#the mc is. pretty infuriating tbh

[aroaessidhe]

2023 reads // twitter thread  

Never Been Kissed

adult demi mm romance

a film studies graduate managing his town’s dying drive in theatre is desperate to save it, and tries to convince a reclusive local director to show her lost media film

also his ex crush/best friend is the new social media manger there

[tasteracha]

the storm.

a/n: happy (early) birthday to my shining star xian @forlix i love you so much i ache with it. i love this universe you've created and i love your characters and your beautiful, beautiful mc that i'm so happy you've let me play with.

warnings: unprotected sex, fingering, teasing, pretty tame for me tbh! many big emotions. wc 2.7k. hurt/comfort sex between two people who love each other.

pairing: hwang hyunjin x afab!reader, she/her!reader, based off of xian's lovely crying lightning (you can read this as a stand alone but why would you? xian's fic is phenomenal. please read it.)

as beautiful and wonderful and kind and patient hyunjin is, it’s hard to forget sometimes that his general presence is still exceptionally infuriating sometimes. the days of your loneliness, before the two of you had finally come together into one woven cord instead of two strings dancing alongside one another, were all but a distant memory. overriding that was the smell of his skin in the morning, the glint in his eye when he catches yours across the cameras and fans, the warm weight of his hand steady on the small of your back, protective and possessive. all you knew now was the cracking of lightning across a stormy sky, raindrops hitting your face in a welcome intrusion to your mundane day to day. 

the all expanse of the storm did its job well of making you forget that sometimes the raindrops were irritating, too. 

they came in the form of him opening one eye slowly as you tried to swipe shadow across his lid, upsetting your plan and making you double back once you’ve scolded him; the air moving around you as he walks away from you after teasing you one too many times; the sound of his laugh when he’s behind the camera of someone, making eyes at the lens that should have been reserved for you only. each one was a piercing cold drop of water to your face, piercing as they fall and sliding down to form a puddle at your feet. 

it didn’t escape your notice that you weren’t upset at him, really; it wasn’t his fault that you were spiteful. even thinking the word makes you shiver in disgust - this isn’t you. you had never been one to let your feelings affect your actions, you selfishly prided yourself in your ability to compartmentalize, but he had this hold on you that made you experience things you never thought were possible. 

he, of course, finds the entire show encompassingly amusing. you could see the mirth in his eyes from across the room when he meets yours, recognize your own expression in them like a mirror and it made your scowl deepen in it’s permanence. you almost wish for the time when he didn’t know of your affection for him; the surety in his step when he makes you frown is maddening, overshadowed by the smugness he holds in knowing he could make you smile with greater ease. let it be known that you didn’t lack in confidence - your spine is stood high, head held with authority and feet planted firmly on the floor. envy wasn’t something that ever crawled up your legs like ivy over an ancient grecian statue. jealousy, even, seemed too harsh a sentence for your current charge. to put it simply, you were annoyed. 

he knows this, of course. he knows you, inside and out, and on your best days it’s a rare gift that you treasure, hidden away in the deepest corners of the closet that is your heart. on your worst days it’s utterly terrifying, the feeling of being laid out to shrivel in the sun with no chance of respite. and wasn’t it ironic that the one thing that made you feel this way was the one that cured you too?

it’s with an embarrassing amount of pleasure that you remind yourself that you are the one he goes home with, at the end of the day. you’re cleaning up your station and you hear his laugh in the background, not directed at you but ringing like sweet bells nonetheless. every brush that returns home into your kit, every lip product that gets swiped into a bag, every charcoal pencil is the ticking of time that needs to pass before he is yours again. simply yours, not belonging to the cameras or the managers or the staff whose stare linger on him for longer than they should be allowed to. 

you knew where your talents were - in your art, your ability to read people, your creativity and your drive for perfection. these uncharted waters were not in your skillset, but as hyunjin stalks across the room to reunite with you after what seemed like hours, you took a moment to be grateful that it seemed to be in his. putting yourself in someone else’s hands, feeling the level of trust that you had for him, sent a tingle up your spine, but if anyone was going to take care of you it was him; the thought soothes you like a balm, not enough to be permanent but enough to get you by for now.

“missed me that much?” he crowds into your space to press a light kiss to your hairline, expertly moving his body so that no one could see. “i’ve only been shooting for an hour.”

“keep talking and you’ll get shot,” you mutter, ignoring the heat that rises up to your cheeks as you turn from him to gather your things, aching to be home and in his arms and away from prying stares. his heat is still pressed up against your back, standing as close as he could while still letting you move freely. as much as you want to drag him into some secluded hallway and refamiliarise yourself with the taste of his skin, you had to pull out your endless supply of restraint. getting caught with your hand down his pants in a building that you frequented often was not an outcome that you wished to experience, at least not today. 

his hand is warm on the small of your back as he walks you out a series of doors and stairs to the parking garage, the sound of your shoes bouncing off of the walls a bit jarring. 

“you looked nice today,” you tell him, honest, as he slides into the passenger seat of your car. the worn seats smell like his cologne and his old bracelet hangs from the rearview mirror - god, even your car was reminding you of how much of your life he encompassed - not that you were complaining about that. 

“that was all you,” pride drips from his voice and you catch his soft gaze when you turn to look behind you so you could back out of your parking spot. 

“i may have helped, but it’s still your face,” you counter, hand busy on the gear shift, as eager as your heart was to finally get home. 

“if i didn’t know you, i would have thought you were obsessed with me,” he says, the biting tease dripping off his tongue like citrus. “with the way you were staring at me, back there.”

“i’ll make you walk home,” you tighten your grip on the steering wheel despite the threat being empty. he knows which threads to tug on without unraveling you, playing you with his words like it was muscle memory. 

“you’d make me walk?” he gasps theatrically, pressing his palm to his chest and fluttering his eyes at you. “what if i get kidnapped, or mugged? how would you live with yourself?”

“you’re an idiot,” you deadpan, cursing the betraying fondness that rises up in you. 

“your idiot,” he grins stupidly, settling his hand on your thigh as he watches the streetlights shine across your face as you drive. his touch is scalding, long fingers pressing into your very nerves and leaving them flayed out. 

“yeah, remember that,” you retort, and you hope he thinks you mean the idiot part. 

the remainder of the short drive home was spent in comfortable silence, hyunjin tapping away on his phone with his free hand as you speeded down the freeway. when you park you let out a sigh and your keys jangle in melancholy along with you when you take them out of the ignition. hyunjin presses his fingers into your thigh in a final squeeze before he exits the car, long legs carrying him over to your door before you could blink to open it for you. 

walking up the stairs to your third story apartment never felt more relaxing, the breath they stole from you a necessary tax to pay to enter the comfort of your own walls. 

you pull him to the bedroom as soon as you walk through the front door, dropping your things in the foyer with as much care as you could muster. 

it takes you a couple of seconds to push him to sit up against the headboard, a couple more for him to complain about it, and less than that for you to climb into his lap and press a searing kiss to his lips. 

he opens himself to you, open mouth curved into a smile as you lick into it. you taste the coffee you had made for him this morning, the croissant he had eaten during a break, the gloss that you had carefully dabbed across his plush lips. 

you want him, no one else could have him. how could you feel this much possessiveness over someone you already hold as yours?

his hands circle your waist and his thumbs press into your skin, holding you against him even as you pull away from him. his lips are left glistening red and he looks up at you with a kind of reverence that you don’t think you’ll ever get used to. 

“slow, angel,” he moves his thumbs in slow circles. “i’m not going anywhere.” 

“hyune,” you gasp, going lax against him. you’re far too drained to pretend that your entire body didn’t ache for him. “need you.”

“i know,” he shushes you, trailing his fingers up and down your spine. he loves to tease but he’d never do so at your expense; he must sense that your emotional turmoil is bubbling into the direction of a vortex. “you have me. take what you need, baby.”

the reminder that he was yours, though wholly unneeded, sounds so sweet to your ears. your fingers slide up his chest, twisting into the button at his collar and popping it open with practiced ease. you peel the panels of material off of him to expose his sun-kissed skin, abdominal muscles tensing with how he’s holding back from jerking up into your lap. 

“what does my baby want, hmm?” he says, voice catching when your hands slide over his chest and brush over his nipples. he groans when you roll one between your fingers and the sound of it makes your heart soar.

