#I guess my fairy tale ending is a fucked up love story

[blackbutterflypriestess]

Tag Game: 9 Favorite Characters

Every time I escape the hole @pillowfriendly is there to pull me back in. Stole her rules of sticking to one character per franchise.

Daeran Arendae - Wrath of the Righteous

Hedonist. Ethically bankrupt. Walking problematic. I love him. Best romance subplot in an rpg as he actually tries to woo the player. Love doesn't change him but he changes for love. When he ascends to godhood he actively ignores prayers but smites those who talk any shit about his spouse. Has a traumatic backstory as expected but doesn't neuter his character or development.

Bayonetta - Bayonetta

Tells all the gods above and the demons below to fuck off with a combination of high caliber and fem. There has always been a lot of discourse around her but I honest love that there's a female character whose femininity solely for herself and not in-spite of how much ass she kicks. She's an icon and I wish I could pull off purple eye shadow like that.

Raven - Gravity Rush

Goth girl with the power to manipulate gravity's effect on her and the surrounding area. Not super complex as a character but something about her design and dead-pan personality has always stuck with me. Also has a great enemies to not-explicit-but-I-mean-come-on-it's-obviously-sapphic-coded relationship with the main character Kat.

A2 - Nier Automata

Definition of suffering from success. The only survivor of the ill-fated YoRHa Pear Harbor descents and so good at her job that future YoRHa models were based on her. Absolutely lost her shit when her girlfriend died and began a one-woman crusade against the machine beings. We stan a woman with goals. When other characters are blowing themselves (and their skirts) up as their ultimate move, A2 just goes sicko mode. We're introduced to her when she murders a baby but does it count if the baby was also a robot and also super old? I will never forgive FFXIV for not including her in the Shadowbringers raid story.

Balalaika - Black Lagoon

Afghan War USSR Sniper turned leader of the Russian mob in Thailand. Is and always will be my go to template for the "motherly villain" archetype. I believe that scientifically they are known as the "Dommy Mommy." Watching unambiguously evil characters still be humans is always fun.

Leon S. Kennedy - Resident Evil

Our baby boy. Even when he's super-serious-government-agent-man he just serves so much golden retriever energy. Resident Evil is at its best when it treats the zombie survival scenario seriously but adds a dash of levity and one-liners to its characters. Leon embodies that.

Beatrice - Umineko no Naku Koro Ni

Beatrice is the culmination of my weird addiction to characters with unhealthy love languages. Reality warping witch born from the existentialism that comes with trauma that plays horrific death games with the family of the man she loves all as a means to communicate with him where words fail? Yes please.

Faith Connors - Mirror's Edge

Mirror's Edge is one of my favorite games of all time. The use of color, sound effects, and music always made me feel like I was seeing The City specifically as Faith sees it. This connection created a deeper bond and feeling of embodiment than other first-person games, especially at that time. Her story may not be the deepest or most complex but is so memorable. Plus I still really want her tattoo. The King in Yellow/Hastur - Various Horror Contexts

There's something so fascinating about the horror of The King in Yellow. Consumption brought on by enui, the loss of an artist to unreality, the fear that a single, sound, word, symbol, or thought could poison and entire society. Remember! DONT. SAY. HIS. NAME. Honorable Mentions:

The Princess - Slay the Princess Eda - Black Lagoon Monica - Hooky Neon Red - Neon White I have now completed my eldritch bargain with @pillowfriendly. @gunkreads I don't know if you fully comprehend what you have awoken. @iwishtobeafish, @notimpossibell, @crowbandit your ritual sacrifices are required.

[metalandmagi]

Romance Anime Starter List

I don’t know about you guys, but I’m sick and tired of seeing “Top ___ Best Anime of All Time” lists that are nothing but shounen. So, with "My Happy Marriage" getting a little attention from the anime community, I wanted to put together a list of some romance anime that I consider good “starters” for the genre. Because if I were just now becoming an anime fan, I’d think all there was to offer was shounen action series.

And by “starters” I mean basic stuff that’s not too…out there, and actually involves the characters getting together instead of just harems or using romance as a side plot (sorry Ouran High School Host Club and My Next Life as a Villainess). 

So if you’re new to anime and want stuff that’s not just guys beating the shit out of each other (which is also fun, don’t get me wrong), here are some basics.

Taisho Maiden Fairy Tale- When the pessimistic Tamahiko Shima loses all function in his right arm, his family sends him away to live in the mountains with the cheerful, hard working Yuzuki Tachibana…who was purchased by the Shima family to pay off her family’s debts and basically act as a caretaker/future bride for Tamahiko so they’d never have to deal with him again. It’s a more cheerful version of My Happy Marriage (without the supernatural stuff), except in this one, the guy is the one who has massive self-esteem issues and an abusive family. There are still very serious themes, but ultimately it’s not meant to make you cry every episode. I swear it’s so good, but nobody watched it!

Horimiya- A slice of life in which pretty and popular high school queen bee Hori, finds out her quiet, unassuming classmate Miyamura is hiding piercings and tattoos that could get him expelled. The two gradually find out more about each other and get together in the most realistic way I’ve seen depicted in an anime. It’s also fucking hysterical and genuinely emotional.

Recovery of an MMO Junkie- Another slice of life that focuses on two adults who meet in an MMO game without realizing they also know each other in real life. I don’t want to say much more than that. It’s adorable, and the main character is so relatable it hurts.

Love with Yamada-kun at Level 999- Speaking of MMOs, this is a newer series about Akane Kinoshita, a college first year who’s reeling from a bad break up. In an attempt to get back at her ex, she winds up meeting Akito Yamada, a popular gamer who happens to be in her guild in the MMO they both play at an IRL meetup. The two go from acquaintances to something more as they keep running into each other. Even more relatable main characters and just wholesome relationships all around.

Snow White With The Red Hair- A fantasy in which an apothecary named Shirayuki (meaning, you guessed it, “snow white”) runs away from her home in order to escape becoming the concubine of her town’s prince. While fleeing, she is rescued by Zen, the prince of a neighboring country, and she ends up becoming an herbalist to repay him. It's super cute with some genuinely swoon worthy moments and a couple that just works so well together. I have a habit of comparing this to Akatsuki no Yona, even though the two aren’t really that alike. This is more romance driven while Akatsuki no Yona is more of a serious historical fantasy with romance elements (Yona manga is amazing, but the anime barely scratches the surface, so that’s why I didn’t include it).

Sasaki to Miyano- When the shy, easily flustered Miyano meets Sasaki, a cool “delinquent” upperclassmen, the two end up bonding over manga…specifically BL manga. That’s right, Miyano is a fudanshi, but due to his small stature and somewhat feminine appearance, he’s constantly trying to convince others that he’s not interested in having his own love story where he’d be reduced to a stereotypical doe-eyed uke. But as Sasaki and Miyano spend more time together, they realize that what they have is more than friendship, and they have to come to terms with their own perception of gay relationships. This is my favorite romance of all time. It’s a slow burn, but boy is it worth it. Their relationship is so natural and realistic, just like Horimiya. Just two people hanging out and bonding over things the way people do in real life!

Given: The story of some boys in a band with trauma. Enough said. It's great. Go watch it.

Bloom Into You- Yuu Koito is a high school girl who’s been waiting her whole life for her own perfect romance to start…but when she receives a confession, she realizes she doesn’t know how to respond when she’s just not into the guy. And then she gets another confession…this time from the cool student council president Touko Nanami, who basically jumpstarts her lesbian awakening. Very cute story about how we perceive the concept of love vs actually feeling it. Also has a canonically aro/ace side character, so that’s a win for me. Another show like this is Adachi to Shimamura (but I honestly don’t remember much about it. It just didn’t stick with me as much).

Ore Monogatari- Takeo Gouda is a tall, bulky high school first year with a sensitive heart of gold. He wants nothing more than to find his own true love, but most girls are intimidated by his enormous stature, and they end up falling for his conventionally attractive friend instead. That is, until he meets the tiny, adorable Rinko Yamato. He falls in love instantly, but he’s sure she’s interested in his best friend like everyone else, so he vows to help get them together, even though his heart is breaking. Peak himbo behavior. Pure of heart, dumb of ass.

Yuri on Ice- Yes it’s the gay figure skating anime everyone knows. And yes it’s a fucking romance, okay? I will die on this hill. The romance between Viktor and Yuri is just as important as the plot!

Kaguya-sama Love Is War- Two insanely smart high school students both have a crush on the other, but since they’re…you know…high schoolers, neither of them wants to admit it first. So they come up with increasingly convoluted plans to get the other to confess first. This will go down as one of the best of all time. It’s a hilarious yet poignant modern classic.

Fruits Basket- I’ve talked about it before and I’ll talk about it again. A romance “comedy” that slowly morphs into a drama about a girl named Tohru who finds herself living with the mysterious Sohma family after her mother dies. Little does she know, the Sohmas are the victims of a  (somewhat silly, but ultimately tragic) curse that she must fight to break. Even though I’m more into it for the family drama, the romance is still top tier and plays an important role in the story. This is my second favorite anime of all time, and it’s a classic for a reason. If anyone hasn’t watched it yet, GO WATCH IT! IT WILL RIP YOU TO SHREDS!

And now for some honorable mentions that didn't quite fit into the regular list:

Ride Your Wave- A movie about a surfer who falls in love with a firefighter……and I’m not going to say any more than that. Go into it blind. If you like stuff like Your Name, this is a good one to watch.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun- A comedy about a high school girl who finds out the upperclassman she has a crush on is actually a shoujo manga artist, and no matter how she tries to confess to him, he just never gets it.

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague- A slow burn slice of life that focuses on a guy with ice powers who has a crush on his coworker. That’s it. That’s the show. When I say slow, I mean SLOW. It’s perfectly cute and fluffy, but my god does it take forever to get anywhere with these two.

Skip to Loafer- A high strung, small town girl decides to go to high school in Tokyo, where she meets a variety of classmates, including the laid back Sousuke Shima. The unlikely pair become friends, and soon enough, she starts to feel something more than friendship. The only reason I didn’t include it in the main list is because they don’t get together by the end of the first season, but it’s still really cute (also canonically trans character for the win!?)

So that’s my starter list. And no, I didn’t include Toradora, even though it’s a classic. I know it’s blasphemous, but I like it more as a comedy than a romance. It kinda lost me with the ending. But anyway, maybe someone will find something they like. Or maybe you'll just want to roast me and my picks 😅

[ladykailitha]

The Hellfire Exotic Club Part 5

Hello! I'm really love the response to this story. Thank you everyone who commented or tagged.

In this part we get to meet Ellie their costume designer, and Steve proves why he's there.

Pt 1 Pt 2 Pt 3 Pt 4

~

Steve was doing his warm ups when Chrissy came up to him.

“Hey,” she said. “We finally got our costume designer in at the same time as you. So you need to go to the dressing room and get measured.”

He nodded and went back to the dressing room. It was a long room packed with vanities, costumes, and props. It was where everyone got dressed. Man and woman alike. Eddie’s club was making good money, but it was just easier to just have everyone in the same room. Plus, it wasn’t like everyone hadn’t seen everyone else’s bits. After all, nakedness was part of the job.

The only one who had his own dressing room was Eddie. And that was because it doubled as his office. It had all his costumes, his guitars, but also his desk and filing cabinets. It had a long green, leather sofa two big fluffy armchairs across from his desk chair.

