#I just wanted him to have proper conflict with Spite

[midnightwind]

maybe I'm just an angst goblin (I am) but I do wish they had run with the idea of Lucanis being used by Zara as a hyper effective murder puppet

just... showing up to rescue this legendary assassin and having to drag him out bodily because he's a tool put in the wrong hands and he blames himself

Spite is all sharp edges and swiping claws, his only knowledge of the world how to kill and the awful, empty gut wrenching horror from Lucanis about it

"I'm a monster, all I know is death" not even being a vague idea, it's the truth of how he was used by Zara, no torture more exquisite than the bastardization of the job he was born to do

his fight for control with Spite more desperate, more dire because every time he lost control around people, he woke up to a pile of bodies and Zara's glee

being pushed aside when you show him kindness or affection because how could that be real? he doesn't deserve that, he lost the right to that

having to reconcile that Spite never had control either, they were both trapped by the strings, but Spite is a being who knows nothing else, and Lucanis has to try to teach him otherwise

two wounded animals trying to limp to a better tomorrow

[moodyvoid]

please i need an alternate life path of dabi 😭😭

Honestly, it would be pretty bad :(

He sees his life as the hero his father wanted him to be. If he wasn’t a “failure”.

Dabi has conflicting feelings about it at first. Seeing himself as a hero left him a little in awe, but it’s also painful as fuck to see.

But then he sees his life behind the scenes. Natsuo and Shoto were never born. Fuyumi grew up extremely lonely since Touya was always training with Enji. Worst of all, Touya is acting just like Enji and going down an abusive/neglectful path with his own future family.

Dabi’s like “You know what?… I’m good.”

(I just don’t see him having any good outcomes being around Enji. Enji, himself, would have to be a completely different person).

ANOTHER PATH:

Rei leaves and takes the kids.

Touya still practices with his quirk, despite it burning him. No longer because he wants to be seen by his dad, but because he genuinely wants to be a hero on his own. (Maybe to spite him a little lol)

Rei is able to get him the proper physical/mental treatment that he needs, and works with top notch doctors/scientists to figure out ways for him to use his quirk without burning himself.

As technology advances, Touya eventually gets the help/equipment he needs to more safely use his quirk (not completely unscathed, but FAR better than it was). He joins the hero course and becomes a pro hero on his own.

(Unfortunately, while a nice outcome, this results in him unable to awaken his ice ability. So he’s always going to have some trouble with his quirk.)

Dabi is watching all of this and he’s almost emotionally destroyed until the next thing he sees…

Touya goes to visit Rei and she’s got company already. He sees Mr. Compress standing in Rei’s kitchen. Yeah that’s right I turned this into Compress x Rei gotcha you’ll never know when I’ll strike with StepDad!Compress

Dabi is like “Okay, I’m done seeing this shit.” and then as he walks away, he stops by Mr. Compress and is like “Stay away from my Mom.”

Mr. Compress is like “??????”

[maxdibert]

Hi again!! so I was that anon that asked about Draco, but I loved reading your opinion on him :)

I think I'm slowly warming up to him as a character because he seems more realistic/complex compared to how Harry is treated like this Chosen One with unrealistic traits in the earlier books/movies. And ur right, he did certain questionable things but people forget that he was raised/fed propaganda about the Death Eaters and Voldemort's ideology, shaping his worldview and his Dad being the main giver of this propaganda. Plus, once he realizes what he did he shows guilt and reluctance, like in Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, hinting at his internal conflict. Unlike Harry, whose heroism is idealized, Draco’s growth is more nuanced and flawed.

And idk why but Snape seems to be a better father figure, he seems to be the most likable teacher in the story— like, everyone else like everyone else like Dumbledore or McGonagall, while "great" in their own ways, feel distant or overly idealized + Dumbledore is way too cryptic. Teachers like Trelawney are sympathetic since all magic is controlled/dumbed down by a stupid Ministry. Snape's complexity, despite his flaws, makes him feel more relatable and grounded + Harry's dad did bully him.

I am developing an idea (for a larger multifandom story arc) where Draco ends up being fully sick of the whole wizard conflict, and Snape too- so they end up running away from the HP world, through a disappearing act right when Harry tries to retaliate after Dumbledore died. Now, this isn't to spite JKR or anything but an idea I came up with if Draco ended up choosing neutrality and rejecting the war's ideologies.

Anyways, I'd like to hear ur thoughts ^^

Helloooo! Good morning btw hahahah

Well, I’ve always seen Draco as a modern version of Regulus (which isn’t surprising since, after all, they’re family). Both are boys raised under a set of ideas they never questioned, but when the moment came to confront what it truly meant to put those ideas into action, they realized it involved doing things they didn’t like. This is something that happens a lot in real life and feels very realistic to me. I don’t think Draco completely let go of his own prejudices or conservative ideas, but there’s a huge difference between having problematic thoughts and actually wanting to exterminate people. A 12-year-old like Draco might spout off absolute barbarities he heard at home (like wishing Hermione would die), but he’s a 12-year-old kid who has no clue about the nonsense he’s saying. He doesn’t understand what death means or what it’s like to see someone dead. Once he experiences that years later, it horrifies him terribly.

Draco is an incredibly realistic character, and that’s why I find him likable.

Now, Harry is a much more complex issue because, in general, he’s an unrealistic character. His way of dealing with trauma—pretending everything is fine—is unrealistic. The fact that he doesn’t suffer from PTSD after living with the Dursleys is unrealistic. The way he conveniently holds grudges against certain characters but forgives Sirius overnight for attacking Ron in PoA while trying to catch Pettigrew—without even a proper apology—is also unrealistic. But in the end, it’s just Rowling deliberately and conveniently ignoring the consequences certain characters’ actions might have on Harry because it doesn’t suit her for readers to question whether those characters are morally dubious. She also doesn’t want to delve into Harry’s internal conflicts regarding them. It’s the same with Lupin being a total piece of crap to Tonks. It’s completely glossed over because Rowling wants to keep portraying him as a saintly, good guy. So, abandoning his pregnant wife gets resolved in two pages, and then we all move on as if nothing happened, lol.

I’m not sure I fully buy into Snape as a father figure, but I’m also not sure I completely reject it. I think Severus was very childish due to his traumas and the emotional immaturity they caused. This is evident in how he interacts with his students. The jabs he throws at them often reflect an adolescent mindset—he’s stuck in that stage because he couldn’t overcome a series of events. And then there’s the added layer of being “trapped” in the place where all those things happened to him. His reactions when triggered are those of a teenager who hasn’t yet learned to control himself.

His moments of camaraderie with the Slytherins clearly echo what his adolescence must have been like—encouraging the strong in his house. Except now, he’s the strong one, the one with power and authority. This creates a stark contrast and a strong dissonance with his other role, which is protecting the students—something he takes very seriously. Honestly, Dumbledore is a cynical, negligent jerk who doesn’t give a damn about his students unless they serve his future plans. McGonagall seems to have stayed out of all the plots Dumbledore and Severus had going, so we can’t really blame her. But Severus was tasked with protecting the children, and he genuinely protected them. In that sense, he might be the most responsible adult at Hogwarts, maybe even the only professor truly concerned about ensuring none of them ended up dead. However, this contrasts heavily with the way he treats them, which is hard for readers to understand if they don’t look beyond his image as a mean teacher.

What I do believe is that he cared about Draco. Just as his treatment of Harry reflected his unresolved issues with James and his guilt over what happened with Lily, I also think Severus projected onto Draco the gratitude he felt toward Lucius for probably being the first to accept him into Slytherin, opening many doors for him. In fact, I think Severus must have been quite close to the Malfoys on a personal level. Narcissa trusted him enough to ask him to make the Unbreakable Vow and to place her son’s life in his hands, knowing she would do anything for Draco. That suggests a close relationship behind the scenes.

Anyway, I don’t think Draco ever left the wizarding world. I could see him keeping a low profile, wanting to stay out of the spotlight, and focusing on managing his inheritance or pursuing activities that didn’t require him to go out much. But I don’t see him leaving the magical world entirely. He received a very specific type of education, and while his ideas about exterminating Muggle-borns likely vanished after the war, he was still an aristocrat with no reason to reject his lifestyle. I do see him adopting a much more moderate and cautious outlook, though.

Severus, on the other hand, would’ve left. Severus would’ve locked himself away in some remote place where no one would think to look, dedicating himself to his studies and potions, and telling everyone to go to hell. Severus was utterly fed up, but he didn’t have any options.

[idlerin]

I JUST WANNA FEEL YOUR PRESENCE

celebrity!akaashi keiji x f!reader

part 1 | part 2 | part 3

the ikarus incident (band au)

+ word count: 3.8k

content — light angst, fluff? fluff!, insecurity, and akaashi keiji being hopelessly in love w u

it's not easy dating one of the most sought out and influential men in the industry. the conflicting schedules and how you always have to share him with the world, but in the end, your heart desires what it desires.

AKAASHI KEIJI didn’t mean to make you feel neglected. You knew that. You knew that. Maybe you could even talk to him about how you’re feeling when you could actually find the means to contact him. Which isn’t anytime soon. You’re hitting your fifth anniversary this weekend and you weren’t even sure if he could make it. You understand of course, it’s not like he could stop a whole event just because his girlfriend wants his company. You weren’t the selfish type, you’ve never been. You would feel guilty if that were to happen. It’s just that, it’s been six months since you’ve last had a proper conversation. Six months filled with missed calls, late texts, ‘i’m sorry’s and ‘it’s okay’ except that it wasn’t. Just because you understood didn’t mean you could shake off the irrationality of wanting his attention.

“You should focus on yourself more, [name],” Kaiya tells you through the phone, you’ve turned to her for your– as you say– immature problems, “Okay, listen to me, you’re always putting others before yourself, try to catch a breather. Your problems are not irrelevant just because they seem quote en quote immature. You’re allowed to whine once in a while, you know? Stop keeping all of your feelings bottled up.”

“I know,” you slump on your bed, placing your phone on your bedside table so you could comfortably place your arms around yourself like the sad lonely potato you are.

“You say you know but I know my advice is going through one ear and out in the other,” Kaiya deadpans, you hear rustling and you could only assume she was baking again.

