you a noogie. You laughed, trying to wiggle out of his chokehold. But then, his knuckles stopped the painful grinding on your head, and he let out a dramatic gasp.

“Wait a minute. That means that you’ve been stealing our number one spot! How could you!” He puts his hand over his heart, acting way more offended than he actually was.

“Yeah! How could you do that?” Velvet chimed in. She seemed more genuinely upset, but still quite a bit proud.

“Oh. Yeah. Sorry guys. I really didn’t expect my music to get so much attention. It just sorta happened.” You stared down at your shoes, as if you were being scolded by your parents.

Velvet huffed. “Well, I guess we’re gonna have to do better next time.” Veneer nodded at her statement.

You looked back up at them. “Next time?”

“Yeah, you’re our rival, aren’t you? So that means we have to do everything we can to beat you!” Velvet said, giving your shoulder a playful jab.

You laughed. “Well good luck. You’re gonna need it, because I’m planning on continuing my winning streak!”

The twins smirked at each other, before caging you in both their arms, and giving your head more noogies.

And thus sparked the start of a colorful sibling rivalry.

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

~~baileypie-writes

#trolls 3 band together #trolls 3 #trolls 3 x reader #trolls 3 velvet #trolls 3 veneer #trolls velvet #trolls veneer #velvet x reader platonic #veneer x reader platonic #velvet x reader #veneer x reader

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thalialunacy · 22 days

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[for the @calaisreno Prompts May-hem (get it?!); cw for more violence than I usually do, ymmv. Also I have a feeling this one shows my American-ness more than most, so uh, sorry? ^^;]

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) 15: nightmare (16) (17)

'This,' John mutters to himself as he eyes the flashing red on the departures board, 'is a bloody nightmare.'

Sherlock frowns beside him. 'We're being shunted to a less direct route. Inconvenient, but hardly the stuff to disturb one's sleep.'

John closes his eyes momentarily. By and large, he's a good fit for Sherlock's behaviours, even when they're--especially when they're?--somewhat off the beaten path. But sometimes he doesn't have the energy. He just doesn't.

They've been on a literally cold case in Nowhereton, Bumfuckshire, and although the jewellery was found and no one was hurt John could absolutely murder a home-brewed cup of tea. And he would very much like to hold his daughter.

'Don't worry, John, you'll be home to her soon,' Sherlock says to him as they board the overstuffed train. They're not the only ones whose night has been sidetracked, literally, but John's empathy is thin on the ground as he jostles his way to two open seats, fantasising about going for a rugby tackle if someone else gets their first.

Sherlock ends up doing the tackling, though, because he gives not one damn about how train passengers view him. And it's not really a tackle, just a Very Cold Look. And maybe a thrown elbow.

Amused, at least a little, John takes his seat.

They manage to get an hour in before it all goes to hell.

---

The sound of the train car sliding over something besides tracks is the first thing that happens -- and really it's more of a feeling than a sound, somehow.

At first.

'Sherlock,' John says quietly, his stomach twisting. 'What was that?'

'Likely just--'

But Sherlock is interrupted by a great dirty shake, like the train is a snake trying to shed its skin in a big ugly hurry.

'Shit,' John mutters, feeling adrenaline flood his system. 'Hang on to something.'

---

John doesn't wait until the dust clears; he's out of his seat and beating his way through the door at the end of the car the second there's stillness beneath him. Their coach is still on the tracks, but he somehow knows that those ahead of them are not so lucky.

The emergency lights are on, but they're flickering and John has to squint as he makes his way through. His gaze sweeps around and he listens hard, but everyone in the car seems to be suffering from merely shock, bumps and bruises, minor things.

The next car is where shit gets real. The angles are all wrong, and he can see several people tangled in an awful unnatural embrace with metal pieces popped out from seats and side rails.

'Jesus,' he hears himself mutter. 'This is not ideal.'

Sherlock is right behind him, which he'd known but not paid any attention to. 'Triaging a hoard of exhausted people in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere with no avenues of immediate escalation?'

'Yeah, like I said. Not ideal.'

Sherlock opens his mouth, but John has no time for whatever witticism is about to be gifted upon the world, so he steps away from the detective and further into the chaos.

He raises his voice, but tries to keep it calm. 'Hello, everyone. My name is John, I'm a medical doctor, and I'm here to help.'

---

It's a long fucking night. Four dead, a couple dozen injured. One cannot save them all.

---

Hours later, the sun peeking over the horizon and Molly sacked out on the couch, he's about to pivot onto the staircase to his room when Sherlock puts a hand on his elbow. 'Let's wash up first,' he says, voice low and firm. 'Your daughter doesn't need to see you covered in blood, even if it's someone else's.'

'God damn it,' John mutters, knowing Sherlock is right but hating it; his skin itches with the need to see his little girl. 'Fine, but quick-like.'

He sheds his jacket and button down, which had got the brunt of it, on the way to the toilet, then barely looks at himself in the mirror as he runs a flannel over his face and scrubs at his hands. Sherlock is quiet beside him, handing him soap and cloth when needed, without prompting.

John finishes, then looks up at him. 'Aren't you coming?'

Sherlock's face-- well, It does something very complicated before smoothing out into a small smile. 'All right, let's.'

---

Anticlimactically, Rosie barely stirs when John picks her up. His limbs are finally able to shake out the events of the last twelve hours, and he feels Sherlock's arms around him and beneath her like a bridge truss, supporting them both.

John breathes in deeply, taking in the scent of his daughter and his flatmate. His-- his family, he thinks, trying the word out.

'Stay,' he says quietly, not looking away from Rosie. 'Just-- Stay?'

Sherlock hums for a moment, then answers like it was never in question. 'Of course.'

They don't consider pyjamas, instead curling around each other's dusty skin in pants and vests while murmuring about inconsequential things, domestic things that send warmth spiralling through John to replace the chill that had settled in somewhere during the journey they've just finished.

'I do have one question,' Sherlock says finally, the words warming the skin at John's neck.

'Go on.'

'As you know, many common understandings about the English language, particularly when it comes to colloquialisms, are not part of my… erm, base worldview.'

'Right, I am aware.'

'So I'd like to confirm: When you called the train delay a nightmare, you were exaggerating for humour, and when you called the derailment "not ideal," you were…'

John chuckles tiredly. 'Being English.'

'Being facetious.'

'Yes.' He pauses, fingers in Sherlock's mildly tangled hair. 'Sometimes, it's all that gets you from one moment to the next. One body to the next.'

Sherlock murmurs a noise, and John feels his embrace tighten.

'Well,' the detective finally says, voice deep and sleepy. 'Besides all that, I really must say that watching you in action was quite... informative.'

'Oh? In what way?'

'Informing me that I find your medical competency viscerally pleasing.'

John huffs a surprised breath. 'Yeah?'

'Mm-hmm. You're very good, and it's very attractive.'

'Noted,' John murmurs, eyes closed. 'Next time.'

'Mm-hmm.' Sherlock's palm is warm on his solar plexus, and John doesn't think twice as he succumbs to a deep, quiet sleep.

[❤️]

[a/n- I have not been in a derailment, but I have been in a train car when it ran over a live human being going 70mph, so forgive me for not being keen to research the former for the sake of accuracy.]

ETA OH GOD I forgot the best part! My inspiration for this piece:

#BBC Sherlock #May Prompts 2024 #mayprompts2024 #It's gonna be MAY 2024 #kind of a downer despite starting as a funny tweet #Very British Problems

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explosionkatsu · 1 year

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"Age doesn't matter" 12

Dad!Bakugo x F!Babysitter!Teacher!Reader

01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

But before Katsuki could close the gap,

“I’m here! With the gang- “

Katsuki immediately pulled away causing him to slip and fall flat on the floor while Y/n, who just quickly turned around and acted as if nothing happened, completely ignoring Katsuki.

Y/n knew how precious Katsuki took care of his image especially in front of his friends, so she threw a wet rag on the floor beside him making it look like as if he’s wiping the floor.

“Heyaa kiddooo!” Denki beamed almost jumping at Kazui.

Eijiro who was smiling while looking around followed by Sero and Mina.

“Hey kid, where’s your dad?” Eijiro said as he ruffles Kazui’s head who smiled up at him while Sero shut the door behind.

“Papa is with Ms. Y/n in the kitchen.” Kazui giggled as Denki picked him up.

“Oho, a woman.” Mina playfully said nudging Sero who grinned.

“I think I heard her name before.” Denki grinned carrying Kazui in his arms.

“How have you been, Zuiiii.” Mina grinned as she squishes Kazui’s cheeks.

“Haha alright, enough of that.” Eijiro shakes his head as he makes his way to the kitchen where he found Katsuki seemingly wiping the floor while you are washing the dishes. Both red?

“Heya guys?” Eijiro said confusedly as he approaches them.

“Who fucking said you could just barge in, hah!” Katsuki stood up, being careful not to slide again as he held the wet rag.

“Hahaha whoah, calm down.” Eijiro chuckled. “Hey there Y/n!” He waved.

Y/n only nods at him, face still red as Eijiro watches her.

Suspicious.

“Oi don’t ignore me! Pikachu! Put Kazui down!”

“So, you’re the teacher Eijiro has been talking about.” Mina giggled beside you while she held both your hands.

She’s interesting, you thought.

“You’re cute.” Denki winked as he was about to pick another french fries from the bowl on the coffee table. “You single?” HE asked before popping the fries in his mouth.

“Oi.” Katsuki growled, “Back the fuck off.”

“Calm down man, you don’t have to be so possessive” Eijiro put a hand in front of Katsuki who was about to beat the shit out of Denki.

“Maybe they’re dating.” Sero snickered and took a gulp of his drink. “Let her another though.” Sero smirked.

“Guys stop it hahaha.” Eijiro laughed still holding the angry Katsuki.

Y/n just sweat dropped. So, these are his friends. His trusted one.

“Ms. Y/n, I want juice.”

Y/n was brought out from her thought when she felt Kazui tug her shirt. “Of course, sweetie.”

What Y/n didn’t know was this action was being watched.

She excused herself from the group and guided Kazui way to the kitchen where let him open the fridge where his juices were. “Here!” Kazui jumped happily.

“Mhm, I wonder.” Y/n faked thinking making Kazui look at her. “Did anyone forget to offer his juice? I remember teaching about sharing.” Y/n’s lips turned into a small smirk as she watched Kazui look down on his juice. Unexpectedly, Kazui ran from the kitchen to where his uncles and aunt were. He stood by Eijiro’s seat first before tugging his shirt, trying to get his attention.

“Unlce Kiri. Do you want some orange juice?” Kazui asked while holding the juice in his hand.

Eijiro smiled at this. “Sure buddy!”

Kazui took Eijiro’s hand and placed the cold juice box on it before running back to the kitchen leaving the chuckling Eijiro.

When Kazui came back, he was holding two juice boxes with both his hands and this time, asked Mina and Sero. Both adults giggled about how adorable Kazui was. After placing the juice boxes in their hands, Kazui then again ran to the kitchen and offered Denki who hugged him and accepted the beverage. This went unnoticed by Katsuki who was sitting confusedly whilst keeping an eye on his kid who’s sharing his drink.

“Oi.” Katsuki called out.

“Papa, do you want one?” Kazui was fumbling his fingers as he asked his father. When he heard him say sure, Kazui went to the kitchen where Y/n was just waiting for him all the time. Before he could open the fridge, he was stopped by Y/n.

“Kazui-chan. You’re all out of juices.” Y/n said sadly as she kneels to Kazui’s height holding his juice.

“B-but. P-papa..” Kazui’s lips started quivering. He wanted to share with his father as well but now it seems impossible. “I-I can give him mine.”

Y/n smiled at this. “Are you sure?” She asked.

Kazui nodded enthusiastically as we wiped his tears away. He asked Y/n for his juice, who gave it to him and watched Kazui run to the living room again.

“Papa..” Kazui called out, catching Katsuki’s attention.

“What is it?” Katsuki picked Kazui up and sat him on his lap.

“This is my juice.” Kazui pouted “I’m giving you mine because I wanted to share.” Kazui looked at his father as he held out his hands holding the juice box.

Katsuki’s heart melted at this. Of course, he won’t show it. “You can have it.” Katsuki said ruffling Kazui’s hair.

“But what about you?” Kazui asked looking up at his father.

“I’ll buy my own.” Katsuki said.

Kazui poked his juice box with the straw and offered it to Katsuki who blinked at it. Shaking his head, he took a few sips. “There, better?” He asked Kazui who responded nodding his head.

Y/n emerges from the kitchen right on time to witness the father and son interaction. She smiled at this.

Kazui wriggled out from his father’s grasp and made his way to Y/n.

The group was now watching him. “Ms. Y/n, you too!” Kazui said holding his juice upward, trying to reach Y/n’s height.

Denki and Mina almost spilled their juices, Eijiro covered his mouth and Sero was hiding his laughter.

Katsuki was red though as he kept his eyes on them.

“A-ah. N-no. I’m fine.” Y/n tried refusing Kazui.

“Please!!” Kazui insisted.

Y/n only sighed. With a shaking hand, she tucked her hair to her ear as she leaned down and placed the straw in her lips, and took a small sip before straightening up, smiling at Kazui as she tried to hide her red face. “There!”

An indirect kiss.

Is what Katsuki thought as he looked away, trying to hide his now reddening face.

“Don’t fucking barged in next time!” Katsuki slammed the door shut.

Mina, Denki and Sero left since they all still have hero duties tomorrow. Eijiro decided to stay behind though.

“The fuck you want now.” Katsuki said as he sat on the sofa in front of Eijiro who was playing with Kazui.

“Language bro.” Ejiro frowned but smiled anyway. “Kazui, can go with Ms. Y/n for now? Your dad and I need to talk about something. We’ll play later, okay?”

Kazui nodded and sat beside Y/n who was preparing everyone a snack at the dining table.

“I just wanted to apologize in person, because. Ya know.” Eijiro scratched the back of his head.

Katsuki wasn’t even looking at Eijiro as he spoke.

“It’s not my problem. Not a matter I should be concerned about but I-“

“You’re a good friend. Eijiro.” Katsuki looked at Eijiro who was stunned by his tone of voice.

“W-what?”

“I have to admit.” Katsuki started looking away. “I would keep running away from this problem. I couldn’t handle it.” Katsuki then turns his gaze to Kazui. He was laughing because of something you said. “I couldn’t let Kazui know even though I know he deserves to know this.” He scowled. “He doesn’t deserve to know what kind of a mother he has.”

“But he still needs to know. After all-“

“I know, I know. You don’t have to tell me.” Katsuki tsked.

“What would you do now, then?” Eijiro said sitting down as he looked at Kazui. “Now that you’re officially a single dad.”

Once he heard this Katsuki looked at you.

He knows what to do but doesn’t know where to begin. He needs to be certain of it first.

I'll try updating as soon as I can! For now, part 12 is here! Enjoooy!

#bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo katuski #bnha bakugou #bakugou katsuki #bakugou x y/n #bnha bakugo katsuki #katsuki x you #katsuki bakugo x reader #katsuki bakugo mha

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thelonelyempath · 1 year

Text

Hospital Prompts

1. "I know it hurts, love. You'll be okay."

2. "Don't ever scare me like that again."

3. "I'm right here. I won't leave you."

4. "Are you laughing because the joke I told was funny or because you're high on pain meds?"

5. "As soon as I heard what happened, I dropped everything and rushed over here."

6. "Wake up, baby...please..."

7. "I don't know what I would do if I lost you."

8. "Easy, babe. You're gonna pop your stitches."

9. "You know I try my best to be all big and tough for you. But when I saw your lifeless body in that hospital bed, I couldn't stop myself from breaking down."

10. "Hospital food is gross." "I know, but you need to eat something."

11. "When you didn't wake up, I honestly thought the worst."

12. "You hit your head pretty hard."

13. "The call button's there for a reason, sweetie."

14. "Seeing you like this hurts."

15. "I'm gonna die here."

16. "I know you hate hospitals, honey. But this is really the safest place you could be right now."

17. "Please tell me that isn't your blood on your shirt."

18. "Come on...stay with me..."

19. "Can you hear me?"

20. "How bad's the pain right now?"

21. "In case this is the last time I get to say it, I love you."

22. "I'm watching my partner/spouse fight for their life right now, and you're seriously upset because I didn't return one phone call?!"

23. "Is there really nothing you can do? Surely there has to be something..."

24. "Sit still. Let me sign your cast."

25. "I love you. I love you more than anything else in the world. You are the one and only love of my life. That being said, you need to be more careful."

26. "Does it look bad?"

27. "Do you need me to get you anything?"

28. "You're squeezing my hand too tight." "I'm not letting go. The thought of losing you scares the shit out of me."

29. "What have I told you about getting into fights?" "They were talking shit about you!"

30. "You have to let them help you."

31. "I'm not that sick!"

32. "Still hurts, huh?"

33. "I was so worried about you!"

34. "I can't see anything."

35. "I'm not leaving until they kick me out."

#hospital #hospital sentence starters #whump #otp whump #whump prompts #hospital prompts #whump sentence starters #prompts #writing prompts

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ndplatypus · 9 months

Text

I never want to hear another complaint or people calling Punkflower shippers pedophiles when I constantly have to see MiguelxGwen or MiguelxMiles fics pop up on ao3 (I’ve had to pre block them before every search because there are too many of them) Like there are people shipping and writing the most problematic shit but no let’s complain about the two black boys people ship. Y’all deluded as hell.

Hobie is obviously not an adult. Y’all just aldultifying another black kid to sexualize him and want to feel comfortable sexualizing him for yourselves.

Again why would would an adult’s primary friend group be 15/16 year olds if he’s not also a teen? Why is it, that guys think it’s more likely for a 25 year old man to be best friends with teenagers than that he’s just a tall black teen.