Standing at the end of the of the room in front of the rows and rows of clothing racks where all the costumes were kept was a woman in her early twenties with curly, brown hair and slim figure. Her back was to him so he couldn’t see her face. But he liked her style. It was funky and eclectic and Steve instantly loved it.

“Hey,” he called out gently. “I’m here to measured and hopefully not be found wanting.”

She turned around with a giggle. “And would you be William or Count Adhemar in this situation?”

Steve laughed. “My hope is to always be the hero, especially in my own story. And do I call you Kate or something else?”

“Ellie will do just fine,” she said with a smile. “So you’re the new Envy. You aren’t what I was expecting, if I’m honest.”

“No?” he said as he finished walking the rest of the way to her. “I’m not sure what you were told about me, so...”

Again Ellie giggled. “Well judging from the way Eddie and Chrissy talk about you I was expecting someone taller at the very least. You are conventionally attractive, but I guess I was thinking more Chris Hemsworth then Chris Pine, if I’m honest.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment then,” he said. “Personally I prefer Pine over all the other Chrises. He’s got a ‘fuck you I do what I want’ style I like.”

“Me too,” she said with a soft knowing smile. “So let’s get those measurements and then afterwards we can talk about what you want out of your costumes. I understand you and Chrissy are going to be Hansel and Gretel for the Fairy Tale Night, is that right?”

Steve nodded. “I think that Eddie just wants to see me in lederhosen.” He paused for a second. “My best friend, Robin, too, now that I think about it.”

She laughed out loud for the first time and Steve decided she should laugh more. It was cute. “Well, aren’t they going to be disappointed. It’s meant to be sexy, not ridiculous.”

He smiled back at her. Yeah, they were going to along just fine. Ellie went through measuring him, quickly and efficiently. Steve was impressed by her professionalism and she was impressed by his ability to take direction and to hold still when told.

Once they were done Ellie sat him down and she pulled out a sketch book. She showed him the designs for the Hansel outfit. It had a lot of layers so that as they went through the forest more clothes would come off. Lamia would be the witch and Eddie’s Lucifer would rescue them. It was all very hot and Steve couldn’t wait to preform it.

“I love it,” he told Ellie. “Can we make the costumes brown on the outside and get lighter and lighter until the bottom layer is white?”

Ellie tapped her pencil to her lips. “What if we started off with black and worked our way through grey to white?”

Steve resisted the urge to sigh. It was Eddie wish to be everything black or red for their costumes and it looked the costume designer felt the same. “How about red?”

Ellie’s eyes lit up. “That could work!” And she pulled out her colored pencils and got to work coloring the different layers. Once she was done, she looked up at him and he grinned back.

“Perfect,” he said. “Now let me tell you what I’m going to need from my costume and you can help me figure out what it should look like.”

She nodded and listened to his wants and needs, jotting down notes and sketching out ideas as he talked.

“I might not take it all off every time,” Steve admitted, scratching his cheek nervously. “But I want the option there if at all possible.”

Ellie did a couple more sketches and showed them to him. He took the sketch book from her as he examined the different designs. He pointed to the one on the left. “Add some of the flare from the second one and I think you’ve got it.”

She added the flourishes from the one costume to the other and then showed Steve. He nodded.

“All right,” she said standing up, “I’ll be by in a couple of weeks with your costume for a fitting and see if there’s any tweaks to finalize. I’ve also taken your current costume and will have it sent over on Sunday so that you are able to dance easier.”

He let out a sigh of relief. “That would be fantastic. I’ll be glad to be able to do my job without sacrificing a gallon of blood every night.”

Steve walked her out and said goodbye. Then he got back to warm ups and practice. He was about done with his first solo routine when one of the dancers came up to him.

“Why are you so special that Ellie came to you?” the young man bit out. “Everyone else had to go to her shop to get measured.”

Steve looked up at him with a frown. “You’re Leviathan, right?” The guy nodded. “I’m busy during the day and on my nights off. And when I was free, she was busy. She offered to come to me during practice, man, I don’t know what you want me to tell you.”

“Why you’re getting such preferential treatment?” Levi huffed. “Boss wouldn’t let us backup dancers even try out for Envy even though we should have been given the chance first. We’ve been here longer and deserve a crack at making real money. But no... you come in here with your stupid little heaven song and your stupid little angel dances and now you’re getting Ellie to come to you? It’s bullshit!”

Steve just put his hands up in the air. “You’re acting like I’m some evil mastermind designed to fuck up your life, but the truth is it sounds life your beef is with Eddie not me. I’m not the one who set up tryouts. I’m not the one that called Ellie to come get my measurements. I’m not the one that suggested the angel theme, all I did was pick a song that would get me noticed. Eddie is the one who did all those things. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to warm up.”

Levi snarled and turned on his heel, stomping away. Or as much stomping as one could when you’d spent your life learning to land as softly as possible.

Steve rolled his shoulders. He was used to people blaming him because he was rich and popular and good looking and could fucking dance. They couldn’t get over the fact that he had these natural talents; things he was born with that he didn’t chose. But it was always his fault anyway.

Chrissy came back from wherever she had gone during his session with Ellie, with a big smile. “You ready to back into this?” she asked cheerfully.

“Ready when you are!”

~

To say Eddie was pissed would be an understatement. He had just gotten off the phone with some Bible thumping street preacher demanding that they shutter their doors and repent to come to God.

When Eddie told him that he didn’t believe in God and even if he had, he’d rather go to Hell, the preacher started screaming obscenities about how he was going to expose the club for what it was, a den of iniquity and was going to get it closed down.

Then Stella came in and was up his ass about the angel dances again. He told her that when she brought in as much money as Steve and Chrissy did during those dances then he would listen to her.

“Mark my words, Eddie,” Stella hissed. “He’s going to be the ruin of the club and when it all comes crashing down, I’m going to still be here so I can tell you to your face, ‘I told you so’.”

Then she stormed out. Eddie followed her because he honestly thought she would start going on a rampage in the dressing room, tearing shit up.

Which meant he got a front row seat to Levi trying bully Steve. Not that it worked, Steve returned better than he got, but it was the fact that one of his people had tried. It wasn’t the first time Eddie heard the rumblings from the backup dancers about not getting a chance to audition for Envy and it probably wouldn’t the last. But he wasn’t going to let someone bully someone he had handpicked.

He walked up to the stage whistled long and loud. Steve was the last to stop and look at him, finishing the turn he was doing. He blushed when he realized everyone was waiting for him.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

“Don’t worry about it,” Eddie said. “I get wanting to complete a spin instead of abruptly stopping and risking a fall.”

Steve nodded, still feeling the heat of embarrassment on the back of his neck after the sting of Levi’s words still rang in his head.

“I’ve been getting and hearing a lot of complaints about how I run things lately,” Eddie began.

The assembled dancers began to shift uncomfortably. “Especially from the backup dancers about the auditions to replace Envy. You all think you’re better than Stevie here,” he continued. “So put your money where your mouth is. All eight of you will dance Billy’s version of the tease. And you don’t want to, you know where the fucking door is. Don’t let it hit you on the way out.”

There was a gasp and then deadly silence. “If any of you are as good as he is, I’ll concede the point and we’ll discuss the details after. But here’s the thing, my little demons. You aren’t as good as he is. He learned his dance in three days.”

There were some sharp grumbling at that but a single glare from Eddie silenced them again.

“Jeff, Brian, and Gareth will be the judges because clearly you don’t trust me and Chrissy’s judgment. They will score you on hitting all the moves. On style. And finally on how sexy it was. Then after you’ve all danced and I’m proven right, you’ll have two options,” he bit out, holding up two fingers. “Shut up and dance. Or get the fuck out of my club. Because I think you assholes forgot who’s name is on the deed. Not you. Not Wayne. Not anyone but me.”

The rest of the demons glared at the two main culprits: Levi and Danny. Levi sneered and Danny was nonplussed.

“Come on, Leviathan,” Eddie snarled back. “You think you’re such a big shot. Go on, prove it.”

Levi got into position to dance.

Chrissy hurried over to the music and turned on “Devil Inside”. Steve didn’t want to toot his own horn, but he could see why Billy was only as good as the pole he was dancing on. It was loud and outrageous but no technique or style. It was all sex and no substance.

When he was done Eddie called out all the other dancers. Choronzon, Belial, Beelzebub, Astraroth, Stolas, Mephistopheles, and then finally Dagon. Danny was a good dancer, particularly on the pole. But again, there was no style or substance to the tease.

When her dance ended, Steve raised his hand. “Can I try?”

All heads snapped his direction.

“What now?” Cheryl asked. “You dance it every Sunday.”

Steve shook his head. “What you guys just danced is not what I do on Sundays. Chrissy modified it on the fly because I’m not built the way Billy was.”

There was some murmuring but Chrissy confirmed he doesn’t do Billy’s dance. Parts of it, yes. But there was no way Steve could dance it well enough in time.

“But you just watched it,” Stella said. “There is no way you can do replicate that!”

Steve shrugged. “I watched it eight times. It has a lot of beats of what I do, but in a slightly different order. I should get a chance to do it. It’s my reputation on the line, isn’t it?”

No one could refute that so Steve got into position and everyone’s jaw dropped. Including Eddie and Chrissy. Steve started his dance on stool but Billy started front and center. And that’s where he stood.

Scott smirked as the music started. It was Chrissy and him who helped Steve nail it down in three days.

The difference was staggering. Eddie’s jaw remained on the floor for the duration of of the tease. As did almost everyone else’s. Only Stella and Scott were unmoved. Scott because he knew how good Steve was and Stella because she was being forced to eat crow.

The song ended and the room erupted in cheers and whistles. Steve lifted his head and winked.

Jeff threw his notes in the air behind him. “I don’t fucking need these. Steve’s was sexier, smoother, and nearly technically perfect.”

Gareth crossed his arms over his chest. “I agree. All of the backup dancers did the routine. But none of them were Envy.”

“I’m asexual and even I could tell Steve’s was sexier,” Brian said. “And it’s because he connected to his audience. Me, Gare, and Jeff. He played to us not at us.”

Eddie raised his arm to the stage. “Satan everyone!” He jutted his thumb behind him. “Take it or leave it!”

No one moved an inch. “Then shut up and dance!” He turned on his heel and stormed back to his office.

Chrissy clapped her hands. “All righty! Everyone back on the starting line!”

Everyone scrambled to get back into position. Chrissy and Scott shared a smirk as Levi and Danny stood a little straighter.

Point well and truly made.

~

Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

Tag List: CLOSED

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3- @maya-custodios-dionach @goodolefashionedloverboi @val-from-lawrence @carlyv @wonderland-girl143-blog

4- @justforthedead89 @irregular-child @bookbinderbitch @bookworm0690 @forgottenkanji

5- @anne-bennett-cosplayer @yikes-a-bee @awkwardgravity1 @littlewildflowerkitten @genderless-spoon

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10- @themoonagainstmers @gloomysoup @novelnovella @micheledawn1975

[loth-creatures]

I’d love to hear your wall of text about the Sion’s voyage!

Aight, so if there's one thing I hated about the show it's that the journey to a whole ass new galaxy felt like it took 5 minutes. So in my star war it takes roughly 7 weeks and it fucking SUCKS

Disclaimer; this is just a huge mess from my head, nothing is set in stone, and I'm only really planning to comicify the last few parts ;)

Also cw for some implied self-harm ideation, terrible coping mechanisms, deteriorating mental health, violence and injuries (just mentioned, not in detail)

To set the scene, they're using the training/rec room as Sabine’s prison bc Wolfbine is too big for the actual brig lol. Much to the entire crew's irritation. The first week or two they just handcuff her in a corner at blasterpoint whenever they want to use it I guess, and find a closet to lock loose equipment in. At least she gets some entertainment. She probably also gets beat up a few times (you should see the other guy) for commenting on people's techniques. But eventually they decide she probably won't try anything and stop caring she's there, so she's left alone for the most part.

