#by making my love for reincarnation stories everyone else's problem

[seventhdoctor]

Soulshipping rambling: Just how does Judai relate to his past life? How does that affect his relationship with Yubel?

Bunch of musing below, now updated with screenshots while I'm reposting stuff that never made it to tags because Tumblr is a functional website. I think this is the last repost but it's gonna be me yelling a lot about these two.

(Also, happy anniversary to these guys! GX episode 155 aired October 3, 2007.)

In their original lives Judai promised Yubel he’d only love them, after Yubel had already voluntarily become a monster dedicated to protecting him. In the present Judai remembers their past lives while Yubel is trying to destroy the universe, tortured into insanity by a combination of his mistake and the Light of Destruction’s corruption.

Before Judai remembers, he only sees Yubel as his mess that he has to clean up - if any emotional attachment remains, it's buried within his memory twice over. But once he remembers, he instantly flips from "you’re evil and deluded and I will stop you at any cost" to "I accept your love (metaphorically), you need healing and I will risk my entire existence to help you."

(Episode 153, after Yubel explains Spell Chronicle)

(Episode 155, Judai chooses to do that. I haven't stopped thinking about this moment since my rewatch)

What exactly is he thinking at that moment when he flips? The decision to fuse with Yubel is about taking responsibility (growing up and redeeming himself for his mistakes) as well as - or even more than - a matter of love (acting on his feelings about Yubel). But also, there’s so many angles to what he’s feeling about those two things, and how much of each factors into exactly why he chooses to fuse their souls.

The flashback to their past lives is brief, less than three minutes of mostly exposition, and you don’t really get a full sense of just how much Judai connects with his past life beyond the line "I remember… They’re me and Yubel in our past lives" (paraphrased) before he watches his past self make that defining promise.

How much does he remember? Does he feel like a continuation of his past life in that moment, or like the next version of the young prince? I feel the answer to that question changes the meaning of his decision to fuse their souls together, in essence ensuring they can’t be separated again as a gesture of love and/or responsibility.

If he feels a sense of continuity with his past self, then that decision is a continuation of that promise to love Yubel, and an as-it-should-be reunion between guardian and guarded.

If he views his past self as someone connected to but separate from himself, then continuing that promise is more of a decision he takes upon himself to stay connected to someone he still feels tied to.

...Or maybe not. Maybe it’s simply a sense of duty to someone he’s hurt, someone he promised to love in another life and feels obligated to love in the present.

(Judai's smile when remembering his friends transitions into a determined expression just before he declares a fusion of his and Yubel's souls. Also, get rekt Amon.)

How much responsibility does he feel to uphold the vows of his past self? How much responsibility does he feel to heal someone who’s been hurt badly because of his mistakes (which, to be fair, were made because Yubel was attacking his neighbors to begin with)? Complicating this question is the massive sacrifice Yubel made to become what they are, a transformation that persists through lifetimes all for Judai's protection.

Yubel is tied to the past in a way that Judai doesn't have to be. Does this change the nature of what Judai feels toward Yubel? Is loving Yubel Judai's obligation, his nature, or his choice? Can it be multiple of these things, or all three?

You could argue it's none of those things, really; you could say Judai owes Yubel nothing and doesn't care about Yubel at all, but simply fused with them to save his friends and the world. I think that interpretation ignores how Judai's attitude towards Yubel visibly changes once he remembers the true depth of their connection, though, and what that says about how he views them.

But without direct word about what Judai was thinking during this moment, in the end the exact feelings Judai has about Yubel and the fusion are a matter of interpretation and/or headcanon. Regardless, it leaves room for a lot of fascinating questions about how their past bears upon the present...which are never revisited for some reason.

Well, that's what fandom is for I guess. The only value I have to contribute to the GX fandom is yelling about Soulshipping so here I am.

[see-arcane]

Van Helsing Venting (Vent Helsing)

Requisite apology goes here: I am sorry in advance to everyone with a soft spot for the funky old man.

But the reread combined with the podcast has helped put into focus an aggravation that has been nettling me forever without quite knowing how to articulate it.

I’ve brushed the edges of it more than once in several rants about how the Harkers are so constantly given the short stick in every single adaptation of Dracula for a hundred and a quarter years.

Jonathan is either erased, made into a bore, a brute, or unceremoniously killed off while all the amazing character traits and actions he’s responsible for in the story get stolen away and parsed out to others in the cast, often Dracula, Van Helsing, or [INSERT FEMALE THROWN INTO THE CASTLE TO BE BRIDAL CARRIED TO BED HERE].

Mina is alternately a feeble damsel who’s only there to be the pure maiden who gets to live through her seduction*** by Dracula (versus the suddenly scandalous-and-salacious Lucy), or a hashtag girlboss (reincarnated wife syndrome applied as desired) who divorces or otherwise abandons her milksop husband to hook up with a REAL MAN like DRACULA who sexily sex-liberates her. With sex. That she totally for sure wanted along with the bloodsucking.

But on one thing, the Harkers are equal—they never. Ever. Ever. Get to be the true protagonists of any Dracula adaptation, or spinoff, or offshoot, or revamp, et cetera.

This, despite Jonathan being the one to spend the most time with Dracula, alone, in his gothic horror novella of an opening, for Two Months, in which he got the most interaction and dialogue with the Count out of anyone else in the book.

This, despite him and his diary and his love to the point of blasphemy and his nerve and his kukri all being instrumental for the novel to work.

This, despite Mina being the one to literally compile the entire novel out of the transcripts it’s stitched from.

This, despite her connecting the dots to oust the bastard and showing immense courage all on her lonesome in confronting the Count for others’ sake more than once.

But why?

For the longest time, I was ready to grind my teeth and grouse over the obvious reasons of Jonathan and Mina Harker being so gloriously subversive then—and now!—that writers and directors of a certain sneering bent refused to acknowledge anything of their characters beyond the names when slathering their latest cookie cutter vampire bodice ripper with Stoker’s cast titles. The Harkers’ approaches to gender, to heroism, to defeating a villain whose entire role is being the worst of the Gothic Masculine Monster who bullies and preys upon pretty victims to collect for himself (hello harem and power fantasy combo, let’s make THIS guy the ultra-cool totally misunderstood sexypire star of the show!) all chafe against the mental rewrites too many filmmakers and writers make to turn the novel more palatable to their tastes. Assuming they read the book at all.

And that’s all its own pile of rants. But I’ve realized, only now, that this is just part of the problem. The other issue stems from Bram Stoker himself.

That issue being the conversion of an otherwise tight narrative and set of primed protagonist characters into the Abraham van Helsing Show.

I don’t know what it was about today’s entry specifically that made it all click home. Maybe it was already percolating since yesterday, or the day before. But somewhere in Van Helsing’s latest filibuster of dialogue—‘We must share everything! No, wait, tell her nothing! We must make all haste and not lose a moment! Let me turn five minutes’ worth of information into a monologue about bloom and blood and then suggest we all take a siesta on our laurels since we definitely have time to beat the Czarina Catherine! Jonathan, you stay at home with Mina while me and my non-questioning ducklings/the others who don’t really need lines anyway take care of the problem, doctor’s orders! And all my orders are followed, unquestionably, every time, despite them very clearly having only a 50/50 success rate, as is right!’—it all really hit me.

The moment Van Helsing turned into the never-doubted, never-need-apologize, yes, do kiss his hands like a fucking mafia godfather in gratitude for Doing the Things He Should Have Known to Do in the First Place After Lucy, ‘leader’ rather than ‘the lore collector/mentor’ is when the novel turns on its heel and starts breaking its back to accommodate him at the expense of everyone else.

The Harkers get it the worst, naturally.

Once they arrive in Purfleet and the documents are handed over, Van Helsing leads the pack in peer pressuring them into sequestering Mina away as their cheerleader who Need Not Suffer the Icky Horror of -checks notes- finding boxes. Not sent away anyplace safe and guarded by home rules and garlic and crosses; just left to Yellow Wallpaper her days away in the asylum suite.

Meanwhile, Jonathan proves to be literally the only useful member of this group project via hauling ass all over London to gather information to bring back to the table…which Van Helsing then oh-so-helpfully disseminates on top of the obvious point that, hey, yeah, there’s probably boxes there. We should do Wafers about it.

Now, in fairness, Van Helsing was a vital character up to a certain point. Jack called him in for his broader expertise, for how open his mind was as far as what he was willing to investigate or believe as a threat. Without him and his lore collection in Amsterdam, a lot of the details regarding anti-vampire tactics and Dracula’s history lesson wouldn’t have come into play. All this, plus providing the hideous proof of the Bloofer Lady’s reality, making the last three nonbelievers into members of the Drac Attack Pack. Last but far from least, he helps reassure Jonathan to free him from his crushing self-doubt, and then brings in both of the Harkers to create the full group. Fuck yeah!

All that considered, it does make some sense for him alone to give his little seminar on the Dracula Issue…

…except for the fact that Mina has absorbed and transcribed all the info herself. Literally all of it. And the fact that Jonathan personally knows the fucker. All three of these characters should have been at the head of the table, sharing what they know.

But they weren’t. It’s starting to become all about Dr. Abe—because that’s how Stoker keeps his OC self insert in the lion’s share of the spotlight.

This is also when Van Helsing is fresh off the nightmare with Lucy, fresh off of acknowledging that there is literally no reason at all to keep vampire secrets from anybody in this room, fresh off of being oh so thrilled with Mina’s helpfulness and canniness, fresh off of what should have been him learning his lesson and—in open-minded fashion—cutting off any benignly sexist chivalry at the knees to keep Mina in the loop and share the mastermind role.

