#and get the ultimate revenge for trying to have her assassinated

[shana-reviews-tmblr]

-Goofy and Stolas, Two Flawed Fatherly Goofs-

And how understanding the former, helps us understand and sympathize with the latter.

Before reading I would like to ask that if anyone has watched Helluva Boss and both Goofy Movies, you can skim through the first part of this thread and go to: Character Analysis and Comparison as I will be recapping the some key episodes from Helluva Boss as well as both Goofy movies for any newcomers who may not know about either.

Now I've watched Helluva Boss since it debuted back in 2019 and at first, I wasn't too keen on it being anything more than a comedy series centered around a group of assassin demons from hell called I.M.P (Immediate Murder Professionals) getting into hijinks.

Tl;dr: I.M.P is an assassination company run by Blitz, the main protagonist of the series, as they take on contracts from sinners who died and went to hell but seek revenge on anyone they hated or were wronged by back on earth. In order for them to get to earth they needed to use a magical grimoire that Stolas "loans" to Blitz in exchange for the two spending 1 night on the full moon each month getting down and dirty in the sheets so they can have access to Earth as Imps are not normally allowed to that level of magic.

all of that changed in S1 ep2 "Loo Loo Land"

In the 2nd ep of the show, we were see that the series would be more than just wacky hijinks and that this would be a story with a heart to it as we are introduced to Stolas, I.M.P's benefactor, and his family life.

We learn during Loo Loo Land that Stolas has a somewhat strained relationship with his daughter, Octavia.

this is mostly due to the fact that when she was younger, her and her father were extremely close, however after some time after she grew into her late teen years, Stolas had gotten into an affair with none other than Blitz.

Things became hostile within the household as Stella would throw tantrums and wreck everything that was Stolas' all the while Via was watching the family she had thought was happy being together, fall apart.

To try and remedy this, Stolas takes Via to an amusement park, the titular "Loo Loo Land" which she use to enjoy going to when she was a child, however things do not go as planned as Via had to spend the day watching her father flirt with Blitz, whom he hired as a bodyguard.

At her limit and frustrated with watching her father act this way, Via storms off until Stolas catches up with her and the two have a heart-to-heart moment where Via opens up to her father about her fears of him leaving her for Blitz and while Stolas struggles to and is ultimately unable to tell Via the truth about why everything is happening and explain to her the relationship he has with Stella, he assures her that he would never abandon her.

The episode ends happily as Via and Stolas' relationship was saved from being burned down, even though everything else around them was being burned to a crisp courtesy of Blitz...um, Foreshadow?

Stolas and Via's relationship would be touched on again in S2 ep2 "Seeing Stars"

The episode sees Via running away to Earth after she tries to remind her father about a promise he made to her when she was younger about how he would take her to see Azathoth's tears (a meteor shower) as it only happens once in a great while.

But because Stolas was caught up arguing with Stella, who is moving out of their mansion and is having her things delivered, he had forgotten about his promise which causes Via to become rightfully angered and leads into the events of the episode.

At the climax, Via has another heart to heart conversation, not with Stolas, but with Loona, Blitz's adopted Hellhound daughter, where she talks to Via about how Dad's tend to mess up and make big mistakes almost all the time, but that it doesn't mean they don't care and that them trying to do better is what matters as long as they don't stop trying. as well as telling her how Stolas came with them to look for her himself (Stolas got caught up with Blitz as the two were dragged away and got into their own situation).

The ep ends happily as Via forgives her father and the two families (Via/Stolas & Loona/Blitz) enjoy watching fireworks go off.

After Seeing Stars, we wouldn't get any episodes or story plots that involve Stolas and Via's relationship for some time as by this point Stolas' romantic relationship with Blitz was becoming more of the center focus of the series as they both come to question how their relationship is and if it can be more than something that's merely transactional as both parties wish for something more intimate than simply having sex in exchange for Blitz being able to have a means to keep his business open. I made a thread on this earlier if you want to read the FULL detail on this development because this thread is going to be long enough as it is already lol From Truth Seekers to Mastermind: How we've reached the halfway point of Stoliz – @shana-reviews-tmblr on Tumblr The only thing you have to keep in mind from the thread that connects to Stolas is that he has been in a crappy marriage and for the first time with Blitz he feels like he's found someone he has genuine feelings for and wants to have a genuine relationship with someone. Because of this when Blitz is accused of stealing from Stolas, Stolas rushes to Blitz's rescue and takes the fall to save the person he loves and as punishment Stolas is stripped of his powers and title for 100yrs, no longer being able to see Octavia or come to his own property, Stolas has been banished.

This all culminates in the S2 finale Sinsmas where, after trying to get a hold of Via for over a month, things now begin to fall apart as Via endures her mother's cruel attempts to intercept Stolas trying to call her and explain everything, all while mocking him to Via's face.

Via also unfortunately finds her father's medication which he had been taking in order to cope with the abuse Stella had been putting him through for years.

When Stolas and Via finally get a chance to talk, Via completely shuts Stolas out as she assumes the medication Stolas took was because of her and thinks that all the good times they shared was a facade he was putting on and that Stolas would rather be happy with Blitz than with her and that the love she thought he had for her was also a facade.

the two of them are unable to communicate properly about everything and the misunderstanding between them causes Stolas to lose the one good thing that came from his marriage to Stella.

and we are left on a very bittersweet ending as Via has completely shut Stolas out of her life and all he can do is fall to his knees in tears knowing he will not see his daughter for the next 100yrs, and by then she may never recognize him as her father and just see him as a stranger.

And with Stolas' story summed up (for now) we can look into the other character this thread is covering.

That being Goofy and his adventures with Max in both A Goofy Movie and An Extremely Goofy Movie.

Like with Stolas I'll be summing up the events of both films, after which is where I'll get into the meat of things and try to show how Goofy's story and his own arcs will give us an insight into Stolas.

We begin Goofy's summary with the very first Goofy Movie, where Goofy, after being told a VERY exaggerated story by Max's principal about Max "Dressed up like a gang member" and was "causing a riot at school", decides to take his son on a road trip across country to spend quality time together in hopes of strengthening his bond with Max and helping him to stay out of trouble and avoid being put on the electric chair.

Unbeknownst to Goofy however, Max isn't the troublemaker his principal made him out to be and prior to being taken by his dad, was planning to attend a party where Max would hope to win the heart of Roxane, a girl he has a crush on.

Despite the rocky start the two have on the road trip, from Max rejecting any quality time with his father to Goofy taking some questionable "tough love" parenting advice from his friend Pete, the two slowly do make progress in becoming closer.

However Goofy learns a dark secret Max kept from him at the start of their trip. That being that Max changed their map so that they would end up in LA instead of Lake Destiny (the original destination Goofy planned to take Max too).

Because earlier in the film before Goofy took Max out on the Open Road, Max wanted to stop by Roxane's house and try to tell her he wouldn't make it to the party after he had promised to go there earlier when they met at school, but in a panic out of fear of losing his chance with her as she was walking away thinking Max wasn't interested in her, he lies and says that his dad was taking him to said concert, to which he then promised he would be on stage to wave too her, thus he changed the map in an attempt to cover his lie.

And when the time came for Max to direct his dad on where to go, Max in a panic chooses the route he picked, which then leads to Goofy and Max getting into an argument causing the two to crash off the road and be stranded in a river (roll with it) as the two now have no choice but to talk things out as they are literally stranded together with nothing to distract them.

after clearing every misconception up, Goofy now understands his son better and any doubts he had from his principal to even Pete telling Goofy his son is a bad kid are dispelled, while Max, after spending all this time with his dad, is now more open to his father and seeing him as more than just "Goofy".

In the end the two manage to see Eye To Eye as Goofy gets Max to the concert and the movie ends with Max confessing to Roxane, after telling her the truth and apologizing for the lies he said, before formally introducing his dad to her.

Happy Ending

So, with the first film covered we now go into the 2nd film, which now sees Max heading to college and Goofy, after being fired from his job for losing his focus as he struggled with depression from Max being gone, needing to go to college as he must earn a degree if he is to find a better job.

An Extremely Goofy movie shows us Goofy and Max's relationship struggling once more as, with Goofy now attending the same college as Max, starts to try and spend so much time with Max that he is smothers him not helped that Max is planning to enter the College X games and face against one of the rival teams, The Gammas.

(Goofy Movie Tournament Arc, BEGINS!)

Things come to a breaking point as, after Goofy was recruited by the Gamma's, albeit with Max encouraging to his dad to join as a means to hamper the Gamma's and participates in the qualifying rounds, Max is shown up by his own father, who is unknowingly being used by the Gammas to cheat in the event and get under Max's skin.

This causes Max to blow up at his father because with all the smothering and parenting his dad has been putting him through while ignoring the ground rules they agreed upon was building up a lot of resentment with what happened at the preliminary rounds being the breaking point and Goofy is sent in a spiral of depression, he was failing his courses, not staying in touch with his new girlfriend Sylvia (who was the librarian of the college he was attending) and eventually was prepared to just accept his fate and quit college.

it is only thanks to him realizing he was losing his focus and in a sense being a hypocrite (as he had taught Max a similar lesson about Staying Focused on Your Goals earlier in the film) that Goofy makes a comeback and when the finals of the X games are happening, Goofy aids Max after the two make up with each other and their team defeats the Gammas.

At the end, Goofy and Max share a few words of love, understanding, and respect as Goofy is now able to fully let go of Max as he is able to graduate with enough passing grades to get his diploma and find another, hopfully better job.

And we see Goofy driving off happily into the sunset with his new girlfriend, Sylvia as he can move forward with his life while knowing his bond with his son is now stronger than ever before.

Alrighty!

so, with both Stolas and Goofy's stories summarized we now can come to:

Character Analysis and Comparison

If you've read the above summaries or know of both Stolas and Goofy's stories, you might see there are some small similarities.

Goofy and Stolas both:

Single Parents

Have Teenage kids

A strained relationship with said kids

Both have issues with communicating with their kids

Have romances with someone

are both doofuses in their own way

On a surface level this would be all the similarities that the two have and if so, how does that even remotely help anyone sympathize with and understand Stolas?

For this we have to dive a bit deeper and examine some of the differences between them along with their similarities.

Differences:

Unlike Goofy, who is a working-class citizen, Stolas was born in a more privileged life as he is heir to the Goetia family, from birth Stolas was raised to see himself above others who were beneath his social class while also being denied any sense of autonomy, identity, and life outside of his identity as a Goetia it was only thanks to his relationship with Blitz, an Imp who is seen as FAR beneath him on the hierarchy, that Stolas began his journey to recognizing his own privileged life and the inequality that surrounds the world he lives in.

Goofy meanwhile is your average joe. He's an middle-class worker who tries to be a good loving and supportive father to his son, not to mention he is also a widower. Simple, yet easy to understand.