“i want you to shut up and take your pants off,” you back off of him to rid yourself of your own clothes, folding them into a neat little pile at the foot of the bed. he shows no such care for his own, kicking off his pants and boxers throwing them along with his shirt across the room. his hungry eyes stay on you the whole time, shining with excitement as if it was the first time he was witnessing you undress.

you climb back over him as fast as humanly possible, the feeling of his bare skin against yours like an eternal gift. you grind down against him, his rapidly hardening cock sliding between your folds and his head catching against your clit. you’re wet, of course you are; you have been since his hand was on your thigh on the car ride home you moan and duck your head, a little embarrassed by how affected you are by such a simple motion.

he braces himself on his elbow as other hand moves to your hairline, brushing a few strands back behind your ear on it’s path towards cupping the back of your neck. he moves closer, lips so close to yours that you can almost taste them again, but before they meet you’re feeling the earth’s weight shift and your own balance break. 

“i want to take care of you,” he explains when you look up at him in a daze, dizzy from how quickly he had flipped you underneath him. “let me?”

“i thought i told you to shut up,” you were breathless but the permission still rang true under your words. you’d let him do whatever he wanted, how could you deny such a sweet request?

he grins something wicked as one of his hands slides down your chest towards your lower belly. his fingers part your folds easily and you feel so exposed even though he wasn’t looking. he decidedly keeps his mouth shut even as whines begin to spill from your lips, your eyes fluttering closed as a familiar burning sensation starts to take over your body. 

he alternates between rubbing gentle circles into your clit and teasing his fingers at your entrance, so close to dipping inside but not quite. he ducks his head to mouth at your neck, sucking a constellation of marks into your skin until you’re panting into his hair and shaking apart in your orgasm. 

he gives you a moment to recover, waiting patiently until you open your eyes to see his fond smile aimed at you. 

“what’s that look for?” the snark is completely absent in your voice post-orgasm, and it almost comes out dreamy. 

“i can’t even look at you now?” he breaks his unspoken vow of silence to ask. “i can’t help myself. i have the most gorgeous person walking this earth underneath me, looking at you is the tamest thing i can do to you.”

the blood returns to your cheeks as you take in his words. you don’t respond because you didn’t know how; what could you even say to that? he doesn’t seem to mind as he moves impossibly closer to you, leaning a bit of his weight against you. it’s not too much, just enough that you could feel his chest moving with his breaths. he lines his cock up to your entrance, his hips flush against yours as he slowly pushes in. 

you let out a breath you didn’t realize you had been holding when he enters you fully, every inch settling your frustration as it flows out of you along with the air in your lungs. this feeling was worth all of it, the early mornings and the onlookers and the sharing of him when all you wanted to do was lock him away for you and you alone.

he loves you. he was so in love with you that it poured out of his very being, in his gentle touch and the slide of his lips against yours and the slide of his cock against your walls. each drag of his hips sends burning pleasure up your spine, licking flames against your vertebrae until you can’t move. 

you’re so drunk on him that you lose track of time, all of your senses falling away until hyunjin is the only thing you can feel, see, touch. you lose your words, unintelligible syllables trying to shape his name falling from your lips, pressed against the skin of his neck and floating to his ears in a sweet symphony. 

it isn’t long before you’re falling apart underneath him, electricity crackling between you as fucks you through your orgasm. he gathers you in his arms as he tumbles over the edge after you, folding himself over you so he can kiss you, and you don’t realize that you were crying until his cheeks come back glistening with salty water. 

“god, i love you,” and to this day it still feels like a heavy declaration, the words never diminishing their weight despite the number of times they’ve fallen off of his tongue. “you are everything to me.”

“hyunjin,” is all you can say, but you know he reads between the curved letters of his name. i love you too, you mean the world to me, what would i be without you. 

he cares for you like the cracked piece of porcelain that you are, light fingertips tracing along the tear tracks on your cheeks that move to turn you on your side so you could smush yourself into his chest. your hand rests right above his heart, and if you looked close enough you could see the static sparks of electricity that connect the two of you together. 

[anightbear]

My impressions of the boys so far:

Xavier: Very pretty but not super attracted to him. I LOVE how soft and sleepy he is. Also adore his general temperament. He's sooo sweet. The only one that doesn't infuriate me. Probably the most realistic dating option, tbh. 8.5/10

Zayne: One of my faves. Not into the doctor thing but I love his voice and how he takes care of mc. Sometimes it's cute that he thinks mc is the only oblivious one, sometimes I don't enjoy the occasional not so great remarks he makes about mc's intelligence. But he's got the quiet and stoic thing so you know he's freaky in the bedroom. 9/10

Rafayel: Infuriating. I genuinely am trying my best to like him better bc he's been waiting for mc for sooo long and the are some very endearing moments with him so far but as an Aqaurius there is only room for one needy brat in this relationship and that is me. Also pretty, but not my type. 6/10

Sylus: *Bark bark bark*. Bonus points for being a switch. THIS man on his knees *chefs kiss*. He's so fucking sweet and romantic and spoils mc rotten. Loses a point because he teases mc about their intelligence but in a less neg way than Zayne and I also don't like the prey/escape stuff. 9/10

[somewillwin]

Can we talk about SV part on it please? The way they enabled and infatilize seven is infuriating for me. And the way villainize and have this picture of seven as this poor and helpless victim. Yeah i know that seven dint paint the most pretty picture but idk their self-rightous attitude when they just know an half baked and biased version of the facts drives me bananas, i need the truth of what happened to hit them so hard in the face that they will see stars.

Jsjjsjsjsjs tbh even with them having all the context I don’t think they would change much??? There is certain loyalty in their reactions or opinions that I don’t think it’s gonna change until they see seven’s attitude toward the mc changing.

[actualbird]

i got the luke SR timely rescue and (SPOILERS!!!!!!!!!) i'll say it... he def knows some shit about rosa's parents like. the way he looked so nervous and changed topics when she was wondering aloud if her parents were doing a similar work luke does for the government? VERY SUS! I was kinda hoping he wouldn't bc I'm sick and tired of being lied to by him for the plot's sake but now I'm 100% sure he knows smth about her parents and has to keep it to himself

waah, congrats on timely rescue!!! when i started playing tot that was the regulay rotation SR i wanted the most (as in i wanted it before the game even rELEASED) and it took like, WAY TOO LONG TO ACTUALLY COME HOME LMAO

and YEAAAAA theres something v obviously going on with mc's parents that i assume luke either knows about and/or is directly linked to. it's been a while since i watched the card but i remember mc mentioning her dad was also rlly into shooting, and then theres in general just the whole "gone on a Top Secret Govt Research" which is exactly the same frigging excuse luke made about his own disappearance, very sus and my god, when will hyv release more deets about mc's parents JHAVFKJDSHFD it's been driving me nuts for ages and ages cuztherES SOMETHING THERE or at least it (whether intentionally or not) IS MADE TO LOOK LIKE SOMETHING IS THERE but i will be patient and wait for the story there to unfold naturally

and by "patient" i mean pacing back and forth in my braid 24/7

on the lying bit, it's not too surprising tbh taking into account the vague timeline of when SR Timely Rescue occurs. all of the regular SR cards take place pretty early on in the main story. if im remembering correctly, in timely rescue doesnt mc attribute luke's crazy good paintball shooting skills to him saying it was a "hobby" he picked up? like the govt work is known but not the NSB agent thing but if im wrong im v sorry, it's been like 10 months since ive watched this card JHVSKJDH. but yea if SR Timely Rescue does have that tidbit then yea, the card was set before main story 5 aka luke hasnt even fessed about the truth of his oWN JOB so it'd be absolutely way too early for him to even be thinking about fessing the truth on other ppl's involvement, esp ppl close to mc, since this is also the period of time hes still got it in his dumb pretty head that the best way to protect her is by keeping her in the dark

ridiculous and infuriating dude....//proceeds to kiss him passionately

oH WAIT theres another thing i remembered. in luke's bday event i distinctly remember mc mentioning that it was mc's parents who told her about His involvement in Top Secret Govt Project and thats why he could no longer come home for a long while.

i found that interesting, why did it have to go thru them specifically, sure, he couldve lied to them too and just wanted to tell them to tell her instead of him telling her directly because of his Overwhelming Guilt Of Hurting MC With His Absence but....idk idk idk maybe an implication that mc's parents, at that point, already knew that luke was doing nsb work? MANY THOUGHTS

but yea i wANNA KNOW MORE ABOUT MC'S PARENTS WHERE ARE THEY WHAT ARE THEY DOING AND LUKE! WHAT! DO! U! KNOW!!!

