#be evil do crime but give me a good reason for it

[im-out-of-it]

PSA: SORRY ANOTHER RANT BUT THIS TIME ITS ABOUT TATIANA NOT MAKING SENSE AND ALASTAIR MAKING ALL THE SENSE IN THE WORLD LIKE CAN HE HAVE ALL THE LOVE YET

“It is not your fault”, said Alastair. “None of this is your fault. Benedict Lightwood brought down vileness upon his own family, and Tatiana could not accept either his culpability or her own.”

“You sound very wise”, Thomas said. For a moment, it was as if and Alastair were alone on the street, surrounded by the icy sheen of london in winter, the cold itself a sort of protective circle around the two of them.

“Guilt is one of the most sickening feelings there is,” Alastair said. “Most people will do anything to avoid feeling it. I know I-“ he took a deep breath. “One can either refuse to accept it, push it away as blame others, or one can take responsibility. One can bear the unbearable weight.”

He sounded exhausted.

“I have always wanted to bear it with you,” said Thomas quietly.

“Yes,” Alastair said. His eyes were bright with cold. “Raziel knows, perhaps that is the reason I have not become like Tatiana myself. You keep me human Tom.”

I always love these lines by Alastair and Thomas. I hated Tatiana’s whole villain arc. you got your son killed and your father involved himself with demons and got himself infected while harming your mother and somehow it’s Gabriel, gideons, jems, as well as Will and Tessa’s fault? I hate Will and Tessa but they did not turn Benedict into a monster. Tatiana reminds me a lot of Benedict. they both seem to be the type that never want to blame themselves. I couldn’t see Benedict ever holding himself accountable. the sad thing is his prolific activities is the reason Gabriel and Gideon and Tatiana lost their mother. it’s Benedict’s fault he didn’t think Tatiana shouldn’t have been trained in combat.

out of all the villains in TID, Alastair seems to be the only one who had good cause to be one. you can technically count him as a villain or at least the merry thieves did. it was either be bullied or be a bully for Alastair. lots were racist towards him at shadowhunter academy. I’m not saying he’s a perfect villain (he never seemed to be a villain but I’m trying to look at it through the merry thieves pov) but he seems to be the only good villain they had. Tatiana’s actions never made sense and belial seemed to be a very weak prince of hell. there’s too much plot armor around the main characters. you can’t tell me that they could defeat a prince of hell like that. Belial seemed very amateur. if you compare him to shadowhunter show villains (asmodeus and azazel), their power holds. what I hate is seeing a powerful villain or any character being overtaken by a lesser being. PLOT ARMOR I HATE YOU

with me, I need a villain I can root for. not all of them need to have their reputations restored but Alastair once again wins in this category. I love Alastair but I hate how the merry thieves pin him as this evil person for the longest time. the shadowhunter academy books and TLH are two very different stories. they almost don’t make sense. (it reminds me of TEC and TMI where we see healthy Malec in one and toxic Malec in the other. or how Alec and Magnus in TEC have their own minds but they’re out in the backseat in TMI) we see Alastair be a bully in the academy book but we don’t see him being rude towards the merry thieves in TLH without reason

Alastair has every reason to have issue with Matthew and James

1. from the looks of it, James seems to be in love with Grace. Alastair isn’t about to have his sister be used

2. Matthew is an alcoholic and Alastair more than anyone knows how that works. he protected Cordelia so often from her father so she could have a childhood so no way in hell will he allow this life for her. he doesn’t want to see Cordelia hurt or destroyed. a woman’s reputation then could have easily been destroyed

3. while it’s understandable why they would view Alastair as vile from their academy days, Matthew seems to be the one who points the gun at Alastair first in TLH no matter what (and look it’s been months since I read it so it’s not super clear in my mind but I remember Matthew being the instigator first)

4. worst of all- Matthew guilts Alastair into being there for Charles- the man who hurt Alastair badly and it seems like Matthew knows this

and I’m not excusing any of Alastair’s behavior but at least he changes. yes he was a bully and he did bad things in the academy. Alastair himself knows this. he’s not excusing any of his behavior. he doesn’t go around throwing excuses and defending his behavior. (I love myself some character who does bad things but can grow from it) and he’s not really that awful to James and Matthew in TLH first. he seems to actively try desperately to be a good person throughout the series. so it’s one thing to say hey Alastair was a dick in academy but if you’re going to write TLH and not show us, it does nothing for us.

what about when Matthew sneaks into Cordelia’s room after Elias dies and I can’t remember the exact words but says some shit about Alastair. he tells Thomas of Alastair’s past actions which obviously Thomas deserved to know but Matthew only says it out of anger. Alastair should have been the one to tell Thomas. inappropriate pov and plots ya know.

and I see a lot of matthews behavior being accepted. they start to be friendly in chain of thorns but there’s no discussion or any development between them. it’s quiet and goes unnoticed because CC decided to spend half the fucking book of Cordelia and James not communicating

none of this is hateful- I love Alastair and I love Matthew. I just think it’s a shame we didn’t get to see their relationship actually developed. I understand why Alastair can’t stand him but I also see matthews reasoning. he bought in Alastair’s words so much that he harmed his sibling. he takes his anger out on Alastair but a lot of it is Matthew hating himself. I also find them to be the most interesting characters in the series who get shitty treatment and are overlooked

and Tatiana is one of the most boring doesn’t make any sense villains. I’ll never forgive her for killing Kit or being the reason Barbara is dead or the fact Cordelia kills her. there’s not much of a discussion with her brothers who I feel have the most rage against her. she’s not developed very well. CC has a pattern of not developing her villains well enough. I love a good villain but I need a reason to relate or root for them. they don’t all need to be fixed, some can stay bad but if they don’t make sense, I can’t buy into it. they need to win me over

and my whole point is that Alastair figures out the whole taking responsibility thing. he has so much to be angry about. not having a childhood, racist people all around, Charles treating him awful, being guilted into being around Charles, not having Thomas when he wants, Cordelia also being awful to him, never feeling a priority but what’s great about Alastair is he chooses not to sink in the im going to be mad no matter what

I love Thomas saying I always wanted to bear it with you because it shows that Thomas accepts Alastair. he wants to help Alastair anyway he can. Thonas wants to grow with Alastair. you can always improve your ways. Thomas sees Alastair trying to change and be a better person. and honestly just my opinion, but he seems to be good from the start of the series. maybe I’m the only one who feels that way but a lot of his behavior seems a bit justified if you look at things from his pov (DONT COME AT ME IM NOT MAKING EXCUSES JUST SEEING THINGS FROM HIS POV)

Alastair has been through so much guilt and he knows that he could have suffered in blaming others or taking accountability. my love for Alastair stems from him always growing. he understands his behavior was unacceptable in the last years but inside and out, he is good. and for a character who always gets put through it, doesn’t get povs, gets left behind- it’s actually miraculous CC ever had him grow. but she does have a habit of hating certain characters and having them grow vs never allowing a character she obsesses grow

he protects Cordelia, he’s the best brother to Zachary, even when Thomas is upset with him- he’s still there trying to help him anyway he can. HE LITERALLY FUCKING TAKES CARE OF CHARLES AFTER CHARLES HURT HIM

I guess my whole point of this is I LOVE ALASTAIR CARSTAIRS AND HE DESERVES ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD

my man looked at Tatiana’s actions and was like well she is childish, petty, and miserable- and that’s exactly the person I don’t want to be so fuck that lifestyle I’m going to be a good bloody person. we love him for that

[fortheammonites]

Falling for scams does hurt people, actually

TW: Human trafficking, SA, torture, discussion of scam farms

I see a whole bunch of people arguing that they would rather risk giving to a scammer than ignore someone's gofundme. I also see people saying things like "I can't believe some sick people are profiteering off genocide" and like, me neither, but I feel like you guys really don't understand who actually runs these kinds of scams and what they are.

Scams of noticeable scale-- like scam asks being sent from hundreds of accounts to every user on Tumblr!-- are typically related to organised crime in poor countries, not Susan from Milwaukee who wants a new coat and has no scruples. People get trafficked by gangs to scam farms in Asia and Africa where they're worked to the bone and tortured trying to get idiots in wealthy countries to part with their money. Genocide profiteering is pretty much the least evil thing these people do.

Here's a UN article on it. Obvious warnings for content related to human trafficking and SA.

When you donate to a scammer, you fund these organisations and give them a reason to exist. It's possible some of the fundraisers are legit. I honestly find it unlikely given I'm not seeing any from any other countries where urgent fundraisers would seem to have great reason to exist but which haven't captured the same level of attention on Tumblr-- the number of Sudanese, Congolese, Ukrainian, Burmese or Uyghur fundraisers in my DMs is a fat 0. In any case, there are safer ways to help.

If you want to help (which is great!) you don't have to take the risk of paying for human trafficking. Donate to legitimate charities which have the resources to safely and effectively ensure the money and help is getting to the right people. Funding human trafficking rings in Myanmar is not a good risk to be taking while trying to help.

[ochibrochi]

spontaneous magic manifestation was NOT mentioned in the parenting handbook 😬

I know this isn’t how magic in dc works, but the fact that Damian’s ancestry includes some pretty powerful magic users is… INTERESTING 🤔? Drabble under the cut!

I wanna preface that I'M NOT SAYIN' that Damian should/does have magic powers, but there’s still so much unexplored potential with Damian's character, and the thought that he has a dormant adeptness in magic is somewhat compelling to me. Most importantly it would FREAK! BRUCE! OUT!!!!! What is this, magic puberty 😭??

By DC laws, anyone has the ability to learn magic, but it is also possible to be an innate ability. The Al Ghuls are no strangers to the occult-- Ra's has had increasingly been portrayed as a magic user, and the recent establishment of his mother being a sorceress/witch?? Even Talia dabbled in a bit of magic, I think. There is a catch that their power is suggested to be due to Lazarus exposure, but for arguments sake let's say the Al Ghul lineage is inherently proficient in magic (and Lazarus exposure simply enhances it).

I can't recall "magic" being a part of Damian's training/upbringing (I'm still slowly catching-up on Damian comics so apologies if I miss any canon examples of magic use). Not sure why Talia wouldn't want her little "heir to an ancient assassin empire baby" to learn magic, but it would at least give reason to Damian not knowing about his magic potential, or lack of interest in it.