Another big difference is in how their stories are told, Goofy's story revolves around his relationship with his son, while for Stolas his story revolves around his relationships with Blitz (Romantic) and Octavia (Familial) but also includes somethings that are far more adult and nuanced than what Goofy is allowed to tell as Stolas' life includes but not limited to:

Spousal abuse at the hands of his ex-wife

Possible addiction to medication

The closet one can say Goofy and Stolas both have as far as "heavy topic" material is that both have had states of Depression.

This now leads us into their:

Similarities

For Goofy, the cause of his depression was Empty Nest Syndrome as Goofy came to the realization that his baby boy is off starting his own life while Goofy is left alone after being with him for so many years.

For Stolas, his depression is tied to the Spousal abuse he suffered from Stella.

But let's examine some other things the two have in common:

Miscommunication

This is something that shows up in both Stolas and Goofy's stories.

With Goofy, it's the miscommunication of him assuming he knows the story about what Max did in Highschool and rather than talking with Max to get his side of the story, Goofy believes what the principal said and, against Max's will, takes him on a trip thinking that this is the solution to helping Max when it didn't.

It was only when Goofy and Max were able to sit down and talk that Goofy got the whole story that he finally understood his son better which helped to mend their relationship and make it stronger.

This also happens with Stolas as I mentioned above.

Because of how Heavy a topic Stolas' situation is, this is something that isn't as easy as one thinks.

Because it is NEVER as easy as some will think it is for a parent to tell their child how much they've been suffering because of their spouse, made worse if the child is close with that spouse or if they have a good relationship.

and it's because of this lack of communication that Stolas is unable to explain things to Via properly to help her see him eye to eye and understand her father.

To Via she's only seeing her dad cheat on her mom with someone she doesn't know about, and it didn't help either when Stolas forgot his promise to Via to spend time with her like he said he would.

Both times Via forgave him but ultimately Stolas being unable to tell Via about her mother is what bit Stolas in the end, not helped that he never even told Via too about how Stella tried to have him assassinated.

So as we see, both Goofy and Stolas have had bad communication skills with their kids, while for different reasons, the fact is NEITHER of them were able to or were to talk and get things straightened out, which for both characters would find its way to bit them in the end.

which now leads into another trait both share that I might get push back from, but it's a hard truth.

Goofy and Stolas BOTH make selfish choices

How does Goofy act selfish? what blasphemy do I speak?

In a Goofy Movie, Goofy makes the decision to take Max on a trip without even once hearing Max out or even asking if he wanted to do this at all not helped that the first place they stopped at was a tourist spot where in Goofy gets into hijinks as well as doing things that makes Max feel embarrassed in front of crowds of people, despite Max trying to tell Goofy how he felt but Goofy was too lost in his own fun to listen.

Believe it or not On the Open Road, the music number that happens when Goofy and Max are on their journey, works and functions the same as a villain song singing which makes Goofy something of, if not, an Antagonist of the movie (and before anyone says anything Antagonist and Villain are not synonymous)

If you want to understand WTH I'm going on about, I highly recommend watching Sideways video on the music of a Goofy movie it is an amazing video and will better explain why Open Road is Goofy's antagonist song among other things you might like to find out about A Goofy Movie.

So, if you watched the video already then you should see why I mentioned Open Road as an example of Goofy being selfish, this is because the song revolves around Goofy saying what he plans to do which is something that hinders Max's goals as Max, in this movie, is trying to win the heart of Roxane, but now he can't be there with her like he had hoped because he's now going across country spending days and weeks apart from her.

The selfish choices Goofy makes also does not stop here as in an Extremely Goofy Movie, where Goofy this time is sort of the focus point.

In the sequel, Goofy attends the same college as Max and it's made very clear Goofy is trying too hard to cope from his Empty Nest Syndrome by wanting to spend more time with him that he never bothers to adhere to the ground rules Max and him agreed to, even though Max was very understanding and sympathetic to his dad for coming to the same college and genuinely wanted him to get his degree so he can get a better job.

But throughout the film Goofy is constantly smothering Max which caused so much friction to build up that when Goofy, unknowingly, shows up Max during a sports event it's what causes Max to finally snap at Goofy and call him out.

and in the end Goofy acknowledges his own wrong doings when he recognizes that he lost his focus on trying to spend time with Max when he should have been focusing on trying to get his degree, to which he tries his best to make things right by apologizing to those he wronged and work to get his grades up and help Max win the College X games tournament.

This leads us now to discussing Stolas' selfish choices.

With Stolas, the selfish choices he makes are tied to both his romantic relationship with Blitz as well as Via, due to how one affected the other.

Stolas was so emotionally damaged from growing up being molded and groomed to be the ideal Goetia and never feeling an ounce of genuine affection from either his family or his wife (save for Via) that when he met Blitz as children the fun memories he had was something he held dear, so much that after 25 years when the two met up again Stolas had misunderstood Blitz's attempts to distract him so he could steal his grimoire as an attempt at "Romancing" him, which he himself also contributed too when he was so drunk and in an emotionally vulnerable place after Stella belittled him in front of her friends, that he felt Blitz was showing genuine interest and love, or at least what he assumed was love.

Not helped that when Blitz gave Stolas petty sex it further pushed the miscommunication which got further muddied when Stolas made an arrangement with Blitz

As a reminder i made another thread that tries to five into Stolas and Blitz's relationship so if you want to re-read that, pause reading here and scroll back up to the link.

If not no worries, the only thing you need to take away from that thread is that Stolas, for the first time in his life, met someone, who isn't related to him, that he connects with who makes him genuinely happy and in a desperate attempt to have that, he makes the selfish choice of wanting to have Blitz in his life as a lover.

This also causes friction with his daughter as mentioned earlier how Via watched her family fall apart and her father chasing after someone who she doesn't know and thinks is a homewrecker, when in truth she doesn't understand nor was told how close Blitz was to Stolas or sees how much of a good person Blitz actually is.

Loo Loo Land showed Stolas made the mistake with how he was ignoring Via's emotional state when he constantly flirted with Blitz instead of really talking to Via, a mistake that was in a very well placed part to show the irony, was done to him by his father Paimon when he saw Stolas in distress over what he told him his life will become and rather than deal with him, he took Stolas to the circus instead, there it was an attempt to distract Stolas and not deal with him.

With Stolas' it was a genuine attempt, if misguided, to try and make Via happy even if his own want for Blitz caused him to lose his focus on trying to help Via work through her emotions and properly explain things to her.

It just goes to show how Paimon's upbringing of Stolas affected his parenting skills:

It's the lack of communication that Stolas has with his daughter that makes it harder for Via to see her father's plight and truly understand him, and this leads to her believing he might lie to her, not helped that any chance Stolas DID try to communicate with her like in Sinsmas when he tried to call her to explain everything, Stella ran interference FOR A MONTH which caused Stolas' window of opportunity to explain things to vanish and she calls him out on it.

much like how Max, for all the times Goofy was making his own selfish choices, did the same.

But make no mistake, even if Stolas and Goofy's stories are not one to one the same, what similarities they do have and any differences between them DOES help paint a bigger picture.

that picture being parenthood and how much of a spectrum it is with how parents can be loving, supportive, and well-meaning, while also being very flawed and human in how they try to handle situations that come up as there is no 1 specific or "right" way to parenting or how some problems parents face can be different in some details, yet still have the same root cause/issue and not all have the same solutions or can be solved the same way.

Which leads to a topic that Stolas and Goofy both share that can't be denied, no matter what:

Their Love for their Children

It's no secret that Goofy loves his son, it's one of the driving forces of both movies, heck even taking into account the show Goof Troop and the Mickey's Once upon a Christmas special, Goofy's bond with his son is unquestionable strong and is core part of his character.

Case in point this moment here from the movie where, despite him and Max having friction, Goofy shows his love for his son by having a real moment with him as the two bond over somethign from the past they use to have fun with:

And just as Goofy has undying love for Max, so too does Stolas have undying love for Octavia.

How?

well the picture you see above with him holding a newborn Octavia shows that he was there for her since her birth, we never get any pictures of Stella being there for Via or pictures of Stella and Via by themselves, we only see pictures of Stolas and Via together from him being there for her on her birthday to playing horsey with him having her riding on his back, heck in S1 Ep2 the episode begins with a young Via crying out to her parents, but only Stolas goes to check in on her and her nightmare was soley about her losing him.

The only thing that Stolas did that we never see Goofy do, and this is more a result of how Disney locks Goofy behind a G rating; Was when Stolas, after finally standing up to Stella, talks about how he endured so much of her vitriol, cruelty, and malice even when he tried hard to make the marriage neither of them wanted, work. ALL FOR VIA'S SAKE.

Even showing how he would have felt terrible for what he did if his actions had hurt Stella emotionally, but the only thing of hers that was hurt wasn't her heart, but her pride as a Goetia.

He endured so much for Octavia and all to let her have some kind of a normal life that he was denied and to be honest if Goofy was in Stolas' position he'd do the same for Max.

In Conclusion

I do not know if this thread will enlighten people on Stolas' character or if people will agree with me or my points.

My goal with this thread was to show the similarities between these two as I have seen countless times people decrying Stolas as an unlikable character, that he deserves to be miserable, or worse deserved to be killed.

To which I strongly disagree, Goofy reminds me so much of Stolas and vice versa, sure they have plenty of differences, but that shows how Stolas isn't a carbon vopy of Goofy and that he stands out as his own character.

Stolas may not be A-Hyuck-ing all the time or getting into slapstick moments with a "YAAAAAAAAH-HOO-HOO-HOO-EEEEE!" holler at the end, but he is silly in his own way and his arc only differs from Goofy in that Stolas is a privileged prince who has to unlearn the aristocratic upbringing he was molded into.

But where Stolas and Goofy are similar is in how they are as father's trying to be there for the children they love so dearly.

Goofy's journey lasted 2 full movies, not counting any specials or the TV series (Goof Troop), it roughly tells a story that is 2hrs and 42mins total, in that time span of each film things had to be set up, lead into the conflict, and be resolved by movie's end.

Stolas' journey as a character is lasting what is to be a 4 seasoned 52-episode series that has to stretch his development to where it is needed story wise, in other words Stolas' journey (in terms of his relationship with Via) is a slow burn compared to Goofy's and it isn't completed yet, so it is unfair to say Stolas or Goofy's journeys are superior or inferior to the other rather we should look at their story as two different takes of the same goal they both set out to accomplish.

So the question is, with all that we've discussed in this thread

If we can sympathize with and cheer for Goofy to have a happy ending with his loved ones, despite the mistakes, and selfish choices he made...

Then why can't we do the same for Stolas, when after everything that's been shown in this thread, do we see so many similarities that are irrefutable even if there are some differences between them that makes each character have their own identity?

Why can't we sympathize with and cheer for Stolas to find happiness and outgrow the upbringing he was forced into?

Regardless if anyone agrees with me, I hope at least this thread gives you all something to think about regardless if you watched ether characters story. Because if Stolas and Goofy can have similarities...how many other characters out there are similar that also might be unfairly hated?

In the end I see Goofy and Stolas as similar characters and as I said earlier are two shades of what I see as a Parenting spectrum.

