#aka the superior trope

[sitp-recs]

Omg do u have fic recs of Harry just flopping down pining for draco🤣 I saw the past you reblogged earlier

Hahaha I wondered if someone would ask this after seeing that post! My memory is bad for details but I’m pretty sure Harry pined hard in his bed at some point here:

Still Life, orphaned (M, 3k)

Nothing compares by @maesterchill (T, 3k)

Working in the International Auror division doesn't exactly lend itself to Harry finding love or having any sort of relationship, what with all the unsociable hours and catching bad guys and never being in one location for more than a few days. Not to mention the permanent fixture of his partner, Malfoy.

Hourglass Heart by @bixgirl1 (E, 5.2k)

It only happened once — depending on how Harry counted.

Poppiholla by @moonflower-rose (M, 12k)

Harry had accepted that he would pine silently for Malfoy forever, but one, humid summer might change that.

Take the Moon by @tackytigerfic (M, 15k)

Harry Potter has always wanted a family of his own, and when a deadly blood curse forces him into a marriage bond with his best friend Draco Malfoy, it looks like he might just have found one.

With Great Yawns and Stretchings by sugar_screw (T, 22k)

The coffee is very good. Really. And the cats are so cute. That's why Harry goes so often.

War Wounds by SilentAuror (E, 30k)

Some wounds take longer to recover from than others. HP/DM, with background HP/GW. Themes of alcoholism, love triangles, and dubious fidelity.

On Your Shore by @xanthippe74 (M, 35k)

Clearing out a remote house full of cursed collectibles in the Outer Hebrides? Not a problem for an experienced curse breaker like Harry Potter. Spending a week with the straight, happily-married man that he’s starting to have feelings for? And sharing a bed with him at night? Surely Harry can handle that, too.

Here's The Pencil, Make It Work by ignatiustrout (M, 49k)

Harry thinks "Why is Malfoy working in a coffee shop in muggle London?" is a much simpler question than, "Are you going to accept that auror offer and, if you don't, what will you do?"

The Boy Who Only Lived Twice by lettered (E, 54k)

Harry Potter is an Unspeakable. Draco Malfoy is the wizard who shagged him. Adventure! Intrigue! Secret identities, celebrities, spies! It's all right here, folks.

Modern Love by @tackytigerfic (E, 61k)

Harry Potter, of all people, knows that life isn’t always fair. And no one gets to be happy all of the time. But surely there’s something more—something better—than a rubbish Ministry job, and a lonely old house, and that feeling that everyone out there is doing a better job of living than Harry is.

Running on Air by eleventy7 (T, 75k)

Draco Malfoy has been missing for three years. Harry is assigned the cold case and finds himself slowly falling in love with the memories he collects.

Azoth by @lol-zeitgeistic (E, 88k)

Now that Harry is back at Hogwarts with Hermione for eighth year, he realises that something’s missing from his life, and it either has to do with Ron, his boggart, Snape, or Malfoy. Furthermore, what, exactly, does it mean when one’s life is defined by the desire to simultaneously impress and annoy a portrait? Harry has no idea; he’s too busy trying not to be in love with Malfoy to care.

Little Deaths and How to Avoid Them (or Draco Malfoy's Guide to Stop Dying and Start Living Instead) by nerakrose and dustmouth (T, 96k)

Malfoy is way too interested in coroner reports for somebody who's definitely not looking for ways to die, Harry wants to be friends with him, and Ginny wants to break up with Harry.

Turn by Saras_Girl (E, 306k)

One good turn always deserves another. Apparently.

[peggingeddiediaz]

I've read so much bucktommy tumblr posts and ao3 fics that I'm done with buddie. Maybe you should read some and be done with it too. It's ok to admit when you're wrong.

I don't ship buddie because Buck and Eddie are hot together. I ship them because they complement each other.

Buck has always been searching for a family, for stability, for someone to love, for someone to stay, for someone to love him completely and for someone to accept his love.

Eddie, has been stuck trying to take care of everybody, carry out their plans for him, always sacrificing himself for others, never allowing himself to get what he wants without feeling guilty, unable to express his emotions freely, reluctant to ask for help.

You know what’s the beauty of buddie, even as just friends? That in the first 3 episodes of season 2, the buddie dynamic was already stablished and it gave us so much characterization. Buck, wanting to be supportive, helped Eddie out by introducing him to Carla, checking in with Bobby so that Chris could stay at the station, driving Eddie to pick up Chris after the earthquake. And Eddie, who wouldn’t normally ask for help, not only accepts it but allows Buck to continue to take care of him and Chris.

Now compare all that characterization across 7 seasons, 7 years that we got to know these characters vs 5 scenes with Tommy... You can't tell me you give up on buddie after 4 episodes with a new character whose storyline could barely fill a paragraph and be taken seriously.

Like it's ok to admit you only wanted to see Oliver kiss a man and that's it. That's fine, but miss me with all this superiority complex with shipping bucktommy.

Yeah, you guys wrote 3000 fics and innumerable posts on tumblr filled to the brim with *check notes* tropey headcanon on top of horny headcanons, gender roles, and once again buck getting female coded with stereotypical bottom tropes. Fanon buddie bore me before, and I’m already done with fanon bucktommy aka Tommy “might as well be an OC” Kinard and Evan “self insert” Buckley.

 Every single previous female love interest of Buck had more characterization than Tommy, but somehow *cough* misogyny *cough* Tommy has this insane fan support behind him by his 4th appearance. I wonder why?

I don't hate Tommy or the ship, but I'm sorry, he is not a fleshed out character, you guys just love how plain he is (so the headcanons are easier to apply) and how hot Lou is, because where was all this energy and push for a love interest to stay in the show, for any of the previous female love interests??? 

All this talk about how perfect the relationship is but when Natalia and Buck, who also had the same amount of scenes and development by her 3rd/4th episode, no one was rooting for her to stay.

[muddyorbsblr]

circumstances of succumbency [kinktober 2023: bath/shower]

See the full Kinktober 2023 Collection here! See my full list of works here!

Summary: You and Magnus get stranded on the road while working a case and sought shelter at an inn that only had one room left. And one bed.

Pairing: older!Magnus Martinsson x Reader

Word Count: 2.9k

Warnings: 18+ | smut (minors & pearl clutchers, kindly exit stage left I'll only ask nicely once); unprotected p in v sex; slight mention to masturbation/wankst; language; Magnus is her superior/boss so there's a bit of a power dynamic going on [let me know if i missed anything!]

Things to be aware of: coworkers to lovers; mutual pining; one bed only trope; translations in the Author's Notes

Dick-tionary (aka smut guide): When Magnus says "I won't have you apologizing", the smut starts. Proceed with caution.

"We're not going to be of any use to this case sleep-deprived and dragging this car through a snowstorm, Y/L/N. We should find some shelter and start fresh in the morning, and hopefully the weather will be a bit more agreeable."

Those were the famous last words that hammered in several nails to your coffin. You were still about an hour's drive away from the residence of a person of interest in your current case, but with the current state of the weather, you were more likely to get stranded in the middle of the road with a broken down engine than actually make it to your destination if you two stubbornly kept on your drive.

That was how you two ended up at a cozy little inn, the lady at the front desk shamelessly checking out Detective Superintendent Martinsson while she tried to book two rooms for you. A disappointed scowl painted her face as she told you both that there was only one room left for the night. With one bed.

Of course this happens, you grumbled internally. One room, one bed, one horny Y/N.

He tried to be a gentleman and offered you the bed, clearly uncomfortable with the whole arrangement as well. But after you both realized that there was no other furniture that the towering older man could somehow pretzel-fold himself into and sleep in for the night, you simply agreed that you'd pick a side of the bed and put the entire situation out of your minds come morning.

You distinctly remembered putting a considerable effort to count sheep and make your mind shut off despite the biting cold, slipping into slumber a shivering curled up heap on your side of the bed, one wrong move away from falling off and flopping onto the hard wood floor. So why was it that when you opened your eyes, the morning sun barely shining through the heavy clouds, you were deceptively comfortable and warm, with an arm wrapped around you and holding you against the lean and muscular body of the man that had been invading your most vivid scandalous dreams on a nightly basis?