Through the power of pseudo storytelling, what if Damian's encounter with Mother Soul could have triggered a manifestation of magic that was once dormant; like a pressure cooker waiting to explode with energy when it hasn't been given a safe outlet.

I've yet to read a satisfying arc where Damian truly gets to contemplate his Al Ghul roots outside of "dad is good guy, mum is bad guy". Damian's initial character growth stems from him running away from, and renouncing his association with the League (i.e. "I'm nothing like you, mother and grandfather!").

The most recent thing I've read was Robin (2021), and whilst Damian is much more cordial with his mother, there's still an emotional distance and sense of distrust/resentment (for good reason, even if the context was some cartoonishly evil writing). But there is a silver-lining that they still appear to be fond of each other, in a melancholy kind of way.

Realizing he's "genetically" primed for magic would be especially confronting to Damian. There's no denying his Al Ghul blood, forcing him to confront a facet of himself he can no longer ignore or reject. A family that he likely has to approach for help/guidance.

Damian is put in a position of acknowledging this power could be used for good, to be stronger, to fight crime, balancing it with the implication that what he possesses could be rooted in dark magic (Lazarus enchantment).

If he decides to embrace it, would that be too much of an endorsement of the Al Ghul's dark occultism? Can he separate the two ideas? What if he can't control it? What if he accidentally hurts someone? What if has the ability to save someone where his other skills fall short?

Ideally, I'd love for this hypothetical story to lead into Damian exploring his Al Ghul heritage more intimately, historically, and spiritually (à la RSoB: Year of Redemption adventures). Another little coming-of-age self discovery journey.

I have my own little personal thoughts on what Damian decides to do with his magic powers, but I'd like to leave that open to interpretation... By the end of it I hope that he will at least find some forgiveness over resentment, and a balance between accepting that side of his family a little easier. It is finally a sense of inner peace :)

Any thoughts? Did I get any characterisation wrong? Let's talk over on my DC blog @arkhamochi! I'm currently trying to read all Damian-centric comics until I catch up with the current run. I'm hungry for discussion and analysis!!!!!!

[marlshroom]

came to the fucked up realization after finishing gravity falls again last night the parallels of the dream bubble bill made for mabel and the literal state of delusion he keeps himself in.

in the book of bill on the page where bill cipher describes how he figured out a way to manipulate her into giving him the rift, it says:

"Summers ending, my guy. Ending to death, bro. She'd do anything to make it last just a day longer. Probably something RASH and OUT OF CHARACTER, even!"

as we know, mabel cannot handle the fact that she will be growing up. that the relationship with her brother is going to change. she is scared of high school.

bill then says "That was it. She'd never make a deal with me. But she'd make a deal with someone she believed could give her more time. The dream was done. I had her."

bill then creates the dream bubble for mabel, he makes every one of her dreams come true, a place where time is still and she can be a kid forever. a lie so great that she wont have to face the truth.

in journal 3 on one of the pages bill is writing in code, we see this:

[ID: "I ask you, why must[should] time only move forward? Why must cause preceded effect. Who voted on the law of physics."]

my friend helped me break down what bill means by this:

why can we only move forward in the 4th dimension of time. why does something have to make another thing happen, why must cause come before the effect. why cant you move backwards, in the other direction, change the decisions youve made.

how interpret this is bill asking why he is not able to back and stop what he did to his family. he says to ford that he tried and failed to undo the past.** why did him wanting people to acknowledge his advantages instead of suppress him lead to the destruction of his whole dimension?

**(i just want to point out that this is probably the time where bill is the MOST open to anybody, or at least the first. to his henchmaniacs he had been telling them that he liberated his dimension until the oracle discovered the truth. here, to ford, he got so much closer to telling the truth. he SHOWS ford the last atoms of his world. he says that it was destroyed by a monster, not that it was liberated! destroyed)

back to when bill says "I had her" about mabel, he had her cause he knew exactly what needed to happen to trap mabel in a delusion because it is exactly what he is doing to himself. creating a fake narrative of what happened to him, that he was vindicated in killing his whole dimension. only ever doing exactly what he wants because confronting the truth is too scary for him(good fucking lord). the morality page offers good insight into this too.

i am actually just going to quote the whole page and highlight the important part. it speaks for itself really

"THE POINT IS it's[morality] is a very flexible concept! But parents and presidents don't want you to know that, because then you might start asking other questions, like who put them in charge, anyway? So they cram your brain full of guilt and regrets for transgressing the laws that they just made up(the laws that they made to prevent the destruction of their dimension, regardless of if the law + the wrongful medication of a fucking baby triangle did any good to actually prevent it). Wouldn't it be nice if you could put all that baggage down? Quell the shame that follows you everywhere for a lifetime of crimes? MAKE THE SCREAMS FINALLY STOP? The good news is you CAN silence that annoying voice, and here's how!

DENIAL

Works 100% of the time in every situation. What you you mean there are people who disagree? I can confidently say there aren't!

RATIONALIZATION

If you can do it, you can justify it! "Truth" is open-source code and anyone can edit it anytime! Want to be like me? List 3 "evil" things and then 3 "reasons why they're actually good." You'll be rationalizing like Bill in no time!

DETACHMENT

Did you know 100% of your human cells die and are replaced every 7 years? That means that anything you did 7 years ago wasn't even you-it was some dead loser! You can't be held accountable for what a dead person did! What? You think this is just another form of rationalization? I DENY THAT!

THE BILL CIPHER DECISION METHOD!

Working over the eons, the voices in my head teamed up and worked out a foolproof method for making any decision in any situation.

DO WHATEVER I WANT."

ooooooooooooooooooh boy.

he is fully admitting here that he is living in a completely different really in order to justify doing whatever he wants. he gives mabel the tools to deny, to rationalize, to detach herself from the reality of it all. that time has to move forward. and he thinks it will work because it worked on himself.

but it doesn't work on mabel because she understands that she needs other people. shes vunerable, she lets people in, admits when shes wrong. and bill cant do that because it would destroy the fantasy he's created for himself.

[longlivechips]

A drabble on what if Arthur repealed the magic ban while Merlin wasn't there. I like the idea of Arthur thinking Merlin will be mad, he said magic has no place in Camelot afterall. And Merlin being like shit I'm gonna have to start telling the truth.

A fic where Merlin goes to visit his mother for a few weeks. It's Yule and he misses her.

While he is gone a child comes to trial. Hardly 12 and clearly terrified. She had been caught using magic.

She swears she didn't mean to, that it just started happening one day and she was so scared of what was happening to her.

The law says she is to burn.

But Arthur just can't seem to make the call. He can only think of the girl Morgana used to be when he looks at her.

He speaks to Gaius and Geoffrey about what Camelot was like before the ban. How people square magic. He learns, for the first time, more than his father had ever let him.

He's thinking of......well not reversing the magic ban. But this girl can't be evil surely.

He wishes Merlin were here, his advice is often quite sound. But Arthur is unsure if Merlin, who has been so outspoken against magic in the past, would agree with such loose laws.

But it comes down to this. Arthur cannot in good conscience kill that girl. And he can not have her as an exception. So he changes the law.

Merlin hasn't spent this long in Ealdor since before he left. He finds it quite lonely without Will to cause trouble with.

But he finds he is not ostracized like he was when he was a boy. In fact, more often than not he has to dodge mothers pushing their daughters onto him as prospects.

He is in his mother's house trying bundles of herbs to be dried and taken back to Camelot when his mother rushes in.

She stairs at him for a moment. Eyes wide, something clearly about to spill off her toung.

"Mother?" Merlin says moving closer, " What's wrong what happened? Has goodie meridan gone into labor?"

"Merlin. My boy. We just received news from Camelot. Gaius sent a letter. I....." Her face is flush. She doesn't look scared but Merlins heart drops anyway

"Arthur...." Merlin starts

"He's fine, he's fine" Hunith walks towards her son, cupping his face in her hands.

She laughs. Full belly and full of joy, her hands on his face strong, they almost hurt.

"He repealed the magic ban Merlin. Oh my boy by royal decree"

Merlins knees nearly give out.

"Surely you aren't serious....." Merlin gasps. "Do you have the letter?"

She hands it over and he reads frantically.

My good Hunith.

I write you instead of Merlin for reasons that will become obvious.

I also just request more of that dried lavender you sent last time, it does not smell the same from the north.

How is your neighbor Gregory fairing with his leg? My tonic recipe helped I hope, I would like to hear how it went.

There is news from Camelot. You might have heard, it will make fast news I'm sure.

A girl was brought to court for magic. Hardly 12 summers, she swears she did not train for magic, that it came naturally and she has no control.

Arthur was hesitant to burn her, despite the law, and tasked me with examining her.

I explained my findings, you know my friend how truly common it is to have magic as the girl does. Arthur listened well, and I sent the king off with what recommendations I could.

There are few books left on the subject but he spoke to Geoffrey. I assume he found some enlightened reading.

The next day, his verdict was as follows.

"The law of the land, as set by my Father King Uther, is that magic has no place in Camelot. I quite agree. Magic is dangerous, it has raveged my family.

But I can't help but think these laws might create more enemies. I cannot kill a girl for a crime she did not willingly commit. But I cannot banish her and create an enemy."

The council spoke on formal matters and specifics but Hunith, it is looking well. I feel hope I haven't had in decades.

Arthur has repealed the magic ban, in part. There are specifics to be worked out, and it is unclear if it would apply to Merlin. It certainly wouldn't apply to myself.

I will write again when I have more details.

I wish I could see the boy's face when he hears the news. Give him my love

Gaius

Merlin reads it. Than again. The third time he skims it he is tearing up. Looking desperately for any sign that Gaius tells a lie.

When he finds none, and there is no answer but that Gaius's words are true.

Merlin weeps. He falls to his knees and weeps.

Hunith cradles his head, spilling some tears of her own.

"oh my boy" she says. "What news. I knew Arthur would be a good king." She presses a kiss to her son's head.

Merlin cries, and wonders why he feels more scared than ever.

