#(which was the goal of both her little brother and her romantic interest)

[brown-little-robin]

I was NOT expecting Tsunade (busty loser gambler, washed-up former elite ninja who makes herself look young and attractive via magic) and her attendant Shizune to become my new favorite female characters but here they are, doing that! Tsunade is so interestinggg

[cynthiav06]

A big part of the fandom doesn't deserve to have Percy as a protagonist because of how they treat him and mischaracterize them to make their own favorite characters "better", more sympathetic or more tragic. Can they stop blaming Percy for Bianca's death? No offense to her stans but what was Percy to do when SHE was the one who stole from a fucking junkyard where they were specifically warned not to touch/take anything? Plus isn't she the one who basically abandoned her brother and joined the Huntresses? Can they stop acting as if Percy is stupid when he is actually better at coming up with strategies where no one gets hurts or killed *cough*unlike a certain blonde*cough*? Can they stop excusing Annabeth for being such a shitty person to Percy and anyone interested in him romantically or platonically? Can they fucking understand that her "cute nickname" to her boyfriend "Seaweed brain" is actually an insult and not a cutesy little token of love? Can they understand that judo flipping him, punching/hitting/etc him and liking to make him anxious is what typical toxic and abusive partners do? I don't care that she was abused and neglected as a child, having been abused is an explanation never an excuse. Percy was also abused by his stepdad and yet he doesn't act like her. Also another thing (and this one might be heavily controversial but) Sally Jackson is a loving mom, she tried her best for her kid but she is not a good mom, she was selfish in her love and got herself and her kid stuck with an abusive bastard for years despite the fact that she had safer options. At this point I feel like we didn't even read the same books or that these people didn't even read the series they just watch youtube and tiktok videos that are mostly filled with misinformation and headcanons.

I know I am extremely late in my response but hopefully not 'late to your own funeral' level of late. It was partly due to health problems and back to back exams I had and partly due to my procrastination habits. Which is why now that I am considerably free, I am trying to answer all the asks in my inbox.

I absolutely agree with most of the things you have said. I myself am extremely tired of repeating the same things over and over again to the fandom but I am under no delusions that any posts debunking biased takes, character assassination headcanons and absolutely baseless assumptions will actually stop anything or even change anyone's opinions.

These posts are just for people with similar mindset to interact with something that finally meets with their pov and aren't led to feeling isolated in the fandom due to monopoly canon ships and other such topics have in fandom posts. Sort of to create a safe space cause I myself was spared of the worst of the fandom's wrath due to there already being an established anti percabeth community, small but reliable and supportive. I even had to the fortune of never receiving a single death threat, at least in this fandom, and I want to make sure that any new mutuals I have get the same experience.

For the whole Percy being blamed for no absolute reason and for completely made-up reasons for the Nico-Bianca situation, I have already made a post here.

Percy being more strategic than Annabeth was something I have stated in multiple posts but mostly here. And Rick himself did give us proof, too, both about Percy getting better grades than Annabeth and how Seaweed brain is, in fact, an insult.

I really believe that Percy and Annabeth's lack of nuanced emotional interactions, contrasting goals, and really conflicting fatal flaws all make up for a doomed relationship scenario. Percy finds himself unable to share about any of his trauma with Annabeth, and he also seems very insecure about their relationship and believes he can't live up to Annabeth's expectations or is being a bad boyfriend. Annabeth doesn't seem to be able to pick up on any of this, and without proper conversation, they are both chafing. Not to mention, Annabeth's toxic habits are not something Percy will ever address, and eventually, they will both just end up resenting each other. I had an idea about Percabeth break up and why and how it would occur, and I have posted about it here, and that's all I really want to say on that matter.

As for the Sally Jackson bit, I am actually planning on a Sally centric post. I have read so many takes on her and Percy's relationship and I am in the process of making it. Will definitely tag you in that.

Though what I will say is that, while Sally's love for Percy was very selfish, I think it was realistically rooted in her own trauma, the two way abandonment issues between both her and Percy and a mother's desperation.

Because for all the trauma Percy suffered under Gabe, you have to remember Sally suffered twice as much. She sent Percy off to boarding schools to spare him most of Gabe's influence while she suffered both physical and mental abuse throughout the six years she was with Gabe. The fact that Sally was willing put herself and Percy through the trauma of Gabe's abuse should highlight just how desperate she was to keep Percy with herself. And how despite all of Gabe's abuse he would face at home if he stayed, Percy resented Sally for sending him away to boarding school.

There's such an intricate codependency and deep-rooted trauma, maybe even generational trauma there. I really want to explore all of that cause I think Sally had very simple motivations and put herself and Percy through such complex methods to try and achieve those motivations permanently.

So yeah, there will be a post on that soon. I will tag you in that one, and there's another one I have to get to just before that. It's a Frank and Percy centric post, and I really loved that idea and I think I have most of my thoughts ready for both these posts. So expect them by the end of the week for sure.

[nerd-artist]

Horizon Rock Bands AU: Rock Breakers

The second (and maybe last?) band of the AU that’s been leaving no place for any other thoughts in my mind. Jem and the Holograms inspired. Ereloy implied 🧡✨

The band

The original leader of the group was Ersa, who started forming Rock Breakers with her brother Erend. However, after a tragedy left her unable to continue being part of the band, the Vanguard siblings decided that Erend should carry on with the group's formation. After what had happened, their mission was more critical than ever: to bring down Nemesis, its members, and their unfair musical dominance.

Avad, a wealthy representative with whom Ersa had a very close relationship, helped Erend in the search for other members who shared their common goal. That's how Varl, Kotallo, Drakka, and Nil joined the band, shaping the unique and diverse style that Rock Breakers is known for. Their blend of romantic and heavy sound has earned them a loyal fanbase, though, thanks to Nemesis' schemes, they've never managed to win The Proving. During the competition, they met Alpha Prime and came to the conclusion that both bands needed to support each other to defeat the evil group. Ersa became Alpha Prime's manager, ensuring that no one—not even they—would get in her little brother's way.

With Avad as their manager, Rock Breakers dominates their tour, which also serves as training for the competition. They don't have the help of any magical computers to make their shows unforgettable, but they pull it off with their creative use of fire and fireworks.

Character bios under the cut

Erend

A deep voice and deep feelings—no wonder Erend is the lead singer and main songwriter of Rock Breakers. He always performs accompanied by his guitar ‘Hammer’, though it’s rarely the same one at each show, as he gets so excited in playing ‘Weird Space Ball’ that he ends up smashing it against the stage. He started competing in music contests for the love of music, but a tragedy changed his purpose: his sister Ersa, with whom he was originally going to form the band, went deaf because of their former boss, Dervahl, who is now a member of the antagonist band Nemesis. Since then, he has devoted himself entirely to destroying that band, just as he smashes his guitars.

With this common goal, it’s no surprise that he’s gotten along well with Alpha Prime since meeting them, though that encounter didn’t just gain him allies—it also changed his heart forever, as he fell head over heels for Aloy the moment he saw her. Since then, nearly all his lyrics have been about her, though Aloy seems to be the only one who hasn’t noticed. He doesn’t hold out much hope that someone as capable and beautiful as her would be interested in him, even though the two minutes she promised him keep becoming longer and longer.

Varl

Varl met Erend at a comic con, and they instantly became friends. Coming from a strict upbringing where music had no place, he learned to play his bass, ‘Seeker,‘ in just a week, solely to join the band and experience the freedom of performing on stage. He’s always ready to carry out any plan that helps defeat Nemesis, even those that require sacrificing his own interests and beliefs. He fell for Zo, a member of Alpha Prime, the moment he met her, and unlike his friend, he did something about it—they´ve been together since, and they´re not subtle about it.

Kotallo

The unstoppable rhythm of his drum set, ‘Bulwark,‘ is unmistakable. Kotallo has been playing it his entire life, and not even the sudden loss of an arm has slowed him down—he continues to captivate the crowd with every beat. He was once a member of the band "The Ten," where he played alongside Regalla, until she defected to join Nemesis after getting Kotallo involved in a street fight that ultimately cost him his arm. Kotallo joined Rock Breakers to get a shot at revenge against his former bandmate and to prove that no matter how she tries to weaken him, he’ll always be a better musician and more honorable than her.

Drakka

He comes from barren lands, though that doesn’t reflect his character at all. Playful and cheeky, his personality shines through in his backing vocals and in the way he plays his ‘Yarra.‘ Every key he presses makes the crowd roar louder, and it ensures he’s never alone after a concert. But his purpose is more serious than it seems: to destroy the reputation of the companies owned by Nemesis members so they stop diverting water from his town for their own gain. Who says you can’t have fun while pursuing the greater good?

Nil

Little is known about his past, but it’s rumored that Nil is searching for redemption. His background is so enigmatic that even the other band members don’t quite remember how or when he became part of the group. Always mysterious, he used to cover his face during performances until he revealed it at the last concert, flashing that intense, mischievous gaze that drove the crowd wild. He found the perfect "Partner" in his guitar, which makes him stand out on stage with its unmistakable sound and with which he always puts on a good show.

Thank you for reading!!

If you want to know more about Alpha Prime, check this post.

Should I make one of these for Nemesis?

[zarathebleachfox]

If you guys see me reblogging writings on Ichigo and Orihime's relationship which present contrasting opinions, such as some reblogs who veer towards the "they shouldn't have ended up together" side of the debate or some who veer towards "they are awesome actually and good to each other"...

Well it's because while I do ship it, I am interested in exploring the complexities of the ship itself and the characters involved in them. I am also very used to having multiple different interpretations of the same character in my mind, so I have different ways of seeing Ichigo and Orihime depending on my mood.

It is also one of the reasons why I normally say I am a RenRuki shipper first, IchiHime shipper second. I have always been more in love with RenRuki as a concept and supporting IchiHime always came as a side effect of that... because IchiHime was a ship I perceived as "being made for the straight fans" before I started actually watching Bleach fully instead of biting info off of clips on YouTube. Then I fell in love with the rendition of Orihime's weakness (she strikes a spot for me on the inside because I can relate a lot to the Not Wanting To Be A Burden But Messing Things Up Anyway Through Little Fault Of Your Own™ part of her character) and her resolve to stay close to Ichigo even if she is not always completely certain of everything he is doing (I also relate to that: I often support people without fully trusting them, not only because I crave their attention and care, but because I want to convince myself that People Are Good Actually™ and that This Time It Will Be Better™).