“To be fair I don’t exactly know how to focus on myself more. You know I’ve always been a bit of a people pleaser and liked to well, focus on others,” you rub your arms as you stare at your ceiling, recalling your high school days. You’d like to think you were tough, but only on the inside.

“A bit? You used to do every favor anyone’s asked of you before I stepped in and made them all shut the fuck up–” you cut her off.

“But what if they really needed my help!” you even used your hands to make a gesture to fully emphasize your point even if she couldn’t see you.

“They were taking advantage of you. There’s a difference between helping someone once and acting like their bell boy.”

“They were our seniors.”

“They were assholes.”

“Assholes are a bit harsh of a term.”

“See! You haven’t changed, maybe just a bit, thanks to yours truly. But you’re still so pure I want to put you in my pocket sometimes and take you away from my brother.”

You laugh, not really believing her when she calls you ‘pure’, “Thanks for distracting me, Kaiya,” you say softly instead, you weren’t even sure if you were heard on the other line.

“You’re welcome, always. I’m sure my brother’s going to show his face to you anytime soon.”

“I hope so,” you murmur.

He doesn’t.

It’s your anniversary.

The time 11:52 PM flashes on your home screen.

You bite your lower lip to stop the tears from flowing as you grip your phone. You’ve been waiting for a text or call from him all day. He was in a different district this week for a fan meeting, lucky fans, you can’t help but think of it in spite. Lines and lines of them, you could only imagine how exhausting it was to entertain them all. You guess he was just too tired to remember your anniversary. Because let’s face the truth that’s been bugging your mind all day, he forgot. He forgot.

He forgot but you were still hopeful enough that he would remember before the day ended.

He forgot and it’s–because his world is constantly moving and it feels like yours is only revolving around him.

He forgot but you understand.

You could think of a hundred different ways the day could’ve been a bit better. And all of them involved him communicating with you in some type of way. But perhaps he really was just too caught up with work. You understand.

But it hurts.

And it’s not okay.

You’re not okay as you tuck your knees to your chest and let yourself cry for the first time in months.

Akaashi only realizes his mistake the next day when he sees the date. You knew of this with the way he frantically called your phone. You merely stared at the screen flashing his contact name, and honestly, you weren’t ready to talk to him yet. As much as you should answer immediately and shout at him for forgetting such an important day, you couldn’t find it in you to show a bit of anger. All you could feel was defeat.

So you stared at the screen, not making a move to pick up your phone. You were willing to suffer the incessant sound of ringing until.. until…

Until he realizes you weren’t going to answer.

It was as difficult as you thought. Ignoring Akaashi Keiji wasn’t something you were good at, but something you were good at, was restraint. It wasn’t difficult since he was miles away from you and it’s not like you weren’t already suffering from the bare minimum of conversation from his side for months. So you’ve managed to hold up the wall, a wall that’s in the brink of shriveling up and collapsing on you because how could you practice restraint when he’s on the other side of the door and not on the other side of a phone.

“[name] can we please talk?” you missed that voice, you clench your fist, there was nothing you wanted more than to open the door and immediately gather him in your arms and say you forgive him.

“I’m sorry,” ah, that word again, how many times have you heard that from him now? But what else could he say or do? There was surely nothing that could soothe you. Akaashi knows you well enough for that, “I’m sorry, please open the door so we can talk.”

You stay silent, giving yourself the privilege of thinking it over.

“Alright.. It’s okay, as long as you’re listening it’s alright, you’re listening, right, my love?” it wasn’t something to gauge out a response from you, because you were heavily intent on giving him the silent treatment.

“I didn’t mean to forget about our anniversary, the event was held up until 10 and right after the band and I had a meeting and I lost track of time. I know that it sounds like an excuse. I'm sorry, there isn’t anything that would justify what I did. I haven’t been a good boyfriend at all these past few months, and you deserve better. But can you please not give up on me?” his voice cracks and you swallow down the words you want to say to reassure him with instead because Akaashi was overthinking these past few days just as much as you, your boyfriend and you were similar in that regard, but you aren’t exactly sure if you could provide reassurance you would mean.

You open the door so abruptly Akaashi almost stumbles inside, the result of leaning on the door. You gather up your courage to look him in the eye enough so your knees wouldn’t grow weak. You were always soft and weak whenever you were around him. Most of the time it would feel like bliss but right now it was only a painful reminder of how you would take whatever he could give you, no matter how much it would break you.

But Kaiya was right, you needed to focus on yourself more.

Akaashi’s eyes lit up the moment he finally catches a glimpse of you but when he saw the look in your eyes he understood immediately what you wanted to convey without saying anything. You gulped trying to control your emotions as you reached for one of his hands so you could grasp it in both of yours, this was your way of saying sorry. A tear slips and you become a silent crying mess in front of him as he tries to process everything.

“[name], are you thinking about.. do you want to break up with me?” Akaashi says it in a fragile tone, it shattered your heart, you didn’t.. mean to.. you didn’t want to feel like this. You just couldn’t help the sobs that rattle your chest, him saying it outright makes it feel more real. That you were actually going through with it. Breaking up with him. Something you’ve thought of thoroughly between these days of silence.

“I.. I,” Akaashi gulps, “It’s.. okay, if you want to,” you watch as his jaw tightens and his forehead ticks for the slightest second, he was trying to act normal for you, so it would be easier, “I don’t want to see you hurt and I know I’ve only been hurting you these past months. If breaking up would be good.. for you, then.. then it’s okay,” he takes a move to take your face in his hands and wipe your tears.

“Ah,” he inhales sharply, you look up to see that he was tearing up too, “Sorry, sorry. It’s just, I couldn’t hold it in,” Akaashi tries to laugh. You attempted to laugh too but it ended up with you shedding more tears.

“Can I hug you?” he asks, “Please?” his voice cracks, your answer was wrapping your arms around his shoulders.

He rests his head in the crook of your neck and that’s when he finally breaks, “[name].. [name] I love you so much.. I.. I don’t want to break up,” he couldn’t control his tears anymore, “Please don’t break up with me. I love you. I don’t want to.. I don’t want to. I’m sorry, I’m so sorry I promise I’ll find a way to make it better, I’ll be better for us [name].. please don’t leave..” he hugs you tighter, “..don’t leave me.”

You pat his back, a ridiculous aim to calm him down, this is only one of the few times he’s broken down, you recall a conversation you’ve had with him where he said he could only ever be vulnerable around you, “Keiji,” you say his name as a plead, “I love you.. I love you so much, but I think I need a break from… just everything. But I’m not leaving you, I swear. It isn’t going to be permanent, please give me time?” 

A moment where your cries and his intertwine as you clutch his shoulder as if basking in the last moments you could hold him. It just makes him hold onto you tighter.

“Okay,” Akaashi says after a few minutes of basking in each other’s warmth, “..Okay,” he squeezes you once more before letting go.

“Thank you,” I’m sorry, you mean it, as you stare up at him with watery eyes, you take a step back and close your door with shaky hands. Your last sight of him was of his distraught expression and tear stained cheeks parallel to yours..

I’m sorry.

-

You miss him.

More than ever before.

It’s been 3 months since you’ve broken it off. You’ve cut your contact with him for now but of course you couldn’t truly escape him. His life was just too thoroughly intertwined with yours. You still feel longing for him, but that was inevitable. Things have been better with you, it felt like a step to something better, for the both of you. You’ve tried new hobbies lately, such as your yoga sessions to calm your mind and running every morning. You’ve tried balancing it along with your new job in a traditional publishing house.

Late at night, when you’re all alone and wallowing in self pity you miss him, but you always manage to stop yourself from searching his name on twitter to see what he was up to. It’s been 3 months of no communication and it’s killing you, even if it’s a self-inflicted rule you manage over. But as you said, your lives were too intertwined.

That was why you’re standing in a corner in the Akaashi family reunion beside Kaiya who was arguing with her cousin, who, when left, turned to you.

How could you resist an invitation from Mrs. Akaashi, his mother? She was way too nice to you and you’ve always attended Akaashi family gatherings, what would be your excuse to not attend, surely not anything good enough, but you didn’t even attempt to say no. Because you did want to go.

“The two of you are so obvious,” your best friend rolls her eyes.

“Huh?” you ask, confused while eating a hotdog an auntie gave you.

“My brother and you are. so. obvious,” she points her stick where a hotdog was once to Akaashi who was talking with an Uncle, “He keeps glancing here and looking at you longingly like a lovesick puppy, it’s kinda gross,” she grimaces, “It’s a surprise my other relatives haven’t figured out that you guys have been dating for years. Whenever we have a get together he’s always hanging around somewhere near you like a moth to a flame. What did you feed him dude?”

Your heart ached, you were trying to ignore his presence because you didn’t know how to initiate an interaction that wasn’t going to be awkward. You greeted him stiffly earlier when you were approaching his parents and he was unluckily beside them. You tried to act like you usually would, as if this wasn’t the first time you were seeing him in person after your break up. You didn’t want it to be this way, in fact, you want it to be the opposite. After all these months, you’ve realized you can live without him, but you didn’t want to.

“We dated for years. Not anymore,” you mumble, bad habits die hard, and one of those is your pessimism, but you quickly say something else before she could hound you, “And it’s your fault for always inviting me to your family gatherings, they got used to it, do I look like an Akaashi?” you roll your eyes at her.

“Soon to be,” she winks at you. You blush at the implication, “You’re going to get back together anyways,” Kaiya was so sure of it, when you told her about how you broke up with her brother her immediate reply was ‘He deserves it, he was being stupid. The both of you are too stupidly in love to completely call it off, so let’s talk about my recent dior purchase because look–’.

“Okay but really, you’re family, just not blood-related, my parents love you to the point that I think they considered adopting you once, my aunts and uncles think you’re absolutely adorable, and my nieces and nephews are always looking for “[n/n]-chan”. You’re practically already Akaashi [name],” she gestures dramatically, just then one of her cousins that was arranging the tables to make a big long one for the whole family to sit in says ‘Bring out the food!’

You soon find yourself seated in one of the chairs beside Kaiya, all would be well if Akaashi Keiji hadn’t decided to sit in front of you. Now you were avoiding meeting his eye, oh you only wish for this dinner to go fast and smoothly because you don’t know how long you’re going to last in this avoiding eye contact game.

