#and I kinda struggle with finding books i'm interest in

[poirot]

anyone has book recs for me, I'm desperate (preferably less than 300 pages, no romance, no ya lit, nothing that includes torture scenes of any sort ; I like gothic fiction, classic child lit, classic lit in general, whodunits, i'm open to everything tho I say after asking for something very specific LOL)

[welcometogrouchland]

KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE

[solxamber]

I wonder how would everyone in twst deal with shapeshifter!reader that shapeshifts according to the emotions they feel, kinda like penny from amazing world of gumball (mouse for fear, Medusa if they are angry, dragon when furious, etc.)

Shapeshifter! Reader shifts according to emotions

hi! thank you for the request, I'm not familiar with amazing world of gumball so if this is not what you wanted, you can let me know <3

Riddle Rosehearts

At first, he’s baffled by your transformations. When he catches you breaking a rule, and you suddenly shrink into a mouse out of fear, he goes redder than his own dorm’s color scheme. “This isn’t in the rule book!” he shouts, trying to keep a straight face while pointing at your tiny, squeaking form. "Get back here! I wasn’t that scary!"

Ace Trappola:

"This is hilarious!" Ace cackles when you transform into a chicken after a jump scare prank he pulls. "Every time you freak out, I’m gonna get free eggs!" He starts carrying around a list of emotions and their potential animal counterparts just to mess with you. He’s particularly fond of when you turn into something inconvenient at the worst moments.

Deuce Spade:

He panics when you become a snake after he accidentally insults you. "W-Wait, I didn’t mean to offend you! I swear I respect you!" Deuce waves his arms frantically, but the snake version of you doesn’t look impressed. Eventually, he ends up apologizing to a tree you slithered up, hoping for forgiveness.

Cater Diamond:

"Oh my Sevens, this is prime Magicam content!" Cater says, snapping pictures every time you transform. “You’re a walking meme factory!” He probably starts a hashtag dedicated to your transformations: #EmoshiftGoals. No matter the situation, he’s there to document your form, even if you’re a giant octopus stuck in a doorway.

Trey Clover:

Trey is unphased, which only makes it worse. "You’re a dragon, huh? Well, would you still like some pastries?" He offers you a cupcake while you’re snarling as a massive fire-breathing lizard. Somehow, his calm demeanor just makes you feel more ridiculous, and you shapeshift back out of sheer embarrassment.

Leona Kingscholar:

He’s absolutely done with it when you shapeshift into something large and ridiculous, like a lion that rivals him in size. "Seriously? That’s how you deal with anger?" he mutters, throwing an arm over his eyes and turning away. “You’re going to destroy the dorm, herbivore. Quit roaring at me before I kick you out.���

Ruggie Bucchi:

Ruggie sees dollar signs whenever you transform. “Yo, if you turn into a rare animal, I can sell tickets!” He’s already plotting ways to exploit your shapeshifting for his own gain, offering to “protect” you in exchange for some madols. You’re too busy struggling not to turn into a weasel from frustration.

Jack Howl:

He respects your ability, but he’s mildly concerned when you shift into a rhino after a workout, clearly overwhelmed by how sore you are. "Hey, I get the effort, but don’t take down the gym equipment with your horns," Jack warns, not knowing how to help while you smash everything in sight. It’s all part of “getting swole,” right?

Azul Ashengrotto:

He’s actually kind of jealous of your ability. When you transform into something like a Medusa during a heated negotiation, Azul’s glasses slip down his nose. “Let’s keep calm, shall we?” he says nervously, trying to maintain his cool. He starts drafting up a contract for your transformation abilities, hoping to exploit your forms to boost the Monstro Lounge’s appeal.

Jade Leech:

Fascinated. When you shift into a giant squid out of excitement for finding a rare mushroom with him, Jade’s eyes gleam with interest. “How intriguing... I wonder if your emotions could inspire even rarer forms.” He offers you “stimulating” experiences to study your shapeshifting, but he’s just looking for an excuse to see your dragon form again.

Floyd Leech:

He’s your biggest fan. Every time you shift into something, Floyd is there, demanding to “see the big one” — aka your dragon form. “Come on, let me fight ya while you’re a dragon! It’ll be fun!” You’d think being a massive fire-breathing lizard would scare him, but nope. He’s more excited.

Kalim Al-Asim:

Kalim finds your ability endlessly fun. “Whoa, you’re a parrot now! That’s amazing!” He just claps and laughs every time you transform, not even fazed when you accidentally turn into a giant elephant during a banquet. “This is the best party ever!” He starts planning parties around your emotions just to see what you turn into next.

Jamil Viper:

Jamil’s patience is tested when you shapeshift into an overly dramatic form every time you get slightly annoyed. You turn into a cobra when he criticizes your cooking, and he sighs, rubbing his temples. "I don’t have time to deal with this. Can’t you at least stay human for five minutes?" You hiss in reply.

Vil Schoenheit:

Vil’s irritation reaches an all-time high when he realizes you can shapeshift into ethereal, otherworldly beings, making even him feel average. The moment you turn into an angelic being, radiating beauty, he stares in stunned silence before murmuring, "I’m not envious... but perhaps you could tone it down? You’re stealing the spotlight."

Rook Hunt:

Obsessed. Rook is utterly captivated by your ability and considers it a masterpiece of emotional expression. "Magnifique!" he exclaims every time you transform, sketchbook in hand. He spends hours praising your forms in flowery French, even when you’re just a tiny bunny hiding in a corner from Vil’s glare.

Epel Felmier:

Epel is torn between awe and jealousy when you become a giant bear in a fit of anger. “Dang it, I wanna be that big!” He tries to rile you up just to see your more fearsome forms, hoping to get some tips on how to be more intimidating. When you become a giant stag beetle, he’s both inspired and a little scared.

Idia Shroud:

Idia’s both fascinated and terrified by your shapeshifting. “You’re basically a walking, talking MMORPG character with transformation hacks,” he mutters, eyes wide as you morph into a Cerberus when angry. He pulls out his tablet, muttering, "Okay, let’s not piss them off anymore, or it’s game over for me."

Ortho Shroud:

Ortho, on the other hand, is super excited about your ability. “Brother! They’ve turned into a griffin! How cool is that?” He scans you with his sensors and starts rattling off facts about your transformations like a walking encyclopedia. He keeps asking for data on each shift, even if you’re currently a three-headed dog chewing through a chair.

Malleus Draconia:

Malleus is unsurprisingly unfazed. “Ah, you’ve become a dragon,” he muses when you turn into a fearsome beast out of fury. "How... nostalgic." He gives you pointers on how to properly roar and fly, treating your transformation as a normal Tuesday. “Let me know if you’d like some pointers on being a more regal dragon.”

Lilia Vanrouge:

Lilia finds it hilarious when you shapeshift uncontrollably. "Ah, such youthful vigor!" he says, clapping as you morph into a bat out of anxiety. He starts comparing your forms to his own transformations, occasionally pranking you just to see what you’ll turn into. When you become a spider, he dangles from the ceiling, poking fun at your eight legs.

Sebek Zigvolt:

Sebek yells in disbelief whenever you turn into anything he deems less than “worthy.” “You turned into a sheep? Preposterous! That’s no form for someone in the presence of Lord Malleus!” But when you shift into a dragon, he practically throws himself at your feet. “At last! A proper transformation!”

Silver:

Silver just... naps through most of your transformations. You could be a raging tiger, and he’d probably sleep through it. When he wakes up and finds you in some new form, he just rubs his eyes and says, “Oh, you’re a phoenix now? That’s cool,” before falling asleep again.

Crowley: "This is a rare magical ability!" Crowley says, trying to use your talents to bolster the school's reputation. He wants you to shapeshift during big events, but every time you’re stressed, you turn into a giant tortoise and refuse to move. He’s not thrilled.

Trein: He lectures you on controlling your emotions to prevent transformations, but even he’s secretly amused when you turn into a kitten after falling asleep in his class. He just sighs and lets you nap on the desk.

Crewel: When you shift into a ferocious wolf during an argument, Crewel just nods approvingly. "Good, good. Use that tenacity!" He’s secretly proud of your feral forms but won’t admit it outright.

Vargas: “A shapeshifter, huh?” Vargas immediately makes you part of every athletic event, hoping you’ll turn into something big and fast. When you become a cheetah, he practically cheers. “That’s what I like to see! Speed and power! Keep it up!" He starts using your transformations as a benchmark for the rest of the class, causing you to shift into an armadillo out of sheer stress from his overenthusiasm.

Rollo Flamme:

Rollo: He tries to maintain his usual calm and collected demeanor, but every time you shapeshift into something bizarre like a raven when you’re feeling anxious around him, he gets increasingly frustrated. “This is not an excuse for chaos,” he mutters through gritted teeth. But when you morph into a seraphim in a fit of anger, glowing and majestic, Rollo's attitude shifts to discomfort mixed with awe. “We need... order, not divine intervention.”