[dailyadventureprompts]

Monsters Reimagined: Bandits

As a game of heroic fantasy that centers so primarily on combat, D&D  is more often than not a game about righteous violence, which is why I spend so much time thinking about the targets of that violence. Every piece of media made by humans is a thing created from conscious or unconscious design, it’s saying something whether or not its creators intended it to do so. 

Tolkien made his characters peaceloving and pastoral, and coded his embodiment of evil as powerhungry, warlike, and industrial. When d&d directly cribbed from Tolkien's work it purposely changed those enemies to be primitive tribespeople who were resentful of the riches the ���civilized” races possessed. Was this intentional? None can say, but as a text d&d says something decidedly different than Tolkien. 

That's why today I want to talk about bandits, the historical concept of being an “outlaw”, and how media uses crime to “un-person” certain classes of people in order to give heroes a target to beat up. 

Tldr: despite presenting bandits as a generic threat, most d&d scenarios never go into detail about what causes bandits to exist, merely presuming the existence of outlaws up to no good that the heroes should feel no qualms about slaughtering. If your story is going to stand up to the scrutiny of your players however, you need to be aware of WHY these individuals have been driven to banditry, rather than defaulting to “they broke the law so they deserve what’s coming to them.”

I got to thinking about writing this post when playing a modded version of fallout 4, an npc offhndedly mentioned to me that raiders (the postapoc bandit rebrand) were too lazy to do any farming and it was good that I’d offed them by the dozens so that they wouldn’t make trouble for those that did. 

That gave me pause, fallout takes place in an irradiated wasteland where folks struggle to survive but this mod was specifically about rebuilding infrastructure like farms and ensuring people had enough to get by. Lack of resources to go around was a specific justification for why raiders existed in the first place, but as the setting became more arable the mod-author had to create an excuse why the bandit’s didn’t give up their violent ways and start a nice little coop, settling on them being inherently lazy , dumb, and psychopathic.   

This is exactly how d&d has historically painted most of its “monstrous humanoid” enemies. Because the game is ostensibly about combat the authors need to give you reasons why a peaceful solution is impossible, why the orcs, goblins, gnolls (and yes, bandits), can’t just integrate with the local town or find a nice stretch of wilderness to build their own settlement on and manage in accordance with their needs. They go so far in this justification that they end up (accidently or not) recreating a lot of IRL arguments for persecution and genocide.

Bandits are interesting because much like cultists, it’s a descriptor that’s used to unperson groups of characters who would traditionally be inside the “not ontologically evil” bubble that’s applied to d&d’s protagonists.   Break the law or worship the wrong god says d&d and you’re just as worth killing as the mindless minions of darkness, your only purpose to serve as a target of the protagonist’s righteous violence.  

The way we get around this self-justification pitfall and get back to our cool fantasy action game is to relentlessly question authority, not only inside the game but the authors too. We have to interrogate anyone who'd show us evil and direct our outrage a certain way because if we don't we end up with crusades, pogroms, and Qanon.

With that ethical pill out of the way, I thought I’d dive into a listing of different historical groups that we might call “Bandits” at one time or another and what worldbuilding conceits their existence necessitates. 

Brigands: By and large the most common sort of “bandit” you’re going to see are former soldiers left over from wars, often with a social gap between them and the people they’re raiding that prevents reintegration ( IE: They’re from a foreign land and can’t speak the local tongue, their side lost and now they’re considered outlaws, they’re mercenaries who have been stiffed on their contract).  Justifying why brigands are out brigading is as easy as asking yourself “What were the most recent conflicts in this region and who was fighting them?”. There’s also something to say about how a life of trauma and violence can be hard to leave even after the battle is over, which is why you historically tend to see lots of gangs and paramilitary groups pop up in the wake of conflict. 

Raiders:  fundamentally the thing that has caused cultures to raid eachother since the dawn of time is sacristy. When the threat of starvation looms it’s far easier to justify potentially throwing your life away if it means securing enough food to last you and those close to you through the next year/season/day. Raider cultures develop in biomes that don’t support steady agriculture, or in times where famine, war, climate change, or disease make the harvests unreliable. They tend to target neighboring cultures that DO have reliable harvests which is why you frequently see raiders emerging from “the barbaric frontier” to raid “civilization” that just so happens to occupy the space of a reliably fertile river valley. When thinking about including raiders in your story, consider what environmental forces have caused this most recent and previous raids, as well as consider how frequent raiding has shaped the targeted society. Frequent attacks by raiders is how we get walled palaces and warrior classes after all, so this shit is important. 

Slavers: Just like raiding, most cultures have engaged in slavery at one point or another, which is a matter I get into here. While raiders taking captives is not uncommon, actively attacking people for slaves is something that starts occurring once you have a built up slave market, necessitating the existence of at least one or more hierarchical societies that need more disposable workers than then their lower class is capable of providing. The roman legion and its constant campaigns was the apparatus by which the imperium fed its insatiable need for cheap slave labor. Subsistence raiders generally don’t take slaves en masse unless they know somewhere to sell them, because if you’re having trouble feeding your own people you’re not going to capture more ( this is what d&d gets wrong about monstrous humanoids most of the time). 

Tax Farmers: special mention to this underused classic, where gangs of toughs would bid to see who could collect money for government officials, and then proceed to ransack the realm looking to squeeze as much money out of the people as possible. This tends to happen in areas where the state apparatus is stretched too thin or is too lighthanded to have established enduring means of funding.  Tax farmers are a great one-two punch for campaigns where you want your party to be set up against a corrupt authority: our heroes defeat the marauding bandits and then oh-no, turns out they were not only sanctioned by the government but backed by an influential political figure who you’ve just punched in the coinpurse.  If tax farming exists it means the government is strong enough to need a yearly budget but not so established (at least in the local region) that it’s developed a reliably peaceful method of maintaining it.  

Robber Baron: Though the term is now synonymous with ruthless industrialists, it originated from the practice of shortmidned petty gentry (barons and knights and counts and the like) going out to extort and even rob THEIR OWN LANDS out of a desire for personal enrichment/boredom. Schemes can range from using their troops to shake down those who pass through their domain to outright murdering their own peasants for sport because you haven’t gotten to fight in a war for a while.  Just as any greed or violence minded noble can be a robber baron so it doesn’t take that much of a storytelling leap but I encourage you to channel all your landlord hate into this one. 

Rebels: More than just simple outlaws, rebels have a particular cause they’re a part of (just or otherwise) that puts them at odds with the reigning authority. They could violently support a disfavoured political faction, be acting out against a law they think is unjust, or hoping to break away from the authority entirely. Though attacks against those figures of authority are to be expected, it’s all too common for rebels to go onto praying on common folk for the sake of the cause.  To make a group of rebels worth having in your campaign pinpoint an issue that two groups of people with their own distinct interests could disagree on, and then ratchet up the tension. Rebels have to be able to beleive in a cause, so they have to have an argument that supports them.

Remnants: Like a hybrid of brigands, rebels, and taxfarmers, Remnants represent a previously legitimate system of authority that has since been replaced but not yet fully disappeared. This can happen either because the local authority has been replaced by something new (feudal nobles left out after a monarchy toppling revolution) or because it has faded entirely ( Colonial forces of an empire left to their own devices after the empire collapses). Remnants often sat at the top of social structures that had endured for generations and so still hold onto the ghost of power ( and the violence it can command) and the traditions that support it.  Think about big changes that have happened in your world of late, are the remnants looking to overturn it? Win new privilege for themselves? Go overlooked by their new overlords?

Art

[usetheeauthor]

Kinktober Day 14: Punishment

Dark!Yandere!Coriolanus Snow x Fem!District 12!Reader

Warnings: 18+ smut, NON-CON/DUB-CON, false imprisonment, hunt and chase, violent situations (gun use), Stockholm syndrome, dom & sub dynamics, mentions spanking, kissing, gun play, minor blood kink, gaslighting, manipulation, false confession coercion, degradation, humiliation, mentions of boot licking, mentions of force feeding, mentions of asphyxiation, coryo is really bad in this

Summary: You’re Coriolanus’ little prisoner and you’re rather fortunate that he is willing to see the potential good in you.

A/N: Inspired by one of my favorite mangas “Amai Choubatsu”

They call him ‘The Gent’ but he was anything but one. He’s the most tyrannical peacekeeper of all. Sadistic in ways that are almost creative. And for some unfortunate reason, he’ll become obsessed with you.

You regret the day you met him. When his vacant blue eyes immediately darkened the moment they held you in his sight never to stray away from you again. You were only trying to search for your younger sister’s friend, Lucy Gray. You only wished to put her mind at ease, ensuring that her friend was indeed just fine.

But then you stumbled upon the harrowing scene…

There he was. The peacekeeper who seemed to share a close relationship with Lucy Gray. Only there was no Lucy Gray in sight. Just him on high alert; manic, wide, and bloodshot blue eyes and a shotgun in hand. He’s on his knees, roaring out angrily in frustration. Obviously, he doesn’t appear to be in a sane state of mind that you could interact with.

You tried to get out of there as quietly as you could, walking backwards. But the snap of a twig under the weight of your bare feet has him aiming in your direction.

“Wait!” You came out of the shrubbery, hands up in surrender. No longer shielded by the trees, the cold rain begins to trickle down on you as well. “I’m sorry, sir. I was only trying to find my sister’s friend. Please…please don’t hurt me.”

Coriolanus walked over to you, shotgun still raised. He pressed the barrel into your stomach and hot tears began to stream down your cheeks. You trembled violently, anticipating his next move.

“Don’t,” You pleaded. “I swear I didn’t see anything. Please. I’m all my sister has left.”

He shushed you, wrapping his arms around you in a patronizing hug. “Sh-sh-shhh, it’s okay, darlin’. You’re safe now. You may be a criminal but I can fix you.”

“B-but I’m not a criminal.” You whispered, looking up at him fearfully.

“But you are,” He retorted, matter-of-factly. “You’re breaking curfew hours, caught running away, and then I catch you red-handed searching for the murder weapon...”

“What? N-no. No! I was looking for Lucy Gray. I know nothing about that gun.”

“You’ve gotta admit,” He shrugs and gives an evil smile. “It’s a little suspicious that you found the exact location of the murder weapon. And even your DNA’s all over it.”