“[name] when are you going to date our Hiroki?” an auntie asked, catching your attention, they were pertaining to Keiji's cousin. Oh there they go again, they have always teased Hiroki with you since around 4 years ago when he said that his ideal girlfriend was you, the family never let go of it, you always laughed it off since it was harmless, and there was no way you have eyes for any other Akaashi that isn’t Akaashi Keiji.

A few adults laughed, most teasing Hiroki, you distantly heard a choking sound coming from your best friend, and Hiroki himself was very red. You laughed awkwardly before an uncle said something that caught you off-guard.

“I thought Keiji and [name] were in a relationship?” which made your heart beat unbelievably faster. You almost dropped your fork, Kaiya was trying to contain her laughter but she slapped your thigh as if she was saying ‘See? You guys were obvious’ and you did the one thing you didn’t want to do. You locked eyes with Keiji.

Auntie laughed, “Come on honey, our Keiji is too busy being a celebrity to be in a relationship.”

Ouch.

It felt like everything that happened flashed before you and the gaze you were holding with Keiji right now was delicate. It definitely looks like he wants to say something but you stop him with one simple shake of your head. He complies as he always did in your relationship. And just like that, you move your attention elsewhere.

“Hiroki has liked you since forever [name], does he not make moves? Silly boy,” Auntie continues.

“Ma!” Hiroki shouts in embarrassment, “[name] will feel awkward, I’m sorry [name],” he bows his head to you, you shake your head and wave your hands, you wish for the conversation to change to something not revolving around you.

“It’s okay, Auntie just teases a lot,” you chuckle, taking a bite of your carbonara.

“Hiroki nii-san said earlier [name]-chan looked very pretty today!” one of the kids added.

The adults were about to comment rather joyously when Akaashi clanged his glass to get everyone’s attention, “That’s enough guys, [name] is getting uncomfortable,” he says calmly, you were the only one who noticed how there was a slight off in his movement, like he was annoyed but pretending not to be, the vein in his hand that was holding the cup a little too tightly gave it away.

“Keiji has always looked after [name] like his own sister, it’s cute,” Keiji’s older cousin Aiki says.

Your best friend couldn’t contain her laughter then, everyone looked at her as she cackled like a maniac, “Yeah, sure, he totally thinks of her like a sister,” she says, full of mirth. Aiki was sitting on her other side so she was looking at Kaiya like she was out of her mind.

Everyone thought she was just spouting nonsense again and veered into a different topic. You couldn’t help but glance at Keiji who you knew whose gaze on you never faltered.

For some reason, the universe liked to play with you. You didn’t know if it loved you or hated you. Surely trapping you in the kitchen with Akaashi Keiji when he was supposed to be out buying more alcohol with a cousin was a coincidence or maybe methodical plans made by the person you call best friend you’ve spent more than half of your life with. Whatever it was, it led you to this moment with him. You and him, alone. Most of the family were still out in the backyard, the ones that were still awake of course, most of the kids were asleep, the older kids were watching a movie in the living room, the young-adults were with the aunts and uncles drinking outside.

You were planning on staying over and having a sleepover with Kaiya, who was one of the young-adults getting shit faced outside, but you wouldn’t have put it past her to not have meddled in a little with your relationship with her brother before getting shit faced.

You get a glass of water, using it to sober yourself, you haven’t consumed any alcohol, but you didn’t trust yourself to be composed around Akaashi Keiji. So you drink your water, inhaling before you find the right words.

“I miss you,” Keiji spoke first. He was closer than you initially thought, with your back on the entrance you hadn’t realized he was caging you in. His arm is on the counter beside where you’re still holding down the cup. Now you were truly trapped, and this is how you knew that everything was going to be fine.

“Until when is our break going to last?” he says in a trivial way, like he was asking you if you liked the weather. As if he wasn’t saying it directly in your ear, making you shiver. You remember telling him once that you liked how you could feel his voice when he spoke close to your ear. It was something very Keiji to remember and use at a time like this, you expect nothing less than perfect composure while your insides are malfunctioning.

“Keiji,” you finally turn to face him, but you don't have much room to work with, quite literally. Your hands are behind you on the counter as you look up at Akaashi and soak in his features. You missed everything, his voice, his eyes, his perfume. Everything that makes him, him. He reaches a hand out to gently cup your face, he looks into your eyes, testing the waters. If you would allow him to touch you so he could ground himself. As if feeling you was getting back his sense of reality.

“You look better,” he murmurs, using his thumb to caress your cheek, “I’m glad,” he smiles.

“Thank you for giving me time,” you place your hand over his, leaning into his touch more, “I’m sorry too,” you say.

“I should be the one saying sorry,” Akaashi’s brows furrow, “I still haven’t made it up to you.”

“So.. should we start again?” you say in a soft voice, shyly looking up at him through your lashes.

Akaashi leans down to place a kiss on your forehead, as if it was something he had wanted to do all evening, “We’re picking up where we left off.”

“That sounds nice,” you murmur, tilting your head up to place a sweet kiss on Keiji’s cheek. “We still have a lot to talk about,” you add, reaching over to brush his hair out of his face while his hands have moved down to your waist.

“And as I said, I have a lot of making up to do. I’m sorry for everything I put you through,” Akaashi has a troubled expression on his face, “I won’t make the same mistakes again. I can’t promise you that it would be easy dating me, you know that it isn’t, because of my job. That’s why I’m so thankful you've still stuck with me all these years despite all my misgivings. I love you, so much. And I.. want to show you off to the world, my love.”

You bite your lower lip, it was here, another step in your relationship, “Let’s start with your family?”

Akaashi couldn’t help but pull you in for a kiss, one that leaves you gasping and breathless, “I love you,” you say.

“Stay with me forever,” Akaashi states, not even giving you a choice, it makes you laugh with giddiness, you were the only one who got to see this side of him.

“Sounds like a good plan.”

Being selfish once in a while felt nice.

a/n — guys i have to wake up for school in like less than 2 hrs but my brain said no syl finish your akaashi fic and i listened to my monster

general taglist + @rintarousprincess @giyuus0nlywife @luvrsthrist @cherries4denki @cloud-lyy @misscaller06 @noideawhothatis @wolffmaiden

[aifsaath]

I am continuously perplexed at how a show as objectively bad and problematic as hotd keeps inspiring outstanding fanfics like yours and @gwenllian-in-the-abbey’s. Truly it’s a mystery to me, especially considering that the books covering the dance are supposed to be quite mediocre as well from what I’ve perceived. Just so you know,with that trailer out now I’m gonna completely blend out the events of the show and consider our fathers clad in red canon

@gwenllian-in-the-abbey AAAAAAAAAAAAAA, I think George's gonna order a hit on us:D

I'm glad you like our slightly destructive approach to teh canon. I'm mostly fueled by spite and my dislike for George's and HBO's complete disregard for the historical context of the stuff they draw their inspiration from (you can't do the Matilda vs Stephen showdown and expect the same sense of injustice, when your main conflict is about Viserys' imbecilic approach to rules, Rhaenyra's weak-ass claim and papa/dragons being her go-to solution to all her problems, Daemon being a chaos gremlin, Corlys' malignant ambition and the Hightowers being the only ones who actually care about the rule of law.)

A lesbian romance doesn't automatically turn a story into a feminist manifesto, nor does a girlboss who's treated by the narrative as the second coming of Christ. Context matters and it's a mistake to view the Dance through the lens of modern ideals about egalitarianism.

GRRM's hubris when it comes to "Aragorn's tax policies" is just another thing that enrages me and Gwenllian, because the man completely misunderstands the medieval legal codes. Just because they were complex that doesn't mean they were fucking contradictory on their own; no one wanted civil wars breaking out each time a monarch died.

Problems happened when two countries with generational beefs worked on two different principles of succession, ie. England (male-preference primogeniture) vs France (male-only primogeniture), or if there was some dynastic fuckery that completely messed up the clear-cut succession lines with usurpations and cousin marriages (Yorks vs Lancasters).

Had Richard II (the son of the Black Prince) died peacefully without issue, the succession would have followed through the line of the Duke of Clarence, with Edmund the Earl of March eventually becoming the king (and he was Richard's heir, btw).

But that's not what happened. The son of John of Gaunt usurped the throne and it was then passed down through his line, because he was the crowned king. Now, you can argue whether or not he had any right to do the usurpation in the first place and whether or not he was the legitimate king and you bet people back then argued about that too. This ambiguity is how you create a proper narrative about actually conflicting claims. The only thing propping up Rhaenyra against her brother is the fact that Viserys is a moron.

How the fuck can I take F&B seriously and without the Dead Sea's worth of salt, when it pretty much blows Jaehaerys' posthumous dick about his wisdom when he "let" the council of 101 decide the succession (while politely ignoring the fact that Jaehaerys' own claim is legit only in the cases of either full salic or semi-salic succession, ie male-only), while never once it calls out Viserys out on his extremely dangerous decision. He gets to die venerated as the peaceful grandpa and all the blame for his incompetence is piled on Aegon II and Alicent.

Let's go through the possible succession systems, shall we?

If we follow male-preference primogeniture, the legitimate line of kings ends with Aerea because she was the eldest child of Aegon the Uncrowned, Maegor's eldest nephew. Only after she and her sister die without issue, Jaehaerys can become the king. Jaehaerys' canon ascension works only because Rhaena gave up her daughters' claims. The next in line would be Aemon and after him Rhaenys. But that's not what happened.

If we follow the salic law (male only), the legitimate line of the kings goes Aegon I -> Aenys I -> Aegon Uncrowned -> Jaehaerys I -> Viserys I -> Aegon II. This is probably what Jaehaerys wanted to ensure, since he challenged Maegor's kingship in the first place.

If a crowned king can choose his heir, then Jaehaerys was never a legitimate king and Aerea was the true queen, because Maegor, who had won his crown in the trial by combat, chose her as his heir.

What about the principle of seniority? Cognatic seniority where men and women have equal claims is out of the question since Aegon I was the crowned king, not Visenya. Male-only seniority would go Aegon I -> Aenys I -> Maegor I (uncontested!) -> Aegon Crowned This Time -> Viserys the Not Tortured to Death -> Jaehaerys I -> Aemon (only if his uncle Viserys has no issue) -> Baelon -> Vaegon -> Viserys I -> Daemon (EW).