[aprildiamond9]

ok I'm 4 episodes into the mysterious benedict society (tv) and overall the vibes are good! even though there are changes, for the most part I'm enjoying it.

but I finally pinpointed the one thing that's been kinda bothering me, and that's kate's character. (to clarify, I don't mean acting-wise. I think kate's actress does a good job with what she's given). based on dialogue and overall performance, kate's character as written seems the most different from the book out of all 4 mcs.

kate is known in the books for being unflappable and incredibly optimistic. there are times she gets irritated, of course, but for the most part she has a solidly reliable personality. in the show, she seems too... angry?? or maybe too turbulent??

as an example, her dialogue with constance indicates she's clearly annoyed with the other girl, even to the point of anger, while constance remains unbothered. kate did find constance hard to deal with in the book, but that annoyance didn't even manifest significantly until a lot later. it was always sticky that fought with/got annoyed with constance the most, while reynie and kate avoided that conflict in different ways. I would also argue that constance found kate infuriating (rather than the other way around) because of kate's unending cheerfulness.

the kate-constance relationship is the biggest example, but tbh some of kate's other relationships also feel off because of this.

ok so show kate is quite a bit different from book kate. ordinarily I take things like this in stride, but I also figured out why I'm worried about it.

since book kate rarely got angry, the few times she did felt important. since book kate was so optimistic, the rare occasions she wasn't had a bigger impact. when a character is a certain way for so long, and then one time they aren't, you take notice. there are two big kate scenes in the first book; both are important for character development and include kate reaching one of those breaking points. my worry is that these scenes will lose their meaning because the character they're focused on is too different now. (my REAL worry is that they're not gonna put those scenes in at all, but that would crush me significantly more skdjsjks)

I really loved those scenes in the book, and I want them done justice on-screen, which is what compelled me to get on here and type out a mf essay when all I usually make are shitposts lmao

tldr: show kate and book kate are pretty different, to the point where I'm worried that certain kate-focused scenes (if even included in the show) will suffer from loss of significance.

I really hope I have nothing to worry about and that this post ends up becoming obsolete when the show gets to that point. we shall see 👀

[nabesthetics]

@daisydevorak​ (I’m putting these into separate posts because for whatever reason, “read more”’s don’t work in ask replies on mobile :’D)

Turn ons & the Aftermath for my disaster MCs and their LIs.

oh gods this became too long why did I also add LI headcanons in there

12) Turn ons

Oho… well I probably can’t make up whole lists, not in the reasonable amount of time anyway, so, I’ll just go with some examples.

Alastor’s turn ons for Asra:

Honestly, it’s easy for Asra to rile Al up. it’s often enough for them to drop their voice a bit lower and purr something suggestive into his ear. There’s just something about Asra’s voice that gets him going very quickly.

Colorful clothing. You know that outfit Nadia gives him, the blue one with golden eye pattern? This is the kind of look that activates Al’s body worship kink very quickly.

Th… this:

Asra’s turn ons for Alastor:

The way he blushes furiously, but also can’t stop grinning, when he’s flustered from heavy teasing.

The triumphant energy that he radiates when he finally managed to cast some spell he’d been struggling with, or got a breakthrough in a project. That burst of confidence and pride isn’t very common for the dragon, so it calls for positive reinforcement through kisses and maybe celebratory sex, y’know?

Wet clothes. That’s it that’s the turn-on.

Lbr, nearly any kind of physical contact.

Alastor’s turn ons for Muriel:

Getting picked up does the trick. It’s just the ease with which Muriel can do it, not that it is surprising, it just makes Al feel very safe and appreciative.

Well, Alastor has a body scent kink, and I just feel that it’s especially relevant for the Mountain Man. Combine with something like sparring or splitting firewood without a shirt on, and you’ve got a very effective turn-on.

Literally just seeing him laughing tbh.

This:

Muriel’s turn ons for Alastor:

The enthusiasm and determination with which he approaches topics he’s interested in.

After the discovery of Alastor’s nature, he finally feels more in-tune with himself and starts feeling more confident about how he looks... cut to the dragon getting a set of flowery lingerie. Yeah.

The absolute adoration with which he looks at Muriel while sketching him, or just sitting in comfortable silence under the stars, like he’s the most important person in the world. And, well, that’s pretty much what the dragon thinks, and doesn’t hesitate to say out loud.

Alastor’s turn ons for Lucio:

The flirting might be over-the-top, but it works damn it. The abundance of pet names, that “my” added before many of them, the praises spoken with such passion it’s difficult to doubt them.

Rare occasions when the dragon manages to make him flustered, for a change.

Yes, yes Alastor is into the “triumphant, disheveled and slightly bloody” look, what about it.

........this:

I am judging Al just a little bit.

Lucio’s turn ons for Alastor:

Sparring sessions. Yeah…

So, between Alastor’s quirks and Lucio’s entire self, it’s not too rare for them to get side-glances and snarky comments. And sure, while usually it’s Lucio who’s the overprotective one, when Alastor gets fed up with someone’s bullshit and stands up for himself and/or the goatman, that is a massive turn-on.

On the totally opposite side, there are the adorable giggles and easy blushing.

The half-dragon form. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Marty’s turn-ons for Julian:

I mean, it’s Julian. So, any kind of thirsty behavior, no matter if dramatically suave or just subby.

Any time Ilya talks to him in some language he can’t understand, it’s infuriating and oddly attractive at the same time. Marty tries to catch up, but the man knows seven languages.

The flirting works on Marty, just not in the usual way. This man isn’t getting flustered, he just gets the hint and flirts back with devastating power.

This:

“He’s getting obliterated.” - Marty, several times a day, probably.

Julian’s turn ons for Marty:

Marty’s “powerful magician” persona and dramatic illusions aren’t just visually impressive, they also get Julian into the “well, call me scared and horny” zone.

The very… insistent… caring. “Drink more water or i’m gonna kick your ass” style.

Kind of repeating one of Lucio’s points, but, protectiveness as well. E.g. Marty tends to be hyper-aware of the fact that Julian doesn’t have the mark anymore, so when they hang out in “rowdy” places and Julian gets in trouble like he does, the magician steps in, often managing to scare off the to-be fight instigator.

Essentially, any kind of confident/powerful/dominating behavior. You know how it is.

24) What happens after? Cuddling? Make space? Does someone tend to leave right after?

Depends on which kind of sex we’re talking. But “Cuddling” is definitely the key word for all of them, and hey, it’s a good thing. If it’s about evening sex, Alastor often ends up exhausted and can fall asleep pretty quickly after cleanup, unless he gets out of bed (e.g. if Lucio’s in the mood to get some snacks or, gods forbid, bake. Definitely no sleep then.) He definitely needs some time to recover after quickies or morning sex, too.

Day or evening, Marty’s feeling energized and can’t even sleep for a while. Since their sex tends to get rather intense, he’s very serious about aftercare, and might need some convincing to finally settle down and snuggle properly.

[dontcall-sleeping]

If I was to (negatively) review acosf on three things here's how it would go:

- usually I'd add a point for world building but this is like 5 books into the series so I'm not talking about that rn

- let me know if there's any plot points or characters or relationships you want me to talk about

- should I do a positive review of the book too? Like talking about things I liked?

1. Plot:

First off, the main plot seemed very repetitive when you compare it to the main trilogies plot. "Find the magical objects to stop the big bad villain". I realize that Nesta's recovery was a bigger focus of the book but this was just kind of lazy.

The sideplot of Rhys and Feyres pregnancy pissed me off to an extreme level. First off, pregnancy is supposed to be rare in this universe and the fact that within a year or so they're already pregnant makes me uncomfortable. Especially since last time we checked in with Feysand they said they weren't planning on getting pregnant. The fact that in such an advanced world the baby had wings and Feyre didn't was a major problem is ridiculous. "she'll lose too much blood with a c section". That was incredibly unbelievable but I won't rant too much about it.

Then Rhysand keeping the fact that Feyre would die in the pregnancy was ridiculous because regardless of his reasons he had no right to keep it from her. And the idea that even their doctor wouldn't tell Feyre was also infuriating. This was just another example of Rhysands actions being excused on the basis of "I was protecting her" or "it was better for her" or whatever. I don't wanna hear it I despised it.

2. Characters

Let's start with Nesta, she was written pretty well for a character that was struggling mentally but any of her interactions that weren't with the Valkyries or sexual with Cassian always framed her as the bad guy even though it was written from her POV.

