#so it depends on scene order and some other stuff

[bhaalsdeepbat]

last night's Astarion origin highlights:

It was Creche time!!! Taking the girlfriend to the creche !!! We had to leave the boyfriend (Gale) behind, but Astarion and Lae'zel wore matching ocean colors to go on a double date with Catha and Shadowheart. (Astarion wears black and red when matching Gale, now)

Astarion stole a bunch of shit from Esther then killed her when she realized he stole most of her inventory with the Cat's Grace he bought. Daddy Money Bags is currently out of money, but Mr. Meow Meow can pounce like a panther and steal whatever he wants.

Astarion just fucking going DOWN to the Gith patrol in Waukeen's Rest and landing, again, facing his romance partner. It looked like he was reaching out to Lae'zel while doing his saving rolls.

Astarion using his girlfriend as bait because Shadowheart and Catha went down, so he kept reviving Lae'zel, putting distance between him and the remaining Gith, and letting the soldier just keep focusing Lae'zel while sneaking around. He is a death machine, but we are still at one hit per round until next level up.

I like to think he was feeling pretty fucking tough after the Gith patrol. Like he was cocky going into the Creche. cocky enough I was not worried when he failed his initial persuasion check and aggroed the creche, but the game glitched so we had to F8. It was a vision from Selune to Catha letting her know if she let Astarion go in without guidance and eagle's splendor, they'd be FUCKED.

I get turned around in the Creche and went to the hatchery thinking it was the infirmary, but then Astarion was like. Steal. Steal Egg. Like it was a delightful experience for him. I had never seen Lae'zel talk about how happy she is to have the egg and like. That little peek at the fact that she DOES have her own wants and desires that are in opposition to the beliefs she was taught. She's disgusted by the whole birthing process, but raising the child? it's such a hopeful, happy thought. Astarion was kinda standing there just speechless bc she had been so rough so far.

Needless to say, the egg is in her inventory, now. She asked him to keep it close and dammit he isn't gonna let his girl down...not that he likes her (or Gale) or anything,,,,,,,,

Lae'zel and Astarion fucked !!! And then he was heavily encumbered the next day because the potion of hill giant strength wore off, but it was a very funny happenstance. but taking her to the creche (not even finishing up yet, just going there and starting stuff) was enough to get her to look at Astarion differently AFTER HOW HARD SHE FUCKING BURNED HIM

like this is the astarion origin where NO ONE wanted him but Minthara at the Goblin party, and now the two companions that AREN'T taken are vying for his attention (bc we only have gale, shady, and lae'zel XD)

Astarion trying to disarm one of the traps at the Creche, only for me to suddenly see his body go FLYING off the side of a ledge because the trap blasted him while doing the disarm roll. Lae'zel followed very, very shortly after....because it did the same thing during the roll screen XD when i say i was on the ground LAUGHING.

Astarion was very proud of himself because he thought he lied his way out of a fight with the medical lady inside the infirmary at the creche. The tools she went to get were actually child soldiers and it was a battle to the death. Lae'zel went down. Astarion shouted her name.

The lesbians (Catha & Shadowheart) got shit DONE. Astarion is the disaster gay and cannot get his shit together. Catha and Shadowheart literally saved his ass with the Death Shepherds bc of user error on my end but it worked really well from a rp perspective XD

like Astarion is literally like SHIT SHIT SHIT everything is always going wrong, but Catha and Shadowheart generally have it on lock. Like I will have him sneak around and start / end fights before those two can even get involved, but the higher level fights sometimes I forget to position better XD

I'm not sure if Astarion is going to end up with Gale or Lae'zel....or pull a wild card and go with Minthara once we find her again. like i keep bouncing back and forth i literally do not know what i'm gonna do until the moment comes

[noperopesaredope]

I already wrote a similar posts on how fics of this nature annoy me, but I would like to push it further by saying that while I am fine reading it, I feel kind of weird about fics where the clones like Cody are constantly taking care of and basically babysitting their Jedi General or acting as a major emotional pillar for them.

I think the reason it makes me so uncomfortable is that not only are the clones already going through their own extremely horrific shit, but the Jedi are their superior officers and have a lot more systemic power over them. I will never stop saying that the clones are slaves, and while I don't see the Jedi as being their enslavers, I do think that they are essentially in a "master" position of power whether they like it or not. So it feels weird when the Jedi are more dependent on the clones and the clones need to basically take care of them and are always needing to look after them.

I'm a half-black American who is very passionate about African American history and anti-black systemic issues. And I can't help but be reminded of the tropes involving black characters whose are constantly forced into what is basically a caretaker role for white characters. Think of the Mammy, or the Black Best Friend, or the Magical Negro. The clones are already oppressed, already marginalized, and already forced to constantly back up and support the Jedi in charge of them. And then they are forced to be their Jedi's babysitter on top of all that.

Helping their Jedi out and generally caring about their wellbeing on places like the battlefield? Yes, that can be very sweet and often involves a lot of emotional care and trust.

Needing to force their Jedi to take care of themselves even off the battlefield and having a whole system/thing about how the Jedi "never take care of themselves and simply need the clones in order to do basic self care and not overwork themselves all the time while being oh so self-sacrificial"? Slightly weird and honestly seems to be the other way around based on both canon scenes and their respective circumstances.

I feel like perhaps part of this is just a general desire for angst and classic whump tropes, and sometimes it seems to be used as a way to showcase, "see! The Jedi do care about their troopers!" It seems like an example of the Jedi taking on the caretaker position and being the ones to protect the clones. But it almost always ends up resulting in the clones being forced into a support/caretaker role even when it seems like the Jedi is playing the role of caretaker.

Now, I don't think fics that follow this overall concept are super problematic or whatever. I also think some dynamics like this can work, such as with the Padawans and the clones (though that is for very specific reasons). I really don't want to spread too much negativity or say that anyone who writes this stuff is automatically racist or whatever. It's more of a personal discomfort/distaste than anything and people can write whatever they want, especially since I know the intent behind these tropes are often sweet in nature.

But I do think it's good for us to reflect on the parallels the clones have to real life issues and the way certain harmful tropes and mindsets can be perpetuated through metaphorical allegories (whether intentional or unintentional), and discuss the way we as a fandom treat the power dynamics between the clones and Jedi, especially in regards to things like shipping.

I don't know if I'm making any sense, but please tell me what you think, especially since I think it would be a good thing to talk about.

[felassan]

Lucanis and Crows snippets, under a cut due to spoilers.

How would Viago and Teia react to a Crow Rook being romantically involved with Lucanis? "Teia is going to plan the wedding, and insist that Viago give Rook away at the ceremony. Viago will sigh dramatically, lecture Rook about it, and then spend a week picking out the right gloves to wear." [source]

If Illario wasn't locked away, how would he react? "Under any circumstances, Illario would be upset since it's a whole lot of attention that's STILL not on him. He would definitely get drunk at the reception and tell the same two most embarrassing stories about Lucanis over and over until Viago knocked him out and put him upstairs." [source]

With Rook romancing Lucanis, is it possible that Spite could become affection or benevolence? "Spite's basic aspect is defiance. He can be more or less difficult depending on influence (rebellion vs. vindictiveness, etc), but at his core he's always going to be a spirit of "NOPE"" [source]

Lucanis' mother was the heir apparent to House Dellamorte [source]

Does Spite have any kind of feeling about Rook? "Spite is fond of Rook in his own Spite-like way. He and Lucanis agree on the point of trusting Rook over and above other people or themselves. He does go to Rook for help with Lucanis, after all." [source]

For the Lion King reference in Murder of Crows, Mary Kirby went to the cinematic animators and described it as Illario's "Scar at Pride Rock" scene [source]

User: "I cut Lucanis' hair and shaved his beard and I almost feel like I should apologise to him" / Mary Kirby: "Now he can't tell himself from Illario, and you've given them both a complex." [source]

Teia and Viago were half-written by Mary Kirby and half-written by Luke Kristjanson [source]

Lucanis likes his coffee black [source]

Would he judge your coffee order? "As long as it's not boiled, or instant coffee, or whatever that stuff from a can is, he's fine with it. Or at least, he will only judge you silently for it." [source]

What kind of treats does Lucanis like? "Sweet, because it goes better with his coffee. Savory, if somehow he is NOT drinking coffee at that moment." [source]

Lucanis grew his beard and long hair while in the Ossuary. "He hasn't exactly had a haircut in a while." [source, two].

