#};;her beloved king (hao)

[bridesoftheshamans]

Even near a week later, Nymphe was still in awe that she was actually free of her nightmare. That all but one of her tormentors were dead, and she could never be harmed by them again…all thanks to Lord Hao, a man that she hardly deserved. Powerful, intelligent, wise, and so devastatingly handsome that even after spending this much time with him, she could hardly believe her great fortune and Venus help her, he was so hot when he slaughtered vermin.

Yes, what they had was simply a beneficial arrangement—her salvation, for her loyalty and use of her to create a new Asakura bloodline properly devoted to their progenitor (unlike the current line…), but Nymphe hardly minded belonging to a god among men. Even if the full extent of her purpose among Lord Hao’s followers was to be mostly hidden, the witch was happier than she’d been in the entirety of her short life thus far.

The master had said that only his two most trusted followers would be privy to the truth, just as they were to all his truths—Luchist, his strongest follower, and Opacho, his most loyal and purest of heart (and effectively, his eldest child via adoption). He’d explained to Nymphe already, of not only Opacho’s origins, but that she had the same ability as he did; the ability to read minds, reishi.

While her expression gave away nothing of her nervousness, remaining tranquil as always…she was quite anxious, not wanting to make a bad first impression on the child. After all, she held such a high place in Lord Hao’s circle…she was the master’s own daughter!!

If she was to prove herself a worthy mother to his blood-related children, Opacho would be the ultimate test of that. Nymphe was doing all she could to quiet her thoughts; not only to stop the quite plausible headache she was giving Lord Hao as she silently followed him, but so she wouldn’t potentially give Opacho one.

When they finally arrived at their destination, she kept her gaze lowered respectfully as she stood behind the reincarnated shaman. Nymphe was quite the vision; with black hair that cascaded down to about her lower back, falling freely aside from two small buns at the top of her head. The girl’s skin was pale, her hands quite reminiscent of those depicted in renaissance paintings, her fingers long and delicate. Her nose was small, lips full, with rounded, rosy cheeks. She had on a dark blue dress, with long sleeves and skirt covering her up significantly (she’d still been quite bruised, and felt rather self-conscious about the yellowing blotches. It was a shame the dress didn’t hide the ones on her ankles, neck, and hands).

She didn’t utter a word, or look up from her folded hands; not until the master gave his permission for her to do so, at least. The witch heard Opacho before ever seeing the child; the most adorable little voice calling out to Lord Hao, the pitter-patter of tiny feet as the littlest shaman approached him. It wasn’t until he spoke, that deep purple eyes slowly ventured a glance behind thick, dark lashes.

"Well," He started, sweeping his hand from his poncho to guide Opacho's eyes toward Nymphe at his back. "This is the one I spoke about, she is mine, and no one may lay a finger on her," Hao explained, causing Nymphe’s cheeks to flush brighter momentarily and her heart to skip. It was reassuring to have it made irrefutably clear that she was not to be touched by anyone but him, it made her feel safe. The witch couldn’t see from her position, but Hao’s gaze lowered to look directly at Opacho as he spoke just to her, this time.

"Though you can be with her as long as you want, you know what's right and wrong."

Finally, Nymphe’s gaze landed on Opacho; while her expression gave nothing away aside from the color having faded, being entirely tranquil, her thoughts…?

‘So adorable…! She’s even more precious than I could have ever imagined…!’

@bxtonpxss (featuring a guest appearance from @cpirits as Hao, thanks so much for the bit Zero!!)

[sombredancer]

Enemies/Rivals to Lovers recipe

(with the mild version aka Pride and Prejudice and the tragic version aka Romeo and Juliet) Step 1: The main heroes are on the opposite sides of any scale (the grumpy one vs a cheerful one, a kind and stupid one vs a cunning and vile one, a demon vs a god, a master vs a servant, people of enemy states or absolutely different cultures etc.).

A cheerful and funny little bird demon-yao Qing Qing and a grumpy and stone-faced deity of Netherworld Xue Qianxun Step 2: They are forced to communicate with each other without a chance to avoid it (e.g. an arranged marriage, being trapped somewhere together, working as a mole in the enemy camp etc.).

Asura King Xuan Ye plays out damsel in distress to get undercover into Heavenly Realm and his future lover Ran Qing is the one who "rescues" him.

Step 3: One party get impressed by unique character features of other (e.g. the person is the only one who isn't terrified by other's scary reputation, the only one who treats other party well etc.).

Even kings and princes are in absolute terror seeing Gwi - an immortal all-powerful vampire, and only Hye Ryung hates him so much that dares to bicker, scold and deny him. Step 4: One of the parties takes the first step towards another and that melts another`s heart.

Even if Hou Ling Changjin hurt Princess Bao Zhu for her miraculous blood, she still cares for him and doesn`t hold a grudge.

"You are injured!"

Step 5: Here come mutual pining, UST and moral sufferings "what is more important: to fulfil the mission / to be accepted by the society / whatsoever or to love?"

Gong Shangjue doubts if he can indulge himself being gentle with the girl he likes if she is an assassin from the enemy clan.

Shangguan Qian adds Shangjue`s favorite flowers into her tea and thinks about her mission of taking him down.

Step 6: It`s time to confess the feelings.

Leader of a diabolic sect Li Chenlan comes to save his beloved who hated him and tried to kill him and promises her to be her sword and shield. So romantic!

Step 7: The parties try to solve the problem that keeps them apart. If the problem is internal (it has something to do with beliefs and prejudice of a person), here it will be solved and «happily ever after» begins.

Despite of his low social status Hao Du ventures to participate in the competition, wins the right to marry the princess (who he is in love with) and dares to be honest explaining that he did it not only in order to save her from a Barbarian prince but because he truly wants to be with her. Step 8: If the problem is external (there is a large-scale conflict and the parties are just some insignificant participants of it), one of the parties sacrifices themselves to solve the problem.

Before saving the world by the cost of his life Demon God Tantai Jin engraves his name on his own tombstone placed next to his beloved wife's one, so in the future she could mourn him in a suitable place.

Step 9: In a satisfying story there is a magical reward of party's brave deed, which is a happy end.

Demon Lord Dongfang Qingcang sacrificed himself in order to save the girl he loved and died but his girlfriend (who happens to be a Goddess with abilities to resurrect the dead) nurtured a piece of his primordial spirit for 500 years and brought him back to life. Side note: If you want to add some chili pepper into your story, you can break this scheme any step from Step 4 on: pining could be one-sided, UST could never ever be resolved, characters could prefer their goals to love or maybe death or other circumstances would do them apart against their will.

The Wolf and Ma Zhaixing finally got together but the cruel world couldn`t allow it to last anytime long.

Bon Appétit! Your Enemies to Lovers story is well-baked!

Also you can see: Asian dramas and Love tropes Asian dramas and my favorite types of characters Asian dramas and relationship dynamics (Pt. 1) Asian dramas and relationship dynamics (Pt. 2)

[2yuu]

are u playing millie miwwie mils !!!! 11 + 13 + 19 for svt ???

i am my megmeg !!!!!!!!!!!

