#Evil Genius (trope)

[butch-kyouka]

any other autistic ppl feel like their monotone voice and blatant honesty makes ppl assume they are an archetype of an asd coded character rather than a full ass human being or is it just me

[firemama]

copaganda crime tv shows should be classed as scifi because the premise of the corrupt justice/police system is just too fantasy.

[inky-here]

shoutout to 9-10 year old me who was on a play date with a friend and straight up made a story where a villain defeated a hero by knowingly exploiting their selflessness: kidnapping their sidekick and making the hero sacrifice themselves for them

I was evil monologuing and everything it must've been very epic

[kookies2000]

When Trolls 2 came out, some people were mad they made Rock and Roll the villains. But if you watch the film and know the history of rock music, it makes perfect sense why Rock and Roll were the villains along with the Pop Trolls. White Rock and Roll artists stole music from blacks and Mexicans.

Just look up Rock and Roll history. Or at least Mexican rock and roll. The same happened when people like the King of Rock himself took the spotlight from black artists. Rock and Roll was basically colonized. The same thing the Rock Trolls I'm Trolls 2 are doing.

Ps, I still like Elvis music, though. Just wish Mexican and black artists got credit more.

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

It is good to know that Vosdra chose the designation for the Blorgons himself, based upon his race’s name, the Globnors,

rather than having some brand-new character introduced to suggest a bunch of anagrams that sound nothing remotely like the evil we know the Blorgons will become.

[i-have-41-protons]

It’s 2AM and this is a crazy idea but HEAR ME OUT OK

I think I found a way to make love potions SCIENTIFICALLY

So the thing IS you could microchip a human and make the chip recognize you/some other specific person by microchipping yourself and making the chip in the other human see your location,,,,,,,,,, and when you’re right next to the person, there should be some weird mechanism that will inject the happiness/love/whatever hormone into that human,,,,,,,,, so they will get the Pavlov reaction to you, but you won’t actually have to do anything except somehow get them microchipped and invent that weird mechanism, but I’m not gonna get into that unless I become a rich evil genius scientist (which is quite likely at this rate, and if I get the chance, I will grab it with all my five limbs — yes, the head too, I will bite the chance to become an evil scientist with unlimited funding)

SO!!! This would also be great for corrupted rich bitches that dare call themselves parents, who want to get their kids into an arranged marriage!! Like they could do this from their very birth and then said kids would just think they’ve got a huge crush on each other!!!!!!!!!! Isn’t that awesome

However there might be some problems with their health? But I’m only starting my year ten so I don’t rlly know rn……..,,,,,,………

Anyways, enjoy being an evil genius if you are one, and good night and every other time of day to people around the world!

[cultofdionysusnet]

Check out the eighteenth flower picked by Topaz for our The Language of Flowers Event!

ℑ 𝔠𝔞𝔫 𝔣𝔦𝔵 𝔶𝔬𝔲

🖤Third Flower chosen for The Language of Flowers event held by @cultofdionysusnet

🖤Prompt Chosen: black lily {love, curse}

🖤Pairing: Crazy Evil Genius! Yunho x Cyborg Naga! Reader (f)

🖤Genre: smut with plot!

🖤Trope: coworkers to lovers

🖤Au: sci-fi, cyborg, evil genius, hybrid

🖤Rating: 18+, MDNI

🖤Warnings: cybernetic enhancements without consent!, Yunho is genuinely off his rocker, mentions of murder, accidental dismemberment, explosions, death ⚠Kinks~ sub! yunho, dom! reader, fingering, oral (f)

🖤Word Count: 2,549

🖤Summary: when a devastating accident in the engine room destroys your body, a scientist offers his abilities to repair you... he sees a beauty, you see a beast. His love is truly a cursed one

🖤Author's Note: a thank you must go to @stardragongalaxy for getting an idea from Coachella Yunho, brainstorming it with me, and then gifting me said idea. you are the most generous soul I know

🖤divider by @cafekitsune

You walked through the garden of the ship Treasure, running your hands over the lush leaves and smelling the open flowers. You had done everything you could to fix the ship but it had taken on too much damage. So you moved to a vantage point, the beautiful five pane sealed dome of the gardens, to view the ship’s brilliant explosion.

The last thing you remembered was the sound of the quantum engines, your babies, whining into their death sequence. You wanted to keep your eyes open, to witness their brilliant demise but the light was just too bright for you. Still, if you couldn't save them, at least you could be with them for their last moments.

You thought you were going to die, but as it turned out, the doctor on board when the accident had happened dabbled in cybernetics. You had been introduced to him in passing, when he ate lunch with the Captain and the crew. He was an odd sort, extremely tall but dressed to the nines. He inquired about the engines with a learned twinkle in his eye. Odd, but not harmful. Or so you thought.

“Ah, my goddess awakes.”

You struggled to open your eyes as your consciousness came back to you. “Wh-what happened?”

“You were in an accident,” the soft voice cooed at you. “But luckily I was able to put you all back together again.”

“Back…together?” What did that even mean?

You were finally able to battle away the fog in your mind, you were met with inquisitive brown eyes. “I made some improvements. I couldn't help myself. Your situation was unique. But I’m sure you’ll find them glorious.”

You attempted to move your arms but they felt sluggish to respond to you. Then, whip-quick, they moved. You couldn't comprehend what was before you. You turned your ‘hands’ back and forth in front of you. It was like you had on rose gold scale gloves up past your elbows. The metallic material shimmered in the light. But instead of fingers you had talons.

“You lost both your arms,” the doctor said cheerfully. “Now, if you are trapped in the underbelly of the ship, you’ll be able to get away quickly!”

You moved to sit up higher in the cot you were on but squeezed too hard. Metal squealed in protest and your mouth dropped in shock. 

The doctor, you struggled to remember his name upon introduction, brought his forefinger and thumb to his chin in thought. “It’ll probably take you a while to adjust to your newfound strength. Much better if you remain with me in the lab.”