Masterlist

[hxney-lemcn]

Late Night Chaos — Daisuke x gn! reader

summery: getting a much needed break, you find yourself getting scolded by Jimmy. you vent to Daisuke about it when he finally finishes his tasks.

tw: Jimmy 🤢

a/n: idk how to continue this, should I follow the event of the game (unbearable angst), or try and make it end happier?? If I do the second one I kinda feel like I'm ruining the point of the game tho...

wc: 1.4k

Master List

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five | Part Six | Part Seven | Part Eight | Part Nine

You had started to regret your confession already. You thought confessing was supposed to fix everything, so why did your gooey, icky feelings grow ten times worse? It was honestly comical seeing you glower everytime Daisuke gave you an ounce of affection. It even made Swansea internally chuckle at the sight. Even though it seems you were regretting all your life actions, you were honestly just trying to get used to your heart fluttering and your stomach twisting into knots. It was all odd and new, and you were a bit scared that this was all too good to be true. 

You were also trying to get used to the disgusting, adoring thoughts. You had become a lovesick fool and you weren’t sure what to make of it. You wanted to hug Daisuke? Ew. You wished to cuddle him at night? Disgusting. God forbid, you wanted to kiss him? Toss yourself in the trash. Yeah…you were struggling to accept that thinking those things were okay, and being vulnerable enough to speak your wants aloud. Daisuke, on the other hand, seemed like everything was right as rain. Like loving you came naturally to him. It made your skin crawl. 

Tilting your head back, you let the warm water drown your thoughts. Your brain wouldn’t let you catch a break, couldn’t you think about something else for a second? Like that book you’ve been reading? When you brought it with you it had been all the rage, but you can’t understand the hype. Sure you were only halfway done, but the main love interest was the worst person ever, how could anyone get behind him? He literally threatens to kill the protags family, basically kidnaps her, and you’re assuming she's going to ‘find the good in him’ and they ‘live happily ever after’. Unfortunately, you had to tough it out as you could only bring so many books for entertainment. Hopefully they turn the plot around and prove you wrong. Perhaps the protag actually fights back somehow or tricks the guy into thinking she’s fallen for him only to stab him in the back. Now that? You could get behind. 

Yeah, you need to finish that, you’ve been so preoccupied with work and Daisuke you haven't had much time for yourself. Shutting the water off, you dried yourself off and put on casual clothes. You’d finished your chores early, giving you a much needed break. Walking towards the sleeping quarters, you were simply minding your own business when a rude voice made you snap to attention. 

“The hell do you think you’re doing?” Jimmy’s harsh voice growled out. Looking to your right, you noticed it was only the two of you in the hall, and he was glaring right at you. You blinked in confusion, not able to get a word out before he continued. “Do you know how much more shit needs to be done? Of course Anya just lets you do whatever the hell you want, huh? Good for nothing brat. I gotta get everything done around here.” 

You couldn’t stop the sneer that settled over your face, gazing at the middle aged man with disgust. Who the hell does he think he is? You had spent the most of your trip ignoring the other, you thought it was a mutual avoidance thing. You had a feeling there wasn’t much for either of you to talk about, and he seemed standoffish anyways, but this? You hadn’t expected him to lash out at you. And for getting a break of all things. And wait, not even just that, he was blaming Anya too? 

You couldn’t even defend yourself before he stormed off, grumbling about something or another. Who the hell pissed in his cheerios? Well…okay, odd encounter. You did your best to shrug it off, continuing to your room, but something was bugging you. Just what exactly made him so aggravated? Not like you actually cared, he probably deserved whatever it was if he acts like that to someone he barely knows. 

Whatever, you have a book that needs to be finished. That’s all that mattered at the moment.

…

You had become so engrossed in the story, you nearly missed the knock on your door. Glancing up, you shouted a quick come in, not wanting to lose your place. You were so close to finishing already, and the plot had picked up from where you left off. It wasn’t as bad as the start, the author had started as a cliche and averted the readers expectations, slowly turning the story into a revenge plot. Chefs kiss, seven out of ten so far, and if the ending was as good as everyone said it was, then perhaps that rating will go up.

Daisuke joined you on the bed, head popping over your shoulder and eyeing the book, “Good book?”

“Mhm,” You nodded, setting it on your lap but keeping your place with your finger. Your skin tingled as he wrapped an arm around your waist, pulling you closer to him and resting his head on your shoulder. Your heart skipped a beat, but the fluttering in your stomach had dulled somewhat. That wasn’t a bad thing per say. Actually it brought you a sense of relief, you were growing used to his affection. Not taking it for granted or anything, but finding comfort in it instead of tension. To be fair, it was easier for you to accept it when it was just the two of you, no peering eyes of judgment to make you overthink your actions. Just the two of you enjoying the other’s presence. 

“You should read it to me, I like hearing your voice.” He murmured, nuzzling into your neck. Okay now he ruined it as it felt like sparks going off under your skin, heat crawling up your face, shoulders tensing in just the slightest. How could he say that so simply? Like it wasn’t a life changing statement? 

“O-okay,” You agreed, trying your hardest to keep your voice from wavering (and failing). Dog earring the page you left on (a crime, but you were too cheap to buy bookmarks), you turned to the first page, pausing before starting. “How was your day?” Sure, he had become more touchy after you officially started dating, but he seemed a bit more so at the moment.

“It was fine,” Daisuke shrugged, his warm breath heating your neck and causing your hair to stand on end. The fact that you were touch starved was clearly showing. “Keep messing up but that’s just normal.”

“I’m sure you’ll get it eventually,” You replied, reaching back and messing with his hair. You weren’t sure why you did it, it just seemed like the right thing to do, and the fact that he leaned into your touch seemed to validate that thought. “Being a mechanic isn’t easy, not to mention you do a lot of the electric work too.”

“Yeah,” He sighed, eyes fluttering shut for a brief moment. “How was yours?”

“Not too bad,” You replied, slowly melting into the brunette’s touch. “Got done early, but…well, I guess something happened.” Daisuke hummed, waiting for you to continue. “Jimmy exploded for no reason, going off about how he’s gotta do everything around the ship.”

“Huh?” Daisuke looked confused and annoyed, pulling away slightly to share a look with you. “What about the Captain or hell, even Swansea does a lot.”

“I know right!” You exclaimed, turning around in his arms slightly, dropping the book off to the side. “Not to mention Anya’s the only one holding us all together.” 

“Exactly,” Daisuke nodded enthusiastically. “Not to mention you do all the small stuff so the others can focus on their bigger tasks. Keeping the ship running smoothly and all that.”

“You too,” argued. “You’re learning a lot every day, and sure you may mess up from time to time, but at the end of the day you’re doing a lot. And you keep the ship from being a dull, boring routine of madness.”

His smile turned tender, squeezing you gently, “You’re right, without me you’d have no one to cuddle with.” 

Once again you found yourself scowling, “You say that like it's a necessity.” It seemed you and deflection went hand in hand. 

“I dunno,” He chuckled, lucky for you he found it adorable whenever you scrunch your face like that. “I’m not sure how I survived so long without you in my arms.” 

“You’re so cheesy,” You groaned, draping your entire weight on him, the both of you falling onto the bed. 

“And you love it.”

You hated that he was right.

[bogkeep]

'history of the hour' is honestly a great book and i'm so pleased i got myself a copy of it. it IS dense, but it's pretty readable even to me, who routinely struggles to absorb and comprehend academic texts. might be that it just hits a perfect spot for a very specific area of my interests (the evolution of how we read time)!

ANYWAY there is a section in the medieval hours chapter that i find very amusing called "some misconceptions". here gerhard dohrn-van rossum drags three other historians for claiming that benedictine monasteries were "the founders of modern capitalism" and playing up how machine-like and precisely ruled by the iron grip of Clocks monastery life was, when all evidence suggests that the monks were kinda chill about it and more about the Rhythms Of The Day rather than The Exact Hour.

"all three authors fail to distinguish between alarm devices, mechanical clocks, and striking clocks." scathing.

[moghedien]

obviously there are a bunch of issues with the MCU and I'm not gonna sit here and try to convince everyone that MCU movies are cinema or whatever so don't get what I'm gonna say twisted. I do find their kinda mainstay in cultural media and the dominance they had to be interesting, especially now in an era where the MCU is undeniably falling off and struggling. just as like a cultural analysis I find that interesting and everyone has their opinions of why it happened.

my opinion/theory on why the MCU just crashed is because they sort of forgot what it means to be telling a comic book story, especially a marvel comic book story. Because I've read thousands of issues of various marvel series at this point, across tons of different eras and events, and the thing that makes them last (which is also a thing that drives me personally crazy and I hate so much) is that the status quo doesn't really change. Or when it does, it lasts for a few arcs or years at most and then gets reverted back to the norm eventually. Like the fact that everything is pointless and nothing is a risk is something I loathe, but it is admittedly what keeps them going. If someone just got into comics, they can pick up a modern issue and expect to find Spider-man or Captain America or whoever. They may be introduced to new characters, but the big ones will show up eventually.

