#like it's genuinely funny and i love the characterisation of everyone

[jonathanssweatercollection]

you still resent nancy and jonathan for getting together???? for “hurting steve’s feelings”??? despite the fact that he verbally supported their relationship like 2 hours after seeing them together. this from a season that released 6 fucking years ago. a season prior to him saying that he was NOT in love with nancy anymore. do you want me to call shawn levy and tell him of your dilemma. bestie do you need to rewatch the source material

[kavehater]

I beg have we been playing the same game orrrr

[seraphdesire]

Regarding Donna Beneviento and her characterisation in the fandom, I think it's important to note that she really isn't the shy awkward adorable blushing mess that everyone depicts her as being.

This got long but I did a mildly extensive read on her character under the break! :)

Here are the notes I took a screencap of, written by Mother Miranda, which talks about the suitability of Donna being a vessel for Eva:

There's the evidence you need that she is severely mentally ill, so babying her just feels... wrong anyway, all things considered.

Note - "and has divided her Cadou among her dolls in order to control them from a distance." While I'm on my 3rd replay of re8 I still don't fully get how the Cadou works, but what I think is essentially happening is Donna is literally splitting off parts of herself and putting them in her dolls.

The main one being Angie, of course.

I always used to consider Angie a separate character entirely but she's linked deeply to Donna on a very personal level. Considering what she's like and what all the other dolls are like - loud, funny, sarcastic, rude, etc - and how Donna is literally the one directly controlling Angie (that's the only way she moves lol, because Donna is carrying her places. Which is also why, when you kill Angie, the illusion melts away to reveal that you've actually killed Donna), I think it's safe to say that's what her actual personality is like.

Also, her only spoken line of dialogue? Please listen to it. For those who are hard of hearing, like me, she says: "don't leave... I can't let you."

Bearing in mind the way she speaks? Her tone? She sounds confident imo. Determined. And perhaps even a little angry at Ethan for thinking he can escape her.

Just a last addition as well, can I say that her abilities as one of the Four Lourds is genuinely evil? Everyone else has physical intimidation - Alcina has her height and her claws and mutation, Heisenberg has his ability to control magnetic fields and metal, and Moreau can mutate into that huge fish-with-legs thing that vomits something akin to acid? Oh yeah and he can swallow you whole too.

Donna, on the other hand, doesn't have physical intimidation like that. She only has the threat of psychological damage (which makes sense considering she's severely mentally unwell). When Ethan goes through her gardens and has to solve the puzzles in the house, she makes him hallucinate about his wife whom he thinks is dead, and about his baby who is somewhere in this unknown country with a bunch of mutants who only have bad intentions.

It's even worse in the Shadows of Rose DLC imo. As Rose, Donna makes her hallucinate the bullies from back home, being called a freak and a weirdo, made to relive the worst moments of her life. And the puzzles too? Hell. Having to actually recreate the scenes of her bullying with wooden fucking dolls. I remember feeling really sorry for Rose while playing through that part.

And yet Donna is still "the uwu baby" because what? I don't know. People love to declaw female villains just because they're attractive (looking at Lady Dimitrescu here). They love to reduce the characters down to their looks and not consider their actual lore or background or the role they play in the franchise (looking at Leon especially...)

Which, ya know, of course people are allowed their headcanons for characters and Donna doesn't get enough screentime to really have her personality even thought of, let alone to be made canon. But I think it's fair to say that Angie and Donna are basically one and the same because they're literally the same Cadou.

This is a quick reminder that you are, of course, allowed to disagree with me. Everyone has their own opinions and that's fine. If you would like to politely debate about this in my comments or in my DMs, or even in my asks, then you're more than welcome to! Please remember debating and arguing are two different things though.

If it really irks you that bad then please scroll, it's not hard. If you don't want to do that then feel free to block me - the button is free of charge after all and should be used more to cultivate your feed to your liking.

[the-house-of-auditore-frye]

We need to talk about the men in MK1

Wow.

WOW.

I really don't understand how they managed to make everybody SO BLOODY ATTRACTIVE?!

Even characters like Reptile were made into Boyfriend material.

Kenshi is a babe. That's it. That's the statement - he's a babe. His attractiveness ascends my language abilities to articulate how attracted I am to him in this game.

And Johnny - SO DAMN FINE! They struck the perfect balance of all Johnny's qualities with the features of a young Harrison Ford (which my followers will know has a certain power over me). Also I love that they made Johnny a hot nerd - who doesn't love a man that was ready to just dive into ancient Japanese history during a conversation.

And of course my dear Kuai Liang SERVED LOOKS in this game - I could cut my hand on his jawline...

This game has made me PRIMAL in ways that are dangerous to my psyche... but am I going to stop panting over the thirst traps that are Kenshi Takahashi and Johnny Cage? No.

Under the cut, I'm going to put more details reason's about why and how I want these fictional men to rail me which will probably make more sense to me followers but by all means, feel free to read! (But I will warn, it gets explicit so reader discretion is advised)

The amount I desire these men to dominate me is just unhealthy but let's get back to basics.

So those of you who have followed me for a bit (or I guess just looked at my page) will know that I have loved Kuai Liang and Hanzo since MKX. In MKX, I also had the hots for Kenshi and Johnny but not to the same degree. Then MK11 came out, obviously Kenshi isn't in it. I liked Older Johnny but not younger Johnny. As for Liang and Hanzo, I liked them a lot but not as much as MKX.

Then this DAMN game was released and like the timeline, the whole playing field was reset.

Don't get me wrong, I still love Kuai Liang in this game: he gives off such tender Lover vibes that I just want to stay in his arms ALL DAY. I mentioned that jawline right? I loved him and I love what they did with the familial relationships between him, Bihan and Tomas. When it was first announced that Kuai Liang was going to be Scorpion, I wasn't thrilled since, in my heart, that will always belong to Hanzo. They landed it tastefully but I still miss him as Sub Zero. Overall, I loved Kuai Liang in this game but Kenshi and Johnny were on another level.

Kenshi. KENSHI. The hold this man has over me. I can't tell if I want to be tender with him or animalistic: I genuinely go from "I want to remove his blindfold and kiss his scarred eyes, reminding him how much I love him while softly running my fingers through his hair" to "I want Kenshi to remove his blindfold and tie me to the bed, reminding me that I'm his toy to play with in any way he sees fit while fingering me with his tattooed hands- OH. HIS HANDS. I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO EXPLAIN HOW MUCH I WANT TO SUCH ON HIS FINGERS WHILE HE CALLS ME A GOOD GIRL. I AM SO SUBMISSIVE TO THIS MAN THAT IT'S NOT HEALTHY.