This isn't happening this isn't happening, you tried to tell yourself, trying not to lean in to his warm embrace despite every cell in your body literally screaming to do exactly that. You're still dreaming, Y/N, it's time to wake up. He shuffled even closer to you, his nose nuzzling into the crook of your neck, and let out a sigh that sounded like he was almost…contented. The feel had you putting your fist to your mouth and biting down on your skin to refrain from making a sound.

Much as this was exactly where you fantasized about being when you were in the safety of your own home, you knew you had to squirm out of his sleep-laden embrace. You slipped your hand into his and tried to guide his arm up and away from your waist, only to have him reflexively pull out of your hold and go right back to holding you, shuffling even closer and letting out a whining sound as if he was bargaining to stay asleep for a few more minutes.

Before you could try again, you froze in his embrace when you felt his lips press a kiss to the back of your neck, followed by a near-reverent whisper of your name. You bit harder into your skin in a desperate attempt to hold back a moan as he kept on kissing a trail to your shoulder in lazy movements, obviously being guided by his sleep-adled brain.

Which had a little voice in your head screaming the question: If he was moving and talking the way he did because of his dream, then why did he say your name?

You didn't give yourself the time to mull it over, not willing to risk staying a second longer and having him wake up and have the sight of his disgust and shame seared into your memory. As fast as you could manage, you lifted his arm off you and rolled away from him, situating yourself again on the very edge of the bed and pretending that sleep still had its hooks in you.

Despite having slept in a bed that wasn't his own partnered with the undue stress of being stranded by means of a rather nasty snowstorm, Magnus had slept rather peacefully through the night. He was blessed with a rather blissful dream where by some miracle you didn't turn him away after he'd confessed his feelings for you. You even returned them.

And before you two headed off for work, he held you in bed and got to rouse you from your sleep with teasing kisses to your neck. The dream had felt so real that the image might stay with him to keep him company in the cold nights to come after closing this case with you.

When he woke in your shared room at the inn and saw you curled up at the edge of the bed, he wanted nothing more than to turn that dream into reality and pull you into his embrace. He was only stopped by the dreadful thought of how you could possibly react to such intimacy.

Probably with a right hook, a resignation letter, and a sexual harassment lawsuit in that order, you idiotic knob, he hissed at himself, sighing as he shrugged the covers off him and decided to check if the roads were clear enough to resume driving in a few hours.

He walked around the bed and couldn't resist the urge to take his covers and drape them over your own after seeing how you visibly shivered in your sleep. You let out an unintelligible sound while he was tucking the covers around you. "I'm up, I'm up," you mumbled, shifting around groggily.

"We don't have to leave yet," he spoke softly, doing his best not to wake you fully. "Just gonna check if it's safe to go back on the road." He moved your hair away from your face, a warmth spreading through his body upon seeing how serene you seemed in sleep. "You can rest a little while longer, sweet girl."

You let out a long exhale, a tiny contented smile playing at the corner of your mouth when you relaxed and leaned into his touch. He couldn't resist the urge to hold you just so for a few moments longer, nor the urge to press the lightest kiss between your brows before he stood and walked out of the room.

Mercifully the roads seemed much clearer and you two could probably resume your drive and your investigation in a few hours. Before that, though, he needed to go for a run. And hopefully keep all those intrusive thoughts of returning to your room and giving into his desires at bay. Sleeping in the same bed with you had blurred the lines of your relationship so dangerously that it took everything in him to remind himself that you deserved so much better than to have him shatter your trust in him by taking advantage of you and this situation.

"She deserves better than this. Better than you," he grumbled as he walked to his car to take out his running shoes.

With every pound of his feet on the pavement he tried to put it out of his mind the image of just how beautiful and peaceful you looked in bed. Tried to beat into submission the urge to crawl back under the covers next to you and roll the dice. The fantasy that perhaps if he pressed his body to yours your response would be to settle into his embrace. To press back.

Before he knew it three laps around the property turned into five. Then seven. Then ten. At the end of the tenth lap, Magnus somehow convinced himself that the distance he'd covered had placed a physical distance between him and the taunting image of you sleeping on the bed you two had shared last night.

He figured as well that enough time had passed and perhaps you'd woken up of your own accord, and you'd be alert and ready to get back on the road with him and get closer to cracking open the investigation.

There were two things that Magnus noticed once he'd returned to your shared room. First, you were out of bed, which only gave him the most temporary relief from the fantasies that were taunting him ever since he made the most foolish mistake of agreeing with you that you were both grown adults that could handle sharing a bed for the night while you were stranded.

The relief didn't last long because second, he heard the shower running. And now he struggled to even breathe knowing that mere feet away behind that closed bathroom door, you were naked and wet. And he wanted nothing more than to peel off the sweat-soaked layers of clothing on him and bring his daydreams to life.

"Stay where you are, Martinsson. If you give in, you'll lose her forever. Not to mention your badge," he grumbled to himself, burying his face his hands trying to put the mental image of what you might have looked like on the other side of the door well out of his mind.

That was until he heard a sound that seared itself into the darkest recesses of his most vivid fantasies. Whimpers that echoed off the tiles escaping through the bathroom door, followed by what sounded like a filthy variation of the talks he'd once heard you give yourself in the locker room before some of your more intimidating interrogations.

"Fuck's sake, Y/N, either think of someone other than Magnus Martinsson and get it over with so you can actually face him when you get back to the fucking car, or give up and turn the bloody shower on cold."

The air left Magnus' lungs once he heard the frustration that laced your tone. The words unraveling his restraint once it reached his ears. If knowing that you were on the other side of the door touching yourself already had his sanity and restraint hanging by a final thread, the realization that he was the subject of your fantasies snipped at that thread with the sharpest, most ostentatious shears known to man.

He never rushed to take his clothes off so fast in his life.

As soon as you heard Magnus step out of the room you rushed to the shower, trying your damnedest to get the vivid horny daydreams out of your system before he returned. You got close the first time, but then your mind wandered to how his lips felt on your skin when he kissed your neck. And then how those same soft lips kissed your forehead before he left the room.

And with every attempt it was like that elusive climax slinked away farther and farther, taunting you that the only way you could actually get to it was if you surrendered to the fact that the only way was letting the fantasy that starred the devastatingly attractive older man play out in your mind.

Screw it, it's no use, you told yourself, closing your fingers around the lever to turn the shower into its coldest setting.

Before you could change the temperature, a large hand closed around yours, fingers deftly prying yours away from the lever. Your body froze at the feel of another, equally naked body pressing against your back.

You couldn't help the shiver that ran through you when Magnus whispered your name, tracing his fingers up your spine and across your shoulder. Fuck, why was he doing this? you screamed inwardly. It was a bad enough situation why is he making it worse?

"Look, I'll stay in the back and I won't make a sound," you choked out, barely audible over the sound of the water. "You'll have my badge on your desk the moment we get back--"

"You will do no such thing." His words came out husked, laced with a combination of conviction and desperation that you couldn't rationalize for the life of you. "Turn around, sweet girl. Look at me."

You could feel your entire body tremble and shiver despite the hot water coming down, your knees shaking with every shuffling step you took to face him, not even sure where to look once you have. Ultimately you decided to shut your eyes, refusing to look anywhere for fear that your eyes might travel too far South.

"Magnus I'm sor--"

"Shh shh, darling." He tilted your chin upward. "Look at me, please. Let me see those beguiling eyes of yours." His thumb gently pressed on your quivering lips, tracing along your bottom lip until he coaxed you into a pout. You took a breath before opening your eyes, gasping when you caught sight of a soft smile on his face, looking at you with a gleam in his eyes that had your knees shaking even more. "There you are, sweet girl," he rasped, before leaning in and giving you a soft, tentative kiss.

You let out a whimper once he pulled away, causing him to let out a guttural sound before he pulled you flush against him. His erection pressed against your stomach, warm and pulsing on your skin.