Would Lucanis make Powerpoint presentations about jobs or to talk? "No, he doesn't want to talk to anyone, let alone explain things and present them. That's 300% an Illario thing. That man has a powerpoint to introduce his powerpoint about why you should listen to his powerpoint." [source]

"Lucanis would never be on social media. He'd be on YouTube watching videos of people restoring rusty cutlery with no dialogue until four in the morning." [source] Could he tell when content is manufactured? "Yes. And he gets upset and finds Bellara or Neve (whichever is unluckier) to rant about it." [source]

Lucanis' favorite stove burner? Right front [source]

"Spite doesn't have any concept of physical appearances. It looks the way Lucanis sees himself. Lucanis is never relaxed, even in casual wear." [source]

Along with Lucanis Mary Kirby also wrote Spite [source]

Mary Kirby wrote Illario, Luke Kristjanson wrote the Crow faction quests [source]

Lucanis' perfect date night? "I'm gonna be honest: There is a non-zero chance it would involve assassinating somebody and getting coffee, and I'm not entirely certain which would come first." [source]

Lucanis "has so much [trauma] to sort through, and he could really use some help. Like, a Marie Kondo level of help with that." [source]

What sparks joy for Lucanis? "Coffee, paella, wyverns, knives, REDACTED, book club, REDACTED, revenge..." [source]

Lucanis is older than Illario by a few months [source]

How did Spite feel watching Lucanis fumble after the near-kiss moment with Rook? "Confused. Spite, like most demons, doesn't really get emotions outside its domain. Not doing something that someone clearly wants you to do should make you happy! I mean, honestly, what's better than that, except maybe revenge?" [source]

Did Spite interact much with Manfred? "We wrote a bunch of interactions between them, though I have no idea how many made it in." [source]

Update:

What are the names of Lucanis' parents? / "I didn't give them names, and in the event that Lucanis comes back in a later game, I don't want to hand out info that might just get contradicted by his next writer. (If I don't answer a lore question for him, this is probably why. I don't want to write checks someone else has to cash.)" [source]

What is Mary's take on Spite's possible involvement or lack thereof in Rook and Lucanis' relationship? / "Honestly, I don't know, and that's a question his next writer might explore? Where do your pent-up feelings of frustration go when you're happy? What does an emotion like defiance even understand about love? (I think that's fun to think about, but your mileage may vary.)" [source]

[luludeluluramblings]

Dick Grayson's Obsession with Smalltown!Reader

A/N: Why dialogue hard? Why so hard? Y'all I tried, once again. I saved Dick for last because I really really really did not want to screw up his character. I did end up adding a scene from Part Seven in here. Just to give it some pizzazz.

A/N: Part Eight is in the works, but it’s either gonna be massive or I’m going to have to divide it up. Also, people be posting so straight up fire in the Yandere Bat tags lately. Good stuff, I needed that.

Warnings: Yandere themes, physical affection.

Out of everyone, Dick was the most enthusiastic about Reader coming to Wayne manor, while also being the most melancholic. The tragedy of their arrival wasn't lost on him, despite the thrill he had over the thought of having another person to add to hi life. Already, the need and wanted to smoother them in comfort and care was there. But, the life experiences he had allowed him to realize it was probably best not to overwhelm them.

Therefore, it came out in short burst of staggering affection at times. But, only when he was visiting. (There was no denying the fact that he was extremely tempted to call them on the phone just to make sure they were settling in just fine. And, that he fought that temptation every single night.)

That didn't stop him from feeling some minor annoyance with Bruce for keeping the fact that they existed a secret. Dick had seen the affects of this life and even felt them, but to let the family nearly miss out on something so honeyed with normalcy was cruel. (It would have been preferred if they didn't have to lose their parents in order to join the rest of the family, but it was hard to think like with how busy his schedule was and soft they felt in his arms.)

Admittedly he may have latched on to them too hard in the beginning. They felt stiff the first time his arms wrapped around them. The guilt of it gurgled in his throat, which is why he cut it short and went about his business. But, he couldn't stop the urge to do so each time they crossed each other's paths in the manor halls.

And, much to his glee, they start to soften. Slowly, but surly, they start to cling to him a little longer when his arms wrap around them. They start to depend on him. For once the thought of someone so conventional depending on him as Dick rather than as Nightwing, because everyone seems to depend on him as Nightwing, doesn't fill him with anxiety. It makes his chest flutter in a different way. Not with anxious butterflies, but with a flicker of a warmth.

It's completely innocent, the way the craving starts. He has to talk himself out of rearranging his entire schedule to be around them. Especially after the kidnapping incident. But, the Rouge break out gives him plenty of work to distract himself, and more frequent chances to find them in the manor for a dose of his new source of comfort.

His feelings finally start to become clear when rather than holding him longer and tighter, they finally reach for him themselves.

☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️☁️

“And, how is my favorite person today?” Already Dick has his arms opened wide for you when you walk out of the kitchen. He always appears from the depths of the manor, before he wraps around you like a slow creeping vine blooming with all sorts of sentiments.

"Alfred was doing good last I saw." But, by now you've grown to appreciate the way the tendrils curl around your limbs and burrow themselves into you. A small grin forming on your face at the chance to finally have someone to talk to, even if he isn't consistent company.

"Alfred isn't my favorite person, and you know it." The banter between them enjoyable and the undertones of his words ignorable in your obliviousness. "But, seriously, how are you doing today? You look like you have something on your mind. If it is you can tell me, you know that right?" The concern pouring put of his lips, as his grip tightens.

He had seen you through the cameras and had overheard the longing phone calls. The fact that your birthday was coming up had crossed his mind, and the realization that this would be your first without your parents did register in his brain. (But, it would also be you first with them. With him.) Bringing it up to you seemed like a bad idea. But, he would still try to encourage you to spill your feelings to him.

"No, no. It's nothing I promise." Your reply was soft and dismissive. But, the dishonesty was noticeable in it still.

Dick's arms seemed to tighten around you as you spoke, as if he was trying to decode the root of your troubles from the way your heart was beating against his chest. Eventually, he does loosen his limbs around you.

As he looks down, you known and he knows you’re lying. For a moment you think he going to push. To try to choke the words out of your lungs with another tight squeeze. But, he doesn't. Instead he lets you breathe.

"Okay," is all he says.

No extra nor unnecessary words. No constant reassurance that he'll always be there for you. Just a single word and the room to breathe. Those other things have already been said. Multiple times, in fact.

It's this one instance where he lets you breath that somehow gives you lungs the air it needs to blurt out what's bothering you as he pulls away.

"I wanna go home." The words escape your lips when you finally exhale and reach for him. The words coarse. "I just really want to go home for a bit. I miss home. I miss my family. I just—“

Dick doesn't even let you get halfway before he's enveloping you again. A slight tremble in his hands as he sprouts around you once more.

This. This is what he's wanted. You coming to him with your raw feelings. And, he knows he's the first person you've said this to at all.

"How can I help you?" He asks instead of questioning the statement.

"Can you help me convince Bruce to let me go, please, Dick?” The tentative way you ask and look up at him has him caving immediately.

"Of course!" Perhaps it was a good thing you didn't grow up in Wayne manor. If Bruce hadn't spoiled you, he most definitely would have. "I'll bring it up to B as soon as he gets back."

"He's gone?" You hadn't been informed of him even leaving, but then again, you were hardly every informed about anything it seems.

"Yeah, work emergency. It wasn't a big deal, but he'll be back soon." Dick can sense the mild tone shift, but manages to shift it back to something more lighthearted. "I'll make sure to butter him up for you. I swear. Puppy-dog eyes and everything."

It works, because before he can even clutch you to his chest you already wrapped your arms around his torso and pulled yourself towards him. Just the way you hug him tells him how genuine this type of embrace is. This is how you hold people. And, now, this is how you hold him.

"Thank you, Dick. Thank you." Comes your muffled reply into his chest.

The way you nuzzle into him like that's where you belong, because that's where you do belong, and the way you say his name causes his heart to melt. And, his mind to slowly sinks into the puddle it became.

Dick could stay like this for hours, but you start to pull away after a solid minute.

"I should let you get going. I know you got a lot of stuff to do." Your words sound so hopeful and understanding as you him go. The way you look up at him like he is your hero just for this simple small thing is touching.

Inwardly, he curses. The criminals of Gotham. The criminals of Blüdhaven, the team, the family, his schedule. Everything. He curses it all for that moment, because he could be holding you to his chest longer and having you look up at him like that instead. But, he lets it pass. He manages to let it go just as you pull away.

"Yeah, I do. But, don't think I'm going to brush off helping my favorite person in the world." Plastering on a well practiced pretty smile as he speaks.

"So, that means you got somebody more important off world? I see how it is." You tease in return as you fall for the practiced charm.

"Maybe." Dick lets the banter easy his mind. In reality, even off this world, you're probably his favorite, still. It should scare him, but it doesn't. "I'll let you know how Bruce takes the request. But, I'm prepared to sneak you out of here if necessary."

"I'll get the spy music ready, just incase." Things are starting to look up, and it's nice to have someone in your corner in this massive estate.

"Mission Impossible theme?" His grin become less practiced at the thoughts of having an adventure with you.

"Nah, the Pink Panther one. Just for the shenanigans." Your own grin growing wider and wider.

"Now I want to sneak you out just for fun." And, he means it. Already mentally planning your trip back home with him escorting you. And, then you possibly coming and staying in Blüdhaven with him in his guest room. Just to get you out of the manor, of course. Clearly you need it.

He can't ignore the way his pocket keeps buzzing, though. Clearly the others are in the cave waiting for him. But, they can wait a bit longer, he thinks diving in for one last embrace.

As you wholeheartedly reciprocate, he can see one of the secret security camera out the corner of his eye and he can't stop the smug smile from forming on his face as his gives you one last squeeze in front of it.

With the way his phone stills, he can tell the rest of them saw. It's not his fault they're too scared of physical affection to actually hug you. But, it does give him a monopoly on it with you.

As he makes his way down to the Batcave there's a skip in his step and that smug smile is still on his face.

He makes sure to look at everyone's faces as he joins them. Soaking up their envy. All of that wasn't to make them jealous, but it's kind of nice to have.

"Was all that necessary, Grayson?" Damian being the first to break the silence by practically spitting the words out through his gritted teeth. Even with his perfect poster the tension coiling in his limbs is visible to the untrained eye.

"Someone's got to be the one to do it, little D. And, clearly, they needed it." Dick's tone was placating, but his smile wasn't. The way he stands in the center of the room reminiscent of an orchestra conductor.

"Don't use them as an excuse for your touch-starved tendencies, Dick." Barbara retorted, rolling in her chair towards another computer. She immediately began typing on it at a furious pace, clearly trying to distract herself.