And what does he decide?

Off to the tower, princess. It’s man work time! Man work here meaning: Investigate some scary dirt. Some rats are there. Everyone break up some Christ crackers, men. Thank God Mina isn’t here to suffer this, amirite? Oh, and Jonathan, be a dear and gather all the information on Dracula’s locations and properties while me and the others…do whatever. Read? Smoke? Something. Anyway, attaboy, such a good hard worker you are, Only Non-Titled Fresh-From-the-Lower-Class Man in the Group!

And then, after October 3rd?

He’s horrified. He’s upset. He’s King Laughing about Dracula’s good meal and within inches of being kukri’d. But you know what he isn’t?

Apologetic.

Oh, he says sorry for the crack about Dracula eating well—but all the actions that led up to the attack? Not a peep.

And when he falls right back into the ‘withhold as much information as possible until it’s time for a Big Specialboy Meeting and my Big Specialboy Corn-flavored Monologue of the Day, in which I’ll give more orders with full expectation that everyone here will hop to it like good little student-soldiers because the author says we can only follow me me me?’

The only saving grace is that Jonathan—not even Mina! JONATHAN!—finally puts his foot down and refuses to chase the stick without conferring with Mina first. Mina, who has always taken precedent to him, period, but also Mina, who has proven herself to be the soundest mind in the entire group and already well aware of the dangers Dr. Abe has been rambling about and trying to be oh-so-covert and sneaky about with Jack.

On that subject? Van Helsing is STILL living a fantasy world where he, and occasionally Jack, are the only ones who can put 2 and 2 together and consider taking anti-vampire measures against Mina.

When everyone has already read everything.

When Mina knows exactly what the risks and measures are.

When Jonathan ‘Would Sell His Soul for His Love and to Slaughter Dracula’ Harker knows all of this.

WHEN EVERYONE HAS EYES THAT CAN ALSO SEE MINA’S TEETH.

Brammy Pajamas. Bramothy Stokerton. Bramward Stokerbroker. My guy.

Your OC, by your own text’s rules, is not special here. He is not the protagonist. He is not the extra-clever center of the narrative’s universe, per your own fucking writing. Stop forcing this man and his refusal to evolve from his preconceptions and his main character pedestal-theft and his goddamn corncobs down our throats.*

*Note: This will not happen.

The one silver lining yet to come will be that Jonathan and Mina get to roughly shoulder their way back into the story’s forefront by the book’s climax. In a huge way. Jonathan even gets an upcoming scene in which he gets to finally, rightfully, chew Van Helsing to ribbons for casually declaring a Certain Horrifying Action has to be taken (Again! No questions asked! No explanation offered until after said chewing-out!) and the narrative treats this as the right move!

But still. Still. Van Helsing is showered with Stoker’s overblown attention to a character that should have had his influence and dialogue whittled down to a supporting role rather than crowding out the Harkers for two whole thirds of the book, complete with them batting their eyes at how brilliant~ he is for much of it.

Despite.

The facts.

In The Text.

That Mina and Jonathan could have led the the whole fucking thing themselves.

We’ll see in later chapters that Mina is ONCE AGAIN the one to figure out Dracula’s plans ahead of time and set everyone on the right course. Jonathan is ONCE AGAIN the one laser-focused on seeking and slaying the Count almost on a supernatural level. On top of all that? What galls me almost as much as the Harkers being robbed of their story spotlight IN THEIR OWN FUCKING STORY?

If Van Helsing hadn’t been one-man-showing the bulk of the dialogue to make sure Brammington got to wave his self-insert around as much as possible?

We could have let Jack, Arthur, and Quincey be actual presences in the book. Jack has a big role! Absolutely! But even he gets relegated to an orbiting figure rather than an active one once Van Helsing starts hogging the pages. Arthur is practically reduced to a mutely mourning money machine. Quincey gets a few moments to remind everyone Hi, Yes, I am a Cowboy. And that’s it.

THAT’S. IT. FOR ALL OF THEM.

Hell, even Lucy and Renfield get whittled down to wisps of dialogue compared to the whole trees’ worth of lines Van Helsing rattles off.

All because Stoker couldn’t bear to let Van Helsing be the character he should have been.

The support. The guide rather than the commander.

Star Wars isn’t about Yoda, but it wouldn’t be the same without the wise little weirdo! That’s what Van Helsing would and should have been great for! But no!

I see now that I owe at least one small retroactive apology to those movie makers and spinoff writers who try to spin Van Helsing as the very real definite archnemesis of Dracula despite the fact that they have exactly two (2) scenes together and no dialogue. It’s not just the cool name. It’s not just because all of the (frequently male and/or Dracula-crushing) directors and writers refuse to acknowledge Jonathan Harker’s existence or importance.

It's because Stoker himself damn near choked his own book to death with the old man’s screentime, backed up by an utter refusal to let the narrative or the characters acknowledge when he’s fucked up. He always has to be the wise scholar. He always has to command the room and the story when neither of them belong to him.

I’d genuinely like to see one of two adaptations in the future.

In one, we could see a Van Helsing who, following October 3rd, chooses to step back. One where he and others logically point out that he has misled everyone with forced unnecessary ignorance and following stodgy hindering social rules, again, and it has doomed someone precious to them, again. One where the Harkers finally get proper center stage, likewise for the Suitor Squad—the latter of whom are written in canon as having a legit history of dangerous adventures undertaken together. Flesh those out, writers! Let these characters be present in their own fucking story! It’d be a golden opportunity to highlight a point Stoker fumbles even as he champions so many other forward-thinking notions:

Sometimes the older generation has to let go of the reins. Sometimes progress doesn’t come just from following and nodding along, but from forging ahead with new concepts and fresher minds. Case in point, Mina and Jonathan, who are apparently still too radically-written to be bothered with depicting accurately in the 21st century apart from a podcast that is literally just reading their lines verbatim.

The other option an adaptation could take? Supposing it really wanted to lean into the horror and heartbreak and forcing the ducklings to stop grasping at the Dutchman’s coattails?

Kill Van Helsing.

Dracula would absolutely think to target him, assuming that he, the elder with his acquired lore and scholarly nuisance, must surely be the keystone keeping his young enemies together. Given the chance, he’d follow that assumption to its conclusion and, on top of burning what he assumes is all the documentation on him, murdering his fellow clever old man in cold blood, ala Renfield. Bonus points if this comes at a bittersweet cost of Van Helsing landing a parting blow on the Count as thematic penance for ‘failing’ Mina, the second young girl who trusted him and paid for it, giving the bastard his second scar to match the shovel blow on his brow. Double bonus if the mark comes from a Wafer burn.

“Any last words, old man?”

“God bless you.”

Cue him slapping the Son right in the fucker’s face. He doesn’t last long after that, but it’s still a good view to go out on as the Vampire curses and sizzles.

And, natch, he will have been wise enough to leave another memorandum for Jack and the others just in case this very thing should happen. A rousing farewell speech, some parting intel, some apologies made. Perhaps a more personal goodbye to his pupil; complete with Jack’s professional mien cracking like glass and the long-put-off tears finally pouring. Then, finally, the crew move forward as one; no longer leaning on or chafing against Van Helsing’s assumed lead, but using the exact same tools they’d always had at their disposal, along with their own wits that the narrative forced them into ignoring in favor of the Professor’s lectures.

Anyway.

Van Helsing is not a bad character. He’s richly made and interesting, as any worthwhile member of a cast should be! But Stoker crammed him into the wrong role and spread him far too thin across the whole book. Doing so has been detrimental not only to all the media which followed it, but to the actual leads of the novel.

[dangermousie]

I saw your post on Love Game in Eastern Fantasy’s ending, do you mind elaborate on why you don’t like the ending? I personally find the screenwriter did a good job at translating the source material to live action given censorship constraints. I love the series positive message of self-love before you can fully love someone else in a healthy way.

Is the ending too open-ended for your liking?

I don't mind at all but I just wanted to say so much about fiction and endings (or the narrative) is so very personal and subjective. I can explain why something works for me or doesn't but it's really trying to post hoc justify an inchoate, emotional reaction.

And sometimes it doesn't gel with what everyone else may feel but it doesn't really do anything to change it. For example, I am one of like three people who thinks the ending of Princess Agents cdrama is perfect and it's one of the most universally fandom hated endings. I can explain why until I am blue in the face and I am sure people who hated it won't like it any better or they can explain why they hate it (and have) but I still love it so...

Now that I've put that lengthy disclaimer, here is the write up proper and it comes to two things - the minor part is the very very "back in modern day" ending and the bigger one is what happens before. I am gonna do the ending first.

Because of censorship, it's hard to end transmigration stories in satisfactory fashion (though it must be noted that even after transmigration ban, dramas manage now and then.)

The normal default is "and then they wake up." This is different from the other set up where it's an author creating a narrative as a framing device and they themselves are never in it (see Kunning Palace or Joy of Life as great examples) - there the characters stay in narrative forever. Or mini dramas like Lovesickness and Ancient Love Song (and somehow full length Lost Track of Time and Lost Love In Time) getting away with genuine travel that normally has been banned post The Myth/Jade Palace Lock Heart/BBJX era.

I could complain about her waking back up in modern world even within the constraints because something like Love Better Than Immortality had exactly the same set up and ended the way this should have and the way the novel for Love Game actually did (FL wakes up in simulation; she knows that is what it is. At the end she stays in game and lives happily ever after with her former bad guy lover.) LBTI got around the censorship question by setting the framing story that took two seconds in some future world where people do that and then are told if they enter simulation they never leave. I do not know why the makers of this did not go for something like this.