Y’all jump through hoops to defend your racist homophobic bullshit. Don’t think I didn’t see you guys also trying to claim Margo is an adult because she’s one in the comics, she, like other comic characters, were aged down for atsv. But the moment she, a black girl, was shipped with a black boy (Miles) y’all were quick to say she was an adult to.

Y’all just a mix of weirdos wanting to sexualize black teens who also don’t want them shipped with other black characters because your ships seem to need to require at least one white person every time.

Y’all got me tired of your bullshit

#miles morales #Hobie brown #Punkflower #Gwen Stacey #margo kess #flowerbyte #atsv #itsv #spider man

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jhilsara · 3 months

Text

I Can See You

Pt. 1/ Pt. 2/ Pt. 3/ Pt. 4/ Pt. 5/pt. 6/Pt. 7/Pt. 8/Pt. 9/ Pt. 10/

Pt. 11/ Pt.12/Pt.13/Pt. 14/Pt.15/Pt.16/Pt.17/END

Mariana Jimenez-Watson or MJ works in a normal pub living life paycheck to paycheck. Nothing exciting happens to her except the occasional drunk getting thrown out. She's 24 working away and finds a wrench thrown into her very boring life. His name is Hobie and she thinks maybe, a little excitement isn't awful. In fact she might start to crave some change for once.

Small moments of Hobie meeting his world's MJ. AKA I made an MJ variant and I think she's neat.

Characters are completely aged up and this takes place after what will happen in beyond the spiderverse. I just made a little MJ variant and I think she's neat. I've been writing standalone scenes of her life after meeting Hobie and my friends really liked it so I thought I'd polish it up a little and post it. Nothing serious just some silly fun. (also I'm sorry I'm just not a y/n person, I just want to make characters who are developed and can have their own distinct personalities.) My MJ may not be for everyone but I hope you give her a shot.

Can also be read on Ao3 X

Chapter 1

She’s wiping off the counter and looking over at the small dodgy stage the pub has in the corner. She’s surprised the thing hasn’t collapsed in on itself. It has a couple of the instruments set up already for the band tonight. She feels someone bump her hip and she looks over to see her coworker raising a brow at her.

“Why don’t you wrap up early? You’re meeting your friends, right?” Andy asks her smiling.

MJ shrugs, “It ends in like fifteen and the band doesn’t start for another twenty. It’s fine, I don’t even think they've walked in yet.”

“Go on, grab a good spot at the front. I got it back here.” Andy encourages.

MJ rolls her eyes and keeps cleaning, “No seriously. I don’t even know who this band is. My friends want to see them. I’ll wrap it up in ten and look for them. I need to change out of these clothes anyway.”

“Whatever, you know half of the girls in here are already buzzin’. They’ve been drinking for the past hour looking for a shot of courage.” Andy says laughing.

MJ nudges her letting some giggles out too, “Stop, Andy! Leave them alone, they’re barely old enough to get in. They just want to see some hot musicians.”

“Who’s gonna tell them that most of the musicians are indeed, not hot, when they do small pub shows like us?” Andy says starting to pop open a beer for a customer.

“Oh, come off it, apparently this band does everything and anything. Good too, at least my friends say.” MJ says handing Andy another beer for the same group.

“You better clock out, you’ll miss your window to not be trapped back here.” Andy tells her looking at the clock.

“Oh shit, thanks!” MJ quickly dodges around the bar to get to the back so she can grab her bag and change.

She rushes into the bathroom and quickly changes into something a little cuter than her pub shirt and black slacks.

She pulls her rosy pink slip dress out and easily slides it on. Shoving her other clothes into her backpack. She adjusts her necklaces and looks into the mirror, checking to make sure her hair’s still passible. She adjusts the twin buns but just shrugs a minute later. It’s a punk show it doesn’t matter if she looks nice. She checks to make sure nothings on her and makes her way back out.

She throws her bag back where her other belongings are and wades through a decent sized crowd. She can’t find her friends but does make her way to the front. She checks her phone and sees that her friends had texted and canceled coming last minute. She groans in irritation, and turns to try and leave but the crowd has gotten thicker and she’s stuck. She’s jostled into someone who grabs her waist and she whips her head around smacking the hands.

“Hands off!” she growls looking up at the man. He throws his hands up but his grin is slimey. MJ keeps her glare.

“You bumped into me sweetie.” He chuckles.

She rolls her eyes, “Doesn’t mean you get handsy with me.” She mutters turning back to the stage.

She sees her coworker Lars come out to push the crowd back, she feels a little better knowing she has an easy escape if she needs to. He settles in the corner of the stage, watching the crowd. Within a few seconds the band comes out and she settles a bit. She might as well enjoy the show.

She feels someone sidle up to her side, pressing into her, and she turns her head to see the same man from before smiling at her.

“Back up. I don’t play this game.” She hisses out shoving him off of her.

“C’mon, not a big deal, it’s a massive crowd in here. It’s tight is all.” He says slurring his words.

MJ puffs her cheeks in irritation and points her finger into his chest, “Do not fucking touch me again.” She flashes her eyes over to Lars and he nods his head, acknowledging her.

The guy takes a step back but is still looking at her in a predatory way that makes her skin crawl. She turns to the stage to try and pay attention to the band.

The music’s loud, booming, and it has her moshing with a small group near the front. She’s having a blast for the first few songs, then she feels it.

The guy that’s next to her starts to grab her bum. She turns around and slaps the guy across the face, “I said to not fucking touch me!” She shouts at him. The music’s too loud, the lights are in her eyes, and her bodies hot with rage and adrenaline. She turns to try and spot Lars but the man grabs her by the arm tightly, pulling her closer.

“C’mon I know a slag like you when I see one,” He starts to say, mouth too close to her face so she can smell how intoxicated he is.

She reels back her free arm, hand curled into a fist, but before she can deck the drunk someone else does.

She sees combat boots fly by and her eyes widen as she sees the guitarist drop kick the guy who’s grabbing her.

Her jaw falls open in shock as the man lands perfectly fine in front of her. His guitar strapped to his back is all she sees as he stands between her and the man he just sent to the floor. She for the first time in a while, is stunned speechless.

“Mate, I don’t know who raised ya, but we don’t touch people without consent at my shows.” The guitarist says, voice deep and his face hard as he glares at the man on the ground.

The man tries to crawl off the ground, the crowd around them parting to see what’s happening.

“She’s with me man! What’s your problem?” the man tries to defend pointing at her.

Her anger continues to boil and she opens her mouth to defend herself but the guitarist responds first.

He nudges his head back to her and gives a bitter laugh, “Ya need a better lie cause she’s with me.” He tells him.

She shuts her mouth, looking at him like he’s mad for only a second. She most certainly is not with him but she sure as hell will act like it. She doesn’t want to spend the rest of the night with some creep touching her.

Her eyes flash to the other guy who’s face pales, “Sorry, sorry!” He throws his hands up in defense laughing, “Didn’t know she was yours!”

The guitarist shakes his head and crosses his arms tsking at the man. “Wooooooooow,” he drags out exaggeratedly. “She doesn’t belong to anyone.” He says, and gives a small chuckle.

The other guy is looking at him, a little in fear, as he tries to laugh along with him. The guitarist quickly stops chuckling and throws a quick but hard punch to the creep’s face.

“Apologize to her.” The guitarist demands voice harsh and cold.

The man’s holding his bruising cheek, looking at her eyes filled with fear, “M’sorry alright! I won’t touch you again I swear!” he shouts rushing through his words.

The guitarists steps forward getting closer to the guy at eye level, “For the record, it shouldn’t take me lying about us being a couple for ya to respect her.”

The second he steps back MJ sees Lars come through and grabs the guy dragging him off. He tries to fight against Lars but that man is bigger than most and he works in security for a reason.

“You alright?” The guitarist asks his voice much softer, turning around to face her.

She’s stunned for a moment and just nods her head, “Uh yeah, yeah, thanks.” She says shocked.

“No problem.” He grins and jumps back on the stage.

She’s a little floored at what just happened but she looks around her and the crowd has closed in again, looking back up at the stage.

“Sorry for the delay there, but a not so friendly reminder, don’t act like a prick and touch people without consent ya? You will not be escorted out without a black eye.” One of the other band members says addressing the crowd.

The crowd roars with cheering as they start up another song, MJ really can only laugh and just rolls with it. The whole time making intensely too much eye contact with the tall guitarist whose wicks frame his face as he vibes with the music.

By the time the shows over, she’s able to wiggle herself out with the help of Lars. A lot of the crowd stays, still high off the show.

“Great save back there Lars, maybe we should hire that guy when people get handsy with the staff.” She jokes smacking his chest.

“Piss off MJ, I was gonna throw him out after you clocked him but, well, I didn’t have to.” He laughs holding the door to the back open.

“Night Lars, seriously though, thanks for taking the guy out.” She laughs going to grab her backpack and head back home.

He shakes his head at her and steps back helping to pack up the band’s equipment.

“Oi! Hey,” The guitarist from before comes up to Lars, “Is that girl here? The one who had that prick touch her? I wanted to talk to her.” He says.

Lars looks over him curiously raising a brow, “Oh, no she left. She works here if you wanted to try to find her.” He offers casually.

“No, no, just wanted to know she’s okay.” The guitarist replies shoving his hands in his vest pockets.

“Oh, I promise she’s fine, takes a lot more than that to shake her.” Lars chuckles. “She gave me a warning look and I was ready to grab him when he put his hands on her.”

“Good, good.” The guitarist nods in approval. He starts to walk back towards his band, who’s packing up the last of their stuff.

He keeps the name of the pub in the back of his head with the image of a pink girl with maroon colored hair.

Two weeks pass and MJ’s behind her bar working on a few drinks when she sees a seemingly familiar face plop a seat.

She gives the person their drink and turns to address the new face, when she’s met with a familiar voice. “Hey stranger.” The guitarist from before greets cheekily leaning into the bar top.

She beams at him, “Hey! Lars told me you were asking around for me after the show. Sorry I didn’t stay.”

He just shrugs nonchalantly, “No biggie, just wanted to know you were fine is all.”

She gives a soft laugh shaking her head, “Trust, I’m good. I was gonna clock him and let Lars handle him but…” She trails off giving him a pointed look, “You handled it just fine.” She teases.

“Oof, I woulda loved to see ya give him a mean right hook though.” He chuckles.

She shakes her head in disbelief, “Maybe next time.” She smiles softly.

“Oh? Already planning the next time we’ll hit someone who’s being a sexist prick?” he smirks leaning closer to her on the bar top.

She gives him a genuine laugh, loud and it shakes her body. “Absolutely.”

A beat of silence passes between them before she decides its time to do her job, “So, what can I get ya?”

“Your name preferably.” He replies easily flashing her a smile.

Genuine surprise flashes across her face and then a hot flush across her cheeks.

“Depends,” She fires back, teasingly. He raises a brow at her.

“I’m MJ to most people, especially the ones I’ve just met.” She says easily. Grabbing a clean glass.

Something lights up in his eyes for a split second, like he’s found something he’s been looking for.

“I like that, what’s it short for?” He presses.

“Mmmm, I don’t know, you are asking for my government name and I don’t even have your first name.” She says playfully tilting her head.

“Hobie, Hobie Brown.” He says without giving it a second thought.

She bites her lip, hesitating, but caves under his warm eyes. She feels a pull towards this man, and maybe she’s just projecting because he stuck his neck out for her, but she feels pulled to him none the less.

“Mariana Jimenez-Watson.” She gives him.

He grins so big it could almost split his face, “I like Mariana.” He tells her softly.

Her face warms up again and she turns to fill the glass with water. “Let’s settle for MJ alright?” she says.

“Alright.” He murmurs.

#my art #spider man: across the spider verse #hobie brown x oc #hobie brown x reader #hobie brown #across the spiderverse #spiderman atsv #atsv hobie #MJ Watson #spiderman fanfiction #spider punk #spiderpunk

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the-conversation-pod · 17 days

Text

Mixed Nuts, Part 2: Thoughts on Yaoi

And we're back! Japan is churning them out almost faster than we can keep up, so we dedicated a whole grab bag episode to give them the attention they're asking for. Ben, NiNi, Ginny, and Shan talk what's working and what's not in Japanese BL as we discuss Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun, One Room Angel, Perfect Propose, Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro Ka, I Want To See Only You and I Became the Star of a BL Drama.

Timestamps

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

00:00:00 - Welcome 00:01:15 - Grab Bag Part 2: J-BL 00:02:22 - Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun 00:11:29 - One Room Angel 00:18:54 - A Note on MBS Tunku Shower 00:26:01 - Perfect Propose 00:49:27 - Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro ka 01:04:44 - I Want To See Only You 01:10:55 - I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama 01:26:16 - Outro

The Conversation Transcripts!

Thanks to the continued efforts of @ginnymoonbeam as transcriber, and @lurkingshan as an editor and proofreader, we are able to bring you transcripts of the episodes.

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

Please send our volunteers your thanks!

00:00:00 - Welcome

NiNi

Welcome to The Conversation About BL, aka The Brown Liquor Podcast.

Ben

And there it is. I’m Ben.

NiNi

I’m NiNi.

Ben

And we’re your drunk Caribbean uncle and auntie here sitting on the porch in the rocking chairs.

NiNi

Four times a year we pop in to talk about what’s going on in the BL world.

Ben

We shoot the shit about stories and all the drama going into them. I review from a queer media lens.

NiNi

And I review from a romance and drama lens.

Ben

So if you like cracked-out takes and really intense emotional analysis…

NiNi

If you like talking about artistry, industry, and the discourse…

Ben

And if you generally just love simping…

NiNi

There is a lot of simping on this podcast…

Ben

We are the show for you!

00:01:15 - Grab Bag Part 2: J-BL

Ben

And we're back. Continuing into Grab Bag episode 2, this time we're going to talk about all the Japanese projects.

We are still with pod team members Ginny and Shan. Say hi, Ginny.

Ginny

Hello.

Ben

Say hi, Shan.

Shan

Hi again.

NiNi

We are here to talk about Japanese BL, Japanese drama, all things Japanese, aka Ben's favorite thing, aka Ginny's starting to become favorite thing, aka Shan's actual favorite thing, aka my I'm gettin’ there thing.

Ben

We will be talking about six shows this week. We're talking about Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun, One Room Angel, Perfect Propose, Although I Love You, and You? aka Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yara ka, I Want to See Only You, and I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama.

NiNi, take us in.

00:02:22 - Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun

NiNi

Let's start with Sahara-sensei, which I did not watch. So, Ben or Shan, who wants to complain about this?

Ben

Well, there's no need for you to watch it, bestie, because it was horrible!

Shan

Horrible!

Ben

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun is a Japanese BL from MBS through Drama Shower about a juvenile delinquent who falls for a new teacher who seems to pay attention to him, and starts to reform his behaviors as a result of this relationship. But the teacher’s got his own baggage, and then the show makes a goddamn mess of all of this. And we have very many gripes to voice!

[exhales] It was not good. Ginny, did you watch this show?

Ginny

I did.

Ben

I feel like you were less pissed than me and Shan. Is that true?

Ginny

I'm usually less pissed than you and Shan.

Shan

I think it's just a natural state—[NiNi laughs]

NiNi

I don't think anybody could be as pissed as Shan. [Ben and NiNi laugh]

Shan

Right!

Ginny

Scaling for our norms, I think I was about as pissed. I really did not like the show.

Ben

Oh, yes! Go for it, Ginny! Tell it! Kill ‘em. Kill ‘em, bestie!

Ginny

I don't know anything about the source material, but it felt like it was trying to set up two taboo relationships: one teacher student, and one side ship that was sort of step-siblings. And then it completely whiffed both of those and decided, bizarrely, to deal with the taboo nature, particularly the main relationship, as if it simply isn't a taboo.

No one cared! No one cared that this teacher and student were having a romance. It was simply not addressed, or didn't seem to be a concern to anybody. It made the show baffling to follow because it was like they lived in this alternate universe where that doesn't matter, but other things like homophobia do matter—but only sometimes. It was not coherent.

I really enjoyed Toki, the juvenile delinquent. He was delightful. His actor was really fun, and that's really what kept me watching the show for however many episodes it was—six, eight, ten? Eight. That's what kept me watching the show for eight episodes, even though by about the midpoint, it really felt like it was not doing or saying anything interesting.

Ben

Shan, go in and let have.

Shan

Okay, I will! This show is fucking infuriating. I am still so mad every time I think about it.

Ben

[laughs] I can hear it in her voice.

Shan

Ugh! Here's the thing with the teacher student trope: it can be done well. It has been done well. The way that you do this trope well is that you take that relationship seriously. You have to care in the story that there is a power dynamic here, that a teacher has a role to play and a job to do with regard to their students, that they are an adult who is meant to be trusted to guide their students to good life choices, to their own social/emotional wellbeing, to care about their futures, to care about their education. This show just utterly, utterly failed on that front, and it makes the teacher character here completely irredeemable and unbelievable as an education professional. At no point did this show take its own concept seriously. It wanted us to engage with this romance as if this was just a normal teen love story between a teenage boy and a slightly older boy. There was no reckoning with the fact that this was his teacher.

The biggest sin, among many, was that we were shown through the story that Toki was not actually helped by this relationship with Sahara-sensei. We were shown that Toki—because of his feelings for his teacher, and because of his desire to impress this prospective love interest—that he made choices that were harmful to him. That he did not seek help when he was being bullied. That he did not take his education and his assignment seriously because he was too focused on this crush. We began the show with the notion that he was a juvenile delinquent who needed support and mentorship. He's a good kid, a nice kid, a kind kid, and he just needed some guidance. But he didn't get any fucking guidance from this teacher.

Instead, what he got was a distraction and an extraordinarily self-centered adult who really only cared about what he was getting—the confidence boost that he was getting—out of this relationship with his student. Did not look out for this kid, did not help him focus on his studies, did not help him prepare for his future, and did not help him in any meaningful way with the problems that he was experiencing at school.