They are Fathers

They are Lovers

They make mistakes

"They may not always get it right, but they're trying...

that's more important than you think."

[anawkwardlady]

Okay I've been trying to write this for more than a week but frustratingly wasn't able to properly line my thought. Recently thought about Kyrie's violent assassination of Jessica during Ep7's Tea Party. And while theres some plausible practical explanation of why she proceeded that way (on top of all those traits that could be purposefully exaggerated) I always thought her sudden blood lust at that point felt a bit odd. I re-read the scene.

And I think it retroactively says a lot. Now I kinda want to go back to Rudolf in relationship to sexuality, women and by extension what it means for the people around him. Rudolf didn't have a lot of ways to establish a place, as a third in rank who was abused and mistreated by his older and more powerful siblings. Women thus became Rudolf's wealth, status symbol and means of control. Starting with using seduction towards the younger servants to isolate his little sister so she had no allies in the household, making himself a desirable option as a charismatic man bragging about money to have women fight over him during college and finally ending with the best of both worlds, marrying a kind and submissive woman (epitome of The Wife) while keeping the more exotic option on the side as a mistress (basically his Whore). Both being kept on their toes knowing losing him would also mean losing a life opportunity especially once pregnant. Rudolf made efforts and sacrifices to make each one of them stay at their assigned place which finally lead to the baby switching. And everything would have ran smoothly if not for Asumu's death, upgrading Kyrie from her mistress place to wife.

Rudolf's "attraction" towards Natsuhi is interesting. Whether it's played as jokes or comments about her looks it does seem trivial enough to never have triggered outward hostility from Kyrie since she is not an actual threatening woman. She however represents the wife fantasy by her seemingly pure and naive demeanor and motherly side, qualities that also drew him towards Asumu in the first place (and we know Natsuhi is more complicated than that and so was Asumu, probably it's more about the idea) and was lost after her death. He can't seduce her (she is maybe more disgusted by his ways than anything), She is also paradoxically not the best woman to go after by societal standards (being older, already having a kid). Finally she is married to a man who's superior to him (through hierarchy and physical strength), making her a prized possession by extension. During Episode's 8 Bern's game Rudolf finds sadistic pleasure of murdering Natsuhi in ways similar to sexual assault (putting the pen of the gun down her throat) which could be speculated as a way to get revenge on Krauss by defiling his wife and getting to have his way with a woman he cannot, and could never have at the same time. She is unreachable which is itself the appeal.

Meanwhile, Kyrie only reached the position of the wife because the first option died and she now has to spend the rest of her life making sure that place isn't stolen. Throughout the conference Kyrie actively performs a less assertive version of herself to fit that very wife image. One could fear any sign of fondness from Rudolf towards Natsuhi's character could trigger Kyrie past insecurities as it would betray a yearning for what Asumu was, what is still lacking within her. Especially since, by the time of Ep7's tea party, she is aware of the baby switching and by extension, of Rudolf purposeful sabotage to avoid having to marry her. It's hard for Kyrie to adapt to Rudolf's ideals because they're ultimately contradictory (seeking her because she is "different", ruthless, less conventional, yearning for a more quiet, meek woman who wouldn't challenge him).

Although Natsuhi is, as a person, inoffensive to her, Kyrie's initial mistake with Asumu (which haunts her to this day) was letting a woman she thought was inoffensive take her place by being exactly that. (I'll also note that Rudolf comments towards Natsuhi are often said in front of Kyrie which is interesting to say the least).

And at the same time Natsuhi is also a reminder of the position Kyrie would be stuck in if she wasn't able to escape her family to marry Rudolf. Theres probably some turmoil there. She never seemed hostile to Natsuhi because of all those reasons and I think it's probably because nothing is actively taking place, nothing is about her as a person. But even if, things to keep in mind is that, Kyrie performs a lot, extremely well and she has absolutely no angle or justification to be confrontational during the conferences. Basically if she actually beared resentment, theres a chance we would never know.

Then what about Jessica. Jessica previously being praised by Rudolf for looking like Natsuhi in something that seemed like a passing comment getting violently assaulted to the point of being disfigured. Kyrie even throwing in a comment about being used to smashing women faces, something that was certainly aimed at romantic rivals. I don't think Rudolf actually ever showed interest towards Jessica in that way and by extension I don't think Kyrie considered her to be a romantic or sexual rival as a person. At the time Kyrie confronts her Natsuhi already died rather quickly (and anticlimactically). Jessica is her mother's good looks though younger but with those less conventional attractive qualities, who fought back when attacked thus literally standing between Kyrie and her escape, metaphorically embodying the ultimate rival. Close enough to be a reminder, far enough to actually oppose threat. Disfiguring as catharsis and as symbolic rage against what she represents, "A waste a of a good Natsuhi-esque woman" with all that it entails.

[taragreenfield]

Is there free will in Grishaverse, or only the Darkling's will?

A certain smooth-brained part of this fandom with the help of the author's countless retcons are so obsessed with making the Darkling the ultimate evil, they are actively stripping other characters of agency and motivations and flattening the last vestiges of complexity of the worldbuilng.

Female characters, as it often happens, get any semblance of independent thought and moral ambiguity ripped out of their hands and given a perpetual victim card instead. Alina can't be a young woman struggling with her new status, power, complex political situation and her own messed up mindset, no, she's is a sweet innocent lamb who never wanted anything in life but live in a swamp and be Mal's wilting houseplant, and then the big bad Darkling appeared, seduced her, manipulated her and made her want all those ungodly things like power, status and attention of an attractive man who doesn't smell of sweaty socks and insecurity.

Zoya can't be an overly ambitious abrasive young woman who learns the real price of power and the difference between leadership and bullying hard way. No, you see, the Darkling ruined her life (I'm sure she would have fared so much better as a child bride, yes) and "groomed" her (by talking to her like twice in 10 years), so now everyone must feel sorry for her, hand her power and benefits for free and clap when she turns into a dragon.

Genya couldn't be a young woman who, after going through sexual abuse, decides to take justice in her own hands and stops her abuser from ever hurting anyone else once and forever. Instead, she is just a poor naive girl who was manipulated by the evil Darkling into staying and wanted to kill the King only because of him. She's actually doesn't mind that her rapist walks free and most likely continues abusing other girls. Ah, and also the Darkling manipulated Elizaveta from beyond his grave! I think we all should start wearing tin foil hats, what if he manipulates feeble feminine brains through microwaves?

Heaven forbid a woman have ambitions, pursue her own goals, seek revenge or- gasp - be wrong about anything. Everything should be micromanaged by a man, and if a woman hurt someone - it's because an evil man made her do it!

Genya's case is especially appalling, because not only it removes Genya's agency and denies her justice, it also shifts the blame from the actual rapist. Everyone talks their ass about how the Darkling should have prevented Genya from getting raped, and nobody asks of maybe the rapist shouldn't have stuck his junk into an unwilling woman? And maybe something should be done to prevent him from doing it in the future. The King is painted as some unwitting accidental participant, a mindless drone who can't help but rape any girl the Darkling brings to the palace, and the problem is not him being a rapist pig, but in the Darkling who "allows" him to be around girls. As soon as the white saviour Nikolai allows the king to be around young defenseless girls, it's suddenly not a problem anymore. Does the King's dick stop working when the Darkling is not around?

It's also bizarre, how Aleksander, according to the same part of the fandom, was able to predict exactly that King will get interested in Genya precisely, that the Queen will get jealous enough to refuse Genya support, but not jealous enough to send her away or get her killed, and that a young abused girl will have enough emotional strength to diligently play his spy and won't try to run away or even kill herself if it gets too much. And all that for what, to gain one spy and potential assassin? And if he can predict everything 1000 steps ahead, how come he couldn't predict how it all will play out? Schrodinger's clairvoyance works in mysterious ways, truly.

And then we have "amazing" fan theories that the Darkling actually started every war in Grishaverse (because Shu Han and Fjerda totally didn't have any political motivations ever and were just sitting idly when Darkling was busy pitting their troops with Ravkan), manipulated every Grisha in Ravka and personally orchestrad and overlooked every petty squabble teenage Grisha might have had, became the sole reason for any case of Grisha persecution, even those that happened before his birth, and was secretly running Ravka while periodically staging coups against himself. It's hard to be the only sentient creature in the world, you must entertain yourself by any means possible. It raises the question, did anyone in Grishaverse did anything on their own will? Are there any other characters, or it's just Aleksander and his little puppet theatre?

Calling it now, if there is another Grishaverse book, we will find out that the Darkling was mind-controlling the Lantsovs and Druskelle all along, and Genya, Zoya, the king-rapist and Jarl Brum will hug it out crying about how the evil tyrant Darkling abused them all. Why deal with actual, complicated issues like systemic oppression, prejudice, sanctioned genocide, political corruption, military conflicts, when you can have a universal stand-in for all evil in the world?

[kazissexy]

DROP THE LORE I BEG OF YOU !!!

⬆️ starving twiddler freak

Our AU (created with @sockszzz) is structured like a TV show. We currently have the basic plot for seasons 1 and 2, along with a few loose ideas for the later seasons. The story begins pre-Two-Face, focusing on Harvey Dent before his transformation. Two-Face himself doesn’t appear until season 2. So in season 2 is where we REALLY get into twiddler shenanigans

Season 1:

In the first season, Harvey and Eddie don’t interact much. Harvey is the District Attorney and is running for Mayor. The season mainly explores his childhood and his close relationship with Bruce Wayne, who has been his friend since childhood. While Bruce is busy as Batman, Harvey’s storyline takes the B plot. He’s focused on investigating the Maroni crime family, trying to build a solid case against them, all while juggling his mayoral campaign. As Gotham's Apollo, he’s determined to clean up the city.

Harvey’s unwavering sense of justice and integrity intimidates the Maroni crime family, so they start putting pressure on him. However, Harvey doesn’t back down—he’s determined to be the one who can withstand Maroni’s intimidation tactics. Maroni, increasingly frustrated, eventually orders an assassination attempt. During a court session involving one of Maroni’s grunts, Harvey has acid thrown in his face, intended to kill him. Miraculously, he survives, but the trauma triggers a mental decline, and his health begins to deteriorate.

Due to the failed assassination attempt, Maroni shares information about Harvey’s DID with Janice Porter, a woman obsessively infatuated with Harvey. Armed with this information, Janice blackmails Harvey into a toxic relationship. As his mental state worsens, Harvey becomes more isolated, refusing help from those around him.

Ironically, instead of breaking him, these events only make Harvey more determined to crack down on Maroni. Seeing his plan backfire, Maroni escalates. One night, while Janice is keeping Harvey occupied, Maroni’s men break into the Dent residence and torture Gilda Dent, Harvey’s pregnant wife. When Harvey arrives home, he’s ambushed, tied up, and beaten, forced to watch as the thugs repeatedly assault and ultimately kill Gilda. Left broken and traumatized, Harvey remains tied up, lying in his own vomit and tears, until the police eventually arrive.

