#honestly even if they weren't written with the intention of that... if I went into the arena with a hot murder boy and we were both trained

[nightbutterfly09]

Valentines day 

(btw those who get flowers I recommend getting yourself invested in flower language, I probably spent most of my time on researching this lol) (also, I may be biased [is that surprising?] So Sae might get two scenarios sometime later.. we’ll see, if you want one for the other pls share your ideas and tell me about them!) Keep in mind: Valentine’s day is celebrated differently around the world. In this I made that quite obvious but it’s always written there.

Sae Itoshi:        

/small piece of info: he also gives gifts on Valentine’s day so it’s not entirely like the Japanese customs/

He was a busy man, and naturally the world was against you two spending time on this special occasion. He had another long training day and they didn't take no for an answer, not even if he made sure he was free today days before. 

By the time you heard the front door of your luxurious apartment open it was already 8pm. Everything you wanted to do went out in the trash.

There you were sitting on the barstool sipping on some warm tea on this chilly February night.

You were engrossed in your phone but weren't into it in particular. Your mind was everywhere except for the article you were reading.

Sae knew he f-ed up. Although he really couldn't do anything about it. It isn't in his hands when he is called in for training. He has the right to take a break but the sports industry just doesn't always work like that.

Not to mention, in the back of your mind, you always knew that you’d only come after work. Just because he loved you deeply it didn't mean he’d throw years of work out the window for love.

His arms tangled around your waist which made you startled. “Honestly, I already spoke to you a lot and you are reading such a stupid article?” “It's..not that stupid” 

“It is, how about next time you just ask me how it went?” The article was about Itoshi Sae’s newest match, all the tricky goals he made and also how he made the Spanish striker look even better. “I do, you always tell me you were outstanding as usual” you chuckled.

Even if you were a little salty at him, that wasn't an excuse enough to be mad at him. At least in your book.

“Happy Valentine's day mi vida.” He whispered into your ears and got your phone out of your grasp. 

“So far it's not so happy” but then he let go and gave you a small box. “Wait…” 

“Don't overthink it, I just want to make it up to you.. so I booked a flight to Paris for tomorrow and we can do whatever.” 

You were listening but his words seemed to fall into silence as you opened the box. It was a beautiful ring. A simple but pretty one, just as you like it. 

Suddenly the thought hit you like a truck. “Wait, this isn't an engagement right?!?” Your face flushed and seriously hoped it wasn't time for that yet.

“No” his voice let out a crack of a smile. “It's just a promise right, I found your fingers weirdly missing something nowadays.. So since we aren't in a position for marriage yet, I decided on this. You don't have to wear it all the time though. And the next time I give you a ring, it will be an engagement ring.” He pressed a passionate kiss onto your lips while intertwining hour fingers.

The jewel shone on your hand with a soft glow in the dark. “Now, please don't be disappointed.. I know how important today was for you” 

“It's fine mi amor” you giggle. “I don't care if you forget a birthday, an important day, or you are just busy, what matters is that you show your love for me in a way. We can celebrate Valentine’s day on the 15th too, who said it has to be on one precise day anyway?” 

He smirked and shook his head lightly. “I love you Y/N”

“And I love you, Sae” the words barely left your lips and he picked you up anc placed you on the counter kissing you with passion but also many apologies unsaid.

Your boyfriend was never good with words, but he didn't mind showing his true intentions in many ways others wouldn't even think of.

“Oh, I made chocolate..but I kind of ate them already..in misery” he couldn't help but let a coy smile escape. “It's the thought that counts, and you can make it again later.” He rolled his eyes.

Seishiro Nagi:

For you two mornings were already noon for most people. Sure you had a little less sun to look at but it wasn't like you could just stay up at night and play games together. 

As you awoke the sound of late snow hit your ears. It sounded like some serious snow storm in February. 

You leaned over your boyfriend and checked the time on your phone. 11:34am. That's still so early. Waking up this soon was pointless but it's not like you paid more attention to it. You furrowed your brows  due to the bright life emitted from your screen and saw that today was February 14th. That means only one thing.

Valentine’s day. As much as you enjoyed the quality time it was more or less a hassle. But also you made it your virtue to make homemade chocolates to Sei every 14th of February. Just for his sake.

Therefore you climbed out of the grasp of the tall figure and rushed to the kitchen after getting yourself into something cozier. 

Your sloth loved homemade chocolates. Technically he loved your chocolates. He said the creamy texture and the milky aftertaste were just like what he’d buy at the store just better. 

Sometimes you didn't understand much of his reasoning but regardless you went along with it. 

After an hour he woke up to the fresh smell of chocolate. He slowly walked to the kitchen and tilted his head in inquiry. “What are you doing?” “Happy Valentine's day love!” “Ah.. so that's the occasion, thank you.. you too” he yawned lazily.

The white haired man walked behind you and burrowed his face into your neck as he held onto you for support. His tired body weighing onto you. You giggled. “Sei~ your hair tickles!” You could help but laugh more as he kept nuzzling into you. 

“Wanna have a bite?” You smiled and raised a small heart shaped chocolate to his mouth. “Aah” he opened his mouth and lazily bit it. 

His usually tired face showed sparkling eyes and an expression that yearned for more. He never had much of a sweet tooth so when he first tasted your sweets he thought they’d be all sugary, but this was more suited to his tastes with a slight bitterness in it. 

He leaned down and kissed your lips softly. “Yummy” “Me or the chocolates” 

His lips twitched into a smirk and kissed you again turning you to face him finally. “Both” he said and connected your lips again. 

“Wanna play Valorant with me?” “I’m gonna die first aren't I?” You giggled but nodded anyway. The second you wrapped the sweets into a small bag and placed them in the fridge you went after him to boot your computer. 

Later it was time to play your favorite games, which were more on the chill side. Not only did you play animal crossing but also persuaded him to play Genshin Impact with you which he often refuses to. 

Not because he doesn't like it, it's more like because unless it's some farming for your favorite characters he wasn't really needed.

As the snow quieted down and the stars appeared in the night sky, the main part of your date just continued.

Nor you nor him has ever said this would be a date but don't you call a date a well spent quality time? Then you were doing the exact definition of a date. 

Sure anyone could start an argument over this but with your interests aligning so closely it wasn't a matter of uncertainty whether or not this would count as a date or not.

The rest of your days always went by the same way except that he did make sure to thank you for those pretty and tasty chocolates.

Michael Kaiser:     

/small piece of info: since he is german he also gives gifts on Valentine’s day so it’s not entirely like the Japanese customs/   

He was never into love, not to mention Valentine’s day. He also didn’t really understand why someone would love their partner more on a specific day instead of just showing it every day.

That was before he met you. He still thought you deserve to be loved every single second but he understood the value of such a special day. Well at least he kind of knew it’s important to you so he went along with it. 

He spent the entirety of last week thinking what he could do for you. His girl never asked for anything. As far as he knew you never even asked for much. What you did need he bought that anyway so he was in a pickle on what to do.

And there he was. Late with ideas. The awaited day came and he still hadn’t thought of anything. He really tried though. Suddenly he picked you up as you were making him chocolates. “Want to go somewhere?” You tilted your head a little. “The weather forecast said it’d rain soon.” 

“We can still go out, maybe just stay in the car?” You chuckled. “I know you’ve been stressed out because of today but come on, we can just stay at home watch a movie, chat, and I also tried out a new recipe for chocolates which means we can eat that.” “My nutritionist will murder me, but sure if that’s what you want” He mumbled and pulled you more into his embrace. 

“You can pick a movie” You shrug. “Any? Even horror?” He grinned. “Hey, I want to have a good time too.” ‘It’s not like you’d be focusing much on the screen Micha.’ 

People often say he’s as hard to read as understanding cave drawings but to you, Michael Kaiser’s unsaid words just glowed through his expressions. He could make a frowny face and you’d still be confident he was happy with something.

“Stop teasing.” You shook your head with a giggle. As soon as the chocolates were all done he got the first bite. “That’s so good Micha” A soft smile draped across his face. His loving gaze concentrated on ust the woman ahead. He wouldn’t admit, but he was falling deeper and deeper every second he spent with you.

A love he never experienced or saw just barged in on him. The locked iron door was kicked down without even a struggle. The secrets and hardships he never opened up about, all those deep cuts were exposed to you all of a sudden. He just found himself wanting to spend every existing minute with you. The love of his life. 

All those deep scars he tried burying oh so well just resurfaced. And you tried patching them up properly. As if an insecure little girl, who tried covering her pimples with layers upon layers of foundation but only making it worse. You were there and stopped his hands before grabbing the blender again.

There was something special about you. Something no woman could ever replace. Yes you had flaws, just like him. But to him that never meant less perfection. Only more things to work on.

Rin Itoshi:

/traditional Japanese styled valentine’s +reader unable to cook :)/ 

As he got home from his hour-long run the sudden aroma of burnt chocolate made its way to him. “I’m home-” His voice was full of concern but he still headed to the kitchen. “Welcome home Rin!!” You smiled. 

His gaze drifted to the counter. There was one batch of burnt chocolate in heart shapes and you were making another one now. “You don’t have to do this you know…” He inspected the burnt chocolates. Not only did they crumble at his touch but they also seemed genuinely uneatable. Not that he’d want to taste that. “I don’t want to hurt you but, I don’t think this is how they’re made.” 

You pouted and looked at him. “Hey I know I messed those up but this will be better!” You were stubborn. Once you set your mind to something you will go through with it regardless. He knew backing off wasn’t in the cards. “I’ll help you after I showered and changed.” 

“No need, I want to do this for you!” “Yeah, you either do it half-successfully and burn the kitchen down or I help you and they will be potentially digestible.”

“Stop being mean to me” you whined as he just walked out with a chuckle. After about 10 minutes he was back.

He wore a comfortable blue shirt with black sweatpants. His hair was all messy and his face had a smudge of toothpaste on it.