I think out of all the characters, I was most impressed by the characterisation of Johnny. Don't get me wrong, Mileena, Sindel, Baraka, Syzoth all got the storylines and re-characterisation they deserve but with Johnny I was more impressed because less changed about him. Like I said, I've always been a bit hit-or-miss with Johnny but this Johnny was perfection. Immediately making him a hot history nerd rather than an airhead was brilliant, it gave a depth to Johnny that I've never seen and it played off Kenshi perfectly. It's kind of like when you're with a group of people and a random topic you love comes up and suddenly you go on a 10 minute rant about why it's fascinating before realising everyone is just staring at you in confusion: it made Johnny so much more relatable. Also I love the sense of humour they went for in this game with Johnny. In prior games, I sometimes felt like Johnny was trying too hard to be funny for other people but in this game, Johnny is unintentionally hilarious and his jokes are mostly for himself and I love it. The first time I saw "Ripley!" I genuinely couldn't stop laughing for like 5 minutes. Also his beloved Hichulli, peak comedy. But let's get to the juicy stuff: HIS DESIGN. YES PLEASE, SIGN ME THE HELL UP FOR IT. I want to just cover his face in kisses. I want him to cover my face is kisses. Also his nose... I mean, I'm sure you guys have noticed that I like prominent noses and Johnny's when I saw his made me go red. MK1 Johnny going down on someone would be an ethereal experience (especially since he never stops talking which I might request a fic for) and part of that experience would be the nose. Just general though, the facial shape, the hair, the nose, the jawline: it all slays, just like Johnny.

So now having read all this, you can see why I don't let myself talk about the men of MK1: I just become a whore. This game opened my eyes to kinks I have NEVER been into cough cough threesome with Johnny and Kenshi cough cough blade play using Sento with Kenshi cough cough recorded sex with Johnny cough cough... In summation: this game has reduced me from a somewhat mentally adjusted young woman to a neanderthal that wants to be breeded by two fictional men called Kenshi Takahashi and Johnny Cage.

[biasbuck]

BiAsBuck’s ficrec Fridays

Happy Friday everyone! What a couple of weeks huh? We're so back etc. I've still not recovered from the blooper and bts blessings. But I'm back again with another round of the fic I've been reading so far this month! You can find previous rec lists here.

9 August 2024

i'm here with the door wide open by @eddiebabygirldiaz oh my god the YEARNING in this fic. I actually wailed when I got to the end. Eddie POV, he's struggling with the silence with Chris gone, and the absence of the life and noise that he's so used to in his home. Through it all, Buck is there, sweet, supportive, vibrant and loud in his presence. Eddie tentatively comes to listen to what's not being said out loud. I absolutely adored the delicate hand held out to all the relationships here, and the beautiful imagery in the writing. But mostly the intimacy which struck me so deeply. Love is indeed stored in the kitchen. Just gorgeous.

in love with every song you've ever heard by @timeshareindestin I'm so glad I saw the beautiful art of hard of hearing Buck and his firetruck red hearing aids, because it led me to read this wonderful fic, in which he grapples with the disability he suppressed as a child, and realises that the family he craves has been there for him all along. This is an emotional read, and I particularly loved the flashbacks to his childhood and Maddie's support, as well as the realisation that he can be brave and vouch for himself with people fighting his corner.

Operation: Keep Eddie Diaz Busy and Annoyed by @gigi-gigi 'the one where Buck forces Eddie to keep busy while Chris is gone, but ends up catching a bad case of The Feelings in the middle of Eddie learning to love pickling things to irritate Chim and charming old ladies through square dancing.' THE FLIRTING. Dear god the flirting. Just delightful.

where the tumbleweeds blow by @tallahasseemp3 a buddie road trip fic! In which Eddie goes home to Texas. Buck follows. Along the way, they find each other. The perfect thing to read after the deleted Christopher and Eddie scene, with them learning to find their feet with each other whilst Eddie also learns to trust himself with Buck, and establish boundaries and a new understanding with his own parents. Such great family dynamic examination.

free mustache rides by @standback ALL HAIL MOUSTACHEDDIE SMUT!! 'Eddie comes back after two weeks in Texas with a) Christopher, b) a tan, and c) a mustache.' In which Eddie is flirtatious and a bit smug about the effect he's having, whilst Buck is entirely mesmerised, and needs to sit on his face about it. Funny and hot.

Safe for Work by @911-alsaurus continuing with the funny and hot theme, Al's specialty, in which touch starved Buck looks for some way to alleviate his cravings, and 'Eddie offers to be Buck's official head scratcher, shoulder massager, and general tactile needs provider. It's a really normal thing for friends to do. Surely.' Featuring an excellent Chim cameo.

Paint Me in Neon and Make Me Glow by @letmetellyouaboutmyfeels HELLO exhibitionist streak Buck 5+1 hot as hell buck tommy fic. Truly Lincoln writes their dynamic in such a fun way, I love how tongue in cheek teasing Tommy is and how playful and intrigued Buck is here, whilst being extremely turned on. Kink exploration that ups the ante with each new tentative discovery. There's no room to be shy!

Every Day You’ll Still Show Up by @bluflamingo was a really nicely characterised buck tommy fic, an emotional oneshot in which they're early days boyfriends set close to S7 canon, learning to comfort each other when Buck returns after a bad call. There was a gentleness to this that I could genuinely see slotting into the show, and I really liked that it was a regular call out that went wrong rather than a massive catastrophe.

PS - once again sending out the signal to ask if you have any henren authors/fic recs I should check out PLEASE let me know! Have you SEEN S8 Hen's arms in those tank tops? Dear lord. Help a lesbian out?

[laura1633]

The seventh wonderful story in the collection is …

✨Red Light at Dawn ✨ by @lucithornz✨ ✨

Five months ago Max was kidnapped by pirates. Miraculously he was found safe, and now his father has arranged for him to start courting the Governor’s son. But it’s not that simple, Max hasn’t told anyone the whole story of what happened at sea, getting captured was never part of the plan, neither was falling in love.

Now Max has a plan to get back on the open ocean and find the pirate he fell in love with before it’s too late. The funny thing about plans is they never do go smoothly.

The story is two chapters in and I am already so crazily invested in this. I have started to really enjoy alternative universe fics and this one is pirate au and omegaverse!! 

The characterisation of omega Max is just perfect. I feel like he has so much heart and fight in him but is restrained by his upbringing and his omega status, even so he is not just going to sit back and be the delicate omega everyone wants him to be. I am in love with him so much and just want good things for him, honestly I adore him here.  

I don’t really want to say too much because I don’t want to add any spoilers but the Charles character is also so intriguing to me and I can’t wait to learn more about him. 

Maybe it’s the pirate theme, along with the excellent writing, but I feel like I am on this adventure and I am so excited about the next chapter and to find out what happens.

There is a lot of emotion packed into the first two chapters including some sad and some terrifying moments 🥺, it’s all so well written and handled. 

I am genuinely screaming about how good this is and how perfectly the author has set up this world. The details about the pirates and the stories people have heard about them are so intriguing. 

