#like. “You decided to be subversive… and you chose THAT???”

[yuttikkele]

Instead of My Little Pony, which is a masterpiece well deserving of its fame and popularity among young and old, how about the subversive interest of your hyper-masculine, emo, or just generally not concerned with “frivolous” or “girly” things character is some absolute dogtrash show that nobody likes. Like the Rainbow High webseries.

[brotherslayer]

Joan of Arc isekai AU where after the real saintess was martyred, her twin appears and pretends she is her sister who was resurrected by the lord in order to get revenge on those who betrayed her

[duncebento]

maybe i'll write more about it later but what i really loved about bojack horseman is that its message is ultimately anti-fatalistic, and this stance is determined by BAITING AND SWITCHING with what is meant to be their tragic protagonist-- bojack is supposed to die!! as is the trope of tragedy, the show TELLS us that bojack is going to die before the story even begins; his implied falling into the sea is part of the intro sequence that plays during every episode. and if that wasn't enough, it's a motif throughout the show-- like his painting of one horse standing in front of another horse face-down in the pool, explicitly alluded to as as a representation of narcissus (although, symbolically, the horse in the pool is removed when the painting is destroyed!). like the fact that he's a horse, and you can lead a horse to water... like his idolization of secretariat, who chose to kill himself by jumping off a bridge.

the story has set itself up to have its tragic protag, who is famously reckless and self-hating and irresponsible, drown in a drunken haze. to us as viewers, the environment around bojack gestures toward his drowning, both in its symbolism and in the social environment he has cultivated, which would likely accept his death as a sad inevitability. at times WE may want bojack to die, or at least view his death as a necessary consequence to the way he lives, an easier out for the people around him. and in the second-to-last episode he DOES drown-- but we find out, in the end, that he drowns in the pool, and he's found, and he's rescued and his heart starts again! and some of the last words in the series-- "sometimes, life's a bitch and then you live," embody that subversion. he doesn't get to die, and as much as that is a gift, it entails a the hard labor of responsibility. not wriggling out but standing firm.

our protagonist teeters between taking responsibility and blaming his cosmic circumstance, and we are forced to question what we believe about fate-- is it really always possible to change and to take control of ourselves, or is that childish naivete-- or could it be both? we are given so much to suggest that change is possible-- and then that hope is taken away from us. bojack gets sober and starts drinking again. he decides to tell the truth but lies the moment the pressure is too much to bear. all signs point to his end, so the show could have been brutal, could have been cynical, would have been totally within its right to have its tragic protagonist die his tragic and prestated death, and its message could have been "look at this sad, sad man who spun out. good intentions are not enough."

but the genre shifts at the last moment, and it wasn't a drowning after all but a baptism! and in this shift the narrative ceases to be just a compelling narrative but takes a stance on us, tells us that it is never hopeless to try, even when all of your surroundings seem to point to the contrary, even when you fail so many times that the next failure seems inevitable. and that this IS childish, and that cynicism seems smarter and bitterness more fun, and that, indeed, good intentions are not at all enough. BUT! the illusion that you have been doomed is a powerful illusion, sometimes an all-powerful one, but it does not have to be the case. and thats epic

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

About the ask about Chloe and selfishness: logic is a bit strange in this one, so Marinette doing stuff to impress her idol is selfish but Chloe doing stuff to impress hers isn't? Also, Chloe's brief sacrifice in Zombizou was the only relatively smart thing to do in that situation, if Ladybug was hit Chloe would have no chance to escape at all, while temporarily sacrificing herself allowed the possibility of Ladybug winning and saving her. If Chloe actually regretted her actions in that episode, she would be sorry before the other kids whom she viewed as expandable and mocked when they were risking themselves to protect her, and before Marinette whose gift she sabotaged, but she didn't. She only apologized to Ms Bustier, her enabler, and it's very natural for bullies to lick boots of the adults that enable them. While the authors apparently wanted to make her look sympathetic in the episode, I think they failed. I do lean in favor of the theory that the authors decided not to redeem her after all when they realized they are writing her "redemption" wrong.

If you wanted to make it clear that Chloe was still bad, make it clear that she only shows remorse for a handful of people outside of a few cheap end-of-episode "ShE'lL nEvEr ChAnGe" jokes.

And honestly, I can totally see the writers realizing they screwed up with this arc, but they chose to act like it was a clever subversion in an attempt to save face.

[beatingheart-bride]

Meanwhile, Erika was nervous as she and her great-grandfather spun and swayed upon the ballroom floor, but she did her best not to show it. She was dead set on being brave for her parents' sake: she'd promised them that she'd be a big girl, and she wasn't about to go back on her promise. Especially not when they were so proud of her: the sheer pride she saw upon her mother and father's faces as she looked back at them was enough to keep her standing tall, in spite of any nerves she felt.

Finally, after the band's tune came to a close, August led the girl back to the table, where she was promptly embraced by her mother.

"Look at you," Emily enthused, hugging her daughter tightly as she wiped away the last of her tears. "You're such a brave girl: you did such a good job! We're so proud of you! See, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Erika spared one last glance to her great-grandfather before turning back toward her mother and silently shaking her head.

@beatingheart-bride

"Junebug?" Josephine echoed with a curious smile, at which Wilhelm's pale, freckled cheeks lit up, explaining, "Ah, well...during one of our first dates, we went on a walk through the park. It was summertime, and all the fireflies were out-she called 'em "junebugs" and, well...the nickname just stuck."

August smiled fondly at this, replying, "My nickname for her when she was growing up was Moonface."

"Moonface?" Lon echoed confusedly, tilting his head at this, to which his grandfather explained, "She had the roundest face when she was born, and a lot of years afterwards: Round face, chubby cheeks, very pale, especially with that black hair of hers; it made her seem even paler."