The cot, having lost its support, collapsed and you fell to the side. The blankets that had been covering your legs, ripped off in your descent and you were met with an even bigger shock. You no longer had any legs; you now had a rose gold tail to match your new arms.

“What the fuck?!” You shouted in astonishment.

“Ah, yes.” The doctor walked over to where you had fallen. “You lost your legs in the blast as well. Quite gruesome.” His long fingers traced the scales, starting where your calf would have been. “But with this thick, strong tail, you will be so much faster. Nothing will ever be able to destroy you again.”

His fingers continued to move up your tail, up to where your knee would be. He peeked through his fringe, almost boyish like, but his eyes gleamed fever-bright. He was odd, even in this almost intimate moment. “Do you like it?”

You frowned, hard. “I don’t… why…? This is all so…”

“Wait! I know you’ll love this!” The doctor rushed away to grab a hand mirror and was by your side in an instant. “Smile for me, my goddess.”

You bared your teeth and didn’t recognize yourself. You had two long fangs. The further you opened your jaw, the more it elongated, just like a snake. 

“I’m a monster,” You whimpered to your reflection.

“No!” The doctor protested. “There is venom in your fangs, which you activate with pressing your tongue to the back of the fangs. You can protect yourself, be strong! Nothing will be able to get to you now! You’re a goddess among mortals.”

You ripped the mirror from his hands and threw it against the wall. Instead of smashing it, it simply thunked into the wall with the strength you threw it with. 

The doctor watched in awe and then his eyes shone with adoration. “See what gifts you have! You’ll accept them eventually, just you watch. But for now, I think, a nap is in order.”

The other hand, the one that hadn't been admiring your tail earlier, sported a finger like contraption, almost similar to your talons. Before you could register what was happening, he pricked the side of your neck and you felt your limbs and head grow heavy. 

“There there, my love,” the doctor hummed. “Sleep a dreamless sleep. It will all be better when you wake up.” 

The doctor’s name was Jeong Yunho. He refused to let you call him Doctor Jeong. 

“We’ve been through so much together,” he would say, sighing happily. “Just call me Yunho.”

As much as you wanted to kill the doctor for all the modifications that you most certainly did not agree to, your levelheadedness realized that would not be prudent. He was the man that created you and you were certain that if he died, and something went wrong with your modifications, that there would not be a second doctor specializing in cybernetics to fix you.

So you endure your rehabilitation with the lovesick doctor. For that was surely what he was. There wasn’t a moment that went by that he wasn’t sporting heart eyes at you. He spoke to you in tones that belied adoration and care. He wouldn’t stop talking about his wonderful enhancements. And he most definitely would not stop referring to you as his goddess or his love.

The fair doctor was crazy. He was a genius, but he was crazy. You weren’t sure what kind of world he was living in but it was most definitely not reality. Because in what reality would a half human half snake be seen as an improvement?

You remained inside the med bay slash laboratory that Yunho resided in. You were in no hurry to encounter any other human. 

Which resulted in you being bombarded by Yunho. The more he praised you, the more you despised what you looked like. Each time he referred to you as his goddess only added a block upon block of resentment towards him. 

Then finally you snapped.

You had become apt with your new body. You knew how to move your tail to move at a viper’s pace. You wrapped your talons around Yunho’s upper arms and slammed him into the wall. Your fangs were on his neck. 

Then you were completely thrown off when Yunho moaned, “Please, end me, my goddess.”

Your tongue was pressing against the activator for your venom but you couldn't find it in you to do it. Yunho was… somehow getting off on this and that was not what you wanted when you finally killed him. 

You let him go and he slowly sunk to the floor, a look of bewilderment on his face. “What? Why won’t you kill me, my love?”

“Why would I give you pleasure?” You snarled, whipping your tail in anger. It hit this table and knocked over that set of beakers but Yunho didn’t wince from the destruction.

Yunho looked up at you with puppy dog eyes, mouth slightly parted. “You would end me! Your fangs pressed to my jugular, pumping them full of poison and vengeance. You would be using everything I’ve gifted you!”

“It is not a gift, Yunho, it is a curse!” You howled. 

Yunho scrambled to get up as you went on a full rampage. If you couldn't lash out at the genius doctor who was quite insane, then you still needed to pour out your rage. You wrecked the entirety of the lab. Whatever Yunho was working on, several projects or one, it was all gone. He watched you destroy it all. 

And when you were done, breathing hard, unknown chemicals dripping from your talons, a glare of hatred aimed at Yunho, he approached you. He treated you like a caged tiger, cautiously tiptoeing through the chaos to get closer to you.

“You are practically indestructible now, my goddess. You are powerful which only adds to your engineer brain. And more so, you are beautiful in your new form. Why can you not accept that?”

“Because who can love someone who is monstrous like me in this form?” You yelled. Your soul felt torn apart. “You have condemned me, doctor.”

Yunho shook his head fervently. “No. No, you are wrong. I love you.” Yunho pounded his fist to his chest to emphasize his point.

You turned away from him, unable to view what was on his face. “You love the madness you created, not me.”

Yunho, with the hand that had two fingers covered with the same guard that he had used to inject you with an anesthetic when you first woke, gently turned your head back towards him. “No. You are wrong once again. I made you in an image that is beautiful and strong. I am in love with you, who remained in the most dangerous of places in order to save the engine from blowing and perhaps killing others. I am in love with you, my goddess.”

You scoffed at the mad doctor, “Ridiculous.” You retained your disbelief.

“Shall I show you?” Yunho offered softly.

“How?” You barked.

Yunho pressed his lips to yours, practically trembling. Whether he was scared or excited, you weren't entirely too sure but you remained still as his kisses moved from the corner of your mouth, along your jaw and down your neck.

“What are you doing?” You demanded, your talons curling into your scaled palms.

“Worshipping your body like the goddess you are,” Yunho murmured against your skin.

