#death trope kinda goes hard idk about you guys

[stvrchaser]

destined or doomed? (2)

( pairing ) : five hargreeves x reader

( about ) : inspired by s3ep10 ; five suffers a loss greater than anything he could have ever imagined — part 2 of this but reading both isn’t necessary. you can still enjoy (or suffer through) either one individually

( warnings ) : death trope, descriptions of blood and injury

( words ) : 2000

( note ) : my ideas aren’t getting any happier, i fear. blame s4 of stranger things. anyway i’m sorry this is so short i just wanted to write something sad 

Somewhere along the line, something went wrong. Something always goes wrong.

“There were never seven bells or horsemen. You brought us here to die!”

“There were never seven bells or horsemen. You brought us here to die!”

Shock lays thick in the air, a palpable wave of rage annihilating any previous trace of fear. After Klaus’ fortunate return from the dead and the revelation that Reginald had, in fact, collectively betrayed what remains of either Academies, the tension is so intense it could be worthy of giving the Kugelblitz a run for its money.

Then, again, that might have been the whole point. Reginald and his meticulous plans couldn’t have been made on a whim. Who’s to say this moment wasn’t anticipated?

Following a similar conclusion, Five racks his brain for a plan. Silently, he runs through the situation at hand: 

First, there’s the significance of the number seven — seven bells, seven kids, Number Seven being the most powerful of each batch. It’s unbelievable that he’s only putting them together now. It’s outrageous. Even as children, they were being raised like pigs for slaughter. In the grand scheme of things, they were nothing but collateral damage in the great mission to save the universe. They were the keys, melted and reformed for their father’s ridiculous purpose.

“That’s not so.” Reginald’s response is immediate, defensive, only enforcing your assumptions. “Somewhere in this hotel is the key to resetting the universe. We just need to find the sigil!”

“I don't care about your sigil! None of us do.” There’s something gut-wrenching about the way Sloane screams, the soft-spoken woman long-gone. Instead, here stands a person struck by unimaginable grief, a widow and the only remaining half of a freshly-wedded couple bloomed from tragedy.

Second, Five continues, if they were the keys, somewhere in the hotel must be the locks. But, of course, they’re guarded by blood-thirsty samurais because when have they ever been given an easy task?

He takes a step forward.

“What do you think you’re doing?” you whisper, stopping him when you see the determination etched on his face. It’s a dangerous look — a sign of impulsivity that could get you all killed.

“I need to talk with the Old Man. I think it’s time to start asking the important questions, don’t you?” Someone else might believe it. After all, what’s so strange about needing to talk? 

Only that Five has a bad tendency to strike before asking questions.

“You can’t kill him!”

“If he starts talking, I won’t need to kill him.” You hold a firm gaze, trying to match the unbeatable stubbornness in Five. It isn’t easy. Natural rigidity and an additional lifetime to enhance it isn’t an advantage you have, neither is it something you ever particularly wished for.

“I mean it, Five. He’s the only one here who knows anything about this place. If he dies, we’re stuck here.”

“Well, we’re going to die, anyway.” He says it so calmly that it makes your blood boil. Here you are, trying to save his life, and what do you have to show for it? Does he even care to start over? Would he want to grow older with his newfound freedom with you? It definitely doesn’t seem like it right now. You don’t understand this new recklessness, only that it seems to be a common phenomenon for people who have accepted death. Is that what’s going on here?

The next time you take a step forward to stop him, your foot catches his. Having overestimated your distance, the contact throws you off-guard and you lose your balance. Five, attentive despite his apparent impulsiveness, catches you by the arm with another hand supporting your waist.

As he leans forward, he finds himself looking at the ground. He glances at the spot where your feet have landed and the solid shape of a six-pointed star, sliver against the varied tiles of black, brown, and white. Then, he raises his head to get a better view of the pattern. From a distance, two tiles of the same color — two white, two brown, two black — all placed vertically from one another, make a larger six-pointed star.

Confused as to why he hasn’t let go, you try to catch his attention.

“What is it?” There’s a second where he doesn’t seem so sure, either.

“I think… I think I might have something.” He takes your arm, the one he’d caught to stop your fall, and tears you away from the group, leading you up the stairs. The tension amongst the group is still so overwhelming that nobody notices you leave. 

You watch Five, still and calculating. “Seven bells,” he breathes. “You were standing on it!” Staring at the same view, the entirely of the hotel lobby, you’re hit with realization.

“The stars. Seven stars, seven Academy kids.” Five leans forward over the railing, calling to everyone’s attention.

“Hey, I found the sigil! It’s on the–” He doesn’t get to finish the sentence.

To your left, the ceiling shatters, glass flying everywhere. Instinctively, you rush to push Five out of the way.

It all happens so quickly that the shock doesn’t set in until you’re staring at the blurred ceiling, Five’s face blinking in and out of your vision. You don’t hear him scream for a long time until your senses come back, gradually. First, your hearing, then your sight. Finally, a sharp pain strikes your back.

“No,” Five whispers, breaths ragged. “No! No!” It takes a little longer, in the midst of pain and temporary unconsciousness, to notice the blood soaking into your clothes. You can’t tell whether it’s that or Five’s embrace radiating heat through your body.

He managed to catch you again. He always does. He presses his blazer against your back, hands shaking as he tries to stop the bleeding. Judging based on the point of pressure, the cut ranges through your lower back, all the way to the top of your spine, just inches away from your shoulders. At this point, the best case scenario would be permanent paralysis — spending the rest of your life almost entirely paralyzed. You might have minutes or hours until you lose all motion or feeling below your shoulder. That is, of course, if blood loss doesn’t kill you first.

You want to laugh. Or cry. As your luck would have it, of course you’d die just as you find a way to save everyone else. 

“Go,” you manage to whisper. Selfishly, a part of you would prefer to die in Five’s arms, his eyes the last thing you see before taking your final breath. But your better judgment would hate to watch him in agony as you leave. So, you decide that you wouldn’t make him wait and watch. You couldn’t.

“No… I won’t… I’m not leaving you here to die!” he stutters. “We can still get out of here. We’ll get you help, alright?” His voice is desperate, one the verge of breaking. You’ve never heard that before. Not from him.

You know, realistically, as the adrenaline wears off and you feel the torn flesh of your back like a fire ablaze, that this isn’t a tragedy that a person can survive. That a fate like this isn’t placed on a person who might live to see another day.

“I don’t think I’m gonna make it this time, Five.” You try not to let your emotions get the best of you, the mortification on his face tugging at your heart. “And I won’t let you risk everyone else for a chance that I might live. We don’t know what will happen next.”

You want to ask him to be strong, but it’s an unfair demand to make in the face of grief. It doesn’t feel right to ask him to turn a blind eye to death when he has witnessed so much of it… when he has lost so much to it.

“I don’t care about what happens next,” he tells her, his voice turbulent. “Not if you won’t be there.”

“Five—”

“No! I was supposed to die with you!” There’s a hint of anger that shatters something in you because the thought of dying whilst Five despised you seems like a nightmare. It would condemn you to a fate worse than Hell. “I didn’t want to reset the world in the first place. We agreed, Y/N. We were supposed to stay, the two of us.”

Unspoken, he thinks, you aren’t supposed to leave me.

You shut your eyes because you can’t stand to look at him like this. He was right. You did promise to wait out the end of the world with him. But not like this. You had made that promise under the impression that there was no other choice. That Five couldn’t be saved. That, at some point, he would suffer a fate worse than this one. But, now, there’s a way for him to survive… even at the cost of accepting that you can’t.

“You’re running out of time, Five. Seven bells, remember? You can start over. Go on that road trip, like you always dreamed about. There’s still so much of the world to see.”

“But you won’t be there.”

“Then do it for me. Please, Five,” you sob. “I don’t want this to be my fault.”

“Don’t even think that. This isn’t your fault. You were just trying to save me, remember? I’m not upset with you. I just… I can’t do this without you, Y/N. Please.”

The last thing you want to do is to go. You hate the thought of leaving Five. How is it fair that you’ll have to part just as you’ve finally found your way to each other? 

“Please,” he says again. “I can’t lose you.”

Lose.

You’re hit with the realization that, at the Commission, Five hadn’t been talking to you. He was talking about you.

Don’t save the world, he had said. Or lose everything that matters. And here you all are, trying to save the world. Apparently, that effort comes with the price of losing you. Everything. Moments before his death, a life lived almost twice as long, and he had called you his everything. 

It’s kind of poetic, isn’t it?

You stifle a laugh. First, because nothing should be comedic in the slightest right now. Second, because you’re scared to drown in your own blood as it climbs your throat.

“Can you still feel me?” he asks, pressing his thumb against the palm of your hand.

No, you can’t. You nod, anyway.

Somewhere downstairs, you hear Reginald call for Five.

He shakes his head like he might be trying to drown it out. But you know, somewhere inside him, his conscience urges him to go — to fight for the greater good because that’s just how he is. That’s how great of a person Five Hargreeves is.

“I’m coming back, alright?” He lifts you as he tries to kneel, setting you back down as gently as he can. He rests a hand to your cheek, coated in crimson, and places a kiss to the crown of your head before standing. He moves like it hurts him to go.

It might hurt worse to see him stay.

“I’m going to figure this out, and I’m coming back for you. I promise, I’ll come back for you.”

“Okay,” you whimper despite the pain because he looks like he needs it. He needs to hear a verbal confirmation that you’ll be alright and that you’ll see each other again and that, miraculously, this won’t be the end.

But it is. It will be.

“I love you,” he whispers into your skin, sounding all too similar to I’m sorry.

When he leaves, he takes the light with him and all you’re left with is the dark.

tags (i’ll try to include everyone if i write another multi-part fic and you guys want me to remind you when the next part is posted. in the meantime, I hope you enjoy!) : @reinaeru

[zee-stars]

Reader and egos as love tropes

So basically I looked up love tropes and I'm gonna be writting the egos that I think fit into them :)

Rivals:

I'm thinking like Actor Mark after the events of WKM and like you guys go for each others throats but you were in love with him before WKM and you still kinda are.

Maybe also Dark but not so much in my brain.

God x worshiper:

Obviously god of night. He is literally a god and you are his worshiper. Do I even need to say more??

Has a dark side × loves them anaway:

Obviously Dark. Like you were there for WKM and after the events you always find a way to go back to him because you love him but he thinks you shouldnt cause hes evil and you're like "stfu"

Dumbasses in love:

Wilford x reader%

I think this one fits it perfectly. There is not much else to write about it. Just when I think of this trope that is exactly what I think about.

Sunshine x sunshine protecter:

Yancy x reader and probably Dark x reader.

I feel like for Yancy it could go either you being the sunshine or him being the sunshine I think it works both ways.

For dark he is definitely the sunshine protector. I can just imagine you're talking to someone and hes just standing behind you giving them a death glare.

Super cocky × tried not to fall for them but did anyways:

Illinois x reader. Man is so cocky. Like Imagine you are trying so hard not to think about him and his stupid smile or about how much you would love for him to hold you that you try to avoid him during adventures. He catches on to why its happening and then one day he just like kisses you or something idk. Idk about you guys but if that happened to me I'd just about die.

Friends to lovers:

Yancy x reader, Damien x reader, Head engineer x reader. I think this fits so many egos but these are my top three. Like when you first meet them you guys get along really well and become best friends but eventually you both catch yourselves falling for the other. Then you guys get together and you are the happiest ever.

Second chance:

Tbh I love this idea with Dark. Like Imagine you and Damien you're together or married if you would. But then everything goes down in WKM and you lose him. A while later you run into Dark and you instantly see Damien in him. At first Dark is against starting anything with you but he has Damiens heart and his heart calls for you so you start dating Dark and maybe get married again, if you will.

Fake Dating:

Damien x reader. This is before WKM. Imagine he is sick and tired of people trying to hook him up with their daughters or whatever at parties and one day he says he has a wife. Many people are shocked and they start bugging him about it. They ask for his wife's name and he says your name by mistake. They say that next party he has to bring you so now hes trying to explain what happened to you. You agree to be his fake wife for the night. You both have an amazing night and at the end of the night as he is bringing you home he starts confessing and stuff and then you kiss him.

Flirt x oblivious:

Illinois x reader. He is very flirty but you are kinda dumb and just don't pick up on it. He literally would say he loves you and you're just like "I love you too!" But he can tell that you mean it in a platonic way. Eventually when you confess to him this is how it goes.

"Look, I've liked you for so long but I was scared that you didnt feel the same way"

"I LITERALLY HAVE BEEN FLIRTING WITH YOU FOR MONTHS"

"Friends do that"

"I SAID I LOVED YOU"

"Friends do that"

"what about that one time when we were walking through a narrow path and we almost kissed while you were pressed against me?"

"Okay maybe friends dont do that..."

Overthinker x never thinks:

Head engineer Mark x reader. Let's be honest. There is not a single thought going on in Head engineer Mark's head. With the captain on the other hand thinks to much. There is not a single second that they aren't thinking about something. Especially when they think about something going wrong with the ship. Luckily for Mark the captain is there to think for the both of them.

"You do realize that it's not supposed to be like that?"

"What do you mean? Was it not always like that??"

Talks x listens:

Head engineer Mark x reader. Kinda goes back to the last one. I feel like there are many times that the captain and Mark are together and he will just be rambling.

"Oh, I'm sorrry captain, I dont mean to be a bother with my rambling."

"No, I want to know why you hope the new plant has a beautiful sky."

Long distance:

Yancy x reader. I'm thinking like during iswm. Reader is up in space doing Captain stuff and they miss Yancy so much. They told him that they were going to space camp cause they didnt want to explain what was actually going on. In case he started to worry. But they found a way to still keep in contact and write letters. It was tough not getting to see him in person but they knew when they got home Yancy would be able to come with them.

Temporarily one sided:

I feel like this one could fit many egos but I like Yacny x reader the most.

So you stayed in the prison with him and you guys were really close. You shared a cell and spent all day with each other. You had fallen for Yancy. It was easy too. He was clingy in a good way and always made you feel heard and comfortable. You didnt know how to tell him. He didn't realize you're feelings and he didn't recognize his at first. He didn't think it was love. He didnt really know what love was cause he had been starved of it for so long. Tiny helped him figure out and after awhile he told you.

Fell first x fell harder:

This but with Damien.

You and Damien were very close. He was you childhood best friend and now you worked by his side. His crush on you definitely started around you guy's teen years. Mark and William definitely teased him for it and Celine tried to convince him to tell you. But he never did. Around the time you guys graduated high school, you started to fall for him. You were completely smitten by him. Confused by how you went this long without noticing. It was hard to keep it in, so you told Celine.

"Omg finally. Tell him. He is in love with you and has been for years!"

After you did and you guys got together it was easy to tell that you were completely in love with him. You're guy's friends (Will and Mark) teased you by saying you were worse then Damien. It was true. You fell so hard for that man. (We all did. He's so pretty)

Workaholic x clingy:

I think this one fits Damien x reader and head engineer Mark x reader.

For Damien he is the workaholic and you are clingy. Like he'll come home from work and be like "I have work to do."

"Is it due tomorrow?"

"No."

"Then we can take a nap first."

And if the work is do tomorrow you'll but wrap up in his lap while he gets it done. Usually you fall asleep while he's working and he'll carry you to bed after.