"She comes by it honestly," Josephine chuckled-both she and her husband had jet black hair, and their daughter proved to be just the same way-clearly, her grandson and great-grandson were the same way. "So, with that pale face of hers, August started calling her Moonface. She used to giggle up a storm when he'd call her that; just a little tot playing in the garden, and she'd run right up to him when she heard him call her!"

As Josephine continued to regale the others at the table with stories from June's childhood (particularly her misadventures in the dirt, loving to make little mudholes to cool down in during the summer-as well as letting the mud dry on her skin as she continued to run around and play, necessitating a bath), August ventured to ask Erika:

"Your grandmother used to dance with me when she was your age-whenever we heard the music from one of the neighboring restaurants, she used to stand on my feet, and we'd dance in the living room. Would...would you like to dance with me, my dear?

You don't have to if you don't want to," he was quick to reassure her, in case she wasn't comfortable with that yet-he just thought he'd ask.

[blackhholes]

teen wolf genre theory:

where riverdalian genre theory is based around the characters teen wolf genre theory focuses on the seasons. it is my belief that every distinct season of the show embodies and utilizes its own horror subgenre

season 1 is a classic monster horror. there's something big and dangerous out there and it's up to the protagonists to figure out a way to fight back against it.

season 2 can also be regarded as monster horror but i see it more so as possession horror. it's not possession in the usual demonic way but instead matt taking control of and essentially becoming the second occupant of jackson's body.

season 3a is folk horror. it's human sacrifices and dark rituals. it's the protagonists trying to catch up with the perpetrator in a desperate attempt to stop the killings from continuing.

season 3b falls into psychological horror. stiles is fighting against this inhuman entity taking over his body and mind. this season also features noticeably less gore and body horror than other seasons and instead plays on the emotional beats more. even the viewer grows distrustful of stiles by the end of the season never sure when he's actually in control.

season 4 is slasher horror. it has been subverted though so instead of a single killer taking on the characters of the story it's a lineup and various assassins all with their own gimmicks.

both season 5a and 5b are true body horror. body horror is seen all throughout the show, particularly to show characters losing their agency, but in season 5 it gets pushed to extremes. it's medical experiments performed on teenagers who have no memories of this even happening to them. also 5b can definitely be read as another monster horror season but the monster is created through the use of medical intervention and therefore i do believe it does fit into the body horror subgenre.

season 6a is a ghost story. hear me out it might sound a bit farfetched but stiles serves as the ghost in this season. it's a subversion of classic ghost stories, it's not the presence that becomes the haunting but instead the lack of a presence. the characters all feel this grief and loss they have nowhere to put down and explain everywhere they turn they see remnants of this person whom they have no idea even exists. also claudia definitely counts as a kind of phantom if you wanna take the easy way out.

season 6b is a little harder to place but i believe it's either cosmic horror or apocalyptic horror depending on how you chose to understand the story. if you see the anuk-ite as the main antagonist it becomes cosmic horror, there's this infinitely old entity that's been trapped in the wild hunt suddenly let out. some of the hallmarks of cosmic horror are madness, inevitability, and non human interference on human beings, all of which are seen as the anuk-ite takes hold of the people of beacon hills. but if you see the hunters as the main antagonists of the story it transforms into apocalyptic horror, it's not the end of the world at large but instead the end of the world as the characters know it. they've been exposed to the public who are now taking up arms against them and they must learn to adapt and survive in a society that wants them all dead.

(also before any of you say i just saw the riverdale genre theory and decided i had to make it work for teen wolf just know i explained this entire thing to su like a month before i even heard of the riverdale genre theory. this all came out of my noggin.)

[surely-galena]

Don't Shoot self-indulgent ending rambles (behind the scenes stuff that I didn't get to talk about)

Just some of my thoughts for things that happen at the end of the fic. Spoilers included of course!

Ending #1: Luke dies

Out of all the death endings, the aftermath for this one actually feels like... the happiest, in a way? It's still not happy because it's still an angsty ending, but it's probably the one where everyone gets the most closure.

The idea that Zella gets the locked box that she was curious about for so long, but leaves it unopened on her coffee table with the accompanying key...ouch.

Zella is usually the focus in everything that happens after your chosen boy dies, but you can also see bits and pieces of how the other NXX guys react and process the tragedy. I think this is least shown in Luke and Artem's endings, for different reasons. While they generally act as a whole in Luke's ending, they are deliberately made more distant in Artem's ending.

Ending #2: Artem dies

I thought it would be fun if there was at least one ending where MC/Zella becomes corrupted, if that makes sense? She loses sight of everything she used to believe in and now only focuses on her career rather than how she gets to the point she wants to reach.

There are deliberate references to main story 6.2 in the pre-choice section (in Artem's POV), and it is again referred to in Artem's death ending (in Zella's POV). This is because it means they get out of one life-threatening situation only to find themselves in other dangerous circumstances once again.

Would Artem have wanted to see who Zella becomes in this ending? Absolutely not! But she's not letting herself see that because it hurts too much.

Ending #3: Vyn dies

This one was hard to write not in an emotional sense, but in a technical sense. You may notice that this is actually the shortest ending out of all five because I was struggling to get across the aftermath in a way that I was satisfied with. The idea in my outline for this ending was a dead end, so I tried to convey that in the team's struggle to accomplish anything for the founders' original mission.

Vyn's actual death, however, is narratively satisfying (to me) in the sense that it's a subversion of expectations. Vyn spends the first few chapters talking about how he would never sacrifice himself (and would only do so for Zella), but when the moment arrives, he does exactly what he said he would not do. Vyn ensures that he becomes the sacrifice. It's a really tragic ending, but he's got agency in his choice.