The next day, despite his trauma, Harvey insists on prosecuting a Maroni grunt. Although Gordon expresses his understanding if Harvey wants to step back, Harvey remains resolute. However, the trial ends in betrayal: the judge, bribed by Maroni, declares the grunt innocent. In a fit of rage, Harvey flips his coin and, when it lands the wrong way, he shoots the grunt point-blank in the head. Amid the ensuing chaos, Harvey escapes.

Disillusioned with justice as he once knew it, Harvey realizes that the legal system will never deliver the revenge he craves. He decides to build his own justice system, embracing his new identity as Two-Face—a transformation that marks the beginning of season 2, “The Rise of Two-Face.”

Meanwhile, Edward Nygma (the Riddler) is up to his usual antics, creating distractions for Batman throughout the season. Though his presence doesn’t directly impact the main plot, he serves as an entertaining and chaotic element in Gotham’s landscape.

Season 2:

Harvey is on the rise, slowly building his crime empire. He’s encroaching on other mafia territories, amassing an army to take his revenge on Maroni. Meanwhile, Oswald Cobblepot is growing increasingly uneasy. With Harvey climbing the criminal ranks and old enemies resurfacing—most notably Sofia Falcone, recently released from Arkham—Oswald is beginning to worry about his position as Gotham’s top crime lord.

Sofia, determined to rebuild the Falcone crime empire in her own image and take revenge on Oswald, forms an alliance with Roman Sionis (Black Mask) and his ruthless right-hand man, Victor Zsasz. Tension builds as a gang war looms, with Oswald fiercely defending his territory while both Sofia and Harvey chip away at his control.

Sofia, recognizing Edward Nygma’s intelligence and investigative skills, hires him for her cause. Knowing that money won’t entice Eddie, she appeals to something more tempting: revenge. Playing on the rocky history between Eddie and Oswald, Sofia manipulates Eddie into working for her. However, things go sideways, and Sofia eventually betrays him, trapping Eddie in a torture chamber with his head in a hydraulic press. Miraculously, Eddie escapes, but now bitter and vengeful, he realizes that with both Sofia and Oswald hunting him, he needs an ally.

Recognizing the pragmatic choice, Eddie approaches Harvey to propose a mutually beneficial alliance—offering his intelligence in exchange for protection and manpower. Harvey, while agreeing, takes the opportunity to humble Eddie a bit. As they start working together, their begrudging alliance gradually evolves into a genuine partnership. The two begin to warm up to one another, and their professional relationship starts to shift into something more personal.

During a gang attack, Eddie (along with Miss Tuesday) loses his home, prompting Harvey to offer them a place to stay. Living together brings Eddie and Harvey even closer, blurring the line between business and affection. They slowly develop romantic feelings, culminating in their first kiss after successfully pulling off a heist against Sionis. While Eddie immediately assumes they’re a couple, Harvey takes a bit longer to come to that realization—prompted by Eddie finally making it clear.

— Note: Thats pretty much the synopsis of it, Me and my sister are writing episode PDFS in a script format that goes way more into detail. If you want something a little more story heavy, My sister is writing a semi-cannon story taking place during season two of our AU on AO3. Check it out: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65245519/chapters/167843455, if the link for whatever reason doesn´t work its called ¨In Harvey Dent we trust¨.

[theadhddimsenion]

Some ideas for helluva boss episodes and subsequent character development in season three.

First off my personal favorite of these it's time for "ghodtfuckers 2! Bethenny busts out!"

The episode starts out with everything going great for i.m.p they are bigger and better than ever and everyone is happy and content except for one and that oddly enough is the one demon who is almost always in a good mood and that is millie. She seems a little confused and put off by how much the company has grown and where blitz has never been happier and even stolas is in the best mood he's been in since last sinsmas but millie has concerns about the new reforms surrounding i.m.p's new clientele limitations and while she isn't angry with moxxie for putting forth the idea she is feeling pushed into a box with her pregnancy and i.m.p being reformed and there was even talk of giving up assassin work entirely in favor of bodyguard work!! And she doesn't like it one bit!

We cut to a half blind but alive Ronaldo crawling out of the pool he "died" and heading to the office of the now ruined one star wonder and cashing off some human urban exploerers so he goes to his desk and grabs the artifact he used to get to the human world and vows his revenge. He soon hatches a plan to lead i.m.p into a trap.

The first step of his plan is to put in a fake mission call to I.m.p and taking advantage of the fact that stolas doesn't know who he is.

Step two is him putting a personal request for millie taking advantage of how left out she was feeling.

The third step is while blitz and others are off on what Ronaldo assumes is a wild goose chase he will take advantage of millies mentally weakened state and remove her from the equation.

The fourth and final step is with the main mental support gone he can pick off the rest of the team one by one at his leisure.

However while Ronaldo's plan does work at first he starts wasting time tormenting millie saying stuff like "what's the matter little hick I thought my words didn't mean shit to you!?!?! Hahahhahahahahhahahahahahhahahha!!!!" But eventually moxxie and loona show up and try and fight him off but Ronaldo isn't easily beaten and just when it looks like the end blitz catches Ronaldo's punch and the freaky fish guy panics as he can't get to the wild stallion of hell like he used to before blitz and a band of real ghosts finish him off for good.

Afterwards in a scene that mirrors ghostfuckers ending millie sits on top of the van and broods and blitz immediately knows something is wrong when she doesn't respond to her being wrong about the existence of ghosts and immediately goes to her. Millie vents her pain and frustration with everything, about how she doesn't want to be a housewife or a bodyguard and doesn't understand why blitz has suddenly started caring about humans and what other people think of him and blitz levels her explaining everything about his life recently and at the end tells her that if the i.m.p reforms bothered her that much he would cancel them and perhaps even gives everyone a raise now that he could afford to, moxxie reassures her that he will always love her regardless of her desicon regarding the child and loona mentions she likes having a veteran around to show her the ropes.

Veroskia gets captured by the dhorks and i.m.p has to save her. Or maybe she needs help dealing with glitz and glam.

Blitz gets one short with him just having a nice time with his family.

When blitzs arc is complete his ultimate reward will be becoming the first imp to ever unlock his full demons form and saving his found family with it.

[nontacitare]

Mastermindery

I can't stop thinking about all the "masterminds" running around in the episode "Mastermind" and the implications for the legal system in Hell. The accused or self-proclaimed masterminds are Blitz, Andrealphus, Stolas, and Satan, but Vassago, Striker, and Stella clearly have their own plots and goals as well.

And I was fascinated by the legal proceedings. There are clearly laws and a penal system in Hell, but no Bill of Rights or concept of innocent until proven guilty. Among the crimes are using the Grimoire in an unauthorized manner, a Guardian allowing the Grimoire to be used by another, unauthorized travel to Earth, behavior on Earth that puts Hell in danger, sexual assault (especially of a Goetia), and murder (especially of a Goetia, especially by an Imp.)

The actual crime which both Blitz and Stolas committed was the misuse of the Grimoire. But Andrealphus didn't lead with that, instead just listing that as one of many crimes committed by Blitz. Andrealphus' goal was to gain Stolas' position and holdings, and there were very few ways he could lose. Either Blitz would be executed, which would not only hurt but weaken Stolas significantly, forcing the Goetia to reassign his responsibilities, which Andrealphus would likely gain, or Stolas would take the blame for Blitz, meaning Stolas would either be executed or exiled, with Andrealphus most likely gaining Stolas' duties as well as control of heiress Octavia. If the court believed Striker's testimony, then there was the bonus of clearing Stella of suspicion of the attempted murder of Stolas (a crime she actually committed.) Ultimately ice dude didn't really care about the Grimoire; it was just a way to get his foot in the door.

The only way Andrealphus could have lost is the only way Stolas could have won. If Blitz had said, "Oh, you mean that book thingy always floating around my boyfriend like a demented stalker? Never touched it. Looks real boring. IMP's business plan is based off of this completely legally registered Asmodean crystal which lets me travel to Earth. That's not a crime, right Ozzy? And sexual assault? Dude's a natural born teleporter. How would that work exactly? I'm a threat to humans, not Goetia." That would call into question all of Andrealphus' charges, and both Blitz and Stolas might have walked free.

Of course, since Blitz was not actually the mastermind he was accused of being, he unintentionally threw Stolas under the bus almost immediately. He sealed Stolas' fate by saying the Guardian of the Grimoire let him use it, and then his own by saying he could totally kill a Goetian prince if he wanted to, "but I would never do that."

Because Satan did very much care about the Grimoire, and very much cared about Imps trying to assassinate Goetia, or even having the ability to do so. (And Striker really should not trust that promise of immunity for a second.)

So the only way Blitz could win was for Stolas to falsely claim to be the mastermind behind it all. The prince's ploy worked because it fed into everyone's expectations. 1) Imps able to kill Goetia? Concocting master plans? Ha. As if. And if a Goetia were actually behind everything, there was no reason to fear an imp uprising. 2) It tracks for a Goetia prince to try to find ways to rule Earth. It really, really tracks. We the audience know Stolas would never do that, but the court wouldn't. As for the other charges, no one believed the sexual assault thing, and wouldn't unless Stolas confirmed it, and half the court already suspected that either Stella or Andrealphus were behind the attempt on Stolas life. There was just no proof.

Side note - while certainly evil, Stella's plan to kill her husband wasn't actually stupid. Her goals had nothing to do with Stolas' money; she wanted full custody of Octavia and revenge on Stolas, and as long as Octavia never found out it would have actually worked. It was Andrealphus who would get nothing, since Stolas' position would pass on to his daughter. Ice dude had to be the one to discredit him to take his position.

In the end, Stolas as sacrificial lamb gave almost everyone what they wanted. Blitz was released as a "dutiful imp," Andrealphus got the power he sought, Stella got custody of Octavia, and Satan got a pawn to use against the Goetia.

And this is what makes Satan the real mastermind, as he claimed. That bit about Stolas laying his head on the block and Satan saying, "Uh, what are you doing?" wasn't just a joke or Stolas not reading the room. The chains dragged him forward. There was a drum beat. The headsman's axe did rise. That was a mock execution. Satan was telling ALL the Goetia, "I can order any one of your deaths whenever I want to. So stop trying to take over Earth every few centuries and remember to obey your betters." But by sparing Stolas, he was doing the Goetia family and especially Stolas a solid, by showing he was also their protector. And by making Stolas' banishment only 100 years, he was also letting Andrealphus know who was really in charge.

I have other thoughts, but this is too long already. All in all, though, a fantastic episode.