"I won't have you apologizing," he told you huskily, hands traveling down your sides, squeezing your hips for a moment before stopping at the backs of your thighs. "And I won't have you resigning, either." He smirked at the little squeak that came out of you when your feet left the tiled floor, pressing you against the wall. "I won't have any of that talk from those perfect lips of yours."

He captured your lips with his in a kiss that stole your breath away, letting out a guttural sound against your mouth when your fingers weaved into his dampening curls. Your other hand dug into his shoulder as if holding on to any last remaining shred of your sanity while he maneuvered you so that your hips were lined up. "Magnus what're you--Oh f-f-fuck," you whimpered, your body shuddering in his hold as you felt him brushing the tip of his cock up and down your folds, teasing your entrance.

"The only thing I will have from now on, sweet girl, is you." His lips latched on to a spot between your neck and shoulder, moaning into your skin as he slid into you in a single smooth motion, your walls more than slickened enough from your failed attempts just minutes ago to bring yourself to climax. "Fullkomlighet," he whispered into your neck. "Du känner dig som himlen."

The sounds of your combined moans filled the room as he moved in you, first in slow, measured thrusts and gradually getting more frantic until the sounds of your pleasure were cut through with the sharp wet snap as your hips met. Your mind in such a haze that you hadn't realized how close you were to the release you'd been chasing earlier until his hand went back down to where your bodies were connected, fingers quickly finding and flicking hurriedly at the underside of your clit.

"Magnus!"

"Let go. I need to feel you coming apart around me. Just let go with me. I've got you, min kärlek."

He muffled your high pitched screams slanting his mouth over yours, deliciously groaning into your mouth when your tongues met in a desperate tangle. His hand curled around the back of your neck, keeping you from breaking the kiss while your body completely weakened and surrendered to your climax.

The sound of the shower knob turning broke through your haze. "Hmm?" Your unarticulated question quickly turned into a squeal muffled by his mouth when he shifted his hold on you, his length still hard. Still throbbing. And still inside you.

He began to walk you out of the bathroom. He smirked against your lips when you began to whimper, every step he took making you bounce slightly on his cock.

It was only once he had you laid out under him at the center of the bed that he broke the kiss, giving you a soft peck and a nip at your bottom lip before pulling away, his face hovering a few inches above yours. "Breathe, min kärlek." He moved your hands above your head, capturing both your wrists in one large hand and pinning them down to the mattress. "We'll leave and get back on the road in a few hours."

Magnus started moving in you again, his lips meeting yours in a passionate kiss when you arched your back off the bed, feeling every ridge of him sliding against your walls. "Wait, Magnus what do you mean--"

"I'm going to need a little more time with you before I can even think of getting back in that car and enduring the rest of the day without touching you, sweet girl." He let out a sinful moan, burying his face in the crook of your neck. "And then when we finally finish this case, you're coming home with me. From now on you're mine, min kärlek. Are we clear?"

Your answer caused him to snap his hips into yours. "Yes, Sir."

A/N: I've finally finished this piece and hopefully I can bang out (pun absolutely intended) another one this week for Conrad. Yes, I know October's done, but the initial goal stories aren't yet. And the stretch goal stories, as promised, are definitely still coming.

And while we're on the subject of biting off more than I can chew, I've made the decision to join NaNoWriMo again this year, so let's see if I can meet that bonkers goal of 50k words 🫡

Hope y'all liked this piece of older!Magnus spice 😏 Please do prepare yourselves for the next piece, 'slow & soft' with James Conrad because at the moment that is a chonky boi with 4k words…and I've only just gotten to the smutty bits.

Translations: Fullkomlighet – Perfection Du känner dig som himlen. – You feel like Heaven min kärlek – my love

And here's a gif for everyone that reads to the end:

'everything' taglist: @simplyholl @loopsisloops @imalovernotahater @coldnique @loz-3 @huntress-artemiss @salempoe @vickie5446 @athalialaufeyson @lokiprompts @kats72 @kikster606 @asgards-princess-of-mischief @lokixryss @thomase1 @mischief2sarawr @peaches1958 @lovingchoices14 @lunarnights95 @goblingirlsarah @iamlokisgloriouspurpose @creationsbyme @maple-seed @mjsthrillernp @ladyofthestayingpower @mygfloki @sititran @glitterylokislut @ozymdias @fictive-sl0th  @lokidbadguy @mochie85 @silverfire475 @joyful-enchantress @elizabethmidnight2017 @holdmytesseract @smolvenger @gigglingtiggerv2 @lokidokieokie @superficialdomina @anukulee @kmc1989 @november-rayne @goddessofwonderland @buttercupcookies-blog

Kinktober taglist: @azula-karai-27

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

Any thoughts on Whumper being obsessed with Whumpee? 👀 it's such a fun dynamic that I feel isn't explored often enough

whumper being obsessed with whumpee — especially if they both are archenemies — is literally one of the superior tropes. ever.

I mean… can you tell I’m a huge fan of enemies to lovers trope lol (but since my comfort ship is also 2 characters who are canonically enemies where one of them is actually kind of obsessed with the other, I’m a little biased here).

whumper spending every waking minute thinking about whumpee (and how they hate them, of course)

whumper coming up with plans to capture whumpee

whumper not actually wanting whumpee to die, thus they’ll never “go too far” whenever they torture whumpee, because they know their life would be without a purpose if they lost whumpee. and whumpee can’t live without whumper, either — so whumper and whumpee can’t live without each other

whumper being extremely possessive of whumpee, in the sense that whumper is the only one who can hurt this idiot aka whumpee — if anyone else ever hurts whumpee, whumper will suddenly become whumpee’s caretaker who will burn the world down just to make whoever was foolish enough to hurt whumpee pay for what they did

also…. the sexual tension between whumper and their archenemy that is whumpee >>>>>>>>

[honeybewrites]

Writeblr Intro!!

Figured I should do an introduction for my little crevice of the internet! 

I go by HoneyBe, or just Honey, or just Be, or really any other name you feel like! I mostly use she/her, they/them pronouns, but feel free to use whatever. I’m in my 20s and on the AroAce spectrum. I’ve been writing on and off since middle school and I’m hoping to get better at improving my skills, because 12 year old me didn’t care about that but 20 year old me does. I’m hoping to find (or build) a little community to support and help each other with all the writing things. Mostly though, this is just me gaslighting and guilt tripping myself into thinking that by not writing and posting, I will disappoint a nonexistent audience on the internet and not just myself, because apparently that’s the only way my brain will cooperate with me. 

Couple other little tidbits about me:

Big fan of the found family trope. Literally will make me squeal at a highly obnoxious volume.

LOVE extensive world building. I want to know every detail of a magic system and how a planet operates. I will listen to you rant about lore for hours, just please let me do the same every once in a while. I am begging, please, I want to tell you all the things.

I’m a little funky photographer trying to start her own little funky photography business, mostly to give myself more time to travel and write and also to get out of my full-time retail job (it’s pure hell and I hate it with an unholy, unmatchable heat of a thousand suns).

I love flowers. They’re just so pretty and as a little honeybee myself, it’s part of my job.

If you mention dragons, you will summon me. I have an obsession with the magical creatures and it knows no bounds.

My Main WIP, or I guess world, is what got me into writing in the first place, and I’ve been messing with it for years. You’d think that would mean I have it decently fleshed out, right? Nope. Unfortunately, The Plot keeps escaping my basement and causing a train wreck. If anyone has better restraint suggestions, let me know. My neighbors are starting to get concerned.

Anywho! The whole world is called The Seven Realms, or as my docs are titled, 7R. I know, so original. She wants to grow up and be a series with little series siblings, all connected in one Big Family. Seriously, I have OCs all over this world’s history and very vague vibes, aka, The Plot, to go along with them. Here are my two main ones.

Eclipse of War Chronicles (EoWC)

Colliding Stars (supposedly book 1)

The Realms are in chaos. A war started nearly a hundred years ago, still raging today, has wrecked both sides. The original intent of the war has long left everyone’s mind; it’s now a fight over territory and unification. The Realms border on complete and totally collapse from the strain of this ongoing blood bath and neither side refuses to admit defeat.