Yunho unbuttoned the short sleeve dress you wore and it fluttered down your body, catching at your hips. He cupped one breast tenderly, his plump lips wrapping around the other nipple. He suckled and licked the nipple as his fingerguard’s sharp edge played along the areola of your other breast. You cried out at the soft and hard worship of your body, the dual stimulation making you wet.

Yunho altered his mouth to your other breast, wriggling his unadorned hand down the front of your dress, to brush the pads of his fingers along your slit. Your tail ended high on your thigh, allowing access to your cunt still. The doctor gasped in delight when he found your slick gushing from between what remained of your legs. 

You opened your mouth to snarl at Yunho but he was too eager to give you more pleasure. Two fingers pushed into your cunt with ease and you groaned as Yunho stretched you out. Embarrassing wet noises could be heard from the both of you as he thrusted his long fingers into you.

“I will do this every day for as long as you demand, to prove my love for you,” Yunho whined.

He began to hump your leg eagerly, in tandem with the thrusting of his fingers. You could feel how hard he was against your hip. He was desperate for all of you.

“Yunho, wait.” 

You pushed him back with one hand, only to see Yunho’s eyebrows furrowed, like you had taken away a very yummy treat from him. But his fingers stilled inside you, much like the eager, good pup he was portraying right now. 

“Can I taste you? Bring you to climax with my tongue? Oh please let me do that. I don’t need anything else but that, and then I will die a happy man,” Yunho begged.

You were truly struck with how much this man was simpering for you. It was clear the need he had to please you was strong. It was clear that his lust for you thrummed through every muscle in his body right now. It shocked you to your core, but then again, this man made you into the monster you were. Perhaps he did make you in an image that was beautiful to him.

So you slithered to a lab bench nearby with purpose. You pushed your dress down your hips and leaned over the chaos you had wrought. “Show me,” You said throatily.

Yunho was on his knees within a millisecond, face pushed into your pussy. He sloppily lapped at it, tongue exploring all of the flesh available to him. He sucked on your inner lips. He circled your clit with the tip of his tongue. He used his hands to push back the plush flesh of your ass so that he could tongue-fuck you. You weren’t entirely sure how Yunho was managing to breathe, if you were being honest, but you were too caught up in the pleasure blossoming in your lower stomach.

Your talons flexed into the stainless steel lab counter, making the metal screech in protest. You could feel rather than hear Yunho chuckle into your cunt. Still, he didn’t stop until you cried out with an orgasm, and even then, he lapped up every drop of your slick. You panted against the lab bench, trying to absorb what exactly just happened.

You pushed yourself up and caught Yunho wiping his face of your wetness and licking every bit of it instead of wiping it away. This man was something else. 

“I don’t understand you,” You admitted, frowning at the doctor.

Yunho beamed up at you, innocent in his filthy actions. “What’s there to understand? I saved you. I recreated you in a powerful image that only supports your beauty. And I crave to taste every inch of you on my tongue.”

You shuddered, somewhat delicately. Your tail, also in response to Yunho’s words, curled itself into a spiral at the base of where it was supporting you. Yunho watched with apt interest, probably noting your natural reactions. 

Yunho stood up, his hard on painfully obvious against his slacks, yet he made no overtures to fix his situation. Instead he asked, “Have I proven myself to you, my love?”

“I suppose I believe you,” You said grudgingly. 

Yunho clapped his hands once. “Then it’s settled. We shall rule the galaxy. With my schemes, and your power and beauty, none will be able to stand against us.”

“You can’t just decide these things on your own!” You protested.

Yunho’s eyes swirled with insanity, a maniac grin pulling his lips up garishly. “Do you not despise the world for what it’s done to you? Do you not want to take it out on the world? While I lavish you with adoration and attention?”

That made you pause. Hadn't it felt good to lash out? To receive Yunho’s love? You felt like you could not argue with his points.

Yunho offered you his arm and you found yourself taking it. Whatever lay before you, be it destruction and madness, you found yourself looking forward to your future. And your mad doctor’s schemes too.

[heliza24]

I want to talk a little bit about Daniel in the Interview with the Vampire show, because the new trailer material has me stuck thinking about him, and also I’ve never written about how meaningful he is as disabled character to me before.

I don’t see many people thinking about show!Daniel in these terms, but he’s a canon disabled character. And I think the way he is written is just SO good. The acerbic wit, his relationship to doctors and his medication, his rueful acceptance of the way his disability has changed him. It is all so correct!! It’s really incredibly rare to have not only a disabled character written this well but specifically a chronically ill character written this well. His illness is always present; it doesn’t get forgotten about by the story. It gives Daniel insight into the vampires (more on this in a min), but it also gives Louis and Armand leverage over him. When Louis triggers his Parkinson’s symptoms? Deeply not ok. But that’s what made it such a great scene, and really made Louis feel dangerous and threateningin that moment. Armand and Louis arranging Daniel’s meds is a sign of great care and also great power over Daniel. It’s the perfect way to communicate the complicated power dynamic in their relationship.

I also just fucking love that this show takes place in 2022 and doesn’t erase the pandemic. Covid is a very present concern for Daniel and I cannot describe how validating that is for me as someone who is clinically vulnerable to Covid and who has had to really limit my life and take a lot of precautions because everyone else has decided to stop caring whether they pass on Covid or not. The fact that Daniel gets on a plane to Dubai is a BIG DEAL. He’s risking his life to talk to Louis and Armand before he’s even in the room with them. He really wants to be there. I have to make a similar calculation every time I travel, and trust me, getting on that plane knowing getting sick could spiral you into even worse health or kill you is really hard.

I think making Daniel disabled and including the pandemic is kind of a genius level decision on a thematic level. Of course Daniel is now facing down his mortality, which gives him a whole new lens on the vampires and the fact that he once asked them to turn him. And the pandemic further highlights his fragility, and is also possibly being used as a cover for drama that’s happening in the vampire world. But I think it also really sets Daniel up as a foil to Louis.