Feyre showed zero development since the past books and I was disappointed that her amazing powers didn't play a bigger role in anything at all. Her pregnancy basically prevented her from showing the growth I was hoping from her. And I feel like even though she was the MC, she's been reduced to Rhys' mate which is kind of sad.

Elain is still pretty bland to me and I have no desire for her to be mated with Az and I hope she doesn't doesn't a romantic relationship with Lucien bc I love him. That's all

Cassian seemed very eager for a Feysand like relationship but when the chance came I feel like he could've done so much more. I also feel like there was no addressing his previous actions where he insulted Nesta multiple times. *more in the romance section

I didn't read the Az bonus chapter but I got the gist. Tbh I feel like him wanting Elain is like a phase and he'll be over her soon enough. He's one of the only people I think who hasn't badmouthed Nesta so he's still good in my books. I don't see him being shipped with Elain at all and there's potential with Gwyn but I still haven't developed too much of an opinion yet.

Amrens character was really fun for me in the earlier books but looking at it now I could do without her. Her pressuring Rhys to take the high king title kind of ruined her for me and I feel like it was just an opportunity for sjm to make Rhys seem like a better guy when he refused. Also it made no sense anyway since the high king thing was something they were trying to prevent in the previous books.

Mor wasn't too present in this book, I know she wasn't the biggest fan of Nesta but I don't completely hate her yet. I feel like maybe if we saw more development with her in her assurance in herself, rather than a love interest I'd be more interested in that. I'd also like to uncover more about her past with Eris because I actually really like him.

Speaking of Eris, all I want to say is that I hope he becomes friends with Nesta because there are so many parallels between them and we already know Nesta isn't gonna become besties with the IC. At least I hope not.

Gwyn and Emerie were great I'd love for them to be Nesta's support system and continue as major characters in the books. I don't have any complaints about their characters or the House.

Last is the villain, I know the name started with K but that's about all I remember. That's how memorable they were. (I can't even remember the pronouns, we'll go with he) is it koshei? Something like that anyway. I'm sure you can already tell I didn't find him interesting. Similar to Hybern, there wasn't a lot of depth in the character or in the motives.

3. Romance

We're not talking about Feysand because I'm sick of them and I've already forgotten about them thank you.

Nessian had so much potential but looking back at the way they were written I'd be better off without the ship. I feel like we get nothing from Cassian about actually appreciating Nesta and her personality and her company and all of the things couples do. They were kind of just reduced to sex buddies if yk what I mean. I feel like sjm heard the word sex and just kind of went overboard and just forgot about everything else. It felt like she'd set them up at the beginning and just kind of ran with it and forgot about details and why they actually felt attraction towards each other and why the two felt they were right for each other. For nesta after a major mental health journey a relationship seemed like the last thing she needed but it was all put out to be as simple as "she needs a love interest and she loves him because I said so". I guess what I'm trying to say is Nesta is such a deep character but her relationship with Cassian was so surface-y and black and white.

I still ship Az with no one and Lucien with no one. Ngl Eris for Nesta is looking pretty good rn.

[thatyanderecritic]

Could you do a review on Eclipse from Death Is The Only Ending For The Villainess? It's a novel but it also has a webtoon with really pretty art! Eclis hasn't appeared YET in the webtoon, since it has currently only 20 chapters but he's going to appear soon! And the heroine is at the moment only interested in him since all the other guys are wack. Also the heroine isn't stupid.

Kai here!

I tried looking up the novel version but it seems like the translators took it down. I’ll read the webtoon and try to say up to date with it (as long as the story isn’t WACK). I’ll probably do a review on it if there proves to be something. 

Update:

I've been reading Death is the Only Ending for the Villainess. Story is wack but Eclis is a really good character. Tbh I really like all the characters except for Penelope, the MC. Is Eclis a yandere though? I can kinda see it and I heard of the novel spoilers about him... and the ending kinda ruined him to me. Good yandere material but the dumbest decision-making skills. That final act makes no god damn sense and I've already heard of the justifications. DUMB AF. 3.5/5 on the yandere scale.

And for those wondering why I (and Julie) don't like Penelope when she's a fan favorite, it's because she's a bad person, a passive person, and just dumb af. I know Julie and I stated we want more evil MCs but the author wrote her unintentionally bad and holds no nuance about it. It's pretty infuriating since she's never confronted about it or had any introspection. She definitely gives the vibe to ignore a starving child unless it's a good idea to take it as a slave. I ship Penelope and sending her home. I heard who she's supposed to end up with and christ, the shipping is a mess since she's so incompatible with everyone. Even the guy she is ending up with, idc he improves. I care about the MC either becoming a better person or acknowledging she's a bad person ragjdfnkrabjdn

[fangsmyth]

i hate one bastard || not accepting

@enradiant never fails to just dump the entire meme in my inbox

✍ Favorite thing about writing the muse?

he only has like 30 minutes total of material to go off of which is great because it leaves me a lot of space to play in which is why i’m both excited and scared for the fact he’s gonna be in hiveswap act 2

👀Favorite thing about the muse’s appearance?

oh god NOOOO this too hard he’s SO sexy ;_; mmmmaybe his eyebrows? i know they’re penciled in but they remind me of some friends i used to have that exaggerated the shit out of them? so much that they got like a tumblr ask saying “your eyebrows are like a joke”

his eyebrows remind me of simpler times but honestly i could talk about how hot lanque is all day he might be a disaster but i’d fuck himfdjkgh;gfdafdh

💢Something about the muse that annoys you?

how many tweets have i had about how conflicting his nature is???? like 50????? god there’s a lot of things that annoy me about him but to pick one out i think it’s the fact that he’s so god damn hard to read. he says shit that makes it sound like he’s self-aware every now and again but i can’t tell if it’s to make him appear more credible or to garner pity out of anyone that’s willing to listen.

maybe a little bit of column a and a little bit of column b. he’s also a huge pity slut which is another thing that infuriates me about him because messy relationships ARE a thing in homestuck kismeses DO exist you fucking rat bastard

😂Funniest thing that’s ever happened to your muse?

very first thread i had with @airomancy​ as lanque john dead ass found him naked in a hot spring and it turned into an episode of buzzfeed unsolved you don’t need the full story

📷 Favorite picture/screencap of your muse?

oh do i have to pick just one???

🔮 What do you see in your muse’s future?

answered here!

🔥 Unpopular opinion about your muse?

mallanque isn’t a good ship! the only thing they really have in common is the fact that mc is a little gay for them and they both REALLY don’t wanna be sent offworld but that could be said about most of the young adult characters in hiveswap tbh i have no fucking clue where it came from

y’all ship whatever you want though i’m not the police i just don’t get it. on again off again kismeses MAYBE but that’s it

💭 Favorite memory of the muse?

i’m just really tender for the fact that he roleplays warriorcats with wanshi this is the one good thing that he does please understand..........

😩 Hardest thing about writing the muse?

you see socially i’m REALLY dumb and oblivious i am BAD at writing any sort of social/emotional manipulation. i’m learning, this shit is really interesting but god where i sit right now it is SO hard

also finding the balance between “i care you” and “i’m gonna treat you like shit” i do not understand what goes through lanque’s head especially since his wishy-washy behavior is so deliberate when from my understanding that’s not usually the case? idk tell me i’m wrong i’d be happy to hear it this shit is just difficult i’m bad at understanding with people

⌨ What’s a situation you’ve always wanted to RP with the muse?

au where he’s an actual vampire in london seducing and killing people i just really love vampires ok

also i know i have a thread started where lanque is making a suit for gonta but i’d LOVE more fashion design/sewing/make over threads

lastly i do wanna roleplay a romantic relationship with him. it’s going to be messy and it is NOT going to end well, but i’m a bitch that lives for drama

🎭 How similar are you and the muse?

i mean i wouldn’t say we’re THAT similar, but i wouldn’t say we’re that different either. we’re both pretty blunt and honest with people to the point that it sometimes hurts others, the only difference being the pain lanque causes is very deliberate while i’m honest to god just really stupid and i try to apologize if i catch it too late or someone tells me i fucked up ( please for the love of god tell me if i fuck up it’s really hard for me to tell sometimes )

neither of us really care what people think about us? while lanque takes it to the extreme and is, again, very deliberate with getting people to hate him i just go between “i hate most people anyways” and “i just don’t wanna come across as an asshole”

we have some similarities i wouldn’t say we’re the Same Person though

[otome-reviews]

IkeRev: Chocolate-Covered Secrets Event Review

Hmm... Cradle’s Valentine’s Day customs are suspiciously similar to Japan’s. :) Anyway, here are my quick thoughts of IkeRev’s latest adorable V-day event, from least to most favorite story!