When I hopped on the Bleach train and also started reading the Manga I got a lot more on board with shipping IchiHime. There is a lot of potential there because as far as my interpretation of Ichigo and Orihime's character goes, I see them both as people who repress their true feelings. Though for different reasons: Ichigo because suppressing them aligns with his personal goal, which is becoming stronger no matter what others say and no matter who he has to work with in order to protect who he loves, and this entails looking fearless even when he is scared (though the boy would really benefit from talking openly about his trauma more); and Orihime because of her history with abuse, trauma for "causing her brother's death" (it was not your fault sweetie), feelings of low self worth due to not always being able to fully protect Ichigo even though she wants to, and due to the fact she has doubted him, and this is all stuff that she does not want others to see because she is ashamed that is how she feels.

Overall, I reject an overtly negative interpretation of their character and of their relationship. It is obvious they both care about each other. They simply go about it the wrong way sometimes, or end up being set back by personal flaws. Like a lot of relationships in real life which are not automatically doomed to failure.

I believe Ichigo and Orihime could be read as either

-being flawed towards each other and thusly not meant to be together/better off with someone else, and they secretly feel the same way but they don't want to recognize it: they are together for a sense of obligation towards each other and Orihime believes she has romantic feelings but there is more under the surface, Ichigo is unconvinced as well but he does not want to hurt her... It's a Friends to Reluctant Lovers

-being flawed and deciding to be with one another, treading the path to life together resolutely anyway, specifically BECAUSE they are aware of how flawed each other is, and they don't want to let it stop them, they don't find it an issue because they want to turn into reality the concept that their care for each CAN in time overwhelm inner conflict; and they do have romantic feelings for each other, they do not decide to enter a relationship because of obligation but because they have seen each other go through a lot since they were kids and slowly matured a deeper kind of understanding; it's a Friends to Self-Aware Lovers

I hope it is evident, the difference in the two perceptions of them I have. I really hope it is because I have a headache and I am hurrying so I fear not being able to express myself properly lulz

EDIT:

I have recently come up with a different perspective on IchiHime! As a queer platonic/queer relationship!!!! I have only now realized it fits perfectly! I have always had this headcanon that, if not bisexual and/or biromantic, Ichigo could be greyromantic/demiromantic/aroflux and/or greysexual/demisexual/aceflux. This makes the relationship he has with Orihime much more coherent! I think Kubo unintentionally wrote Ichigo this way. Since it is evident that Ichigo and Orihime had a kid and they are seen smiling together and being happy with their family life, I can only assume that Ichigo does not mind the concept and experience of romance and sex even if it is not a concept he always feels on his skin (as in, he is romance and sex favorable under the aroace umbrella), and so he feels good being in a relationship with Orihime even though she is the one who has the most intense romantic and sexual attraction amidst the two of them! Oh my gosh it makes perfect sense YESS I HAVE FIGURED IT OUT I HAVE CONNECTED THE DOTS-

So yeah I am pro-IchiHime and pro-RenRuki. I believe that even with the first interpretation of the ship, I wouldn't mind it. Who said ships had to be perfectly healthy lol

I am afraid it is not a very popular stance, because I see an awful lot of IchiRuki shippers around, but idgaf 😂 I am in a fandom space to have fun and ramble, and I have decided that that entails being open about the ships I like even in a fandom with ship wars. And to all those who do not ship IchiHime or hate it, ok! Cool! This is just my opinion and the way I see the characters! I do not hate IchiRuki, I just see them more as a mentor-mentee-godmother/father of my kids situation.

For people who are interested, but will not write me an ask (nobody interacts actively I swear to effing Soul King... no wait, sorry Soul King), I also ship:

-UlquiHime, for the angst, even though I also like to concoct AUs in which Ulquiorra survived though the Power Of Bullshittery™ and at the same time incarnates the meaning of his character (you know, Nihility coming undone upon the realization of Purpose Being Meaningful Actually™) without it being lost. Also to those who say it is "abuser x victim", no. Just. No. Don't bring this up in a conversation with me I will not resist gurgling like a turkey in human form

-GrimmIchi, because they are hot together. And because their characters make me crazy. Also for me it's an Ichigo Fell First and Harder situation... I usually see it done in reverse but maybe that's because I haven't read many fics. I suggest @murderlight fics if anyone is interested, Cat Dandy made me feel things~

-Ikkaku x Madarame, see above for the main reasons. Also I believe amongst these ships you will see listed here, they are probably the ones who have been together the longest as partners/friends and therefore are the most "stable" ship. Yes, the two followers of Wrecking Ball Zaraki™, I Want To Fight Everything That Still Breathes After I Bonk It With My Zanpakuto™ Zaraki, have the most stable relationship for me and I take no criticism for this opinion of mine lol

-GrimmNel, I cannot explain fully why except that the snark between those two would be fantastic to watch. Old married couple even though they have been together for little. I also already have in mind the weird way they got together. I want to believe Grimmjow initially was acting like Nel and Hallibel's wingman, believing that they wanted to be together and wanting them to be too busy kissing each other to wreck his shit in case he decided to try and become kind of Hueco Mundo, but Nel gradually revealed that the reason her and Hallibel were so much together is because Nel did not want to admit she had feelings for yet another blood knight and Hallibel was being HER wingman trying to convince her AND while trying not to snicker as Grimmjow tried to push Nel towards Hallibel, without noticing Nel's suppression of her crush not just for any blood knight but HIM. He would probably not return her attraction in the beginning but that is because I see him as demiromantic or reciproromantic. Demisexual as well. Is this explanation long? Yes. But idgaf I need to get this off my chest quiCKLY-

-Nnoitra x Nel, because I see them having more potential other than "abusive asshole x naive beauty". And because from what I understand Nnoitra is more of a Nel-hater than a woman-hater; but I digress. Not that he doesn't hold mysogynistic thoughts, there is evidence he does, but I believe it is because of transference of Nel's image on others. I also dig AUs in which he and she actually talk it out one way or another and do start behaving better towards each other. So the ship in that case is platonic mostly, with hints of sex. Yes ships can be platonic fight me. The chemistry is irresistible both before and after that point, no matter if it is platonic of romantic, idc what anyone says

-Urahara x Shinji, I don't think it's a popular ship and I believe they deserve to be more popular actually. I want to see fics with this ship rivaling the number of Urahara x Yoruichi out there. I live for the You Were One Of The Few Who Actually Stood By Us™

-Byakuya x Zaraki, again, snark done wonderfully by both characters. Also Zaraki is an unhinged mane of danger, while (from my understanding and interpretation of the panels where he trains when he is younger) Byakuya used to be on the way of becoming a bolt of danger as well but he put hinges on himself, so I like the idea of Zaraki managing to make Byakuya lose his shit one day. They also both keep their softer side deep inside, so there is potential for them relating to each other as well

[nkn0va]

Genderbend anon here

Just general romantic headcanons would be fine thank you

Luckily for both of us Rider saw this coming and made a few genderbend banners.

Also as it turns out, from what I've researched Jin is a gender neutral name so there we go.

(Personally tho I'm more a fan of this art)

-Entering a relationship with Jin of all people will not be an easy or fast process. Rather ironically it is going to be quite a slow burn before that point.

-The only real way to break down her defenses enough by the events of the game is to have known her back in the Military Academy. Getting close to her...acquaintances as she would call them is the best way to do so.

-Absolutely not a PDA person. If you try any of that she's going to push you away and chastise you if anyone's around as if you two don't know each other. She's pretty good at selling it too, if you didn't know better you'd think she was being entirely serious about it.

-It's only when you two are alone does she clear the air. She doesn't need to, you know how she is, but she still feels that need deep down. A subtle, but meaningful way of showing her true feelings.

-Anyone Jin lets into her circle, including you, she's quite protective of, but rarely in a way one can outwardly see. After becoming a Major she has quite a bit of influence in the NOL, which she can use to bail you out of trouble when needed.

-Getting you out of being scolded by one of your superiors (who she likely outranks), getting you out of missions that she feels are too dangerous for you, or making sure the medics pay more attention to you if you get injured. She'll never outright break protocol for you but depending on the situation she might bend it a little.

-In return you get to not act so cold, especially to Noel. Or, at least you try. Jin won't reveal why she seems to hate the poor secretary so much even to you. Wait til the events of the C-series to find out.

-Finding out how she interacts with Ragna is... very concerning to say the least. Especially when you find out he's her brother. Hope you're ready to be an unlicensed family therapist, you're gonna be an important part of the healing process for both of them. Well, as much as they can heal, at least.

Hopefully I don't get another Hazama request soon this was hard asf

-If there's one thing for you to know, this will not be an equal relationship or one that happens because Hazama genuinely cares about you. This is a relationship that starts because you're useful in some way to her. Or she just finds you exceptionally interesting, but in the way that a scientist would find a new species intriguing..

-You're not gonna know that though. Befitting of her snake motifs, Hazama is silver-tongued little weasel that keeps you in the dark entirely about her true intentions.

-Most of your time with her is spent with her pretty much psychologically profiling you, though not in a way that makes it obvious. As she's all but entirely devoid of real emotions herself, she sorta experiences them vicariously through you. Your likes, dislikes, goals, and aspirations are going to rub off on her to some extent.

-However if there's on undeniable quality she has, it's that she's a damn good actor. She makes it all seem like she's genuinely interested in who you are as a person and wants to learn about you like a real lover would.

-If you're not already in the NOL, which is highly unlikely, she'd subtly, gently push you into joining, and pull the proper strings to get you working closely with her.

-From there. it quickly becomes too late. You're asked to do some pretty absurd stuff for her, but she tells you with a smile that it's normal to do dirty work when you start out. It'll eventually get better once you gain some tenure. However that time never seems to come. Despite that though, Hazama has already worked your way into your head and her reassurances manage to work every time.