11. what do you love about them

they have soonyoung at this point they're like..............a safe space in a way ?? like ive got a number of groups that feel like home, some in different ways than others, but like even amidst those groups, svt are like. special . u know . but weird feelings aside, they're artists and performers like. they . they Are. and at such a high level . gesturing wildly . idk how to say anything that makes sense in response to this question they're just so

13. best friend who !!!!!!

u may or may not have known but ive been catching up on gose after 2389729 years recently (like. a month ago maybe) and. the shocking (? or not) conclusion that i came to was that i would love to be besties w jeonghan. idk how to elaborate it's just a feeling it's a vibe u know . . . top 3 picks jeonghan / joshua / hao, but w hao it's like. it either works n we're the bestest of friends or i'm completely wrong n we aren't even close to becoming acquaintances. u know . (when w the other 2 there's like . more options. more leeway . idk) . feel free to leave your input down below if u disagree tho

19. favourite choreo

this is the hardest question ever why do u hate me meg i thought we were friends..... i legally have to say thanks because everything about her means the world to me, so, choreo included. but like all of svt choreos and i mean ALL of them are AT LEAST a tier. most of them are s/s+ tier but like even those that aren't r in a tier. u know. they excel at choreos theyre perfomers theyre artists kings of concepts (in a v specific way like. i feel like . in a different way from idk. say. vixx maybe) . thanks & ready to love & rock with you & home;run & pretty u & anyone & dwc come to mind first but like . thats not necessarily to say that i like the other ones less . at all . oh also no f.u.n beloved...n fear......

[shijiujun]

hey so uh, it's 110% Not Your Job, but can i ask for like a crash course on these chinese bl series that are everywhere around me but i don't know them. like i'm familiar with the untamed or however many names it has but i'm seeing two or three more???? help please if you can thank you

hello!! oh no worries, i happened to be looking for a distraction too so this was timely hahaha although it’s a pretty broad question since there are so many new live adaptations coming out (and some which have already come out which are featured as bromances), but let me see if I can like round this up for you a little. 

*i may be giving you a bit more than you need or like irrelevant stuff, but i guess i’m bound to hit something hahaha

Okay so the chinese BL series you’re talking about is The Untamed, and since you said you’re familiar I won’t get into it in detail, BUT just for like flow’s sake:

The Untamed (Chen Qing Ling) is based on the danmei (BL) novel written by MXTX, called Mo Dao Zu Shi (and yes however many like English translations to this title there is), or MDZS for short. You watched the live-action, and there’s like a lot of other versions of it e.g. the anime, the chibi anime, audio dramas etc. etc. the list goes on. In case you still haven’t seen any of those, just glance through this masterpost made by @the-social-recluse​ - In any case, right now everything is sort of already out EXCEPT:

MDZSQ - chibi donghua, cutest shit you’ll ever see

More MDZS merch 

Some teasers from MDZS mobile game which has been one year and developing

Now moving on to other BL series floating around so frequently - MDZS is the second book that MXTX wrote. So there’s SVSSS (The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving-System), which is also called lovingly by others in the fandom by Scumbag System/Villain in short, this is MXTX’s first danmei novel. Right now if you’ve seen this on Tumblr, it’s the anime (donghua) version - 10 episodes only for Season 1, available on WeTV with subs, finished airing like a few weeks ago. Translations of the novel are definitely out in full somewhere.

An absolute mess, but an organized one

Tried to do a manhua but failed

Everyone thought the donghua wouldn’t air on time either (it has a history of dropping development halfway) but it did

Would probably be the most entertaining if ever dealt with a live-action

And then there’s arguably, the most beloved child out of all three novels (at least right this moment) - TGCF (Tian Guan Ci Fu, or Heaven Official’s Blessing). This is the third and so far last (???) danmei novel MXTX has written, main pairing invented love. Strawhat-wearing scrap collector smiley angel with devoted kid-turned-adult-turned-ghost-king who follows smiley angel for like many years because he loves him. Anyway, if you’re seeing this, once again on Tumblr a lot, it’s the donghua version you’re seeing. Still airing, I think we’re midway through the whole season, the yelling starts Saturday (Asia time zone) and then extends into Sunday, sometimes Monday.

There’s like a god-tier Eng translation in full for TGCF by Suika

There is a manhua for this as well, only like 45 chapters in, but the time Jan/Feb 2021 rolls around, the donghua would have overtaken the manhua progress on the storyline HAHAHA

Apparently the director/production team who did CQL/The Untamed managed to get the rights to filming its live-action, but heh nothing much about that just yet aside from casting rumours and fans worrying that the casting will be done wrongly and also that they won’t be able to do justice to the story.

Alright now that we’ve more or less cleared MXTX and what everyone is hyping over (for good reason), let’s move on to the other CHINESE BL stuff you could be seeing (although I feel like you might not actually be asking about this), and these will all be live-actions (I’m also only clearing SOME of this year’s stuff, so none from before 2020, don’t ask me why I didn’t leave Guardian or SCI up here):

✨✨✨ Already aired, done and dusted or maybe ongoing, just ones I see on my dash and notifs so I definitely am biased ✨✨✨

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty (Cheng Hua’s Fourteenth Year) - Many episodes, much bromance, base novel is gay af, but live action is cute af. Read more here and full translation is not yet done I think

My Roommate is a Detective - THIS IS A SPECIAL MENTION. NOT BL. Doesn’t even have like a book to go along with it, it’s just I’ve seen people getting into this again and creating content, so idk, imma just leave this here. It ain’t BL but it got the most glaring BL-esque relationship I’ve ever seen in my life. You’ll get what I mean if you watch it

The Lost Tomb Reboot - AGAIN another special mention, because many handsome young-ish men who you know, head into tombs, much bromance. Based on a huge series of novels, totally not BL, but as always with like a lot of men put into one story, ships happen. This year as well, in case you’ve seen it floating around

✨✨✨  Upcoming Chinese BL live-action adaptations, confirmed + casting + filming. You may have seen some of these because like posters were recently released etc. - As far as I know these are all slated for 2021 ✨✨✨

Faraway Wanderers (Tian Ya Ke) - A danmei novel by Priest, filming wrapped up, should be airing soon. Leads are pretty cute, although I’m sure they’ll turn this bromance. One of the male leads is known for a lot of period web dramas, and Gong Jun, the other male lead, is known for more contemporary modern dramas, but damn Gong Jun’s jawline

Winner is King (Sha Po Lang) - Another danmei novel by Priest, filming wrapped up recently as well if I recall? Posters recently released, and this is arguably Priest’s most famous and popular danmei

Immortality (Hao Yi Xing) - A super popular danmei novel called 2ha or The White Husky and His White Cat Shizun by Meat Bun. Filming also... wrapped? I think, because posters came out the next day and everyone from Earth to Pluto went mad, definitely one you should look out for next year spring i think, but I’m pretty sure there’s gonna be a hell lot more teasers, posters etc. coming up and then half of danmei Tumblr will probably go into cardiac arrest

The Society of Four Leaves (Zhang Gong An) - Ehhhh I think this hasn’t yet been filmed but casting was recently confirmed (contentiously).  Concept posters are up though. This technically isn’t classified officially as a BL. There are no CPs officially in the novel, but apparently it’s very like idk flirty etc., also slated for next year

*There are a few more by Priest, e.g. Liu Yao, but no concrete news that I’ve seen (by now like at least 60% of her danmeis either have a live-action contract or a donghua contract or both lmao)

✨✨✨  Upcoming Chinese BL donghua adaptations (2021-ish). All by Priest✨✨✨

*Throwing this in just as a by the way thing, because these are also recent news (these two weeks). There might be more but I haven’t seen anything yet personally :D