You giggled at his sight. “What?” He scoffed. “Lean down.” To your command he looked at you suspiciously but he obeyed. 

Doon the toothpaste was wiped down. You also made sure his hair is fine. “Have you even looked in the mirror?” “I did- but I was in a hurry” “aww you missed me that much?” “No, I was afraid you’d burn the kitchen down.” 

“See, you are mean again.” Regardless of his words he started helping you and making sure you two didn't leave the chocolate on the fire for long. 

The chocolates weren't only pretty this time but they were also so tasty. You filled some with jam that your grandma uses often. 

You were now sitting by the couch cuddling while some boring show was playing in front of you. That neither of you was interested in.

This is how a regular Valentine's day goes for Rin and you. Nothing much happening but what does, has lots of sentimental value. 

The sun slowly made it's way down the horizon as you two were still playing around by the window. 

You both needed nothing more. Just chocolates and the soft silence of your home.

Reo Mikage: 

/piece of info: he doesn’t really follow japanese customs/

The man knew your needs by heart. Not only would he make sure every February 14th is enjoyable for you but he would also make sure every time a new experience can be written into your diary that you always thought you kept well hidden from him. 

Reo did love you every day. He did show how much he treasured you each moment but he also knew that these special occasions have a sentimental value that he can't just ignore. So instead he tries making the most of it. Every single time.

He already had a hotel booked and you awoke in fresh bed sheets in a homey hotel. You slowly woke up and opened your eyes. Reo was lying next to you and he was just admiring you. “Why are you staring so much?” You couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. You just woke up and you probably looked like a giant mess. “Because you’re pretty. So pretty.” The purple haired man smirked. 

You were doing your makeup when he finally arrived from downstairs to order your breakfast to be this luxurious one. Not like you ever asked for such. “Happy Valentine’s Day, my queen.” Reo leaned down and kissed your lips. 

“Mmm, cherry.” “I just put that on.” You pretended to pout but then out of nowhere he handed you a giant bouquet of flowers. “Flowers for the pretty woman. My pretty woman.”  Pink carnations rose up from all the little white flowers. It was filled with pinks and deep purples with also little white flowers here and there. Peonies decorated the bouquet to give it a gentle and majestic look. The latter being there for the soft transition.

Lilies swayed on the edges as you held the soft purple paper it was wrapped in. There was a note to be seen with small white petals painted on it.

‘To my queen who I have to thank for a lot. You lit my world up thousands of times when I was at my worst. Thank you for always reminding me you are here less than in an arm’s reach. I want to show my utmost love to you every second of every day. I’ll never leave you and you cannot either. I love you Beautiful.'

Tears swelled up into your eyes as you read his confession. And that wasn’t even a florist’s handwriting. It was his very own. 

Not only does this man spend so much time and money on you he also makes sure it doesn’t all come from his wealth. Not only do his presents have sentimental value but also it shows that he cares. He cares for you deeply.

“Reo~” You whined trying to hold your tears back. “I just did my mascara too” You whined as you tried drying off your tears. Not that right now that was the most important. You just didn’t know what to do or say to him. 

It was as if words and letters and voices couldn’t convey your true feelings. As if this moment can’t possibly be written. Something ethereal. But also, something more than ethereal. That was his kind of love.

Meguru Bachira:

To say the least your boyfriend had a personality. The moment he woke up in your arms he turned and woke you up with sloppy kisses. “Morning Sunshine”

Your eyelids opened just slightly only to flinch at the amount of light that came through the window. Looks like spring was coming very soon as even the sunrays decided to interrupt your sweet dreams. “Morning Meguru~” your slightly crooked morning voice barely made it out. 

“Happy Valentine's day!!” He squealed excitedly and rolled on top of you.

After finally calming him and going about your day at one point he said he had to meet up with Isagi so you were left in the house all alone. The morning jitters also sparkled onto you as you felt more energized than ever.

But Meguru had that aura around him a lot. No matter how little sleep you got or how exhausted you were because of a long week, your boyfriend would always be there to brighten your day.

After about 4 hours he finally came back. You were making chocolate. It was half ready when the door opened. “So I know today is usually your turn and I have to give white day presents BUUT hear me out.” He grinned and gave you a bouquet of colorful flowers.

Many flowers brightened in a bunch of different colors and aesthetics. You saw red tulips, red, orange and white lilies as well as hydrangeas blooming in deep pinks. Not only was it mesmerizing to look at but the smell filled the room in minutes. 

“Thank you baby! I am so happy you thought of me” you grinned and leaned in to hug him. 

You loved how he was the partner to always confide in, he tried his best to make everyone's day, so when it came to his loved ones he didn't shy away at all. 

You put the flowers in a beautiful vase which you got from his mom last year. It was painted with flower veins strangling all over it in every direction.

Later you both wrapped the chocolates as well as little snacks and went down to the nearby park for a picnic. It has been tradition that on Valentine's day the both of you go downstairs with home cooked things and have fun.

The weather was still chilly and that's what made it more fun. It was solely you two in a friendly loneliness. Having alone time with someone was the best and you both understood that feeling well without having to speak up.

As the cold breeze hit your face you leaned more and more into Meguru’s warmth which not only warmed your body up but also his.

The gentle but earnest type of love that was so hard to find. A childlike wonder that you never grew out of.

You already knew Meguru could go overboard and he didn't miss saying “Happy Valentine's day�� in every waking moment you passed each other in the house. With loud cheers and the pure happiness emitting from his mouth.

[cloverskentwells]

clove sees blood all over cato's face and her brain short circuits. he sees her with a knife and it has the same effect

[haruriin]

VALENTINE EVE'S NIGHTMARE ♡ * ˖ ࣪ CH. O1

★ synopsis: every teenage girl has her own struggles, so naturally, you found a way to escape yours! though you never thought you would bump into a pretty boy who had the same habit as you...oh, he's actually in the same school as you? and you two share the same taste in movies too...? wow, lucky you!

*✧·˚ cw. rin itoshi x f!reader, this is a smau & written fic! reader has family issues, so does rin, reader is 16, reader is a smoker, this is angst for like 2 chapters the rest is pure crack/fluff trust, language.

after making sure you're carrying your headphones, keys, and —just in case— some spare coins inside your jacket pocket, you finally zip it up and carefully exit your room, opting to carry the few cat food cans that had been hiding under your bed in your hands, since carrying a bag for such a short trip would be a hassle anyways.

except the soft music blaring through your headphones and into your ears, the streets are mostly quiet except for the occasional sound of a car driving through the road every now and then. your neighborhood is relatively safe, so you haven't ever really worried much about going out alone, still, you make sure to be as close as possible to your home (even if being away is what you want the most) whenever you do.

when you get to the small park right next to the convenience store, there you see him, in all of his glory: mr. chonkers rolling around on his back without a care in the world. truly, you started sneaking out of your house late at night just to be able to breathe when your house got way too suffocating to do so, meeting the calico cat was pure coincidence, but he gave you an excuse to not make the people around you worry about your escapades, and honestly, you loved the (massive) little ball of fur, it kept you company when your mom wasn't there when you needed her, and when all your brother seemed to feel toward you was indifference.

"i could hear the mighty rumbles of your stomach from miles away" you kneel down in front of the cat, opening the cans of food and gently petting his fur while he gobbles them down.

you are lost in your thoughts, hugging your knees absentmindedly and resting your head against them when the soft breeze of the spring night envelops you, feeling at ease until you realize someone's very tall unmoving shadow looming over you...

"oh!" you gasp bringing your hand to your chest, your heart is beating faster than it ever has, thinking you were about to get robbed or something similar (at least you won't let anything bad happen to mr. chonkers!) and when you turn around, your heart beats twice as fast for an entirely different reason

there, what you think must be the most beautiful man you've ever seen, is standing with his hands inside the pockets of his hoodie, intently looking at...mr chonkers? as if you weren't even there.

"hm, that's why he was getting so fat huh" the stranger mutters under his breath while you try to pull yourself out of the trance that his beautifully long lashes have you in.

"um...is mr. chonkers yours?"

"mr. what..?" he seems to finally acknowledge your presence, turning to look at you with one eyebrow raised and a puzzled look on his face, you suddenly feel extremely self-conscious under his scrutinizing gaze...and you just embarrassed yourself too! truly, you didn't think the cat would have an owner, so you just went ahead and named him mr. chonk-

"it's not mine." the boy's voice brings you out of your mental rant "i just feed him sometimes."

oh...that certainly explains why mr. chonkers is so...chunky.

you stare at your feet for a bit, thinking about what your next move should be, you've been coming here almost every night ever since you moved here but it's your first time seeing this guy, maybe he's new here? shouldn't you ask for his number or something? you really should...he's so pretty too! okay, you definitely can do this!

"hey, since you've been feeding mr. chonkers too, we could take turns, can you give me your-" you stopped when you finally turned around to look at him, only to find that he wasn't there anymore! curse you, he probably just left thinking you were weird as hell while you were mentally preparing to ask for his number...

sigh. you kneel down again "you could've at least let me know you had someone else feeding you too, y'know?"

"meow?" you giggle when the cat starts rolling around happily in front of you, and you bend down some more to sratch on his tummy and chin before standing up and making your way back home.

you light up a cigarette and bring it to your lips while walking back to the house, deciding to take the longer way so you could take in the scenery while listening to your music.

even though your mind was flooded with images of the pretty stranger and the way you embarrassed yourself in front of him, so you couldn't really focus on anything else...

⟡ * ˖ ࣪ m.list ⟡ *˖ ࣪ profiles ⟡ * ˖ ࣪ taglist: @x3nafix @taefanclub @lukapurin @vertejay @levihanmyotp @lovelymeguru @chigiri-luvr @kaz-0e @t3chn0chan @yiiscorner @sfwrin @yuukiririix (ask 2 be added!)

a/n: finally got the courage to start posting fics again LMAO im so excited ab this one...hopefully i can post ch. 2 tomorrow🤞🏻

© haruriin 2025.