For head engineer Mark you are the workaholic and he is clingy. You can not get work done around him. Especially if it's late at night. He will beg you to go to bed with him or pay attention to him and if that doesnt work he will pick you up and carry you to bed or away from your work.

That is all of them. I plan on writting actual stories for some of them so expect that. If there is any that you just want me to write let me know and I probably will if I wasn't already planning on doing it. Also I found the best photo of Damien earlier and I want to share it with you.

ISN'T HE BEAUTIFUL!!!!! I WANT TO GIVE THIS MAN THE BIGGEST SMOOCH!! God I love him so much.

[blueskywater-happiness]

Unpopular opinion and headcanon in regards to Phil and his relations with Alfred and Tonio

I can actually see Spain and America relationship to Philippines as a toxic PARENTAL (not lovers, can not ship them sorry) type. And that he still sees them, mostly America, as "dad" even in modern era.

Hear me out, I am a Filipino from Panay... We have a family oriented culture. No matter HOW abusive, how TOXIC a parent can be, we are always told by our peers, relatives and even strangers that we should forgive them, because they are our parents.

Some actually do forgive and somehow it is a happily ever after sweeping up the bad shit under the rug and forget who made those mental scars, physical scars and even emotional. (Watch some mmk documentaries, it is a drama biography series that reenacts stories from those living here in the Philippines).

Filial piety is important here in Asia after all... And to be honest, I can see an analogy of the US-PH relations as a toxic parent and child, which the child develops some sort of stockholm dependency to cope and to survive.

You have to admit we have colonial mentality.

Idk what Hima plans but I prefer parental type like Emil and Sadiq... Even though the relations for Iceland and Turkey is base on those pirates kidnapping Icelandic people. *shrug*

In some (idk other countries but I see this culture even abroad) Asian cultures :/ it is the kid who has to forgive the parents, not the parents who has to apologize.

I can see Hetalia America is a good guy in his pov, unaware his actions is too toxic and Philippines at first is mad but goes "but he never excludes me from learning his language, getting new stuff etc unlike what he did" and tries to rationalize that Alfred is really a good "parent" and trying to forget what had happened.

Not helping the fact Alfred meddles in his affairs like a copter parent.

Edit: Salamat @asitrita for pointing that yes there is a compulsory public education in the Philippines during Spanish Colonial times although it is inefficient af :T and not as effective as the American, plus:

From wikipedia

Initially, the stance of the Roman Catholic Church and its missionaries was to preach to the natives in local languages, not in Spanish. The priests learned the native languages and sometimes employed indigenous peoples as translators, creating a bilingual class known as Ladinos. Before the 19th century, few natives were taught Spanish. However, there were notable bilingual individuals such as poet-translator Gaspar Aquino de Belén. Gaspar produced Christian devotional poetry written in the Roman script in Tagalog. Pasyon is a narrative of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ begun by Gaspar Aquino de Belén, which has circulated in many versions.

Edit 2: Okay I was wrong to compare 19th century education to 20th century education of Spain vs USA and that Spain actually tried to educate the country (and in that era, their education would be considered better and equal to those in the homeland though I have doubts because of biases :/ not sure who is being truthful), I am just trying point out WHY pinas would rationalize himself as to why Alfred is a better parent, trying to gaslight and convince himself, erasing the good points.

It is kinda hard to strike as there are bias education books throughout the schools I went to, not to mention even International Philippine school abroad.

BUT the crux of the matter is that Pinas is trying to RATIONALIZE how Alfred is better. Gaslight, stockholm etc.

I mean, how does one translate the whole Colonial Mentality and the Well done dad trope to country personifcations.

Fyi tho :/ I am not sure even if Spain was better tbh, because of the whole rose tinted glasses and let us not forget about that bs Magellan and Elcano movie.

Edit 3: Geezus christ that feeling when a lot of people from said colonizing country is scolding you for being ignorant... WELL GIVE US BACK OUR MYTHOLOGY THEN?! DO I LOOK LIKE PRO USA?! I LITERALLY POINTED OUT HOW TOXIC ALFRED IS!

[pekorosu]

just a lil “if ash lived” headcanon that i need to unload somewhere bc i've been holding it in for a long time

- set within the manga ‘verse

- takes place when ash and eiji are in their early 30s... so around the mid 1990s?

- i don’t get the weird animanga trope where older = longer hair, so they’re gonna look the same... maybe with slightly shorter hair bc they get regular haircuts now 

- (note: i've always interpreted long-haired eiji as symbolic of the fact that he couldn't move on from ash’s death)

- ash and eiji will continue living in the states, idk if still in NYC or somewhere else. they’ll move around a lot though.

- ash will mostly remain underground as he had to fake his death after lao’s stab, but he does it in a "hiding in plain sight" kind of way. only a handful of people know he’s still alive.  

- ash spends most of his time on the computer, mostly coding, hacking, being a nerd, among other fun stuff.

- he also takes on “jobs” anonymously, and occasionally from max (who’s still into investigative journalism) when he needs info that can only be obtained through Dubious Means.

- i also like to think that ash's a bit of a hacker robin hood lol. but he isn’t doing it purely out of the goodness of his heart, as part of it is a subconscious need to atone for his “sins” and cleanse the gnawing and persistent feeling of shame that gets amplified when he’s around eiji.

- also whatever he’s up to these days would ofc still be Highly Dangerous and Illegal, but it keeps him busy and would sate the part of him that’s still hungry for adrenaline without him having to engage in stuff like active bloodshed or substance abuse. basically that’s how i imagine he’d try to cope with life the only way he knows.

- eiji continues to do photography and other part time gigs bc he does not like the idea of mooching off ash forever, and he slowly makes a name for himself.

- ash and eiji live together but they are NOT together in a romantic sense... not yet >:)

- therefore eiji will probably date other people in the meantime, which gets a little troublesome bc it's not like he can bring them home to where his secret Very Important Friend is secretly hiding.

- ash will maybe have one-night stands every now and then. or not. idk. this isn’t a very important detail.

- anyway there will be lots of clueless but mutual pining :)

- ash especially, is of the opinion that they should start living separately bc someone will eventually track him down, maybe someone who has a past or present grudge on him. combined with his current activities, it’s only a matter of time before eiji would unwittingly get dragged into his problems again.

- eiji is v adamantly against that plan bc he's sorta developed a debilitating sense of paranoia that ash might just get killed somewhere while he’s not looking. not that ash isn’t paranoid either, but his insecurities often tip the scale over to “eiji is safer away from me” than “with me”.

- basically they’re doing their whole “stay. no, leave. no, stay” dance all over again, but like, dragged out over MANY YEARS.

- you thought eiji’s letter would’ve cleared up any crossed wires? 

- HELL NO

- like yea, there was probably a beautiful honeymoon period of about a year or two after they reunited, before their respective trauma and issues started creeping in and fucking things up again.

- esp on ash’s end, i think he’d engage in a lot of self-sabotage. and eiji is only human, he has his own limits and baggage too.

- there will be a government conspiracy plotline but on a smaller scale compared to canon that i am unfortunately not knowledgeable enough to worldbuild on, but it will probably have something to do with cybercrime/cyberterrorism/stuff like that bc it needs to tie in with ash's hacking shenanigans.

- i've heard that sing ends up becoming some sorta political big shot in yasha? idk, i haven't read it myself, but since china’s rising status was mentioned in GoL i imagine the plot should relate to that somehow.

- therefore sing would also get to be in this story! 

- i guess this means yut-lung would come into the picture at some point as well, and it would be a good opportunity for a redemption arc but i haven’t given it much of a thought bc i’m indifferent to his character orz SORRY.

- look i can’t do plot, but i am basically envisioning a political thriller with a side of slow burn romance (wait, you mean like a rehash of canon?)

- i’m thinking max is the one who kicks off the story by bringing something fishy to ash, and they just end up uncovering more and more and MORE stuff as they keep going.

- so for like 80% of the story, ash and eiji will be separated bc ash will be busy spying or infiltrating something... and being at the center of Plot Things, while max and eiji will be more on the outside dealing with the journalist side of things. i’m fond of max-ash interactions but i’m also REALLY CURIOUS about max-eiji’s dynamic :D

- meanwhile sing will be like, half in and half out i imagine. he's versatile like that lol

- ...i did NOT mean that in a dirty way

- anyway, this will provide ash and eiji ample space to work out their issues separately, as i think living in close quarters for so many years has actually been aggravating them. ofc those issues don’t get 100% resolved by the end, but some time apart from each other to cool off and spend with other people should provide a bit of perspective.

- i want ash to make some NEW FRIENDS (!!!) that are on the same wavelength as him bc there’s only so much that he can tell eiji and i’m sure he gets rather lonely, so there will be OCs that he will meet in the middle of Plot Things.

- ash will get trapped at some point. preferably with sing so they can have a much needed heart-to-heart talk. they’ll have a lot to hash out, ranging from the events in BF, shorter’s and lao’s death, all the way to ash’s love life. 

- btw i like the idea of eiji and sing being close drinking buddies who confide in one another but ash is kinda, justalittle, not very happy about that LOL 

- i mean, it's not like eiji can confide in ash when ash is the topic at hand, ya get me? as for sing, he’s similar to ash in the sense that they live dangerous lives, so i imagine he just finds it nice to be able to hang out with someone mundane like eiji every now and then.

- not to say that ash and sing aren’t talking to each other at all, but i think they’d have a bit of a rift between them. sing probably does feel some resentment, both at ash for killing lao AND at himself bc he knows deep down that given a choice, he would’ve saved ash over his own brother. ash can sense that tortured vibe, so eiji’s like their middle man. AND THAT’S WHY THEY NEED A HEART-TO-HEART TALK

- (SIDE NOTE: i want akira to have a role in this too. i actually have a separate headcanon that happens prior to this story... kinda like an alternate GoL? 

akira goes to the states to visit eiji, but ash is also there, yeah? akira and ash start out sorta prickly with each other bc ash is all weird and standoffish and always cooped up in his room. she probably mistook him as a jobless model mooching off eiji at first since 1) eiji and ibe have never spoken about him back in japan (cuz he’s supposed to be dead), 2) why would eiji be living with some random hot guy? unless they met during one of his photography gigs? right??? 

and then she ends up witnessing them in the middle of a tiff, which makes her not like ash even more bc HOW DARE HE YELL AT POOR OKUMURA-SAN??? UNGRATEFUL JERK!!!

but over the course of her visit, she snoops around learns a bit about their history and gathers hints as to why their r’ship is kinda strained. also ash and akira somehow end up bonding (reluctantly) over their emotional insecurities and part on a friendly rivalry to win over eiji’s affections (which eiji is completely oblivious to. also akira may have been 100% serious but ash was just jokingly playing along with her (OR WAS HE???)). anyway long story short, ash teaches akira some cool tech/IT stuff along the way so that leads to her gaining an interest in the field. 

she won’t be able to do much in this story, but a minor role would be cool :)

 ^ a lighthearted gyoza-making scene amid all the angst)

- (SIDE NOTE #2: i ALSO want cain to feature in this, but bc canon provided very little bg info on him it’s hard for me to figure out where he’d fit. but i suppose that’s precisely why it would be great to include him, since i can just make up my own backstory! lol. for now, i think he should be connected to one of the new OCs to make him more central to the plot. or heck, he can be involved himself! ...yeah, i’m just salty about how cain was treated more like a convenient plot device compared to the other major side characters. we barely know anything about him even though he was one of ash’s most trusted allies. #caindeservedbetter2k20)

- anyway, back to the main story. ash (and his new "friends") barely escape where they’re held hostage. ash would be rusty with combat now as he’s spent the past few years doing only stealth work and being rather sedentary. 

- so there’ll be lotsa old man!ash jokes like them poking fun at him whenever he complains about his back hehe

- when they finally emerge outside they find themselves in the middle of nowhere! they then hijack a passing pickup truck and do a roadtrip back to civilisation. ROAD TRIP FTW

- at this point, quite some time has already passed and ash even has a fuzzy beard and mane and all. he’s standing at the back of the truck with a small smile on his face and the wind blowing in his hair, thinking GONNA GO BACK AND SEE EIJI, MISS HIM LOADS, HELL YEA 

- (bonus: this song and this scene is the catalyst for this entire headcanon btw)

(drew this about a year ago. i was trying to imitate the manga’s art style... and the ash i had in my mind was a little different. i’m too lazy to redraw, but he’s fuzzier now okay! MORE FUZZ! like an actual freakin LION!)

- meanwhile, eiji and max will get into some deep shit around this point? 

- eiji in the pic above was me imagining that the Bad Guys had tossed some damning evidence (eg. severed body part?) on the ground like “ash’s dead/ash’s in a lot of danger now so hand over all the info u have”

- and eiji and max are like. SHOOKETH

- this would be the 3rd time ash has “died” after all, and as they say... 3rd time's the charm...

- eiji almost gives in, but then max spits in their face like fuck no and then... yeah. they get beat up and taken away or something lol

- EDIT: hmm... what if the Bad Guy is someone IN the government, and he uses his power to get eiji and max arrested for aiding and abetting a wanted fugitive (ash). and then ash has to rescue them... JAILBREAK STYLE

- also it might be cool to introduce ash's mom somewhere in this story... maybe SHE'S the villain! mwahaha *drama intensifies*

- anyways they will get saved by ash and gang bc that’s just the way things go, BUT! only on the condition they already made it out at least 80% of the way bc GODDAMN IT👏LET👏EIJI👏BE👏BADASS👏FOR👏ONCE👏 

- (that is, after he overcomes the initial shock of ash possibly being dead again... again...... again............)

- there will ofc be moments of “oh my god, you’re okay” "i thought i lost you...!"

- something like this, because one can never have enough cheesy reunion scenes

- this will eventually lead to REVELATIONS (of the romantic kind, yes) 

- buuuut they will never say "i love you" directly to each other bc ash is too emotionally constipated and eiji is too japanese. it's okay, they will communicate it through heated stares 👀

- i would love for there to be a scene where they have to be separated again for Plot Reasons and ash sorta hesitantly goes all "...will you wait for me?" as a direct parallel to canon!eiji's "i'll be waiting" and it’s like,

- FINALLY! 

- FINALLY!!!!!!!!!! ash has finally allowed himself to ask for this, to let himself want it! 

- and eiji would be like OF COURSE I WILL YOU BIG DUMMY, ALWAYS AND FOREVER

- but i think it'd be hilarious if eiji pops up while ash's in the middle of the final showdown and ash's like WTF I TOLD YOU TO WAIT FOR ME and eiji's like I WAS WORRIED OKAY YOU WERE TAKING SO LONG

- idk how this is supposed to end...

- oh wait! since the plot is government-related, maybe Someone will be able to pull strings to wipe out ash’s criminal record (past and present) and give him a brand new 100% legal identity, as thanks for his efforts? or maybe ash (or sing) just does it himself somewhere along the way LOL. anyway, he’ll be able to start over with a fresh clean slate and finally work on recovery FOR REAL NOW. yes this is a happy ending AND it didn’t require him to go to japan /flips off canon

- ...i realise it’s never going to be that simple but W H A T E V E R

- (also they probably will visit japan in the future with that shiny new passport... gotta meet the in-laws and all y’know)

- who do i gotta pay to write this cheesy self-indulgent fic for me

[ana0072]

My favorite Seventeen ship fics on Ao3; Part 1.