But I have accepted this is for whatever reason not the way a lot of these go and "waking up" is a default. That's fine. Yet, there is waking up and waking up.

The way these narratives often deal with this is the dreamer HAS been affected/changed by their time in story. If we take Dreamer in Qing Dynasty - FL is irrevocably changed by her time in Qing Dynasty. At the end she gets with ML who is reborn but it's colored by her past time and love (in a love of ways, that drama is a much kinder version of Bu Bu Jing Xin set up.) Or you can take My Dear Brothers, A Different Princess or The Romance of Tiger and Rose. In all of them, the FL wakes up in the modern day but she remembers her time in the dream/story/whatever, she's affected. That is why her finding her shared dreamer or reincarnation or avatar of her pairing from the story gives her a happy ending and completes her.

But here? The narrative ultimately does not matter. ML was never in the dream/narrative/whatever. FL herself doesn't really remember it or seem genuinely, long term affected by it. What was the point of it? Just make a cute drama about an author with issues and his fangirl. None of it had a point to me.

But that would just affect the very ending and to me is a smaller problem. I have liked many a drama which was amazing until the ending went wtf and I still loved it (this year's Tender Light or last year's My Journey to You come to mind and I overall adore both.)

My bigger problem is that by the time that ending rolled around, I didn't even care. The narrative fell apart for me shortly after they got to the capital - the moment she forgot the modern day, a lot of narrative appeal left for me. She got sidelined in her own narrative. And there was not really any emotional stakes for me or tension. It felt like a picaresque travelogue which is not bad per se but not truly my thing.

But then - the couple of last eps is where it really exploded. The thing with the author made no sense. Why did she need to fix some sort of adult avatar of him who didn't even know he was one and the kid version was there too? Why did a book written by teen drag in adult version of her and teen him and adult fictional version of him get to argue? Why did the ending start looping instead of just going once. The worldbuilding, the set up, the goals made NO sense in light of this new information. Now one might say the set up of a reader being dragged into a game based on the book they are reading is nonsense in the first place and that's true. But the problem for me is I can accept whatever insane set up the story throws at me, but it's a matter of initial set up. Once it's set up, it has to stay within those constraints and be internally logically consistent and to me it wasn't. All that randomness felt so random. Perhaps if they weaved the stuff earlier more, sure. But as it is, it felt so weird and random and nonsensical. And once the narrative stopped treating them as real people but as symbols or lessons or whatever, I stopped treating them as real people too.

I confess I never care about a story's message because, to quote a famous Hollywood quip on the topic: "“If you have a message, call Western Union.” I want the story to move me emotionally, to get me invested (if it makes my brain happy, it's a bonus.) And so yeah sure it's great to overcome adversity, find strength in others etc etc blah blah but if the execution of said message is lacking (which to me it was), it negates it all. For example I love Novoland Eagle Flag and its theme is "it's not the winning but the fight that matters, the world is hell but what matters is keeping your humanity and being true to yourself" - it resonates with me immensely. But the reason it does is because I love the execution. If the execution didn't work for me, the fact that I agree with the message would not matter. And to me (and once again, I emphasize it's very personal and I fully get that it worked for others) Love Game's execution did not come though.

[miquellah]

aiming my Frenzied Flame character at you maliciously

ghdfgd I liked thinking about Frenzied Flame characters as these possessing agents who go around being incredibly unsubtle and so I made Aberdon... for his story when the tarnished (prophet who had a Different kinda vision of flame) died to the grafted scion they just. didn't come back. (and additionally was a kinda manfailure who was already Going Through It and was barely getting himself to keep going to the point he died)

Then enters Aberdon! Possessing a copy of the body the same way Hyetta does with Irina or Shabriri with Yura. His particular flavor of Frenzy Plan is "I need to prove to everyone that the lord of frenzied flame is the correct choice." So his run involved doing every single NPC quest, and whenever they got to the point where they might Wish For Death he would deliver it - and the few who decided that they would continue on despite him waiting for them to reach their moment of despair he would just Kill Anyways because it just Incensed Him.

Like the whole thang is he's a spirit of despair born of a truly pathetic person who just wishes to justify his own unhappiness by giving it to everyone else. Going through betraying everyone and just sitting around waiting for them to decide life was no longer worth it.

ghfdg and as a final sidenote while I love evil chars it was also difficult to actually put myself thru it cause I did feel bad a lot when it came time to actually kill npcs for the sake of the character concept

REALLLL not enough people actually put the reincarnation lore to much use, especially in regards to like. whatever the FUCK hyetta and shabriri are doing. that’s so cool… the grafted scion fight actually having Consequences also feels very demons souls, so extra fun

i feel like that sort of route also rly capitalizes on the frenzied flame’s schtick of both “mercy killing” as well as “choosing what (i feel) is right for you”. shabriri obviously tries to coax the tarnished with the END of the path being the big mercy kill, but i haven’t actually thought about all the npc routes fleshing that out as well! nod nods

my frenzy guy is kinda similar, albeit he’s a demigod so its more Personal. he doesnt terribly try to convert others to understanding the chaos tho, he’s a lot more tight-lipped with the intent of just. more or less springing it on everyone at the end HAHA. i would say Aberdon making such a mess might attract a bit of undue attention, butttt when you’re killing everybody in the path regardless, and ABLE to do that. well shouldnt be too much problem then lol

AND YEAHHH ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THROUGH IN-GAME CAN BE SO!! ROUGH. i LIKE playing through each character’s file as IC as possible, but sometimes i will skip particularly painful bits and go “ok well in canon it went another way. WHATEVER”

[nin-deer]

okay here we go spoilers abt recent onk chaps, specifically onk 162

OH MY GOD i never expected it to go this direction,,,,, i think this revealed to me that this was never a story about aqua and ruby figuring out life after their mom was killed, but rather the second chance of gorou and sarina, more specifically for sarina.

like- ai was SARINA's favorite idol, SARINA was the one that lost her life too soon, and gorou was SARINA's favorite person

everything was circling around sarina, and now she had a new life as ruby to do as she pleases!!

during this moment with hikaru, i think aqua is finally coming to the realization of the purpose of his reincarnation, much like what he narrated in the chapters leading up to this. but like- it didn't really hit him until this confrontation. he was here to protect a life he didn't have a chance to before. like i mentioned in my previous post, the line where aqua was glad he was the one to die first this time really portrays his motivations during this story. he wasn't trying to find ai's killer to get revenge; rather, he wanted to make sure that they didn't go after his precious sister. when he was starting to separate from gorou, he still put his sister before his own desires. even making the documentary was to protect ruby.

a common theme in this story is the concept of lies. lies were used, throughout the narrative, as a way to manipulate one's emotions. ai and her audience, hikaru and his victims, aqua and his suspects. as the more logical of the two, aqua must have known how hikaru's lies could affect ruby. we saw in his little "redemption" arc that hikaru had no problem lying about anything to get people on his side, but aqua was able to see through that, gorou's influence or otherwise.

now here's were i think it gets interesting. the color of the star eyes. the symbol of lying. especially in this end game, ruby and ai have white, while aqua and hikaru have black. i think aqua put it best in ch160. sure. the whole hoshino family is lying, but their motivations are different. ai and ruby were selfless; they wanted to spread love into the world and be the light for those who needed one. meanwhile, aqua and hikaru selfishly lied to achieve their goals, noble or not. aqua knows this; he accepted it long ago when he sought out to kill hikaru. he wasn't doing this to rid the world of a serial killer. instead, he's doing it solely for the sake of his dear sister that he puts before anything else. it's the same with hikaru; he wanted to appease his own desires through his manipulations at the cost of everyone around him.

after everything hikaru has said, ch160-162 covers his motives best. hikaru acts for ai. it's similar in a way to aqua and ruby, but it's more twisted. self-centered. to appease his own mind and what he thinks is right, hikaru uses the pretense of his love for ai as an excuse for the way he behaves. but is this what ai wants? to me, the answer is no. let's take their kids, for example. hikaru would go so far as to kill his own daughter just because she had the potential of outshining ai. Ai, on the other hand, would do anything for her kids. They were the first people she learned to love, even if it came at the cost of her career. all her life, Ai just wanted to know what it meant to love. Hikaru didn't. He didn't care at all about love, but obsession. His actions have been fueled by his obsession of the one source of light that he's clung onto for years, blinding him from other potential sources of light he could use instead.

at the end of ch161, aqua's stars become white. white, because he was about to act selflessly for the better of those he loved. white stars like his mom and sister, because he chose to lie for others instead of clinging to his own selfish desires. he knew, in this moment, that he was given this new life for the sole purpose of protecting sarina. this is a decision he must have thought long and hard about, trying to see if there was any other avenue to watch his sister grow up to be the top idol.

there wasn't. instead, he used hikaru's tactics of scandals and the media to keep ruby's persona innocent in the eyes of the masses. like hikaru mentioned, if aqua were to kill him, ruby would bear the brunt of it as the more publicized one. aqua knew this, and knew the only way to make this work was if he was the victim.

i don't know where aka is going to take this story. personally, i think keeping aqua dead is the best narrative choice based on the direction they took this. but, i know that sometimes authors prefer pleasing the fans, so he might reincarnate as someone else as a reward, or maybe even get saved last minute from his current fate. it's really up in the air for what happens next. all i know is that aqua made the choice he felt like was the most optimal, and i'm curious to see where this goes as we start wrapping up the story. (hopefully,,,)

as;dfhas;ldkfj i've been rambling and its getting kinda long so i'll leave it here..... thx for reading if you made it all the way down here <333

[raviollies]

Hey! I love what you've done to characters and Lorelei is now living in my head rent free! Raha and Blythe are amazing and adorable!

