#did not like the cat woman character assassination

[tim-drake-scholar]

Sorry but Tim referring to Bruce as “dad” kills me bc I think he’s like 18/19 here so he’s only been legally adopted for a couple years or so? They really are all siblings and they really are a family! I love that Damian looks so confused about physical affection!!

[deadsetobsessions]

Once more the hallucinations hit, and once more I am here writing it out.

My brain is fucking terrifying and I want out, so bad. This came to me in the form of a nightmare.

Also, please don’t take the timeline into consideration, because I have no idea what’s going on. Again, nightmares and dreams tend to not have the best coherency when it comes to plot and timelines. The reincarnation doesn’t have a name, I was too busy feeling terrified. Shit in parentheses was how I experienced the nightmare. Everything else is just me adding sprinkle sprinkle.

——

Ra’s al Ghul.

Talia al Ghul.

Two names that she had been aware of, in the peripherals of her hyper fixation. Two characters meant to enhance the story of the Dark Knight. Side characters, on a good day. Perhaps, a main antagonist on a better day.

On a bad day?

Main characters. Real, living people. Real, living, breathing assassins.

Unfortunately, they’re her new family. One she remembered coming into, bathed in a pool of blood and screams.

She was not a baby.

She is now, a baby. The first of Talia al Ghul’s children. The eldest, once Damian al Ghul was born.

Swaddled in emerald green and gold silks, she was presented to a man with silver streaked hair and a receding hairline. He too, was robed in green and golds.

“A daughter, Talia?” He rumbled, the smooth Arabic flowing out of his mouth failing to hide the acrid disappointment. The child, past the haze of confusion of suddenly being deported from her own adult body into one of a helpless child, felt a stirring of irritation. It’s good she learned the language, because now she knew exactly how Ra’s felt about her. The child grumbled a displeased sound. Not that she would have ignored the fact that her grandfather was Ra’s al Ghul. (He smelled like moth eaten fabric and blood- but I think that was because my cat accidentally scratched me.)

“My apologies, father.”

“Do not tell the young detective of this. Had it been a son, perhaps things would have been different. No, a daughter would only hinder him.”

Talia bowed, hands tightening on her daughter. “May I raise her, father?”

“A resource is still a resource. Go ahead, Talia.”

“Yes, father.” Talia took the dismissal and bowed before leaving.

On her way back to the room with the reincarnation’s crib, Talia al Ghul stroked her daughter’s head.

“I wish you were born a boy, my daughter. I am sorry my beloved will never know of you.”

The reincarnation looked at her new mother. She’s young, the woman-child realized. A teenager.

“You’ll have to be useful, my daughter. Your grandfather is not so kind as to keep the useless. I… do not wish for your death,” her mother muttered.

Great. She got new life and it’s already in danger.

——

She learned to swing a knife. Swords. She learned and devoured the teachings. She learned to be useful.

But then they asked her to take the life of a man who did her no wrong.

Her baby blues clashed with her grandfather’s Lazarus green.

She was still young. A child.

“No.”

“No?”

“He did no wrong.”

“He failed, granddaughter.” Ra’s smiled down at her, patronizing. Cruel. “Perhaps you possess your father’s heart, and you are foolishly sentimental, as women and children tend to be. But in the end, you are an al Ghul and you will obey. Plunge in your blade and I will reward you.”

The reincarnation looked at the man kneeling in front of her, resignation and a hint of pity in what little she could see of his face.

She’s already died before. What did she have to be afraid of?

“No.”

They tried to beat the weakness out of her. It didn’t work.

——

The reincarnation stared at the mirror, left alone in an opulent cage of gold and emeralds and precious stones that meant little to her now.

Her hands traced her back, small fingers finding purchase in soft skin. Her mouth opened fruitlessly, noise refusing to escape. She still felt the burning magic, the brand her own blood had carved into her skin and soul because she refused to kill. The chains her grandfather had shackled around her with magic and cruel amusement.

She had killed him, in the end. Obey, or be punished. Her body had moved without her permission, the reincarnation a prisoner in a body that refused to do as she commanded. The knife swung, a life taken, her hands dipped in red.

She learned a valuable lesson that day.

There were things worse than death.

“This is an order, granddaughter.”

The Magic had flared a searing heat at her neck, forcing her to kneel on broken legs. Ra’s loomed above, authority in his voice. She was bound to obey, regardless.

“You will never speak another word of affection, you will never speak another word to anyone unless I allow it. Perhaps this will teach you of your folly, and your place in this world.”

The loss of her freedom and the fear that came with it was a bitter and devastating lesson.

——

Ra’s al Ghul was so much worse than what little she knew of him.

She was right to be afraid for herself.

Her mother had worried, when she’d withdrawn and refused to speak to her. Even if she could, the reincarnation would not have wanted to. The reincarnation had felt furious, back then, when she thought of Talia. Her mother who refused to protect her. Her mother, who claimed she loved her but refused to see the chains Ra’s wrapped around her neck. She who plied the reincarnation with a supportive hand but forced her into the fighting pits.

But, as the reincarnation stumbled out on bruised and used legs from Ra’s al Ghul’s meeting chambers where he had allowed his business partners to partake in her, she realized that Ra’s was a monster in a human’s body and her mother was a victim of his making.

The lesson Ra’s taught her that day was that if she was not useful, if she did not kill, he would take what was left of her and make use of her.

Hate flared in her heart, and the beginning of Ra’s downfall began the day he let her go from the chambers alive. Injured, but alive. Injured and violated, but alive and furious.

——

She carved her hate and rage and helplessness and fear in the bodies of the people he bid her to kill. Her silenced screams were expressed in the way she splattered blood, the way she covered herself in it. A killing machine first, a stress reliever second, and a child… wasn’t on the list of things she was allowed to be.

His enemies were felled, one after another. He gave her his approval, something she detested.

But still, she continued, bodies racking upwards, tens turning to hundreds, hundreds edging into thousands.

The red in her ledger became ichor and guilt. Her language became violence and obedience.

“You have become a sharp tool, granddaughter.”

She was a genius, after all. And now, she could not disobey. A blade that Ra’s believed will never point towards him. She kneeled. She obeyed.

“Thank you, grandfather.” Her words were only allowed to come out- without searing, terrible pain- when she was thanking him. She tried not to do it as often as he wanted. He thought he broke her when he read the obedience she carved into her body language.

But she never bowed. Never. Not to him. Never.

——

“My weapon could learn much from your granddaughter,” David Cain sat across from Ra’s, wine in their stupid goblets. How she detested the green and blacks he’s seen fit to dress her with. She’s dressed provocatively, not of her own choice. She doesn’t have much of those- doesn’t have much in ways of choices- these days.

She was twelve, and Ra’s al Ghul deserved to die.

“Her combat is a higher form of what my daughter has achieved. How did you do it?”

When Ra’s began to reply, she slipped away.

She found the girl. She found… the cage- the black box- the child was placed in. The child flinched from her when she opened the metal box, fear only easing as the reincarnation kept her body language neutral and kind. (It was pitch black, and about the size of like, a closet. No light. Only from whatever door the box had.) (Cass’ hands hurt from banging on the walls to be let out)

David Cain’s daughter, her mind whispered, the memories of another life once more making itself known.

“Cassandra.” She whispered, regretting it immediately when pain wracked her body. She fell to her knees as the punishment for disobeying an order slammed into her.

The girl looked at her in concern, but did not move closer. The reincarnation stared at this girl and saw a reflection of herself.

David Cain would be here for a month. She will free Cassandra in those days.

——

The weapon stared at the girl in front of her, kneeling in pain.

She did not understand.

-

The girl came back. Water. Food. Kind.

The weapon felt warm. The girl was quiet. No sounds. Good. The weapon knew the girl understood. The weapon thinks that the girl is a weapon too.

-

The girl comes back, again. This time, she makes a sound. It hurt her, but she did it again. The weapon understands when the girl points at herself and repeats the sound. The sound means the girl. The girl expects something from the weapon.

The weapon makes the sound, flinching to see if the owner will come to punish it. The girl purposefully sits, relaxed but vigilant… and protective. Of the weapon?

The weapon relaxed. It repeated the sound, pointing at the girl.

The girl smiles, in pain. But approval. The weapon feels- the weapon is warm, like under the blanket. Approval.

The girl teaches her to make sounds but the weapon communicates without it. It does not like the sounds, does not need them, but the girl seems to think it’s important.

The weapon likes the girl, so the weapon learns. They still understand through no sounds, through reading each other.

-

The girl comes back, silently. Secretly. The weapon does not notify the owner. The weapon feels- does not want to.

The girl- the girl with the sound- she says a different sound. Her body tells the weapon that it’s important, this sound.

And when the girl points at herself and says her own sound, then points at the weapon and says that new sound again, the weapon begins to understand.

The girl had given the weapon her own sound.

“Cass—n- ra.”

“Cass,” the girl said, and Cassandra understood.

“Cass.” Cassandra pointed to herself.

-

The owner wanted- wanted Cassandra to end a life. Cassandra watched the owner kill and gesture to the dead thing.

Cassandra did not want to.

When Cassandra is placed back into the pitch black box, she waited for the girl.

The girl came.

“Don’t want.” Cassandra clung to her, reading the welcome and the sadness in the girl’s body. Cassandra tucked her face into the girl’s shoulder. She is cold. The girl is warm.

The girl hugged her back. The girl understood. Sadness hardened into lines of determination. Cassandra felt… light. Felt hope.

-

Cassandra slipped away from the place, water in her pack for the dessert and money to run from the country. The girl stayed behind, seeing her off. The girl tells her to never come back.

Cassandra did not want to leave the girl behind, but the girl could not go.

“Be free, Cass.” The girl had whispered through the pain. “For the both of us.”

——

Her grandfather knew. He allowed David Cain to break her, not kill because she was of use to him still, as a lesson. She found that she hated his lessons. But, she hated his attention more.

And still, she could not regret. How could she, when Cass trusted her with what fragile hope she had?

So, she lets him beat her, and provokes him with smirks and fearless eyes because the longer he’s focused on her, the more time Cass has to run.

Then, he gets too angry, and insults Ra’s, whose eyes grew cold. Her grandfather gestured and while she usually hated the command that followed that gesture, she could not feel that hatred now.

She got back up, legs broken and arms twisted once more, and attacked David Cain.