Be warned I read a LOT of smut so if that makes you uncomfortable and isn't your cup of tea, just skip the scenes. STILL SUPPORT THE AUTHORS THEY WORKED HARD ON THE FANFICS.

(See here for the most common tropes in these ships)

Also a disclaimer, I as a reader, does not take any of these to heart nor do I apply them to real life and judge the boys whether or not they do anything done in these stories. It is merely fanfiction.

Soonhoon

1. Adventures of Cat and Kitten by SunAndMoon (LadyMorgaine)

Hybrid AU, A/B/O

Top Soonyoung/Bottom Jihoon

Side Verkwan, Jihancheol, Junhao, other ships to be added.

Alpha Tiger Hoshi, Omega Cat Jihoon

Series

There are two books, the first one mainly focuses on Soonhoon but the other one explores the other ships more

Jihoon is a sassy bottom but very needy

Soonyoung is a dominating top but also complies to Jihoons wishes of course

Soonyoung calls him kitten Yasss

They are literally a power couple

Very kinky

The first book is geared a lot towards the sexy times

The second book has been 70% dialogue and storyline

Fluff, smut, romance, angst

Overall very tasty 9/10

2. Vampires Before Christmas by SunAndMoon (LadyMorgaine)

Vampire AU

Top Soonyoung/Bottom Jihoon

Side Verkwan, Jeongcheol, Meanie, Junhao, Seoksoo

Series

There are 4 books  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Soonyoung is a hottie

He covers all Wattpad book bad boy love interest bases

Mysterious? Check. Jihoon met him in the rain, no idea what he does for work or where he goes when he's gone.

Rich? Check. Comes from old money he says. Owns at leasts two countries probably.

Caring? Check. Nursed Jihoon back to health when he was sick and continued doing so even when he wasn't.

Hottie? Check. The most attractive man out there, Jihoon the lucky bastard.

An otherwordly being? UM HE IS LITERALLY A FREAKING VAMPIRE??? HELLO???

Soonyoung was the embodiment of your wildest dreams like even though Jihoon was actually on the brink of death, like my man fucking touched god, he was still horny when he got close to Soonyoung and kept smelling him like he was ambrosia or something. Then he had a wet dream about him. Understandable.

VERY cute story. Soonyoung got like the biggest dick out there too.

Smut, Romance, Fluff, Angst

19/10 read it time and time again.

3. All eyes on you by aquariusblues

Dance school AU

Top Jihoon/Bottom Soonyoung

Slowwwwww burnnnn

It was maddening how in denial Jihoon was

His perseverance is something to be admired

Soonyoung is the new kid thats friends with everyone

They both keep burning themselves out like please take a fucking break

Wow is that miscommunication I hear? Oh it definitely is, and there is so much of it

This book makes you wanna pull your hair and not in a kinky way

I actually cried when they finally got together

There isn't much smut in here

EVERYONE IS YELLING AT JIHOON TO ADMIT HIS FEELINGS

The rest of the members are barely there

Mostly monologues

Lots of self deprecation and self acceptance

Its beautiful in a sense

But I wanted to throw my phone

This story haunts me at night

Angst, Fluff?, brief smut

7/10 Reccomend this to a friend–so you both can revel in your frustrations

4. No strings attached by aquariusblues

After College AU????

They have their own jobs and everyone is doing their own things?? What do I put here

Switch SoonHoon

Minor Verkwan, Meanie

Soonyoung is Seungkwans cousin

Jihoon is Seungkwans boss/friend

So thats how they got together

Awkward? Seungkwan offered okay its fine

They wanted a friends with benefits thing

But they've been sleeping exclusively with each other

So thats a problem

Or so they think

Soonhoon never want to admit their feelings

They just can't feelings with each other

THIS AUTHOR JUST CAN'T FEELINGS WITH SOONHOON

Emotions are hard

ALSO VERKWAN IS GETTING MARRIED

It was a brief scene but good for Vernon being able to put a ring on it

SEE SOONHOON COMMUNICATION IS KEY GUYS

THATS RELATIONSHIP 101

But their dynamic was adorable

Romance, smut, fluff

8/10 spaced out and remembered it again

5. Code Red by just_a_pinwheel

Police AU, A/B/O

Top Soonyoung/Bottom Jihoon

Alpha Soonyoung, Omega Jihoon

Side Jeongcheol, Meanie, Verkwan, Junhao

Jihoon hates Soonyoung

Then Soonyoung becomes his boss

AND HIS NEIGHBOUR HAHAHAH

Oopsiesss

They both loveee work

Like proper workaholics

Lots of pushing and pulling

They broke up in the middle of it

I wanted to scream

Heats and mating

Of course its ABO

I have never wanted to slap Jihoon so much

Lots of crying and denial of feelings

"Its for the best" NO ITS NOT DON'T BREAK UP

Sorry I'm bitter

They are literally surrounded by the healthiest couples they just can't deal

Soonyoung is just tired

Romance, smut, fluff, angst, violence, gore???

Its a police au so theres gonna be blood

8/10 when will their torture end???

6. Mask Kingdom by just_a_pinwheel

Mob AU

Top Soonyoung/Bottom Jihoon

Side Jeongcheol, Meanie

Both of them are crime bosses its actually really hot

Soonyoung is a BIG flirt

The first time they formally met, Jihoon gave him a blowjob LOL

Soonyoung calls him princess yes please

Jihoon still can't feelings

Im sensing a pattern here

But he comes around pretty fast don't worry uwu

There was one chapter where Soonyoung got REAL jealous and they had some rough sex lol

He BRIEFLY called him oppa during it

Its chapter 21 I gotchu fam

Jeonghan was a bitch for a while BUT THERES A REASON OKAY THATS NOT JUST HIS PERSONALITY

Jihoon is a little twat but I can say that about every fanfiction of him so go figure

SMUT, ANGST, barely there fluff, romance

6/10? Its kinda bland

7. What we were promised by Mistehri

Mafia AU, A/B/O

Top Soonyoung/Bottom Jihoon

Alpha Soonyoung, Omega Jihoon

Side Jihancheol, Meanie, Junhao, Verkwan

Heats and Mating

BTS and Ateez are there too

Yoongi and Jimin are together, I don't know why i felt the need to say that

Yoongi is Jihoons cousin

He's kinda an ass to Soonyoung

Cause he broke up with Jihoon

THERES A REASON OKAY DON'T WORRY

And they both pretended to hate each other after that

Before they got back together theres little snippets of their relationship

Its really heart breaking idk how I could stand reading it

BUT ITS REAL SWEET WHEN THEY GOT BACK TOGETHER

Also there was one scene in chapter 28 when Namjoon mentioned mates where he glanced at Seokjin

Idk maybe I'm gonna attract more armys if I mention them

If you're there for Ateez, they are literally so brief

I think they mentioned Monsta X too at some point maybe

Like I wanted to scream at the both of them

WHY ARE THEY BOTH SO IN DENIAL

FRUSTRATION WITH MANY FEELINGS

But also

YOU CAN'T DIE YOU'RE THE MAIN CHARACTER

Not to say I'm okay with the others dying as well

JUST KILL OFF AN OC OR SOMETHING I MAY NOT STAN BTS THAT DOESN'T MEAN I'M OKAY IF YOU KILL THEM OFF

Graphic depictions of violence

But they're kinda brief

Angst, smut, fluff, romance

12/10 I would very much reccomend

JUST FEELINGS JIHOON YOU CAN DO IT ITS NOT THAT HARD

Also I love bottom Jihoon. Something about someone who carries so much power and authority, just to be a completely helpless submissive at the hands of Soonyoung of all people is just something to be desired.

[dachi-chan25]

Haven't done this in a while but I had the time so why not?

1.- Pizza Girl by Kyoung Jean Frazier

🌟🌟🌟🌟

I really did like it, reminded me a lot of "Convinience store woman". Like clearly our protagonist needed thrapy ASAP to help her deal with her dad's death, her pregnancy, her attraction to women and hell just for existing as an Asian woman in the USA, but I liked how messy and obsesive she was and how the author allowed her to be fucked up and take bad decisions, I love to see female characters simply exist, it's also a pretty short read so I definitely recommend it.

2.-The Authentics by Abdi Nazemian

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Daría is a persian teen who is really involved in her cultural background and feels that the most important thing one can be is authentic, so that's the name she and her friends take for their clique. But everything comes crashing down on her when she discovers she is adopted, and soon follows an identity crisis. I loved it so much, it felt pretty realistic, like Daría could be self absorbed and unlikeable at times, but who wasn't as a teen? And we get such beautiful heartwarming moments between Daría and her family and friends. Totally recommend it.

3.- The Mall by Megan McCafferty

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Cassie has her life completely mapped out but nothing goes quite as planned, first she gets mononucleosis and after she gets better gets dumped and fired almost simultaneously. Determined not to let it get the best of her, Cassie gets a brand new job, reconnects with an old friend and even finds a hidden treasure. This one is so much fun, all the 90s references and the growth Cassie goes through is amazing, honeslty i would love to see this as a Netflix movie.

4.- Luster by Raven Leilani

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book was hard, Edie is a very raw character, at first she seems flippant even when describing disturbing facts about her past or details about her relationship with a much older man she seems to be talking about something that happened to someone else all this to cope dealing with her solitude, her trauma, her self hate. And gosh it was so intresting to see her interact with Rebecca and Akila, especially Akila as Edie finds kinship in this young girl not only cuz they are both black but because they are both lost and afraid.

5.- Lakewood by Megan Giddings

🌟🌟🌟

Lena decides to participate on a financially compensated medical experiment so her mom can get proper medical care and to lessen their debts after her Grandmother's death.

So I had many mixed feelings about this, on one hand I liked that we are adressing how sistematical racism has permited experiments on black people with no consequences at all and how it has been happening for decades, but there were certain parts of the book that I couldn't enjoy as much because they were very trippy like I get we are on Lena's mind as things are becoming muddled up because of the medications and all those mind games and the words they have her memorize and repeat but all of it took me a bit away from the story. Still I do recommend it just be aware there is quite a bit of body horror in this so if you are sqeamish better skip it.

6.-The Voting Booth - Brandy Colbert

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Marva and Duke meet on election day as she helps him find the precint he is registered on.

This is very enjoyable, the story is very straightforward, and it insists on our right and responsability to vote even if we feel our vote alone can't possibly change all the injustice we see in the world. And also the romance was cute and developed slowly as Marva and Duke are just knowing each other. Really cute and quick read.

7.- Such a fun age - Kiley Reid

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Emira works as a babysitter for the Chamberleins' . She loves her little charge Briar, although she feels preassured to seek a 'real job' by her friends and by her own economic troubles. Emira soon finds herself in the middle of a tug of war between her boss Alix who tries to befriend her, and Kelley the guy she is dating.

So much drama. This is a great example of what performative activism looks like, first Alix is completely nuts, from her obsession to be seen as this wonderful understanding girl boss activist and the down right creepy sense of entitlement to Emira's friendship and intimacy. Like it doesn't surprise me she chose to victimize herself instead of recognizing it had all been a misunderstanding. And even then she still wants to seem atractive to the man she feels victimized by. Girl no.

Kelley is the ultimate fake woke ally. Dude Robbie was wrong period, he had no business inviting people over to someone else's house no matter the color of his skin. You don't get to talk over Emira on matters of what a person of color should do or feel on certain situations. That said it was so funny when he and Alix called each other out for their fetishization of people of color and yet none of them actually gave a damn about what Emira thought/felt/percieved. They just wanted her stamp of approval so they could pat themselves in the back for being such good allies.

8.- The Life and (Medieval) times of Kit Sweetly by Jamie Pacton

🌟🌟

Kit is working as a serving wench at the Castle, medieval themed restaurant run by her uncle, though she really wants to be a Knight, not only cuz the better pay would help around the house but because she really admires Joan of Arc, problem is the Castle management doesn't allow for anyone who is not a cis male to be a knight. Kit is set on changing that.

Ok so I feel a bit lukewarm toward this. Kit in my opinion doesn't get much growth, it seems she just can do whatever and her friends have to be ok w it, her romance w her friend feels pulled out of nowhere like Jett at one point tells her he is not intrested in dating her and then he is ???, those GoT references killed me, I get it I watched the show and sometimes even enjoyed it but it's not representative of anything medieval and Kit was always talking about how much she liked the actual history of the medieval times so...

Also as much as this book was about feminism and how we should fight for equal job oportunities, it feels as though Kit only cared about medieval woman who fought physically and not on the badass medieval woman, like idk it feels as a rejection of tradicional feminity like even the girl playing the Princess is a jerk. But I did like some parts, like her decision to confront her asshole dad to help her mom and the girls training together.

9.-Cien años de soledad de Gabriel Garcia Marquez

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

En Macondo, una población Colombiana a un lado del río, vemos como una de sus familias fundadoras crece, se expande y cambia a través de cien años.

Me encanto, hace mucho tiempo que no leía una novela de realismo mágico que me provocará tantos sentimientos. Creo que todos los personajes reflejan aspectos de la humanidad tan diversos y complejos que sería inútil tratar de enlistarlos todos.

Ultimadamente siento que lo que condenó a la familia Buendia a cumplir las profecías de Melquiades fue sus propia naturaleza que ellos nunca tuvieron intención de pelear, siempre sucumbian a las locuras o pasiones que los inundarán sin mesura alguna o consideración por las consecuencias. Y creo que aún así lo prefiero pues es lo que hace a cada personaje por confuso que a veces llegue a ser la repetición de nombres (que para mi es el simbolismo de una naturaleza y destino continuos) único e intrigante. En verdad espero que se den la oportunidad de leer este libro por lo menos una vez en sus vidas.

10.-The Monsters of music by Rebecca F. Kenney

🌟🌟🌟

This is a gender-swaped modern retelling of the Phantom of the Opera.

It was creative to make Mel, our Phantom, a true magical creature, and the singing contest was also cool. Like don't get me wrong I did have fun reading this but it also felt pretty unpolished like most characters were teens on the contest and that kinda made me roll my eyes a bit, like unless it's the Voice Kids age ranges are quite ample on this kind of shows, also kinda clumsy the addition of the magical elements with the modern setting, Kiyo didn't make much of an impression with me even when Christine is my fave on the original book. Still if you are a Phan like me you might wanna check this one out.

11.- Anna K by Jenny Lee

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

This is a modern americanized ya retelling of Anna Karenina.

Not gonna lie this made me cry so much at the end. I really liked Anna and Vronski together so much, and I don't like the love at first sight trope, but here it felt so inevitable. Anna was so self contained until she met him and could truly explore being herself and they really loved each other so much. Also I liked the treatment of the side characters Kimmie and Dustin were well developed and I really enjoyed this one can't wait to get to the second book.

12.- Wonderland by Zoje Stage

🌟🌟🌟

It was ok, but I was actually a bit disappointed cuz I had such high expectations for it. Like for about half the book I was really into the atmospheric vibe the book pulls you into, but as we get the reveal it started to go down hill for me, and the ending left me feeling meh. But maybe it was just not my cup of tea.

