#regardless of their intentions. good or not

[ultraericthered]

OK but if the hero "represents the status quo I hate", then in your personal view, that'd make the "hero" the actual villain, would it not?

Which naturally leads to actively rooting for the villain to accomplish their set objectives regardless of the terrible, harmful acts they take towards getting there, and actively rooting for the heroes to fail to stop them from doing whatever it is they're doing - no matter how disruptive, destructive, and vile - because you really want to see the toxic status quo collapse and the villain to "burn it all down."

Which might well be a willful fundamental misreading of the narrative and the authorial intent, in which the villain, no matter how valid their experience, viewpoint/position, and pain they'd suffered is, in fact, not justified in taking things to the extremes they take them and will do far more harm than good by approaching things in that way, which necessitates the hero stop them for the common good of keeping peace and order and protection to as many lives as possible.

I've said before that heroes who don't seek another way to address the problems that put the villains on their path and might've even driven their actions in the first place aren't very effective heroes. But conversely, a villain whose actions you're entirely behind, whose cause you support, and who you are rooting for to prevail over their opposition 100% of the time is, by definition, not an effective villain. It's OK to understand where a villain comes from. It's OK to identify with the villain more than the hero. It's even OK to root for them when they're impressive and personally likable enough to make you want to root for them. But sincere complete absolution for them? Not OK.

"This villain did nothing wrong" not in a "I do not see my meow-meow's crimes <3" way, but in a, "villains are still frequently coded as marginalized people fighting the system that marginalized them, and I identify more strongly with the villain than the hero that represents the status quo I hate."

[mullermilkshake]

Even praise hurts

Part 5 <- Part 6 -> Part 7

The association dinner goes mostly the way Jinwoo expects, yet he suspects that something darker is at play.

Yandere!Jinwoo Sung x Fem Hunter!reader Tags - Mentions of unprotected sex/public sex/gore and violence/murder/drowning, mentions of babies/pregnancy, dark thoughts, intrusive thoughts, mild treats, alcohol, drinking

<<< For more Dark/Yandere content, click this link to go back to the Masterlist! >>>

<<< Or back to this fic's Master list. >>>

“What took you guys so long?” Baek leant on the bar with a whiskey swirling in his hand.

Jinwoo thought it best to say nothing. If he had it his way, he’d tell the whole restaurant and bar exactly where he was and how deep, just for his own entertainment. Though he doubted you would have appreciated it.

“Traffic.” You said casually, your hand still in Jinwoo’s like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Hm,” He did not sound convinced. “Sounds about right. There’s always jackasses on the road. Glad you’re here, we’re all sitting in the back room waiting for you.”

Jinwoo fought hard to hold in his smugness, keeping everyone waiting whilst his load was dribbling from your thighs was potentially one of his top five moments in his life so far. He led the way behind Hunter Baek right through to the back room where the others were talking and smiling, Jong-in noticed you immediately and smiled, putting Jinwoo's back up immediately.

So irritating. 

“You’re here,” he grinned with his glass. “We almost thought you’d gotten lost.”

“Lots of traffic.” An adorable laugh left your lips. “Lots and lots of traffic.”

When you grinned back, Jinwoo watched Jong-in closely. Were those kind eyes, or ‘fuck me’ eyes he was giving you? Yeah, they were definitely ‘fuck me’ eyes. Just what the hell was that?

“It’s good that you’re finally here Hunter Sung, we were beginning to worry.” The Chairman did not address Jinwoo directly, rather he was looking at your hand entwined with his, a knowing stare that flitted every so often.

“We apologise, Chairman. It wasn’t our intention to arrive late.”

Jinwoo took his glances as a contest, doing the exact same towards him and Jin-chul, an all knowing glance for the conversation preciously, noting how he was studying you and Jinwoo just as closely.

The Chairman grinned and allowed you and Jinwoo to sit. “It’s quite alright, now we can make a toast to the happy couple.”

Happy couple… that’s rich coming from a man that gave them no choice.  

Hunter Lim sat next to Jin-chul, totally impassive. His arms folded the way they were signalled that he wasn’t entirely present, not until he took notice of Jinwoo. “Hey, glad you two finally made it, Yoonho’s been boring the hell out of me with random crap.”

“Were you waiting long?” Jinwoo asked with caution, according to his calculations, you and he were only late by ten minutes.

“Eh, we all decided to meet a little earlier, you didn’t get the message? So its more like forty minutes, no one could reach either of you.”

Oh shit. Well, in this case, you and Jinwoo would have arrived late regardless if he’d fucked you in his car or not, somehow it didn’t make the situation as dire as it could have been.

“Oh,” Jinwoo pulled out his phone and pretended to check through it like it actually mattered. “No, I didn’t get anything sent to me.”

Lim dismissed it and shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. Maybe you’ll see Yoonho get drunk this time, that can be entertaining.”

“Right… uh, where’s Hunter Ma?”

“Oh, yeah, he’s off somewhere. He couldn’t wait much longer for you so I think he went to get a light bite. He’ll be back shortly… but I guess we can get to celebrating the happy couple as happy as they can be, being forced into this like they have.”

Out of the two, Jinwoo had faith that you and he would be happy, but he saw right through the facade that Jong-in and Hae-in put up, and it fascinated him. So much so that he let one of his shadows go and attach itself to Jong-in. Just out of curiosity behind closed doors.

Jinwoo pulled out your seat for you and only then did you let go of his hand, he waited until you were seated properly. He watched the interactions between them as a toast was announced, you said something to Hae-in but his concentration picked up on the little things.

Despite popular belief, You and Hae-in rarely spoke the last two months, and even before then, it seemed to be more of a show for the public eye rather than a genuine friendship. The act of survival when one’s life is threatened to change often brings people together, and Jinwoo saw that it was that case with you and Hae-in.

She wasn’t entirely invested, it was obvious by the extra few inches distance her chair sat from jong-in, never touching hands, always at her side unless picking up her glass of water. Jong-in was more invested in you than the mother of his child, barely making eye contact with her or exchanging more than a word or two.

Trouble in paradise. And the chairman thinks it’s appropriate to berate us, instead?  

“Hey, guys!”

“Oh,” Lim snorted. “There you are, big guy. Thought you got lost too.”

Ma chuckled and flopped down in the seat next to Baek with a satisfied grin and a fleck of sauce on his cheek. He noticed you and Jinwoo and waved. “Hey you two, thought you were never gettin’ here!”

Before anyone could address that elephant in the room further, the Chairman stood up to command the room with his scotch glass. “Let’s toast to the first step in the reclaiming of our country's security and the future of the Hunter’s association… To Hunter Choi and Hunter Cha!”

Everyone toasted, raising their glasses whilst the Chairman ordered food and ordered everything to fill out the table. The mood seemed fruitful, enthusiastic, despite the ominous response to it two months ago. Even you seemed more on board with it now, chatting more and smiling a little warmer than previous weeks.

The others might not have seen it, not even you, yet Jinwoo could think of nothing else. Chairman Go and Jin-chul’s watchful eyes on everything across the table. Watching closely, Jinwoo found that as the night progressed, Jong-in and Hae-in became touchy.