It's very inspiring the way you keep yourself together even when everything falls apart! Keep it up!

If my question is annoying or if it bothers you, you may not answer on it.

Originally I followed you when I saw your Ireena and Blythe art. It amazed me how much both of them and Ireena in particular got fleshed out!

In my dnd game and tbh in many other games, players don't get invested in Ireena's journey, they don't fall for her and don't care for her sadly. That's why many DM's usually replace her with a player character, in order to raise the stakes. In half a year I will be running a new cos game, for the group of three and I am honestly considering to replace Ireena with the PC, but don't really want to (especially fearing how the game might go, if the player will turn into strahd-simp).

Could you please describe Ireena's character in your game? Perhaps her bonds and flaws? So other DM's and I can do a better job of her portrayal!

Thank you for the kind words! Here is an updated Lorelai WIP for your to pay rent

(and Blythe and Raha are very married yes)

So rather than referencing my game, as I am not the DM, I will provide my own suggestions as I was planning on running CoS as well. Spoilers for the campaign

I will also suggest against a Tatyana PC. Everyone is very much free to write and interpret the character however they want but to me it is very important that the Tatyana reincarnation does not want Strahd. In fact I would remove the interaction with Sergei too. Having her instantly forget herself as this new person in favour of Tatyana erases the entire point and kind of proves Strahd right in him refusing to see Ireena as her own person.

The way I would approach Ireena; she is her own person. She grew up with her family that wasn't Tatyana's. She lived a life that wasn't Tatyana's. She's met different people. It doesn't MATTER if she's a reincarnation of someone else, after all everyone in Barovia is a reincarnation of someone else. It's very important to establish that the main crux of the issue is that Strahd does NOT see her as Ireena, but Tatyana. He does not know Ireena. He only knows Tatyana. I would even have him call her that rather than "Ireena".

Ireena's story would be one of becoming independent and confident in her identity. To no longer be just Ismark's sister, Burgomaster's daughter, Tatyana's reaction, Evil's bride --- she is Ireena Kolyana. Nothing more, nothing less. I would start her off as unsure of herself, and being hesitant to take up space and over the course of the story become more confident in standing up for herself, with an eventual climax of expressing extremely clearly to Strahd that she is not Tatyana. She never was. He doesn't know her. That that person is gone, and she will never be back. He can chain her, do whatever but that will never make her Tatyana nor will it make her love him or know him. She is a woman who is constantly assigned identities by other's, but she want's to just be Ireena, she wants to do her hobbies, decide on where she wants to go, what books to read, what food to eat.

The relationship between Strahd and Tatyana is irrelevant. It could have been real, or a figment of his imagination, but the point is that...she is gone. If he had a soul of someone else, would it be fair for them to lay claim to him?

As for personality wise ; I would write her as sheepish at first, she is someone taking their first steps into adulthood in a way, outside the comfort of their home, their village. She should be curious and wonderstruck, curious and wishing to explore every nook and cranny. Because of that she would be unfortunately naïve to the problems that arise in bigger cities as Vallaki. A village and a town are very different - a big thing she's be stupefied by how impersonal everyone is. Rural villages often have people knowing everyone, it's commonplace to help your neighbor because you KNOW them. Vallaki is different...people go about their day and do not care, after all there is so many people. You physically can't know everyone.

She is down to earth and finds camaraderie with someone simpler than a noble, providing practical suggestions and being very handy with most tools and identifying local flora. On a flipside, I would say she struggles when dealing in very formal settings where it's less about honesty and more about saying a lie by omission to get what you want. When interacting with Vargas or Lady Wachter, she's visibly uncomfortable and stumbles over her words; they speak in such a way to purposely confuse her, like a lawyer would. Not only that but she most likely would refuse to do anything morally questionable, her heart is very pure!

So in all, a kind hearted, down to earth little lady who values honesty, hard work, and family but is naïve, stubborn and socially awkward. She will support and protect the party, even to her detriment but she will not stand with them to commit Crimes (so RIP if your party is murder hobos)

[microwaving-tesilid-argente]

Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine - Propaganda Post

S-Class Heroine is my all-time favourite Otome Isekai for sure. I've reread the available webtoon chapters a stupid number of times, then read the webnovel and became even more insane about the story. Here's why you should read it too!

---

The premise of the story is pretty standard. Lady in her 20s gets hit by a truck and is reincarnated as a mob character who's destined to die early. Her new world is full of danger because dungeons filled with demons can spring up whenever, but she has the help of a game system and its benevolent moderators (the gods that transmigrated her there) cheering her on.

Top 3 things that make the story stand out from other OIs:

No romance while they're children

It's a low bar but one that lots of OIs fail anyway, so it's worth mentioning.

Excellent Pacing

Speaking of childhood arcs, the author has the good sense to skip all the unnecessary skill grinding. We're only with the MC in the important parts where (1) worldbuilding mechanics are introduced (2) she makes important friends, or (3) she acquires fundamental skills that she's going to use for the rest of the story. You never lose track of the stakes involved because the story isn't dragged out. But it also isn't rushed; the story takes the time to pause for jokes and small moments too.

The in-universe the tutorial/childhood period is 10 years long, but we're only with the MC for like a couple of months in total. Can't imagine being in the childhood arc for 100+ chapters. (sorry Matriarch. I did love you but I simply cannot see why the last 3 arcs I read needed to exist at all)

ML doesn't fall into any of the typical archetypes.

I dunno how to describe Tesilid. He's a hero, he's a damsel in distress. He behaves saint-like but he doesn't even really want to be that way.

His character revolves around some magic restrictions on his behaviour. He has to adhere to the 7 heavenly virtues and abstain from the 7 deadly sins, which basically means that he's always very kind and gentlemanly. He's also a doormat who's constantly betrayed and taken advantage of because he's essentially not allowed to stand up for himself.

He's such a funny guy ever because when he's like 10 and still not very great at handling himself, he petulantly mutters and complains under his breath about why he's the only one who has to live so rigidly. You can definitely tell that if he were given the choice, he definitely wouldn't be doing so many saintly things, but here he is anyway and looking like an angel while at it. But he's also not a selfish prick. He's the guy who in the original novel died 80+ times trying to save the world. He consistently wishes for others to avoid living the same restrictive life as he does in the in-universe church, even though this incurs penalties from committing the sin of envy.

imo Tesilid doesn't feel like a typical bland ML, maybe because he's quite literally an action fantasy MC who's now in a rofan lol. By the grace of the transmigration gods he now has a transmigrator who wants, above all, for him to have a freer and happier life.

His interactions with FL are both very cute and somehow devastatingly sad and hopeful at the same time. She's the only one with whom he is exempt from the penalties of committing the seven deadly sins, which means he can actually be himself around her. If she's the one giving him food, he can eat it without it counting as the sin of gluttony. So after the childhood arc they have this wordless agreement where she piles food on his plate without being asked and he cleans the plate. They look like a married couple to everyone else, but they're probably rationalising it on the inside. It makes me want to combust.

FL also became strong in order to defend him. I love how narratively speaking, lots of times Tesilid is the damsel in distress. There's no ML coming in to solve all the FL's problems, because he's constantly weaker than her. But it's not demeaning, because it means that for the first time ever, someone is there to catch him when he falls. And despite being weaker and being rescued by the FL lots of times, he's also never stripped of agency. He's always thinking and acting to protect her in turn. And as he gets stronger, she sometimes ends up having to keep up with his plans and antics instead.

TLDR; romance aside, Tesilid is a really interesting main character because his entire thing is about resisting the Saint-like character and destiny imposed onto him. I know OIs are about romance, and this one does have (slow-burn) romance, but I love it when stories transcend that and make their characters more than just their relationship with their love interests. Also it's very nice how he and FL flipped the damsel in distress dynamic and without making it emasculating or demeaning for either party.

—

Anyway there's more good things about the story, like it being really funny and having excellent art. I would explain and also talk about the MC who's also so funny and so driven, but unfortunately Tesilid has my entire brain in his grip. I could talk about him forever but he has already made this post long enough.

Please read S-Class Heroine ❤️ The pacing is so good and also Tesilid exists. Thank you for listening to my TedTalk.

[badass-at-fandoming]

Hello! Love your yuri recs ! You seem to read alot of yuri so I was wondering if you knew of any yuri with bisexual leads? I love I'm in love with the villainess and was hoping to read more like that.

Ahh, thank you! I love yuri manga, and, thank God, there's always more to discover. I'll do my best, but if you want to do a real deep dive, I definitely recommend following @yurimother! Her Year End Yuri Guides are treasure troves. Here is the 2023 manga one. My blog here is mostly about queer vampire shenanigans.

I'm In Love with the Villainess is the crème de la crème! You have great taste! Because it's the best, it was hard to find another title where all those great elements came together: it's got slice-of-life school stuff, transmigration into a fantasy world, and explicit queer rep. Your mileage will vary with a lot of the below recs. Due to cultural factors and the Japanese publishing industry, most stories never state the characters' sexual orientation. It was a major deal when I'm In Love with the Villainess used the word "gay" and "lesbian." I tried to find manga with two or three of the story elements that make In Love with the Villainess great.