Imperfection (Can Ci PIn) - Space AU, the novel won like two national literary awards if I recall like last year? Anyway a brief trailer recently came out last week I think, and main lead is handsome af, and once again it’s space and space wars so it’s pretty cool

Silent Reading (Mo Du Zhe) - Novel is called Mo Du, and honestly I think the donghua has been like teasing fans for like idk years, but it looks like we’re finally getting to the donghua as the team previewed the first ep like... two weeks ago live to an audience? Modern crime thriller thing, there’s a masterpost going on Tumblr

Lie Huo Jiao Chou - Another Priest fan favourite, a historical + modern danmei combination. Much angst from what I’ve seen, but donghua teaser looked good also, released also last week

---

anyway hopefully some part of this or at least one part answers your question? if not, just send me another ask or like, DM me hahahaha

[yume-tsuki]

Shaman King Elemental  Mikihisa Asakura After some thinking who I’ll publish today I decidet for Mikihisa Asakura, (Look at him smirking because he will be shown today,) Like with Jao, he is the main chara....so a lot of text  

Miki’s childhood -Yoh and Anna came back to their home in Funbari Spa when Anna noticed she is pregnant again. First Hana is happy, he is six here like in the Manga. But later he start to hate Mikihisa from the bottom of his heart. -When Anna was in labor she got kidnapped by a group of gangster, they don’t know why but shout get on the child for some reason. In labor because this was the only moment Anna was weak. They tricked Yo  btw. -Then when they got the baby they should bring it to their boss but Yoh,  Ryu and Anna got them on a roadhouse. -also the spirit of Mikihisa, Yoh’s father was with the baby who screamed, trying to get him calm. When all of them faced each other and baby Mikihisa screamed, Yoh was furios and wanted to kill the man, but his father tried to tell them to stop. He said that Yoh’s second born will have powers to kill all of them in a second, and now in a state of full frightend he would use it to self protect even against his own father. -The man run away and Anna got the kid calm Mikihisa explained a prophesy that Mikihisa is part of. He will grow up to the elemental warrior of Water and that he probably will learn to use this power one day but in a few situation he could probably use it right now without thinking. -To thank his father who now got to heaven Mikihisa was called after him. -The first years Hana often tried to get rid of him, even tried to kill him.  One time they were on holiday at the beach, Miki who trusts and adores Hana followed him to a vacant house at a cliff. He let him play hide and seek, then he set it on fire. Yoh noticed but Miki who was in a cabinet got safed by a water spirit who brought him into a under water cave.- Yoh entered the cave and was happy that his son was fine. -after this Miki became depressed and scared of Fire, the scars on his chest and his face are from 1 bear claw of his fathers neglace by attacking himself in his nightmares. -Yoh then brought him to his old trainings place from the time as a child. He told Miki that he would be able to control the Water so he must never fear the fire.It took quite a while to get the stubborn scared kid to believe his powers but he found it. Also the spirit from before, a swandragon named Toyo tama a god of the see. -Toyotama:  Toyotama is based on the Pokemon Lugia, you see when I first designed them 14 years ago the elemental warriors got Pokemon as spirits. And as one of my fave he got Lugia, Toyotama’s name herself is based on the creature Lugia is based of, or more his daughter. She is the elemental spirit of Water and feels enamored to Miki, like all elemental spirits because there souls are connected. -Her home and Miki’s first Oversoul is the Okarina shell(also based on the Pokemon movie) - He is able to play it. As kids he and his friends communicate with to know the next attacking move. -later he and Hana became friends. -Miki’s present -Current Miki is 16 right now,(I finaly found my notes again >3> ) He is in school and wishes for a more interesting live. -That’s when a letter came in, he opens it and got the note to come to Egypt, we need you for help to solve a puzzle! We get you a strong spirit if you come. -He then traveled to the place in Egypt, meeting Jao for the first time and also the other Elemental Warrior, to his surprise the daughter of Horohoro  and Tamao is one of them too. .- To my Elemental Warrior themselves, I created them along before I knew that  Yoh and the boys were elemental warrior too.I only knew the tv show back then. Also which chara got which power I decided back then when I was 12-14 -Jao then explains them the plan of finding 7 slab-lined, they would find them at the place they found their elemental spirits. He tells them that a evil spirit awoke who take the last spirit seeing persons this power and force all humans to live in a world where he is the leader and god himself. -Thrilled from the speech Mikihisa  wants to do so. But at the same time he hates that feeling, he is like the water, calm on one hand and wild on the other. -He and Pirka(Horo’s daughter) travel back with their ghosts, Jao’s first task to train them. They fly with Toyo over the Nil(the big river….) when they decide to take a swim. Toyo was so happy that she noticed to late the crocodiles who attacked them, crushing Mikihsa’s left arm. -PIrka brought him to a hospital while Hao met with Mikihisa in his half death state. He told him to trust Jao. -Later on there travel they start to fell for each other but short after this it was forgotten. Together with their friends they find the stones, and fighting the enemies army for the first time. -Then they should wait at home. Suddenly a girl appeared named Rika, also one of the Elemental Warriors and Mikihisa’s fionce. They both love each other from the first moment. -Then he and his friends went to Jao’s base in the middle of America to train and get on Missions -He got  the promised spirit  but they are not finaly able to use them jet. -Then he arrives on the battle field were Rika had killed Pirka, his heart filled with hatred he forced her to battle. A battle of pure elemental power, not only that the rain and thounder of the whole earth get out of control also the power to control them inside their bodies. - Rika run away and Mikihisa was broken seeing his childhood friend death in his arms. -Together with Jao they brought her to the Patch village  to operate her. - When suddenly the army of 12 man appeard and destroyed the whole village stealing their souls and spirits. Only a baby survived. -Then they start to feel for each other again but more slowly. -somewhere in this time he propose to Pirka and he fought the enemies again together with Hana. -Also the firs time they  encounter the enemies they lost because of Mikihisa’s rampage when he saw Rika. It was also his fault when some of their group got attacked and Jao was killed. -When later Rika came back he first was angry and still full of hatred even when she knew about a secret why the enemies started to attack the old elemental warrior. -They found out that the  Elemental Spirits, The warriors and their  ghosts where ones in the past of 8000 years one person and an animal spirit. To get their power they had to become one with the elementals. Miki himself got the spirit of Water. He entered the ghost realm to met SoW  when it broke together and showed a man in his 30’s who looked like him but with a beared and northern Europe cloth. -He said that he was ones the first Water elemental warrior and that Mikihisa should trust his heart even when it was like a raging water or a calm lake. - To full synchronicity with the last spirit then the spirit of Rah they enter hell, like their fathers did. - He finaly could accept that he loves both, even when he can’t love Rika he ones loved her and he is fine as comerade to him, and he loves PIrka from the bottom of his heart and can’t wait for their future, also their adopted Patcheen son Kohaku. -Together with the others they fight at the great spirit to protect Hao. First they loose against  Tabris power to negate. In this  he negates a moment a spirit protected his life. So the moment he was in that cabinet he died from shock and drowned. – He started to disappear when their spirits rescued them. -With new power and the knowledge of the inner elemental bond he fetters the blood  and soul to communicate with the dark spirit, of Tabris. -later Jao safes him when he became the water itself. -years later, he now had married Pirka they own the Funbari Spa letting it get more modern, PIrka and her brother working their and often make singing shows for the people. Both of them love to entertain and sing like their mother, they’re pretty talented. -Their own son is named Yoyuki. A boy who got into a bad accident loosing the power of full control of his leg and needs a lot of time to get up again. -Their other son Kohaku got a fiancé named Lily a orphaned girl who learnes to be a Itako by Anna, later when she is 10 Anna gave letters from their mother to Mikihisa telling him she is his and Rika’s daughter. She couldn’t take care of her anymore because she felt so bad she couldn’t be a good mother for her. She tells them that she couldn’T look into her eyes because she reminds them on his.  But in real Lily got the  eyes of her grandfather Tabris. The elemental warriors have the same eye color as their element. When they loose their power after the fight the eyes got their natural color again. -Mikihisa then had to find her apologizing to her and telling her to come back seeing their daughter. -He finds her in an American town as a singer, but before they can talk he got shoot by a gun accidently at night. Rika who saw it run to him praying that he survived but he had died. -He got rescued from Rika using the electric power of her spirit Raju but she died instead. -Mikihsa then brought her back saying that she was his beloved friend and that he always would take care of their daughter who still doesn’t know who her parents are. And to let Rika’s last wish become true. …Anna, let my daughter became an Asakura please. This is my last wish and my last letter I want her to have a family… other infos -he loves Burgers, playing online games with his friends and music. -like the most teenager he hates his father- something he and Hana have alike -he never hated his brother -he got different tattoos who shows the groups he is into the blue Asakura crest as Water elemental warrior, the white stripes as patcheen and the anch as sign for his last spirit Ra. -he wears green headphones and one bear claw of his father on his ear, also together with one more earring. -He took Harusame what is his  second  O.S. Strength 7/10 Elemental use/power 6/10 Stamina 7/10 Technique 7/10 Intelligence 6/10 Speed 6/10 Spirit Control 10/10 Healing Ability 9/10 Comunication/Team power 10/10 Miki’s biggest weakness is his feelings. He ones said he is like flotsam who swims through water one moment he is calm but when everyone is excited he get’s excited too. He realy hates this about himself. He has healing abilities but isn’t using them so often.