-She does care about you, though in her own odd, twisted way. If she had to ditch you to bail you out, she'd easily do so...however some part of her can't help but recoil slightly at the thought.

-She can most certainly be quite the passionate partner when she has the desire to, which she never thought she could even have in the first place. That's why she's kept you around for so long. However unbeknownst to you her heart is never really truly in it, at least in the way you'd want it to. Though who knows, that might be why you've stuck around yourself.

[piratadelamor]

skip and loafer ch. 53

shima seems to see romantic love as a combination of different attraction factors, where liking someone as a person (for their personality) can be compensated for other things, therefore your standarts are lower when you're romantically attracted to someone. the way he sees it, the highest form of steem you can have for someone is to like them as a person, where these other factors don't matter and what you truly value is solely their personality.

i think it's interesting how mukai introduces this conversation by building a hierarchy of feelings, where romantic love stands on top of the feelings of friendship and of liking someone as a person, because that's one concept i've been personally focusing on deconstructing in my life. it's precisely by differenciating these types of feelings and putting them on a hierarchy that so many people end up in romantic relationships with people they don't really like, or why so many people drift away from their friendships when they start dating someone.

through everyone else's eyes, shima's feelings are romantic, and he doesn't feel like they are, because romance to him means something else. the lines between liking someone as a person, as a friend and as a lover are blurred. and listen, that's how they're supposed be. to love someone as a lover is supposed to mean you love them as a friend and as a person as well. a friend and a lover shouldn't be too different, and liking them as a person is supposed to be the core of both feelings.

i don't think shima is being innocent, like i've seen so many people saying on twt since the chapter came out. i think he's touching something very deep about relationships in our society that so many stories that focus on romance fail to address. in most of these stories, romance is the final goal. that's where most of them end. that's not the case here. i was already surprised when mitsumi and shima started dating, and even more surprised when they went back to being friends. that's not the usual narrative for this kind of story. because here, it doesn't seem like this hierarchy matters. and i think it's beautiful and i think it's HUGE how both shima and mitsumi value their friendship above everything else. not only them, because friendship is one of the main themes of this story. both as a dynamic and as a type of love as well.

but people have different perspectives on love and how love feels for them. it's different for mitsumi, for shima, for mika, for fumi. the way you're taught about love in your family or as a child in general has a big role on shaping that. we saw the matter of mitsumi having received lots of love in her family and childhood friends being brought up before as an explanation for her confidence. then, on the other hand, that's why we see shima acklowledging this on the next panels:

we know a few things about shima's family and their complicated relationships. shima never realized his little brother liked him because he saw his behavior as coldness or indifference, when he was actually being considerate of the distance shima was putting between them himself. he felt the need to please his mother by acting in order for her to love him, or for him to be worthy of her love, because their relationship was too anchored on exploitation. his father was having an affair, which not only made shima watch the failure of his parents marriage but also perceive romantic love as something superficial (as in "people break up and move on to the next person") and possibily as something that pushes people away. then shima's first girlfriend only liked him because of his looks, and so many others confessed to him without barely even knowing him. how could shima trust his own feelings after all of that? if he spent most of his formative years in an environment of appearences where love was tied to selfishness, interest, volatility, coldness, pain? shima learned to supress all his feelings and be a people pleaser as a survival mechanism. don't get too attached, live up to others expectations, keep your distance, smile and wave, bottle it all up. he is a kid that doesn't know a single thing about love and is scared as hell of it. love feels as if something is about to break.

that's why liking someone as a person feels more important to him. and that's not only the highest feeling he can have for someone else, i think this is the highest form of feeling he thinks someone could have for him too. it's the kind of feeling he thinks his own mother couldn't have, because acting was more important to her than who he actually was. it's the feeling he unconciously doesn't allow others to feel for him, because he never shows people who he truly is. so shima understands mitsumi's words as a love confession back in chapter 41. she didn't say "i love you", she said "that's what i love about you". and he asks her out, not only because he already knows mitsumi is different, so it seems more reasonable to give it a try, but also because he thinks this is how it's supposed to go. this is what he thinks it's expected to give her in return.

when society puts romance on the top of the relationships/feelings hierarchy, it builds an insane amount of expectations around it. i think it's crazy how friendships feel so free while romantic relationships feel so enclosured. they have too many rules. you're supposed to do this, and that, and behave in certain ways. if you start dating a friend then suddenly your friendship dynamic changes. a boyfriend or a girlfriend have responsibilities that friends don't have. it's a weight. i can't imagine a person like shima feeling any other way about a romantic relationship. for him, this is a big, big weight. that's why he puts an emphasis when he says "i thought that i could be a 'boyfriend' too". a boyfriend is a social role. when he phrases it like that, he's using the word "boyfriend" as an outside concept: he doesn't know what it means to him, he only knows what it means for everyone else. and that's not something he can do.

mukai is absolutely right when he tells shima he shouldn't be going out with anyone. shima isn't ready to be that close to anyone, not even his closest friends. i can't even describe how sad i felt when mukai said this to him:

shima is just so, so lonely...

but this doesn't mean that shima's supposed to become ready to be a "boyfriend" on those terms. i just think he's still trying to figure out what all of these things mean to him. and the good thing is that mitsumi is also trying to figure out these things too. the difference between them is that mitsumi is a few steps ahead, because she already understands what friendship love feels like. and when it comes to that, she gave us one of the most special love confessions i've ever seen.

so many people talked about this scene already, but now, in the light of chapter 53, her saying "i really like this person" has a whole new meaning. this is the most honest love shima has ever received from anyone. no romantic confession could top that. no romantic feeling could heal his wounds the way these words from mitsumi can. this is a treasure shima can't afford to lose.

we're taught that romantic love will save us. that it will make us the happiest, that it completes us. we grow up believing that we can't survive without it. what we really can't survive without are our friends... skip and loafer is putting friendship above everything else, but more than that, it is questioning how romantic love is supposed to feel. some people feel it, some people don't. i think most of us don't really know what it is. we think we do because we read enough, we saw enough movies, we listened to enough love songs. i think i felt it a few number of times in my life but everytime i felt it for someone new i asked myself, was it really love before? what is it, really? if i never read those books or saw thoses movies or listened to those songs. would i recognize it? would i know it better? would it even exist?

aren't shima's feelings for mitsumi already valuable enough? big enough, true enough? would they change if he called them romantic? mitsumi has SO much to teach him about love, about himself, about others. their encounter is so beautiful and so rich. we see how much he's changing, how many new things he's finally starting to understand about himself, how many important steps he's taken since they met. is finding romance at the end really the most important thing for their story?

[faulty-writes]

heyhey how are you doing ? I was super excited to see someone writing so much for Tenya. So if it's okay...Can you write hc of him with a romantic partner (gn or fem if you feel more comfortable writing fem) who tries to bond with his family, like someone who would befriend Tensei, help him with his recovery maybe, would get along with his parents etc ⸜( ´ ꒳ ` )⸝

[ I'm doing okay, thank you for asking. Been busy with schoolwork, Abnormal Psychology is kicking my ass this term but so far I've gotten A's so, hooray for me. Also got a new job. Honestly, he's very popular on my blog because I write him well. At least that's what everyone tells me, hah. Anywho, this sounds adorable. Plus Tensei is mentioned! I love him very dearly as well. ]

"This is Y/n. She is my fellow student and romantic partner. She is rather admirable for the way she so victoriously displays her heroic skills during our assigned training sessions as well as the way she articulates her quirk!" You weren't sure if you were more embarrassed that those were his first words when introducing you to his family or that his mother immediately took a liking to you, going as far as to thank you for your interest in her son.

It was an honor to meet Tensei since Tenya continuously spoke of his admiration for the now-retired pro hero. Although it saddened you to see him in a wheelchair, it didn't dampen his spirits. "Hey! It's awesome to meet the girl my little brother keeps talking about!" He said, happily shaking your hand. "Brother! I ask you not to go into such details regarding that," Tenya insisted, flushing softly.

"Apologies, my family has requested my assistance." You understood that family was a priority for Tenya, especially considering he bragged about the Iida name. Because of this, he canceled your date plans on occasion, and you tried to remain supportive considering family bonds were precious.

On more than one occasion, you had dinner with the Iida family. "It is quite an honor to share this family bonding moment with you! I do hope the Iida family has made you feel welcome!" Tenya would always try to break the ice and unlike his mother, his father was less impressed by you but regardless, you tried your best to connect with him.

"You can pull harder, it's totally okay!" Tensei said. Sometimes you'd help him with his physical therapy exercises when Tenya was busy studying or just provide him with companionship, all of which Tenya would thank you for. "To show such noble attributes to fallen heroes is a wonderful characteristic! I hope that I may be able to display true hero qualities such as yours one day!" Sometimes his praise was too much.

His mother would invite you to go shopping or out to eat. Of course, you weren't used to the fine taste the Iida family was known for. However, you genuinely enjoyed your time and when you returned, Tenya was eager to hear what had happened.

The basis of your relationship was honesty and open communication, and you extended this courtesy to his family. Especially with his father who asked you specific questions regarding your dreams and goals for the future. He also asked you about your romantic life both with his son and any past partners you had.

The two of you managed to keep each other in balance and more importantly, worked around your busy schedules. Between your academic and personal lives, it was tricky to maintain your romantic life. But Tenya always made time to show you how much he and, to an extent, his family cared and loved you.