Coriolanus suddenly lowered the gun, bringing it between your legs to press against your clothed core. He rubbed the length of it along your folds, forcing your panties to swallow the fabric of the thin gusset between your puffy lower lips.

You released a choked sound between a gasp and whine. The way he used you felt so degrading. Humiliating.

“You’re going to pin this one on me?!” You snarled, baring your teeth at him like a mad dog. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I can,” He replied, using his free hand to trace a finger along your plump cheek. “I only want to help you admit the truth, darling.”

“What truth?” You hissed, staring daggers.

“That you’re a criminal, of course. A murderer. A savage. But I’m sympathetic enough to understand that it is at no fault of your own. Much like Lucy Gray, you were raised in the districts where civil behavior is not the norm. You don’t know any better. But I can mold you into a model citizen of Panem. If you simply admit your crimes, I’ll spare you of any cruel and unusual punishment.”

“Fuck you,” You spat, letting out a shaky breath when he presses the barrel further into your sopping core and it makes your knees buckle a little. “You’re the fucking murderer, aren’t you? I’m sure that’s exactly why Lucy Gray isn’t here now. Well, you can kill me because I won’t do your dirty work for you.”

“Kill?” He chuckled darkly. “Who said anything about killing? You can’t die. That’s much too merciful.”

Tossing the gun aside, his hands clasped your wrists and you struggled against him, failing to free yourself.

“Let me go!” You twisted and squirmed but his grip was as constricting as a boa snake.

“It is my civil duty to detain you for the murders of Mayfair Lipp and Billy Taupe.” He spun you around so now your back faces him, bringing your hands behind to tie them up with zip ties.

“You won’t get away with this! They’ll be sending search parties for us and I’ll tell them everything.”

He snorted, pulling the zip tie tight enough to feel as if it’s cutting off blood circulation in your hands. The devilishly handsome young man turned you to face him once more, a smirk on his face. “Oh, them finding us is exactly what I’m counting on. I mean, just who do you think they’ll believe? The head officer or a poor little district whore. Even your own would sell you out in a heartbeat if it means sparing their own lives. It’d be my word against yours.”

“You just have it all figured out, don’t you? Evil just comes naturally to you.”

“It’s no hard feelings, dove. You just found yourself at the wrong place at the wrong time. Don’t you worry your pretty little head, though. I’ll make sure you never see yourself at the end of a rope. Long as you behave like the good girl I know you can be.”

“Go to hell.”

He let out an obnoxious bark of laughter. “You’re not going to make this journey easy for the both of us, I can tell. I do love a challenge.”

Coriolanus picked you up, throwing you over his shoulder and once you made it past the threshold of the abandoned cabin home, you were officially his to toy with.

7 days. You counted. Maybe more. You’re not really sure anymore. You’re beginning to give up keeping track of time. No one’s coming to save you. No one cares. Not except for your sister. You could only hope that at least she’s managing okay without you.

Until then, you could only hold on. Hold on long enough to see her again. Which isn’t at all an easy feat in the punishing torment of “The Gent”.

Any tiny infraction is enough for him to inflict punishment on you.

Like when you chose to ignore him after he returns home from hunting…

“For that you’ll receive the ‘impoliteness punishment’,” Coriolanus says. “Get on all fours and shine my boots clean with your tongue.”

Or when you refused to eat anything he’d cooked.

“I don’t understand! I’ve fed you, clothed you, I’ve made sure you’re healthy and still you refuse to obey me. Your punishment will be to finish every bite of food on your plate and mine or you’ll be hearing the screams of your sister echoing in the skies.”

Even that one time when you wouldn’t unlock the door to your designated room so he tore it down with an ax.

“I was kind enough to give you the privilege to lock your door and this is how you thank me?!” His tall frame while donning the ax is intimidating enough to make you shrink under his shadow. “You’ll be getting the ‘grateful punishment’. List all the things I’ve done for you that you’re appreciative of while my belt’s around your neck. Say anything I don’t particularly like and it’ll wrap tighter around your delicate little throat; each time more secure than the last.”

And today if you’re caught, you aren’t sure what punishment you’ll be facing but it’ll probably be worse than all the others combined. You’ve escaped presumably as Lucy Gray had done. Only you aren’t sure if she’d been successful in her endeavors. The only thought of Coriolanus catching up to you sends shivers down your spine. You’d be finished, no doubt.

You just have to try with all your might to get back home.

You spot a pair of lone peacekeepers sharing a cigarette and having a casual chat. Your mouth falls open but barely a squeak comes out, when you feel his presence just behind you. With a bored expression on his face he presses the sharp end of a knife to your supple throat; no need for him to place a hand over your mouth. One sound and your life is over. He officially called your bluff, you never wanted to die. You’d always had the thought to resist him, to escape and he’d sensed it before you could yourself.

The peacekeepers looked around for a moment, both weird out that they’d heard a faint sound as they exchanged a small dialogue regarding it.

“So I’m not going crazy?” One says.

“Nah, I definitely heard that. Must’ve been an animal for something.” Says the other.

“Let’s get the fuck outta here before it turns into some kind of a horror story.”

And with that they were gone and so went all your hopes of being free from your captor.

He takes your face in his big hands, pressing you against the soft bark of a large tree. “Why’d you run away? I thought we were making progress, little dove,” His voice cracks a little as if he were on the verge of tears. “Maybe.. I should break your fucking legs to keep you from running again, hmm? You think I’m such a monster, maybe I can show you what a monster truly is.”

“Leave me alone!” You scream, kicking him between his legs and he’s down for the count.

You run to the abandoned cabin in search of the shotgun. Once you locate it, you’re only able to load it with one bullet before Coriolanus barges in the room and charges towards you. You aim his way, pulling the trigger but he smacks the gun up and it fires into the ceiling.

He wrestles you to the ground, pinning you down into the bearskin rug and you cry out for help. Coryo’s lips slam onto yours, licking into your gasping mouth. You bite his tongue and he pulls away with a loud growl, using one hand to touch the tip of his tongue to confirm there’s blood while the other continues to pin your wrists.

Instead of stopping, he kisses you again. The copper taste seeps onto your tongue as you continue to squirm. Slowly, you were losing fight as his lips moved passionately against yours, hips undulating sensually so you could feel his hard bulge prodding at your lace-covered entrance.

When he’s sure you won’t scratch his eyes out, he releases your hands and you continue to kiss him and desperately gasp for air; gasp for him. You ball up fistfuls of his uniform, tugging him harder against you and he groans against your lips.

“You need me? You finally get it. Does this mean you’ll be good for me?”

“Yes.” You whisper. What was the point of fighting this anymore? If he really does want the best for you, then maybe you should let him have your fate in his hands.

“You confess your crimes?”

The stubborn part of you wants to spit in his face but there’s that new side of you that wants to do all you can to finally please him. “Yes. I am a criminal. W-will you turn me in?”

“Never. I’ll be tossing the weapons into the lake. That was my plan all along. I just wanted to make sure you know that you’re just as much a part of this as me now. You’ll never leave my side.”

“But the Capitol…will they accept me?” You ask.

“Of course, they would. What do you think all those punishments were for? It is all about discipline and I think you’re finally getting it.”

“So…can I have my reward?” You ask, hand reaching between your bodies to palm him in his slacks.

“Mmm,” He moans before licking your exposed neck. “You won’t get off that easy for running, little dove. You’ll be receiving my favorite punishment of all the love tap punishment. Flip your skirt up, pull those cute undies down your pretty legs, and bend over my lap.”

He raises his ringed-up hand for you to study, before utilizing it to gently squeeze your breast.

When Coriolanus peels himself off your body, he finds a nice comfy chair to sit on that is reminiscent of a king on a throne. He beckons you to him and says, “And Remember, I’m only hurting you because I love you.”

[nixwriteschaos]

Ello! I just read your Dabi x Mother figure reader and I really really really loved it a lot! I was wondering if you could make a similar fic with the premise of Shigaraki x an older male reader who is a father figure towards him? You don't have to of course, I just really liked that Dabi fic and thought it was sweet!

A Father’s Love

Shigaraki x Male!Reader [PLATONIC]

Summary: Shigaraki grew up with an abusive father and a weak mother. He was traumatized after killing his whole family, and ended up living with All For One. It didn’t do any good for him, All For One was a controlling father figure who acted like he was doing what was best for him. All changed after recruiting a man with a unique Quirk.

★☽A/N: To be completely honest, A Mother’s Love is definitely one of my favorites!! That and Unexpected Interest. If you guys noticed my writing is slightly different, it’s either because I’m lazy, have improved, or have Writer’s Block… ANYWAYS, ENJOYYY!! <333

Contents: FLUFF & SLIGHT ANGST?

☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆

The League of Villains is a dangerous organization, known for their evil crimes. All orchestrated by All For One himself, a centuries old threat to Japan’s society. His successor, Tomura Shigaraki, isn’t much different from his mentor.

Tomura Shigaraki grew up with an abusive father and a weak mother. At age 4, he killed his whole family, leaving him alone with no guardian and ended up living with All For One. It didn’t do any good for him, All For One was a controlling father figure who acted like he was doing what was best for him.

All changed after recruiting a man with a unique Quirk.

He was an old soul, a man in his 40’s with a unique Quirk. His name was Y/N L/N, known by society as Poker Face for his card-related Quirk. He was recruited by Dabi a couple days ago and he had already made his impact in the League.

The reason why he was invited to the league was because of his Quirk, which allows him to have any ability to extract any meaning from a card and use it to his advantage. Despite being called Poker Face, the cards that he can only use are tarots cards.

Dabi deemed his Quirk useful and recruited him to the team. With time, he slowly went up the ranks and was side by side with the main league. He was hard-working and focused at any task he was given. He was an impressive addition to the team.

By the time he joined the main league, he became very well known in the LOV. Known for his fatherly aura. He used to have a daughter that would’ve been Shigaraki’s age if she hadn’t died in an accident. An accident that All Might failed to save everyone in. Because of this, his hatred towards All Might was born and it grew everyday by the amount of people praising him for his work.