I deliberately chose not to mention how his name is written on his headstone. Depending on how sad you want the ending to be, you get to decide whether he is remembered as Vyn Richter, Vilhelm Richard Albert de Haspran, or something in between.

Ending #4: Marius dies

In my outline, I put this down as the worst ending. So if you found this one to be the most painful one, I agree!!

It's the irony that Marius, who is supposed to be immune, is the one who gets shot--not by his own choice or by Zella's, but by accident. The person who everyone tried to save could not be saved, and even worse, he's the one who takes the longest to die.

The "JUST SHOOT!" moment that scares Zella into pulling the trigger also happens in the next ending. The only difference is that Zella has already decided to fire the gun in this ending, so her finger is on the trigger. In the other ending, her finger is safely off the trigger so no accidents happen.

In the original outline of this ending, Luke was supposed to die after Pax shuts down their medical centers. But then I realized it would be totally unfair if he died in this ending--especially if you had already decided to skip the Luke ending. I can't say "don't worry, it's possible that your favorites won't die" if they die outside of their own death ending! So I actually like the final version more because you get to see the state that everyone is in after Marius' death.

Ending #5: Everyone lives

This ending is largely accomplished by you (as the reader) and Zella being able to stall for long enough, allowing William and Zangr to arrive with backup! You'll notice that the "JUST SHOOT" moment only happens in this ending and Marius' ending, and that is because Zella stalls for the longest in both of those endings--to differing results.

I thought it was so funny when William Lewis showed up in the Bakerlon event and I realized it would be even funnier if he actually ended up being a heroic figure in this fic's good ending.

Zangr getting away before the choices means that he lives in every ending!

William Lewis getting coffee with the NXX Investigation Team is so funny to me. He has NO CLUE who these people truly are.

The article excerpts in Artem's ending and this ending take inspiration from the Lockwood & Co. books!

This is the ending you have to fight for a little bit because you have to click 'Don't Shoot' three times. Granted, it's easier because for the first two Don't Shoot parts, there is only one choice available to pick. Here, there is some inspiration taken from a particular choice in Ultra Despair Girls (video game), but it's also a way to strengthen Zella's resolve and buy time for the others to arrive on scene.

[monroeknoxwrites]

deepspace babysitting horror scifi story masterpost

Premise

unadvisedly, with so much else on my plate, I'm contemplating a subversive mech vs kaiju story where humanity forms a strange, body horror-esque bond with monsters to repel sentient robotic invaders

after coming up empty-handed forever, I decided on the name for the monsters and by extension the project: progenitors revivification project

I didn't want to use something like leviathan or colossus, with obvious biblical or greek origins, when this is supposed to take place in the remains of an unnamed planet (not earth). they choose "progenitors" for the monsters as they found their remains in the depths of the shards and see them as some far-flung ancestor

the plot revolves around the second generation of progenitor pilots being trained on a secret deepspace mission

Setting

most of the story takes place on a spaceship called the Javelin but the characters originally lived on the splintered remains of an enormous planet. each Shard has its own community and environment, held together by a shield. the Shards themselves remain in the vague shape of a planet mid-explosion and don't drift off into space thanks to a tridecahedron gravity well in the dead center - a side for each Shard

12 of the Shards practice self governance while the 13th is Coalition territory and considered neutral ground. the Coalition has delegates and volunteers from all 12 Shards, acting as a cooperative body not unlike the UN (with considerably more power)

the Coalition acts for the good of the People. maybe not so much for the individual…

The Coalition

those born and raised on the Coalition Shard then chose a life in service to the Coalition—which most of them did—underwent a gruesome procedure. through surgical brain modification, their emotions were modulated, dimmed, capped. you couldn’t make them angry or sad and the smiles most often plastered on their faces were shallow. meaningless. it was supposed to eradicate distraction, personal bias, and put the public at ease. catastrophic failure for the latter.

thelnym (main oc) always thought it was like growing up around ghosts – they had the shape of humans, the faces, but they weren’t. not really.

some merciful force in the universe spared thelnym from that

the Coalition has two main branches: Administrative and Military. the Administrative branch is headed by the Chief Administrator and consists of several departments (judicial, science, resources). the Fleet Admiral heads the Military branch. only those in the administrative branch undergo brain modification surgery and must be performed voluntarily. those from other Shards decline the procedure most of the time. rumor has it this hinders their ability to rise through the ranks but officially this is stated not to be true. “modified Coalition member” is the official name for recipients of the surgery while colloquially they’re known by the less offensive “alt” (as in altered) and the much more derogatory “husk”

Main OCs

Thelnym Osgrove (they/them), one of the three original progenitor pilots and the sole survivor. they've been tied to the Coalition for a long time: a ward since early childhood, a progenitor pilot in their teens then spent the last 20+ years in isolated supervision (more info here)

Dr. Mithat Özgür (she/her), thelnym's caretaker and doctor. she's also a member of the Coalition administrative branch (more info here)

Vice Admiral Isamund Iris (she/her), technically retired from active duty, she was chosen to head the deepspace mission as a representative of the Coalition military (more info here)

rest of the cast links:

vanith, vanis, vanit luskren

wiv markeys, tove hoarfrost, dr. fei jian

jace thass, asme falin, lore thass, orval curby

dysullus rals, lt. viko urtrav

delmine mor, zoilo robles-nemes, yoselin robles-nemes

uemura saori, hedi vauquelin

???

snippets

isamund and the stars

luskren triplets and exhibitionism (nsfw)

thelnym/mithat evening routine

luskren triplets at the trade market

wiv doodling

tove/isamund first and last kiss

wiv/fei jian hair care (nsfw)

dsbs opening

thelnym/isamund midnight snack

relevant tags for this story: #my ocs, #dsbs

[blood-choke]