And after the last Avengers movie, like half of the mainstay cast are just gone. Which as someone who likes good stories, I think is a good opportunity (which is arguably being wasted but idk I haven't watched any MCU thing in years) to actually shake things up and develop characters that mainstream people are less familiar with and give them a chance to shine and tell interesting stories. But that's not why people like marvel comics.

People like marvel comics because if they want to read about Iron Man, they can pick up any random issue about Iron Man and it will most likely be the Iron Man they know. People like the status quo, and Marvel has never been high literature and has always basically been pulp storytelling, and it gave people status quo and familiarity. And I think Marvel Studios figured this out waaayyy too late.

Because if Marvel actually understood what people like about the comics, they would have embraced recasting major roles from the start. They wouldn't have tied characters' identities so strongly to their actors and would have made it clear that characters can and will continue on with different faces. There is no reason why Tony Stark needs to be RDJ or Steve Rogers needs to be Chris Evans. They would have had plans to not write these characters out of existance the second actors wanted to exit or died or were fired or any of the various reason why actors are no longer involved with the MCU. Hell they had precedent. They didn't have a problem replacing Terrence Howard with Don Cheadle, who are very different looking people who give very different performances, but we know why they felt ok with that recasting but won't recast any of their boys named Chris...

Anyway it seems like they realized that general audiences don't actually like change if its permanent and are learning the wrong lessons with the Doom casting nonsense and the fact that they seem to keep changing what the new story is to fit what they think audiences want.

I'm fine with the MCU dying off and its probably better for media that it does, but again I'm just kinda interested in the fumble from like an objective standpoint because it seemed like they just locked themselves into eventual failure in such a stupid way. Like they could have told the same safe representative Avengers storylines for decades and wouldn't have a meltdown every time an actor in a major role needed to be removed from production if they just accepted that people would be recast as needed. It would be worse for actors and it would be worse for movies in general probably, but it would have kept the MCU churning out pulp like the comics do to this day. But now people are realizing its not just pulp but pulp they don't want and its gonna kill the MCU eventually.

[seungkwanniee]

TAKE CARE OF ME , I'LL BREAK

pairings : boyfriend!seungkwan x gn!reader

genre : angst

warnings : (episodic) depression , mention of starving , crying , reader is said to have pale skin , naked body (completely inncoent)

wc : 1.6k

synopsis : just you struggling mentally and Seungkwan is by your side

an : if don't know what episodic depression is, its basically depression but that come and go in period that can last weeks or months. !!!please, don't read if you are not comfortable with this kinda of topic!!! I hate the ending but I got tired of writing more...

〔masterlist〕

Seungkwan always know when something is off: he tends to look alot, especially when it comes 'bout you, he looks at every single move and can detect how you are feeling like you are an open book, which it's kinda like that for him. It's so easy to read throught the lines and since you two spend a lot of time toghter, even though he still lives with his roomate Jeonghan and you have your own apartment, he know your habits. You love to have your house all clean, every object at their own place, he even calls you crazy because, yes, maybe you care about it way too much. Sure you never been a lover of hanging out, you enjoyed more inside dates but you would never say no to him and his park dates, especially the long walks near the river talking about everything and nothing.

Now everything is gone: suddently, within a few days, you don't even leave the bed. The house is getting messier day by day, your bedroom floor was covered with clothes you don't have the energy to put back on the wardrobe that stands open since the last time you leaved the house. Some plates and glasses are laying on the desk or on the sidetable, dirty from the little amount of food you managed to eat. The rest of the house was like no one lived here, untouched, like no one putted feet on for a long time and it wasn't wrong at all since you leaved the bed just to not starve yourself completely. Your sleep schedule was insane too, you managed to sleep even for 13 hours straight and you still don't know how you've done that.

Everything was boring and plain, nothing interested you anymore, nothing had your attention. All you do was scrolling on tiktok, instagram or watch video on youtube that you drop not even after five minutes because they were boring as well. Responding to the messages wasn't even an option, the group chat was exploding with messages you don't open since the last four days. Your bestfriend wondering where have you been, and maybe she was gettin lil' angry too but, by now, you would care less. The most important thing was your boyfriend, the only person you managed to text a little two days ago.

<i'm not doing well>

That was everything your fingers succeed to write after you brain told you he was tired and leaved him on read. You know he wasn't angry, he knew everything and there was no reason to get upset at you but you can't help the tears running down the side of your cheeks while your eyes kept staring at the phone riniging. Your body deep down wanted to touch that stupid screen but your brain wasn't in you side once again, you just couldn't do anything like you were paralyzed. You were barely crying, no sobs were coming out from your mouth, just few tears staining your cheeks. You were crying, yes because you weren't answering the person who cared about you the most and making him worry over nothing, but you felt so useless. You were pity, you were pity of youself, how someone can arrive to this state? how you arrived to this state?

You knew that it's something that will appear again and again, but what worries you the most is that you'll never know when. A day you can be the most energetic person then the next day you wake up and you struggle to leave the bed, just 'wanting to sleep a little bit more', and then you find yourself doing nothing all day, and the day after, and the day after again. The difference was that this time you didn't had Seungkwan by your side since he was doing a world tour with his bandmates, with still four days to go. He always knew what to do in these situation, he knew how to make you leave the bed and having a shower, he would prepare a special dinner and eat it with you, he would sleep by your side in the messiest room ever. He was like you second mother, like when you were kid and had got a fever, he made everything a little lighter to deal with.

It was the frist time dealing with it all alone since you got diagnosed and you thought it would be a never ending circle.

[days after]

<love?> a sudden voice fills the soundless house, Seungkwan isn't really waiting for an answer because he knows you are mentally drained, it would just overwhelms you trying to do something that you can't really do in that moment. You were actually asleep in your room, once again that week, but at least it takes you away from the reality. It wasn't bad that you couldn't stop crying or something like that, it was just so empty. The emptiness of your mind was driving you so insane, it was like living for days, all alone in an empty white room.

The soft touch on your cheeks made you slightly jolt, but as you slowly open your eyelinds and flutter your eyelashes you already know who is the person in front of you. His smell is strong and recognizable even after few weeks you didn't saw him, his finger still tracing softly your pale skin that didn't touched sun for days, on his face a hint of a smile but from his eyes it was visible his concern for you. As soon as they landed back to Korea, he sprinted to your apartment that even his luggage were still with him, but he can't help but to be mad morried. He didn't heard from you for almost a week, and he was glad that this happened now, when the tour was almost over and didn't had to wait more.

He wasn't going to say it but your whole room smelled, and the frist thing was you so he istantly grabbed the situation on his hands.

<you feel like talking right now?> he tilt his head to look at your laying on that cushion for how long he didn't even wanted to know, the only thing that mattered to him wss you were now safe under him. When he recives a shake of head back, he nods <it's okay> his smile was wrapping your heart slowly.

<do you think you can stand up? i'm gonna give you a bath, don't you think you deserve it, babe?>

his voice was sweet like honey and so soft that just by that he could warm you up. You stared blankly to his eyes just thinking how can someone can be so sweet, how someone actually cared about you, how he would probably do everything for you that you actually forgot to give him a proper answer, as he can't read your memory yet.

<i'm lazy> was everything that came out of your mouth before adjusting your position to sit more comfortable. His brown eyes were stuck in yours, while his hands started to wandering more now. His thumbs were tracing your cheeks at frist when they slowly made their way to your nose, your warm lips to just to end up into your hair. His expert hands grabbed your pink hair tie to let down your hair that by now theu must be very tangled togheter: you even forgot the last time you messed with your hair, they just sitted here in the messy bun.

<i'll do everything as we always do, mh? you just need to relax under my touch> he moved out of the way the few lock of hair bothering your face after gently grabbing your shoulder, stopping your back from laying on the bed. As you sit down the bed his hands lowered until they met your hands too and then looking into your eyes, trying to give you the strength to move your ass from that mattress that was asking for mercy.

Unexpectedly, your arm wrap his neck, making him lower to your height when a soft kiss is placed on his pink lips. You missed everything of him, his sweet scent to his soft touch and maybe that was one of the reasons of your relapse. Everything was going bad since he left for his world tour, unisveristy was getting more stressing day by day and the multipe failed exam were getting on your last nerve, and don't even start with your social life, you were quenstioning about everyone with the work at the resturant as the waiter just adding fuel.

You don't even realize when you arrived into the bathroom, Seungkwan's arms were too comfortable that made you feel completely safe to not worry what you were actually doing. Your legs dangling from your seat while your eyes were lazily observing his moves. He kneels in front of the bath making the warm water fall and fill it, the hand touching the water every now and then to make sure the temperature it's good for your body after he returns all of his attention back to you once again. His hands slowly caresses your thighs while his lips lends on the tip of your nose laying there a soft kiss, his breath was so near your face making you shiver from the warmness it brings to you. You close your eyes for some seconds at the touch after opening them again just to face his smile. He helps you to get rid of your clothes, making him see yourself one hundred percent now. You're completely naked on his eyes, but not just literally speaking, you always show to him your weakest side and he always know how to take care of it, that was all that mattered to him. You dont even need other people when you have Seungkwan by your side: the angel in person.