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

I like the guys but I think we should talk about the feh girls some more too. Inspired by that rating tier list (which I agree with a lot tbh), I’m going to rank the girls by how rated they are

Sharena- slightly underrated, but it seems more people are appreciating her as of late

Veronica- slightly overrated, she is a little interesting but her story fell flat after book 6

Fjorm- overrated, her main schtick is her tragedy and she’s just a generic white girl who’s in love with Kiran

Gunnthra-normally rated, would like to see more of her but there also wasn’t much to be honest

Ylgr-normally rated

Laegjarn-normally rated

Laevatein-slightly underrated, she is quite interesting as a character content to stay in her sister’s shadow until she can’t any longer, and a lot of people tend to ignore her in favor of her older sister unfortunately

Loki-massively overrated, she is a generic sorceress trickster character with little depth which is filled up by gratuitous fanservice

Thorr- normally rated

Eir- slightly overrated, fans tend to give her character more credit than deserves, but she is one of the better freebies

Hel-underrated, even if she was wasted, her character was perfect for the story and that design is killer

Líf-very fucking overrated, he’s goth Alfonse. What a basic rehash of a character with an ungodly amount of screen time as it is

Thrasir-normally rated, but can be overrated in proximity to Líf. Although that’s just me hating the push IS gave to Vero and Alf being “couple-coded”🤮 Vero and Sharena are much better, as is Alf and Bruno

Ganglot- slightly underrated, but I can understand how the story ruined her. Still, the idea of her being faithful to Hel and being “taken in” by her can be an interesting idea, and of course killer design

Peony- normally rated

Mirabilis- normally rated

Plumeria- normally rated

Triandra-normally rated

Freyja- slightly overrated, her beautiful design covers up a very stupid and gross character who wants to fuck her brother

Ginnungagap-normally rated

Eitr-normally rated

Reginn-normally rated

Dagr-slightly overrated, the need for muscle mommies makes people a little too comfy with what’s a bland character baked with generic jock tropes

Nótt-slightly underrated, she was underdeveloped but the idea of a strong woman actually being defined in more unique archetypes that are divorced from her build (being a romantic, a refined and dedicated princess, etc) makes her the better sister in my eyes

Eitri-MASSIVELY UNDERRATED, by far the best villain we ever had in terms of character and motivation. Yeah the child design is weird but her character more than makes up for it. A cunning woman with the goal of keeping Nidavellir powerful to honor the memory of the man she adored, but being blinded by her bigotry to non-dvergr which made her cause chaos because she couldn’t stand the idea of seeing a Nidavellir not in her image. A very complex villain that isn’t “pure” evil without being drenched in “woe is me” bullshit.

Țjazi-overrated, awesome design but a completely uninteresting and sometimes aggrevating personality

Ash-overrated, let’s be honest. Her main schtick is talking too much and that’s not an interesting quirk. It’s annoying if anything. Her design really doesn’t make up for it either. It’s so boring

Letizia-a bit underrated, but to be fair, she was poorly utilized the the narrative. An awesome design though

Embla-weird limbo of being both normally rated but slightly overrated on here (because tumblr has a boner for pale goth people regardless of personality). I like how she’s genuinely emaciated and not given an attractive body which is rare to see on female characters but her character was way too evil to make the pity aspect deserved

Seidr-normally rated

Heidr- normally rated

Nerthuz-normally rated

Gullveig-slightly underrated. Overrated in design (by the horny people), but underrated in her character. She’s an interesting take on a woman with lost autonomy, forced to drive the mechanations of a self-centered man who didn’t get what he wanted from life. How empty she is, losing her desire to live every time she has to start the cycle🥺

Kvasir- normally rated

Ratatoskr- I’m seeing a lot of love for her but find her very overrated. She’s the generic wimpy freebie with a caring heart, not innovative and her design is boring

Hræsvelgr-interesting design, but a bland character who who is slightly overrated

Heidrun- normally rated

Nidhoggr-slightly underrated tbh, there’s so much potential in her being a daddy’s girl (the way she acts with Laerdr is clearly different from the rest), a woman depressed by her circumstances to the point she becomes a drunk. She’s the only interesting female oc of book 8.

Baldr-overrated as all Hel, another generic pretty girl who’s happy face made everyone go crazy, really?

Hodr-normally rated

.

[bookaddict24-7]

REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Every week I will post various reviews I've written so far in 2024. You can check out my Goodreads for more up-to-date reviews HERE. You can friend me on Goodreads here.

Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts?

___

393. King of Greed by Ana Huang--⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

KING OF GREED became a book I really wanted to read because we got glimpses of this relationship in the previous book, and if there's a trope I like a little bit too much it's when a man has to go crawling back to the love of his life that he took for granted (and who she left because a queen deserves better). In that sense, Huang didn't disappoint. We got the begging, we got the jealousy, we got the process of him coming to terms with what a dickhole he'd been to his gorgeous wife--we got a good dose of literary drama.

And mixed in with the drama was the darker undertones of a mystery that stalks the shadows of this book. In my opinion, these darker themes are what really keep me hooked to the books in this series. Yes, the romance can be spicy, sweet, or cute, but that mystery adds such an interesting dynamic to the story that I never anticipate.

I liked the FMC as a character because she knew her goals and even though tempted, she kept going until she achieved the success she'd always craved but never chased while married. I also liked that she knew what she wanted and what she deserved and SHE DIDN'T SETTLE. Even though it did get to the point where I started feeling bad for him (his charisma got me), I do like that she fought for herself while he fought for their relationship.

I wasn't a big fan of the flashbacks. I understand their purpose and why they helped build the backstory of this couple and how they fell in love, but I found that they usually took me out of the story. Nothing is as much of a pace killer (for me) than a flashback in the middle of a chapter. Again, I understand why they were used, but I wasn't a fan of them.

I am definitely going to collect the rest of the series and read the next book! This series (so far) may not be the best books I've read, but I'm entertained and they're dramatic, romantic, and spicy.

___

394. Body Movers by Stephanie Bond--⭐️⭐️.5

BODY MOVERS has been on my shelves for over a decade, just chilling there and trying its best not to collect any dust. I was excited to see the audiobook at the library because I've been trying to read some of my older titles this past year. I'm glad I finally read this and while it wasn't what I thought it would be (to be honest, it was a wee bit disappointing), I definitely see myself trying out the sequel in the not-so-distant future.

The best part of this book was the mystery (which is fitting because this is predominantly a mystery book). I liked how everything came together in the end and how I was truly surprised by the guilty party. I liked that the MC went and investigated despite being told to stay out of it--no one puts this character in the corner. Although, I wish she was this strong when it comes to the people who hurt her, or her brother.

One of the bigger topics in this book that threw me was how three different men were interested in her, but her number one eye candy attraction is to the man who broke her heart when her world turned upside down. I don't get it either. My first immediate thought that I had when she started attracted all of these male characters was: but who will be end-game? Which both makes me wary of and weirdly excited for the next book. I want to see who she picks and I'm really hoping it's not the asshole high school sweetheart.

I also hope that she grows a spine in the next book.

And finally, that brother of hers was so weirdly written. He acted both younger and older. I get that the hormones run wild in nineteen year-old boys, but every interaction he had with a woman was full of him daydreaming about sleeping with her.

Anyway, we shall see how the rest of the series is when I eventually get to it!

___

395. The Brightness Between Us by Eliot Schrefer--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Ah, THE BRIGHTNESS BETWEEN US. This definitely had one of those sad moments where I thought: Huh, that's where the title came from!

I definitely liked the first book more, but this one had its moments that made me really enjoy the story. It did, however, take me a bit of time to get into this one--unlike book one, which grabbed me pretty early on.

While THE BRIGHTNESS BETWEEN US definitely had some romantic elements, I wouldn't exactly call this a romance. It was still an emotionally powerful and memorable read, but the romance definitely took a backseat to the political upheaval and devastation of human greed and power.

Much like the last book, this had its unique moments and mystery that made for easy reading (once the story gets going). I for once liked the flashbacks simply because it helped explain how we got to the events of book one. We also got to learn more about the original characters who helped create the main characters, and how their personalities played into both the destruction of the world and the creation of a new one. The ending of the flashbacks made me want to cry, even though I knew that there was a better ending to be had if we look beyond the confines of the past.

The present time with the new characters and the old couple from book one was interesting, if not a little maddening, at least until we started getting more answers. That's one of the things I like about Schrefer's writing--how he tends to tie everything together by the end, revealing the truth behind everything and the twists that take us by surprise. It was all very clever.

While I liked the setting of space better, this did serve as a way of giving readers closure since we were left with so many questions by the end of book one. It was a nice way to tie things together and fill in every empty space there was left in the plot and overall story.

___

396. It's Elementary by Elise Bryant--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm glad I gave IT'S ELEMENTARY a shot because I had so much fun!

There are many elements to this story: the mystery and all that surrounded it, the dreamy love interest, the MC's complicated relationship with motherhood and how it is affected by her own need to find answers, the racism and ignorance that exists in American schools--especially since her daughter goes to a predominantly white school, and the micro-aggressions that can stop you from moving up in your career--just to name a few.

Firstly, the mystery was such a ride. Everything seems pretty obvious, but as the story progresses, we start to see all of the different layers that Bryant has weaved into the story. There is more than one mystery happening, but I won't say what it is because it'll add beautifully to the final reveal.

I loved the love interest and how dreamy he seemed. On the surface he was this attractive man that so many of the moms and dads would eye, but on the inside he was a dork who showed immediate interest (and respect) to the MC. I loved that he worked alongside the MC because he was that support she didn't know she was missing.

It was great to see the story through the eyes of a single Black mom as well. We get to be with her as she experiences the micro-aggressions at her job, the way a few of the parents throw racist jabs at her, and how she is always on alert. But more importantly, we get to see how great of a mom she is, how much of a hard worker she can be, and how loved she is by the people who love and care for her--like her dad and daughter. And by the way, her daughter is the funniest little kid LOL. We also see how overwhelming it can be to always live with the internal and external expectations of what it means to be a mom, a hard worker, and a friend.

Overall, this was a timely mystery freckled with cute moments of romance and family. I laughed, I wanted to cry at points, and I was genuinely surprised at others. I'm both excited and wary of the next book, since this was so entertaining.

___

397. What We Fed to the Manticore by Talia Lakshmi Kolluri--⭐️⭐️

Honestly, I gave WHAT WE FED TO THE MANTICORE a listen because of the rave reviews.

I almost DNF'ed it a couple of times because I just wasn't getting hooked. But I fought through it and while the whole thing wasn't really something I'd read again, there were a few stories that did stand out to me--the rest had me feeling bored and wondering why I was still listening to this book. I'm clearly not a short story girly.

The stories I DID like had amazing messages behind them and left me thinking about this long into whatever story followed after. I really liked the manticore story, the first story broke my heart--especially because of the powerful message it delivered (the devastation of Palestine), and the wolf story was powerful because of how miscommunication is easy between humans and animals, leading to often murderous consequences.