Ahhhh okay I can’t say too much without going into specific details but I 100% recommend this story and I am going to be screaming again when the next chapter drops

If you love alternative universes or omegaverse or just a really well told story then definitely check it out and if you can leave a comment then that would be lovely

[guesst]

MANHWA REC LIST PART 3 courtesy of @ihavenobigbrain

have tried my best to put in all the nice platonic manhwas i’ve read! theres still a bunch of romance but fun and games and lightheartedness is the main focus of these for sure 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

first of all i will rec the obvious and popular ones so they dont get missed becuse they are Popular for a Good Reason:

the s classes that i raised (super good, ive read the novel mostly but the manhwa is JUST as great. mc is collecting people like pokemon)

trash of the counts family (amazing art, little dragon child, mc is collecting people like pokemon)

also gonna plug some ones from the previous rec posts just cus i truly believe they are some of the best non romance manhwa: susu, han; i see you; the tale of goldiluck the black kitten

okay onto the actual recs !

WHEN THE THIRD WHEEL STRIKES BACK

HILARIOUS. genuinely so good, pretty underrated too (in that i havent seen anyone talking about this?) but it has a main character who isekais into a second male lead and decides to stay awayy from the leads — this fails miserably, obviously, and its comical. the misunderstandings, the unlucky run-ins… also the mc is a priest and theres a pretty interesting magic system and worldbuilding!! and as a final bonus the art is nice. genuinely so fun to read, highly recommend

A STEPMOTHER’S MARCHEN

favourite manhwa of all time tbh its the only one ive bought a physical copy of (so far, anyway.. hehe). has a romance sub plot but the characterisations, relationships, plot development etc is exquisite. the family relationship takes precedence here especially in the first few arcs, the characters are REALISTIC, the art is gorgeous…, i love it so so much highly rec if you havent read it already. i guess this doesnt fall as much into light-hearted, because there are quite a lot of heavy moments… but its nicely balanced out with the comedy n all so i’ll put it in anyway :]

SCHOOLMATE FRIEND

super cute! this one is a school romance and it doesnt have many chapters out but its simple and the two mains are adorable. its a nice fluffy read and the artstyle is also lovely.

THE DEMON KING DAD AND HIS HERO DAUGHTER

jdjsjd can you tell how this goes from the title? speaking of which i type it from memory and i cant find the tab i had it open in so it might actually be “his daughter the hero” not “his hero daughter”… not sure. anyway i havent read much of this one but the first few chapters alone had me screaming the dad and his lackey are idiots please read it for him. he loves his daughter but this is backfiring on him so badly djrnfj

^ idiot lackey, everyone

RETURN OF THE WAR GOD

you would assume the war god goes to war! but no. he picks up a little girl and then he’s like. ok mine now. and the rest of the manhwa is spent getting money out of people and living in the woods in his homemade mansion with his daughter and the mamy many sidekicks that they pick up along the way. lovely art, lots of funny moments, plenty of action -- this is a martial arts story -- n the side characters are great (especially the governor lol) .

SCREW THE NOBLE LIFE, I’M GOING HOME

there arent many chapters out for this one (24 i think?) but im so invested already. as it stands this is centred entirely around the isekai’d main character and her new family, there is a heavy dose of angst about identity issues but every chapter has a new misunderstanding and it has me rolling fr ,, oh also the mc’s new brothers are her stepsiblings but they shoot down that romance route really fast and their relationships are so entertaining if it keeps going the way it is this will definitely become a favourite. heres an out of context foot pic

SIGRID

AMAZING TRULY AMAZING the character arcs in this one are so !!! yummy !!! mc time travels n endeavours to correct her actions n save people and in the process makes sm friends and all the characters have depth and grow and theyre all so !!! lovable !!!! the friendships in this one are amazing even without the romance subplot (and also speaking of romance, its a slow burn mainly cus sigrid is as dense as a brick but its NOT frustrating because it actually makes sense for her character!! like im usually the first one to move on from a thick fl but honestly you cant help but cheer them on) its so so good, i love it

THE MEANING OF YOU

this one is an isekai romance with again some lovely character arcs :D the main character is pretty depressive but its also got plenty of light/funny moments to balance it out, and the plot centres around her learning to take care of herself and becoming more confident,, i love the characters a lot ! they care a lot. the romance does get a bit cheesy at times but it really is so wholesome with solid characterisation n its completed too so you have a nice 3am read.

HOW TO BE A DARK HERO’S DAUGHTER

urgh one of the best kid leads ever, plenty of plot and the art is gorgeous as well like its a winner all around okay. as it stands its on an indefinite hiatus (author had cancer and i assume is still recovering or just taking a break for a while) but season one is already completed and its an excellent family centred read with a few mysteries scattered here n there also did i mention the entire family is so yummy. im so gone for the butler fjddjdnndd

MY BROTHERS, THE PROTAGONISTS

simultaenously super funny and somewhat angsty. this is one of those dungeon manhwa but the caveat is each of the mc's brothers has a different trope going on (time travel, became demon king, isekai'd) while mc is a decent potion maker and has to deal with all their bullshit (affectionate). it handles family issues and balances it with comedy perfectly. the main character is really really likeable and you cant help but cheer her on. so far its almost entirely platonic but i spy a few male leads lol

MY CUTE BEAST!!!

romance manhwa again !! fjdmcjf the author of this one looked at all the classic miscommunication and misunderstanding tropes and noped the fuck out its so easy to read because you will NOT stress out and the male lead is so cute also. they play with the typical gender roles so fl has the knight aura while the ml is the damsel. its great and the characterisations are also awesome. big big fan. look him

WEE!!

iirc this is actually either malaysian or indonesian, not korean i think..? its mostly slice of life iirc n its been like.. 2 years since i read it so the humour might be . slightly outdated haha,, the cast is pretty diverse which is cool and there are a few angsty backstory chapters scattered here and there but on the whole it is chock full of shits and giggles if you want silly times. the only caveat is there isnt an official translation afaik so like… fan translation will have to do djfnc

A FREE RIDE EVERYDAY

back to romance ! romance manhua this time, slice pf life office type of thing and its pretty much just fluff. its a cute low stress read for times where u just want to sit down n smile about something and the characters r not thick about everything like they can be in SOME romances fjfnf and also the art is lovely! look at the cover, thats what its like the whole way through.

PURRFECT WORLD

mad underrated djfhdn it’s pretty chill, its a story about a human girl working at a salad restaurant on a planet full of cats. the art is super cute, the cats have jobs and all but they also act like cats and its great dhsks like the owner of the restaurant likes to sit in random cardboard boxes. its been a while since i read it but there is not much romance (if at all??), but plenty of cats and shenanigans. heehee

read it for him !! its also complete and its not particularly long either btw forgor to say

ONI NO KO

this one … i think is a manga actually? in colour?? its about a random oni kid that gets picked up by a high schooler’s family. very very cute art, it’s short and sweet and i will repeat very cute.

look him! hes so small ! he likes baseball!!