She spends a lot of time working out, bc otherwise she is strongly considering bashing her head into the wall. Having to sit alone as a human and pace in circles as a wolf for days on end with the weight of her decision and all kinds of fresh guilt is doing terrible things to her head...She is also spending a lot of time trying and failing not to sob and scream in the shower when no one's around. There is also a viewport in the rec room and Sabine spends an unhealthy amount of time staring into the rainbow swirl of hyperspace. She can't tell whether or not she's hallucinating the strange shapes that occasionally drift into view, singing strange songs that she can feel more than hear. It reminds her of the ocean and she shudders and dreams of drowning, being crushed by the depths. And she dreams of Ezra alone and lost in this void. There's no easy way to break free of such thoughts when she's essentially trapped in a fish bowl.

Meanwhile, Shin hates Sabine even more now for making her a Wolfwalker. She is not adjusting well to turning into a giant beast every time she tries to sleep and on a cramped vessel with little space to stretch those legs. Having been bitten only just before boarding the Sion, she hasn't had the chance to run wild for miles with the wind in her fur; all she knows is that the journey feels twice as long and horrid when she's consious 24/7. Baylan, on the other hand, is like DO YOU REALIZE HOW AWESOME THIS IS?! YOU SHOULD BE THANKING HER. He's not jealous persay, but. Well. Careful what you wish for...

Wolf Sabine and Shin are both getting major zoochosis smh. It's a miracle Shin hasn't killed a random crew member yet. Wolfbine behaves for maybe a week before she starts chewing up the flooring and howling and screaming husky style just to be a little shit. See how long it takes before someone threatens to shoot her, muzzle her, throw her out the airlock (not long). She can't afford to antagonize the crew too much bc there is only one person on the entire ship who wants her there and he has limited authority. Baylan is quick to remind her of this.

He also makes several attempts to talk to her and get on better terms, as he would like to learn more about the wolves. He tells her of the old fragments of stories of Wolfwalkers he found in the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and his facsination with them and how chasing such tales lead to his other ambitions. Lowkey info-dumping about all the fairy-tales and mythalogical stuff that Shin never took an interest in. Sabine is deathly bored enough to tolerate it to extent, but she is not forgiving him for 'killing' Ahsoka, for digging in her head, for putting her in this situation, and she is absolutely kicking herself for having bitten Shin. For letting anyone affiliated with the Empire close to Lothal's secrets. Too her it's put a deep crack through her promise to protect Lothal, perhaps not as much as having given Thrawn a way home, but she's going to try her damnest to undo that one, and shoves that looming guilt aside as best she can, instead spiraling about the fact that she made Shin a Wolfwalker and short of killing her there is no undoing that. So most of her conversations with Baylan end with telling him to go fuck himself.

Just now realizing I've never gone into detail about why Sabine bit Shin. It was a complete accident. Split second reaction out of pain after taking another small slice from Shin’s lightsaber during their fight on Seatos, which she was able to heal herself but it slowed her down enough for Shin to escape. With a nasty little nip to the arm.

That all said Sabine does not want to kill Shin, in fact she's just starting to feel sorry for her. Shin might be all MY ARCH NEMESIS SABINE WREN, but from the beginning Sabine is just like ugh can this random chick stop making my life harder 🙄

And if she's this miserable as a wolf rn, she can imagine what Shin's going through as a first timer, which is all her fault :( plus the fact that as wolves they are instinctively drawn to other wolves and each of their suffering seems to exacerbate the other's. They are both so lonely. 2 weeks in and (human)Sabine is bored and desperate enough to try heckling Shin into sparring with her, on the rare occasion she passes by (Shin’s been avoiding that room). 3 weeks in and Shin's gotten bored and desperate enough to accept the invitation.

I hc that during a friendly match, most Force-users will refrain from using the Force against a non-Force-user for the most part. Shin is not interested in friendly and absolutely hammers Sabine unless Baylan is there to remind her to play nice. Sabine is fine with this. She wants Shin to use the Force (come at me bro). If anyone's gonna be holding back it's Sabine. She wants to get as familiar as possible with Shin's fighting skill and habits without revealing the full extent of her own, while also slowly learning to anticipate and work around Shin’s use of the Force. That way she'll have an advantage the next time they fight for reals. It's difficult to impossible to hold back though, while still presenting enough of a challenge to keep Shin coming back for more.

While Sabine is more experienced, with a wider range of techniques and more refined skill, Shin is still skilled and powerful and it's hardly a fair fight without her armor and gear. She gets her shit rocked.

Sabine is very rarely able to beat Shin when she's using the Force. But she can withstand her. Many of their fights don't end with a quick, decisive victory so much as Shin just wearing Sabine down until she physically can't fight anymore though she refuses to tap out or surrender. Because for one, it's pissing Shin off, which is fun. And for two, ending the fight means returning to the hell that is sitting alone and staring out that window until it makes her sick in the head. She would kill a man for a single can of paint.

While Shin is toying with Sabine and using her as a bunching bag on the basis that she asked for it, keeps asking for it, doesn't know when to give up, and totally deserves it 😤, she is no easy opponent and Shin is continuously shocked by Sabine's ability to survive her. She was supposed to be just another enemy to tear through, yet has survived two murder attempts, and Shin is now stuck with her on this godforsaken ship for some reason, and she doesn't even have the grace to admit when she's defeated. Unstoppable force has met unmovable object.

Shin simultaneously resents and admires her, though doesn't quite respect her yet. And she definitely fears her a little (though she would never admit that). I kinda get the vibe that Shin’s never really lost a fight, has never truly been left for dead at the end of a battle, and the thought terrifies her. Either she is invincible or she is dead. Meanwhile Sabine can be coughing up blood and she'll be like 'cool see you tmr'✌️😎 The fact that Shin probably deleted one of Sabine's kidneys on Lothal and she seems hardly intimidated is well. Intimidating. And annoying. And hot.

I feel like at some point Baylan would point out that Shin could probably learn a thing or two from Sabine if she would stop beating the shit out of her for two seconds. Shin is already aware of that but doesn't want to admit it.

Meanwhile Sabine just doesn't care anymore what happens to her as long as she lives long enough to get off this accursed vessel, doesn't care how hurt she gets, as long as it passes the time and distracts her from her spiraling thoughts. She's offered a medic multiple times and refuses each time. She doesn't want them seeing the full extent of her injuries and then finding out she can heal herself with the wolf-magic, bc the Empire doesn't need to know about that. She only heals the worst injuries and then gaslights Shin about it. 'You did not break any ribs lol I'm fine quit flattering yourself.' Shin’s like how the fuck are you still standing.

This routine of brutally taking out their frustrations on each other is gonna get old though, and is completely unsustainable. Eventually Shin’s convinced that Sabine is just using her for pain. Which isn't wrong even if it's not the only or even primary reason Sabine keeps asking. Sabine calls her out on fighting like a coward and enjoying hurting her anyway. Shin goes and sulks for a few days after that (not without punching Sabine in face first).

Ok time out. What the hell is Shin’s deal anyway. I have only some half-baked ideas about Baylan and Shin’s...thing. They're like the closest thing we've gotten to 'grey Jedi?' I guess? I've been operating under the assumption that that's what they're essentially trying to be (though it's not what they'd call themselves), something more than Jedi, Baylan says, and that 'more' is just chasing power. They will inevitably fall completely. Probably need to watch the show again to get a better read on them tbh but I would rather not. It will hurt my feelings again :( Baylan is like the mountain. He's calm, he's steady and the darkness erodes him slowly. He thinks he's successfully toeing the line with the dark side, but his faults are most evident in Shin's training. She is like a hurricane. The Force rips through her, chaotic and volatile and her control is iron yet brittle. She hasn't known inner peace a day in her life. She just taught herself restraint in the sense that she suppresses her power until she needs it to plow through her enemies. She will fall far more quickly than her master. Baylan's teachings follow the Jedi's to an extent but once the darkness is let in, those lessons become skewed and contradicted, and Shin is a mess because of it, only mirroring her master's control on the surface. Baylan isn't the worst teacher but he is not a good one. While Shin loves and trusts Baylan, she is getting tired and frustrated following his mysterious whispers of legends to an end he never explains clearly. And she is afraid.

ANYWAY, once Shin’s done sulking, one of these days her and Sabine are gonna have a genuine conversation or two and maybe agree to an actually friendly sparring match in which they agree to not just blindly pulverize each other. They take breaks and drink water and tend to their wounds like adults. And Sabine is like you know, we could just. Hang out. As wolves at least. It would suck sooo much less if you'd come play with me as a wolf xoxo. They slowly transition into a more definitive Truce.

Shin does start hanging out in the rec room as a wolf. Sabine still isn't volunteering info on the wolf magic but she does talk about what its like being wolfwalker in general. They tussel and chase each other around, often getting too rough but also loud enough that someone will come yell at them to stfu before they really hurt each other. It's much easier to take naps as wolves too after they've had a chance to burn some energy which makes the entire ship more peaceful.

However, you can't just be the first vessel in centuries to cross between galaxies and not have some kind of disaster right? Well it turns out the strange shapes out the viewport were not hallucinations. The Sion is essentially traveling through the cosmic deep ocean and there are bigger, older things than even the Purrgil out there. Nothing has an interest in attacking the Sion, but at some point something very large drifts close enough to jolt the Sion off course and shorts out the entire system. This ends up forcing them to drop out of hyperspace in the middle of absolute fucking nowhere.

It takes a few days to get the ship running again and recalculate the jump. And here's where Sabine gets to be a hero and earn some respect around here, bc most of their mechanics are droids which also shorted out and lost power. Seeing as they are at risk of losing life support, they let Sabine help with repairs and turns out she's one of the best mechanics on board, even considering the newer technology she doesn't have as much experience with. This also allows her to get more familar with the ship and find the best places to hide out when she eventually makes her escape, while simultaneously giving the crew more reason to let their guard down on her. Including Shin.

That first loss of power is the worst but there are several more blackouts along the way. Human Sabine and Shin are almost getting along now. They still don't like each other but they are hooking up (it does not fix them), and playing card games by flashlight and truth or dare. Maybe Shin even scrounges up some art supplies for Bean. Now she can pass the time hiding sharpie dicks all over the place. They are almost friends by the time there are three days left in the journey and Sabine is preparing to make her move.

Baylan was probably the one to initiate letting Sabine have her lightsaber to sparr occasionally. He wanted to test her metal as well. I think it would be interesting if they sparred a couple times. Baylan is much more chivalrous than Shin and also goes into teacher mode about sword fighting. Sabine isn't a novice anymore but he's still far more experienced. Shin is like no no no we are not adopting her Dad NO-

So anyway escape day comes, Sabine almost cronches Baylan to death, and Shin is beyond angry. Mostly at herself for letting her guard down enough to allow this to happen, she didn't really expect Sabine to not pull something like this in the end right? It's stupid to feel betrayed when it was so inevitable. She is still 100% gonna take it out on Sabine though, especially for almost killing her master.