Notice the distinct lack of Rhaenyra.

Team Black keeps mentioning the widow's law, but that's a bulk of nonsense. I suppose the misunderstanding originates from a (willful) misinterpretation of this passage. The book says:

Now, I highly doubt Jaehaerys intended for the law to mean that a daughter from the first marriage should come before the sons from the second. The wording is a bit unlucky, but I suppose the intention was to establish the legal position of the second wife and her children as united with the position of her step-children - she has the same duties towards them as if they were own, and the same goes the other way. Which would make sense. Because otherwise, no one would be desperate enough to marry a widower with daughters. Since we know that title and land ownerships have remained in the same families without changing hands once or twice since the implementation of the law, I really doubt the team black's literal interpretation of the passage was the one intended. Ffs, Viserys was pushed to marry again because he had only one daughter, meaning, this law wasn't viewed the way the Team Black wishes for. And I'm not even delving into the fact that this would be a female inheritance hack penned by Jaehaerys, if that was the case. Talk about ooc.

So, yeah, we're taking Gyldayne's interpretation of the past with so much salt our hearts are gonna fail.

[bonefall]

could fern leaf be a former park cat or something that clear sky sends to spy on tall shadow & then defects? or, since she’s important to the rescue of star flower in the books, maybe she could be involved with one-eye somehow…? even though star flower is totally different now, so she doesn’t really Need rescuing from any situation she’s in that you’ve talked about so far. guess it depends on which aspects of the character best serve the story, and whether she would work better as part of DOTC proper or thunder’s SE

i also genuinely can’t remember if bb!clear sky’s original M.O. for his group is Tribe Cats Only, or if he is willing to take in anyone who kisses his ass enough. could make sense if fern leaf (or more accurately, any tom willing to vouch for her) appeals to clear sky enough. hell, maybe she could be a mole on one-eye’s behalf instead?

(Follow up ask to this post)

The new rub to the formation of the groups in BB is that there is two distinct cultures in the forest: Park Cats and Tribe Cats. They're divided by a language barrier, with the Park Cats speaking Parkmew and the Tribe cats speaking what we now call Old Tribemew.

So Clear Sky doesn't have the same "options" like canon. These ""rogues"" don't speak his language and he simply would not learn even if the chance was offered to him. It doesn't even really cross his mind that these are full people to reach out to; in his mind they're intruders. The flavor of bigotry in the modern era hasn't quite evolved yet, so he has the most straightforward kind of xenophobia you can imagine.

He only starts changing his mind after the First Battle, after his revelation, when he's back on his bullshit in Thunderstar's Justice. In my head it's kind of like... a mockery of Thunder Storm's way of life, that allowed him to live in defiance of him for so long. "See, now I do what you do. Since Gray Wing approved of you so much." kinda thing

There's two park cat groups; The River Kingdom, and The Wind Coalition.

The first conflict the Sun Trail Pioneers run into is with WindCo up on the moor, who chases them down into the forest! The Park cats who lived in the forest weren't united, just various individuals that had little "homestead" territories.

The conflicts with them start after the Shadow/Sky split that follows the death of Jagged Peak. Shadow's Clan moved eastward into the caves at Snakerocks, where no one bothered them, but Sky's Clan started getting hostile towards the little homesteads and pushing cats westward, back to the River Kingdom.

SO with that recap out of the way...

I have two and a half-ish cats already that I'm heavily interested in using to turn on Clear Sky for Thunder's Clan. So I'm not sure how to slot Fern Leaf in there.

1: Snake. Snake is the only cat in-canon who said that maybe Clear Sky shouldn't be their leader after letting One Eye into the Clan against all warnings, and then he gets DOGPILED for it, and the very next book shoves him into the arms of Slash to undermine the fact that they accidentally gave him a good fucking point.

I'm RIDICULOUSLY fond of him because of this. I love him out of spite. I've spoken before about how I plan for him to be a Tribe-descended cat, and a lot of that is because I want to keep his goon roles serving Clear Sky. One of which is that he is going to badly injure Sunlit Frost in the First Battle.

So thinking about it... it makes the most sense for Snake to turn on Clear Sky in Thunderstar's Justice. Still unsure when. But if I have any roles where a cat needs to get help, stop a battle, or call Clear Sky out for making a really bad decision, it's gotta be him.

I'll keep him in my hand for a while; this feels like a piece that will fall into place.

I'm also unsure of what family he's going into. I keep waffling on it. I'm leaning towards the Claw family and possibly the son of Fox, since he's going to be living a bit longer. He's going to be about the same age as Thunder Storm, maybe a bit older.

2: Red Claw Since Acorn Fur is now Acorn Swoop, and she's not nonsensically going to go join the guy who killed both of her parents because it would be too sad to go home where they're not alive, her love interest has to end up in Thunder's Clan.

I'm already pretty committed to making Petal into Petal Claw and Fox into Fox Claw, so it follows that Red Claw would be in the family. Thinking about it, maybe Red should be the son of Fox instead...

Especially because he could defect earlier. Moth Flight's Vision is totally overhauled anyway and I'm planning to shift a lot of the original plot to something for another character anyway...

Plus, enemies-to-lovers is fun and I haven't really had a chance to do it yet. Acorn Swoop is absolutely the kind of punk who would nab one of her worst enemy's best soldiers, and the type of nerd who would frame it like her biggest catch yet.

("OI THUNDER!! LOOKIE WHAT THE CAT DRAGGED IN")

And most relevantly... this is leaving Fern Leaf's backstory up in the air. Him leading a dog pack into the heart of camp and getting Beech and Frog killed is what kicked off the Bunny Bones plot of the original MFV that I like so much, and I feel like it's an important part of Fern Leaf.

So not only am I here planning Red Claw as a high priority for being someone to turn against Clear Sky, but also, he complicates Fern Leaf a bit.

Maybe I should step back a bit on the two and start from scratch with them, and replace their backstories with new ones that preserve the "emotional core." I'll have to think about it.

That 1/2 Cat: Alder or Birch The kits that are stolen from Misty, that queen who was murdered by Clear Sky and whose kits are given to Petal. In BB, that's something I want to examine for how fucked up it is. It becomes the basis of Kit Stealing later, an awful practice that the Clans will struggle with for many generations.

These ones are SUPER important, but I say 1/2 because it doesn't have to be Thunder's Clan they turn for. But I do want one of them to eventually learn their origin, and end up finding their family in River Kingdom or the Wind Coalition.

I mention them because I keep going back and forth on if they're going to get combined with other characters. Basically imagine me next to a big conspiracy chart and I'm connecting a big red line between possible plot threads back to Fern Leaf. Maybe her? Maybe she can be one of the stolen kits?

I could even make it so Birch is actually an older sibling, or a half-sibling, or one from the same litter who was saved... maybe even end up making it a litter of 4. Slots in well with her canon story, too, where she mentions her mother abandoned her.

The truth can be that it was a lie. Her mother didn't abandon her. One of them was murdered and the other was chased off.

And, of course, I could save her to be a "One Eye Cultist." None of my drafts so far have brought in any extra followers of One Eye who will follow him from place-to-place besides Star Flower herself. I would like to add some, and that's a fine place for Fern Leaf, but somehow I feel like I can do her better.

[theinfernalsanctuary]

Greetings, Sister!

I have a question or two for you, if you're able to answer. :)

I'm going to be honest, I've been STRESSING the fuck out about how to write this so I'm going to try and keep it as short and blunt as possible.

I'm young (18) and I have Bipolar, OCD, Social Anxiety Disorder as well as Generalized Anxiety Disorder. I was also raised Catholic and have religious trauma regarding my thoughts and actions being constantly surveilled and judged, which has left me very hyper-aware of my thoughts.

These mental health challenges, especially Bipolar, have made my relationship to religion very conflicting and confusing. I have periods of extreme, unwavering belief in Lord Satan and then I will then constantly doubt His existence as well as my own loyalty, which is very distressing and exhausting.

Reverend Cain was my first substantial step into Theistic Satanism when I was 14. I've read The Infernal Gospel front to back and I've read some of The Satanic Philosopher and The Goetia Devils before I had to delete them out of fear of being caught reading Satanic literature.

I do very much respect and admire Reverend Cain, but the emphasis of complete and utter loyalty irks me a bit. He might have not meant it to be conveyed this way and it's just my religious anxieties, but the "You must be completely loyal and devoted to Hell or else I will smite you and everything you hold dear will be destroyed," really scares me.

Deep down I do believe in Satan and I do recognize him as my Father, but I'm so deeply frightened that I'm not "loyal" enough and that I will be seen as insincere by the Denizens of Hell because of my unstable mood swings and Reverend Cain has commented on how the Denizens feel about insincere followers(?).

What are your thoughts? I understand that I'm young, I definitely haven't had any proper interactions with demons and that my anxiety overtakes me at times, but this is a topic that is important and personal to me and I'm afraid to upset the Infernal Kingdom and especially Lord Satan Himself. :(

Thank you so much for your time, even if you just read and choose not to answer. <3

Signed, a young Satanist who has no idea what the fuck they're doing.

I'm sorry that that was your experience with Reverend Cain's works, I personally didn't have that experience and I hope that youll take another shot at it later. That being said, I think that now would be a good time to take a step back and continue deconstructing your pre-existing religious beliefs. If you're still afraid of Lord Satan and Hell as a whole, now is not the time to truly begin your journey, you cannot be afraid of the guy that's trying to help you if you're going to get far. That being said, something tells me that this isn't so much being afraid of Satan or upsetting him as much as it is being afraid of dissapointing him. (Hello, Catholicism!)

You mentioned being afraid of smiting or being labeled as insincere, but the concern that you show, in my opinion confirms your sincerity. When we talk about sincerity in your beliefs, it's more about intentions than the beliefs itself. Why did you turn to Satanism? Was it out of spite or the selfish need to be the eternal contrarian, or was it because there was something that called to you that felt safe or was even just interesting? People focus so much on prayer and rituals in worship when the learning is worship in of itself, even if it is the most passive form.