Ra’s would not follow Cass. Not when she was not his business to deal with, and not when David Carin’s fury amused him so.

David Cain would not follow Cass. Not while she still drew breath. The reincarnation stood, and threw herself at one of the best assassins of the century.

She tore his throat out with nothing but her teeth. She felt, for once, not like a monster. Not even when Ra’s nodded in approval and ordered for David Cain’s broken body to be cleaned up.

——

She’s been granted a mission in New Jersey, once her months of discipline- of torture- ended. She does not get ordered to find Cassandra. She’s fourteen now, and as silent as ever. Her mother had adjusted to her silence by then- long ago, actually, taking it as a quirk her daughter had developed. She hadn’t been a terribly vocal child, after all. Talia praised her for being useful even as a woman- the self degradation something the reincarnation had no doubt Ra’s had insidiously trained into Talia- and for being loyal to Ra’s.

Sometimes, she hates Talia for being- for-

Never mind. She couldn’t afford to hate anyone else.

She killed her targets early, determination and wistfulness urging her movements into sharp . Then, she made her way to Gotham and slipped into the city of darkness- where her father was.

She watched as he hid in the shadows almost as easily as she did. She watched as he flew and glided with the younger Robin. (He was younger than her by a year. She checked.) He was free. They were free.

She wished…

As she turned away, she saw a child tumbling from the edge of a roof. It was an instinct she’d thought Ra’s had managed to bury after the months he’d spent making sure she killed only children.

She hated him.

She caught him, swooping in and tucking him against her side as she plucked him from the air and plopped him back onto the crumbling roof of Gotham’s slums.

“Oh, thank you! So much- are you a vigilante?” The boy asked, looking at her masked face. It’s a good thing she wasn’t exactly dressed like a regular League operative.

She shook her head. Her eyes fell onto his camera, faint memories rising once more. She had an inkling-

“I’m- uh- Tim!” The boy introduced himself nervously, edging away from her silence. “Thank you for saving me…?”

She nodded. She pointed to the camera, tilting her head.

“Oh- you… want to see it?” He clutched his camera closer. Oh, he did have some sense of self preservation. She wondered why a seven year old was allowed to roam these streets… but she did worse at seven.

She held her hand up and back up. The boy hesitated, and then showed her the camera. “Uh- I took pictures of Robin and Batman!”

They sat on that roof for hours, and she let Tim Drake tell her stories about her father and his son. Ward. Son.

She could tell that Tim didn’t have anyone to listen to him.

She didn’t have long until she had to go back or risk severe punishment, but… she could make time for Tim, to listen to him.

She wondered if Cass managed to escape completely. She wondered if her sister all but in name and blood learned how to smile.

——

Tim had never had a friend before!

She listened to him! And gave him hugs the one time he was brave enough to ask! And she seemed to like Batman and Robin as much as he did! No one who didn’t like them would listen to his endless rambling otherwise, right? (Tim was super skinny, like ribs poking out skinny. He looked like a sickly Victorian child and he was kind of cold)

“And then, Robin went like this,” he pantomimed the awesome punch Dick Grayson did on a Joker goon. “And the guys got knocked out just like that!”

His new friend nodded, looking interested.

“Sorry, am I talking too much?” Tim asked anxiously. He didn’t want to make his friend hate him!

She shook her head, and gestured for him to continue.

“Are you sure?”

She nodded.

His new friend was so cool! She even taught him how to throw a punch and to fight!

——

When she had to leave, she prepared Tim for it.

“Do you have to go?”

She nodded and placed a hand on his head, ruffling his hair. Her other hand held a duffle bag with an assortment of weapons she carefully kept from him. (One of the blades still had guts on it, which, ew.)

“Try not to fall off anymore roofs, little photographer.” She said, smiling at his shocked look before leaping away.

“Wait, you can talk?!” He shouted at her back. She smiled a little wider.

——

“A son, this time.” Ra’s al Ghul’s voice echoed in his disgustingly flashy throne room. It rings of approval.

The reincarnation stood behind her mother, eyes cast downwards.

“Well done, Talia. I finally have a worthy heir.”

Damian al Ghul cooed.

The reincarnation was scared. But… she could not allow her younger brother to be trapped like she was. She’s fifteen now, a decade of slavery having worn her down and nearly broken her. But with her brother… no, she could not allow it.

She met her mother’s eyes and knew then that they agreed. Protect Damian, at all costs.

She ignored the sting of envy. So what her mother could not find it in herself to protect her daughter? So long as she protected Damian, it didn’t matter.

Maybe she didn’t matter. Maybe she wasn’t worth anything. Maybe- maybe- maybe.

She also ignored the seed of disgust she had for mother’s actions in conceiving Damian. She couldn’t do anything about it. Talia was also a victim.

A louder voice in her asked if she could really excuse that, when Talia had a choice and she chose to hurt and violate Bruce Wayne like that. She wondered if she could truly ever forgive Talia. She wondered if Bruce Wayne got therapy.

——

She stared at the tome in front of her, eyes blank. (Actually, she had no eyes. Like? Empty sockets, but then later she had eyes???)

The brand- the shackles- the chains could only be broken if Ra’s died. She wasn’t opposed to that. But if he died, so did she. She couldn’t even kill herself to get out, because the chains would be there even if she died. If she was revived- a high chance, thanks to the fucking pits- then the chains would still be there.

Perhaps… she could use the pits?

Her mind turned and turned.

——

“This is your ukht.” Her mother pointed at her. Damian stared up at her, and she melted. Her brother was too damn cute.

“Ukhti?”

She nodded as her mother smiled in joy. “Yes, habibi.”

She was better at hiding the pain, now. She was better at enduring it, too, that fucking burning feeling. She spoke more, but only to Damian.

It would not do for her brother to grow up not knowing how to receive verbal expressions of affection. Not like she did, in this life.

Still, it hurt to speak. But then, she had an idea, based on Cassandra.

She could not speak, but speaking wasn’t the only way of communication. She’ll teach Damian sign language- standard, as commanded- but also her own version. Yes, she could do it. It wouldn’t be hard.

She was a genius, after all, and creating languages wasn’t as hard as people seem to think.

——

Damian copied her, small fingers patting his hand four times.

She did it back to him. “I love you.” She tells him, with sounds and with motions.

He does it back, excitedly, because he had a secret with ukhti!

——

Sometimes, she dared not to touch Damian. She wants to ruffle his hair and give him hugs but the ichor on her hands reminds her to not get to greedy. She did not deserve it.

Not when her hands were stained with the lives of so many people.

——

Another mission.

She was twenty now, and not much closer to escaping her bonds. Though, once she hit her majority, Ra’s lost interest in her in that way. A blessing, even if she had to seduce his “business partners” into giving him better deals more often now.

She stops by Bludhaven. The Robin she watched so many years ago- six, by her count- had grown new wings and moved. She wanted to see if he could fly still.

He could. He flew as free- no, freer than his days as Robin.

She dipped away to complete her mission (nuclear weapon trading, really?) and swings back to see a spider trying to break the former Robin’s wings.

“No.” Nightwing whispered, staring upwards at the cloudy sky blankly. “Please, stop.”

She didn’t need to hear any more. She saw red, and dove feet first straight onto the spider’s head, knocking her out.

She picked up a near-catatonic Nightwing, and helped him to his apartment. She left Tarantula in the rain and felt zero guilt about it.

He changed mechanically, some kind of instinct keeping him from removing his domino, but it was a bit pointless considering she escorted him to his personal apartment.

She watched as Nightwing slipped into an exhausted sleep before leaving. She had a spider to squish, and traces to hide.

——

Dick wakes up, drained and exhausted. He… someone saved him.

He sees a scrawled note, handwriting impeccable enough to be a font, written with his pen. He picked it up from his table, and his eyes tiredly read the message.

“Don’t worry about Tarantula. Or your identity.”- A friend.

He remembered- the mask- the mask of the stranger that saved him vividly. He’d remember. And he’d thank them if they ever came back.

——

She was in charge of training assassins, these days. A year and a half later after Bludhaven, she was back in Nanda Parbat, and she’s devoured every magical tome she could get her hands on. They all say the same things.

Her assassins were trained well, and Ra’s praises her with more responsibilities as he followed the pit in his obsessions. Her mother began to splinter the group, not knowing that as Ra’s began his descent into madness, people looked towards her instead of Talia for leadership. They did not know that her unwavering presence by Ra’s side wasn’t voluntary but it is their true that she became his right hand out of pure skill. And flawless obedience, of course.

Then, someone new joins.

Someone with pit rage and empty eyes that goes rigid when she approaches.

Then again, most of the operatives freeze up when she walks towards them.

Her memories roar. A child.

He bowed, and her eyes followed the streak of white hair at the forefront of his skull.

She gestured at him to follow, and ignored the pitiful eyes the rest of the assassins gave to the kid- they act like her training was hard when she went easy on them (it was)- and led the kid towards the training rooms.

She knew who he was, even if her grandfather and mother didn’t think she knew.

Her… Bruce Wayne would probably appreciate his son being returned relatively sane.

But first, she had to beat the Pit out of him. Then, she could assign body guarding duties to him, in an attempt to protect him.

——

“Grandfather, I will take Damian’s punishment.”

“A whipping girl, granddaughter?” But he nodded anyways. He made Damian watch.

She kneeled and allowed the punishment. She couldn’t always protect him from Ra’s, but this she could do anytime. It’s not like she was unfamiliar with the torture. (The whip had barbs. Rusty. And they sprinkled salt.)

——

“I liked poetry….” Jason Todd tells her after a training session. “I think.”

“Sure. I’ll call you Grave, then.” Pain. But she was used to it.

He tilted his head, eyes going blank once more. She sighed. There went his memories again. (His eyes were blank and glazed. Like looking at someone you love and knowing they’re looking through you.)

——

“I would not trust her,” she says to the air, next to a Red Hood emerging from Talia al Ghul’s chambers. She could see it, the beginnings of Gotham’s new crime lord. But still, “Talia al Ghul is known for her lies.”

She pushed away from the wall. It was up to Grave if he listened. It was out of her hands now.

——

She’s twenty-five, and she’s helping Damian pack for his first meeting with Bruce Wayne.

“You must not tell him about me.” Because he’d come rushing here, and she had worked too hard to save Damian for her fool of a father to come and ruin all of that effort.