A hand brush every so often, a little whisper in her ear with a smile sweeter than treacle to rot the entire table’s teeth for endless cavities. Though when those moments vanished, Jong-in was clinging on to you, with the hope of what, exactly? That he’d eventually come clean to how in love he was with you, or try to convince you that he was a better person despite having a child with another woman?

Just the thought made Jinwoo brood, grit his teeth through the boring dinner during parts he wasn’t listening just to think of ways he’d kill the man in a fit of fuelled jealousy that Jong-in even had the gall to talk to you with such familiarity-

“Jinwoo.” 

He blinked, looking down at you with softer eyes. “Hm?”

You leant closer and whispered. “You’re spacing out… are you feeling okay?” 

God… Those eyes staring up at him so innocently when Jinwoo knew you weren’t the innocent persona you allowed the public to perceive you as. If only publix sex was legal, and he definitely would have had you over the dinner table and no one could have stopped him. That would have set Jong-in straight.

“Y-yeah… I’m okay. Just tired, I think.”

You seemed to buy it. “Okay… we’ll leave soon?” 

“Sounds good.”

The Chairman cleared his throat and addressed Jinwoo properly for the first time with full eye contact. “So, Hunter Sung, when will you greet the association with the good news?”

This went against Jin-chul’s advice on keeping the night about the Hae-in's pregnancy. It was a direct threat too. Every hunter alive treated the Chairman with the respect and decency someone of his position and temperament dictated, but Jinwoo saw straight through it like glass.

By this threat, Jinwoo suspected that the Chairman had another agenda.

Why is he so hellbent on getting results this eagerly?

He glanced up at the system's quest screen, still unchanged. It wouldn’t give him an unobtainable quest so pregnancy was still possible, but with the Chairman’s urgency, something told his gut to shut it down immediately.

At the end of the day, whenever you finally fell pregnant, you and he were keeping the baby close.

“Well, we’re trying our best, Chairman. Each week we’re hopeful.”

In other words, it translated to, back off old man. 

“Well I look forward to the happy news, I have high hopes for you both.”

Long story short, what he meant to say was, hurry the hell up you two, I’m growing impatient. 

“You’ll be the first to know, Chairman-” The eruption of Jong-in’s laugh pulled Jinwoo out of the conversation.

“It’s true! Ask Yoonho.”

“Don’t ask me anything.” Baek turned away and chugged his drink with heavy eyes.

Jong-in chuckled and took a sip of his own drink, clearly giddy. “While we’re guild rivals, we get on better than others think, even Tae-gyu knows what I’m talking about- oh… maybe not.”

Hunter Lim snored away on the table, dribbling and nursing a bottle of Soju. The table acknowledged the humor and Hunter Ma commanded the table with anecdotes. Jinwoo wanted to join in, he did, because it made him understand the people he spent the most time with, but his gut told him to observe Jong-in closely.

You were unaware of this, watching Ma chuckle and tell embarrassing stories of a drunken and foolish Baek. Jong-in stole brief glances at you now and then, each time softer than the last. What was he thinking about?

About you? Friendly or intimate- no doubt there were intimate thoughts going through that head of his like a neanderthal. 

He bet Jong-in had all kinds of lewd thoughts up there in that head of his, all fabricated of course. Seeing as Jinwoo had seen you naked, touched the curves of your body and came inside you most nights, whatever Jong-in could conjure up in his mind sure as hell wouldn’t be anywhere near the real thing. Jinwoo had that edge over him, though it never got rid of the intrusive thoughts. The darker side he’d been battling with since he killed that staff member, well, even before then. Maybe after the first person he'd killed.

Each thought darker and more violent than the last though he never usually acted on them.

Since having you in his grasp, Jinwoo found them cropping up more and more often and the thought of being in a position that he’d be expected to let you go in a month didn’t help alleviate the symptoms.

It made his eye twitch, seeing another man look at you the way Jong-in did, he wanted to hurt him in a way he'd never recover with all of the mage healing in the world. He wanted him gone from your life completely, eradicated and wiped from existence.

How could he look at you the way he was doing right now when the time came and you had a newborn baby in your arms? Jong-in had a reputation to uphold as a guildmaster and having a child of his own would make quite the scandal if he was pursuing another woman.

Though Jinwoo simply wouldn’t have it, he couldn’t just get rid of him in the way he was fantasising about.

A quick dagger slice to his throat to watch the red slip out all over the floor, to see Jong-in gargle and panic because his mana would slip away with his consciousness and no amount of stupid fire would save him.

Maybe drowning him in a water dungeon, so that the only way his fire attacks would serve him any purpose would boil the water until his flesh melted from his face.

It had to be something slow… something painful. Something memorable-

“Jinwoo? Are you ready to go?”

Had he zoned out again? “Yeah, let’s get going.”

“I’ll see you in a few weeks, Hunter Sung.”

Another threat from the Chairman. Jinwoo saw it on the shining rim of his scotch glass, Jin-chul watched him too over the edge of his sunglasses. He stood and waited for the Chairman, allowing him space to pass and land a firm hand on Jinwoo’s shoulder.

“I’m counting on you.”

I bet you are, Chairman Go. 

Jinwoo was counting on it as well, to keep you close to him and take care of you. There was a lot to think about, much to discuss with you. Many concerns he wasn’t so sure he should come out with until he could investigate further.

Though his quest remained the same.

To get you pregnant within the next month.

Part 5 <- Part 6 -> Part 7

If you would like to be tagged, please let me know! Thanks so much for all the support on this likes, reblog and comments appreciated! ❤️

Tag list - @bubera974, @snowy-violet, @sky2lar, @starrynights23x, @minh907

@yessirr7, @aussie-boys-wife, @yihona-san06, @mashiromochi, @daiyanomochi

@justatimidcreator, @alia-17, @otomegamesforlife @m00n-estelle, @towomatos

@stormnightingale, @johnnysactualgf, @solarisstarrsolomonsbeloved, @johnnysactualgf, @notleclerc

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DISCLAIMER - Crossposted from my AO3 - I do not own any of the characters or anything from the anime or manhwa. This is a work of fan fiction and is absolutely not representative of the views or intentions of the original creator(s).

Also please don’t post any of my work without permission thank you!

[maybeafrog-blog]

This is an apothecary diaries blog now

New hyperfixation unlocked! Unfortunately this show does not have decades of content to consume (lookin at you Turtles) and I don't wanna read the light novel until the rest of season 2 is out so now I'm out here just. thinking.

Anyway, thinking about how Jinshi would have been what, 15??? when he got his job as being Resident Sexy Eunuch? was that the emperor's intention from the beginning? since he's abandoning the responsibilities of his status is he being saddled with responsibilities he has to handle with his beauty, his only other asset, as far as Jinshi is concerned? Like, eugh.

This whole scene and situation rly gets me. Did Gaoshun and Suiren have to explain this sort of risk to him at some point? How much is learned from uncomfortable situations? He's such an interesting foil to Maomao-- She's at greater risk, given her class and build, but has the freedom to take measures against it with her appearance and attitude. Jinshi effectively has a responsibility to put himself in harm's way. He has to commit fully to his image when performing as Jinshi, regardless of who he's engaging with.

^^ For example-- we know that this is pretty much a lie. It would be a problem if he ate it, from the softshell turtle scene in season 2. I mean, he is familiar with alcohol, but he's also attempting to cultivate his image as indulgent, sensual, etc. Here it's directed at Maomao, so it's not like it's working the way he intends, but he has successfully given her an impression that he's Actively Pursuing Sexual Relationships, to the point where he's willing to push past boundaries of consent and so on.