Since u r an artist as well as a writer I'm reslly curious as to what ur process for designing the ROs was like for this game. I would love knowing more about ur character design process.

oh this is fun! prepare for a long obnoxious answer for some questions you didn't even ask!

blood choke has been through a Lot in terms of the brainstorming process. Valentina was probably the first character i finalized, though originally she did not have a history with the mc, she was not a main character in the sense that she is now, and she was actually "the villain." the game was very different tone-wise, though it was roughly the same concept with an mc who wakes up with no memory, though originally they were a newborn vampire.

then i changed gears, decided i didn't want to make the game this way, and tried something else with a set mc & a single set love interest (this is Valerie & Angel, my ocs i post about sometimes on my personal blog.) but then i didn't like that either and i scrapped trying to make it an IF and just wrote a novel instead LOL

Valentina stayed around, she is very similar to Leda, who is an antagonist in that novel. but once i finished that i came back to still wanting to write a vampire IF.

there were a lot of ideas i didn't get to expand on in my novel, that i'm revisiting in blood choke. it's why i chose to genderlock all of the characters and make the mc a lesbian.

i knew i wanted the ROs to be very clockable as lesbians; i wanted there to be a femme and a butch and a stud.

i rewrote the foundation of the story; the mc would not be a newborn but they would have no memory of what they were or what happened to them. and Valentina became more ambiguous and less of a real "villain", i expanded on some previous ideas, and when i made up my mind on setting the mc as butch i decided to include a lot of that early butch/femme history in her backstory & their relationship. i wanted her to be a bit goth in appearance as well because i wanted her femininity to be subversive; she likes to wear corsets and leather and veils and likes how people perceive her as "weird." she's still feminine but in her own way.

and while Valentina is femme, i read a lot of Kitty Tsui's writing for Valerie (who is a Chinese butch) and that influenced my decision, along with the time period that i planned for, to make her Chinese.

“In the spring of 1988, Jill Posner approached me. She said, “By the way, I’m the photo editor for On Our Backs, and we’d really love for you to pose for us.” And I said, “Frankly, I don’t read the magazine, and I’m not really interested in taking off my clothes.” I’d later thought about it and realized that the stereotypes of Asian women are either that we’re very passive, docile, servile, nonsexual entities, or that we’re the very, the Susie Wong prostitute, fiery dragon woman. I decided that I wanted to pose for the magazine to show that not only are Asian women beautiful and strong, but that we are whole women. I realized that I had a butch side, I had a very butch side, and I also had a femme side, and that I could be all of those things. And I had an androgynous side.”

you can find more about Kitty Tsui here.

Hana came next, and again she was a part of the original story, and worked for Valentina when she was the "villain." i wanted her to have that sporty/jock laid-back kind of vibe, compared to Valentina's high-strung dramatics. i think Hana came out way more friendly and personable than i originally intended; i wanted her to be kind of stand-offish, hiding in her hood a lot, but she had other plans i guess. in the end i think she balances everyone out and i like her contrast with Valentina, and i like how much more weight her voice carries when she does get serious.

i knew from the start i wanted Hana to be Black and from america, because i really wanted that perspective included in the narrative i had planned. again, with the time period, i chose to make her Korean & African American. i looked at a lot of models when i first drew/designed her, mainly jenny park, who is Korean-Nigerian. i went for a more jock/streetwear look because i wanted her to be visible as a stud, which is a specific Black lesbian identity.

screenshot from The Same Difference.

then came Clear. i knew i wanted a human RO, and i wanted her to be big and butch cus i like subverting expectations lol. i actually based some of her design on corky from bound, mainly her hair and tattoos:

if you haven't seen bound, go watch it. one of my favorite movies.

overall i designed three characters that i knew i as a reader would want to read about, and i as a writer would want to write about. that sounds very obvious hahaha but a lot of this story is just me writing very specific things that i want to see as a lesbian author. butches & studs are one of the most underrepresented groups, even in queer media, and butch/femme is largely considered "historical" or "problematic." so i wanted my characters & this story to be very in your face & unapologetic about it.

[lunar-years]

Well now I’m curious about what your LEAST favorite keeley outfits are/outfits you just disliked

here's top 5 least favs as they popped immediately to mind, lol.

5. i hate everything about this. her hair looked especially bad here. why did they dye it SO blonde. the silver jacket is...interesting. Altogether, I think it's giving Zenon Girl of the 21st Century except that Keeley is a 32 yr old adult woman living in the year 2023.

4. Putting Keeley into a second qipao was certainly a choice. This pink is shockingly bright. in a bad way. the styling leaves a lot to be desired. i also have a personal beef against it because of all the outfits THIS is what they decided to dress the keeley jones barbie doll in... the least memorable Keeley Jones look of all time. 0/10.

3. what's that? a hat! crazy funky junky hat. overslept, hair unsightly, trying to look like keira knightly. we've been there, we've done that, we see right through your funky hat!

(also...the fact that this was paired with BRIGHT YELLOW pants... the wardrobe people woke up that day and chose violence)

2. nipple ring extreme push up bra top! top ten crime of the show is how they were dressing Keeley for her big break professional career defining ceo job. HELLO? what is this mess. it's like they were trying to make her subversive and campy but didn't know how to do that in an actually realistic way and so they flopped miserably. keeley is NOT traditional in any way but she's also NOT wearing nipple piercing tops to work. i'm sorry that i know her better than the wardrobe department but...

I've talked about this before but s2 Vanity Fair photoshoot Keeley is the worst look of anyone on the whole show. an absolute and complete mess. whatever was happening in the hair and makeup chair that day deserves to be trialed and charged. the outfit itself here isn't that bad honestly but the atrocious styling from the horrible collar necklace and earrings and bracelet (so many locks???) to the terrifyingly hairsprayed hair ruins any possibility of it working. I cannot believe they did her this dirty....

keeley i will avenge you!!!