This show literally ended with Toki [volume increases] graduating, walking out of the school building, spotting Sahara, and chucking his diploma into the fucking bushes so that he could run and kiss his boyfriend, because school's over now and he doesn't have to care about appearances anymore. I actually could not fucking believe that. And the wildest part of all of this is that the show doesn't seem to have any awareness about it. This is not a narrative about a student getting so obsessed with a teacher that he loses his way. This is just being presented as a straightforward, happy and positive romance that we're supposed to root for. It is one of the most baffling things I have ever fucking seen.

NiNi

Tell ‘em why you mad, son! Tell ‘em why you mad! [laughs]

Ben

Bestie, everything you said was true and correct. I will add further that this show does not get the benefit of the doubt of being BL to cop out about a lot of this because of the backstory they give on Sahara and Nekoto—his junior in high school, now fellow teacher. The failure of their relationship is grounded in the realities of homophobia and taboo, so there's no way to approach the Sahara-Toki relationship under the guise of “any m/m attraction is fine because BL,” because the show draws attention to the social and political realities of queerness.

And it's especially frustrating because Sahara actually gives decent guidance to another student: the Todo character, who is playing injured as a basketball player. Sahara talks him down from going into a match that he shouldn't because he's hurt in a way that I thought was really excellent from an educator, because he doesn't tell the kid, “You shouldn't play.” He asked the kid pointed questions, making the kid self-introspect and recognize for himself that he should not play. Which only exacerbates the issues that Shan eloquently highlighted just now about how fucked up this whole thing is, because he does not bring that same awareness to the relationship he has with Toki. It is such a weird experience with this show and I really hated it.

Ginny

I think that about covers it. It just feels like it didn't know what it was trying to do, and it did everything badly.

NiNi

I think that's an excellent tagline. [Ben laughs] So, those of you who watched it, it's time to rate.

Shan, you first.

Shan

I gave it a 3, and I think reflecting in this moment, I want to lower it to a 2. I'm giving it a 2.

Ben

I agree. Go ahead. Ginny?

Ginny

Oh man, so I give it a 6.5. [Ben hmms] I simply don't finish shows that I'm gonna rate lower than a 4 or a 5. On the surface level, there were moments that I really enjoyed about this. As I said, I did like the performance of the Toki character in particular, so I gave it some credit for that.

Ben

I agree with Shan. I originally gave this show a 4. I'm lowering it to a 3. [Ben and Shan laugh]

Shan

Let's talk about it again in a couple of months, see where we land.

Ben

I'm giving the show a 3.5 from The Conversation. That is not how the math works, but that's what I'm giving it.

Shan

Feels right.

00:11:29 - One Room Angel

NiNi

Moving on to our next show, let's talk One Room Angel.

Ben, what is One Room Angel about?

Ben

One Room Angel is a story about a depressed man who ends up hanging out with an angel for a few weeks, it feels like, and starts to maybe come out of his depressive spiral as a result, which ends up with some really sad over- and undertones from what we learn about the angel character.

This is a kind of difficult show to talk about from a BL perspective, because I don't really think it's a BL. This wasn't really a romance. From my understanding, the angel character is significantly younger in the source material, and I get why they maybe chose not to go that direction. Shan had more complex thoughts, I think, than I did about the genre assignment of this show.

Shan

I like this show. I just want to say that upfront, I think it's a really beautiful show, a really thought-provoking show. I think it has some really interesting things to say about depression and self worth and finding meaning and life and the will to live. I liked all of its themes. I liked the characters.

I do think that it feels incomplete as a narrative, and it feels like there was supposed to be a romance arc here that got removed. I don't know if that's true, I haven't read the source material, but that's kind of how it felt upon watching it. I don't think it's a BL. There's no romance here. There's what feels more like a platonic friendship to me between Koki and the Angel.

This show has some of the most beautiful cinematography that we've seen in Drama Shower. Some of the visual imagery is really striking, and I still think about it off and on. I like the way that they constructed Koki as this character who is kind of downtrodden, but kind at his core. He's just been through some shit, he's had a hard life. And I like that, I like that he was someone who was very easy to sympathize with. The Angel was a good foil for him. He would come at him in ways that would provoke him and give him some spark, make him feel a little bit alive again, which was what was missing and what was so important.

I think the show wasn't that strong on unpacking the mystery of the Angel and who he had been in his life, and connecting that back to Koki. I think there were a few different threads here and they didn't all come together seamlessly, but I did really like the core story of healing.

I do have feelings about this tendency we're seeing recently in the MBS Drama Shower shows of sprinkling in some non-BLs in the lineup. This is a dedicated time slot that is explicitly meant to be for BL shows, and there have been a couple now in the lineup that don't really fit that bill, and so I do kind of regret that we got this show as part of the Drama Shower lineup instead of another BL. But I'm glad we got the show. I like it a lot. I think it has some good things to offer.

Ben

Ginny, were you able to watch this show?

Ginny

I was! In the interest of precision, because we're talking about it not being a romance, which I do kind of agree with. They do have a conversation about being boyfriends, and they have this cute little beach date and stuff, but it feels like something that's sort of tacked on to make it fit in the BL space. It doesn't feel like it's actually part of their story. The connection that grows between them is, but the romance was not really played out. So even though they kind of give it lip service, it doesn't feel like it's there, which is why we're all saying it's not a romance. I think my favorite thing about the show was the Koki character.

Ben

This is Ginny's favorite character type: the hot mess. [Ginny and Shan laugh]

Ginny

I love a hot mess. I do. He's older, which I also like. He's not especially pretty, which is a nice change of pace. And he's just so down in it and can't seem to get himself out. I do like the story of him sort of getting forced roommate Angel therapy, basically. So yeah, I enjoyed it. I didn't deeply love it.

For the themes that it was getting into, it could have gone deeper. It's got some really dark material in both of the characters' backstories, and it didn't feel to me like it really followed through strongly enough on the resolutions to those things. But it also wasn't a total miss.

Ben

I ended up feeling really complicated about this show. I feel like I was very unfairly comparing it to Eternal Yesterday a lot, and because it wasn't BL I was a little bit frustrated that this time slot was going into non-BL content. Like, it feels like the original thing was BL, and they decided in their adaptation not to lean into the potential romance between an adult and a high school student. A totally fine adaptation choice, but it's like, why adapt this work then? It doesn't exactly work for me as a result.

I really liked the Angel character. I liked how sassy he was, and pushy he was about stuff. Nishimura Takuya; loved the way he played the Angel character. I really liked the aesthetic with his all-white outfit the whole time. I really liked the effort that the costuming department put into his wings. That was not easy, particularly on the budget that Drama Shower was clearly working on. I thought they got a lot of good work out of the animatronics of his wings. I really wish we had gotten more about Koki's yakuza based trauma. There's an allusion to this with the brother that feels a bit incomplete for me. Or the stuff with his mom, Arisa.

There's like a weird ambiguity with the end of this too, where some of the viewers thought that Koki also died at the end, tragically.

Ginny

What?

Shan

Wait, what? I don't think—he didn't die.

Ben

I didn't think he died, but apparently that was one of the reads.

Shan

Fascinating.

Ginny

Huh.

Shan

That didn't occur to me, but you can't really argue with it in a show that leaves things this unfinished.

Ben

Exactly, and that's why I was a little unsettled by it towards the end, because I'm like, “Well, I can't refute that, but also damn!” [Shan laughs] “Y'all killed this man so they could fuck? Shit!”

Okay. [Ginny laughs]

Shan

[laughs] Oh boy, we better wrap it up there.

Ben

So let's rate this experience. Ginny?

Ginny

I gave it a 7. Not bad for what it was. Not great.

Ben

Shan?

Shan

I gave it an 8. I liked some of what it was trying to do, but I don't think it fully got there on all of its storylines or really on its themes.

Ben

I gave it an 8 originally. I think I'm going to downgrade it to a 7.5, so we'll give it a 7.5 from The Conversation.

00:18:54 - A Note on MBS Tunku Shower

Ben

Let's discuss Drama Shower before we move to the other projects. As of this recording, we are almost at the end of My Strawberry Film, the last outing from Drama Shower Season 2, and currently MBS has not renewed the Drama Shower time slot for additional projects. They may renew this in the future, but let's talk on the podcast how we feel about Drama Shower after almost 11 projects, the role this time slot has fulfilled, and our complex reactions to all of the projects.

Ginny

I like that they did so many different kinds of things. Almost none of the Drama Shower shows are favorites of mine. There are a lot that I quite liked, and a few that I could see rewatching, but I do appreciate the commitment to do and try a bunch of different things. I hope that something like it gets renewed or gets put in place because, as we discussed a little bit last time talking about genre, I want to see experimental BL. I want to see different ideas and frameworks being explored, even ones that we hated like Sahara-sensei and Toki-kun. I would rather they make a bag of shows that includes a terrible one than just crank out the same reliable favorites, so. While I don't love most of the individual shows, I feel positively about the project.

Ben

Shan, how are you feeling?

Shan

I'm sad at the prospect that Drama Shower might not continue. It did produce one of my all time favorite BLs—Eternal Yesterday—and while I don't always love the shows, I love that we can rely on a steady progression of shows being released. When one show ends, we know the next is coming very soon. Japanese media can feel uncertain. We often don't find out about shows until right before they air. We often find out about a show, but then find out that it's not accessible to us, and we can't watch it. It's been nice to have kind of a steady, reliable place where we know we could go to find a Japanese BL, and I like how, you know, like Ginny said, how experimental it's been. They're doing a lot of different types of shows, a lot of different tones and styles.

A lot of them have been not my favorites. Maybe, like, mid to bad, but there have been a few real gems in this lineup. Not only Eternal Yesterday, but also shows like Jack o’ Frost and Tokyo in April is… These are shows that stuck with me, that I really enjoyed the watch experience for, and I hope that even if Drama Shower as a dedicated time slot doesn't come back, that MBS will keep churning out these shows and releasing them at a steady clip because I think that they are pretty solid. I really like this format for Japan, where they do these six- to eight-episode shows. These tight contained stories. Have a pretty clear sense of what they want to do most of the time, with some exceptions. And I'd like to see that continue.

We've had this kind of recent boom of Japanese BL. And I don't want that to go away. I want them to keep producing shows and I want to always have a Japanese BL airing, ideally. So yeah, I'm hopeful that if not this exact project, that something will come back, that we will continue to get shows that are interesting and a fun watch.

Ben

I'm also a bit sad that we might be losing Drama Shower because I really like what Azuma Kaoru has talked about with it from the little bits of translation we've gotten. They have a real commitment to BL as a genre and showcasing what BL can be. I like the Drama Shower has had two original projects both times it's run. Jack o’ Frost was original and My Strawberry Film is original, and whether or not we end up deciding that these projects were especially good or not, I actually think it's really healthy for BL as a genre to not be as tied to the developmental format where we basically just raid the closet and see what indie writers have been up to and then quickly adapt their shows. I'm really curious what knowing that you're developing for television right away enables with the storytelling.

So, I'm a little bit bummed that we don't know for sure if Drama Shower is coming back right now, but I've really enjoyed this entire project. My average rating for Drama Shower was just under 8, which feels correct. If you like BL, Drama Shower has been a really fascinating project because it's been so varied. We had some cool stuff that came out of it. I thought Mr. Unlucky had some cool ideas. I loved Eternal Yesterday. Takara-kun and Amagi-kun let me down slightly, but I liked it! Like, I liked almost every single one of these outings—except for fucking Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun.

Shan

They really had to come in and ruin it right at the end, didn't they? [laughs]

Ben

For fuck’s sake. I will miss this if we don't get it back, but I really like what we got from it.

NiNi, any thoughts on Drama Shower from sort of only getting our reactions to it and then being prodded about some of the shows?

NiNi

When you were talking to me about some of the Drama Shower shows, you basically were saying these are Japanese pulps. So I've tried to place them in the BL firmament, for me, according to them being mostly pulps. I've only watched three of the Drama Shower shows. I've watched Jack o’ Frost, I watched Tokyo in April, and I watched My Personal Weatherman. Of those three, Jack o’ Frost is easily my favorite, but the shows that I've watched coming out of Japan that weren’t Drama Shower in the last year or two were actually the ones that I enjoyed overall more. So, while I appreciate the role of Drama Shower, what it has done in giving a dedicated time slot, much like in Thailand GMMTV Frigay was a dedicated time slot to help build some bits of the genre. This is kind of similar.

It's a lab, and I think that the genre needs its labs. I think Drama Shower is a good lab, and I'm sure we're going to get another good lab out of Japan again soon. So, yeah, I think that the project was worthy. I only really watched a little bit of it, but I think I could also see how some of the things that it was working through have already started to percolate a little bit through some of the other stuff that we're getting out of Japan. Specifically out of MBS, but also are some of the other places.

00:26:01 - Perfect Propose

Ben

On to our next show: Perfect Propose.

NiNi

Yes, bring it on! I love this show.

Ben

Shan, would you like to describe Perfect Propose for us?

Shan

Sure. Our protagonist Hiro, who is extremely overworked, exhausted, very stressed out by his soul-sucking corporate job, is found, passed out on the sidewalk, by his childhood friend? Sweetheart? Question mark. I think they see that slightly differently, but a childhood friend named Kai, who has also just come into some personal hardship. Kai decides to move in with Hiro to take care of him and also so he has a place to stay. And the story is primarily about Hiro seeing his way out of this really horrible burnout situation that he finds himself in with Kai’s support.

Ben

Second chance romance is my favorite thing in BL [Shan trills] so I had a great time with this show. One of the things the show really focused on was how fucking horrible Hiro's fucking job was.

Shan

Mmhmm.

NiNi

Listen! Oh my God, it was too real.

Ben

I want to talk about that part first because, while I think we all have mostly positive things to say about Hiro and Kai's relationship, I don't want to downplay that particular portion, because the show cared a lot about. And I know, Ginny, you landed on the uncomfortable to slightly put off side of that presentation. It's rare that I see you repulsed when we're watching something. And it was interesting seeing you have a difficult time with that.

Ginny

My issue really was that, as the second half of the show came into play, it became clear that this wasn’t primarily a romance. This was a story about Hiro escaping his soul-sucking corporate job and also being more attentive to his body in the most fundamental sense of, like, his needs as a human being. I felt like I'd been a little bit bait and switched. The setup of the first couple episodes, tt's very much about Kai offering him this physical nurturance, including sexual attention that he was in need of, and possibly their relationship growing. And then it let that be nothing more than a catalyst for Hiro to leave his situation. There was like an episode and a half that were really just fully dedicated to the misery of his job and how and why he was so stuck in it.

I was just like, they're doing this well, but I didn't sign up for it and I'm not enjoying it. [laughs] So that was my experience.

Ben

I respect that. While we're talking about the job stuff, I want to go to NiNi, because I think of all of us, you had the strongest response to the corporate culture stuff.

NiNi

Oh my God, it was like I was seeing myself. So, if you listen to us, you will know that I'm doing this thing where I've restarted my life in my 40s. And the reason that I'm doing it is because I left a job like this. I left a soul-sucking job where I was being gaslit and basically burnt out and destroyed, and so this was almost like a healing drama for me. I would just settle in like, “oh, I'm gonna stab the boss. Oh, he's making him food. I want somebody to make me food. This is so awesome. I'm so glad. Is he gonna get out? I need him to get out. Hell, I need all of them to get out. Why don't they all quit?”

Like, I was having that running commentary in my head while I was watching the show. It was very cathartic for me. I enjoyed everything about it. It was too real. The gaslighting from their boss, especially, was the part that sort of sent me a little bit into a crouch. I was just like, “oh, I'm having flashbacks,” but I needed it. I needed to see Perfect Propose.

It wasn't just an enjoyment for me. It was something I needed to excise from my life and I was able to do it through Perfect Propose. So, it was great for me. The experience was so cathartic. Can't complain about it at all. Fantastic.

Ben

Shan, I remember you having some thoughts because, I don't know that you lived through this sort of stuff directly, but you know colleagues who did.

Shan

Yeah, I'm, I think more on NiNi’s side of the line with this, in that I experienced it as more cathartic and healing. I have been in some toxic workplaces. I've never been in quite the kind of place that Hiro was in in this story like NiNi has. But, I thought it was just a really authentic presentation of that kind of work experience. I thought it was a really genuine representation of the dynamics that can come up in a workplace like that.

One of my favorite things that happened in the show is that Hiro's supervisor left and Hiro became the supervisor, and then he was put in the position of having to drive his team to do the kind of things that he had been driven to do. And he was realizing how limited his options were for breaking that cycle. And I thought that that was just such an important note to include here. It's not the people within the system that are the problem, it's the system itself and it's all reinforcing.

Ben

I was also Hiro in my last job and my team and I, we quit—on my birthday, no less. What an incredible experience. So I started the age of 32 [laughs] unemployed. Which was fun.

I really liked that the show leaned into the work culture aspect of it, that Hiro's previous supervisor was like. “You need to quit, too. Like, I'm leaving. I got a better offer. You are way better than these people allow you to think of yourself as. You should quit, too.” I loved Hiro staying because he thought he needed to insulate his team from that kind of hell. And I love that he failed, spectacularly. Like, he tried to save a younger dev from that and he couldn't.

I really appreciated that they show that there's no amount of effort that overcomes that sort of nonsense. A lot of the times when they do the adult BL, the work part of being an adult feels kind of missing or nebulous. They're mostly using work to recreate the cliquish dynamics of high school to tell those sort of stories, and I really appreciate it that this show, and the next show we're going to talk about actually, don't do that.

I want to refocus now that we've talked about really fucked up, sad work part of this, on the relationship between Kai and Hiro. Part of what locked me in on this show, right away was Kai literally picks passed out Hiro up off the street, takes him back to his house, feeds him some proper food, and then jerks him off so he can go to sleep. Hiro was more than a little overwhelmed by all of this. But that man's skin cleared up the next day.