“I promise.” Her little brother said solemnly. Ukhti said it out loud, which meant it was important and she expected him to keep that promise.

The only other time he’d heard her speak was to tell him she loved him.

The reincarnation smiled and told him through their special sign language, to treat the current Robin with respect and to try his best to get the current Robin to pass down his title.

‘Robin is earned. They have different rules, over there. Try your best to learn those rules.’

Her brother was sheltered. She loved him, but he was spoilt and sheltered. Of course she was worried. Talia barely mothered him.

“I know. You do not have to remind me so often, ukhti.”

She smiled, and patted his head.

“Be safe,” she whispered. “I will miss you.”

Damian darted in for a hug. “Of course. Goodbye, sister. See you soon.”

She hoped not. It was hard enough to convince Ra’s that Damian would learn more under Bruce Wayne.

(She was locked in a small closet- like Cass- for about a week, because she brought up the idea first.)

——

She found it.

The answer to pit rage laid in an old, all but crumbling tome from Atlantis- answers “from a ghost.”

——

Bruce Wayne died. Months after Damian came to live with him. That- irritating- she sighed and worked with her mother to turn Ra’s al Ghul’s attention away from Gotham, lest he called Damian back in Bruce Wayne’s absence.

The little photographer caught grandfather’s attention. She stood vigil as he played chess with Ra’s. His interest in Damian wavered. Anticipation blurred in her veins.

She saved his friends. Her assassins. She let them go, telling them to wait for the little photographer’s plan. (Y’all miss girl had fucking bloody handprints on her pants like someone tried to grab it.)

The first few people who had an inking she might not be loyal to Ra’s… and it was them.

When her other assassins attacked Red Robin, she cut them down before they could touch him, helping him with a furious League of Spiders or whatever operative. She hated spiders.

“What…?”

“You’re a lot of trouble, little photographer.” She sighed. His jaw dropped.

“It’s you!”

“Go,” she cut him off. “Blow this place up. I left a surprise for you outside.”

——

“Owens?! Z?!” Tim trembled, exhaustion and shock and wonder hitting him at once.

“Heya, boss!” Z chirped. Owens helped Tim up while Z helped Tam. Pry walked around them, looking out for further threats. “The nightmare trainer let us go. She knew you, I think.”

Tim smiles, all shark teeth and zero hero. (In the background, the song zero to hero from Hercules 2, played in reverse.) “Tell me more.”

——

Damian grunted, bracing himself for the magical creature’s attack.

“Robin!” His father barked out, panicked. Damian hoped he’d survive-

Shhhlk!

He looked up and there stood his ukht. She bounded forwards, using the odd fauna of the magical plane to bolster her movements as she sliced the creatures apart with her swords, magic humming brightly as she cut through them… and the magicians attacking them.

“What- what are you doing here?” He asked. She greeted him, three fingers curled over her shoulder.

‘My question is,’ she signed. ‘Why were you here without a magical weapon.’

Damian sighed as father stepped in between them.

“Who are you.”

“Batman. Cease your excessive worry. I trust her with my life,” Damian snapped. He stepped around a shocked Batman, looked him in the eyes, and unsheathed his katana. He handed it over to his ukht, who took it with amusement.

‘See?’ His eyes seemed to say. Father tensed when his sister unsheathed her own blade and handed it to him.

‘Are you here for a specific reason?’ His sister signed to him.

“Uh, you gonna introduce us, little man?”

Damian sent the Flash a derisive look and ignored him.

“We’re looking for a magician. He set a squadron of demons loose into D.C. last night. He has a tower.” Damian added.

“Robin,” Father growled. “Who is this.” Damian shot him a look and turned back to his sister.

The reincarnation tilted her head. ‘Tower… it’ll have to be that way.’

“Could you take us there?” Damian asked. Truthfully, he could find the way himself. But he wanted more time around his ukht. She nodded and Damian straightened.

“I feel like we should be concerned that Robin’s friend just murdered a bunch of people.”

His sister glanced back and ignored them.

“Silence, incompetents. Speak another word against her, and Batman’s no killing rule will be applied creatively.” He hissed. (The fucking surroundings hissed with him y’all what the fuck)

He turned when his sister ruffled his hair (Superman muttered a super shocked “what the fuck.”) and Damian allowed it. He had missed his sister.

——

[catastrophicalcat]

Reasons Valmont Sucks (Catwoman 2018)

Valmont was a terrible character. And I really want to dissect why and how he is terrible - not just to get it off my chest and onto the collective Internet, but also because I think that Howard made some questionable writing choices that doomed him.

A quick intro - Valmont is Selina's love interest from the 1st two arcs of Tini Howard's Catwoman (2018) run. Inspired by some version of the Dangerous Liaisons character, he is a quasi French assassin who appears in Selina's life when she is trying to take on the Five Gotham Crime families, stalks her a bit, gifts her a stolen cat, fucks her, and eventually get murdered by her while he's trying to kill Batman. BatCat are on a poorly defined break during these events (with Bruce clearly thinking that they're somewhat committed to each other). Valmont is a dork. He looks like this:

More stuff under the break since I don't know how to write succinctly...

Valmont is a possessive stalker. It's obvious that Howard wanted to create a character who is different from Batman. Just look at him - Batman wears black, Valmont wears white. Batman strives to be a good person, while Valmont is an unrepentant murder. Bruce tries to be a gentlemen, while Valmont.... Almost immediately, Howard is in a pickle - how can she recreate a 17th century romance about assholes when, at the moment her run begin, Selina has no reason to be into this guy? And, this phony goth poser, by definition, cannot be upfront and just ask Selina out. Bruce would have done that. He's not Bruce. Solution? She gets rescued by him. A lot. Some examples:

While getting rescued frequently may be a way to fall in love, it makes Selina just so incompetent. Like I think that almost every single issue where Valmont appears, she needs to gets saved by him in some fashion. I don't think that Bruce rescued her that often, at least not in her own run! I went from reading about a savvy cat-burglar to an eternal damsel-in-distress.

Maybe I missed it, but I literally just read through all of his issues to find these screencaps, and I can't find any reason for him to be there other than to stalk her....

2. Making sexy French man is hard, OK! Prior to this run, I did not realize just how hard it is to write a sexy man instead of a creepy man. But seriously, this guy is GROSS, and Selina being into him makes her come off as dumb floozy. Who in the world would get turned on by lines like:

Maybe I'm fascinating, Catwoman. (Spoiler - he isn't)

I consider myself a citizen of the world. (Is he "my parents live in Ohio, I live in the moment" Ted Mosby?)

I wanted to help. But I did not want to chase you, or do what those boys had done. So I simply waited, where I knew you could find me. ("Those boys" - Tim & Dick, who tried to offer reasonable assistance and advice).

Fascinating? Interesting? Dangerous? (Describing himself.)

But I won't assume that just because a cat has sat in my lap once, it will do so whenever I call. (He then proceeds to bang her on the roof).

Have you ever had anyone encourage you to chase your desires? Just for your own pleasure? (Yeah, this is like a famous trait of hers...)

The sharp pleasure of waiting until I see you again is enough. (See, normal Selina - or a normal woman - would just never see him again).

Related to the above - their sexy times? Not sexy. First, they try and fail to hijack a cannibal's plane and parachute jump. Maybe adrenaline got their heart rate up, but still - poor planning! Second, and more egregiously: multiple characters comment on how Selina is deliriously tired. Valmont is one of those characters! He then bangs her on the roof. I don't want to kink-shame, but sleeping with someone when they're falling off their feet from exhaustion is like, not great?

3. He's a freaking murderer! This guy kills people and drops their bodies in the harbor. He's friends with Flamingo, a cannibal who tried to eat Robin (Damian, but still!). And yet, this is how Selina feels about him:

What happened? Really, what happened? Selina used to be smart and not boy crazy. Sure, she has a wide variety of unfortunate love interests despite these traits (post forthcoming!). But never has she fallen so fast, so quick, so off the deep end for someone who deserves it so very little.

I have other substantive issues with this run, but wanted to start by dissecting Valmont. A non-Bruce love interest is already an uphill battle in a Catwoman comic. Burdening him with all of these negative traits did not lead to a good story. Instead, Selina came off as stupid and immature for ever liking this guy in the first place.

I know that this post was super negative - these are just my thoughts, and I'm open to critique. If folks feel positive about Valmont, or other things I touched on here, I would be really interested to hear it.

[thewhitespiderwitch]

Can you write Buckynat adopting Liho and/or Alpine for the first time? 💛

Yesssss 🤍

🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️

Of Mountains and Misfortunes

Prompt: The two stray kittens that Natasha and Bucky feed eventually get adopted.

Pairing: Bucky X Natasha

Characters: Bucky Barnes, Natasha Romanoff

It was a rainy day. Usually like most. Natasha quite liked the rain, it is comforting to her. Bucky on the other hand did not. The thunder reminded him of HYDRA, something he didn't like at all.

The two cuddle for a while. "Shh, It's going to be okay, James. I promise." Natasha whispers soothingly. She kisses the spot where the flesh of his left arm meets the metal arm. It was something she did to comfort Bucky.

Natasha gets her boyfriend to go on a walk with her. The pair enjoys it for a while. They dance a bit in the rain.

That's when they notice a kitten covered i mud and a black kitten cuddling under a crack to stay warm from the storm. Natasha sighs. These were the same kittens that the couple often gave food to.

Normally they couldn't bring the kittens inside as the apartment they both lived in didn't allow for it. Bucky had tried to get Natasha to adopt them on multiple occasions despite this.

Now they both owned a house. "Doll, we should adopt them. Actually adopt them this time." Bucky says softly to his girlfriend.

Natasha shakes her head. "They're too much work, James. Besides I could never take care of a pet." Bucky puts a hand on Natasha's shoulder. "Cats are low maintenance, Doll. They're mostly independent." Bucky says softly. He tucks a lose strand of hair behind Natasha's ear.

Natasha didn't like having attachments. Bucky was really the only exception for her. Natasha sighs softly as she sees how scared and cold the shivering black kitten was.

She gently extends her hand out and the kitten nuzzles her head against Natasha hand. Bucky smiles and gently takes the kitten covered in mud into his arms. Natasha then carefully picks up the black kitten.

"So you agree that we should adopt them, Doll?" Bucky asks with a smile. "Yeah, I think they need a home." Natasha responds with a slight smile.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The couple of assassins then go to their house. Natasha then starts a bath for the two cats, before Natasha and Bucky place the kittens there to wash them.