[sirsagrell]

The holidays have passed so it's time to yap critically about Veilguard some more.

So. I like to project themes and meanings on Dragon Age stories that weren't even necessarily intentionally put there by the writers. And how well Dragon Age used to lend itself to that favorite pastime of mine, was, I think, one of its main strengths.

Hear me out.

Dragon Age is a game, and a game is not a book. A Dragon Age narrative is not done being written until you the player play through it and fill in the blanks. And you don't just play a role, as in define the player character and make choices for them. Through the interplay between your character and the world, trough the influence you have on the world and the people in it, you pick out the themes and meanings that your very own Dragon Age narrative explores and expresses.

It used to be a damn fantasy writer simulator. No wonder it inspired so much creativity.

Some of it was intentional, and some, probably, not. Some, but far from all of it was due to the infamous Dragon Age Grey Morality(TM).

(Where that Grey Morality(TM) was executed well, and where not is a separate conversation, and that conversation has very much been had, extensively, over the past ten years. I'm not getting into that here.)

Most of this effect, however, relied on the simple fact that Dragon Age never presumed to tell you what the correct themes and meanings of a Dragon Age story were. (Yes, you could arrive at some really unfortunate themes and meanings with the story building blocks given to you, yes, I know. But you never had to.)

You were asked questions (Yes, some of them were stupid questions). But if you were in any way interested in thinking about the messy source material presented to you, you immediately arrived at questions even deeper than the writers ever intended to ask, and weren't some of them just fascinating.

Veilguard, I feel, almost stopped asking questions. Worse, when it does try to ask them, it tells you what the answers are supposed mean. Literally. In a tooltip (!) in the interface (!!). There's a correct way to read Dragon Age now, somehow.

I'd say the most egregious example of this shift is Rook's unquestionable heroism.

We, Dragon Age and I, used to ponder the meaning of being celebrated as the hero, regardless of what kind of person you really were. Or the futility of trying to be the hero when all the societal systems work against you. Or the terror of being the hero, when you're suddenly forced to become a whole societal system yourself. My Dragon Age protagonists had a really sad and shitty time being protagonists. 'Twas good for their souls.

Enter Veilguard and Rook.

You start the game and you're introduced to Rook, the game's hero. You are repeatedly reassured that you're the hero, and Were Chosen For Reason. You can attempt to express doubt about maybe having made the situation worse, and you're immediately assured by your companions that you shouldn't. "You got this Rook", the game repeatedly says. (It's thankless work, fixing the world, Solas shares, but Solas is from a different game and probably didn't get the memo.) Everyone is actually super thankful to Rook, even the people you left to be blighted, you're a universally good influence, after all, and you couldn't be two places at once, any reasonable person understands. You're doing your best. Don't you worry, your best will be enough.

Oh, and just in case you're still having doubts, Rook, all your antagonists are mindless and/or power-hungry fools, and, like, elfy Thanos. It is objectively correct to oppose them. By doing so you're not just saving people but helping the world move past the violence of the past and into a brighter safer future.

Honestly, I don't think I have ever played a game that went to such lengths to assure you you're the Good Guy here. I've never played Marvel games though, are they like that? Is this why…

This is getting too long. So I'll sum it up as best I can.

Veilguard isn't juvenile in meaning, not really. In tone, yes, in meaning, for the most part, no. It does tackle some heavy stuff. But Veilguard knows what exactly it means to say and it will beat you over the head with its message, until you know it too.

And that, to me, for a Dragon Age story, is just sad.

[twst-drabbles]

Malleus 15

Summary: A way home was finally found a year after you rejected Malleus's advances. Once you got home and were settled in, an invitation made it's way to you, written to you by Malleus Draconia, King of Briar Valley. How many years have passed?

(I've been on an odd writing spree, but for my original writings. It's weird, but I'll take it! Anyways, have a what-if situation of a King Malleus still yearning for the Prefect! Might continue it if people are interested enough in this what-if scenario.)

"Then would it be possible," Malleus reaching out to you as you faced the star-filled sky, "for you and I to share in each others lives?"

…and so the day finally came. When Malleus would gather up his courage and confess in the way all faeries do, in sentences layered over passionate feelings.

Honestly, the thought of being in a relationship with Malleus didn't sound all that bad. He's a sweet man, if a bit air headed with how easily lost in.

You do feel bad, honestly, for the fact that your feelings never ran deeper than general interest. You don't yearn for him, you can't. Especially not when you know that he's a prince. If you want to love him properly, if you want to build upon this general interest, you'd have to accept that specific part of him.

However, when you imagine the future laying before you, you see that it has nothing to do royalty.

Malleus has done nothing wrong. It's just unfortunate that he's a prince. His future was simply not one that will mesh well with your own.

"My life in my own," you said, "I don't intent to share it anymore than I already have. I'm… simply not interested."

You knew him too well. You can't pretend to be ignorant and go through hoops just to convince yourself that surely he didn't mean that, that he meant something different and that it's all platonic. Because, to you, that's just an excuse to not be blunt and say no. To avoid hurting the other party.

But avoiding what needs to be said is worse.

So, you had to reject him and leave it at that. You didn't like hurting him, but you also can't delude yourself and think that everything will somehow work out, especially since your feelings don't match his own.

Malleus didn't push and you didn't make him leave. And so you both stayed, continuing on as you always have, two people with positions too unique to truly be ignored.

The day came that you would leave. You said your goodbyes, you had your parties and feasts, and when all was said and done, you were relieved to be leaving. To finally go back home.

You waved to them all, to all the people you've met along the way, and passed through the mirror without a second glance back.

Time barely passed by when you got home. So little time, in fact, that your phone was still near to full battery. Dust didn't collect on your bed or dining table like you expected, and there wasn't a single voice message or text asking about your whereabouts.

It's as if you didn't vanish at all. Well, to be fair, you weren't the kind of person to keep in constant or close touch with anyone. You liked your alone time a little more than the average person, but it wasn't anything to make you feel guilty over.

In fact, you're relieved, that only a minimal amount of time has escaped you. You didn't have to go home to frantic worries, to people getting angry out of concern for your sudden disappearance. Everything was calm and level. It was easy enough to go back to the routine you had before.

You missed this, you will admit that. You missed the air and scent of your bed, the grocery store and all its busy chatting, the scent of baked or fried snacks surrounding the local flea market, and even the way the wind flows through the trees. Sure sure, the land you were previously in had all these things, but they weren't yours if that made sense.

Honestly, after a while, you were almost convinced that everything that went on back in Night Raven College was just a dream. If only because, like a dream, you can really only enter and exit such places once.

But then an invitation entered your hand.

Addressed to you, handwritten in such a way that can only be taught in professional calligraphy classes. It tells of a tour around the gardens in the abode of the King of Briar Valley.

King, huh? Has that much time really passed? Putting that aside for a moment, you can't say you were shocked that, out of all people to be able to send a letter right to you, you would place your bets on Malleus.

That being said, you couldn't say no. It's been a while but you're familiar with Malleus's language. A simple tour just for the sake of a tour? No, that's not it at all. He probably misses you. And, to an extent, you miss being over there. A visit is probably due right about now.

And, if things go the same way as they did last time, you'll be gone then back in the blink of an eye.

So, you wrote your reply and placed in on the nearest full body mirror.

You probably should've practiced your landing when it comes to mirror traveling. You fell right through, though you were lucky enough to grab the edge of the mirror before you could crack your knees.

Immediately, you were hit with the scent of cold and old magic, that sharp scent, not quite ozone, less metallic than that, less chemical-like than that. It was neutral magic, subdued in smell but overpowering enough to fill your sense anyway.

It's been a hot minute since you've been here. You're not quite to magic anymore, and you couldn't help but start coughing and clearing your throat.

Then, you were practically washed away with the smell of fresh rosemary.

"You…" And, as you expected, his voice stayed the same, and yet you can hear it, that small bit of quivering, as though he can't believe what's before him. "So, the invitation did make its way towards you, dear Child of Man. Are you alright? Are you sick?"

You held out your hand and coughed into your hand, trying to get this weird stickiness out.

"I'm, ugh, I'm fine, Hornton," Ah, should you really be calling him that now that he's king, apparently? Ah, who cares, you're the guest, you can be forgiven. "It's been a bit. Not all that used to magic anymore, is all."

And then, you looked up. Before, you wouldn't say his horns were malleable or soft, but there is a difference to them. Their color has darkened, and there these silver decorations about them that made those horns seem longer than they actually are.

There was a laugh. "Are my horns truly such a marvel? Well, if you so ask, I won't mind you touching them, if only to prove to you that they are no mere illusion."

"No, I'm good on that front," you sighed then finally looked to Malleus's face. "Huh. You look… older."

Older, and that's honestly kind of concerning for you. He isn't aged, not in the same way you've felt around Lilia. Yes yes, Lilia has a youthful face to him, but after a while, you can't help but notice the little things that betray his true age. Much like now, where you can see the slightest dips in his eyes, near his mouth.

Like most fae, they seem forever young, but the signs don't skip anyone no matter long they stay alive.

The fact is, enough time has passed that Malleus visibly aged.

Malleus, in all his kingly regalia, closed his eyes and took a deep breathe in. "It hasn't been that long. How many years…twenty? Perhaps thirty or less? Ah but, that's an age for children of men, isn't it? And yet, time hasn't so much as glanced at you. You look just the same as I remember, perhaps more youthful. But, that aside, I'm glad to know that this invitation made it you, before life has left your body."

…thirty years? Thirty years? So, time really does pass by differently in your home, huh? That's… you don't know what to think, honestly. Awful? Interesting? It certainly doesn't feel good.