NiNi

[laughs] He was looking refreshed, restored, rejuvenated.

Ben

We had some complex reactions in our own circle and online about that particular encounter. Ginny, I want to get your commentary on this part because I think you often have the most nuanced appreciation of sexual moments that carry a level of dubious consent. And I wonder if you have any thoughts about that.

Ginny

One thing that you and I have talked about, Ben, is people often put male-female frameworks onto these shows. Which is not to say that consent isn't a problem between men, ‘cause it for sure is. But the way that these dynamics play out and the way that the core relational dynamics between men work is not always comparable and can't always be mapped onto a male-female dynamic.

How I read this scene and how I think it was intended to be read is Hiro can't say, “Oh yes, do this, please,” because he's not in a headspace to accept that this is something that he could want from another man, or really at all. And again, it's really difficult to talk about this without inviting people to map it on all kinds of other situations where it doesn't belong. So please don't do that. But the way this scene is constructed felt very clearly to me like, this is something that Hiro is willing to let happen to him and maybe needs to let happen to him, but is not able to affirmatively say yes to because of where he is in his head, and especially with the way that intimacy develops between the characters later fulfilled the storyline that they set up in that first scene.

NiNi

I feel like this is a place we always land up in with Asian media because of the ways that Asian media portrays and puts forward ideas about what is acceptable sexually, what it is acceptable to want and not want, how it is acceptable to relate in a sexual manner. I feel like these always come up when we're dealing with Asian media. People talk about wanting to change the conversation in Asian media around this kind of stuff, and I fully understand that.

But this story read to me pretty old school yaoi and because of that I got where the headspace of the story was coming from. Like you said, Ginny, this can't be mapped on to everything else. But in this specific story I saw where it was coming from.

Ben

For me, I think I would have been more concerned about their dynamic if not for the morning after conversation in the bathroom. The energy in that scene was Kai being very attentive and almost doing, like, aftercare with Hiro, who was clearly into the dynamic with that whole scene with the hair gel and then him giving him the key so he could stay and then the next episode being like, why has nothing happened since that moment? Which also, like NiNi said, is very old school yaoi.

Shan

Sexual encounters with dubious consent happen a lot in life. It's a thing that happens. I don't need every depiction of it in fiction to be accompanied by someone turning to the camera and saying, “That was dubious consent, and it's bad.” Instead of just letting the context of the story and the characters’ reactions let us know what their headspace was and why it happened.

And I think that the show did that. I think that we understood Hiro and Kai's dynamic well as the show progressed. I think that we saw a pattern develop where Hiro would hope for or want something from Kai, but wouldn't ask for it. And Kai could read him and see what he was going for. I like that Kai got to a point of teasing him about that and pushed him to ask for the things he wants or come right out and say or do something to confirm it. I thought it was quite legible what the show was going for here, so I was not troubled by it. They did a good job of building a believable dynamic for them of Hiro coming to rely on Kai for all kinds of different comforts and as his main source of care and pleasure.

Ben

I think they did a great job conveying that Kai was totally down for Hiro the whole time without it feeling, like, possessive. I particularly enjoyed around—was it episode 5 when they had that kiss on the bench where he's like,”Hirokuni-san, have you made your decision yet?” I thought that was great.

Shan

Pairing that with teasing him with the shots of the delicious dinners he was making at home, that Hiro wasn't making it home to eat. I think the message from Kai always, consistently, was this is all here for you. You just gotta take it. And I like that. That felt adult to me.

Ben

I want to talk about Kai a little bit. We know that Hiro is obviously at the end of his rope when we first see him passed out on the street, people walking past him. We learned fairly quickly that Kai is also kind of at the end of his rope. He's been a neglected, lonely child for a long time, and the only other person who ever seemed to give a shit about him was in the midst of a health crisis, and that guy's son was keeping him away from the dad because he didn't understand their relationship.

NiNi

I really liked, actually, that part of the issue that Kai was having with his boss and his son was that Kai couldn't ask for what he wanted out of the boss. He clearly saw the boss as a father figure and the boss saw him as a son figure, but he couldn't talk about it. It's very Japanese. He couldn't presume and he couldn't put himself in a position where he appeared presumptuous. So he had to take a step back. Be polite. He couldn't say certain things. He couldn't behave in certain ways. This is the situation, I'm going to make myself as small as possible in this situation. And then once it got to the point where he felt like maybe he could have presumed a little more, the son started to understand, “Okay, this is actually sort of a father son dynamic here,” the son backed down immediately. He was just like, “I'm sorry. I didn't understand what you guys were to each other.”

I really liked that. I am often the one who complains about the Japanese non-communication or Japanese communication and how it is frustrating for me, but I thought this was a really good use of it, of Japanese cultural expectations around family and not wanting to be presumptuous about certain things. I really think that it played out really well here. I quite enjoyed that.

Ben

I love the relationship between Kai and the restaurant owner. Few things are more important to a boy than bonding with an older, grumpy man and connecting in the same grumpy way. It's extremely important to your development.

Shan

I like what you said NiNi about Kaiju's inability to communicate what Kenji meant to him and what he was seeking from the relationship, and I like that that was mirrored in Kenji, the restaurant owner, also not being able to say out loud what the deal was, like, why this boy mattered to him. He also kept his mouth shut and didn't explain it to his son, I think for similar reasons. They have a very emotional bond that they both found hard to talk about or justify to other people. I did like that.

I will say, though, that I do think that the Kai side of this show is the weaker element, perhaps of the story. Hiro's narrative was the main narrative, but Kai had a story too, and I do think it didn't get the fullness that Hiro's did, and it was one area where I wanted a little bit more from the show than what we got.

Ginny

This is more to my personal preferences than necessarily show doing right or wrong. I was much more interested in Kai and his situation than in Hiro's situation, so I also would have liked to see more of it. There were a lot of layers to the ways that Kai and Hiro each struggled to take care of themselves or see themselves as deserving care. We did get that fully played through with Hiro and we didn't really get to see Kai’s own dovetailing/mirror image issue of that fully realized and I would have liked to see it.

Ben

Getting back to some of the adult things I really liked in this, I really liked the whole missed opportunity around the festival because Hiro is unable to leave his job and tell him to fuck off. And I really liked Kai, just sort of accepting that disappointment, but getting something kind of interesting out of it by growing the strawberries in the tank they were hoping to use for something else.

I really liked the failure of that moment. Hiro getting mad with himself on Kai's behalf and being frustrated that Kai didn't presume more from him and voicing all of the ways that he kind of was a jerk about the whole festival thing. I think that was one of my favorite moments in the show where Hiro gets mad, but doesn't really have a great outlet for it because he knows he's the one who's at fault. And so Kai's telling him, “It doesn't matter, like, you don't owe me anything,” only frustrated him even more.

NiNi

Yeah, because he wants Kai to expect things of him by that point, and he's not even entirely sure why. But he does want Kai to feel like he has responsibilities towards him.

Ginny

You do see Hiro consistently more upset about other people not getting what they deserve than himself [Shan mmhmms] with Kai in that situation and with his new underlying when he becomes the team lead.

Ben

I'm never getting over that man having a couch that matches the aesthetic of the chairs in his office.

Shan

I clocked that in the first episode and I was so depressed. I was like, no!

[Shan and Ben laugh]

Ben

I remember you pointed it out first.

Shan

I was like y'all, are you seeing these colors? I'm not usually a colors person, either. I don't usually notice that shit. But that was so striking to me that the one pop of color in his entire gray, sad home was that green couch that was the same green as the chairs in his office. Depressing as fuck.

Ben

Before we get to ratings, we gotta do a shout out for Hiori, the junior dev who was clearly a fujoshi who was keyed in right away to watch series.

[all laugh]

Shan

I loved her!

NiNi

She was so ready when they went on the work dinner and she was like, “All right, I'm headed out. I'm going home. Y'all are getting drunk. I'm not sticking around for this, I'm gonna catch the last train” and then Hiro’s drunk and somebody's like, “oh, we're gonna call the guy he's living with.” And she sat back down immediately, like, “He's coming here? I need to see this.”

Shan

Sat her ass right back down and ordered another beer. She was like, “Hell no, I'ma miss that train.”

NiNi

“I'm gonna pay for this Uber ride or this taxi and I'm gonna like it.”

Ben

I loved her. She was like, “Oh, shit, Am I gonna get to see him?” And she got everything she wanted. Kai showed up, sweaty.

Shan

Ooo, sweaty from his run. Mmm.

Ben

Glared at Konoko, like, “Don't you ever fucking put your hands on him ever again, I will fucking kill you. And she was, like, “I got everything I needed.”

[Shan laughs]

NiNi

She didn't even go home after that. She's just like, “Well, I need another drink because that was delightful.”

Ben

I do appreciate that we got to see Hiro, quit that job and stop prioritizing it at the end. Like, he woke up, clearly from them having a good session the night before, like “I ain't answering that fucking phone.” And we saw that the other employees have seemingly maybe left their job because they all looked like they were happy in the park. And they ran into Konoko, as well. So, I feel very relieved by the end of this drama.

Shan

I definitely interpret that group picnic at the end as confirmation that they have all left that awful job.

Ben

Particularly because Sakamoto was also there and I'm really glad that he looked okay.

NiNi

Listen, I was so worried about that kid. I was so worried that I stopped in the middle of my binge to ask. “Listen, you'll need to tell me if this kid is okay, because the last time I saw him, he was having a meltdown. And then they sent him home. And then I have not seen him. So y’all need to tell me that he's fine.” And they were like, “Yeah, he's fine” and then I was able to continue the show.

Ben

So, ratings! NiNi.

NiNi

I gave the show a 9.5. I agree with Shan and Ginny that I wanted to see a little bit more of Kai’s side of the story because I think it was actually quite intriguing. I understand that they didn't have a ton of time and they didn't use their time well, but I would have liked to see a bit more of the Kai side of things.

Ben

Ginny?

Ginny

I gave it an 8.5. I think execution-wise it probably merits a 9, but I did dock it for my own personal enjoyment because it's my rating and I'm allowed.

Ben

Absolutely. Shan?

Shan

I gave it a 9. I agree with basically what NiNi said. I think if they had managed to drive home Kai’s side of the story a little firmer, it would have been a higher score for me. But it's a good show, I really liked it.

Ben

It's not an obvious recommend right away, because then they have to get involved in the discourse and so it’s hard for me to just go, “It's a 10. Go watch it right now!” But I like the show a lot, so I gave it a 9 because there are reasonable knocks on some threads not being fully completed and yaoi considerations around male sex that made me a little bit grumpy to deal with while we were watching this.

It gets a 9 from The Conversation. I liked it a lot, I think it's worth your time.

NiNi

I have to add, whenever I saw Kai’s hands, I kept thinking about the discussion I had with Ben about yaoi hands.

[all laugh]

Ben

He did have yaoi hands.

NiNi

He had massive hands!

Ben

I have started following that actor. His real smile is so fu,n he is worth following on IG.

NiNi

Bestie you know I don't do the socials, but for those of you who do.

Ben

I do. That's what I'm here for.

00:49:27 - Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yaro Ka

NiNi

Moving on to Although I Love You, And You?—Japanese title Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yara ka. Oh my God I can't believe I got that right the first time around.

Ben

Yeah, good job, bestie.

Shan

Good job, NiNi.

NiNi

I'm not gonna get it right again. So, Ben, what is Sukidoya about?

Ben

Sukidoya is a story about a burgeoning romance between a restaurant owner and a corporate salary man who has recently moved to Osaka from Tokyo. Both of these guys are coming out of failed relationships and find friendship and connection in each other. The restaurant owner already is very aware of his own queerness. Meets this guy and has an instant attraction to him and is determined to follow up on it, but decides that he should probably be a bit more cautious this time, particularly because of some of the cultural differences between Osaka and Tokyo. We get to see them try to sort through what their new potential relationship will look like with the complications that ensue.

This was another show that we had a lot of complicated discussions about while we were watching it. Because you have more consternation than others, Shan, we'll let you go first, and then we'll follow up.

Shan

This is a show that I wanted to like more than I ended up liking. I really loved the main characters in this show. I liked that there was what felt like a very adult setup for the romance. These were two adult men with pasts, with romantic histories who had exes that were present in the story and actually had roles to play. They were coming together across differences, both cultural differences and differences in how they had experienced romance in the past, differences in how they relate, differences in their hobbies and personalities. I was very interested in all of that and I was really excited to get what I thought was going to be a pretty adult narrative about figuring out how to be in a relationship together across those differences.

That's not really what the show ended up being about. There was a lot going on in the narrative here and some of it in the end didn't feel like it justified the amount of story time that it got. Some of it felt like it really derailed the story. There I'm speaking primarily about the insertion of a love triangle into the plot that I don't think ultimately served the story or the characters very well. Sakae’s ex, Mizuki, came into the story around the midpoint and I liked his inclusion initially, ‘cause I liked seeing this mature ex that was in the mix. It's very common for people to still have exes in their lives and we don't see it depicted very often in drama, and so I liked that he was around, that he was coming back into Sakae's orbit, that he was bringing up some issues for him that were maybe throwing a little bit of a wrench in this burgeoning romance that he had with Soga. But then the show really took that much further, turned it into a full blown love triangle, had Mizuki pursuing Sakae again, had him intervening in the romance, getting in the way, dating Sakae again briefly. It was a lot, ultimately, I think too much. It took up a lot of story time. It threw off the trajectory of Sakae and Soga’s relationship development. The pacing of the story felt pretty rushed. It felt like we hadn't really gotten to settle into any kind of relationship with them. Candidly, I am not generally a fan of love triangles. They can be done well and they have been, but this is a romance narrative in which a love triangle was kind of awkwardly inserted to create drama, and that's the kind I really don't like. That was a big negative for me on this show and threw off my investment in the romance.

But it's not a show that I wanna be too negative about. I like a lot of what it did. I did like these characters, this smaller town restaurant owner who's really genuine and straightforward, but maybe not the most socially graceful guy. Being into this nerdy, quiet guy who has nothing in common with him, trying to figure out how to relate to each other, trying to figure out how to communicate across their differences. I really liked those aspects of it. I left the drama wishing that we had gotten a story more focused on that and less on all this random stuff that they were throwing in to create conflict. In the end I was a bit frustrated with the show, but I like a lot of what it was doing and I hope that we'll get more shows like this that focus on adult characters.

Ben

I just learned some fun trivia while doing some research.

Shan

Oh?

Ben

NiNi, the screenwriter of Sukiyanen Kedo Do Yara ka is also the screenwriter on Three Star Bar in Nishi Ogikubo.

NiNi

The DNA is there. I could see it.

Ben

This is also one of the same directors who was on Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun.

NiNi

We shall not speak of it, bestie.

Shan

Don't bring them back into this. [laughs]

Ben

Ginny, of all the shows we're going to talk about tonight, you had, I think, the strongest connection to these particular characters, and I really want to hear your thoughts on them.

Ginny

While I agree that narratively the show did not hold together as strongly as it could, in every scene they were written well, they were acted well, they were consistent, they were who they were. And that, I think, was why I loved the show so much, as it played so well on a scene by scene level. Both of these are, in almost completely opposite superficial ways, men who struggle to advocate for what they want in life. Sakae is extremely a pushover. You see, as soon as his ex walks back into the scene, how difficult it is for him to say no and even earlier, as he and Soga are getting to know each other, it's very easy for him to fall into a rhythm of just doing whatever Sogo wants and enjoys and simply not advocating for himself or his interests at all. So he's this very kind of impulsively outspoken character. He keeps saying things that he doesn't mean to say, but when it comes to actually saying what he wants, he's slow to do that.

On Soga’s side, he's very reserved, and kind of doesn't feel confident enough, I think, in his own desires to advocate for them. Even though he clearly likes and feels very drawn to Sakae, he takes so much of the show trying to figure out exactly what that means and waffling on what to do with that. I really like seeing two characters with the same fundamental issue that expresses itself in such different ways come together and try to build a relationship.

My favorite part in the whole show is after they've started dating, they try to work out this conflict resolution system in such a characteristic way. Sakae knows Soga has been married before, so he says, “What was your ex-wife like? What was your relationship like?” Thinking in his head, “I'm going to become exactly like her, because clearly Soga liked her, so that will work out great and I foresee no problems with this.” And so Soga tells him about their conflict resolution style, which is not Sakae’s style at all, but they try it. They both kind of yes, and each other into doing something that's not gonna work for either of them and they try it for a while and then it falls apart and then they talk it out.

It all felt so real to me as a person who struggles to express and sometimes even to know what I want. I've been in relationships on both sides where that's a major factor and they played it out so beautifully realistically, while still feeling very fun. The show always felt light, even when it was headed into kind of a difficult moment between them. It never let the mood sink too much. I loved seeing that dynamic play out between them and the ways that they tried to work towards each other and often worked harder at making the other person happy than making themselves happy and had to kind of figure out how to do both at the same time.

NiNi

I liked you describing it as them yes, and-ing each other, because that's exactly what that felt like. It felt very improv. I really enjoyed that scene a lot.

Ben

I really liked that we got to see a homo jock trying to date a culture person. That was so fuckin’ funny to me. We don't get to see fitness gays that often, and I had such a great time as a result.

NiNi

It was delightful, and it was more of that city mouse, country mouse thing that they were trying to do, it was so fun. I wish that they had leaned more into the differences between them, more than the external factors.

Of the external factors, I really enjoyed the job one coming up and when it came up in the relationship, and the conflict that that posed. But I think that the ex-boyfriend thing was a bridge too far. I think it was important that we saw the ex-boyfriend to understand certain things about Sakae, but I don't think that they needed to drag that out into him trying to get Sakae back kind of thing.