Like, it doesn't seem to BOTHER him, exactly. He's GOOD at it. It's in pursuit of a goal. But he gets attached to Maomao SO fast, and pushes way past her boundaries in order to interact with someone who he doesn't really have to worry about pushing HIS boundaries. Maomao's own mask (her role as servant, which is thin but stops her from doing a LOT) drops the fastest when she's Visibly Disgusted, it's the fastest he can get an honest reaction out of anybody. Over time he realizes that he can also get her to drop the mask by essentially giving her permission to go apeshit (Crystal Pavilion Canon Event), or by giving her access and freedom to work with drugs and poisons. It's a bit more complicated than his usual manipulation tactics, but more rewarding, given Maomao's Abundant Usefulness when motivated and also the opportunity for honesty.

I think that this probably leads to him going as far as he does in the frog scene. He's trying so hard to be honest with Maomao and she is INSISTING on keeping the masks on. I think like, yea, he's in love with this freak, he wants her to know that, but also at this point Maomao would normally crack and give him the Glare of Disgust, but this is so much more honest, and it's really the fakeness that disgusts her, plus there's the power dynamic and the fact that they're stuck in a cave and so on. Her honest reaction is to be conflicted, and all he's accomplished is overstepping. He gives her the ox bezoar, gets the honest Maomao he was looking for, and doesn't get to tell her everything.

Anyway, take this all with many grains of salt, I am very anime only still and also usually wrong about stuff. Just vaguely eh towards black and white (gross or romantic) takes on Jinshi when he's way more nuanced than either of those.

[raleighrador]

I agree with all of this.

I think an additional 2 layers are worth reflecting on: 1) people's basic world views and relatively fixed past a certain point, regardless of how much their material circumstances change; 2) and extreme success (especially very rapid success) quite literally changes peoples brains as far as I can tell.

No matter what else is true, JK's early adult life and her career is hearth breaking and inspiring, in a very normal (and I mean that as a compliment) way. Her mother died, she had a miscarriage, an abusive husband, she was poor (genuinely very poor), she was depressed.

She was 32 when HP1 was published. She was, for all intents and purposes, her fully formed self. That self was someone who, basically, hadn't had life go her way.

Not in an any unique or specifically tragic way, but in the very mundane way that frankly most people's lives don't go how they want.

Her success was (relatively) late in life and incredibly rapid. I imagine, in her own mind, probably unconsciously, she is still basically that woman for whom things were not going well. That is her basic mindset.

Of course that is no longer true (but it once was). Of course that doesn't justify anything that came later. Mental plasticity diminishes with age, and unlearning patterns takes real hard work that you need to consciously do.

Her specific opinions about particular issues has clearly evolved, for all sorts of reasons, but I think a lot of her behaviour can be understood as her simply still occupying the same foundational mental and emotional space of a single mother who is poor and depressed and relatively fresh out of abusive marriage, whose mother recently died, whose father immediately married his secretary etc.

She is also a woman who almost literally - in a way that is basically not true for anyone who isn't a creative or perhaps an athlete - willed her own success into existence. Her success is directly a product of her own imagination - and that is awesome and inspiring.

She had nearly instant, winning the lottery level of material success but it wasn't purely luck. It wasn't random. It was because she thought of something no one else had thought of and the world loved it. They loved her imagination.

Obviously there was luck and chance and circumstance and other people and and and. But I would argue that author's, as a general rule, are in a small set of careers where one person really does have an outsized deterministic influence on the product, where it in large part really is about the quality of(or even just popularity) of one person's ideas.

That said - I genuinely think rapid and extensive material success changes peoples brains. I have met and worked with a lot of rich people: multiple billionaires, and more multi millionaires than I can feasibly count.

It really does alter your perception of the world. The world doesn't work the same way for the very rich as it does everyone else, so there is no reason to believe they would perceive it the same way.

That must be especially jarring for someone who has so much success, who has success come so quickly. JK went from scraping together coins to pay for a cappuccino so she could keep writing in a cafe to maybe 3 years later being flown on PJs to the US to do singings, staying in the best hotels, etc. Everywhere she went everyone knew her name, what she liked and didn't like, and just gave her what she wanted. Ensured the world was what she wanted.

I have been fortunate to travel a lot for work, and typically stayed in very nice hotels. I got lots of status points, I frequented the same hotels. It got to the point that at certain hotels in certain cities every staff member knew my name, how I liked my coffee, what room I preferred, my preferred breakfast etc etc etc. That was because they have a good loyalty system that they kept copious notes in, I could list my preferences in the app etc.

But it did mean that I could walk into the lobby, get greeted by name, would have a coffee waiting for me, they would ask about my wife etc. This small bubble where it felt like the world revolved around me.

I would then leave the hotel and get ignored/shouted at by other busy people, someone would sneeze into my mouth on public transport, and my clients would treat me like worthless faceless lowlife trash, so I was always put back into my place.

Imagine if the bubble encompassed the whole world? Imagine if the bubble moved with you?

It must literally rewrite your brain. Every rich person I have met - most of whom are smart and kind and good people - are also pretty weird. They just don't see the world the same way. They don't experience the world the same way.

People who take a long time to get to that level of success I think are less so, especially if ultimate success came quite late in life. On the other end you have pro athletes and people who inherit money, people who basically their entire lives including their formative teen and young adult years, who don't even know what normal is.

Imagine what it must be like to be a normal person, someone who has actually been relatively down on their luck, and then 3 years later you're the most celebrated and wealthy figure in your field in the entire world?

ok im going to #seriouspost for a second here. I don't think Harry Potter is a manifesto. I think it was a flawed passion project that millennials latched onto because of the fantasy of sticking it to their mean teachers and arbitrarily categorizing themselves (hogwarts houses; it's the thinking millennial's astrology). I think the fact that the series got popular when and how it did was very much a product of its time.

I don't think Harry Potter is the biggest symbol of JKR's bigotry. I think the most flagrant sign of that was how she responded to critics. I watched her become radicalized in real time. I watched how she doubled down on her racism when she was called out for the ways she promoted her tragically mid fantastic beasts movies. I watched her chase marginalized teenagers with a double digit follower count off of twitter for daring to criticize her thought process, and no one with any kind of power standing against her because she was the one who was paying them. This isn't to say Harry Potter is without flaws. This is to say she really didn't give a shit about that. Getting rich and powerful is a hell of a drug, and she had enough sycophants that she had no reason to care about what her critics were saying.

She was convinced that she was a martyr; a voice for the unheard; a leader for the ages, so of course her detractors were the bad guys. And I think we should take this to heart. We should see this as an example of how easy it is to get radicalized; if you think of yourself as a paragon of virtue, you are going to think that whatever you see as good and right is an objective fact. Most people don't know this, but the majority of terfs start out as trans allies. You are not immune to propaganda! You are not immune to falling into dangerous ideologies!!!

This is why the most important thing you can do as an activist is to listen. Do NOT think you're above being wrong; do NOT develop a god complex; do NOT form an identity out of being right all the time. Involve yourselves in the groups you claim to speak for. Listen to trans women; share resources that help trans women; familiarize yourself with the diversity of experiences that trans people have and the struggles they face.