Many of the things that I post are more geared towards people who have moved past their initial deconstruction and because of that it has a very heavy focus on the spiritual aspects of worship over the practical, but that learning and deconstructing phase is incredibly important and incredibly difficult. Your faith will constantly ebb and flow, that's human nature as much as people don't want to admit it, especially when mental illness come into play. It's so important to not beat yourself up about it even if that means that you have to step away for a bit.

And finally, even if you decide that this isn't for you, nothing is going to happen to you because of it. I promise.

[faejilly]

not a study in scarlet

Works-Not-In-Progress 2/∞ 

So sometimes the best inspiration for fic is spite. But then sometimes we I don't actually write the spite!fic, because wtf, I don't actually know how to plot a mystery?

so please enjoy this nonsense instead. (Yes, I did put Toby in my collection of evidence photos/moodboard, mostly because I love Toby, but also because I love Magnus and cats. Yes, there's also a Paget illustration and cigarette ash, and NYC stuff because NYC is legit a character in Shadowhunters, even more so than London is for Holmes imo, and there's a pentacle for Magnus' magic and an archery target for Alec, and idk, I have lost my train of thought here?)

ANYWAY: spite!fic

Once upon a time, I ran across several Sherlock AUs for Shadowhunters in a row, and every one of them had Magnus Bane as Sherlock Holmes and that is, just. Not Right.

Like! I understand the impulse, when trying to translate soldier and power dynamics and etc. that you'd put Alec in the Watson/respectable member of society role, and Magnus 'never met a question he couldn't deflect with a smile' Bane in the vaguely incomprehensible detective role

But I counter!

WHICH of our heroes is in fact:

socially adept

extremely skilled at his preferred profession even though it comes up less often than one would expect in canon

has a completely incomprehensible romantic history

is ride or die two seconds after meeting someone because they are both smart and pretty

hates war and conflict (has been grievously wounded by same and yet always keeps going)

and yet, is in fact deeply petty and ready to throw down at the slightest provocation

can effectively (metaphorically) murder someone with a look or a phrase

can also literally murder someone but usually doesn't

is incredibly loyal but hates to admit it

is very compassionate and incapable of not helping someone in front of him (unless you have previously landed on the grudge!list, see above re: incredibly petty)

is perhaps the world's MOST unreliable narrator but no one ever calls him on it!

That would be Magnus Bane, and that would make him Watson, sorry, Watson is deeply unhinged but fakes it so well that people think he's the sane one.

AND THEN, of course, for Alec/Sherlock, he:

has only made a good first impression one single time in his life, but it was the time that mattered

is brilliant and tactical and very few people are able to keep up with him (and yet almost no one appreciates it, they're all, oh when you put it that way it's obvious, even tho none of them could do it on their own)

is abrasive in company; he's CAPABLE of walking the fine line of polite behavior and proper etiquette he just thinks it's stupid

(he will tell you to your face if he thinks you're an idiot, but if he needs to, he'll do it in such a way that you don't realize that's what happened until much later)

clearly has a traumatic backstory he does NOT want to talk about

partly given away by how aware he is of the way people around him can be hurt/persecuted whether anyone else wants to admit it or not; he is good to people no one else bothers to believe

has less than no patience for perceived stupidity in the people around him who ought to know better and will yell at them to get out of his way so he can do their jobs better than them

(unless he has taken responsibility for you and then he is delighted to explain every possible way he can make things better regardless of whatever you did that might have exacerbated the situation)

effectively intimidating when called for

effectively violent if that didn't work

secretly a marshmallow and if you tell him you like him and he did a good job he probably won't actually cry but if you know him well you can tell it was a close call

So yeah, pls enjoy jilly's unhinged Holmes feels despite her complete inability to write a Holmes!AU in fic?

[kariachi]

Favorite Kevin aus?

Ooo, you know me, nix, I love damn near any au with a Kevin in it, especially when it's Kevin-focused. But, for the sake of the question, top five, no particular order

Devin Lives/Kwarrel Lives AUs- this get lumped together because they're the same concept to different extremes, 'what happens when Kevin gets some actual proper parenting by an actual decent trustworthy adult'. You can get a wildly different Kevin with the addition of that security and guidance, especially in the Devin lives ones where he never loses it in the first place, and I love shit that plays with 'this is the same person but x steps to the left because of circumstances'

Subspecies 11 AUs, specifically the ones where he can't not shapeshift- it's about the added depth to mutants, it's about having side effects to mutations (which is just, something I love, as the existence of this class of AUs shows I will throw that shit in where it isn't canon just because I like the drama and the balancing and the give and take), it's about Kevin's powers and the effects of them being a constant thing he has to live and work with every day rather that turning them on or off, it's about his past having long-reaching and unignorable consequences that will never fully leave him

Kevin doesn't join the Tennysons and still turns out okay- this one is at least partially fueled by spite, it's been nearly two decades I've been in this fandom and I've seen too much 'oh Kevin only has any basic decency, even a single moral, or any sort of character growth or good things because The Tennysons' and fuck that. AUs where Kevin manages to become a decent person with a happy life without the main characters able to take any of the fucking credit

We don't know what this boy is- listen, I love Kevin, and his powers are fucking- He is not horrendously overpowered and capable of handling most shit on his own only because the writers don't want to overshadow Ben. Simple as that. If you actually look at his powers, look at his weaknesses. You notice in the OV flashforward they had to have him lose a fight offscreen because there's no actually way for him to have lost that fight and they needed it to happen. So yeah I am 100% here to and for leaning into that shit and going 'yeah no whatever Kevin is it is not the sort of thing you come across outside of like eldritch beings and divine intervention'.

Chosen Child Kevin AUs- just, the reinforcement that Kevin is a good person despite his past, the allowance for Kevin to do and be something great and heroic without association to the Tennysons over his head, the opportunity to see him in other team situations, the built in 'coming to learn about yourself as a person and start on a path to who you want to be' that comes with the whole crest system, the bond critter aspect, the secrets within secrets of him hiding digimon from the Tennysons while they're all trying to hide aliens from the world, the Tennysons' reactions to the inevitable reveal, the variety of options as far as what sort of Chosen Team you're dealing with (how are they divided and where does he belong?), the conflict between his two hero jobs, the drama of 'how the fuck do I find time to make a living?!'- It's just got a million different facets that are all amazing on their own and exponentially so together

[villain-in-love]

Messy headcanon collection for Jamil/Prefect relationship

⬩ It’s calculated genius x chaotic genius duo. In other words, classic INTJ X INTP couple.

⬩ Katarina is absolutely smitten, and Jamil doesn’t know how to deal with it.

⬩ At this point it’s hard to tell which one of them is the bad influence. The correct answer is both – they are full of spite and only enable each other.

⬩ Both Jamil and Katarina are lowkey two-faced, putting up a friendly façade for their own benefit when in reality they are much meaner. When left alone together, though, they can be as honest and sassy as they want, complaining about the shared struggle of being surrounded by idiots.

⬩ The relationship that started with scheming, deception, and double-crossing, but I guess that’s just how life in the Night Raven College is…

⬩ Apparently, plotting against each other really brings people together.

⬩ Jamil was rightfully baffled when after all the trouble he put her through during winter holidays Katarina not only didn’t start hating him, but instead started to actively express interest in him, as if he wasn’t a traitor and a villain in this situation.

⬩ He asked her about this bizarre reaction, to which Katarina replied that she was only mad about him dragging her into his scheme without her consent and locking her up in Scarabia, but she already avenged herself by demolishing his plan, putting the trio from Octavinelle against him, and beating him up in his overblot. She couldn’t care less about him betraying Kalim’s and everyone else’s trust, along with using mind control on people.

⬩ Jamil started to suspect that she might have a few screws loose.

⬩ In any case, he’s in conflicted feelings – Katarina is one of the very few people whose company he actually enjoys, and he started respecting her more after she managed to destroy his plans and defeat him. On the other hand… she managed to destroy his plans and defeat him, and you can imagine what kind of damage it did to his ego. Not to mention, now that he knows that Katarina can be almost as cunning as he is, Jamil couldn’t help but trust her less. Plus being a direct target of her attention makes him anxious.

⬩ Being the only girl in all boy school is awkward enough, but can you guess what’s even more awkward? Being the guy with whom the only girl in school is in love with.

⬩ That’s one of the reasons why Jamil later insisted on their relationship being if not secret, then at least not as obvious to public.

⬩ But seriously, Chapter 4 turned out to be kinda hilarious in a way that when Katarina got stuck in Scarabia as a part of Jamil’s scheme, her thought process was like “I like spending time with Jamil, but why do I have the feeling that he’s screwing with me in some way?”. And when she escapes just to come back with Octatrio and their counterplan, this feeling starts to become reciprocated, because now it’s Jamil’s turn to think that, on the one hand, he likes spending time with her, but it feels like something is clearly wrong and the situation is rapidly getting out of his control.

⬩ Katarina befriended Kalim solely for the purpose of having more excuses to hang out with Jamil (Also because having a kind and dumb friend who is ridiculously rich is very convenient).

⬩ Only by the end of the first year Jamil finally admitted that he sees Katarina as a friend, which is a great achievement in itself, because Jamil barely considers anyone at Night Raven College to be his friend. In any case, he decided that he does not want to think of it as anything more at that moment.

⬩ The romantic tension between them was obvious for a while and watching them beat around the bush for two years was lowkey insufferable. It wouldn’t have happened any other way – even if they had feelings for each other, Katarina and Jamil are the type of people who prefer to form a proper friendship and trust first, instead of acting on emotions and getting into relationship with someone they don’t fully know.

⬩ Fun fact: while she’s not at fault for what happened and nobody knows about it, but Katarina actually personally added fuel to the fire by commenting one time that she sees Jamil as much better candidate to the Scarabia's housewarden position than Kalim. Which only served to convince Jamil further that what he’s doing was a good idea.

⬩ Because Jamil is perceptive, and Katarina isn’t actively trying to hide her feelings anyway, he quickly realised just what kind of influence he holds, and so he became the most insufferable (affectionately) tease on earth. He enjoys the indescribable look on Prefect’s face when he casually compliments her in some way or gets too close. Good job, Viper, Katarina.exe stopped working and we’re not even sure she’s breathing… And Jamil is terribly proud of himself. Yes, he started doing this even before they became an “official” couple because it’s fun.