There’s a lot of analysis of the vampire chronicles that reads vampirism as a metaphor for queerness. But I would actually propose that it’s a much neater parallel for disability and illness in a lot of ways. So many of Louis’s initial experiences after being turned resonated with me, as someone who became chronically ill in my 20s. My appetite and relationship to food completely changed, much like Louis. My relationship with the outdoors and the sun changed, because of dysautonomia and allergy reasons. I was very mad, and very depressed, and I too have missed out on birthday parties and big life events like Louis did because I was too sick to go. Hell, you can even say that the way that Louis is treated as evil by his family, that the way vampires literally can’t be a part of society during the day, is reminiscent of ableist exclusion and ugly laws. (Ugly laws were laws that forbid disabled people, especially those with visible differences, from being out in public, and they were on the books in many American municipalities until the 1970s.) You can look at Lestat being an out and proud vampire in the first few episodes on the season and imploring Louis to leave his shame behind as a queer thing, but you can also view it as a disabled thing. Disabled people are portrayed as monstrous so often (and in a way that has gone relatively unexamined compared to say, the queer coded villain trope) that sometimes it’s just easier to embrace that label: I’m the monstrous Crip, but at least I’m not ashamed of or disgusted by who I am anymore.

I do think the real strength of this adaptation is that while you can find parallels between queerness or disability or other forms of marginalization with vampirism, ultimately it’s not a one-to-one parallel. It speaks to the real world but ultimately it is a gothic horror story about supernatural monsters. So I don’t mean to say that vampirism directly equals disability, because it does not. But I do think that making Daniel disabled was an intentional choice to help draw out some of those parallels, and I think the text is richer for it.

So Louis and Daniel have had these kind of parallel experiences of uncontrollable and difficult things happening to their bodies. It sets them up perfectly as foils, and even, I would argue, as the A plot and B Plot protagonists. This is one of my favorite ways of kind of examining the structure of a TV show (or maybe it’s that most of my favorite shows seem to be structured this way?). When TV was all episodic, it would be common to refer to the A plot (mystery of the week), B plot (interpersonal drama happening as the mystery gets solved) and C plot (any overarching plot tying the season together) in an episode. Now that stuff is serialized, there’s often a main protagonist, who has the main dramatic question and the most agency, and then there is often a secondary B plot that explores similar themes and mirrors the A plot, or presents a second main character who is the ldifferent side of the same coin” to the main protagonist. (My favorite example of this is Flint and Max in Black Sails, and I’ve also made the argument that Wilhelm and Sara fit this pattern in Young Royals.) In IwtV, Louis is obviously the main protagonist of the show, especially in the A Plot, which is the stuff taking place in New Orleans/Paris. But I would argue that Daniel is the protagonist of the B Plot set in Dubai. At the very least they’re intentionally set up as mirrors of each other:

They are both unreliable narrators, who are struggling with the way memory contorts (through memory erasure, illness, deliberate obfuscations, and just the passage of time). The most recent teaser trailer, where we hear Louis saying “I don’t remember that”, with panic in his voice, further underlined this similarity between Louis and Daniel to me. I don’t know if it means that Louis has also had his memory tampered with, as I’m assuming Daniel has, but I do think it means that Louis is going to be struggling with feeling out of control of his own narrative more in season 2, a thing that was already starting for Daniel in season 1.

They are also both locked into power struggles with people more powerful than they are. The fact that Louis is under Lestat in the flashbacks and above Daniel in the Dubai scenes in terms of power/status makes it all the more interesting. And, if we want to go ahead and assume that the Devils Minion’s years have happened in the past by the time we get to Dubai— it’s possible that both Daniel and Louis are united in being the less powerful partner in their own respective fucked up gothic romances.

They’re also both the audience’s entry point into their respective stories. Louis’s narration guides us into the world of vampires. Daniel’s questioning satisfies our human curiosity in Dubai.

I think one of the things that makes the show so special is the way that these two protagonists interact. In a lot of shows the a plot and the b plot stay pretty separate. I love talking about Black Sails for this because I think it’s such a good example; Flint and Max never exchange dialogue the entire show, even though they’re so clearly affecting each other the whole time. But the way that Louis and Daniel clash in Dubai is so exciting. We see them both wrestling for control of the narrative. It’s thrilling to watch and it just hammers home the theme of how complicated and changeable stories can be.

I am SO excited to see how the Dubai scenes play out in season 2 because of it. I really can’t wait. I’m really hoping we’ll see Daniel and Louis’s relationship evolve in surprising ways, and I’m holding my breath that we’ll get a lot of Armandaniel material to work with. (I have a whole other post drafted that’s much less smart than this one and is just me waxing poetic about Devil Minion’s theories which I may post at some point. You have been warned.)

I do have two wishes for Daniel in the new season, and they’re 1: that he gets to have romance/sex, because disabled (and older!) characters are so often seen as unworthy of being desired, and I would like to see that challenged and 2: that he continues to refuse to be turned/is not offered a vampiric cure for Parkinson’s. The magic cure for a disability or chronic illness is probably my least favorite disability trope, because it serves to erase disabled characters and representation from the narrative, and I want to see my experiences continue to be reflected in Daniel’s. That means that whatever ending Daniel’s story has will probably have at least a bit of tragedy baked into it, but I’m ok with that.

[unpickled-olive]

Realizing that, while I like Destiny lore, what I love is Seth Dickinson's writing.

The Final Shape was a lovely story and the characters' archs were all emotional and satisfying. Maybe a nostalgic tear was shed for Cayde bonding with his reformed, resurrected killer.

But the things that have kept me coming back for 9 years were missing. I thought there'd be concrete answers about the Traveler, or some more thorough insights into the Witness, or even good lore on the Dread. I was hoping for another great lore book to join the ranks of Books of Sorrow, Unveiling, Mysterious Logbook, Marasenna, Last Days of Kraken Mare, etc. Some philosophy and horror, a genesis or exegesis or thorough backstory on a yet unexamined character/species.

Sadly, I didn't find those. The Dread's origin is that the Witness made them. Do they think and feel? TBD. The Traveler's conclusion was something like "you just have to have faith <3." Fine for the characters, but not for the readers/players of a 10-year-old mystery.

There's some nice things. The Micah-10 Traveler interpretations are cool, as is her origin story. And the foreshadowing still has me excited for the Dreadnaught, a yet unseen Disciple, etc. But I think key parts of what made Destiny lore so alluring for me are diminished.

Maybe it's the layoffs at Bungie. Maybe it's new writers going in a different direction. Either way, the aspects of sci-fi/space fantasy—ancient mysteries, metaphysical warfare, _____—have taken the back seat to personal drama that frankly isn't that interesting or fleshed out.

Maya could be an interesting antagonist, but she needed more backstory than "this simulation was evil or something" and more nuance than "the Vanguard are coercive, so I will coerce all of humanity." Why not explore what her presence means for the Vex, or the other simulations helping Praedyth escape the Vault?

The Witness trying to sway various characters was fine, but that has been covered so many times, especially in Beyond Light.

All that said, back to Seth: their absence in TFS made me realize how huge their presence in the lore was for my love of Destiny. I finally went and read their original works. What an incredible writer.

First, I read Exordia, the first/only entry into a dark mindfuck of a space opera. Its horrific in abstract ways: mysterious alien monoliths that poison reality around them. It's horrific in grounded ways, too: the alien invasion plays off of parallels with the Anfal campaign and the US involvement in Iraq. It's campy at times (with a villain who shouts "I love genocide!") but also profound. There's souls and date, but also math. There's also my favorite trope: mysterious, ancient architects.

After that, I read Baru Cormorant—all three books in a month. It's tragic and inspiring and genius. Originally I couldn't get through the first chapter because of the "fantasy" label. I've already read Earthsea and wasn't in the mood for wizards on boats. But I had the wrong impression. Understandable, because there is just no succinct way to label it.

Is it even fantasy? Honestly, I still don't know.

What it is is its own world. One that the inhabitants haven't fully mapped. One whose past is a must and whose future is uncertain. It's about hegemony. It's about purpose, obsession, and revenge. It's about revolution and community.

The colonizer culture is a kaleidoscope of different influences. Seafaring. Peri-industrial. Eugenic. It strikes me as something like 17th century Britain with a 20th century grasp of science. They don't have guns, but they do have both Greek fire and lobotomies. The story plays with different cultural views on indigenous rights, race, sexuality, and gender in ways that commentary real life while serving as interesting world building.

This story also weaves an insane amount of intellectual concepts into it. But rather than bog it down, they lift it up. The fate of the republic hinges on a myriad of different questions: is evolution Lamarckian or Darwinian? Can mathematical proofs usurp cultural hegemony? How do economics influence history? Most importantly, can you destroy the enemy from within before it destroys you?

It is not just cerebral, but tragic and heartbreaking. I saw the end of the first book coming, and yet I was devastated by the last chapter. Crushed like no ending has ever really crushed me. I didn't want it to happen.

There will likely be some time before the final book comes out, which is understandable. So much research goes into these. So many plot threads need to be woven together. So many mysteries not yet confronted.

This is all to say: if you like what I like about Destiny–thorough examinations of ancient mysteries, sci-fi takes on souls and magic, fantasy takes on science and technology, obsessive characters and vividly fucked up monsters, cancer and math as motifs, metaphors manifesting, and genius characters written by genius authors–give Seth Dickinson a chance.

[wongyuseokie]

Stitches | l.sm

Summary: Seokmin is nothing if not the perfect boyfriend, so he decided to manscape a little to spice things up. Unfortunately, he wasn’t paying enough attention, and he’s been stitched up for a week. He’s determined not to let you in on why he’s rejecting your advances, but all it’s doing is making you think he’s not interested. Seokmin sees that you’re upset, but he just doesn’t know how to tell his girlfriend that he accidentally cut his penis and now has stitches in it. 

☆ 18+ minors dni |☀︎fluff | ♕ implied smut |  ☁︎ mild angst | ♥ completed works 

Word Count: 1486 words 

Pairings: Lee Seokmin x Female Reader

Genre/Trope(s)/AUs: fluff, mild angst (but it's me so idk how long it’ll stay mild), new relationship au!

Content Warnings: mentions of razors, stitches and blood (nothing graphic). Mentions of food.  

Smut Warnings: none, but just implied smut

Authors Note 1: thank you to my lovely seoksluts @the-boy-meets-evil @wooahaeproductions @highvern and @kwanisms for encouraging this <3  Taglist: @aaniag and @dkluvrsclub and @thegirlwhoimagined @ressonancee and @tomodachiii @bitchlessdino @onlyseokmins @gyuminusone because why not <3

“So, you’re telling me you have a cut on your dick?” Mingyu repeated as he wiped away the tears from his eyes. He had been laughing at Seokmin ever since he confided in Mingyu. 

“Shut up, I was right. I should have gone to Jeonghan hyung,” Seokmin whined, and Mingyu laughed more at his comment. 

“No, he’d probably upload your bleeding penis to the group chat,” Mingyu teased, making Seokmin throw a towel at Mingyu’s head. 

“Can you help?” Seokmin pleaded. 

“I think that Y/N would prefer to help you when it concerns your penis,” Mingyu joked, making Seokmin reach for the hairbrush on the bathroom counter to throw at Mingyu’s head. 

“Okay, calm down. I’ll take you to the doctor, and after that, we’re going to discuss why you think throwing things in an argument is a solution,” Mingyu offered, earning a glare from Seokmin. 

“Stop whining, it could be worse. You could, I don’t know, have severed your entire dick off. All you did was let a tiny little cut, which after a week will be fine,” Mingyu scolded as Seokmin went on his third meltdown of the day. 

“What do I tell Y/N?” Seokmin wailed; he had been a mess after the doctor told him that he’d stitch up his cut, but he’d have to abstain from any activities that would exacerbate his cut–which included sex. 

“Just tell her the truth?” Mingyu offered, confused, wondering why Seokmin couldn’t be honest with you, his girlfriend. 

“No, she’s going to think I’m an idiot,” Seokmin mumbled. 

“I think she already thinks that, ow!” Mingyu yelped as Seokmin smacked his head. 

“Dude, it’s not that serious. Tell her you wanted to make your penis pretty and accidentally sliced a bit of it,” Mingyu suggested earning a glare from Seokmin. 

“Or you could say that you wanted to attempt an “at-home” circumcision,” Mingyu joked, his suggestion earning another smack from Seokmin. 

“No, I know what I’ll do. I’ll ignore her advances; it’s just for a week, and I’ll make it up with the best sex ever,” Seokmin said determinedly.

“Okay, first ew, second, don’t because you’ll ignore her, and she’ll think something’s wrong with her,” Mingyu warned. 

“No, she won’t. She knows I think she’s perfect,” Seokmin argued. 

“Okay, genius, you do what you think is best. Just try not to slice up your dick again. Besides, you could go to a salon, and they’ll manscape you nicely,” Mingyu teased, making Seokmin whine again and lie back down on the hospital bed. 

“Baby! You’re home!” You exclaimed, running to greet your boyfriend, who held out a hand, stopping you from hugging him. 

“Sorry, I'm sore. I fell during practice,” Seokmin lied, hoping you didn’t catch his tone. He was a terrible liar. 

“Oh baby, should I get you something? Ice? Or maybe I can draw you up a warm bath to soothe your muscles?” You offered, and Seokmin shook his head furiously. 

“No!” Seokmin yelped, confusing you. 

“I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry,” Seokmin said, calmer, and you just shrugged. 

“Well, I hope you’re not too sore for me to kiss you,” you asked, hopeful. 

“Uh, no, I’m not,” Seokmin grinned. 

You walked towards your boyfriend, and you were about to kiss him when he moved his face away. Your lips landed on his cheek. 

“Seok?” 

“You wanted a kiss, right?” Seokmin asked, grinning, and hoped you wouldn’t question him further. 

“Yeah. I guess,” you mumbled. 

“I’ll go change, and we can cuddle and watch a movie?” Seokmin offered, making you smile. That sounded more like your boyfriend. 

“Sounds good.” 

You both weren’t cuddling as you watched the movie. Seokmin had his hand on your thigh but still kept at least a couple of inches of space between you. You were confused, but you did want to cuddle him, so you reached out your arm. Before you could place it on Seokmin’s thigh, he inched away from you, yelping. 

“What the hell?” You asked. 

“Why are you touching me?” Seokmin asked, exasperated, hating how the words sounded and hating how your face fell after hearing his words. 

“I just wanted to get a bit closer to you,” you mumbled, embarrassed. 

“Well, I’m not always in the mood,” Seokmin said defensively. 

“Well, you’re the one who suggested a movie and cuddles?” You argued. 

“That doesn’t mean we need to be stuck together like glue; sometimes I don’t want you cuddling me,” Seokmin spoke quickly, the words spilling out of his mouth before he could even think. 

“Oh,” you said quietly, looking at your hands. 

“Baby, that's not what I meant,” Seokmin said, trying to backtrack. You looked up at him, shaking your head. 

“No, it’s fine, um. I have some work to finish, so uh, I’ll catch you in a bit?” You said as you got up from the couch and walked off to the bedroom, not giving Seokmin a chance to speak and stop you. 

Later that night, you decided you’d get ready for bed without Seokmin, even though you two liked doing your night routine together. You figured he needed space, so you gave him just that. 

“Baby?” Seokmin called out, and you pretended to be asleep. You felt the bed dip as he lay down next to you. 

“I’m sorry,” Seokmin mumbled as he wrapped his arm around your waist. You placed your hand over his. 

“It’s fine,” you mumbled, turning to face him. This made Seokmin gasp and inch away. 

“What the hell, Seok?” You asked, now annoyed. 

“Baby, it’s just that I need to keep my distance from you right now,” Seokmin admitted, and you glared at him. 

“Fine, keep your distance,” you huffed, grabbing your pillow and heading to the door. 

“Wait, where are you going?” Seokmin asked. 

“The guest room. I don’t know what is wrong with you right now, but you’re not making me feel very wanted, and since you want space, I’ll give you space,” you ranted, walking out of the bedroom and slamming the door behind you. 

Seokmin knew better than to follow you, but he knew he needed to fix this. He grabbed his phone and started texting Mingyu. 

The following morning, you decided to ignore Seokmin until he told you why he was behaving so funny, and while it was incredibly petty of you to do so, you were hurt. 

You emerged from the guest room after you took a shower, and the only thing you could find to wear was one of Seokmin’s shirts since you were determined not to go into your bedroom. You pouted, put his shirt on, stepped outside and made your way to the kitchen. 

“Baby!” Seokmin greeted, and you saw a lavish breakfast spread on the kitchen island. 

“What’s all this?” You asked, gesturing to the food. 

“This is my attempt at apologising for my atrocious behaviour last night,” Seokmin mumbled, looking like a sad puppy. You let out a giggle, sat on one of the high chairs next to the island, and took a strawberry and bit into it. 

“Why are you laughing?” Seokmin asked. 

“I wouldn’t call your behaviour ‘atrocious’ just odd,” you said with a grin and patted the seat next to you. 

“So why were you so skittish?” 

“Don’t laugh, okay?” Seokmin pleaded, and you nodded, allowing him to continue. 

“I wanted to, uh, I guess, groom myself a bit. I think the term is manscaping, and I got distracted and accidentally nicked my penis, and I had to get stitches, and I can’t do anything for a week,” Seokmin explained quickly, and you pressed your lips together to try and not laugh. 