Despite the escape attempt, Thrawn lets Sabine go as he does in the show, in the hope that she'll lead them to Ezra’s human body. He figures if anyone could find him, it would be a fellow wolfwalker who considers him dear enough to risk the fate of her entire galaxy. Everyone else is like you're just letting her go?? After all that??? And Thrawn's just like lol what did you expect from her? That's Sabine Wren. They probably do attempt to scan the ship for sabotage but it's so huge and her kyber bomb is so small and rudimentary that they don't find it.

At this point, Sabine is run utterly ragged. Bedraggled even. Having not slept in 2 days,(no room to wolf in the Sion's walls so she just had to stay awake 💀) suffered a heart attack at Baylan's hand, and got beat up by WolfShin again. She's visibly about to collapse and Thrawn's probably like 'do you...want to spend the night before you go? And a medic?' He knows he's most likely sending her to perish in the wilderness anyway, but was hoping to give her at least a chance at finding human Ezra for them. Sabine says hell no I'm getting out of here before you change your mind.

She rides until she actually does collapse, hides her body as best she can and continues as a wolf. She figures they let her go for a reason, and plans to run in erratic circles all night every night to hopefully throw them off, only later investigating any clues she finds as human for a few sporadic hours in the day. Thrawn does send Shin to track her at a distance. If she happens to find the trail of Wolf!Ezra first, kill her. This hunt through the wild will go on for several days at least, before there's any sign of Ezra.

[ebonysplendor]

Bad End Cinderella (Demo)🤴

TL;DR: You ever look at a character in a story and think that they're deserving of what they got? Well, maybe, they can still get their good end, too. ...But probably not in this case.

Game Link: https://sauceco.itch.io/bad-end-cinderella

Notable Features: Male MC, Named MC, female LI, story heavy Spiciness: 1/5 -- And it's not really even spicy. The man is taking a bath with a glass of wine. Don't get me wrong, he looks good, but it's more of a vibe versus suggestive. LI MC Red Flags: 2/5 -- Obsessive, possessive, short-tempered, entitled, self-centered; he doesn't do much, but you can tell that it's brewin'.

Wanna know more? Even though it doesn't say 18+ explicitly, it does say that minors shouldn't interact...which is anyone under 18. That being said, shuffle off if you aren't of age. If you are of age, let's get into it!

Ah, intros. I never know what to put in them, so...I guess I'll talk more about the game but not so much it'll make the review pointless.

So, this game was really good, and it's not even done. Like, ugh, the writing is just so...it's elegant. Like, I want to buy it some champagne and do the posh "Oh ho ho ho ho~!" laugh as we exchange tales about poor people activities, even though I am the poor people, ya feel me? Let me tell you though, the story is everything but elegant. Like, the yandere? A royal? More like a royal fuck up. Ohhhhh~! Got hit ass!

Also, I almost forgot to mention that I put "MC Red Flags" because we're playing from the yandere's point of view which makes us him and him the main character and the main character is us since we're making the decisions for him. See? We're him and he's us. Just a heads up for that one.

Okay, is-- is the intro long enough? Are you cool with the intro being this short? Genuinely? You're gucci with me just jumping in? Because, I'm deadass just stalling. Bless you, let's stop stalling then, because I really want to tell you about this game. As usual, I'll tell you as much about the visual novel as possible without ruining the story itself.

With that out of the way, let's get into it.

Once upon a time Yeah, nah. I know it flows like a fairy tale and all, but nah. We're doing this my way.

So boom (ah~ much better).

Our -- well Claude's; that's the yandere by the way -- wife left us for some wack ass pleb, and we are officially the gossip among the commoners and will lowkey be the laughing stock of the royals. Honestly, it's embarrassing and really damned infuriating.

We're kind've running back where the marriage went wrong, and we've pretty much come to the conclusion that shit went left when we chose a hoe over our heart. Who was our heart, you ask? None other than our housemaid and (lowkey) childhood friend/sweetheart Ella.

We start reminiscin' about our one and only Ella, and just kind've recalled that we hadn't felt that genuine warmth, love, and happiness since her. Like, yeah, admittedly, we felt that with our wife for a bit, but it was mainly because she kind've boosted our ego quite a bit in the beginning, and it's like...she was there, so we may as well have learned to vibe with her a bit.

Pfft, yeah right. You see how that shit turned out. 6 years of straight misery. Fuck her and fuck that baker, too. Well...I don't know if he was a baker or not but...look, Silvia is a hoe, and so is her entire damned lineage. Period. Ella would've never ran off with some peasant the way that she did.

Wait...

Actually...we never really thought about that before. Granted, what we said about Ella never treating us the way that our ex-wife had is true, but we're starting to think that maybe that other part about her never running off with some guy is...not entirely true.

No, no, no, no, no. Negative thoughts rejected. That can't be true; it's not true. She's our Ella, and our Ella would've waited for us; our Ella did wait for us. We just have to finalize this stupid divorce and go looking for her.

So, we do. We finish the paperwork, break the shackles of being held down by a harlot that we tried to make into a queen just for her to go back to the cobblestones where she belongs, and look for our precious Ella. That being said, even though true love conquers all, this is pretty tall task to accomplish on our own, so we go to our main ally:

Esra, the royal oracle.

Nah, don't get excited, because this was a fucking waste of our time. This man wasn't an ally at all, let alone any actual help!

First off, we asked him for help, and it's just attitude with him. Like, excuse you? I'm your king? Watch your tone? Second, when we finally do get him to the point where he actually does what he's supposed to do, this mothafucka looks in his little special book and is like "Don't do it". Like, huh?! The fuck you mean "don't do it"? I ain't ask you for advice, I asked you for help, specifically how to get to my damned Ella. Then he's all "Okay, but the stars said--!" and we're like "Boy, fuck you and them stars"! Like, sir, not you telling me not to look for my Ella?!

Bump it.

We just take our lil' "help" and go on about our business, but it's like, it sucks, because now, we have to regroup and consider another ally. We start getting frustrated because why should we even have to do this in the first place, ya know? Like, why couldn't that dumbass oracle just help us like instructed? Now, because of him, we have to waste more time finding another ally, and the only other person we can even consider is ... oh Gods why ...

Floren fucking Winters. Let me tell you about this motherfucker...

He was the biggest ass to us when we were children, but unfortunately and admittedly, his bloodline is pretty top tier when it comes to combat. That being said, because of the arrangement between our families, we stay royal and they stay loyal per our late father's decree, so Floren's dad served, Floren currently serves, his future kid will serve, and so on and so forth. Anyways, I'll get more into this asshat's backstory with us later.

So, Floren comes trotting over in the middle of our monologuing talking mad shit already. He pretty much leads with "Worried about me when your divorce isn't even finalized? That's crazy. Oh, and that guy she ran off with? Lmao I bought him a beer".

Oh word? Is this what we're gonna do? Haha ooh, bitch...

Let me explain something real quick to y'all.

This dude (likely) had feelings for Ella at one point, too, if not still, and has always thought that we weren't good enough to be in her graces. That being said, remember that whole arrangement I brought up earlier? We stay royal and they stay loyal? Guess who had to ship out for 5 years to war? Guess who was making the moves on Ella for those 5 years when he was gone? Yeeeeeeeeah lmao.

So we remember all this, and we take a quick second to get on our king shit, because at the end of the day, he's beneath us, and we're damned sure gonna remind him.

See that? Now those of you that watch anime know that when the protagonist or the antagonist does this, they're about to lay into that ass and fuck up someone's world.

"Remember when you were playing hero those 5 years? It took less than that for Ella to create a divot in my hand and in my arms. Our worst times together were, would be, and are significantly better than your best times with her. Tell me you're jealous without telling me that you're jealous. Letting my birthright dictate what I do? Couldn't be me~"

Look at his face. Look at those dots. Silence. We ain't even have to correct him about the divorce...I mean, we did, but you know...summarizing. Wait, stop, don't get me off track.

Even though we just said all of that, and we had a "checkmate, bitch" sort of moment, we didn't really "win" the argument, because Floren kind've checks us about one very specific detail.

"'Couldn't be you?' Dude, it was you. You threw Ella away like a used toy when Silvia came along, and now you suddenly want to play with her again? The way that you're treating her like an object that's only there for your convenience is actually gross."

...Chile, so anyways. That thing about allies? Floren is far from one.

Even though, he was lowkey right. If Ella saw us now, she...wouldn't be entirely happy, especially about how we kind've blew up at Floren like that. We really have changed over the years, and we're starting to question our own integrity a bit despite feeling like we're still a good person overall. We love Ella, -- our Ella -- and we would do literally anything to be reunited with her.

"Are you so willing to risk the lives of unwilling innocents just to achieve your goals?"

Easily. The stars refused to shed light on our fate when asked, so I'll commit the sin first and ask for forgiveness later. That being said...

And we are probably going to sin a lot.

I'm gonna repeat myself a little bit here, but y'all the game isn't even done, and it's this good! Admittedly, as some of you that have been rocking with me know, I'm conceited when it comes to these visual novels, so I always want to be able to self-insert, and (of course) I prefer the LI to be a guy. That being said, when I saw that this was what it was I was like "Eh..." but considering that I'm a sucker for styling and that this was one of the people who are working on the masterpiece Something's Wrong with Sunny Day Jack -- **cough cough** I have a review of it here; shameful plug **cough cough** -- I gave it the ol' college try.

Okay, so, let's talk about the pacing, which was amazing. It honestly could not have been executed any better, in my opinion. The way that it just jumps right into the thick of it but not so much so that it's disorienting was such an Olympic skill. It was just so crazy that the dev was able to do that but still ease into the actual story where we see this man slowly spiral and the plotline start to take hold. It was just so beautifully done. Speaking of being beautifully done...

The yandere, Claude, is being written so well. Like mentioned, I'm genuinely enjoying the slow spiraling of this man, and I cannot wait to see how far he'll actually go for this Ella girl. Like, to read about the moment that he realized that "Oh shit...what are the chances that the woman that I blew off didn't actually wait for me?" and then he basically gets bout it, bout it with the royal oracle AND the captain of the royal guard? Not to mention, he actually acknowledges that something is potentially off with him but he rationalizes his actions and says that he's a good person and that he's doing it for love?! Like, brooooooo. We don't see it yet, but this man is bound to become a menace, and I am demanding an update!....please, I fucking beg, dev. I. BEG.

Also, just as a side thing. Can we just take a minute to talk aboUT HOW FINE FLOREN WINTERS IS???

Like Claude and Ersa are cute, don't get me wrong, but it's something about Floren. Hell, it's not something, it's errythang about Floren Winters! Like, that is hubby. That is baby daddy, and I don't even want kids, ya feel me? Like, I volunteer to keep that whole "You'll serve, your children'll serve, and then their children'll serve, and so on" thing going. We can spend plenty of time to make some babies, okay?

But no, yeah, I feel very strongly about the direction that this game is going in, and I am really excited about how the story will pan out. Like, what the hell was Ersa referring to? Why did his face literally just...?

Like, do you see that? That is genuine horror. Like, I imagine that he's seen countless prophecies, both good and bad, so what kind've shit did he see that was so appalling that he was just like "Bro, don't do this"? Like, deadass, my guy? Just straight up don't do it?? DUDE, WHAT TF DID HE SEEEEEE??????? Like, I want to know so bad! Best believe that if and when this full game drops, I will be right damned there!