"Low blow, Babs." He whistled in return. Everyone else seemed focused on giving him the silent treatment causing his grin to widen further. "I can't help that I'm a naturally-"

"I just texted Bruce about it." Duke suddenly says, looking up from his phone with a smug grin. He face had been blank before, but the way his eyes glanced up at Dick and the others when there heads jerk towards him showed off a hint of self-satisfaction.

"That's cheating." Childishly spills from Dick's mouth. This was suppose to be his favor to them. His. Not anyone else's.

"Bruce doesn't get text while in the Watchtower." Stephanie points out while uncurling from her seat, but the damage is done.

"Could we contact Father in the Watchtower?" Damian practically leaps from his seat and rushes to the Batcomputer where Tim sits. Alliances quickly being drawn up.

"He'd be pissed if we contacted him for something like this." Jason adds with a grin. He doesn't bother looking up from cleaning his guns, just not at all bothered by the prospect of pissing Bruce off.

"But, then message would be logged into the League data base." Comes Barbara's stern voice from her computer, her typing coming to a pause. Tim still keeps at whatever he was working on before Dick walked into the cave, but on the screen there is a flash of airline websites so it's fairly easy to conclude what his plan of persuasion is.

Cassandra watches the exchange reading the emotions through everyone's movements. Silently, she throws her bid in as well. Choosing to slide over to Stephanie and signing the making of a plan.

From there it spirals into an all out argument between each and every member of the family. Debating logistics and exchanging petty insults that seems to go on for hours. Hardly anything gets done while words are being thrown around like bullets.

In the back of his mind, Dick once again curses everyone and everything for ruining this for him. But, he reassures himself, the banter from earlier comes back to him.

It's a decent plan, he thinks. Sneaking Reader out of the manor. Convincing Bruce would be ideal, but it wouldn't be the first time he's broken the rules. And, it's for their happiness and well being. They need him. They asked him for his help. Not the other's. Not anyone else's. His. Bruce will understand.

Besides, it would be nice to see the Smalltown they grew up in. It sounds like a quaint little place. What could possibly be wrong with it?

[cloudcountry]

Plot twist: Tokyo Debunker is actually an otome game that's why there're wedding cards (developers are trying to keep it a surprise)

How would the wedding or marriage life be with the ghouls

*Your opportunity to dream of your perfect wedding ceremony with a certain someone 👀*

Side note: is it actually a plot twist? Probably not

SUMMARY: the proposal / the wedding / how your married life is afterwards headcanons!

CHARACTERS: Edward, Alan, Jiro, Ritsu, and Leo.

COMMENTS: dgsfhaj ritsu wedding ritsu wedding....EHEHEHE IM GIGGLING RN ANON THANK UUUU this is so funny like . imagine the devs were like SURPRISE!! ITS AN OTOME NOW!! i doubt it because theres so many guys and planning out routes would take a hot second (stares at cybird) but yk if cybird can do it maybe they can too................

leo is an asshole i am not going to hold your hand...i am sorry.

Edward actually proposing to you would more likely than not be a SHOCK to Rui and Lyca. What do you mean he’s taking something seriously for once? Rui even asks if Edward is aware of what he’s doing, to which your now fiance gets all dramatic and whiny about how mean Rui is.

Planning the wedding itself is more of a hassle than you thought. Edward, still as Edward as ever, has absolutely no hand in the planning. He says it's because he trusts his darling human’s judgement with these things, but you know that’s only half the truth. Rui ends up helping you with virtually everything, and if it wasn’t for him, the ceremony itself would have been much more disorganized.

Speaking of the ceremony, you opted to have a nighttime wedding for the sake of your future husband. It would likely be indoors, with plenty of candles for ambiance. His vows are actually very sweet! They aren’t overly sappy, but he does put aside some of his teasing in order to be upfront and honest with you.

I think he’d have a small wedding...only inviting close friends and stuff. It’s important that Rui and Lyca be there, at least! Your other human friends may also attend, so long as they don’t cause a scene. He’s serious. Nothing is going to go wrong on the day you and Rui planned so meticulously.

Having Edward as a husband would definitely be interesting...definitely a househusband LMAO. Rui is exasperated because he’s been trying to get Edward to clean up for SO LONG, and now you two get married and he cleans up for you? What are these spouse privileges! Edward actually attempts to cook now!?

He might claim it’s because of his YouTube videos but please. He loves you. YouTube might motivate him and teach him new tricks but he wouldn’t have looked for them if it wasn’t for you.

Alan almost doesn’t propose. It’s another one of his self sabotaging moments that he’s had while being with you, one that you happen to pull him out of when you bring up getting married first. He genuinely doesn’t understand why you’d want to marry someone like him, even though he’s already brought a ring and wants to—

Wanting the best wedding event possible, he yields to your opinion every single time. He still contributes to the planning and helps wherever he can, but he wants the day to be special and perfect for you, so he doesn’t try to butt in and talk over you.

A small ceremony again! I genuinely do not think he’d invite a lot of people at all...it’d be mostly your friends, from school and your work (if you have any.) If anyone from Darkwick is on your invite list, I think Alan would be a bit embarrassed to see them depending on who it is.

Do NOT invite Leo do NOT INVITE LEO. He’s already foaming at the mouth the second he hears that you and the himbo are getting married. Also, please have bodyguards to prevent him from crashing the wedding. Influencers are crazy, man.

Married life with him is really sweet, as you’d expect! He works, so you’re free to stay at home or work if you wish. You both work out a system at home where each of you have equal responsibilities around the house. For example, if you cook, he’ll do the dishes, and vice versa.

Alan isn’t going to catch onto any passive aggressive or subtly attempts to communicate. If you need a problem solved, or just want to talk to him, please just let him know. He’ll feel worse if he felt you couldn’t tell him, especially now that he’s married to you.

Jiro probably proposed before he even really had a ring. He just turns to you one day and asks if you’ve ever thought about getting married, and if so, would you want to marry him? Obviously you fumble a bit, flustered at his sudden declaration, before Yuri starts screeching at him that that is not the proper way to propose!

Jiro promptly apologizes and immediately leaves to get a ring, leaving you and Yuri sputtering in the lab. Yuri runs after him and tells you to stay there, that the ring should be a surprise for the spouse! before taking off.

It’s chaos. But you know, it’s a loving type of chaos. Yuri will be by you and Jiro’s sides the whole time, gracefully holding back his two cents during the wedding planning (even if he doesn’t agree with some of the choices...)

Zenji will be there, and he will be SOBBING. Please pull him aside into an empty room or something to talk to him about how much you love his brother and he’ll be a MESS. He’s so happy for you two, he just wishes he could be there to help with the wedding. Tell him he’s doing enough just by taking care of the two of you. He’ll try to hug you and fail, but the sentiment is there.

Married life with Jiro will involve visits from Yuri whenever possible for his health, so be prepared for that! (Zenji will also be around, but he knows when to leave.) Other than that, things are pretty calm. He stays home and cleans the house, you go out and work.

If you ask nicely, he’ll read you bedtime stories before bed at night, and you’ll giggle at his monotone voices. Jiro doesn’t understand what’s so funny, but the sound of your laughter makes him so happy...he’ll keep doing what he’s doing forever.

FINALLY THE ONE I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG ahem. Ritsu is a very classy young man. He dates to marry to the extreme, and likely had a hypothetical marriage page in his files for you the day you get together. Obviously it’s not something you know about—he’ll tell you after you’ve been dating for a year, though.

Buys a ring during your final year in Darkwick. You definitely have a promise ring already! He’s actually really excited to make you his spouse, but you wouldn’t know it unless you really pay attention to him when you’re alone. Also, it’s very important that you meet his parents.

His mom is really nice and welcomes you with open arms, but his father is harder to please. I can imagine the Shinjo family is very strict with who marries into the family—but honestly, Ritsu refuses to marry anyone else. It’s a rare moment of him deviating from his father’s footsteps...

He justifies this by saying that getting married to anyone else would hinder his productivity in the long run. They wouldn’t know him nearly as well as you do, and they never would have worked with him before, so they would lack understanding. Ritsu basically defends your resume in front of his dad. Yikes.

Anyway, the ceremony! I think this one would be quite big actually. Being the fiance of a big shot lawyer family’s son leads to you inheriting a lot of social connections. There are a lot of rich people at this wedding, with a unsurprising number of them actually being Shinjo clients.

It’s a nightmare, to be frank. You’re not really allowed to be yourself at this wedding, since your every move is being scrutinized. Ritsu will notice your unease and smooth talk his way out of any and every situation you find yourself in, so really all you have to do is smile and nod!

(Pssst, if you want a do over of the wedding where you only invite your friends and make it less formal, Ritsu can totally make it happen! He’s more than ready to see you in your wedding attire and marry you all over again. In fact, he feels he missed out on seeing the full extent of your happiness because of his family’s connections...)

Once everything has settled down, he’s a wonderful husband. Honestly, he’s worth it. Definitely the type to have cameras everywhere in his house though...just in case you get hurt or something goes wrong, he needs the evidence to defend and protect you!

He’s working for sure, so if you want to stay home you can! Whether you’re a working spouse or not will influence how the two of you divide household tasks, but make no mistake, it will be a fair division. He’s nothing if not fair after all :)

It’s not uncommon for you to wake up and see him already awake—or, on the weekends, with a book over his face. Kiss him good morning and make him some coffee, he’ll sleepily hang over your shoulders and try his best to wake up :(( He’s so CUTE.