Project Viall, created during the hight of the war, was set on creating superior fighters. After many failed attempts, two successful subjects were created from the genetic experiments.Trained side by side to be flawless and merciless loyal weapons of death, they end up on opposite sides of this vicious war. Both intent on destroying the other, while their partner and closest friend hides behind the mask. Bonds are tested. Secrets revealed. Loyalties made and destroyed as two partners threaten to destroy the entirety of the Realms in their hunt for blood.

Legend of the Ancients (LotA)

The Fallen Dragons (supposedly book 1 of another series)

A brutal war has left the dragons all but extinct. To preserve the species, the remaining dragons have gone into hiding, leaving behind a subspecies borne through the war to fend for themselves: the Tanimoriem. Generations later, no one has seen or heard of a dragon, leaving the Tanimoriem as their only remains to once was. Knowing little of their history and being hunted simply for being kin to dragons, the Tanimoriem learned how to fight viciously and keep to themselves, earning a reputation as vile, unfeeling demons.

Accepting a bounty mission, Ryuk, a seasoned Tanimoriem, gets more than he bargained for. He had been told this was another monster that needed killing. A dangerous beast. Instead he’s met with a child who finds his horns and wings fascinating. Ryuk is forced to look after the child until he can figure out what secretive plot is brewing, because it might just involved the Tanimoriem.

Of course, my goblin brain has given me plenty more snippets and random characters in different times in this world that I have yet to do much with. The world of the Seven Realms has consumed me for years and I have been shown no mercy. I’m planning to do a proper intro post to each WIP and their characters at some point… *puts twenty reminders in phone to write intro posts*

Also!! I will take all asks, tags, and DMs you can throw at me. Literally. Ask me about anything. Books, WIPs, OCs, hell, even ask about my least favorite color or my favorite bread. I do not care. I will answer. I want to be friends will all of you!! I don’t sting! I promise!!

[ghost-rattan]

how about some akutagawa and an ADA s/o enemy trope? the s/o and aku is in a mission from our dearest dazai, where they have to stay together at some hotel room and they're strangled with eachother in the morning hwhwhw if you're not comfortable with this it's ok🙏🙏

I'll request a bunch in the future I guess😋🫢‼️‼️ -🐑

SORRY THIS TOOK A WHILE!!!! hope this is what you wanted!! and I can't wait for more request! they honestly make my day!

One bed Akutagawa x ADA reader!

Your lovely superior Dazai thought you are Akutagawa would be an amazing team! aka Dazai thought you and Akutagawa would make a cute couple(thank you Dazai)

Working for the ADA was a very rewarding job as you are able to help others

while Akutagawa on the other hand kills the people you work so hard to protect

So it was easy to guess that you weren't the biggest fan of Dazai's when he sent you on mission with the mafia member

The aim of the mission was to stop this enemy before they can become a big threat

"Can't Atsushi" "No <3"

Akutagawa was also confused usually its Atsushi he is sent with but Dazai clearly knew that he was infatuated by you

You where beautiful, kind, caring and the total opposite of him

while you thought of him as some one attractive yes but he was a killer!!!!!!

So when you both arrived at the hotel you would both be staying at for this mission you both realized there was one bed

For the first night Akutagawa suggested to sleep on the couch

He had probably one of the worst sleeps of his life that night but hey he didn't care as long as you slept well!

the next day Akutagawa was extremally tired yet he didn't snap at you

That day you where able to find out a lot about Akutagawa

you also noticed that every one you came across he didn't kill he only knocked out

This did bring him into a deferent light in your head

maybe he wasn't a killer???

that night you invited him to sleep on the bed and you the couch

"No...you have it.. I do not care for your pity, plus you may as well use it"

"We could share"

BLUSHING AKUTAGAWA!!!

"Fine..."

so that night sharing a bed you both agreed on what side you both wanted

You went to sleep back to back

'the night was perfect, for a couple to bad you where single' you thought to your self

that night you could see all the stars from the big window in your hotel room

you where looking at it but some thing told you to look at Akutagawa

he was already asleep

you could watch him in his most peaceful moment

he awoke to you starring at him

"Is something wrong?"

"No! I'm sorry go back to sleep!"

when morning had arrived you where both cuddled up in each others arms

because during the night you felt Akutagawa's warmth and cuddled up to him and soon after he had cuddled up to you

when you both had woken up AGAIN BLUSHING MESSES

You both agreed to tell no one about this and to never bring it up again

NEW FLASH Dazai knew it would happen and so when you both got back bro teased you both so much

But by this time you knew 100% you liked Akutagawa so maybe you will let Dazai send you both on more missions

just don't tell kunikida about your new found crush for the mafia member!

[confused-rat]

"Execution trumps intent."

I agree!

...However, intent trumps taste on the critical evaluation superiority meter. Complaining that an adventure fantasy is utilizing tropes and narrative beats common to adventure fantasy when the creator is intending to write an adventure fantasy?

Or that an author is utilizing classic sword and sorcery stereotypes in their story that is intended to explore and unpick classic sword and sorcery stereotypes?

Or that someone is effectively choosing poetry over prose for intentional stylistic purposes and you just don't see why they'd do that when they could say it outright instead and it would be a much better story aka more palatable to you, personally?

These are on you, I'm afraid.

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - I’m largely pleased with BL & pissed with Kpop

April 2023 Wk 3

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Thai Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 1 of 10 (MDL says 12, but I think it’s just 10) - Abused intern trope is a go! I wasn’t sure I would like the lead, but he’s totally adorable. Although (I gotta say it) who tf eats a croissant with a knife & fork? Also.. the main couple has good chemistry! Hallyfuckingluya! In fact, the quality of the acting and sound etc is generally superior to a normal pulp. It’s good! This is a good show? How exciting! 

Our Skyy 2 (PondPhuwin) eps 1-2 - Honestly, I was nervous to watch this but I liked it a lot! Doomed soulmates + paranormal time travel to fix the past. I’m happy for the outfits and the dancing (if not the singing). It’s not a bad premise and it’s nice to see GMMTV lean into its high production values for a change. I could’ve watched this as an actually full length BL. Gotta say, Puhwin’s English is so good and v west coast USA accent (international school kiddo got skillz). Meanwhile, loved seeing MarcPuwin again. My Gear & Your Gown disappointing us wasn't their fault. *Hilarious that Marc is side couple in 3 BLs airing simultaneously, that’s a record! (Waves at Marc X1.) I���ll be rating each of these installments separately, as I did the first time around. This one gets an 8/10 from me.

Bed Friend (Sat YT, GaGa & iQIYI uncut) ep 10fin - A very Check Out the series ending. Disastrous sun glasses. King being shy was adorable. Nevertheless I do think the final 2 eps felt a little tagged on and superfluous excess. Ultimately? This just wasn’t as good as the first 5 episodes set us up to hope for. Series review below.  

Pastsenger (Thai Weds Gaga) ep 7 of 12 eps - Cute confession and boyfriends phase. The bit with brothers’ boyfriends serving each other food was kinda charming. Could do without blushing maiden trope. But hey ho. (Waves at Marc X2.) 

A Boss and a Babe (Fri YouTube) ep 8 of 12 - Cute phi/nong convo and teasing, but this is largely boring. I do like that the conflict is all about business loyalty, cubical friendships, and coworker gossip. This is as it should be in an office romance. But I wish the characters were consistent.  

Tin Tam Jai (Tues Gaga & iQIYI) ep 9 of 12 - The boyfriends phase. I just know with this show that the moment it ends I’m going to entirely forget about it. It’s boring.  

Chains of Heart (Sat iQIYI) ep 10fin - What a waste. Seriously don’t bother. It seems to end unhappily, but maybe not, but also who tf cares? 3/10 Series review below, for my sins. (Waves at Marc X3.) 

Future (Thai Sun YouTube & Gaga) ep 5fin - It was Songkran so no new ep until tomorrow. May your New Year be blessed. 