[kingdoms-and-empires]

I chose the OP option (because I can't decide which stats I wanna focus on 😭) and I developed a little head canon to explain why my character is good at everything. In his former life he was less than OP. He was one of those people who have potential, but never applied himself, out of a mixture of laziness, procrastination, and a crippling fear of failure! When he died he was extremely disappointed in himself. He always figured that he'd pull himself together in the future, but now he's dead and he never achieved anything he wanted, other than gathering some useless facts (like maybe ancient technology such as the treadwheel crane perhaps 👀). When he got his second chance he decided he was gonna make full use of it. The instant he was able to comprehend the language of the world and was able to read, he'd sneak books and accelerate his education through reading things someone as young as him shouldn't understand. He also would go through physical training, again in secret, and watch the guards train in swordsmanship in hopes of picking something up. Since for years he had little to no responsibilities, and the mind of an adult, he has been able to devote almost all his time to developing his mind and body

TL;DR: my MC went from a procrastinator to a try hard and it payed off

Nice headcanon!

i think alot of people would be similar if they had their old memories and would give themselves a strong head start

Its really interesting to think about how you'd really act in a similar situation to the MC as you yourself.

The MC is canon to be "good" from the start, and its up to the player to choose how the MC progresses over time...honestly the best reincarnation works ive seen out there arent the traditional Isekai protag animes, its actually works that deal with a woman being reincarnated or isekai'd. Either a reincarnated villainess trope, or general isekai trope work, the ones with female leads are generally better in my opinion since it usually aint a power fantasy

Eh idk where i went with all this but it was fun to think about haha, so thanks!

Oh, some of my favorite anime that deal in reincarnation and isekai with female leads or kingdom simulators in general that do it well with male or female leads are these:

Fuuuuuck youre making me break out my old bookmarks and im seeing my mangas are now updated with new chapters...dozens of new chapters!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I WANNA STOP WRITING AND READ INSTEAD

This one has adorable art that I feel in love with as the MC starts as a baby lol, and the MC is competent, which is really nice

The MC is alright, she tries doing stuff to get out of shitty circumstances but the real highlight of the story are the titular Monster Duchess and her husband. Nooo idea how it is now but theres literally double the chapters now from where i left of and im so tempted to read lolololol

OMFGGGGG I FORGOT ABOUT THIS!! This is a fav of mine since it deals with the cinderella story! The MC is a reincarnated chick who plays as the evil stepmother in cinderella's story, but omfg its such a good twist on the trope and it really does alot of things well, and THERES SO MANY NEW CHAPTERSSSSSS

YOOOOOOOOOO I forgot this one too lmaoooo ima bad fan haha

Anyways, this is another great subversion of the reincarnating trope since the MC is on her THIRD reincarnated life, and she actually conquered EVERYTHING in her second life. But she got betrayed and killed by people and she said mannnnnn fuck this, ima get hitched with the dude who was nice to me in my old life and never asked for shit! And so begins a funny as romance story lol, GOD DAMN AND THEYRE ON THE SECOND SEASON NOOOOOOW

Someone either here or on Discord recommended this to me, and whoever did so, I love you! This is a weirdly realistic take on the historical figures of the Sengoku period having to deal with this weird girl who appears to have come out of nowhere but knows a bit of practical modern knowledge that helps Oda Nobunaga win some victories. Honestly, i really appreciate how grounded it is for a manga! The truth of the matter is, we really wouldnt be able to do that much if we were in her shoes either lol!

Bruhhhh when i tell you i squealed when i saw how many chapters this has now! Without a doubt, this is my favorite! The MC is hyper competent, she uses her femineity to her advantage and doesnt fight against it like other works do when they wanna show their female lead "isnt like other girls", and shes honestly such a joy to watch running circles around other people that screwed her over in her past life. Read this one for sure!!!!

Another competent female lead how got reincarnated and has to survive death flags by marrying one of the romance options, but the world system keeps screwing her over and its funny to see how she has to navigate trying to romance obviously shitty romance options who sound really hot (like the enemies to lovers trope would NOT be easy in real life lmao) or (the crazy mfer who makes you scared but horni)

Read this and then decide if you'd survive lol

AHGHGHGHHHH This is so good!!! Basically a girl has to become the stepmother to children how are close in age to her. She tries to do things her own way at first, but she dies. So she gets reincarnated and tries to do better the second time around. If you wanna read a good female lead doing introspection and learning from her past mistakes, read this. Its really good!

Alrighty. This is honestly a guilty pleasure, and should really be read after reading alot of villainess or female lead reincarnation manga to basically cleanse your palate with this funny ass story lol. Instead of playing by the rules of society like the previous stories, the main character does "not like other girls" very well and its enjoyable to watch lol! Use it once you get tired of the previously mentioned ones!

Annnnnnd that's it! Thank you for making me out myself lmaooooo

[familyagrestefanblog]

I don't think I will ever get over the fact that Adrinette's Disney Sleeping Beauty romance was in actuality an adaptation of the Maleficent remake where the prince is basically useless and Maleficent saves and wakes Aurora up by the power of parental love herself (although, A+ subversion. I didn't see that one coming lol)

Marinette did not save Adrien. She never did. All she did was giving Gabriel the motivation to use the wish for Adrien for which Gabriel had to trick and betray Marinette and straight up win, and during the wish process GABRIEL made the decision to take of the rings and leave them with Marinette instead of just making it a part of the wish that Adrien gets them immediately, Nathalie, Emilie/Amilie or for Adrien to not be a Sentihuman at all anymore.