Ben

I liked Mizuki as a character a lot and I liked them showing Sakae having an intimate, intense relationship with another person. I think on the pragmatic side, from talking about this as a drama, I'm more with Shan in that I don't know that this show set us up for the right expectations and that could be a cultural competency part on our part, because of the thing they were playing with, with the Osaka, Tokyo thing. But I was also hoping to spend more time with these guys as a functional couple perhaps than I think we got? I think it's fine for the show to do what they chose to do with their time, but I think I wanted something from the show it couldn't give us. I also got a little bit frustrated that there was way less food in the back half than there was in the front half because I signed up for a food show.

But, they did give me a great baseball moment, so maybe it’s okay.

Shan

[laughs] They did have a really good baseball scene. I was just gonna yes, and you Ben about the food. The food was a strong presence in the first half of the show. And then it did just kind of disappeared. I wouldn’t really call this a food drama, in the end.

I think one other piece that we kind of discussed live while we were watching that I do think is worth mentioning—not to single this show out, but to talk a little bit about a trend that exists, I think, across dramas—there was a quite a spicy sex scene between Sakae and Mizuki in this show. Far spicier than any scene we ended up getting for Sakae and Soga. Feels like a strange choice that they went to that heat level in a scene with his ex and then kept the heat so low on the current relationship.

One of the reasons I don't like it when dramas do that is because it kind of sends a message that only toxic relationships have hot sex in them, and that when you find your right person when you're truly in love, sex is not that important, or it's not part of the dynamic. And I don't think that's a good message. It's not a sex positive message, certainly—and I don't know or think necessarily that the show intended to do that here—but, it is kind of the effect of that choice that a lot of dramas make to only show hot sex in the context of toxic or old relationships and keep the main couple of a show kind of quote unquote pure. That stuck out to me in this show and nothing that came after that scene hit anywhere close to that heat level. So it did kind of stand out as a weird choice to me.

Ginny

In terms of the general trend, I certainly agree. It is worth noting that that scene was specifically happening in Soga’s imagination, so it wasn't like, “This was how it was.” It's like, “This is how Soga is thinking about Sakae and his ex.” Which in the context of the story gives it a very different meaning. But I do certainly agree with what you're saying about the overall trend in media.

Shan

That's a good point, Ginny. It's a fair one to bring up. I do think, though, if the show is willing to go to that heat level, why are they not willing to go there with the main couple?

NiNi

And we do know that they are having a hot time, because at the end when they make back up Soga’s like, “Look, we know we gotta fuck, okay? So let's just get this relationship shit wrapped up before we do.” And I thought that was delightful.

Ginny

So good!

Shan

It was a very funny line, but it also kinda came out of nowhere, ‘cause we hadn't seen any sexual relationship for them. [laughs]

Ginny

We saw some.

Ben

I get where Shan’s coming from, like, they confirmed that the guys are having sex and they deliver some of the prelude and the aftermath. But it stands out with what they showed with Mizuki. I think minus the Mizuki stuff, we probably don't feel that way.

NiNi

In general, I agree with Shan, yes, but I do agree with Ginny as well that this is really Soga’s imagination. Like really pushing up his fears and anxieties and all that stuff.

Ben

I at least got to make a joke about the need for a robust public transport system [Shan and Ginny laugh], because it's what allows them to be compromised in the end of this. I’m like, “You see that? Robust, fast, frequent high speed rail is the only reason that these gays made it.”

NiNi

Public transport is for the gays, that's the new slogan.

So, ratings, how are we rating this one? Ginny, how about you? What do you think?

Ginny

I gave this one also an 8.5 from the opposite direction of Perfect Propose. I think execution wise it deserves a bit lower, but I enjoyed it so much that I bumped us up to 8.5.

Ben

Shandler?

Shan

I gave it a 7.5 because the execution issues really really bothered me. I think ultimately I really wanted to love it and I was disappointed that I didn't.

Ben

NiNi?

NiNi

I liked all the Osaka stuff. I liked how homey they made Osaka feel. I liked the female coworker who, having been pushed back, decided to become a full on supporter and get these two guys together. I gave it an 8. I had a good time with it. I think it was well done. I could have done without most of the Mizuki arc, but, I enjoyed it.

Ben

I did like Kanda a lot too, and his friend Kanada [Kaname]? Oh man, I really like the friend support group, but this show didn't come together fully for me. I struggle to really talk about it and give a clear recommendation for it, so it's a 7.5 for me.

Which averages out to a 7.89ish. We'll give it an 8. I think that's fair.

NiNi

I think it's fine for it to get an 8 from The Conversation.

Ben

We liked it. Even though it was not exactly what I think any of us was wanting.

01:04:44 - I Want To See Only You

NiNi

Next up, we're gonna talk the latest entry, actually: I Want to See Only You.

Ben, what is I Want to See Only You about?

Ben

It is about how we all really, really loved Kura Yuki in [laughs] His: I Didn't Mean to Fall in Love, and we needed another show with him.

Shan

Oh, man, you're struggling. You can't even deliver the joke, sir, [laughs] ‘cause it's so ridiculous.

[Ben laughs]

Ben’s just trying to score a point off me right now, but it's not working. [laughs]

Ben

Kimi no Koto Dake Mite Itai, aka I Want to See Only You, is a four episode Japanese BL, partially funded by Hulu—that was kind of interesting—in which two boys in high school go through a friends-to-lovers arc. One of them has been nursing a crush for a long time on his friend, and confesses to his friend, and they deal with the complications that ensue from that in a way that I thought was really gentle and wholesome. This was a very short story, but I enjoyed it a lot.

Because it's not that complicated! They've been childhood friends. One of them reveals that he has stronger feelings than just friendship, and the other guy just begins to process that, and we get this really interesting dynamic where they're figuring out what the changes to their relationship are going to be. There's not any real complicating drama here. It's really just about these guys sorting their shit out.

Shan

Yeah, I mean, this show is just uncomplicated. It is heartwarming. It is cute as fuck. It is two nice boys being kind to each other while they navigate a change in their relationship. It's really as simple as that. Sakura confesses to Yuma. Yuma processes the confession. They have a lovely kiss around the fire pit. It's so straightforward and I loved it. It was just nice to watch something that is gentle and kind and lovely, and that's what it is.

I really like this show. I think it's a great serotonin hit—a quick one. And definitely recommend folks watch it.

Ben

Ginny and Nini, did you have time to watch this show?

Ginny

I did not even know it existed until I saw it on the show notes and I was like, “What's that? Oh, well, I'm already doing another show as my homework.”

NiNi

I watched it. It was very short, very sweet. I came away just with the feeling of having really enjoyed watching something, like being wrapped in a nice warm blanket. Watching these two soft boys have a soft time and then all the kooky characters around them. This is one of the things about this kind of Japanese drama that I enjoy, which is all the kooky side characters.

So you've got the two teachers, you've got the girl who has the crush on—I can't remember which boy she has a crush on—and then the boy who has the crush on her. It's so fun. It's so delightful. The teachers are the second best part of the show. I love the teachers so much.

It's just fun. It's sweet. It doesn't require a lot of you. It's very wholesome. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

Ben

I was being really goofy at the beginning of this, but I like Kura Yuki a lot and I'm really glad we got to see him in BL again. I thought he was really good in the His prequel, and I really enjoy getting to see him again.

NiNi

He has really sad eyes, which I actually really enjoyed.

Shan

Yeah, he has a really emotive face, I think. I'm excited to see him keep doing more shows.

Ben

There's really not that much more to say. This is a really quick, really gentle show. If you need a really good mood boost, I recommend it.

Ratings! Shan?

Shan

I gave this a 9. It is straightforward. It is sweet. It's an easy watch. Highly recommended.

Ben

NiNi?

NiNi

I also give it a 9. It's incredibly straightforward and cute. I enjoyed it. I like that they couldn't quite figure out how to shift their relationship from friends to boyfriends. They were dating and they're like, “Should we be doing, like, other stuff?” But they were just doing the same stuff that they had always done. I found that delightful.

Ben

I gave it a 9.5 for the terrible pasta they made. [Shan and NiNi laugh]

Shan

We forgot to talk about the pasta!

NiNi

The pasta was so bad.

Shan

[still laughing] Those boys really went outside and picked some tomatoes and just tossed them fully, without any chopping, into a pan and stirred them around a lil bit and put them on top of some fucking limp noodles and called that spaghetti.

Ben

Zero notes. [laughs]

NiNi

The pasta was still semi-crunchy. It was delightful. It was so high school. It was the most high school thing I've ever seen.

Shan

[still laughing] Raw tomatoes and, like, unseasoned noodles? Amazing.

Ben

I really loved it. For your context Ginny, this is when the boys are trying to figure out the shift in their relationship and they make a list of things they wanna do together. Making pasta with the tomatoes they were growing in the school garden was one of those things. And I thought that was a really lovely idea and super romantic. And then because they're a bunch of high school boys who barely know how to cook, they fucked it up badly. But they had a good time together. It was great.

Shan

It was so good.

Ginny

Incredible.

NiNi

Seriously, Ginny, it's a short watch. It's an easy watch. If you're ever in the mood for something to just lift your mood, I suggest watching it.

Ben

So it gets a 9 from The Conversation. It's worth your time. Please go watch it.

01:10:55 - I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama

NiNi

On to the main event, which Ben has literally been waiting to talk about since we recorded the winter series. We're finally going to talk about I Became the Main Role [of] a BL Drama. Ben, you've been basically building up to this moment. Go right ahead.

Ben

I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama is about how these two boys will drown the audience in the BL goodness. [Shan laughs]

NiNi

Oh God.

Ben

It is a BL about making a BL, which is a lot of fun. No shade against Thailand in this, but when they do self-critical BL it's not always the most fun experience because there's a lot of real grievances the people making it need to air—and I completely respect that. But it also can be kind of a downer. When Japan makes fun of BL, they end up seeming to have more fun poking at the nature of the genre and delivering on the comedic beats without it just feeling like a bitch session.

So, in this particular show, we have Aoyanagi Hajime, who is a former child actor who was struggling a bit with his career and trying to figure out how to move forward, and he gets an opportunity to be one of the leads in a BL production against a up-and-coming idol, Akafuji Yuichiro. They are working on a workplace BL and we're mostly on the set of them filming this show. We don't get to see the show itself. I really wish we would get to see the show they made, it looks great.

They're starting to work on the show, and the two guys do not seem to have much chemistry. The reason we learn is because Yuichiro is actually an Aoyanagi Hajime stan, who is internally freaking out the whole time because he's this close to his idol. And they suggest the two guys live together to build up their chemistry. Their relationship gets complicated as they start to develop something between each other, and this complicates their relationship on set as well. But we mostly spend that time unpacking Aoyanagi’s confidence issues.

This was my favorite show. Before I just start gushing about how beautiful I find Akutsu Nichika, Ginny, thoughts on the show?

Ginny

I love this show so much. Just hearing you talk about it, I was feeling little bubbles of delight remembering all of the different scenes and moments and setups. It was just exquisite. It was so fun and so funny. Very comic, but also felt true to these people as people. Love seeing the cheeky BL commentary. Love seeing Abe Alan play this cool, up-and-coming popular idol, who is just smitten with this kind of no-name, famous-for-one-ad guy and just is flailing around, having to try to act BL.

One of the best moments any BL drama will ever give us is him asking Hajime to record that one kinda bitchy line he says for fap material. [Ben and Shan laugh] God, that's the funniest thing that's ever happened to me personally.

Ben

We will not do that scene justice describing it because it's not just about the dialogue of the scenario. It is staged really well. The blocking is a huge part of the joke in that one, because of what other people know or don't know in the background. It's really a great sequence of the show.

NiNi

I loved all of the blocking in that show, all of the stage direction, all the stuff that's happening in the background of all the scenes when they're on set is hilarious. Japanese shows will always reward you for paying attention to what's happening in the background of a scene. And this show, in particular, the background of every scene, is just phenomenal. It is delightful.

Ben

We cruised into the new year watching this show.

Shan

It was both the last show of 2023 and the first show of 2024 for us.

Ben

This show ended, I was like, “We've already decided the winner [laughs] for ‘24. Everybody, pack it up.”

Shan

I love this show. It's a great example of a super high velocity comedy where it's just joke, joke, joke, joke, joke coming at you from all sides in every moment of the show, not just through the dialogue, but through the scenery, through the blocking, through the things that other characters are doing just out of the frame. This thing is just packed, packed, packed with jokes, and so every time you watch it, you will see new stuff that you missed last time. There are so many gags in this, it's just so well done. The command you have to have to deliver comedy in that way with this extremely zippy pacing, in that super-packed content to shove it all into this three hour package. It's just so impressive. It's the kind of precision that most productions can only aspire to.

There was such good visual jokes in this. The reveal that Akafuji had been wearing a fan T-shirt [laughs] underneath his clothes in scenes. There was a fantastic scene with a leg kabedon.

Ben

Hold on, this is fun. Let's go around the group with a gag that we remember until we run out. Shan gave two. NiNi?

NiNi

I mean, I feel like the leg kabedon was a moment, because when I finally watched the show, I literally said, “Did he just do a kabedon with his leg?” and I was instructed [Ginny and Shan laugh] in the ways of Japanese media in that moment.

Shan

Sure did!

Ben

Ginny?

Ginny

Him running after Hajime carrying his Hajime standee.

Ben

After he had previously used it as a shield. [laughs]

Ginny

Yeah.

Ben

One of the gags I enjoyed was all Aoyangi mentioning he was called a bad kisser by his ex, and Akafuji just checks out for that moment, like he's not even listening to the rest of the conversation. He just keeps repeating “moto kono,” referring to the ex-girlfriend over and over again because he's spiraling over it. I enjoyed that one a lot.

[all laugh]

NiNi

Speaking of spiraling! Him fighting with the showerhead.

Shan

[Ginny and NiNi laugh] Oh my God! The showerhead! I still don’t understand what he was doing in that scene, but it was so funny.

Ben

It represents his sexual desire almost being out of control.

Shan

Oh, I got that part. [laughs] I just don't understand what the character was doing.

[Ginny laughs]

Ben

Struggling.

NiNi

When he nearly kissed Aoyanagi, then he went outside and basically hung over the balcony railing [laughs]. Just had a meltdown just from being close enough to almost kiss him.

Ben

The spinning scene on the steps where I was like, “He's gonna kill that boy.” [Ginny laughs]

Shan

Yes! When they were like, twirling each other around on a concrete stairway. [Ben laughs]

There were so many good supporting characters in this, too. I really liked the initial pitch scene with the producers who are describing the vision for the show.

Ben

That was fucking fantastic.

NiNi

Oh my God!

Shan

The level of intensity that they were bringing to their description of this super fucking basic office BL. [laughs]

Ben

Our follow[ers] did not understand the way I lost my shit over this show after the first episode. From the “I will drown the audience in the BL goodness” scene, I was like, “This is it, y'all. This is the show.”

Shan

This is the one.

Ben

“Everyone else can go. I'm done. I found what I needed.”

NiNi

So funny, and literally every time she was on screen, whether it was foreground or background, she was killin’ it. I loved her.

Shan

Every performer in this show was so dialed in at all times, whether they were the focus of a scene or not, they were always doing something important and funny in the background. There was also, of course, the great runner with the managers—

Ginny

The managers!

Shan

—who were carrying on a secret romance.

Ben

We saw them interacting like, “Are they exes? Are they together? What's goin’ on?”

Shan

It was clear somethin’ was going on there from the start.

Ben

They know each other, that's for sure.

Ginny

Mmhmm.

NiNi

They definitely know each other.

Ginny

They know each other.

Shan

They know each other. I was very surprised by the spicy reveal we got [laughs] about their relationship.

NiNi

It was kind of spicy, wasn't it? There was choking involved.

Shan

And then also Ryoga, who was brought in to be a co-star in the show. He was, like, a very well known actor/influencer, I think?

Ben

He was a member of a boy band and they were bringing him in for additional crossover appeal. ‘Cause his strong point was his arrogance. [Ginny and Ben laugh] He walks in the room and they're like throwing fucking feathers for him. And then he starts helping them pick it up. “Thanks for throwing the feathers, guys.” [all laugh]

Shan

This drama! Three episodes, it had a small cast, but it did so much with what it had.

Ben

We were only with this show for two hours, but boy was that a great time.

NiNi

It was so much fun. The producer, the look on her face in the background when the two of them were flirting on set and she caught them? [Shan laughs] Her face was slowly lighting up. [laughs]

Ben

She's like—

Shan

So happy.

Ben

—”Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know.” [all laugh]

I love the manager glaring at his own fucking ward. He's like, “Can you read that line again for me?” and he glares at him. [Ben and Ginny laugh]

Shan

Oh man.

Ben

In terms of the BL commentary, that was fun. There's the whole ramp up of you get selected for a role, you don't really know your costar, there's the reading of the material.

One of the things I really enjoyed with this is that they delved into Aoyanagi really struggling with the fact that he was unable to build rapport with his co-star right away. I like actors getting to play actors and stuff. When Aoyanagi was acting as his character, he was actually really good and was really dialed in. It was really cool how quickly he could go in and out of character. I really liked them showing that he's actually good, but he's in his own head about it because he's really sensitive to commentary from fans, and they reinforce how fan behavior has really potentially negative impacts on actors and entertainers with Kuromiya. He gets cornered by a really aggressive fan, and has to be saved by Aoyanagi in that moment.

I actually liked the moment with Tendo, the female supporting character on their cast, when Aoyanagi’s trying to talk to her about what's going on with Akafuji and he's speaking about it hypothetically, and she's like, “If your co-star is trying to make out with you off set, that's not good.”

Shan

Mmhmm.

Ben

“That's extremely bad.” And he's like, “Wait, but this is a BL story, we're gonna just ride it out for this.” But she's like, “Mmm, no.”