"That long? How much did I miss?" Were there reunions? Letters written to you but could never be sent? And how is everyone else doing with their lives? Are they still alive? Did someone die an early death potentially? And what about families? Did they start some?

…ugh, you hate this feeling. You only have theories and questions and already you're feeling left out from it all.

Well, all you can do is take it one step at a time. Get to know what has happened, and move forward from there. You have no choice but to do so.

Malleus placed a gloved hand on his chin. "…it would take too much time to say right now. Perhaps I'll tell you all that I know as I walk you around the garden? You did accept the invitation, did you not?"

Your mind wasn't quite here, so you just nodded with a, "Right, right."

"Then," Malleus turned, his hair much longer now, perfectly groomed without a knot in there, "shall we be off?"

And you followed, feeling a bit awkward in the fact you were just wearing casual wear.

"…is that lipstick you're wearing, Hornton?" Probably not what you should be focusing on, but you couldn't help but notice. You're more used to his pallid lips than that luscious color.

"Hmm? Why, yes. It was shade recommended to me by one of my servants. If I remember right, this was something crafted by Schoenheit."

"Oh, so his stuff's world famous now, I take it?"

"World famous? Hmm, not quite sure what that entails, but the influence has made its place here. So, influential enough. Does it look odd on me?"

"Don't worry, it looks nice."

[hamletshoeratio]

didnt she also say something nasty about the queen when one of her kids had just died

Yeah here's part 2 of this

The way she talked about the death of Queen Charlotte's granddaughter; Princess Charlotte, who was historically only twenty-one when she died in childbirth. The Lady Whistledown commentary in QC is just outright cruel, it's clear Queen Charlotte in the off-season (QC present day timeline being set in the Winter/Early spring break between season 2 & 3) becomes Penelope's biggest target in the aftermath of her fallout with Eloise. There's no other way to describe it.

Ngl the above is really disturbing to me. She's angry at Eloise, has lost access to info from the Bridgertons because of her falling out with Eloise, and she's angry at the Queen for getting angry at Penelope's own words as LW, and trying to discover LW as a result. And so she spends the off-season insulting and attacking a grieving Queen Charlotte. I mean that's one way for a flower to bloom I guess...

Theo, one of the only working class characters in the show, nearly lost his job because of lady whistledown and may have lost it in the aftermath of the season.

A lot of her general commentary as Lady Whistledown isn't clever or witty; it's just outright cruel.

The way she talks about the Bridgerton family, a family that trusts and cares for her, is horrible. Particularly, the way she wrote about Daphne in season 1.

Betraying Eloise's trust for two entire seasons because it didn't start with the Theo situation. She listened to Eloise's frustrations about Daphne and then used LW to attack and belittle Daphne. Speaking as a sibling, I will rant about my sisters until kingdom come to my friends but the minute a so-called friend starts publicly attacking my sister, it's over. I would not be in control of my actions. Like over the course of two seasons, she's attacked and nearly destroyed the reputations of Eloise's eldest sister, two of her brothers, her first love, and the entire family as a result. Judging by the Bridgertons were born to shine line in the trailer, I doubt Francesca will make it through the season unscathed.

She hasn't felt real remorse. Despite nearly causing Marina's death (as she tried to miscarry in the aftermath of LW revealing her pregnancy), she ends season 1 smirking about being LW. Hasn't written or contacted Marina to see how she has been since, got jealous Colin went to see her and still probably hasn't written or visited her. Not to mention her "I least did something. All you did is talk" speech at the end of season 2 to Eloise. A speech that wasn't even accurate as Eloise had been to meetings, listened to speeches and debates, debated with Theo, shared and read and discussed different political leaflets with Theo, Eloise had grown intellectually from the beginning to the end of the season. It's because of Penelope that that came to an end.

Outside of rescuing Daphne from her betrothel to Berbrooke in s1, what good has her work as LW actually done? It's ruined far more lives than it's helped, and intervened countless times when it didn't have authority to. Many secrets weren't Penelope's to tell.

I could honestly keep going but I genuinely don't know how she's supposed to get redeemed in eight episodes because the character we have at the minute in no way deserves a happy ending. LW didn't really matter in the books as it wasn't as active a plot point as it is in the show. By expanding the LW concept to give Penelope a more complex arc, they've unwittingly robbed her of what made people like her book counterpart and as a result created a villain that they have no intention of trying to redeem, because they don't believe she needs to be redeemed.

[genericpuff]

I’m gonna have to disagree with you that Kaos is any better than LO. It’s all the same bull crap.

Kaos just seems like live-action LO, both having a boring storyline with bad or fetishized characterizations of the Greek Gods and figures, and both looking artistically beautiful and some cool concepts, but badly executed. The only difference is that Kaos has more LGBTQIA+ themes than LO, has a tiny bit more Greek references, and gets much darker. That’s pretty much it.

As a Greek who studies our myths and stories extensively, I’m tired of the west trying to take and rearrange our stories and retell them ‘with a modern, western lense’. It’s exhausting and infuriating.

It’s time the west gets over its fascination with us and move on.

Fair opinion! Honestly, the initial post I made about it was after only watching the first couple episodes. Now that I've finished it, I can definitely see actual glaring issues with it, both in their characterizations as well as in how they kind of lose the intrigue after a few episodes of the setting and elements of them being gods. Which are all issues that LO have as well.

Though I will say, LO has those issues far more than Kaos does, but what really separates LO from Kaos, in my opinion - the creators of Kaos aren't pretending that Kaos is more than it is. To me, Kaos isn't in any way a singular Greek myth retelling, more so a fun "Greek epic" style story featuring the gods in a modern setting, the way LO could have been if Rachel hadn't tried to make it into something bigger than it was (and if she didn't put herself on a pedestal as a "self proclaimed folklorist"). I can watch Kaos and appreciate it as a fun Greek myth inspired piece of media because that's pretty much all it's trying to be. Meanwhile LO gives us middle-school-level writing with very little real Greek myth influence (aside from what it benefits Rachel to do so) that even goes so far as to outright disrespect the myths that they were based on... all the while people praise it as the greatest Greek myth retelling ever.

I think Kaos is miles better than LO because it at least tells a more coherent story than LO ever could have, with a lot more attention paid to the stylization of a Greek epic (compared to LO which tried and failed to implement those same things, such as the Fates, self-fulfilling prophecies, and witty narration as to retell a story that's already happened).

Granted, that story still takes a lot of liberties with the source material (some that I enjoyed, others not so much), but in that regard, I refer to the above - Kaos isn't trying to be an actual retelling like LO did, so I view it the same way I do as something like Hercules or Hades, where the people who made it clearly love Greek myth and wanted to do some Greek myth-inspired story with their own twists on the narratives, and it paid off in a story that, in spite of their flaws, still feels intentional and thought out.

LO, by comparison, is just a mess of ripped off half-baked ideas thrown at a wall and filled in with self-fulfilling power fantasy garbage written by someone who claims to have deeper knowledge of the myths but clearly doesn't. It's hard to enjoy LO in spite of its flaws because it's all flaws and they're so deeply-rooted in the context of Rachel's own biases and sexual preferences that you really can't separate it from that once you know if it.

I do have some criticisms of Kaos and some of its more creative choices - Hera cheating on Zeus with Poseidon (literally wtf lmao), Persephone still being the "I went down there willingly!" archetype (though at least she's not 19 in this, the casting for her and Hades was great), as well as the fact that things weren't wrapped up by the end of the first season which really bums me out because now it's up to the mercy of Netflix to give it that second season - but ultimately, from a story-writing perspective, Kaos absolutely did accomplish having an actual narrative with themes and goal-driven writing that LO failed in having. That comparison doesn't make Kaos a 100% perfect show without flaw, but I made the comparison initially anyways because much of what I enjoyed in Kaos was what I expected from LO (and ultimately didn't get).

That's just my own two cents though! And I need to make it clear - I am not a Greek person! I have no say or merit within the discussion regarding Greek myth and how it's been appropriated!! - so ultimately... my opinion of these things really aren't as valuable as someone who actually is Greek or studied heavily in it.

So that said, I can completely see the merit in your own arguments that a lot of these "modern retellings" tend to miss the point of the stories they're trying to retell (esp with the criticisms I outlined above) and are often chewed up through a Western lens. The lesser of two evils is still evil. But if we're purely talking Kaos vs. Lore Olympus here as modern entertainment that are both attempting similar things... I'd be way more likely to rewatch and recommend one over the other. Plus there are a lot of adaptions out there made by Westerners / non-Greeks that are incredible and are, at the very least, amazing stepping stones into the world of Greek myth for those who want to learn more about it. Out of the pool of ongoing modern Greek myth retellings/inspired works - Blood of Zeus, Hades/Hades 2, Kaos, Epic: The Musical, Hadestown, Hercules, Percy Jackson & The Olympians, and Lore Olympus - it's not hard to guess which one I'd be the least likely to recommend as gateways into Greek mythology. If those titles were organized in a list of best to worst, Kaos isn't at the top of that list, but it's sure as shit higher than LO 💀😆

[grim333z]

do you write negan x reader and if so would you be interested in writing one where the reader has seasonal depression ? would take place during season 10 like negan isn’t with the saviors anymore

{a/n I wasn't super sure where to really go with this one, and it's honestly not the best thing I've written but I appreciated the idea I haven't ventured into my angstier style of writing much}

MASTERLIST

Come over~

Negan x gn!reader 

"I'm in the process of clearin' out cobwebs

I was taking the wrong meds, feels good to be sad

And my house is just barely big enough for my family

But it feels like a fortress when the weather gets bad"

As winter dew nearer, the lights getting earlier and colder, the sun seeming to slowly cease from existence, you knew what was coming, every year like clock work, and it never seemed to get easier. Though, you had someone there for you this year. You'd only really gotten close to the man because Daryl had asked you to keep an eye on him. He'd been open about what he'd done why he was in the cell, You knew about Glenn, Abraham. What he did, why he did it. Having broken down an told you all of it.