No, none of you are as bad as JKR because you don't have her money or her power. You will likely never have the capacity for harm she does. But check yourselves. Do not affirm yourselves into thinking you always have the moral high ground. Watch yourselves; humble yourselves; check yourselves for signs of cult behavior and internalized prejudice. You are always learning. You will always be learning. Do not allow yourselves to get a power trip from brushing off marginalized voices.

[ghostly-bat]

You and @/honeyplus have such different interpretations when it comes to the Clark and Damian relationship. I think it's so interesting and shows the vast variety when it comes to fandom.

With that being said cus they brought up a good point. What do you think Clark's views are about Damian sneaking Jon out and fighting crime with him?

Lol yeah and that's the whole point of fandom everyone has their own interpretation of things and you're always going to find people that resonate with either or no matter what. @honeyplus has good interpretations and I can respect them 😌

As for Clark's thoughts on Damian sneaking Jon out at night for patrols? Well as any parent I don't think he's too fond of it LOL like that's his kid, he has school tomorrow, he should definitely be in bed and I also don't think Clark wants Jon seeing anything he's not ready for. But some part of me feels like Jon would sneak out anyway/eventually even without Damian's influence because he's a kid with these amazing powers and he's overly confident. He feels like he could be doing more even when his parents tell him no.

And I'm pretty sure Clark and Lois confront Damian about it too, if not to Damian definitely to Bruce like "hey you got to tell your son to stop barging into my son's room and making him patrol on school nights" and I think Clark and Lois know that when Damian does is it's coming from a good place but still that's their kid and they're not ready for him to deal with things he's probably not ready for which is understandable.

But I don't think this would make them think that Damian is a bad influence because like I said I think they know that Damian is coming from a good place, it has good intentions, they just need to set boundaries. I also like to think that if the circumstances did appear I think Damian would shield Jon from things he knows he's not ready for because Damian himself knows the effect it had on him and he wouldn't want that for Jon and he's made it clear to Clark himself that he's willing to protect Jon with his own life. Even if it's simply going out on patrol. And I think Damian makes this clear if confronted about it. And while they appreciate the thought and the gesture it's still a flat out no and they both get grounded and can't see each other for like a week or so or for however long lol.

But like I said before I think Jon would rebuild either way, I think he gets that from his mom LOL and the fact that Jon himself feels like he could be doing more and he's also very stubborn, I also feel like Clark's the type to ask Jon himself what's going on before pointing the finger at anyone or anything for the reason behind it. Jon is his baby and kid/teen rebellion is normal regardless if you have an influence or not and I think Lois would help Clark from jumping to conclusions.

However! When it comes to Clark finding out that Jon has a crush on Damian or they are in fact dating I think that's when he spirals a bit. Not necessarily because he thinks Damian is a bad influence and is not good enough for Jon but because A) Jon is his baby boy he's growing up and B) It's more so the people around Damian he's worried about. Like he knows how both Bruce and Talia can be so it's a little concerning and he of course doesn't want his son to be in the middle of it.

All in all I think Clark along with Lois are both very patient and understanding people they of course like anyone else have their limits so they set their boundaries and I think Damian is able to respect that even if he does find it annoying sometimes.

[kotegiris]

[Palace Memories] Main Story Episode 1 Side Story

As part of their Golden Week campaign akuneko is releasing side stories for Episode 1 and 2!

Will They Trust Us?

※Warning: There are spoilers for the main story Episode 1.

It is recommended to read up to Episode 1 Part 1: Meeting the Butlers before reading this.

If you’d like to avoid spoilers, please return using the upper left button.

………

Berrien: Fuu… I feel sorry for Aruji-sama.

Berrien: To think that as soon as they woke up, they had to go angel hunting…

Lucas: Yeah. But for now, I’m glad they helped.

Berrien: Yes, if they continue to lend us their power… We can gain the advantage when fighting the angels.

Berrien: If we do… I’m sure the number of butlers who fall victim to them will also decrease.

Berrien: I truly hope that’ll be the case, but… What’s crucial is …

Lucas: If Aruji-sama will trust us or not…

Lucas: After all, it’s hard to trust people who you just met today…

Lucas: Personally, I think we need to confirm what kind of person Aruji-sama is…

Lucas: That said… Regardless of their personality, Aruji-sama’s help is essential.

Lucas: First, let’s do what we can for them so that we can gain their trust.

Berrien: Yes… you’re right.

Berrien: If Aruji-sama helps us, then… They’ll be in constant danger.

Berrien: Which is exactly why we have to do our best to support and serve them so that despite the danger they can live happily every day…

Berrien: Lucas-san. When Aruji-sama returns, could you serve them right away?

Berrien: They helped us with something so dangerous as soon as they woke up… I’d like to apologize and thank them.

Lucas: …Yeah. From now on, we’ll make sure to properly express our feelings.

Lucas: Will we be with Aruji-sama for a short amount of time or a long amount of time…

Lucas: I’m sure our conduct towards them will be the deciding factor of that.

Lucas: We have to do our best to make Aruji-sama think, “I’m willing to help them,”...

Berrien: Fufu… Yes, let’s give it our all.

Berrien: Although, regardless of our intent… I want to be a good butler to Aruji-sama.

Berrien: Since they came all the way from a different world, I’m thankful to have met them and… I want to treasure our meeting.

Lucas: I see… That’s a great way of thinking.

Lucas: I hope that Aruji-sama is a wonderful person who is worthy of that thought.

Berrien: Fufu… Honestly, I’m also looking forward to it.

Berrien: Aruji-sama… I wonder what kind of person you are…

END

[explosionshark]

Lets see, for the shipped ship I wanna know about Buffy/Faith and uh... for the don't ship Sevika/Vi or Buffy/Angel.

Okay so Buffy/Faith I just answered here

For the others...

Buffy/Angel - okay I do ship them actually. Another one of my With Caveats opinions

Ship It

What made you ship it?

I mean they ARE canon. Out of all of Buffy's canonical boyfriends, I like Angel the most. Like, just as a character I like him the most and when it comes to storylines I also like his romance arc (or at least its impact) the most

What are your favorite things about the ship?

I looooove two things about it and they go hand in hand - 1) they make huge, indelible impacts on each other and completely alter the trajectories of each other's lives 2) it's fucking DOOMED

I love the tragedy in it, I love how it's always going to be a wound that never heals right 🥰

Like, for real, they inspire so much good character growth in each other, but it's that growth that makes them fundamentally incompatible. I'll elaborate below

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

This is probably unpopular among true Bangelheads but like I said above I like that it's doomed. I don't think they should ever get back together. I think it should always hurt a little bit, but by any measure, a real attempt to be together again would be a huge backslide for them both with catastrophic results. Beyond the curse aspect even, I think they're fundamentally incompatible and "I Will Remember You" is a brilliant showcase of why - Angel will, on some level, always feel compelled to make decisions on Buffy's behalf if he thinks they're in her best interest. Whatever appeal Buffy ever found in that "well-intentioned" paternalism early on, you can see she was already chafing against it by the time they broke up for good in season 3. There's no way she could deal with it later after being fully in her own power for so long

Sevika/Vi

Okay I agonized over this a little too. I think I could switch my answer up by my own metrics and ship it based on the "wouldn't that be a fucked up and interesting thing to happen to Vi" but ultimately I think I'd rather soapbox about Sevika for a moment lmao

Don’t Ship It

Why don’t you ship it?