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! + Side Story: Girls Patch - This light novel/manga/anime/otome series is probably your best bet. An otome-obssessed high schooler dies and transmigrates into the otome Fortune Lover...as the villainess character! Determined to avoid her character's grim fate(s), Katerina basically goes out of her way to befriend everyone. Men AND women fall for Katerina, but she's oblivious to their feelings. The Girls Patch side stories features alternate scenarios where Katerina recognizes the women's feelings. The series isn't yuri in the traditional sense, but Katerina's chaotic bisexual energy is off the charts.

Revolutionary Girl Utena - After receiving a rose signet ring from a prince, Utena vows to become a prince herself. Her princely senses are outraged when she discovers her elite boarding school has a secret, underground sword tournament to win the hand of another student. This "Rose Bride" needs rescuing, and Utena steps up! The manga and anime differ, but either one are classics of the yuri genre. Probably the second closest of what you're looking for.

These next 4 are fantastical/transmigration yuri stories, but I couldn't figure out if the characters are bisexual:

The Executioner and Her Way of Life - Executioner Menou is tasked to protect her world from transmigrators by killing them, without mercy, on sight. She doesn't question her task until she meets Akari, whose immortality presents a serious problem. A darker story, but an interesting deep dive and perspective reversal on the transmigration genre.

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady - In a magical country, Princess Anisphia has no magic except the "magicology" she remembers from a past life. Euphyllia is a magical genius with a broken engagement. Together, can they revolutionize magic as the world knows it?

5 Seconds Before a Witch Falls in Love - The witch Meg loves making trouble for local witch hunter Lilith, but a prank goes too far when Lilith turns into a cat. Stuck caring for her nemesis, Meg's feelings change from animosity to something else entirely.

The Whole of Humanity is Yuri Except for Me! - Marika is determined to be a normal girl and live a normal life, with a job, husband, and kids. Accidentally traveling to an alternate, all-woman universe puts a serious wrench in her plans! Hilarious sci-fi fun.

The last 4 are contemporary stories featuring people with previous partners:

Girl Friends - Mari is a shy student at a big high school. When the bubbly, popular Akko takes her under her wing, Mari wonders where the line is between friendship and romance. I ADORE this manga. Morinaga-san is my favorite mangaka.

Kodama Naoko's work - Kodama-san has three titles that fit and I wasn't sure which would perk your interest the most. NTR is trashy teenage sexcapades about two women "practicing" physical intimacy with each other and enjoying it more than time with their boyfriends. Melodrama and teenage stupidity to the MAX. My review here. I Married My Best Friend to Shut My Parents Up is like the reverse of that: a fluffy, p mature rom-com about falling in love after marriage. Days of Love at Seagull Villa is a mix of the two, with melodrama, sexy silliness, but between two adults. Kodama-san is fond of ridiculous boob physics XD

Citrus - Speaking of trash, have you read Citrus yet? Yuzu comes home from school one day to discover her mom has remarried. She takes one look at her new step-sister Mei and realizes she's a lesbian lol. Just like, turn your brain off and settle in for a soap opera. I'll just link my review of this one because it's terrible but compelling. A Journey.

Even Though We're Adults - To end on a high note, Even Though We're Adults follows Ayano and Akari, who meet at a bar one night and let the sparks fly. Drawn to each other, they must decide how much of their comfortable lives they're willing to change; most notably Ayano has a husband!

Best of luck, Anon! It's a bright world out there.

[xatsperesso]

i have the theory that both Ali and Iruma are Delkira reincarnation.

Ali is the incarnation of Delkira's magic and knowledge. Even if name is the reverse of Delkira.

Iruma is his human reincarnation.

Baal says that Iruma has Delkira's mana, but when Iruma uses the ring it's the magic of Sullivan or a magic that he absorbs with it. But here it's confirmed that Delkira's mana is here.

It's very likely that Ali will "fuse" with Iruma at a point. To save him probably. It's also likely that Iruma will become a demon at a point.

We can't have Iruma being outlived by everyone, right?

It could explain why Sabro's dad told him "you can't be king" because he knows that Delkira will get reincarned (or he's already) and maybe he's the one to have made the ring(s?) of glutonny.

Also I think that, for a human, staying in the demon world, eating demon food, being exposed to demon magic...can have effects on the body.

That, or Baal will kidnap him a point and experiment of him, turning him into a demon for his plans but his plans will fail.

what do you think?

So let's agree that I'm selfish ok? And that i already don't like where the story is going but im too attached to the characters to drop the manga, that i want the story to continue having this carefree air around it, and i want iruma to just stay human and everyone accepts that and like sullivan gives him a longevity potion or something

Moving on

That is a very good theory, but im gonna be very sad if ali and iruma fused because 1- iruma's personality could change cause iruma and ali have very different personalities, and 2- no more ali, which would break my heart cause i believe he doesn't appear that much already and i really love his relationship with iruma

It's like a mentor-student relationship but like more casual.

And iruma becoming a demon would solve all his problems, but wont that make him not iruma? In their eyes, iruma is the least demon-like 'demon' they've ever met, and that's a big part of his charm.

Because he's a human, the purest, kind-hearted human, he accepted Sullivan's offer of becoming his grandchild, he became Clara's friend without exploiting her abilities. He became his teacher's master, and never even thought about using him or treating him in anyway but utmost respect, to the point that Kalego later on gave him the choice whether to keep him as a familiar or not

If it was anyone else in his shoes everything would be vastly different, and I'm not talking about any other demon, if any other being was to be put in his shoes at any point during the story, things would've been vastly different.

Only iruma would've just gotten up and saved everyone at kirio's arc without a hint of fear, anger or betrayal.

Only iruma went headfirst into danger to save children. The others only went after they saw iruma's ass run to certain death. Even Balam-sensei was with them, but what made them help? Iruma

Only iruma was able to help purson get out of his shell, or stuck with Bachiko's hell traing/humiliation

That was iruma

And a part of iruma is his humanity. And him becoming a demon could cost him his humanity, so iruma would no longer be the nice, considerate angel he is

If the others dont know of his human nature, then they will notice a difference

If they know, would they regret the change iruma went through? Would they wish for the old iruma to come back? I hope they do

And Baal being the reason he changed? Baal experimenting on iruma, if done right, would be devastating. Unlike if sullivan did something or Ali, Baal wouldn't give a fuck about iruma. He wouldn't care if it hurt him, broke him, or killed him. He actually might prefer for the process to hurt him, which is one of the reason i really want kirio to betray him if iruma was caught in there hands. But baal catching iruma and experimenting on him would just be perfectly angst

Also, about Sabro's father, would he be able to keepsuch sensitive information to himself? And would delkira really plan to be reincarnated? He strikes as the type of carefree secretly scary king who's just bored of it all and would rather not be the king a second time

But we didn't really see a lot of him, so who knows? Maybe the thing we saw until now was very biased by sullivan and Amduscias, and tge memories are nothing like the actual delkira

And this is a good theory of why Sabro's father doesn't want him to aim for the demon king, and the only reason I've found, so until we find more of Sabro's family, that'll be the leading theory to me.

But honestly what i really hope has happened is that is that delkira became trapped in his ring for whatever reason and iruma's his 'chosen one' for whatever reason.

But like i want the reasons to be nonsensical, like "are you serious" kinda reasoning behind his imprisonment and iruma being chosen

The type of reasoning that'd make kalego pinch his nose and opera to look disappointed

[haru-naechi]

Second Rant: The Villainess/Mob/Side Character/ Random Girl Who Wakes up in a Novel She Read

Whoopie! Reincarnated to a novel/game, an interesting concept really. Seeing how there is already a pre-determined story to follow, I do wonder how they'll go about this.

*Several reads later*

Oh boy. They can't really think of anything else can't they?

Okay so, one thing I really really like genuinely hate about these stories is how the mc always acts so dumb. Like, girl, come on, I think for the past few years you've been in this world you ought to think that things develop.. idk NaTurAlly? Why do you keep saying that "things are changing" like no shit things are changing, you've changed and that's practically gonna cause a ripple effect on everything.

Oh, oh, and I hate it when ml is like obv showing feeeeelingsss but mc is just: (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠). "No OmG tHaTs NoT PosSIblE, cu'Z he'S supPosEd to FalL foR ThE OrigINaL FL!"

Fuck it even when the ml admits his feelings the girl is just like "no".

It's frustrating to me because authors tend to develop these ladies as quick thinkers and determined, always trying to find ways to avoid death flags set to them. But then they do those aforementioned things and it kinda makes you think how shallow they are. It's like they don't see the relationships they build as real ones and are all just superficial for specific reasons.

I understand the concern when you feel like you're trying to fight against fate but most of these stories don't even actually have that. Things do change and usually nothing terrible happens, but mc acts like there will be even though the author clearly only puts "horrible" things as plot advancers and nothing too serious.

Also, for those mc that woke up in their new body with a shit reputation paired with what everyone knows has a shit personality, why is everyone just okay with her changing all of the sudden — like its just plain stupid. If I knew someone who is evil suddenly becomes good overnight, I would not only be sceptical but also assume that she's possessed (seeing how magic always exists in these worlds i don't that's too far from the realm of possibility right?). This one honestly is what bugs me the most.

Suspicion is removed cu'z mc does something heroic or wonderful (blegh), but that kinda undermines the suffering other people have gone through with the original character. Some authors have even shown fully blown flashbacks where the original character is violent, verbally abusive and typical in every possible way. And these people just, flips a damn switch and say "Oh! She's changed!" Which boggles my mind every time I read something like that.