I wish I could have connected to all of the stories because I can definitely see the appeal of this book.

___

398. Robopocalypse by Daniel H. Wilson--⭐️⭐️⭐️

Oh, look! Another book that's been on my shelves for YEARS. Finally picked it up this year and for the most part, I was very entertained.

I liked how this book first started with the collected experiences of people entering a robot-led end of the world scenario. It gave me very strong World War Z vibes in how we get to see the world falling apart through the eyes of different characters. I do wish the audiobook had been a full cast, however, that would have taken this story up an extra notch. But regardless, this book would make for a pretty great movie.

While the first half of the book had me hooked, the second half grew noticeably slower in pacing. Even though it was still intriguing, it definitely lacked that fast-paced nature that had immediately gotten my attention. I did like seeing these characters getting together to overcome their enemy, but I wanted to see a bit more from others surviving in this new world.

That being said, there was great emotion in this book and every time a character died, it hit me in the heart. Throughout their journey, I somehow felt like I was right there beside them along for the ride.

ROBOPOCALYPSE also had some great commentary on humanity and how we might be seen from an outside perspective. We can be a greedy, selfish, and hurtful species, but we can also be kind, selfless, loving, and big-hearted. It just goes to show how complicated it is to be human and how much can be missed when we're judged by a computer.

I need to read the sequel. This was also weirdly timely, so I don't know what that says about our world.

___

399. The Haunted Car by R.L. Stine--⭐️⭐️⭐️

THE HAUNTED CAR was one of those Goosebumps books that I can't quite put my finger on when it comes to how I feel about the story.

I think this is because of how interesting the family was. I liked how the MC and his brother got along, but also teased each other in a healthy way. The MC was actually worried at one point about saying things that might scare his brother, which was somewhat refreshing after reading others where the siblings absolutely loathed each other. And also, while the parents were still the stereotypical assholes who never believe their kids, something about them sat differently with them. I wish I could explain it.

The friends in this were random because they made an appearance and then exited right after. They were like a drive-by friend plotline that didn't even pause. It's one of those instances in books like this one that really showcase how short these stories are and how little development goes into writing them.

The car mystery was definitely interesting. It was definitely a show-stealer and very entertaining to see what would happen next when the MC got into it. It was also like a cautionary tale of "this is what happens when you don't listen to your parents". The villain's defeat was hilarious and unexpected, it was unexpectedly unique.

Anyway, another Goosebumps down!

___

400. Game Changer by Rachel Reid--⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

I devoured GAME CHANGER. I was originally going to read it alongside other books I'm currently reading, but after reading the first chapter, I kept thinking about these two MCs, so back to it I went.

These two characters are so sweet and awkward and I loved them for it. I also loved the bits where the one MC is starting to realize how much of his life he has wrapped around his new love, which prompts him to truly start striving for change in his life.

When compared to the next book in this series, this book has a much lower rating. I can understand why and I could see how Reid's writing got better over time. This read a lot like an excited first book in a series, but because I know how much better Reid gets, I enjoyed this for what it is. GAME CHANGER is definitely not the strongest book I've read in this genre, but it was fun, cute, and addicting as hell.

The miscommunication could have been heavily avoided, but I do like that they eventually did talk it out and that it wasn't something that was spread out over chapters and chapters of needless angst.

One thing though: There was A LOT of spicy scenes in this--dare I say, TOO MANY spicy scenes? I love that they lusted for each other so much, but it was a lot of sex lol. Other than that, I did like seeing how much they cared for each other outside of the bedroom and how they fought for their love.

Also, LOVED the little appearances of certain characters who will make it into the next few books of the series.

___

Happy reading!

[fantastic-mr-corvid]

How about 20 and 25 for Georgie, and 7, 30, and B for the twins!

Tyy!!! these are all so fun!! my awnsers got Looong so the rest are under teh read more<33

Georgie:

20, If they were asked to explain the difference between romantic and platonic or familial love, how would they do so?

Hmm. romantic as just a slightly different flavor of platonic, and familial as something stronger in some ways than both, familial is choosing to stay with someone through everything, where as most friends and lovers, however strong the feelings, are people who can fade in and out of your life. him being adopted causes this take on familial, and his calm approach to life & love shapes the others.

25, What are their thoughts on marriage?

Happily married to the love of his life Sosiel!! longer answer, he sees it as an extra step to show the bond you and a partner have, but doesn't see it as nessasery or an end goal, just one of the ways of pledging your love for someone [and throwing a big party!]

7, What triggers nostalgia for them, most often? Do they enjoy that feeling?

Celia: Most often? her close friends, but in general shes a very nostalgic person, constantly following threads of recognition back to the past, distracting herself from the constant threat of her situation in the warmth of the past, in the reassurance that shes made it through past struggles, she can make it through these, as well as reminding her what and who shes fighting for. she enjoys the feeling most of the time, and even recalling the horrors of the past can be reassuring to her.

Cecio: hmm. Wotr: everything? there is very little he cannot link back to Celia in his mind, to how she was when he was younger and how he thinks of her now. its less self soothing than Celia's nostalgia, and could be seen as self harm in a way, by constantly think of her and his complicated relationship with her. its not very healthy, but he morbidly enjoys the feeling sometimes.

30, Who do they most regret meeting?

Celia: Hmm. there is no one person that ruined or changed the course of Celia's life like Cecio, it was more of a butterfly effect over time. on one hand she regrets meeting her freind's and her part in dragging them further into the cycle of violence, but on the other she knows they had slim chances of surviving without her. I will say Polpo, even though she technically never met him as it was the lighter test & his stand puncturing her with the arrow that pushed her and her friends into a higher level of crime and violence, and her powerful stand meaning she would not be allowed to escape Passiones grasp.

Cecio: OOH. this is so good ill have to answer this both ways<3

wotr: his father, or the servant that took him to meet his father. if he had not met them, he would have stayed with Celia, stayed home. if he ever lest himself think about it, he would like to join the hellknights after her and eventually be able to fight side by side with her on the battlefield as an equal

jjba: the man who persuaded him to go undercover as a plant in the police force. while his urge to help his sister was preyed upon, and he is the only person other than Elena to have a genuine chance to escape the cycle, and he threw it away. then Passione didn't care about Celia's little brother, but by the time Rametto was 16, he had no other path than to take the test, which made Cecio feel guilt and regret over throwing his chance away. he would have been a defense lawyer, working to defend the people of his community, he had the grades and charm.

B, What inspired you to create them?

Celia i've already answered here but ill put myself on blast with Cecio.

Haurchefant Greystone. its so weird saying to now bc they are so completely different, but one fic i read made the very interesting choice to make his relationship with his father strained [in an au where he survived] and it was so fascinating to me!

i then pulled my dragoon oc and made her his half sister, someone left behind when Haurchefant was taken in by his father, and then combined it with him getting mistreated by his stepmother, leaving Celia to work to fund his knight training, as well as use the only method of social mobility she had, becoming a dragoon and attempting to become the azure dragoon. she fucking hates estinian and tries to kill him several times in her attempt to become the azure dragoon. yes im still anooyed by him from the drg job quests. i love him but i show it by throwing him on a cliff

silver hair and being a bastard son is what little remains, but i do imagine Cecio's friendly act, especially in pre-game in wotr is very similar to how Haurchefant acts.

[autisticrosewilson]

For the ship thing: rosecass and jayjoey

Rosecass my beloved <33333 I think that they have SO much in common and they're perfect mirrors of each other in a lot of ways. I also think that no matter how much romantic tension is between them, neither of them will ever give up on their goals.

Cass will never be content to let Rose kill and Rose will never stop fighting for her goals (whatever those are at the time) and whether those goals align with Cass's is up to chance. They have the potential to be really good together but they also chafe against each other.

By no means do I think this relationship would be particularly healthy but it would be INTERESTING and they would both commit everything they have to it and it's probably going hurt badly when it ends.

What can I say though I am a sucker for Tragic queer people. Speaking of which, Joeyjay is so absolutely soul shattering to me.

Like the parallels! The themes! The drama! Imagine that you're Joey and losing your older brother because your father fucking SUCKS has inspired you to be a hero, mainly out of spite, and partly to avenge your mother (who your relationship can be described as "tense" with at best).

And now you have this friend/leader with a new little brother whose small and frail but still fights to meet his dad's expectations and is constantly in the shadow of his more athletic and ambitious older brother when he would really just like to be loved and perhaps read a book somewhere quietly.

And you love your friend, you can see why what his dad did by putting a new kid in his dead family's Colors without telling him is upsetting. But all the fighting is putting a wedge between the two brothers and all you can see is how Alone this kid is, how deep and biting your friends anger can be, how much them losing each other is going to hurt.

So you spend some more time with the kid, and look at that! You have similar interests. He likes classic metal but you've got him hooked on Queen and David Bowie and your friends complaining about infecting him with your music taste. You like the same kinds of poetry, his school is preforming your favorite musical and you help him learn his lines, neither of you like when fruit is too soft but you both have sweet tooths. He fights like your brother. You two never spar.

You teach him how to make flower crowns and he teaches you how to hotwire a car. You edit his essays and short stories and he poses as long as you want him to so you can draw him. You really like drawing him. Your friend would skin you if he knew. What he doesn't know won't hurt him.

Now imagine you're Jason. You are starving, and not even for food, anymore. But you are so hungry for every scrap of love you can get. Your brother doesn't like you. He doesn't hate you, he tries to keep you out of fights with dad, but you can tell how strained his affection for you is.

You try to make it better, you side with him over Bruce even when you worry it'll be the thing that gets you kicked out, and you follow every order with almost no back talk, and you stay far from underfoot. You make yourself small and unnoticeable, because you've always been good at that.

But someone does notice you. A pretty boy with luminous eyes and shiny hair and artists hands. You don't know if you like boys yet, not sure if you like anyone, but you're sure you like this boy. You think he might like you too, if not the same way you like him.

He's your first for a lot of things; The first time you visit your mother's grave, Joey is who you come back to. The first time you put on makeup, he is the one who helps with your eyeliner. The first time you have a "sleepover", it's you Rose and Joey building a blanket fort in his bedroom.