[ellayuki]

12.06.20

Shaman King  /  Asakura Yoh POV  /  Yoh/Anna  

In light of the new anime announcement!

~

midnight fears (silly what ifs that tear at my heart)

~

He wonders, once, deep at night when sleep eludes him, slipping through his fingers like water. Anna sleeps next to him, peaceful, quiet, and he stares helplessly, wonderingly, at her beloved face bathed in moonlight.

Yes, he wonders.

This life now, with this beautiful, scary, yet amazing woman… would he have had this life? Had things been different?

Had his… his brother not remembered his past life, had they just grown up together, twins in the Asakura household, with the only burdens on their shoulders the wandering ghosts of the world that needed laying to rest, and providing a new generation for their bloodline, for their house… would he still be here, now? Laying like this, with Anna close enough to touch?

Or would…

He sighs, presses his face into his pillow. Tries to sweep away the hot, twisty, pointless feeling in his chest. Stupid, being jealous over something that never even happened…

But, he can't help it, because he knows, as the second son, he probably wouldn't have had this. His grandmother wouldn't have arranged this marriage for him. Anna would have been Hao's bride… She wouldn't have been...

"You really are being stupid, so late ar night," comes a soft reproach, cutting through his spiralling thoughts.

Yoh yelps, a shiver of dread trickling down his spine. Well, shit. "I'm sorry, Anna," he says, a whisper, trying for entreating. "Did I wake you?"

Anna snorts, shifting to face him more properly, but the scowl on her face is light, for once, barely there. "You're being loud," she says bluntly, and Yoh scrambles, trying to figure out if any of his sleep deprived musings have slipped passed his lips and into the night air between them.

At Anna's put-upon sigh, he realizes what she means. "Did you read my mind?" he asks, although he knows she wouldn't, unless she felt she had to. She's so much better at filtering out the world's voices now.

"I didn't have to," she says, and reaches a hand over to flick at his forehead. (Surprisingly, it doesn't hurt.) "Like I said, you were being loud. So loud, you were projecting."

Shame crawls up Yoh's throat at that. Shame and embarrassment. Crap. "Sorry, Anna," he apologizes, shoving his burning face into his pillow again, and only looking at her from the corner of one eye. He's so embarrassed. "I couldn't sleep. My mind ran away from me. I really didn't mean to wake you."

"Mn," is all she says for a while. She just looks at him, her light hair almost glowing in the gentle light coming in through the window. Honestly, he got so lucky, how did he get so lucky?

She flicks his forehead again, and then turns her back to him, nestling close as she does. Yoh reaches out and takes her in his arms, hugs her as close as she'll allow him. "I wouldn't have been," she says after a stretch of silence. It sounds like a confession. Yoh's breath freezes in his lungs. "Hao's bride," she adds, as though making sure he understands. "I wouldn't have been. This is where I would have been. Here."

And Yoh… Well, Yoh can do nothing but nod silently in the face of her confidence, of the certainty in her voice, face pressed lightly into her hair, and hug her a bit tighter. Maybe she's right. Maybe...

His family most likely wouldn't have allowed it, sure, but…

He closes his eyes, breathes her in.

Against all odds, maybe, yes... 

[satoshi-mochida]

Koei Tecmo has released new information, screenshots, and a developer diary for Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV introducing retainer proposals, foreign tribes, a new set of confirmed playable officers, character traits, and scenarios.

Here are the details, via the game’s official website:

■ Domestic System

Proposals by Retainers

Retainer officers will propose a variety of commands, from tactics to banquets, to the rulers (players) based on their characters and depending on what they see on the battlefield. These proposals happen each turn. Taking into account the officers’ opinions, deciding which proposal to execute becomes an important administrative task.

—Officers with the Wise character will make Proposals more often, making them important assets to a Force.

■ One Single Map

Foreign Tribes

When public order drops, in addition to bandits, foreign tribes will appear and cause trouble. The tribes are the Wuhuan, Xianbei, Qiang, Shanyue, and Nanman tribes. Areas these tribal units pass through will become empty areas and the player will lose control of that area. Players must quickly deal with these units or lose more land.

In addition to deploying troops to deal with these tribes, another option to deal with tribes is the “character” (traits) of officers, which can prevent certain tribes from appearing in areas to begin with. If the “character” is the same as the opposing tribe, the tribe will become an ally and may appear in an enemy’s territory for good effect.

—Areas foreign tribal units pass through will become lost to players who had control of that area. To minimize losses, strategize on how to stop them.

—With the Qiang character, not only will Qiang tribal units not appear, but they can appear in an enemy’s territory for good effect.

■ Officers

Zhang Liao

Officer of Wei. Fought throughout the land under Lu Bu, and served Cao Cao after Lu Bu’s death. In defense of Hefei, held off a Wu army of 100,000 with only 800 men of his own.

Gan Ning

Officer of Wu. Originally a member of the Bright Sails pirates. Discontent when serving under Huang Zu, was recruited to Sun Quan’s forces by Su Fei. Earned Sun Quan’s trust for his service against Huang Zu and against Cao Cao at Chibi.

Zhao Yun

Officer of Shu. Submitted to Liu Bei after serving Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan. At Changban, cut his way into an enormous army to find and rescue Liu Bei’s son, Liu Shan. One of the Five Tiger Generals of Shu.