The muddy kitten seems to enjoy it and loved playing with the bubbles but the black kitten quickly jumps out seemingly terrified of water.

Natasha gently takes the black kitten, drying her softly with a towel. "So you don't like water, huh?" She asks the kitten with an affectionate smile.

Natasha held the black kitten close, whilst Bucky washed the muddy kitten gently and then took her in his arms with a smile. He dried her to reveal her bright white fur.

The black kitten cuddles close into Natasha's arms. "We need to take them to the vet." Natasha states. "Yeah." Bucky agrees with a smile.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

The next day the couple went to the vet. They wait for their appointment before smiling as they see the veterinarian.

The veterinarian smiles as she leads the two to her office. "Hello, I'm Dr. Sarah. What brings you two to my office?" "Well my boyfriend and I decided to adopt two stray kittens and we're wondering if you could give them a checkup and their shots?" Natasha says softly.

Of course the young burnette woman says with a smile. She works pretty quickly examining the two female kittens for any illness or injury. Dr. Sarah smiles when she doesn't find anything wrong with them.

"At least these two are fighters. They don't have anything wrong with them." Dr. Sarah tells the couple. She then gives the two kittens their needed vaccines.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Natasha and Bucky then take the two kittens back to their house. The two assassins sit on their couch talking about the kittens. Natasha gently strokes the black kitten, whilst Bucky tickles the stomach of the white one.

Bucky speaks up "So we took the kittens inside, washed them and gave them vaccines....I think all they're both missing is names." He says. The two assassins had already given the kittens food and water.

"This one is definitely an 'Alpine'." Bucky says with a smile, motioning to the white Angora kitten. Her blue eyes and snow white fur reminded him very much so of a mountain.

Natasha continues stroking the black kitten gently thinking for a while. "How about 'Liho' for this one?" Natasha asks with a smile. "Misfortune?" Bucky asks knowing that that was the translation for the Russian word.

Natasha liked it as the black kitten reminded her of the superstition and Halloween a bit. "Yeah, it's cute." She says with a confused smile. Bucky chuckles softly and kisses his girlfriend's forehead.

"Alpine and Liho, welcome to the family." Bucky says softly with a smile.

🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️🦾🕷️

[kerosene-saint]

fairly extensive and probably hard to follow gerard swarm tour outfits/costumes analysis relating to the new tour:

remember how in 2022 people had connected a few Gerard's outfits as sort of references to black parade? mainly the nurse outfit related to welcome to the black parade, the cheer dress possibly relating to the cheerleaders in the blood music video, Jehanne d'Arc being a reference to how gerard had a psychotic break kinda surrounding her during their stay at the paramour, and Jackie being a possible reference to the Kennedy assassination photo shoot he did with his wife (which was during the black parade era iirc).

not to mention a lot of the costumes he had were either of dead people or involved lots of blood (possibly dying?). and we all know how the black parade connects to death. exceptions to this are the wwwyf outfits (though you could argue they're very close to death), the cat and the bat maybe, the swan, both teachers, the one with the flower in his pocket, and any other outfits that don't look to be costumes of a sort.

outfits that contain the character being dead/possibly dead/in the process of dying OR covered in blood and otherwise injured: skeleton, ghost, meta man, Clown, OKC clown (shirt has bullet hole in face and drumhead said "big death energy"), Princess Diana, vampire, pool boy (becomes injured if we are to believe the shorts denote the same character), bloody tears (did we have a name for him??), the guy shot in the head with the like Hawaiian shirt ig, casino guy, Manson girl, swarm cape guy (looks to be dead or dying similar to the patient in black parade).

now we can also connect a few of gerard's outfits to the new tour the business woman/secretary (though she does not seem to be a secretary in the videos we have seen) and the red dictator-esc costume

I may have missed some or forgotten names of some it has been almost two years on some of them for me but this is mainly what I can see (no one has made a definitive list of every outfit/costume gerard wore for all swarm tour shows)

[yukiwhitetm]

DR Characters Assigned DC Roles

The main premise of this is that Shuichi Saihara as Robin 3 is both dating civilian Kokichi Oma as Bernard Dowd and flirting/being flirted with by his alter ego Stray. Shuichi has no idea Kokichi is Stray but Kokichi definitely knows Shuichi is Robin 3. What order do these events happen in? Who knows!

The Bats and Birds

Batman (The Bat): Kyoko Kirigiri

Agent A: Makoto Naegi

Robin 1, Nightwing: Kaede Akamatsu

Robin 2, Red Hood: Hajime Hinata

Robin 3, Red Robin: Shuichi Saihara

Spoiler, Robin 4, Batgirl (Batboy): Kaito Momota

Robin 5: Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu

Batgirl, Oracle: Chiaki Nanami

Black Bat, Batgirl, Orphan: Maki Harukawa

Batwoman: Aoi Asahina

Signal: Yasuhiro Hagakure

The Cats

Catwoman: Celestia Ludenberg

Stray & Bernard Dowd: Kokichi Oma

The Rogues

Joker: Junko Enoshima

Punchline: Mukuro Ikusaba

Harley Quinn: Toko Fukawa

Poison Ivy: Komaru Naegi

Blackmask: Mondo Owada

Penguin: Kiyotaka Ishimaru

Scarecrow: Miu Iruma

Bane: Nekomaru Nidai

Mr. Freeze: Teruteru Hanamura

Riddler: Hifumi Yamada

Mad Hatter: Angie Yonaga

Deathstroke: Tsumugi Shirogane

The League of Assassins

Ra's al Ghul: Haiji Towa

Talia al Ghul: Korekiyo Shinguji

Prudence Wood: Peko Pekoyama

The Outlaws

Starfire: Sonia Nevermind

Arsenal: Nagito Komaeda

Bizarro: Ibuki Mioda

Teen Titans

Beast boy: Gundham Tanaka

Raven: Himiko Yumeno

Wonder girl: Tenko Chabashira

Superboy 1 a.k.a Conner Kent (Supergirl): Akane Owari

Kidflash: Mahiru Koizumi

Cyborg: K1b0

Aquaboy (Aquagirl): Hiyoko Saionji

Superboy 2 a.k.a. Jonathan Kent: Masaru Daimon

The Justice League

Superman (Superwoman): Sakura Ogami

Wonder Woman: Kirumi Tojo

Green Arrow: Byakuya Togami

Aquaman: Leon Kuwata

Martian Manhunter: Ultimate Imposter

Green Lantern: Kazuichi Soda

Captain Marvel: Nagisa Shingetsu

Flash: Chihiru Fujisaki

Zatanna: Sayaka Maizono

Black Canary: Mikan Tsumiki

Most of these characters have been assigned DC roles based on their personalities, regardless of gender (except for Superboy and Bizarro since they're clones of Superman so have to be the same gender as him)! I included some Rogues, League of Assassins, Outlaws, Teen Titans and Justice Leaguers because the Batfam interact with them a lot.

In my mind, Kyoko Kirigiri is together with Makoto Naegi and has been for the long term but her as the Bat and Celestia Ludenberg as Catwoman share some flirtatious banter.

Hajime Hinata as Robin 2 died and came back, and when he did he came back different. How much you want to lean into Jason Todd's backstory or Hajime Hinata's and whether you want to include Izuru Kamukuru is up to you.

Kaito Momota may or may not have had an unsuccessful romantic relationship with Shuichi when he was Spoiler and Shuichi was Robin 3. This can be prior to Shuichi meeting Kokichi or Robin 3 and Stray could have had some playful banter going on during this time (this works because Shuichi actually dates civilian Kokichi, which could be after he and Kaito break up). Kaito could be with Maki now!

Yes, this character assignment does mean that Masaru Daimon is Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu's best friend. Yes, that is hilarious.

I was running out of DR characters near the end so I started swapping some around to find suitable Justice Leaguers. Masaru was originally Captain Marvel but then that only left Kotoko Utsugi as an option for Superboy 2 and I thought Fuyuhiko would hate her. So, Masaru became Superboy 2 and Nagisa Shingetsu Captain Marvel. Byakuya Togami was originally assigned as Lucius Fox, the manager of WE, but I had to swap him to Green Arrow because he was just too perfect for that!

I hope you enjoyed! Please like, comment and reblog. Your support is much appreciated.

[utilitycaster]

Because I still have Midst's most recent episode on the brain, it really is a little frustrating to see how characters like Jonas Spahr are so frequently maligned over a single incident and characters like Liliana Temult are so frequently given infinite excuses. I say a little frustrating because I think by and large the respective fandoms of Midst and CR do find Jonas a flawed but ultimately sympathetic and heroic character, and Liliana a person who perhaps began with good intentions but has been so warped by years in a cult that she is now openly manipulating her daughter, so this is about a relatively small group. But it is very much an extant group.

I think for me the real hangup is that the reason the Jonas Spahr archetype (of which, for those who know CR and not Midst, Fjord is not quite the same but similar enough for this particular example; this post is definitely about him as well) receives criticism for being harsh towards, for lack of a better term, a wetter and sadder cat of a character. And how is that different from Liliana, who is at the very least staging a public shaming of her daughter? For all their methods, and for all their personal history, characters like Fjord and Spahr have never been terribly manipulative towards the sympathetic protagonists, just openly angry. And when they've been angry, it's always come out that they are consciously holding back from what was visited on them.

But Liliana. Liliana isn't trying to shield Imogen. She says she is, but she continues long after it stops working. She won't listen to the daughter she says she's doing this for; she treats a grown woman like the toddler she abandoned. I don't think Liliana means "did she know there were children in this music hall" because she told Imogen that last episode. She invoked that there were children here to try to excuse her own behavior. She knows Imogen knows about that. This is about the assassination attempt. She wants to know if her daughter knew this was coming. And the answer is that Imogen did, and she tried to stop Liliana, and she tried even to advocate for a more measured attempt with a group for which she lacked the built-up good will. Unlike Liliana leaning on her ultimately useless showy warnings and claiming she does this all for a greater good, Imogen didn't try to curry favor with her mother (nor should she have to; Liliana's the one who left). I doubt Liliana would have taken kindly to being captured, but Imogen still tried and didn't try to score points with her mother for it.