13.-Home Before Dark by Riley Sager

🌟🌟🌟🌟

This book is so well crafted!!! I love how it goes back and forth between past and present , first it feels as if history is repeating itself, then as both narratives unfold we start to question and discovering things and the twist at the end was chillin and masterful, I truly and wholeheartedly recommend it.

14.- The Girl with the louding voice by Abi Daré

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Adunni, a teenage girl, flees from her husband to work as a maid in Lagos, though everything she has ever wanted is to study.

This broke my heart, as it reflects how people coming from rural backgrounds get taken advantage of in the City, like similar things happen here in Mexico, but also it made me glad to see Adunni fight and keep her spirit so no one could ever silence her.

15.- The Year of the Witching by Alexis Henderson

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Immanuel does her very best to fit in Bethel, follow the scriptures and the Prophets words, but nothing seems to be enough to erase her mother's sin especially when the Darkwood seems to pull her in. As a plague starts to ravage Bethel, Immanuel has to face her past to save her people.

So frickin' good !!!! This story is great, mainly about the explotation of woman and young girls by people in power (in this case a church), the atmosphere is always tense, Ezra and Immanuel 's relationship is very well developed and one can really see how loyal they are to each other. A great option for horror fans.

[mc-critical]

hey, it's been a while, hope you're doing fine!

your unproblematic faves in mc/mc:k and why?

mine from mc would be mihrunissa (she's the queen of s4, and also my 2nd favourite character from the franchise overall), cihangir (the king of s4), mehmet ( a non-existent character imo, was loving to everyone from what i could tell & was pretty so why not), nergissah (ik she didn't have much of a character but she was extremely loving, even towards mihrunissa who wasn't her biological mother, adored her relationship with mahi and she was the only family mahi had left after musti, nissa & mehmet died apart from fidan & yusuf), atmaca, yavuz, taslicali (musti's loyal friends; and i adored taslicali w/ mihrimah, the only guy i shipped her with tbh), and i guess that's it, i may be missing someone considering there were several characters.

from mc:k it would be geverhan (the queen of s2, i love her so much and she's my second most favourite character from the franchise overall, such a kind & sensitive soul, she truly deserved a better ending, i just wanted to see her happy), zulfiqar (one of the most loyal people in the entire franchise, deserved a better ending, dying in the place he spent his blood, sweat & tears was definitely a tragic death but also ties into his character, had a sweet relationship w/ humasah who also deserved a better ending), mustafa (my boy! he's just so adorable in the series, the baby & the adult, the joke he played on halime had me in tears, davut's reaction to him sending the table for a walk; i'm sorry but he was the mvp of s1 and deserved so much better than mu/rat killing him ((fuck mu/rat)) but i guess it's kinda cool that he got to sail a ship before dying considering he always loved ships? idk but he's just fantastic and such a cutie + the english subtitles w him were hilarious), and i guess that's it, most characters were kinda problematic in the series, even humasah who i adored but i definitely don't appreciate for trying to put iskender on the throne which would cause the death of kosem & her children. i would've added ibrahim, who i think is such a cutie and i don't understand any hate towards him; i understand the things he did in s2 ending were problematic but he was just having a severe mental breakdown and what he needed was therapy, not that turhande dethroning him. honestly, fuck mu/rat & turhande.

(also mustafa from mc though i don't think he would be considered unproblematic? )

sorry for the rant lol just, unproblematic faves are so good to talk about because you aren't conflicted with them like you are with characters such as hurrem, mahidevran, nurbanu, kosem, nigar, selim, bayezid, etc.

i hope you're having a great day!

Hey, I'm happy to see you back! 😻

We share a lot of unproblematic faves! I love almost everyone you mentioned!

In MC I love Mihrunnisa, because, as you said she's an absolute queen and the best match for Mustafa for me. She suits his level of maturity and they had a very deep, pure, truly genuine bond you didn't see with anyone else from his women. What's most unique about her character is that they didn't put any opposition around her, her story wasn't overshadowed by a love triangle and that helped the relationship between her and Mustafa shine all the more and we saw her have more agency as a character. Cihangir is such a cinnamon roll and cutie pie and yet he's so smart and perceptive of his surroundings. Neither his love for Mustafa, nor his deformity define him and I love what they did with him in the span of a little more than a half-season. Taşlicali, Atmaca and Yavuz are the best trio ever and I loved watching them in action. How loyal they were to Musti and how they wanted to protect him. 😍😍 I loved Taşlicali's moments with Mihrimah and Mahidevran as well as Mustafa, I loved how Atmaca put Rüstem in his place (we stan!) and Yavuz was so cool and they killed him too soon. We should've seen more of Nergisşah, tbh, but her relationship with Mahi is everything and like all of Mahidevran's relationships with the people she loves, she brought the best in her. And she also seemed like a loving and caring human being to everyone else she interacted with, too, she's just... lovely. Screw SS for marrying her off like that, this piece of trash should be killed with fire.

I would also add Helena to my list of unproblematic favourites, because, writing-wise, she's one of the better handlings of a tomboyish girl in the franchise, a mash-up of both Armin's plot and Aybige's character done much better. Yes, just like all the girls with tomboyish personalities (Aybige, Diana etc.), that trait of theirs was either diminished or gone, but with Helena the blow wasn't as hard as with the rest and you could definetly say that this is more a side of hers allowed to show from her completely new environment and is probably the one most restrained by it. The girl clearly deserved better than what they put her through and I loved how much she cherished her own freedom, rights and family. Her relationship with Rita was great, too.

I really want to say and Mustafa and Gülfem, as well, to be honest, because while they're flawed and far from perfect, they're overally consistently positive characters in the eyes of the narrative and their questionable actions aren't as drastic for me to put them in the "problematic" category.  I mean, compared to everyone else.... Okay, they still technically don't count, but I love both of them too much to refrain from mentioning them at least hehe 😅 Gülfem should've gotten much much more in the way of storylines of her own, but the moments where she shone really scream potential. She's such a loyal, patient and understanding person and her strenght to listen to other people's sorrows, be considerate of them and seemingly being able to forgive people because from whom she suffered (Mahidevran apparently) or made the people she loved suffer in a way and involving her in this, too (Hürrem), is extraordinary for me. And she tried to kill SS, about time someone did it, I stan, she left the show like a queen! And my adoration of Mustafa is pretty much endless, so I won't delve too deep into it. His relationship with his mother, his resilience, his intuition, his still firm hand contrasted to his loyalty to his father that crushed him, but I can't help but respect... yup.

For MCK I have the exact same favourites, as well, only I would add Meleksima, because she was pretty harmless, deserved better and loved Osman and their kids. Gevherhan is my favourite dynastic sultana in the whole franchise (followed by Hatice) and I love her selflessness and humanity. She subverted all the sultana tropes, basically, I don't recall a scene where she was ever elitist to someone below her, she didn't intrigue or scheme and she didn't have an agenda of her own. Her suicide was her breaking the ties she had with her environment and her deciding to finally be the selfish person for once, to do what she wanted, to decide her own destiny. Deserved to be happy with Silahtar more than anything else ever. Zulfikar was so understanding and noble, I'm surprised that the palace didn't devour him, his death was so heartwrenching. Mustafa is a precious bean that also got sucked by his own environment and by the horrible Fatih law and game of survival, his psyche was soo destroyed you can't help but feel sorry for him, at the very least. The same goes with Ibrahim who is also a product of his own environment and even the conflicts of his brothers, I get why he would turn his back on everything and everyone and fixate on the only thing that could bring him a bit of peace and escapism - his harem. He and Mustafa were put in roles they had no capacity to play anymore and I'm sobbing. And yes, Ibo didn't deserve to be so screwed over by Turhande, screw her and Murat. (and also Atike, what she did with her sister because of her selfish, unrequited love and she was told about it by Sil himself! was disgusting, interesting character, but so were Murat and SS and even Turhan in her thematic utility.)

[catsvrsdogscatswin]

V8 Theory

Okay I’m about to be that one meme of the crazy-looking guy explaining a red string diagram on a corkboard, BUT-

Volume 8. So, uh, after the ending of Volume 7 my sister and I kinda looked at each other and went...are they seriously going with this? Salem and her army rocking up at the good guys’ doorstep NOW? In what’s very clearly a midpoint or slightly-after-midpoint of the series? When the good guys have no plan or tools to stop or even detour her? No buildup on how they’d figure that out? No nothing?

It reeks of either bad writing or a plot twist. 

SO, with that in mind, we fervently pinned our hopes on plot twist. Sure CRWBY drops the ball sometimes, as all writers do, but this? This is big, and I cannot believe that someone in the studio did not raise Serious Concerns if CRWBY proposed some out-of-nowhere deus ex machina. 

With the information currently at our disposal, we have concluded that the good guys are basically fucked. Immortal Big Bad at their doorstep with an army, Ruby’s silver eyes proved or at least hinted to be completely ineffective against her, the leader of the government defense has gone mad, gang separated, one Relic lost and the other inaccessible. The only way they could really survive this scenario is to retreat, and it goes against every single one of their characters to just...walk out on an entire city full of people and leave them to the Grimm.

So, and here we come to crazy-man-with-string-diagram, we were thinking the gang has Ozpin make them time travel. How far back or how they do it, we weren’t sure, but realistically speaking, time travel seems to be the only way, with the information we currently have available, that they can “fix” this situation. I shall list our points.

1. Ozpin’s cane was stated to be able to “store time” in the V3 commentary. Granted, this ability may have been scrapped with other early concepts, but Ozpin also mentions in V5 that his cane has “other abilities,” and possession of it seems to be important to him for reasons beyond mere sentiment. Oscar also asks him how to fix this situation in the V7 finale, which may be foreshadowing.

2. Time traveling is a sticky concept to introduce, as it may serve as a fix-all scenario and thus introduce plot holes, but the phrasing was “store time,” indicating both a limit and a need to do so. If we assume this concept has remained, its likely that there is a limit to how far back Ozpin can go, or how much time he can store, and that he must be in possession of his cane to do any of it. This would explain why his time-travel ability was not used to fix the Fall of Beacon: he didn’t have his cane until multiple months after the event, which would mean that he can’t go back that far, and, if they do use this ability in V8, why he can’t do it again for such-and-so amount of time: he’s used all the time stored in his cane.

3. V7 seemed oddly fragmented, and has been stated to be more connected to V8 than most RWBY volumes are to each other. With the time-travel theory, this would be achieved by V8 covering events in V7 over again from a slightly different angle, possibly repeatedly, and filling out the odd scenes and missing portions.

4. CRWBY announced that V8 will take place over several days. While it is theoretically possible to stretch all these days out with fight scenes and long conversations (and shorter episodes), V8 is also stated to be longer than normal. If the gang time-travels, they could experience the same few days multiple times, which would stretch the season time out much farther.

5. The teaser clip of Yang and the others on a motorbike seems to take place in Atlas or Mantle, which is undamaged, and is stated to occur in an early episode. Given as the last thing we see is Salem arriving at the gates of Atlas with an army, this is a very odd switch in tone and narration. If the gang had fled Atlas, they would hardly be in a good mood, knowing they had left the citizens there to the army of Grimm and a mad dictator, and if they somehow managed to fight Salem off, there would have been severe casualties and a mad dictator would still be in charge. If, on the other hand, the gang had traveled through time to return to the starting point-ish of their time in Atlas, their mood would be decidedly more optimistic.

6. Clover’s death. While this wasn’t badly written in and of itself, the implicit psychological damage it would do to Qrow, who had spent most of the volume experiencing character growth and friendly interactions for the first time ever, seems to invalidate all CRWBY’s hard work at giving him a friend (or love interest). You don’t build someone up just to tear them down in one single season: from a narrative standpoint, its needlessly cruel and poorly executed. And whether they intended for Clover and Qrow to have canonically romantic overtones or no, CRWBY would definitely be aware that the fans would pick up on their dynamic, and CRWBY has already proven themselves perceptive enough to avoid the bury-your-gays trope. If time was reversed and Clover lived, the drama would be averted and they could make this decision with impunity.

7. Yang, Oscar, Jaune, and Ren is an odd conglomeration of people to be in one isolated group, as they were in the V8 teaser clip, which may be explained by the fact that Ozpin could only send a select amount of people back in time and they were chosen for this purpose because Reasons. (Maybe Ren for levelheadedness, Yang for critical second-guessing, Oscar because he’s Ozpin’s host, and Jaune for battery pack...and strategy too I guess. IDK.) This would also slot in with the mutters of “Ruby being Yang’s antagonist this season,” as Ruby may act against what time-traveler Yang needs her to do or think.

8. Ren was acting super weird in V7, which may be explained by the fact he’s one of the time-travel dudes and he’s getting deja vu or those weird transitional moments are the result of time divergencies. I’ll admit that this one is shaky but you have to admit that he has been acting really off, plus those whiteout flashes and slow-motions don’t just happen on their own.

Anyways if they actually do decide to do time travel you can catch me screaming that Saturday at anyone unfortunate enough to be near me. Yes that includes you guys.

V8 CH1 Update: Guess its time for clown makeup then, boys.

[lesbow]

my thoughts on the croods 2 so far

based on literally NOTHING but the trailer so even i’m taking all this with a grain of salt

the art:

GOOD: the colors are gorgeous. TC was always a vibrantly breathtaking movie and luckily the second seems to be the same

BAD: i’m disappointed with the clothes. at the end of the first movie, the croods excluding guy got huge wardrobe changes to highlight they were not the same people they were in the beginning. but sadly the sequel seems to have??? cut that out entirely as the family are in their caveman clothes again.

GOOD: i like how the faces are more...... refined? the eyes look more natural and have neater lines. and i also like that the face shapes have been tweaked a little too. those that needed sharper features (eep’s face in the first movie was literally a circle) got them, and those that needed smoother and more rounded features (guy used to have the Anime Triangle Jaw) got them too.

BAD: this also comes with a negative though. as someone already pointed out, although their faces look neater, they also look a little too neat. all of guy’s blemishes are gone. actually, everyones blemishes are gone.

BAD: also, their hair! in the first movie, everybody’s hair is messy. it’s the wilderness! they don’t have combs. but in the trailer, guy’s hair looks like it was literally put into a straightener. and this is before he went through the betterman transformation. a side by side of what they did to guy (they butchered my boy!!) is in the post i already linked. it’s nuts

GOOD: another thing about the character designs i DID like was ugga. most of the girls/women’s faces in the first movie were round, soft, and wide eyed. ugga’s face in the trailer now has more variation to it. she has high, sharp cheekbones, her eyes are narrower, chin more pointed. the women do not just have “soft” facial features anymore. i like that theres more variety between them.

GOOD: i love the farm and domesticated animals. the wildlife has always always been one of my favorite things about the world of the croods and they deliver on it once again (black and white furry elephants!!!)