[yayakoishii]

Picture This | Balam Shichirou x Reader

Fandom: Mairimashita Iruma-kun

Pairing: Balam Shichirou x GN! Reader

Word Count: 2.1k

Genre/Tags: Fluff

Summary: You find out about the kind and gentle Balam Shichirou and meet him with a proposition of your own.

A/n: I have known this demon for 3 episodes and I'm in LOVE;; so I basically got possessed by the sudden urge to write something for him. he's the kindest, the sweetest, the BEST TEACHER EVER 😭 I love teachers like him so much, this was very self-indulgent and kinda just me admiring him hehe... I hope you enjoy this short thing I wrote, even though there's a high chance that he might be slightly ooc since I haven't known him for longer than 3 episodes.

also available on ao3!

The chatter in the class was a low hum as everyone worked on their own worksheets that you had just printed out. The Apocalypse Test was close and as a new teacher at Babyls, you wanted your first results to reflect well. If the results were not good then that would mean you had to work harder as a teacher.

You were walking amongst the students, listening in on their discussions or aiding them in finding where the answer could be found in the textbook. It was an open book, open discussion worksheet solving session and you were pleased with how well the students seemed to be handling it without making too much noise. The abnormal class could be really serious about studying when they put their mind to it, huh?

The bobbing of a blue head caught your attention and you walked closer to Iruma's seat. As always, he was sitting between Alice and Clara but the three of them were referring to their own books. (Except for Clara; you were pretty sure the book in her hand had nothing to do with studying…) The book in Iruma's hand was one you had never seen before but it looked interesting.

"Iruma-kun?" You stopped in front of his desk and looked down at the book curiously. Said boy startled and looked up in panic until he realised it was just you. "Where did you get this book?"

"Oh!" He gave you a warm smile, the kind that always made you smile in return. "Balam-sensei gave it to me because I was… y'know… struggling to understand."

"Can I see it?" You asked, curiosity taking a hold of you. Iruma handed you the book and you leafed through it. Surprisingly, it was a picture book with really easy explanations. Whoever wrote it had your gratitude; these were the kind of books that made learning enjoyable and less daunting. You closed it and looked at the cover to check the author's name. "Huh? Balam Shichirou…? Balam-sensei wrote this book?"

"Yes!" Iruma beamed at you. "He made some of them especially for me."

"That's wonderful," you felt touched even though you had never met the man. When you had aspired to be a teacher, this was the kind of teacher you were aiming for. Somebody who helped even the students who were struggling to understand, from the basics so they could build a stronger structure of knowledge on it. "Is it easier for you to understand this way?"

"It is," Iruma admitted, shyly scratching the back of his neck. You smiled and lightly patted the top of his head, startling the boy a little.

"I'll keep that in mind for my next class," you said. "And while I'm grateful for Balam-sensei… Why didn't you tell me if you were struggling to understand my teaching, Iruma-kun? I would have adjusted for you."

You pouted at him so he knew you weren't seriously mad at him; just a little upset.

"No, no, no!" The boy panicked and shook his hands in a negating gesture. "That's not it, (y/n)-sensei!! I just didn't want to burden you because I was the only one struggling even with your easy explanations… I guess having it in written form like this just helps to remember what you've already taught."

"It's not a burden, Iruma-kun," you reminded him. "It's my job as a teacher to make sure you understand. If you don't understand something, that's my responsibility. If you're worried about being a bother to the rest of the class, you can always come to me after the classes are over to get a quick personalised lesson."

"Eh?" He looked surprised. "Wouldn't that take up your time, sensei?"

"If it helps my students then it's time well spent!"

•

After your classes for the day were done, you asked around the staffroom for where you could find Balam Shichirou. Kalego gave you the directions and you made your way to his office, curious about what kind of person he must be and how he would look. From whatever Iruma had told you, he already sounded like a kind person and a great teacher. You found the door and knocked on it before looking inside.

"Balam-sensei?" You asked. There was a demon with long white hair sitting on a table, writing something down, who startled at your voice. "Can I come in?"

"O- Oh, yes, please!" He seemed a little confused by your presence but you stepped in and closed the door behind yourself. There was an empty stool across the table so you sat down on it. "Um, (y/n)-sensei, would you like some Hell Grey Tea?"

"Oh!" You hadn't expected him to know your name. Suddenly, it felt embarrassing that you had never heard of him before this. "Yes, thank you for the offer, Balam-sensei."

He nodded and got up to make you some. He worked in silence so you took the time to look around his office. The shelves full of books were eye-catching and your hands were already itching to dig into them and read all the unfamiliar volumes. Your eyes drifted over to the book sitting in front of you that Balam was working on. Your eyes widened when you realised it was another picture book, this one on one of the battles that had occured some centuries ago. Your hands moved to check it before you could even think that it would be rude.

"Here you go– oh, you saw my book," Balam placed the tea just out of the way enough so that you wouldn't accidentally bump it. "Do you… like picture books, (y/n)-sensei?"

"Not particularly," you admitted as you skimmed through what was already drawn and written. "But I like to read so picture books are fun too! I suppose I never got much into them because my home was full of textual books and I liked those just fine so I never had any picture books as a kid. I may not know much about them, but this is really well-written, Balam-sensei! You draw so well too."

"Oh," the other demon pinked at your words as he took his seat. "Thank you. I'm glad you like it. I'm making this one for a student but you could borrow a different one if you're interested."

"Ah! That reminds me why I came here," you beamed at him, gently placing the book back where you had picked it up from. "I saw the picture book you gave Iruma-kun in my class today. Our subjects have a small section that overlaps so he was referring to the book you made for him and I couldn't help noticing it. It was truly so easy to understand and it gave me the idea that such a method would be helpful with other subjects too."

"Really?" He seemed surprised by your words but you could tell that he was also touched. "I would like to share them with all the students too, but for some reason, they keep running away when I try to show them my picture books."

"Ah," you leaned back when you realised that you had accidentally leaned over in your excitement. The other teachers in the staffroom had told you about Balam's reputation amongst the students. "I'm sure they would benefit from it. I could share your books with some of my students if that works for you, Balam-sensei. And, if you would be interested, I wanted to try making a picture book explaining my subject too. It's a huge task and I would compensate you accordingly for your time and efforts–"

"You…" If Balam had seemed shocked before, it was nothing compared to his face now. Although his mouth was covered by a metal mask, you could tell from how wide his eyes had gotten. "You want to… make a picture book… with me?"

"Only if you're interested!" You bit your bottom lip nervously. "I personally really liked your books and I thought it would be a great way to learn for the students who have a weaker or slower grasp of understanding. Since I'm not very familiar with the process, I thought it would be amazing if I could have the aid of your experience. I understand if it's a commitment that you don't have the time for, and there's no guarantee that it will work out but I would love to at least try it with you."

"I would love to," Balam uttered softly and even without seeing his mouth, you could tell that he was gently smiling at you with how his eyes curved just so. The sight made your heart unexpectedly quicken and you fidgeted in your seat, picking up the Hell Grey Tea you had forgotten about. "I didn't think any of the other teachers liked me much but I'm very happy that you thought of me when you wanted to try this out."

"I don't think they dislike you, Balam-sensei," you smiled from behind the cup of tea. "But I suppose people just get so caught up in appearances and assumptions. People who have much to hide seem dangerous at first glance and we don't take time to get to know them if we can help it. I admit I might have fallen prey to the same kind of thinking if I hadn't heard about you from Iruma-kun. I could tell you were a kind and wonderful teacher from the way he spoke about you."

Balam's eyes widened and for a second, you thought his eyes seemed glassy. You blinked and the light was gone but Balam's eyes were still the soft shape. Now that you took the time to study his face, you realised he was quite handsome. The thought made you accidentally slam your tea cup down on the table in panic and the ceramic broke, startling the both of you.

"Oh no, I'm so sorry!!" You were flustered but you hurriedly tried to collect the pieces together without hurting yourself. "I'm so clumsy…"

"It's okay," Balam reassured you, coming over to your side to help you pick up some of the pieces. "I'll take them to the trash. Are you hurt?"

"I don't– oh, just a little it seems," you had a very tiny cut from a sharper piece you had picked up. It didn't hurt. You waved it off as you carefully put the pieces you had collected in Balam's large gloved hands. "Nothing to worry about. It will be healed in a day or two. I really am sorry for troubling you, Balam-sensei!"

"I told you, it's fine."

He carefully threw away the trash then returned to you with an ointment from his desk drawer. You had stuck the finger into your mouth to suck at the blood and stop the flow but it felt embarrassing when you realised that Balam was watching you. You hurriedly removed the finger and tried to find a cloth to wipe it off but Balam crouched in front of you and asked for your hand silently. You ended up placing yours in his and watched him carefully pat it off before putting on the ointment.

"Thank you," you blushed fiercely when he was done and still hadn't let go of your hand. In fact, he was now standing up and holding both your arms in his own; the proximity was making your heart beat unnaturally fast. "Um, Balam-sensei..?"