Okay I wanna be clear that I'm not REALLY a hater. I think Sevika is hot as hell and I absolutely get why people want to ship her with various women. But here's my fundamental issue

There's a lot I can get over or forgive a character for, a lot of fucked up shit I can accept and even enjoy as part of a character's dark past or a conflict in an enemies-to-lovers ship but the thing IS if we're taking this seriously Sevika did fully rock up with Silco's murder squad fully prepared to kill children that she knew.

Like, full stop. She was an ally of Vander's, hung out in his bar, she knew his kids. And they were YOUNG, too. I get that it's gritty, mob land rules shit, you have to take out the whole family to sell Silco's lie about Vander abandoning Zaun, but that's still child murder. That was Vi's family! I don't think she'd ever get over that

What would have made you like it?

Well. Sevika not partaking in the child murder plot. or making some kind of gesture or attempt to wiggle out of that part, showing some remorse, maybe.

Despite not shipping it, do you have anything positive to say about it?

As I said above I don't think that there's NOTHING here, I just think it's really fucked up. I could ship it in like. A whumpy way. If I wanted something painful and toxic for Vi to angst over, an extremely unhealthy feel-bad hookup with the woman who betrayed your family as an act of self-harm would do the trick. But honestly there are so many other ways to hit Vi with hammers and she's so sad already I think I'd reach for something else first

Also, okay, fine. It would be hot. It would be crazy stupid hot, we all know this. Sevika could fold Vi up like a lawn chair and regardless of the ethics of it all, that's hot

[lokigodofaces]

Okay so cacw is only two years after tws, and there's no way they could have gotten rid of all of Hydra in two years. Aou is in between these two movies and Hydra is still prevalent. Aos still deals with Hydra two years after cacw. And cacw opens with the Avengers fighting several Hydra operatives (granted we are never told if he is acting with his own intentions or as part of Hydra, but regardless he's a Hydra operative stealing a biological weapon, so Hydra should be very much on people's minds). So we have very good reason to believe that multiple parts of the governments of the world are still infiltrated by Hydra. The only confirmed one is the Air Force, which aos will deal with later. But not long before cacw, aos deals with Hydra infiltrating the government via the ATCU (alien threat containment unit) (like literally, cacw is half way through s3 and they discover the infiltration earlier in that season). We have plenty of reason to believe the governments are still infiltrated.

So I headcanon that some Hydra people were partly responsible for cacw, specifically the Sokovia Accords. It just seems insane to me that the Sokovia Accords were written two years post-tws. But we know from tws that Hydra is very persuasive and can often persuade people into doing what they want. And let's think about the Accords and how they could benefit Hydra. If they get one or two Hydra people on the committee that handles the Avengers, Hydra can send the Avengers wherever they want. And stop the Avengers from going to, say, destroy a Hydra base. They would also have access to all of the Inhumans and otherwise enhanced people on the planet. And could blackmail them into doing whatever they want due to the threat of arrest.

So I think Hydra was part of why the Accords happened. But I think things went out of hand. Zemo is not Hydra in the MCU, but suddenly this guy bombed the UN. And Zemo got to Bucky, who "helped" him escape, faster than Hydra could get someone there to do what they could to get Bucky back to Hydra. Then the Avengers fell apart, leaving only Stark (who they know is going around them), Vision (who keeps disappearing now), and Rhodey (injured). So they weren't ever able to capitalize on specifically controlling the Avengers.

[hanasnx]

thank goddd ive been blocking people even more liberally than i had before. tag cloggers, idea stealers, friends of ppl i think shouldn’t be on tumblr, anything that remotely annoys me or pisses me off. god it’s fantastic. this is what stopping and smelling the roses is like

[lazycranberrydoodles]

getting back into the untamed and i had a thought. / follow for more yllz babygirlism

[aliciavance4228]

Part three, let's go! *dying on the inside,*

Chapter Twenty-One

Andromeda and her father are coming back home after consulting the Oracle of Ammon. Apparently the citizens of Joppa aren't allowed to drink water from the river nor rain-water due to the sea gods' curse (kinda reminds me of the biblical ten plagues, not gonna lie), and at this point the safest thing they can drink is wine. So I cannot help but think that this is the current state of the kingdom:

Anyway, the royal family now knows that Andromeda has to be sacrificed in order to save the kingdom. Cassiopea starts crying and begs to be sacrificed in her daughter's place, Phineus has no problem in having her niece getting eaten by a sea monster and Cepheus becomes the monument of silence. Then there's Andromeda:

Time to bring this meme back!

Chapter Twenty-Two

Perseus' ship is currently caught in the middle of a deadly storm. The crew panics, so those men eventually come to the conclusion that the only way Poseidon could spare them is by throwing Medusa into the sea. But because Perseus is not like the other men he pulls out the "My mission, my rules!" card and claims that he will kill her at the right time. Meanwhile his men already threw her into the water.

Also, Perseus is still called Fish Boy as an insult. I'm sorry, but how old are these men supposed to be? Twelve?! I swear, even 10yo kids are becoming more creative when they're trying to offend you.

Chapters Twenty-Three and Twenty-Four

These two chapters were insanely short so I combined them.

Medusa wanted to be murdered rather than thrown into the sea due to what Poseidon has done to her, so once she's in the water she starts getting PTSD flashbacks. Perseus then jumps into the water to save her in what seems to be a classical romantic scene. *Titanic soundtrack flute version starts playimg* Also, friendly reminder that there's a similar one in that Clash of the Titans movie as well, but with Perseus and Andromeda instead.

Perseus then has a small talk with the crew in order to make it clear that if they disobey him again they'll get punished.

Now, I know that this is supposed to be a dramatic moment, but it honestly reads like a teacher interrogating their students in order to know if they cheated at a test, or mom giving a threatening discourse to the family before going out. Basically:

Also, Perseus actually has thunder superpowers. Boooooooooooooooooooooooo...

Chapter Twenty-Five

Have you ever gotten utterly repulsed, disturbed and disgusted by a single chapter? Because this is the little brother of Fifty Shades of Grey but without the sex part. How the hell is their relationship even supposed to work according to BookTok girlies?!

Perseus visits Medusa's prison again and tells her that he will kill her at the right time and that's why he saved her life. He plans to arrive in Joppa:

"Because I have been invited to the palace tonight — being on an official mission from King Polydectes. I will barter for a new ship as ours has been wrecked during the storm. And when I return… you and I will face each other in battle.” So, he had finally decided to kill her. However, her upcoming demise was not the reason her stomach suddenly twisted. “And what will happen to me while you’re gone?” “Nothing. You’ll stay in your cell like a good little prisoner. My crew will keep an eye on you.”

This is basically the moment when Medusa fears that Perseus' crew might take advantage of her and asks him to take her with him as well.

“No,” she gasped, bile rising in her throat. She would rather die than be left to the whims of these men without Perseus keeping them in check. She didn’t understand his motives, but he had stepped in when she had cried for help. Although he was intent on murdering her, he would grant her a swift death, at least. Regardless, it was imperative that she did not stay behind while Perseus was gone. “No?” he scoffed, “since when are you the one giving orders around here?”