Gabriel was the one who brought the peacock miraculous into their lives which put enslavement device into Adrien's existence and he also chose to not remove it.

Gabriel merely was the one who decided to let Adrien go. Marinette didn't do any saving here. Unless you wanna tell me that her not withholding Adrien's amoks from him and abusing and controlling him through them herself somehow counts as "saving him".

All Marinette did was kissing Adrien awake after Gabriel already saved him and brought him back into a save home. Gabriel basically did all the work but let Marinette have the credit. That's it.

I don't know what you want to hear but in my opinion Marinette and feminism deserve more than demanding worshipping for gender subversion when Marinette basically didn't do any actual saving in these 5 seasons and therefore everything amouts to lip-service.

Sorry that I don't think lip-service is enough, your low standards are your problem. I'm gonna watch the next 3 seasons to hopefully see Marinette actually be allowed to save Adrien (and the other Sentihumans and Kwamis) from their magical enslavement, same as I'm not going to celebrate Marinette as the sole savior and most amazing hero of all time based of the lip-service lie of her having defeated Monarque when she in fact fucking lost and Gabriel got his wish but decided to play nice enough for now.

I'm woman enough to request that my female empowerment characters actually win and do the deed to be celebrated for it. The villain doing the heros work like this isn't a win for the hero, it's plain stupid luck.

I always wanted to call Marinette Adrien's savior and the greatest heroine ever too but for that she actually has to do it and not being given it by the villain based on lies.

Marinette has the potential to be called those two things and that's what I hope will happen by the end of the last 3 seasons. Marinette actually defeating Lila as the new butterfly villain and saving not only her prince from enslavement but the Kwamis and other Sentihumans/ Sentibeings too.

Doing more than glorifying lip-service shouldn't be too much to ask for right?

[according2thelore]

Love potion no. 9

1, 3, 4, 9(haha), and 11

Literally the 1st fic that introduced me to yall and probably my favorite!(though you have so many good ones, especially when combined with the art🤌🤌)

hi!! :) EEP thank you so much, i'm so glad you like it! i agree--charlotte's art immediately elevates anything it's accompanying into an S-tier item

here's the link to love potion no. 9 on ao3! (quick recap: it's the love potion one, lol)

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

i LOVE love potion fics, especially subversive love potion fics where they don't work how they're supposed to, or work in opposite ways. love potion fic (not sex pollen fics (which are also v fun but mostly don't deal w the icky gross guilty emotions of being in love w someone)) are pretty rare generally, but oooooh i eat them up when i find them.

in this case, i chose dean because a sam who found out he was bewitched would probably avoid dean as much as possible as to not make dean uncomfortable, and i think sam would have the most guilt about taking away/infringing upon someone else's autonomy/true wants. and i loveeee writing angsting winchester narration. it's delicious 2 me.

i also wanted it to feel kinda rom-commy? third act conflict, miscommunication, and all.

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

It’s exactly what he had thought it would be, when he still let himself think about it. He had shared this man’s toothbrush, had shared his bed, had shared his clothes. This isn’t anything foreign, this is Dean. It's the rush of the Impala’s wheels underneath him, the adrenaline of a fight, the spark of Roman candles, the salt of sweat and tang of blood and the depthless, endless night.

this one, i think! i think i have some really solid lines in this fic, but this one makes my chest fuzzy. or this one (also solid!):

Dean’s eyes are soft, and his mouth is pulled into a hesitant smile. He looks exhausted, suddenly. He looks…In his pajamas and bare feet and toast crumbs on his shirt, Sam doesn’t think he’s ever loved anything more. Sam’s throat closes. This is so unfair. This is so fucked.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

“Well, you went on that huge rant about those kudzu-eating goats last month and invasive species blah blah blah. So wildflowers. Y’know.” Dean trails off, and looks at Sam over his shoulder as he wads the empty paper bag into a ball. “They’re wild.”

i don't know! i think this one is fun bc it kinda captures the dean i'm going for in this fic: very purposefully blasé. he cares but he can't let you know, until it all bubbles over. he listens to sam's dorky rants, but cannot tell him that outright lol--what if sam finds out he cares?? no shot.

bonus: i don't know which one to count this as (dialogue or narration), but i like this line because dean's trying to do the math on the acceptable brother-to-woman ratio for sam to have sex with him, which i thought was pretty funny

Dean had been coming around by then, muttering “S’mmy? ‘f there’re two of ‘em…would you do it then? ‘ow many—how many do I have to get?” as Sam hauled him to his feet.

9 (lol): Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

originally (to the surprise of no one, lol) this fic was longer! i had a couple of scenes included in the "montage" in the middle, about an early kiss (in which dean decides to go for it and sam thinks he just assaulted his brother), and a couple other i forget now! i am terrible about wanting to do every single idea a have for a fic, even when they don't fit as well.

i also was originally going to have the potion work the entire time, but it plays out the exact same. dean doesn't feel any more in love w sam than he already is, bc he is already in love with him, and thinks the potion didn't work. he does all the shenanigans anyway, bc like hey why the fuck not? but then it became tricky when it came to how sam finds out that this is genuine emotion from dean and not the potion actually working.

11: What do you like best about this fic?

i think it's fun! besides the end, it's mostly ridiculous and fluffy, and i think i got sam's brain pretty okay! which is not my usual forté. i like the balance it strikes between being fluffy (the flowers, the bar, etc.) and agonizing (sam's running narration abt this being real). i was genuinely shocked that this is one of my more popular fics, but i'm so glad it is! it makes me happy! :)

(send me one of my fics and i'll answer some questions!)

[sunflowergem]

41, 65, and 94 on the big huge tav ask game!