Leo...He’s a tough one. You’d have to be with him a long time, and even though I don’t think he’d really think about proposing until it’s been a long LONGGG time. Doesn’t take it seriously either. I don’t...He’s just not a good person. Leo cannot be vulnerable. If you proposed first he’d probably make fun of you before accepting. He’s so MEAN.

I don’t understand why you’re doing this but yk what I support you. Someone’s got to marry him and if you think you have what it takes then go for it. He’s definitely posting your engagement online for clout and being super sweet and fake in front of the camera...sigh.

He’d invite SO MANY PEOPLE to the wedding and ENCOURAGE them to have their cameras out to record everything. At least he’s sweet to you during the ceremony, and he doesn’t smash your face into the cake or anything for clout. Maybe he does care a little bit WHAT WHO SAID THAT.

Sho is definitely there in some capacity. Maybe catering? He’d do a good job at it. Probably asks you if you’re sure about this right before the wedding because he sees what a dumpster fire it could be.

After all of that mess is over, Leo switches his social media to a more family vlog type of vibe. This is great for him because he rakes in a bunch of views from posting the two of you doing domestic things!

He’ll help out around the house for sure, but acts grumpy about it if you happen to catch him. He really doesn’t mind cleaning, but if he’s cleaning up after you he’ll be a bitch about it. He can be nice sometimes though! Lets you pitch ideas for his merch and listens when you tell him to put the phone down sometimes...

[midnightshindig]

a platonic drabble for cecil who has a kid that’s just like him and also ends up majorly scarred while saving someone on a mission?

Cecil & family!Reader hcs

Oooooo I like this, you guys really wanna tear this guy apart

Hcs below the cut!

You're his pride and joy

literally the exact same as him like to the way you take your coffee and the way you button your cuffs

From the first time Cecil got called into the office because you "organized detention" to fit your whims

God he's so proud

You're the product of a one-night stand with a visiting alien gone very wrong, dumped at his doorstep at the ripe age of four

it's just been you and him ever since

Cut to years later, and your powers have manifested, and he's all but forced to put you in the field

"You can either send me on missions, or I'm gonna start roaming the streets to fight crime on my own."

God you're gonna give him a heart attack

and so he agrees to put you, his fifteen year old pride and joy, into the field

Donald finds him like completely hungover the next morning cuz he's just so fucking stressed

After a few good missions, though, you prove to be like him in other ways:

you're dependable, a good listener, you follow orders flawlessly and improvise like a pro

Well, he guesses you are a pro now.

You're going on missions relatively frequently, still smaller fish but your powers aren't too insanely useful, you're more like a glorified and enhanced spy than anything.

A lot like he was.

This mission is bog standard, local cult in Midnight City that Darkwing II has requested assistance with since he's too busy with Guardian stuff

And so you go undercover in this cult, robes, rituals, the whole affair

Why is it always Midnight City?

ugh.....

You're handling it like a champ, though, and Cecil's sending backup

The backup is ON. ITS. WAY.

"Do not engage, Y/n, the cavalry is coming, you did good, now just hang tight and don't cause a scene."

He can hear you scoff, not able to verbally respond due to your yknow, undercoverness

What he can't see is that this cult is in the middle of some mad witchy shit, super culty, ritualistic sacrifice aplenty and you're helpless to stop it, at least without a lot of people getting hurt.

You have no idea what's going on, but you overhear two cult members talking to one another

"So what's this ritual for again?" "The spiritual cleansing of the world, dumbass. We're going to rid this world of filthy sinners with the cleansing blood of our leader"

Oh. I guess that guy on the ritual table does look like the cult leader.

You squint from a few rows back to get a better look at him-yeah- yup, that's definitely him.

His blood flows through the grooves in the table, onto the spell circle underneath

Much to your surprise, the circle actually begin to glow a familiar glow

the magical glow of a pre-explo-

BOOM

Cecil only hears you swear quickly before his line gets cut, and its all hands on deck.

Shortly after the explosion, the backup arrives, their priority getting as much of you out in one piece

It's a similar case to Cecil, saving whatever skin they can and grafting it onto you, and offering you the choice to get it replaced with fake skin.

You can't do it, though, but not for the same reason as your father

oh my god you're such an asshole

Cecil teleports straight to the side of your bed, checking you for harm after the doctors finish their procedure on you

"Y/n- fuck- stay with me kid- are you okay? Tell me you're okay." He's a little fast talking, but otherwise he holds himself together remarkably well.

Unti he notices your face

From the bottom of your mouth curving around the left half of your jaw, and down your neck, is burnt skin

Your shoulder and hand on the same side have similar burn marks

"Why?" He asks, softly, praying he hasn't burdened you with the same guilt he's felt since his own incident.

You give him a wide grin, uncharacteristic of the stoic relationship you shared

"I did it because it looks sick as hell! Don't you think?"

Oh man, you're such an asshole.

He ruffles your hair and groans

"You pull it off"

and that's good enough for him.

he's never letting you on another mission ever again omg

[yandereunsolved]

Hi 👋 I have a few technical questions for the self aware au for HOTD, if you wouldn’t mind me asking.

Does the world just… stop if we pause the tv? If I rewind a scene bc of whatever reason would that give then motion sickness? Back on pausing the show, does the world stop but the character don’t? Like if I paused the tv and started talking to someone about whatever, is Aemond crossing his arms and tapping his shoes while pouting? WOULD MUTING THEM ACTUALLY MAKE THEM MUTE??

Are the dragons jealous if we talk about dragons from other forms of media? I have loyalty to Paarthurnax for best dragon 😅 ooo what If we had a Skyrim tattoo? Imagine comparing lore?

And lastly, how would they react if we had started watching game of thrones? I like to try to rewatch stuff in chronological order if prequels or branching media gets made, I like to see the chain of events you know? Would the self awareness spread to more of that verse bc of that? Can we pull John Snow?

Sorry for the wall of text and rambling, I love LOVE self aware aus and love learning more about them

Let me retrieve my sacred lore scroll.

retrieves it.

For every rule I lay down here—they can be broken under one circumstance: if the character is completely self-aware. None of the characters I have written so far have gotten to that point. Complete self-awareness may drive any of them to insanity.

(1) Does the world stop if we pause the tv?

That version of the world stops. So that canon timeline is still there, but other things are happening off screen. They are subconsciously led back to the plot when the television is unpaused again.

(2) If I rewind a scene because of whatever reason—would that give then motion sickness?

It erases their memory and gives them a sense of deja vu. They prod inside of their mind but it's like a wall has been put up inside of their minds.

If the character is already predisposed to motion borne illnesses then they would get motion sickness.

Example. If Aegon II was incredibly drunk and you rewinded a part he was in it'd make him feel like he was going to throw up. However, he wouldn't actually throw up because he wasn't as drunk/or drunk at all (depending on how much your rewound) at that time.

(3) Would muting them actually make them mute?

Yes, it would. They would be talking in their world and wouldn't be able to understand how you aren't listening.

If they found out how to work the volume then you'd be screwed. Some may be able to do this unintentionally, while others would have to be more self-aware to unlock the ability.

Dreamers are more likely to be self-aware due to their inante abilities. So Helaena would it without even realizing it.

(4) Are the dragons jealous if we talk about dragons from other forms of media? —Imagine comparing lore.

Yes and no. It depends on the dragon's personality. If you were head over heels for another dragon in another form of media then any one of them would be jealous. If you just enjoy the dragons in that verse then some of them are okay with it.

Example(s). Vhagar would be okay with you liking other dragons as long as you liked her the most. Vermithor goes into a rage anytime you so much as mention another dragon in a positive context.

(5) How would they react if we had started watching game of thrones?

Confused at first. Since hotd is the prequel to got they'd be very puzzled. Then they'd be curious. If it took up all of your time then they'd be angry. There would already be an undercurrent of jealousy, but there's also a superiority complex there.

"We were here before them."

"Without us they wouldn't exist."

Them meaning got characters.

(6) Would the self awareness spread to more of that verse because of that?

When consuming any form of their media it is like a portal is being opened up into their world. That's the crux of what helps them become self aware. There's usually a moment in their lives that spurs that on.

With the hotd characters already being insanely jealous that interference between the two media's would cause the self awareness to spread.

(7) The most important question—Can we pull Jon Snow?

Yes.

The shit that dude has been through? He has plenty of opportunities to become self aware. Having someone there for him, even passively, would cause him to become obsessive. Possibly a bit bitter because you aren't helping him until he realizes that you are physically unable to.

Don't 👏 be 👏 sorry. 👏 I love giving lore.

[writingquestionsanswered]

i was reading my writing so far and noticed that it's kind of hasty? it feels like the scenes pass too quickly and characters act and make decisions too fast. i'm kind of a pantser and still on my first draft so there's definitely gonna be a lot of revisions but i was wondering if you'd have any advise on how to make the time in my story pass more naturally as opposed to stuff happening kind of rapid-fire. my story is high fantasy if that's relevant. i hope i worded this in a way that is understandable.

(also thanks so much for running this blog, it's very helpful)

Scenes Feel Rushed (Scene Elements/Structure)

The thing about scene pacing is it has nothing to do with time. It isn't about how long it takes the reader to read the scene, the amount of time that elapses in the story during the scene, or how fast/slow these events play out. Here's why:

-- readers read at different speeds -- scenes can occur over a period of minutes or days in your story -- scenes can be fast-paced or slow-paced depending on need

So, if your scenes are feeling rushed, it's not because you need figure out how to make the time pass more naturally. It's because not enough is happening in your scene. In other words, you don't have a good grasp on what scenes are supposed to accomplish and how to structure them.