The response to Liliana when juxtaposed with the response to Spahr does feel like this trend, again of a small subset of people but certainly a subset often unaware of how to act reasonably online, that craves the most basic subversion and simultaneously fears and hates conviction in those characters who are not part of this childish "what if the BAD GUYS were RIGHT" group. Specifically they hate an individual conviction that allows one to break out of a larger ideology - one that Spahr has and Liliana clearly lacks.

I'll admit this is really more an observation - I don't have a thesis statement or true conclusion, at least not one I'm going to share widely - but it still sits so strangely that people will hate characters for a single harsh word to their favorite and then try to brush away the decades of harm Liliana has, ultimately, visited on Imogen. Did the word "Run" ever comfort her? It certainly didn't work. Did Liliana ever answer a direct question? At some point, when you're dealing with a fully functioning adult, you can't just say "I'm doing this for you" without their input and be taken seriously and yet Liliana does, repeatedly. At least with Spahr I believed the people who disliked him liked Phineas, but here, I don't think the people defending her care that much for Imogen except as Liliana does - a sweetly misguided morality pet whom they're doing this all for, hush, don't interrupt my noble sacrifice for you with your actual needs and wants. It feels like the campaign-long denial, within some of the fandom, of Imogen's agency, down to how people talk carefully around how the reason Bells Hells wasn't at the assassination is because Imogen chose not to be (and told the others they could not go either, and they respected this). I think we're reaching a point where those who have been so scornful of leadership are fighting against the fact that that is how Imogen is positioned: as leader and as a hero. Ironically, as we've learned from how they treat characters like Spahr, there's nothing they hate more than that.

[kitkatopinions]

TW: Sucide, toxic relationship, slavery, abuser and victim

My biggest pet peeve with stans regardless of the fandom they are in is always "you would've like female character if they were a man" No. Just stop.

If you want the biggest example of everyone hating on a male character even if they swap genders is none other than GOT Jeffrey.

That spoiled brat has no irredeemable qualities he's just a spoiled stuck up brat who everyone cheered when he died.

HOWEVER im not saying that there ISNT any misogyny towards female character/villains because no matter what fandom you are in there will be misogyny most towards fandom that has a large male fanbase (example Star Wars, Star Trek, Game of Thrones, Assassin's Creed, etc.)

Having a valid reason to hate a female character/villain is NOT misogyny. I hate Neo because the shows wants us to feel sorry for her because she didn't know what to do after Roman's death but are we forgetting an episode ago she DROVE RUBY TO SUCIDE USING PEOPLE SHE KNOW and then she redeemed herself by killing Cat?

FUCK THAT!

Regardless if Neo was a male anyone who drove someone to sucide will never be liked by me or anyone else.

Here's another one Leonora from Castlevanina is hated because she made Hector a slave and saw him as a pet yet she started to develop feelings for him the more time she spent with him. And many people are disgusted because 1) she enslaved Hector and then develop have feelings and 2) because of the obvious power imbalance/relationship of the abuser and victim.

If a character has a trait that triggers the audience or they don't like them for any actions then they can have a reason why they dislike not. I have many female characters that I hate with valid criticism just how much I hate male characters for that same reason.

Yeah, here's the thing, if I actually thought that anti-rwde posters were honestly concerned about misogyny, I would be very sympathetic.

Every single time a piece of media so much as passes the Bechdol test or has a woman that never wears a bikini, there are a bunch of misogynistic idiots and dudebros who hate it or those women. And in the modern day, only hardcore Trump supporters are out here out and out saying that they hate women and are misogynists and that's why they hate whatever it is they're ranting against. People do very much so use perfectly valid (or not so valid) "real criticisms" because they don't want to say the honest truth, or because they themselves wouldn't recognize their own misogyny. Recognizing that just because someone SAYS they hate a female character because of an action that they did doesn't mean they're not a misogynist is kind of important. The guys who harassed the actress of Rose Tico off of Twitter all hid behind 'valid reasons' for their criticism too.

But here's the thing:

1. It's important to be able to figure out what is and isn't actually a sign of misogyny. There's not a precise rule, but you can do things like see if the thing they hate is an exception or the rule, or see if they're hypocritical about their reasons, or see what kind of language people use. If they come around with "brat" "bitch" "cunt" for female characters, that's a red flag at best!! But yeah, ANY criticism of that kind of thing isn't automatically misogynistic. It's like yeah, a bunch of misogynists hated Taurial in the Hobbit because she's a woman and yes they disguised that by claiming it was for other reasons, but there ARE very valid criticisms and complaints about Taurial and you have to be willing to hear out those things instead if just blanket assigning 'misogyny.' Lots of things from Arcane to something as bad as Twilight has perfectly valid haters that are fine, and then also a bunch of misogynists that are going to pretend or really think they have valid reasons. Somone being unable to tell the two apart probably means that person is too close to the situation and too defensive, but these critics don't want to admit that maybe they're wrong.

2. If this was something like Steven Universe, then the defensiveness would make more sense. If it were a well written slow burn with a cast of characters with well rounded dynamics that the writers put work into and the show was about rebels trying to fight the system for a peaceful life and the show had never sexualized the women and there was hard-fought for groundbreaking queer rep and it was created by a Jewish bisexual non-binary woman, and there were mistakes and valid criticisms of the series, but also a lot of unjustified venom of nothing but bad-faith... Then we'd be having a different conversation. Instead it's a show about badge-carrying law enforcement officers, who fight the evil civil rights group from upsetting the status quo, in a show that has tons of things just 'happen off screen,' with a history of sexualizing some of the main female characters, that only recently confirmed any main character as queer years behind the curve, and that was created by and mostly written for by a bunch of straight cis men most of them having said or done misogynistic things. Anti-rwde posters like to pretend that there's no reason why a great completely non-problematic misunderstood stand-up show like RWBY made with love by the totally not at all a part of RT "CRWBY" should be hated, and therefore it must be because of misogyny, but they aren't living in reality.

3. Most anti-rwde posters actually don't really care about misogyny and they aren't actually basing this on - for lack of a better word - good faith. They don't care about Jaune harem fics or the fanarts of RWBY girls with giant breasts in bikinis, and they don't call out the writers or even RT for their bigotry, and they have quite literally Trump supporters that post anti-rwde stuff, but none of that matters. Instead they spend their time harassing a group of mostly queer women for *checks notes* criticizing a show written by mostly men.

So yeah. I've seen misogyny in rwde posters tbh, and I don't think that "I have valid reasons for disliking them" is always proof that there isn't misogyny at play, but the anti-rwde accusations are nothing, because not only are they blind to the flaws of the show and the writers and are unable to recognize the difference between misogyny and just criticism, but also they're only using these accusations as a screen anyway, because they only ever go after rwde posters with it and are unwilling to call out the blatant misogyny in the rest of the fandom, in the show, or in the writers room. I would take this seriously if I thought this was an actual concern of theirs, but it isn't. They don't actually care about misogyny, they just want their show to be above criticism.

(By the way, I've never seen Game of Thrones or Castlevania so I can't speak to it, and also I like Neo a lot lol. XD Personally for me, villains doing bad things doesn't typically blacklist them for me so long as they're entertaining.)

[epickiya722]

As antagonist who do you think is better between Sukuna, Kenjaku, or Toji? Why? How will you rank them?

Now, out of the three, Sukuna is my favorite. But to say who is the better antagonist? Yeah, I don't have a definite answer really.

Each of them severed/serves their role well as an antagonist to the other characters.

I'll start with Toji. He was more of an... "arc villain". He's not there for the whole plot, but he's still important to it and played a part to someone's arc and development. In this case, it was for Satoru, Suguru and Megumi.

All three of these characters were affected some way because of Toji.

Satoru and Suguru's relationship changed because Toji played a part. Had not Toji been assigned to assassinate Riko and succeeded, they would have went down a different path.

Megumi would probably have been a different kid if Toji had been present in his life.

Also, how he carries himself during his time in the story is amazing. I know, many people say the same thing, but Toji was some boring villain. This man's introduction was him in slides, sweatpants and a sweatshirt while smiling all devious. Dude is a deadbeat, yet got reasons. Not an excuse! He lost the woman he loved and that resorted him back to his old self. He sold Megumi to the Zenin clan because he believed if Megumi inherited the technique, which he did, he would have a better life than he did with the Zenin clan. Was it right? No, but it was to Toji at the time. He cares about Megumi to some extent because even with coming back to life and fighting his son, he had been acting on pure instinct. Yet, looking Megumi dead in his face is what snapped him out and once he learned Megumi chose to use "Fushiguro" as his surname, Toji with out a smile for his son.

During his time on screen, there hadn't been a moment that Toji wasn't entertaining. (Can't believe that's DIO BRANDO that voices Toji.)

Next, Kenjaku, they're like... the villain behind the villains. They're responsible for a lot of what happened to the others. Hell, their intellect is part of what kicked off the plot. If Kenjaku did not know how to make curse objects, Yuji would not have eaten Sukuna's finger. Kenjaku is a cunning, evil individual. Playful, manipulative, aloof. Yet, Kenjaku ain't no coward. Someone challenges them and Kenjaku is about it now.

How do they move in those robes the way that they do in fights? I don't know. (Yeah, that's a question I have for Suguru, too. Like, are those robes heavy or... nevermind.)

Like, Toji and Sukuna who I'll talk about later, Kenjaku doesn't bore me. While Toji is more of that bloodthirsty active kind of villain, Kenjaku reminds me of a villain that will sit in a big chair with a cat on the lap and monolgue. Then it's like when they get up, they show you why you should have your guard up and not take them lightly.

But the thing with Kenjaku is, they don't try to make others fear them or even follow their plans to be worshipped. They just do whatever they want. They're unhinged but not in a feral, loud way. It's more sly and unexpected because when you think Kenjaku has done something wild, here comes something even more wild.

There's also the fact that the mangaka took the classic tropes of the MC having an absentee father (parents in Yuji's case) and evil dad and played with them here a bit.

Oh, Kenjaku is someone's evil dad, alright. But they ain't Yuji's. Yuji's dad, we know Yuji has some recollection of him that he doesn't really remember much of, but the mom? Not so much. I wonder, Kenjaku, as to why that is. I know you know the answer!

Now, for Sukuna!

As I said, he's my favorite out of the three.

He is downright evil. I doubt there is a single drop of good in that demon's heart.