MC meets up in secret with Luka to plan a chocolate making strategy for Queen J, and Ed and Kyle manage to convince the guy to tail her and her “suspicious” movements. In the meanwhile, the trio catches a group of aspiring rapists (and lets them go?!? Wtf?!?!?!!), and when Jonah ends up seeing MC and Luka together, he’s pissed (“Explain this to me, MC”). MC’s pissed as well - good on her! I don’t like stupid jealousy stories all too much, so I really didn’t love this story all that much tbh. The chocolate feeding scenario in the CG doesn’t even involve MC’s  chocolate! And again: I STILL can’t believe the Red Army let the rapists go with only a threat. What kind of shitty peace keeping force are they?!

When MC sees 30 years old Sirius with a tall, sophisticated looking female friend from the guy’s school days, she’s jealous of how mature and beautiful the friend looks. So MC embarks on a quest to act sophisticated for Sirius, which is really silly imho, since it’s obvious Sirius loves how adorable she generally is, lol. So I didn’t love the premise, but I did enjoy how Sirius, amazing guy that he is, handles the situation like champ (“I saw what you were up to in the kitchen, and I’ve been waiting with childish glee for the 14th to come around ever since”). His task delegation skills when organizing how the Black Army would handle the influx of V-Day chocolates were also pretty awe inspiring. Can’t really blame MC for trying to be the best she could be for him, I guess! ^_^

Blanc gives MC chocolate that can magically help women become more assertive in their romantic relationships (cough placebo effect), and MC is utterly delighted. Fenrir’s always so chill, after all, and she wants to see him lose his composure! Turns out, the “assertive” action that MC spends lots of time psyching herself up for... is initiating a kiss, lmao. I suspect I’m missing a bit of cultural context here. Maybe it’s not common for women in Japan to initiate physical affection? As Seth astutely puts it, “some (women) don’t have a chance to be assertive in their lives—do you expect them to suddenly be able to take the lead with their partners?” So even though I’m a little confused, props to MC for stepping out of her comfort zone. ^_^

When London-born MC learns about the hoard of chocolate that women send to the Red Army (especially Lancelot) each year, she sets out to make a castle-shaped chocolate that’ll outshine all the competition. Except it’s a contest she won long ago: a smitten Lancelot is also busy making (unevenly shaped) truffles to show his affection for MC. Aww. In the end, Lancelot reveals a previously hidden exhibitionist streak (“I simply wanted to show off. Is that a problem?”), they feed each other in public, and the eavesdropping Red Army is satisfied. Thoughts: good on Lance for bucking the gender norms and making chocolates for his lady as well! Also the guy was delightfully seductive in his ES (“We’ll continue this in my room”), and I loved every second of it. ​

An exhausted, overworked Ray is forced to delay his date with MC again and again. But the wait definitely proves to be worth it. ^_^ Their Valentine’s Day begins with the pair chasing bunch of animated chocolate cats across town (Loki’s fault), continues with the both of them adorably re-making the chocolates together, and ends on a super sexy note (“Valentine’s Day isn’t over yet, you know”)! I loved Ray so much in this story. There’s his instantaneous willingness to confirm his and MC’s relationship status to the envious fangirls. Also the fact that he wanted to make chocolates with MC together despite his general lack of cooking skills (love the continuity w/the Christmas event) - gotta love a guy who tries! This was my favorite story (and favorite CG!) of the bunch.

Overall, I definitely think the Red and Black kings had the best stories, by a long shot, and Jonah’s was simply infuriating (pity, since his CG is amazing imho). What did you all think? :)

[sillyfudgemonkeys]

so I've been thinking about making/writing a big ol/ P5 AU (aka a fix-it fic because P5 infuriates me) and I was wondering; what are some changes you say would have to be made in order to improve P5?

Can do my dude, under the cut for length. 8U

So ngl I’m personally trying to do one myself too, I can give you a few ideas. I should tell you, I personally am just......trashing a lot of what happened in P5, and just using it’s setting to explore other ideas. I’m 1) choosing topics that weren’t in the original that I think would fit well, and 2) expanding on some things they talked about, and revolving my plot and characters in a way that the story can work with those two things (rather than......trying to force a square into a circle, I’m just going to shave off the sides to make it a circle and make it work). Doesn’t mean my fix it AU fic is what should’ve happened tho, just.....it’s made in a way that I want to work with things so I have to change a lot. Which makes it very AU than fix it but elkasfjls;jfad yeah 

But I’m not one to judge on how much you wanna change, just that if you wanna change a lot, this is coming from someone who is changing....A LOT! XD

First thing I think you should always consider is tackling the Metaverse’s ground rules, REALLY establish them (that’s what I’m doing, I’m not changing/taking away a whole lot but I’m clarifying what can and can’t happen and tbh just adding to it). These rule are up to you, but make them clear, and establish them. P5 really suffers from pretending to establish rules but then........breaking said rules without a care or explanation. Like this is probably it’s BIGGEST problem P5 has because it’s story HINGES on these rules for it’s plot to work. Here’s three examples of things that were broken constantly or just....aren’t explained well:

Boss Wakaba not changing nor disappearing once Futaba realizes her mom was good (thus no need for the boss). Even tho we saw, in real time, Madarame’s cognition changing over a gd door. So explain how cognition worksAccidentally pulling people in, we dunno what causes some to be pulled in instead of other’s (other than plot convenience).If a Persona can be touched/ridden on/ridden in.....utilize that, or make it so that they CAN’T utilize that. A lot of P5′s puzzles/road blocks could be bypassed with just “hey lemme try something-oh cool that works.” (Yusuke/Makoto, and probably Futaba wouldn’t have joined the team if they just did that, Haru is needed for a bio scan, but hey they could at least TRY ramming their Personas into the door 8U)Heart changing, explain how it really changes a person, why is Futaba considered having her heart stolen despite IT NOT BEING GD STOLEN, or how (like that 5 hour vid suggested) why Yuuki and Sae kinda act like they had a change of heart and how come one still has their palace despite that possible change of heart.... (if you go that route, you can maybe explain the difference in behavior of those two vs actual people having their desires ripped away). 

(side rant, one thing that still bugs me is that Sae has an alarm meter, but like.....She’s like a P4 shadow, she KNOWS you’re their, she even MEETS YOU at times! So like??????? Why have the meter?! She’s screwing you over all the damn time!!!! And she can only do that if she’s aware you’re there and know where you are! ANd she does! JUst????? I dunno make sense of that, maybe just explain there’s no meter?)

The next big issue is character consistency (first world building consistency, now Character consistency, tbh plot consistency is pretty bad too.....consistency is not in P5′s dictionary tbh). Everyone’s acting OOC everywhere, Anne’s biggest asset is somehow a flaw in her own CoOp (aka can read people and is very attuned to not saying the wrong thing), Ryuji isn’t a perv in HIS CoOp nor the first dungeon and is pretty level headed but after that???? nope, Futaba constantly talks about how it’s the TEAM that helped her and still help her but in her CoOp she only talks about how the MC is who helped her and can only do things cause of him and leave the house cause of him (despite the fact after she said that Yusuke went to her house the next day and got in in the main story >.>). Make the characters consistent, give them more flaws too tbh but as long as everything is the same and is foreshadowed well.

So those are the two biggest flaws in P5 that you might want to focus on fixing, how you do it is up to you! I’d also keep in mind to make sure that if the team needs to change cognition, make sure it’s for a good reason. Madarame’s door is a good reason, until you realize the stupid place has open windows and they can easily get to said open windows. Or Sae’s dungeon, her blockade is REALLY FREAKING STUPID cause it’s a public place and should already be open and JFSDKLJFLK;JASFD  JUST ANYTHING ELSE! Have the team work smarter not harder, if they are doing the opposite it can be....frustrating. 