Which puts me to my next complaint. There is no real villain or even when there is they aren't really appealing. The problems set by the "original" story already gets destroyed like a couple chapters in, so what next? There are quite a lot of stories that just turn the OG Female Lead into whatever the villainess is supposed to be like: delusional, fake, etc. Which to me is, fine, but if you're gonna turn someone else in that world into a villain for the sake of having a bad guy, then why not put the stakes higher? Or at least give them more of a reason than just them feeling entitled to have the boyz. They don't have any substance to them and are bland af. Its a story vying for a downfall you already know will come.

Overall these ladies think too much and too little at the same time. Istg their dialogue can be summarized into "That didn't happen" "This didn't happen in the original.." "Is there a bug in the game..?" or "Why are things not going as the orignal!?"

It burns my brain trying to see through their eyes and understand their logic, until you realize they don't have common sense at all. They are geniuses only when they need to be, but is dumb af everywhere else.

Also, as much as I love puffy, frilly dresses I'm tired of mc changing the og characters seemingly sexiness into this cutesy vibe doesn't sit well with me. They're obviously trying to put this as more of a visual dichotomy between the original character and the current mc, but its not much of a statement. (But honestly this just may be me because I want more sexy mc you know?)

Trust me when I say this post barely covers half of what I truly feel about these stories and this is just the general gist of it. Also couldn't be bothered to add specific titles like the last rant.

[traeumenvonbuechern]

My Trans Rights Readathon TBR

Infatuation. Reincarnation. Damnation.

Gem Echols is a nonbinary Seminole teen living in the tiny town of Gracie, Georgia. Known for being their peers’ queer awakening, Gem leans hard on charm to disguise the anxious mess they are beneath. The only person privy to their authentic self is another trans kid, Enzo, who’s a thousand long, painful miles away in Brooklyn.

But even Enzo doesn’t know about Gem’s dreams, haunting visions of magic and violence that have always felt too real. So how the hell does Willa Mae Hardy? The strange new girl in town acts like she and Gem are old companions, and seems to know things about them they’ve never told anyone else.

When Gem is attacked by a stranger claiming to be the Goddess of Death, Willa Mae saves their life and finally offers some answers. She and Gem are reincarnated gods who’ve known and loved each other across lifetimes. But Gem – or at least who Gem used to be - hasn’t always been the most benevolent deity. They’ve made a lot of enemies in the pantheon—enemies who, like the Goddess of Death, will keep coming.

It’s a good thing they’ve still got Enzo. But as worlds collide and the past catches up with the present, Gem will discover that everyone has something to hide.

"Ich weiß, dass du Angst hast. Aber diese Angst könnte verhindern, dass wir etwas richtig Gutes erleben"

Lark Winters größter Traum ist es, Autor*in zu werden. Aber dey erhält eine Agenturabsage nach der anderen. Zu jung, zu queer, zu emotional - niemand will die Relevanz der Geschichte für nichtbinäre Menschen wie Lark erkennen. Doch als plötzlich ein Tweet von Lark über unerwiderte Liebe viral geht, ist deren Traum zum Greifen nah. Endlich bekommt Lark die Aufmerksamkeit, die dey sich die ganze Zeit gewünscht hat. Einziges Problem: Lark hat den Tweet nie geschrieben! Er stammt eigentlich von Larks ehemals bestem Freund Kasim, der seit einem Jahr nicht mehr wirklich mit demm redet. Lark muss sich entscheiden: einen Traum leben, der auf einer Lüge basiert, oder herausfinden, was hinter Kasims Tweet steckt und was mit ihrer Freundschaft passiert ist ...

Three years ago, Alice spent one night in an abandoned house with her friends, Ila and Hannah. Since then, Alice’s life has spiraled. She lives a haunted existence, selling videos of herself for money, going to parties she hates, drinking herself to sleep. Memories of that night torment Alice, but when Ila asks her to return to the House, to go past the KEEP OUT sign and over the sick earth where teenagers dare each other to venture, Alice knows she must go. Together, Alice and Ila must face the horrors that happened there, must pull themselves apart from the inside out, put their differences aside, and try to rescue Hannah, whom the House has chosen to make its own. Cutting, disruptive, and darkly funny, Tell Me I’m Worthless is a vital work of trans fiction that examines the devastating effects of trauma and how fascism makes us destroy ourselves and each other.

When seventh-grader Ash, his crush Eleanor, and their friends are transported to a girls-only imaginary world, Ash must come to terms with the fact that he may actually be a transgender girl. Full of wonder, humor, and heart, Girl Haven is the newest original story from the author of Lumberjanes.

Three years ago, Ash's mom, Kristin, left home and never came back. Now, Ash lives in the house where Kristin grew up. All of her things are there. Her old room, her old clothes, and the shed, where she spent her childhood creating a fantasy world called Koretris.

Ash knows all about Koretris: how it's a haven for girls, with no men or boys allowed, and filled with fanciful landscapes and creatures. When Ash's friends decide to try going to Koretris, using one of Kristin's spellbooks, Ash doesn't think anything will happen. But the spell works, and Ash discovers that the world Kristin created is actually a real place, with real inhabitants and very real danger.

But if Koretris is real, why is Ash there? Everyone has always called Ash a boy. Ash uses he/him pronouns. Shouldn't the spell have kept Ash out? And what does it mean if it let Ash in?

I no longer recommend this author's books.

Laced with romance, gothic imagery, Catholic mysticism, diaspora, and horror…

When lonely transgender exorcist, Colin Hart, finds himself challenged by an unruly haunted house in Gideon, Colorado, he’s kept awake by ghosts, demons, ghouls, and the handsome nonbinary owner of the house, Bishop Martínez.

Unlike the simple hauntings Colin is accustomed to, Bishop’s house is a living beacon, attracting a plethora of inhuman creatures, including a vengeful wolf-headed spirit who might be the key to quieting their sleepless nights.

But as a heartbreaking mystery unravels, Colin comes face-to-face with the past Bishop tried to bury, opens a closet full of bloody skeletons, and trips into an accidental romance.

As paranormally skilled as Colin might be, this particular haunting may be too messy for him to handle…

A groundbreaking memoir about being a trans teen, in the vein of FUN HOME and FLAMER... and at the same time entirely its own.

Lewis has a few things to say to his younger teen self. He knows she hates her body. He knows she's confused about who to snog. He knows she's really a he and will ultimately realize this... but she's going to go through a whole lot of mess (some of it funny, some of it not funny at all) to get to that point. Lewis is trying to tell her this... but she's refusing to listen.

In WELCOME TO ST. HELL, author-illustrator Lewis Hancox takes readers on the hilarious, heartbreaking, and healing path he took to make it past trauma, confusion, hurt, and dubious fashion choices in order to become the man he was meant to be. It's a remarkable, groundbreaking graphic memoir from an unmistakably bold new voice in comics.

[angelicgaming1007]

So I'm doing a playthrough where I change ALL my companions except Astarion with mods. To make them look like new characters I'm doing a 2 playthrough storyline with headcanons. Now the problem with that is everyone else in the world IS the same and so is the actual ingame story and interactions. Obviously. BUT basically this universe Astarion falls in love goes on a grand adventure with a group of friends. They all pass away eventually He goes on the actual games adventure in my head canon many years later, falls in love again with the reincarnation of his old lover and a new group of friends that remind him of his old friends. So in this one playthrough everything including their heads are changed and im trying to make Astarion look like hes from further in the past with longer hair and more fancy clothes.

[twili--link]

Info dump

Wahoo this is about my OC Evara / Evelynn (Fantasy world name vs modern world name). They/Her pronouns.

I won't go into any TW info, so it is safe to view! Just throwing it under a line to not clog up anyone's dash. Sorry if its rambley and not coherent, I'm a bit loopy from medicine lmao.

Evara

(Art above by krim-spyke)

General themes: Loss and hope, light in the dark, hopeful optimistic

Class: Bard/Ranger, with magic thrown in that ties into their barding (Based off of light magic but star-light instead of regular light magic that one might see a cleric use)

Familiar: Dog named Basil

Tropes: Hero's journey/epic journey, high stakes, save the world, tragic past, side-quests galore, ancient civilization, evil cult, and reincarnation.

Evara is the accumulation of multiple OCs I've had since 2009 + a bit of a fandom character I used to RP as. Placed into a world I am making (Look at my map I am proud of it) that has a loooot of stories going into it. Evara's story is actually multiple Hero's story...ies? But I need to commission their designs (I've got some pic crews of 'em but not mch else).

Prior to being the elf bard they are now, Evara was "Luna" and was a Naruto oc if you can believe it hehehe, who had like so many ships with anyone attractive. They went through some trials of redesigning and being left alone for a bit before I finally got to the above design.

Now they are a Bard on a mission to stop the pain they've felt at a young age from ever being felt by others. Having gone through some tragic circumstances that took their immediate family away, Evara swore that they'd never let anyone fall victim to the Cult that is the bad guy for the story. Taken in by their uncle and his husband, Evara did get help from what they went through, but their desire to stop the cult stayed strong until they were able to leave and set off on the journey they take.

Evara's music is what helps heal them, along with healing others as they are utilized not as a classic in-the-fray hero, but the one on the side who helps as thats what their whole character is about. A helping hand in the worst of times. The light of the north star in the darkest night, pulling you forward to home. They aren't meant to be the hero who takes charge but rather the one who lends a shoulder or hand. Evara does see/feel music, which can be a bit overwhelming at times, bu

They have another who joins the team who is their...not foil, but other half in a word? Evara represents Hope, the other will represent Kindness, but their design isn't complete yet.