A while ago, I saw a video of a guy reacting to a post about which out of the selection of characters is the best inner demon and he said Sukuna (if I remember correctly). His reasoning is why I so. Kurama was a choice, too, that I remember. And with Kurama, he got better and got along with Naruto. That's good and all (I don't hate it), but when I see the word "demon", I think of "vile, evil, embodiment of pain and anguish".

That's what Sukuna is. He is a "good demon" for the simple fact that he just is evil. He doesn't care to get along with Yuji and vice versa. It's what I love about their dynamic. They stand on far sides of a field, opposing the other without the need or want to find some common ground.

Mahito was great as someone who made Yuji question his morals and his part in the battle curses and humans. But Sukuna? Yeah, he's the source of Yuji's suffering since the start.

Sukuna is sadistic, immoral, selfish. Dude immediately wanted to paint the streets red and not with paint when he was reincarnated.

Folks call him "Fraudkuna", but no. He's not a fraud. Sukuna ain't stupid. He has intellect that he does use. He grasps onto things quickly. He witness, he learns and applies. He's not faking anything. A fraud is someone who fakes. Sukuna doesn't do that.

Yeah, Gojo put in work, of course he did. He wasn't titled "the strongest" for nothing. Sukuna even acknowledges that.

That's also another thing with Sukuna that interest me. He's evil, but at least he'll give you your props if you impressed him. Which honestly, I rather not be praised because it seems if you're someone if he acknowledges as strong, you either die by his hand or possessed. Except for Yuji, who he hates with every fiber in his body and does not respect.

But that's fine, because Yuji ain't looking for it. (Yeah, those two are my favorite two. Funny, isn't it?)

Also, bonus points, but I also love Sukuna's nails (when he has them painted and long) and pink hair (which he apparently had in his OG form). And the tattoos are nice.

I just...

Toji, Kenjaku, and Sukuna all have so much we know about them, yet still don't know much about them.

How did Sukuna become the King of Curses exactly? What is Kenjaku's true form? Toji's history with Megumi's and Tsumiki's moms? So many other questions.

They're all human, but not too human.

Overall, yeah, all three of them play/played well as antagonists for me.

[blade-liger-4ever]

So, I've decided to start something.

Well, a series of somethings.

I've had some Star Wars AU ideas as of late, which I'm thinking of turning into little ficlets that will be posted on Tumblr. If I feel bold enough from my experiences here, I may transfer them over to my WordPress account, but time will tell on that front. In most of these fanfics (which hopefully won't be long - or not, we'll see), there are going to be featured a couple of OCs, as well as established character/OC relationship(s) over previously established pairings. Many of you will probably be discontent over this, however, I will do my best to explain these new pairings and why I was dissatisfied with the original love interest.

Before I get into that however, I will introduce one of these OCs, who was also inspired by the lost potential of one of Disney's most recent princesses.

Click below, and you shall see Starkiller/Galen Marek's AU love interest: Raya Karimi, descendant of the noble House of Zakuul.

Now, before we get going, let me say something: I do not hate Juno Eclipse. I did, however, find the connection between her and Galen...a little unsettling. I am not saying it was unhealthy or toxic, nor am I saying that Juno should have never been in the same room as Galen. That said, it seemed, at least in the second game for sure, that Galen was over-relying on her and putting too much of his needs/hopes on her for his own good. And no, I'm not agreeing with what the narrative said about Vader having control over Galen so long as she lived. I think what I'm trying to say is that, she ended up being a Living Emotional Crutch for him, and that trope - whether applied to a man or woman, in real life or in fiction - deeply unsettles me. The idea that someone needs another person in order to operate as a human being, or to be kept from totally falling apart...it doesn't sit well with me, and, I suppose, scares me. I don't want that for either of them, hence a new love interest for Galen.

Now, whether or not Juno lived after that final cutscene in Force Unleashed II, I confess, for the purposes of this AU...Juno does die. In the main Star Wars universe that I envision, she does live, but for the purposes of my story, it only makes sense that she is killed by either Darth Vader or Boba Fett. Galen can only do so much to protect her, and moreover, the likelihood of either of those villains killing her is extremely high. PROXY will, quite possibly, be at least salvageable here as well; I don't yet know if he will be a series of pieces that Galen and Raya and their other two crew members will have to put back together, or have his parts integrated into a separate unit. Considering I gave Raya a revamped HK-77 assassin/protocol droid as her muscle pre-meeting Galen (HK-77s are from Legends, by the way; look them up), PROXY's role may be redundant, in which case, some of his salvageable components would be used for HK.

She will also have a small, cat-dragon hybrid known as a felico. Her name is Tapi, and I'm trying to picture her as a traditional Asiatic/Japanese dragon, but one that is small enough that she can easily climb onto someone's shoulder. I picture the same body style, but with shorter whiskers, dexterous talon-like paws, feathered wings of proper proportion, and some fur that helps her with sneaking some items off bad guys, or just all the way around enhance her cuddliness. Color wise, she might be all black or shades of gray with bright green eyes.

Raya I envision as one of the few survivors of the noble family from Zakuul, with perhaps a smidgeon of Force-sensitivity. Her family had guarded artifacts from the Old Republic Era (the time of Revan in SW:KOTOR to SW:TOR, for reference), and so she was trained in the use of both melee and ranged weapons. She was an energetic child, and a prodigy when it came to most topics, although she worked exceptionally hard to get good at working with starship systems and repairs. The Empire eventually came to Zakuul for those same artifacts, around the time Raya was twelve or fourteen. The planet attempted to fight, and was soon overpowered; however, many managed to take off with the artifacts, hiding them away from Imperial eyes. Raya was captured after one battle, and after some time, forced to watch her father's public execution. This sent her into a blind rage, and before she knew it, the squadron that had been detaining her lay at her feet in pools of blood and missing limbs. Shaken by her own actions, she managed to escape, and spent the next six or eight years bouncing across the galaxy as a freelance agent for hire. However, Raya never worked with the Empire, and even though she made apparently shady deals, it was all in the effort to locate those missing artifacts, which she managed to hide with the aid of the hidden in plain sight Jedi Haja Estree.

Following one lead on the edge of the Outer Rim/Wild Space from their efforts on Tanalorr, Raya comes across the remains of the Rogue Shadow on an unnamed planet, the owner of whom, Galen Marek, has resided in for almost a month. He's full of anger, but her stubbornness, humor, and clear disdain for the Empire manages to convince him that she is an ally and not an enemy. Working together, they leave the planet and attempt to return while being side-tracked by HK-77 picking up old, disconnected transmissions from something ancient - so ancient, in fact, that it could be a cache of artifacts from the time of Revan....

I hope you find this interesting, and if you want more, please feel free to check in for updates on it!

[shaakyhaands]

Hear Me Out:

Court of Darkness but MC is an investigative journalist.

Do we ever really get any details on what MC did on Earth?

Like no, deadass— we know she had an apartment and Robin. How is she paying rent? How is she buying cat food, or paying Robin’s vet bills?

I’m willing to bet the devs intentionally didn’t give us much detail about MC’s occupation, specifically so we the reader can ✨ project ✨ onto her.

That being said: let’s make up some occupations for her!

I think an investigative MC would be fun! She’s in a whole new dimension, there’s a ton to explore. Reality itself behaves differently, allowing magic! There’s an entire history of this world’s inhabitants! Wars, art, culture, food, philosophy, sciences, MAGIC! This would be fucking paradise for an exploratory personality.

Some headcanons:

MC always has questions. About everything. From the tangible and quantitative (“what is this?”) to the conceptual and abstract (“interesting. You seem to feel very strongly on this subject, am I reading that right? Can you tell me more? What influenced your judgement?”).

When she’s not peppering one of the consorts with questions about life in this world, she’s reading. What is she reading? Everything. Everything she can get her hands on. Especially books on history.

Speaking of reading and asking questions— MC bonds with Toa in her pursuits of knowledge. He helps her learn how to read and write (language barriers). While Guy, a man of action more than words, might get tired of MC’s incessant questions (and I really mean incessant, this isn’t shade at Guy. This MC is straight up annoying, never shuts up)— Toa has more patience.

Speaking of history— she studies historical events and the relationships between the kingdoms. Important players on the world stage, what they did, who they were cool with and who they pissed off and why. Why, why, why, MC is very interested in learning why things are the way they are.

So much so, she looks into events deeper than most native inhabitants would probably have any reason to. She wants to find the information not in the history books. She wants to know what actually happened— who pulled what strings, who is connected to who else and how did those connections play out, etc.

Through her research, MC learns about a lot of royals before they’re otherwise introduced. Not only does she learn of their existence (“Toa has a sister? Toa has three sisters? 👀”), but she, through the lens of various historical accounts (that she certainly cross referenced with each other), learns of their character. What they’ve done. And, reading between the lines, what some books failed to explain or navigated around, she’s able to get a better sense of their real personalities.

For example: Reading several accounts of her behaviour, if MC is piecing together the information correctly, than the picture her research is painting of Idina is a very, very cold one. Thinking about the implications makes MC shiver. To think this woman is related to Toa, it actually make too much sense.

Speaking of her research: MC definitely has the magical equivalent of a conspiracy theory pin board in her bedroom— one mapping out the connections between the kingdoms and powerful individuals.

This ^ This, but it’s MC, and the red string is connecting Idina to several assassinations untimely, very unfortunate and super totally accidental deaths of government officials. Toa is the person in the foreground.

“Okay, but why” you might be inclined to ask. “Why is MC asking all these questions, what’s the point”

The point is, she is an investigative journalist. So far, I’ve really emphasized the “investigative” part. But, my sweet summer child, there’s an entire second half of that title.

The point being, MC is recording all of the information she’s gathering.

The history, the art, the culture, the sciences, the magic— all of it. All of it, she is making an immaculate record of. How, you might ask? Well, you have some options:

Personally, I’m a huge fan of MCs who got transported with some of their earthly tech on their person. I have more than once gotten home and straight up passed out after a long day, still holding onto or wearing my daily gear. Let me put it this way: if they were able to bring her god damn cat with her, I see no reason why MC couldn’t bring, say, a backpack with her. Maybe a satchel, or a crossbody bag. If it was on or near her person when she fell asleep, I can imagine it getting caught up in the process.

Say this MC did have her bag with her. That means she has a myriad of technology potentially at her disposal. Laptop, tablet, camera. If you really want to lean into the “investigative reporter” side of things, she could even have an old school hand held tape recorder. At the very least, she definitely has a phone.