[tongue-like-a-razor]

I was thinking about a fic where Vincent falls in love with a target? He was supposed to kill her, but he fell in love. He starts a relationship with her, but she doesn't know about the murder order. Maybe she became a threat to a powerful person for whatever reason, so they decided they wanted to put an end to her. Vincent obviously doesn't kill her, he becomes her protector and abandons the life of an assassin to be with her, what happens is that he has to constantly look over his shoulder and be alert, not only because her life is in danger, but ultimately he's afraid his past will catch up with him and he doesn't want her to find out anything. Furthermore, he made them move to another place in order to lose sight of those who wanted her dead, but obviously he marked this as something else. And the past really catches up, because whoever ordered her death sent other assassins to kill her, but they didn't expect Vincent - who wants revenge against anyone who dares to try to harm the woman he loves so desperately. He has decided he wants the head of the snake (the person who ordered the hit) and everyone in his path. Something he simply hadn't done before to try and protect her. At the same time, he has to deal with the fact that after she found out, she "lost" trust in him. She felt betrayed, scared (not of him, of the situation) and felt like everything was a lie between them. Basically, seeing a lovesick Vincent doing everything in his power to prove how desperately in love he is and how she has changed his entire being while also destroying everyone who ever thought of hurting her. Obviously, an extremely happy, intoxicating and love-filled ending. With them so in love and happy it hurts. You can add love making if you wish. Love making. The kind of I'm desperately in love with you, type of love making. I also imagine him falling in love with her at first sight. I feel like anything else in this situation would be cheap. Him just being completely mesmerized and starting pursuing (stalking) her in every way possible, not only to get into her life but also to take care of her. Maybe she leaves him for a little after she finds the truth, to organize her thoughts, but he goes after her because he will always find her and prove his love and devotion. He cannot live without her. I imagine one of those amazing chase scenes you write for his characters. I imagine it as a very vulnerable but very romantic chase. He comes clean about everything and tells her the whole truth, and they fall even more in love, trusting and submitting completely to each other and their love, without restrictions.

It's Vincent. He will have psychotic tendencies. Especially since he's in love. But it's the kind of psychotic tendency that makes you fall in love with him even more, because he doesn't do it in a way that harms you. It's those delicious types of tendencies that you crave and love. That makes it a desperate love. That protection.

Characters like Vincent are the ones who, if they fell in love, it would be the fiercest, most powerful love you could ever witness. The kind of love story that happens once in a lifetime, the kind that stays with you, you know? Toe curling, chest collapsing, you almost pass out - kind of love. At least, that's what I imagine.

I hope this is understandable and not all over the place, I wrote this in one sitting, as it all came to my mind. I really hope you can write this, I'm dying for a Vincent fic written by you ❤

BABE. The way this gave me BUTTERFLIES. Like wowww I’m obsessed 🤯 I will try my best to hit your main points and do this masterpiece of a request justice! Thank you so much for sending this in, it’s spectacular 👏👏👏

[unfriendlyamazon]

i watched a bunch of videos on how bad the netflix adaption of atla is and anyway here's my ygo atla au thoughts

i guess yugi making the avatar is the easiest solution he is extremely aang-like (aang's kuzon speech and saying to zuko "do you think we could've been friends" is a stand out moment) and actually you know what his play tactics of evade and weave work well with aang's airbending (i was going to point to a specific fight with zuko but actually i'm watching the first episode it's every fight with zuko) so okay airbender it is

(i also like the idea of maybe pulling in some season 0 ideas of this alternate side of him that takes revenge and it's possible maybe he finds relief in his avatar state maybe he's so used to being powerless that feeling that powerful feels good and it scares him)

anzu is also a really good katara stand in ("DON'T YELL AT HIM") ultimate he asked for no pickles energy i actually think she'd do better as an airbender it would match her fairy deck and i think it'd be cute for yugi and anzu to grow up together in the air temple maybe he took her with her when he ran away it kinda muddies the whole "last airbender" thing and i like the idea of the yugi gaang representing all four elements so i'll stick with waterbender for her

honda is easy he's an earthbender look at him i do like regular guy honda and generally try to keep him un-magical in magical settings but that boy is an earthbender signed up with the earth kingdom army to fight firebenders and probably has a good reason for leaving and joining up with the gaang

katsuya firebender we all saw it coming i think it might be interesting to make him "mixed" and that also lets me do other things with serenity so maybe he's from an occupied earth kingdom town he definitely struggles to control his firebending he just gets too excited and isn't patient (much like aang when he learns firebending) and much like his arc in the show he gets stronger and more in control

seto kaiba is a zuko-esque figure to me, motivated by all the wrong things, pushing him to take extreme and harmful actions, even though deep down he is a good person, but actually you know who i love not giving magical powers to in a magical world? seto kaiba babyyyyyyy he has to scrap and create and bring himself up in a world where people have inherent magic abilities and that's just so him isn't it? i think it's possible he's a non-bender from another nation (i'm thinking earth kingdom? put your own thoughts in the replies) much like the mechanist from the northern air temple he was pulled and adopted by gozaburo for his technological mind and to create war machines, giving a position but no power, but seto kaiba is anti-war so he bounces the fuck out of there i guess that makes him not a villain and just like part of the gaang? maybe? idk i don't actually have like A Plot for this

yugi being the avatar sets up yami/atem as a roku mentor figure which i actually like

mai is just jun that's the character

make ryou a spirit i don't know which just do it

duke in a fire nation circus non-bender probably also an assassin sent to kill yugi it's okay tho they become friends

uuuuuh who else there's like 12 whole characters in yugioh i don't see any characters as a stand in for ozai except maybe alexander from capsule monsters??? is that a weird pull??? yeah i watched capsule monsters and not the final season of the show fight me nerds

pegasus.... definitely a sell out to the fire nation i don't know if i want him to be fire nation i kinda like the idea of him being like i see the way the wind blows maybe it's his quest to find the avatar and track down yugi that would put him in a better antagonistic role and have a reason for them to keep running into him

mokuba earth bending prodigy probably why seto had to get him out of there i guess that makes him the toph of this au??? unclear will reexamine

zigfried fire nation shill has a beach episode with seto who spends the whole time trying to drown him in the ocean

uuuuh got nothing for the ishtars sorry feel free to reply

[senblades]

To follow up on my comment about Fftsr + pq2

would futaba go behind everyone’s back to form her own “revenge squad” alongside ryuji and makoto, maybe including Ken, who would definitely sympathize with her

what if sumi and haru pop out of one of the labyrinths with kotone in tow, and now futaba’s revenge squad have blocked off the door to that screening room, and now Fuuka and Ann are trying to talk everyone down

oh ho ho I love fucking around with pq2 au's- there's just so much potential for fuckery! (and judgement from the other persona teams HA)

(this is also a good opportunity to analyse everyone's behaviour in the latest chapters of fftsr lmao)

Hm... Ken is an interesting one, since I think Akechi has a lot of similarities with both Shinjiro AND Ken, and I think they'd both recognise that. Additionally, it's not an exact 1-to-1 situation, so I think that if Futaba stayed in a state of "FUCK THIS" long enough to try and get revenge, I think a solid chunk of the p3 squad would want to stay solidly out of it (or, damage control- I think you're right that Fuuka would be with Ann on this one)

Ultimately, though, Futaba in the most recent chapters of fftsr is being impulsive. She's angry, hurt, and most of all: confused. She doesn't have the full situation. She made an irrational and impulsive descision in the midst of her panic, and the rest of the thieves are either feeling too betrayed (Ryuji, Makoto), or too panicked/confused (Yusuke, Morgana, Ann) to not enable her. Point is, that getting q2'd is a GREAT opportunity for Futaba to calm down lmao. In saying that, though, I think that "calming down" is more synonomous to "crashing", in this case. Even if Futaba gets her answers, she isn't going to be happy about them. I think Taba in this pq2 scenario wouldn't be a super effective Navi for a while

As for Sumi and Haru- I think that once everyone gets forcibly thrown together, the misunderstanding would clear up pretty quick. In saying that, though, that just brings on a whole lot of OTHER questions- main one being "time travel???" second one being "Why are you buddies with an assassin, again?"

Oh ho ho the wildcards...

Ren! is fucked! HA- getting q2'd directly after chapter 45 would really just leave him disoriented to hell and back, and it would probably take some time to convince him that what's happening is actually real. I also doubt he'd be in an emotional state to lead... anything. So that's a solid 7-ish persona users without anyone to direct them.

Akechi! :D he's also fucked! HA yeah Sumi and Haru aren't getting any direction outta that one- so that brings our "unattended persona user" count up to 10

So Minato, Yu, and Kotone need to pick up the slack. great! I actually think that Kotone in this situation is best choice for "full group leader". Why? Well, I don't know when exactly the p4 squad gets q2'd, but it definitely takes a while for the "moral greyness of it all" to actually sink into the plot for them- so when confronted with the shitshow that is the p5 squad at the moment, I think Yu would be at a loss.

p3, on the other hand, is very used to morality soup! In saying that, Minato is on that whole "2000's emo boy" bullshit, and doesn't have the assertive force to get everyone under control- considering it's pre-October-4. Kotone meanwhile, though still in "pre-October-4" land, definitely has more of that "Aight! Shut up! Everyone get your shit together!" energy, that the p5 squad would really benefit from HA (and, enough compassion to balance both sides of the equation)

I think at first, everything would be a shitshow of pointing fingers though LMAO

Sorry for the very long answer... I have a lot of thoughts, and I didn't even cover half of them LMAO. I pity the pq2 writers

[coraniaid]

Good news: I have objectively ranked Buffy's worst multi-episode subplots. By which I mean, these are the ones that I personally most object to, and I ranked them in a spreadsheet so this is practically science.

7) Willow/Xander secretly cheating (Season 3). Not quite as bad as its reputation, honestly? Yes, it's not much fun to watch and yes, Alyson Hannigan and Nicholas Brendon don't have any obvious chemistry (although I really have to think that's intentional). But it at least serves a useful thematic purpose in the season, with Xander and Willow's secrets both mirroring Buffy's own secret about Angel's return and influencing how they react to finding out about it. Plus, it gives the writers an excuse to break up Cordelia and Xander, so it can't be all bad.

Speaking of which:

6) Cordelia and Xander (Seasons 2-3). Yeah, this just sucks, sorry. As a silly one episode gag it was fine, but spinning it out for longer than that was a mistake for both characters. Sure, you can try to retcon it to be something more interesting than it is (especially by taking the more human and sympathetic version of Xander that the show hadn't actually bothered creating yet and projecting him back into it), but as presented on screen this is the closest the show ever comes to writing Xander as an actual Joss Whedon self-insert fantasy. Oh, of course, the pretty and popular cheerleader falls in love with awkward misfit Xander Harris (no doubt won over by his strategy of lingering hostility and constant insults and allegations of promiscuity), and of course she abandons all her friends to be with him. Of course she finds it romantic that he tries to cast a love spell on her "for revenge" after she tries to break up with him. Of course he makes her so much happier than any of her other older or more popular boyfriends did. Uh huh. As is true for so much of Buffy and Angel, Cordelia deserved a lot better than this.