Shan

Aside from how very fucking funny this is, it had some really good messages. The most important thing this show did for me was make it super clear that, in order for the two of them to have a real relationship and have a romance, Akafuji had to let go of being Aoyanagi’s fan. You can't idolize and worship a person if you want a relationship with them. You have to process them as a human being, a full human being, and see them fully for who they are, and not keep them on this fannish pedestal. I really like that the show was clear about that. Being a fan, being a stan of somebody, is not the same thing as loving them.

Ben

It was really surprising as well that the show allowed there to be the commentary about the network, late in production, interfering—getting cold feet about something. The guys had a lot of consternation about whether or not they'd be able to deliver a proper kiss for the intimacy, and then the powers that be pulled the kiss, and you get the sense immediately from the producers that that wasn't their choice, that people with money above them made that decision and they had to just deliver the party line and just accept it.

Shan

That probably brings us to our one real criticism of this show, yeah?

Ben

The reason why the show did not get a 10. [laughs]

Shan

Damn it, we wanted it to get a 10!

Ben

I get what they were going for. They reserved that moment for them. But I'm looking at you TV Asahi.

Shan

Because, they did not deliver a kiss.

Ben

They didn't.

Shan

They did not deliver a kiss in this show. [laughs]

Ben

It’s the only knock.

Shan

They teased a kiss continuously. They showed them about to kiss multiple times before cutting the camera away.

Ben

We got sad kissing in episode 2.

Shan

They implied that they might have been kissing as practice off camera, that we didn't see. And then they ended the show—similarly to Cherry Magic—with the camera zooming in on them, about to kiss, and then a cut to black. It was unsatisfying all around.

It's the one real ding on the show. The first time they did the fake out, we were like, “Oh no, show. Please don't do this. We want to love you unreservedly. Please just deliver the kiss.”

Ben

That's the real sadness of our two grab bags. We did not get a NiNi “I love this unreservedly” and we talked about like 10 shows. [Ben and Shan laugh]

NiNi

Everything's got a little ding to it right now, but we'll get that again, I believe.

Ben

[laughs] But genuinely I love this. I really like that for the little time we spent with them, all the characters felt really human to me in a way that was really accessible. And even though they were mostly broad strokes in all of these characters, I got a lot out of it. It was really, truly one of my favorite BL experiences I've had in a long time.

NiNi

I'm gonna give it a 9.75.

Ben

Oh, my God, here she goes.

Shan

[laughs] She’s cheating! That’s just cheating—

Ginny

Cheating!

Shan

—so you can be the most generous.

NiNi

It's not cheating. It is producer privilege. Get it right. [Ginny and Shan laugh]

Ben

Ginny?

Ginny

I gave it a 9.5. Would have been a 10 if they'd given us the kiss, but a truly delightful and worthwhile show.

Shan

Same. 9.5 for same reason.

Ben

I gave it a 9.5 for the same thing. It's a 9.5 from The Conversation.

Shan

But let the record state that NiNi is the most generous. [laughs]

Ben

Truly, we love this. This is one of our favorites. Go watch it right now.

Ginny

I have to rewatch it ‘cause I don't even remember my favorite gags.

Ben

Exactly. You gotta go watch again and get your gags back.

01:26:16 - Outro

NiNi

And with that, we have come to the end of our Japanese Grab Bag. So, what are we thinking about Japanese BL having just run down six of them in a row? Ginny, you go first.

Ginny

Last time I answered this question I was kind of feeling like Japanese BL can do no wrong, and now I feel like, well it can, and has. There have been several less than perfect shows. Still feeling very positive overall. Loving so far—knock wood—some of what's currently airing.

The beautiful density of storytelling that Japanese BL tends to deliver in such a short time, it almost never feels hollow or incomplete. It feels very rich and detailed, and I continue to love and appreciate that.

Ben

Shan?

Shan

I am just living right now. What a time to be alive. Japanese BL coming at us, all the time, consistently. It didn't used to be like this. We used to go long stretches with nothing coming out from Japan. No clue what was gonna come next. And now it’s like, we've got these consistently airing shows, we've got shows that are showing up as a surprise alongside that. I think at one point we had six different Japanese QLs airing simultaneously. That's just an unheard of bounty of Japanese QL content, and I am so happy about it. I hope it continues.

With volume, of course, comes some shows that are not gonna hit as well as the cream of the crop, but I still love the experience of watching all of them, I love getting to dig into this much Japanese content. I'm just so happy and I hope it continues.

Ben

I can't believe we got to talk about nine Japanese projects in a single season of this show. That's ridiculous.

Shan

Wow, right?

Ben

I am having a great time, and I'm actually glad some of these shows were flops or duds. As much as I really like Japanese BL, I'm glad that there was a show that I got to genuinely hate in this run [laughs] so that NiNi could see that I'm capable of hating a Japanese project with my whole heart.

NiNi

I did actually need to see that. That is true.

Ben

I'm havin’ a great time. It's really refreshing that so many different networks were involved. We had shows from about five or six different networks, and even if it feels like we're getting a slowdown in spring, I am very glad that we have more projects on the way. There's at least two more Japanese projects on the horizon, so. I'm in a really good place.

NiNi

There's some stuff in there, I think, that we're going to talk about in the Lagniappe about where things seem to be going next season, but for now, that's going to be it from us.

We out. Say bye to the people, everybody, this time in actual chorus: 1, 2, 3.

Ben

Peace.

Shan

Bye.

Ginny

Bye!

NiNi

Oh my God. Y'all are terrible at this.

[Ginny and Shan laugh]

#ben and nini's conversations #lgbtq #podcast #the conversation #on art #bl series #spring series #japanese bl #sahara sensei to toki kun #sukiyanen kedo do yaro ka #although i love you and you #perfect propose #i became the main role of a bl drama #bl drama no shuen ni narimashita: crank up hen #one room angel #i want to see only you #kimi no koto dake mite itai #Spotify

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evermorethecrow · 4 months

Note

asking really nicely so you can properly explain? please? pretty please? with a cherry on top? 🛐

SIGHHHHHHHH

fine because you were nice

Every evermore au summarised PROPERLY

1) Yuuko au-

Chuuya gets a kid at 14 and has to deal with it

2) Cryptid au-

Chuuya nakahara died in 1935, came back and is now murderous and evil (and a giant ram sometimes)

3) High school au-

Chuuya nakahara is a 15 year old who wants to be completely erased from memory when he dies, simultaneously he wants to fight with everything to keep living (it doesnt work)

4) Vampire au-

Chuuya was born (wrong) into an aristocratic heavily established vampire family with a lot of not so great traditions. after escaping from them the third time he looses it a little bit and decides to now dedicate his life to murdering them all off, as well as anyone who gets in the way. hes aproached by mori ougai the head of a powerful vampire slaying organisation and joins to help his plans. i also gave him a gun

5) God au-

born as the god of luck and fortune chuuya is stolen by humans and placed in a shrine to bring insane luck to the earth. then shit hits the fan. Now hes stuck as the god of curses (and bad luck) and cant walk around without hell breaking loose

6) Plant shop au-

Chuuya nakahara ends up at a police station at 14 and meets murase (as well as some other cops). Chuuya is going to be given a death sentence but after some less than legal talk with his supervisors murase can remove it completely. the only condition is rehabilitating chuuya back into society, which proves a harder task than thought considering a few extra issues that went down in his past.

7) College(idol) au-

At 15 chuuya nakahara is the lead of a world famous pop idol group. Shifty treatment from his manager makes chuuya decide to quit, however on while preforming his last show something technical goes wrong, the stage explodes, the other members got away safe but chuuya was hospitalised. the world assumes him dead and since he contract is over he decides to keep it that way, content with living his life like a normal person now. until hes in collage and it turns out his new roomate was the biggest fan of him and his old group. chaos ensues

8) Sky casino chuuya au-

After hardly a year in the sheep chuuya is found by fyodor and placed inside the sky casino for safe keeping. now at 16 hes very good at his job and very bad at being tollerant of annoying house guests from the port mafia

9) DOA au-

15 goes wrong, chuuya gets hit a lot harder by the sheep and he ends up at fyodors doorstep (through less than natural circumstances). hes been working for the doa since. Dazai and him re-meet at 22 after hes captured by the port mafia. it goes intrestingly.

10) Scene kid au- a fun au where everyone in the show wears some kind of alt fashion (also theres like the worlds impending and quickeningly near end looming over everyone but that doesnt matter)

11) God+Vampire slayer au-

Chuuya is the (born human) reincarnatation of the god/lord of the wild in an era where vampire-like zombies run wild. he meets a boy who turned into a vampire but somehow remained concious and is now working with him and a shifty doctor to blast gore everywhere try and find a cure

12) Ability swap au

Chuuya has no longer human instead of Tainted but keeps his singularity, dazai has flawless but keeps being anything but. They have eachother. (that could be enough)

13) No Yuuko au-

Yuuko (that kid who chuuya got) never actually MEETS chuuya and instead through a long path of events ends up in the custody of a 20 year old dazai. what could possibly go wrong

14) college au 2 eletric boogaloo-

Chuuya nakahara grows up strict catholic and ends up a single parent in some lousey apartment trying to ballence class and like not killing his child. also his roomate is an annoying bastard who wont shut up

15) Nun Au-

Chuuya's raised in a cult and then joins the mafia.

16) Pokemon au Red-

All the bsd charecters live in the world of pokemon. chuuyas a gym leader and secretly a team rocket executive following his bosses order to prevent some kid finding mew

17) Pokemon au Blue-

Pokemon exist in the bsd verse! Canon except they all have pokemon to fight with and chuuya may or may not be spiritually connected to a lucario

18) Demon ability au-

Instead of tainted sorrow chuuya has an ability reminiscent of kouyou and kyoukas. (hes still got that singularity unfortunatly but this time its in a huge fucking demon?) his role in the pm changes acordingly

19) Mermaid au- chuuya's a mermaid happily enjoying life on land. Dazai is a mermaid hellbent on dragging chuuya back to the ocean

20) Circus au-

when chuuya joins the port mafia hes placed under lippmanns command instead of kouyou's. unfortunatly its not that easy and the port mafia's fronting as a circus. now chuuyas got to learn how to use rope.

21) Elise au-

On his deathbed mori manages to transfer his ability to chuuya. hes now living through elise. it goes as well as you'd expect now the mafias being run by an 11 year old

22) Chuuya stays with the sheep au-

self explanitory, dazai's plan fails and chuuya never ends up leaving the sheep. then 15 rolls around and verlaine disposes of them. chuuya travels around with verlaine until hes eventually rescued by the flags

23) Ada au-

chuuya moves to the ada after stormbringer. he works with yosano in the infirmary.

24) Demon/Coffee shop au-

Ex-fighting ring demon chuuya runs a coffee shop and tries to be evil (hes bad at it)

25) Chuuya is inside my laptop au-

Dazai finds a beat up laptop on the floor one day and being the cheap person he is decides to take it. the only issue is theres someone (something?) living inside it (its chuuya)

26) Dragon au-

Chuuya nakahara is one of the last dragons of his kind. dazai wants a pet dog but gets something more exotic instead

27) Nyan bungou stray nekos au- nyan neko sugar girls but bsd derailed and i dont know how to explain this now

29) Botw au-

chuuya's a gerudo who isnt that good at fitting in, dazai's a zora next in line for the throne whos bad at everything. together they make a wildfire look like a beach holiday

Honarable mentions

Danganrompa au (Only existed so i could execute chuuya)

Vocaloid/Utauloid au (canon except they have vocasynth voices)

Evermore's chuuyai farm and factory

#bsd #bungo stray dogs #bungou stray dogs #chuuya #bungo stray dogs manga #i love him #chuuyabsd #evermore answers #bsd au #chuuya au #chuuya bsd #bsd chuuya

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gloomysoup · 1 month

Text

okay i know i really only post about steddie but i also have so many other ships and i had an idea while driving to work this morning (it may or may not have been slightly inspired by me blasting vigilante shit by taylor swift)

i'm imagining a famous au buckingham fic (with a side of steddie perhaps) wherein chrissy was a child star at the hand of her parents. it started with acting, but switched over to a pop artist career when she was 15/16. she's never allowed to write her own music, except on very rare occasions. her parents approve EVERYTHING. chrissy has no power over her own life whatsoever. she still acts from time to time, but most of the focus is on her music career. she's selling out stadiums full of young girls by the time she's 17.

nothing about chrissy cunningham's life is real. it's all just a show her parents force her to put on for the sake of money and reputation. not that she sees much of that money anyway. chrissy has money. she's actually considered rich to most. however, she should have more than she does. her parents squirrel away most of it with insistence that it's going into a savings account for her to access when she turns 21.

chrissy meets Corroded Coffin frontman Eddie Munson when she is 18, at the after party of some awards show. it had been his band's first award nomination. they hit it off instantly (platonically of course) and remain close friends from then on out. eddie is chrissy's rock. she tells him everything. eddie wishes he could do something useful to help her, but she promises that just having a real friend who isn't paid off by her parents is help enough.

into her 20s, chrissy is ready to grow up. she's ready to make the music she wants to make and stop portraying herself as a child. she wants to be the adult she is. eddie suggests getting out from under her parents first, bc they both know they won't approve of chrissy's desires. stuff happens, and chrissy learns that her parents had lied about the savings account. all the money they had promised she would get back was gone. they had kept it for themselves.

i haven't yet figured out exactly how robin and steve fit into this. maybe they're an actor duo who has so much on-screen (platonic) chemistry that they just keep getting roles in the same films, or maybe they're an up and coming indie duo trying to make their way into the scene. either way, they eventually meet and become friends (or enemies, who knows 🤷‍♀️)

something something chrissy eventually gets out from under her parents with the help of eddie, robin, and steve. she makes two albums of her own under the same label, because they made promises that she could finally be herself. when she realizes that isn't the case, she leaves the label and finds someone else. she has an entirely new team, she's figuring out her life with robin, everything is going well. and then maybe she finds out her old team at the previous label sold her masters to her parents (their plan all along). so now, she's not getting any money from any of her music. everything from when she was a young, naive teenager, all the way to the first albums she ever made solely as herself, is gone. her parents get all of it. she doesn't see a single penny.

that's all i've really come up with so far. idk it may be something, it may not be.

#stranger things #buckingham #background steddie #famous au #chrissy cunningham #robin buckley #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve and robin #platonic stobin #they're besties in every universe #gloomysoup #gloomysoup writes

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apomaro-mellow · 8 months

Note

Another prompt could be loneliness

Eddie let out a sigh. And then he let out a louder sigh. And then he let out a sigh even louder than that. He could be as loud as he wanted and for once it didn't matter because he was all alone. All alone in this big-ass house with no one to love him in it.

"Steve Harrington-core", he said, just because Steve wasn't here to call him out on it.

"Stop using -core as a joke. What the hell even is spongecore?"

"Aww, you're mad at me for being clever. That's so Dustin-core."

"And if I throttle you for being annoying?"

"Robin-core."

No, his delightful husband was absent today. He had been stolen by a teacher's conference and it was one of Eddie's days off. He literally had nothing to do. Not even anything planned with his friends. He opened his phone and went to social media. He was trying to distract himself when what should pop up but a video of Steve at said conference, giving a presentation.

The caption read "This man's husband is a whole rock star and he's giving a lecture on literacy life can be anything"

Eddie smiled as he watched his husband talk about data sets and populations and other things he only partially understood. He commented on the bottom, and then found other videos from the conference that he also commented on.

About half and hour into it, he got a text from Steve.

[2:11 pm] Babe, we've talked about this. Don't post thirsty comments when I'm in teaching mode and DEFINITELY don't do it using CC's account.

(2:12 pm) Shit (2:12 pm) Again?

[2:13 pm] I'll be home by 8. Hang on until then.

(2:13 pm) I'm counting the seconds. 1 (2:13 pm) 2 (2:13 pm) 3 (2:13 pm) 4

[2:14 pm] Honey the phone bill

(2:15 pm) Didn't you hear? I'm Corroded Coffin's Eddie Munson. I can afford an expensive phone bill (2:15 pm) Now where was I? Oh right 5 6 7 8

[2:16 pm] Be a good boy and be patient. I'll reward you later.

(2:16 pm) Promise?

[2:17 pm] Husband's honor

#apo writes #stranger things #fanfiction #steddie

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jeonsweetpea · 5 months

Text

Moonstruck (13)

Werewolf & Vampire Hybrid!AU, Supernatural!AU | Hybrid!Jungkook x Hybrid!Reader | Werewolf!Taehyung x Hybrid!Reader (ft. BTS)

genre: angst, e2l, supernatural, thriller, slow burn

rating: mature

description: A treacherous flashback unfolds. You orchestrate a plan to obtain the truth no matter the cost, ensnared in a web of betrayal and lies.

word count: 7.2k

warnings: contains SPOILERS! contains SPOILERS! Cussing, fire, battle scenes, weapons, blood/wounds (nothing too graphic), betrayals, compulsion, drowning, dark magic

a/n: It’s winter break for me so YES, I was working on this as best I could! Hi, if you find this message, I love you, I wish you nothing but happiness and health. <333 Please let me know your theories/thoughts, this series will definitely be around 15-16 chapters. So just know I am working on it!

Moonstruck Series Masterlist

Two days earlier…

After you calmed down, Yoongi told you about his original plan. Arriving at the safehouse was part of it, but he was actually in search of a rare plant. He had rummaged through Professor Seokjin’s office to see if there were any clues that would tell him where he went and sure enough, there were secret files about Blue Calamus on his computer.

Aka truth weed. Ingesting the plant would make you susceptible to speaking the truth for half an hour. Yoongi suspected that if he found the truth weed, he would find Jin too. And that meant he could help you and him find out what happened to Hoseok and his sister.

The first 24 hours were bad luck. You and Yoongi were following Jin’s footsteps, hitting up all the spots truth weed was claimed to be grown at. Unfortunately, every place turned out to be a dead end or false advertisement. After resting at a motel, the two of you accepted your defeat and ventured into the woods.