"Yes?" He asked, blinking down at your comparatively smaller form in his arms.

"Y- You can let go of me now," you mumbled. Your words made him stutter and he let go in a panic.

"I- I'm so sorry, I just tend to do that without thinking!" He was blushing too, embarrassed. Balam didn't want to make you uncomfortable after you had been so nice to him. For once, he was actually getting along with someone new. For that matter, you were the one to approach him first! Not to mention, he had found you really beautiful when he had first seen you in the staffroom, laughing at Dali's joke. You hadn't seen him then, but that brief memory flashed in his mind when you softly giggled.

The sound of your laugh made his heart skip a beat. Balam stared at you as you flashed him a warm smile.

"If you wanted to hold me, you could have just asked, Balam-sensei!" You beamed and opened your arms for a hug. "I don't mind you touching me. I was just surprised."

Oh.

Balam's hands twitched for a second, the same nervousness he felt when Iruma tried to touch him popping up. But this time, it felt a bit different. The nervousness in his stomach felt like those fantastical creatures called butterflies that he had read about. His heart seemed to be thumping louder than usual too.

It was only when his larger frame swallowed yours into a gentle grip that he realised. He could feel the outline of your smile against his bicep.

Ah, this was what they called a crush, huh?

°•❀•°

All likes, comments and reblogs are appreciated! ♡

[iamnmbr3]

I think its… kinda of odd and a little uncomfortable how much JK… HATED Draco. idk if it was from the start or maybe as time went on but the more I hear and look into the writing of Draco, regardless of how interesting his struggles were and how well it slowly developed… JK kept writing the narrative and there fore manipulate the audience to hate him. even when he was redeeming himself or at least TRYING to it just... seems odd for a grown woman to hate her own character that much when they were literally written to be a brainwashed misguided child.

Idk if her excuse was that it was totally Harry's perspective and thats why or if it was her own personal opinions about her own character but it's just so.... weird.

I agree. What particularly bothers me is the condescending and sexist and heteronormative remarks she's made about fans of the character and about the actor who played him. She seems to really struggle to cope with anyone reacting to her work in a way different from what she intended. That post on the wizarding world website (originally pottermore) where she said (I'm paraphrasing here) that Draco's fans were just girls who thought Tom Felton was attractive was so disrespectful.

It should go without saying but it's an incredibly sexist comment to assume that women who like a character are just silly girls whose brains fell out because they saw an attractive man. It implies that all his fans are women (not true), that all women are attracted to men (not true) that all female fans attracted to men are attracted to the character or actor (not true) and that female fans who do find the actor or character attractive are somehow lesser or incapable of thinking and analyzing and acknowledging the things Draco did wrong (not true) and that the only reason people who watched the movies responded to the character was because of Tom Felton's looks not his acting ability (not true). All these things are both untrue and offensive to suggest. For someone who claims to fight against sexism she sure spends a lot of time repeating sexist narratives. Maybe instead of attacking trans people she could work on her own sexism...

And yeah I genuinely don't understand why she seems mystified that people would view Draco differently than they view an unrepentant Death Eater like Bellatrix Lestrange when SHE is the one who wrote him the way she did. She could've made him love being a Death Eater but she didn't. And then she got mad when people reacted to that distinction. I've got something in my drafts somewhere going through the post on Wizarding World (formerly Pottermore) that she wrote about him because she gives even more (actually pretty cool) details about how Draco changed postwar and abandoned his previous beliefs...and then goes on this bizarre self righteous rant about how he didn't get redeemed and fans who likes him are dumb. After literally a paragraph before talking about his redemption arc. It's so strange.

And I agree it's extremely frustrating because to me Draco is one of the most interesting characters in the story with one of the most compelling arcs. Precisely because of his flaws and how he gradually becomes a better person and makes better decisions while still remaining imperfect. He's a great character with a great story but she seems totally unaware of what she wrote and actively hostile to people who enjoyed the character and even towards the character himself which stops him getting to live up to his full potential. Lowkey wonder if after he became so popular post book 6 maybe she reduced his "screentime" in book 7 out of spite or something. I have no proof whatsoever of that but I do wonder.

[gold-rhine]

Can I ask for your thoughts on Collei? Character wise, your analysis is always fun

disclaimer i didnt read the webcomic, i'm a dragon age survivor and i firmly believe that if you want something to be canon in GAME, it needs to be present IN GAME, and not in one of the adjacent ten books or comics.

that said, i understand that the main issue ppl have is collei having dark backstory and being closed off and aggressive in the comic, and then in sumereu aq she's sweet and awkward bumbling teen. which is like, if you want kinda rude and abrasive survivor girl representation, kinda sucks. which i agree with. but also, i don't think that survivor of violence and abuse ending up as sweet, but awkward teen due to being cared and loved by others, is bad. i think its good. and she's not like "cured" to normalcy, she still clearly struggles, they had the sweetest storyline in that one event with sucrose about that, and also the incident in archon quest where she's triggered by paimon yelling. the problem is thats there wasn't coherent journey shown to the player.

what i think would be good. and bear with me here. if aranara quests were structured around collei and not a random npc. like listen, collei already fits the premise of "we need to organize the aranara magic fest to cure abyss corruption of one girl", bc she has the dead gods corruption injected by dottorre, right. and this is different from eleazar, bc eleazar is from ley line corruption, she's probably more susceptible to the second type BC she has the first type, and its the root issue that needs to be addressed.

it'd be good for aranara quests bc right now their narrative is kinda wonky. like the lore is very interesting and the aranara are cuties, but plot is like. just going to random places and doing lore things that aranara told us to do. which is why it seems too long for most players - it just doesn't have any dynamic, any ebbs and flows that good plotline should have to keep player's attention, it doesnt have a NARRATIVE DEVELOPMENT. we don't have any character progression we can track and be worried about. we have our aranara buddy and he's great, but he doesn't have any conflicts, he's just ":D" all the time. it feels static right until the finale, where action suddenly peaks.

now collei has canonical inbuilt conflict that correlates beautifully with aranara. she's a teen whose childhood was stolen from her, who was always focused on survival, who struggles to trust people, but also to trust the world in general, to find joy and wonder in it instead of constant dangers. its all described in her stories, it just not dramatized in game. if we add her as companion in aranara quest, we immediately get the development progression i was talking about.

she doesn't see aranara at first at all, even if we are surrounded by them. she thinks its a bit cringe that traveler is talking to imaginary friends, but she's respectful, bc traveler is trying to help her. but as they go thru the quests and she meets new people who tell their stories and sees miracles like dead trees blooming right in front of her eyes, she starts to open up. she starts to go along willingly and sees aranara for the first time - briefly, its gone soon, but she remembers and CHOOSES to believe, chooses to trust, and then she sees them more and more often, until at the festival during the grand song the entire village, hidden magical world finally opens up to her.

[deconstructthesoup]

Been rewatching the roleplay episodes of Fantasy High season 1 for fic research, and I got to the scene where everyone finds gifts in their locker, and...

Yeah. Okay. I'm crying a little again.

Now that I know that Fabian got everyone the gifts, it hits so much deeper. He just put some motorbike wax in his locker so he wouldn't seem suspicious, because he's cool and aloof and he only hangs out with these people because he has to, but... he cares about them. He notices what they need.

He gets Fig a new ruby guitar pick, with her dad's name on it, to celebrate the fact that she reunited with him. He gets Gorgug an axe holster with a tin flower on it, remembering how they met---maybe even his way of apologizing. He gets Adaine the gift card to the clothing store, because he heard how much she hated her uniforms, and that turns out to become something incredibly useful, as she uses it to get her Jacket of Useful Things. He gets Kristen a book on world religions, because he was listening to her struggles, and even though he couldn't relate, he gave her something to help. And he gave Riz something that is so perfectly tailored to his interests and needs that I kinda get why people ship them (personally, I'm a Fabragh fan, and I think that FHSY all but spelled out to us that Riz is aro as well as ace, but I appreciate it nonetheless).

Fabian falls so perfectly into that wonderful archetype of characters who say they don't care but they care so much and it sends me

(Also, the fact that Fabian's love language at this point is gift giving because he's a rich kid? Excellent character choices)

[mins-fins]

a motherfuckin' trainwreck — yeon sieun

yeon sieun x gender neutral!reader

requested : !

warnings : might be a little ooc (?)

sieun is literally the awkwardest of awkward people

he doesn't even know how he actually got into a relationship is he’s being honest

he's weird about affection too

not like in a "oh i'll kill you if you touch me" kinda way but in a "oh my god your hugging me what do i do?" kinda way

whenever you give him hugs he kinda just stands there, confused

but he loves holding hands

and linking arms probably

your basically the only one who can distract him from studying too much and he pretends to hate it but can't hide how grateful he is

sieun struggles to voice his feelings and he's grateful with how patient you are with him

he probably sometimes still uses platonic words to address you and you just go "wow, friendzoning me after all we've been through?" he would roll his eyes, but he still loves you

your probably on his mind all day

while he's in class he's probably wondering "oh how's [name] doing?", "is [name] alright?", "is [name] happy?"

will literally always sleep on you if he's tired

laying on your shoulder or lap

he's SOOO clingy but then he'll deny it???