Medusa then tells Perseus that she will answer to all of his questions if he takes her with him, to which Perseus eventually agrees with. He then points out that she's filthy (I'm sorry but how are him and the crew supposed to look or smell any better?) and asks her the wash herself and then change her clothes while he's still present in the room. And Medusa of coursly wants intimacy, but he doesn't trust her and has a knife as well.

I couldn't do a bigger screenshot so I had to copy&paste the entire fragment so that you guys could understand what I am going through:

"Either you clean and change, or you stay here. I’m sure my men won’t mind if you filthy."

Asshole. She had revealed too much, and now he was using this knowledge against her — an invisible leash added to the physical restraints. Medusa grabbed the wet cloth and started furiously scrubbing her arms. “The rest of your body as well,” Perseus ordered. She gritted her teeth and lifted her skirt to clean her dirty legs. Being ordered around by this man made her blood boil. But she had to obey to if she wanted to escape. “Now change.” She didn’t move. “I can’t with these damn shackles on, and I won’t if you are watching me.” He knelt before her and gripped her chin with his callused hand. Medusa inhaled sharply at the touch. “I will open your shackles and let you turn around so you may change, but be warned, my blade will be at the back of your neck the entire time. Attack me — you die. Try to take off that blindfold — you die. One swift movement — you die.” She would make him pay for this. Maybe she would hunt him and his crew once she had escaped them. Images flashed before Medusa’s eyes of her gutting one man after another while Perseus stood chained to a wall. She would make him watch. She gritted her teeth. “Understood.” With that, Perseus opened her chains, and they fell to the floor with a thud. Medusa whirled around, yanking her dress over her head in a fury of frustration. She could feel his stare burning into her back, a sensation made her skin crawl. As she finished changing, she prepared to confront him, but he pressed the tip of his sword against her throat, halting her movement. “Did you enjoy the show?” He neither responded nor did he lower his weapon. Instead, Perseus stepped closer, the cold blade pressing harder into the sensitive skin of her throat. “Turn around again so I can take off your blindfold.” “What?” Medusa asked, dumbfounded. “You'll wear a veil in the palace instead of a blindfold. You'll be able to see, but you won't risk petrifying the entire royal court."

Now, how the hell is her wearing a veil supposed to make sense?! And it's not just about her gaze here, but also the fact that in this retelling Medusa has green hair (her snakes are coming out only in attack mode). How is a strange woman with green hair and a veil over her face not strange or suspicious?! "You'll pretend to be a priestess of Apollo." And?! They do not have green hair, dude!

Chapter Twenty-Six

Perseus and Co. are received as quests at King Cepheus' palace. Now, hot the hell can you give such a description of Andromeda from Perseus' POV without him falling in love with her at first sight and still being interested in Medusa?!

"The queen clasped her hands together. 'Oh, what a feat! Such an accomplishment at your young age... and such a handsome young man, too.'" I- 💀

We got Cassiopea flirting with Perseus before GTA6 a Perseus and Andromeda retelling.

Perseus and Co. are now having a feast with the royal family. Perseus' OC friend is currently flexing his muscles in front of Andromeda, but she ignores him. Meanwhile, Perseus is wondering how is he supposed to keep Medusa's real identity a secret, since he doesn't know wheter or not she plans something.

Queen Cassiopeia leaned closer. “Do you dance, Perseus?” Beside her, the princess shrank in her seat. Was the queen trying to set up her daughter with him? Whyever, would she do that?

And if these are her real intentions then she would be absolutely correct.

One of the young men from the royal court approaches Medusa and asks her if she wants to dance with him, and she accepts. Also, why the hell does the entire dance scene reads like a Victorian ball? Seriously?! Perseus then becomes jealous after he was threatening to kill her and psychologically abusing her all this time and pushes that man aside, then asks Medusa if she wants to dance with him. This is the most cliché ass scenario I've read in my entire life. Also, this should've been about Perseus and Andromeda, AAAARRRGHHHH!

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Can somebody explain to me how can Perseus be a great dancer if he didn't grow up at the royal court and spent his entire life fishing? Mary Sue alarm again!

Anyway, I cannot find any interesting lines to take screenshots of here. Basically Medusa tells Perseus that she was once Athena’s priestess before she cursed her because she believde that she started to worship Poseidon instead (she still didn't tell him about the rape part). Meanwhile Perseus' OC friend suspects that Medusa tries to seduce Perseus in order to free herself, and there's a chance that he's bi and in love with him as well - I swear to God, this is a high school soap opera at this point! Last but not least, King Cepheus tells Perseus that he'll give him a ship with only one condition: if he will rescue his daughter Andromeda, who is about to get sacrificed due to his wife's stupidity and who doesn't listen to her parents because she cares more about her kingdom and will gladly give her life to save her people and blah blah blah! 🙄

In other words:

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Perseus is willing to save Andromeda, but because our slay queen girlboss Medusa was raped by Poseidon in the past she is disagreeing with him and tells him that he should let the princess die in order to appease the sea god instead.

For one moment throughout this entire retelling Perseus finally sounds like a sane person with a brain inside his skull. Can somebody please explain to me how is this NOT a Perseus and Andromeda retelling?!

Medusa then tells Perseus that Andromeda should rather be sacrificed rather than taken as a hostage, to which Perseus explains that he has no intention to keep her captive nor marry her, and that he will save her simply because it's the right thing to do, not because he finally found the woman he's supposed to fall in love and fuck with instead of Medusa. These people are arguing like Middle Grade children, by the way. Also, Perseus OC' friend is a huge pain in my d-

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Medusa watches Perseus as he's fighting Cetus in order to save Andromeda. This chapter is normal until Perseus gets severly injured by the monster. But before Cetus manages to kill him Medusa runs in front of him and takes off her veil, thus petrifying the sea monster and saving Perseus life. WHAT THE FUCK?! This was supposed to be a Perseus and Andromeda moment, not Perseus and Medusa feat. Andromeda the bus driver.

Chapter Thirty

Andromeda is carried away. But not by Perseus, but by his OC friend. Throughout this entire chapter he tries to flirt with her, but she constantly ignores him (as she should). She's also feeling betrayed by her family, because they planned to have her rescued all this time instead of let her sacrifice herself.

For God's sake, can these authors PLEASE let Andromeda refuse to become the meal of a sea rabbit predator because of her mother's stupidity and fuck Perseus instead of getting shipped with some OC guy in peace?! This chapter annoyed me so much that I refuse to take screenshots of it!

Reading Crown of Serpents so you don't have to *sighs*

Chapter One

This book is written at the third person from different points of view. In the first chapter we get introduced to Agapetos (Seriously?!) who is a member of a captain' crew. Apparently these men are acting like middle grade bullies to the point where their captain gave up playing the teacher intervening in their disputes. Fortunately our Agapetos is a massive greek without the r, so he hasn't left anyone with a missing eye nor a broken leg yet. 👍 He's also poor, so he decided to go on this dangerous mission for his sister despite of barely having any warrior skills in order pay her dowry. Him and another guy named Damon Salvatore try to catch Medusa, but she is introduced like some sort of an anime ultimate villain who kills the shit out of them two along with some other dozens of men.