Evara has a twin brother of which the design isn't complete yet and is alive but unaware Evara escaped as they did. It's apart of the story, so I'll keep it mostly secret but :3c

Despite having a perky and positive outward attitude, Evara struggles with depression and anxiety, along with an overwhelming desire to keep those around them safe which can cause points of contention as it can become overbearing. They fear losing more loved ones in the manner that they lost their family and can lose sleep overthinking things. Evara is also more likely to put themselves in danger in order to save someone, even if it costs them greatly to do so.

Their hatred towards the Cult does cause some problems along the way as well, as they have a secret side-mission of killing everyone of them mfers with deeeeeep hatred. It does create a crossroads for them at one point, but spoilers for story hehe.

If you'd like to know more or ask questions of this version, I'd love to answer them if you got this far <3

Evelynn

(art above done by ew041)

This version is named "Evelynn" for modern-sake.

Unlike the fantasy version, their family is actually still alive and they are in the same city as their twin brother.

The general themes and tropes depend on the Visual Novel she's being placed into, but other than visual novels they do have their own modern story that has them as a dhampir (I love vampires okay). In the visual novels they are placed into I do remove the elf ears (when i remember to ask the artist to draw human ears at least lmao)

The story away from VN's is as followed:

Created between the union of a witch and a vampire, the twins were born in the world's version of the late 1800's. (Based off my fantasy world but given modern stuffs). They grew up slower than most other children until they hit the age of twenty-three where they went through a rapid growth/change.

Because of their dhampir status they can walk in the sun but do burn easier than most (even tho they be white) others, and needs to wear sunglasses if they are going to be in the sun for long periods. They do not need to eat as frequently as their father, but do need to eat at least once every two to three weeks. They tend to find willing people very easily as vampires are not necessarily 'secret' to some underground types of people, but they do keep their status as a dhampir secret as best they can.

They do have some powers which includes shape-shifting, vampiric charm, heightened speed and strength (but not super as their father would have, but way above mortal status at least), and the ability to 'turn invisible' although it isn't easy and needs them to be well fed to use.

Evelynn has a double life in this version, during the day they are an online fashion-creator (has their own website) / works at an old diner and during the night they hunt down criminals of the 'supernatural' type, helping keep order in the large city they call home. (They will also help take care of mortal criminals but only if they are like the worst of the worst, they wont care if someones stealing stuff or the like.)

My brain is fizzling out thanks if you read this far I love my oc I hope you at least enjoy'd the info. If you have questions I'd love to answer them feel free to send them <3

[nyxthejinx]

"Cyno… I love you… seriously, I love you with all my heart, I would give anything to be by your side… my love"

"heh… I would give my all, for just one day… one day… with you, but… my beautiful ruby, we both know that this will never happen"

-Both were very injured, the final battle broke out in the sky, pain, fear, love, grief, hope… everyone's destiny was intertwined, Celestia came to an end of her. Mortals rose up against the divine throne… finally… the fallen would be avenged-

-The remnant of a forgotten Archon surrounded the lovers protecting them from the attacks lost between the traveler and his opponent. Both lovers gave each other a soft kiss, which conveyed everything they most wanted for the other, and so… their souls went out in unison, both in each other's arms, at the end of the world. The Archon released a heartbreaking roar to the sky and decided to give his last in the fight, he wanted to make an ideal world for them, for once… only this once… he wanted his opponent's death for something really Well.-

…. …. Cyno ----- Cyno! Cyno~ CYYYYYYYYNOOOOOOO!

!! -A young albino, with tanned skin and eyes as red as apples, woke up scared. He had gone back to sleep in the courtyard of the university again, he just remembers that his friend Tighnari was explaining to him something from that new book he got about mushrooms-

"Ahem… as I was saying, before you fell asleep… This book is a true miracle brought from heaven, its illustrations and descriptions of the compounds of each mushroom are truly detailed--"

-Oh yes, here we go again, the albino just rolled his eyes while trying to keep up with his friend's mushroom delusions, he remembered that the other day he showed him a picture of his adoptive daughter… what was her name? … of course, Collei… mmm, that name sounded to him from another side, perhaps some children's story-

…. "And thus, the Republic of Liyue became one of the world's largest trading powers in the extraction of minerals and energy sources in crystallized form from one of its largest and most important mines…" -Professor Pierro's class always It was the richest in topics, but also the most boring, well, it was to be expected from the subject of history-

-And finally… the bell rang, the albino left with the others while the teacher informed them about the new chapter of the book that he had to read for the next class-

-Cyno was lost in his world as always, the gaming club was not supposed to have a meeting until tomorrow, and his martial arts practice wasn't going to be until another week. This afternoon would be a Yu Gi Oh marathon---

CAREFUL!!!

-A smaller body impacted against the albino, and both ended up on the ground. After the stun, they both got up. Cyno thought he was in heaven, there was a beauty with long red hair in front of him, why was his heart so crazy?-

"Sorry bro… I didn't see you, I'm going to kill Childe for this…" -The last thing she said between her teeth to herself, that Childe was sticky on another level-

"No problem… are you… from the literature club?" -He pointed to the brooch on her shirt, which he recognized from some classmates in another class… Mika and Kokomi, if memory served the boy-

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Scarlet, nice to meet you…"

"Cyno…my name is Cyno"

Why… do I have a feeling I'll hear that name somewhere else? And why does my heart feel so warm?

HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE

oh no... Oh NOOO I'M A SUCKER FOR REINCARNATION AUS UGGHHH it's the only way i can accept angsty endings. LET THEM BE HAPPY Y'ALL.

Also, i have the feeling that reader is the unhinged kid who never studies and yet scores full grades somehow, but no one hates on them cus yeah they won't hold back their punches

[onewomancitadel]

If they do canonize Jaune/Weiss, would you still stick with the series until it's conclusion?

I think the ordinary assumption is that it would be the product of a ship tantrum if I didn't, but because there's so much tied up in Jaune/Cinder and so much that Jaune/Weiss doesn't work with, it's not really just a ship tantrum. I won't deny that wouldn't be part of it, but the general assumption is that shipping is unserious and probably indicates, on some level, one being in a position of textual ignorance. I think that broadly speaking this can be true (I've spectated my fair share of fandom, and I have grown up in fandom myself) but equally it can also be levied as an insult, because romance is silly.

But equally so if I did quit the show in such a circumstance, I'm not working with a level of entitlement here. I wouldn't be mad at it in the sense of them owing me something; I would just have to acknowledge I was either wrong in assigning meaning where there wasn't, or there simply wasn't the thematic consistency there.

I think it's very likely that Ozlem does motivate all of the romances, it's just a matter of to what degree. It's very easy to write Ruby/Oscar, Ren/Nora, Blake/Yang, and then give Jaune a joke romance which kind of happens offscreen/all of a sudden. Just because you have x consistency here doesn't mean it's everywhere else because storytelling is organic and elastic, and sometimes, as an analyst, you can actually put together implicit parallels better than the author(s). Or as I've discussed previously before with Reverse Ozlem, you need to make a positive case for why Jaune/Cinder would be a positive resolution (and not a cautionary or altogether unromantic one).

It's worth mentioning that I have literally quit the show once before! I was inoculated in the shitty end of the fandom during V5 and when everybody was busy mocking the end of the volume (because Haven was admittedly messy) and then celebrating Cinder's death - and her apparent permadeath - I just shrugged and quit because I feared they were right and it was all over. This probably explains some of my antipathy towards fandom and fanon at large because it genuinely ruined my experience of the show and made me doubt my intuition. Does that mean fandom/fandon is bad for everyone? No, I needed to grow a spine, but I take issue with fanon at large anyway.

What accompanies Jaune/Cinder isn't just the romantic pairing but the way it realises Cinder's redemption arc and what I think the pairing represents for the major resolution of Ozlem. It might not be obvious, but I am really invested in the bad wizards who were once in love and made it everybody else's problem, and I want to see them be together again even if that reunion means they shortly pass after. The cosmic wound of Ozlem is one of my favourite things in the show (reincarnated lovers and ceaseless conflict... yummy yummy) and is genuinely what holds the story together thematically and foundationally. It's a huge deal. So the things that interest me about R/WBY are all tied up in Jaune/Cinder. Everything I really love about the show (its unique but totally flagged narrative direction) is there, and is part of what I think motivates the argumentation of the ship!

This isn't something contrary to R/WBY's storytelling! Tonal dissonance is a common issue I see in shipping fandoms. But there's nothing about Jaune/Cinder that refutes R/WBY; it's actually the opposite. It's very playful conceptually. Built right into it is this sense of dramatic and cosmic irony with a very fun remix on knight and maiden which is painful but also very beautiful. Jaune is literally no Prince Charming, and Cinder is a villainess (who is very sad).

So I guess if the stuff I love about R/WBY isn't there, what's the point? Lol. You could try to argue that redeemed Ozlem is still possible without Jaune/Cinder, but I don't think it would be nearly as impactful without it, and like - separately - for Jaune and Cinder's characters, if he's paired with Weiss then they just don't get him the way I do and the way I thought they did, and if Cinder's alone I'll cry forever. The truth is that nobody's ever loved you. I genuinely do not know whom else you could pair her with, and it's very likely in this scenario there would be no one. Even if she got a redemption arc (which again, would be fumbled without the romance and not nearly as impactful. Jaune/Cinder is so unlikely when Cinder's redemption is similarly so 'unlikely').