⬩ Truth be told, it stopped working like it used to after the confession. Not that he can’t get her stunned or flustered anymore, but this reaction had a lot to do with the fact that Katarina just didn’t know what would be an appropriate response to what Jamil's actions. Now, when she knows for sure that he loves her, she just outright pounces on him whenever he shows her affection (because such thing causes her to become affectionate in response). Jamil might give her a soft kiss on the cheek, and a few moments later he’s pinned against the wall with Katarina showing her tongue down his throat. Now Jamil is the one who is dazed and flustered. Whatever shallow complains he has about it – they are not genuine.

⬩ Jamil gets embarrassed and might play a tsundere when Katarina is being affectionate towards him, but really, Jamil is very needy for her love and attention, he needs it to function properly. However, this couple generally dislikes pda or overall making their relationship too obvious in public, mostly preferring to keep it all behind closed doors.

⬩ When meeting in public they usually greet each other by casually bumping into each other, shoulder to shoulder, as if letting the other know “Hey, I’m here, I’m with you”.

⬩ From time to time, Jamil comes to the Ramshackle when he gets too tired of Kalim and the liveliness of Scarabia dorm. But more often than not Katarina and Jamil prefer to hang out in Scarabia and in Jamil’s room, as it’s generally cosier there.

⬩ While another of Kalim's parties is raging in Scarabia’s dorm, Jamil and Katarina can often be found aside from the crowd and the noise, drinking tea with sweets and talking somewhere by the window. That’s their definition of fun, so please, don’t interrupt.

⬩ Seriously, interrupt their alone time and they will be ready to kill you.

⬩ Who kills a bug in this relationship? Fucking no one, they both scramble away from the damn thing to hide on top of the cupboard, throwing shoes at it. If it doesn’t work and the bug is still alive, then someone would have to stop Jamil from setting the room on fire.

⬩ Spiders are the exception, though, at least for Katarina. When Jamil and the others were staying at her dorm in preparation to VDC, Katarina and Jamil argued a lot over spiders that live everywhere in the Ramshackle. Katarina insists that spiders are "friends" and can stay, while Jamil wants these hell spawns out of the damn house, the fact that they are not technically insects means nothing, he doesn't buy the idea that another pair of legs makes them better in some way.

⬩ Jamil: Do you even eat anything besides chocolate and apples?

   Katarina: *awkwardly looks away*

   Jamil: …now, I really don’t like this response.

   Later:

   Jamil, opening Katarina’s fridge: WHAT KIND OF BARCELOR’S FRIDGE IS THAT?! HOW ARE YOU STILL ALIVE WITH THIS DIET?

⬩ She didn’t want to tell him about not eating properly because he already works too much, but now Jamil knows and he’s lowkey horrified. They just agreed that whatever he’s cooking for himself or Kalim for lunch, he can just make an extra portion for her.

⬩ They are each other’s consultants when it comes to scheming and strategies. More often than not it’s Jamil who ends up helping Katarina, usually with predictions of all possible obstacles and outcomes, while Jamil himself is generally more secretive, especially when it comes to his schemes, but as he grows to trust Katarina more he also starts to ask her for critique of his plans.

⬩ If she has time for that, Katarina might join Jamil when he’s tutoring Kalim on some subject, out of curiosity and convenience (they are still a grade above her). Usually Katarina understands the theme first and then helps Jamil explaining it to Kalim.

⬩ As funny as it sounds, Jamil often holds Katarina’s grudges for her, if that makes sense. Because Katarina is terribly apathetic and hard to offend, while Jamil is… much pettier and vindictive. So if anyone wronged her and her reply is “lol, okay”, then Jamil might take the role of karma and get back at them himself.

⬩ While not exactly identical, their music tastes overlap a lot – generally speaking, they both prefer something dark and intense. It’s kind of their thing to share new songs that they found and think that the other might like, and they often listen to music together, sometimes by sharing earphones.

⬩ It took some time (and some manipulation because she refused at first) to teach Katarina how to dance, but now they can steal the show at every dancefloor. Jamil is lowkey proud of himself for being able to teach her how to dance, and proud of Katarina herself, of course.

⬩ Most of the time they won’t dance in public. If they end up at any sort of event Jamil and Katarina most likely going to stand apart from the crowd and just talk, maybe commenting on what is going on (and judging everyone). But if they see some couple of a prince and a princess, who obviously think that they are the main characters tonight, Jamil and Katarina will be strongly inclined to go on a dancefloor to completely steal the spotlight and make it obvious for everyone how much cooler they are. It’s a villain thing.

[dainesanddaffodils]

More Good Omens posting from me, still someone who has only consumed this season via spoiler posts, tumblr gifsets and youtube compilation videos -

anyway, I'm not letting my lack of actually watching s2 get in the way of today's post: "things I see people say they want in s3 that make me scratch my head"

namely, wanting Aziraphale and Crowely to fight. not necessarily in a physical, real war between heaven and hell (or humanity), but rather as like, bitter divorcees taking shots at each other. and i just... don't see that after how they left each other

(well, maybe for Crowley's side, but not at all from Aziraphale's)

I don't want things to be sunshine and rainbows and immediate reconciliation, mind you. I'm certainly not of the opinion that Aziraphale wasn't in his right mind when he made his choice in the last episode, or even that he or Crowley were being threatened (though the latter is more believable imo).

From what I've seen and read, my currently vibe is that Aziraphale did believe that he was making the best choice for heaven and for humanity (until the moment the words "second coming" are uttered - but I'll get back to that). And I think the tone of the two times he does waver sets the tone for what I think the next season is going to be - which is a lot of independent character growth before an emotional reunion.

Because Aziraphale's wavering comes after Crowley leaves. After Crowley says, don't bother forgiving me. which I think he hears as, don't bother trying to fix this. I'm done.

So when first he tries to think of sudden reasons to stay he inevitably doesn't try to push too hard and finally says he's ready to go. He doesn't want to do this without Crowley but he doesn't think Crowley is right, right then, so what would he be staying for? It hurts but he needs to show Crowley that he's serious about this.

And then when the second coming is brought up and he realizes (in my opinion) that he fucked up, Aziraphale looks at Crowley from across a crowded street with this clear conflict, and he still follows. Because his other option is asking Crowley for help.

And the thing is, I think if he had asked Crowley for help, in spite of everything, Crowley would have helped.

And Aziraphale knows this.

And I think Aziraphale knows two other things:

1) the danger that would put Crowley in, danger Crowley has always put himself into to help Aziraphale.

2) after the kiss, after the don't bother, Aziraphale is reevaluating point 1 and realizing how much he has taken Crowley's help for granted.

I think that Aziraphale looks at Crowley and wants so much to say, i was wrong, please fight heaven with me again, help me save this world and these people, but he how can he, after everything? How can he ask Crowley for anything anymore - even things he knows for a fact Crowley would give him - after what he's done?

He doesn't feel he deserves that anymore. He doesn't feel he deserves Crowley anymore.

(see the look on Aziraphale's face when he thinks he's fallen and the look on his face after Crowely kisses him and leaves. It's the same face of 'I have lost the thing most important to me; it is my fault and I cannot expect forgiveness.' He is resigned to this heartbreak.)

So I think next season we're going to see a lot of angst that comes after their tragic breakup, but also a lot of Aziraphale standing up to heaven on his own because he feels he has to. I think when he and Crowley do finally have a proper reunion, they'll still argue (especially if Crowley, in true Crowley fashion, has misread Aziraphale's silence as further confirmation of unrequited feelings), but I don't think it will really carry any real anger, you know, especially from Aziraphale's end.

[brassandblue]

Arthur peeled his eyes open just to cast a look of apathetic disdain in Alfred's direction; only to roll them, still slouched where he sat like a petulant teenager. This was not the posture of a man who kept up appearances, nor was it the confident slouch of a proud lion in command of a room. No, Arthur--while still in command in his own home--radiated disillusionment, apathy, and an unruly undercurrent of rebellious spite.

On the other hand... This was also not the side of patience and kindness he had tried to show America in the early days. That was a side of him he rarely dared to show other nations or cities. Below the veneer of a gentleman, past the rebellious fire and passion, beyond the bluster of bravado, was a softer heart that loved simple and cozy things, good things.

He had learned, long before they even knew of the New World, that a gentle heart was not a good trait for a nation to have. Soft hearts were broken, tricked, mocked, and used. But he'd had so much hope for Alfred, for America; he'd wanted so badly to do something good for once, and to see the boy thrive...

And yet now, bitterness seemingly had taken the place of that kindness.

"You don't even care, so why should I waste my bloody energy?"

The mask was off.

Mostly.

England's unruly disdain for authority, or anything that deemed itself as such, was a time-honored tradition. Arthur had a sordid and wild past that circulated in rumor and was reminisced about behind his back by nations old enough to remember the man before he had become a "proper gentleman."

Hell, that wild side had never actually gone away-- Arthur had just become an expert at hiding it, an undeniable master at pretention.

"-Whatever," he went on. It was relatively new slang to use that word in a dismissive manner, but Arthur liked it.

"If I'm sick, then we're all sick, aren't we?" It was rhetorical, almost mocking. Of course they were. That was part of the job.

"I've a trespassing Yank dragging his balls on my carpet because he suddenly remembered I exist--and the living embodiment of the word Cunt is my PM. Let's not forget: Pollution, ongoing global conflicts, and the USSR won't just have some bloody humility and call it quits already. I'm drowning in regrets and have nowhere to go but up, and it is a sheer climb. How the fuck do you think I feel, Alfred?"