"sieun you know your super clingy right?" "stop lying, [name]".

your love language is physical touch and sieun's is probably words of affirmation

oh he LOOVES complimenting you

he just finds everything about you admiring and can't resist the urge to compliment you whenever he gets

"you have nice eyes, [name]", "you know your super pretty right?", "i can't believe how i'm dating such an amazing person".

sometimes he does it without even realizing

and you go so red which he laughs at

despite that sieun isn't the greatest at taking compliments himself

whenever you compliment him he freezes and goes red, not being able to respond

"sieun, your so smart, i can't even begin to rant about how great you are".

"uh huh" sieun.exe.has stopped working

sieun is so confident about the relationship despite how quiet he is??

like he'll hear someone talking bad about you in front of him and he'll say something like "that's my partner, watch your mouth".

he probably gets jealous so easily too

like he just loves your attention and when it's on someone else whose so random

he'll glare from afar

and then you'll ask him later like- "why were you glaring earlier?"

he would probably lie but then say, "fine i was jealous".

then you'd laugh and tease him about it as long as possible

sieun probably helps you study too

he gets so annoyed by you doing everything but listening to him so he literally has to force you to

"[name] can you pay attention?", "no, i'm too busy staring at your pretty face", "shut up".

your literally always at his house

his parents are barely home so you basically live there at this point

"sieun, your beds so comfy", "don't mess up my pillows, [name]".

you probably sleep on him too

like- you'll be laying on his shoulder as he finishes his math work for the night

and you'll have to force him to stop so he could get at least 5 hours of sleep

your probably one of the only people whose made sieun smile more than once in a day (sorry suho)

he hates your stupid jokes but smiles anyway because he loves you so much it's hard not to

he has a habit of running his finger up and down your arm, it's basically become a routine for him

HIS EYES OH MY GOD HIS EYES- he always stares at you with this majestic look

they're always on you if not on that damn paper all the time

he could simply go on and on about you and your interests and how amazing you are and how much he loves you

AND he's such an AMAZING LISTENER too like he remembers all of your interests, pet peeves, what you like, what you hate, your icks, everything

you guys probably listen to music together <333

your the only person who knows the music in his playlist

you read together too

whenever you guys read dramatic books you always give an over-the-top reaction whilst he just stares at you like your insane

"OH MY GOD SHE KILLED HIM!?", "yeah.. that's what it says, [name]".

he's probably just super calm and your super overdramatic

you guys are like the jumpy extrovert x calm introvert trope

you'll be jumping around and full of energy whilst he holds onto you so you don't get lost

he lets you clean his scars and treat his wounds since he likes when you do it

on rare occasions he likes to ramble about just random things and he's so cute when he does it too

like- he'll be going on about his interests and you just sit there staring at him lovingly

you guys are literally opposites attract

sieun being the "grumpy" and reserved introvert whilst your the jumpy and energetic extrovert

i love grumpy x sunshine tropes can you tell??

you always buy him food

making sure to feed him too

you always struggle with that though

"sieun you have to eat", "no i have to study [name]".

he still will eat for you though

sometimes he just likes to lean on his hand and admire you

just stare at you

probably thinking about how pretty you are in his head

he sometimes unconsciously smiles while thinking about you

he just loves you very very much

[karkkidoeswriting]

I watched a book review video, where there was a broader argument that political fantasy is inherently hard to end in a satisfying way and it got me thinking. Because I'm writing a political fantasy myself, I have a lot of thoughts.

I do agree with the argument in some ways. I think many fantasy genre conventions work against political plotlines, so ending it in a satisfying way requires breaking those conventions. So, the argument was that there's broadly three ways for a political fantasy to end and none of them is very satisfying. First, it can end to the protagonists losing. Second, it can end to a protagonist becoming the monarch. And third it can end to the protagonists abolishing monarchy. First is kinda obviously unsatisfying. Second is unsatisfying because it doesn't address the underlying systematic problem about the previous regime, monarchy being inherently unjust, that in a political fantasy should be one of the core themes explored. Third is unsatisfying because establishing democracy after monarchy is in reality a process that takes generations of political struggle, not last act of a book.

There is of course couple of assumptions already in these arguments, which are typical genre conventions. Fantasy governments are usually feudal monarchies and the protagonists are very often royalty or have potential in becoming one, and this is doubly true with political fantasy. I agree with the argument that all those three options are unsatisfying, but I don't think they are the only possible endings, just what usually happens in political fantasies. Specifically I think they are the options when following genre conventions. The genre conventions I'm talking about are not necessarily the assumptions I already mentioned (monarchy and royal protagonist) though changing them can open more possibilities, but rather protagonist with strong character agency, closed endings and story structure with rising action and decisive battle at the climax. Basically I'm talking about the story where saving the world/country rests upon the hero and they defeat the villain which fixes everything.

There's nothing wrong with these genre conventions on their own and they do work very well in a lot of fantasy, but I would argue that they clash with a political story. In reality real political change doesn't come to the scheming or battle between couple of people, it's collective work done for generations. Every person under a political structure has agency (though often power to use that agency is not evenly distributed), which means that politics is in mathematical terms a chaotic system - unpredictable and complex. That's why it's impossible to predict in the moment the political outcomes, but later, when looking at history, the patterns are easy to see. The agency of one person doesn't mean much in grand scheme of things, not even a very powerful person. Their power comes from something, so if they wish to wield that power, they have to uphold it. So if you give the protagonist in a political story a lot of agency, suddenly they are the one single-handedly making the politics and the people of that world become a mass of drones without agency, who don't have ideology, material interests or even opinions. This completely flattens politics and imo any ending will be unsatisfying.

One thing that I find is very much lacking in most political fantasies, is ideology. I think because we are not often taught about the ideological debates and disagreements that led to every political change in history, we often think of ideology as a very modern thing, but it's just inherent part of politics. Every political change starts with ideology, which comes usually long, generations even, before any large political action. It can start with intellectual elites or on grassroots level, but there will always be some thought leaders that define the emerging ideology, which allows it to spread. For ideology to spread the ground needs to be fertile for it. For example instability, economic or otherwise, is very fertile ground for anti-authoritarian ideologies, even more so than injustice and lack of personal freedom. Different classes are also more fertile for different ideologies. Those in power are obviously more open to ideologies that justify their power, while those not in power are more open to ideologies that question the power structures. After ideology has become popular, it still needs power to actually enact change. If it's popular among those with high relative power, that's easy, but if the opposite is true, to gather enough power, they need a popular uprising with power in numbers. That requires much more resolve from each individual, because while they have collective power individually they are still vulnerable, so uprising is personally extremely risky. Which is why a popular uprising needs in addition wide spread desperation.

Still, popular idea and power to enact it is just the beginning. Then starts the long and hard process of actually doing it, which is basically never linear. There were peasant uprisings thorough Middle Ages trying upturn feudal system, but it took centuries for it to actually collapse, in some places in Europe and around the world there were still feudal structures in 1800s. For a major change to really take root, it has to become generally accepted, and when you have just overturned a previous regime, there's obviously still a lot of people who do not accept the new system. There's couple of options, you can go the guillotine route, where you can try to forcibly strip them of their power and/or kill them and their supporters, which most certainly leads to a civil war with uncertain outcomes. Or you can try to work with the old powers, which most certainly leads to them resisting change as much as possible and diluting the changes. It's not really possible to get a clean change from one system to another at one go. It can even get reversed quite quickly. Usually large systemic changes require at least couple of attempts before they stick.

The point of this tangent is to illustrate that if a political story ends neatly tied up, it feels untrue to reality. A revolution, a coup or a reformation is just the beginning of a structural change. The structure of rising action and decisive climax also doesn't fit to how politics work. Winning an army or dethroning a monarch is just a step to the direction of a new regime. The ideological opponents won't just abandon their deeply held beliefs the moment they lose power. It also ties to the character agency, if the protagonist is part of a regime change, they definitely shouldn't be the one coming up with the new regime or it's ideology. There should be already existing popular movement for it before the MC comes into the picture. (Looking at you game of thrones with the last episode going "what if we come up with a new system out of nowhere without any prior ideological discourse on the spot and everyone just agrees?")

But usually strong character agency, closed endings and decisive climax are thought of as basis for a satisfying fantasy story, so how would a political fantasy be more satisfying without them? Firstly I would argue they are not always necessary for a satisfying story, but I will say it's harder to make a story satisfying without them. My solution to this is to have different primary plot than the political plot. By that I mean for the protagonists to have different primary goal from the political struggle and it's pursuit being the primary plot, while the political struggle is the secondary plot. The primary goal should of course be connected to the political goal. I think the best way to handle it is to have that primary goal be the reason why the character has their political goal, so the political struggle is an obstacle in their primary goal. The primary goal should be something personal, more intimate in scale and tied to their character arc. This allows the character to have more agency over the outcome of their primary goal and for their primary plot to have a closed ending even if the political struggle doesn't, and has the added benefit of making the political struggle more personal and concrete. The primary plot could be revenge against a monarch or freeing from a political marriage or a lot of other options that forces the character to enter the political arena.