The Promise (Thai Weds YT & WeTV) ep 7 of 10 - the put YT on a week delay off WeTV, so I will watch it next week. I have WeTV but I prefer YT. 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Unintentional Love Story (Korea Thurs iQIYI) 9-10 fin - Awe a crying kiss. My fav! This one was fine. Not a v good kiss but KBL has to bow to form on occasion. The sides didn’t get much of a resolution. (Although we know why.) It was a solid ending. Series review below. 

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - this ep was a little slow for me, oh I know, that’s what this show is doing, but yeah. Still it’s soft and sweet and wonderful. Why are you not watching it? Go. Now. 

The Eighth Sense (Korea Weds Viki) eps 7-8 of 10 - Honestly? I checked out a bit this installment. Possibly because JaeWon checked out as well. I mean, I understand what the narrative is doing, portraying JW coping (badly) with loss and the complex knot of guilt, love, fear, lust, and shame. But I don’t really feel drawn into a romance when the main characters are separated for most of an hour. I do like JiHyun’s personality shift and aggressive stance on renewing the relationship. That’s fun to watch. And I do love his besties. Of course ep 8 ends with major heartbreak and pain. I expected nothing less from this show. Gotta admit I’m a little mad tho, I wanted it to EXCEED my expectations. 

My Story (Pinoy Sat YouTube) ep 2 of 10 - I don’t like one of the couples (not side dishes, this is a 50/50 split) but I weirdly like Sky’s new arc, even if he’s with someone new. 

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 2 of 12 - it’s just so odd. I can’t believe THIS is the JBl we get 12 eps of. This one?  Japan, must you? (How many times a year do I type that phrase?)

Finished this Week

Unintentional Love Story - A boy who just lost his job due to faked corruption charges accidentally discovers his ex-boss’s favorite artist, now a recluse. His ex-manager offers him his job back if he can convince the artist to rejoin society. Instead, they fall in love. Gongchan (maknae of B1A4) carried this show (which I don’t expect from the idol element). He was luminous with extraordinarily expressive eyes. That said, he had weak chemistry with his co-lead. But everything else was quietly queerly KBL pristine and beautifully executed, even the conflict. I’m not sure on rewatchability for me, and it didn’t whip me into a verbal frenzy the way some KBLs do but it’s still getting a solid 9/10 

Bed Friend - Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship, that is essentially built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly worshipful eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged (ALL THE TRIGGERS). NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth, unfortunately the story ultimately failed them. Had the show had the strength of its convictions and kept to a tighter, darker, harsher 8 eps it would have been the first high heat to earn 10/10 from me, but once they fussed with it, it dropped to a solid 8/10. Could have been great but they overworked it. Still if high heat is your thing, this one will not let you down. Full review here.

Chains of Heart - This was a terrible show, unbelievably confusing, badly subbed, with characters behaving illogically, nonsensically, and heartlessly. What’s worse? The leads had fantastic chemsitry, were willing to do high heat (and do it well) and were pretty! So they squandered a decent cast and some actual production money on a shoddy scrip and terrible directing - what a waste. Seriously, don’t bother. It maybe ends unhappily, maybe not, but you should neither care nor bother to find out. 3/10 

It’s Airing But ...

Love Syndrome (Thai Sat WeTV) stopped at ep 2 of 12 - I’m just not into any aspect of it (except Lee Long Shi and I can watch him in Tin Tem Jai) - saving to binge if the end is solid.

Venus in the Sky (Sat YouTube) pilot/tester?) 0 of 10 - not entirely sure what’s up with this one distribution-wise, but the pilot was classic university-set pulp. I hope it happens because the leads are cute with good chemsitry and I thought it was fun. However, this pilot holds together as its own little short too.

Make a Wish (Thai Weds ?) stars Fluke Natouch (OhmFluke UWMA etc...) & Judo (The Miracle Of Teddy Bear) in a medical-fantasy. About a doctor who sees ghosts and a deity who resides in a Bodhi tree that earns merits whenever he fulfills a wish, based on a y-novel by Sammon (Manner of Death, Triage). Same as above.

Stormy Honeymoon (Vietnam) - 3rd in this series and the ULTIMATE in domesticity. New side couple is cute too. But I’m kinda over the leads at this point. (see comments)

In Case You Missed It

BL Express has a post on upcoming GL. I don’t track this, but they do. 

I decided to hold off and binge Cafe in Love and Destiny Seeker. So I’ll be watching and reporting back after I’ve collected all the eps. I realized that I miss binging BL. That said I have been siting on To Sir, With Love forever. Not sure why I am so reluctant to dive into that one. 

[ Not into Kpop? Skip to “next week.”] 

Peak Time pretty much ended exactly as expected, which was also exactly how it started. Our BL boy Karem got booted for the grave sin of being a, ya know, 2nd gen idol dude bro. But it was the superior survival show. BLK made me cry, so did MASC for that matter. We have discussed this before, I am a sap. I look forward to seeing where Vanner go next. 

Boy’s Planet was ultimately disappointing. I watched some predictions about who Mnet actually wanted to win, and they were mostly correct. With the delightful upset of China scooping the #1 spot. (Delightful bc I am a chaos money who lives for politics fucking with soft power and watching China give the jaundice eye to S Korea for half a decade bc they Hallyued their way into winning the culture war using Kpop, and NOW China is doing what we all knew they would which is... infiltrate. Ultimately? Boy’s Planet was nothing more than an exercise in manipulative editing, they just accidentally manipulated the global vote into Zhang Hao winning. Not to slag off that baby boy’s serious cuteness - I genuinely thought he was great, actually. Frankly, I emerged cackling and mostly just v. disappointed in Pentagon fans. I think they deserve to lose their group for how little they supported Hui. Let’s be truthful? They are likely losing their group or Hui wouldn’t have been on the damn show in the first place. (Cube seems highly disinterested and their 7 year contracts are uppity up.) This is neither the first nor the most extreme version of me being disappointed by Kpop fans. There’s a reason I don’t participate in that fandom. 

In more relevant news to THIS fandom, JiWoong made it into ZB1, which means we will NOT see him or the Kissable Lips pair back on our screens anytime soon (if ever). 

RIP the pretty.... 

Whatever, it is still the golden age of Korean BL. Our Dating Sim happened. We will all be fine. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Happy Merry Ending starts Weds April 26 on Gaga (with ep 2 the next day) 8 eps total. It looks cute: opposites attract, musicians, giving me Wish You vibes. It’s from the Our Dating Sim’s Kidari Studio. Adapted from the manhwa of the same title (해피메리엔딩) by dorae (도래). Stars Lee Dong Won (main rapper of KNK - yes that’s Semantic Error’s Park Seo Ham’s group) opposite actor Byun Sung Tae. Also stars Kim Kyu Jong (of SS501) and actor Shin Myung Sung (The Heavenly Idol).

The Eighth Sense ends, thank fuck. I don’t think I could take much more of the tension with that one. 

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

This week’s fashion hall of shame:

those glasses, both useless and ugly 

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Leaning into their brand. 

Leaning outside of it but looking sexy AF. Thank you GMMTV! 

What do I always say? I love it when a drama reviews itself. 

All Our Skyy 2: Never Let Me Go (PondPhuwin) 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? Winner’s Remember. I got nothing to say about it except it’s great and everyone always seems to forget about Winner but they just keep singing, and that’s kinda the sentiment of this song.

[sorcerous-caress]

The "falling in love with the mafia boss who kidnapped me" trope in erotic fiction.

DnD worlds probably have it, but instead, it's about brave naive humans being tricked into marriage by fae or cursed to be betrothed to an elderich horror.

And it's surprisingly not humans that are the target demographics for these novels.

Raphael probably has a collection of them, flipping through pages of a chessy airport novel about a human warlock paying their patron back by becoming their cute housewife. These stories only helped increase the number of devils that offer their services for human warlocks.

Dwarves and gnomes have a niche genre in it where it's about the clumsy human intern and their grumpy dwarf superior, how the human keeps falling on them in compromising positions aka yk hentai anime tropes.

Mizora prefers the ones about humans coming to knock on the devil's door themselves. The fiesty fearless human protagonist who gets put in their place by the end and realise their true purpose is to serve their devil mistress instead.