BONUS REC which doesnt fit the mood but i think more people should read it: the goldfish osushi. i wont elaborate anymore but its truly… your heart will be touched after it lol

also if anyone has more to add to this list (preferably things u think r underrated !! and no orv because everyone automatically recs that to me and im tired ajfndn) please do i would also like recs. also also if anyone has requests i love making lists

[xhanisai]

What are your top 5 fanfic recommendations?

Oh man, I have like 800 fics bookmarked how am I supposed to choose the top five!??! LOL okay here are five of my favourite miraculous fics (NOT IN ORDER) from my bookmarks of favourite fics LOLOL.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 - Guilty Pleasure by Otoshigo

"An anonymous writer is a little too good at writing fanfiction and Marinette somehow gets roped into reading it. Problem is, now she can’t put it down. [LadyNoir]"

Genuinely this story is one of those that never leave my head and Otoshigo has a way with words and characterisation. The way they portray little shit Adrien and hot mess Marinette brings me so much joy and I love the way they inserted hints of spice throughout that makes this entire oneshot just so much more DELICIOUS!!! Highly recommend!!

2 - The Ladyblog Comment Section by DragonsandInk

"Alya, bless her fangirl heart, doesn't always get everything right. It's the job of the two superheroes she adores to set her informational blog straight and keep a little entertainment going in the comment section. The real issue here is that they don't know how to hold back."

The best way I can describe this story is that it's so, so, SO fun! It never ceases to put me in a good mood and seeing Alya lose her mind with the ladynoir shenanigans is such a delight to see hahaha! If you're looking for something funny and cute and also fluffy I do highly recommend this! Especially if you love seeing lovesquare being such little trolls LOLOL.

3 - elephant by demistories

"Kim stands at the front of room. He crosses his arms and nods to the game code and password on the board. “Welcome to mother. Fucking. Assassin.” He leans forward with a dangerous look in his eyes. “You’ve got until midnight. Then you better run.”"

Fun, fun, FUN this story is so fucking FUN!!!! Lovesquare + ML class shenanigans goes HARD and I EAT THIS FIC UP EVERY SINGLE TIME I RE-READ IT!!!! Everyone should read this story!!!! IT IS LITERALLY CHEF'S KISS!

4 - The Way To His Heart by wintersnight

"The third or fourth time she brings him a treat, it all clicks together, and Ladybug takes a few short seconds to completely freak the hell out in her head before she sucks in a deep breath and smiles back at his look of adoration at the chocolate croissant she’s holding out in front of him."

Probably one of the more influential works on my own writing because there's no words that could describe how much I love LOVE LOVE it!!! It's like a hot drink whilst you're in a blanket cocoon in the middle of a stormy night and it's just so, so comforting. I love stories where one or both sides of my OTP are trying to look after one another in their own ways and it's <3333333 pls read it

5 - Point Blanc by 11JJ11

"Hawk Moth has been defeated, but he has left a dangerous foe in his wake, a bitter and hurting Chat Blanc."

It wouldn't be a true rec by me if there wasn't a Chat Blanc fic on here ;))) This one is deliciously angsty and the twist at the end is just wonderful~!!! As obsessed as I am with Chat Blanc it's just so rare to find stories written in a way that I LIKE about him and his relationship with Marinette and this one ticks my boxes~~~ BRILLIANT STUFF~~~

[saintsenara]

I’m obsessed with your unhinged ship opinions! They’ve really gotten me thinking about interesting combinations which is such a fun activity for the subway

My submissions:

- Narcissa Malfoy/Petunia Dursley

- Voldemort/Molly Weasley

- Nagini/Crookshanks

- Walburga Black/Barty Crouch Sr.

ahhh, thank you so much @epigaea-repens - light of my life and producer of the finest piece of fan art i've ever seen - i'm genuinely delighted to discover that somebody other than me gets something out of doing these.

narcissa malfoy/petunia dursley

i'm oddly partial to a bit of draco/dudley - entirely because the idea of vernon trying to out-pompous lucius is funny to me, as is the fact that they'd clearly both think harry would care and harry's actual response would be 'who's draco?' - and i have to confess myself partial to this too.

narcissa's narrative mirror is molly weasley - both of these women share a certain fierceness [and, especially, a fierceness and strength one might not expect of them at first glance], but they also share a certain disconnection from the rest of their family, and an undercurrent of loneliness can be detected in their characterisation.

this is present in the way petunia is written too - the implication of canon is both that she's married "up" in terms of social class and that vernon is quite a bit older than her.

[and her fandom reception is a victim, i think, of the aging up of the adult cast of the films - petunia is, at most, twenty-four when lily dies. like her sister, she marries and has children young, even by the social standards of 1970s/1980s britain, and having to take on harry changes the trajectory of her life when it's only just started - i am absolutely wedded to the idea, for example, that harry being placed in her care means that she gives up a plan to have a second biological child.]

she is, of course, also confined in a prison which is directly of her own making - the bland domesticity of her perfect little house, all of which is an artifice constructed so she doesn't have to admit how deeply she once longed to be magic. narcissa experiences the same - i always read her as someone who leans heavily on the gendered conventions of the wizarding world as a way of coping with how utterly both of her sisters defied them, and as being someone who is very concerned with keeping up appearances [hence why her wildness and desperation when she goes to see snape in half-blood prince is so shocking]. i think you can imagine that she runs malfoy manor to have the same nothing-wrong-here vibe as number four privet drive, and i think you can do something very interesting indeed with the idea of two women who live behind masks being forced to drop them when they find each other.

lord voldemort/molly weasley

does, in fact, exist, in the form of a story i will recommend to everyone - come slowly, eden by paimpont - which, like all the best rare-pair fics, takes two implausible characters and creates a genuinely meaningful love story between them, through a lovely character study of molly and her ability to notice when people [and, especially, when people who are very much in want of a mother] are hungry.

nagini/crookshanks

i had to look up crookshanks' gender for this - which is a wild thing to say on a weekday afternoon - so that i could confirm... flopping. nagini's a lesbian, crookshanks misunderstood when she said she liked pussy.

it's fine in the end, though. nagini's got something happening with one of the malfoys' peahens, and crookshanks can go back either to the enemies-to-lovers thing he's got going on with mrs norris or to the soulmates thing he's got going on with sirius.

walburga black/barty crouch sr.

i am completely obsessed with this concept, i don't even think it can be considered a crack ship, and i would like to see it written immediately.

debilitating grief at the son you thought you knew disappearing - whether literally or metaphorically? delicious.

[bothzangetsus]

For the ask game:

3, 8 and 16

choose violence ask game

3. screenshot or description of the worst take you've seen on tumblr

I have a lot! Lol. There are some pretty vile genuinely -ist ones, but I mostly want to treat this game as things to laugh at rather than get mad over. So I'll pick two that are on the puzzling side!