Scene Elements

Your scene should include the following elements:

1 - A Writer Understood Purpose - First and foremost, as the writer, you should understand the purpose (aka "goal") of the scene in terms of what it accomplishes in the bigger story. Does it advance the plot in some way? Does it develop the protagonist and/or other main characters in a way that is crucial to the plot? Does it develop the setting, back story, or otherwise give the reader information they need in order to understand the story?

2 - Clearly Established Setting - Imagine if you went to see a play, but the stage had no backdrop, no scenery, no props. It was just a big empty stage with actors on it. Imagine how much you would lose without understanding where this scene was taking place. It works the same way in fiction, which is why it's important to start a scene by giving the reader some idea of where it's taking place. Using sensory and emotional description, you can give the reader a good image of the scenery and what it means to the POV character/s and the scene that's about to unfold.

3 - Relevant Characters - A scene can't play out without its requisite characters, but "requisite" is the keyword there: only characters who are relevant to the purpose of the scene--as well as "background extras" who are there to fill small-but-necessary roles and lend to an authentic setting... such as the teacher and other students in a classroom scene, or other patrons and servers in a restaurant scene. However, don't include main or secondary characters just to include them. They should be there because they need to be or because it makes sense for them to be there.

4 - Scene Conflict - Just as every story needs a conflict (an over-arching problem that must be resolved), so does every scene. Scene conflict can be internal (within the character's heart and mind) or external (in the character's environment). The purpose of the scene is to either resolve the scene conflict or propel it toward a future scene.

5 - Clarified Motivation and Goal - Because you understand the purpose of the scene (what you're trying to accomplish in the scene as the writer) and because you know the conflict/problem that must be resolved, it's important to clarify your character's scene goal (what they're trying to do in order to resolve the scene's problem, or their attempt to resolve it) and what is motivating them to resolve this conflict. Why is it important to them?

6 - Relative Balance of Exposition, Action, and Dialogue - Most scenes should have a relative balance of exposition (narrator explaining things), action (things happening), and dialogue (characters talking.) However, there are sometimes scenes that will lean toward more exposition, more action, or more dialogue. It just depends on the needs of the scene, but generally-speaking, you want a reasonably good balance. If there's no story-centric reason 90% of the scene needs to be dialogue, you need to make sure you balance things out a little more between dialogue, action, and exposition.

7 - Exploration of Emotion - Even in stories that are fully plot-driven, there needs to be an exploration of the emotions being felt by the characters in the scene, and an attempt by the writer to translate those emotions to the reader. The movie Jurassic Park, for example, was pretty fully plot-driven... it wasn't really about exploring internal conflicts or character arcs... but the emotion felt by the characters at throughout the story went a long way in making the reader feel things alongside them. Who can forget Dr. Grant seeing the dinosaurs for the first time:

Or Lex trembling when she saw the raptor in the visitor's center:

By illustrating character emotion using external cues (body language, facial expressions, gestures) and internal cues (sensations like heart pounding, processing what emotions are being felt and what it means), and by exploring how these emotions relate to the plot (and character arc, if there is one), we can create a much deeper sense of what's happening in the scene and why it matters.

Scene Structure

Scenes, like plot, have their own structure. Just as with plot structure, you can vary your scene's structure according to the needs of your scene, but generally speaking it will look like this:

Beginning - hook and setting establishment

Conflict Development - introduce or reiterate the scene conflict; clarify character motivation, goal, and what's at stake. Introduce the obstacles or challenges that raise the stakes or make it more difficult for the character to achieve their scene goal

Climax - The conflict reaches its peak... the character attempts to resolve the scene conflict for good, or at least temporarily. Or, at the very least, something significant occurs

Resolution/Denouement - The scene conflict is either resolved or it's set aside to be dealt with later. The character reflects on what happened, what it means, and what's next

Transition to Next Scene - We usually want to end a scene with some hint of what the next scene will be to create a smooth transition to the next scene. This could be a statement of time, like, "In another week, Roland would return from Bruges and she could finally talk to him about what was going on." Or, it can be a cliffhanger, like, "But it wasn't Bernard and Cleo who got out of the taxi... it was Roland and Cleo. But Roland was supposed to be two-thousand miles away in Bruges..." Or, it can be an establishment of what comes next. "Whatever Roland was up to, she'd have to wait until tomorrow to snoop around and find out more."

By making sure your scene includes the proper elements and generally follows a basic scene structure, you can ensure that there's enough happening in the scene to keep it from playing out too quickly.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

I’ve been writing seriously for over 30 years and love to share what I’ve learned. Have a writing question? My inbox is always open!

♦ Questions that violate my ask policies will be deleted! ♦ Please see my master list of top posts before asking ♦ Learn more about WQA here

[axolotl4days]

Batfam fans i promise I'm gonna post part 2 to the "batman Dead Daughter" story soon (I intended to post it after the first part but I keep getting distracted and haven't finished writing it)(i have adhd and autism and I've never actually posted my story ideas before-)

However, part of why I haven't is i accidentally started thinking of a completely different story-

And it's so much angstier, and I haven't decided if i want to actually write it or if it lives in my head forever

It takes some slight inspiration from the "little misfortune" game, but tbh the most it takes is the name Misfortune

Side note:I have no fucking clue how old any of the characters actually are in canon, so for this it's just going off age order rather than numbers the reader would be in between Tim and Damian age wise but thats about it

Anyways here's the idea lemme know if anyone would be interested in reading it

The basic premise:

Backstory: The reader was adopted by the bat at the age of like 6 or 7 after the bat found reader just kinda... wandering Gotham one night covered in dirt and dried blood, when asked about their parents the reader just stays silent so bats like "Well I guess i have a new kid" because what else do you do? Takes the kid homes, cleans em up, and gifts them a scarf to try to gain their trust (he noticed reader kept covering their neck, he sees a pretty nasty scar but doesn't push reader to talk about it)

And the story would basically be the bat siblings realizing they don't know where reader came from (not even tim knows and he knows like, everything about his siblings cause it's tim)

And they don't ask because they're detectives they can figure it out right? But then they start to notice certain behaviors, subtle things that wouldn't normally raise alarm bells for anyone

But they don't get anywhere and after a few incidents (aka moments where they see reader experience ptsd but don't know what caused it) they decide to ask (I have an idea where they don't ask upfront but try to do the thing where they're all talking about their backstories so it doesn't feel so confrontstional) and reader very casually drops a lore nuke and tries to brush it off like it's nothing because "it happened a long time ago I'm fine" (spoiler alert, they are not fucking fine)(i want them to violently start sobbing while telling the story and they don't even realize it until one of the others points it out) and shenanigans ensue as they learn just how not fine they are :D

Because the story has only been in my head I've got a bunch of alternating scenes and plot line ideas so it's hard ti describe what it exactly is about but it mske sense in my head

This one would have a lot of mention to heavy child abuse, death, and other stuff, but apparently I'm sadistic cause I can't stop thinking about it

Depending how it goes it could be considered platonic yandere batfam but it'd get their gradually, but I haven't decided yet

[king-candybug-backup]

Do you have any writing tips? I wanna get into writing my own fics and such but im really not sure how to start all that

Especially when it comes to pacing a story.. </3

UMMM oh man, this is a hard question lmao, I'm actually not very skilled on a "technical" level, so I always struggle figuring out what kind of advice to give 😅 I guess my main piece of advice would be to brainstorm about the fic you want to write before actually WRITING it, like, I had a whole thought map in the early stages of planning Kill Switch where I'd explore different paths the story could go in, different kind of interactions people could have or where I'd want overarching plots to lead to, basically just write down whatever ideas come into your head, and then from there, you can clean it up and refine it until it feels like a doable story. I had a lot of plot threads for Kill Switch that I ended up scrapping because it didn't feel right to the characters, or completely redoing them until it felt like it all connected fairly well. I also wrote a lot of scenes out of order, like how I mentioned before with chapter 8, I actually wrote the vast majority of chapter 8 before I even finished chapter 2, since that was where my motivation was strongest at the time. It's okay to write stuff disconnected and out-of-order, you can always connect things later! Sometimes I'll write a scene, end up not liking most of it, but will find spots to fit smaller parts of the scene or use pieces of dialogue elsewhere or something, so basically, just write whatever inspiration comes to you in the moment, and you can always repurpose it later if it doesn't end up feeling right. Another thing I'd say is to deep-dive into content about the characters you're writing, rewatch scenes with them until you have a good feel of how they talk and how they act, that sort of stuff. (I'm lucky in that I have a 2-hour character analysis video I can jump back to for inspiration, but y'know. 😂)

As for pacing, that kind of thing is entirely dependant on the kind of story you want to tell. Since I'm doing a long and painful deep dive into a character's mental issues and having him build unlikely connections with people he's hurt severely, that kind of thing needs a LOT of build-up in order to be believable. If everybody just started getting along with Turbo at like, chapter 5, it would feel really rushed and cheap, especially given how much baggage the whole group has with him. (Particularly Calhoun (in that trusting a Cy-bug feels COMPLETELY irrational and like a death trap waiting to happen) and Ralph (in that he's SEVERELY protective of Vanellope, and Turbo basically gaslit him into breaking her kart in front of her and totally destroying their relationship, ON TOP of the fact that he ruined her entire life for several years, like... yeah, would need A LOT of convincing in order for him to believe Turbo has the potential to be better. That's where you have to sit and think "Okay, how can I sprinkle in character development in a way that the other characters can actually see happening?"))