Which way did they take? Did they run into Elminster? What was their opinion of his news for Gale? They start at the mountain area and complete that section first but with the path looking so strange Sunflower decide to try the under dark to see if they could find a less dark and dangerous path. Not here best moment as a leader but Shadowheart got a cool mace out of the forage, worth it? So I believe I ran into him just before the underdark in a temple area (finished my playthrough months ago and have forgotten some bits, waiting to cross play to do the definitive version of Sunflowers run with Briar) and she is has always been taught to be a gracious host so she invites him to the camp. After the news she is trying so hard to internalize the concept of don’t shoot the messenger. “Well that’s one more thing for the to do list” But yeah, she is low key pissed about what this goddess is asking. In Sunflower’s eye, friendship with Gale aside, all life should have the freedom to chose its own fate. She knows that Gale’s going to feel like this is his only option so she is determined to not let him have the chance. Fun fact: Sunflower typically doesn’t cuss, It’s not lady like after all, so until they are under the tower and Gale offers to try and blow himself up right there she turns to him and says “Absolutely fucking not.” Completely calm looking him dead in the eyes. Local man was so stunned he did not blow himself up. She then doesn’t cuss again until they are at least in Balder’s Gate. Much to the annoyance of Astarion (and possibly Briar) who before this was trying to get her to cuss and is more annoyed now that he knows she knows how.

Does your Tav go to the circus? Do they like the activities? Yep! She’s up there with Karlach on excitement levels. She’s low key disappointed by the end for obvious reasons and adds Dribbles to the to do list. Was down with the face painter, sculpting couple, Popper, and some of the bards. Refused to speak or even look near the Djinni, she has read too many stories about them to tempt fate like that.

Years after the game, what do you think your Tav is up to? Depends on the end of course so here’s a few quick blurbs on her worst, bad(dark angel), neutral(return home), good(diplomat), and best(traveling demigod bard) ends for Sunflower. Her worst end it kinda looks like a good end for her, similar to ascended Astarion or god Gale. She becomes a goddess, goddess of determination and subversion. So if you play as her and support everyone else but ignore Sunflowers personal story, basically don’t let her develop as a character. In the immediate she will make sure to help all her friends and heal folks after the final battle but is whisked away by Ao after she absorbs way too much power(explanation for another day) to remain in the material plane. She’s then on a divine house arrest until she can control her new power. She might be able to hear if people reach out to her but is not able to interact with Faerûn for a very very long time. Most people she knew would be long dead by the time she can return. She might have an interaction with a older Astarion(divine power to heal vampirism) but they would probably be the last person she knows and he would be gone soon too. Overall it’s the isolation and alienation ending for her. Eternally lonely.

[mysticstarlightduck]

Happy STS! If you were to design a deck of playing cards based on characters in your WIP, who would you assign to be the King? The Queen? The Jack? The Ace? And the Joker?

Happy Storyteller Saturday to you too!

This is an interesting question, one that I had to put quite some thought into in order to properly answer, honestly. Now that I think of it, I think I have some characters that would fit those roles quite nicely! (By the way, I did some - albeit rather superficial - research on the symbolic meanings of some of these cards and the opinions I found were varied, so I chose the meanings that best suited my characters of choice)

THE KING:

For the King card, I decided to take a more subversive approach rather than just outright choosing an actual ruler from my story. There are many kinds of King cards in a playing deck (king of hearts, king of spades, king of diamonds, and king of clubs) and each has its own "meanings" if you will. For this in particular, I choose King of Diamonds for my character Lord Nethen Fahris, a young man from the small nobility who is the rival and soon-to-be love interest of Princess Ellinnor Dallantes. It's a card usually associated with cunningness, secret knowledge, and shrewdness, as in someone who is good at finding advantages and navigating the situations they are in - but it is also considered an omen of protection by some, and I find that this is the perfect description for Nethen in The Last Wrath. Another character that I believe fits this card very well is surprisingly, a character with little to no noble blood, Julyan Ashiren - even though he is not actually a noble, he comes from a very ancient and powerful family of Mageborn, and is now their firstborn heir. There is also another reason for this choice, a secret about him that I cannot disclose as it is one of the main plot twists of the book, but one that makes him more than qualified for this card choice.

THE QUEEN:

For this card, the choice seemed kind of obvious, as one of my characters from the main cast is the rightful queen of a kingdom but had her birthright stolen from her (I am referring here to Princess Ellinor Dallantes). So here, I would say I choose Queen of Clubs for my young lost princess, Ellinor. Of course, I think the name of the card speaks for itself, as she is a queen in her own right and is determined to take back what was stolen from her, bringing justice to those who have wronged her family and her people. As a Queen card, it is usually associated with authority, intelligence, and being a fair but powerful leader. Ellinor is not afraid to face a war if it means setting herself and her family's subjects free from her uncle's corrupted rule, and is just as cunning as her rival-turned-lover can be. One other character that could fit the Queen card is Nadinne Ahmirah, a Lady whose family has ascended from anonymity to considerable wealth and have risen to courtiers in the local noble court of Vellamere as their exploits as seafaring merchants have more than granted them prestige and influence. She yearns to be like her ancestors, a tamer of the waves living freely as the tides dictate, but she has now duties and expectations to fulfill that keep her - at first - from achieving her dream goal. And last but still not least, the elusive and endlessly charming mercenary with a heart of steel Morwan Destrin, more than fits this role - not only she is, in all but name, almost a mercenary queen, but she is also a scorned noble (though I cannot yet disclose her true heritage).