With a dark political fantasy, the ending also doesn't need to be perfectly happy to be satisfying, in fact in dark fantasy the ending is usually more satisfying as a tragedy or bittersweet ending. It could even have a corruption arc, where we watch the hero turn into a power hungry villain, or the protagonist could be antihero from the beginning. In a story like that it can be a perfectly satisfying tragic ending for them to lose or to get to the throne and be just as terrible as the previous monarch. Related to this, I have seen couple of popular posts that express annoyance at people who complain about fantasy having overwhelmingly monarchies as settings. The argument is often that part of fantasy is exploring a completely different mindset from us and to people who lived under monarchy it was just expected fact of life. I think this is generally compelling argument. For a fantasy adventure to have monarchy that goes without questioning is not some secret monarchist messaging. Same goes for a dark fantasy where there's oppressive monarchy that's not changed by the end. But I think with political fantasy it's different, because the main theme should by definition be about politics and power. So if monarchy (or a different political structure) goes without questioning in a story like that, I think the story is lacking in depth. Or maybe it is secret monarchist propaganda.

Also just to add to what I alluded in beginning, I think there's a lot of potential for interesting and satisfying political fantasy with different political system from monarchy and/or protagonists with lower class status, but I wanted to mainly make the point that I think the issues with political fantasy are mainly in the story structure. I don't think there's anything wrong with monarchies in fantasy, I have written monarchies in fantasy, and will in future too, but I do think that beyond political fantasy too sticking to monarchies by default is a little limiting.

To be clear, these are just my thoughts on this, not any rules that would apply to every story that could be described as political fantasy, definitely not. And a lot of this is about preferences. I would love to hear other toughts too!

[bluegalaxygirl]

Hiiiii!! i’m so glad your back and i hope your doing well!!

I was thinking if you could maybe do a one shot/hcs about if zosan found their partner reading a spicy book???

Hope you have a great rest of your day!!

Thank you and that sounds like such a fun idea, i also thought id spice it up a bit so i hope you like. Also love the kitty with the Santa hat profile pic so cute.

Warning: Bad language, Sexual content but no smut and Making out

Reader is GN, Poly relationship, established relationship, Zoro X Sanji X Reader.

^ Your not a spicy book kinda person but you know who is? Sanji, even though he's in a relationship with two people he still has those magazines. The cook doesn't hide it from you and Zoro, you both know that he keeps them under the bed.

^ It some times bothers You and Zoro that he has those magazines but on the plus side the cook hasn't bought any new ones since he started dating the two of you. You know that since Sanji isn't shy about it, if you ask he will show you his collection.

^ Zoro never had an interest in that kind of thing, he always says how disgusting it is when ever he catches a glimpse of them or finds the cook looking at one. The swordsman does love to tease the cook about them though, making Sanji blush and babble much to your amusement.

^ So with all that said it was surprising to you when you found a hidden untitled book while cleaning your room that you share with the boys. Pulling out the bottom draw to put some clothes away something pink caught your eye on the floor right at the back.

^ It was a struggle to reach it, having to bend your arm over the back of the draw you pulled out to tease what ever it was forward and then having to reach under the chest of draws to pull it out completely.

^ The book was pink with a single rose on the cover, there was no title or description on it so you opened finally finding the title "Inferno Hearts", your first thought is that it's Sanji's and maybe he lost it but the book didn't have any dust on it.

^ You placed it on the side thinking you'll talk to Sanji later and see if it's his but as you were cleaning curiosity got the best of you so during your break you deiced to read some, it was deferentially romance but the content made you blush bright red.

^ You found yourself laughing, smiling and gasping at the content becoming enthralled with it, unable to put it down until you got to the spicy part. You froze but couldn't stop your eyes from reading the most intense and romantic seen you have ever seen or read, your hole face goes red just as the door opens.

---------- Story ----------

You were so enthralled by the book in your hands that you didn't hear the yelling from outside until the door to the bedroom flung open, you gasped from your spot on the bed as you looked up to see Zoro and Sanji yelling at each other, their shirts wet "Just say your sorry, it's not that hard" The cook growls undoing his stained tie while Zoro rolls his eyes shoving past the blonde to get into the room while taking his top off "You weren't watching where you were going" The swordsman growls throwing his shirt to the side before freezing in place looking at you on the bed with a bright red face holding a book in your hands. Sanji goes to yell back angry at Zoro for bumping into him when leaving the kitchen causing the try of drinks he was holding to cover both of them but stops when seeing the swordsman's wide eyes. Raising an eyebrow the cook looks over to you on the bed and gives you a smile, he couldn't help but blush at your cute flustered face "Hello my love, i'm sorry for disturbing you" Sanji takes a new shirt out of the draws starting to take his shirt off to put the other on. His words manage to snap you out of your frozen state and slam the book closed "Oh no, I'm sorry Sanji i should have asked before reading it" You try to laugh away your nerves as you move to sit on the edge of the bed, Sanji changes his shirt and throws on a new tie before walking over to you and looking over the book you hold out to him "My love you don't need my permission to read your book" He laughs a little while pushing it back to you.

Confusion strikes you while watching as Sanji does his tie, once he's done you hold the book out for him which he takes "It's not mine, i found it under the chest of draws while cleaning. I thought it might be yours" You state keeping your focus on Sanji as he flicks through the book but in the corner of your eye you see Zoro going into the draws and pulling out a shirt in quite the hurry "It's not mine, i'm more of a visual person than a reader of this sort of thing" Sanji laughs with a slight blush handing you the book back. Zoro rushes to leave the room while throwing his shirt on but is stopped by his name being called by you and Sanji. With a sigh the swordsman slowly turns around his face bright red while avoiding any kind of eye contact with the two of you "Zoro... Is this yours?" Sanji asks with a smile already knowing the answer by how the green haired man is acting, the flustered look, the rush to get away and the frozen state he was in as soon as he swore you reading the book told him everything. "N-No" Zoro rubs the back of his head while looking away from the two of you. A smile forms on your face as you stand up, the swordsman has never been the romantic type so you never thought he would read something like this. "It's ok Zo, it's actually really good" You state while walking over to the man with the book held to your chest, he still refused to look at you but somehow his face went redder "I mean it Zo, you don't have to hide things from us." You try and reassure him only to hear a snicker from Sanji behind you.

A quick look at the cook told him to shut up, Sanji jumps at your look before freezing in place and clenching his teeth, so he won't say anything. Looking back at Zoro his eye's shift to look down at you seeing a sweet smile and loving eyes "I know you don't want to be teased over it or for the others to find out so i won't do either and Sanji" You turn to glare back at the cook who looks down in shame "He won't tell anyone either but i know he will tease you over this" You sigh smiling back up at Zoro who relaxes at your words, Sanji nods as he walks over to stand next to you "Yea Zo, i won't tell the others but i will be teasing you over this, lets call it pay back for all the times you've teased me over my magazines" Sanji laughs while poking Zoro's side causing the swordsman to growl and grab the cooks tie pulling him closer "You two better not tell anyone" he growls as Sanji puts his hands up in defense and nods along with you. "As for the teasing, i can take what ever you throw at me" The swordsman gives a cocky smile while letting go of Sanji's tie, you hold the book out to Zoro, but he pushes it back to you "You can keep reading it since you seemed soooo into it" The swordsman leans down to be eye level with you causing your cheeks to go red "I mean it is good but... That scene" Your blush gets worse at just the thought, Zoro chuckles at you before pulling you into him by your waist "If it makes our Y/N blush then it must be super spicy.. Didn't know you were into that kinda thing Zo" Sanji starts to tease wrapping his arms around Zoro's free arm.

The swordsman tries to ignore him but when Sanji whispers something in the green haired man's ear the cook is shoved away "D-Don't say shit like that" Zoro's face goes bright red once again as he stutters stepping away from the cook and letting you go, Sanji smiles wide as he walks closer until the swordsman's back is up against the door, Zoro reaches for the handle to escape but Sanji grabs it first stopping the door from being opened "Oh come on Zoro. If you like the book so much, why don't we recreate it" Sanji teases making you blush but hold back at laugh at how flustered and panicked Zoro has become. "My love, why don't you read a part out to give me an idea of what to do" The cook gets close to Zoro's face who is almost frozen in shock and embarrassment unable to move as the blondes hand runs over his hip. You shake your head while walking over to the two, you wanted to save Zoro but then Sanji turns to look at you giving you a cheeky smile and a wink, you knew this was his payback and a good way to have some fun so you open the book. Deciding to go gentle on the swordsman you read out a kissing scene getting Zoro to stutter trying to tell you to shut up but you continued until that part was over. Sanji nods at you before brushing his lips against Zoro's "Your eyes are the light to my darkness, oh how i adore them" The cook whispers quoting the man from the scene as he presses his lips lightly onto Zoro who tries to push the cook away but can't seem to muster up the strength to do so. You blush at the two before putting the book to the side and walking over running your hand up Zoro's arm.