“Hey, you said you wouldn’t laugh,” Seokmin whined, and you giggled and placed your arms around his neck. 

“Oh, my sweet baby, why did you think you needed trimming?” You asked, placing a kiss on his cheek and making him smile. 

“I don’t know to make my penis more appealing.” 

You let out a laugh pulled away, and placed your hands on Seokmin’s pouty face. 

“Baby, I think you have the prettiest dick in the entire world. I’ll yell it from the rooftops if I need to,” you comforted him, making him smile at you. 

“You’d yell it?” Seokmin asked. 

“Yes, baby, I understand, and I respect that. You can always be honest with me. I’ll never judge that,” you explained further, and Seokmin pouted as he nodded. 

“I’m sorry about last night,” Seokmin apologised. 

“It’s okay. Can you at least give me a proper kiss?” You asked, and Seokmin nodded. He leaned forward and captured your lips in the softest kiss ever. 

“Mm, 100 more of those today, and you’re forgiven,” you offered. 

“Done!” 

“Uh, babe, what would you yell about my dick?” Seokmin asked as he walked away to fix you a plate. 

“Oh, simple, I'd say that Seokmin has a very nice DK.” 

[cookie-nameless]

She's a gender non-conforming Queen and maybe a little non-binary

Idk what precisely to call it since honorifics aren't Pronouns but vertin using she/her while routinely being addressed as Lord, sir, etc is soooooooo 🥰 it's like mixed pronouns but not.

[amorphousbl0b]

Arcane does a fun thing with its narrative Darkest Hour.

Or: yet another post about how insanely smart this show is and how absolutely genius its writers are (and how jealous of them I am).

For the uninitiated, the Darkest Hour is the moment just before the climax in which the heroes are at their lowest point. When the Avengers are scattered and Loki opens the portal in NYC, when the Falcon has escaped the Death Star but lost Obi-Wan, when the Fire Nation is set to annihilate the Earth Kingdom, when Frodo fails to destroy the Ring at the Crack of Doom. The heroes must confront their flaws and change for the better for a happy ending.

Arcane’s darkest hour is, of course, in Act 3. One might place it at the very end of episode 9, and that’s certainly where the story is at its most hopeless. But I’d contend it starts as early as the end of episode 8 and carries on through the entirety of episode 9.

After all, that’s when Caitlyn and Vi have separated, lost all hope, and Cait is kidnapped by Jinx. Jinx’s mind is fully gone and throughout the episode everything falls apart around her. Silco is losing control of his chembarons and may well have lost his daughter, the thing most precious to him, and is only barely keeping his powerful façade in line. Zaun has realized how ridiculously outmatched they are in a war with Piltover and the revolutionary cause has become almost impossible. Viktor has manslaughtered his assistant and may never be cured. Jayce has manslaughtered a child and finally realizes how quickly he’s losing his morals. Mel and her mother are fully separating and she is struggling with her warlike destiny. Sevika gets the absolute snot beat out of her and limps to an empty office without a boss.

So yeah. Lot of personal Darkest Hours going on.

“But what’s the interesting thing?” I hear you ask in my ear. I don’t know why I hear you. Shut up. I’m writing. Are you even real?

Excuse me.

Arcane’s interesting twist on the Darkest Hour lies in part of the trope that I didn’t mention. That’s in the villain.

Most stories with a clear-cut villain have a plot structure something like this:

Whether things are going well for one side is inversely proportional to the other. During the Darkest Hour, when the hero is at their weakest, the villain is at their most dominant.

Wait… isn’t Silco the villain of Arcane? Not to be too blunt, but he’s having a shit time. Things are falling apart for him just as badly as for everyone else.

That's the trick. Caitlyn and Vi are suffering. Jinx is suffering. Silco is suffering. Jayce is suffering. Viktor is suffering. Zaun as a whole is suffering. There is only one party in the whole story that isn't suffering, that actually is benefitting from this horrid state of affairs...

EKKO AND HEIMERDINGER

Kidding. They're not really a part of this dance. A big part of Arcane's theming is that acting to help people without an agenda is simply more virtuous than fighting for any invariably-flawed nation that innately perpetuates the cycle of violence.

No, the side that is doing fine is the other that is conspicuously absent from my two prior lists. While the characters that make up its leadership are experiencing personal Darkest Hours, the organization itself is essentially on top of the world, having just scored a huge victory and getting set to bring the war to an end before it even begins. I mentioned how poor the situation for the Undercity looks, but not its counterpart.

Piltover.

Wasn't it so that Piltover started this whole mess? Didn't their oppression cause the revolt that orphaned Vi and Powder's parents? Isn't it their actions that drive Silco to ever greater extremes? Isn't it their normalized political backstabbing that causes Jayce to sacrifice his principles because that's the only way to get ahead? Isn't it their corrupt police force that lets Silco operate his drug empire with impunity?

Silco might look the part. He might be the most personally evil character, might be the one who causes the most misery for our main protagonists Vi and Powder.

But structurally, the shining city of Piltover, its political machine, and its Enforcers are the actual villains of Arcane.