Anyways, I'm gonna end it there because some of you already know how I get when it's a game that I really like. I'm gonna stop my yapping while I'm ahead. Before I officially end it though, I want to give you guys the link just in case you want to play it for yourself, and I absolutely think that you should. Also, it's been a while since the dev has gotten any comments, so if you want to do my bidding and let them know "PLEASE. I MUST KNOW HOW CLAUDE FUCKS THIS UP. UPDATE PLEASE. I mean...rest and take your time, but I'm literally offering my soul here", I'm sure they'd be delighted to know that people are still enjoying and anticipating their game. I'm pretty certain they're a part of the SnaccPop team, but I didn't see anything to donate to them as their own separate creator. If you find something, I'm sure they'd appreciate the monetary support, especially individually.

Okay, I'm gonna stop yapping for realsies now. Big preesh for getting this far. Like always, please remember to drink water, don't be dumb, and hope to see you around~!

Bad End Cinderella

[ominous-feychild]

I have a Problem in that I love to over-explain things even when I don't need to.

Especially when I don't need to. 😭

On that note! I'm working on my introduction post again (take a guess how many times I've gone to work on it and then stopped) and I went too in-depth when I should really be focusing on making it shorter, haha.

Except... I don't want to get rid of what I've written, and still want to share it.

SOLUTION!

My Obsessions:

✦ Fantasy, horror, mystery, action, and exploration of realistic characters' reactions to the things they go through.

What I write tends to be a reflection of this. My main works are high fantasies placed in what I feel is a more realistic setting--not as in grimdark "realistic", but places that are very used to the existence of magic. Someone who's grown up in a place with magical basically-electricity shouldn't spend five pages fawning over the existence of teleporters. Maybe they'll be surprised. Maybe they'll even be impressed. But unless they have some kind of a special interest in the subject, they'll probably spend more time thinking about how convenient it'll be for them rather than how it works, what it means, and the long, long history of magic... which has been around them for their whole life.

✦ Fairy tales, mythology, and folklore

I called myself "ominous-feychild" for a reason, haha. I like horror, I love fantasy, I adore faeries, and dear god--am I in LOVE with putting them all together! In folklore, faeries weren't cute little pixies that helped everyone around them... or even tiny little pixies that annoyed everyone around them (most of the time). They were the things that went "bump" in the night, that you huddled in close with your loved ones when you thought you might've caught their attention... Or, they made you question if your sister's eyes were always that far apart. Wait, was your bedroom there before? Did... did you even have a sister??? Well, you do now. And you might want to start running.

✦ "Ye Olde History" and language

"Ye Olde" meaning "the further away from modern day, the better." I can appreciate steampunk and actually often implement it into my own writing, but I do not consider Victorian England to be old. Civilization has been tracked back to as early as 4000 BCE, and it's way too easy to google that to think history actually started when Jesus was put on the cross. (Note: I am a merciless agnostic and hate what Christianity did to our world's history. So much was erased just because some bigots thought "stupid people don't think and act exactly like me, they're clearly barbaric! Time to erase their entire culture, massacre their people, and/or destroy their creations! Empathy be damned!!!" Fuck Christianity. To any Christians reading this, I don't mean you--just your religion. But you have to admit, it really sucks.)

✦ DIVERSITY!!!

As I just alluded to, I love learning about things that are unlike me. And, even more than that, I love people feeling like they have a place they belong. I've gone most of my life feeling ostracized, I'm not just going to perpetrate that cycle myself. Besides! It gets exhausting being in echo chambers with the same-old white cishet stories all the time.

✦ Explorations of "evil-coded" characters and abilities--aka, not just showing them as evil. Show them as people (for characters) and tools (for abilities)!

This is actually kind of personal to me. Autism and other disabilities have historically most often been relegated to villains because we're somehow "worse" than everyone else. Even I fell into that trap in the past, accidentally making a villain autistic-coded before I got my diagnosis. Now, I love putting people with questionable traits, powers, and backstories on the good side while the typically "good" things end up as villains. Something something, humans want freedom and freedom is chaos, something something, order is forcing things into boxes they might not particularly fit in because "otherwise, where else would they go???"

✦ Learning!!!

This might be weird, but I have a genuine love for just learning! (Not school, just learning.) I go down rabbit holes researching things all the time--and not just for writing! Obviously two of my favorite subjects are history and language, but I also love earth science and the ways our planet regulates itself to try to maintain balance! (And then we humans screw it up but.) Even in general, I love learning about random things, so if you ever have a weird infodump you really want to share, feel free to tag me in it and I'll check it out!!!

Yeah, by the way, this is linked to my actual intro post!

Divider by @cafekitsune

[pinkboxess]

just want to air this out i guess to like-minded people

it bothers me when people (including the show's own writers) think that people ship ted and rebecca just because they are the male and female leads and that's what we expect out of shows.

maybe that's true for some people, but for me, i'm literally queer and on the asexuality spectrum somewhere. i do not just automatically ship a man and woman because i think that's how things naturally go. if anything i'm predisposed to typically not go for hetero ships.

my reasoning for shipping ted and rebecca is the loads of textual evidence of all of their interactions together. they are just, like, visibly and clearly soulmates to me, and i've always felt that way even from the first few episodes of the show that i ever watched.

it seems crazy to me to write characters that have a connection like they do (think of the september 13, 1991 thing and their experiences with divorce and the way that they fit together perfectly and help each other grow and the way that rebecca is the force who brings ted to england) and then say "oh, no, their relationship is only platonic"

again, as a queer and ace person, i actually really fucking do value platonic relationships and i do not think everything has to be romantic or sexual. but the dismissive attitude and the insertion of "just" in front of platonic makes me feel like people are missing the cosmic connection these two characters have.

honestly, in my mind, ted and rebecca don't have to be "just" romantically involved either. it almost feels like what they have is so big and powerful that relegating it to any label is just kind of insufficient.

they are each other's people. they are soulmates.

(also, as a side note, an additional thing i don't like is when writers believe that writing happy or ideal endings makes for a bad story. like there's this need that people feel to not have the couple get together in the nicely tied up way like a fairy tale, or for things to be "nuanced" and "realistic." i kind of think fuck that. honestly, for me, the truly subversive and different ending would be for everyone to love each other and be happy and get the ending that hopeful fans want for them. i don't always want a lesson in how the world works and we have plenty of that already.)

[regaliasonata]

Also character ask ZIGGY

Character Ask: Ziggy Grover

First Impression

-Definitely falling under the average green ranger stereotype of being the silly but less engaged member of the team, though that is quite alright cause he'll probably give some positivity to the team due to the state they are in via the season

How I Feel About The Character/Impression Now

-.....I love this twink and honestly me and everyone else should love him, the fact that he was in a mafia, managed to escape, gave medicine and supplies from said group to orphans in needed AND GOT OFF SCOT FREE WITH HIS TOASTER BOYFRIEND speaks volumes.

Favorite Moment

-So far has to be that scene between him and the cartel where he's got that serious face, I'll have to go back and fully complete RPM but seeing Ziggy look so cold is amazing.

Idea For A Story

-okay think of this....Ziggy as a Peter Pan type character who was reborn in another world that raises orphans or children who've passed early and they live in this alternate world with magic, at the same time he's an assassin that's teaming up with Dillon and Tenaya(who also have powers based on fairy tales) to steal ancient treasure from a tyrant king in order to rule the rule, Once Upon A Time walked so this can run.

Relationships

OTPs

-Ziggy/Dillon....obviously, can't have a happy twig without his grumpy muscular emo boyfriend.

-Ziggy/Scott, Ziggy/Flynn. Both these work really well in my opinion.

-Crackship idea if this crossover was ever a thing...Ziggy/Jarrod/Dillon/Casey, imagine all that chaos together with those four like(I'd pay to see a one shot of this tbh). Heck not even a crossover needed because JKP exists in the RPMverse and assuming the entire team is alive then this could fly, crazy twinks and the emo duo.

BROTPs

-Ziggy/Dr.K, honestly feel like he understands Dr.K and they are really close when it comes to hearing each other out, plus Ziggy might actually get her to enjoy some hobbies.

-Ziggy/Casey...seriously Disney fucked us over from ever getting this interaction, be happy with marvel I guess but imagine the send off you could've had.

-Ziggy/Tenaya, she needs earplugs every time he talks about Dillon...

Unpopular Opinion

-Kinda wish we got even more of a backstory for him or seen Ziggy encountering other green rangers. I feel like both him and Trip would get along quite well to be honest.

One thing I wish would/had happened in the show

-....We serious? That Jungle Fury/RPM crossover obviously because ALL THOSE INTERACTIONS AND SUCH WOULD'VE BE LEGENDARY.

-Even if he didn't end up with Dillon we should've had Ziggy kissing some guy.

-Imagine a scene of Ziggy hacking Venjix down with his axe after he found out the program's intention for Dillon, or if Venjix succeeded and Dillon died...it would've been brutal like Ziggy would be shown Venjix why the cartel kept him around🗡🗡🗡🗡🗡

Headcanons

-The RPM team technically has sentient zords because in reality they hold secret Engine Souls like their Go-Onger counterparts. This is actually a result of humanity evolving and without the vitality from Earth's nature so their animal spirits evolved into Engine Souls, thing is the team hasn't unlocked them but when they do the zords will be able to talk(a little fib of my JFAU movie arc idea with RPM cause we deserve that crossover).

-Ziggy's fingernails can turn dark green because of Venjix exposure, some humans after being exposed to the virus during their apocalypse developed small traits via their survival(Scott having sharper canines, Summer being able to detect metals for tools, Flynn when growing out his hair has white highlights and can absorb radiation, Gem and Gemma can see people's dreams and Dillon can purify dirty food and water).

-Ziggy sleeps with a huge dolphin as a pillow or just something to hold whenever he's sad. If he can't morph then he'll fill it with rocks and beat down venjix monsters with it.

-Sometimes when he would leave the dome(before the world began to return to normal) he'd walk miles until making it to the ocean since it wasn't fully destroyed and enjoyed watching the waves. Plus that spot is the only one in the world where the stars in the sky are still viewable.

-After RPM Dillon, Tenaya and Ziggy ventured out into the world to see what needed to be fixed, they built a railroad and it oddly began to glow with energy. This led to the team getting powers via trains and soul power with imagination, humanity's will to keep going(ToQger adaption), villains born from the deceased malice of humanity aim to take advantage of this world and others leading to the team having bigger stakes than last time.

[bananaactivity]

i saw the "ask me abt my descendants au" ask button and so i simply HAD to ask about your au--carlos is my fave, with harry being my second favorite (while morgie is my favorite from RoR), so i guess, if anything, i wanna ask abt carlos. whats he like in your au? what exactly happens--and do his cousins exist? love the way you draw him op!!

and abt your morgie and james verse--i'm curious, do harriet and cj exist ? does harry remember morgie at all? does hook ever even talk about him?

sorry if this was a lot!

Naw it’s all good, I’ve been waiting on an ask for forever 🙃 I will say I only consumed the movies back in elementary school (WILD IM SAYING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL AND NOW IM 18 LIKE TIME GOES BY SO FAST) The only books I read was Mals spell book. Not to say I don’t like reading, I read Ever After high books and The School for Good and Evil, I could just never get my hands on the Descendents ones. And I watched one episode of wicked world… and said fuc no never again.