5) Oz and Veruca (Season 4). In which Seth Green annoys Joss Whedon and gets written out of the show in revenge. This wouldn't be the first time that something like this happened, of course. And it's telling that Oz, unlike Darla or Cordelia, is only sent away from town at the end of the arc, rather than killed off outright. But that doesn't change the fact that this is still pretty bad. Oz has been a werewolf for almost two years by this point. It doesn't really make sense that it would suddenly start making him act like this. There were ways to write Oz out that didn't involve such blatant character assassination. (Not that Oz ever had much in the way of characterization.) Oh, and the werewolf costumes are still awful. Only this low on the list because it sets the stage for Willow and Tara.

Speaking of writing characters out of the show:

4) Riley's secret late night vampire visits (Season 5). I don't like Riley. As far as I'm concerned he's one of the weaker links of Season 4. I think he's an incredibly boring character, that he's not particularly likeable as a person and that ultimately he's a poor fit for the show. I'm glad he was written out. However. Writing him out by first making him (at least metaphorically) unfaithful, something he'd never shown any sign of being before, and then having him issue an ultimation to Buffy in which he threatens to join a secret paramilitary squad in South America if she doesn't immediately forgive him for said infidelity, and then having Xander lecture Buffy about how great Riley is, actually, and this is really all Buffy's fault for not paying him enough attention while her mother was in hospital with a brain tumor was ... uh. A choice.

3) Willow's magic addiction (Season 6). The use of magic as a metaphor for drug addiction was not new to Season 6. Arguably it's the first metaphorical use for magic in the show at all, going all the way back to Giles' backstory as revealed in The Dark Age. The show's metaphors are usually a bit subtler than this though. But the real problem is that Willow's magic addiction ends up replacing a much more interesting story the show had been slowly setting up for years, about Willow over-relying on magic to find easy solutions and not particularly concerning herself with other people's opinions or consent and her slightly warped personal morality ("occasionally I'm callous and strange", but also "I've also thought of myself as a good person"). Once all her problems can be reduced to something external, to something which happens to her rather than because of her, something which she's almost tricked into by her (retroactively) bad, unsympathetic drug addict friend Amy, the show just forgets all about this previous character work. What memory spell?

2) Spike's hypnotic trigger (Season 7). Having chosen to interpret soul lore in the least interesting way they could possibly think of (having a soul makes you Good and any of the people you hurt should just get over it), the writers realized they had a problem. Other than sitting around in a basement feeling sorry for himself, they didn't have anything for the newly ensouled Spike to actually do. Their solution -- what if Spike were ... hypnotized? -- does nothing but set up some incredibly boring new conflicts that have absolutely nothing to do with his established character or existing past. Or indeed with much of anything. I mean, come on. If this is all the writers could think of doing with a souled Spike, why even bother giving him a soul at all?

This would be easily the worst of Buffy's subplots, seeing that it throws out five seasons of existing character development, wastes any number of potentially interesting story ideas and culminates in the absolute nadir that is Lies My Parents Told Me, were it not for:

1) "Is Giles the FIrst Evil?" (Season 7). A long-running mystery that spans multiple episodes and which requires all of the characters involved to not only be complete idiots but to actually cease to exist when the camera isn't pointed at them. (None of them ever thought to touch Giles despite knowing about the First? None of them hugged him or shook his hand despite not having seen him in months? None of them ever accidentally touched him while sharing a house for weeks?) And it's a mystery that largely only exists for the audience, a question which the actual characters don't even ask themselves until getting a phone call from a complete stranger who by his own testimony can only still be alive if Giles isn't the First (if Giles had been killed by a Bringer, then why would they have left any witnesses?). All in the service of a subplot which takes up valuable time from an already painfully overcrowded season and whose only actual payoff is a wretched and sordid little joke about Giles touching teenage girls. Just abysmal on every level.

[devilsrecreation]

All these oc’s but not enough threats, so let’s turn the sound up! You know what? I think it’s time for a villain roundup! (VILLAIN ROUNDUP)

Chonge (fang)-puff adder

I wouldn’t say Chonge is evil per se, more like misunderstood. He’s faced quite a bit of trauma in his past and his entire life thinking he was destined to be the bad guy. In reality, he’s afraid. He’s seen how his fellow snakes have been treated and has even watched his friends die with his own eyes. This got him to view everyone around him as an enemy in fear of getting eaten or mistreated in any way. He often tries to eat at least one of the skinks

He eventually starts thinking differently after getting rescued by Kifo, leading him to reform. No one (especially not the skinks) trust him at first, but they warm up to him

Chimp-Mkatili (cruel)

The leader of his tribe of violent chimps whom act like a gang. He’s an old acquaintance of Sumu and is majorly unpredictable. He can be chill one minute and trying to beat you senseless the next. Nobody really knows why he and his chimps are like this, but it seems as though he does bad things just because he can. He currently has a vendetta against the Outlands, as his former home got destroyed during Scar’s rule during Season 2. They now live probably in another forest out of the Pridelands and are plotting their revenge to destroy the Outlands and everyone in it, no matter what things are like now

As for how he knows Sumu, Sumu was a known hitman/assassin who would frequently get involved with evil animals to kill someone for food as payment. Yeah, the job with Simba was NOT his first rodeo, he’s been doing it for a while. Anyway, Mkatili was no exception to this and has hired Sumu to help them get rid of a rival chimp tribe. They eventually meet each other again, but a now (semi) reformed Sumu refuses Mkatili’s offer to join him which ultimately pisses the chimp off

Secretary bird-Kandamiza (crush; oppress)

A snobbish, holier-than-thou bird who thinks all snakes are evil incarnate and does whatever she can to harm them. She does this by trapping a poor serpent in her talons and stomping on their head until they’re either knocked out or dead. In her mind, she feels as if she’s protecting all of Africa from the evil that is the serpent race. Like Hatari, she claims she respects the circle of life, but fails to understand how snakes are part of it. She’s basically a representation of Hollywood’s tendency to make snakes the villain

She’s also a threat to the lizard population and tends to get a little greedy when hunting

Honey badger-Mpinzani (challenger; opponent)

Bunga, but evil. That’s how everyone in the Outlands describe him. A narcissistic, egotistical poacher who will gladly take anyone in anything. He used to be somewhat idolized as a hero/daredevil way back when, but all that fame got to his head and he started thinking he could do no wrong. Then he began causing problems just so he can swoop in and resolve it and starting unnecessary fights with other animals. He was eventually caught and banished, now poaching anywhere he wants …including the Outlands. Oh, and he’s friends with mongooses because of course he is

He doesn’t want peace. He wants problems.

Black shadow-like monsters- represent poachers/people involved with the Exotic Pet Trade

This one is….pretty self explanatory I think. Although I will say they are easily the most dangerous villains

Msumari (nail) and Mkaidi (bully)

Two more of Kenge’s toxic siblings who act as henchmen to Jino.

Msumari’s usually seen more with Jino than Mkaidi is and prefers to torture Kenge psychologically than physically, unlike her siblings. Her psychological torment can often break Kenge or whoever her victim is, thus putting the “nail on the coffin”.

Mkaidi is the dense, but short-fused one of the group that likes to aid Jino in beating up his victims. He’s also sort of the yes-man (lizard), supporting Jino’s quips with a “you tell em, Jino!” or something like that

I don’t know if they’d be alongside Jino in his debut episode, but they’d definitely be in the flashbacks

[raayllum]

Moving forward, what do you think is going to be Claudia's motivating Drive?

Viren, at least, was always able to tell himself that he was working for the sake of the Greater Good, but that's not something Claudia has ever cared all that much about-- her first, last, and only real concern has always been her Family. With that pillar removed (not that I think Viren is about to disappear completely, but he's definitely not going to be directly involved with her in quite the same way), what does she have left to fight for?

I mean, obviously Revenge can be a powerful driving motivator-- the whole series kicked off with revenge-induced assassinations, so we know that's not exactly nothing, and I can definitely see it being something pushing Claudia further down her current path.

But (IMHO) the story has also been moving somewhat further away from Cycles of Revenge, and I just can't see that being a strong enough motivator for Claudia when counterbalanced against everything our Heroes are fighting for. (Especially with Soren still holding out hope for her and being a weak chink in her armor.)

What's the piece I'm missing?

In a lot of ways, perpetuating the Cycle has always, indeed, been about seeking Revenge for the loss of loved ones.

Rayla: When I first came here, I was on a quest for revenge. But the minute I saw that egg, everything changed. Now, this is a journey of redemption. / I became so obsessed with revenge that I risked losing the best thing I ever had: you. Ezran: I'm sorry about what happened to your father, and what happened to mine. But we don't have to avenge them. We don't have to strike back. We can't choose peace. Callum: Then it's a cycle. You hurt me, someone will get revenge against the elves. It won't end.

This is also one of the key things that, at first, set Soren and Claudia apart from the bulk of the main cast. At first, Harrow and Viren weren't seeking revenge (the Magma Titan) but then they both succumbed to it (killing Thunder) and it continued to snowball from there. In spite of losing their families, Callum, Rayla, and Ezran chose to shed the cycles of revenge their parents (Harrow and Runaan) had partaken in to try and break it instead.

Conversely, Soren and particularly Claudia have been largely removed from the Cycle of Revenge... until 3x09 and firmly in 5x09. Soren and Claudia lost a family member, but their mother is alive and chose to leave. While they've experienced forms of loss, they've never had to literally grieve a death. Although Soren has complicated feelings about his dad, he's ultimately more relieved than anything else regarding his dad's death ("Dad is dead, Claudia. You don't have to do what he wants anymore"—4x07) and angry/despairing when it's reversed (yelling no in show / Soren snarled. “Why couldn’t you just stay dead?”—TDP Reflections: Strangers).

Aaravos dangled Viren over Claudia's nose like a carrot dangling from a stick, and she followed. He didn't offer her revenge, but a way to save her father. But the same trick won't work twice on her. Claudia isn't going to try to bring Viren back again — it'd be a repeat and wouldn't progress her character any further — but she also can't walk away from Aaravos, because she's our sole primary antagonist outside the mirror and still might have a role in freeing him. And if she walks away from Aaravos, she's also going to be walking out of the plot, and we can't have that. Thus, I think power — and subsequent revenge — is about the only thing Aaravos would have left to offer her.

It gives her an incentive to 1) go after the prison and/or 2) generally do Aaravos' bidding, and if she couldn't defeat the trio without his help the first time, allying herself with him is the biggest way she can level up as a threat in terms of just like, power scaling.

There are also still a few bits of information that Aaravos knows but Claudia doesn't (that Rayla was responsible for Viren's death, and that Viren lied in 3x03; although for the latter, that's more something she couldn't or wasn't willing to accept) that could spur her further into well, going wonderfully apeshit.

Revenge is more of a fine motivator for her in 4x09 (tricking Rayla, although Terry gets her to turn around) and in S5 with the dragon (smirking and smiling about having the upper hand, making it scared of her) and in her altercations with the trio.

So yeah, my vote is on revenge — for better or definitely worse!