[campyvillain]

pizza tower is so damn genius for doing the obligatory “protagonist has to face an enemy who is just them but Evil” trope but not like in a mario-wario or sonic-shadow way where it’s like an edgy version of the good character where their morals are flipped on their head, and it’s instead some fucking john carpenters the thing body horror failed clone of your silly little guy and his face is melting off and his proportions are unsettling and weird and he speaks in gibberish it feels exactly like stumbling across something from a 2000’s era creepypasta that is the coolest way i have seen that trope subverted. awesome and hard as hell

[kamisama1kiss]

don’t mind me, just an anon dropping the idea of Descendants AU Lloyd Garmadon into your head so I’m not the only one suffering with the idea of it

...Wait, this is smart. Since we all know who his father is 🤭 that is so absolutely yummy! I saw this at about 5 am. And had a hard time falling asleep after wanting to see more of this AU. Whoever you are, you're an absolute genius

~~~

Lloyd Garmadon { Rotten to the core }

Platonic headcanons

~

• I can definitely see him wear a lot of dark greens, black and gold details alongside some bone design along his outfit, taking insporation from when he was younger

• He is on the VK island. You can't change my mind

• Being one of the chosen ones to go alongside Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlose to leave for Arudon (if we follow the storyline)

• It took him a lot longer to get used to all the none stealing, discovery of his new favourite food which would be sweets

• Mostly silent or scoffing at others with a nutural expression, but eventually, when getting closer to actually him considering you a friend som smaller hints of smile will be present

• Let only specific people touch him since he had little to nothing or not at all a good connection with his father and his mother, it made him feel weak which is a big no no

• A ton of stolen candy bars hidden under his pillow from the day

• Had naturally a mystery aura around him, being closest to the four other VK with a few others eventually around the school

• Would use his Oni aspect of him whenever anyone gets on his nerves to scare them off or just intimate the person

• Would constantly be on the move. He is everywhere yet nowhere at the same time

Romantic

~

•Definitely the trope of you fell first he fell harder

• It took MONTHS for him to even know what the things he felt meant. After listening in on Evie and Mals' conversation, he would understand what he was infant having romantic feelings

•Definitely in denial, having never felt it before, which did scare him even more. Pushing you away at all cost

•The only reason why the relationship even started had to be because you asked/told him that you felt romantic twords him

• Still in denying it, but decided to try after thinking a few days in a row about it

"I suppose it can't hurt.. trying? Just be aware that it will not be a walk in the park."

"I understand that very well... even went through the thought many of time, I want this"

• The answer only made him feel more secure about his decision and felt safe to let you in, his heart having never gone this fast before, even from all the danger he has gone through

• He stole things for you just because it reminded him of you and thought you'd like it. Knowing it would make you smile made it worth getting in trouble

• No PDA whatsoever, but if lucky, maybe a little pinky finger holding in the start at least. It took months of resuring and convincing, but now, at least, he'd be willing to hold hand. Maybe even a hand on the small of their back

• If anyone says or looked at his s/o weirdly, he wouldn't hesitate to put the person in their place

• Prefers sitting in silence and just comfortably exist next to one another under the moon and stars

• Playing with his hair would simply put him to sleep within seconds. Any sort of touch from his s/o would immediately relax him. Being on guard and tense from being used to the island

I am tempted to make some sort of fanfiction of this AU 🤭🤭 if there are any suggestions, I'd happily write them of our very beloved evil oni boy.

I've been sat here for an hour, just giggling to myself

[thatwasthenightthingschanged]

thinking abt "and so it was written, I got cursed like Eve got bitten / oh, was it punishment?" on this morning because according to genius, "I got cursed like Eve got bitten" is an ironic statement bc Eve was responsible and actively did something bad but my initial thought was that it's an interesting subversion of the trope of the original sin because Eve is usually depicted as actively damning humanity through her actions, including all the implications that has on the figure of the "evil female temptress", and taking Taylor's line literally, through stating "Eve got bitten" it appears as though this happened passively to Eve instead of something that she chose. It was written, some cosmic force intended for her to commit this act. This would imply that it's not actually Eve's fault which I find an interesting comment considering Taylor parallels her situation with Eve's, "I got cursed". In the next line, she asks, "was it punishment?" and punishment implies that it is her fault for acting wrongly that bad things happen to her. Yet the preceding line questions that very notion. Taken literally, then, I'm thinking about how these lines might also question the entire idea that women are seen as being at fault when certain bad things happen to them although those bad things occurred to them because of outside forces they cannot control, for example how our society is built. like how often do I blame myself for something that is actually difficult to overcome bc of the systems that prevent me from overcoming it?

idk if this ramble makes any sense but I had Thoughts (TM) I needed to get out

[iamthedukeofurl]

The Gil/Tarvek/Agatha basically-canon Triad in Girl Genius is mildly hilarious from a Doylist perspective if the rumors about these characters are true. So, the rumor is that initially Gil was intended to be the sole romantic interest, and a gender-swapped take on the "Villain's Beautiful Daughter" trope, where he's villainous and untrustworthy but DOES genuinely care about our Heroine and the tension is whether he will choose her over being a villain. But Gil (And his father, The Baron Klaus Wulfenbach) never really developed into proper despicable villains. They were Antagonists, sure, and the Foglios did a good job of putting Agatha and Klaus into opposition despite them both being pretty firmly in the "Good" camp of the setting. While Agatha didn't know if she could trust Gil, we, the audience, saw that Gil was a big 'ol doofus and knew that he was reasonably trustworthy.

So then they try it AGAIN with Tarvek. This time his father is properly Evil, and Tarvek is scheming and untrustworthy and dangerous, he claims to be trying to help Agatha, but his loyalties seem to switch on the wind, like he's trying to curry favor with both sides to see which one comes out on top. But then they remove Tarvek from his position of power, and it turns out he's pretty likable, and so the thrilling "I Love Him...but can I trust him" STILL dosn't work as Tarvek rapidly throws all his ambitions away to help Agatha. Finally, the carve Tarvek again, taking his villainous role to create Martellus, whose like a bigger, meaner Tarvek who just wants Agatha because she'd be a really useful piece in his ambitions and who isn't even on the field as a romantic prospect, even if he's an occasionally useful ally. So it's Agatha, Her Boyfriend, Her Boyfriend who was created to fill the narrative hole left by the FIRST boyfriend when he turned out to be too much of a teddy bear, but second boyfriend also failed to be sufficiently evil so they had to give him a cousin who sucks to fill the role originally intended for First Boyfriend. And also there's Lars, who died like two months ago in narrative, but almost two decades ago real-time, so we don't talk about him much.