Now the next stuff is up to you. Personally the first thing I do next is cut the team down to size (once Mako/Futaba/Haru were announced I started sweating and really felt like they should’ve kept it to 5ish). Too many characters to juggle on the team, who you choose is up to you if you want to do that. Think Yuki, Hifumi, or Sae should’ve been a thief? YOU DO THAT! Personally my fix-it one I’m doing MC/Anne/Ryu/Mona/Haru, but that’s because the story is based around their strengths and weaknesses (Yusuke and Futaba are important side characters/Coops tho, Makoto is a secret), there’s not need for a “smart person” because they all just work as a team, there’s no need for Yusuke’s art skills, and hacking isn’t going to appear in my fic (you can still do it, but my god the way P5 does it is horrible and OP and just.....why bother doing anything if Futaba can just wave her hacking wand? so unless you have a way to nerf it then go for it....but you’ll probs have to explain her “hacking cognition” bs cause.....why? just....why?). I tend to stick with the OG4 because they are solid and can fill a useful role that’s seen in other Phantom thief works (and can fit into P5, again I don’t think Yusuke’s artist eye is....useful), I chose Haru for reasons I won’t go into (but her personality is going to be different, this isn’t the reason, but I did need a personality change). 

But like I said, it can be anyone you want! Don’t like Anne or Ryuji or Mona (well you might need Mona, but you can re-write him!), then kick them! Or keep everyone doesn’t matter to me akldfjs;lajf XD 

If you want to keep all the characters.......I dunno. I don’t know where to start with Futaba, you can probably go a few different ways, but if you want to be more realistic, she’d probs still have issues for a few months (you don’t just get better after like a week XP) but that could make it hard for her to do anything for the team. Yusuke you’d have to make more relevant, you can make him the more level headed one (and you can remove Makoto via doing that). Makoto.....give her humility? I dunno, I wrote something on how to fix her arc (you can use it cause I’m not) but flksdafafafan I’d just boot her too personally XP (I guess character wise I’d actually make her smart, not point out obvious stuff in an attempt to appear smart, and ACTUALLY BE AN ACTION GIRL cause she ain’t shit when it comes to that either) I’d add more faults to Anne and Haru (love my girls, but first thing I did was add more issue to them), Ryuji make him consistent first then figure out what you want (I’d say keep him and Mona fighting the same, but make it more organic, with a good make up at the end). I’d also have Haru show up.

I’d also personally change Anne’s CoOp. I remember researching on Hafus well before P5 came out, and iirc I remember one hafu model lamenting on how everyone thinks they are pretty this and that and then talking bad behind their back, and then also how Hafus are kind of a commodity in Japan (aka they model and people think they are pretty, but then they also trash them for being “other”, think of it kinda like how everyone loves black culture in America but will trash black people for being black). Just the hypocrisy of “oh this is so awesome!!! BUT ALSO YOU SUCK!” kinda thing. It’s been awhile (I found it like a year or so before P5′s release), but it always stuck with me. And it made sense why Anne was a model but.....the way she’s....shamed for treating her PART TIME JOB/HOBBY as JUST THAT..... And then shaming her for her own natural beauty....it just reminded me of the interviews I read and it felt icky. I have an idea, it’s in the similar vein as modeling, but I think changing the writing so that it just treats her like a person instead of a hafu is one way to do it (after I finish writing it you can use it if you want/if you like it, it’s roughly similar to what we have but just tweaking it, I’m gonna use an aspect of that in my own fic but it won’t play beat by beat like it does in P5). 

I’m not sure about Kasumi, I personally started planning before Kasumi was announced. Do whatever with her tbh kflsjdf;asj

As for Goro.....listen I don’t like who we got, it felt like Atlus gave us like.......a few different characterizations they could’ve taken Goro and shoved them all into him despite these characterizations conflicting and not melding at all. They just contradict. He’s someone I think SHOULD be in the story (if not him, then give someone else the role of the “shadow archetype” but there needs to be one because that’s a staple for Persona, tho I mean if you want to reinvent the wheel and not have one then I say go for it! It’d def something new/different). But if you have Goro, you NEED to smooth him out. I’ll give you a few ideas.

Want him to be a puppet? Make sure it makes sense (by which I mean, due to his powers as we have it now, and how much he hated Shido prior to said powers, it doesn’t make sense for him to be Shido’s puppet when he can easily monitor Shido with said powers, and it doesn’t make sense for him to not monitor him nor be Shido’s puppet. It makes sense for him to pretend to be Shido’s puppet, and then turn around and be the REAL puppet master). A good way to make him a puppet is for him not to be related to Shido (or he and Shido are unknowing to that fact if you want), and Goro is just moved by this politician he sees one day and just stans the shit outta him, despite not knowing he’s a puppet to Shido (if this is the case, I don’t think think Shido planning on killing Goro would make sense, but proving he only thinks of Goro as a tool would def shake Goro’s world, since in this case he is unshakingly DEVOTED to Shido, hence why he’d never go into Shido’s mind). Sympathetic, and similar to Sho, has the best chance of being helped. 

Want him to basically be an extreme lawful person/Light Yagami? His way or the highway (also couples well with him being the real mastermind with Shido being the puppet). Well intention, but the ways he is doing it is horrible? Sympathetic? Not Sympathetic, your choice!

(closest rewrite you can get to keep it like the original P5 without the BS puppet thing) Guy that wants to just get revenge on Shido and Society, and is the real mastermind (much to everyone’s shock, due to thinking the red herring Shido was the real mastermind), who has Shido under his thumb. Sympathetic, but he’s willing to hurt whoever for his revenge. Might not be able to be helped, unless you count jail time. 

Personally I’m all for changing the god too but that’s just me. 8U

I know I didn’t touch on the bad guys, personally I’m keeping some the same, adding more to some other’s (tho changing their sin), and then just creating like some original bad guys to replace the one’s I’m not using (aka like.........Madarame is going to be a Mementos boss in my fic, I’m replacing him with someone else, and if you looked at my Haru link earlier Okumura is obvie going to be 2nd dungeon instead). You can do whatever with them imo, depends on how much you wanna change. All I can say is just make them deeper/more well rounded characters/no shallow Saturday Cartoon villains (aka give them nuance 8U). And don’t just....have a throw away line about this or that, incorporate it more into the dungeons (imo I’d take a page or two out of P4′s book, have their internal dialogue blasting a lot, maybe even have a memory play that we see). 

And that’s as much as I can word vomit atm (I’m very tired ;w;), I feel like I might’ve missed something but.....I’m not gonna worry about it. Sorry it’s in very big strokes, but you have a lot of wiggle room imo. I don’t think there’s a “perfect” way of fixing P5, so as long as you have a vision you want to execute I think you’re good. Like I said, my fix it fic is just retooling a lot of P5 in a way I can make certain ideas work, it’s not supposed to be “this is how P5 is supposed to be” but a “this is how I think a tighter version of P5 could’ve gone down.” 

[koganeirou]

Ikemen Revolution - Sirius’s Route

aka me graduating from being a wannabe livebloggering and becoming a wannabe otome reviewer HAHA.

I have a bunch of left over screenshots from Sirius’s route that I never posted so I decided to compile them all into one post + add in my own awful commentary/review. It’s mostly going to be the latter. So yeah enjoy experiencing Sirius’s route filtered through my terribad commentary and me dragging the poor man more than he deserves.

Honestly Sirius’s route is a blur to me at this point. The one thing that stuck out like a sore thumb that I didn’t like was Alice pinning over how ~cool~ and ~mature~ Sirius is while Sirius kept beating around the bushes about his feelings smh. What was even more annoying is that for the first half of the route it’s just Alice trying to help out with the war and Sirius just giving her menial tasks all day to keep Alice busy and avoid her pestering (╬ಠ益ಠ). 

Seth is a real bro in this route and actually gives some GOOD ASS ADVICE, TOO BAD NOBODY MAINLY SIRIUS TAKES HIM SERIOUSLY.

Gee I’m trying to romance you; how utterly elated it makes me to know that I remind you of your siblings. 

He fucking KISSES HER ON THE FOREHEAD and is all like “it’s just friendly affection!” BITCH WHAT PART OF THAT IS FRIENDLY AFFECTION?

The funniest thing is is that while this disastrous k-drama high school romance is going on as the supposed main focus, THE FLAMES OF WAR ARE RAGING ON IN THE BACKGROUND. Out of the routes I’ve played so far this route is the only route where the armies actually go in an all out war which I thought was pretty cool.

Okay this is less of a war between Red vs Black and more like Edgar vs Black because Lancelot is out of commission while Kyle is pulling his hair out like an old nanny tending to him and idk what the hell the rest of the Red Army dudes are doing. I am not exaggerating when I say that Edgar is the actual backbone of this army. It’s hard to really take this war seriously considering how no one is dying, only “injured” and these battles seem to have minuscule impacts or consequences and the fact that Sirius and Alice have time to be frolicking off with their less than smooth romance.