It's New Years Eve on the roof of Titans tower, and when midnight comes around, he's not your first kiss. But it's the first time you kissed back. It's the first time you didn't want it to stop.

Dick would hate you, you're sure. Rose would never talk to you again. Bruce would stop forcing you to the Tower whenever he has an excuse. You don't know enough about Slade Wilson to know if he'd do anything, but you're not keen on finding out.

You ask Joey out, leave flowers (pink camellia) and a note neatly on his desk.

He's the first time you've ever been rejected too. You stop talking to Joey, and it's only meant to be temporary. Until it's not. Until he's standing next to his best friend, your brother, trying not to sob while "DECEASED" flashes in bold red letters next to your picture.

There's a single text message from you when he comes back to earth, he never opens it.

[deathbysatellite]

Xander Clavell died, leaving the Ivey's and Martin Hong the only remaining branch of the Clavell line. Xander apparently had many inheritors, yet left them all nothing. Fitting for a mean-spirited moocher.

Giselle can't seem to make up her mind about her brother. First she wants him dead, now she wants to be BFFs with him.

*Sigh* That's your family too, Giselle. Unless you're criticizing Shing's dead father, which is worse

May may be getting older, but that doesn't mean she can't still kick your ass

May ran into Mortimer during an attempt to have the family watch a movie (it switched to a concert in the middle of the action, preventing Gen and Jian's wishes to see a movie from being fulfilled), and finally snatched that first kiss

Giselle has been studying handiness lately, and tried her hand at fixing the broken computer. As you can see, it did not go well. Perhaps she should leave the electronics to her mom

During another unsuccessful attempt at getting the family to see a movie, May left early, because Mortimer, who was now her romantic interest after that kiss, was flirting with another woman.

May: Just smile through the pain

But no time to worry about that, because it's Shing's turn to become middle aged

ARE YOU SERIOUS??? RIGHT AS HE BLOWS OUT THE CANDLES TOO!!!

May just can't catch a break today. She finds a man she had genuine feelings for flirting with another woman, a friend of hers dies, and now the Grim Reaper steals her food

Because this string of bad luck isn't over yet, the game decides this family needs one last burglary

"Unfortunately, it looks like the burglar was able to get away."

You mean that burglar? The one right in front of you?

A trained police officer can't subdue the burglar, but a scrawny teenager with no athletic skill is able to overpower him.

With one day left before Samir's birthday, now the game decides to give me the omniplant opportunity. I've never managed to get an omniplant before, despite gardening likely being my most utilized feature in this game, and it looks like I'm not about to get one now. :(

I had to get a mod to fix glitchy subjects like the dropa stone set, but May has now completed three photography collections (the other two being Travel, and Architecture)

NOW TAMARA, TOO?? Mortimer, you bastard! You have the Flirty trait, not the Commitment Issues trait!

Then he went right back to May and started flirting with her, right in front of Tamara!

Looks like it is possible to die of a broken heart

After finally managing to get the family to see a movie together, Martin and Shing headed out to the campgrounds I set up by the waterfall for some alone time. Martin's little happy face at being serenaded is so cute!

Serenade, seduce, success

To celebrate Samir's upcoming birthday, the family watches some fireworks I still had leftover

And Samir breaks out the bottle of nectar he bought in Champ Les Sims to share with the adults. Turns out, Snob Sims have a different drinking animation for nectar. They'll swish it around in their mouth and gargle it, like some kind of wine connoisseur.

I'm really gonna miss May and Martin. According to the date on this post, these two, along with Myra, were born almost exactly four years ago. That's four whole years I got to spend with them; helping them achieve their goals, building their skills, wealth, and family, and playing one of my favorite packs through them. I have backups saved after important moments, so I can always go back to these two if I want, but this is still one of the hardest goodbyes I've had to make to a set of Sims.

But now it's time for Samir to age up, and for him and Jian to move on to greener, swampier pastures.

After much indecisiveness on my end between three hairstyles, Samir has cut his hair short this time around. Now that he's fully grown, I can definitely see he has not only his mother's eyes and nose, but also her mouth, making him look quite a bit like Martin (especially since they both have Janelle's hair color). And much like how May had a separate Everyday outfit for when she's adventuring, Samir has a separate Everyday outfit for inventing

The process of actually getting everything set up and the two of them moved in took hours! First, no matter what I tried, I could not split the household in Edit Town. For some reason, they wouldn't appear in the clipboard, and when I went back to the family, while the Sims were still present on the lot, the portrait panel was completely empty.

So next, I tried moving them out via the phone onto an empty lot. I double checked everything I wanted them to keep was in their inventories (including the life fruit, palladium, and pink diamond that Samir is going to need to make a Simbot), deleted everything from the family inventory and reduced their funds. Then I was able to save them to the library.

Then I plopped them down in a house, only to realize during setup that I forgot to take a cell phone photo of Samir before leaving. Of course, I could have just had Jian take a picture, but I wanted to have a nicer wall behind Samir than what their little swamp shack could provide. So I repeat the process, having May take a picture before sending the boys on their way.

Only this time, when I moved them in, all the cell phone photos were missing, except for Janelle and Ransom's. I tried over and over again, going through the tedious process of toggling WA on and off in order to switch between saves. I tried waiting until I placed them in Twinbrook to delete their family inventory. I tried saving them without taking the new photo. I tried switching who's inventory I place them in. All to no avail.

Until I realized I had accidentally left WA enabled the first go around. So I tried placing them down with WA still ticked in the launcher. The photos survive. I save, quit, disable WA, and go back into the save. The photos are gone again. For some reason, despite cell phone photos being a base game feature, it looks like the coding changes to photography made by WA means any photo taken after the pack is installed/enable counts as a WA object instead. I sincerely hope I won't have to deal with this issue again with UL, but chances are I will.

So I grab the earliest backup I had after Martin and Shing's wedding. I edited the necessary outfits to be BG only, save, quit, and disable WA. Go back into it, and take completely new portrait pictures for the portraits and wedding photos, move Martin out and save him to the library. Move him into Twinbrook, and use MasterController to transfer the photos to Samir's inventory, then use Total Annihilation on him. Have Jian take a cell phone photo of Samir, and get everything else in the new house set up.

And after all that mess, I can finally say goodbye Sunset Valley...

...and hello Twinbrook

[shipwrrck]

To me Ashley reads more like someone who had made somewhat peace with her unrequited feelings after having had been desperately yearning for a guy who constantly shuts her down for more than a decade. As long as she can stay with Andrew, even if he doesn't love her back, even if he hates her, she doesn't care.

She is brash and confident, she knows who she is as a person and doesn't care about anyone else or what others might think of her to the point that even basic human decency or the concept of morality mean very little to her (unlike her brother who tries to fit in and be normal, act normal), but when it comes to Andrew she constantly falters and lets her doubts and anxieties slip through. She is too insecure to really believe (until chapter 2, burial route) that Andrew would ever love her, because, as she had insisted multiple times (for example Nina's death), she believes that he wouldn't ever choose her and if she hadn't managed to successfully trap him, he too would have left her already, just like everyone else. Deep down, under her nonchalant facade, it seems like she had already accepted that Andrew doesn't love her and would never be able to love her, even if she despises the fact.

And can you even blame her? I mean you can, she is a fucked up person as a whole, but the whole world is crazy in one way or another, she has some real fancy untreated problems and the only guy who matters in her life, who is both her brother, her caretaker, her only friend and her romantic interest all in one, is also an asshole who can not make up his mind for shit and there is only so many times one can be rejected before they take it to the heart to some extent.

Andrew is a pussy, there is no going around that, he wants her just as bad as she wants him but he is too scared to admit it. I think the main reason he even dares to be so abrasive to her is only because he has full confidence in the fact that Ashley will always stay with him, no matter how hard he pushes her away (and he is right, even after 2 murder attempts Ashley will still go "omg relationship goals <3").

So the two of them are locked in this volatile, vacillating but relatively safe game of tug of war that neither of them is willing to let go of, but the minute they ease their grip (burial route, Ashley starts trusting Andrew, Andrew is more honest with her) their relationship starts to get more gentle and loving, which Ashley has a hard time dealing with. She gets the one thing she had ever wanted, Andrew's undivided love and yet the minute she gets it she folds? She looks so lost and unable to deal with this new development their relationship took and nor can she stop herself from questioning this newfound fondness Andrew shows her so openly. Your honor, my client is showing clear signs of insecurity here, which the vision does little to ease btw, because had grown far too accustomed to the hopelessness to see it for what it is, or to put it another way, she is dumb as Fuck. Just look at how even after AAAALLLLL that she still makes a comment about how it had shown her a new way to keep him around, because she is still thinking about having to "keep him around". There is Literally no need for that GIRL SNAP OUT OF IT 😭😭

What I'm getting at is that Ashley is too down bad to realize that Andrew would ever reciprocate her feelings, so the idea of their relationship turning sexual (without romantic feelings) doesn't really excite her and I don't blame her. Allo, demi, ace, doesn't matter in the overall picture here, most people wouldn't want to have sex with someone they are Crazy in love with, when the other party doesn't even love them back and they just want to use their body for sex. Most self-respecting adults (who don't have a kink for that) would turn that shit down, but Ashley isn't like most self-respecting adults, in fact she isn't self-respecting at all, no matter how unfullfilling and maybe even self-destructive it would be for her, she would willingly do anything to make him stay. Because she is an idiot who managed to miss the whole point like she was dodging bullets. Atleast, that is my interpretation.

Ashley Graves is asexual to me, or at least not conventionally allo/het. All the fan fics/comics where she is depicted as explicitly and hopelessly horny for Andrew feel out of character to me. Like that isn’t how Ashley talks about sex in the actual game. She doesn’t express sexual attraction, not even towards Andrew, despite her being otherwise deeply in love, dependent on and obsessed with him and not afraid to show it.

Ashley jokes about sex for sure, but finding sex funny and having sexual attraction are two different things. And like Ashley’s attitude to sex tends to be transactional, as when she thinks of having sex it’s not for its own sake, but as a way to get something. Having sex with the neighbor and getting pregnant to escape quarantine, or doing sex work.