I think the funniest bad take which I can also connect to my username I've seen was the person deadly seriously saying zanpakutou are the opposites of the wielder, and citing Zangetsu as proof (white Zangetsu, not old man). It's so puzzling! We got the reveal in a chapter literally called THE BLADE IS ME. I desperately need to know how they arrived to that conclusion.

Plus, like, your power growing the more in tune with yourself you are is one of the coolest core aspects of Bleach, imo. It's one of the themes the manga never betrays, too.

Putting the rest under the read more because it got long, lol.

The other is more recent and I have an actual screenshot of it! Yay!

I'm not saying this is a bad take because of the ships it targets -- I couldn't care less about who ships what, frankly -- but the reasoning! It made me feel like I time travelled to 2011 :DDD *who* the hell throws 'horny yaoi fangirl' as an insult these days?

If I am to be more serious, it's also the misconception that people ship things because of anything that reflects something about them as a person. Genuine emotional connection? Who cares? It's fine to want that for your ships. I would never rec grimmichi/urayoru/yorusoi to anyone looking for healthy ships where both halves genuinely touch each other's hearts, but people don't like unhealthy ships because they're 'starved for genuine emotional connection', be so serious right now. It's such a cheap attempt to feel superior and so dated that it becomes funny.

8. common fandom opinion that everyone is wrong about

Hmmm, what IS a common opinion? It feels like the fandom is pretty fractured. I guess the one unifying opinion I disagree with is that the manga became worse after Soul Society arc. I think its structure became significantly weaker and it kept sustaining tension for far longer than it should've with very minor moments of (much needed, necessary for characterisation) reprieve, but I think Hueco Mundo and Lost Agent and, yes, even TYBW, are muuuuuch stronger arcs thematically. They're more depressing and pretty much a downward spiral (and dear god TYBW is such a mess plot-wise that it can be hard to reread) but the themes it revolves around are ever-present and it never betrays itself for the sake of a #cool moment or "closure", and I personally appreciate that.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Is it cheating to say fluff? That's not Bleach-related. I'm sorry, I love misery!

Bleach-related................ I'm drawing a blank! There are plenty of tropes etc that I dislike, but I can usually understand why someone would like it. I suppose I don't understand takes that seem to be based on 'well EYE like it and it came to me in a dream' (rather than being based on something that happens in canon), but I can understand why someone would enjoy that too, it's just not my personal approach.

I will say though. I am a bit bored of the "this villain just needed Love and their bad personality and actions are mostly a result of Not Knowing Love" take. I think villains are hot because they're villains! Let them enjoy their villainous actions! But I still get why people like that too. So I guess I'm mostly giving a non-answer here.

[y-rhywbeth2]

Sooooo I am very curious about your Durge and how they are built. Do they link into the lore of the earlier games? Are they a resist or accept type? Tell us more! 👀

You mean built as in "how Bhaal made him", or as in character build, or as in characterisation? Well, I'll answer them all anyway. Here's more rambling information than anyone needed about my fucked up, socially-unacceptable mess who needs therapy!

[Be aware dead doves may be present, ymmv]

Resist, technically. He woke up with a tadpole in his head and no memories, he wasn't going to trust a presence in the back of his head that kept stealing his bodily autonomy until he understood what it was. As he grew fond of his party, he began to be pushed towards doing good things and helping people to please them (and because it honestly does feel good to see people happy, even as it makes the Urge hurt him).

Of course there were a few exceptions where nobody except Astarion was looking where he was a bit pragmatic or just plain mean, because it was funny.

Then he got his memories back in Act 3 and had a full blown nervous breakdown as he realised how badly he had failed Father and his sole reason for existence by allowing himself to fall for the delusion that he was a real person. He tried to go back to just being Bhaal's evil little puppet, but it was too late and his loyalties were torn between being what his friends wanted and being what Bhaal wanted. There was another panic attack when he couldn't bring himself to kill Minsc because it would upset Jaheria, Wyll and Karlach. Still murdered a few innocent people and a celestial being behind their backs. Also every Flaming Fist in the Lower City, but that was their own fucking fault for having stupid AI. Turns out you can't have everyone you love, but luckily he got to solve this issue by letting Father kill him as punishment for his failure! He repents for his failure and his friends get to believe that he died a heroic sacrifice and move on with their lives - win-win! Except that Jergal interfered and now he has to carry around this tainted, stolen flesh he doesn't want to claim - damn you, old man.

Post-game he's living with Astarion; both having their bad days where they have time to stop and process their trauma now, and also having good days where they adventure; grow into being fully free willed individuals; hunt and kill people for fun, blood and profit where socially acceptable; and get some research done on stuff like Bhaalspawn and vampires. He'll probably be ok in, like, a decade or twenty, once he's finished coming to terms with the idea that he was genuinely miserable and terrified living under Bhaal's control and has formed his own life and a stable identity. In the meantime - abandonment issues, identity crises, issues about autonomy, paranoia about retaliation and religious guilt!

If he had failed in his duel against Orin and been condemned to lose his autonomy (and seen his friends immediately give up on him), or had he not been given death as a choice, he probably would've forsaken the party and fulfilled his original purpose in the end game. But he would've quickly killed them in their sleep first as a mercy! He's not totally heartless! He's an absolute mess.

He doesn't have much in the way of connections to the original games.

I go back and forth on how old I want him to be and haven't settled yet. I don't think he's young. Originally I had him be born in the temples before the Time of Troubles, along with the other Bhaalspawn but then it turned out that Durge's backstory is weird.

Going off of what we're told about being carved from Bhaal's dead flesh, having no birthday and being conceived beyond mortality, I'm assuming he was created from a part of Bhaal's corpse on the Astral Plane, where there was no time. Probably shortly after the end of Throne of Bhaal, in 1369 DR - maybe Bhaal was paranoid about Amelyssan and Bhaal's failure to be resurrected triggered the failsafe and initiated plan B: the Dark Urge.

Or Vel was born after 1372 DR, when Bane was reborn and Bhaal maybe felt a little insecure.

I have contemplated having my Charname meddle with his "birth" to piss Bhaal off, adding part of her own essence into the mixture. Technically it's not incest, because it's purely by magic, but it's still enough to make her sort of his mother and make it weird. Just to make the family tree even more complicated. Also technically makes him a half-human, half-hin, sun elf, quasi-deity. Nothing in this guy's life makes sense.

He's a ranger, because hey, he's a hunter - he just hunts people. He's comfortable hunting and surviving in urban or natural environments; he learned to live off the streets while being homeless after his foster family's death (and the subsequent massacre at the Ilmatari shrine that sheltered him) and learned to live off the land after fleeing into the wilds to lie low. It's also how he's familiar with poisons and venoms. He has an interest in death as part of the natural cycle, so the nature class suits him. Also likes animals, who are significantly less judgemental and more pragmatic about killing. Scavengers tend to follow him around for the corpses he leaves, and he ended up with a few rat and corvid animal companions (though Bhaal often forced him to kill them if he got too attached). It also lets me play a divine spellcaster, although I assume in his case the power is coming from his own soul rather than a patron god.