Toga absolutely loved him! Her parents had always found her weird as a child. Y/N? He doesn’t give two shits about her quirks. “You want to drink my blood? Okay, just don’t drink it all!” He would say with a big smile on his face, offering his arm towards her. “You want me to find a bird to drink all its blood? Give me the whole afternoon and I’ll find you a juicy one!” Another thing he would say, a huge smile on his face.

Of course, his treatment towards her is different since he’s a girl dad inside and out.

Dabi was a bit defensive around him. Although he was the one who recruited him, he only did it for the sake of the LOV. (Shocking!) But, with time, he grew to love the man as a father who supported his dreams. Touya grew up with Endeavour as a child, who filled him with so much hope and expectations, only to tell him to give up because of his Quirk. Y/N wasn’t like that. Anything Dabi suggested, he would give a pat on his back and tell him “it’s a great idea!” with a thumbs up. He was like any old dad. But to Dabi, he was the best.

Due to Shigaraki’s past, he learned to not trust people. The only people he trusted were the main league, Kurogiri and “Master.” All For One wasn’t exactly the best father figure after his late father died. He wasn’t abusive, surprisingly, but was controlling and manipulative. He always said that he was doing what was best for Tomura and to trust him.

All these years, Tomura was brainwashed to think that All For One was the best thing that happened to him.

But he was wrong.

When Y/N greeted himself, Tomura saw him as a disgusting old man. He thought, How could an old man like him be so great? with a scoff. He didn’t even shake his hand!

Shigaraki was bothered every single day by the older man. Everytime he was having a tough time, he found it annoying that L/N would go out of his way to comfort him. Everytime he was motivated or had done something successfully, he was there to cheer him on.

Slowly, even though it was unintended, his trust in Y/N increased. He found it trustworthy enough to handle things on his own without having to report anything to him.

And by now, he trusted Y/N with all his heart. All For One did not like this “new recruit.” He found him distracting towards Shigaraki. He despised how Y/N was basically stealing his successor.

Shigaraki didn't know that he saw Y/N as a father figure. He was caring and much more considered than All For One. He couldn't believe he was comparing Y/N with All For One! The very being who saved him.

But he wasn't considering his opinions, he never was there when he was having his breakdowns.

Y/N was. In one of his breakdowns, he scratched his neck to the point it was red and blood started to seep out. All For One wasn't there, but Y/N was. He quickly helped him, stopping him from causing more damage to his skin. He helped him calm down and regain control over his emotions again.

He was kind enough to put some ointment or cream to treat his wounds. He was still shaking but Y/N didn't mind. He just smiled at him and reassured him that everything was fine.

That was probably the first time in ages. The first time he cried, sobbed, in ages.

He couldn't stop the tears from falling from his eyes. His body shook even more as tears started to flood his vision.

He didn't know if this was from relief or what. He didn't know why he was crying, he just was.

Y/N sort of panicked when he suddenly cried in front of him. He rushed to comfort him with a comically sweaty state. “Hey, hey, it's okay!” He embraced him and patted his back.

Shigaraki couldn't move, he didn't even hug him back. He just sobbed the entire time, wetting Y/N's shirt in the process. Y/N was still shocked by this reaction, unable to react except trying to soothe him by rubbing his back.

Let’s just say that Y/N is his favorite person now. More than All For One.. (AFO is definitely angry about this revelation).

Oh! And he’s not afraid to call Y/N “dad.” <33

☆════ ⋆★⋆ ════☆

[stormsbourne]

alright listen

I know we're all having an evaluation of how eagerly we believe people who present with even the slightest air of authority and frankly good! we all need to be less credulous of people on the internet who tell lies.

but I think there are also other lessons to learn from james somerton. namely about his raging and blatant misogyny, which I've often seen similar forms of in fandom and on this specific site. to paraphrase bombs himself in the ctrl alt del video, if you see shitty behavior within your sphere, it's important to recognize it and try to fix it instead of rejecting it and asserting that no REAL members of the ingroup are like that. and nerds have a misogyny problem. including tumblr. so let's reckon with it.

do you append "white" or "straight" to your comments about women even when those things have little to do with the topic being discussed, just to make your comments seem more legit? (and no, m/m shipping discourse does not give you a ticket to say it's all straight women -- it's fictional characters, james.) do you often theorize about how (hurriedly appended "straight/white/cis") women are responsible for a problem in fandom, nay, all problems in fandom? have you made up a guy based on a single post that annoyed you and extrapolated to say that all (appended signifier to make it ok) women in fandom are like that? do you see women as uniquely fetishizing, uniquely stupid about politics or social issues, uniquely annoying to talk to? do you assume when there's an issue, even a real one and not the fake ones james made up, that a woman is probably at the root of it?

all of this still applies to you if you're a woman. it also applies if you're gay or a person of color or trans. being an oppressed group doesn't mean you are immune from sexism, and sexism is still rampant in everyday life for pretty much everyone.

your shipping and fandom discourse isn't immune from this. no, I'm not talking about how not enough people like yuri. I'm talking about how women who like "bad" ships like r*ylo or whatever are seen as open targets for harassment. how women who are into "bad/problematic" fandoms are seen as idiots and enablers who deserve what they get. how there's an attitude that women who like shitty bad porn must think it's good, must be too stupid to know better, and must need to be handheld and taught about good, acceptable fiction. I've already talked a lot about tumblr's complete refusal to admit that fujoshi wasn't a term coined by delicate japanese mlm to complain about evil women (and I wonder if james contributed to that idiotic concept), but the way I've seen people assert that women into m/m must be straight, must be stupid, must be lying about their identities, must be hurting gay men in real life in addition to wanting some anime boys to kiss ...

I've seen how some of you people talk about amb*r h*ard, is all I'm saying, and I've seen what you've tried to do to dozens of female creatives that, for some reason, you've decided deserve to be taken down or taught a lesson. I've seen the descriptions you use. shrieking, bitchy, whiny, uppity, shrewish, karen (don't get me started on how karen has been turned into an easy excuse for misogyny). you're not bystanders to what james did and is doing, you're a part of it. sure, you might not have the nazi fetish, but you've said things about women that put somerton to shame.

just a thing to keep in mind while the plagiarism discourse is ongoing. somerton is a shithead for many reasons but this is one that's important to remember because I think people often treat misogyny like a lesser crime, a smaller concern, and it's not. just think of what laws are passing and what views popular movements have of women and then, for one moment, consider that maybe your reflexive need to blame women or pick them apart might have been influenced by the Society In Which We Live.

[pruneunfair]

The internalized sexism in remarried empress, (for an ask)

*this is going to be a long one so hold on tight*

It's no question that remarried empress is one of the most popular manhwas on webtoon and being so popular it holds a lot of influence, unfortunately, that influence promoted the internalized misogyny in not just the readers but in other works as well.

In the first chapter, Navier is presented as this baddass perfect woman, during her divorce trial she brings in a hot rebound who also happens to be another Emperor so she wont have to give up her life as empress, sounds pretty feminist right? Unfortunately that's only one of the few times we see anything related to feminism at all.

We are soon sent back a few months before the trial and right away, Naviers ladies in waiting are tearing another woman down and already believe this new woman is a threat to Navier because the Emperor Sovieshu is attracted to this newbie

We are shown the basic concept of how the narrative wants us to view these two characters. Navier is perfect empress who is being wronged by her husband and this unnamed woman who's only crime so far was existing is a wench and a homewreaker, the ladies imply it as some sort of extreme act of disrespect for having to bathe what they believe to be a slave, proceeding with sucking up to the lead by saying they only wash their hands to bathe her as they don't even wash themselves and even when they admit this mystery woman to be beautiful they backtrack to making sure Navier is supported. You might think that this is just friends supporting friends but it goes beyond on that later on.

Later on we are introduced to this mystery woman, Rashta, a former slave found by Sovieshu in the woods who is immediately portrayed as rude, stupid, and a crybaby

The reason she cries is because she was struck and referred to as "the slave" while she wasn't very polite it's clear Rashta isn't doing this on purpose, rather it is sheer ignorance and an unusually large optimism

now, a lot of people like to say that Rashta must've done something on purpose to get Laura imprisoned and that she knew what she was doing, therfore justifying the hatred for her existence. However, Laura hit Rashta for reaching out to Navier and calls her a wench in the process

Some fans use the excuse that she smirked after Laura got sentenced to 3 days imprisonment and yes while that is excessive for Laura, Rashta was a slave only a few days ago and she's been mistreated by nobles her entire life plus I don't think she's smart enough to pull off Hannibal levels of planning like that, I personally think her smirk here is meant to be more of a "that's what she gets for treating me like that." Then a "hee hee my evil plan worked!"

the rest of the comic goes the same way, Rashta is continuously portrayed as a whore who ruined Naviers life by turning her husband against her, and she's written to be hated as a pick me who won't know her place. Rashtas pretty much every part of those "other girls" in those not like other girls templates. She's girly, loves the attention, emotional, dainty, overly sweet but secretly only has ulterior motives, and in the novel, she acts extremely childish even referring to herself in 3rd person, even when she makes good points it's all intended for the reader to laugh and jeer at her.

Shes practically designed to be the pick me archetype for baddass mary sue fans to despise and she sadly only gets worse as time goes on, not just in morals and personality but also in her writting

And how is Navier perceived?

Shes endlessly perfect, everyone loves her including several different powerful men from all different countries. Even her cheating ass husband is given the cheapest redemption arc in the end just for being sorry that he cheated and realizing how much he wants her. All the characters your meant to view as good adore her and anyone who doesn't is written as the meanest bad guy on the planet worthy of death. While she isn't the worst character I've seen, the narrative tries so hard to make her more amazing that Navier looks worse as a result, such as not caring about slavery despite being described as kind and devoted to all her subjects. Ergi even says it straight to us that there will always be that invisible wall between her and the poor.

The characters we're supposed to see as good are:

Heinrey: A king who planned on going to war with Naviers country and only stopped when he fell in love with her at first sight, who also tortures and threatens anyone who even so much as inconveniences or talks shit about her all while he puts up an innocent front to appear non threatening (wonder who that sounds like)

Kaufman: A grand Duke who drugs other people with love potions which are essentially date-rape drugs and gets away with it once another woman takes the blame

Kosair: Naviers brother who violates Rashtas autonomy by slipping abortion drugs in her food and it's never talked about again.