Ashley’s joking attitude to sex and lack of expressed sexual attraction mirrors Andrew in a way. He is obviously extremely horny for her but has severely repressed it, and he is rather humorless about Ashley’s sex jokes, because the subject of sex is a sore spot because of that repression. Andrew only laughs at her blowjob joke in the incest vision because he is finally letting go of that repression and can see the humor.

Now, Ashley being asexual and not into Andrew in that way doesn’t mean coffincest isn’t real. She has good reasons to fuck Andrew that isn’t sexual attraction. Andrew might break if she doesn’t. The decay route shows Andrew might go insane and kill Ashley and then himself as the only way to resolve the contradiction between who he is, an incestous murderer-cannibal and his desire to be normal. And even on the “sane” non-incestous burial route, the sibling’s relationship is noticeably colder than on the “questionable” incest route. That’s because Andrew is holding back his affection for Ashley because of his repression of his incestuous desires.

And above all Ashley wants Andrew to drop the act of being aloof from her and finally admit his love for her. Part of coffincest for my brain is that it is Ashley being transactional about sex again, but what she gets out of it here is very much everything she wants. An Andrew who can freely and fully admit to his feelings for her, who doesn’t repress or uses other women for sex as substitutes for the woman he actually desires. And well, there are many asexuals who don’t experience sexual attraction but enjoy the act of sex, maybe Ashley is one of them.

(Of course I am open to another explanation for why Ashley is the way she is about sex: she is a repressed lesbian who can’t fully express her feelings until her sister’s egg cracks, but that’s probably a whole other post)

[animeyanderelover]

Anonymous asked: Can I please request Sebastian and Claude falling for a darling who is Ciel's older sister?

Darling is 18+.

Tw: Yandere themes, unhealthy mindset, unhealthy relationship, possessive behavior, obsession, stalking, jealousy, manipulation

Darling is Ciel's older sister

Sebastian Michaelis

🐈‍⬛Sebastian’s end goal is a simple and familiar one. Ciel is nothing more than his temporary master until he can devour his soul after the contract is fulfilled. It isn’t supposed to be more complicated yet when Ciel returns and his sister comes running to him with tears in her eyes, Sebastian is in a daze when he’s confronted with your soul. It’s absolutely enchanting and he can’t help but stare a bit before you notice the odd man behind your younger brother who introduces himself to you as the new butler. You have a sharp intuition and sense that something is strange about him, Sebastian admires that. It’s all confirmed when he repairs the burnt mansion in less than a day that you confront both of them about it, pointing out how this man can’t possibly be a human. Sebastian watches amused as Ciel tries to come up with an excuse, stuttering in front of his older sister and her penetrating gaze. Seems like even his master is helpless in front of his older sister. You see right through every lie of his, Sebastian essentially letting his master doing this all alone. It isn’t until you pull Ciel protectively behind you and glare at him that he ends up taking action.

🐈‍⬛You’re afraid of the demon but not even a creature of hell will separate you from your brother again. Ciel insists that it’s going to be fine since Sebastian will listen to him but you can’t help but be distraught when you hear of the condition for the demon to serve Ciel. You beg your brother to not go through with the plan, terrified to lose your only family left yet Ciel is determined to get his revenge. Sebastian himself reminds you that he can’t break off the contract anymore, it’s too late for that. You end up despising the demon because he’s going to take your brother away from you and Sebastian finds himself actually a bit bothered. You coldly ignore him or glare silently at him, although you’re wise enough to not lose your composure. Ciel doesn’t plan to change your mind either, he understands where your strong dislike comes from. Sebastian on the other hand quite enjoys your presence since your snarky yet collected and graceful. You’re such a enrapturing little thing with an outstanding soul. Since he is the butler of the house, you spend a lot of time around him too.

🐈‍⬛You often catch him staring at you longer than appropriate, notice how he surrounds you as much as he can and constantly asks you if there’s anything he can do for you. You deny him at any chance you can and as soon as the other servants start working, you always come running to them for help. The glint of disapproval in his red eyes never flies over your head. You and your brother are sharp and intelligent so both of you conclude at one point that the demon has a romantic interest in you. He grows the borderline of clingy, especially if he has been away on missions in which case he always seeks you out at first, his touches grow slightly more bold as he occasionally brushes you lightly and he always injects himself in an interaction between you and another noble who tries to woo you. When you attend to balls with your family, his gaze never leaves you and there's an unsettling feeling settling in when he sees you chatting or even dancing with someone else. He always uses such chances to ask you for a dance too as soon as he has separated you from your partner, an arm tightly wrapped around your waist when he swirls you around.

🐈‍⬛ Ciel orders him at one point to stop acting like this around you, scared for his sister. There's a short flash of something akin to mild anger in Sebastian's eyes before it quickly disappears and he accepts. The demon has his composure intact differently from his young lord who is now a bit freaked out since he doesn't want someone like Sebastian near his sister. He knows that the demon takes what he wants, you won't be an exception. Sebastian can afford to stay back simply because he knows he has basically won already. As soon as the contract is fulfilled, he is free to do whatever he wants. Ciel and you know that too and it makes you sick to your stomach when you catch the butler smirking victoriously at you yet you know that there's nothing you can do nor can Ciel. Ciel on the other hand might just regret for the first time seriously the contract he formed since he never wanted you to end up forcefully with Sebastian. As some last effort to save your brother you might approach the butler and ask him to let Ciel live and in return you'll go freely with him and will accept anything he will do to you.

Claude Faustus

🕷️ His master has a weird fascination with the head of the Phantomhive company, nothing Claude cares for much. Without a doubt he has a rivalry going on with the demon of the Phantomhive boy though, Sebastian and him share a strong dislike for each other. He's heard of Ciel's older sister, a woman as graceful as clever and witty. He's never met you before though and he doesn't really pay much attention to your existence. That isn't until a ball is held and nobles like Alois and Ciel are invited. His gaze immediately goes to Sebastian as he senses his distasteful presence and the other demon stares back in a provoking manner. Then his eyes wander to the young master and the woman standing next to you and that's when he suddenly senses your soul. He's caught off-guard now that his focus isn't on the other demon anymore, your soul is absolutely delightful. Alois most likely seeks out Ciel himself to fake some friendly interaction when in reality he just wants to make him angry and Claude tags willingly along, drawn in by you. His gaze never leaves you once and you notice too.

🕷️ Sebastian catches on quickly, to Claude's great dissatisfaction. The red-eyed demon suddenly surrounds you more and prevents Claude from getting any closer to you. Additionally Alois demands Claude's presence and Sebastian just flashes him a mocking grin when he has to tag along with his own young master. His gaze never leaves you though and he gladly ignores everything Alois tells him. Sadly he never gets his desired dance with you and instead Sebastian asks you for a dance specifically to rub the other demon in the wrong spot. If Alois actually manages to get a dance with you too, Claude will silently brood and is likely to express some sort of coldness towards his own master for the rest of the evening. He's unhappy when you have to leave, unwilling to let a rarity like you leave him, all the more because of Sebastian. He spends the rest of the night pitying such a waste, as of now unaware who you really are for him. It becomes evident for him the following days though as he gradually grows more and more irritated and your scent and image linger with him. You won't go away.

🕷️ This change and loss of control irritates Claude even more as he is confused to why his feelings are acting up to the point where glitches of his true form appear. Hannah watches him warily and grows more protective of Alois. At one point she approaches Claude who snaps at her as he tries to calm down. She has attended the ball as well, she has sensed Claude's interest in you too. And now she suggests to him that you might be his mate since it would explain his behavior. Separation from a mate gnaws away at a demon's sanity after all. Honestly, the term of mates has been sort of ridiculed by Claude so far, he denies Hannah's suggestion yet in his heart he can't fully deny her words. He leaves the same night and lurks around the Phantomhive mansion, well aware that he can't get any closer since Sebastian would sense him. He catches your aura faintly though and it manages to soothe his inner turmoil a bit. He stays hours until he realizes that he has to go back or else Alois will be furious. It leaves a slight stinging to leave but at least he has confirmed Hannah's words now. You are indeed his mate. What irony.

🕷️ He's bound to Alois and has a feeling that Sebastian knows what you mean to him so Claude is in a more tricky situation. He grows angry and irritated due to your lack of presence and tends to lash out on Alois. At the same time he tries to manipulate the boy into seeing the Phantomhive more often so can be near you. When he has to get something, he often makes detours so he can pass by the Phantomhive mansion in hopes of catching a glimpse of you. He even threatens Hannah at one point to help him since otherwise he will make Alois pay since he knows what the brat means to the female demon. Claude could try to charm you but that is too draining and would take too much time. Especially since you know what he is and dislike demons since one of them will take Ciel's soul away from you. Abduction is the only option he has left, it's at least the only one the demon can see within his possessive side and growing impatience. If push comes to pull, Claude will even end the contract with Alois since the boy has grown into an utter nuisance. He will have you and he will kill anyone who stands in his way.

[hamliet]

Hi! I just want to say I love your alchemy meta posts related to asoiaf! So many things clicked after reading them. Wanted to ask, you mentioned that Dany/Jon have an active/passive motif in their respective arcs, can you elaborate on that? Does it refer to their future arc in TWOW? (Dany going all out on slavery/conquest, Jon adopting a more apathetic attitude to the impeding doom of the Long Night...)

Hi!! So, you're here to nag me about the meta I said I would write and never did despite outlining it, yes, fair enough. (I'm kidding with you! Thanks actually for this kick in the pants.)

It's actually a motif for both Jon and Dany's arcs throughout the entire story. So let's start by redefining again what the point of passive/active is. In alchemy, the main goal is the "union of opposites," usually embodied in two characters in literature. The classic opposites tend to have the following motifs/symbols associated with them:

Male: Sun, sulphur, fire and air, hot and dry, red, gold, heart, active.

Female: Moon, mercury (or quicksilver), earth and water, cool and moist, white, silver, mind, passive.

ASOIAF switches the genders, which is very interesting. Jon is marked as white, water (snow), has qualities of mercury (mercury can shift states very easily; Jon goes undercover), is cunning, is of course associated with the cold north. Dany...