THE JACK:

Also known as the Knave (rogue/scoundrel), the Jack card was a tricky one for sure. It's usually associated, as the monicker Knave might suggest, with a tricky or deceitful person. This is a perfect card for a few of my characters, to be precise. Raelen Ashiren is one of them, as she is quite the little rogue when it comes to standing up against unjust authorities and finding freedom in doing what is right, even if she has to be a little bit roguish or tricky to do so, and is currently wanted in several kingdoms after being wrongfully framed. Another interesting character I chose for this card was Emryc Thorne - one of Ellinor's best friends and a skilled thief who uses "street magician" tricks to confuse his opponents and make his heists successful), as he is a witty, highly intelligent, and extremely sarcastic young thief who is not afraid to use deceit to his advantage - in fact, he rather embraces it, as it is a key part of his entire "career" of choice. Emryc has earned quite a reputation as a scoundrel, for several different reasons. Luciya Anynth also fits quite well the role of the Jack card, as she is not only an outlaw to whom the value of life is freedom with no holds barred, but she is the lowborn daughter of a young man with a reputation for being quite the rogue. Last but not least, I chose Cassander Fynn as this card as well - a rebel spy, his entire occupation, as well as his life and that of hundreds of others, depends on his ability to deceive, lie and cheat his way into enemy ranks, though he maintains a strict code of honor even then.

THE ACE:

A card that is associated with the number one, it can be simultaneously the card with the highest or lowest value on a deck depending on the game. Some people associate this position with success, power, and quality, as well as good luck, though it can also be considered quite unstable. Due to certain historical events, it has also come to be considered a "Death Card" or bad luck. So, considering all of this, my characters of choice for the Ace would be Vallerius Zyndrosar, Zephyr Tellian, Bryn Seperi, and Tanwin Lyrandeth. All of said characters are complex but good-intentioned people, and are incredibly loyal to their friends, though often waves of bad luck keep them from achieving their full potential. Vallerius is an incredibly kind and smart young man who despises his magical affinity due to events in his past that made him the most wanted man by the Morosyn Empire, while he is really just a sweet kid trying to make it through the chaos of his life with only blind luck and improvisation to help. Zephyr is a smart and talented sorcerer, as well as a doting older brother, but has fallen prey to a terrible hatred curse that makes using his recently acquired magical talents very taxing and painful. Bryn is a young mercenary turned bitter by past injustices, someone who despises the continent and would rather watch it burn like it did to him in the past, but who, despite all of this, makes the decision to fight for a better future - not out of a sense of altruism or for the continent he hates, but for the people in his life that make it worth fighting for. Tanwin, once a sweet and naive young boy, was captured and turned into a soldier by an enemy warlord, and now is one of the deadliest people on the continent, often struggling between who he was turned into and the person he wishes he could be, being at the same time one of the best friends anyone could have - on a good day, that is.

THE JOKER:

A card that is often used as a wild card in games, it is one that can be extremely beneficial and harmful at the same time. Because of this, it is also often associated with chaos, intelligence, unpredictability, and wit. It is also often depicted in cards as the court Jester, a Halerquin, or a Clown. Characters that fit this card's archetype would be: Azra Moorsworth, Fabian Anynth, Ansell Kallik, and Yuna Thyren. Azra, Raelen and Julyan's adoptive brother and the (adoptive) son of their godmother, is more than meets the eye in many ways - especially when it comes to the real truth about his past and origins, something that not even he knows about. He has a joyfully playful personality and tends to use humor to lighten the mood while underneath it all there is a storm of emotions raging inside his head. Fabian "Anynth" used to be Luciya's closest friend and secretly her half-sibling (though she is not aware of it), but a shocking betrayal on his part broke their bond forever - even though, the truth about this act of treason is far from what she or their friends could have imagined. Ansell Kallik is the best archer on the continent, as well as Princess Ellinor's closest friend and confidant, but he is also a very dangerous person towards anyone who might stand to harm his friends. Also, his unpredictability shines through in combat, as his enemies can never see him coming before they already have an arrow to the chest. Yuna Thyren, another friend of Ellinor, though not nearly as close, and the second to newest member of the Princess' elite group of assassins, is one to keep her secrets under lock and key, along with her mysterious past - no one knows the truth about her or her personal mission but herself.

@writernopal

[rappaccini]

What do you think of the claim, gwiles only works in the movies?

(No, no it doesn't)

i get why people say it but i do disagree. it works in the movies as long as you don't have any knowledge of the comics, you ignore the timing issue and you don't think too hard about the theming.

like, for the general audience and i'd guess most of the fandom, these movies are their entry point for miles and gwen. they're a cute age-appropriate couple who look good together, have sweet chemistry and the writing's consistent about pushing their romance. plus, the movies are Miles's Movies told from miles's pov, where he's the audience-identification character. miles wants gwen, therefore the audience wants him to get her. and gwen has been rewritten from the ground up to make miles the center of her world. they're like gen z kataang.

most people have no knowledge of miles's other love interests, or of gwen beyond her being spider-man's girlfriend in the andrew garfield movies. from that lens, 'now spider-man's girlfriend gets superpowers too, and she might not die this time, because she loves miles instead of peter' feels like a step forward. (which it would be if the comics hadn't blasted past that idea literally a decade ago.)

but it still doesn't work. because even with the comics totally removed from the conversation (... which, they can't be, given how the movies are a giant metacommentary on them), and i've already gone on and on about how they barely know each other so i won't repeat myself...

fundamentally, the spiderverse movies are meant to be about challenging our preconceived notions about what roles people are allowed to have in our stories, and so far the subversion's all one-sided. miles gets to completely redefine his narrative... yet gwen's been handed the half-measure of 'maybe you can be the male lead's girlfriend and live' and told that's somehow empowering. if the movies are going to go all the way with their themes, the ship can't work out. if they do decide to get them together, then they chose wish fulfillment over consistency and left the story with an ugly double-standard in the middle of it.