Jiang Wei

Officer of Shu. Originally served Wei but surrendered to Shu during the first northern campaign. Entrusted with the strategies of the dying Zhuge Liang. Attacked the north nine times until Shu’s strength was completely used up.

Jia Xu

Minister of Wei. Served Li Jue but felt neglected and joined Zhang Xiu. Brilliant strategist who defeated Cao Cao’s army numerous times, but later submitted to Cao Cao along with Zhang Xiu. Grand commander of Wei.

Da Qiao

Daughter of Qiao Xuan, wife of Sun Ce of the Wu Kingdom. Together with her younger sister, Xiao Qiao, they were known as two of the land’s greatest beauties and were referred to as the “Two Qiaos.” It is said that their beauty shone brighter than any moon or star and put the most beautiful flower to shame.

Xiao Qiao

The daughter of Qiao Xuan. She later married Zhou Yu of Wu. Together with her older sister, Da Qiao, they were referred to as the “Two Qiaos.” Upon hearing a rumor spread by Zhuge Liang that Cao Cao was after the Qiao sisters, Zhou Yu persuaded Sun Quan to declare war, ultimately leading Wu into the Battle of Chibi.

Sun Shangxiang

The daughter of Sun Jian, she was also the younger sister of both Sun Ce and Sun Quan. A tomboy, she took interest in the martial arts from a young age. When she later became Liu Bei’s wife, it is said that her ladies-in-waiting were constantly outside her room, dressed in full armor.

Bu Lianshi

Sun Quan’s wife. Mother of Sun Luyu and Sun Luban. Sun Quan instantly fell for her beauty, leading the two to marry. Because of her modesty and lack of envy led to the long life of her relationship with Sun Quan, leading her to be known as the most beloved woman of the courts. Was only able to become an official empress after her death.

Liu Shan

Weak-willed second emperor of Shu. Indulged only in pleasure in his later years, and favored the eunuch Huang Hao. Solely responsible for the downfall of Shu, his childhood name later became a synonym for “fool.”

Li Ru

Adviser and son-in-law of Dong Zhuo. The source of many of Dong Zhuo’s corrupt policies. Saw through the plot to use Diao Chan to assassinate Dong Zhuo, but did not act to prevent it and was executed afterward along with the other conspirators.

Chen Gong

Overseer of Zhang Mou in late Han. Accompanied Cao Cao after Cao Cao failed to assassinate Dong Zhou, but left him after witnessing his heartlessness. Later served as adviser under Lu Bu, but was captured and requested the death penalty.

Zhu Rong

Wife of Nanman King Meng Huo. Said to be descended from the god of fire. A strong warrior who excelled at using the flying swords. Captured both Zhang Yi and Ma Zhong alive, but was later captured herself by Wei Yan and Ma Dai.

■ Character Traits

Each officer is given a “character,” with some being useful in battle, some in administration and so on. There are over 150 of these characters, and some officers possess their own unique characters, such as Swift which increases speed when retreating, and Brave General which keeps that officer from being affected even if surrounded on the battlefield. However, there are also some characters that can be considered negative traits, such as not being able to set certain commands, or being easily provoked. To create favorable conditions in battle, it is important to devise strategies that make the best use of the characters of the rulers and retainer officers.

—Liu Bei’s unique character is Swift. Mobility is increased when retreating, and not effected by ZOC.

—Guan Yu’s unique character is Divine General. The assault and defense of allied troops in a specific range are increased.

—Zhang Fei’s unique character is Brave General. His unit is kept from being affected when surrounded on the battlefield.

Same Officer “Characters” and Effects

-Wicked

All stats of units of your force, except for ships and siege weapons, within a specific range from your unit are increased. (Intrinsic)

-Soaring General

ZOC is ignored for all terrains other than large rivers, and morale is less likely to decrease. (Intrinsic)

-Brave Leader

Siege ability of units of your force, except for ships and siege weapons, within a specific range from your unit is increased. (Positive)

-Disciplined

Your unit cannot be inflicted by the status ailment “disorder”. (Positive)

-Overseer

When over a prefecture, all stats of your unit are increased. (Positive)

-Water Warlord

Warlord All stats of your unit are increased on large rivers. (Positive)

-Famous

When assigned as an area overseer, land conquered is increased, and ransom amounts when taken prisoner are increased. (Positive)

-Reckless

In the Command Settings, “Ignore” cannot be selected for On enemy approach, and “Approve” cannot be selected for Auto Retreat. (Negative)

-Greedy

Your stipend is increased. (Negative)

-Notorious

The amount of troops required for your unit to expand its range of conquer is increased. (Negative)

Specialties

By gifting “Specialties” to retainer officers, they can raise officer attributes or provide special effects. They can be used to raise retainer loyalty, so strategizing is required to determine what specialty to give to which officer, and if it should be used to raise personal abilities or used as a tool for governing.

—Mengde’s War Manual: a strategy book written by Cao Cao.

—Red Hare: said to be capable of running over 400 kilometers in one day.

—Blue Dragon: a great polearm favored by Guan Yu.

■ Scenarios

There are a total of seven scenarios, including the Yellow Turban Rebellion (February 184), the chaotic war that signaled the opening of the times, and Chu Shi Biao (February 227), the beginning of Zhuge Liang’s northern campaign. Players will be immersed in the game in these events that weave through the Three Kingdoms story. Strategically select from the wealth of colorful and appealing forces and warlords for each period, and aim to unite China.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms XIV is due out for PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam on January 16, 2020 in Japan and February 28 in North America and Europe.

Watch the developer diary below. View the screenshots at the gallery.

[tinywriter2018]

Chapter Three 

Xiao Nai held the door open for Weiwei. They had arrived in a border town, trying to find a place to stay the night, their horses were already taken care at the local stables.  Weiwei walked over to the counter, looking at the older woman.  She gave her brightest weary smile, hoping they weren’t going to find it full.  

“We need a room for the night.”  The woman eyed, her and the four gentlemen standing just behind.  

“I’m sorry, we don’t have any-”  Xiao Nai stepped forward, reading the situation as it looked to the woman.  His arm wrapped around Weiwei’s shoulders, bring her close to him.  He grasped her other hand in his, smiling at the woman.    

“Please, my wife and I have been traveling for two days.  I hired these men as our bodyguards to take us safely home to Shanghai.  You see, my wife is with our first child, and I’ve been very worried about her safety since hearing the news.”  The elder woman nodded her expressioning changing.

“I’m sorry, we’ve had issues in the past with women and their Customers.”  Weiwei’s cheeks grew red, looking at the others.  Before she could say anything, Xiao Nai, kissed the top of her head.  His eyes glancing at the three trying to keep their composer.  She held her smile in place hoping to not give this woman anymore to accuse her of something.  Her one hand resting on her stomach.      

“My wife is only for me.”  Weiwei pinched his side, once the woman had turned her back, glaring at him.  Before the three could burst into laughter and ruin their fake cover, Weiwei shot them a look, that had them standing up straight and their laughter disappearing.   

Once they were inside the room, Weiwei didn’t say anything but went straight to the only bed.  Xiao Nai offered to take the first watch, while everyone got comfortable in chairs or blankets.  Weiwei shot him one last glare before sliding the blanket up over her head.  Xiao Nai smiled, his eyes glancing outside the window.  