Your knee's pulled up to your chest as he tells you everything, "I was out... getting her chemo, and i came back and she was uh, fuck. She was gone, I burnt the place down, I couldn't bring myself to fucking, you know..." His eye's are glossed over, and each word is said breathlessly, almost panicked, you knew he'd never love you like he loved Lucille, but he did love you. "i was, fuck i was so broken, i needed control, and I had it... i couldn't bring myself to do something like that again, and i'm only really here still because some, Carl. Smart ass kid, his dying wish was to keep me alive." you listen intently, you knew about Carl, though only really being taken into the community near ten years after his death, the old leaders son, The grime's weren't gone entirely, you met Judith on the odd occasion while she was wandering around having slipped out of Daryl or Michonne's view, The story's never went away, there's always someone near who was at one of them, Like Arron was at the line up, or how Daryl had been with some of the leaders since the very start, you never really got over feeling like an outsider, never stopped being treated like one, perhaps that's why you and Negan had even grown close, or the two of you sparking up some form of relationship caused them to treat you like an outsider, though you'd never consider leaving Negan, he isn't how he's described in the story's. Changed.   

So when he noticed your appetite start to disappear, refusing some of the veg he'd sneaked from the farm while he was meant to be working, or waking up in the early hours to the quiet noise of the pads of your feet against the cold hardwood flooring, he knew something was up, deciding one night, while you were stood in the kitchen drinking some water and trying to convince your brain to shut the actual fuck up, to go and ask you about it. His frame, darkened by the sparse ,light in the room, lingers in the door way, he's not to sure if he should wait for you to notice him or, just say something, though when your eye's trail over to him, he takes it was his que to speak, "uh, hey" slightly unsure on how to really approach the situation, "You okay?" you shake your head letting the mouthful of water slide down your throat, "just, little low. it happens every year, Ill get over it ."You breathe, garnering a gentle nod from the man, he walks close enough to wrap his hands around your waist, gently leading you to the bedroom, his head lowering slightly to whisper in your ear, his hot breath against your neck and ear "You, tell me next time" Which you hum, gently in response to, finding yourself asleep in his arms in no time.

[intertexts]

OKAY BECAUSE I HAVE STILL NOT WRITTEN DOWN ALL OF MY THOUGHTS AND THEYRE JUST KIND OF FLOATING AROUND VAGUELY IN MY BRAIN SOUP.... holds out my hands like a starving victorian child. tell me about your william first death thoughts <3 what the hell sent that boy over a cliff edge. how long did he stay at the bottom. what was his first glimpse of the spirit world like. etc etc etc !!!!!!

GOD. WIWI TIME. you KNOW this is going to be an indecipherable soup of thoughts. if i was saying this all in person u know i would have like. pages of notes with a billion little paragraphs going a billion directions & arrows pointing all over the place. but. let's see what we've got. i love being normal about william wisp!!!

you know my thoughts on those damn wisps. first off. like before i even get started i cannot overstate how "something alien that loves you and wants you but doesn't have any conception of how humans work or how their affection hurts the thing they want " they are to me. they are a little kid who's trying to catch a lightning bug and crushing it in their hands, except they want to crush it and they don't get how killing a lightning bug is bad. they are going oh we like this kid he's nosy and curious (and he also wants to be dead? hey, we're dead! awesome! i see no problem with this!) we want him dead :)

the thing that i guess has slowly solidified in my head as to how the hell that boy went over a cliff......... god this is going to be so incoherent. you're in for it.

i do really love the folklore of will-o-the-wisps-- hypnotically leading you astray and off paths and down places you'll never return from. i think also that the wisps actively tugging him in that direction in some form resonates in a really painful way with the "haha! william wisp everybody wants to manipulate and use you for their own goals and you keep falling victim to wanting to trust people and getting fucking hurt by it (said in the haha jonathan you are banging my daughter cadence)" thing. how many of the pivotal choices in will's life were made because *he* wanted them. how much of what's happened to him is him getting tossed around from person to person!!

simultaneously: god you know he fucking killed himself man. you know he did. i'm not even-- staring at u with a hopeless expression and my hands in my hair. like. obviously he did. william wisp boy scout. william wisp always prepared with 1 million useful tools. william wisp grew up running around in the woods. william wisp who loved hiking and was always outside. you don't do that accidentally, unless you're an absolute idiot in a very precarious situation, neither of which i think apply to him. he still... chose to follow the wisps. i think. like, that decision Was His. he wasn't hypnotized out of his gourd or something. in my mind maybe it was a bit less of a "this time i'm really gonna do it" and more of a "this is interesting and beautiful and compelling and i honestly don't really give a shit if i die? maybe that's what this means. maybe that's what the woods are telling me that i'm right and i shouldn't be here after all." actually yeah no i just arrived at this conclusion myself and im fucking. yeah. kemuri voice if you weren't a coward you'd have killed yourself already. wisps voice yeah you know how you think about bleeding out sometimes? yeah you should do that. that would be good. that's all you've good for. it would be the best thing you possibly could do right now (to them it IS. they want him dead so they can have him!!!!). yeah c'mere come this way yeah keep following me. look at that drop. look at how pretty it is.

so. i guess. there's your answer to what i think happened there!!!!! regardless of being influenced the choice was his, ultimately. i think it takes away frm his whole narrative if it was not an intentional decision. to do that. & also i think his parents & the people around him Know That. stares at his dynamic with his parents. staring at it. (also just. william wisp clinical depression. he's just fucked up that way even with good parents even outside the deadwood horrors. he's just like that. important to me. passively suicidal long b4 he fell in the deeply miserable high schooler way. god he must have been like.. fourteen fifteen? sophmore when it happened? but GOD the deadwood horrors also. growing up being absolutely alienated from everyone around u except a handful of people.....)

I HAVE NOT ACTUALLY LIKE. thought about how long he was there for very much. but i think it was quick for him and long, like, objectively. in my head i have been thinking that it just. happened while he was alone and he came back alone but i don't know if he would tell his parents. would he tell his parents? i don't know if he'd danny phantom it or if he'd come back limping and pale and brown with dried blood and go hey mom? in a choked wobbly trying to hold back tears voice & accidentally phase through her arms when she tried to hug him.

either that or i think he should come back while the cops are crouched over his body. early morning freezing cold his parents crying a couple yards away no paramedics because they couldn't make it through the forest and there's no nearby safe helicopter landing space. just open his eyes laura palmer style. the like,,,, finality of it to everyone around him. they Knew He Was Dead. not that laura palmer did that but i'm picturing that opening scene of them finding her washed up body u know.

regardless: i don't think he saw the spirit world until... god. when's the first time he did in canon. his second death? i don't think he knew Anything. i don't think the wisps gave him shit!!!! he just woke up no heartbeat no breath falling through floors and phasing through people nobody to ask about it. his parents didn't know anything he didn't either!! anyway. leaving you with this.

[sayakxmi]

Finishing chapter 6 in Reverse1999:

Thoughts under the cut. Including spoilers, obviously.

Boy do I have thoughts. Most of them already shared with Yudja, as usual, but I felt the need to post them, too, lmao.

These bitches weren't lying, when they were saying that the writing of this chapter [6] elevated R1999 to one of the best written gacha games, because, man. Don't get me wrong, R1999's writing is fantastic in general, but the last chapter especially had me go through such a rollercoaster of emotions and opinions that I found myself changing my pfp to Kakania on discord out of respect. It sounds funny, but after going on and on as to why I liked her, I thought, you know what? Time for a change. I don't think I've ever changed my Sayaka pfp there, lmao.

Anyway. Silly thing first is that I was super proud of myself, bc in the 5th chapter when that plane appeared, I guessed that it was around 1914. And kept guessing until I had it confirmed in the 6th chapter. Listen, if it was stated earlier, I overlooked it, and I just went on my history knowledge & I'm very happy with myself.

Which also kinda made me go "uh oh" when I checked the date under some of the parts early on, and saw 1/7... and then I realized it was the USAmerican date format, so it's just January. Lmao.

Anyway, the chapter was a ride, and the sheer amount of dread it had caused me was something else. You just things were about to go horribly wrong, but I had no idea how and what exactly would happen.

Also, funny thing is that aside from the fact that it was supposedly super well written (turned out to be a fact), I also got spoiled on two things, Hofmann's death (I just knew she was going to die, not how), and that yuri was doomed.

Man, was that yuri doomed.

Honestly, I'm super glad I got spoiled on this factTM, bc I ended up with assumptions, which ended up being compltely wrong in the best way.

Ngl, maybe it was some internalized ableism from me, but I kind of expected Isolde to be the "victim" in the doomed yuri, as in, Kakania doing something that would cause Isolde to turn away from her. But I was wrong in the best possible way, because I think it managed to write a tragedy for the both of them that wasn't some form of character assasination.

I think the writers took a bit of a risk with Isolde that ended up paying off. I mean, they wrote a mentally ill character who causes lots of deaths, but managed to do it in a way that didn't demonize her, but also didn't excuse her actions. Imagine stricking that kind of balance these days... And aside from that, you can even understand what led her to that kind of state of mind. I mean, aside from curses and expectations and being deemed hystric, she was a medium for ghosts, which included ghosts from the future. I'm fairly certain she references both world wars when she explains things to Kakania, and all in all, it's difficult not to sympathize with her. And it's easy to see why Manus sought her - she was suffering, especially from her mental illness, and aside from Kakania, nobody really treated her with respect and gentleness she deserved (no wonder she fell for her), so she made an easy prey for them.

But, you know, she still got a bunch of people killed.

It's as good time as any to talk about my favorite character of this chapter, Kakania - it took me by surprise. The media made me really distrustful of fictional doctros & psychologists, huh. But anyway.