It's figuring out little details like that, what kind of relationships you want to develop and in which way, that makes up what the pacing should feel like. You can't rush trust, you can't rush meaningful, believable relationships, you have to build them up naturally. If you're working with characters that already have a good relationship established in canon, then that's great in that you don't have to worry about that part, you can just have fun putting them into whatever scenarios you want! I would recommend not jumping into long, multi-chapter fics right away though, as those take a lot of patience and work. Try doing some one-shots or shorter-form fics to get a feel for what you like! At the end of the day, the only advice I can offer is the only advice I ever truly take to heart, and that's making sure you're having fun first and foremost. It sounds cliche, but there's literally no point in writing fanfiction if you're not having fun with it. Just go wild! Even if you start out "bad", literally everybody does, you HAVE to write some "bad" stories before you can really get into the groove, lol. If you've had writing experience before, that's definitely a big help, but don't worry about it if you haven't, there's no time limit in regards to when you have to start writing ofc. :) Just dive into it, try not to overthink things, and HAVE FUN! (And always keep in mind, you creating something yourself will forever make you superior to the incompetent shitheads that think using gen-AI makes them "artists/writers" lmao SO YOU'LL ALWAYS HAVE THAT GOING FOR YOU! (half-joking but not really 😂))

[feferipeixes]

(Revolutionary Girl Utena spoilers)

I am obsessed with the ground punch scene in Utena.

One of the reasons for that is because of this scene from earlier in the show:

Utena's not doing so well in her second ever duel. She's crumpled on the floor, with Saionji's sword pointed at her. And then the ghost of Prince Dios flies down from the castle and gives her some of his power. This lifts her magically off the ground, after which she is strong enough to defeat Saionji.

Stuff like this happens repeatedly throughout the series, in most of Utena's duels. Although she is apparently a naturally talented wielder of the sword herself, she somewhat relies on this 11th hour assistance from the Prince. It happens so many times that you start to ask yourself: is Utena not actually good at swordplay without the Prince's help? But what we should really be asking is: does she actually need the Prince's help at all?

Akio's abuse towards both Anthy and Utena is a central point of this show. He makes Anthy feel completely dependent on him, telling her that she has no will of her own, that's she's just a witch that harmed him and can never pay him back for what she did, no matter how much she suffers. And once Utena moves into the chairman's residence with Anthy and they spend more time around Akio, he starts exerting a more obvious grip on Utena too. We see him coerce her into acting more feminine and demure, through the weird dates they go on and the gift that he makes Touga get her, to the point that other people start commenting on it. He tries to make her feel dependent on him too. She frequently visits him to ask for advice even before moving in to his home. She begins to feel like she needs him.

But this isn't the beginning of Akio's influence on Utena. She's been carrying this false memory for years about a prince on a horse saving her from her despair, and giving her a ring that he promises will lead her back to him. This is a pretty core memory for Utena, because despite her tomboyish attitude and apparent independent, deep down she still thinks about the prince often, thinks about how he saved her, and that's sure to influence the way she emotionally interacts with troubling situations. She decides she wants to be a prince too, to be strong like him, but what about when she can't be strong? That's when Prince Dios comes down from the castle to help her. Even when Utena is brandishing her noble sword, bravely defending Anthy against people who wish to take advantage of her or even kill her, she still subconsciously feels like she needs help in order to be a prince.

Now we come to the ground punch.

The reason I brought up the earlier scene of Utena levitating is because of how visually similar it is to this one. She's in the same place, and she's picking herself up after a rough blow in a duel. The lighting in both of these moments is quite distinct, and makes it look like the dueling arena is indoors and lit by fluorescent bulbs instead of sunlight (which, of course, we eventually find out is true). I think the ground punch is supposed to be a callback to this clip.

Before this happens, we see the illusion/hallucination of Prince Dios riding on a carousel, feeding Utena the same manipulative words that have held her down this whole time. He's going to tend to her wounds soon, because she's weak. Eternity lies beyond that door, but she wouldn't ever be able to handle that power because she's just a girl. She should be a princess, not a prince. The way he goes round and around in the carousel mimics the thoughts circling her mind, the conditioned beliefs keeping her glued to that floor.

Then Dios comes over and tells her that the best he can do for her right now is a kiss. He leans down to put his lips on her rose crest ring.

And that's when she punches the ground. Right where his head would be, if it were real.

Utena rejects the Prince's lies. She takes in all of the abusive tactics he's used to try to belittle her and make her distrust both herself and Anthy, and she rejects it. In the past, when she fell in battle, she needed him to fly down from the castle -- a false symbol of hope he was literally dangling over the duelists' heads -- and effortlessly pick her up again. Now, she uses every sinew, every last bit of strength in her bleeding, injured body, to push herself off the ground.

She doesn't need a prince anymore. She can see what she's capable of, what Akio wanted to steal from her by taking her soul sword and belittling her with these conditioned beliefs. And she vows never to give up like that again.

Why?

Anthy.

No matter how badly it hurt when Anthy stabbed her in the back, Utena knows it's nothing compared to how much pain Anthy is in. Utena got stabbed by one sword, and Anthy's been being impaled by hundreds constantly for years. Utena has this moment of clarity, where she sees through the Prince's lies meant to keep her down and meant to tear the two of them apart, where she sees how hurt and scared Anthy must have been in order to have done what she did. And it only makes her want to save her even more.

Where Utena previously depended on the Prince's power, she now relies on herself. She stumbles beneath the circling swords, over toward the Rose Gate. Akio sees her in pain, tries to save her like he's done repeatedly before. He catches her, and immediately starts to belittle her verbally -- and then she grabs hold of his face and forcibly pushes him away from her. She's reaffirming herself: she doesn't need his help.

Of course, in the end, Utena couldn't be Anthy's prince. But this failure ends up empowering Anthy to reject the narrative of a prince saving a princess, and it's what leads her to freedom.

(I've had Missing Link stuck in my head for like the last three days)

[wanderingmind867]

I feel like Two-Face having a third split personality makes some amount of sense, although I also get why it isn't explored that often. I mean… Two-Face is known for Twos. His gimmick is duality. Having a character like The Judge ruins that gimmick. But at the very least, I do like when media with Two-Face tries to add elements of that third personality into their stories.

For an example of that, I love pointing at the Telltale Series games. When you get the choice to save Catwoman from a sneak attack by some crooks or save Harvey from a giant spotlight crashing onto his skull, the game then offers a branching path for Harvey. Both paths end the same way (because he'd already been injected with a serum by the children of arkham that lowers impulse control and makes people more prone to strong emotional responses), but they develop his character in significantly different ways. I suppose I should be worried about spoiling this for people, but I personally like spoilers, so i'm not that bothered.

If Batman saves Harvey, then the drug still works it's magic and makes him a paranoid wreck, obsessed with consolidating power around himself. But it also makes him less bitter towards Batman. His darker side begins to idolize the vigilante justice aspect of Batman, and I believe he even creates a special police force modeled after Batman (I think). In essence, he becomes a fanatic obsessed with the strength of the bat. Elements of The Judge can be seen in how his paranoia makes him try to become a dictator.

So Two-Face without the scars is (if i remember correctly) a lighter shade of evil. He hasn't got the physical trauma to deal with, he's only got the mental stuff. And it's a little easier for him to manage one without the other. He still looks the same, so it's not like he's gotta be scared of being judged for his looks. So that might honestly help his sanity a tiny bit. I remember the scene where you see him in his office before his mayoral portrait is painted. Without the scars, he's paranoid and messing with his coin, but he's not angry and violent. He's more just paranoid and lashing out.

Meanwhile, a Batman who lets Harvey's skin burn and scar over ends up creating the Two-Face we all know. This man spends half the game hiding behind bandages, or phantom of the opera style face masks. He resents Batman, since Batman saved Catwoman and left him to burn! He can't even have a normal mayoral portrait taken, because one side of his face is red and covered in welts and scars! This Two-Face is so deranged that he can't even be reasoned with. Which kind of makes sense. I imagine it's hard to think when your skin is always pained and your mind is full of a drugged substance.

In either case, Harvey Dent gets put through the ringer. He gets drugged. He thinks his girlfriend cheated on him with his best friend. He potentially mauls a criminal to death with his bare hands. He has a psychotic break. But there's two different flavours of psychotic break. There's the version where he's obsessed with bringing batman style justice to the city, and then there's the version where he hates Batman and blames him for Gotham becoming a hellhole that he has to fix.

If you read into all this, it really feels like Harvey develops a different split personality depending on what happens to him. If he isn't scarred, he gains a split personality in the form of "The Judge", an authoritarian obsessed with law and order (at all costs). And if he is scarred, then he gains a split personality in the form of "Two-Face", an angry and violent man who thinks he has to burn the city to the ground to make it better. Both his negative personalities showcase his obsession with justice and order, but they showcase it in slightly different ways. It's pretty cool.

[backtothe99]

(18Trip Translation) Tao Kinouchi SSR: Best Wishes Snap - Level +1

proofread by jellyfish_apple, azurecrystalz and niri

While the story uses the male protagonist's name (Kaede), the differences in the script depending on the protagonist you play as have been noted down

Part 1

Location: HAMA House Living Room

Everyone at HAMA Tours: Happy birthday~!!

[Pop, pop!]

Tao: Thank you so much. You really went out of your way for me today…

Tao: Like, everything’s amazing. The living room is decorated so beautifully, and the food looks so fancy and tasty.

Chihiro: Hehe ♪ We’ve got all of your faves here, TaoTao~! Meat, fish, naan curry… ♪

Chihiro: But celery’s banned from HAMA House for today, sorries~

Raito: The information you put in your profile book was a great help. By the way, the curry is authentic and ordered from an Indian restaurant the Kitakata family has close ties to.