Obligatory fanon s6 fic plug in because of Claudia's revenge arc getting underway

[themattress]

Re:Maki Roll

So when it comes to Danganronpa V3's story, Maki is one of my least favorite characters. But I recently thought about it and I feel the need to offer something of a correction: I actually don't have that much of a problem with Maki herself. While I feel like making her the Ultimate Assassin was a mistake on Kodaka's part, her characterization is perfectly sensible for that talent and the upbringing that gave it to her. Looking at her in a bubble, she's fine. My actual problem is with the narrative framing of her and the other character's reactions to her.

Usually, Danganronpa is good at not trying to force a point of view down your throat so far as certain characters are concerned. It presents them in all their flaws and indefensible actions, and lets you form you own opinion. But with Maki, the narrative seems weirdly obsessed with making you like and sympathize with her, delving way more into her past and feelings than most other characters, and casting such a flattering light on her that it's easy to ignore the fact that as the Ultimate Assassin she is a mass murderer and displays little remorse for it.

This segues into how the other characters react to her and treat her. So Kokichi exposes that she's the Ultimate Assassin; in other words a professional killer trapped in a game where the objective is to kill people. And instead of being concerned about that...nobody cares. Well actually, that's not entirely true: they do care for a while, but then Kaito says "Leave it to me, she's not that bad and I'll prove it!" and then everyone just accepts this and the issue doesn't come up again. Maki doesn't suffer much ostracization all because Kaito decides for no solid reason that she has to be a good person, despite her attitude usually being not so good, which persists as she casually throws out her "Do you want to die?" catchphrase at others.

But of course, Chapter 5 is the real lowlight. Maki deliberately chooses to lie to her friends by promising not to go off on her own to kill Kokichi, steals poison from Shuichi's lab so that Kokichi can suffer as he dies, screws up and seemingly kills Kaito, and as a result tries to get her friends killed in the class trial so that (who she thinks is) Kokichi can be executed along with them. In short, she deceived people so that she could attempt lethal revenge, it backfired on her, and rather than learn anything responded by deceiving the same people so that she could attempt lethal revenge again, only this time she knew it would cost those people their lives. In Chapter 6, she again promises against lethal revenge and again goes back on it, with the only improvement made being that she's willing to sacrifice her own life for it instead of sacrificing others' lives. And I don't mind any of this! It makes Maki an interesting character.

What I mind is everyone else forgiving her and giving her a free pass for all of it. At no point does anyone else say "What the fuck, Maki!? That is messed up!" They forgive her for her multiple betrayals instantaneously, with Shuichi even later throwing a Kaito line at Maki that calls her "the hero", as if she's some kind of noble paragon. Whenever Maki's actions are brought up, it's in the context of claiming that the Mastermind "controlled her" to do it through fake memories of Kokichi being a Remnant of Despair, with nobody pointing out that everyone else got those same fake memories and nobody but Maki chose to act upon them the way she did; a way she explicitly promised them she would not. Maybe Kodaka thought he was doing the same thing he did with Hina in the original Danganropa, but those situations were completely different. Hina was a regular girl pushed to an emotional/mental breaking point by Sakura being physically assaulted and then killing herself plus a suicide note that Monokuma fabricated, and her actions very specifically included her own death along with everyone else's. Maki is a professional assassin who was cool-headed to the point where she's the one who pulled everyone else out of a depressive funk, Kaito was not dead until she seemingly killed him while trying to kill Kokichi, and she wanted to get everyone else but herself killed. Hina being instantly forgiven for what she did while having a total breakdown makes sense, Maki being instantly forgiven for conscious, cold-blooded betrayal does not.

I, however, will forgive Maki, and instead declare Kodaka guilty! It's punishment time!

[chevelleneech]

The Acolyte ep7: The Good!

I posted my negative thoughts first, to get them out of the way since they were my initial reaction. However, I didn’t end the episode upset or even frustrated. If you want to read them though, click here.

Going to the good…

This episode, while flawed in my opinion, did a good job following through on what it seemingly set the tone and theme of the show as. As far as I know since getting into the series, it’s meant to be a villain origin story, but no one really knows who the villain is supposed to be.

We know Mae was the assassin, but we never knew if she’d remain our dark side pov. Then we met Qimir, the by-the-book villain who is looking to recruit people to the dark side, and Osha, his likely pupil given her call to freedom and power since youth. We also had an inkling it could be a Jedi who turns, because it’s possible, as we’ve seen it with Anakin (if he was a Jedi, I don’t actually know, lol).

Point is, we knew the show would be about someone choosing the dark side, but not who. This episode followed through on why it’d be possible and even justified, because the Jedi have an inflated sense of ego no matter who it harms, and while I don’t know everything about Star Wars, I do know that has been a long lasting conversation. The Jedi Order wants ultimate control without coming across as being oppressive, and that is simply not a feasible want in life. As a result, they must cover up their crimes, no matter how well intended.

As such, we saw in this episode that while Indara attempted to do the right thing the whole time, she still chose to protect the aggressors. Which was her team, thus claiming the lives of an entire coven. We saw Torbin, a young man being taught he was an authority figure even though he clearly wasn’t ready to be on the field, act on his own impulse just because he wanted to go back to a place of comfort and privilege that benefited him. And lastly we saw Sol, a man clearly in search of his Purpose, choose to act on his emotions instead of trying to understand a different culture’s way of life.

What stood out to me the most, as well, is that Sol didn’t even know the girls apart from each other as he attempted to stake his claim. I know he meant well to an extent, but he called out for Osha despite knowing Mae is the one with the symbol on her head. It can be argued he didn’t see it, but that also proves my point. He didn’t feel a connection to Osha specifically. Like Indara said, he put his own deep seated wants above what was actually happening.

Sol decided Osha passed the Jedi test. Sol assumed the worst of Aniseya to justify killing her. Sol decided Mae was too attached to the coven to give her any benefit of the doubt. Sol chose to kill Mae to save Osha. Sol chose to protect himself by agreeing to lie to Osha and make her sister out to be a murder. Sol, Indara, and Torbin all acted out of selfishness, and while Kelnacca could have chosen not to jump into battle, he really is the only one who did not cause harm. His body was taken over and used without his permission, and as a result, his life was chosen to mean more than tens of others.

As much as I spoke on why the episode didn’t hit the mark for me, I do still think it is a really solid foundation for why Osha eventually going dark makes sense. It also redeems Mae, because she could have chosen to kill all Jedi everywhere, yet she didn’t. It also helps make better sense of why she decided to turn herself in once learning Osha was alive. I already figured it was because she had her sister back, but that was when I thought there was true mind games going on with the Jedi and she wanted to tell Osha she didn’t start the fire.

She did start the fire, but it’s still a solid reasoning, because had the Jedi not been there, none of it would have happened regardless. At the same time, Mae’s want for revenge stemmed from believing the Jedi killed Osha, and because she saw Sol kill her mother. So it makes even more sense that she hates him the most, and decided to kill him once again after Osha refuses to forgive her. Sol ruined her life, and unbeknownst to her at the time, chose to kill her too.

I kind of lost my train of thought… sorry.. but basically, I think for all its worth, the episode did stick to its guns. We know why Mae wants revenge, we know why Osha never felt truly connected to being a Jedi in the end (because Sol forced it more so than he let it happen naturally), and we know why Sol has been so guilt ridden and also confused as to why and how Mae turned out. He asserted she was dead, because he let her fall. He didn’t think she was a killer, because she never was before his actions turned her into one.

Okay, so I’m tired of typing now and gotta get some sleep for work, but that’s pretty much all my thoughts. I think. If not, you’ll certain see more of them over the next week. I also think I’m going to make a predictions post tomorrow, so I’ll link that here if I do. Bye.

Wait, quick thoughts after reading it back.

Who saved Mae? I’m confused as to that part, and am partially hoping it’s not Qimir, because it would make me side eye their lack of a dynamic. Unless they have him save her and send her on her way, only for them to meet up a decade later, and he realizes she needs guidance right as we is seeking a pupil, so he decides to train her.

And the last last thing… people who hate the idea of the Jedi being corrupt, are probably not going to like this episode even though the Jedi overall are not the ones who covered anything up. It was that single crew, but we all know how Those Folks can get. They’re already too deep into their “The Acolyte is the worst show ever!” high horses, and they aren’t coming down anytime soon, lol.

Okay, now goodbye!

[mermaidsirennikita]

HR with the moral compass trope please!!!! It can be the hero or heroine

Hi! I assume this is the "x person is my moral compass" thing, right? Maybe morality chain-lite? Forgive me lol, I hope this is the right vibe.

Obviously, there's Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas, if you haven't read it yet. I find that Evie really holds Sebastian to a higher standard.

I recently read Lorraine Heath's Beyond Scandal and Desire. Mick Trewlove isn't a horrible person, but he is... morally dubious, and his entire plan is to destroy peoples' lives for revenge. When he meets Aslyn, her dignity and goodness slowly erodes his resentment, and again, she holds him to a higher stanfard.

Shadowheart by Laura Kinsale IIIIS this. The hero is a totally coldhearted assassin, and initially forces the heroine to marry him for entirely self-centered reasons. He teaches her a thing or two and she becomes a bit more jaded, but overall she stays strong and fucks with his sense of morality. There's a beautiful scene where he's like "go take confession, but I'm not going because I'm anathema and can't be in a Church" (looollll he's very dramatic) and she's basically like "I'm not going to until you do, because if I go to Heaven without you it's not Heaven". It's BEAUTIFUL. TW: first encounter is non.

Kinsale is really good at this, and For My Lady's Heart (which comes before Shadowheart, about a different couple) also has this. However, in this case the heroine is known as this cold snake of a woman, and the hero is this knight who pledged himself to her like, over a decade ago and hasn't seen her since. He's really disappointed with the person she turns out to be lol. He isn't perfect, but he's more idealistic than her, and softens her a lot, makes her question her life, etc.

Aaaand another Kinsale. Flowers from the Storm has a hedonistic rake hero (like, he literally has a pregnant mistress in the beginning and is like "whatever pass the kid off as your husband's") who goes through a total life change (he has a stroke which makes it difficult for him to process language and therefore he can't speak) and is taken care of by this very pure-hearted Quaker girl who he begins to fall for. She has to relax a little, but he also learns about a different perspective from her.

What I Did for a Duke has a revenge-driven hero who seeks to seduce this heroine to get back at her brother. HOWEVER! She knows his game from the beginning. He begins to soften and sort of go back to this softer, kinder version of himself through her.

The Madness of Viscount Atherbourne by Elisa Braden has another "vengeful heroine learns better through the heroine" story. The hero is trying to avenge himself upon the heroine's brother (who I think killed his brother in a duel) and ruins her, forcing a marriage. But she accepts better of him, and he has to rise to the occasion.

The Dragon and The Pearl by Jeannie Lin. In this case, the heroine is a bit tricky herself, but is ultimately a much better person than the hero (a warlord who takes her captive lol) and he finds himself basically crumbling for her.