[besttropeveershowdown]

The Best Trope Ever Showdown: Round 3, Side C

Reformed, but Not Tamed

They're not Evil anymore. But like, they're also not Nice really. Still a jerk about it. (No TVTropes page submitted)

Propaganda:

All the coolness of a redeemed villain but without losing the spicy villain jerk charisma they had before. Often called The Vegeta. Get to have your cake and eat it too.

who doesn't love a villain kinda sorta turning good but being annoyed about it the whole time

We all love it when the bad guy joins the Plucky Team of Heroes because it is a) hilarious or b) reaaaaally interesting character dynamics, and "reformed but not tamed" is the superior way to achieve this. You get all the fun of having the bad guy join the team WITHOUT having to sand down everything that MAKES the bad guy interesting. In this house, we like a "domestication" arc more than a "redemption" arc. He's still an awful little shithead, but now he's OUR awful little shithead.

Teeth-Clenched Teamwork

Propaganda:

I love watching characters have a Group Project (aka the plot) that they have to work on together, against their will

[pikahlua]

I've read too many character studies and I'm confused: does Katsuki have a superiority complex or does he have an inferiority complex? If he has both, is it situational? (as in the inferiority complex is only in regards to certain people like Midoriya and sometimes Shouto) And about Katsuki's pride and arrogance, is it more of a cover up or hubris?

BNHA #403: The Symbol of Victory is back!!

Also, I think you portray Katsuki and his vibes (gremlin vibes and charismatically powerful at the same time) really well in Dragonheart 🐲 and I'd love to read that sports festival meta, and an even more comprehensive meta on Katsuki and Victory.

Believe it or not, superiority complex and inferiority complex are actually the same thing! Perhaps the presentation may be different, but both are complexes revolving around one's personal internalized feelings of inferiority. The superiority complex is just the version where someone hides their feelings of inferiority by putting on a front of superiority. It's when Katsuki's superiority front breaks that his feelings of inferiority rise to the surface and become plain for us to see.

Japan in particular loves referring to certain popular ideas of psychology as complexes in its media lexicon. Whether or not the Japanese-ified term for any psychological concept it co-opts actually means the same thing in the science world is another matter. Often, whenever you here the "-con" suffix moniker in Japanese, it really just means the person or character is obsessed with whatever thing is being discussed. But I believe in MHA they actually call Katsuki's superiority-inferiority complex a "complex" as opposed to just the pop psych name of "-con."

As for Katsuki's arrogance, yes it's most often a strategic front actually. It becomes more evident when he's in battle or danger, and in those situations his arrogant act looks more logical (because you can intimidate your opponents into making bad decisions if they don't know when you're on the ropes--aka bluffing). It's just that he keeps up this act in all social spaces even where most people would let it drop. The message we get is that Katsuki constantly perceives everyone as rivals first and foremost and that the competition to rise to the top never stops for him. You may have realized we're already deep into the "tatemae/honne" discussion again without even having to use those terms. Katsuki's arrogance and attitude and pride are all part of his tatemae persona. Even when everyone around him starts catching onto his softer lovable honne deep down, Katsuki maintains the delinquent tatemae as if it is the "role" he plays in each setting. It's the role in Class 1-A that he occupies (just like Iida is the class president and Momo is the rich girl and Shouto is the cool pretty boy and Mineta is the pervert and Jirou is the rocker and Kaminari is the doofus and...), and this all doubles as a self-aware meta element in MHA because not only are these roles to be played in a social setting, they're roles to be played in a story! They're fictional character traits and tropes for MHA to use and subvert and explore! But the fact that these roles truly play out as tatemae in many cases and that Katsuki occasionally breaks character and we see his kind, caring honne shows the depths to which Horikoshi has thought about these things and used them to flesh out his characters!

Also, I think you portray Katsuki and his vibes (gremlin vibes and charismatically powerful at the same time) really well in Dragonheart 🐲

🥺 Y-y-you do? [wibble] Thank youuuu. I wanna write it again now that he's back. He is my muse. My petty little chihuahua muse.

and I'd love to read that sports festival meta, and an even more comprehensive meta on Katsuki and Victory.

Stay tuned. I'm getting ideas, particularly for how to finally go about doing the former. Someday soon, possibly.

[crusherthedoctor]

What is your most controversial opinion involving each Sonic character?

Here are mine:

Sonic - Despite exhibiting some of the typical speedy snarker hero traits, he’s otherwise a lot more introverted and contemplative than that of the average take on said trope, which includes using his words conservatively. If Sonic is running his mouth off to no end, especially during serious or emotional moments, then the writer doesn’t truly get Sonic.

Tails - Reducing him to Sonic’s yes man does him a disservice and goes against the Adventure character development that I thought fans wanted to see more of.

Knuckles - His role as guardian is important, but he should be allowed to do things beyond how they relate to the Master Emerald or Angel Island.

Amy - I doubt they’d have a full-on ugly breakup, I’m sure they’d remain good friends, but ultimately I can’t see Sonamy working out in the long run.

Shadow - He’s not any more complicated than the other characters, despite his busier backstory. As such, the excuse that he’s too hard to write for is bullshit; the real issue is that writers try to fix what isn’t broken and make him over-emotional in order to appease people who are too attached to their warped perception of Shadow at the expense of the actual Shadow.

Rouge - If you think she’s a bad female character because she wears feminine clothing and “eww why did they give her boobs”, you’ve already missed the point.

Big - Big is simple. Not stupid. Know the difference.

Silver - Neither his canon portrayal nor the Stanley-approved caricature of him are that interesting.

Eggman - Him not having genuine moral standards does not make him one-dimensional (hypocrisy that serves his own ego doesn’t count). And his relationship with Sage is pointless no matter the execution because if it’s portrayed in an evil way, then Sage doesn’t offer anything that Metal Sonic or one of his other recurring robots couldn’t, whereas if it’s portrayed in a wholesome way, then it forces Eggman into an unfitting role out of a misplaced desire to make him more like Bowser.

Metal Sonic - Using his identity crisis to turn him into another forgettable usurper of many is a waste of a good concept. Exploring his delusion while keeping him fanatically loyal to Eggman would be a lot more fascinating and eerie.

Freedom Fighters - They don’t offer anything that isn’t already covered by certain members of the game cast, and when judging them as individual characters, they’re not that superior to the game cast either.

Scourge - He would still be an obnoxious character even if the parody handwave was actually true. Same goes for Vagina Scourge AKA Surge from IDW.

Black Doom - Greatest comic relief in the whole franchise.

[superkooku]

honestly is it just me or do i just think the trope " Greek gods struggling in modern era due to lack of worship" is kinda stupid trope... like even if you dont count pagans

i just feel like the gods would try adapt to modern society and i feel like certain gods like Hermes , Hephaestus or Athena would benefit from it , while some others like Hades , Poseidon or Zeus dont really change that much since their domains are more nature based...

Like I think Hephaestus would be doing really well by the rapid advancement where he has boosted serveral other gods aswell like Hermes because of the internet. Hermes would be racking up so much money from all the side-hustles and delivery services that he ends up really rich because of that. Athena meanwhile could be a lawyer and instead of fighting on battlefield she fights Ares(also a lawyer) over the "evidence"

Thanks for this wonderful ask. I felt very inspired 😄

To me, the gods struggling in our modern world shows a lack of creativity

Because

They're struggling in USA ! Of course ! Let's use an American trope (fantasy being in modern world, fish out of water) in an American setting

Those are gods, inventors of many parts of our daily lives ! You're completely right, they should not struggle to blend in.

In fact, not only would they adapt to the world, they would also shape it.

How more creative would that be to world build an equivalent of our modern earth but with Greek gods having a huge influence. Maybe different countries are more associated to different gods, we could definitely incorporate some elements of history

And also, Greece would definitely be at the center. This is the gods' home country, it's capital has Athena's name, Zeus is from Crete, MOUNT OLYMPUS IS IN GREECE (or the planet Mars lol).

To me, with the gods around, it's impossible to make a world perfectly mirroring ours. They'd fundamentally change everything: no religious wars since there'd be one religion (except if we incorporate them all but it'd be incredibly messy), wars between mortals like in real life but also others that the gods orchestrate.