Nagi: We tried baking the naan ourselves. The Night Team will take responsibility and eat the uneven ones, so please enjoy the pretty ones.

Nayuki: Good grief, to think they were even discussing getting a tandoor installed for this.

Liguang: In the end, we simply asked Kamina how to make it in a frying pan.

Kaede: We’ve got seconds, so eat to your heart’s content!

Tao: Okay, thanks. The smell alone is enough to make my stomach rumble…

Chihiro: The cake absolutely meeeelts in your mouth! Props to our in house Chef Ushipoyo!

Chihiro: It’s a cube cake tower made of TaoTao’s fav game consoles and video game boxarts♪

Kinari: The cake has been recreated to look like the original “Surpass The Original! A Chronicle Cake For Veteran Gamers”, with icing used throughout.

Tao: Amazing… There’s so much attention to detail. Even the buttons from the very first Enstation are exactly the same.

Liguang: Doing such thorough research is a good trait of Kurama’s

Kuguri: So, where would you like to start? I will feed you whatever you want.

Tao: Yeah, no need…

Kinari: Tao, happy birthday. My gift to you is this assortment of video games.

Tao: I’m amazed you found this many! There are all sorts of stuff in here, both old and new…!

Kinari: I was researching what you would like, and this naturally happened.

Kinari: … Confirming increase in body temperature and heart rate, as well as looseness in cheeks.

Kinari: I am happy you are happy with it. I look forward to continuing working alongside you as members of Ev3ns.

Tao: Same here. Thanks, Kinari.

Liguang: Shēngrì kuàilè (1), Kinouchi. Take this.

Tao: Wha… This is… the new jacket from my favorite brand!? No, I can’t accept something as nice as this.

Liguang: Stop being shy and just accept it. Lots of people would want to be in your shoes.

Tao: Y… Yeah… Okay then, thank you.

Tao: Oh, by the way, how is Xingbing-san doing? Please thank her for coming to our concert the other day for me.

Liguang: … Got it.

Nagi: … As always, Liguang-san’s got the air of a king. His luxurious presents are beyond the realm of man…

Tao: Hachinoya-san?

Nagi: (I should’ve given him my gift earlier.  But it’s too late to turn back now, so I’ll just pretend it’s not garbage.)

Nagi: My gift is the complete collection of Elephantastic Memorial discs. The volume 1 debut performance footage includes a bonus scene that’s a must-see for all fans. But, um…

Nagi: I hadn’t considered the possibility that you might already have this. If you’d like, you could maybe keep it to show it to your friends, or you could use it for emergency funds in case of financial trouble.

Tao: I don’t own a single one, so this makes me really happy. Let’s watch them together at some point.

Nagi: Ba-dump. So this is the carefree smile of the unspoken rizz king... So charismatic.

Tao: (I got presents and a cake. This is pretty much a picture-perfect “birthday party”.)

Tao: (… It would’ve been unimaginable back then.)

Chihiro: Taaao! Howzit? Are you happy?

Tao: Yeah. This is the first birthday I’ve properly celebrated since coming here.

Tao: And that’s without mentioning all these things you’ve done for me. Of course I’m happy. No amount of thanks will ever be enough.

Chihiro: I see… Ehehe, I’m glad ♪

Chihiro: Theeen, time for a toast~?

Chihiro: Look, Raitin got champagne. He was all, “I’ll splurge for Tao’s birthday~☆” 'bout it!

Tao: Seriously?

Tao: (Actually… Is it just me, or is Chihiro more excited than usual today?)

Kuguri: … But of course, maci.

Tao: Woah, Kuguri-san! … Uh, could you not read people’s minds so casually?

Kuguri: Fufu, you’re pretty much an open book, maci.

Kuguri: Our brave nyuszi even managed to drag me around to help for today. Does that not send a thrill down your spine?

Tao: Wha…

Chihiro: Wai– Don’t be a snitch, Kugurin! So embarrassing~!!

Tao: Chihiro…

Chihiro: … You always grant so many of my wishes. I wanted to celebrate you properly in return!

Chihiro: Happy birthday, Tao!

Tao: … Yeah. Let’s make this a great year, with everyone.

Tao: (I’m really so thankful…)

Tao: Ah…

Tao: (This is the party game Taiki and I talked about wanting to play… The game was sold out back then so we couldn’t get it.)

Kaede: Tao-kun?

Kaede: Did you maybe find some game you’d like to play? Which one?

Tao: No. It’s just…

Kinari: No matter how “ordinary” something is. It becomes “special” when you do it on your birthday. … That is something you and the others have taught me, Tao.

Kinari: As such, playing games on your birthday will become a special memory for you as well.

Kaede: Yeah, Kinari-kun is right.

Kaede: No need to hold back! Plus, it’s been a long time since we played a game together, Tao-kun! Let’s do it!

Chihiro: What’s it gonna be, Tao~?

Tao: Then… Just for a while. I’ll go bring the console!

Part 2

Tao: Hah… I had fun.

Tao: (After that, everyone else came too. We ate delicious food and played games.)

Tao: (The President’s thorough planning blew me away, and the game Ushio gave me was fun too.)

Tao: (I had a few intense matches with Ryui-san, and Chihiro took a picture of the Chief and Hachinoya-san trying to figure out which character is which…)

Tao: (I made so many memories. I never thought I’d get so excited…)

Tao: … Haha. I was so into it that I started sweating.

Tao: Alright, time for a bath.

Muneuji: Kinouchi-san.

Tao: Muneuji?

Muneuji: I am glad you are still here. Could I take up some more of your time for the Random Gift System assignment?

Muneuji: … I became so engrossed in cheering during the matches earlier that my duties nearly slipped my mind.

Tao: You and Akuta were holding megaphones and cheering loudly from the back, it’s no wonder you forgot.

Tao: Thanks to you guys, I got even more fired up… Or actually, the games became all the more fun.

Muneuji: There is not a single person who would not be excited watching such a heated battle. I have also learned something today: the world of gaming is deeply complex.

Muneuji: Ah, I am neglecting my duties again. I’ll cut to the chase.

Muneuji: Happy birthday, Kinouchi-san. May this year be a fruitful one for you.

Muneuji: This is my gift to you.

Tao: Oh, bar soap!

Muneuji: Yes. I resolved to make this my present when I found out that you like bar soaps.

Tao: Bar soaps are nice. You slowly make the bubbles yourself, and they’re smooth to the touch.

Muneuji: Agreed. I also enjoy the faint, nostalgic scent they carry.

Tao: I get you. It’s such a gentle scent, isn’t it?

Muneuji: I asked Azekawa-san to analyze your skin type, and carefully selected and ordered the ingredients for this bar soap based on those results. Please give it a try if you’d like.

Tao: You got a custom-made one!?

Muneuji: It is not particularly difficult. Anyone can do this if they know the procedure. Would you like to order one together next time?

Tao: Sounds interesting! Let’s discuss the details later.

Muneuji: Understood. I will look forward to it.

Tao: … Oh yeah. Muneuji, I was about to go for a bath, so do you want to try this soap out?

Muneuji: …

Muneuji: Truth be told, out of all the items I ordered, this was the most refined, so I was curious how it would feel to use… I will take you up on your offer then, thank you.

Muneuji: As the opportunity has come to us, I will wash your back, Kinouchi-san.

Tao: Uh, that’s…

Tao: (A little embarrassing. But…)

Tao: (… It’ll remind me of the past.)

Tao: Then, I’ll also—

Kuguri: Let’s go, maci ♪

Tao: Uh!?

Muneuji: Domeki-san.

Kuguri: To think you’d be entrusting me with your defenseless back. … Okay. I’ll take such good care of you both.

Chihiro: Heeey! There you are, Kugurin~!

Chihiro: Gee! No spoilers! I told you we’d invite them together!!

Tao: Chihiro? And…

Muneuji: Azekawa-san and Kitakata-san as well. The entire Evening Team is here.

Chihiro: It’s gettin' late, so we came to invite y’all for a bath!

If the protagonist is male: Chihiro: I invited Chiefy too, but he had some work to get done and couldn’t make it. Sadge.

If the protagonist is female: Chihiro: Chiefy stocked up on fruit milk today! Let’s all drink up after the bath~!

Raito: A lot of us have gathered. Shall we all wash each other’s backs? You know, the way they do it by being in a circle.

Muneuji: Taking a bath while getting to know the Evening Team better… Yes, this sounds like it will be a valuable experience.

Tao: Oh man…

Tao: … Oh, the sun’s setting.

Tao: (… Today was a good day.)

Muneuji: Kinouchi-san?

Tao: It's nothing. I'll be right there.

NOTES: (1) happy birthday in chinese

[lover-of-mine]

I keep seeing all this press thing and just getting and the feeling of disconnected behind scenes and Im wondering if someone is going to get fired …

Okay, so, nuance. It depends on what created the disconnect. I'm assuming that whatever derailed the season and made Tim perma kill Bobby is what threw everything for a loop, so it would depend on how involved abc actually was with Peter leaving the show and all storylines being paused. Everyone and their mother is throwing Tim under the bus and making it seem like Tim went rogue but the concept of Tim being unsupervised enough to break a contract, in this case Peter's, on a whim and fully derail the plans for the season is crazy. Especially considering the amount of money that was put on the show. So it is a question of if the communication did happen but it was too late to cancel the stuff they had planned or if there was no communication and they weren't informed at all that the plan changed until it did because a lot of the season was changed given what we know. No matter what, people involved in Bobby dying for good and Ryan thinking he was fired for a month are having some uncomfortable meetings. But if this was a case of all parties agreeing they needed to break Peter's contract and it having unfortunate consequences, then it's probably a lot of damage control and probably some extra points surrounding the plan of s9 so it can't change as much.