Chapter Two

We get to see a conversation between Perseus with his mother before being sent to kill Medusa and oh, well...

First of all: this is the most american portrayal of a balkan family conflict I've ever seen and Danaë is depicted as this over-emotional western mom with no backbone. I'm wondering how did she manage to hide Perseus for four years in that one tower/bronze chamber if the author views her as this incompetent woman. Also, Perseus is supposed to be a Mama's Boy yet he thinks of his mother as thick-headed. In a more realistic situation Perseus would've been beaten with the slipper already.

Perseus suspects that Polydectes holds the members of the families who don't pay him regularly in some sort of a sado-maso dungeon, and the reason why Perseus and Danaë don't have the money this time is because Danaë was beaten and robbed by bandits while her son was fishing outside. I wish I was jocking. Now, I don't want to offend anyone, but in my experience this is the average reaction of a balkan woman when you enter her house uninvited:

Dictys is here as well and acting as the father-figure for Perseus he never had since Zeus went out to get the milk. But his wife died in childbirth, so no Clymene or cute old couple around. BOOOO! Danaë avoided telling Perseus who is his real father, but found no problem in explaining to him how he was conceived, because this was of coursly more understandable. Perseus hates Acrisius and wants to kill him just like any other edgy BookTok male main character.

Perseus enters Polydectes' palace, and I cannot help but think about this:

"Unless his best friend Kleos, he had no desire to be a hero." No shit dude, almost no hero from Greek Mythology achieved their greatest deeds with the intention of becoming heroes. Also, besides Cadmus there weren't really too many heroes around anyway. Also also, if your best friend's name is Glory and one of your crew members is called Beloved then I suggest you finding partnership in people who don't feel like imaginary friends whom you chose the names for in the last second.

Perseus is directly summoned by Polydectes in his sado-maso chamber to have a private discussion with him, and I quess this was the moment when Polydectes tells Perseus that he will pay generosly the person who will manage to kill Medusa. He doesn't trick him nor requests her head as a wedding gift, but simply convinces him to do that due to the fact that dude was too broken to pay his taxes and he would've asked for his mother's kant as a substitute for them otherwise. At this point Polydectes is just a 2D cartoonish villain instead of an actual menace to this family. Boring!

Chapter Three

Medusa's POV:

Respectfully woman, you're the daughter of two sea deities. This is what happens when you turn Poseidon into a rapist instead of letting him be the OG Monsterfucker who would do anything to get the medussy. At this point a Poseidon×Medusa retelling could've actually been something revolutionary.

She was Athena’s priestess in the past. Nothing original or new or accurate here. "Reduced to a monster with scaled skin [still has an Angelina Jolie face], praying the mortals was the only was she could repay the gods for what they have done to her." Translation: Monsters still have to be conventionally attractive in order to receive any ounce of basic human empathy, and a woman cannot hunt men for sport unless she has a tragic background story, not because she's evil and bored. "Oh look, this conventionally attractive woman has snakes in her hair and scales?! Hahaha, she's so ugly! Hahaha, she looks like a lesbian!" She also has no sisters, because of fricking course!

Medusa pretends to be a helpless woman about to get drown in order to fool the crew of a ship and "rescue her" (aaand eventually plan to take advantage of her...), when this was in fact her entire plan this whole time. If those men wouldn't have collectively shared one braincell together then this is what could've happened: The End

But nope! There are still 57 more chapter to dissect here. *sighs*

Just in case you needed more confirmation that the author was a coward. The men on the ship are portrayed as complete brutes in this chapter, and the captain has to call her a bitch in order to show that he's a product of the Patriarchy who views women as nothing more but objects for sex. Eventually our slay queen Medusa kills all of them flawlessly like any generic girlboss.

Chapter Four

Okay, so in this chapter Perseus finally talks to Polydectes, and... Yup, he's actually a 2D cartoonish villain! Oh, and do you remember Glory, AKA Perseus' OC friend? His father is rich af, yet this guy never considered nor bothered giving Perseus his money for one reason or another in order to help him. Shitty bastard!

Apparently Polydectes already has a bunch of women and wants Danaë to be part of his Harem as well. Dude doesn't even try to be subtle about it:

By the way, do you guys know what does this reminds me of?

No fake wedding, no real wedding, no trickstery, not trying to gain Perseus' trust before betraying him, just straight-up "Your mom." But what makes this chapter truly dumb is that Perseus offers himself to hunt Medusa and gave her head to the king, despite the fact that this man didn't even proposed that to him in the first place.

Oh, and he also gives him a crew and a ship, despite the fact that Perseus initially refused his offer 'cause he's a real man n' stuff, you know? At this point you make the OG mythological Perseus look like a genius.

Chapter Five

Remember Agapetos? Now we're meeting his sister, Chrysanthe, who sees her brother's corpse in what is supposed to be a dramatic scene. For now I can tell that she's quite an unpredictable character. At the beginning of the chapter it is mentioned that she would sell her body to the fishermen from the area just so that her brother could have money, and now she wants to kill Medusa for what she did to him. Not gonna lie, I'm actually more invested in the story of this OC character, rather than the romance between Perseus and Medusa (🤢🤮).

Chapter Six

I beg the author to stop portraying Danaë as an incompetent human being for once. Cooking isn't a feminine nor a masculine thing, it's a basic surviving skill.

"Dictys was stubborn as a mule — a trait that probably ran in the family, even though they weren't technically related." You two are literally cousins via your fathers, lmao!

Unfortunately, we will never find the answer because the writer killed Clymene off-screen instead of giving Perseus a grandma.

Perseus tells Dictys that he decided to slay Medusa, to which the man logically points out that nobody managed to kill her and that he's an idiot for that. Apparently Danaë is too busy with cooking, so she is only mentioned in this very relevant key-moment from the novel. I swear, being Perseus' mother is this woman's entire personality!

Eh, at least we got this cute fragment. I can't believe that but the author actually cooked with these lines:

Chapter Seven

Athena is currently held accountable by Zeus, on the grounds that because of her a dangerous monster became a menace to a whole ass island. I'm sorry but... why would Zeus care so much about it? Dude would literally allow his wife to destroy Troy later despite of being his favourite city.

Did you know that Athena is actually dumb and useless whereas Medusa is the ultimate slay queen girlboss? Now you know!

Athena now tries to justify her decision, and Aphrodite of coursly cannot help but think of the dick since she's the goddess of sex. Also, pretty much every greek god has exactly one personality trait; this is a Percy Jackson fanfiction. Apparently Athena considers that Medusa's existence will eventually lead to the rise of a new hero and that's why she cursed her in the first place. Now this is one hell of an insufferable older sister!

Chapter Eight

Now we have to learn more about Perseus' OC friend who will accompany him throughout his journey instead of giving him money from the beginning, Yay!

"Adamantios was among the wealthiest men in Seriphos, and Kleos was his only son and heir, much to his father’s disappointment."

Understandable.

"Kleos, however, was a restless spirit and would never sit still during his lessons, be it algebra or philosophy. He squandered his allowance on wine, women, and gambling..."

Let's see if I got this correctly: he's uneducated, a drunkard, a manwhore and wastes his money on slots. Also, friendly reminder that this is supposed to be Andromeda's future boyfriend, yet people are still deranged when they find out that Perseus married her the moment he rescued her and claim that he only views her as a prize.