I get it. This is a long way to cry and stomp my feet and say, "I'll quit if they don't make my dollies kiss!" and it probably comes off pretty poorly. But honestly, R/WBY won me over with Ozlem and it won me over with its story and its spirit. I find Jaune/Weiss insipid irrespective of whether I shipped Jaune/Cinder (long before I got into the ship I never liked it). It compromises both Jaune and Weiss' characters and I can't parse how it's supposed to work and it would just suggest laziness. It breaks a lot of modes of my analysis (e.g. Jung). I like Jaune/Cinder because it augments their characters, not weakens them. It actually gives Jaune something unique to do in the story that isn't stand there and look tall and actually explains why he's in this fucking story to begin with and why they'd spend so much development on him. I don't like that Jaune/Weiss turns Weiss into a passive recipient who's finally noticed the nice patient guy and now he gets the girl as a reward. It would speak to some serious storytelling stupidity.

I've quit once and I'll do it again. Lol. Maybe I would wait for the show to be finished to analyse the fallout a few years later. I take a while to get around to things anyway. But also like, my trust in storytelling is completely dead, and it's actually an extremely emotionally difficult position to be arguing for Jaune/Cinder and extremely uncharacteristic of me. So as much as people probably don't want me here, I kind of don't want to be here either. But I like the ship that much. Very sad.

On the other hand... let's define 'canonise'. I think that at this point, Salem/Ozma, Ren/Nora, and Blake/Yang are undeniably canon. Ozlem since V6 (but they broke up), RN since... I want to say they're canon in the sense they both have romantic feelings for each other and we've always known this to some degree (some childhood friend tropes in anime lead to them never admitting feelings? And the RN spin on it seems to be that they've acknowledged how they feel and will 'grow up' but likely end up back together), and BB, well I personally would've said it was canon back in V6, but most of fandom would definitely agree V9. Ruby/Oscar by contrast is a little more controversial, but I would say that it's canon if you're paying attention. The only reason to write Oscar in the way they did would be as a super special love interest looool. But say, Blake/Sun isn't 'canon' in the traditional sense of being endgame, Blake/Ilia isn't 'canon' in the traditional sense either, etc., and there are times the fandom has celebrated things being canon when they're not (reminder: the whole 'Cinder is definitely dead' thing, and largely I would say a lot of the discussion surrounding Blake/Sun at the time of V4/5 treated it like it was a foregone conclusion. Plus most of the bad fanon).

So I think a lot of people might think Jaune/Weiss is now canon after V9 - and I'm willing to allow that this is what the writers believe to be appropriate development because they abandoned that thread for so many volumes and never even had small interactions like Ruby/Oscar or fucking anything, and as such it effectively amounts to either an about-turn or lazy storytelling - I'm in the position where I'm willing to question it. Between now and V10, my only intention is to complete my fanfic, that is, my works-in-progress currently posted, and then assess how much I am able to write and complete in the interim. I just want to make the most of the time I've got. As I remarked in a V9 reflection post, there is actually... not a lot refuted about anything I speculated in the post-V8 period surrounding Knightfall and Cinder's redemption, if not it has been lent more foreshadowing. So I'm not needing to fashion a new position yet.

There are certain things I'm looking for with R/WBY canonshipping, and things like close and intimate hugs (Ruby-Penny) do not constitute that, and they do like engaging in shipbaiting, to my eternal consternation. But what I like about the R/WBY canon ships are the actual emotional stakes, not the superficial fluffy shit. So if I have some hope they are capable of that...

If Jaune/Weiss met my standard for analysing other definitely canon R/WBY ships (independent of Jaune/Cinder) I would give up the ghost and admit defeat with shipping Jaune/Cinder and then yes, I'd quit the show. I don't care if that sounds petty. Jaune/Cinder isn't just a ship to me. I only started shipping it because these are the things I like about R/WBY, not the other way around.

Thanks for your ask anon. It's a good one.

[trikruismybitch]

Story prompts for characters

Part 2

you can use them (tag me) even if you change the characters!

again please don't judge wrote this like when i was like 16/17 😭 not proofread

Wanda and Y/n are married. Natasha and Bucky are married. Natasha and Y/n are Bestfriend’s. Bucky and Wanda are Bestfriend’s. One day Bucky comes to Y/n with a folder telling her he found out that Natasha & Wanda had been having an affair and he knew Y/n wouldn’t believe him without evidence so he hired a PI (Fury my man) Basically they end up going on a double date (which they have done multiple times before) they drop the evidence and they both ask for a divorce. Saying that they could try to fight it but then they’ll make their affair public basically ruining their reputations. Bucky & Y/n never had the best relationship Y/n lowks always believing Nat could’ve done better but ends up telling him he’s a good man and he actually always deserved better then her ((Y/n always saw it from Nats POV not looking at the relationship from Buckys bc once she did she realized Nat took advantage of him and was selfish)) Bucky and Y/n end up deciding to travel the world together Y/n is a journalist and Bucky is a photographer. They end up becoming best friends with a strong bond. Can either end up dating or just becoming like family.

AU for And We Meet Again where Lexa is reincarnated. Y/n is one of Clarke’s old flings but is actually a really good friend of hers. Lexa is jealous until she learns she’s dating the one and only Raven Reyes

Y/n is close to everyone on the team. She’s pretty lively, has a dry sense of humor, will do anything she wants to do. The team love her and she’s an amazing addition to the team. Follows orders to a fault unless she disagrees with them bc she has no problem going toe-to-toe with Steve or Tony. Hell one time she disagreed with Natasha and they talked and Y/n changed her mind. (Which is a hard feat) Y/n seemingly seems perfect and the team can all collectively agree to it especially Wanda Maximoff, Y/n’s Bestfriend besides Peter and somehow Wade Wilson. Wanda is completely enamored with Y/n, her compassionate heart, strong will, and her ability to make the atmosphere lighter given any situation. The problem is Y/n is completely oblivious to it. Y/n’s is completely irrevocably in love with Wanda but she keeps is under wraps because Y/n genuinely believes she would never be good enough for Wanda, no matter how many people she saves or good deeds she does she just never believes she’d be good enough. Wanda overheard a conversation at “boys night plus Y/n” with Peter and Wade. Wade asks why Y/n hasn’t made a move on Wanda and Y/n scoffs “yeah I’d never do that” Wades confused bc he knows how much you care for her and it’s obvious to everyone that Wanda has feelings for you. “Your wrong Wade, Wanda doesn’t have feelings for me. And let’s pretend she did, I’m not good enough for her. She’d be better off with someone like Vision, I know he’s in love with her.

Reader has been classified as “emotional” by the team. Natasha has to do something with an ex on the team and the entire team didn’t tell Y/n about it. When she does find out Vision letting it slip infront of the team and she confronts them and Nat says “you couldn’t handle the truth so I withheld it from you” but Y/n fires back “It was for a mission, yes it would make me uncomfortable but I understand we have a job to do. The real reason you didn’t tell me is because you didn’t expect me to react in the way you wanted me to. This always happens you all lie and I have to find out from someone else. You all say we’re a team, a family? But all you do is lie.” She ends up leaving the avengers for Xaviers School.

Carol Danvers is a new member of the avengers, well sure the avengers were created bc of her but no biggie. Y/n L/n catches her eye. She works hard and plays harder. She’s either always with Sam and Bucky, Natasha and Steve, or alone reading a book in the many bay windows Carol ends up finding out Tony had specially made for her even going far enough to make one in his lab. Carols enamored problem is even though your very kind and friendly your extremely closed off. Carol tried her best and ends up finding out one of the reasons your the way you are is because of past relationships especially bc of one Wanda Maximoff. Apparently Y/n thought Wanda was the one until Wanda was caught in a love triangle with Vision and Y/n. Wanda didn’t know who to choose and In the end she choose Vision. Y/n was oblivious to the love triangle but ended up finding out when she walked in on Vision and Wanda kissing. Carol ends up being upfront with her intention with Y/n and woo’s her. Carol gets the shovel talk from everyone on the team, cue slightly jealous Wanda telling Carol to treat Y/n better then she could.

Carol Danvers x Reader. After the events of Captain marvel Carol meets Y/n an aspiring singer who’s friends with Maria. Carol ends comes back and forth between earth for a year before she gets called to a far away planet that needs help and she doesn’t know when or if she’ll be back. They breakup Carol comes back Avengers Endgame and finds out Y/n became a huge artist and her most famous song was about Carol ‘Space Girl’. Y/n was a figure head in LGTQ+ rights and a huge activist. Carol comes and finds out Maria passed away and Y/n old but alive. Monica considers Y/n her other mom. Shortly after the snap that brings everyone back Y/n passes away saying she only held on for so long because Maria wanted her too.

R is a off duty marine but gets called in for a year long undercover mission. When R comes home R acts perfectly fine but she isn’t. Wanda suspects R’s cheating and enlists Natasha’s help. They track and see R at a restaurant with a man. The next day they follow her again and she goes into a building and only leaves an hour later running her hands through her hair. Wanda confronts R infront of the entire team while Natasha glares at her. Steve tells Wanda there wasn’t the place. R dragging Wanda to their shared bedroom. (based off of law n order scene)

Hope Mikaelson x Reader. Been Bestfriend’s since they were kids. R is in love with hope and hope basically strings R along. Based off of “That way” Tate McRae.

Character thinks R is cheating so as revenge they cheat in return but turns Reader was buying a engagement ring

Flipped Au Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Natasha and Y/n have broken up. Nats sad and when yelena finds out she heads over there but on her way she meets a cute girl in the bar and the have sex. So basically Yelena hooked up with y/n w/o knowing thats nats ex and y/n hooked up with Yelena not knowing that was nat's lil sister. Basically when they figure it out its a bunch of shit and they dont know if they should tell nat or not.