BUT y'all know I have a lot of theories around the switch to abc, it all coming back to how I believe buddie was part of the reason they bought the show and that's the reason for the tone shift with them in 6b and for Buck come out the second they could get him out, also because they ordered a new 911 show instead for buying lone star, so they wanted a franchise out of it but only the og had something pre existing they wanted. In my humble opinion, those things were Angela Bassett, because she's Angela Bassett, and buddie, because one of a kind queer slowburn and abc wants a glaad award. And assuming I'm right about that, they have it in contract that buddie has to happen. My original theory, based on the promo, was that the deal was s7 get one of them out, s8 you get the other out, and s9 plays the will they/won't they. I thought that because of how much promo Ryan did for the end of s7 and 8a, and after the will they won't they from the deadline article, the end of season press tour and upfronts being planned around ryliver, also stuff like the jeopardy question, now the heads up pride deck, ryliver being how they announced s8, the amount of ryliver and buddie content posted to their Instagram, the NBA ad, it feels like the pr was under the impression that Eddie would be out by the end of s8 but he didn't come out. Because if they did all that knowing Eddie would be labeled straight 3 times before Buck got a single I'm bi out, then this is diabolical levels of queerbaiting. Because people can fight me all they want, using ryliver the way they were makes people expect buddie. Buck being out doesn't save them because they aren't teasing Buck with a guy, they are teasing Buck with Eddie. That's queerbaiting because it gives the impression that Buck is gonna get with Eddie and Eddie not queer. Promising queer with no follow through. Anyways...

So assuming I'm right about things the only way I would ever confirm is if one of the producers of the show decided to answer my questions honestly, if the pr was happening that way because there was a contractual expectation surrounding the buy that both of them would be out by the end of s8 and that didn't happen, then heads are rolling. No one wants to be in the middle of queerbaiting scandal in 2025 in the middle of people going to war because a character was written off. Especially not in the middle of producing a new spin off for the show. If all this happened because someone decided that buddie wasn't gonna happen yet for whatever reason and just didn't inform abc because they didn't feel like it, then everyone is about to have a really bad summer.

Those are the 2 extremes of the situation. The question is where the reality of the situation really is and what caused the shift in the show and the subsequent disconnect. We will probably not know unless someone gets very publicly fired. Anyway, those are my thoughts.

[greenerteacups]

random but - how do you think wandless magic works? I assume that at some point (soon?) hermione would want to learn or at least try, particularly if the teachers say some version of it is too difficult. thanks!

Oh, man. If you're talking in canon, I kind of have no idea! It's a real puzzler for me. We get a wealth of different incidents of wandless magic, but we never get a decisive statement for why you can use some wandless magic and when not.

All the examples of wandless magic we see in canon are either the intentional work of master wizards (cf. Dumbledore and Voldemort in the climax of Philosopher's Stone) or, conversely, children: Harry disappears the glass at the zoo, Tom Riddle is implied to torture other children at the orphanage, Lily makes flowers grow and makes herself float(?), all at various levels of intention. That suggests wandless magic is at some intersection of intuition and high-level magical theory. There is one exception, which is Harry's use of Lumos in Chapter 1 of Order of the Phoenix, where he lights his wand without touching it. I'm going to cautiously treat this case as an aberration, because Deathly Hallows effectively retcons the use of "wandless" wand-magic by basing several key plot points on whether or not someone wields, i.e. is physically touching, a wand. Potentially you could argue that Harry's ability to do this is an indication of him being an extremely powerful wizard on the order of Dumbledore or Voldemort, but the writing of the scene doesn't really support that interpretation, nor does the fact that it's never brought up again.

The number of children who perform wandless magic suggests a connection with emotional regulation or self-control, but at the same time, we see many points in the series where someone loses control and has no wandless magic. For instance, when Sirius dies, or when Hermione's being tortured at Malfoy Manor, we don't see Harry or Ron doing wandless magic. So you might then think the process of learning to use a wand "trains" your magic to operate through wandcraft, and you then have to "unlearn" your way back to wandless magic at very advanced stages. Or that the self-discipline you learn during a formal magical education decreases the outbursts of magic, and since wands are so useful and easy to acquire, most wizards just don't bother to learn to do magic without them.

How much Hermione would enjoy wandless magic, in my opinion, depends a lot on the tech level of the magic system. Wand-magic includes these neat little incantations and gestures that she can execute and reliably expect a result. When you get into the wishy-washy touchy-feely stuff, like Patronuses, she gets skittish and frustrated. If there was an established system for using wandless magic, she'd probably find it quite useful, but I'm not sure that such a system exists. (Perhaps that's on the transformative artist, however, to think of one.)

[silviakundera]

with the conclusion of Snowfall...

why do i enjoy Republican Era chinese dramas so much?

aesthetics! there is this blend of 1920-30s western fashion influences and traditional chinese garb & architecture that just pleases my eyes.

everyone looks very depressed & dangerous & sexy

chaotic period of transition - no matter if you're in the 1910's, 20's, 30's some absolutely wild historical shit was going down

cars and guns and gloves and swords. rotary phones!

dancing & drinking in night clubs, in glamorous pockets amid the violence & instability outside; a lil touch of mask of the red death vibes

end of empire themes, as a country tries to find its way after the end of the last imperial dynasty

there's those gangster, mob boss vibes from american and british dramas set in the 1920s, except everything is cranked up x100 because of general lawlessness; central government and law & order was a paper thin veneer over warlords

the start of WW2 from an entirely different perspective than the common narratives that I was exposed to growing up in the US (which is 99% stories about the european stage)

sino-japanese war / war of resistance material like Hidden Blade is fucking badass ok 🤷

in a time of resistance to occupation, colonizers encroaching, warlords fighting over cities, brewing civil war.... there are many different options of protagonists and unlikely "heroes" who are picking their battles and discovering what they are willing to fight for

Beautiful 👏 women 👏 in heels 👏and 👏 slinky 👏dresses 👏

Lots of revenge narratives. I love an over-the-top, bloodthirsty & destructive revenge narrative

Depending on the genre, there might be little or heavy politcal /patriotic discourse. But tbh none of the rah rah patriotism stuff distracts me much, because all the american and british produced stuff set around WW2 has rah rah patriotism & propaganda in it, so I just consider that part of the essential genre vibes. It's just another country's version. (Of course, others will have less patience when it becomes heavy-handed. YMMV.)

Dark & Gritty

Hidden Blade (film) - a masterpiece, if you enjoy dark WW2 spy films that play with narrative style and challenge the viewer to follow the story as it's woven. Had to review detailed historical context for the years in question, to be ready to consume. But worth it. I've watched it 3 times. 💀

Heroes (2024) - the very beginning era of this genre/the transition into repulican period. rocks fall, everyone dies. Primarily a tragic wuxia & pre-republican fusion. Excellent enough that I didn't mind the bleak storyline. 💀

Detective-ing

Miss S - adaption of 1920s Australian mystery procedural Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, staring Vengo! ML actor of Snowfall

Checkmate - Agatha Christie stories adapted to the setting & time period, plus bromance. I watched half the episodes w my brother, as we are both huge agatha christie fans. It was fun if you can be chill about adaption changes.

My Roommate is A Detective - for mystery & bromance lovers. Same actor duo as Checkmate.

Detective L - don't know much about this one tbh

Romance arc, with a somewhat happy ending for the 2 leads

Provoke - Gorgeous, glamorous, vibes vibes vibes all day long. Revenge and romance. ❤

Fall in Love - sons & daughters of warlords and their supporters get sexy and dangerous and decide even joining the civil war is better than the prior generation's bullshit. This is an objectively bad drama that I really enjoyed anyway (it helps that I skipped every scene for the 2nd and 3rd couples). This one turns v propaganda heavy at the end, if that bothers you. ❤

Arsenal Military Academy - military training hijinks w a side of cross dressing romance. Xu Kai and Bai Lu! It's soliders and japanese invasion et al, so be prepared for the standard patriotism. Comedy & drama. HE for the FL/ML but expect character death in this subject matter. ❤

Rookie Agent Rogue - Late 1930s spy drama with small romance side-plot. Expect the standard wartime patriotism, like with Arsenal Military Academy. The draw is the lead actress, the FL from Princess Agents, Minglan, Legend of Shen Li. HE for the FL/ML but expect character death in this subject matter. ❤

City of Streamer - Older woman seduces younger man who is the son of her revenge target. Melodrama with people serving looks. ❤

War of Faith* - Young man just wants to join the banking industry and have a subtextually gay relationship with his mentor in peace, but there's a civil war going on. Protagonist would like to be excluded from this political narrative, but ultimately is forced to pick a side. ❤🌈 *(Is it censored gay romance? No, not based on a gay novel. So not officially! But some viewers felt there was a subtextual romance storyline #shenlai ; YMMV. The happy ending is Untamed-esque; implied only)

many, many pulpy mini-dramas about revenge! warlords! ladies with pistols! (Miss Mystery, First Marriage, Maid's Revenge, etc)

Also... (happy ending not guaranteed)

Siege in Fog

Love in Flames of War

Couple of Mirrors - censored F/F 🌈

Stand by Me - censored m/m 🌈

Killer and Healer - censored m/m 🌈

Winter Begonia - censored m/m 🌈