He's a divine being and an excellent killer, he knows this and it gives him self-confidence in his actions that some have described as "insufferably arrogant" or "suicidal". His go-to tactics for dealing with a problem are: Step 1) Promise death if subject does not submit Step 2) If subject does not submit; kill them Skipping to step two is also always on the table. All problems can be solved with murder.

His dump stat is intelligence, because the poor kid who ended up alone and homeless didn't have much time or resources for education. In another life he would've been a bard, he has a knack for carrying a tune and writing prose. I like to think Orin would've enjoyed art and maybe the theatre in her own alternate Bhaal-free universe, so it's an interesting parallel for them.

He takes an approximation of elven form because Bhaal decided to reverse engineer the Blessing of Corellon, using the soul of one of his elven kids as a reference, to give Vel a physical fluidity/flexibility that would be useful to his plan to breed an army of Bhaalspawn using Durge. Also works as a threat; obey, or there are other uses I have for you, and some of them will see you locked up for nine months. (Vel goes by male pronouns and presents as a cis man, but is somewhat flexible and accepts they/them pronouns. Not she/her though.)

Vel also has a million and one hang-ups about sex because of stuff like this; namely that he won't have any kind of sex that might cause pregnancy, and he used to kill the partners he begrudgingly took so that they wouldn't be able to perceive him during the act or remember him sexually. He makes a special exception for people who he's assigned an "equal" or "higher rank" over himself - they can do what they like with him and it's their right. Those exceptions would be Bhaal (Vel's body is Bhaal's body, as far as he's concerned), sort-of Gortash (except Vel didn't fully trust him and their relationship makes Bhaal irritated, so every time they had sex Vel had to leave and have a panic attack afterwards) and Astarion (who has his own hang-ups). There might have been something kind of going on with Orin, partly due to pressure for them to have "sacrificial lambs" together, but neither want to talk about it. He considered Ketheric, but Ketheric can't die and that would ruin it because Vel would be too busy trying to kill him to actually have sex.

Originally he was going to be the son of a member of the Eldreth Veluuthra, who turned to Bhaal for divine aid because the Seldarine still won't aid the terrorist organisation in committing genocide against the human race, for some strange reason. She would've raised her little abomination into be a weapon to set on them, and enjoyed the irony of humans being slain by an abomination spawned by of one of their own gods.

Since "the Dark Urge" gets you some funny looks when you use it in public, mine concedes to being called "Vel" - a name that only gets you funny looks from the minority that speak elven, because you've just introduced yourself as "dagger/knife." It's a description of him as a tool, not a person. His foster family did give him a name, but he refuses to acknowledge it because it was intended for a person who only existed in their imagination and he'll stab you if you call him by that name. He technically got the name from Gortash, who once "jokingly" referred to him as his favourite weapon one evening, enjoying the success after one of their joint plots to exploit some noble or other and advance both their goals via assassination/politicking. Vel has identity issues and complicated relationship with real Tel'Quessir, so he chose the elven word for the irony (no real elf would accept association with a Bhaalspawn, least of all this one).

Mostly he goes by no name at all. He might pick a new one, in a few decades when he's grown, healed a bit and feels secure in having his own identity.

Vel is Lawful, and alternates between Evil and Neutral depending on his mood and situation. He will fall to pieces without a purpose to structure his life around. He doesn't care if people around him are more Chaotic though, it's purely a personal code. If he takes a mercenary or assassination contract or something, he will fulfil it to the letter and make no attempts to backstab his employer or get any more than the agreed upon payment. He makes zero promises about the actions of anyone working with him, they can do what they want and it's not his problem.

He has a hierarchy in his head: Bhaal > Himself, Gortash, Astarion > Orin, the party > everyone else

His moral compass is a twisted thing that he's cobbled together out of scraps over the course of under two months, it's not very complete or useful. On the good-evil axis, he doesn't usually have second thoughts about taking actions that are evil, and he's not keen on the concept of morality as a whole; there was never any point in developing a sense for it. He never had any real say in his actions and he kind of resents people who judge him for them.

He kind of misses Sceleritas, his "great purpose" and all the power he used to wield, and he would make a fantastic Sharran.

[mishkakagehishka]

And here's from the thread i posted on twt but slightly reworked bc i think i wasted it on twt lol but

There's the idea that speaking a dialect makes someone less educated or dumb. And asides from the fact that i just think kansai sounds Good, Mika subverts this trope of characters in media who are given dialectal speech as a symbol of "this character is meant to be dumb" because he is actually GENUINELY intelligent. I can name examples for three days, but in the end I always return to HE READ. THE MABINOGION. IN MIDDLE ENGLISH. And got into Yumenosaki which is apparently known for having an awfully difficult entrance exam. What i'm saying is, i appreciate SO MUCH that happyele didn't give him a "country" accent because they wanted us to know he's dumb in the simplest way they could show it. They actually let him have a personality that doesn't revolve around stereotypes. His dialect is treated as nothing more than his manner of speaking, not something that is tied into his intelligence or something we are supposed to judge his character based on. In fact, he himself has talked about how people see him and how they expect him to act just because of his accent - and he has mentioned that it's upsetting to him!!! It's refreshing to see this sort of stuff acknowledged in media when for so long, non-standard accents and dialects were just used as another way to present a character's lack of intelligence and education through speech characterisation.

And you know what - I think that fits very well into the other thing I really love ab him - he's a character based entirely on contrast and paradoxes. Not just the contrast between him speaking a dialect associated with certain characteristics (extroversion, humour, openness, but also stupidity) and being. Well. Shy and introverted and not very quick with coming up with funny quips and INTELLIGENT (i have eternal beef with everyone who falls for Mika's "uhm sorry I musta dropped my brain somewhere" act). But also so many other contrasts like. I don't care, I choose to believe his mismatched eyes are supposed to represent that. Asymmetric on the outside AND inside. We all know he loves creepy/cute, he often calls creepy stuff cute and he loves horror movies and he collects scary images/posters but he also LOVES cute things, he rescues plushies from the trash!! And fixes them and names them and loves them!!!!

But like whatever whatever he's a little orphan who lied to us ab getting adopted, who almost buried his roommate alive bc he thought he killed him, who threatened to kill himself or Shu's future spouse if he gets married, who has been obsessed with Some Guy since he saw him once in, like, elementary(?) school, who decided to enter Yumenosaki (AND MANAGED) almost on impulse, who loves the trash-picking part-time jobs bc he doesn't have to interact with anyone, who collects and fixes thrown away plushies, who apparently makes eroguro art, who wants to be a beacon of hope for all the children who were abandoned and feel as alone as he did, who manages to overcome shyness when he has to talk for TV bc Shu is too shy etc etc i actually adore him.

He means everything to me.