As usual Seth is the bro of the war too as he runs around spreading underground rumors. Tbh idk how the hell Seth managed to pose as a “reliable source” but I can just imagine him being like V and just knocking some poor Red Army sap tf out and stealing his clothes and running around spreading rumors like a character in Mean Girls spreading rumors about who the heroine is dating.

BIG YIKES AND BIG SWEAT. I think Sirius’s route is the first route to drop Seth’s connection to the Magic Tower, something I’d definitely never suspect. Maybe he’s a mole?? who knows.

But obviously who cares about that mumbo jumbo! We cut back to Sirius and Alice where Alice is drunk mumbling about how much she loves this sexy man, conveniently just while Sirius is in front of her and hears everything! But like the smooth operator he is he....................... doesn’t do anything. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ He just completely wipes the love confession clean from his memory and continues on his merry way as if it never happened. Great. A+ romantic development there, game.

Hell even the other boys are lowkey sick of Sirius “what is this feeling in my chest?! Definitely not love!” Oswald so they decide to all be MC’s wingmen because clearly that war you guys are fighting that is potentially killing all your men isn’t important! Sirius, OF COURSE, overhears the entire conversation where Alice admits she loves him and as usual.... HE DOESN’T DO ANYTHING.

Is it a sin if I actually agreed with Seth. I MEAN NO OFFENSE TO SIRIUS BUT............ 

Seth, can I romance you instead? Promise not to sell me out to the Magic Cult in exchange for Amon’s weed stash though.

Oh jesus christ can you just confess your undying love for each other already this is starting to become infuriating. You guys have a GOD DAMN WAR being fought in the background and instead I’m forced to sit through this cat and mouse game between these two mofos. Sirius, I love you, but. god dammit.

Oh right, were we fighting a war? I think we were fighting a war hahaha oops I completely forgot about that! But thank god that King No Fun is here to ruin everyone’s day! As we know, Lancelot has been pretty much incapacitated the entire route due to using too much magic, but nothing stops the King of Hearts. The man deadass drags his delirious corpse out of his bed (cue Kyle screaming in the background) and waltz into the Black Army HQ like he pays rent to whisk our princess away like the friendly neighborhood kidnapper that he is. He knocks her tf out and frolics into the sunset on his horse with Alice’s passed out body.

Sirius being the knight in shining armor that he is catches up to Lance on his horse and demands Lance return Alice, which Lance is like “nah son”. Sirius then proceeds to BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF LANCELOT (╬⁽⁽ ⁰ ⁾⁾ Д ⁽⁽ ⁰ ⁾⁾) I THOUGHT THIS MAN DIDN’T KNOW HOW TO FIGHT! and starts screaming in Lancelot’s face about how much pain his kokoro is in ever since Lancelot started being a piece of shit. Lancelot’s reaction pretty much just amounts to  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ and he gives up on the girl and saunters off. 

Sirius proceeds to spill his token tragic backstory to Alice, about how he, Harr and Lance used to be best friends but ever since Harr was exiled and Lance took the title of King of Hearts, their friendship had been strained broken to smithereens considering how Harr LITERALLY tries to kill Lance. Honestly as much as I roast the terribad romance between Alice and Sirius, I really enjoyed learning about Sirius’s history with Harr and Lance and it was by far the most enjoyable part of the route. I appreciate how much Sirius cares about Lance and Harr and it’s definitely the thing I like most about his character.

Anyhoo they return to find the Black Army Headquarters ABSOLUTELY DECIMATED. The magic cult goons completely smashed their headquarters but considering how all the boys have plot armor, no one is hurt so it’s all okay! （‐＾▽＾‐）

Alice realizes that Lancelot kidnapped her to protect her from the attack and that he is most likely being manipulated by someone in the shadows. She convinces Sirius to take her onto the battle field to confront Lancelot once and for all for answers. FINALLY THE PLOT IS GOING SOMEWHERE, and this is like what, part 20 at least?!

The moment they confront Lancelot on the battle field, the real King No Fun aka Amon crashes the party and he’s not a happy camper. He’s sick of Lancelot buying time so decides to just whisk Alice away himself!

aaaaand finally Lancelot’s “I’m the Worst” facade drops as he loses his shit. I find it interesting how it’s the first time he refers to the MC by her name and not Alice. He dives into Amon’s teleportation spell and gets whisked away with them.

Alice awakens to find herself in Amon’s creepy sex dungeon and Amon is like... your stereotypical evil cackling maniac cartoon villain that you’d expect.

He’s even a misogynistic twat as the icing on the cake.

Unfortunately Amon only wanted Alice but he accidentally brought Sirius and Lancelot too as carry on luggage. He leaves Lancelot be since he needs him but Sirius is just a fly in his plan so LIKE THE EVIL CACKLING TOTALLY NOT RIKA VILLAIN THAT HE IS HE PULLS OUT A FUCKING GUN 

and shoots Lancelot.

Amon shits bricks over Lancelot protecting Sirius but is ultimately Monokuma level “lmao idgaf” and proceeds to try and kill Sirius but they’re rescued by Harr and Loki who whisks them away back to Red Army Headquarters.

Kyle REALLY FUCKING SHITS BRICKS THIS TIME POOR BOY CAN’T GET A BREAK after seeing Lancelot’s condition and somehow miraculously brings Lance back from the brink of death. Sirius and Alice talk with Lancelot and he finally comes clean with the truth about how Amon’s threatening to destroy Cradle with his weed stash unless Lancelot cooperates. Sirius is all like “aight then let’s go destroy his weed stash” and both armies begin working together to defeat Amon. Great, the climax of the plot is finally here, I’m so excited!

THAT IS UNTIL Alice realizes that the full moon is finally here and thus she must go home! She highkey wants to stay but Sirius is like “nah son you going home”. and proceeds to SHOVE HER ASS DOWN THE GATES OF HELL. But not before making out with her like his life depended on it. What the fuck, he doesn’t even confess his love for her! He just makes out with her and is all like “lul bye” and shoves her down the garden portal. 

Welp great, the final battle with Amon is finally starting and I’M NOT EVEN THERE TO SEE IT LMAO! It’s like the writers got too lazy at the end and pulled this bs to avoid showing the climax of the story. Wtf let me kick ass with my man, what is this weak ass underwhelming development. 

Alice waits around in Reason for about 3 months before going like “yeah you know what fuck it” and decides to go back to Cradle because a hoe got better things to do then just sitting on her ass waiting for her man who may never come for her!

She goes to the park just in time to see Sirius, who, surprise surprise, actually did come to get her! He tells her how they finally defeated Amon and that Cradle is finally safe! Amazing, it took you three months to find that weed stash; it took Alice and Jonah one evening in Jonah’s route.

She goes back to Cradle with Sirius but it’s already night so they decided to pitch a tent at a nearby inn with only one bed!

just go to sleep...................... just go to fucking sleep.

The next day they return to the Black Army Headquarters, which is now peaceful since Amon is defeated and the war is over. I got Sirius’s dramatic end; Alice and Sirius decide to go over to Sirius’s flower shop, where they run into Lancelot whose finally chilled out with his “I’m the Worst” act now that Amon isn’t breathing down his neck every second like a creepy evil Santa Clause.  Lancelot buys an iris flower and proceeds to give it to Alice.

I’M FUCKING CRY HE’S SO SOFT.......... HE SO SOFT...... PLEASE PROTECT HIM AND HIS PRECIOUS SMILE.

The route ends with Alice planting the flower Lancelot gave her in the garden of the Black Army HQ, promising to live her life with Sirius and protect the little things that are important to them (´へωへ`*). and finally, FUCKING FINALLY, SIRIUS FINALLY TELLS HER HE LOVES HER. THAT TOOK YOU LIKE WHAT, THE ENTIRE ROUTE?

but no seriously imagine how awkward it’d be for Alice, after making out and sleeping with him only to be like “oh wait does he even actually love me, he never said he did” derp.

-----

Anyway that was a rundown of my own thoughts of his route + awful commentary. I definitely think his route was one of the weaker ones and it just didn’t feel like Sirius or Alice had any chemistry (｡-人-｡). I hate to admit being disappointed, especially because I was really looking forward to Sirius’s route but alas it is what it is. There were some nice scenes and I liked the friendship dynamic between him, Lance, and Harr but overall it definitely paled in comparison to Jonah’s or even Lancelot’s route. Ohwell, sorry Sirius lmao.