Festivals honoring them, rituals, various oracles, heroes from different eras. In the wild forest, one could meet nymphs, satyrs, heck even Artemis (naked if you're unlucky). Or stumble onto a dionysian procession.

How could one mix our world's scientific concepts with the magic from the myths ?

Hermes and internet is so simple yet amazing as an example. He'd also revolutionize business in ways that I can't describe because I suck at economy.

Obviously the nature gods (especially Demeter) would be extremely helpful or destructive based on how they're treated. The medicine gods would also make some wonderful discoveries.

Maybe the space exploration would be radically different, i feel Hephaestus would speed run the technological advancements (if he opens himself up to mortals), or maybe other gods do it. How would Helios and Selene react ?

Also, natural disasters will always be recorded as "Some idiot offended a god", because that trend doesn't seem to die out.

(for exp, COVID would happen because some guy vandalized one of Apollo's temples 😂.

Or x earthquake because someone offended Poseidon offended and he's feeling grumpy idk)

Ultimately, giving some mortals aka our counterparts achievements is still important, because they live in this world and still are conscious creatures. But the gods would be superior influences who could change everything based on a simple idea.

There'd be so many cool ideas ! Maybe turning it into a sci-fi Greek mythology themed Earth with heroic OCs ?

Stop making the gods hide from humans because "convention lol" and exploit the idea of their presence. That'd be so much more creative and just fun than the cliche secret fantasy world in USA.

I'm sure @margaretkart could provide a nice addition, since she already mentioned the possibility of modern AUs and new characters. And she'd expand on Greek culture specifically.

[longsightmyth]

what's a book or series that you genuinely love? I'm always seeing your commentary on "not so great" (bad) books (no hate, love ur commentary) but I'd love to know the ones you like best.

Ah tumblr search function you fail us yet again (inexplicable fondness).

"The ones I like best" is a very broad category that I will try to narrow down I guess?

My favorite book of all time remains The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by NK Jemisin. The other books in the trilogy are still excellent (I have yet to read anything by NK Jemisin that is not excellent) but specifically the first book of the inheritance trilogy remains my favorite. Other standouts of hers include the short story The Effluent Engine and the second book of the Dreamblood series, The Shadowed Sun (though, again! I cannot stress enough that I'm not even sure NK Jemisin could write a bad book/story if she wanted to!)

I routinely recommend all of Alyssa Cole's romances: not only are they incredibly inclusive, the characters navigate believable conflicts based around their characterization and not simply Because Of The Plot. Her contemporary romances are some of the few contemporary romances I enjoy: it's not usually my genre, but anything Alyssa Cole writes I will read. Shoutout to her expansion into horror, she's also one of the few authors who will get me to read THAT genre. Standouts include Can't Escape Love (novella), A Duke by Default, and Let It Shine (also a novella). Another author who I cannot stress enough: just go read her entire backlog okay. She's got historical romances in a range of time periods. She's got contemporary romances. She's got horror, god help me.

The other author who can convince me to read horror is T Kingfisher, aka Ursula Vernon. Her fairytale retellings are A+ and always contain horror elements, and she is another author who has yet to write a dud for me. Standouts include Nettle & Bone (NETTLE AND BOOOOOOOOONE), The Raven and the Reindeer, and The Seventh Bride.

Tamora Pierce is sort of a no-brainer here for me. Her books are not always perfect by any means, but they are always progressive for the time they are written and she continues to improve and take feedback into account. Plus you probably owe the existence of your favorite stabby ya lady to her. Tortall owns my heart because I read it first but she has a lovely magic school series in a different world where friendship is literally magic and social commentary the norm.

The Dragonriders of Pern is not for everyone. Much of the sexual politics in the early novels are, as I have discussed elsewhere, outdated, but the books evolved as Anne McCaffrey's understanding did, and there are soulmate dragons and impeccably rendered closed time loops (multiples! Happening at the same time!) and a constant discussion and tension of evolving social norms and the needs of society: at what point does technology become Too Much? Does it at all? What happens when the people in charge stop giving a shit about their responsibilities? Seriously the impeachment plot in Dragonseye/red star rising is nearly prescient. Most of these conflicts originate early on but don't truly come to fruition until later, and please take my word for it and simply don't read the books written by her son. They are bad.

The Witchlands series by Susan Dennard! Tbh I think this series deserves more love than it gets. It's not perfect, it can improve, but that's the thing: it routinely does. Dennard puts time and care into her work from all sides and discusses openly her early and middle mistakes, from a technical level to a 'needing a sensitivity reader' level.

Sarah Rees Brennan! Y'all know I love Sarah Rees Brennan, right? You should. She likes to explore tropes and genre convention and snappy, snappy dialogue. I haven't reread The Lynburn Legacy yet this year, but that's an anomaly. In Other Lands is pretty widely acknowledged as superior portal fantasy, I think. Tell The Wind and Fire was constrained by the book it was retelling and I think suffered for it, but that just means it wasn't as good as I personally think it could have been, not that it wasn't good at all. The Demon's Lexicon trilogy is her first series and yes, okay, it shows a little, but have you ever thought to yourself, hey. What if Supernatural was actually, like. Good. And wanted to actually explore in a thoughtful manner morality and what it means to be a person and nature vs nurture and how complicated your relationships with parents can be. Because if so, go give The Demon's Lexicon a shot.

The Rivers of London! We will excuse magic cops this once because they are specifically *magic* cops and because Nightingale literally fought nazis and Peter is pretty critical of the met in general. These books almost make me like London, and as a bonus Peter is fully aware that King Arthur was Welsh (look this is important to me okay)

Lockwood & Co! I am on the final book now and really enjoying my feral child soldier ghosthunters. I want to give them all soup. I want to wrap them all in blankets. My inexplicable attraction to the actor playing Kipps in the show is irrelevant to book enjoyment but I am still flabbergasted, by all accounts it doesn't make sense.

The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold is space opera. I love it. I admittedly love the Cordelia and Ekaterin novels most, but that is a matter of my eternal love for ladies who are generally nice but willing to fuck shit up, they're all good.

Artemis Fowl! Criminal mastermind child WHO JUST NEEDS FRIENDS OH MY GOD. I cried at the end of the third book. It's fine! We're all fine! Colfer does an excellent job of portraying the fairies as having a culture different from ours with real reasons that they haven't taken over the world, and if you don't love Holly you're wrong.

I have more but I'll stop here for now I guess. Whoops.

[muthaz-rapapa]

Hirogaru Sky Impressions (2/5)

Full starting team now assembled. Yay~!

That said, I'm going to keep this "short" as I'm not feeling well. Also got some other things I need to finish but I can't concentrate on that if I don't get this post done and out of the way first.

Overall, the season is continuing to be a very delightful watch. I'm pleased with the pacing and that the writers are diligent about not giving away too much of the main plot just yet. There will be a proper time to dive into that later.

In the meantime, dedicating all the fillers to further fleshing out the Cures and building their team rapport and bonds with each other are exactly what we should always see from Precure.

Sora certainly holds the MC role the most prominently out of all her friends since her arc is tied closely to the main plot. So it's just a matter of waiting until the story returns to that for her arc to move forward. Namely, the reason behind the conflict between Skyland and the Undergu Empire (aka this season's lore), what Ellee-chan's significance is in the grand scheme of things and where the hell Captain Shalala is.

Though I think most of us have already theorized that her sudden disappearance is a setup for the eventual reveal that she is actually in league with the villains and will re-emerge as the third general. Or perhaps even the big bad boss because c'mon, you don't hire a veteran seiyuu like Mitsuki Saiga for only two or so episodes and call it a day.

Villain roles are mostly performed by well-established seiyuu in the industry so we can definitely expect Shalala to return in a fashion that would shake Sora's core beliefs (i.e. the broken pedestal trope). Which will then push her to re-evaluate what it means to be a true hero and come back even stronger after recovering from the shock.