[zahri-melitor]

Okay, general roundup of New 52 titles I have read so far, now I am well into 2013 in my read through:-

Batwoman, J.H. Williams run – genuinely great. This is a highlight of the New 52, honestly. If DC had stopped occasionally remembering that Kate Kane is now Bruce’s cousin and had let Kate and Maggie get married, it would be perfect.

Blue Beetle – it’s not the best Jaime run I’ve ever read, but in terms of restructuring Jaime’s origin to simplify it and remove the heavy connection with Infinite Crisis shenanigans, it worked far better than the Rebirth reboot. Let down by getting cancelled just as it started becoming more interesting (aka had finally finished the retread of Jaime’s origin story and started him having new adventures).

Threshold – this was certainly a comic I read entirely to see Jaime in it. If you are lucky enough to know nothing about it, it’s basically a planet of foxhunting tagged ‘criminals’, where Jaime ends up one of the tagged. It’s meandering, pointless and bad. I think if you’re a Lantern fan you’d also think it was bad. Deservedly knocked off after 8 issues.

Justice League Dark – I made it through 6 issues. My biggest takeaways were that everyone here was just so miserable and Boston Brand was dating Dawn Granger for reasons that surpassed understanding. I want to like it more than I do, for the cast it has.

Batgirl, Gail Simone run – appealing and infuriating in turn. There’s some genuinely beautiful writing here (the WWII paper balloons!) and Babs is recognisable as Babs, but it’s horribly let down by the fact that ‘healing’ Barbara means that she’s now both not allowed to operate as Oracle (by editorial dictat) AND she’s having trouble as a street vigilante as she’s still recovering from her injuries. It makes sense but it also makes Barbara doubly incompetent which is maddening as they’ve taken away everything that was hers specifically. Also James Gordon Jnr is always intensely irritating to have around and I am never going to get over giving Babs a villain called ‘Knightfall’ in the run immediately after healing her back. Yes. I got the reference. It’s not that funny.

Birds of Prey – it’s hmmm still finding its feet. Lacks the soul of the original run, but there are flashes of the old magic occasionally. It is hilarious to me that they decided to merge Dinah Drake and Dinah Lance back into a single character for this run, creating a bizarre new ex-husband for Dinah in Kurt Lance (seriously, Kurt Lance, why do you exist you’re so weird) and then within 6 issues or so abruptly realised WHY Dinah Drake and Dinah Lance have been separate characters since 1983 and reinvented a new Dinah Drake mother for the character. Spectacular. Sheer evidence that nobody involved in new 52 was actually spending much time thinking about how an all new origin reboot would affect characterisation.

Batman – I have my differences with Scott Snyder over his run, but he at least manages to make things interesting and spend time interrogating Bruce’s identity. It feels in conversation with the Loeb and Dini storylines around Thomas Elliot and that whole crowd of elite Gothamites. Lots of interesting set ups let down by execution or obsession with conspiracy theories. Love his work with Harper Row as a character.

Batman & Robin – okay folk, I do agree, this is a far far better Batman & Robin run than 2009. I feel like I’ve spent more time with Damian showing me his character rather than being informed by Morrison via Alfred mouthpiece about Damian’s character. There’s some lovely character work in here. It’s still suffering from getting New 52ed but it’s honestly the first run anywhere that’s actually really good for Damian characterisation (plus or minus the Damian and Colin Wilkes fight Zsasz plot in Streets of Gotham or Gates of Gotham).

Batman Incorporated – fuck you Grant Morrison. Nobody reading this title is having a good time. If you’re here for actual Batman Inc characters well I’m sorry, they’re mostly standing around the sidelines of a plot about Bruce, Talia and Damian. If you’re here for Talia I’m so sorry for you. If you’re here to read Bruce and/or Damian you get like 3-4 sweet scenes that I am sure you have already seen in screencapped panels floating around with no context. DC would be a better place if this book hadn’t been approved (also Cyril might still be alive)

Nightwing – this comic so far is obsessed with Haly’s Circus. Now I don’t like the whole Talon retcon (I think it cheapens a lot of things about Dick’s backstory as a character) but I will admit it’s nice to see Dick spending time with his Haly’s Circus friends and Dick’s optimistic side coming out in the ‘let’s just rebuild Amusement Mile as a place that isn’t Joker-haunted!’ Tragically of course because we’re never allowed to have nice plotlines involving Haly’s Circus it gets blown up again and lots of people die. But at least Dick’s back to owning the circus, amirite? (For bizarre ‘Pop Haly left it to him in his will’ reasons rather than Dick buying it out with his inheritance money that is totally not one of the many occasions Bruce has lied to Dick and told him that this trust fund is 100% based on investments of his parents assets, rather than Bruce attempting to give Dick Wayne money again so he stops living out of cardboard boxes in a tiny apartment)

Red Hood and the Outlaws – I have now suffered through three whole issues of this comic (actually 4 but I paged through that one to read like one scene at the end) and it is determined to make me hate everyone involved with it in terms of its disrespect for Roy and Kory. Also all the issues kept trying to convince me that Jason and Tim have always been each others’ favourite brothers, which lol. (If that’s actually ever true for Jason it’s the most hilarisad thing ever).

Teen Titans – I made it through two issues for crossover purposes. I am tempted to come back as I think I will get some stuff out of it once I’ve finished my Teen Titans 2003 read (and look there does actually appear to be some things in here I may enjoy). Can’t believe Kurt Lance shows up in this comic. I swear he’s my new nemesis.

Suicide Squad – I am 100% not reading this comic, I only opened it for crossover issues. What have they done to Amanda Waller. (Also why is Harley Quinn trying to date Floyd Lawton, did editorial suddenly realise how many people are into his deep uh comradery with Thomas Blake and overreact trying to remove the gay cooties or something?)

Catwoman and Detective Comics – honestly I haven’t got a good enough read on either yet from the few issues I’ve read, but ‘Tec is running a Penguin plot and I’m not in the mood for a Penguin plot at the moment.

So far, my recommendations: Batwoman I recommend without hesitation. Batman & Robin has been embroidered in fans’ memories but is worthwhile in any case. Batman is interesting stories sometimes let down in execution and may actually read better if you avoid touching any tie-in issues for a readthrough.

Nightwing, Batgirl, Birds of Prey and Blue Beetle are “these are some of my favourite characters, I want to know even if I don’t always like it” reads. They’re still the same characters, just trapped in a maddening world.

[spandexual]

Alright I'll take a stab with you giving media recomendations: My favorite character type is characters who are such big liars about something important to them (appearance, personality facet, something traumatic, stuff like that) but are stupid oblivous to the fact that everyone can see thru them that they're lying (think Kiriya Ex Aid, that kinda character.) Dynamic/relationship wise I'm always a sucker for "we both know we're monsterous/appear monsterous to others but we find comfort in each other for those same reasons other people tend to hate us for."