Lebetti: One of Rashtas slave owners who still continues to harass Rashta and views anyone lower than her with contempt including her own nephew and so on

And who are the characters we are supposed to hate?

Besides Rashta and Sovieshu, the only other characters so far are Krista, the former queen of the west and her father

Ironically Krista is hated for the same reason readers supported Navier for: not wanting to replaced as queen, which isn't helped by Heinrey asserting that Navier is the one and only queen and anyone who objects will face serious consequences but they fix that by dumbing her down and blaming her for Kaufman drugging Heinrey. As for her dad, the old Duke. While he is the only man actively against Navier so far the only ways he has been punished is being told that Krista killed herself. (In the novel the old Duke does face serious consequences which involved him being murdered along with innocent people after his son attempted a hit on Navier)

But overall you get the message, most of the characters you are supposed to love are men and ladies with no personality, men who do atrocious shit yet we're supposed to look past it and conveniently the only man who is punished is an ugly bastard.

The ladies in waiting are the biggest contributors to the internalized misogyny, often they support it by insisting any new woman who shows up must be an evil whore, even Krista's ladies in waiting do this

Not like it matters though anyway since Navier basically wins most of those girls over on her side and they're never seen again

You see what I mean? Every other woman in this story has little to no character, they exist solely to push the FL up and punch down at any woman they don't like which usually consists of women that either dainty "other girls" or ironically women in a situation similar to Naviers and any woman who opposes Navier is affectly an idiot who gets girlbossed back into place. Meanwhile almost all of the men who commit absolutely horrible acts get away with it since they all essentially go awooga for Navier, with the only exception being less than conventionally attractive dudes like Krista's dad.

for fucks sake even Alan, one of Rashtas other masters who 🍇ed her, got her pregnant and participated in keeping her child away from her until she got successful is viewed as this sorrowful wittle baby who got taken advantage of by the evil Rashta and was "wrongfully" told to screw off by her. It took an episode where Alan was so unfathomably stupid to get readers to realize they shouldn't side with a rapist, and yes, while the narrative will try to push the idea that Rashta took advantage of him to raise her status and that she consented. News flash: a slave cannot consent to someone who owns them, it's like a student-teacher relationship.

Now the hypocrisy. Navier can do one thing and it's viewed as such a girlboss power move but when someone else like Rashta does something similar, it's embarrassing and pathetic. For example, Rashta is mocked by nobles mind you, for wearing an expensive and flashy wedding dress. Meanwhile Naviers wedding dress is literally weaved with thousand of gemstones

Hey, it's their words not mine.

Or how Rashta was considered evil for stealing Naviers spot as empress (even though Rashta didn't even want to be empress at first and Sovieshu gave her the offer, it's not like she held a gun to his head) but when Krista shows distress over being replaced as queen, the comments basically tell Krista to suck it up because Navier deserves it more. Everytime a man does something wrong in this story, the characters and even the readers trace it back to somehow being a woman's fault.

Readers are even encouraged to laugh at Rashta for not being able to learn as fast and eventually having a breakdown from the stress (not to mention she's also pregnant here so those hormones must be going wild)

yeah let's just blame a pregnant woman who wasn't educated in reading until a few months ago for not being able to be as smart or stoic as Navier and then crying from the stress.

finally, how this promotion of internalized misogyny affected other works. The Trashta nickname has become so popular that it is used everytime a woman who doesn't support the MC or even just inconveniences her is introduced, constantly the comments never shut up about the "new trashta." Even women who don't mean harm like Helena from kill the villainess was treated horribly because she's the "other woman" it erases any attempt at creativity in these stories and dumbs down any other woman who isn't constantly worshipping the FL as an evil bitch who needs to go.

Conclusion:The Remarried empress isn't the feminist power book with complex characters, maybe in season 1 but not anymore. Women who even think about being rude to Navier are punched down and killed if they don't change their mind while almost all the men are excused for their cruel actions because their hot guys with abs who only wanted to protect the one and only goddess Navier.

[yoshimura110]

One-shots

Vampire Cookie-Babysitter

Vampire Cookie is known as a lazy vampire, who is always drunk with wine(?). He may not be a good example for children, but he is a good takecarer since he had some experience with his sister in the past. Sometimes vampire Cookie will have to look after Y/n. All he will do is put them into a baby seat(despite Y/n is not a baby) when he take a nap and drink some wine while carrying them around.

And, of course, he will not give wine to them even if he get drunk.

Chili Pepper Cookie-Babysitter

Chili Pepper Cookie is a cookie who likes a good treasure, and she is not a good babysitter, but it doesn't mean she is that bad either... Chili Pepper Cookie will bring Y/n around on her adventures as her crime partner.

She will use the small cookie cuteness as a distraction while she takes some wallets from behind. She will make sure to protect them even its a little dangerous for their adventures.

And them receive some candies and money just to not tell the others (:

Mystic Flour Cookie VS Dark Cacao Cookie(dragon lord)

Well... where i should start...

After that, events of cookies of the Dark Cacao Kingdom get in ill of flour. Dark Cacao, with his soldiers, decided to go to beast yeast. Many hours later, Dark Cacao lost some of his soldiers, and he continued adventure with the strange palace with the rest of his soldiers.

Since everyone knows the events, i will start talking about Y/n. After the battle with Shadow Milk Cookie, Y/n were adventure with Gingerbrave and with others on beast yeast. In the middle of the way, a fog flour appeared, making everyone lose the vision. "i-i c-cant see...G-gingerbrave! Can you hear me?!

They looked around and didn't hear or found anything. The small cookie walked inside the fog, confused, searching for their friends. "Someone? Hello?..." Y/n start get very relaxed for some reason, their body seem light.

Suddenly, they hear an unfamiliar voice. "Are you lost, little one?". Y/n heard the unfamiliar voice hesitating and scared decided to follow the voice. "Who is there? Where are my friends?"

"Follow my voice...I will help you." The more steps Y/n took more, their body seemed to get light and weak the fog disappeared. "Where I am?"

The small cookie was inside a cave in a mountain. In front of them was an unfamiliar cookie, with a kind expression, but for some reason, the small cookie felt something wrong on that cookie...it made them remember Shadow Milk...

"Fear not little cookie, I Mystic Flour will take away your worries away... no need to fear, you are safe from the pain and manipulation you suffer from others"

Before Y/n could say anything, they coughed flour, and their vision got fuzzy. "..."

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

"Beast!" A loud voice could be heard in the cave. The voice was from Dark Cacao Cookie, who held his sword appointed towards Mystic Flour with the white and black dragon on his shoulders. His appearance was more powerful and without worries. "Give me back Y/n, my soldiers and my cookies! I will end your evilness!"

Mystic Flour was on the throne(?), the small cookie on a jar next to it, it was annoyed due dark Cacao refuse to turn to Flour, it couldn't take the soul jam back. "Your foolish cookie, I was going to set you free from pain, but you still refuse...and about this little cookie you really think you can take care of them after everything you done to your own son?"

"My actions were wrong but it doesn't mean I will stop to fight for ones I care, even if it means spill my jam I will fight for saving my kind from you!"

The beast standed from her throne and walked towards dark Cacao after she caressed the jar with the small cookie inside

Everything around the room turned to flor, the beast stared at Dark Cacao with a dark expression, Dark Cacao was ready to fight with his sword in hand.

who will win?

[jewish-vents]

Lost another friend and need to rant about it. This is gonna be long and all over the place: apologies in advance.

I hate how unfair the world is to us. I hate how all the good leftist principles apply to every minority except us. I hate how the world ensures we see that it treats us differently so we can feel totally isolated (we are) and give up. I hate how we aren't given basic human decency like everyone else. I hate how even as I write this, I fear being misunderstood.

I'm a "Jew of color" and the gentile who I am no longer friends with is POC like me. I had to cut them off because they have more contempt towards me (they also treat me like I'm the representative of all Jews) than white people.

I express my experiences with antisemitism and my sadness about how bad antisemitism is right now? They would tell me I'm insensitive and selfish because Palestine. "Just go outside and you'll be fine" but going outside is how I experience antisemitism. Antisemitism is a real thing, I would say. It's not just a few hate comments on a screen by trolls like Hitlerfan123. We are not safe anywhere and we can't hide. This isn't an exaggeration to trick you like the evil Jew I am. And they would just bring up Palestine again. And again. To shut me down and to shut me out. I would get defensive and they'd tell me that I'm acting like a white person. White tears. White fragility. BUT YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO ME, I would say. And they'd tell me I'm acting hysterical. That the zionists put me in some delusion where the world is out to get me but I'm actually fine and no one wants to hurt Jews.

"You're acting like a white person who says "we get hate crimed too" whenever a poc talks about their oppression" they said. They made a few comparisons like that. I tried so hard to get them to understand me. To acknowledge our pain.

Don't they know I can feel pain too? I observed how they would constantly post stuff like "minorities must stick together". They would keep an eye on hate crimes for everyone but us and actually listen to their stories. Do they even know how soul crushing that is? To feel so completely alone?

I couldn't even talk about the Holocaust with them. Every time I tried to, they'd have to say "the Holocaust isn't unique and all genocides are connected" at least once. And it's so fucking unfair. Why are we the only ones being told "we're not special"? These "you and your experiences aren't unique" conversations start and stop with us. I would never, ever tell anyone slavery isn't unique because slavery was unique. I would never go up to someone and tell them oh btw the genocide of your people wasn't unique. That's EVIL. And yet it only happens to us. Before anyone misunderstands me, I know right wingers routinely say this to minorities. But the whole bird mocks and belittles us. Regular people go out of their way to remind us "we're not unique or special". I shouldn't have to give a million disclaimers either. Only we are told our genocide isn't special. I honestly wouldn't care if the people who told me that said the same thing about other genocides. But they never do. They'll go on to talk about how unique every other genocide is and then come back to us with "the Holocaust isn't unique". You only ever talk about the Holocaust when it's time to say "everything's connected" and yet you're surprised I call you an antisemite?! If you can't talk about the Holocaust without mentioning other genocides and other minorities, you can't gaslight me into thinking I'm an anti-intersectionality asshole.

And then there's the speaking over us thing. I dumped my ex friends who were all POC/queer/etc for this very reason. I'm on the floor in pain sobbing about antisemitism and you think you know being a Jew more than me. I say something like "hey Zionist can be a slur towards Jews" and you immediately disagree and try to argue with me. "But my other Jewish friend said otherwise so I don't believe you". Or "This random Jew i follow online says otherwise". I have never been so dehumanized.

Can't forget the "weaponization of antisemitism" thing. I hear this all the time now. Who do they think they are? Gentiles have never felt more comfortable. They are afraid to criticize or say anything about other minorities and will even bend for them but with us, it's "Jews cry antisemitism". And as I said to my ex friends, don't be shy. Expand this convo TO EVERYONE YOU PRICKS. Tell POC they weaponize racism. Tell gay people they weaponize homophobia. And they never do. Because anything flies with Jews and Jews alone.

Okay rant over. I hate this world

.

[pukanavis]

Fuyume Hanamura Idol Story 1

ーThe Yumenosaki Academy library, two years since the establishment of ES.

Fuyume: Excuse me?

Are there any fairy tales here…?

Oh, the shelf over there is the section for picture books and stuff?

Thank you for your help.

~...♪

(Ah, she was right. Yume recognises a bunch of the books over here.)

(They’ve got a good selection to choose from but the categorising is a mess. They’re just randomly thrown onto the shelf without any care for alphabetical order or release date.)

(Oh well…apparently no one has any love for fairy tales…)

(‘The Little Mermaid, ‘Momotaro’, ‘Tale of The Bamboo-Cutter’, ‘Snow White’, ‘Urashima Taro’, ‘Cinderella’—)

(Oh! It might not be the one Yume was looking for but he’s in the mood to read Cinderella today.)

(This story is another one that Yume adores.)

(It’s a tale about love being rewarded.)

…♪

Fuyume: …? Hm? Oh, uhm, you’re that nice person from earlier—did you need something?

You were so kind to Yume earlier, so he’d be happy to give you some company.

Huh? The Yumenosaki Academy library is off-limits to anyone that doesn’t work for or attend the school?

How could you tell that Yume isn’t a student here?

Ooh, cause Yume isn’t wearing the uniform…?

That makes sense…no biggie, Yume will be sure to wear the school uniform next time.

Yume is really good at sewing, so it won’t be a problem…fufu ♪

Huh? That’s not the issue?

Yume doesn't like anything you’re saying right now.

Here he was thinking you were a nice person.

Fuyume: Huh? Yume’s name is Fuyume Hanamura.

And you are? …Anzu-san? You’re a graduate of Yumenosaki?

You’re here at your old school to do some producer work, huh? It made you feel nostalgic so you’ve been walking around the grounds…? 

Oh, is that the case? Hmm…♪

Then, aren’t you and Yume in the same boat? Yume goes to a middle school separate from Yumenosaki and you’ve already graduated…right?

It sounds like neither of us are allowed to be here.

Let's work together then, okay? If you pretend you never saw Yume, he won’t go around yelling, ‘There’s a trespasser in here!’ …♪

What do they call it? A contract, business, bargaining? Let’s do something like that…♪

If you’re willing to comply, Yume will leave you be. He isn't particularly interested in you anyway.

Yume is just here to read some fairy tales.

…♪

Fuyume: Huh? Did you need something else? You want to know what Yume is reading?

Ehehe, you’re interested in fairy tales? Sounds like we can get along.

Ehehehehehe. Yume is just reading a picture book about the massively popular princess, Cinderella. Though, he actually wanted to read something else. 

Maybe you’ve heard of it? For some reason, no one in Japan knows about it—it’s a fairy tale about an amethyst. 

Even if you don’t know the story, maybe you’ve heard this quote before?

—”The amethyst broke into pieces.”

Fufu. I guess you haven’t heard of it. Oh well.

Basically, it’s a story about an ordinary girl that comes across an amethyst that can grant any wish that she desires.

In fact, she actually fuses with the amethyst and becomes a crystalised-human of sorts.

It’s a curse put on her by an evil witch…ehehehehe ♪

The plot is kinda similar to ‘The Happy Prince’. Actually, something like ‘Arabian Nights’ or ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ might be a better match.

After transforming into the wish-granting amethyst, the girl wishes for her crush to pay attention to her, or to become better friends with people—

With each little wish she makes, the amethyst uses its power and gradually begins to crack—

Aah…♪ Eventually, her body becomes so fractured that it crumbles away and she loses all of the love and friends that she had been granted.

Her loved ones view her like a monster and chase her away in fear.

After everything, the final wish she makes is—

Fuyume: —Ah, wait, Yume thinks you should read it for yourself to find out what happens next. Spoilers are a crime!

Ehehe. If there’s one thing Yume can say, it’s that he empathises with the amethyst girl and even admires her.

At the end of it all, the final remaining piece of her—

Becomes a ring that showers the wedding between her best friend and the one she loved in joy.

After everything, her final wish is—wait, oops, Yume just realised how much he’s spoiling. He’s really really sorry.

You don’t mind? Really? You’re super kind, you know?

Ehehe. You see, Yume shares the same wish as the girl who became a ring.

—-“I wish for your life to be full of joy.”

During her final moments, the girl whose selfish asks led her to break apart used her last wish to bring someone else happiness. 

Ehehe. Yume doesn’t have the power to grant wishes but he’ll do everything he can to achieve that too.

For example, Esu goes to Yumenosaki so Yume snuck in to watch over him in secret.

Huh? Does Yume love Esu?

It depends how you define ‘love’ but yep, Yume loves Esu.

But it's sad, isn't it? The reality we live in isn’t a fairytale.

—The amethyst already shattered long ago.

[lastoneout]

The thing that always gets me about the Cruella movie making it so that her mother was killed by dogs is like...while I've only seen 101 Dalmatians a handful of times, and I've never really cared for it all that much, even as a child I understood that the reason she was so evil wasn't because she specifically hated dogs themselves, but because she was SO dedicated to being fashionable that she was willing to do anything, including killing dogs, if it would elevate her style and make her even more rich and famous.

Making it so she has a reason to hate dalmatians isn't just dumb because it's dumb, it's dumb because it undermines her villainy. The true cruelty at her core is not a driven vendetta, it's in her indifference to the lives of the people and things that get in the way of her desires. She is driven, but not to do harm for harm's sake, to hurt something as revenge for it hurting her, she's driven towards her own goals, and that means causing harm to anything that might stop her. If you turn that indifference to anything that isn't in service of her true desires into targeted hatred it loses it's power, she becomes less evil, not more. The thing that makes her so scary is that she doesn't care about the dogs, if anything she loves the dogs...the way they look, anyway. Their lives, however, are just a bump in the road on the way to her getting whatever she wants. And she'd be exactly as cruel and ruthless if the thing in her way was cats, or a nature reserve, or a rival designer, or a patent. Everything in her way should be made to bend to her will, even if that means murder and destruction, simply for the crime of being in her way.

That's a good villain. She doesn't need a backstory or trauma to be awful, she can just be an awful person who doesn't give a shit who gets hurt if it means she gets what she wants. And tbh given how much the fashion industry hurts people and animals it makes sense that she'd be that way. You could make it a critique of the fast fashion industry or how luxury has always come at the expense of others or capitalism- or well, no, I guess you couldn't, because that might hit a little too close to home there, huh Disney?

[shatcey]

Dark IF (William)

William Harrison

@.archiveikemen made a wonderful translation of the prologue to this event. I recommend reading it in advance so that there are no questions about how we got into this story.

@.kurishiri has compiled an amazing masterlist on this event. I'm doing summaries, so I'm not there. If you prefer to read the full translation, you have that option as well. Not necessarily for this story… This is the main reason why I'm making a summary to fill in the missing parts.

The main part of this event basically coincides with William's main story. I'm not even kidding. The same situations, the same words… At first I was pretty sad about it but… the endings are really good.

Of course, I finished both of them. I liked the bitter ending better. Perhaps, like certain someone (who say the exact opposite), I love drama too much.

After Victor send Kate to the twisted word with parting words "it's in you hands to find the happy ending..." Kate recalled...

Not creapy at all... all things considered...

As soon as Kate appears in the twisted world, she meets Cheshire cat Liam. Who introduced himself quite happily. Suddenly the bell rings. And Liam explained that this meant that someone had been beheaded on the orders of King of Hearts William. And this is a common occurrence in this world.

Kate seemed to ask too many questions about William, and Liam asked if she was interested in him. But no, she just needs to find what's missing. The lying Fox Harrison appeared. And Liam recommends him as an informant.

I'm not in a position to judge, but if someone was presented as a "liar"… why would you trust him? And even more so to buy information from him? Who knows what he's telling you. Well, we all know that we can trust Harry, but this is her first time meeting him. There's no way she could have known about it.

Kate had nothing to pay, so she decided to look for information on her own. Liam told her about William's abilities and advised her to be cautious around him.

She decided that it would be very stupid to meet William without preparation. This guy must be crazy (these are her thoughts, not mine). She resolutely went to the city and… found herself in front of his castle. It's really a destiny.

She looked at the strangely familiar castle (familiar to me, not to her), but decided that she shouldn't go there…

How did he manage to jump so high? Is he magical? Don't tell me it's Benjamin… Wait a minute… Jewel? Victor? Are you playing matchmaker again, you little... rabbit?

And, of course, there were no guards or servants in this castle, so no one stopped her, and she ended up in the dining room with William… There may have been servants there, but they've been turned into furniture or something. Oh, sorry… the wrong fairy tale…

How did he know her name? He… сan't read minds for real this time, can he?

…and we on his main route. Do fun stuff and became free from the morality and expectations of society. And, of course, Kate fell for him very hard. Nothing new.

A sudden thought…. Are we stuck on Groundhog Day by any chance?

She couldn't find what is missing so returned to Harrison. Harry asked her what she would give him for this information.

Harry replied with his canonical "that's not half bad" and told her about William.

It turns out that the people William executes have committed terrible crimes in the past, but cannot be judged by the law. So he chooses the path of destroying "evil with evil". Strangely familiar isn't? And since the bells were ringing at that time, many people were so scared of it that the number of crimes in this country decreased significantly.

And as a bonus, he added that there is Mad Hatter who is plotting something against William. He wants to dethrone William and take his place. Indeed, this guy is crazy.

Kate returns to the castle and asks William to explain himself. So he tells her about why he frees people. He said exactly the same as he said on his route. A selfish observer… something like that. And he asks her what she wants, and… she tell him. And in the morning she wakes up in his bed, remembering last night and blushing. Typical Kate.

But she noticed opened letter and read it…

And here we have two endings. The developers don't give any recommendations, but it seems to me that chronologically the bitter ending comes first. You'll understand what I mean.

Bitter ending

Kate remembered her conversation with Harry and decided that she needed to warn Will about Mad Hatter. But she searched the whole castle and couldn't find him. She thinks he's probably gone to the court, and she has a very bad feeling about it.

She ran out of the castle, just wondering for a moment where exactly the court was, and Liam ran up to her. Explaining that there was a commotion in the court, but he didn't see her and became worried. Kate asked him to show her which way the court was, which he did.

In court, the final verdict is announced by the judge

I'm so glad it's not Vivi. This guy is really crazy.

The guards pulled out their guns and pointed them at William. Wait a minute… Are you going to do it right here? There will be blood everywhere… Oh, you have red carpets, so there's nothing to worry about. Okay, continue.

At the last moment… Kate jumped out of nowhere and covered Will with her body. I really thought he was going to die this time… But that's impossible when Kate is around.

Right, we need Roger! Roger, where are you? Oh... right... the wrong fairy tale... again

He asks her why she did it, and she replies that she doesn't know, her body moved on its on. She loses consciousness due to blood loss and doesn't hear his words.

I have goosebumps. This is so…

She thinks that she still cannot leave, she has forgotten something… In the black void of nothingness, she finally remembered. Then she was a child and could do whatever she liked, she visited Wonderland and met the king of hearts. They spent several days together, and she did whatever she wanted, and if she was in danger, William protected her. But he said she had to come home. As parting words, he asked her to be honest about her wishes. She asked him what if she became the one who wouldn't do it?

Oh, so this is what she heard at the beginning?...

Kate opens her eyes and find herself in the library. There is no pain or blood on her. She's definitely returned back to the real world. She remembers everything. She promised to protect him when they met again, but she forgot about it. And because of that, she faced such a bad ending. She looks around and thinks that, despite the fact she return to the real world, this place seems bleak. Because her lover is not here…

She thinks that even if she finds herself in Wonderland again, the same ending may await her. But her heart is free, and it screams that she wants to see him again… And this time with determination to find her happy ending… she "jumps" into the book.

Victor and Harrison are in the theater-like place. Harry informs Victor that Kate will be coming back to them soon.

I'm not sure if Vivi said "you", he could say "we" or "me"… I didn't take a screenshot with JP's text.

So… this endless sad circle can only be broken with a happy ending. And for that, she just needs to find what is missing…

Premium ending

Kate read the letter and decided to warn William again, but this time he came up to her with a tray of tea.

Oh, can you make tea? Why am I even surprised, you're the same perfect self.

She asks him about a letter and what he plans to do. Of course he will come, because that's what he has to do to stay true to himself. She reply he could be killed… But he doesn't think that's a big deal. Kate clings to his jacket to keep him from leaving… And we're back to his route…

Kate begged him to cancel the order, not to leave her… But he only smiled and kissed her on the forehead. The door closed and Kate wondering why this William's kiss seemed so familiar to her. And she remembered memories from her childhood. When they parted, she promised to protect him the next time they met, he laughed and planted a soft kiss on her forehead.

They must be magical…

So… Remembering everything, she was even more determined to help him, but that she could possibly do… Scream, girl, it always works if you need to attract attention.

But she didn't even have to do that, Liam came in. She's freed from Will's order and can run after him, and the same as it was at the Bitter ending, she asked Liam to show the way.

In court, the judge passes the same sentence, the guards point guns at Will, and Kate jumps in front of him again

Will laughs and asks her why she acted like it was the end. Kate suddenly realized that she didn't feel any pain. She looked at the place where she thought she had been shot.

As I thought… The watch is magical… It catches all the bullets.

Will looked around at the people in court, ordered them to "Not move" and called Harrison over. Harry showed up and explained that Mad Hatter was spreading false rumors about William, but in fact these were his crimes. And members of parliament take bribes to hide them. Criminals!

William said that if it was only Mad Hatter's sincere wish, he would have allowed himself to be killed. But Mad Hatter started destroying other people's lives, and he can't forgive him. So…

And again, it's good that they have red carpets… What am I saying?..

Several days later Kate and William are having a crazy tea party for two in the dining room. Kate asks if he knows what is missing. She hasn't returned home, so she still hasn't found it. He says if she wants to come home, he won't stop her. But she means exactly the opposite. If she had known what was missing, she would never have found it to stay with him forever.

So he has a theory, but...

This kind of won't help… I'll definitely forget what we talked about in an instant…

I didn't buy epilogue, but I probably will… if so, I will write about it later. If there's anything in it besides "hot stuff". And… if there's still a point in it. This event will most likely take place on the EN server in late November or early December.

My thoughts

I really like the way they combine everything together. The clock, the voice she heard, the feeling that she had forgotten something important… It's really amazing. At first, I was really upset that story was repeated. But the developers managed to create a new version based on the old one, and it's really amazing. After a slight change in the key points, everything looks completely different. Will's magic call was presence on the main route, but it was a subtle hint like her deep thoughts. This is the main key here. He called her, he lured her into this world. The first, the second time… maybe millions of times. And she continued to follow his call. It really feels like destiny.

I'm actually really curious… If William's story is so similar with his route, maybe other's stories as well? I haven't read Alfons's story, I was waiting for it to appear on the EN server, so I can't be sure.

I really like the idea of Victor as a god-like character, a kind of storyteller… who knows how the story should be like… and don't stop until it's exactly like that. Or… I have goosebumps… he is destiny itself.

And I'm really interested to know what the role of the Fox is in this world… Why does he remember everything, even if everyone's memories supposed to be reset?

In addition, I want to say that the part in the real world on the bitter ending is written so well that I was tempted to show you the whole scene. But I was stopped by the number of screenshots that I could put in one post. I really like it, it gives me goosebumps, no matter how many times I reread it. And yes, I cried… It's too good…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🔝 𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝕋 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 🔝

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[midnightcatharsis]

I've been kinda trying to ship meljayvik for a week and I'm officially giving up. I'm too weak for this shit. I've started shipping them for several reasons mostly: 1. I like all 3 characters 2. Meljayvik art is beautiful 3. the jokes about Jayce being in love with 2 magical beings are great 4. Jayce has a type 5. Many members of the arcane team have been open about shipping meljayvik 6. While I do believe there are not enough Mel-Viktor interactions, I believe the ship has big potential and I've stumbled upon several ideas for fics that I find charming as well as interesting. 7. Toks (Mel's VA) is a great, talented person, she makes me love Mel and crave more Mel content.

That being said, I'm giving up. Almost every single time I search through tags and Mel or M3ljay* (if you wonder why it's censored look at the end of the post) are mentioned alongside Viktor and Jayvik 95% of the content is just pure hate, insults, harassment, and vitriol. The hate comes from both ways of course and perhaps some m3ljay fans have encountered some from jayvik fans but, personally, I have seen much more hate directed at viktor and people shipping jayvik or even meljayvik. People say "don't erase and vilify Mel for jayvik" (which I agree with) only to in the same comment or post vilify Viktor and hate on him making sometimes ridiculous claims. Innocent jokes referencing what c.l. said, about how if Jayce sees Viktor as a brother then his relationship with Mel is also "sibling-coded" are treated as a war crime by some M3ljay fans even if you ship both. Joking about Mel's actress liking jayvik posts, shipping them or referencing her doing that in any way is a crime and any person who has ever dared to consider Jayce and Viktor as romantic, post any art or joke about jayvik (which also includes Mel's VA) is insulted, harassed, slandered and called "racist". Even shipping meljayvik is treated as an insult because "only m3ljay is ok"). And don't even let me start on Mel because she can only ever be perfect and anytime somebody dares to say that while she is not perfect she is still a complex, interesting character it's treated as hating on her... Saying that she is skilled in manipulation, politics, intrigues, schemes, and playing people is somehow an insult despite it being her job and despite her achieving so much while at such a young age on her own being a testimony to how good at it and skilled she is. Saying that she was on the council for many years and the council has done awful things to Zaun is not permitted. Mentioning that her relationship with Jayce, while real, started as her trying to use and manipulate him because he was an investment - which is even an important theme in the show and the reason why they have a falling out in s2 - is somehow a hate crime. A lot of these people don't even care about Mel and often say stuff suggesting that if she doesn't end with Jayce she is somehow useless and disposable while, in reality, she is a strong, independent, and complex character who has her own story and who would be interesting even if her break up with Jayce in s2 marked the definite end of their relationship (same for Viktor, except maybe having his own story because he and Jayce are intertwined in all universes in that regard). A lot of people are just using Mel (and Sky) to hide their ableism, homophobia, and sheer disgust for gay, bisexual and queer people... Perhaps there is also some hate and toxicity (that shouldn't be there) on the jayvik side of fandom towards M3ljay, but during my limited time as a new meljayvik shipper and looking through tags, I have not encountered people openly hating on Mel at all. Things that get labeled as "hate" are mostly people saying she was manipulative at the beginning (which yes, she was), is good at manipulation (again, she is, like every politician, and it doesn't even make her evil) or is not a saint; people comparing Viktor and Mel's scenes or using the m3ljay tag while also shipping meljayvik; occasionally people saying why they prefer jayvik while also being polite and not hating on Mel (which also happens in reverse)... But never open hate, insults, and harassment that the other side directs towards jayvik fans and viktor. (Screens below - most from tumblr cause I'm lazy, but there are much more of it on other platforms, and the comments are often even worse) I'm too weak to deal with all this toxicity and hate. I still kinda like the ship and the all the characters but I'm going back to jayvik only.

*(I'm censoring this so that m3ljay fans who probably don't want it in their tag won't have to interact with this post because I consider it basic human culture. Would be lovely if m3ljay fans who love to shit on jayvik in jayvik fans did the same for once)