What I loved about Kakania is that she wasn't fine with any of this. Even if Isolde said she'd done it for her, to realize her dream, it was so refreshing to see a character be genuinely horrified by another character's actions, regardless of the intentions or mental health.

It's such a popular trope, accepting somebody who'd done awful things because of love, and I do like it (when it's well written), but it was so incredibly refreshing to see R1999 not go for it. Reverse1999 really said that it was still awful, and there was no justification for that.

By God it was all so painful - it was painful for Isolde, because she just wanted to make Kakania happy, and it was painful for Kakania, because she was essentially betrayed by her dearest friend, and indirectly caused so much pain and destruction. You'd truly want nothing but for these two to make up somehow, for Kakania to hold Isolde close and tell her everything's gonna be alright - but Kakania doesn't do that. And you know what? I fucking respect her for it. She values human life too much to budge out of love. Even if it hurts. Isolde has simply caused too much pain and destruction to swipe it under a rug.

And, god, the last part, the hypnotism. As if I wasn't in enough pain already. It hurt to see Kakania, who hates hypnotism with burning passion, use it on somebody she cares so deeply, and it hurt to see Isolde in the end just accept that. Even if it gave the Foundation a fighting chance against the Storm, it was still hard to watch. It still meant Kakania crossing the kind of boundary she'd never wanted to cross, and for yet another person to take Isolde's agency away from her. But in the span of this entire chapter things changed, they changed. And Kakania was willing to do anything to help, after indirectly causing that hell.

I think in a way that ending... honestly this entire chapter speaks volumes about the dangers of "idealism" and "meaning well". There's a reason why the saying "the road to hell is paved with good intentions" exists. Idealism alone can lead to a catastrophy, and at the same time, sometimes something that goes against your principles might be more helpful in the long run.

As Madam Hofmann had said.

Honestly, moving to another character - Madam Hofmann. Not gonna lie, if I didn't spoil myself that she's gonna die, there's a chance I would've grown more attached to her... but watching Marcus beg her not to die was still heartbreaking. In general, her death was painful to watch. For most of the chapter she was so composed, but in the end she was stil just a person, and being in so much pain naturally broke her. Seeing her fight with her thoughts, clinging to her more rational side was painful.

I also loved her relationship with Marcus, especially since at first I was a bit unsure, given her rather cold demeanor, but, again, that one was on me and my assumptions. Hofmann was a great mentor. [*] A few quotes that I especially liked:

I think I like this one especially, because it manages to explain the problem, reassure Marcus, and at the same time doesn't bagatelize the issue. Like, that's how people your age are, but that's still not great and you need to get your shit together eventually.

A different quote, from Kakania's monologue this time:

But anyway, last but certainly not least, Marcus. I'm gonna be honest, I don't care about her all that much, but that is to no fault of her or her writing. Sometimes you just don't vibe with a character the right way. That being said, watching her growth throughout the entire chapter was a fantastic experience, and by the end I felt proud of how far she'd come. You did it, Marcus, you saved that mission. Madam Hofmann is definitely proud of you, too.

What a banger of a chapter.

[legobiwan]

"I've heard the myths but didn't want to believe they were true. This really is THE BOOK OF BILL." "...his book has one purpose: to conjure Cipher's voice into its pages. To communicate with the Triangle...even after his death."

I have...questions...as to Ford's reported timeline here and how it relates to the events of Weirdmaggedon and Bill's eventual incarceration/forced institutionalization in the Theraprism.

We know the Theraprism exists outside of time. But if we're thinking in a linear manner from Ford's point of view, it gets a little wild. Here's Ford, who hears all these "myths" about Bill's book and how Bill would try to communicate after death. But Ford has learned about the "mythology" before Bill's death and the book wasn't written until (from Ford's point of view) after Weirdmaggedon so how could he have heard myths about it in the two-week time span between the Weirdmaggedon and the kids going back to California?

Because the word "myths" implies old stories, not some intergalactic rumor mill of two weeks ago. But the book can't be old, again, from Ford's point of view, because the events that preceded it weren't all that long ago.

I doubt Ford is using the wrong term here. He's a stickler for precise language, even if he sometimes uses that precision as a veil to obfuscate the truth and bend the narrative to his favor.

This leaves us with some interesting possibilities.

At some point, Bill told Ford about his backup plan in case things went awry and Ford's just covering for himself. I'd give this maybe a 20% chance of being true, not because I don't believe Ford is incapable of manipulating his own self-narrative at this point (he definitely is and I honestly think half the intention of his "warnings" to the reader are aimed at himself as a kind of confessional). But I don't think Bill would have given away that info to Ford, if he even entertained the idea at all that he could be "killed" in this manner.

The Oracle brought this up to Ford during his time in Dimension 52 as a warning. I give this 50/50 odds, as she used to be a Henchmaniac and is...well, an Oracle. Seeing the future, or some murky version thereof, is kind of her thing.

Timey-wimey shenanigans. I find this to be the most intriguing. As stated above, the Theraprism exists outside of time, so I guess it's possible for Bill to have created the book in past, present, and future and for its legend to have eventually made its way to Ford. Does this mean what happens in the Theraprism can affect the past, present, and future of the realities its residents (tried to) shape? If Bill succeeds in therapy, how will that change Ford's timeline, both past, present, and future? At what point in time will Bill reincarnate and in which reality? Or was this a one-off of Bill being able to shunt his book through some kind of reality portal? Or, or - if Bill escapes - not outside the realm of possibility - when exactly would he escape to? Can he create another offshoot dimension where he repeats his go at Weirdmaggedon, but learns from his mistakes? Can he do the same with Euclydia? Are there other Bills or is he it?

Anyway, there's some great fodder for AU fic ideas here (time loop fans, this one's for you), but that line's been bothering me for a few weeks now and felt the impulse to talk about it.

[nwjws]

forget me not - teaser

series masterlist .

; pairing - heeseung x gn!reader

; synopsis - your high school years were normal, boring, even. but you’ve worked hard to get where you are now - a rising fashion designer, who gets called to work on a project that could potentially boost you into full success. the only problem is, you’re struggling to work with the model on the project, lee heeseung. for some reason, you can’t seem to befriend the man, even when it seems that heeseung knows you more about you than you do about him.

; wc (teaser) - 795

; starting date - tba.

; tags - written series, angst, maybe a little fluff, hanahaki disease au, switching between two time periods, playboy!heeseung, model!heeseung, designer!reader, highschool au ; warnings - none.

the audience claps as you bow on stage, having just finished up your most recent fashion stage with your new designs.

after answering several questions and promising to work with some others in the future, it was finally time for you to go home. much to your relief, because you were exhausted.

you didn’t get to enjoy your sleep half as much as you wanted though, awoken by the relentless ringing of your phone at 6 in the morning.

“hello?” you answer with the best imitation of a definitely-awake and lively voice.

“i know you just woke up,” your managing director cuts to the chase. “thank god you went into designing rather than acting.”

“it’s 6 in the morning, jake. of course i just woke up, i had a long day yesterday.”

“well, i have some exciting news for you, i seriously didn’t want to wait until later in the day.”

“go on,” you say, closing your eyes sleepily.

“you just got an offer to work on a big project! a peculiar one, too - you’ll have to go back to korea for this.”

your eyes snap open, and you sit up so fast your vision momentarily darkens. god, you really need more iron.

“what? i don’t really feel like going back though.”

“that’s crazy. why not? i thought you’d love to go back home.”

“well, i dunno,” you say lamely. “i feel like there are better things for me here. my guts feel rooted to melbourne; i don’t feel like going back just yet.”

the truth was, you weren't sure you were ready to go back home. you felt like you needed to accomplish more before you faced your parents for the first time since you left. and honestly, something in your soul wanted to stay as far away from your home country as possible.

“okay, but listen: the project is basically a challenge to work a new set of designs on a model, full of different concepts. you have to make them look cohesive, but different. they choose the model, so you have to work and make it suited to them specifically."

“that sounds terrible, i say no.”

you lay back down on your bed, intent on denying this project no matter what.

until, jake drops the amount you’d be getting paid.

yup, you were back up.

“no way…” you trail off, mind blown by the number. ideas of what you could do with that money went through your mind.

“are you considering it now? if you do well, you’d secure your spot as one of the most respected designers internationally.”

“that’s…" you trail off, taking in a deep breath. "okay, i think i’ll accept it.”

“wow, that was all it took. who says money doesn’t buy happiness?” he laughs.

you end the call and flip back onto the bed, but you don’t think you’ll fall asleep anymore. not when thoughts of returning back home for the first time since you left ran through your mind, and with the light from the window glaring into your eyes.

nostalgia hits you as your plane lands and you set foot on your homeland for the first time in 5 years. even the air had a particular smell you didn’t realise was only home to korea until you moved to australia at 19.

you settle in your hotel and make a mental note to visit your parents and friend from high school while you’re here.

friend - singular. you didn’t exactly befriend too many of your peers back in school. you weren’t a loser or anything, it was just that you kept to yourself in the hopes of finishing your education smoothly, without any drama.

you were friendly with others, sure. but the only person who really knew you was park jongseong. he’d stuck by you through it all.

your schedule was packed as soon as you arrived, meeting the rest of the team working on the project the very next day. after a quick debrief and outline of the details, you make your way to greet and talk to the other members.

“hello, i’m mun y/n,” you greet a man with a bow. you take note of his twinkling eyes the prominent dimple on his cheek.

“ah, hi. i’m yang jungwon, heeseung’s manager. you’re our designer, right?” he smiled at you.

“yes, it’s nice to meet you. who’s heeseung again?” you ask, a little embarrassed. remembering names was never your forte.

“over here,” jungwon says, pulling a tall man closer to you two by his shoulder.

“this is lee heeseung, the model of our project.”

a chilling sense of deja vu runs down your spine as your eyes trace over his familiar doe eyes and pointed nose. but the feeling leaves as soon as it comes.