A few hours later, Weiwei awoke to the room glowing in moonlight and the dying embers of the fire. Hao Mei was asleep next to the mantel, Qiu Younghou’s head rested against the table near a empty bottle of rum, and Yu Banshan was sleeping on a chair, his hat over his eyes.  They all looked peaceful, even if they seemed to be sleeping uncomfortably.  Glancing at Xiao Nai, she never thought she had seen someone as handsome as he.  The moonlight highlighted his features, she wondered if this is what painters see when they paint people they find beautiful.  He turned his head to meet her eyes, holding them for a few seconds before glancing one more time out the window.  He walked over, each step seeming to make her heart race, his eyes staying connecting with hers.  His weight shifted the bed, causing her to lean towards him.  They both remained quiet, him waiting patiently for her to speak.    

“Why did you ask me to come?”  She whispered, trying to avoid waking the others.  Xiao Nai gave a small smile before moving a piece of her hair out of her face.  His thumb brushing against her cheek.

“Because you have spirit.”  He smiled, her hand coming to touch his.  “Because I’m no fool.”  She went to speak, but Yu Banshan, shot up in his chair, pulling Xiao Nai away from her.  She  turned her back, distancing herself from him.  

“Is it my turn?” She heard Yu Banshan ask.  Xiao Nai stood up from the bed, stealing a pillow that was next to her, and lying to rest on the floor beneath.  Yu Banshan, took his place at the window, sitting in the chair and glancing outside.  Weiwei fell back to sleep, still feeling his touch on her skin.  

The next morning they had arrived in the next town over.  The musketeers followed the commotion to find Cao Guang preaching once more of the Queen and how he was being chased by the dogs of the King.  Before any of them could make a move, Weiwei stopped them.  

“I have a plan.  I’ll distract him, you grab him.”  

“That’s not a plan!” Hao Mei objected.

“It’s barely a thought.”  Qiu Younghou put out, but before anyone could come up with a plan b, she slipped away from them, and entered the circle that the crowd had formed pulling Cao Guang’s attention to her.  Removing her hood, she glared at him, when his registered who she was, he honestly looked shocked to see her so far away from their home.

“Cao Guang, even in other towns you still sprew hate against our beloved queen.”  One of his bodyguards came up and grabbed her around the shoulders.  The crowd gasp, when a knife was pulled against her throat.

“You see my good people! The dogs of the queen have turned one of my closests friends against me!”  

“Liar!  You did so when you pulled a gun on me!”  Weiwei yelled back distracting him, ignoring the knife.  She felt the blade cut into her skin, but tried to keep Cao Guang on her.  “As a loyal subject of their Rule, I trust in our King and Queen.”   He made a move to walk off his podium, his face contorted with anger.  Before he could get any closer Yu Banshan had a gun on the back of his neck.  

“Move and you die.”  He smirked at him.  

“Kill me and she dies.”  

“Look again.”  Yu Banshan nodded to Weiwei.  Xiao Nai had a gun to the man’s head, while his other bodyguards were kneeling on the ground with swords at their throats courtesy of Hao Mei and Qiu Younghou.  “You should have brought more men with you, but you probably didn’t want to pay for them.”  Xiao Nai pressed the barrel deeper against his neck.  

“Drop the knife.”  He dropped it, allowing Weiwei to move away from him, her hand covering the small scratch she got from the knife.  Cao Guang fell to his knees allowing the Musketeers to tie him up, ending the chase.  Xiao Nai walked over to Weiwei, tilting her chin up to look at the scratch.  

“It’s not bad.”  She tried to reason with him.  Yu Banshan brought Cao Guang over, tied up, while the crowd around them began to move about their daily lives.  

“Take the men to the local constable, tell them they can be released with no chargers in four days.  Gives us plenty of time to make it home without interference.”  Xiao Nai pulled out a cloth, wrapping it around her neck, his fingers brushing against her pulse.  

“I always knew you were nothing but a -”  Before Cao Guang could finish his insult towards her, Xiao Nai punched him.  He glared up at the Musketeer, while he simpled forced him to look up at him.

“That’s no way to speak to a lady.  If you have anything else to say, it will not be about Lady Zhen, do you understand me?”   

“I will get you for this dog.”  Xiao Nai smirked, his eyebrow quirking up, while he turned his attention back to Weiwei.  

“Get in the back of the line.” 

“The King will listen to what I have to say!”  Cao Guang yelled for the millionth time.  

“Yes, yes, you will have your time in front of the king, now please, shut up!”  Qiu Younghou had had it with him.  He couldn't fathom listening to him anymore.  

“Can you, take this one to the barracks, while I set up Mrs. Zhen?”  Weiwei gripped the saddle feeling Xiao Nai’s voice echo through her.  

“I can’t promise you he won’t have a couple of bruises but I can promise you he will be alive.”  Yu Banshan, stirred his horse to the barracks, with Qiu Younghou following behind him.  Xiao Nai slide off the horse he shared with Weiwei, before helping her down.  With the lack of horses, she chose to ride him for the past four days.  Hao Mei walked over, grabbing the reins from Xiao Nai.  

“Mrs. Zhen I hope you love Shanghai as much as we do.  It’s a wonderful city as long as you know where to go.”  

“Thank you Hao Mei.  I hope to see you soon.” Weiwei turned to Xiao Nai who began to walk her to a building just across from their barracks.  

“I wrote to her a little after we set off to find Cao Guang, she already knows your coming.” He opened the door to the seamstress shop, and an elderly woman came out.  

“Mrs. Hao, this is the woman I was talking to you about.”  The woman smiled, taking Weiwei’s hand in hers, looking at them.  

“She has the hands of a seamstress.  You have good eyes Xiao Nai.  The room upstairs is already made up for her, can you be a dear take her up there for me? Welcome to Shanghai my dear.”  Weiwei smiled, bowing quickly to her, before following Xiao Nai up the back stairs.  She looked around the small room, that wasn’t any bigger than her own place back in her hometown, but it was brighter and newer, perfect for her.  

“Mrs. Hao’s husband died a few years ago, so the Musketeers help her when she is in trouble.  When I wrote to her about you, she offered you the job immediately and knew his old study up here would be a perfect place for you to stay.”  Walking over to the window, he pointed out to a building with a courtyard just across the way.  She watched a few men practice sword fighting, catching a glimpse of Yu Banshan shoving Hao Mei before looking back at Xiao Nai.  

“Is that…?”

“Our barracks?  Yes.  If you ever need anything just place a piece of cloth right here outside your window and one of us will be over to help.”  Xiao Nai made his way to the exit but Weiwei stopped him.  

“What was the reason you wanted to help me?”  Weiwei asked again.  Xiao Nai took a few steps over to her, placing a gentle hand on her cheek, he turned her to look at him.  Smiling, he looked into her eyes, moving his thumb lightly against her skin.  

“Because unlike your former husband.  I am no fool.”  

“You’ve said that before.”  She said, gazing up at him.  He leaned in, almost as he if was going to kiss her forehead, but left her there instead.  She sighed, wondering what she had gotten herself into.  A blush growing on her cheeks, her heart beating out of her chest.   

Masterlist 

[unknown-de-mordor-blog]

The Dark-Lord Family, A.K.A. My Top 5 Favourite Villains

Melkor/Morgoth + Mairon/Sauron -- The Lord of the Rings+The Silmarillion

I know that’s two, but don’t make me separate them. I will not separate them.