BAD: there’s a downside to this part too tho and i will direct all of that towards douglas. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO HIM?!?!? he looks completely different in a bad way. he looks simple. i look at douglas in the trailer and see an easy-to-make toy. the colors are simple and no longer ombré, his teeth are more rounded and claws nonexistent. he doesn’t look anything like a tiny crocodile creature anymore, and more like a toy store plushie come to life. look at him in the trailer and then look at him in a pic from the first movie and then look me in my eyes and tell me they didn’t ruin my boy.

now about the actual plot:

BAD: why are the croods “searching for a perfect place to call home”? why is guy so eager to stay at the farm?? yes, guy is an inventor so new technology would interest him, but he was way more focused and concerned abt making it to Tomorrow. at the end of the first movie, they all agreed to become nomads and stay on the move, following the sun. a theme they explored was that home was not a place/“a cave”, and is actually just about being with the people you love. so why would they want to..... settle all of a sudden? eep ofc still wants to get out and grug doesn’t like strange things, but the others are like in love with the place?? i have to say with all these things so far it’s almost like they’re trying to scrap the end of the first movie entirely and just base the sequel off the beginning to middle sections. which is kinda disheartening since the end was so beautiful and made me tear up.

GOOD: i like that there’s another family, especially a mom, dad, and a daughter. i LOVE the fact that eep now has a friend her age and it looks like they develop a great relationship!! i desperately hope the same happens with ugga and the mom, and maybe grug and the other dad can bond too. all 3 of them, while having extremely different lifestyles, have very similar roles, and could confide in and relate to one another.

BAD: again, my biggest concern is the backtrack. in the trailer, grug is wary and upset with his family for growing attached to strangers. just like he was in the first movie with guy. “i don’t know if cave people belong in a modern world” they’re not cave people anymore. they’ve already developed past that in the first movie. “this place is changing everyone” grug is still afraid of change?!?? he got over this in the first movie too! so not only have they backtracked with the clothes, but also with the character arcs. this is a little worrying. how loosely connected is this sequel??

GOOD: nonetheless, i do think the croods encountering farmers is interesting. so far, they’ve only known that you can either be a caveman or a nomad. being neither is an entirely new concept to them, and it will be interesting to see how they deal with this third lifestyle.

BAD: WHAT HAPPENED TO RIDING THE SUN?!? i’m sorry, i’m just struggling to wrap my head around why the croods would be so ready to settle down. they had a plan. they were gonna follow the sun until they “caught it” and then ride it to Tomorrow. so what happened? especially with guy?!?!? that was literally his life’s most important goal. sooo.....????????

GOOD: while i was busting a lung, one of my friends suggested that the plot this time could be about “remembering one’s roots”. like how the theme for the first movie was that change and moving forward is good, so the sequel could now be about how, although progress is good, it’s also important to remember where you come from. i think this could be an interesting storyline if they do it right.

extra thoughts:

BAD: where are the other pets? the owl bear? the liyotes?? the land whale??? they didn’t go extinct bc the croods rode off into the sunrise with them. so Where Are They?????? did they get erased to?

GOOD: i definitely like the revamped betterman designs. apparently they looked completely different before and i very much prefer their looks now. i’m tired of the “blond, conventionally attractive character(s) think they’re better than others” trope. the bettermans look more like regular people and take pride in the technology they’ve created. i especially like how racially ambiguous they are, as i know this was one of the points the first movie got praised on too. (i do think goth!dawn wouldve been a cool contrast to eep’s bubbliness tho)

NEUTRAL: okay so this is based on both the trailer and fan theories. ive seen a few people wonder if the bettermans are actually guy’s long lost family since they look a lot like him, especially with their affinity for technology. while i don’t think this is a bad theory, i don’t know if i’d want it? idk it’s hard for me to explain but it feels like we’ve already covered guy and his family’s past. can you even imagine the convo lol. guy: “omg you guys are alive!!? i thought you’d been gruesomely drowned to death by tar!!!” / them: “oh no we just hopped right out of that. so anyways” like?!?!??? idk it would just feel...... idk. i think it’s unnecessary. (the theory that dawn is their adopted daughter and is actually guy’s last remaining relative/sister is interesting tho)

conclusion:

good total -> 8 points

bad total -> also 8 points

final thoughts -> so yeah. all in all i’m excited for this!! i love the croods and the themes and subtle little touches they had in the first movie, and am interested to see what they do in the second. unfortunately, it looks like a few things got retconned which is very concerning. i both like and dislike the new art/designs, and am very interested in the dynamic between the bettermans and the croods.

and reminder: i’m taking even my own first impression with a grain of salt (a very, very tiny one) since we’ve seen literally only one trailer so far. these are just my thoughts based on what we have. they might change as more things get released, or they might stay solid. who knows! anything goes until the movie actually comes out.

(also pink!belt will be the death of me)

[tanoraqui]

ahh can you post which character goes with which handle? i think i've puzzled out most of them but i can't figure out which ones are lan xichen, lan wangji, or jiang yanli :D also who is grieflessAspirant bc that is a /very/ good name

fair question. @animatedamerican, too. An explanation (also I’ve tweaked a couple of the names):

YunmengJiang:

grieflessAspirant [GA] ectoPatriarch [EP] - Wei Wuxian “griefless” in reference to the translation of wuxian, “no envies”; “grief” can mean both “sorrow” and “grudge”, both of which he lacks (or at least tries very hard to never show). “aspirant” meaning “a person who has ambitions to achieve something”, with fairly positive, hopeful connotations?  Then the Burial Mounds, the Yiling Patriarch, and the change to something wholy outside the DNA-based structure of the others, representative of WWX’s inherently rule-breaking nature; “ecto” as allusion to our one and only ectoBiologist as well as, of course, ghostly ectoplasm

trivenomCommandant [TC] - Jiang Cheng Sandu Shengshou, “master of the three poisons”, natch. “Commandant” specifically means “officer in charge of a particular force or institution“, which, idk, feels good for Jiang Sect

aqueousConcord [AC] - Jiang Yanli someone in this family had to get an allusion to water. previously achieveConcord but I think “concord” alone is good - “agreement or harmony between people or groups”

GusuLan:

chevalierAlight [CA] - Lan Wangji Hanguang-jun, “light-bearing lord”, natch - but specifically, “alight” means glowing himself and “chevalier” is a chivalrous man and member of certain orders of knighthood - very fitting

gardeningTruth [GT] - Lan Xichen “gardening” as allusion to Zewu-jun, which means, like, “lord of the overflowing garden”?? I’m a little unclear. Also gardening is a classic Homestuck thing, see: Jade. “Truth” - even now, I’m considering changing it to “Tranquility”, but that feels kinda overlappy with JYL, and “truth” sounds nicely profound, and has that good good contrast with guile...

LanlingJin

ascendantGold [AG] - Jin Zixuan listen I unironically like this boy but you know he’s gonna put “gold” in his name and you know he’s gonna put something about being the best. Other considerations were “apexGold” and “acmeGold” (and a bunch of other stuff, but not repeating letter combos took precedence.) If the characters were Alternian/Beforan trolls, the Jins would probably be cerulean, and JZX would get constant grief for his handle suggesting that he’s a yellow - and it’d be ENTIRELY his own fault.

transcendingGuile [TG] - Jin Guangyao ngl this is one of my favorites. Is he transcending past guile, into honesty, hard work, etc? Or is he an embodiment of guile, transcending social structures, discrimination, etc? Well, the latter, but gee you could sure mistake it for the former.

accomplishedTenacity autonomousTenacity [AT] - LuoQingyang (”Mianmian”) sometimes I’m just picking a name I think the person would choose for themselves at age 12 or so - and, in this case, later change when she ditches Jin Sect. These are things Mianmian is, or certainly should be proud of: her tenacity (standing up for WWX, ably becoming a rogue cultivator), her accomplishments (skilled cultivator, socially able, etc), and later her independence.

gayApostle ghastlyApostate [GA] - Mo Xuanyu “gay” as in “happy”, you guys! Totally! “Apostle” as in one of the 12 disciples of Jesus Christ, “apostate” as “one who denounces a religious or political belief or principle”. Changed upon his expulsion from Carp Tower, of course. “Ghastly” to describe both his state of apostacy and as reference to the undead.

QingheNie

crimsonCutlass [CC] - Nie Mingjue Chifeng-zun, “red blade master”, natch. I feel like, when making up alternate titles for people in AUs, NMJ’s is the one I always most just leave as-is? But that’s because it’s one of the most badass as-is, so...

agnosticArtisan [AA] - Nie Huaisang I was trying very hard to figure out where in this set I could get some variation on “gnostic”, bc it actually shows up twice in Homestuck - gnosticGardener, tipstyGnostalgic. At the same time, I was digging desperately through synonyms for “ignorant”, “uncertainty”, etc, for our favorite Headshaker...when I remembered that “agnostic” literally means “without knowledge.” So! “Artisan” for the fans and other artistic endeavors, of course - though note that it’s not “artist” - an artisan is “a worker in a skilled trade, especially one that involves making things by hand.” High-stakes vengeful politics is a skilled trade, right?

QishanWen

gentlemanGallant ghostGeneral [GG] - Wen Ning my poor sweet child who is polite and kind (and little bit ruthless), and wanted to live a life that was brave, heroic, chivalrous (ie, gallant)...

tempestuousAsclepiad [TA] - Wen Qing just apt, I think? “Tempestuous” for her willingness - nay, yearning - to fucking throttle you (”characterized by strong and turbulent or conflicting emotion”); “Asclepiad” for how she will only do this once you’re no longer legally her patient. Probably.

Yi City

capriciousThanologist [CT] / [Anonymous] - Xue Yang “thanologist” from Greek Thanos, meaning death - “one who studies death.” Full credit to Xue Yang, the man put his work in studying and developing this shit. “Capricious” because, well...yeah. (Also see: terminallyCapricious, ie, Gamzee.)

consummateGentility [CG] - Xiao Xingchen altogether, “complete or perfect social superiority as demonstrated by polite, refined, or respectable manners, behavior, or appearances”. I mean...isn’t he just? I considered a change to “contriteGentility” after the Baixue Temple massacre, but ultimately decided the constancy of consummate was more important.

gelidConfidant [GC] - Song Lan “gelid” meaning icy or cold, reference to him being called “the winter frost” (yes I DID try to figure out something about the summer breeze for XXC, but it didn’t work.) For “confidant”, I wanted something about Song Lan’s loyalty. I’m not entirely satisfied with “a person with whom one shares a secret or private matter, trusting them not to repeat it to others“, but, well...at least it’s bitterly ironic once his tongue is cut out?

tiresiasThieves [TT] - A-Qing Tiresias from The Illiad is the ORIGINAL (in Western mythology) Blind Seer trope, which of course is perfect for the blind girl who is the only one who sees clearly even once she IS blinded, not to mention dead. As for “thieves”, well. This Tiresias certainly does.

[marai-posts]

Do you have survivor predictions? Who? How many?

You wanna know? You wanna hear my ramblings driven by psychology, character studies and paying WAY too much attention to game decisions made by the devs?

Well since you asked >:3

Alright let's get into my character survival predictions for the remaining Ultimates!!

Also I know this is the last Dangan game for a while so I'm actually assuming there will be less survivors then usual ( plus the rules suggests as much ) so a lot of these 'predictions' are me just understanding that most of these people are gonna be killed.

But let's start the theories, shall we?

Obviously Shuichi lives, so he takes up a slot.

I'll begin with Kokichi and Miu since they're my faves. I'll be blunt here:

These two are gonna die.

Miu for sure, I can't imagine a final trial with Miu popping off at the mouth every five seconds so she's def gonna kick the bucket

RIP Miu Iruma 100% gonna die sorry you are a hot mess and I love you but you gotta go

Kokichi is the 'rival' character so he has a coin flip chance whether he'll live or die. They 'killed' ( ? ) Nagito but they left Byakuya alive so idk if they'll spare Kokichi but they probably won't cause they like to hurt me

So Kokichi has a 60% chance he'll die but he better die for a reason or I'm gonna be pissed

Next, Korekiyo,,, okay look. I love him, I love his design and I wish he would survive but you know what? He's not gonna.

Everyone knows he's gonna kill someone. Even the game looked at this dude and was like oh yeah he'll kill someone. I'm sure it'll be heart tugging and the execution will be beautiful but I'm just saying if he becomes the focus during any point in the next chapters during that class trial I'm gonna have him pegged as the killer sorry

So yeah 100% gonna be executed

Keebo...is too cute. I want him to live so bad. But he's really sweet so he probs won't??

Like, I'd enjoy him being a survivor and there's a small chance and stuff, but tbh I'm not gonna get my hopes up cause I actually like him a whole lot and if I let myself believe he'll survive it's gonna hurt more if he doesn't

I'm leaving him 50/50 for the sake of hope

Let's do Kaito too, cause I'm pretty fond of this man right now. So it's clear Kaito is not gonna be a survivor for one reason. Him and Shuichi are really close. Like, really close. So close you have to wonder if they're setting up a more impactful death...

My guy deserves better but 98% gonna die

Next is...

Gonta. Gonta Gonta Gonta.

On one hand it's hard to imagine anyone killing him, and I'd be really surprised if he kills someone else, but I also can't imagine him as a survivor? So for this one I really dont know. We all thought Mechamaru couldn't be killed but he got murked so

70% chance he'll die, but I hope I'm wrong

Okay these next two are important:

Tenko is gonna die. She def deserves better but I'm gonna be straight up; she'll die.

I actually wanna talk about this first because it leads into my Himiko prediction.

So she's being built around her love of Himiko and while the kid doesn't even appreciate her right now, if they get closer I imagine she'll be used for development. Tenko is kinda being disrespected by the game and I'd love for her to grow outside of Himiko, but,,

100% killed for Himiko development

On that note, Himiko. I'm gonna be honest, right now I don't like her very much. I'm sure she'll grow on me but at this point in the story she's lowkey rude to Tenko and it bothers me. But that being said, every single game there's a character I think absolutely nothing of and they end up surviving. I usually like them by the end of the game but still. It never fails. I thought nothing of Hagakure the entire 1st game and guess what? He lived. I didn't care for Kazuichi all that much (even thought I love him now) and he also lived. My gut is usually right so I'm gonna throw my neck out there and say she's a survivor babey!! Even though there's definitely better characters that they could keep alive but I probably just need to see where she goes as a person. Rn she's just,, irritating :/ but they're setting her up for some heavy character development so idk

Or I could be totally wrong?

Either way Himiko 95% sure she's a survivor

The other 5% is because she could become an easy target if Tenko/Angie dies in an impactful enough way to make her lose her spirit and just mope around waiting to be murdered tbh she's short maybe Gonta accidentally steps on her or smthn

ANYWAY

Moving on to Angie! I have no idea! :D

She's cute and funny and has a lot of energy but if they keep Himiko alive then she'll probably end up sleeping with Atua.

Sorry Angie depending on where Himiko goes you're either a survivor or a victim. So I'll also place her 50/50 with Keebo

Okay next is Maki, and I'm also gonna say she has Great Potential to survive.

She's Special, and the game likes her so I wouldn't be surprised. I could see her in a final trial setting, plus she reminds me of Toko in the sense that everyone expects her to kill but she won't bother, and no one could kill HER so she just ends up surviving the whole game because she just does her own fuckass thing until the games over lmao

She definitely is Important and I'm pretty sure she's gonna play a part in the final trial. Plus I like her so: 100% she's a survivor.

Okay.............

Alright......

Listen...

I saved Tsumugi for last because ever since I MET her I've been side eyeing the fuck out of her and since then I've been keeping a really REALLY close eye on her....and I'm about to drop either a TOTAL crackhead theory or I ruined the last trials reveal for myself AGAIN WHY DO I DO THIS

And NO ONE is to confirm this in any way okay, I don't wanna know if I'm right yet

But that being said;;;

Tsumugi is the Mastermind.