“Damn it. That town was our last hope,” Yoongi grumbled, taking a seat on a log. You took a look at the map Yoongi had brought and the glint in your eyes caught his attention. “What is it?”

“My mother’s campus is nearby… maybe she can help. I haven’t heard from her in a while.”

“Got your phone?”

“No. It wasn’t on me when Sunghyun teleported me.”

“I’ll call her.” The professor dialed her number and waited. When it finally went to voicemail, he tried again. “She’s not picking up.”

“It’s fine. Let’s just go.”

As you and Yoongi drew nearer, his phone suddenly buzzed with over 100+ messages and calls. The device was in a frenzy as notifications popped up nonstop. “HELP”, “SAVE US”, “DANGER” were the keywords you could make out and the ones responsible for the messages were three people: Seokjin, Hoseok, and your mother.

“What the hell is happening?!” Yoongi asked, swiping his thumb to open the messages and read them as fast as he could while more flooded in.

“Look, Professor Jin’s calling!”

“I see that, but my phone is glitching like crazy!” It took a few tries, but he finally managed to pick up the call.

“Get your ass over to [M/N]’s campus now! We’re being attacked!” A loud explosion could be heard in the background, alarming you and Yoongi both. He desperately called out Jin’s name, but the connection had fizzled out.

Filled with a mixture of fear and determination, you and Yoongi realized the gravity of the situation. You had to act now because that meant your mother’s safety was at stake too. And the kids. The poor, innocent kids.

With a renewed sense of urgency, you and the professor swiftly abandoned your search for truth weed and sprinted to your mother’s workplace.

The damage was far worse than anything you could’ve imagined. The combined elementary and junior high school building was crumbling to the ground, fire was spreading at a rapid rate, and gunshots were heard in the distance.

You jumped right into battle, quickly realizing the culprits weren’t human. It was a team of werewolves and vampires—the same werewolves and vampires you might’ve pissed off during the time your humanity was off.

“Ah shit…”

“Recognize us, you filthy hybrid?” one of the vampires taunted. Yoongi whipped his head to look at you.

“You know them?”

“I might’ve… tortured them when I turned off my humanity,” you admitted, offering him a sheepish grin. Yoongi pulled out his shotgun from his backpack, having half a mind to shoot you instead but restrained himself.

“I’ll cover you,” he stated in a gruff voice. You nodded and began taking them down one by one. The professor covered you as promised until you two made your way inside the burning building. A cry for help alerted you to go upstairs to the second floor and that’s when you found Hoseok and his sister fighting against a team of werewolves.

Honestly, they could hold their own pretty well. You only jumped in when you saw there was another one trying to sneak up on Dawon. She thanked you and returned the favor by saving you from a grenade. Hoseok was almost unrecognizable with how angry he was. He fought dirty, the remaining wolves clearly not a match for his ire and you remembered why he used to be alpha. However, his bright smile returned when the wolves retreated and he hugged you tightly.

“[Y/N]! You’re alive, oh my god. You don’t understand how happy I am,” He then quickly released you. “Oh man, I bet you want to kill me. I’m so sorry for what I did.”

“She’s the one who put me in a coma,” a sinister voice said. Hoseok and you glanced over at his sibling, who was pointing her gun in your direction. You waited in suspense for her next move but then she broke out into the same heart-shaped grin Hoseok had. “Just kidding~.”

She lowered her weapon and Hoseok laughed at your stunned pikachu-meme face. “You got her good!”

“What the fuck is going on?!” you exclaimed, crossing your arms at the two siblings.

“Meet my sister, Dawon.”

“I go by Jiwoo now, actually,” she replied.

“Right, we changed our identities. I still prefer Hoseok.”

“Nice to see you again,” Jiwoo states with a wave. “Thanks for not killing me.”

“Ditto…?” you said, confused beyond compare.

“Wait, we lost Professor Jin and your mom,” Hoseok said, frantically looking around. You copied his actions and realized you had lost someone too.

“Professor Min was just with me.”

Some more gunshots were heard from the rooftop of the building, so the three of you headed there. Professor Jin had set up a force field to shield him, your mother, and Professor Min while a team of vampires attacked from all sides. Once again you jumped in with zero hesitation but the added assistance of the Jung siblings ensured your victory. The enemies retreated and you all got off the burning building before the flames could engulf you all.

“What happened to my mother?” you asked worriedly. Professor Jin was carrying her limp body, which was full of bloody lacerations and bullet wounds. Everyone had been injured to some degree, but your mother received the most damage.

“She fought hard to protect her employees and students. She distracted the enemies while everyone ran. It’s our fault. We had brought them here to the school.”

“I’m fine,” your mother croaked. “Put me down, I can walk.”

“Are you joking?” you scolded. “You’re lucky to even be alive.”

“What do we do now?” Yoongi asked, watching the school building continue to burn down.

“My employees and I had an evacuation plan put in place in case this happens. There’s a secret tunnel beneath the school that leads to an underground chamber. I can heal myself there.”

The underground chamber was concealed from the outside world, shielded by layers of enchantments and natural barriers. Its interior was illuminated by soft, ethereal light emanating from glowing crystals embedded in the walls. Children’s laughter could be heard from all around and you were relieved to see everyone was okay.

Employees of your mother’s took her from Jin’s arms, immediately grabbing some healing herbs and medicinal plants that grew along the chamber’s walls. They reassured you she would be okay and that the herbs would accelerate her recovery.

Some students greeted you and you were pleasantly surprised at how welcoming they were. Considering the last time you saw them was when you had a gun in your hand, the kind gesture touched your heart. They asked if you defeated the bad guys, to which you gave them a thumbs up. It was so pure how they looked at you like you were a superhero and it reminded you of why you wanted children in the first place.

“Hey, we found a place to talk,” Jin said with a nod of his head for you to join him. You bid farewell to the kids and made your way over to the secluded area away from the crowd.

Everyone took a seat on the comfortable cushions the chamber provided, you being the last to sit in the circle. You noticed Hoseok caressing Yoongi’s face, most likely asking him about his scar. Something about the moment seemed… tender. Until Professor Min swatted his hand away, face flushed.

“We have a lot to discuss,” Jin said with a loud clap to get everyone’s attention. He pointed his pressed palms at you. “[Y/N]. I’m sure you have questions.”

“Yeah… Why are you here? With them?” You gestured to the Jung siblings and they both pointed at themselves as if there were any other Jungs around.

“When I quit my job, I went on a mission to find Blue Calamus because that would be the only way to figure out what was going on and prove to Namjoon that I didn’t orchestrate anything.”

“Why not use a truth spell? You’re a witch. You’ve done it before.”

“I felt like my magic was being tampered with. Spells always have loopholes and by then it was too late. Once I left campus, I couldn’t get back in. Something was blocking me. Like a magic that surpassed mine. I couldn’t text or call anyone on campus.”

“Same here,” Hoseok added. “I tried to message Professor Min and [Y/N], but none of the texts went through. No calls. Nothing.”

“So how did I finally get your call, Jin?” Yoongi questioned.

“I think it’s because you were within a certain radius of me. Whatever magic was being used to block our communication had limits.”

“Do you think it was Ari…?” you asked, though your tone indicated you already knew the answer.

“Most likely. She was my top student,” Jin answered. “Anyway, the hunt for Blue Calamus was nearly impossible. I spent months trying to find it and ran into many dead ends. At one point I ran into the Jungs.”

You turned your attention to Hoseok and he cleared his voice in preparation to speak.

“After I… did what I did to you…” he started to say hesitantly. “I got to the hospital and rescued my sister. We fled town and went to our parents’ safe house to find out they had been murdered.”

He waited for a reaction from you, but you simply said nothing.

“You know?”

“Professor Min and I discovered their bodies yesterday. I’m sorry about your loss. Do you know who killed them?”

“I’m sure we all know who it is.” The whole group gave each other a knowing glance, so Hoseok continued, “Jiwoo got a text saying we deserved it because I tried to warn you about a mole.”

“Jimin…” you muttered.

“Not just Jimin. He’s not working alone. Someone else contacted my sister and family first.”

“Who’s that?”

Jiwoo intervened, “Months ago I was spying on your campus to get more information about Jungkook, so we could kill him. Needless to say, I was spotted. He told me he wanted Jungkook dead too, so we formed an alliance to attack you all on patrol. I described the guy’s face to my brother after I woke up from the coma.”

You anticipated her answer with bated breath.

“... Kim Taehyung. He’s the other person working with Jimin.”

“Oh my god… Tae wanted Jungkook dead? Tae started this… with Jimin? This is insane,” you said, clenching your fists. Your emotions were in flux because even if it was an obsession, Taehyung never failed to profess his love for you. Killing Jungkook was one thing, but he’d never ask for you to be killed. Would he?

Did he place that listening device to spy on you for Jimin?

Your gaze fell onto Hoseok and he sighed, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He could tell you were dying to ask the burning question by your conflicted expression. “Ask me. I’ll tell you everything.”

“Why did you kill me? Did Tae… did he force you to do it?”

“Taehyung, Jimin, doesn’t matter. They were blackmailing me. Jiwoo had been compelled to kill herself if she ever met you. I couldn’t let that happen.”

You raised a brow at this revelation. “Um… I met her,” You engaged in a rapid back-and-forth motion, alternately gesturing towards her and then towards yourself. “How is she alive?”

“I removed the compulsion with a spell,” Jin explained.

“Hurt like a bitch,” Jiwoo mumbled.

“Okay… How’d you escape your cage in the first place?” you asked Hoseok.

“Someone messed with my food. It made me hallucinate, get angry—I wasn’t thinking straight. It made me strong too. Enough to break out.”

You shot an accusatory look at Professor Min, but Hoseok intervened. “Yoongi didn’t do anything.”

He called him Yoongi…

“And how do you know?”

“Because I didn’t see who brought me my food. I woke up and it was already there. After eating it, it felt like all my negative emotions took control of my body.”

You glanced over at the kids playing on the other side of the chamber, thinking about how you’ll never be able to have one of your own. Hoseok followed your gaze, pained by your crestfallen eyes. “I am truly, truly sorry. I know I can never make it up to you.”

“It’s fine,” you said curtly. “Continue. What happened once you found your parents?”

“We heard gunshots and fled. Didn’t even have enough time to bury them either. It was like whoever was threatening us didn’t want us to. I took Jiwoo to a new town far away, changed our names, and moved on.”

“Until Seokjin came,” Jiwoo informed. “He convinced us to join him in finding the truth weed. Hobi was against it, but I had to know who killed our parents before exacting revenge..”

“Why would he be against it?”

“He didn’t want anything to happen to me.”

Of course. Anything for his sister.

“But that’s when we got ambushed by supernaturals,” Jin said, “The same ones that attacked your mom’s school. They chased us all the way there, but we were so desperate for help and didn’t think about the consequences. We’re sorry, [Y/N]. It’s our fault.”

It’s mine. I pissed them off. They wanted revenge. They must’ve known I was associated with the three of them.

“It’s not. It’s my fault.” Your confession earned you the spotlight. “A lot happened on campus while you were gone, professor. I turned my humanity off. Tortured some supernaturals for kicks. Clearly they wanted revenge. I’m sorry.”

“None of us blame you,” Hoseok stated in a grave voice. “During our battles, one of them said they were paid by someone to do it. There’s a good chance they were the same ones who ran us out of the safehouse too.” You wondered if he was comforting you merely due to his guilt.

“It’s your turn. What’s going on back on campus? How’d you get that scar?” Jin asked Yoongi.

“Excuse me," a sweet, high-pitched voice said kindly. You all turned to see Sarang, the 8-year old vampire girl you remembered being enamored with when your mother took the students on the field trip to BTSU. “Ms. [Y/N]? Your mom wants to see you.”

You got out of your criss-cross sitting position and stood up, following the little girl to another part of the chamber where greenery was abundant. Your mother was tending to one of the flowers, so you grabbed a nearby watering can to help her after thanking Sarang. The little girl ran off to play with her friends, delighted to be of use.

“You always did have a green thumb,” you started to say as you poured water on another flower. Your mother smiled at the comment and you two took a while to water plants in comforting silence. But of course that didn’t last long because as most mothers do, yours started to nag you about how you were doing it all wrong. She couldn’t help but correct you on how much to water, why not to water too much, blah, blah blah.

“If you get even an extra drop on that one, it’ll die,” she warned, pointing to an odd, fuzzy plant. “Let me do it.”

“You recover fast,” you noted as you got out of her way. “What is all this, Mom?”

“Well, a few years ago I started growing some special plants and herbs in case there was an emergency. Your father was exceptionally great at it and well, since he hasn’t returned yet, I kept it alive and well. It’s our garden.”

The moonstone of your necklace flickered. “I miss him.”

“I miss him too.” She tended to the last plant and set the watering can down. It was then she gave you a hug, which you reciprocated. “I miss you more.”

“I know, Mom.”

“I don’t know what’s going on, but I hope you will tell me,” She patted your back. “I want to help you however I can.”

You stopped hugging her to look her right in the eyes. “Do you happen to have Blue Calamus? It’s known to have a strong minty taste.”

Two hours before the present…

Thanks to your mother and Professor Jin’s expertise, you and your team not only had an adequate supply of truth weed but also tranquilizers. One spell later and the plants from your mother’s garden transformed to a serum that was easy to weaponize. You opted for blow darts while the rest of while everyone else chose syringes.

With time dwindling, you all agreed on a plan and knew there was only one chance to get it right.

First, Yoongi took a vial of your blood back to campus while you, Jin, Hoseok, and Jiwoo were on standby in the forest. The Flame of Imprisonment prevented supernaturals from entering, so he had to convince Namjoon to blow out the candle.

Once that was done, you and your team snuck and took out any stragglers who weren’t in the cellar. Jin and the Jung siblings decided to split up to cover more ground on campus. Few minutes later, Jiwoo cried out that she had spotted Jungkook and Sunghyun coming out of the girls’ dorm rooms, so Hoseok bolted in that direction.

The two siblings were relentless in their chase, firing rounds in an attempt to subdue them. Despite their efforts, the boys evaded every bullet, leaving the Jungs frustrated and desperate. Closing in for the crucial injection with the serum seemed an impossible task.

In the midst of the chase, Professor Jin, quick-witted and determined, joined the pursuit. Using his unique abilities, he materialized in front of Sunghyun, injecting him with the serum before he could react.

Meanwhile, Jungkook, fear etched across his face, edged backwards away from the trio, seeking an escape from the chaotic scene. The amulet nestled in his pocket began to glow and in an instant, he disappeared.

“[Y/N],” Professor Jin’s voice rang urgently in your ears. The magical earpieces he conjured up were quite useful. “We got Sunghyun, but Jungkook vanished. He must’ve teleported somewhere.”

“I think I know where he is. I’ll meet you guys in the cellar.”

You switched off the earpiece, exhaling deeply as you ventured through the mountain tunnel. The sire bond had undeniably weakened, yet a subtle tingling sensation persisted whenever Jungkook was near. Upon pinpointing his teleportation, you swiftly made your way to Namjoon's office, where you secured the spare keys.

Standing before the familiar, imposing door, you unlocked it and continued walking until you reached the iron gate entrance. Each step you took weighed down your heart, the haunting echoes of Jungkook’s hurtful words ringing in your ears.

Murderer.

So spiteful. So heartless. So… cruel. You could only come up with one conclusion and that’s why your role in the plan was so painful.

“Who’s there?”

He doesn’t sense me. The sire bond…

As you drew near, your eyes met Jungkook’s for the first time in what felt like an eternity. Your heart wavered between relief and resentment, torn between the conflicting emotions. The gate that stood between you and him was a tangible barrier that reflected the emotional chasm grown between you two.

Jungkook’s eyes lit up with a mixture of joy and anguish. He had longed to see you again, to know you were safe and unharmed. But as he looked into your eyes, he could sense the pain and betrayal emanating from you. It was a blow to his heart, a realization that the connection you two shared had been severed.

“[Y/N]...” His voice trembled with the weight of unspoken apologies and the desperate hope for understanding. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“Not another word,” you said, voice strained with a mixture of anguish and disappointment. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”

His voice contorted with remorse, regret etched deeply into his features. “N-No… no please.”

He ran up to the gate and was about to unlock it when you snarled at his actions. His head snapped up to see your goldenrod irises and sharp canines ready to tear him to shreds.

“Get back,” you growled. He obeyed and took a step back while showing you what was in his hand.

“It’s Ari’s notebook. I read everything. You were right about everything.”

“I don’t care!” you shouted, banging your fist on the gate. “Nothing in that book matters anymore. You didn’t believe me…” Your body slumped to the ground, defeated.

“You didn’t believe me…” you repeated, softer and more broken than the first time. Jungkook dropped to his knees, holding onto the bars of the gate and resting his forehead against it in an attempt to be closer to you. He shut his eyes and fought back his tears.

“I know. I’m so sorry…” Your eyes were lifeless, devoid of love and joy. You were staring past him like he didn’t exist and that pained him the most.

“You didn’t trust me…”

“I made a terrible mistake. Please,” he pleaded, reaching his hand through the bar to grab yours. You yanked it away, still refusing to look at him.

“Maybe… you don’t love me the same way I love you.”

He shook his head furiously. “No. No. That is not true. Don’t say that.”

“The Jungkook I knew… he would’ve believed me. That means you’re being influenced by something,” Your eyes shifted to meet his, determined and angry. “Or someone.”

You clenched your fist around your blow gun and pointed it at your lover. He was mortified and begged you to stop, but it was too late. You shot it right into his neck, causing him to fall to the ground. You stood up, unlocked the gate, and threw him over your shoulder like he weighed nothing. As you carried him to where the cellar was, you saw your team in the distance heading down the steps.

The plan was almost done. Just one more step. One that you thought of on your own as soon as you heard about the truth weed.

*Hss*

First to fall was Professor Jin. Professor Min was pissed as expected.