All that to say I just found out three weeks ago that Harry had siblings, and that Carlos had any hench men or other stuff not specifically in the main movies. I had already figured out a lot of James and Harry’s story and suddenly the timeline was fucked because there was no way for Harriet or Cj or Jane Darling to exist in context. Harry is born as an accident in Neverland and Hook has to return home so he can grow and his mother is a random someone who wasn’t going to come back to take care of her son. Her existence is already shaky but then adding Harriet she’d have to be born first with Jane Darling who I didn’t account for in the slightest either. She’s Wendy’s daughter so now a lot more time will have to pass so she can grow up and come to neverland, which is gross and not in a campy Disney way… and I was having a hard time wrapping my head around it 🥲

That was until I gave Hook a younger brother who can get with Jane at an appropriate age 😈 He’s unarmed rn but he’s a Hook so Harriet and Cj will be Harry’s cousins who he’s estranged from until some events happen…

Harry does NOT remember Morgie especially not with him looking so scary and tryna kill his Stylist and sparing partner. ( Carlos and Jay) Hook only talks about him to Maleficent and Uliana ( Hades still thinks he’s a spoiled rich boy, and Hook still thinks it was dumb for a “god” to attend a four year University with mortals, also At this time Maleficent and Hades are in that bad argue stage right before a divorce) He was okay leaving them all because time is different in Neverland, even tho from his side he’s been gone 12 years, Morgie only missed him for one year and time melds together on Neverland since you don’t age so it was basically nothing. ( that’s why Peter Pan is so unhinged, he’s been there forever and he refuses to keep track) Morgies in the same time zone as them so he’s been gone a good ten years, Harry and his friends are 14-12 now,So everyone is feeling the effects, and Camelot is on lockdown due to Morgie terrorizing them so Hook can’t check up on him. ( I dunno if I mentioned on tumblr but in my au Auradon is the place that’s locked up so the poor and Villians can’t come in on their “superior” society, the rest of the world is made up of lands from other Fairy tales and Folklore) So Hook is worried but he keeps on and Harry’s memory of Morgie comes back after a month of getting used to him being back.

Sad part but I have to share, Morgie and Hook never officially unionize… Morgie knows he’ll outlive Hook by a VERY long time (till the end of time) and he can’t bring himself to finalize anything, his grief about Hooks mortality is slowly consuming him🫠 (also Hook has issues with living forever due to his trauma from Neverland and won’t entertain any sort of immortality shenanigans)

On another note Carlos is also my favorite! I’ve had him down in my notes (before I could brave the internet) as soon as the inspiration from the 1996 101 Dalmatians live action film staring Glenn Close hit me I knew what had to be done. ( and descendents of the sparrow inspired me 😙) Carlos is a very smart man, he’s the analyst, ranged weapons specialist, stylist and bestest member of my Core four. (Jay is a wreck, Mal is a wreck, and Evie is still slay but she has to get wrapped up in Mals mess because she loves her 🙄 damn you Evies demi-god/dragon gf ) but I’d say my Carlos is a little more disciplined then the Og. He hates gross things and hates getting dirty or messy. Hes dorm mates with Chad now because the fairy god mother doesn’t want the four to conspire together so easily ( like they do in the movies 😅) He threatens Chads and his forest friends a lot because Carlos also hates any animal that he isn’t wearing. He grows out of that eventually, but it takes the longest out of all of his flaws because… like did you see him in that tiger skin outfit!?? How could he give up furs?!?

Carlos story intertwines with Harry’s a lot, in a brotherly love way. I was having Carlos love his mom in my first posts about Carlos but since then I’ve changed it. Cruella Hates Hook and Carlos hates his mom for being abusive, so he makes Harry swear that Carlos can style him when he’s older to get back at his mom. It becomes more than that and now Carlos gets even more clients, enough to move out on his own but he ends up staying with Mal and Co. This separates him a little from Harry, Uma, and Gil who he grew close with because Harry’s home was his safe place from his mother. She not only hated Hook but also the sea and its smells and the hustle of the costal territory present on that side of the isle. He still sees them when he goes for meetings with Harry, to Mals agitation. Mal Hates Uma and is kinda scared of Harry. ( Maleficent, Uliana and Hook think they accidentally bestied to close to the sun and made their kids and niece hate each other on accident)

Jay is jealous of Carlos due to his obsession with beating Harry and stuff. I’m not a hundred percent sure if I wanna go Huma or Jarry for this one… leaning towards Huma as Jerry is really toxic and I already have a bunch of other toxic couples I don’t want a million of them fr. For Carlos I’m thinking Aro/Ace like bro just wants to chill and design cool shit. I could see people having him be with Chad based on the context of my au, close proximity/enemie’s to lovers/hhimbo and smart guy, but I’m just not feeling it and Jaylos felt forced during the movies so I don’t want that 🫠

I have more but this is basically a fic chapter all on its own, if you have anymore askes I’ll gladly answer them!! I don’t mind spoiling my story like this, I find my fic interests in the specific conversations characters have and details. So this isn’t something I’m against doing…

Edit: I’m also having trouble on what I want the themes of these fics to be. I want a little bit more then “cool alternative universe!!!” I’m love this au but I’m also using this story to help warm me up for developing a story with my own characters that I’ve had swimming in my mind for years 😭

[fairytale-poll]

ROUND 1B! MATCH 4 OUT OF 8

Propaganda Under the Cut:

Ruby Lucas:

she's cool, and a werewolf!

She's a red/big bad wolf combo, she's bi, she gets tragically underused like so many OUaT characters

She’s a werewolf :)

We first see her as Ruby in Storybrooke where she's initially depicted as a fun-loving flirt who spends her nights most likely in a bar while wearing revealing clothes that her grandma disapproves of (and is all in red. Absolutely everything). She lives with her grandma who runs a diner and that's where Ruby works. When Emma wakes up the sleeping town, she tries to leave Granny's and ends up helping in a case that Emma's working on by following her nose. That episode also has her backstory, but when we first see her as Red in the Enchanted Forest, she's confident and helpful and not afraid to use her lycanthropy. But the start of her story has her being an innocent young woman with a love for discovering the world and her boyfriend Peter (of Peter and the Wolf, I guess). She meets Snow while still living with her Granny in her cabin in the woods and takes her in. She's so hopeful - and then she turns into a werewolf and kills Peter (after they all thought he was the werewolf and had chained him to a tree). She is obviously quite traumatized by this and takes off with Snow. But that and her subsequent adventures gives her the growth she needs to be comfortable in her own skin, whether human or wolf. And, when the curse breaks completely, you can see the change in her - she would absolutely walk through fire to help Snow and the other good guys.

Another version where Red Riding Hood also ends up being the Big Bad Wolf. She eats her boyfriend which is sad but she falls in love with Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz in like Season 5. Her red cloak is what keeps her in human form which I think is neat. When all the storybook characters are transported to the modern world, she runs a diner with Granny.

She's one of my favorite characters from Once Upon a Time. She's a cool Red Riding hood wolf girl who is bi and has seen like 3 of her love interests and her mother die. She slays very hard so I nominate her. (Also I used to have a crush on her as a kid)

VOTE RUBY LUCAS FROM ONCE UPON A TIME. SHE WAS IGNORED BY THE WRITERS SO MUCH SHE DESERVES THIS SO MUCH. QUEER ICON!!!

Ruby Rose:

She has a scythe that is also a high-impact sniper rifle.

She is literally just based on Red Riding Hood and she's such an amazing character holy heck

Red Riding Hood but with a gun. (Specifically a combination scythe/high-impact sniper rifle called Crescent Rose). Also she's gone through so much she deserves it. She's trying to save the world and keep going despite all the people she's lost. Grew up dreaming of being a hero who fights monsters. She knows life isn't a fairy tale and wants to make it better. Just went through a mental health arc where she had depression from trying to live up to her (presumed dead) mom and from her friend dying for the second time. Killed the Big Bad Wolf with her magic eye powers. Her sister is Goldilocks and her friends are Beauty and Snow White. also I love her <3

She’s the little red riding hood but also a powerful fighter with a massive fucking scythe that is also a sniper rifle and she’s so skrunkly and so gender. Also RWBY’s whole thing (well one of them) is that their characters are all inspired by pre-existing ones from older stories and Ruby’s the main character so like, poster child of ‘character based off [insert relevant fairytale here]’ so I think she deserves to at least get pretty far

Aesthetics, themes, meta, personality and raw coolness.

She is the main character of her show. The most common monster they fight is a type of wolf (its been a while since ive seen it). Her job is to hunt them down before they can eat her. this story is very much about failed fairy tales, many of the side character's inspired arcs end in failure, but (having not seen the most recent bits) Ruby is still going strong, and i really like her cape, rose petals, and use of a scythe.

She is THE RRH character of all time. She has a scythe that's also a gun and she has to be the hero because she's got super rare main character powers. She is my happy girl. Also her mom was Sleeping Beauty and her sister is Goldilocks, and she fights to stop Rapunzel from destroying everything on the world, the gods, and then herself.

Ruby as a character is literally based on little red riding hood! She has a red cape with a hood

the Red trailer is better propaganda than I could ever write

She is a badass with a scythe, inspired by her uncle and fueled by her mother's death and her sense of righteousness

She has a giant scythe

[sometimesthatsbetter]

Everything I've read in Jan. 2024

Yona of the dawn

Yona was the first story that i read this year and damm was it the right way to set the tone for the year. It's a story that has all of the elements that I adore in the fantasy genre, its got the action, political drama, the multi-facted characters. I won't be saying much about this manga because i have already have an older post talking about my favorite aspects, so if you want more in depth thoughts you can search for that

Kashoku no shiro

Now here is a fun setting, Taisho era Japan with supernatural elements. Quick run down of the story, people are being affected by a mysterious disease that makes flowers bloom all over their bodies, once the flowers wilt so does the person but there are cases where they recover and become even healthier. But plot twist, the ones who survive will become demons who feast on human flesh. So thats where our protagonist Shiraume comes in, she acts as 'bait' for these demons, essentially luring them out for her master to slaughter

If i had to tell you what drew me to this story, it would be the art style, like it is drop dead gorgeous. Also the design of our heroine is just my type too which is a bonus

Plot wise it does feel a little all over the place, it jumps persecptive quite often. Like it jumps form a detective story, to a josei love story, to Demon slayer which feels kinda jarring for me. But the backstory of our protagonist was done quite well, one thing i can praise is that our heroine isn't a simpering doormat. It's true that she has lived a hard life but she just keep living in the best way that she can manage. Shiraume is never the type to mope around or bemoan her fate, she takes charge and endure, she does everything in her power to live for her loved ones.

Its a good read all in all, but since theres only about 20 chapters that are out i can't really tell if this is gonna flop or not. I'll be keeping on eye on it to see if the author manages to get it together.

Bibliophile princess

The most mediocre otome isekai story i've ever fucking read. Its vanilla, like 'sex with the lights off no kinky shit' vanilla.

Story-wise, it's a very simple set up. Book enthusiast Elianna is in a contract fiancee relationship with the crown prince who i cannot be bothered to remember or google the name of. She is beloved by all of the staff memebers, all the secondary male characters love her and she has a great family but oh no! It seems that the prince has fallen for another woman, which means that her engagement with the prince will be ending soon. Yeah if your an otome isekai reader you can guess where this is going, villainess tries to ruin our heroines rep by spreading false rumors yada yada yada...