HEAR ME OUT

Every single character we've met so far actually had a solid act, I understood each of their roles in Danganronpa's favorite trope game but Tsumugi...is just weird.

She has no presence, and only talks to say something odd, and she's immediately glossed over at all times. I've looked over the characters trying to imagine each of them as the Mastermind and she's the only one who like,, feels like there's way more too her then just 'strange' and I've called the mastermind Every Single Game so I'm pretty sure,, I just fucked myself over,, my bad guys,,

Anyway putting her aside, the final results:

100% Survivors: Shuichi and Maki

Possible Survivors: Himiko or Angie

I want them to live so bad but they probably won't and I'm crying: Kokichi and Keebo

I'm sad about it but they're still gonna die: Miu, Korekiyo, Kaito, Gonta and Tenko

Sus: TSUMUGI

Alright now that I've revealed my thoughts on this I'd appreciate if everyone complied and didnt confirm anything I've said

These are just my personal thoughts and whether I'm right on the money or completely and utterly incorrect, I'd like to keep as much of it as a surprise as I can keep from my gremlin prediction brain so,,

Thanks for your understanding!

[ihassheepquake]

Stargirl 1.11 “Shining Knight” is out now on DCU & I’m here to talk about it.

This week, the DCU intro is accompanied by the sound of an old, medieval style battle, and seeing poor Sir Justin get shit on by some random farmer or whatever. Poor guy. This opening scene does a great job at pulling me into this narrative & character, I really wanna know more about Sir Justin and what’s going on with him. 

And then we pop over to Sam Kurtis?? Excuse me??? They’re very clearly trying to keep us from actually seeing his face for as long as they can get away with it, his first several shots are all specifically from the back. We don’t even get a side-profile.  And then we get to cut to Barbara being a part of the actual team, ya know. She immediately wants in on how to deal with Brainwave & the ISA. But now can finally see that Courtney’s dad is, in fact, not Starman. I can see how I, and I’m sure others, were tricked into thinking it’s really possible that it could Starman in the photo in Courtney’s locket. But as I’ve said when asked directly about it, it certainly makes a more interesting narrative for Courtney with her dad not being Starman, and I’m glad the show didn’t try and bullshit their way into creating this connection. I know Sam Kurtis is a real piece of shit in the comics so I’m interested to see how far the show will go with that, if at all. I mean, how much worse can they get? And now confronted with this reality, Courtney is shaken to her core, and immediately blames herself for Henry & Joey’s deaths, questioning why she puts on the costume and goes out, why she does anything she’s been doing this entire series. Everything Courtney think she knows about herself and about being Stargirl has been based on a lie she’s let herself believe. I’m really glad the show is willing to actually commit to this level of comic history., and I’m interested to see how far they’re willing to go.

As we cut back to Sir Justin, it really feels like he’s losing it. Whatever sent him here has clearly really affected him. It’s like his mind has been broken (which as M’gann would say, is easier to do than fixing a mind). If only Henry hadn’t been killed last week. 

I really like how Beth & Rick seem to just be hanging out at the Pit Shop (Pit Stop?). I’m not sure Pat called them there. And then Sir Justin shows up and thinks Pat is Dragon King, wild, and starts attacking. The visual affect of the group changing into DK and his weird cultists is pretty neat. As Pat tries to help Sir Justin remember who he is, and tells his story, I do wish Rick would be more supportive. At least Beth is willing to hear him out, and seems to believe him. Rick, baby, please work on your people skills. And this following a dragon, Dragon King? And then Brainwave fucked with his mind? Is this the ISA’s machine going wrong??

Henry King Sr isn’t acting at all like he cares about the fact that he just killed his own son last week. He’s even more intimidating than he was before. And now Jordan cares about how killing people affects their loved ones, where was that in episode three you arse? 

Courtney is really just not into this Sam bullshit, and I am here for it. She’s really giving him the cold shoulder, until they get back to the house. If this Sam Kurtis goes the same way as the comics, Courtney is going to be devastated. And he already seems to be going there, he’s after her locket. Maybe it’s the connotation's I have for the character, but he seems really iffy. Something is off about him. And maybe I’m right, maybe he is just trash in the show too. He gets Courtney’s locket and then he just dips. But I kinda think Courtney knows? Or at least doesn’t really believe him.

I bring it up every episode but I really love any moments with Barbara and the collective family. Especially now she’s in on the secret, and I hope Mike gets to be in on it soon too. Pat is, as always, a great dad for Courtney too. He’s really the best dad she could ask for her. It’s hard not to feel for Courtney, and it even hurts a little bit more seeing Barbara watching her daughter cry on Pat’s shoulder, knowing that she’s the reason Courtney has been exposed to this dude. And then Pat really gets Dad of the year when he goes and fucking deck’s Sam, the icon! 

We get a really sad moment between mother and daughter, and suddenly the Staff isn’t working anymore. It seems that the Staff has quit because Courtney has. As long as Courtney believes that she isn’t meant to be Stargirl anymore, the Staff will continue to deny her. She needs to return to one of her core character traits as chose to be Stargirl. She has to make the choice to continue Starman’s legacy anyway. The most powerful legacy’s are the ones that transcend the limitations of a simple bloodline. 

Hi, I need to take a break from my deeper musing and question why we get a whole memorial scene for Henry but not our baby boi Joey Zarick. It’s rude.

Okay, returning to my deeper musings. I think this line that Pat says, “heroes can come from anywhere” (which is definitely some quote from the comics but idk who says it there) is really what this show is about, and it’s exactly what Courtney needs to hear. She has to believe in herself, she has to believe that she can be the hero she has already been becoming. She has to make a choice And so she does. With Pat & Barbara behind her, she chooses to continue Starman’s legacy, to finish what he started, and when she does, the Staff chooses to work with her again. And it seems to be stronger than ever now. The glow is bright enough that both Pat & Barbara need to turn away, and we all know how the brighter something is, the stronger it is. Classic trope. 

Man fuck Jordan, out here having Mike killed too? I know he dies in the comics, and that’s a big thing for Courtney and her character, but I really hope the show doesn’t do that here. We’ve already killed two kids, we don’t need a third in this season. 

Alright, that’s where the episode ends. Not an action packed episode, but it honestly might be the best of the bunch. Next week the stage is set for the finale in 1.12 “Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. Part One” and as we can see in this weeks closing shot, we only have just over 12 hours until the ISA’s plan is enacted. Will the JSA be able to stop them before it happens, or will they have to try and find a solution after the fact. Get ready everyone, I can tell that this is going to be one hell of a finale.

[venii-vidii-vicii]

I'm back for the third time. Sorry if I'm annoying you with all my questions, I just think you have a fun way of answering. Thank you for answering them. (Also who else can we talk to about the Hardie boys lol) I agree with a lot of your points about Titus! He's indeed charming. This time I wanna ask; I noticed you ship Titus/Glen, and not just ship it, but it's your favorite ship. Why? Also I saw your post about backstories, Do you have any HC backstories for the HBs?

Trust me I enjoy talking about DA BOYS so it's no bother at all 💜

Hmm guess I'll start with the backstory question cuz then it's easier to explain the ship lol

Long post and spoilers ahead, obviously.

Alain basically has the most "backstory". We know he spent his entire life in and out of prison, being a part of gangs and basically fighting the system cuz he's edgy. (I kid. I love u Alain.) I guess things got really bad for him so he fled to Martinaise where he eventually met Titus and became a part of the Hardie boys.

Theo seems to be a veteran of sort. He's good with guns, he was the original leader of the Hardie boys, and he doesn't hesitate to put a bullet through you. His personality to me says that he's been through some shit that made him a little cold and somewhat detached.

Angie is probably just a kid who wanted to fit in. He had skills that benefit the group, and benefit them he did. But seeing how he lacks self-esteem and confidence, and how he suffers from severe anxiety, I would say Angie lived a life of being picked on and made to feel worthless, which clearly the Hardie boys try to fight and reassure him that he is important and loved.

Shanky just sounds like a fuckin thug to me idk what he's doing here. He's an actual asshole.

Eugene... big mystery. I honestly think about his story a lot but we literally have little to nothing to go on except his guitar pick. And he does play cuz sometimes he'll say he wishes he had his guitar:

My first thought about him was that he's probably not from Martinaise, but maybe he was a travelling musician or something and just has no where else to go. But also the fact that he's a good detective makes me think there's more to him than meets the eye. He's introverted, quiet, and honestly he might as well be a spy. Who fuckin knows. I think that its kind of weird when you notice the plectrum you say "forget it it's not important" but the fact that it was mentioned made me think it's actually very important, maybe it is to him. Maybe there's a certain skill that tells you why. If someone knows something, please tell me 😔 I love Eugene and I wanna know more about him

Glen and Titus: I think they have history. At least I like to think so. I imagine them being childhood friends. Two kids with big dreams, wanting to be something greater than this broken life they had.

Glen: I think Glen grew up in an abusive and neglectful house hold. Probably alcoholic dad, The type who threatens to gut you if you're not their image of right. The type that drilled certain ideas into Glen's head, a certain image of being a man. So when Glen realized he's not THAT kind of man, it really fucked him up. Gay, in denial, in an abusive home. It festered a lot of anger in him which eventually led him to being the unhinged "crazy homo" we see now. The guy is made of self loathing, depression, repressed homosexuality, and anger.

Titus: I think Titus had a military figure father or something like that, someone who made him feel very responsible. So he had to be "the man of the house" pretty early in his life, and look after his little brother.

He seems to have really just done a lot in his life, and he has the scars to prove it. Very ambitious, maybe a bit too ambitious that he's reaching for the sun and now he got burned. But he's clearly a fighter!

All the boys probably met through mutual interests, or at the work site. Eventually Theo might have grown too old so the leadership moved to Titus. They've been doing this for 10 years after all.

Why did the group form in the first place? I think there was a threat to Martinaise that was big enough for the group to be made. Maybe there were just way too many gangs and there was so much chaos. If Martinaise is bad now, imagine how terrible it must have been before the Hardie boys. The way Eugene describes it, it was pretty shitty

With that said, why do I like Titus/Glen?

Well first I'm a sucker for best friends to lovers trope.

Second, all the Hardie boys are close enough to shoot you on sight if you bully any of them, but Titus and Glen are obviously even closer than that. Titus loved Glen a lot, despite how "crazy" and unhinged he was. Though we personally don't see Glen at his best, and we only get hints about his chaotic personality, Titus saw something special in him. Something other than him being batshit crazy. And I like to think that Titus was his anchor that kept him from going completely psycho.

Titus is also the one who knows about Glen being gay, whether it's cuz Glen told him or because Titus just knows him that well.

Do I think Glen is as crazy as they make him sound? No. I think he's just a sad repressed gay who was exposed to too much violence, whether it was inflected on him, or just around Martinaise in general, which in turn made him aggressive and violent too. But Titus saw that Glen could use that for good, and use it for good he did. Plus, Titus is able to calm Glen down fairly easily and we see that a few times. All he has to say is "It's okay, Glen" and this bitch's demons are fuckin tamed.

Not to mention Glen kinda goes off whenever you say that Titus likes Klaasje, because naturally he's jealous. I don't mean that cuz he likes Titus or anything, it's because when you're someone like Glen and you meet someone who loves you with all your fucked up flaws, you kind of become clingy. He doesn't want to lose Titus even as his friend. The thought of Titus being close to someone else just grinds his gears.

The two of them just seem to have a strong connection, and they're each other's comfort. Titus sees Glen for the man inside the hard shell, and loves him despite his flaws. And Glen loves Titus just as much, because how can he not? He is loyal to Titus, and maybe I can even say he's even a good friend cuz something about him made Titus choose him over everyone else.

I love these two both as a platonic ship and as a romantic ship. They're positive but in a tragic way. Their (b)romance and love is unconditional. To meet someone who loves you and wants you to be a part of their life despite how chaotic you can be, despite how messed up you can be, it's a miracle and something we all wish we could have.

There's just no denying that they were incredibly close whether platonically or more.

I just think that's very cute and it's a powerful bond.

It's a lot like how Kim brings out the best in Harry and how he's his safe harbor

Glen's death almost brought Titus to tears (if he hasn't cried when he was alone of course)

Well Titus is to Glen what Kim is to Harry basically, except he's been that for a lot longer. If you had someone who is willing to go to hell and back with you, and die for you... what more could you ever need from someone?

It's just that, pure unconditional love, and a strong foundation of friendship that could make potentially the best of lovers.

So yeah. C: thanks for your curiosity anon 💜 I don't actually get to talk about my boys often so I'm glad when someone is interested haha.

[bigskydreaming]

Whats Nightwing and Deathstroke's dynamic? Why does it make you wince? Im not very familiar with it.

Nightwing and Slade actually have a really interesting and compelling dynamic in a lot of ways, that can be really good when written well and really terrible when not. My biggest issue is it is that its not sexual in the comics (Slade is a good thirty years older than him) or in other adaptations that have a version of it, like the Teen Titans cartoon. But fandom being fandom, Dick/Slade is a bigger ship than like, half his actual canon ships, so any new take on it always comes with a big sigh at all the new Dick/Slade shipping that’s gonna crop up or have a resurgence cuz of it. And I’m annoyed enough with YJ right now that I’m not giving them the benefit of the doubt that they’ll do anything new or interesting with it that’s worth having to wade through pages of new Dick/Slade noncon in the months afterwards. Its a ship that generates a lot of non-con fic in particular, or at least my old favorite, ‘dubcon’, with the dubious part of the consent referring to the fact that it usually involves mind control or brainwashing, both tropes that show up a lot in their interactions anyway. (Not that there’s anything dubious about this NOT allowing for consensual anything, just that people love to call it dubcon because….fuck if I know).

But anyway….in the comics, Deathstroke is a mercenary who’s one of the Titans’ earliest and most iconic enemies. Though at various times and depending on who’s writing him, he’s sometimes an antihero and even a semi-trusted ally of the Titans (usually with Dick specifically), other times a villain but with his own personal code of honor that means he won’t help the Titans or other heroes but he’ll refuse to take jobs that would pit him against them, and other times he’s full on remorseless and sadistic villain who hates them all and wants them all dead.

He also had three kids, his son Grant (the first Ravager), his younger son Joseph (Jericho) and his youngest, their half-sister Rose (the second Ravager). Basically, the first time he interacted with the Titans was when the supervillain group HIVE put out a contract to have the Titans all killed. Slade turned them down cuz of his personal honor code and how young the Titans were, but his son Grant accepted the contract in exchange for HIVE giving him superpowers to help him fulfill it. The process didn’t work right though, and when fighting the Titans, Grant’s powers overloaded and killed him.

Slade blamed the Titans for this, and vowed to finish the contract and kill them as some twisted way of honoring Grant. He doesn’t do Logic so good, well no, its more like he doesn’t really do parenting so good, as in he tends to have fuck all to do with his kids 364 days of the year, but then something bad happens to one of them and suddenly he thinks he’s Dad of the Year and going 0 to Homicidal in six seconds flat is the way to make up for all the times he’s let them down or screwed them over, instead of just…not Doing That.