They’re actually going to be the odd one out in this list because the rest are from anime/manga, but that’s because back when I was in middle school, I found villains from fantasy stories boring af and the notion that something external is the source of evil is just lazy. (Also because my obnoxious middle-school brain just went ‘Argh, blaming other people for your problems is soooo immature’ and shut down.) Arguably, I wasn’t well-versed in those kinds of literature, and stuff I did choose to read from that side of the globe don’t have villains in them.

And that’s kind of why these two makes the list -- they are more properly constructed than other dark lords that I know of. Yes, they serve as the personification of evil, but Tolkien also treated them as characters. They have reasons for becoming what they’ve become. And even though they are depicted as the epicentre of evil and destruction, evil isn’t actually their domain. Tolkien was pretty clear about that in his writing because he also examined and, to some degree, deconstructed evil in his universe. The Feanorians are chief examples of that. Turin is not really off the hook with some of his bad life choices (and I don’t mean marrying his sister; when intent in factored in, that’s actually not the worst Turin had done). And don’t get me started on how much I loathe Denethor.

In a way, I found Tolkien depiction of dark lords rather subversive. Having a dark lord really plays into a primal psychology that wants to blame the ill of the world to someone: capitalism, communism, Hitler, Stalin, Baby boomers, Millenials, the Jews, the Muslims, the conservative Christians, the patriarchy, cis white (American) males. But in the deconstruction of the dark lords, he was also saying, really, that evil without comes from the evil within and it’s complicated because evil is a part of nature. It doesn’t come from a box, an apple, a fallen angel, or a rebellious servant of God. And to win against the evil without, you have to fight the evil within. And that’s why Frodo is still one of my greatest heroes. He really did take the hardest job in the book, and I’m not talking about walking into Mordor.

Hao Asakura-- Shaman King (manga, not the anime)

Also known to me and my best friend as “Melkor and Sauron’s lovechild” because his character has things that reminded us of Melkor and Sauron. Hao is a personification of evil and destruction. His main power is Fire, and I’m capitalizing here because the spirit that is his main source of power is called the Spirit of Fire and it’s huge, like balrog huge.

But unlike with Melkor and Sauron, we got to hear directly from Hao why he thinks the destruction of humanity is a good idea. As it turns out, Hao actually has a shit-list on humanity collected over the last thousand years, and we look horrendous on it. It’s hard to argue that we are not cancerous, narrow-minded, selfish bunch of crap who frequently gives into the tendency to destroy each other and is going to destroy this one planet we have and take every other species who had not done any shit to deserve this with it. So, yes, Hao was saying, ‘I’m the necessary evil because you all are shitheads’. And he’s right. In some ways, he’s even more right now than he was back in the 90s.

But you might say that’s one particular lens of interpreting our complex and problematic (as in difficult) legacy. We’re not all bad! Well, true, but us doing good does not in anyway erase the fact that we’ve done some really shitty things as well. That’s why as extreme as Hao’s position might be, he’s about as logically wrong as saying we should keep humanity because we have done some nice things.

And the greatest thing in Shaman King to me is that Hiroyuki never went down that route of that oversimplified counter-argument. He actually had Yoh -- our hero, the personification of good, and Hao’s twin brother -- admitted to not liking human either. In fact, Yoh was the one most sympathetic to Hao’s position even though he disagreed that destroying humanity would solve any of Hao’s problems.

And Hao’s biggest problem was that he was isolated, dehumanized, and betrayed over such a long time that he lost the ability to trust and to love. And as time progressed and Hao becomes more powerful, you can even argue that he lost the ability to love himself. When Hao became God, he isolated himself from other souls, pushing even his most loyal followers away by displays worthy of an evil dark lord when they in fact contradicts how he had always treated them-- with kindness and understanding that they never received from others.

But that tactic wasn’t going to work on Yoh’s watch. The guy basically threw the biggest spirit party ever, invited everyone who ever crossed path with Hao, and gave the man the biggest metaphorical group hug. There were some stern talks about his past behaviour and ambitions, but all in all, everyone acknowledged that he was a person -- complicated and damaged but still a person worthy of friendship and love and loyalty. And after all the embarrassing reunion, including being enthusiastically called ‘nii-chan’ (that’s a cute way of calling someone ‘big-bro’) by his supposed mortal enemy and twin brother, Hao just kind of went ‘Fine! I warned you Earth sucks with humans on it, but if you want to make it better so much then go do it. I’ll watch you try!’

So, yep, that’s how you literally prevent apocalypse with the power of love. I wish more heroes adopt this strategy.

^Hao as God Almighty from the sequel to Shaman King. Art by Takei Hiroyuki. This is to say that Hao is also a crazy cat-person.

Gabriel -- Daemon Hunters

Speaking of gods, here’s another god you should not mess with. I have to admit that this guy scares the living daylight out of me. And it’s not because he’s evil or cruel or twisted. Gabriel is... nothing. Really nothing. He was born out of an experiment to create a living god. And when knowledge and power are chosen over compassion, this is the destructive result.

Gabriel was born more powerful than anything under the sky. And he knew everything -- past, present, and future. He looked into a person’s eyes and he knew the life that was and the life that still to come. Except for one thing, one moment at the end of the world when he would meet a creature more powerful than himself, a creature that knew the answer to one last question Gabriel did  not: why was he alive?

And for that answer, Gabriel would do anything -- kill people, play with their minds, break their souls, wipe out an entire city or country. Literally, nothing was off-limits. And he was like a force of nature. You couldn’t negotiate or bargain with this guy because he didn’t care about puny little humans with puny little minds. He’s looking for an answer, and nothing was going to stop him.

So yeah, evil is not scary at all in my book. The insatiable thirst that knows no love? Yeah, totally.

^The entire internet seriously just have this one picture of Gabriel. The sorrow of being in a non-existing fandom, I supposed.

Sebastian Michaelis -- Black Butler/Kuroshitsuji

Technically speaking, Sebastian is not a villain. He’s one of the two protagonists of Kuroshitsuji -- the other being my beloved anti-hero Ciel Phantomhive -- but considering that Sebastian (i) is a demon (ii) is after Ciel’s soul (iii) loves leading my dear boy astray, I count him as one.

Being treated in the narrative as one of the main characters is probably why he’s the most relatable on the list. Even though he’s a demon, he’s not treated as a personification of evil, just a corrupted creature serving as a vehicle for his master’s ambitions who likes to have fun along the way. That is not to say he’s not bad. He totally is. He would tear people to pieces as he kills them. He likes mind games and has no qualm manipulating people to get what he wants.

But the thing is, humans do that, too. Sebastian’s corruptness is not exceptional in anyway. We like to think we know what is right and wrong, but do we? We think we have made the best choices out of the goodness of our hearts, but were they, really? The matter of fact is a lot of our decisions are lazy, selfish, or just meanness dressed up as something else. There are moments when Sebastian demon’s ‘aesthetics’ seems more morally sound than the morality of a human being. And that’s kind of the theme of the series -- that the evil within clad in self-righteousness, desperation, and elitism can be more reprehensible than the evil without.

^Art by Yana Toboso. I feel compelled to mention that Sebastian is also a crazy cat-person.

Johan Liebert -- Monster

To me, there is rarely a personification of evil more terrifying and a deconstruction more nuanced and heartbreaking than that in Naoki Urasawa’s Monster.