Well, Dany actually starts A Game of Thrones as passive (not wanting to marry Drogo and begging Viserys not to make her), but by the end of the first book she is fully active. This actually fits her other "alchemical" motifs because she starts off as white, the "moon of [Drogo's] life,", silver, etc. but by the end of the first book is reborn out of fire, and is therefore marked as sun, sulfur, gold, fire and air (flying on fire-breathing dragons), hot and dry (the territory of Essos), etc.

And of course, Dany is active, while Jon is passive. Let's go through the books, shall we? The active/passive motif exists in relationships as well as their internal motivations/personal goals.

Let's compare their (romantic/sexual) relationships first. Jon is reluctant to get involved with Ygritte and only does when there is little choice; he is attracted to her, so I wouldn't say it's nonconsensual, but there's also certainly an element of "do it or die." Dany also had little choice with Drogo, but by the middle of AGOT she's the one initiating public sex with him without any shame.

Jon's other quasi-romantic relationship so far is with Val, which thus far is (and likely will forever remain) unconsummated, with Jon fully committing to never violating his vows again. He also refuses to marry Val even though doing so would be politically expedient for Stannis. In contrast, Daenerys initiates with Daario, and she is the one who decides to marry Hizdahr even though she doesn't want to, for reasons of political expedience. She's actively making these choices.

It's even present in how they treat subordinates in regards to sex. Dany has sex with Irri and feels guilty for it, because even if Irri is happy to do so, she's still Dany's servant, and Dany knows there's an uncomfortable power dynamic there and expressly feels guilt over it. Jon is instead defined by what he doesn't do: his brothers of the Night's Watch spread rumors about him and Satin, but the reality is that nothing is going on and there probably isn't any attraction there either. Dany takes action; Jon does nothing and thinks that it'll all blow over and people will come to accept Satin, when that is very naive. (I'm not saying Jon is doing anything wrong; he's not. It's just an interesting parallel I noticed.)

Then let's talk their purposes and internal motivations. Jon defines himself as illegitimate, as Ned Stark's bastard. Daenerys defines herself as the rightful heir to the Targaryen dynasty. How does this translate into active vs passive?

Daenerys is active in regards to protecting slaves and freeing them. She just doesn't always do it wisely. But she intervenes and stops several assaults and frees people, crowning herself queen in Meereen to stay queen.

Jon, on the other hand, is a lot more passive. He refuses to help Gilly when she asks for help at the visit to Craster's because it's just not done and would violate his vows. Jon is forced by Qhorin Halfhand to go undercover with the Wildings; literally, he's pushed into it. Even when he is elected as Lord Commander of the Night's Watch, he did not campaign for himself nor seek it out. It's passivity, and a sharp contrast to Daenerys's deliberate seeking of power.

However, what they both do with power is very similar. Daenerys wants to free people and save them. Jon, too, wants to save the Wildlings. They can't help but empathize with people mistreated around them. Daenerys definitely sees herself in slaves (sold to Drogo), in sexual assault victims (again, Drogo), and in people forcibly taken to strange lands (being raised in Essos, always on the run). Jon sees himself in the Wildlings, always defined as an "other" despite being very human (Wildlings and bastards are treated differently for no legitimate reason). Both struggle with duty vs passion, with Dany choosing duty (Hizdahr) over passion (Daario), and Jon of course as well (choosing the Night's Watch over Ygritte and over Val).

As for the future, well. Every character tends to become "the monster you think I am," to quote Tyrion. What is the monster everyone thinks Daenerys is? What is the monster everyone thinks Jon is?

The Mad King's Daughter.

Bastards are craven.

Both quotes occur multiple times in every single book. Both Jon and Dany try to define themselves as different from this. Jon refuses to be craven. Dany is in denial about who her father was, but there's also a level wherein she worries about her own sanity, so she suspects something.

Both Jon and Dany also make an opposite decision in A Dance With Dragons. Jon finally chooses to be active and march south; the problem is that this completely destroys duty and is foolish. Dany chooses to be passive and robes herself in white and pearls again in her marriage to Hizdahr. It just... doesn't work out for either of them.

Both have tried so hard, and gotten nothing. They're going to sink into their flaws, their tendencies towards activity and passivity, and also become the monsters people think they are. HOWEVER. Their arcs are not going to end with them as monsters. They need to see what they are capable of becoming to truly face their demons and overcome them.

Daenerys is going to go on the warpath in The Winds of Winter. I think that's very clear from her final chapter in A Dance With Dragons. She tried to temper herself. She chained her dragons. She married a Meereenese man. She let the fighting pits reopen. It hasn't brought the peace she's been seeking. I think she'll use fire and blood to subdue her enemies and take Westeros.

Jon, on the other hand, has just been killed. Melisandre is clearly going to resurrect him. He wanted to march south and ditch duty before he died, and I don't doubt he'll ditch duty. Why hang around the Night's Watch when they just killed you? He's probably going to sink into apathy, especially once he finds out that Arya is not the girl in need of rescue. His family is nowhere around him. He was just killed by his new "brothers." Why bother? Why keep caring? Why keep trying? I definitely see him ditching the Watch but not coming to Stannis's aid either.

Also, both will get a reveal about their parents. Dany will learn that the Mad King was truly evil when King's Landing blows up in her face in a green blur of her dad's wildfyre. Jon will learn he's actually not Ned Stark's bastard... not even his son, in fact. Dany's reveal will be a result of her action, Jon's will almost certainly be a reveal from someone else to him, not his own searching. Dany will be horrified because of what her father wanted to do and what she committed (even if she didn't mean to go so far), while Jon will be horrified by what was omitted by the man he thought was his father.

But the answers to their problems can be found through each other. Jon will find his family again--his siblings Arya, Bran, maybe Rickon, and Sansa--and meet Sam again, too. He'll find love with Daenerys, someone who has messed up atrociously and still wants to do good. And he'll find out that being a Targaryen is not a taint through her; even when you'e messed up, you can still be a hero. Daenerys will be wondering why on earth she even has her dragons and how she can possibly rule after leaving the city in ashes, and along come the Others. She's the only one who can defeat them. She'll just have killed f!Aegon (likely unintentionally) and knew he was a fraud, but here's an actual family member. She's not the last Targaryen; instead of seeing that as a threat, I think she'll see it as a comfort eventually. Dany will help Jon remember his duty again, and Jon will help Dany love and be loved again, and together they'll save the world.

[lipstickchainsaw]

Victoria/Lisa

So, the running joke here is that these two act like a divorced couple forced to hang out because of shared custody, and that's a good joke, but let's dig a little further!

Lisa is not interested in relationships for herself, in either the romantic or the sexual side. She is in no way attracted to people, but there are hints that she's still a little romantic at heart.

She sets Taylor up with Brian, for example. Now, how much of that is because of her desire to give Taylor a happy and fulfilling life to counteract her suicidal urges, and how much of it is Lisa living vicariously through other people is up for debate (and I'd probably lean on the former, personally), but let's look at it from both sides.

For the latter, despite Lisa's cynicism, she eventually admits to herself that she actually gives a shit about humanity, about people, and wants to see them survive and live. This is a conclusion she comes to at the worst possible time in Worm, and that drives much of her motivation in Ward. A part of her really does want to see people happy, including in ways she herself isn't actually interested in.

And for the former, well, Lisa put a lot of effort into saving Taylor (and is saved by Taylor in return), but, in the end, she could not stop Taylor from sacrificing herself when that seemed to be the one thing to do. This left Lisa adrift. She attaches herself to people like Taylor in order to save them, in order to make up for what she feels is her failure to save her brother (see my post about her name), but, after Worm, the loss of Taylor weighs heavy on her, and none of the people around her are doing badly enough to need her.

So instead she's trying to keep the world on the rails in her supervillain mastermind way, which is something she wants, but doesn't satisfy her, and she gets cranky because of it, and drives her friends away, and gets harsher in the choices she makes for the world, spiraling without anything to grab onto, to help her focus.

And then Victoria comes back.

Victoria's spent two years in the hospital, and another two years barely living, going through life as if by rote. She's deeply uncomfortable in her own skin for Amy related reasons, and not particularly happy with her power, also for Amy related reasons, and also not exactly willing to think about herself being in a relationship, also for Amy related reasons. Sexually, she is interested in guys, but a lot of this is because she has some seriously conflicted feelings about any potential interest she might have in girls, for, well, three guesses.

Throughout the early arcs of Ward, Victoria finds some zest in her life, and comes back to life, finding her passion in heroism, and that's because one of the villains of her old hometown, one of the catalysts for the Amy situation, one of her own failures, comes right back to poke at her, and is she going to let her? Absolutely not!

The relationship that forms following that is mutual antagonism, with Victoria not wanting to just let this villain ruin more lives, and Lisa incredibly annoyed this ill-informed hero starts getting in her way of saving people. Both of them are wrong about each other, of course (Lisa's motives are more altruistic than Victoria is assuming, but Victoria is absolutely right to stop Lisa's more callous tendencies).

More importantly, however, the mutual antagonism is healthy for them both. It gives Victoria a goal, someone to spite, and the antagonism and the barbs are honestly a kind of security blanket an almost safe way of dealing with her personal vulnerabilities, and Victoria hones Lisa's focus, with someone who can actually hold her to account when she starts messing up, and someone she starts giving a shit about, despite her own reluctance to get there.

They don't come up with the idea of working together themselves, because the hatred is genuine, but both their teammates are more willing to cross the hero/villain gap, and, eventually, they become each other's first thought when they need someone on the other side of that divide.

As things go on, they settle into some kind of weird absolutely not friendship, where the barbs never stop, and they don't even stop being genuinely mean, but they're also safe, because they know each other well, and their hatred of each other as 'evil villain' and 'ignorant hero' both softens and hardens into 'this bitch is so close to doing it right, but she just has to be an asshole/idealist'.

And the fun part is that they never stop doing this! They just start hanging out together more, without this making them like each other more. Them hanging out together changes how they view the world, and it makes them both better at their side of the 'keep the world together' job, but they never fully resolve this conflict, even when they both start mentoring the same teen superhero/villain team.

Which is why they have bitter exes vibes throughout, and it makes for a great relationship dynamic.

A: I love it