HMMMM this is going to sound lowkey insane but are you familiar with Daniel Craig's James Bond films bc his Bond is very deeply traumatised and always dancing on the knife edge of just barely keeping it together and it makes for some very interesting scenes with his love interests, his coworkers (jeeeesus, his relationship with Judi Dench's M...), and his enemies alike. Maybe it's more notable to me bc I am A Bond Fan who grew up with the flatter Calm Cool Spy Guy characterisation of Brosnan's Bond but I find the fragility he brings to the role very compelling. A blunt instrument, yes, but one full of stress fractures, not yet shattered but only not yet.

Jem the titular character of the 80s cartoon supposedly about rival rock bands is also quite this, but she's a bit frustrating in that she's making everything worse for herself and her bf by not just being open about the fact she and Jerrica are the same person. I think that's probably the most blatant example about a character lying about their appearance and in her specific case SEDUCING HER OWN BOYFRIEND AND GETTING MAD HE'S CHEATING ON HER WITH HERSELF???? she's very fucked up it's quite funny. She also has crazy girl yaoi with Pizzazz who she's genuinely very cruel to. Like Pizzazz is a nasty little punk tbf and deserves a kick up the ass as well as jail time but wow she's really horrible to her in a way that makes you go "wtf aren't you supposed to be the good guy" it's fun

I'm sure you've already seen Ryuki but if you haven't there's a Lot there for you.

And uh surely you're into the X-Men with that specific ship taste right. Ok now what about Kamen Rider Kabuto because you're straight up describing the hoppers (or at least how they see themselves). Ummm I'll think more on this but this post is long enough for now

[chocsra]

omgg hiiii ava, i just wanted to tell you for like the thousand time BAHHAA

that IM LITERALLY SO IN LOVE WOTH YOUR WRITING. i know i tell you this everytime you post a fic but it’s true, they’re always sauurrr cute and i love the way you characterize chuuya and dazai😭😭😭💕💕

ypure also soo nice and sweet, ily sm avaaa my fav writer ᯓ ᡣ𐭩 i hope youre doing well in your exams!! and that it’s okay to take breaks for yourself don’t overwork yourself!!! ilysm pookie bear

UR SO NICE STOPPPPPP

aawwwww thank you sm omg!! ur one of my fav mutuals and like ur always so nice and u love asa like me so twinsies!! if ur in school then i wish you luck on ur exams as well!

yk like after reading stormbringer + bsd drama cds + manga i kinda realised that chuuya isn't angry 24/7. bones just characterizes him that way + he does get mad when hes w dazai and in the shows timeline, hes most powerful wit dazai.

22! chuuya is pretty damn smug in the manga/is chill with the mafia, and it makes sense since he IS the strongest. 15! chuuya was aggressive but wasnt everyone. and 16! chuuya is acc funny and chill, he like tolerated shirase when he was a whiny bitch (BYE NO HATE TO SHIRASE)

sometimes i gotta remember that before stormbringer, he had a rly strong drive to get better and know more, as opposed to him now whos a mafia executive & the strongest. chuuyas under an organization with that sort of hierarchy, and being the leader (mori) also means being a servant for your organization, not just being the most powerful, so i guess thats why hes not entirely cocky. + dazai is the only person who can annoy the shit outta him (like them elementary classmates that can just pull out a pic of your my little pony era if u wanna test them LMAOOOOOO)

therefore writing chuuya i try to write him like a half normal teenager going through his midlife crisis. i def think hes an acts of service & quality time kinda guy. like a romance with him (pre-relationship) is genuinely like - "treat you like a friend, respect you like a lover." UGH NOW I WANNA WRITE STORMBRINGER CHUUYA BESTIE HCS

as for characterising dazai, its pretty hard for me bc my requests for him are in the pm! era and like how can i imagine port mafia dazai falling in love?? (besides chuuya guys shut up) im definitely working on writing dazai properly since hes hella enigmatic.

anyways sorry for my rambling! my take on characterising these two losers and i wanna make more dazai content, but i also wanna expand the characters i write. unfortunately, my lazy ass has 5 unfinished drafts and 30 REQUESTS IN MY INBOX????

[wardenhowe]

okay. veilguard thoughts.

first the positives!! i really really enjoyed the gameplay! it felt fluid and the combos were a lot of fun and i liked the warrior skill tree!! also the loot system was perfect for me, a person who despises micro managing inventory! the armours and such were also really cool looking generally, so that's neat!! the level design was so good as well!!! as someone with no orientation skills at all i rarely got lost and the environments were nicely designed and invited to explore without being overwhelming!!

i also liked all the companions! i do have problems with their, mostly, one dimensional characterisation but i did think everyone was genuinely intriguing and the companion quests were always something i looked forward to!!! bellara i love you so much btw davrin i'm coming to romance you soon. neve. my life belongs to you.

the story was. okay i guess. as good as it could've been with the premise i suppose. well actually. the venatori and antaam were deeply uninteresting and i don't understand how not a single dalish clan followed their own gods and that sucked imo. i liked the five seconds we got of the butcher but generally speaking my god the minor antagonists SUCKED. you're telling me elven slavers would follow elven gods? i don't believe it sorry. the antaam were just the worst qunari lore in one group so didn't enjoy them either. like. let elves be evil. let diversity win. they have enough reason to want to bring the current world to an end and return to the glory of the elven empire let's be real.

the evanuris were okay i guess. i didn't love nor hate them. solas was a joy. i never wanted answers for all the secrets of the universe but if they had to give them to me then i'm glad it's all solas' fault unironically! so that part was fun. he was an amazing quasi antagonist and even if i expected his betrayal it still hit me emotionally! the rest was like. 4/10 at most.

and my biggest gripe with this game is how much they disregarded the previous games. like it wasn't even funny anymore at a certain point lol. i'm glad they killed varric even if i cried like a little baby but jesus christ not even SINGLE mention of hawke okay lol. generally it's like. every single veilguard companion could have been replaced with a previous companion and the story would have benefitted from it. i understand it's a lot of effort to write with all the different world states in mind but all i really want is for some of my decisions to have counted. i also put a lot of effort into these games you know? just give me a letter or a throwaway line instead of the obvious way they did not talk about the previous games. also. thanks for obliterating southern thedas lol

also! the factions? mostly so BORING. why couldn't these questlines be about internal struggles?? THE CROWS??? such a let down. i loooved treviso but wtf. minrathous was like. so sanitised. where are all the blood mages and elven slaves?? i don't get it. i think overall the factions were so boring and "good guys". the only saving grace for the wardens were evka and antoine whomst i absolutely adored!

so yeah. very enjoyable to play and i liked the characters but um. idk. it felt the opposite of rewarding to be a long time player of this franchise. i never wanted the big lore reveals they gave me. i wanted to see how this world reacted to me and my pcs and i wanted to see my little blorbos evolve. so in that regard it was a big disappointment. it was extremely beautiful and fun so i'm giving it. like a 6.5 or even a 7 out of 10.

also i certainly hope thedas will call a new age cause i think it's time lol significant events certainly took place to justify that