; author's corner! hii i decided to post the teaser for this series as a belated happy birthday for heeseung <3 i'm still working on the chapters though, and might ask someone to beta read for me

; taglist (open!) - @lovelovelovebts @miyseung @jjongshrts @yenqa @httpsneptvnn send an ask or comment on the masterlist to be added!

[rose-riot-johnson]

Hey Tumblr Peeps😃👍For the previous Kafka Hibino fanfic (which was the first Kaiju No. 8 fanfic I've written), any1 (excluding myself😅) who has liked and rebloged, thank you for supporting this particular Kafka fanfic I'm mentioning about😁👍I was going to originally work on another project, however I think writing a Kafka Hibino comfort is needed in so many ways and I figured try to write about it for the 2nd Kafka Hibino fanfic (and 2nd Kaiju No. 8 fanfic) and I have good intentions to write this🫂💡

*This fanfic contains pronouns and 1 or more long paragraphs😅

💚We Need To Have A Talk...💚(Kafka Hibino x Any Gender Reader)

Genres: Comfort (Warning ⚠️: Language and Mentions of Toxic Friendships)

You and Kafka have been in a relationship for atleast quite a few months (a year the most). While you and Kafka do have disagreements once in a while, your relationship with him is pretty, peaceful and healthy, otherwise. However that one night after he came home from fighting the bad Kaiju, you seemed to be starting to change and not for the good.

Kafka asked if there's anything bothering you, you tried you best not to snap, as you choked up and said, "It's best I don't talk about it right now, Kafka...", which he respected your wishes and decided not to pry anything out of you. Unfortunately as time went by, your well-being has gotten worse. He tried calling your parents, other family members, and your closest friends to see, if they knew about anything bothering you, which non of them did knew nothing about it, as they told him thanks for asking them and he thanked them for being honest with him. He then asked Reno Ichikawa for advice before he gave Kafka some advice to have a talk with you.

Once Kafka got home, you were taking a shower, then he noticed your cellphone and as much as, he hates snooping into someone's personal belongings, especially invading your privacy by looking at your messages, he knew he had to do something to try to understand why you're hurting inside. A few minutes went by he has noticed a person who you used to talked to on (social media app up to the reader's imagination), however you had blocked the person and most of the messages were deleted from your conversation with, and only saw the last messages you and the online person who goes by (ex friend social media name). Before Kafka could even get off of the app that your ex friend was on, you were already done showering and dressed, as you complained, "Why are you invading my privacy, Kafka? I thought you were better than this! You shouldn't be snooping through my stuff, especially my cellphone! How would you like it someone did that to you!", as you've given him an angry look on your face. "Look, babe... I just needed to know why you've been hurting... I'm just trying to look out for your well-being... And honestly I have nothing to hide... We need to have a talk... Mind telling me what this is about, (Any Gender Reader Name)?", he replied as he then showed you, the messages between you and an ex friend (which only showed the last few messages between you and the ex friend) that was left in your conversation with (him/her/them), as he's very concerned about you.

The moment you realized that Kafka found out who caused you, so much pain with (his/her/their messages), you knew you had that talk about it sooner or later, regardless if you want to or not. You just weren't sure who else to talk to. "As you can see Kafka, my toxic friendship with (ex friend social media name)... ((S)he/they) did play the victim to me and mention stories of blocking those who called (him/her/them) toxic and (other stuff the ex friend was called) or sometimes come crying to me about a broken heart or finds another reason to come crying to me. I thought I was doing (him/her/them) a favor and was being empathetic and sympathetic, however I'm starting to think I either gotten "too soft" or I've hurt the person or I'm not a good friend to anyone, once I either took too long to reply or try to help (him/her/them), I got told "Naw I'm done with you, you no good piece of trash." and "I'll fogive you! I sometimes don't forgive myself, so you have to fucken deal with it and suck up everything I do when you don't respond to me fast enough and say something that tells me it's your fault that I'm mad!", type of crap, so as you can see, before I blocked them, I told them the friendship is over and (up to the reader's imagination on what (his/her/their) lasts words to the toxic ex friend in the final message are)... it still hurts, however I felt like I brought this on myself and I should have ended it a week or so before this...", you stated, before went to hug him, as you began to sob, to the point your chest started to hurt.

Kafka felt sad for you, however he knew he has to be for comfort, so he decided to wrap his arms around you tightly, before replying, "I may not know alot about what was going on here, however I can see you're hurt badly in a toxic friendship... I think you're being too hard on yourself... Seems to me like this person used you to tell you their drama and disguising (his/her/their) poison, as venting to try to prevent you from seeing red flags... It's not your fault that ((s)he/they) want to be, like this person made it out to be. You're not reasonable for anyone's emotions, but your own... It's on (him/her/them), if ((s)he/they) won't forgive you for something petty! You don't need to take anyone's dookie like this! I clearly understand that you want to be free from the pain brought up on you... Yes, you overlooked the red flags, however you should have been warned, atleast by anyone who knew the toxic ex friend of yours. The best thing you did was block the jerk! You may have not asked for this advice, however if you really want to be free, just delate your conversation with that person... This person seems to lack true sympathy, true empathy, and the care on how both (his/her/their) words and actions affect others... I'm not sure if they're intentionally mean or just doesn't realize they're mean, however what that person did to your well-being is very cruel... I just don't want to to people please nor become cold hearted towards others, because of what that person did to you... You could either warn others about the person or since you enjoy writing fanfics very much, you could write it in a fanfic, or some self care... I just don't want you to feel like you have to change yourself for others... It's good to be selfless and think of others, but there are cases where you can't please everyone and it's really not healthy to choose to keep everyone else happy over your well-being and your authenticity... Okay?". "Okay Kafka... I understand... Thank you for being there for me, Hibino...", you replied back, as you sobbed less and trying to better your composure. He replied again, "No problem, (Any Gender Reader Name)... And since you're paying for your own bills and I'm the only one planning to put a ring on your finger one day... It's best you stop caring about their expectations with you or if they get upset and/or disappointed in you... Also, please don't change for me, just to keep me happy... You're very important to me and your well-being is important to me, too... And I love you, just the way you are, my cutie...", before he started petting the back of your head.

Once you started to feel better, Kafka letted you have your cellphone back, as you then decided to go in your messages with your ex friend and delete your conversation with that person forever. You then looked at Kafka and said, "By the way, Kafka... Thanks for opening my eyes about the situation... And even if I didn't want to talk about it, I'm very glad, I talked with you about it, after all... If it wasn't for you wanting to have a talk with me about the toxic ex friend, I would have tried figuring out a way to unblock the person to try to quickly confront the person on how I truly felt about them and probably risk getting attacked or reported or even in trouble in other ways... Wheather you realize it or not you talked me out of it... ((S)he may have feed me, (his/her/their) poison, lying to me that I'm (his/her/their) best friend ever, then decide betrayed me in a very painful way, however you've released me from my chains and healed me from the poison (ex friend social media name) has tricked me into drinking... Thank you for healing me from the pain... Now I remember why you're the best thing to ever happen to me... You're always there for me when I really needed you...", before kissing Kafka's lips, as he then blushed. He then replied, "Strange way of mentioning the metaphor in a good way... Anyways you're very welcome (handsome/beautiful)... Remember what I said... And take no more shit... Especially from me, even tough I plan to put a ring on your finger one day...", as he smiled and kissed you on the lips back. You smiled, as you blushingly, replied back, "Okay, Kafka...".

After that day, Kafka had a talk with you, with some time of healing, you began to feel free, once again, as you were able to enjoy yourself (and your relationship with Kafka again). You even madesure not to take shit from anyone, especially from toxic friends. Kafka has also enjoyed that new fire you have shown, especially when you shown him that fire towards him.

Months went by, Kafka then proposed to you and engagement ring, which you told him "yes", as he then put an engagement on your ring finger. The both of you then became eachother's fiancees. He also happily, whispered in your ear, "Remember what I said, don't change for me, just to make me happy... Just because I put a ring on your finger, you're not obligated to change for me... I still want you to be yourself, especially with me, (Any Gender Reader)...", before kissing one of your facial cheeks, as he then took you to a hotel for you and Kafka to spend atleast one night in, as your big pampering surprise of the night.

💚The End💚

I will admit, my Tumblr Peeps... I could have atleast try to or could have written about any character(s) pertaining toxic friendships, such as All Might (My Hero Academia), Verosika (Helluva Boss), Spinner (real name, Shuichi Iguchi)(My Hero Academia), a fanfic story about a Flareon comforting Vaporeon having the reader be either of them, or even a couple other fanfic ideas for that topic, however I decided to choose Kafka Hibino for this fanfic💚 I am way more than 💯% confident that I will be completing this fanfic about Kafka without procrastination, I also fully know what to write with this fanfic (especially with writing this fanfic, as I go), and Kafka is definitely 1 of the characters I felt passionate for and know I want to see about investing to write more fanfics about him, atleast in the near future💚 Reasons for the toxic friendship topic for my 2nd time writing a fanfic about him, is because I felt that I'm more than fully going to commit to writing about him for that topic, writing about him important to me and so is writing a fanfic pertaining a toxic friendship💚 So, if you're a fan of Kafka (from Kaiju No. 8), has went through a toxic friendship (online or in person), and felt the need to read it, I hope this Kafka fanfic does help make your day and/or night better☀️🌞🌕🌝💚Even if you haven't went through a toxic friendship, while you're a fan of Kafka, I still hope you enjoyed this fanfic about him💚 Any1 who enjoyed the fanfic and/or has felt better from reading this fanfic about Kafka, I'm very glad that I have helped💚🫂Usually I say a few usual stuff and really entertain readers, for after the fanfic for this post, however the conclusion isn't just entertainment truth, while I did write this for fun, however for any1 wanting to specifically read about him, as comfort, even while trying cope with a toxic friendship, regardless if the friendship ended or not, I whole heartily hope this fanfic helps you go through times like this🫂💚

[xenodile]

Honestly, Crow has to arguably be the worst written villain in NIKKE. Like... no matter her justifications for her actions, at the end of the day, she's little more than a dollar store knockoff of Heath Ledger's Joker in the worst way. Diesel absolutely deserved to kill her, or at least maim her horribly. Ditto for the Commander, cuz like... Why even make a note of how she's literally the only Nikke that they've actively considered killing, if they're not going to follow through, ESPECIALLY after everything she's done? It's baffling.