America is an ox, tenacious and impenetrable. England has this rare skill of criticizing America to the point of age regression, effectively kicking his soapbox out from under him. The amount of people capable of doing so is small, as America believes he has little consequence for his actions, and is usually right. Without conscience, America politely clasps his hands behind his back. England is on medication; he makes a note to make another stop to the bathroom to sort through his cabinets, if only to know what type. He could then proceed to research and narrow down what England's diagnoses were. Depression, given. Obsessive-compulsive disorder, maybe. The guy's neuroticism ran high, but his need for control and order may very well be the result of, at one point in time, being the largest empire in human history. "You're right." Here you are, England, take this: you can be right for a day, if only to soothe you. "I should have visited, but I don't necessarily like seeing you." His words are harsh, too harsh for what America was attempting, this colossal job of tending to centuries of neglect. "Excuse me," America leaves to use the kitchen sink. He reappears with damp hands. Why put his old man through more mental anguish, agonizing over unwashed hands. He sits in one of the solid-colored chairs opposite to the couch. When he calls for the cat, the cat pays him no mind. "I can see that you're sick, but I'll ask anyway. How're you feeling? Are the meds making any difference?" America acknowledges the medication, even if England cut himself off like it was a taboo, like they weren't all mentally disturbed and drinking, popping, snorting substances. "I'm not here to ream you, man. I only came here because I was thinking about you, what you went through in November." Rehab. "I have an Airbnb fifteen minutes from here. If you want me gone, I'm gone, but what I really want is to have a conversation with you. Would that be too much?" America sucks on his bottom lip, pained. England can be such a sore spot for him, when faced with hard subjects like wants and feelings.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

riddle, rollo, and… ace?

This kind of fits in with my other posts speculating on Masquerade part II. The previous posts were about Rollo meeting Ortho and Lilia, respectively.

***Spoilers below the cut!!***

I’ve often seen parallels being drawn between Rollo and Riddle’s backstories, which makes sense 🤔 They are both stubborn in their worldviews and try to force their idea of what is “proper and just” upon others. When their views are challenged, they spiral into rages and insist that they are correct, and that everyone else is “wrong” or “the villain”. (And, of course, on a superficial note, they lean towards fire-based magic.)

But with that in mind, now consider… Wouldn’t it be a throwback to see how Rollo interacts with Ace? All the way back in episode 1 of the main story, Ace called out Riddle for acting like a tyrant. He has continued being the voice of reason for other characters acting unreasonable across various events and vignettes, such as Ghost Marriage (to Eliza) and Endless Halloween Night (to Malleus, in Ace’s Halloween vignettes). I can 100% see Ace also putting Rollo on blast for his actions (in a Fairy Gala: If-like scenario, so same plot just played by different characters) 😂

Ace comes from a particular background which can add to the tension and drama. He is also a younger brother, has a view of magic that is very positive (he wants to be like his mage older brother), and uses his magic carelessly (ie remember when he set the Queen of Hearts on fire) or for things Rollo would deem frivolous and unnecessary (like pulling pranks on others, as he did with Deuce’s birthday present). These are all traits that make Ace very similar to Rollo’s own little brother—a brother that, may I remind you, has already passed.

There also remains the unaddressed and unresolved conflict of episode 5 in which Ace expresses disbelief that Deuce unlocked his unique magic before he did (the duo spent episode 6 mostly knocked out). Ace must be harboring some frustrations that he was not able to keep up with his rival and friend in spite of being so sure that he would be the one to surpass Deuce. These are circumstances which make Ace uniquely like Rollo—feeling upset that he does not have his magic sooner, and some unspoken disappointment and guilt wrapped up in that.

So imagine Ace being one of the people to confront Rollo 🤡 and when he’s chewing him out, all Rollo sees is an older version of his dead brother talking back and disapproving of his actions. As the SSR trio of the current Masquerade event point out, would Rollo’s brother really have been happy knowing that he’s going to such extremes, and using his brother’s death and the claim that he is “saving” others to justify it? And now here comes Ace, telling Rollo all of that right to his face while also emulating a similar energy as his brother once did. It’s like Rollo’s brother has come back from beyond to grave specifically to tell Rollo he’s disappointed in him, to tell him what he’s doing is wrong-and that would still set Rollo off, sending him into a fresh fit of rage for similar reasons as Riddle. (Yes, we are coming full circle and bringing it back to Rollo and Riddle parallels.)

Because if what they’ve been doing all along was actually wrong instead of right like they’ve been viewing it... What did Riddle do all that studying in isolation for? Why did he have to conform to these rules all his life, only to now discover that he was wrong? Why was Rollo saddled with this burden of magic, and a unique magic which will always remind him of his younger brother’s ashen end? Why did he have to stew with all of these complicated emotions while everyone else openly indulged in the sin of magic?

“Then what was the point of it all…?” What was the point of all of their suffering?! Was it all meaningless? Were their efforts worth nothing? Are their feelings and personal experiences up until this point just... pointless? Neither Riddle nor Rollo would automatically take responsibility for their own actions, nor accept fault for their harsh worldviews, so they both lashed out in anger instead.

And not only that, but there’s also a bit of Rollo in Ace--that upset associated with not being inadequate or not being able to measure up to expectations, something that Rollo never acknowledged about himself. We get brief glimpses of Rollo doubting himself, implying that his magic is a burden or a curse, or claiming that he was not able to save his brother. Yet Rollo only continued to blame others for this and tried to overcompensate/overcorrect for what was ultimately a dissatisfaction he had with himself, rather than with the world. Ace could help really drive that home as he’s escorting Rollo down the bell tower (as he’s not very tactful with his words), with just a dash of understanding his situation--because Ace is likely confused in his own way, still trying to discover what makes himself “unique”, just as Rollo is left confused about where to go from here on out.

sahdbaodbsada I just think there’s something potentially interesting to be explored between Ace and Rollo! I also just love it when Ace does a good call out 😂

[malachiexists13]

Dramatic vs. Romantic - Mitsuhide's Route Endings

So I recently finished playing Mitsuhide's route for the second time and I have a lot to say. The first time I played his route, I did the dramatic ending. This time, I did the romantic ending. And this is the first time I've ever done both endings for a character and holy shit- the differences.

Something that confused me is how the dramatic ending feels more.. tame compared to the romantic ending. I was always under the impression that the romantic ending is a sweeter end while the dramatic ending is the conflict continuing. But this seems to be the opposite for Mitsuhide and I'd really like to point this out.

Disclaimer: it has been six months since I completed Mitsuhide's dramatic ending so I am going off my memory for this. Also, there'll be discussion of topics relating to toxic or unhealthy relationships as well as attempted murder and drug overdose so if you're sensitive to that, then this isn't the post for you. There'll also be spoilers for Mitsuhide's route (obviously).

In Mitsuhide's dramatic ending, he teams up with Sasuke, Yukimura, Yoshimoto, and MC/Mai to go take down the Shogun, Yoshiaki Ashikaga. But things don't exactly go his way. The Shogun realizes just how important Mai is to Mitsuhide, and in an act of revenge, poisons her with an arrow. It's a slow acting poison that will undoubtedly kill her without proper treatment. By this time, Mitsuhide already knows that Sasuke and Mai are from the future, and so he asks Sasuke if the chances of saving her would increase if they were to return to the future. Sasuke says yes and so, Mitsuhide pleads with Sasuke to save Mai.

Mitsuhide chooses to let Mai go if it'll ensure her survival. He chooses to betray and let her go because he loves her. Of course, Mai lives and stays in the Sengoku and the Shogun is defeated. Mitsuhide realizes the Shogun has to have the antidote so he tricks the Shogun into thinking he's been poisoned as well, which causes the Shogun to unknowingly tell Mitsuhide the right dosage of medicine and the Shogun dies from overdose. The rest of the ending is literally just them spending time together and it's essentially slice of life then. I really like the dramatic ending. It stays true to Mitsuhide's character in my opinion and Mai didn't annoy me as much.

Side note: I really dislike the MCs in these games. Mai and Emma are the only ones I can tolerate. Alice is fucking annoying and Mitsuki (I think that's her name?) is so naive, it hurts. Mai and Emma can actually hold their own, but Mai is still naive in her own ways. Personally, Emma is my favorite. But Mitsuhide's romantic route seems to get rid of what little agency Mai had.

In Mitsuhide's romantic ending, it takes a more dramatic rather than sweet end. Mitsuhide chooses to team up with Motonari and Kennyo, and with some assistance from Sasuke, has the Oda and Uesugi-Takeda form a temporary alliance to distract the Shogun. But things take a turn for the worse. In this ending, Mitsuhide is more possessive and paranoid over Mai. He constantly wants her close and is terrified of being away from her or losing her. He literally threatens to cut off Motonari's hand if he touches her and then later, yells at Motonari and threatens to decapitate him if he even so much as gets close to Mai.

I hate to say it, but that is NOT healthy behavior! If your partner becomes so emotionally dependent to the point where they get so possessive and jealous and can't even bare the thought of you not being in their life, that's not good. To me, it feels as if Mitsuhide is not emotionally ready for a relationship in this ending, not after all he's been through. And rather than acknowledging how unhealthy his behavior is, Mai encourages it. It also feels like a complete 180 from his behavior in his route.

Throughout Mitsuhide's route, he remains calm and composed. Yes, he does express some jealousy such as when he pulls Mai away from Masamune. And he does write an entire fucking comedy to spite and insult someone who made Mai cry- But honestly, Yoshiaki deserved that, let's be honest. And Mitsuhide is a bit rude towards Yoshimoto, but that's literally because Yoshimoto is the love rival and also has feelings for Mai. But besides that, Mitsuhide always shows a willingness to love Mai from the sidelines, and to let her go if it'll keep her safe and ensure she'll live. He acknowledges that he's not the safest man to be around. And this behavior continues in his dramatic end until he accepts her as his fiancée and that she won't let him let her go, so he decides to always love and protect her.

Why is it different in his romantic ending? Why is he more possessive, more paranoid about losing her? And why does Mai encourage this behavior? What changed? I may not have much experience with relationships seeing as my previous relationship ending was my fault and I came to realize that I am ace/aro, but I can recognize unhealthy behavior when I see it. Mitsuhide doing a total 180 with his behavior is weird. Mitsuhide literally panicking over losing Mai even though he'd been so willing to let her go before and literally threatening multiple people on her account is not healthy. It's not endearing. It's not cute. It's concerning.

Encouraging behavior like this is never a good idea and I can only see Mitsuhide getting worse in the long run unless he somehow realizes it himself. But with how Mai encourages it? I doubt it, severely. It's sweet how much he cares about Mai, but it's also concerning. Mitsuhide is a grown adult, being this emotionally dependent on a single person for his happiness isn't healthy. And Mai shouldn't be allowing herself to be so emotionally dependent on a man like this, not one who's willing to die with zero questions asked for the sake of his ideals or one who behaves like this. So no, it's not "sweet." It's a massive and bright red flag.