On another note, I have my doubts whether Shalala is really the boss because the superior we heard Kabaton conversing with in ep 11 is actually voiced by Takako Honda, another veteran, and not Mitsuki Saiga.

...maybe Shalala is playing a double agent in order to get close to the Undergu leader and get rid of the threat once and for all that way?

Possible. But we don't have enough clues or evidence to confirm that yet so we'll just have to wait.

On another note, I like that they're doing something new again with this season by having the villain generals retire from their post right after their last defeat. Not sure if Kabaton will return as an ally in later episodes or not but it was heartwarming to see him turn over a new leaf and aim for a new and better purpose after he's been spared from death.

Back to the Cures.

Sora and Mashiro's friendship is just beautiful to behold. Thanks to Sora's arc being set aside for the moment, there's more time to focus on developing their relationship. Noticeably, it's during these fillers that Sora has increasingly become the one to support Mashiro rather than the other way around while Mashiro takes her own lead in finding her own path and discovering what she wants to do and what her dreams are (so yes, she isn't a Cure without a personal story arc, that's such a relief!).

Their partnership is quite balanced in that respect and I couldn't be happier.

Adding onto it, they're continuing to pay tribute to the original Futari Wa pair through Sora and Mashiro this way without disrupting the team camaraderie which is also a plus.

Tsubasa and Ageha as the beta pair provide very fun interactions, too, and I think I favor them over Sora and Mashiro. Whereas Sora and Mashiro are best friends who strive to do their best for each other, Tsubasa and Ageha have a more sibling dynamic between them with all the fond teasing and nagging.

The only complaint I have about them is their duo attack.

I mean yea, Wing looks so cool in his phoenix form (I'm calling it that, you can't stop me) but that shouldn't be a trade off for Butterfly getting all the lines while he becomes her nuclear pudgy mount.

I'm afraid that for all the progressiveness Toei has shown with HiroSky, they're still too chicken to go the full mile with the changes they implemented just yet.

We took two steps forward by finally including a male member to the main team...but took one step back with them still placing more importance on the girl cuz it's easier to sell her than the boy when their positions should be equal.

Granted, it's just one stock footage that only lasts about a minute but...it just bugs me, that's all.

That said, Butterfly's debut was omg, so awesome?!

The whole transformation sequence captured Ageha's vivacious personality perfectly.

She was already more than qualified to become Precure with her natural confidence and heroic drive. To see her slip right into the call like a duck taking to water (or er, a butterfly to the air) and then proceed to kick utter ass in her alter ego form...

Absolutely WONDERFUL.

I also love that though they constantly refer to Ageha as an adult and regularly show her dedication to her studies and jobs, they don't let her duties be the only things that define her.

Yes, she is mature and responsible but she's also living her best life and enjoying herself right now. She's interested in fashion, make up and has other personal interests outside her aspirations. She looks out for the kids who are younger than her while also having fun alongside them.

Yes, she's 18 and still in her youth but the point about Ageha/Butterfly's character is that there's no limit on choosing what you want for yourself. Just like how gender should not be an obstacle to becoming a magical girl (the metaphor for one's dreams and wishes), age shouldn't be one either.

Wear the accessories you want, pursue the hobbies you like, dance and sing without a care in the world.

As long as you're not hurting anyone, do what you find is fulfilling for you and do it without shame. You can be 30, 50, or 80 years old and that shouldn't matter in loving what you love.

Be like Ageha.

Act your age but don't be that. Be yourself foremost.

And that's all for now, I guess.

I suspect that midseason Cure debut will happen sometime before ep 30 so that we can have the ultimate forms + whole group power up attack around ep 40.

And then the remaining 8 episodes will center more or less around the main plot.

K, bye for now.

[honeycreammilkshake]

That analysis about Sukuna and Gojo is SO good. I actually think they are really jealous that we love Sukuna even at his lowest. Also, why are they blaming Gege saying he treated Gojo like a tool? Isn't that what his fans do with him? Like, 90% of the discussion about him is his fight with Sukuna. Like, they NEED that fight, it's like Gojo stops existing without it

I'll tell you what, Sukuna can lose 100 fights that he will still be a character, maybe Gojo can't do that if he basically disappears unless they need to convince themselves Gojo won and how important that fight is. It's amazing how a lot of Sukuna fans don't even want that fight anymore while I saw even gojo stans begging sukuna stans to recognize that fight. Myself? I wish it never happened. Let gojo die to those supposed superior villains (aka didn't kill gojo) gojo stans say, but everytime you say "ok then Gojo should have fought Mahito or Kenjaku, never Sukuna!" They just get triggered and say NO, PLEASE, THE FIGHT WITH SUKUNA SHOULD HAPPEN

See? Now I really hope sukuna comes back and gojo doesn't. I'm sorry, but I have never been THIS tired of a fandom, and I have been in Naruto and other fandoms with shipping wars and everything, but that was never as BAD as this.

Leave Sukuna alone, not my fault he doesn't need Gojo to be a character, sorry

gooooood morning, anon. i'm so glad i woke up to this because i spent a lot of time thinking about that gojo vs sukuna last night.

i have noticed that a lot of people hate that gojo is a "tool" in the manga and yet their own headcanons about him are always that he should have to fight sukuna and win. notice that they always want gojo to win, which is never easy in a fight with sukuna. it's a lot of hard work. but besides that, wanting a character to do only one thing and have it go with only one outcome, that's about as one-dimensional as you can get with that character. they literally only want one thing to come from gojo going into that fight, and that's no better than gege treating him like a tool as they claim.

because even if they want gojo to be this complex and fascinating character (ngl i feel like a lot of his personality traits are a bit like filler - he's just a mix of all the fan favorite and common tropes of other anime mentors with some backstory to stir it all together) him only doing one thing ever (winning) is so boring and doesn't do his character justice at all. and the fans who hate on gege can't really see that.

meanwhile, sukuna is more than capable of being a strong character who can have multiple different outcomes, and not all of them have to be him winning. in fact, some of his best moments are when he has to work harder or reconfigure a different plan. it always make him more complex and interesting.

so that's why sukuna winning made since while gojo winning didn't. because sukuna actually had a plan in motion, he wasn't cheating or being fake because he needed to possess megumi to reach that level of power (he didn't even have all 20 fingers so him making up for the lack of it by possessing megumi was an intelligent move on so many different levels) and his unique cursed techniques and longtime experience made him an inherently better fighter than gojo. now i could care less if their positions were reversed and gojo was the one who had a lot more experience fighting, because it doesn't matter when sukuna actually does his best to learn from others and improve his abilities as he goes along. meanwhile, a lot of fans just want gojo to be powerful and not have to take a lesson from others in order to reach it.

another thing is, gojo was born the strongest and given so much wealth and special treatment. even if the jjk world only wanted to use him as a tool (which, cmon, they do to every sorcerer - the whole point of sorcerers is to serve as tools that restabilize the imbalances of power, even Geto's character understood they were all just cogs) gojo still had a lot of privileges and second chances given to him that not a lot of other characters could afford to have.

and idk if we can really confirm this or not, but sukuna seems to have a totally different experience, one where he was immediately shunned by the normal world and only seen as a force of strength for other sorcerers to test their skills against. i don't think anyone took ending sukuna's reign of terror that seriously, they only wanted to claim the title of being the strongest. not only that, so much about sukuna is still a mystery or very layered, mostly him being contradicting (especially where yuuji is concerned) and not revealing his past.

this turned out to be longer than i thought it would, but yeah... it's been on my mind a lot. gojo's character served a purpose when he died. not only did it show how much of a pure threat sukuna is (even if all that power wasn't inherently his own, it still shows he's good at coming up with plans that counterbalance his other weaknesses) but it also showed us how gojo's character can be seen in an entirely different light: someone who lost. he always thought he could win anything, but him dying showed a different side to him, because he even looked peaceful during death.

and if he comes back, fans don't realize it would mean that afterlife scene with geto would be simply meaningless. they adore stsg so much so i'm actually surprised that they want gojo to come back to life, bc it would mean leaving geto behind. makes no sense to me.

anyways, thanks for sharing your thoughts with me, anon. i hope this day goes well for you!