And it’s not even his best work! It was his first work in psychological thriller, so you can kind of see him working out how to do thriller and play with with characters’ psychology on the go. And the psyche that governs the entire story is that of Johan Liebert -- arch-villain, evil-incarnate, the new Napoleon of Crime. He rarely made any appearance in the story, but every time he did, I literally wanted to hyperventilate.

But really, setting Johan up that way was kind of a red-herring on Urasawa’s part, a good red-herring, too, because he was giving what Tolkien gave us in Middle-earth -- a personification of evil, someone we can point the finger to and blame for all the wrong in the world. And Johan played the dark lord to the tee.

Except then Urasawa slowly pulled the rug from under us. Little by little, as Dr. Kenzou Tenma, our personification of good, uncovered Johan’s past, we come to realize that there were other evil that made Johan. But then when Dr. Tenma approached those people, the big-bads dwindled into an old deluded man, a woman hunted, a mad scientist trying to repent his sin -- people after people who had made a decision based on their beliefs and made the wrong one.

I think what made Monster so powerful is how it uses Johan as the focal point to deconstruct evil down to its origin, to the fact that there is no other evil in the world than us. The evil without really is just a manifest of the evil within, and that little moments where we might have let it win could snowball into something monumentally terrifying.

But Urasawa’s view of human nature is not all doom and gloom. Yes, we’re at times wretched and wicked, but we can be better when we choose to be. And that idea is actually what Dr. Tenma represents. Tenma didn’t start out being good. He lied about his history. He was motivated by reputation and ego rather than the well-being of his patients. He had to be confronted by the consequence of his decisions and have his entire world crashing down to the ground to find the path to being good. And after that, it still wasn’t easy, as trying to be good in a world full of shitty people often is.

But things had changed for him, and I think that’s why he thought Johan could, too. That’s why he could never shoot even though Johan let him.

So, is Johan evil? My answer is yes. After all, he had done grave wrongs to people knowingly. But could he turn from the path of evil? Well, I think the more appropriate question is, have you?

^Original design by Naoki Urasawa. I was once terrified of blue eyes because of this man.

[bridesoftheshamans]

"Why does he keep doing this to me?!"

Nymphe was, for the second time this week, on her knees with her hair tied up and rubber gloves on, cleaning up a mess left by Hao. She didn't know why her catboy kept doing this; she knew he could use the fucking toilet normally, Ambrosia only lived two mansions down from her own, so his twin wasn't even a drive away, never yelled at him, and she gave him anything he wanted!! Was it so hard to have a little compassion?!

Ambrosia kept telling her she had to scold him, but every time she looked at Hao she just crumbled! She could rip the nails from an enemy's hand, dismember and torture them to insanity without flinching, but she couldn't keep her own catboy from causing wanton destruction of her home. Everything of value that wasn't too heavy or screwed into the damn floor, she had to keep in a retina scan-locked vault to keep it out of Hao's paws and away from his penis. Thankfully the Louis Vuitton pumps he'd destroyed weren't valuable in the sense they were a rare pair, but she'd learned her lesson when she had to toss the piss-reeking shoes away.

For a catboy who was treated like a damn king, he could be as crass and vulgar and ill behaved as if he was on the streets!

@cpirits

[bridesoftheshamans]

Italy was quite the beautiful country, with good food and beautiful scenery. This forest was no different, lush and green and quiet. Nothing but the birds, and the sound of woodland creatures going about their business. The sound of a bubbling brook, the wind through the trees…but as one ventured closer to the heart of this place of beauty, only one with the power to hear thoughts could hear this tranquil music of nature broken by the desperate, hateful thoughts of a girl. One with a soft voice, even as it was steeped in agony.

‘I hate him…I hate them all…humanity…it’s so vile…! They all deserve to die, all of them…!!’

Disgusting images broke through, too, as one drew nearer to the source of them. A man with pitch black hair, and brown eyes. He had a prominent nose, and olive complexion. Angular features. While he was clean cut, with maintained stubble and wearing a clearly expensive tailored suit, there was wickedness in his eyes that matched the gazes of several men around him. All wearing designer, all surrounding whoever it was that these memories belonged to.

‘Smettila di contorcerti e di squittire, maledetta ragazza! Sono tuo padre, quindi farai come dico io!!! Se ti voglio e ti faccio divertire con i miei amici, lo farai! Smetti di piangere!’ The man at the center shouted in Italian, fists raised to the girl, pummeling down with one hand and tearing away shreds of cloth with the other. The sight was obscured by the girl clearly covering her face with her own bruised arms, but it was obvious what was going on. The memory was filled with cruel laughter, wretched the sound, and the fearful cries of the girl. The images were vile.

When the heart of the forest, steeped in spiritual energy, was reached, however, the scene was far different than the loud, horrific memories;

There, in the middle of the trees, was a circular formation of flat stones on the ground, clearly man-laid, the bubbling brook having lead around to behind the stage of stone where it bled into a large pond. Wildflowers were scattered about the scene, making this closed off scene protected by the trees colorful. In the middle of it all, dancing there in some kind of ritual, was a lovely girl in a flowing white dress.

Her long, black hair down to about her lower back, falling freely aside from two small buns at the top of her head. Her skin was pale, although one couldn’t tell by looking at her exposed lower legs, bare feet, and chest, mottled purple and red with bruises. Not even her hands wear completely safe, partially bruised as well, her fingers long and delicate. Her nose was small, lips full, with rounded, rosy cheeks. Her eyes were closed, lashes long, as black as her hair that flowed with her as she danced. The tranquility about her features gave little indication of how she really felt, as she spun, and spun ‘round, like she was floating. There was something on her ankle, barely visible amid her bruises, but noticeable to any shaman worth his or her mettle. A curse, holding the girl’s mana down to a low level, keeping her clearly trapped. Nearby, sat an ascended spirit. A massive white rabbit, big enough that the girl could ride it like a horse, was floating languidly in the air above the girl, watching over her as she danced.

It begged the question, of what this mysterious little thing could do, were she not shackled?

@cpirits

[bridesoftheshamans]

[ARE YOU OKAY?] 🩸  to  find  my  muse  after  they've  been  in  a  fight. + reverse // @ Nymph from Hao @cpirits (Hao won ehe)

“My lord!!” Nymphe rushed right up to Hao, medical supplies in hand. Now that the fight was over, and her beloved lord’s opponent was in ashes, there wasn’t a moment to loose! It was impressive that they even managed to wound Lord Hao at all, but so much blood…unacceptable!

“May I tend to you, Lord Hao?” After all, her lord didn’t like being touched unless he said so…but the bleeding! Not to mention, once the blood dried it was bound to get uncomfortable…

[bridesoftheshamans]

//YES OH MY GOD, I KNOW IM THE ONE WHO SHOWED YOU THIS BUT IM DYING ;;v;;

I’m still soft over this concept, Nymphe would be so grateful to Yoh for allowing her to feel Hao physically there again, even if it’s not through his own fingers. Even though Nymphe wanted Hao to succeed at becoming Shaman King, doesn’t mean it isn’t torture to be without him. ♥️♥️♥️♥️

// MASSIVE Hao/Nymphe feels aaaaaaaaaa @bridesoftheshamans <3

It's giving me feels when Hao comes back from the Great Spirit; maybe possessing Yoh for a body ;;w;; After he becomes Shaman King with the time gap <3333333333