“Tech would die, though, how is she going to charge it” magic, babe. Via Roy’s consort path, we learned that inhabitants of the magical realm make magical weapons out of silversmithing. The reason Roy gives is that silver is a good conductor of electricity and magical energy:

(Please ignore the shit image quality, YouTube is being mean)

My point being, you understand the implications of this statement? People in Salagia know what electricity is. At least, on some level. So if MC just made one friend out of the S ranks, or Sherry, I’m sure they could come up with some way to keep any of MC’s earthly electronics permanently charged.

Outside of tech— remember how MC has to pretty much learn how to read and write? Because the Salagian language, it’s not English. In the American server, it’s hinted that the Salagain language is some derivative of Latin, and magic helps translate speech between MC and everyone else. In Toa’s path, MC can sort of read? But it’s not like speaking, and she pretty much has to relearn from the ground up (Warning: mild spoilers for Toa’s route, maybe?):

Point being: if MC can’t really read Salagian writing, then I doubt Salagians can read anything in MC’s native language (be that English, Japanese, or anything else).

So, theoretically speaking, MC could just write in her native language and no one would really be able to tell wtf she’s writing. Whose gonna teach them, her? Not if she doesn’t want them to know, she won’t.

So, to recap:

Our little investigative journalist MC is given the scoop of a fucking lifetime, being transported to a different universe.

With her tech, raw determination, and the help of some new friends, she gathers intel and writes up reports— be that literally writing, recording speech, or making video essays.

Photos, videos, any documentation she can make, she does.

The knowledge she gains enables her to move through this new world with a bit more discretion. She’s better able to navigate social settings (“everyone with blue eyes seems to hate me?… Oh yeah, the red, Avari, got it. I’ll just be cool, then”), and potentially avoid shady characters (“note to self: avoid Idina. Also, Toa needs therapy.”)

Maybe she discovers some cults earlier than she would otherwise?? 👀

And if/when she eventually gets back home, even if it’s just to visit friends, but not actually stay there— she will have the most epic story of all time. With supporting documents.

Other fun headcanons:

If this MC does pair up with a consort, everyone is like “… bro, your girl… she never stops asking questions” and her paramour is just like “fuck yeah, she doesn’t 😍”

“What are you writing” “a list of workers rights violations, I can’t believe unions are a foreign concept in this world.”

If an animal/creature shows up, MC is the first to jump to its defense. “It’s a siren!” “She’s part of an endangered species, you cretin!” “She can kill you! Aren’t you scared??” “So could tripping and falling over. Bottom line is, I’m not going to let you hurt her!”

“Do you not have kings in your world?” “I mean, they exist, but let me tell you about 1789 France…” *cue the radicalization of the S ranks*

Say a king shows up to the school for an event, oh BOY will she have Words. Not only would she ask a shit ton of questions, she will also have no fucking fear, because she has no respect for their title. “I read about this policy decision, what was this experience like for you?” Whatever prince is the associated son of the king is like “MC, please, I’m so scared for you, don’t incur his wrath”, while the king is just like “you know?… this person?.. this person is bold. To talk to me like this, the blatant lack of idol worship, almost bordering on disrespect, even… this is Different. New. Fun. I almost feel like a normal person, even.” And so, the king engages with all of her questions, much to their son’s potential dismay.

Anyways— god it feels good to get this enormous idea out of my brain and on a digital page. The Thought has been Purged, I am now free. Been a hot minute since I did some long form theorizing for CODVN, feels nice man. 😁

[blodgmonster]

Crown of Midnight reread thoughts and commentary.

-- we give Chaol a lot of shit (and rightly so) for being so shocked that Celeana, a famed assassin, assassinates people. But Dorian is doing it too. Get it together, lads.

-- oh, hey, Mort!

-- Archer is the most beautiful man Celeana has ever seen, with green eyes, a sensual mouth, and a dazzling smile, and he's strong and ruggedly handsome. You know who that sounds like to me?

-- Celaena to Dorian: "So don't expect ME to care when you find yourself nothing more than a puppet. If you aren't one already." Apollo just smashing Celaena in the face with the prophecy dodgeball.

-- What's Hollin's deal? Is he part Valg by birth?? Or just an asshole?

-- Archer: They want to put Aelin Galathynius back the throne! They say she's raising an army!

Celaena:

-- What's with SJM and slightly creepy libraries? We've got the castle library here with a secret door leading to a secret staircase that leads to an iron door where expirements are kept. Then we've got the library in the House of the Wind where Byraxis lives. Then we've got the library in the Torre Cesme, which has those baller cats but is also the site of a dreadful murder. Then we have Jesiba's library which is the Great Library of Parthos and is the site of a vicious attack on Bryce, Shryinx, and Lehabah.

-- "So Dorian closed his eyes, and took another long breath. And when he opened his eyes, he let her go." Tamlin could use some tips from Dorian.

-- the singer listing her beloved dead as the axe falls. CHILLS.

-- YASSS witches!!!

-- there's a guard named Dannan. Similar to Danaan. Interesting. First the Rhunn mountains and now this.

-- "His soul was bound to hers by some unbreakable chain." Buddy, you guys have been fucking for like a week. Calm down. And that chain is about to SNAP.

-oh no oh no oh no no no no no why did I think this happened toward the end of the book? Oh Nehemia. You deserved SO MUCH BETTER.

-- "YOU WILL ALWAYS BE MY ENEMY." Oh, Celaena, my love...oh hon.

-- Kaltain and Celaena bonding in their cells. Two young women who have been terribly abused by Adarlan. It's oddly sweet.

-- the slave rebellion in Calaculla. "Silently, she began to recite the names of her dead. And then as the overseer raised his whip, she added her name to the end of that list and swung his ax into his gut." Oh GOD.

-- her lament at Nehemia's grave. Ouch my heart.

-- Dorian's tower room sounds AMAZING.

-- I saw a theory on Tumblr that the creature that emerges from the portal is a kelpie like the one from ACOSF. And fam, IT FUCKING IS. The descriptions are freakishly similar. Which means the portal opens on the Bog of Oorid in Pyrthian. And that's why she's able to shift into her Fae form. Because she's in a world with magic and Fae. Oh my GOD.

-- "Celaena was Fae." HELL YEAH SHE WAS, BABY!!!!!! With blue fire like my girl, Azula.

-- " 'I knew you were a good woman.'...

'No I'm not....but Nehmia was.'" FUCK HIM UP, BABY GIRL.

-- "One of us has to start leading, Dorian." Shut UP, Chaol, you punk ass bitch.

-- "I'll always pick you." No, you woooooon't.

-- And now I can start saying Aelin, which is easier to spell lol

-- and thus the world gets broader, the plot thickens, and we take a step away from the simple plot and on to the meaty stuff.

-- oh! Oh! I just remembered I wanted to talk about this book in particular vs. the ACOTAR series. In this one, a pretty main character dies. And she dies for good. And she's just the first one to die. And as much as we the readers hate character deaths, there's something so much better about TOG for not shying away from killing off characters. In ACOTAR, death is meaningless. Feyre dies and is resurrected. Rhys dies and is resurrected. Amren gives up her life to save everything, and she's miraculously brought back by the Cauldron. Az and Cassian suffer pretty gnarly wounds and are fine. Aside from Papa Archeron and Clare, everyone else is covered in plot armor. You never really fear for them because, for some reason, SJM just won't kill anyone in that series. It isn't like that in TOG. And it feels more genuine.

[trollocs-ooc]

The Polycrewl character bios

Raksha Splash: Raksha is an older, jaded rustblood mechanic, engineer and bomb enthusiast. He joined the crew when some highbloods decided he had slighted them for some reason or another, and tied his legs to blocks of cement and threw him in a body of water to drown, breaking his legs. He was rescued by Eileil and brought onto the ship for recovery. However Raksha knew a rustblood with that much of a disability would be instant culling material elsewhere, so he thought had no choice but to stay aboard the ship to work. He now has mechanic legs and uses mobility aids. He is generally prickly and somewhat unpleasant to be around, but he isn't used to being shown kindness. He does genuinely like the crew, deep down, and would kill and die for them, though he wouldn't admit that. Oh and, he sometimes gets visions of the future.

His attitude towards Eileil and Riikii and the rest of the crew stems from his desire to challenge them to always be better and improve for the sake of everyone else. He has a begrudging mentorship role to Iliyal, "so he doesn't get them all killed"

Nickname: old fart

Roseta Onchar: Roseta is an oliveblooded assassin/mercenary for hire who is extremely successful at her job. She, like a jaguar, is a stealthy hunter who quickly deals with her prey. She was sent to kill the crew, but upon finding out she agreed with their ideals (and that they could pay her) she decided to join them instead. Despite being a scary stealthy assassin, Roseta isn't that serious at all when you get to know her. She uses cat puns and meows at the end of every sentence. She is a silly friendly woman just looking for companionship.

She is in a moirallegiance with Chizma in an effort to get her to be more confident, and is also flirty with Eileil (either for a similar reason, or maybe she just likes seeing flustered highbloods). She has a strong bond with Riikii, but hates Rakshas attitude just as much as he does and doesn't like to auspitize them, but does so anyway so no one gets hurt.

Nickname: meow meow :3

Tripto Manich: Tripto is a goldblood with gifted psychic abilities, and in the Alternian Empire, this usually means a lifetime of suffering as a reward. He attempted to save himself from helming by sabotaging the equipment they would attach him to, even if it meant his potential death, and attempted to psychically call for anyone that could hear to help. The helmet did end up injuring a large portion of his face, leaving him unconscious. It also ended up injuring and stalling his handlers long enough for Riikii (who'd heard the call for help) to jump in and beat them unconscious. The 2 then went back to the ship for medical care, and Tripto ended up staying as the Navigator. He is a very energetic guy, but also has the startle instinct of a deer. He loves to talk, listen to music, and generally make noise. He is not good at fighting, please protect him. He is also often perceived as annoying or too much so he has trouble making connections.

Moirallegiance with Riikii, Matespritship with Chizma.