Similar to Kashoku no shiro, what drew me in was the art nouveau style. I mean the amount of details in the illustrations are amazing, coupled with the dreamy pastel color palette it creates this feeling that you really are in a fairy tale world

One of my main problems with the first volume is how weirdly structured the story is. Like it begins with the prince asking Elianna to enter a contract relationship with him and them jumps to a four year time skip for no apparent reasoning? Like we don't get to see alot of romantic development between them so now suddenly Elianna is in love? But moving on, i felt like Elianna has like little to no self awareness or agency. The first volumes conflict is about how this noble girl is rumored to be the princes lover and is planning to take Eliannas place. At this point you would expect to see our heroine stand up for herself and assert her place in the court right? Wrong. She was basically left in the dark about whats truly going on until the end of the volume. It was revealed that the noble girl was a villain all along who was trying to frame Elianna for shit she didn't do, also conveniently our MC has a mile long list of accomplishments that we as the reader didn't know about, and apparently she didn't either. So yeah, the male leads basically was protecting her for the whole story and she just wandered around feeling insecure about being replaced

Cold game

Do you like the story of king Henry the eighths six wives? Do you wanna see all six of them do a battle royal for the chance to become queen? Do you like crossdressing heroines? Well look no further than Cold game

Our MC is princess Aruna of the B kingdom, yes i know weird name but bare with me here, who is meant to be engaged to the king of the E kingdom. But here's the sus part, he already has a queen from the S country but he's demanding another wife from the B country? Quite the odd request but since B is weaker than E they had to comply with the demands. Aruna knows she's being sent as a sacrificial lamb but her lord father told her to hang on for a bit, one day he will get her out of that place. So to protect herself, Aruna swap places with her handmaiden and pretended to be crossdressing knight.

One of the best things about this story is the political intrigue. Like from the get go, we are shown that the court is a brutal place where an inconspicuous letter can be the cause of your down fall. People here will always watch your every move, everyone fears one another to an extent. Also the side characters are so fucking cool, like these people can star in their own spin off kinda cool.

[mejomonster]

Ive been playing Metaphor re Fantazio and. Much to say.

The short of it is though: thank fuck for a NEW game. Really new. Not part of some series, not a sequel or a prequel or a remake, new. New! I would appreciate companies continuing to make new games once in a while! Taking a fucking risk. Thank you.

The long of it is: if you like jrpgs, turn based games, a distinct art concept, and would like to play a game where you live out a life in a fantasy fairy tale esque world where your childhood best friend the prince has an evil curse causing him to slumber, and the man who cursed him in order to usurp the throne has just also killed the King and escalated his power grab by purposely summoning humans* (the most terrifying monster in this world), amd you need to undo the curse on your friend the prince and combat this killer save the world? Then this is the game for you.

It has some vibes that remind me of Drakengard (which I'm fucking thrilled by - the humans as monsters, a world of no magic as this story's own fantasy stories it tells, the banning of technology, the curses and monstrous humans and ancient relics of unknown origin, the fantasy novels in the game of a utopia of an equal world, the very well developed various cultures and political issues), bits that remind me of Dungeon Meshi (the main guy just being a Guy - whom I love a lot - with a regular guy voice and a regular ass height and an ordinary low status elda and just in the plot because he cared about his friend the prince initially! The group you gather as a party, the worldbuilding is very fantasy with some darker elements in their lore but the visuals are very Embrace Colorful fantasy the way Dungeon Meshi is). The politics of it, very heavy politics (you're spending part of the game trying to gather support to be king from the people), the character designs, remind me a bit of Berserk. I get a little bit of Dragon Age Inquisition vibes (but inquisition wasted so much of my time with side quests w no payoff and mundane tasks and no real ending unless i got the dlc so i dont wanna think of it) and Metaphor already is is giving me payoff in story, what I love most, for whatever I do in the game... whether I travel, spend time with a supporter, read a book in the game, do a random task to increase my traits skills, or progress the plot with main story dungeons... I'm rewarded with story and worldbuilding and character stories. I love games like this. In a way, its like Yakuza for me, because Yakuza games also always reward me with story or lore or an activity I have fun doing, so no time in the games is ever actually boring or annoying for me.

The difficulty level of Metaphor, for me, is also awesome. Theres easier modes if you just want a good story (so anyone can enjoy it), and I am able to play on normal and actually manage it! If you enjoy harder difficulties then I cant speak for how good or bad those are, as I'm too chicken to play a turn based jrpg on hard. I dont like level grinding ToT. Normal difficulty so far has not required me to level grind much, just fighting as it comes up in my playthrough has been enough to get me to the level needed to continue managing the main story material.

Give it an hour to see if its your kind of game, there will be story setup and combat by then. Give it until the big assassination attempt, if you want to get used to the feel of the story and if it's going to be something you want to get deep into. Because I'm guessing this is going to be a Persona kind of game in the sense of an 80-100 hour fucking story. I mostly only play 30-50 hour games (except Yakuza and Lost Judgement really entertain me lol so those easily get me playing all the mini games for hours), so for me, I needed to know I was going to be into the story.

I think the game is incredibly charming, plays well, has interesting worldbuilding and story (thats not just surface level - they thought it out well), and the anime cutscenes are cool but throw me (Im used to seeing 5 special ones in old ps2 games, and none nowadays, so i feel like im playing a show for a second every time i get another animated cutscene). Its extremely fun if you were looking for a good fantasy game, with a NEW story and world.

(Again. Im super grateful and excited that this game is not a part of an existing series. Its a whole new world, and that feels great.)

[nandysparadox]

Yeah, so what Ao3?!??!! Let me spam the dam button like they deserve!!!

The fanficcccccc she graduated and fuck it was BEAUTIFUL!!! Oh the imagery is still on point , the fairy is so effortlessly eerie, the way their golden hair caged him, that line, gave me shivers.

Crying screaming squeezing them

I love them I love them I love them so much, I hope Remus doesn’t eat Jaq, oh

I want them to do the air dance and Roman showing his trinkets just like at the ball but again under a more truthful light, I want Roman to sit and watch with sparkles in his eyes as Patton can finally tell him the proper stories that go along with each little thing, how his father got it for him, how his mother used to wear them and whenever he gets teary eyes Roman is right there with him to apologize for his own kind and their cruelty for ripping him away from his family, holding him close and crying just as much from pure aching empathy.

I want them to have their little consort wedding with Jaq in the littlest of bow ties, they are the most proper of best mice (instead of a best man) and I want Janus to just appear to give him away and Patton is so glad to see him while Roman is vastly confused (idk maybe they have like backstory, Janus might have a ✨reputation✨) but Patton is just so happy, telling him what happened, that the mean lady is gone and he fell in love and thanking his fairy snake father profusely for all he’s done and Janus shushes him and insists it was his pleasure, and then the wedding happens and it’s perfect and I don’t know maaaaayyyybbbeeee Janus ends up standing next to a particular bird man and they get into friendly talking and eventually a fairy chess match, which they bet little shiny trinkets on

Is Remus the thorn prince to Roman’s rose? I think he should be

I want to see more of him and Virgil as well, what happened with that? Oh I want to see Patton meeting the rest of the family, I want to see Roman finally being allowed into the human world and I want him to be there as Patton hopefully gets to see his father for the first time in so long and I want Roman to meet the same poet he met so so many years ago and I want that poet to write a poem just for him, the rose prince, once he hears the kind fairy found love and I want Roman to read it as he falls asleep and I also want bards across the human countries to sing their tales for years to come-

LET ME SEND MORE KUDOS DAMN IT

❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙❤️💙

This fic was incredible, I loved every little bit of it, I swear you have so much talent it makes me go feral, my absolute favorite part was when Roman and Patton were in the woods and Patton was showing him what all the human trinkets did, I keep picturing Roman trying to touch the fire because he’s just silly like that <3

Thank you, so much 💚✨

oh my goodness! thank you so, so much for this wonderful ask 🥺🥺 i'm SO happy you enjoyed the ending, and the story overall! your comments and asks brightened up my day. I cannot overstated how grateful I am for that. i'll break this down into points so i can answer everything you said because aaaa ❤️🥺

very glad The Faerie's eerie vibe came across right. despite the … everything about her, and that she's despicable, I must admit I enjoyed writing her a lot. I guess evil can be fun (for me. not poor patton 😭) and I like that line too :)

your honour, I love them!! and I can promise that remus will not be eating jaq under patton's watch 😆 that's his little buddy

also, after moving to the palace patton makes a cozy little home for jaq <3

I promise the sweet moments and the hurt/comfort will be coming in the future!! patton will have a lot of things to grapple with, but roman will be there to support him in his journey of healing

ok i’m stealing the best mice idea that’s genius dgfghdsfgd they deserve a little bow tie 100% and I can say that I have plans in regards to the crowning ceremony! and they do include janus!

and without veering too close to spoilers, you got something right – janus does have a reputation in the palace, though roman is not particularly privy to it

logan and janus playing fairy chess, that’s a wonderful idea :)

I haven’t yet figured out what remus’ title was prior to being crowned – however, his nature connection is summer rain showers! it’s why roman at some point mentions that his hair always looks a little wet. his main title currently is duke of shadows, since his consort is virgil

we will see more of virgil yes!! :D unfortunately he couldn’t appear more in the main story, but we will see more of him. and patton will have a Time meeting all of roman’s siblings 😆 it will take a little bit of time until patton feels comfortable returning to the human world, but when they do I promise roman will have the time of his life lol! and about the other thing, I can say I have Plans

thank YOU so much!! you are too sweet I swear 😭 I’m receiving all the extra kudos in my heart <3 and I love that scene too, roman is silly and they are adorable ^.^

[ohwell-itsme-but-danganronpa]

Tam Lin Saiou AU

Ves: okay please consider. saiou tam lin (osp link if you're not familiar w the fairy tale: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF3O6Xkpscs&list=WL&index=1&pp=gAQBiAQB) i left the prompt vague because i can't decide who should be who. both options are SO funny to me why do saiou always end up pregante in my fairy tale aus i do not know ALL THE BEST FAIRY TALES INVOLVE IT OKAY I STILL CAN'T DECIDE…probably tam lin!kokichi though, i suppose it makes more sense it's not as easy as lindwyrm for me. who tf do i make the queen,,,

Me: the heroine is just like Shuichi going to the love hotel She Knows What She Came Here For [as for the queen] Angie maybe? it's a bit of a step up from asking for blood but Ves: WHY SHE LIKE THAT she's not asking she's giving remember

Hina: See in my head I lean toward Kokichi Janet with the way the video described the two I'm just in my head imagining the hilarity of Kokichi pretending to be all "Oops i forgor" while Shuichis like. "Hold up wait you don't actually. Like. Actually it's fine I can take something else it's fine."