Perseus meets his crew, and it's quite frustrating knowing that all these men are following him purely because they were payed by Polydectes to do so, and they mutually hate Perseus knowing that they risk to die because of him. I can't believe that I have to say this but Ovid did an infinitely better job at giving Perseus a bunch of friends who willingly fought and died for him.

Kleos paused on the doorstep. “There is one thing I don’t understand, Perseus. You always said you didn’t want to be a hero. You’ve only laughed when I fantasised about the monsters we could slay together, the battles we could win… so, why did you tell Polydectes you’d kill the gorgon?” Perseus frowned, not understanding what his friend was getting at. “To settle my debt…” “But there would have been other ways to pay for the tithe. Why didn’t you come to me? I would have gladly given you the money."

This is the exact same shit I'm constantly talking about in this post, ARRRGHHH! Anyway, the reason why Perseus never asked him for money is because he fears that his rich ass father might disown him for that, and he cares too much about his best friend and has dignity uWu- BITCH! Can you even afford dignity considering how poor you are?!

So far Perseus' motivations barely make any sense.

Chapter Nine

Medusa visits the city disguised and enters a tavern. During this time she's thinking about her former life as a priestess (Ugh!), how she was punished by the gods (Bleh!) and how now she's a lonely and hated monster (Still has an Angelina Jolie face...). Inside that tavern a bunch of drunk men assault the barmaid and intend to rape her, but our slay queen Medusa kills all of them.

By the way, how is it that every single man Medusa encounters happens to be a piece of shit, whereas every single woman she encounters happens to be a Rape/SA victim in one way or another? It doesn't happen once or twice, but every single fucking time. Also, the idea of a mythological figure hunting rapists in the Bronze Age is... questionable at best.

Chapter Ten

The ship crew call Perseus "Sir". This is an english formal adress that derives from french and was first documented in 1297. So about 2600 years after Perseus' times.

Athena appears all of the sudden in front of Perseus and tells him that he's the son of Zeus:

"Perseus almost laughed at Athena. The goddess had descended to assist him in becoming a testament to Olympian might. It took all his willpower not to curse Zeus’s name — his father’s name. He was the offspring of the king of the gods, the most powerful being in existence. Perseus’s stomach churned. That explained the electric fire that coursed through him in moments of unbridled rage."

Wait, are you going to tell me that Perseus has super powers now like the demigods from Percy Jackson and that you weren't just using the exact same metaphor in order to describe his emotions this entire time? Booooooooooo...

Anyway, Athena gives Perseus the magical weapons he needs in order to slay Medusa, then leaves. You would think that this would be a way more emotional moment given the fact that Perseus is supposed to meet his half-siblings, but Athena pulls out this Archangel Gabriel persona and tells Perseus that his father is Zeus and expects him to have an "Okay!" type of reaction in the same way Gabriel told Mary that she'll become the mother of Jesus. Hermes doesn't even show off, so Athena gave to Perseus the sandals in his place:

“Finally, Hermes borrows you his winged sandals, swift as the wind, to escape Medusa’s wrath. Use these wisely, and victory is yours. Hesitate, and tragedy awaits.” *doesn't bother to explain to him what strategy he should use in the first place and leaves*

This chapter has only four pages, by the way. You would believe that such a significant moment deserves more attention, but NOPE!

Honestly guys, I'm getting tired at this point and I haven't even reached the worst parts. So let me know if you want me to continue this journey and tell you guys what happens in the future reblogs! 👍

[bunabi]

People like to pretend that only bigots think DATV is markedly different in focus + tone from the previous games and they REALLY like to be condescending to queer + Black + brown people who think that. Even tho it’s self-evident and is also not a unilateral bad thing or an insult. DATV is the only game my friend is okay with her son playing, bc it’s a game that doesn’t have overtly misogynist characters/sections. It’s a game that could have had a Teen rating, that has many queer and trans characters in it, and that’s a positive thing for many people! I dunno why it’s verboten to some people who like the game to just admit that!

It's unfortunate things turned out this way. The conversation has been totally polluted by people who have since moved on to hating Avowed lol.

Veilguard is a nice entry point. Its griffon hugs + pet-able cats + kinder companions + clearly defined lines between right and wrong absolutely make it a lot more palatable. Its a very streamlined and comfy experience with some of that classic Bioware DNA threaded throughout. It's not what I personally wanted but it's fine!

I think we should protect and uplift inclusive media, but critique should always be allowed. The quality of representation is just as important as the quantity.

[ohnoitsz1m]

Uhh post canon Barney

Man who has not had a break since the rescas and refuses to start now. Alyx and Gordon are hiding his gear as we speak while Kleiner distracts him.

I was sposed to do Alyx too but I blinked and it was 3 am so. Next time

Oh also I forgot to make a note but he does carry a sidearm

[mvndrvke]

"I will take that 'hmm' as an agreement that you are being purposefully obtuse. I've yet to decide if you think it makes you charming or not."

Penelope's smile takes on a wryness as she looks at Odysseus. "Whose heart is her country?" she echoes. A laugh, unbidden, escapes her. It's such a diplomatic thing to say, dancing so delicately on the line between polite and silly that she cannot help but be amused by it. "I am pragmatic, yes. I am cynical, perhaps. My heart is my own. It would do me no good to make it my country's, when I could just as soon be sent elsewhere should my uncle make it so. It cannot do what it must if its body is shores away now, can it?"

She glances up at the cliff again. "His lack of faith gave me mine. It earned me the protection and favor of a god. Every journey must start somewhere, each life. My mother is of the sea. It is fitting, in an odd way, that my life is bound to it as well, regardless of one man's misguided intentions." She turns her gaze to Odysseus. "You are close to your own family?"

“Hmm.” Keep hoping.

Odysseus strokes his curly beard. He doesn’t want to admit to not knowing what the proper response to such a story is, but he, too, opts for honesty—more or less.

“You’re not acting as if it should, but I confess that it does. I doubt I would be so forgiving. But, then…” An absence of ill will isn’t the same as affection, he supposes. “… anyone whose heart is her country must have learned her pragmatism young.”

[withthewindinherfootsteps]

mdzs tumblr post au but it’s just “what were you doing at the devil’s sacrament” (nightless city)

[howlsofbloodhounds]

Your theories are more thought out than the author's own

If ya talking about rahafwabas, then not really. My theories are formed on what’s already there, even if it may have been unintentional. Rahafwabas was like, what? a teen?, who was clearly still learning how to speak English and wanted to make a go at creating an au/sans au like everyone else was at the time for a game they loved.

They didn’t expect killer to get so much attention, and people clearly seemed more focused back then on asking about shipping (such as with nightmare) and hating on killer or sending strange asks. It was enough to the point that rahafwabas had to clarify her choice to delete stuff about killer wasn’t because of anything or what anyone in the fandom did.

clearly rahafwabas had conflicted feelings about killer. i have the benefit of not having had created killer or having gained a massive following to learn more about a character/story that belongs to me (aka rahafwabas seemed hesitant to fully commit to or correct anyone about anything with killer—what isn’t correct or what is, to discourage any shipping, things like that—out of either fear of backlash or not wanting to ruin peoples fun. it appears to have been stressful for her) im just using what his actual creator laid down, or what remains of the flooring, and building up.