So Slade recruited a young meta named Tara Markov (yup, that one) and trained her as his apprentice specifically to help him get revenge on the Titans. At his prompting, she joined the Titans as a spy for him, feeding him intel and plotting against them in one of the best known comicbook storylines of all time, The Judas Contract. It was up there with some of the X-Men’s best known stories like the Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past. (In the 80s actually, the Titans comic book was almost as popular as Uncanny X-Men at the time. Like way more than the Justice League. They were DC’s big hitters, popularity wise - specifically the lineup that for the most part was centered around Dick, Donna, Starfire, Beast Boy, Cyborg and Raven, with other members like the original Titans and later ones like Pantha and Wildebeest coming and going at various points in the 80s too).

Ultimately, Tara made her move and betrayed the Titans, enabling Slade to kidnap each of them one by one and turn them over to the HIVE….all except for Dick. In the meanwhile, he was approached by Slade’s ex-wife Adeline Kane - who has an equally all over the place dynamic with Slade, like sometimes she’s his worst enemy and other times she’s manipulating events behind the scenes to help him without him knowing, because she still loves him…it basically just depends on who’s writing her, same as with Slade. Also, Kane is Adeline’s maiden name, she’s distantly related to Kate Kane aka Batwoman in some extremely complicated manner I can never remember, but that’s mostly just trivia. I can’t remember a time its ever been relevant to a story, and it has nothing to do with Slade’s interactions with Dick.

ANYWAY. Point being, so Adeline, who blames and hates Slade at this time for their son Grant’s death, along with their other son Joey, seek out Dick and offer their help rescuing the Titans and defeating Slade. Joey is a metahuman as a result of Slade’s altered DNA (he has regenerative powers and is actually immortal, due to experiments the army did on him while he was a soldier). So Joey was born with powers although they didn’t activate until he was a young adult. His codename was Jericho and his power lets him possess peoples’ bodies. He’s also mute, and I’m half expecting him to show up in YJ fairly soon. If not this season then hinted at by the end of it. Also wouldn’t surprise me if they had plans to have him be gay in the YJ universe. He’s a character who was coded as gay practically from his debut. Joey/Dick is actually probably Dick’s oldest and most enduring slash ship, for the record.

So Joey works with Dick to rescue the Titans and defeat Slade, who’s captured and goes on trial for kidnapping the Titans. Joey ends up joining the Titans in the aftermath, and Adeline’s yay good, this was my Sekrit Plan all along, I did all this solely in the hopes that you would end up a superhero and have positive influences and not end up a murdering douchebag of flexible morality like your dad cuz fuck that guy, am I right Titans?

Did Adeline really just do all of that because she wanted her son to have more friends? Like…idk honestly it could go either way. Like….it IS the kind of thing she would do, tbh, so its as likely she was telling the truth as it is she just wanted to screw Slade one last time to avenge Grant and then was like hey if I take credit for my kid ending up a Titan now, I could probably play the “you owe me one” card later if I ever need to. Addy does like handing out “you owe me one” cards, just to be safe. Never know when you might need one.

The thing all this has to do with Dick is like, so it basically ended up being Dick versus Slade in the big finale, while Joey was rescuing the others and helping them face off against Tara. And for whatever reason - with multiple takes on this offered by multiple writers in the decades since - something about Dick just stuck with Slade and he’s had a kinda fascination with him ever since. Like he’s always talking about how much more he could teach Dick than what he already learned from Bruce, trying to convince him he’s got a killer instinct that Bruce just suppressed and its holding him back, blah blah, like saying he’s good, but Slade could make him great, so he surpasses both Bruce and Slade. TBH, he spends WAY more time obsessing about Dick and getting Dick to join him than he bothers paying attention to his own kids. 

It really isn’t inherently sexual though, its a weird kinda pseudo father/son, pseudo mentor/mentee type thing. And its not entirely one-sided, because Dick at various times IS…tempted? Kinda? Like whenever Dick’s having some kind of crisis of conscience, or he’s pissed at Bruce or is questioning the effectiveness of superheroes or why they do the things they do or what does it all matter blah blah blah like omg I love you Dick, I really do, but sometimes you are such a drama queen, my god, blast some My Chemical Romance, experiment with drugs and chill out already, its not that deep. (LOL I kid. Well mostly). But point being, every once in awhile something happens that puts Dick in a funk and makes him second guess himself, and he spends like….a month being convinced he should reinvent himself as the anti-Bruce, that’s the solution, and this usually sends him in search of Slade except he’s always like ‘OH FANCY MEETING YOU HERE, THIS IS TOTALLY RANDOM AND NOT ON PURPOSE’. 

And Slade likes to take any opportunity to try and convince him like BE A BAD GUY DICK, KILL PEOPLE FOR MONEY, ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE DOING IT. Except inevitably Slade does something that pisses Dick off and Dick snaps out of it and is like NO, IM A HERO AND THIS IS BAD, I REMEMBER NOW AND I’LL NEVER JOIN YOU, YOU’RE NOT MY REAL DAD I HATE YOU! And then they fight again, but with swords, not words, and then they’re like crap, we’re too well matched, this is going nowhere, you’re a worthy opponent, the only one I can truly respect, blah blah and then they call a breather and Slade’s like hey kid, wanna grab a beer and Dick’s like yeah but only if you promise not to kill anyone. And Slade’s like ugh fine.

And then Slade’s all, look kid, its been fun but its time you went home to your real family and your real life, this isn’t you, you’re a hero, I can’t try and turn you into something you’re not, its Wrong. And Dick’s like….umm yeah, I know, I literally JUST said that, how hard did I hit you? And Slade’s like NO SHHH, DONT TRY AND ARGUE, GO, YOU GO NOW, GO ON, LIVE YOUR LIFE, YOU DONT BELONG HERE IN THE DARK WITH ME, YOU’RE ONE OF THE GOOD ONES, GO BACK TO YOUR OWN KIND.

And Dick’s like no seriously dude, I already called my dad to come pick me up, what are you even on right now, are we having the same conversation?

Slade, sobbing paternally: I HAVE TO LET YOU GO, ALL I EVER DO IS HURT MY KIDS, I’M A TERRIBLE FATHER, ITS NO WONDER JOEY HATES ME.

And then Dick awkwardly slips out while Slade’s mid monologue, with his head thrown back yelling up at the sky and shaking his fists like WHY GOD WHY IS THIS THE WORLD WE LIVE IN WHY - because the thing about Slade is he’s actually even MORE of a drama queen than Dick, he just hides it better. Most of the time. But seriously tho.

Anyway yeah, this is like…a pattern with them basically. And Slade’s like, you’ve inspired me, I see in you the man I could’ve become, maybe even that I can still be, and he like doubles down on his personal honor code and becomes a Mercenary With A Heart for a couple years and even helps out the Titans every now and then (basically just whenever Dick’s in trouble and he goes on a killing spree, like NOBODY IS ALLOWED TO MURDER MY KIDS BUT ME - also by this point in time, Joey had died because Slade literally killed him, I forget why, it was a dumb story, but its okay Joey came back, its not like his name is Uncle Ben. But yeah, killing his kids is kinda a thing with Slade too, and he’s very proprietary about it).

And then he falls off the wagon and is like fuck, I forgot how much I like murder, ugh, you should have never tried to make me change, THIS IS WHO I AM, and Dick’s just like….I literally do not know where you’re getting these conversations from, like am I there when you think we’re having them, am I just blacking out…do I need to see a doctor??? And Slade’s like YOU WILL RUE THE DAY YOU EVER MET ME, GRAYSON, FROM NOW ON I AM THE TITANS’ MORTAL ENEMY and runs off all dramatically while Dick’s like…..wut, and all the other Titans are like srsly, dude, what is WITH you too, and Dick’s all I DON’T EVEN KNOW, HE’S JUST LIKE THAT.

In all seriousness though, ultimately my take on their dynamic is that for Slade, Dick’s a combination of seeing himself and Grant in Bruce and Dick’s dynamic, and its like….all about his regret and missed opportunities. Like, he tends to be super judgey of Bruce and critical of how he trains (and raises Dick) and passive aggressively like *I* would never do that and Dick just kinda lifts an eyebrow and is all, you’ve literally killed two of your three kids. 

But like, Slade kinda views himself as the anti-Batman and thus Dick is inadvertently cast as Grant, but its like Slade can never decide if he thinks Bruce is actually holding Dick back from his full potential and he wants to push Dick the way he thinks Bruce refuses to, or if like, he blames Bruce for getting Dick involved in this life, the same life that got Grant killed, and wants to protect Dick from Bruce and from the same thing happening to him. So its this weird mix of Slade manipulating Dick sometimes and pushing him way further than even Bruce ever does and saying its for his own good, but also randomly mixed in there are these bouts of extreme protectiveness, and there’s like zero rhyme or reason to which he is on any given day and there’s never any way to predict where Slade will land and so it always fucks with Dick’s head in a big way, he’s like…I’m getting whiplash.

And then on Dick’s end, like, the thing about Dick like I’ve mentioned before is he’s a huge people pleaser? Like he’s a very empathetic caretaker type personality who sinks a huge amount of his identity into being everything for everyone, to the extent that he tends to lose sight of himself in the process, sometimes. And he’s also a perfectionist who was raised with the most demanding father of all demanding fathers ever, and has a lot of abandonment issues and insecurities that Bruce’s mutant power is to trip over and set off in the worst possible ways.

And so I think the reason Dick keeps seeking Slade out every now and then is not because he ACTUALLY wants to ever take Slade up on his offer and genuinely become his apprentice or partner and like, turn his back on how he was raised. I think the point of it for Dick is the fact that each and every time he ends up affirming for himself no, wait, this ISN’T actually what I want, I just needed to be reminded of that, to remember that. That he always pulls himself back before going too far. And at the same time, I do think on some level he likes that Slade is this kinda constant in his life, that at the end of the day Slade is like…so fixated on his potential and his achievements and his worth as a fighter and a hero, because like….Dick Grayson is a person who craves validation but will never ask for it ever. 

And he’s one of those people who everyone is just so USED to liking without even thinking about it that it never occurs to them when talking amongst themselves about how great he is, that they forget to say this to his actual face? And so he never hears it? And never asks for it, because gasp, then people might think he’s needy, and that would be bad, so he mostly just goes and sulks in his apartment about how nobody likes him and he’s terribad. Except for Slade. Slade always compliments him on what a good fighter and what a good planner and what a good leader he is, so hmm wonder what he’s doing. He hasn’t committed any crimes in six months and I can’t find any reason to track him down and bring him in? Ugh, that asshole. Okay, ummm, I guess I could tell him I’m thinking of turning evil again, I haven’t done that in a couple years, he’d probably buy it.

And then later Bruce is pacing around the Batcave wrathfully shaking his fist, like “Damn that man and his sick hold over my son, if only I knew how he keeps getting his hooks into you!”

And Dick basically shrugs and plays games on his phone. “He mostly just tells me I’m special, and that’s nice to hear.”

Bruce, still pacing and ranting and fist shaking: “What kind of evil genius is he, how master a manipulator he must be to be able to get inside your head and upend your normal views of right and wrong, to make you entertain these ideas of working with him, learning from him…”

Dick: No its seriously just the saying nice things about me bit. I like that.

Bruce: If only I had a code word or phrase I could use to snap you out of whatever brainwashing he seems to be able to affect you with any time you come near him, perhaps some kind of alien tech….

Dick: You could try “I’m proud of you, son.” I mean if you’re taking suggestions.

Bruce: There’s also the possibility of a magical component to consider, blast, I hate working with magic so of course he WOULD do something like that, ugh I suppose I could ask Zatanna or Jason Blood for help there…

Dick: Cool cool, well this has been a fun and productive chat as always, so you keep doing…all that…and meanwhile I’m gonna go ponder my fixation on father figures who are 100% more committed to obsessing over their failures as a parent than like…actual parenting of their actual kids.

Bruce, ten minutes later: Dick? Where are you? DID SLADE GET TO YOU AGAIN? RIGHT UNDER MY NOSE? CURSE THAT MAN AND HIS UNNATURAL SKILLS, HOW DOES HE DO IT??!?

Anyway, that’s Slade and Dick. There’s also the whole Renegade thing, when Dick asked for Slade’s help in infiltrating the Society of Super Villains in his fake villain identity as Renegade, with you know, lots of Slade trying to corrupt him and also trying to murder any supervillains who looked as his not!son the wrong way. 

And then there was the time Slade brought his daughter Rose to Dick to train and said he couldn’t teach her himself because his track record with training his kids and them not ending up dead is like, not good, and he’s superstitious or something? Idk, I forget his logic, it was probably bad though.

And Slade was like, I only trust you to be a competent teacher for my daughter, I want you to teach her everything you know! Except for like, being a hero. None of that nonsense. I FORBID you from trying to make my daughter into a hero or the deal is off. (The deal being that if Dick did this, Slade would not do crime in Dick’s city for a year).

And Dick was like, you got a deal. I will train Rose but there will be NO trying to make her a hero, I swear. /he said while crossing his fingers behind his back because duh.

And Slade was like okay, fine, you got a deal, I will absolutely still do crime and be villainous but only in every place except for Bludhaven specifically. /he said while crossing his fingers behind his back because duh.

And then Dick tried to make Rose a hero and then Slade blew up Bludhaven and that was definitely a thing, so…yeah.

In summation, Slade and Dick are weird but also very interesting but also if we get another rehash of the Renegade/apprentice arc aka the Teen Titans cartoon adaptation of that story aka the single most popular Dick Grayson fic trope of all time, like….I swear I will probably get a brain bleed.

[erratic-erotica]

When You Dare (Dicks Out For Harambe)

What up, bitches. It’s me (DD) again, hittin’ hard and fast with another one.

Caveat:  I did actually more or less enjoy this one, so it won’t be nearly as scathing as the one for Hard Night: Penis Patrol.

Anyway, without further ado, here comes When You Dare by Lori Foster.

ALTERNATE TITLE: CROUCHING CHEST HAIR, (BARELY) HIDDEN PENIS

So, When You Dare starts out with our hero, Dare McIntosh (aka Biceps McGee) out on an extraction mission in Tijuana to recover his friend’s sister, Alani, who has been kidnapped by human traffickers. Sucks, man.

So he busts into to where this poor girl is being held, casually executing the Expendable Guards, and is like “TADAAA. HERE I AM TO SAVE THE DAY,” which, you know...valid.

A couple of the other girls being held there just sort of…flee into the night. As you do. But besides the girl he’s there to get, there’s another one who is clearly in bad shape. And so Biceps McGee does what any noble hero would do given the circumstances and goes, “Well. Don’t mind if I do, then,” and just fucking…takes her with him?

So after delivering Alani, Biceps McGee is just like, “Shit. What do I do with this woman?”

Woman solves this conundrum by waking up and kicking him straight in the face.

That’s what you do with this woman, my dude. You get kicked in the face.

Anyway, Biceps McGee is not a doucheyacht, so he’s like, “Alright, fair play to you, lady.” He explains he’s a Good Guy and has smuggled her back over the border, and would she like to go to the police, a hospital, or a hotel?

Lady opts for hotel (because shower), and I honestly can’t be all too judgy about that? I’d want to shower, too, after being kidnapped and beaten for nine days.