Ves: i tip towards janet shuuichi just bc he's the one i hc as being able to get pregananante Hina: See I was just. Ignoring that. DIDNT HAPPEN I just can't imagine Shuichi being all cool with that if that's the outcome Me: Do it I knew it! You and your anti-children agenda Hina: WHAT DO YOU MEAN Me: exactly what I said, I knew you're going to try to erase the child out of the story, but not on my watch Ves: allister is in hina's walls Checkers: Hina how else would you explain the baby daddy part Hina: Maybe you just have an agenda for children smh Me: that's not mutually exclusive heroine just wanted a hook up, she wouldn't come back if it didn't happen Hina: Easy, Janet was intrigued by what happened and wanted to come back Ves: you'd have to completely cut out the part about the father and the knights Checkers: no the the tam lin can't hurt her bc he's her baby daddy part Dra: Hina has the single father Shu au Defending the bestie and leaving djfjd Me: that's because it's a pre-existing child, alive for narrative purposes, he doesn't let saiou have children together tho and takes any opportunity to get rid of fetuses Hina: If they're mutually each other's firsts that's another way to connect them Ves: i mean, we could have him hurt shuuichi… Hina: OR THAT I FUCKING GUESS Checkers: ves he turns into fire like "can kill people" fire Hina: Fireproof cloak Checkers: how about the red-hot iron Ves: i've always thought the newer versions where she clings to him even though he burns are sweet Hina: Is standing in water when the fire is cast

Ves: but could kokichi manage a reputation as a bodice ripper. i think no actually yes he just lied 'ooooh don't go to carterhaugh or fair tam lin will take your maidenhead' tam lin has never felt the touch of another he's shaking Me: he was just being silly, securing the gifts he actually wants, he didn't expect horny people to seek him out, he doesn't even have a known appearance! Ves: he's a little magpie, he wanted the shinies, he was not prepared OOO new thought. the two headed rose as a metaphor the first thing janet does in carterhaugh is pick a two-headed rose, which is what tam lin shows up to bitch at her for initially. for shuuichi it could be a representation of his curiosity, his fascination with strange and mildly dangerous things kokichi is the rose. i've connected the dots /ref what direction are we heading with the faerie queen? depending on ur adaptation she's treated either like a mother figure or a toxic gf and that affects what character we pick

Checkers: what if she just sees him as more a toy and less a lover? Ves: so junko then? or moogi O MY GOD YOU GUYS DID YOU KNOW THAT IN SOME VERSIONS THEY'RE CHILDHOOD FRIENDS THEY KNEW EACH OTHER BEFORE HE WAS TAKEN BY THE FAERIE QUEEN I- this provides more justification for the baby actually THEY KNEW EACH OTHER BEFORE MAYBE WERE EVEN IN LOVE BEFORE KOKICHI WAS STOLEN…

Hina: What if Nobody was stolen Ves: THAT IS THE ENTIRE CONCEIT OF THE FAIRY TALE?? Hina: Ran away And got caught Ves: no. THAT'S JUST ANGST FOR ANGST'S SAKE, IT DOESN'T EVEN FIT IN THE STORY!! THEY'RE ALREADY GOING TF THROUGH IT WHY MUST YOU CRAM IN MORE Hina: LISTEN Ves: listening. Hina: I just I think it'd be funny (I had an idea but it doesn't work so nvm)

Ves: is it not MORE angsty for shuuichi to think kokichi finally got bored of him and bolted, meanwhile he's held captive as a future sacrifice Hina: I had an idea if Tsumugi was the queen or whatever but I realized it doesn't work with Kokichi Ves: imagine heading into the woods to fuck and meeting your long lost childhood love queen tsumugi still works with kokichi i think? Hina: In general it does but I had an idea hinged on Shuichi and Tsumugi being siblings skskskske Ves: yeah that doesn't work they're different species ndsjghsgf maybe in a tamlin!shuuichi variant? Hina: The idea was kinda Tsumugi snatching herself a brother Ves: TSUMUGI. THAT'S NOT FREE Hina: YEAH BUT SHE WANTED A SIBLING They keep getting sacrificed for being human smh

[tisiphonewolfe]

Author Ask Tag Game

My thanks to @doublegoblin for tagging me here!

This is going to mostly be in the context of The Tectomancy Saga -

(1) What is the main lesson of your story (e.g. kindness, diversity, anti-war), and why did you choose it?

I don't know if I can say there's a singular main lesson or message that the story is meant to provide. Different characters will learn different things. I want Releine to realise that she has inherent value and isn't only defined by what she can do for other people; I want Almyra to learn that even smaller goals are victories; I want Jessa to learn that you don't have to be who other people expect you to be; I want Tenacity to learn that your goals, however noble, can't come before the people you care about. And I just want Ellimane to get her shit together quite frankly. I don't know that I chose them so much as that that's where those character arcs seem to want to go. I guess they're things I've had to learn to some extent in life.

(2) What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding (like real-life cultures, animals, famous media, websites, etc.)?

I honestly find that very hard to pin down! I guess I owe a lot to certain authors in terms of the kind of things I find fun to think about and write ideas from. I guess they would be: Terry Pratchett, Paul Stewart & Chris Riddell, Garth Nix, and Tamsyn Muir. Worlds full of weird creatures, worlds that are weird shapes, worlds that have an edge you can fall off, worlds that are full of cryptic magic. I think I have at least that group of people to thank for getting my brain going. And of course, I have to pay mention to fairy tales and their long history of putting Princesses in towers and guarding them with dragons - that was the whole thing that made me think "and what if the Princess loves the dragon?" in the first place.

(3) What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, help readers grow as a person?

Mostly I think I just want others to love them as much as I do. That's a lot of the fun of reading to me, at least - get attached to someone funky and fucked-up and see where they go. Adore them for their wits and weird quirks, and the things they turn to in themselves when the situation is dire. I want readers to worry for them, post their favourite quotes on tumblr, think about them when they're cooking and cleaning! That's what I do when I love a character.

(4) How many chapters is your story going to have?

Well, MWC&C ended with 47 chapters, and BBS&B is currently on chapter 40 and will probably run longer than its predecessor. There are two more books I can think of in the main sequence, so I'd guess roughly 200+. There are a couple of prequel novels I could write, and I had an idea for a sequel trilogy, but I guess whether I invest in that depends on if I can get anyone reading the original books!

(5) Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

It's original content all the way. I'm hoping to get a chance to publish it (agents, please call me), but if all else fails, I guess I'll try and self-publish somehow. Marketing is not one of my great skills though, so it'll be a challenge.

(6) When and why did you start writing?

November 2021. I've talked about this before, but I lost my love of reading for a number of years, mostly because I was depressed and also trying to read the wrong kind of books for me just because I thought that they were the kinds of things that people should read. In 2021 I finally had to know who the spooky bone lesbians on my dash were and read Gideon the Ninth. Then that year I inhaled a dozen more sapphic books and remembered that as well as liking reading, I loved to write once upon a time (har har) and thought I'd give that another go.

(7) Do you have any words of engagement for fellow writers of Writeblr? What other writers of Tumblr do you follow?

What are words of engagement?! Are we courting, or is it pistols at dawn?! I guess I would say - assuming we're talking about interacting with other writers - don't be afraid to just come and chat with me about stuff. If I say something that reminds you of one of your characters, or something about your world, then please tell me, because I'll probably like that too. We can show stuff off to one another and play with our characters like dolls. If you mean words of encouragement, I'd say this: Even a little bit of writing is still writing. Don't beat yourself up if you don't have the energy to bash out thousands of words in a sitting. Do a few hundred; a paragraph; a sentence. You'll get there eventually. And don't bum yourself out waiting for inspiration - sometimes the best inspiration is just typing a horrifically bad sentence. Doing that makes me want to write the next one better.

I follow too many writers to list, but I'm going to tag some for this game (very, very gently), so - @sam-glade @indy-gray @aalinaaaaaa @comicgoblinart

[gamesception]

lets read rgu, chapter 25

Hrm.  Entering the last volume of the collected paperbacks.  Entering the final battle seems more like where yhou’d want to end a volume rather than start a new one.  66 pages for the next chapter?  I’m a bit burnt out, might not make it all the way through.  And those other two chapter titles...  Black Rose Seal?  Wait, is this the last chapter, and then there are side stories?  Azure.... Ruka maybe?  Eh, one chapter at a time.

So when we left off, Akio was claiming to be Dios, despite having killed him and turned him into a ring five seconds ago.

Yeah, there’s that inward statue again.

Wait, wait, what?  This is implying that Akio /liked/ helping humans, but saving little Utena when she fell in the river was just too much no thank you, if we save one drowning girl we’d have to do too dang much!  So I’ma destroy my other self!  It’s... like, am I supposed to take this as an unreliable narrator thing?

OOOOHhhh, ok.  That makes more sense.  Akio had already rebelled and cast down Dios, and as he faded away he reached out to utena and passed her a part of his power to keep it from Akio.  That...  I mean, it still feels weird that this is something that happened recently, in Utena’s lifetime, in the modern world, and not fairy tale long ago times.

So a part of Dios was left with Utena as her ring, and part with Anthy as the sword, keeping him from fading away.

Ok, so there’s our stakes.  Take out Akio, bring back Dios, save Anthy from turning into seafoam or whatever.

Yup, all the recap and set up is out of the way, and it’s time for rolling initiative.

After fighting back and forth a bit Akio cheats with magic / metaphors.  The Prince’s role is still defined by self sacrifice, suffering for the sake of the princess.  Anime Akio fell from grace and lost the power of the prince by letting Anthy take that pain for him, Manga Akio killed Dios to avoid that pain.  Utena has to shoulder it and fight through it if the wants to become a prince and save Anthy.

And it does come back to Anthy, even if the manga remains a few steps less overt about that than the series.  As it has been about the various sexual themes in the show in general.

Anyway, commitment to Anthy is the magic key to bring back Dios, if only for a moment.

and Manga Utena finally prioritizes becoming a prince who can save Anthy over reuniting with the prince who saved her.

And it’s actually a solid moment to end the fight on - with a meaningful turning point in character development driving the outcome of the duel.  Works really well.  Good job with the conclusion of at least the last and most important duel in the manga.  Very satisfying, ending on a high point.

Of course, the role of the Prince is sacrificial by definition.  Looks like Utena isn’t making it out of the Manga’s climax any better than she did out of the anime.

Fuck you, buddy.  A very nice little moment out outright defiance from Anthy.

Oh, wait, more notably, Anthy isn’t fading away anymore.  She’s already been saved.  I guess she’s found a new love worth living for.

Which also gives Utena one final power up to finish off the already wounded Akio...

Nice inversion of the Akio defeating Dios pose

Ok, so there’s a bit coming up here that’s a bit confusing?

This sounds like she’s restoring the Dual Akio/Dios from before, but that doesn’t seem to be the case, because then they immediately explode and maybe turn into a ring?  I guess she means they’ll be together now in non-existance the way they used to be together in existence, with both personalities faded away and remaining only as the ring and/or sword.

Also apparently doing this kills and/or non-exists Utena, I guess because she was also fused with Dios at this point, so even though her sword wound seems to have magically healed she’s still getting the sacrificial Prince treatment.

Anthy, now entirely out of Princes, rescues Touga and the student council as the castle collapses, and, drawn by Utena’s voice, catches the ring containing whatever is left of her brother/s & maybe also Utena.  If the ring symbolizes the prince, does that make Anthy the prince now?:

Back to the school, and to Touga.  He meets up with the student council, but none of them remember the duels, or the castle, or Utena herself.  Only he does, I guess because he hadn’t been coffined.

But Chuchu’s still around, and even has a little Utena outfit.

And Anthy’s here, too.  and she is doing the whole Prince thing, as implied by catching the ring.  She looks good.

They have a moment where they reminisce about Utena, but Anthy assures Touga that Utena isn’t gone - or even stuck in the ring like I thought.

And that’s where the story ends.  A bit more concrete than the anime’s ending, but still the same core moment of Anthy, now free, leaving the academy and setting out into the wider world to find Utena again.

And while I’m personally more invested in the more abstract and metaphorical stuff the anime was doing in the end, the closing chapters of the manga were still very strong.  Much more so than the middle bits, so yeah, it’s nice to end on a strong point.  I don’t think I have any hollistic overarching comment or thought to sum everything up.  The art was good.  The story mostly worked.  It won’t displace the anime at all in my heart, but still a compelling alternative rendition - not doing as much or delving as deep, but the core between Utena and Anthy is still there.

Glancing ahead, the remaining two chapters are side stories toughing on bits from the anime that didn’t make it into the manga story proper.  I don’t think I’ll do full reacts like this, but I’ll read through them and post some brief thoughts over the weekend.