You can't let Sanji have all the fun plus the swordsman looks too cute all flustered. Leaning into the swordsman's neck you blow lightly in it causing the man to shiver while Sanji slips his tongue into the swordsman's mouth humming a little and letting his hand run up to Zoro's ribs. "I will always shine bright for you, so even in the darkest of night, you can find your way home to me" You quote the mans partner in the scene before lightly placing your lips on his neck, kissing up and down it in slow long kisses. Zoro can't help but let out a slight moan from the feeling, his heart pounding in his chest as different conflicting emotions run through his body. Sanji soon pulls away panting for air while placing his forehead against Zoro's who's eyes are still slightly wide while his whole face and neck are bright red "My dear, my angel of light -" Sanji whispers as his hand travels up your back getting you to stop kissing Zoro's neck and look up at him, the cook didn't need to say anything, you already knew what he wanted so you leaned in closer to Zoro's face letting your hand run up the swordsman's arm to rest on his shoulder while Sanji pulled away slightly his hand running through the swordsman's hair "I have always and will forever love you and follow your light" The two of you say in unison before kissing Zoro's lips, the three of your lips moving together as the swordsman's hands quickly wrap around the two of you holding you all close together. Zoro relaxes into the kiss letting out a hum of satisfaction, he may still be flustered but maybe the teasing wouldn't be too bad after all.

[markantonys]

wotseries posted an alleged elaida audition script about 1) her telling presumably leane that she's at the tower to look for elayne and also that siuan's in a big mess and she could use elaida's help in cleaning it up, and 2) her discussing prophetic powers with min.

the first scene is pretty standard with what we've been predicting for elaida and the white tower plotline in s3, so i don't have any commentary on that one for now (though it does imply that, indeed, we'll be setting up the coup to be a slowburn season-long event with elaida weaseling around for a while before making her big move, rather than a shock event that happens early in the season, but i think most of us were thinking this already anyway).

the second scene is interesting because a different leak had placed min in tanchico. wotup's leaks have been flagrantly incorrect before (said faile would be in s2) and wotseries' audition scripts have also been flagrantly incorrect before (said gawyn would be in s2), so at this point it's just a question of which source i distrust more, and i can't answer that haha so for the time being i'll treat both Min Locations as equally plausible. (i'm assuming it'll only be one or the other because i find it hard to imagine that she could make an appearance in both locations during the course of the season, but i suppose you never know.)

looking at where s2 left off, both are equally plausible. min is in cairhien, and both siuan & co and liandrin are also in cairhien. i could see siuan snatching min back to the white tower because she knows about her powers and wants to use them, and i could also see liandrin snatching min over to tanchico because she considers her a liability after min betrayed her/didn't follow through on the deal/figured out she's a darkfriend.

looking at min's established story in the show and where her story goes in future in the books (lmao at the statement that min has a story in the books), both are equally plausible. tanchico would put her back into contact with liandrin and mat to follow up on her story with them in s2 and set up for her future seanchan story with mat (and doubly so if there's a seanchan presence or even tuon herself in tanchico in s3). the white tower would return her to her book storyline and, based on this scene with elaida, potentially give her the opportunity to have a storyline exploring the nature of her powers and her relationship with them. either storyline would allow her to go on to cross paths with rand in the next season or two.

(edited to add that tanchico would also have min interacting with elayne to help set up the polycule. i've so thoroughly made the polycule rand/elayne/avi/mat in my mind that i kinda forgot min is the canonical fourth member when i was making this post djkfg)

i will say that in the books, the tower coup has absolutely 0 bearing on min's overall character/story because she has 0 stakes in any of that stuff and 0 connection to aes sedai. it makes for an interesting 1-book storyline for her, but it's never relevant to her again (vs. someone like gawyn who is dealing with the repercussions of the coup in his storyline for pretty much the rest of the series), and so for that reason i wouldn't be sorry to replace her book storyline with an invented tanchico storyline that might have more long-term relevance to her (re: seanchan stuff). however, if the show expands her white tower storyline to include an exploration of her powers, i'd love that because min actively struggling with and trying to navigate and learn more about and figure out how best to use her powers is something that should have been part of her current story rather than her pre-series backstory. and compare/contrasting with elaida and how SHE uses her prophetic abilities would be super interesting!

that being said, i will never again trust any wotseries audition scripts after the utter betrayal that was the gawyn one, so i'm taking this all with a grain of salt! every time they post a new one they're like "disclaimer that scenes could be invented just for auditions and won't appear in the actual show, but most of our past audition scripts have appeared in the show pretty close to the audition version" and i'm like "what about that time you misled me to believe a whole-ass boy would be present in s2 and then he wasn't???? is gawyngate a joke to you???" lmao i wish they'd be a bit more cautious with their audition script disclaimers bc *i* think they've been pretty hit or miss, not Usually Accurate (even the aviendha one, only 1 of 2 scenes made it into the show iirc).

[applestorms]

hello apple. the common folk ask for your fervent musings on Naomi Misora!!

:3c oh goodness, naomi thoughts huh… let's make a list for this one:

i will forever Love the LABB murder novel for expanding naomi's characterization and backstory, it is forever So tragic that she died so quickly in the series. her back and forth with both L and beyond is fantastic in that book, and the additional lore set up about all those characters really adds to the canon of the series in an interesting way.

i knowwwww people (justifiably) hate on raye for all the "You'll be happy when you don't have to be an intelligent woman and can just be a Mother :)" bullshit, but naomi as a kind of mother figure is genuinely a notable aspect of her characterization and i kinda wanna Talk about it. particularly in conjunction with that one image of her in the anime opening where she is the stand in for mary holding jesus like in the pietà and also the fact that LABB murder canon sets up the idea that she dropped out of the FBI due to her inability to shoot a child (?? should double-check this but i'm near Certain). she often comes across as quite harsh, and for good reason since she's quite Brusque with the people we see her interacting with the most (light, beyond, L, even raye to some degree), but there's an intriguing Softness to her also that is a big part of what makes her an interesting character to me. it's the Contrast of it all, y'know.

(and yes, some of this may be included purely bc ohba is a sexist writer and doesn't know how to see women as anything other than "fuck object" or "mommy." even with that in mind, i still think this is a point genuinely worth consideration... though i'm not gonna forget that either askldfjsldkf)

naomi and matsuda both are kinda weird actually in that i always Struggle to really place their ages. they both just come across as so Young, despite the fact that they're older than even L by a couple years. i suppose both of them are also often quite underestimated by the people around them, which perhaps contributes to them coming across so green.

speaking of... it seems like quite notable, if somewhat under-utilized lore that naomi was a japanese woman working in the american FBI. again, LABB murders goes into this a Bit, what with naomi struggling to connect with her (presumably largely white, male) coworkers. the fact that her true first name is written entirely in katakana (usually used for foreign words/names) too... i'm assuming she's a first generation immigrant, since they're visiting her parents in japan? but it does give her that pulled-between-cultures kinda feel. i find it quite relatable, actually, as an asian american myself.

there might be an interesting connection there too with regards to how that might influence the ways in which her and raye's relationship functions. i suppose we can't really assume raye's background or race in too extensive detail, particularly since he is presumably speaking fluent japanese throughout the series (???), but i also can't help but see how the "american man with a non-japanese name in a relationship with a japanese woman" might be of note in terms of the particular kinds of sexist assumptions/views he exerts onto her (or even that she applies to herself...)

i've said this before, but i think it's a combination of both that and her more Maternal tendencies that gets her so on board with both L and light, two characters who are both decently younger than her and Take Her Seriously. the fact that she explicitly states seeing L in light, and that she is one of the few characters, really the only person outside of the japanese task force, to actually meet L in person is also. fascinating.

speaking more on the FBI though, i can't help but wonder about what naomi's motivations were for joining the FBI in the first place. or even what her motivations were for leaving japan at all, if she really was the first in her family to immigrate. clearly the american dream did Not live entirely up to expectations, from what we can see of how hard she was putting all her stock into this marriage with raye... but i also desperately wonder what she was Going Through post-beyond incarceration/L-meeting and pre-KIRA. that seems like a particularly juicy time period fanfic-wise, especially considering how beyond himself dies... sigh. onto the wip list.

actually. considering both birthday massacre and raye, it's kinda fucking funny to consider the fact that light killed both of naomi's main love interests. even L, if you go for that. not to mention naomi herself. RIP girl, she must've been frothing at the fucking mouth in that grave putting all the pieces together. first person to kick light's ass in the nothingness afterlife fr.

anyways, in conclusion: naomi fucks hard, best girl, desperately underrated character in the series that i will love forever. there's probably more that i could add to this but my brain is all blissed out on thanksgiving food so ig that's it for now. hell yeah naomi👍