Lady introduces herself as Molly Alexander (hereafter Self-Effacing Heroine), and she doesn’t want to make a police report just yet, because she is actually a famous writer (no really, Ryan Reynolds is attached for the film adaptation of her book) and can’t believe she was abducted by accident…which means someone in her life is no good asshole.

So let’s meet our suspects:

Self-Effacing Heroine’s ex-fiancé, Adrian: they broke up over her not buying him new rims for his car, I guess.

Daddy Warbucks: Heroine’s rich and snooty father who is just all about appearances, to which heroine and her younger sister have never measured up. He also drove Self-Effacing Heroine’s mom to suicide and then married himself a new, equally obsessed with appearances Stepford Wife.

Readers: APPARENTLY, Heroine did a bad and ended up putting in a plot twist that nobody liked, and now she’s just fucking swimming in death threats! Oops!

“Cool,” I said to myself at this point, “It’s probably the step mom. No need to stray too far from the Evil Stepmother trope.”

After her first shower in like a week and a half, heroine goes, “Hey, dude, you’re like, the only person I can trust right now. Big ask, but could you maybe help me find out who arranged this?”

And Biceps McGee is like, “Sure. Wait. Why did I say sure? I was gonna drop you off somewhere and wash my hands of this mess. Is this what having feelings is like?”

After some nighttime snuggling due to nightmares (also justified), Biceps McGee and Self-Effacing Heroine are off for Kentucky, because that’s where Biceps McGee lives, on his palatial lakeside estate, with his two Labradors that he calls “his girls” and his live-in gay personal assistant-slash-best-friend, Chris.

Heroine has a nice vacay there for a bit, doing some writing and hanging out with dogs, doing her damnedest not to get in the way and to be a good guest. She has another Convenient Nightmare, which justifies another sleepover (just sleeping, hand to god).

Did I mention that Biceps McGee can cook? Because that’s honestly the sexiest part of any hero. It’s nice you got biceps and all but fucking feed me.

Eventually, around page 200 or so, there is finally a by-the-docks snog sesh. Whoooooooop, whooooooooooop. SOUND THE SMUT ALARM. Except, no. Just, like – the fingering whistle. Maybe a kazoo? I’ve got it: the FINGERING HURDY-GURDY.

And Biceps McGee is just like:

Anyway, Biceps McGee has a little tête-à-tête with Self-Effacing Heroine’s father to determine if he’s behind it all, presumably while looming threateningly. Every girl wants to get with a guy who threatens to destroy her father, after all.

Then they book it back to bumfuck, Ohio, where Heroine is from, to do some more pro-level investigating. Self-Effacing Heroine and Biceps McGee have just returned to her apartment (to find it trashed, natch).

But, THEN! Surprise appearance by ex-fiancé, who comes in while macking on some rando. Of course, Biceps McGee and Heroine are all like, “DAFUQ, DUDE.”

Ex-fiancé helpfully explains that, well, he came by to check on Self-Effacing Heroine and maybe try to get back together (???????) and since she had just up and disappeared, he took it upon himself to use her apartment as a shag pad.

Gross. Anyway, after some strange flirtation with Biceps McGee in front of her ex, presumably to evoke jealousy, they toss him and his rando out, and proceed to bang it out. Extra gross, my dudes. Change your sheets, first. Jesus. You don’t know where your ex has been at this point. This is also the point in the plot where Biceps McGee definitely catches feelings like they might as well be an STI.

Shortly thereafter, Self-Effacing Heroine’s sister sneaks in the apartment, too. Clearly, Heroine’s apartment is just the hottest joint in town. Sister has brought her boyfriend, who is ex-FBI, and currently a private detective. How perfectly fucking convenient. Anyway, not much comes of this. Sister is apparently the only person who knew/cared that Self-Effacing Heroine went missing for over a week, and she was just, like, hella worried and shit.

This development is followed by more smut, this time in the bathroom! Guys, that is dangerous. Do not try this at home! You will straight-up kill yourselves, and I will laugh at you. At least they eventually have the good sense to move the party back to the bedroom, with no more inconveniently-timed surprise visitors.

The next day they decide it’s about time to confront Daddy Dearest one more time, because he’s got some sketchy business connections. It’s also about the time that Biceps McGee just kinda casually drops the, “Hey, why don’t you come home with me and we’ll see where this thing goes?” line.

Of course, Self-Effacing Heroine is all like, “HOT DAMN. I mean, I can work from anywhere.”

So it’s off to Daddy’s mansion they go at last, and there they are met by Stepford Wife/Stepmother Kathi (with an i!).

Daddy Dearest rebukes Self-Effacing Heroine for showing up uninvited because he is just so dreadfully ashamed that she got herself kidnapped and shit. Won’t anyone think of his reputation?!

Biceps McGee is like, “Come at me, bro,” because ain’t no one talking down to Baby Girl. Ain’t no one. There’s some more familial bickering, but ultimately they leave Daddy’s house again, because Biceps McGee doesn’t actually think Daddy had anything to do with it, even if he is a piss-poor father.

But Daddy’s got suspicions of his own, which are, shortly thereafter, confirmed. It was Stepford Wife/Stepmom Kathi with an i all along. For those of you playing along at home, the score is DD: 1, Novelists: 0.

Although it is not directly stated in the story, I prefer to imagine Kathi-with-an-i with crazy eyes at this point in the story. She did it all for her husband’s reputation! Self-Effacing Heroine’s books are depraved! What would the neighbors think?! Also, she’s been sleeping with some other dudes, but she did it for love and continuing social position!

But Daddy Dearest is just like, “Get thee hence, hoebag,” and just pawns her off on the police or something, idk. He’ll never be a contender for father of the year, what can I say.

Meanwhile, Biceps McGee and Self-Effacing Heroine have arrived back in Kentucky (but why Kentucky, my dude? You are like, hella rich), reuniting with Chris and the dogs.

But wait. Stepmomfordwife Kathi had one more trick up her sleeve! A bomb or some shit goes off, and it’s chaos all around! Luckily, no one is seriously injured. And Self-Effacing Heroine takes a trip back into the flaming house to retrieve Biceps McGee’s doggo, thereby cementing her place in his heart F O R E V E R.

The bad guys are quickly subdued, because you don’t fuck with Biceps McGee and Company.

We close on “Hey, let’s pick out rings,” because it’s always a great idea to marry someone you’ve known for about a week. Everyone knows trauma bonding is the basis of true love!

All in all, porn with (fairly decent) plot and enjoyable. I give it a 5 out of 6 and a half inches.

Until next time!

[prkrc]

hey there demons! it me, sam! this is just parker’s same old intro edited with some updates and wanted / taken connections, so feel free to take a look if you’re interested! messaging me @ellvie is probably easiest!

DISCLAIMER: this is a sideblog so i might post stuff to the wrong acc sometimes js

so, this guy right here…riley ignatius parker-warrington…will throw hands if you call him anything other than parker. it’s what everyone calls him. you gotta be really special to call him riley and not immediately get decked for it. tbh most people probably think parker is his first name anyway so! moving on

parker was born to a wealthy family in a small but affluent village called alderley edge in cheshire, england. he’s the youngest of four sons so he has three older brothers.

his family, the parker-warringtons ( known more commonly as the warringtons ) are stupid rich. it hurts me to think about it askdh. they’re basically the british rockefellers. parker’s great x6 granddad started the family business back a couple centuries ago and nowadays they’ve got their hands in everything from business to architecture to real estate to education to oil…they own a lot of stuff. the warrington building in downtown london was completely made up just now is basically the rockefeller center of the uk. 

the family drama has been highly publicized in the uk & europe for longer than anyone can remember at this point, but not as much in america. 

anyway, parker spent his early years sheltered and pampered and homeschooled by tutors and nannies bc his parents never had time for him but it’s whatever he got over it really early on in life.

parker’s always been a huge troublemaker with a restless nature so his wealthy, uptight, lowkey shady af parents who are obsessed with the family’s image could never really deal with him and eventually decided to just ship him off to boarding schools all over europe, just one after the other after the other bc he kept getting kicked out lmao.

about the only thing he enjoyed about his childhood and schooling were his music lessons. he was taught to play piano, violin, and even the harp. other things like math and history and science didn’t come easily to him at all, but music? he was great at it and he’s always loved it. during his teen years while away at boarding school was when he first procured an electric guitar and learned to play. along with that, he also discovered punk music, aka the greatest thing in the entire fucking universe if you ask him. far as music goes, he’d found his calling in his early teenage years.

at school he was basically that rebellious kid in all the movies who wore doc martens with his prim & proper school uniform and carried around a pocket knife and cut class to go smoke while vandalizing school property and would absolutely fuck up some prissy pretty boy’s face just for looking at him the wrong way.

literally the only reason he actually graduated rather than flunking out was because his father was able to pull some strings aka bought his very last boarding school a whole new library wing. parker did actually consider running away a few times, but there was a part of him really reaaaaally deep down that actually enjoyed some aspects of school ( though he very strongly believes many education systems across the world need a serious overhaul and blahblahblah don’t ask him unless you want a lecture ). anyway, the moment he was done with school, he did finally skip out on…well, everything and everyone and ditched the country altogether, heading out first to seattle washington, then to los angeles, california, and then he finally settled in new york city when he was twenty years old, meaning that he’s lived in nyc for the last three years!

started his band, rabid porcupine, right after moving to the city. they’re a punk band, popular among the subculture and virtually unknown to everyone else. parker is the lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter, overall face of the band but don’t get it twisted he could never go solo his whole band is important to him.

his parents have threatened to cut him off & disinherit him about a billion times but will probably never actually do it even though they see him as a huge disgrace to the family name. they call sometimes but he never picks up. if anybody asks he’d probably say that he hates his family but he honestly doesn’t. i don’t think he’s capable of hate lmao. he doesn’t like them and he’d rather stay away from them bc he and his family just do not get along, but at the end of the end of the day, v deep down he has like….a teeny tiny molecule of affection for them even though his family is 100% genuinely awful people

so, parker left nyc for a bit! even though it was only like a week ago in real time i wanna say he’s actually been gone for about two to three months maybe? idk but he went back to england in a rush, just kinda vanishing overnight as he tends to do.

he told no one where he was going or that he was even leaving at all. not even his roommate or…the person he’s very attached to, stas. he didn’t wanna tell anyone why he had to leave.

BUT WE’RE ALL GONNA FIND OUT RIGHT HERE AND NOW SURPRISE! his dad died. yikes. now they had a very…complicated relationship. parker hated his father and his father hated him. tbh his death wouldn’t have been enough for parker to go all the way back to england bc he fucking hates it there if it weren’t for the fact that his dad was pulling some fuck shit from the grave.

long story short, he left the family company to parker in his will. not the family, not his wife, not any of his other three sons. nope. the whole ass billion dollar company, every single subset, everything…was left to one riley ignatius parker-warrington.

naturally he was fucking furious. he hates the family business, he hates their company, he hates office work, and he hates knowing that his father only did it to spite him. he immediately attempted to get rid of the company. tried selling it, just straight up giving it away, even driving it into the ground lmao. just, anything to get it off of his hands and out of his responsibility but nothing has worked so far.

and that’s why he’s back in nyc! he wants a lawyer’s opinion so what i think parker is gonna do here? lowkey try to sneak into town, get some help from a lawyer he trusts and then leave without anyone else noticing or knowing that he was in town at all because he absolutely does not want to be here and he especially doesn’t wanna show his face. too bad for him!

lemme…stop? and just give you a few quick facts bc this is getting super long who’s even still reading this?

looks like he could kill you and could actually kill you

he hasn’t been home in like five years but he still has the heaviest most posh british accent you will ever hear in your life + he knows he’s fulfilling a stereotype here but he doesn’t care he fuckin loves tea

his three older brothers are named sebastian, nikolai, & rian. he doesn’t get along with any of them but he and rian he by far has the worst relationship with rian, his identical twin who’s a few minutes older. unlike most stereotypical twins they’ve literally never been in sync, have never gotten along and have probably beaten each other up before.

his family is big on modern day arranged marriages but you can miss parker with that bullshit he will date whoever he wants

that being said i think he’s probably…straight? idk tho & like who’s really straight anymore honestly

most people think that he’s a jerk bc he’s incredibly standoffish and temperamental but he’s actually…not that bad? like he’s sure he’s permanently grumpy but he also holds the door open for people and says thank you to janitors and probably helps old ladies across the street and would literally rather die than be rude to wait staff in a restaurant

seemingly very passionate about everything always openly expresses his emotions. he doesn’t…know how to hide them? he doesn’t know how to pretend like he doesn’t care?

adrenaline junkie, reckless af & likes to party but isn’t into hard drugs. he’s tried once or twice but just really isn’t a fan. he smokes & drinks & smokes weed sometimes but that’s it

very observant and good at reading people

basically the walking talking rl embodiment of the jerk with a heart of gold trope.

knows he’s not the easiest person to befriend but if you are his friend, then he’s gonna be loyal af, the realest ride or die of all time

however, he tends to take the tough love route when he’s trying to help someone out. like just bc you’re his friend he’s not gonna coddle you bc you’re upset he’s gonna tell you how to how to deal with your problems & emotions

which is funny bc lmao he’s angry af 1000% of the time. will throw hands anytime anywhere

so to the surprise as nobody he took up boxing as a kid and to this day it’s the only sport he cares about at all. he still boxes once or twice a week as a hobby & it’s probs pretty good for him tbh

also took a lot of music lessons back in the day. he’s actually a very talented pianist who probably could’ve gone on to play professionally if he stuck with it but nah. he likes the guitar. you’ll probs never catch him playing the piano which is a shame bc he honestly is a beautiful pianist :/

worked as an auto mechanic before he committed to his band full time but highkey misses it sometimes. he still likes cars & absolutely loves motorcycles, will talk about them all day with you if you want.

he has a motorcycle which pretty much built it himself from scratch and it’s just…it’s literally his child ok he will freak if you so much as lay a hand on his motorcycle ok /f r e a k/ like don’t even look at it the wrong way

feminist af

parker is grumpy and angry and standoffish but look he really is and really tries to be a decent guy. anyone who knows him well would see that very clearly and honestly, that’s probably why they stick around even though he can be difficult.

CONNECTIONS

family

future step sibling - genesis iver

maternal cousin, don’t get along - open.

paternal cousin, basically the only family member he likes - ingrid larson

romantic

ex girlfriend / highkey in love - anastasia sangster

ex on good terms - open.

ex on bad terms - open.

former toxic on / off relationship - open.

fwb - maia kauri.

former fwb - open.

platonic

best friend / ride or die - mason grey

roommate - open. please check the main for info on this wc!

close friends - reese monroe, kennedy drakos, isla thompson, open to more.

friends -  warren daily, marnie almeida, sullivan ramsey, alexandra blakely, cameron jones, open to more.

unlikely friends - wren daily, open to more.

frenemies - rosalind cox, jake carver, open to more.

attempted good influence - logan van kamp

workout buddy - willow sparks

negative

enemies - lukas donovan, open to several. parker is a goblin so he could’ve pissed someone off for many reasons

ex friends - jay weston, open to more.

doesn’t like / trust - lex sinclair

since this is officially a novel i think it’s time for me to sTOP LMAO. i have no specific wc in mind but i’d love to plot so please feel free to message me if you’re interested! as always i’m super excited to plot and write with everyone!