So he was next.

*Hss*

Then Hoseok and Jiwoo.

*Hss*

You didn’t understand why the cellar door was propped open, so you removed the stone and stepped inside. Taehyung perked up upon seeing you, the pure joy on his face quite endearing.

“Hi Tae.”

*Hss*

Plan complete.

In the present…

First to wake up was Jungkook, who felt something heavy around his wrists when he tried to move them. The clinking sounds alerted him of his confinement with two other prisoners.

“Sunghyun! Wake up!” he said, shaking the vampire next to him. Sunghyun groaned and slowly pushed himself up out of his position of laying on his stomach to sit crisscross.

“What’s going on?”

“Wake Taehyung up next to you.” The vampire obeyed and shook the werewolf by the shoulders. Taehyung opened one eye while ruffling his hair, immediately seeing the shackles and realizing his predicament.

“The fuck? Hey. Hey!” He shook the shackles violently, as if they would come off from the act alone. “What’s going on?!”

The noise woke up the others. In the cage next to theirs were Jimin, Yoongi, and Namjoon; Next cage had Jin with the Jung siblings; Last cage contained Ari, who for some reason was still unconscious . They all shared the same looks of betrayal and confusion until you cleared your throat loudly, standing in front of them all.

“Took you all long enough,” you sneered.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Professor Jin asked as he slowly stood up. His attempts at a spell to break out were futile and you let out a chuckle when his frustrated expressions gave him away.

“Magic dampening cuffs,” you informed him. “No one’s leaving.”

“Why are we here? I thought we were working together!” Yoongi exclaimed, sending you a glare that could kill.

“We were. But I don’t trust anyone anymore. And now that you’ve all been exposed to truth weed, I’m going to be asking the questions now.”

The look of shock spread across everyone’s faces was pure satisfaction. Now they’ll finally get a taste of what it’s like to be fooled.

“My first question: What is something you’re hiding from me that you’re guilty of?”

Truth be told, no one knew the full extent of the truth weed’s effects aside from it lasting half an hour. Good thing you had all the time in the world to figure it out, though you didn’t really know what to expect. Taehyung was the first to answer.

“I bite my nails even though you told me to stop.”

Everyone stared at him and he slapped his mouth shut with his hand.

“I’m afraid of microwaves,” Jungkook revealed. The attention diverted to him now, who cursed and turned his back towards you, face flushed. You’re gonna have to dig more into that later.

“I practice arguments in the shower,” Sunghyun said.

“I sleep naked,” Yoongi confessed.

“I hate mint chocolate ice cream,” Namjoon added. That caused a rise in some, surprisingly enough.

“I’ve seen Taehyung in his underwear. It was red,” Jimin informed.

“I can’t handle alcohol well,” Hoseok said while blushing.

“I’m the only 10 in this room,” Jin bragged. “You’re all 8’s.”

“I was going to give you 30% of my profits when I published my novel,” Sunghyun said. You raised an eyebrow at this because you deserve at least 80% for your troubles.

“Part of me still wants to kill you, but I’m trying to get over it,” Jiwoo said nonchalantly. The silence in the room was deafening and you shook your head quickly to snap out of your trance from these… discoveries. Maybe this wouldn’t be as easy as you thought.

“Okay, this is not what I was expecting,” you said, rubbing your chin in thought. “What is something you’ve done to hurt me physically or mentally?”

“I recorded our sessions,” Jin said, but you waved him off with your hand.

“I know that already.”

“I wrote about your life story because it was more interesting than my own,” Sunghyun replied.

“I know that already,” you repeated.

“I killed you,” Hoseok said, apologizing once more after.

“I know that already too…” you said through gritted teeth.

“I hurt you in our last battle,” Jiwoo said with a bright smile while looking up at the ceiling like she was reminiscing. “Got some good hits in before you, uh, put me in a coma.”

“This is ridiculous,” you muttered while facepalming yourself.

“I kissed Jungkook.”

In an instant, your eyes darted towards Jimin, who leaned casually against the wall with a devilish smirk, one foot casually propped up. He seemed to revel in the revelation, a silent observer of the unfolding drama. The weight of his gaze bore into you as you redirected your attention to Jungkook, whose big, round eyes betrayed his emotions.

Jungkook attempted to cover his mouth, a futile effort to suppress what came next, but his admission slipped through the cracks.

"And I felt something," he confessed, the words piercing through you like a dagger to the heart. "B-But not anymore!" The added assurance seemed almost laughable; the damage was done, irreversible.

Before you could process this devastating revelation, muffled sounds emanated from Yoongi. He, too, covered his mouth with both hands, going to extremes by biting the collar of his shirt in a desperate attempt to stifle his own words.

Namjoon and Jimin teamed up to pin one of Yoongi’s arms down by his side, coercing him to speak.

“I was the one who released Hoseok from his cage,” Yoongi finally admitted.

“Oh dear god…” you gasped, clutching your chest. Everything suddenly felt constrained, tight enough to explode. “Why…?”

“... Because I love him. I didn’t know he was going to hurt you. I promise.”

“I put a bug in your wolf plush,” Taehyung confessed without any remorse. You knew this fact to be true for a while now, but it still stung to hear him confirm it.

“I… I…” Namjoon kept uttering small sounds, but no words were formed. Then, without warning, he turned to face the wall, standing still for a moment before repeatedly smashing his head against the concrete. Blood quickly trickled down his face, and you shouted for him to stop.

Yoongi, in a desperate attempt to intervene, positioned himself between Namjoon and the wall.

“Namjoon! Don’t do this!” he pleaded, pushing him back in a desperate attempt to stop the violence.

Smash. Smash. Smash.

Jimin stood idly by, an eerie calmness in his demeanor as chaos erupted around him. Everyone was shouting over each other, quickly falling into a panicked state.

“Why is he doing this?! Stop it!!!” you cried, holding onto the sides of your head in distress.

A sinister grin played on Jimin's lips as he casually revealed his role in the unfolding mayhem.

“Because I compelled him,” he said, throwing his head back in a chilling cackle. He got off the wall he was leaning on to approach the bars of the cage closer to you. “Couldn’t have him spill the secrets too soon. Spoils the surprise.”

Wham. Wham. Wham.

“Make it stop! Make him stop!”

Namjoon’s entire face was covered in blood at this point. His nose broken, skull fractured, but he continued to mindlessly bang his head against the hard concrete like a robot devoid of pain.

“Alright, Namjoon. That’s enough,” Jimin ordered with a snap of his fingers. Namjoon ceased his actions right away and Yoongi’s quick reflexes caught his limp body.

“You bastard…” Yoongi said, seething with rage. Jimin seized Namjoon from Yoongi’s grasp and held the unconscious professor in a merciless headlock.

“I’m starving… dying takes a lot out of you.” His red-blood sclera and protruding veins sent shivers down Yoongi’s spine, prompting him to take a step back. He frantically patted down his body, realizing his lack of weaponry—you had removed everyone’s arms during your tranquilizing sweep. Jimin grinned devilishly, exhibiting his fangs for everyone to see. Everyone begged him to stop, but your voice resonated the loudest.

“Stop!!! Why are you doing this?!” you yelled. Jimin retracted his fangs and tilted his head at you in amusement.

“Because of you. And your mom. And Jungkook. You just had to be born and ruin everything. You shouldn’t even exist, you damn filthy hybrid.”

The ones who attacked us at mom’s school said the same thing.

“ You sent those supernaturals to attack us. To follow Jin, Hoseok, and Jiwoo to my mom’s school.”

He nodded, the joyful giggle he let out a stark contrast to his true nature. Your fists clenched in response.

“... You killed Hoseok’s parents. Didn’t you?”

“I mean, yeah, I ordered for them to be killed.”

“Ordered who?”

“Someone close to you. They’re actually blood-related to you, believe it or not.”

“Tell me their names.”

“The Supernatural Threat Response and Investigation Division of Enforcement.”

“Who, S.T.R.I.D.E? The fake as hell detective agency? Professor Min found that out pretty quick. What do you want?”

“For you to die. You’re the reason why my life has been hell. Your mother left me and then when I finally moved on, you just had to go after Jungkook.”

“You promised me she wouldn’t die. That wasn’t part of the deal!” Taehyung shouted.

“What deal?” you questioned.

“I bit Jimin to hide his stupid flower tattoo and he promised me he wouldn’t kill you.”

“You did what?!”

“Hey, I’m keeping my promise. Ari, darling…” Jimin said in a low voice. You glanced over to your best friend, who was still asleep on her cot. “Wake up.”

Her eyes snapped open, widening as if possessed. She rose abruptly, turning her head without moving her entire body like a creepy doll. Her lips curled into a bone-chilling grin.

“I didn’t say I was going to kill her,” Jimin quipped. You watched as she effortlessly tore through the magic-dampening cuffs, a black aura emanating from her body.

“[Y/N] RUN!” Jungkook and Taehyung urged.

“She’s been consumed by dark magic! That’s not Ari anymore!” Jin added.

You were already racing to the keypad, inputting the passcode at lightning speed. However, the door wouldn’t budge. A frustrated curse left your lips as you frantically tried again only to meet the same fate.

"The password changed!" Yoongi's voice rang out, a moment too late. Your finger had already pressed the enter key, and a surge of electricity coursed through your body at the failed third attempt. An agonizing scream escaped your lips as you crumpled to the ground, back arching in pain, fingers twitching involuntarily.

As you lay there, vulnerable and writhing, Jimin's menacing face appeared above you, a Cheshire grin etched on his lips. The infuriating expression only fueled your desire to see him pay. Ari, wearing a mask of faux pity, also looked down at you, and in your agony, you found yourself pleading with her for assistance.

“Ari… I don’t care about the dark magic… I know you’re strong enough to beat it. Don’t do this.”

“Aw, she thinks you still care about her,” Jimin teased with a pout. He swung an arm around her shoulder, laughter echoing in the tense air. “Sorry, but your bestie is loyal to me. Thanks for getting me out of the cage, love.”

“Anything for you,” Ari replied, her lips now a dark black.

Electricity was nothing. You’d heal in a few minutes; you just had to stall for time.

“Why are you loyal to him? He doesn’t love you. He loves Jungkook.”

A flicker of vulnerability crossed Ari's face, a brief shift from the facade of evil to a moment of crestfallen realization. It’s possible to get through to her, you knew it.

“Do you really want to live your life as second best to this motherfucker?” you asked, not breaking eye contact with her. “He’s using you. He’s never loved you at all. This is madness!”

Jimin huffed and stomped down on your abdominals, crushing your ribs with a loud crack.

“Did I say you could fucking speak?” he spat, voice laced with venom. You laid there groaning and holding your stomach, the pain radiating through your body.

Just then, the cellar door swung open, revealing two unfamiliar figures who peered down at you. They bore the appearance of an elderly couple in their sixties, their gray hair and modest attire suggesting a quiet, unassuming life. Yet, the scent of your mother's perfume wafted into your nostrils.

Coincidence? Couldn’t be. Everything has been carefully calculated since the beginning. Who were these people?

“What the hell are you doing?” the old woman asked Jimin, hands on her hips in disapproval. “She’s down. Let’s just kill her.”

“Yeah, or else this would’ve been all for nothing. Where’s the White Oak Stake?” the old man pressed.

“Calm down, gramps. My lady here has it stashed in a safe place,” Jimin said, gesturing with the nod of his head at Ari. The old man placed his hand out palm up, demanding for the item.

“Well? Give it here.” Ari rolled her eyes in response. “Hey. Haven’t you learned how to respect your elders?”

“And haven’t you ever heard of hand cream you wrinkled piece of—”

“Watch your mouth!”

The old woman put her hand on her husband’s shoulder before things could escalate. “Now, now. We’re a team. Give the vampire some credit. I mean, having him compel his own professor to deceive his parents and gain the key to the armory was genius. We owe him our thanks for the stake.”

“That’ll teach them to cut me off,” Jimin said and they all erupted in laughter.

He was cut off? The blood bags… he drank the Jungs’ blood and then tricked me into doing the same. Fuck him!

You may not have been operating at 100% capacity, but you weren’t sticking around to find out what these people’s intentions were. Slowly, your hand delved into your pocket, fingers searching for anything of use. A smooth surface met your touch, and you pulled it out with a mix of hope and desperation.

Sunghyun’s amulet. You looted it from Jungkook earlier when he was unconscious. The thought raced through your mind—could it siphon the hybrid magic out of you and save you?

Ari, ever watchful, caught wind of your furtive actions. Before she could unleash her formidable powers and reduce you to nothingness, you unleashed a blinding burst of energy. The brilliance of the white blast momentarily blinded everyone in the room, providing you with the cover you needed to slip away.

"She's gone!" cried the old woman.

"Go get her!" barked the old man. Jimin's eyes narrowed in determination as he harnessed his supernatural speed to track you down. In the same instant, Ari's eyes transformed into pools of pitch black, racing at lightning speed to pinpoint your elusive whereabouts.

The bitter night air greeted you as you burst into the open, the moon casting an ethereal glow on the snow-covered landscape. Your surroundings blurred as you stumbled forward, guided only by the instinct to put as much distance as possible between yourself and the conspirators who sought your demise.

The frozen lake loomed ahead, its icy surface reflecting the silent chaos that unfolded around you. Your breaths came in ragged gasps as you approached the edge, the lake standing as both a barrier and a potential escape route.

As you hesitated on the brink, unsure of your next move, Jimin caught up, his eyes ablaze with determination. Sensing the urgency, he lunged at you, aiming to thwart your escape. In the ensuing struggle, the amulet slipped from your grasp and landed on the frozen lake, its glow momentarily illuminating the icy surface.

Before you could react, he seized you by the shoulders, his grip like vices on your flesh. He forced you to the ground with a ruthless strength that left you breathless.

"You're pitiful," Jimin hissed, his voice dripping with contempt. "Your existence is an aberration, an insult to the natural order."

You struggled against his hold, your eyes narrowing with defiance. "You won't break me, Jimin. I won't let you."

Jimin's lips curled into a cruel smile as he pressed you harder against the cold ground. "You think your defiance matters? You're a mistake, an anomaly. The world would be better off without you."

He leaned in, his face inches from yours, his eyes drilling into yours with a toxic mixture of hatred and twisted desire. "Jungkook chose you because of a bond that's not even real. Once I end you, he'll see the truth. You're nothing, [Y/N].”

Your breath caught in her throat as she felt the weight of his words. Jimin continued his verbal assault, each word a venomous arrow aimed at your core. "You cling to the illusion of love, a love built on a lie. I'll free Jungkook from this illusion. Free him from the burden of your existence."

Before you could respond, the world shifted. The ground gave way beneath you two, and in a sudden, chaotic descent, y’all tumbled into the icy abyss of the frozen lake. The air turned to a piercing chill, and the echoes of Jimin's menacing words faded into the murky depths.

The amulet plunged into the suffocating embrace of the water as well, its dim glow your only hope. You made a desperate attempt to swim towards it, reaching out in the hope of grasping salvation, but Jimin moved with unnatural swiftness. Underwater, he seized your neck and snapped it with a cold finality. He abandoned your unconscious form, lost in the icy currents, desperately searching for the surface.

Jimin wouldn’t have survived if not for Ari. She lifted him from the ice, water dripping from his sputtering form. He flashed her a bright smile and triumphantly shouted, “I killed her!”

“Temporarily. She’ll come back,” Ari responded calmly.

“I know, but it still felt good. Thanks for pulling me up.” Jimin expected to be set down on solid ground, but Ari defied his expectation, keeping him suspended in the air. “You can put me down now.”

Ari's gaze, however, remained unwavering. “Was [Y/N] telling the truth?”

Jimin scoffed. “What truth—about Jungkook? Sweetheart, you knew this already.”

Ari persisted, her tone cutting through the icy air. “Not him. About you not loving me… at all.”

Jimin's confident facade wavered, but he quickly masked it with a dismissive smirk. “That's ridiculous.”

“Do you love me?” she pressed, her voice steady but demanding an answer.

Jimin winced, the truth serum coursing through his veins amplifying the pain of his conflicted emotions. He tried to evade her question, his words stumbling over the raw honesty he couldn't suppress. "Ari, it's not that simple. You know my priorities—"

Ari's frustration erupted in a surge of magical energy, causing Jimin to flinch. "Answer the damn question.”

Jimin's gaze faltered, and he swallowed hard, the weight of the truth serum pushing him to the brink of revelation. "Ari, I... I care for you.”

Ari's expression hardened, a mixture of disappointment and anger etched across her features. "Care for me? Did you ever love me?”

He no longer could suppress the truth. “Not in the way you want me to.”

Ari's features tightened as the reality of his confession settled in. The revelation was a bitter pill, the taste of betrayal lingering in the cold air between them. She took a step back, her gaze now devoid of the vulnerability she had revealed moments before. "I see..."

The magical bonds that had kept Jimin suspended in the air wavered. With a swift motion, Ari withdrew her support, letting Jimin plummet back into the icy lake from which he had been rescued moments ago.

*Splash!*

“Perhaps you need some time to rethink your answer. I hope as the water fills your lungs until you suffocate and die over and over again will help you come to your senses. Now…”

Ari extended her hand over the frozen lake, fingers tracing a glowing pattern in the air. Chanting softly, she summoned magical currents that shimmered across the icy surface. With a decisive motion, she pointed her fingers downward.

A radiant stream of magic flowed towards the submerged you. The water yielded to Ari's spell, parting to reveal your unconscious form. Her magic cradled you, forming a protective cocoon that shielded you from the freezing depths.

As you emerged from the water, Ari delicately guided you to the surface.

“It’s time for you to meet your grandparents, bestie.”

I hope you enjoyed it!!! Leave me your theories/thoughts anytime. Thank you :)

#bts #bts fanfic #jungkook fic #jungkook x reader #jungkook series #bangtan #moonstruck #my scenarios

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