It doesn't help that she's also one of, if not THE worst SSR Nikke in her supposed niche from a gameplay standpoint too, to the point that you'd genuinely be better off using basically any SR rarity Nikke in your squad instead of her.

My issue is less Crow herself, and more how the narrative of chapter 23 bends over backwards to act like she's smarter than she actually is, and like doing something to stop a person like that makes you a bad person in turn.

Like Crow's rhetoric of a charismatic and eloquent speaker that uses societal inequality to justify extreme measures, but in truth doesn't believe any of it because she's an antisocial sadist is compelling in its own right. A killer that understands people well enough to talk them into being complicit or make them second guess themselves just long enough for her to act makes for a very strong villain, but the point is she's full of shit, and once that's revealed, she should lose power.

Like the whole bit with Diesel was disappointing because it treats Diesel wanting revenge against the woman that murdered her and her little brother as being wrong, in a situation where stopping Crow would've been helpful and prevented things from escalating further. It doesn't make sense internally either, because Nikkes are created with the capacity to be soldiers. Like even Nikkes that aren't made with the intention of sending them to the surface, like the maids, the bunnies, the ACPU, and so on, all have NIMPH and the training to fight, and in Diesel's case specifically, protecting the passengers of the train is part of her job!

Like the way things went of "if you shoot Crow you'll lose part of yourself" "you'll forever associate the train with what you did" "you weren't built for revenge" all of it is just moralizing about how killing us wrong with no regard to the context of the story it's being told in. Diesel is a fucking COMBAT CYBORG that has gone onto the surface and fought in a warzone!! She took the train up and helped Counters fight through a horde of Raptures with Soline and Brid!!! Violence IS what she was built for, and the trauma of being a victim of Crow's previous train bombing has defined her. Like she says herself, she had been waiting her entire life for Crow to try bombing the train again so she could catch her.

I was so excited when Crow's bomb fizzled and then Diesel and Soline have guns on her in a second. It was Crow directly facing the consequences of her previous mass killing and Diesel getting closure against the person that harmed her, but then all of that is thrown out to act like this isn't a story where everyone is a living weapon that's trained to kill. Then, because the narrative decided all of a sudden that protecting yourself and others from someone who has made it clear they want to hurt or kill you is morally unacceptable, Crow is allowed to just walk away AND COMMIT FURTHER VIOLENCE. It's nonsense.

There's also the bit with the flamethrowers in the sewers that was just. Straight up bullshit. Viper threatens Rapi and Commander with a bunch of hidden flamethrowers, then Rapi calls her bluff and breaks a wall to reveal there aren't any, but when Crow needs a contrived excuse to escape suddenly there are a bunch of hidden flamethrowers. Like the story straight up contradicts itself to let Crow get away with things, to the point of not being coherent.

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

PROPAGANDA

MIKAN TSUMIKI (DANGANRONPA 2: GOODBYE DESPAIR) (CW: Mind Control, Bullying)

1.) She is literally the saddest side character I know out of the series. She canonically went through severe abuse and bullying, oversexualizes herself as a defense mechanism, and has really bad anxiety that interferes with her interactions.

Does she get better? No.

Even though the whole theme of Danganronpa is overcoming despair, she never gets the support she needs despite having a lot of supposedly nice classmates. She CONTINUES to get verbally abused by another classmate nobody really bothers to stop, and one of her best friend even ENABLES some of her bad coping mechanisms. She's also the main source of fanservice for the second game.

Then she gets fucking brainwashed into one of the main villain's henchwoman. Yeah, the writers did NOT let her catch a break.

2.) The first two chapters are obsessed with having her do that stupid 'oh nooo all my clothes came off :"( u can see my panties :"(' shit and her free time events especially drift into the 'I'm accidentally saying something that's sexy but I don't know the connotations' brand of jokes. Idk what the spoiler policy is so I won't say much about her actual good points, but when she gets a chance to shine, she's really really interesting! For sure one of my favorite characters in the game! She's got nuance and character and relationships and motivations and interests and all that good stuff! She's even gay! It's just that its almost completely eclipsed by mediocre at best horny jokes for the first 2/3rds of her screentime in game and it drives me actually insane.

3.) You could put nearly all of the dr girls in this bracket, actually. But I picked Mikan because she's such a clear example. They just put her in there to sexualize her and her trauma. There were many ideas that could have been executed well with Mikan (I can relate to the aspect of her sexualizing herself, but the fact that they use it for fanservice is. Wow! And not in a good way) but they use her for fanservice instead. And she had the WORST execution or at least it was somewhere in the top 3. They unceremoniously cut off her development with the "despair disease" (hate that motive btw) and basically made her whole personality in what was supposed to be sorta love her 3rd act villain breakdown into "oooh my beloved ahaha I can't wait to be reunited with my beloved." I don't know shit about the anime but she seems to have been treated just as terribly there if not made worse! If it weren't for the fact that I refuse to acknowledge the animes existence it might have made me dislike her during the time I still actively liked the franchise. All the outfits they give her also feel like they were made just for fanservice shots (most of the outfits themselves aren't really bad at least not the ones I've seen it's that they were made with the intent to sexualize her and not to look good and fit her character) which is super frustrating. Oh and she was treated terribly in the game by Hiyoko but when she killed hiyoko it was just whoops she saw me kill ibuki gotta end her instead of giving her an interesting motive for even one of her kills. Honestly what makes me says she's screwed over by misogyny specifically is the fact that shit like this probably would not have happened if she were a guy. She wouldn't be written perfectly but her writing would be so much better. Like she was reduced to fanservice so so so many times and treated awfully.

OCHETTE (OCTOPATH TRAVELER 2) (CW: Racism, Ableism)

1.) SO. actually she's combod by the heavy anti-pasifika racism in ot2 but one of the strongest elements of that is that ochette herself is infantilized to the point of a 20 year old woman, who is a fully trained adult warrior and ingame stated to be like a week away from replacing her island's ultrabeast white lion guardian, being characterized by cool normal things like "having the white catholic inquisitor character promise to teach her backward people human language(the fantasy pasifika tribe she's from are kemonomimi because of course they are)", "haha ochette no understand human custom and have funny naive misunderstanding", "ochette draws the catholic inquisitor character a cutesy kiddie drawing", and being completely removed from any discussions around sex because octopath has this sexism problem where the only two types of women are innocent babies and femme fatales which is so cool AND normal. so ochette gets actually written to be essentially a "mental child" or sometimes an actual animal and is never, ever, ever allowed to have any dynamic with a human that is not paternal in nature because she is Baby. so she's also fighting the ableism. and despite all odds being stacked against her she manages to fuck super hard in a way that makes it so obvious that if ot2 was just less sexist and less racist and less ableist and someone suplexed the non-pasifika dev team and brought in at least a sensitivity reader, she could have fucked SO much harder. honestly imo the fact that the racism against her is superficially gender neutral is not proof that it's not sexism but proof that it IS, as a major part of racist sexism is treating the womanhood of woc as either unimportant or inferior compared to white womanhood, where pasifika woc specifically are often treated as eternal innocent girls who just can never understand an adult woman's relationship with gender. ochette not being allowed to be a woman and trapped at "child too young to even have a gender" is sickeningly sexist. she should have been allowed to have zest for life and be literally the "my daughter might have autism but god damn she can work a grill" lady and be unsure about taking on a hugely important position without it being used as shorthand for her being a toddler in the body of a notably very skinny girl considering she is canonically jacked enough to carry an iguana the size of a bus but WHATEVER. she should also have been allowed to hunt the white catholic inquisitor whose story climaxes with him killing an indigenous woman who secretly infiltrated the church in order to get revenge for them massacring her entire tribe that confirms ochette's people are kemonomimi because an ancient wizard cursed the brutish natives for their violence. actually fuck it i would put kaldena in too but thinking about her actually makes me depressed im so fucking sorry girl. they should BOTH have gotten a ten minute cutscene of beating hm to death with hammers

[moltensmusings]

I don't have any hatred for them, I don't even dislike them. But when I first watched rwby I had issues with bumblebee and how the writers handled their growth.

Because you can tell the writers weren't originally intending for them to get together. Later seasons there's no doubt, I'd say around season 3-4 is where the fandom's love for the ship started altering how the writers were handling things.

My issue with that, is several characters get shafted by the story so that Blake and Yang can grow as a couple and I genuinely hate that. Because you can grow a couple without the writing of those around them suffering for it.

Sun was so badly handled I'll never stop being upset about it. Everything he did in season 4 was treated as wrong when it's fully valid that he'd track down Blake following the fall of beacon when they're friends and she went missing during a time when many people were dying. If it had been yang I doubt the narrative would've been so harsh. Sun made missteps but I hate that season 4 spent so much time shitting on him when I honestly wish any romance between him and Blake had simply never been written if it meant him being allowed to have solid writing.

Adam as well feels like he mainly exists in his last few season to grow the bees as a couple rather than existing as the main villain to Blake's story and a character on his own.

After years of being separated from the rwby fandom I don't have the negative feelings I used to towards the ship over this. In fact, I'm actively wishing they'd spent early seasons building up the bee slowburn better; letting yang flirt with blake, subtly showing moments where its clear Yang is pushing for something but Blake is pulling away, etc. But since it's clear bees weren't their intention, not much can be done.