Hugo and The Maiden by S.M. LaViolette. I've referred to this as "Devil in Winter if Sebastian lived a rougher life". The hero is a famous sex worker who's entirely money-motivated and cynical. He's framed for a crime that gets him transported, and due to a shipwreck, ends up stranded on this tiny island, where he ends up getting entangled with the vicar's daughter, who's very moralistic and expects better form him. He totally falls for he and is like "FINE!!!! I GUESS I HAVE TO BE A GOOD PERSON NOW!!!". It's so good. TW: discussion of sexual abuse in the past, though he's remarkably blase about it.

When the Duke Was Wicked (Rum On Lips) has some of this, as the hero is this ridiculous rake and when he begins hanging with the heroine, he's like ".... oh no she's reawakening my heart...."

Angel in a Devil's Arms by Julie Anne Long. This one has a hero who was presumed dead returning, back for Revenge. The heroine actually isn't perfect; she was a married man's mistress, and has since made friend's with the guy's widow and is running a boarding house. But she wants to do better for herself, which is why she's resisting him, and he has to work on himself to be worthy of her.

The Serpent Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt. This one is great. The hero is a rake, borderline villain, and the sweet, pure heroine picks him up when he's like... dead on the side of the road lmao. He has to shape up for her, and she's very much his moral compass.

The Devil of Downton by Joanna Shupe. This hero is a literal gang leader in Gilded Age New York, and the heroine is a do-gooder who he intends to corrupt... But she has more of an effect on him than he expected.

The Rakess by Scarlett Peckham. The heroine of this one is an unrepentant "rakess" (albeit with a backstory that makes it understandable) and she gets lured back into reexamining her extremely messy life by a kind widower with two kids.

How to Marry a Marquess by Stacy Reid. This hero has been super rejected by society because he recognized his illegitimate daughter, and the heroine is his longtime friend who accesses a softer side of him. She's by no means perfect, but I do think you get this idea (and she's his other friend's sister, so he's very guilty when he begins... teaching her things).

The Duke Gets Even by Joanna Shupe. I think Lockwood is a mild version of this for Nellie, in the "emotional key" sense. Like, she's definitely not a bad person, but she is very emotionally closed off, and Lockwood spends so much of that book (after promising a no strings affair lmao) going "BITCH I LOVE YOU PLEASE LOVE ME BACK" and it's honestly both beautiful and extremely funny.

Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell. The hero of this one is a 90s Elizabeth Lowell hero, so of course he's trash, while the heroine is a genuinely good person who begins to crack open his heart after their arranged marriage.

How to Steal A Scoundrel's Heart by Vivienne Lorret. The heroine in this one is ruined and turns to the hero to have him as her "protector". He does this thing where he gives his mistresses four month contracts and then drops them with a severance in order to keep emotions at bay. She's a sweet person and totally turns his world upside down.

The Duke and The Lady in Red by Lorraine Heath. This is another one where the heroine isn't perfect, but she has a good heart and moves the hero the right direction. He's a super hedonistic rake who cares for no one, and she's actually a con artist--but with VERY good reasons. At first he's pissed when he realizes she's conning him (early in the book) but once he knows that reason... It totally changes his life.

[sophiesbookishthings]

June Reads 🌈

Hi! I've got a little preface before this month's list. Every June I like to try to exclusively read books with LGBTQ+ rep. I do tend to kind of do that throughout the year anyway since I'm queer (biromantic asexual and nonbinary) and that's just the type of books I naturally seek out. But in June I make a point of it and try to read books where they are specifically the main character. It's also preferable if the author is also LGBTQ+ in some way. I believe representation in the media is extremely important and I like to support that whenever I can. Anyway, buckle up, this one is gonna be long.

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

This book has 3(!) asian bisexual polyamorous main characters by an asian nonbinary queer author. This book was like if ancient China met Pacific Rim, then make it queer and feminist. I was not in love with the first part of this book. The main character was (understandably) out for revenge but didn't seem to really think through her plans well. She was also really mean. It did make sense for the character at the time, though and it made sense, since she really didn't think she would live long enough to have further plans or for it to matter that she was mean. It was just a bit frustrating to read. She did have character development throughout the book and did ultimately turn her anger specifically back toward the oppressive government. I loved watching each dynamic of the romance develop throughout the book. I think it was really well done, and the three characters fit really well together. It was also a great contrast to the harrowing dark nature of the rest of the plot. Then the ending! The ending was such a great payoff from the rest of the book. The twist was foreshadowed so well, and I did pick up on it a bit. I knew something was up with the "aliens." The second book is supposed to be out later this year, I believe, and I can't wait to read it.

4.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Leather and Lark by Brynn Weaver

Okay, this one isn't lgbt. Oops. I had it preordered and had to read it immediately. I do think I liked the first book in the series a bit more, but this one was still fun. It was kinda enemies to lovers and had a marriage of convenience. The fmc basically did arts and crafts with her victims (who were typically child abusers/molesters), and the mmc was a professional crime coverer. I really liked how hard the mmc worked throughout the book to be forgiven for things that happened when the 2 mcs first met and the gradual reveal of why it was so bad for the fmc in the first place. I'm excited to read the next book because I feel like the two main characters are going to be super interesting.

4.25/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson

.....Okay, I did another non-lgbt one. But it's Sanderson, and it's a novella okay. I don't really have much to say about this one except that Wyndle deserves financial compensation or something. That poor spren is going through it. I'm really intrigued to see how Lift is going to deal with being a Radiant and interacting with the others in Oathbringer after this book, though. I think she's gonna add a lot more chaos, and it's gonna be fun. Oh, and I still love Szeth, and someone needs to help him. I know he's a notorious assassin, but he is the saddest, wettest, most pathetic guy, and he's having a whole existential crisis.

4.25/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas

This one was really good. I've had it on my shelf for a while. I get why everyone was talking about it a few years ago (when I should've read it lol oops). The main character is a gay transgender Latino (same as the author) boy whose family can summon spirits and heal. Powers which are unfortunately traditionally gender based. Through the book, he tries to prove to his family that he belongs with the men of the family while also helping a spirit he kinda accidentally raised. I really loved Julian, and the eventual relationship between him and Yadriel was really sweet. I listened to this one on audio, and I have to mention that I loved Avi Roque as the narrator. They did a great job. Then there were two twists at the end, one I saw coming, and one I didn't. The one I didn't see coming was really neat and made a lot of sense considering there is supposed to be a sequel.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loveless by Alice Oseman

I tried to read this book at least twice before I finally got through the whole thing. I had to get it in audiobook cause that is my trick to getting through books that are hard for me to get through for whatever reason. And it absolutely wasn't because I didn't like it. It was the exact opposite. Alice Oseman never fails to make me cry when she writes aro/ace characters. She herself is aro/ace, I believe, and the way she writes her aro/ace characters is the closest I think I've ever read/seen in media to my own experience. This book felt too much like looking into a mirror, and that made me have A Lot of Feelings. Even trying to read it this time was tough, and it took me a while. Georgia's experience navigating through the transition between college and high school felt a lot like mine. Though, her college experience ultimately went significantly better. Her desire for connections felt a lot like mine. Though she did achieve that in a way, I very much did not. I loved the various representation in this book. Sunil was a particular favorite of mine. And i loved that they were Shakespeare theatre kids. Very much like me lol. Ultimately, I really loved the conclusion that friendships can be just as important and fulfilling as romantic or sexual relationships.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

I liked this book a lot. I love a good morally gray woman who won't apologize for her questionable choices. I also love a good queer period piece. And this book is mostly set in old Hollywood which fascinates me because of the contrast of how glamorous it looks versus how much of a nightmare it actually was for anyone who wasn't a straight cis white male in a position of power. There was also a really sweet found family element in this book, and I'm always a sucker for that. It also had an interesting narrative structure, which I enjoyed, because it was framed as an interview. So this book really checked a lot of boxes for me.

4.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️

The Emperor and the Endless Palace by Justinian Huang

I really liked the premise of this book. Two men meet in ancient China, fall in love, and meet over and over again throughout various lifetimes. The endless palace concept intrigued me as well. Unfortunately, the execution fell flat for me. I wanted this to be a love story, and I think it was supposed to be, but it felt like more of a lust story. And there's nothing wrong with that, but it felt weird to me when it was framed as a love story and then barely delivered. It didn't feel like the two protagonists actually got time to get to know each other and fall in love before they were declaring that they were in love, especially in the lives they live after the first. And this declaration happened later in the book as well. There was very little romantic development. It would have been more interesting to me if they had to make the effort to fall in love in each life, but it never seemed like they did. Even in the first lifetime, it seemed like their love was orchestrated. It also never explained why they were reincarnating. I think the jade thing was supposed to be the reason, but it wasn't explained well at all. And, considering the title, I thought the endless palace would come into play a bit more. It didn't. It was mentioned briefly that the palace was seemingly endless, and that was about it. Ultimately, the ending failed to pull the whole story together like I hoped it would. I basically got 0 emotional effect from this. I felt like basically nothing happened and that there were so many loose ends that were just left unexplained. And if you do choose to read this tw for sexual assault/coercion.

The First Bright Thing by J. R. Dawson

2.5/5 ⭐️⭐️✨️

When We Lost Our Heads by Heather O'Neill

This book was weird. But I kinda loved it, I think. The two girls the story centers on, Marie Antoine and Sadie Arnett, are based on Marie Antoinette and the Marquis de Sade (which is directly referenced in the book and it made me laugh). It follows them through years of both their friendship and rivalry and how Maire's privilege and Sadie's libertinism impact their relationship (both platonic and romantic). It has very heavy themes of 19th-century feminism which can seem very harsh at times when read through a lense of modern feminism, but I do think it was ultimately executed well. It also had themes of classism and the privileges that come with being in the highest upper class and how that can affect ones beliefs. It's also very queer. I was a little worried about the way it was queer at first because it seemed pretty heavy on hating men but i think that was very much due to the time period and the extreme amount of priveledge men had in the lives these women were living in. This book also had a few twists that, even though I picked up on a little early, still made me gasp when it was revealed. And every character in this book is flawed and kinda awful in some way, which was part of what made it such a fascinating book to me. Like I said, I love morally questionable women.

5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I kept seeing and almost picking this book up at the bookstore until I finally just got it on audio from the library. This book had found family and a magic circus. But it also had a pretty prevalent theme of the effects of an abusive relationship that kinda caught me off guard because that wasn't necessarily stated in the description of this book. It was actually one of the strongest elements of this book, I thought, so it seems odd to me that it wasn't one of the main points of the description. Then there is a plot point in which they try to stop WWII. I think this book could have been just as good or even better if that had been excluded because it didn't really seem to go anywhere. But also upon reflection, I believe the point of it was to show that even though terrible things may happen in the future you can't necessarily change them and have to live in and make the most of the present. And I kind of love that as a concept. I really liked the relationship between the ringmaster and her wife. They were really sweet and another one of the strongest parts of the book as well as the friendship between them and their other friend who helps them run the circus. I think I still have more thoughts about this book, but this is already long, and I'm not coherent enough to articulate them lol

3.75/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨️