#but canonically there is no ending (yet). or there is. they live. they die. they're an urban legend.

[writing-good-vibes]

well... of course i have to ask. Where is Michael at the end of Strawberry Drizzle? And is it dead in a ditch? lol

😈 i'm sooooo glad you asked !! i don't think i've posted about this before, but you know i often ponder about how corey and michael end up. what could possibly tear them apart? there are so many possibilities -- none of which are definitive -- but here's what I think brought corey back to reader in the end.

michael is dead -- perhaps not in a ditch lol, but in a cheap motel room, or a seedy house they're squatting -- and corey's definitely the one who killed him.

they're fighting, worse than ever before and exactly like it always is. michael's hands are around his neck, in a vice grip that isn't getting looser. but the thought of dying isn't so appealing anymore, and corey has a knife in his jacket, or he knocks michael off his feet, or he gets a good enough grip on that heavy glass ash tray next to the bed. he doesn't stop -- stabbing, hitting, bludgeoning -- and there's blood all over his hands and in his mouth and he can taste michael and he tastes just like any other man.

he doesn't kill michael to be with you, not exactly. he kills michael because if he didn't, michael would kill him. that's the way it was always going to be. that desire for control that drives corey finally turns on michael, turns on his master and gives corey a thrill he'll never get again in his life. corey will prod and poke at the bruises on his neck for weeks, to keep them purple and tender for longer. his last gift from michael.

he's reached his peak and with nothing left, he finds his way home to you, all his hope is pinned on you waiting for him. even when he comes back to you, michael isn't really gone though. no, michael lives in a dark corner of corey's head, along with momma. the only way corey's ever getting away from them for good is when he dies too. but at least he has you.

i really debated over which ending would work for strawberry drizzle, but i love the idea of corey coming back to you all battered and bruised and you just not knowing -- maybe never knowing -- what's happened to him, but happy he's with you at last.

i mean, what can you really piece together about his life? when you first meet him he's with another man (who looks like one mean motherfucker, as @/toastysalt once described him to me lol) and corey's life seems to revolve around him to some degree, and he's always covered in bruises, he's been strangled and his knuckles are split, he's skittish about staying in one place for too long and while you never find an ID amongst his modest belongings, you find a knife instead.

in a way, it's kind of similar to clean again (unintentionally and in a non-plagiaristic way lol) you don't know what's happened to him -- a bad relationship? a runaway who's been drifting ever since? career criminality to survive? -- but what matters is that he chose you over all of it.

[yanderes-galore]

rose quartz (SU) with human darling (Platonic/Romantic) Hcs 🪲 [Shiny Bug Anon]

Oh cool :0 This could be fun, lol. I haven written for Rose before...!

Yandere! Rose Quartz with Human! Darling

Pairing: Platonic/Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Manipulation, Overprotective behavior, Condescending behavior, Clingy behavior, Fear of loss, Isolation, Blood mention, Dark themes, Jealousy, Forced companionship/relationship.

Rose has been known to have a fascination with humans.

This is evident in the show where she's curious about them, often learning about them through Greg.

She sees humans as cute and funny... they're adorable little creatures to her.

I imagine she gets with Greg at some point for the sake of Steven, but imagine if she was fond of another human first?

Before she and Greg got together officially, she found you.

You're younger than Greg and might even be curious of her like she is of you.

Rose is described as caring and loving of those she's close to.

She's curious and sees beauty in all life.

Yet humans seem to be her favorite.

When she looks at you, she thinks you have a natural attractive beauty to you.

She wants to know you more.

In fact, it's canon that Rose isn't quite sure how human love works compared to Gems.

Be that platonic or romantic love... she isn't quite sure how either works.

Which makes her unsure how exactly to act upon her feelings towards you.

I can see Rose accidentally being condescending towards you.

She tries her best to see everyone as equal... but she can't help but coo over you like a pet.

She just thinks her human is so darn cute.

Although... she does worry about getting attached at first-

After all, you're human.

Your lifespan is so short compared to her.

But we'll get into that later....

Eventually she can't help herself.

You're too interesting for her and she can't help but be drawn to you.

Due to her curious nature, Rose may also be a bit... invasive.

She struggles with boundaries, often curiously prodding at you and asking invasive questions.

You try your best to keep up with it... she is an alien, after all.

Rose listens to every word you say with sparkles in her eyes.

She likes to learn more about you and humans in general.

She's adventurous and may even want to take you along on exploration.

Well... on anything that won't get you hurt.

Rose doesn't seem that bad, she's actually caring and adores you...

Unfortunately, things do take a darker tone eventually... this is still Pink, of course.

Rose is deceptive and a bit selfish.

She worries she'll lose you due to how fragile humans are.

She know doubt learns of your fragility by an accident.

Imagine Rose took you out to explore an area, only for you to get hurt.

The Gem freezes when she looks you over, seeing blood seep out of a few cuts you have.

The good news is she can heal... but seeing you with anything from bruises to a broken bone freaks her out.

It reminds her that humans aren't like Gems.

Your life can end much easier than hers can.

Rose's obsession is not just driven by curiosity... It's also her fear.

This was the reason she didn't want to be attached in the first place.

But... she can't help it.

You look so cute in her arms... your curiosity reminds her of herself.

Rose would do anything to protect those close to her.

Such a trait sounds selfless... yet towards you it's selfish.

Why?

Well, Rose refuses to acknowledge that all life... including yours... has an end.

A known power of Rose, other than healing, is resurrection.

If she doesn't want something to die... she'll change it.

Imagine if Rose is so scared of you dying... She makes you immortal.

She's too fond of you to just let you die.

Which means she'd use her powers to make you live longer.

Sure, you'll be a pink color now...

But you'll still be hers, in fact, the color you have now only proves it.

Yeah, this is what makes her behavior selfish.

She curses you with a longer lifespan to keep you as hers longer.

Not only that, but she probably begins to isolate you.

She is definitely one to tell you that all of what she does is for your benefit.

In reality... she doesn't want to let her human go.

It only works in her favor when people distance themselves from you due to your changed appearance.

It's true... that pink tint you have now is like some sort of brand.

Soon you're not hanging out with many other humans other than Greg.

Rose is always around you, when she can't be, the Crystal Gems are around you.

Rose is selfish about her human.

She purposefully takes your attention away, often feeling jealousy towards you interacting with other humans.

It's a... toxic emotion.

She knows she should allow you to thrive with your kind.

Yet in the end she claims you as hers, again, oddly like a pet or toy.

Perhaps she keeps you at the temple/beach house?

She is still very affectionate and curious as ever... even if you feel dejected due to what she's done to you.

She doesn't let you leave her home.

Maybe she even keeps you in her room?

She can create whatever you want there.

Rose just wants you to be happy.

Although... it often seems like she prioritizes her own happiness most of the time

When you're alone she holds you close, her touch delicate and soft as though you'll break.

When you ask to go outside, she turns it down.

The only time you're free from captivity again is when she makes Steven.

Imagine if you were still affected by her obsession even after she creates Steven.

She does imply in the show that she influences Steven's emotions (iirc-).

So... what happens if her obsession develops in Steven?

I'm talking Steven feels drawn to you but isn't sure why.

Of course it's platonic for most of the events of the show.

But it could change in Future when he's older.

You're cursed with being forever young... all because you got too close to an alien.

Now you have a Gem/Human hybrid who won't leave you alone.

But that's just a thought!

Overall, Rose may seem very interested and kind with her human obsession.

Yet catching her attention isn't really a good thing...

Especially if it means you'll never leave her... even when she's gone.

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

the thing is. why bring Rose back for this finale. she didn't particularly do much other than standing around and looking pretty. I assume there'll be more of her for the second part. I stand by my original assertion from the star beast that it doesn't make sense that she can just 'give up' the alien DNA she was born with. my point back then was that it would be fun if she could regenerate, and ended up becoming the timeless child herself, thus making the Doctor's entire existence a very fun paradox AND also canonizing the 'half human, on my mother's side' line from the 8th doctor's movie (my beloved) (because Donna was only half human whether she knew it or not).

HOWEVER.

all the susan-baiting is really getting to me. I want our weird little granddaughter back. they canonized the fact that the Doctor doesn't actually know who her parents were. and I REMEMBER. that Susan's original gallifreyan name was Rose. well, their language's equivalent of it. that's how Rose Tyler got her name, it was meant to be a cute little easter egg, the first classic companion and the first new who companion sharing a name. so walk with me. the weird girl daughter of Donna Noble, who grew up on earth but never fit in there, who has the Doctor's DNA woven into her being, and access to a yardis, and can in this scenario regenerate...coming across a younger version of the her father/uncle, introducing herself as Rose (which translates to gallifreyan, I really don't feel like looking up the spelling rn I'm sorry it started with an A), the doctor can recognize her- as family, he thinks, not knowing its a spark of him, their shared mind. she knows about how risky spoiling the future would be, she doesn't know if he has siblings and he looks older than she's ever seen him, so she says she's his granddaughter instead of his niece. daughter. him. she's part time lord. she lives longer than her human family. the Doctor is all she has left and she wants to be with him even if it isn't a him that knows her yet. she's heard the phrase 'timey wimey' before, and she's a smart and careful girl. she finds she doesn't fit in on gallifrey any more than she ever fit in on earth. the Doctor knows exactly what that feels like. they travel. when her human friend renames her Susan, she likes it a lot. feels like when she changed her name the first time. freeing, empowering, becoming. feels like the new name fits her new life better. Rose has a long dead family but Susan has her grandfather. the part of her that is her mother and father, though, still craves human connection. the love and fascination with humanity that she inherited from the Doctor is still there. she tells him all about humans and he takes her to visit them more and more to humor her. she ends up fostering his love for earth that will one day define him AND lead to her creation. she accidentally coins the name tardis the same way the doctor will accidentally invent a banana daiquiri a few centuries too early. he just thinks she's creative and silly. a very dear child. odd and bizarre to her classmates at school, but it's nowhere near as bad as it was the first time around. sometimes she even goes to see a younger Wilf. he's somehow exactly how she remembers him as an old man. she's so grateful they're in the 60's though, because if she ever has to look into the eyes of a Donna Noble who didn't know her, she thinks she may actually die. but the Doctor- he IS enough. he is still part of her, part of her mother, even if he doesn't realize it. she can't help but worry over his health, even knowing he lives long past this, because she got so used to helping his older self in his retirement. she knows him better than he knows himself. she'd do anything for him, and she knows he'd do anything for her.

she just never thought leaving her was something he'd do, though.

[straightbaittournament]

may the best bait win! propaganda under the cut

kurosaki and ichigo:

Oh man, where do I even begin? So, for some context, Bleach starts when Rukia (a shinigami) gets critically injured saving Ichigo from a monster, and she transfers her powers to him so he can finish it off. Instead of transferring half her powers as planned, however, she transfers all of them, which forces Ichigo to take over her job as a shinigami. During this time period, Rukia... lives in his closet. Yeah. The entire first arc of the manga is dedicated to their relationship, and while a lot of it is playful banter, Rukia's presence in Ichigo's life fundamentally changes it for the better. Rukia then gets kidnapped by the rest of the shinigami who aren't at all happy she gave her powers to a human, and the main plot ensues from there. Throughout the story, Rukia and Ichigo constantly save each other when they're at their worst. When Rukia thinks she deserves to die, Ichigo is there to tell her she deserves to live. When Ichigo is in a funk about his superpowered evil side, Rukia is there to snap him out of it (something his canon love interest explicitly realises she was unable to do). They share a sun/moon motif for crying out loud, and yet like that last sentence said... they don't end up together, but with other people instead. Yeah. No shade to the canon ships, but Ichiruki is peak straightbaiting, honestly. They have a lot of banter/chemistry, fundamentally change eachother's lives for the better, save each other when they're at their lowest, and have a very deliberate sun/moon dichotomy... but they both end up paired off with different characters instead asdfghkl

maka and soul:

Throughout the series, they have a deep friendship with each other which is consistently extremely important to the story's narrative. In order for them to be able to fight, they must get along and resonate with each other, and due to the mechanics of their world, fighting independently of each other is extremely difficult. In multiple instances, they are shown to be willing to put themselves in harm's way to extreme degrees to keep each other safe. They are even shown to live together. They are The Singular Straight Ship I have ever shipped and I love them. Also they are really cool and Soul can turn into an awesome scythe weapon that like only Maka can wield. And they fight really awesomely together.

[daenerystargaryen06]

Reasons Why Daenerys Sacrificing Herself is Stupid

So, I have seen from the fandom points on that while people might not believe Daenerys will be killed, she will die sacrificing herself for the good of humanity against the Others in the books. Thus ending her arc in a 'better' manner. Yet this STILL includes harping on a female characters death, even if it is 'heroic', it's still just as bad as contemplating Dany dying by being killed by anything else. Some reasonings based on this theory vary:

-Some say Dany sacrificing herself will be a 'redemption' after she goes mad in the books and burns shit down (which is as ooc as it is and stems off of misogyny).

-Some say it is better for Dany to die sacrificing herself as a hero to rid/atone of the 'sins' of her ancestors (also misogynistic, and stupid.)

-Some say they'd rather see Dany die through self-sacrifice than any other way (but why see Dany die at all? Why not want for her to live happily instead, either as Queen or in a home of her own choosing?)

-Some say Dany will sacrifice herself to Jon as Nissa Nissa for the good of humanity (also misogynistic. Reduces Dany as a character. Dany is Azor Ahai, not Nissa Nissa).

The issue within Dany sacrificing herself overall, is it is an inherently misogynistic act within itself perturbed by those who want it to happen. Either way Dany sacrificing herself makes her a plot device, no matter how it happens. It strips away her character and what she represents.

-Dany sacrificing herself as Nissa Nissa is misogynistic in the way it strips Dany down from her character and simply makes her a tool. A vessel used for 'man pain' and only given a role for the man to be the hero. The woman dies so the man can continue on. She dies for the man and that is her only role in this portrayal. Even if Dany 'willingly' made herself Nissa Nissa and allowed it, overall it leaves a bad taste. It paints a narrative that her only use was for another man. A narrative that she was only useful for being a man's 'lover' and murdered in the end. A piece to be used and tossed away once done with.

Let's face the truth here, Dany is Azor Ahai. Her dragons Lightbringer. Dany does not need to be Nissa Nissa, because she already fulfilled the prophecy. Drogo was the sacrifice in this situation instead of Dany. The roles were reversed.

-Dany sacrificing herself (through battle or other means) also paints a misogynistic narrative. Her being a piece for sacrifice strips her of all her qualities; her intelligence, her ability and skill, her overall character arc and what she has done and achieved. It paints a picture that she is only of use to die. It makes everything she has ever achieved and accomplished and learned wasted on nothing. What is the point of her arc and all that she has learned and done if it's all just going to be wasted on her death in the end? Her apparently 'sacrificing' herself?

I do not see anyone discussed more of sacrificing themselves than Dany. And it's sad how people cannot enjoy a deeply written and amazing character without speculating on how they're going to die. It's sad people cannot enjoy Dany just for what she is without needing to make up theories just for how she will die. Why must she die? Why can't she live and have an accomplished and complete arc that results in her eventual happiness?

-The theory that Dany sacrificing herself for redemption after burning a city (like KL) is gross. Season 8 isn't canon, it isn't a part of G.R.R.M's ending. I highly doubt Dany is just gonna go crazy and start massacring people, when that has never been the point of her character and arc. G.R.R.M paints Dany as a HERO. Her narrative arc overall is that of a heroic one (but that doesn't have to include self-sacrifice done as a 'heroic' or 'redeemable act' either). G.R.R.M has also already denied a theory speculating Dany burning down the Water Gardens, why would he have her burn down KL instead? It makes no sense and would be a very ooc thing for Dany to do (no matter the circumstances). It is again, misogyny, to believe that Dany would just suddenly go crazy and burn shit, only to be able to 'redeem' her actions later by sacrificing herself and getting killed. If I needed that shit of an idea as an arc for Dany in the books, I might as well just ring up D&D and ask them to finish the books instead.

-Dany sacrificing herself to atone for the 'sins' of her ancestors/bloodline is also just as bad. What sins have her ancestors committed that she needs to atone for? I'd say most of her blood already atoned for their own sins given the tragedy that befell many Targs throughout the years. It does NOT fall on Dany to 'atone' for what her ancestors have done by sacrificing herself. There is the saying 'not to judge a person by the sins of their family'. Dany is not her family. She does not need to 'atone' for any sins. I'd say she's already doing a pretty good damn job of it already by upending the slavery economy, and being the person that she is- kind, compassionate, etc.

-As for theorizing she will sacrifice herself because there is no other vision for her death- again, I ask the question: why does she need to die at all?

Dany doesn't need to sacrifice herself. I doubt her arc will lead to that for her end. She is TPTWP, Azor Ahai. Her role against the Others will be one of triumph, not death. Dany is fire, she is life, she is Mother. There would be no point in her entire narrative arc, or even her written existence for that matter being raised up as such a large role, just for her to die in the end through 'self sacrifice'. I am sure many sacrifices will be needed during the Long Night, but Dany won't be one of them.

Let's not forget that Dany is the only person to

-First learn of the Song of Ice and Fire within the books

-Bring dragons back from extinction into the world

-Upend the slave trade/economy to help those enslaved

-Walk through fire to hatch dragons from stone

It is not her role to simply be used and traded off as some pawn for sacrifice. Her role is much bigger than just that. Dany is one of the main central characters within ASOIAF, she is the Fire in the title: A Song of Ice and Fire. Her role is not to sacrifice herself to the Others, but to end the coming darkness and bring Spring.

Dany is a hero, and she will continue to slay. Stay mad about it.

[biggie-chcese]

Why I think Yomi Hellsmile should've died in Chapter 4

(this essay isnt what you think it is. spoilers for the whole game btw)

Alright so let me preface this by saying that this is not a Yomi Hellsmile hate essay. I like Yomi. He's my favorite peacekeeper. He's funny, he's entertaining, and he makes for a very effective antagonist. So why have him die? Well, for the same reason I wouldn't have Yakou live: I think it makes for a better story.

So here's the true title of my essay: A Critique of how Rain Code's Narrative Handles the Peacekeepers (and by Extension, Yomi) and their Downfall

Let's start with Yomi's downfall in canon. Yuma and Vivia find out his role in Huesca's murder and, ultimately, Yakou's death, and are angry beyond belief. But they're also helpless to do anything as they escape the labyrinth with vengeance on their minds. Of course, this gets shut down immediately, and then Makoto ex machina comes in with Martina in tow to arrest Yomi for his money laundering and bribery. And right then and there, in one fell swoop, the peacekeepers are completely eliminated as a threat in the story to be replaced by Makoto.

But okay... isn't that super underwhelming? The peacekeepers and Amaterasu corp have been the main driving force of the game's primary conflict, and yet somehow they are completely eliminated as a threat because Makoto grabbed a few files off screen. And also, this brings me to my first major issue I have with this ending:

Part 1: Why the fuck do they care?

No I'm serious. Why do the peacekeepers care? So what if Yomi bribed his way to the top? You mean to tell me that the cops who spent the entire game assaulting and antagonizing civilians give a shit? They're never shown to have any sort of problem with their corruption. They send people to be executed on whims and knowingly, regularly falsify evidence on murder cases. At best the peacekeepers are indifferent to the suffering they cause, and at worst they are gleefully complicit in it. So, again, why do they care about Yomi's money schemes? In fact, they only benefit from Yomi's rule because he gives them the power to freely instill fear in Kanai Ward's citizens. The game never, at any point, has an "are we the baddies?" moment from them nor does it ever even try to have at least one peacekeeper question Yomi's authority, even when he's throwing them under the bus. Throughout the whole game, they stand as a completely one-note, cartoonishly evil representation of police corruption.

So why the sudden heel turn? The resolution of chapter 4 feels so jarring to me because the game has zero buildup to it. This also applies to Martina's return. Actually let's also talk about her.

Part 2: So... Martina's return lowkey is kinda lame

Don't get me wrong, I was pretty hype when she came back. But also, the magic wore off pretty quickly for me because I didn't understand why she was suddenly a whole different character. I suppose her brush with death gave her some time to contemplate her actions, or perhaps she felt indebted to Makoto and asked him what she should do, or maybe Makoto held her life over her head and told her to change her act or he's letting her get cubed. Who knows? We get nothing expanding on this so it could be anything.

I feel like people kinda forget that Martina was just as corrupt as Yomi? Like, she is not his helpless victim. I'd even argue that their relationship isn't abusive. Martina is in it with her own interests in mind in addition to just being a massive sadomasochist. I cannot stress this enough: whatever tf she and Yomi had going on, she was completely into it. Even at the end of chapter 2, she was drooling over him and the idea of punishment... until Yomi crossed a line.

Y'see, Martina thought she was special. She thought that whatever punishment Yomi had for her Aetheria Academy blunder, she'd come out of it alive, because she's his beloved right hand. Yomi then showed her that she's just as disposable as the rest of his underlings by ordering her to be brutally executed. That is when she becomes a victim.

Anyway, I'm saying all this to make a point that Martina hasn't shown any interest in being an honest cop until chapter 4. It's completely out of nowhere, just like with the other peacekeepers.

"But Biggie," you may be thinking, "why would Yomi dying fix these issues?" Well I'm so glad you hypothetically asked!

Part 3: We love missed potential, baby!

Kodaka sometimes does this thing where he introduces an interesting concept that plays with the rules of the game... and then doesn't commit to it. Think like the double murder clause in Danganronpa V3 chapter 3, where they mention that if two separate murderers act in the same day then only one of those murders counts. Then they do nothing with this, and instead create a very weak chapter.

This is a similar problem I have with the tail end of chapter 4's mystery labyrinth, which is a really amazing labyrinth that introduces a really amazing concept: taking down a secret mastermind. After reaping the culprit's soul, they have this cool, brand new secret area that... does nothing. No, I'm serious. Nothing happens. All it does is piss Yuma and Vivia off and waste everyone's time. They find out Yomi's involvement in the case, but they still don't do anything with that. Sure it brings a whole new feeling of hopelessness, but doesn't that make Yomi's downfall literally five minutes later through the mundane actions of someone else off screen seem all the more underwhelming? From a gameplay and storytelling standpoint, I think this is just... a cop-out. I think it'd be cool if he was involved enough in Huesca's murder to count as an accomplice, then with Vivia and Shinigami at his side, Yuma reaps Yomi's soul. It's a decent payoff for the NDA and the player while supporting the game's message about the importance of finding the truth. And god does the game need support in that regard, because the Mystery Labyrinth almost never helps and Yuma instead gets saved by someone else (which would've been nice to expand on if we go this route bc there's something interesting about Yuma calling for the labyrinth to kill people for ultimately no reason, but they don't do anything with that and that is a WHOLE other essay lol).

But this is not my main reason that Yomi should've died here. I wouldn't feel so strongly if that was the case. No, my problem lies with a character that isn't Yomi, and what is part of the entire reason Rain Code's plot exists.

Part 4: Is Makoto fucking stupid?

"/lh" by the way. Makoto is my second favorite character in this game behind Yuma, and I adore him. His story, his motivations, his undying will to be a protector of a people that no one else will protect, by any means necessary... he is such an incredible character and antagonist and I genuinely adore him. But I have one eensy weensy, teeny weeny little issue with him:

Why did he need the detectives to oust Yomi?

Makoto claims in the ch 5 labyrinth that the reason the detectives were brought over was to oust Yomi, which leads me to believe the command for the detectives to come to Kanai Ward was his work, not Number One's, then Number One simply caught onto this and took advantage of the situation to sneak in. Though, that's just a guess on my part, mind you. So I suppose he was just desperately hoping at least one of them would take care of Yomi, but isn't that weird?

The detectives don't ever find the evidence of Yomi's money laundering and bribery. Makoto does. The detectives don't ever bring Yomi's corruption to light. Yomi... already does that without their help. Actually, why didn't he secretly team up with the Resistance for that? Too busy ignoring Dohya District's glaring issues, Makoto? Too busy turning a blind eye to your people's suffering?

Uh. Anyway, the only detective that actually does something beneficial for Makoto and kills Huesca is Yakou, who was already in Kanai Ward. And don't tell me that Makoto accounted for Fubuki and Desuhiko's fortes here because that part of the plan was all Yakou's idea. If Makoto could've predicted this, he would've just called the detectives necessary to this plan instead of luring in a bunch of them at once to get slaughtered.

Tons of detectives died coming to Kanai Ward to do... what? Distract Yomi? Could the World's Greatest Mind truly never come up with a better distraction for a guy who didn't even realize his Martina Cube™ order never came in? Yomi isn't shown to be some sort of hypervigilant supergenius nor is he nearly on Makoto's level. Could he truly not have outsmarted Yomi and led him astray long enough to grab a little binder of paper?

So, once again, you may be wondering how Yomi's death would fix this. Well, Yuma, a detective, is the one who kills Yomi.

Makoto is well aware of Yuma using the Book of Death at this point. So what better way to get rid of Yomi than to carefully manipulate the detective who has the Perfect Criminal Murder Tool™? Makoto can't just assassinate Yomi himself- that would make him the main suspect and he'd have to do a lot of PR maintenance to get the rest of Amaterasu Corp off his back. But Yomi mysteriously dying of a heart attack while Makoto isn't anywhere around... well, that's different.

"But wait," you may be thinking, "doesn't Makoto want to keep Yomi alive because he's a Kanai Ward citizen, and he loves Kanai Ward?"

Good point! But doesn't that also apply to Yakou, whom he also had a hand in manipulating into that crazy sui-homocide of Dr. Huesca? Or, what about Fink? Remember him? Makoto killed him for "knowing too much." I know that information is missable, but it's there. And don't tell me it's just because he's a hitman and has killed other Kanai Ward residents, because Yomi has sent many residents to their deaths without trial... not a huge difference. So a body count isn't really on Makoto's "should I kill them" conditions, it seems.

If Fink gets killed for "knowing too much," then Yomi shouldn't be exempt from this, especially when he was leaking homunculus information to the outside world. That goes far beyond "knowing too much." It just doesn't make sense.

But you know what does? Makoto actually using the detectives to wipe his hands clean of Yomi's mess. Yakou is used to take care of Huesca, Yuma is used to take care of Yomi, and Makoto gets to sit back, relax, and watch everything play out just as planned.

And later, in the next chapter, when Yuma learns about Makoto using him like this, he realizes that he's truly been had.

Part 5: How I think it should play out

I'm not being a hater. In fact, I deeply love this game and have a lot of respect for Kodaka and the writing team, so please don't take my little rant as some sort of effort to bash on my favorite video game because that's not what this is. I'm not gonna prop myself up as a better writer than anyone on the team because I'm not, but I'll still try my hand at rewriting this scene to fit my personal taste. So I would like for you to imagine with me, the end of chapter 4...

Yuma and Vivia find the secret area of the labyrinth and find out that Yomi has been masterminding Huesca's murder. Shinigami points out that, hey, that's why the labyrinth is falling so slowly: we haven't finished it off! Vivia stands by Yuma's side, and all of them, driven by their rage and desire to see justice be done, reap the soul of the true mastermind through one final strike of the solution blade. Labyrinth collapses, snap back to reality, oop there goes gravity, oop there goes Yomi, who collapses on the ground.

The peacekeepers are surprised and approach the body. They find that Yomi is dead. They're shocked, and as this is happening, Yuma isn't sure what to feel. Is he glad that he managed to avenge Yakou? Not quite, because Yakou is still gone, the hitman is still out there, and everything still hurts. But a part of him feels... vindicated. Vivia seems to have equally complicated feelings about this. For once, it was... kind of worth it to find the truth, even if a bit messy.

Well now the peacekeepers confirmed Yomi is dead, but now they're accusing the detectives of this. And they're honestly kinda right. Yuma and Vivia realize that they're in kind of deep shit, but the sound of Martina's voice comes from off screen asking what on earth is going on here, making everyone freeze.

Enter her, Makoto, and Seth (I'll say why he's here too in a moment). They're surprised at the sight before them, but Makoto only pretends to be. Then you see it... Martina and Seth go from visibly suprised... to relieved. And there's something oddly triumphant, yet a bit chilling about Makoto and the two people we've witnessed Yomi throw under the bus standing over his corpse. It feels thematic now, as if righteous judgement has come. And... it also solves the "what happened to Seth" question, lol.

Makoto shakes his head and sighs, stepping over the corpse and approaching Yuma and Vivia as he comes up with an excuse: "I always told him that those temper tantrums weren't good for his blood pressure. I guess his heart couldn't take it anymore."

He then nods to the others. Seth instructs the peacekeepers to clean up the body, as they rot quickly in this city. There's this foreboding feeling in the peacekeepers' obedience and efficiency, and Yuma begins to wonder if he did a good thing. Did his actions change the peacekeepers for the better, he asks himself, or did he simply shift the power over to someone worse? Shinigami tells him she doesn't know.

Makoto approaches them with good news: they found and arrested the hitman! Yuma, frightened, does not address that and instead asks him why the other high ranking peacekeepers are here. Makoto says that they... owe him a favor. Martina expresses her gratefulness for him stopping her execution order and asks if they can do anything else, to which Makoto replies telling her no, they're doing an excellent job. After some more conversation, Seth, Martina, and the peacekeepers then leave with Yomi's body to let Makoto talk privately to Yuma and Vivia. Makoto apologizes for their loss of Yakou and offers some faux sympathy. They're both... still conflicted about this conclusion, but Makoto tells them they're free to go, so they'll think about it later. Oh, but before they leave, he gives Yuma a little gift: a suspicious black box. Of course, Yuma can't open it just yet- it's a surprise!

Then the rest could play out pretty much normally (though an encounter with zombie Yomi chapter 5 seems inevitable and also awesome).

I think this alone would solve every issue I addressed before. The peacekeepers do not change out of nowhere. They simply reallocate power and there's still this feeling of them being a threat as they're now directly connected to the game's true antagonist. There's now a theme to Martina's return with Seth's presence as well. There's now a narrative purpose to that final section of the mystery labyrinth with proper payoff. And, most importantly, Makoto's motivations to use the detectives make more sense.

By the way, if any Yomi lovers think that he should stay alive for a potential return in the sequel... isn't it such a blessing that Yakou's DLC introduced this pretty neat little pill that could still make that possible? Just saying.

So yeah. Yuma, for the sake of narrative payoff and character writing consistency, please kill this clown. Thanks for reading <3

[bonefall]

Now we've got all six of em, can I just say that CRIPES ALMIGHTY the titles for a starless clan suck major ass! Both separately AND as a group!!

I Do Not Rewrite Arcs Until They Are Done BUT DO YOU WANNA HEAR MY WIP RENAMES SO FAR

Remember: Don't get too attached yet, the only one I can say with certainty will show up somewhere is the title of Book 4.

ARC RENAME: A Starless Clan -> A Prayer Unanswered

The original name is really good but I'm getting a vibe that the theme of the rework is going to be... when love isn't enough.

It's about how some things can't get better. It's about how all the kindness in the world couldn't get Bramblestar to turn around as a leader. It's about how Heartstar might have had good intentions, but occupation never works out in the end. It's Nightheart's relationship to his family being salvageable, not because they don't all want to fix it, but because his life has worked out best with distance from them.

So, Prayers Unanswered is both about the religious part of how RiverClan doesn't have a leader and can't get in proper touch with StarClan, but it's also about every other wish that hasn't come true.

River -> Starcrossed One of the VERY large changes I'm considering is actually massively reducing Nightheart's POV. I'm thinking of doing this, not because I dislike him, but because I think it might actually be a better story if the audience is guessing as to his intentions just as much as the other characters are. So, until he's ACTUALLY needed later, his chapters are short and sparse. So Starcrossed would be about setting up the troubles of the Clans, especially the parts of the conflicts I want to highlight more in BB. It would be setting up the rule changes for "starcrossed lovers" (lmao) but also the brewing anger that the cats have towards code changes... and StarClan, if I do decide to keep the newest revelations and work them in better, in hindsight.

Sky -> Fracture There's a phrase in my head that is so interesting to me that I need to do something with it. "Only frozen water can fracture." I want to make the RiverClan situation worse than in-canon. First of all, there's going to be identifiable groups this time which begin to scramble for power. Instead of having the cats just... forget how to do the chores they've done their whole lives, the Clan is splitting up into factions. This is why they won't be able to win against Heartstar later, when she decides to take drastic measures. They're not fighting like a Clan; they're fighting like a bunch of disorganized teams. There should also be a bunch of needless injuries, maybe even a border aggression that lead to a death, before Heartstar barges in. I also want to make this a bigger part of the story, Erins willing. Too much time was spent on the Catnip Patrol, imo, we're going to have ANOTHER big trip and I don't want this one to eat up so much time. Rowankit is also still going to die; and maybe a couple of elders around the Lake too.

Shadow -> Snakes and Turnclaws Berryheart's hate movement has been too tame, from canon books 1 - 4 as of the time of writing. It's ridiculous that they haven't even injured anyone in the Battle Cat series. I saved Antfur from the previous arc so that she can die here. We've been seeing the Anti-Turnclaw movement rise from the first book, so now with Nightheart's boldness leading him to a place where he will be unsafe, we need to see his rusty butt in actual danger. I'm even thinking that, instead of Nightheart failing his task on purpose, Sunbeam makes him fail by stopping him from getting killed. I need to know the ending of ASC first though, because I MIGHT be having Berryheart getting her exile here. Whatever kills Antfur is either deniable enough that she's able to squeak by while Sunbeam quietly leaves (refusing to accuse her mother of anything publicly) OR it's so obvious that Heartstar casts her out on the spot. Meanwhile, we see the OTHER half of ShadowClan's conflict as RiverClan finally unites... against them, as their common enemy. Task failed successfully, Heartsy

Thunder -> The Source of the River I'm still unspeakably proud of this outline. There's so much I want to do here. She's going to come back with a DND party and I'm hoping that all of them end up in RiverClan with her; INCLUDING Nightheart. I want the fact that he accompanied Frostpaw to actually be the final straw for him. While he's away, Sunbeam is acclimating to ThunderClan and falling in love with her new home. There are parts she misses about ShadowClan, but as she's adopted by Sparkpelt, taken as a secondary apprentice by the deputy, smiled upon by Squirrelstar after she pressures Bramblestar to abdicate... this starts to feel like this is where she belongs. And that's too hard for Nightheart to ever come back to. "You come to the source of the river, and are vexed that you do not find the water that is flowing downstream" dude.... man. That's what BB's about. Change. I also really want Nightheart to choose HIS OWN NAME by the end of this series-- so at some point in this book he should finally admit "Nightheart" wasn't his choice either. (I'm thinking Deltastep. Because his journey with Frostpaw begins at the southern delta of my reworked map.)

And I haven't done them for Book 5 or Book 6 yet, especially since I might end up condensing them or chopping them up to put into the other books.

I do know I'm really love to play with the idea of a starless sky for one of the last books though, I may or may not keep Splashtail's lack of faith in StarClan (hate the Evil Atheist thing they keep doing), but the idea of a "Pitch-Black Star" absolute fucks as symbolism, ngl. Maybe something like "A Gap in the Stars" or "Constellation's Void" or "The Stolen Star"

Also also also I'm having Curlfeather come back as a Dark Forest Demon for at LEAST one scene.

I don't give a good goddamn if they don't go to the Dark Forest or not. ONE weird coincidence that could totally have been Just Good Luck but was actually Curlfeather. Let Her Drown Splashtail, she deserves it. Let her be a malevolent spirit who protects her baby. RiverClan can whine all it wants about Mothwing who ooo doesn't believe in God, Frostpaw's got a demon. Cry about it

Also I hope Frostpaw becomes leader because I'll make it go hard

[orphiclovers]

ahem ahem. What if sp x 1863 hsy!? Can you see the toxic vision!?

I want to so BAD you have no IDEA. SP and 1863!HSY are my favourite characters, yoohan is my favourite ship, this should be perfectly tailored to me, right? And YET, I've never gotten farther than "someone should make this a thing...."

But I'll try for you.

They do have some canon interactions going for them. Namely, we know that SP made a covenant with her to do some unspecified thing in the 1863rd regression.

It's not certain how many of the messages he sent to KDJ's channel were actually him personally, and how many one of his kkomas, and while I think a couple of them in the important moments was actually him, I headcanon he spent most of his time watching the alt-1863rd round. For Han Sooyoung I imagine he was a cold and distant figure who sent few indirect messages but whose attention was always hanging over her head. She had to rely on his satisfaction with the way she ran the world for him to hold up his part of the deal and give her a new worldline.

And we know he wasn't satisfied, because when he sent KDJ there, he said "I hope you're not as disappointing as the last one." So clearly there was some kind of disagreement between them.

Despite all this fun context, I don't think they have many strong feelings about each other other than mutual dislike. Neither of them spend time thinking of the other except for when they have to interact for the sake of the covenant. They're relationship is purely business, and they don't leave a huge impression on the other's psyche or change the trajectory of their lives forever. (Unlike, for example, 1863 Yoo Joonghyuk does for the both of them.)

Only thing they have going for them is their love triangle with 1863 YJH. It's the kind that doesn't end in a thruple for once, but where they both stay feeling entirely neutral about the other corner.

The Big Issue for them is that SP gives HSY a task he doesn't actually wish to be achieved, but HSY has no choice but to do her best to attempt anyway. And when she does come up with a perfect plan to achieve the death of Yoo Joonghyuk, the thing SP supposedly wants, he gets cold feet and sends KDJ in last minute, saying he's 'dissapointed' in her. Why? The plan would have worked. But he didn't want Yoo Joonghyuk to die at that point.

What he actually wanted her to do was fight radically change the world like Kim Dokja did. (This comes up in the SP/999 fight or sometime around then.) She never could have lived up to that expectation.

And in the aftermath of Kim Dokja's visit to the 1863rd round, all their plans were ruined anyway. Maybe she neutrally told him she 'wouldn't be leaving this round' and that their deal was off. SP said nothing, since obviously everything had fallen apart at that point. I think Secretive Plotter, much like Kim Dokja, doesn't care for a world without Yoo Joonghyuk in it. That was probably the last time they spoke to each other. The 1863rd round became completely irrelevant to him, including the Han Sooyoung left there to pick up the pieces. And she was obsessively fixated on Kim Dokja and didn't have time to think about SP. That was all over and done with.

But I'm very willing to hear anyone out if they have a HSY/SP vision. I want to be persuaded on this!

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Gay wrongs tournament, round 2.5 of the major bracket

Propaganda:

For Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy:

Best murder wives

They have both canonically committed crimes and murder individually and also together. They are a gay power couple :) who commit crimes.

Supervillains in love. 

Both are respected criminals of their own making: eco-terrorist and out for revenge on mankind and rescue of plant life & psychiatrist turned murderous harlequin for her patient (a psychotic gay clown who has a thing for bats) and proceeding to dump him with style and fireworks and reinventing herself from scratch on the fly

They just love each other so much and will just do immoral and illegal things for and with each other, like Poison Ivy will straight up eat a rich guy and Harley's a proud girlfriend and yeah.

For Joe and Nicky:

Immortal mercenaries they first met when fighting on opposite sides of the crusades. They killed eachother many times but came to understand eachother as the years passed. Eventually they fell in love and have been inseparable since. They live, love, fight and die together and have done so for hundreds and hundreds of years.

That is your pfp, dear pollrunner, and yet they don't have an automatic submission??? For shame! :D :D :D [Mod note: Honestly they should have :D They're no longer the pfp, though]

They definitely commit crimes, including murder. Their goodness or badness "depends on the century." There is an exchange in the comics about what crime they'll commit that night (they end up dancing gayly in a place where that's illegal but that wasn't the crime they originally planned on)

[thedeathlysallows]

Is It Over Now? (10)

Pairing: Aemond Targaryen x Aemma Velaryon; Aegon Targaryen x Aemma Velaryon

Summary: Red blood, white snow

Warnings: canon typical Targaryen incest. Aemond confesses Luke's fate. Aegon is a sneaky bastard. Sexual assault.

Tag List: @callsignwidow

"Be careful, my darling!" Laenor, your father, calls out in worry as you dash ahead of him. "Dragons can be dangerous."

"Not Vermithor! He isn't mean, he's just lonely and sad because no one understands him." You cross your arms and whirl around to face Laenor who simply sighs in the face of your five year old stubbornness.

"You look like your Aunt Laena when you do that."

"That's what grandfather says."

Laenor scoops you up in his arms and carries you the rest of the way to Vermithor's favorite resting spot: a large valley on the south side of the island. It's the perfect resting spot for him really. The size is perfect for the grumpy old dragon to rest his wings when he grows tired of the sky or his volcano.

That's where you happened upon him the first time. He was toying with some poor sheep before devouring it whole, and you could only stand and watch in awe. When he turned his massive head to meet your eyes upon hearing your shocked gasp you knew right away Vermithor was yours.

Your parents tried to argue with you, of course. They told you he was too old and you too inexperienced.

"Papa?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think Vermithor and Vhagar are friends? Mother says they're close in age."

Laenor chuckles at your question and says, "perhaps. Would you like them to be friends?"

You think for a minute, tapping your finger against your chin. "Yes, actually. I think they'd be very good friends. Maybe they'll even fall in love one day?"

"Maybe, my darling." Laenor puts you down as the two of you reach the top of the valley and kneels before you. You can see Vermithor just below watching you with an unspoken joy. "But for now I'm afraid you must wake up."

You frown. This isn't how the memory goes. "What?"

"Wake up, Aemma." Laenor's voice shifts and fear grips your heart.

"Papa?"

"Aemma, wake up!"

You bolt straight up in bed, pushing away the hands gripping your shoulders. Your heart thuds in your chest and your skin feels sticky from sweating in the warm summer air circulating your bedroom. Tears continue rolling down your cheeks. Aemond looks down at you with concern. You've been doing nothing but sleeping and crying since the coronation, and he isn't sure how to help you.

"Oh," you finally manage to say. "You've returned. How was Lord Baratheon."

"As stubborn as you'd expect." Aemond sits beside you, taking your hand in his. "I saw Lucerys at Storm's End."

You visibly perk up, desperate to hear anything about your family. "How is he?"

There are few people in Aemond's life that can read his expressions and read them truly. His mother, Helaena, and you. He knows he can't lie to you about what happened, but what else can he possibly say? Not a soul yet knows what happened between him and Lucerys because he couldn't have word of it getting back to you before he could tell you himself.

"Aemond?"

He flinches at the feeling of your hand caressing his cheek. He doesn't deserve it. He doesn't deserve you. You're too kind, too beautiful, too utterly pure for this world. He knows there isn't a possibility of forgiveness, but he can't live without you.

So Aemond takes a steadying breath and says, "there was an incident."

"What do you mean?"

"We departed Storm's End at the same time, but our dragons seemed to be under the impression it was a chase. Arrax attacked first and Vhagar followed suit. I tried to stop it, but neither dragon would listen."

You blink, drawing your hand away from Aemond's face. "Aemond, what are you trying to tell me?"

"Lucerys and Arrax perished. I never meant for things to get out of hand-"

The blood leaves your face and you're left with an icy, lightheaded feeling. "It doesn't fucking matter what you meant! My brother is dead!"

"He wasn't supposed to die!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, did you try telling him that?" The venom in your voice is almost tangible and you hope it's enough to burn Aemond. "Get out."

"Aemma-"

"I said get out!"

Rather than fight you, Aemond retreats slowly. "I'll leave you to mourn in peace, wife."

Just as you hoped your words burnt Aemond, his burn you in return. "Don't call me that."

"You are my wife. I understand you're hurt, but that won't change the truth."

You choke back a sob, saying, "please, Aemond. Just go."

"As you wish. I'll return after I've met with the council."

You want to tell him not to bother, but the words won't come. Nothing comes except the irresistible beckoning of sleep. That's what you'll do. You'll go back to sleep and maybe this time Luke will be there along with your father.

But sleep won't come despite the heaviness of your eyelids.

You toss back and forth miserably for what could be minutes or hours, you don't know.

In the distance you can faintly hear the door open and close. Footsteps approach the bed, weight dips and shifts on the mattress, hands grab your waist and turn you over, you bury your face in his chest and breathe in the familiar scent of Aegon.

"I sent Aemond to keep an eye on the City Watch as they train," Aegon explains as he strokes your hair.

You say nothing in return. You aren't stupid. You aren't naive. You understand exactly why Aegon keeps sending Aemond on all these various errands and it makes your blood boil. He still sees you as a toy to fight over, to win. Even in the shadow of your brother's death all Aegon cares about is using your body.

As if in silent agreement with your thoughts, Aegon's hand slips beneath the thin cotton of your nightgown to cup your sex. His lips, once soft and inviting, feel harsh against your neck now. You wriggle against him, trying your best to force him off of you.

"I want you to leave," you tell him. "Get out of my chambers and bring Aemond back."

"You can't mean that, sweet girl." Aegon grinds his hard cock into your ass, nipping at your earlobe.

"I do."

Before you can fight him further, Aegon flips you over so you're pinned beneath him, his eyes burning with rage. He grabs your wrists and holds them above your head. You can feel the heat of his body through your gown and you hate yourself for the way it ignites a fire in your belly. Aegon is the reason for your current torment and yet you still find yourself craving him in some way.

"You don't mean that," he repeats. "Never say that again. Not you."

Aegon hates the blank look in your eyes. It's frightening, something he's never witnessed before. You've always loved him the most. Always.

"Tell me you don't mean it. Tell me!"

"I'll thank you to get off my wife, brother." Aemond's hand grips Aegon's collar firmly, leaving no option for Aegon except to listen.

You slowly sit up as Aegon's weight leaves you. The brothers glare at one another. You're unimpressed by their pissing match.

"I would like to write to my mother," you announce. "No, I will write to my mother."

"You can't," Aegon says without looking away from Aemond. "You'll have no contact with your traitor mother."

"What could I possibly tell her that would be so damning? I know nothing of your plans, all of you have made sure of that. Let me mourn with my family."

Both men are silent and you know the answer before Aegon says it.

"No."

[gayelderstourney]

OLD MAN YAOI BRACKET ROUND 1

Propaganda:

Sir Alistair Hammerlock/Wainwright Jakobs:

THEY ARE CANONICALLY MARRIED!!!!! THEY ARE FORCE/FINESSE SUN/MOON SALT/SUGAR. THEY ARE SILLY GENTLEMEN WHO ARE IN LOVE. HAMMERLOCK IS A VICTORIAN BIG GAME HUNTER LIFTED STRAIGHT FROM A STEAMPUNK NOVEL WHO IS ALL ABOUT ADVENTURE AND WAINWRIGHT IS A SOUTHERN GENTLEMAN HEIR TO A GUN MANUFACTURING MEGACORPORATION WHO HAS SMALL AMBITIONS. OPPOSITES ATTRACT ULTIMATE INCARNATION. THE THEMES AND MOTIFS AND PARALLELS BETWEEN THEM ARE IMPECCABLE. THEY SUPPORT EACHOTHER UNCONDITIONALLY AND WHOLEHEARTEDLY. HAMMERLOCK THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO DIE AND HE RECORDED WHAT HE THOUGHT WERE GOING TO BE HIS LAST WORDS AND HE SAYS, I QUOTE: "but I long not for death seeking adventures, but instead for one… last… peaceful… moment… with you. I love you, Wainwright. Farewell." DID I MENTION HAMMERLOCK HAS A NICKNAME FOR WAINWRIGHT. HE CALLS HIM Winny AND IT MELTS MY HEART EVERY TIME. GOD THEY GET MARRIED IN THE CORPSE OF AN ELDRITCH GOD AND THEIR WEDDING IS AN ENTIRE DLC. IT ALSO COVERS THEIR RESPECTIVE DOUBTS THAT MAYBE THEY AREN'T THE RIGHT MAN FOR EACHOTHER BUT IN THE END THEY REALIZE THAT IT'S NOT TRUE AND THE OTHER LOVES HIM SO SO SO MUCH JUST LIKE HE IS. I AM SO SO AUTISTIC ABT THEM THEY ARE PEAK OLD MAN YAOI BUT THEY ARE VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN IN THE OLD MAN YAOI COMMUNITY. PLEASE.

They have an entire DLC about their wedding. Their base game story arc starts with Wainwright calling you to ask you to go on a rescue mission to save Hammerlock and calling him the love of his life.

There is a whole game DLC dedicated to their canonical marriage, they constantly call each other by pet names, every single time they talk about one another there is passion in their voices, they express how much they love and care for each other.

Irving Bailiff/Burt Goodman:

they are TRAPPED in capitalist dystopian hell and yet gay love persists. literally they are fighting for their got damn lives to be gay. they've been subjected to evil fucked up brain surgery to make them forget who they are outside of the workplace and yet. AND YET. they fall in love INSIDE the workplace and gain the desire to fight their oppressors so they can do old man yaoi activities. i forgot to take my adderall today sorry im not forming coherent thoughts but they made christopher walken yaoi real

They have only ever experienced being at work and are desperately trying to find meaning with no memory of the outside world. Fraternization is against the rules as well. The yearning is so much.

they are 2 sad old men who are in forbidden love. they bond over a mutal love of corporate art & company tote bags. their love inspired Irving to rebel against his employers for the first time ever. Burt is even Christopher Walken.

They’re so quietly sweet and heart-wrenching… fell in love on the ‘inside’ (they both work a job that ‘severs’ their work memories from their out-of-work memories; inside the job, they have no idea who they are on the outside or what the world is like, but they found each other and found a little bit of love and meaning and happiness inside the nightmare corporate world that is their job)

canonically in love with each other! in the show people sever their consciousness so they aren't aware when they're working. this creates a separate person that only exists while they're at the office, who doesn't share any memories with the person they are on the outside. these two old men bond and find comfort in each other despite the dystopian hell situation they're in

Old men having a forbidden romance while stuck in a hellish workplace dystopia

These two old men know nothing outside of their company propaganda, which says romance is forbidden, and they still choose each other. They bond over paintings, discuss company policy in each other's arms like they're debating scripture on whether their love is allowed. They're sooo gay and it's so sweet to see true, canonical old man yaoi

Weird old man office romance except they only exist inside the bounds of the world’s worst office building and they go on a little date to a room full of plastic plants

[martellspear]

it bothers us because you have delusions that martell princess who was raped but nobody except her family was bothered by it cause she was so irrelevant suddenly should matter more than Jon Targaryen's parents who according to canon 'he loved her she loved him' and their love brought about the birth of the prince who was promised

suck on it irrelevant ugly woman stans and you have the gall to compare princess viserra to her when viserra was million more beautiful than the dornish scum and her ill spawn could ever be

Jon WHO? LMAO. I wasn't going to post this - my moots & followers don’t deserve to read this shit -  but it made me laugh more than the others

Rhaegar chose Lyanna, I agree.... but it was to die. Do you think he wouldn't have taken here somewhere safer and with more people to ensure > her < safety during childbirth if he wanted to? Please.

He could've let Elia die in a third pregnancy and be free from her and marriage duties. The thing is that the moment he found out it might happen he went "no❤️".

Also, I'd be embarrassed to use the show as source. Especially if my pRoMisEd pRiNcE's end was that one.

'Ugly woman' and that's her:

"The crowning of the Stark girl, who was by all reports a wild and boyish young thing with none of the Princess Elia’s delicate beauty."

I can't believe you're so obsessed to the point of seeing posts I don't tag😭. Go use that time to read the books, they're fun.

On a more serious note [tw: rape]:

You are disgusting. Do you know how hard someone has to try to be worse than some ASOIAF men?

‘In Casterly Rock, it was common knowledge that Gregor Clegane had killed Elia and her babe. They said he had raped the princess with her son’s blood and brains still on his hands.’

That’s what you are mocking. I don’t care that she’s a fictional character, what you and your rabble say about her is truly sickening, it’s heartbreaking that you get to vote.

Someone who’s not from her family and cares a lot about what happened is Ned. I’m sorry if his own sister’s death didn’t influence his non-Jon decisions but Elia’s did.

Thus, one of the reasons he gives Cersei the chance to escape is his memory of Elia and her children's bodies presented to Robert and his reaction, you can’t even deny how much it affected him.

‘Ned had named that murder; Robert called it war. When he had protested that the young prince and princess were no more than babes, his new-made king had replied, “I see no babes. Only dragonspawn.” Not even Jon Arryn had been able to calm that storm. Eddard Stark had ridden out that very day in a cold rage [...]’

A few other quotes: 

‘Tyrion watched the faces of the Lords Tyrell, Redwyne, and Rowan, wondering if any of the three would be bold enough to say, “But Lord Tywin, wasn’t it you who presented the bodies to Robert, all wrapped up in Lannister cloaks?” None of them did, but it was there on their faces all the same. Redwyne does not give a fig, he thought, but Rowan looks fit to gag.’

"Cersei is frightened of you, my lord … but she has other enemies she fears even more. [...] In Dorne, the Martells still brood on the murder of Princess Elia and her babes.

‘Some nights, Ser Barristan wondered if he had not done that duty too well [...] m. Princess Elia and the children. Aegon just a babe, Rhaenys with her kitten. Dead, everyone, yet he still lived, who had sworn to protect them.’

‘The Dornishmen burn to avenge Elia and her children [...]’

I know you can’t relate but Elia was loved. It wouldn’t matter if ‘only her family’ cared, what happened to her was brutal and nothing changes it. You people just come off as rude, uneducated and ignorant. 

Fun fact: the name 'Elia' is mentioned 75 times throughout the series, 'Lyanna' 53 and 'Rhaegar', thanks to Dany, 258

[straightbaittournament]

may the best bait win! propaganda under the cut:

ichigo and rukia:

Oh man, where do I even begin? So, for some context, Bleach starts when Rukia (a shinigami) gets critically injured saving Ichigo from a monster, and she transfers her powers to him so he can finish it off. Instead of transferring half her powers as planned, however, she transfers all of them, which forces Ichigo to take over her job as a shinigami. During this time period, Rukia... lives in his closet. Yeah. The entire first arc of the manga is dedicated to their relationship, and while a lot of it is playful banter, Rukia's presence in Ichigo's life fundamentally changes it for the better. Rukia then gets kidnapped by the rest of the shinigami who aren't at all happy she gave her powers to a human, and the main plot ensues from there. Throughout the story, Rukia and Ichigo constantly save each other when they're at their worst. When Rukia thinks she deserves to die, Ichigo is there to tell her she deserves to live. When Ichigo is in a funk about his superpowered evil side, Rukia is there to snap him out of it (something his canon love interest explicitly realises she was unable to do). They share a sun/moon motif for crying out loud, and yet like that last sentence said... they don't end up together, but with other people instead. Yeah. No shade to the canon ships, but Ichiruki is peak straightbaiting, honestly. They have a lot of banter/chemistry, fundamentally change eachother's lives for the better, save each other when they're at their lowest, and have a very deliberate sun/moon dichotomy... but they both end up paired off with different characters instead asdfghkl

house and cuddy:

The show spends 7 seasons hinting that House is going to end up with Cuddy, and then writes her out in season 7. In the finale, he has a flashback of people who impacted his life and she doesn’t even show If House and Wilson can’t be together, then House and Cuddy should

[lake-cosay]

Jesslake Demigod/PJO AU

hi so. finally making a real post about this.

i apparently made this au like 2 years ago but the pjo brainrot came back and i've been hyperfixating on this au again. while it does also feature my OCs this post is about the jesslake au

for clarity, this au takes place in the world of the Percy Jackson books, and assumes the canon story of the books is finished. it takes place in about 2020 (pjo canon is currently around 2011 ish). You don't need to have read the books to understand the au (I haven't) but. some knowledge of the universe will definitely help

most of my notes about the au are in the images, but here's a rough timeline of the major events: (it's long)

Jesse is born in 2005. he is raised by his mom and his mortal/adoptive father, whom he knows isn't his bio dad but treats him like it anyways. he doesn't know he's a demigod or who his bio dad is

Lake and Tulip are born in 2006. they both struggle as babies, but Lake much more so; they nearly die. Hephaestus, their father, dips Lake in the River Styx, giving them the Curse of Achilles, though theirs works a little different (more details on that later/in another post)

Hephaestus sends Lake to Camp Half-Blood to be raised there. (Chiron serves as a father figure to Lake, and they actually get along pretty well.) Tulip never finds out she has a twin until she arrives at camp.

Lake lives at CHB their whole life growing up. Sometime around the age of 8-10ish, they encounter the flecs for the first time. In this au, they were people but were cursed to become monsters, and still hunt Lake relentlessly. Lake has a pretty gnarly scar from their first encounter.

When she's 13, Tulip finds out she's a halfblood and is brought to camp (have not figured out how/by who yet, open to ideas). One-one is an automaton her dad built for her, not sure about Atticus.

When they're 13, Lake decides they want to see the world. They leave camp mostly on a whim, but take enough time to pack a bag and leave a note for Chiron asking him not to try and find them. Chiron somehow (through the Oracle, and Apollo kid, idk) divines that Lake will bring another half-blood to camp safely, and he trusts Lake, so he doesn't try to find them.

Lake wanders on foot for about a month, heading southwest. Eventually, they end up in Arizona, where they meet and slowly become friends with Jesse. Jesse's parents are glad he's spending time with someone who's not his other friends, and they let Lake hang out at their house a lot. They (of course) know Jesse's a demigod, and start to suspect Lake might be too. (Lake also starts suspecting about Jesse)

The "man test" (or something very similar) happens after Jesse meets Lake, and Lake is there to witness it. However, Jesse's friends turn out to be monsters (were they monsters the whole time or did other monsters impersonate his friends? i don't know. lol) and Jesse and Lake have to go rescue Nate (from the underworld? from a monster's lair? somewhere else? again, i don't know)

After that quest, Jesse properly arrives at camp, and him and Lake become very close.

There's a small arc with Lake that I'm not sure where it fits, but here's works: the harrasment and attacks from the flecs are getting worse, and somehow during an attack Lake manages to kill them (Lake never wanted to kill them before because they used to be people, and somehow they know they won't come back like other monsters, so killing them is genuinely killing them). Lake still has to grapple with the fact that they were people and they killed them, but also that it was in self defense.

There's another more significant arc for Lake involving Hephaestus. Probably happens 2 ish years after they meet Jesse. Hephaestus... doesn't like Lake. It seems like he always wants Lake to prove themself to him, but Lake refuses. So instead, he forces them, by setting a trap. Lake nearly dies in his trap (a web of hot metal wires that tie them up like they're in a spider web, covering them in deep burns; it makes sense given Hephaestus' other myths I promise), thankfully, Lake is rescued by Tulip and Jesse. However, the whole thing is definitely traumatizing, and really solidifies in Lake that their dad is a fucking asshole. (me and @jesse-cosay wrote a fic of this, we're most likely going to post it soon!) (also, that scars from this are in the drawing, but they don't look as Bad as I want them too, I was struggling with making them look Bad enough)

Lake and Jesse have become friends with my OCs (Rain, child of Hypnos, and Kona, daughter of. Apollo. sort of. not quite. it's complicated. also Kona is Jesse's cousin!) over the past 2 years or so, and when one of them (Rain) ends up in the Underworld, they both go with the other (Kona) to help rescue them (I can definitely elaborate on that if people are interested, but it's very self indulgent lol)

okay, here's some random little things about this au:

Annabeth no longer has the most beads, Lake does. They have 13. Chiron made sure he collected the beads for them since they were brought to camp.

The other main characters are at camp too (mostly). Grace is the daughter of Aphrodite, Simon is the son of Ares, both have them have lived at camp since they were kids. Simon takes after Luke, thinking the gods should be taken down entirely.

Min is an Athena kid and Ryan is an Apollo kid

Alan Dracula is still basically the same. Chiron doesn't know how he can get into camp. Or if he's a monster. He just knows the deer helps protect campers, and that Lake loves him, so he leaves Alan be.

Lake used to have their own room (a repurposed guest room) in the Big House but now stays with Jesse in Cabin 3 (during the summer, the rest of the year they live with him in Arizona)

When Tulip arrived at camp people assumed she was a Demeter kid because of her name, quickly realized she definitely is not a Demeter kid

Lake has kicked Simon's ass in combat numerous times. It's very rare that Simon ever wins against them period. Simon hates Lake with a burning passion. He HATES that the tiny hephaestus kid can beat him up.

Jesse really doesn't like when people call Poseidon his dad, even if he knows it's true, because to him, his dad is Stephen Cosay, a mortal, who helped raise him and whom he loves.

with all that out there, please feel free to ask questions!!! i love this au so much and i would love to talk about it more. my ask box is open!!! or you can reply to this post. i'm going to reblog Yellow's art from this au and make sure it's tagged so you can find it. the tag is #it pjo au

[neoyi]

Six-page comic headcanon of Resh'an and Aephorul's first meeting. Some headcanon worldbuilding behind the "Keep Reading."

I had to alter some dialogues because the canonical text indicated the two "became alchemists", implying they achieved this job when they've already met. So I kinda implied that with Aephorul's line that he isn't officially sanctioned. ...Also, they're probably both not full-fledged alchemists yet.

Haven't pegged their ages in this comic other than "young adults." Somewhere in the college-aged range.

Still working on their younger personalities, but so far, I've settled on Aephorul being relatively calm, giving off an impression of a stoic warrior that people mistake for pure muscle. In reality, he's thoughtful, academically intelligent, and picks up on people's body language and gestures easily (perhaps the latter started off as a survivor's method.) He gives the impression he's lead a very rough life.

It also means he's good at hiding his worst secrets which, well, that won't come back to bite both him and Resh'an in the ass at all.

Resh'an, on the other hand, is impish and spoiled, a vast far cry to whom he will be later. He's lived a comfortable life in one place since birth, so he's used to a certain level of privilege. It also means his eccentricities are as much restrained by exasperated servants as it is a force that cannot be contained; he will get on his hands and knees on muddy grounds if he spots something scientifically fascinating and they'll have a field day he ruined his clothes (again.)

Resh'an's mother may actually still be alive. XD

Aephorul's family, as far as I'm currently deciding, are all dead.

There's a lot of stuff Resh'an wants to escape from, but the big one (that he hasn't told Aephorul, though why would he at this point, this is literally their first meeting) is his family's constant pressuring for him to get married, which is a ticking time bomb in and of itself, as it's not a matter of "if", but "when." Resh'an has been making a million excuses to put this off for as long as he could.

Aephorul totally is not a virgin, but Resh'an is. The latter is significantly more horny because of frustrated limitation on his sexual orientation (he loves his home, but it is not perfect.) He absolutely was eating up Aephorul as pure eye candy.

Aephorul more liken Resh'an as like a beautiful diamond in a sea of sand because he's far more romantic than people assume. ...He does not change his mind when Resh'an pushes him into the fountain.

Resh'an's home is generally portrayed as a good place to live, largely because I have story ideas that the ugly sides of it that heavily affects Resh'an's negatively is what will eventually prompt an immortal Aephorul centuries later to literally burn the entire city down, kill everyone, and end its dominance. By present day, it's all ancient history and Resh'an is the last survivor of that kingdom. As always, Aephorul did it for love ("Why are you so upset, Resh'an? Kingdoms die, cities fall; you're beyond carrying sentiment and yearning for home.")

[m-jelly]

Jelly if the request are not close yet, can i ask for a Levi and reader fanfic where reader have to be in a mission for three days and Levi gets grumpy and bossy all the time with the cadets cause he's missing her and even Hange and Erwin gets scary/surprise about his weird behavior, so when reader arrives he instantly calm down and everyones reaction are like :-O "how she did that?"

important note: i love your work, you're amazing!!!!

<3 thank you! I'm not amazing, but thank you.

<;3 @kenkopanda-art

Erwin's investigation

Pairing: Levi x Fem!Reader

Genre and tags: Canon world, romance, fluff, being a couple, sweet, grumpy Levi.

Concept: Levi seems a little irritated and Erwin is trying to find out why. He talks to Hange and Mike as he tries to get to the bottom of it and all leads point to you. Erwin had sent you on a mission for three days and since then Levi has changed. When you return, the Captain instantly calms and retreats to his office with you for a while.

Tag list: @levisbrat25 @ladycheesington @skittlelover69 @nbinairyn @nyxiieluna @galactict3a @notgoodforlife @li-anne @strawberrybunny123 @demonsimp6

Erwin watched Levi train his squad. He noticed he was pushing them a little harder than normal and looked pretty exhausted. He was irritated too. He wasn't sleeping much and he was barely eating a thing. Erwin was concerned about his friend and was determined to discover what was the leading cause.

Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Springer! Move faster! You look like you're carrying underwear full of shit!" He growled. "Blouse, that is not food! Tch, all of you do laps!"

Erwin moved closer to his friend. "Levi?" He flinched a little at the glare his Captain gave him. "Maybe relax a little. You've been pushing him hard."

Levi turned to Erwin. "People die easily out there. They need to pull their shit together! I'm pushing them to work hard so they don't lose their lives easily! I'm doing this for their own damn good!"

Erwin placed his big hand on his friend's muscular shoulder. "Relax a little, okay?"

"Relax!? How can I relax!? I can't when she-." Levi caught himself and paused a moment. "I just can't. The numbers are off at the moment with losses. We're losing too many."

Erwin frowned a little. "You sure there is no other reason?"

"Tch, yes. Now I have work to do."

Erwin watched Levi walk away to carry on training. He moved on to see Hange was testing a few things outside with Moblit. "Hange? Have you noticed anything different with Levi?"

Hange stood up and hummed in response. "Oh, well uhh...shortie has been cranky for three days now."

"Three days?" He frowned in thought. "What happened three days ago to set him off?"

Moblit said your name. "She went on a mission."

Hange nodded. "She's often seen with Levi, so maybe..." Hange grinned. "Maybe them two are a couple and they never told us! Ooow the Captain and squad leader. Kind of romantic and sexy. Oh! I have so much to ask her about Levi."

Moblit groaned. "Please don't. He'll end up trying to kill you. The Captain is very private."

Erwin let out a long sigh as he said your name. "I suppose it makes sense. I'll go talk to Mike and see if he confirms it." He parted ways with his researchers to see Mike with his squad and Levi training hard by himself and almost destroying everything around him. "Mike?"

Mike turned and looked down at his Commander. "Erwin."

"Can I ask you something?"

Mike snorted. "Sure. Don't need to ask."

Erwin folded his arms and sighed. "I'm concerned about Levi."

"He's missing his girlfriend."

Erwin's brow raised. "His what?"

Mike nodded to Levi. "He's been in a relationship for a while now." He said your name. "They're a cute couple. She teaches him new things. He always smells of her and I'm pretty sure she took his virginity. he can't get enough of her. He's madly in love. I'm pretty sure he's stolen some shirts of hers and kept them in his room."

Erwin stared at his friend for a while and felt shocked at this new revelation. He thought he knew everything about Levi, but he was wrong. He was proud that the man he thought kept people at a distance because of loss was actually seeking comfort in the arms of a wonderful woman.

He smiled a little as his heart felt full. He was happy for Levi and now understood why he was so snappy. He was hoping Levi wouldn't snap too much at you when you came back soon. He was sure everything was going to be okay, but he was going to keep an eye on you when you came back just in case.

He moved to the gates as they opened for you and your squad. He noticed that two people were in the carriage with wounds, but there were no deaths. You seemed okay and not broken mentally, so it hinted that the mission went well for you.

Erwin waved to you and called your name. "Mission report."

You slipped off your horse and sighed. "Went well. We've set up the small base in the trees for future scouting and observations. It's high enough that no one will be grabbed."

"Fantastic news."

You grinned. "I'll write up my report."

He glanced over to Levi and saw he was looking over with a longing gaze. "Head on in and get some rest."

You saluted. "Yes, sir."

Erwin waited around for a while before following you into the base. He spied around corners in the halls until he reached outside your room. He smiled softly when he saw you and Levi talking for a bit and then Levi tackled you into a hug and shook a little. He smiled as you petted Levi's head and kissed his forehead.

Erwin's cheeks burned when he saw Levi slam you against your door and roughly kiss you. He gasped as Levi tugged at your shirt as you fumbled with your office door. Erwin was hoping you'd make it into your office as soon as possible because someone would stumble upon you both and Levi might end up punching them.

He relaxed when you stumbled into your room and the door was slammed shut. He relaxed and let out a long sigh. He knew now that Levi was deeply and madly in love. Erwin was happy and proud of his friend and decided that he was going to give you both a week off so you could recharge on each other.