Nicknames: Trippy, Manic, Maniac, ****

Chizma Lichor: Chizma is a fearful, shy, determined rustblooded woman who's been dealt a very bad hand in life up until getting on the Ship. She was essentially a slave to a high ranking military official before he got assassinated (Slashrs group.) and with no connections or people she could rely on, she was left to fend for herself in highblood territory. She was left barely surviving until she stumbled across Riikii and Roseta by chance, and seeing that they were traveling lowbloods begged them to take her with them out of the city. They ended up bringing her onto the Ship. She ended up staying to work as the cleaning staff and cook(though she wishes she had other skills to contribute). She struggles with an inferiority complex and unlearning the hemospectrum, but the Crew helps her out.

Moirallegiance with Roseta, Matesprits with Tripto. Confused attraction to Eileil.

Nickname: bootliker (mean . Stop that)

iliyal / ilieal Drator: youngest and most mysterious member of the crew. Hemoanon but claims to be a lowblood. Though with how much he brags you'd think he wasnt. Despite the bragging and general self-important attitude though he doesn't seem to have any real role on the ship or meaningful skills. They mostly keep him around cuz they cant let him be on his own with a clear conscience. Most likely after Raksha to make snide jokes or remarks, though his feel more meanspirited. They assume he thinks its lighthearted jabs. Probably. He appeared on the ship one day and they just let him stay there like a stray cat.

No romantic relationships.

Nickname: lil shit.

YOU KNOW 2/11 'S DEALS i cant write no more 😭

Quirks: SPOILERS ?!?; dont read if u dont wanna recognize them in yo asks

Raksha: Tthhe qquicckk bbrowwnn ffoxx jjumppss overr tthhe lazy ddogg.

^ emphasis on "strong" sounds

Roseta: the quick purrown fox jumps over the lazy dog, meow.

^ ,meow. Suffix and cat puns

Tripto: BZZt_The quick br0wn f0XX jumpZ 0ver the laZy d0g_click

^ prefix and suffix. o->0, s->Z, z->Z, x->XX

Chizma: the quick b...brown fox jumps over the lazy dog...

^ b->b...b . Ends sentences with ...

iliyal/ilieal: the qulck brown fox jumps over the iazy dog.

^ i=l

[barbex]

Books of 2024 (2023 or close to it)

@hoochieblues tagged me to list books and in that moment I immediately forgot about any book I have ever read. Did I even read a single book in 2023? But thank you for tagging me, I'll do my best.

“the game is to share 9 of my favourite books from the last 12 months, or 9 books on my tbr list for this year”

I'm tagging: @mareebrittenford, @dyrewrites, @tryingtimi, @tsuraiwrites, @midnightprelude, @lesetoilesfous, @tarysande

Let me list nine books I liked, I don't know if I read them all in the last 12 months, I just went to my Kindle and picked what sparked a good memory.

Band Sinister by KJ Charles M/M romance, regency historical Lots of pining and repressed feelings in this one, until it leads to wonderful sex and love. Kj Charles knows how to do it.

A Game of Hearts and Heist by Ruby Roe F/F romance, fantasy Fast paced and very sexy fantasy heist. So much sex that even I, certified smut queen, sometimes thought "Now? Really? Don't you think you're kind of busy right now?" But I enjoyed it a lot and there's two more books in the series.

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree cozy fantasy with a little F/F romance, fantasy This book has started a whole new trend of cozy fantasy. This is a story about what happens if the barbarian warrior lady hangs up her sword and opens a cafe. The romance is not the main story. I would have wished for a bit more introspection from the main character but I know how difficult it is to write a stoic character who doesn't want to think about feelings.

The Calyx Charm by May Peterson M/M romance, trans main character, fantasy, magic Beautiful prose! Sinister magic, darkness and families at war. Two characters so very much in love, the transwoman loved and accepted by her lover. This is the second or third book in a series but I read another book in the series and it didn't feel all that connected. And the prose was not as pretty as in this one.

Unmasked by the Marquess by Cat Sebastian NB/M romance, regency historical The main character uses she/her pronouns but I read in an interview with Cat Sebastian that, would she write the book today, they would probably use they/them pronouns. But it really doesn't matter much for either main character, the main male character already falls for the nb character when they dress and act like a man. A high stakes regency romance with the expected societal problems and lots of love.

Taji from Beyond the Rings by R. Cooper M/M romance, science fiction This book is so good! Cultural differences between species making romance and connection dangerous, feelings, sex, and politics raising the stakes every minute. I read this book again right after I finished it, it was so good.

The Elf Tangent by Lindsay Buroker F/M romance, fantasy A fun story about a human princess who loves mathematics and an elven warrior, trying to stop a war from happening. Nerdy and clever heroes with a bit of enemies to lovers.

The Hidden Moon by Jeannie Lin F/M romance, set in historic China This is like book five of a series but that didn't hinder my enjoyment. A woman, too smart for her own good, trying to solve a crime in a time when women were not allowed to do anything, especially not investigate assassinations and talk to street scoundrels. Or fall in love with said scoundrel.

---

Phew. That was a lot. Happy reading.

[malewifingonside]

It started as a gag character and now hes an actual peak lord oc 🧍🧍🧍

Info about him below:

Gao Xun 高寻/ Gao Qingxi 高清系, Peak Lord of the Yindao Peak 隐刀峰 (Intelligence Peak).

Has two siblings, Gao Yunhua and Gao Yunlan.

Fun tidbits:

A massive gossip and very dramatic (once a woman tried to set him up to be her child's absent father but unfortunately she choose so gao xun played the role so well it went from 'scumbag lover leaving his wife and son to poverty' to 'star crossed lover together at last sob story'. dw they found the father and have a happy ending) .

If he was born in modern times he would have been a theatre kids and into kpop dances.

Loves wine so much. You could exchange informations for a good baijiu. Would not exchange vital informations about the sect with it tho. He has integrity. Even tho he's crying for that wine on the inside.

He love wine but for the taste? He doesn't like getting drunk bc its annoying but he does love the taste. Often volunteered to Zui Xian peak lord to be the taste tester for her newest wine. The numbers of him going to Qian Cao due to being poisoned by it is uncountable.

Despite the fact that he's hospitalied often due to missions, he's a model patient. As long as he's inside the medical wing that is.

Has mediocre skills in various areas due to his high curiosity but short interest retention span. Unless it involves intelligence gathering, assassination and poison making, his skills are passable.

Is faceblind, but he will never admit it. (The reason why he even know that is bc he tried to paint his shifu's face and it turned out very different. Also the reason why he didn't know shen yuan and shen jiu are twins, even though he has met shen yuan multiple times)

Hate scallions pancakes so much bc he once made so many and ate so many he made himself sick and couldn't look at it the same way anymore

Loves ambushing Liu Qingge under the reason "to make sure our vanguard can survive suprise attacks". So far its working and it did help lqg became more vigilant.

Also loves disguising and crossdressing and has multiple identities to use outside of Cang Qiong. Example: Courtesan Ming, Merchant Jiao, Scholar Bai etc

Has two cats, white one named Qiuqiu and the other black one named Yuanyuan. Found them near the inn his sister owns.

[fuzzy-set]

Name: Thexikas

I wanted to make him look scary with half of his face ruined by Orin, but I couldn't replicate the look in bg3's character creator. So here is my little sketch instead.

Nickname: The Thrice-sworn/The Dark Urge

He swore his oath three times, each for a different purpose. (Details at the back)

Gender: Male

Star Sign: Aries

Height: 190cm(ish)

Orientation: Panromantic

Race: Tiefling

Romancing: Gale

Despite their rather rocky start (the distrust was mutual), Gale won him over with his cooking. After that, they were always there for each other, with Thexikas hunting any magical artefacts that Gale could consume and Gale watching over him when the tiefling was deep in the urge's throes.

Fave fruit: Anything sweet, such as bananas and dragon fruits. He may not show it, but Thexikas has a huge sweet tooth.

Fave season: Mid-summer

He is a tiefling, so he is accustomed to high temperature environment, and for some inexplicable reason he really likes those violent thunder storms with lightning flashes and heavy rain.

Fave flower: Thexikas knew little about flowers, but he did have a preference for roses, especially the red ones. The colour reminded him of blood.

After his memory returned, he was still drawn to roses, but he felt very guilty about it.

Fave scent: Roasted meat, because he liked good food. It was hard to come by during the days when he lived in Bhaal's temple.

After he moved to Waterdeep, the scent of old book/alchemical mixtures became his favourite- because it reminded him of home.

Coffee, tea or hot chocolate: Hot chocolate because it is sweet.

Average sleep hours: Eight, but when he was on the road he slept much less than that. Most of the time he would stand guard for his companions.

Dogs or cats: Both!

Thexikas is a bit afraid of Tara, because he knows her fireball is capable of penetrating all his fiendish resistance. (Besides, Tara gave him the shovel talk.)

Dream trip: While he was amnesiac, he wanted to visit Avernus- or any realms belonging to the infernal. He wished to see the source of his fiendish blood, for Thexikas mistakenly thought the urge to kill is due to some sort of a devil's curse. If he could unravel the mystery, perhaps he could either master it or be rid of it.

Amount of blankets: It is either none(summer) or 10(winter), there is no in between.

Random fact(s):

He had been an oath of conquest paladin during his Chosen days, spreading the cult of murder in his father's name. After losing his memory, Thexikas experienced vague flashes of him wielding immense power. Angered by the loss, he took up the oath of vengeance to kill whoever took that power. However, the taste of justice was bittersweet. It was after his sister's death that the tenets of vengeance lost their appeal.

He broke his oath by sparing Viconia Devir. Jaheira told him about the story of the last Bhaalspawn who spurned divinity to be with his lover- a former Sharran drow. Unfortunately, even with all his intellect and arcane might, the Bhaalspawn still lost his life to protect his beloved from assassins. Thexikas intuited that Viconia was the woman whom his predecessor fell for, although the drow seemed not to remember Gorion's Ward anymore. Moved by the tale, he decided to free her again in honour of his predecessor. (Yeah, I am unhappy about how bg3 handles Viconia's arc, so here's my little headcanon as a remedy)

Inspired by the life of the last Bhaalspawn, Thexikas broke his chains. He was no longer his father's pawn, nor was he a blood-crazed madman who killed for vengeance. Now he could truly live, with the one person he swore an oath of devotion for.

Alternative Ending: Fearful of his love life sharing the same trend as the last Bhaalspawn, he made Gale a god. In this way he would not die- at least not in a mortal sense. Then Thexikas went back to the root and became an oath of conquest paladin again, because it was what he good at. Many would know him as Ambition's hound, conquering new domains in his god's name.

tagged by @galedekarios!