I'm not trying to say Mitsuhide is toxic or abusive. That's not what I'm implying at all. But, he does seem a bit yandere? Or like he has Obsessive Love Disorder. Something like that. It sort of reminds me of how Logan from The Obsession by Jesse Q. Sutanto behaves. Logan was obsessed with the story's heroine, Delilah, and he expressed his "love" through being sweet to her but distanced her from her friends and stalked her. He literally set up cameras outside her house and broke in a couple times, which gave him something to use as blackmail in order to get Delilah to date him. And Logan was confirmed to have Obsessive Love Disorder which was pretty fucking obvious with how he acted with his previous love, Sophia, and with Delilah. He became obsessed with this version of Delilah he created in his head.

Mitsuhide technically did stalk Mai by "observing" her and he snooped through her belongings to find something to blackmail her. Which that blackmail led to them being faux engaged, then later faux married. I know this was all done to keep her safe from Yoshiaki, but I'm not sure if that entirely excuses it.. There was just so many red flags that stood out to me throughout his romantic ending, I can't even with it. His main route is fine, there is some questionable content but it gets explained either later on in the route or in his POV stories. His dramatic ending is by far, one of my favorite endings and it's one of four dramatic ends I've done- The other three being Edgar Bright's, Chevalier Michel's and Vincent van Gogh's. (Edgar is a fucking idiot omfg-) Really, out of everything in his route, his romantic end is the only thing I have a problem with.

Mitsuhide is not a bad person. His romantic end just tells me that Mai is a fucking idiot and that he may not have been emotionally ready for a relationship. His dramatic end is better. I recommend it, it made me freak out a bit but more in a good way. His dramatic end was essentially "holy shit- what the fuck is even happening?? This is insane" compared to his romantic end being "..WHY ARE THERE SO MANY RED FLAGS???." Both ending pictures are so pretty though like- One thing I agree with Mai on, and that's how pretty Mitsuhide is with his white eyelashes.

I'd also like to say that I am well aware that this is a game from 2017, hopefully, CBYIRD has realized just how concerning and unhealthy this sort of behavior is. The reason it bothers me so badly is because I remember when I discovered this game and how impressionable I was at the time. And it makes me wonder, how would I have reacted to this sort of behavior back then, had Mitsuhide's route been released and I hadn't gotten bored and didn't touch the game for two years? I probably wouldn't have taken it very well and it worries me that other impressionable people may discover this and not realize the red flags.

Btw, for an example of how impressionable I was back then, I didn't realize how controlling and toxic Nobunaga's behavior was until three years later when I finally decided to try playing his route again. I got so pissed off that I quit and I haven't touched his route since. And Nobunaga is one of my least favorite ikesen characters. I have yet to find anything that would redeem him in my eyes.

If you took the time to read this long post, I appreciate it. I'd love to do something similar to this for all the other characters but it may be a bit difficult haha.. Some characters I may end up playing their routes three times, such as literally anyone from ikerev. Since most of those routes I completed back in 2020 or they were just so unremarkable in their ending that I can't remember.

[ultramarine-spirit]

An overly emotional retrospective of WMMAP

This is completely different from what I usually post on here, so feel free to ignore my ramblings about my favorite manhwa coming to an end soon. If you choose to read this, please forgive my oversentimentality haha.

When it was announced that WMMAP was ending, I struggled to come to terms with whatever I was feeling. I was so sad that I didn’t want to even think about it anymore, but after spending over a year completely obsessed with this manhwa, it would be a little unfair of me to not reflect on it and give it a proper send-off. So that is what I’m attempting to do now.

If you asked me why I love WMMAP so much compared to other similar stories, I could give you several answers. The characters are very charismatic and lovable, and they make you deeply feel for them and what they have to go through. The narrative, while pretty simple and straight forward, is effective in what it’s trying to achieve, never stopping being entertaining and charming, and most of its themes are well done. The art, needless to say, is downright breathtaking, objectively one of the best in manhwa (and subjectively the best, in my humble opinion).

But neither of those reasons are exactly why I love WMMAP, and they don’t really explain why I’m so sad to see it end.

While I have a great deal of praise for it, WMMAP also has flaws, plenty of them in fact. Even ignoring the ways in which it parts from the novel’s narrative (if you care about that in the first place), it’s own original writing can be messy and unsatisfactory in some places. But I don’t really want to talk about WMMAP’s faults right now. I’m bringing them up because, in spite of it, I and many people love this story and characters dearly. Why is that?

After reflecting on it for quite some time, I reached something akin to an answer. WMMAP’s charm and incredible success doesn’t lay (exclusively) in it’s beautiful art, or how it was one of the precursors of the genre, inspiring countless other works, but in something more delicate and personal, that is, in how unashamedly sincere it is with the story it’s trying to tell, and how that makes the reader care deeply about it.

I’ll use Athy’s character as an example because, well, she’s my favorite (as I’m sure everyone can tell), but also because I genuinely think she is the heart of WMMAP, and that goes beyond just being the main character.

To say that Athy’s story is very sad would be an understatement. It’s heartbreaking, even more so because it was she (unlike her novel self) the one that had to go through so, so much, across multiple lifetimes. We want to see Athy find her own happiness, grasp it tightly, and never let it go, that is the main appeal of the story for most people. However, that is not really an original concept in manhwa, and even less so in other mediums. How many manhwas about a daughter trying to form a real connection with her family exist? Probably dozens, or even hundreds, and yet WMMAP is the one that is generally regarded as the best of its kind, justifiably so in my opinion.

WMMAP is way more effective in making us care so much for Athy (and the rest of the cast) because of how intimate and sincere her writing and the exploration of her feelings are. For me, more than an exciting plot full of twists and turns, what captivates me the most are the characters within a story, how they develop over time, how they interact with each other, the many conflicts that arise from those interactions, and I think that WMMAP is really successful in those regards.

The emotional impact WMMAP has on its fans is undeniable, and that is not achieved with pretty artwork alone. Athy’s journey from faking her love for Claude to caring deeply, even painfully so for him to the point of even putting him over her own safety is masterfully portrayed. You see her feelings start to shift, slowly and subtly, before she even realizes it, until the reality of them is too heavy for Athy to ignore. That unashamed sincerity made me tear up way more times than I would want to admit. And it’s because of how honest her character’s writing is that I was captivated by this story in particular.

Spoon is very earnest in her writing, that is apparent to me in the care she puts in the main cast’s characterization. She takes her time to delicately portrait Claude and Athy’s feelings and internal conflicts, and that really pays off when it comes to fleshing them out as truly well-rounded characters. While we know little to nothing about Spoon as a person, that is not really needed, as her sincerity shines through her art. Admittedly, and for better or for worse, that candidness is also reflected in the story’s faults. The story can be messy, it struggles with the landing at times and with the messages it’s trying to convey, some of the narrative’s implications (unintentional or not) directly clash with it’s main themes.

But even so, despite the sometimes clumsy writing (which is a little understandable, as far as I know this is Spoon’s first written work outside of doujins), and my own personal dislikes about certain plot elements, I think there’s a lot of value in the candor of Spoon’s story. At the core of it all, WMMAP is a story about love. Love at its most beautiful, selfless, and tender, and at its most unsightly, selfish, and cruel. That is something Spoon was able to craft with passion and care, and I appreciate it more than I can convey with clear words.

For me, WMMAP’s irreplaceable charm lays in those little moments of heartfelt emotion that Spoon excels at. In Claude softly stroking Athy’s hair as she falls asleep, in Lucas’ unshakable presence as Athy’s emotional support and confidant, in Athy’s bottomless kindness for those around her.

I’m really glad to have been here to see this story unfold.

[gamer2002]

Bring the exact quote in which I say that citizens should be blamed for him destroying wishes. Bring the exact quote in which I say that he had a right to destroy wishes. Consider if you are making up things out of desire to be hostile during a conversation. Either way, be careful with accusation of illiteracy.

Asha is young and stupid. Magnifico pretty much tells her that he is a survivor of a genocide, that he has seen the mankind at its worst when it was driven by greed. And then, immediately, before even getting the job, she reveals that she is there just to gain a personal favor. She also doesn’t connect the dots and realize that Magnifico’s has a backstory based reason to not return unfulfilled wishes. People can become resentful over their wishes not being fulfilled and remaining impossible. Then they can lash out at those with more luck, out of spite and envy. This is what Magnifico has experienced and gives him a clear reason to keep people content without letting them remember what they wanted in the first place.

Now, Magnifico doesn’t state this reason. That’s because he isn’t a person, he is a badly written character in a badly written movie. Writers were never interested in creating an interesting conflict over whatever to return or to keep the unfulfilled wishes. Writers were only interested in validating Asha’s stance and justifying the queen for ever marrying Magnifico. His backstory doesn’t exist to add him depth and serve as a reason for his actions. If it did, he would be able to base on his backstory an argument in favor of keeping the wishes. A one that Asha would have to address, instead of just deciding that nothing possibly can go wrong  from all the wishes returning to their owners.

Magnifico’s backstory exists only to absolve his wife out of her guilt for being a half of the regime that Asha is right to overthrow. Which doesn’t even work anyway - his wife is still plenty stupid for not realizing anything sooner, given how hilariously fast Magnifico has exploded in front of Asha.

I repeat my stance. The movie should have kept Magnifico fully dastardly, like every proper classic villain was, alongside his wife. Or make his wife stupid. Or remove her from the story. After giving him a tragic backstory, the movie should acknowledged that both him and Asha were partially right and wrong. What the movie did was the worst of both approaches for his character.

We know what was the original idea, and it is pretty apparent what has been added/changed to keep the queen clean out of guilt while keeping the king a villain. It’s a safe bet that the moder Disney has changed the plan for the queen due to ideological reasons. Regardless the reason, the poor outcome of that choice, made by an corporate giant in its own field, deserves to be mocked.

The moral of the story is that, regarding the people who did a good job, you should tearn them down for their flaws and take their positions.