[arcana-content-blog]

The Main Six playing Super Smash Bros

Asra

-one of those people that gets really good with kirby to the point no one can defeat him

-usually floats around and goofs off since it’s too easy

-everyone begs him to play a diff character

-picks yoshi and is just as good

-loves playing with jigglypuff when just goofing off with mc or muriel

-will tickle or kiss you to distract you

-if you take it seriously beware him, you’ll be infuriated because he doesn’t try and is good anyway

-loves to lie on your lap to play to take refuge from everyone else when they lose

-will roll over to look at you through his lashes slyly when you lose and it makes you love and hate him so much

Julian

-one of those people that picks dk and repeatedly hits the ground, infuriating everyone else 

-button spams

-if one on one chooses a character like joker/other dark aesthetic character and gives monologues while playing

-v dramatic when he loses, probably lean over and crush whoever is playing with him

-unless his friends are into it, doesn’t play often and isn’t all that good as a result

-where p1 tag would go, his says hItMeHaRdEr or 069

-usually first to die, just by falling off the edge etc

-don’t sit too close you’ll get smacked by a flailing limb or lose hearing in one ear mmkay

Portia 

-probably plays with the inklings tbh, specifically the orange one 

-big button spammer as well

-plays just for fun unless against julian, then she pummels him in mere seconds

-somehow wins with no strategy at all

-she has a v cute giggle that’s v distracting,,,

-loves being a little obnoxious by repeatedly keeping other players from moving by rolling over them etc

-lots of motion, leans side to side or sits up as if it’ll help her character jump higher

-will sit in your lap or lie on top of you to play, big cuddlebug

Nadia

-so much strategy, plays with fast nimble characters like shiek and snake

-boss with mewto

-somehow grabs all the assist trophies and pokeballs before anyone notices them

-second to most likely to hunker down in a corner with a bomb or other attack

-patient, lets other players kill each other off

-usually only plays when asked

-refuses to play with just Lucio

-can be persuaded to play extra seriously if you put some stakes on the game, if you know what i mean lol ;0

Muriel

-most likely to hunker down in the corner and only lash out when confronted

-chooses small cute characters like isabella

-really likes Oli and his pikmin, when playing with mc or asra pulls up as many possible and runs around

-names them after his chickens, but uhh won’t tell you that..

-likes to create custom stages

-also only plays when asked

-played as the pokemon trainer once but had a hard time watching the pokemon get hurt, even tho it’s all digital

Lucio

-most obnoxious, first to suggest playing

-more suited to the hard hitting characters who deal more damage 

-but chooses sword fighters instead

-likes dark link and marth

-pretty good with captain falcon, but hardly plays with him because his aesthetic isn't up to his standards

-starts off spamming and rage quitting but then spends a week or two getting really good because not being the best is unacceptable

-don’t want to see asra and lucio face off

-shows off with combos etc esp if mc is watching

-looks into competing

-TOURNAMENT TOURNAMENT TOURNAMENT

-”what do i get when i win?” ;)

[cedarmoons]

Tbh it makes me uncomfy when folks insist that characters like Lucio needs to be 3 dimensional when their issue really seems to be that there isn't a good or acceptable reason to absolve him of his actions in the narrative. I think Lucio is fun as hell, but he's also incredibly selfish, rude, manipulative, and downright awful to pretty much everyone. I'd prefer a Valerius romance tbh, his characterization touches on the same themes but there's enough distinctions to make it all work better.

So, first off, while I can’t speak for L*cio stans wanting a redemption arc narrative =/= wanting a reason to absolve him. We all want to see stories of goodness and love overcoming a villain’s worst instincts, so I can understand his fans wanting that in his route. (Alternatively, I can understand wanting his route to be a dumpster fire where he and MC are unrepentantly evil, but that shit gets old after, like, two chapters. It is exhausting to be terrible.)

It doesn’t matter whether there’s a “good reason” to absolve L*cio, i.e. remove his chains, because MC does it anyway in Nadia’s route. How that will play out in his route remains to be seen, but I imagine picking “there’s no good reason to redeem you” can factor into a possible reversed ending—he has no incentive or reason to change, since his efforts would be useless, so why not continue being an awful person?

My problem with L*cio is not “oh wow this is a compelling and interesting villain, I want to learn more about him” — I don’t think he’s compelling at all. His character can be distilled into sadistic manbaby who gets off on power displays.

(See: his comment to Asra in the bonus scene, which imo was not evidence of him being a creepy pedo, but that he enjoys others’ discomfort because he enjoys power, and humiliating others = having power over them. With that interpretation, L*cio’s obsession with Asra is not because he has a sexual interest in him, but because he is infuriated that Asra doesn’t play his game, much less follows his rules, which means he has no control or power over Asra, something he cannot stand).

I would find him vastly more compelling as a villain and as a character if the devs focused more on potential character traits like his lust for power, desire for control of himself and/or others, and sadism, but instead they’ve focused on the manbaby who’s mad he can’t hang with the Cool Kids. All that nuance, development, and context is lost when you just have him running after characters whining “Didn’t you miss me?!” versus, for example, immediately attempting to take control of Vesuvia from Nadia and using his charisma and popularity to sway the people to his side.

Instead, he’s a joke to the fandom, the devs, and even the characters in game. It’s a waste of potential and makes his character fluff and filler when it could be something seriously interesting and be a genuine threat to the characters. I hate him not only because he’s a terrible manbaby but because he’s nothing more than a terrible manbaby.

Anyway I’m done talking about this garbage fire of a character.

[bearsace]

Hello! I saw that you were taking requests for IkeSen headcannons/fics, so I hope this isn't too much to ask, but what do think about female!Mitsuhide or any of the guys? What do you think they'd be like if they were girls instead?

ikesen requests are open!

oh my goodness so i only did the oda forces sinc those are the ones i know well enough to write with confidence sdlkfjdlkfj but this was so fun thank you! i pictured a female mc for this, but it could definitely be easily changeable ;;

nobunaga

she’s super gorgeous, has the same seductive qualities as male nobunaga ;; curvy, tall, and statuesque with these eyes that just smolder at you

when you first meet her you’re a little confused because …… this is the great warlord (warlady?) nobunaga?? the one from the history books?

you imagined a woman who didn’t look like. as hot as her honestly

and when she presses you against the wall in the famous Using Your Lips as a Cup scene

well that’s when you’re done for. you can feel every curve of her body and her voice is low and sultry, and her eyes light up in a grin when you swallow the sake

when she comes home from a fight one day you’re really shaken;; she just wrings the blood out of her long hair and her eyes are cold

but getting to know her is something amazing (i mean it is no matter what gender nobunaga is :’)). games of go are filled with tension as her eyes slip into focus and her slender fingers rub the pieces between them, and she bites her lip while she thinks of her next move

she knows exactly where to touch as well oop

when she kisses you she brings your hand to her breast, just above her heart and holds it there, and you can feel her relax in your arms and lean in to the kiss

she likes to sit with her back against the headboard and pulls you in close between her legs with your back to her chest, stroking your hair almost in the way someone would stroke a pet and nipping at the junction of your neck and shoulder. the tops of her kimono are falling off her shoulders so you can turn around and kiss the skin there, making her shiver, and the ends of her kimono pool up around her legs so you can rub at her thighs

she’s so hot gdi

mitsuhide

like nobunaga, she’s got the same slinkiness about her, but stands taller

when she looks at you from her vantage point, she tilts her head and regards you through half-lidded eyes with this infuriating smirk that’s probably painted in blood-red lipstick

and this woman clearly thinks she’s better than you but she’s so attractive dammit you want to deck her

her hair is either super long and flowing, or it’s pin-straight and cut blunt, longer in the front than it is in the back you pick

you know that tumblr post about being hot enough to make people question their sexuality?

yeah that’s mitsuhide

and she knows it too

which means she literally never stops teasing you and watching how flustered you get

probably the kind of person who flaunts her assets to get what she wants out of prisoners and shit

she bleeds sensuality honestly, and it has you so shook because gorgeous snow-haired woman? paying attention to my me? it’s more likely than you think.

she has these really long, sharp nails and she likes to run them across your thighs, tapping her fingers along the way

and when she undresses you she does it verrrryyy slowly and deliberately—

she begins at your throat and traces her way down to your bellybutton, down between your cleavage, opening your kimono just a little;

then back up to your mouth where she caresses your lips with a smirk, then comes back down

and she continues until you’re moaning for her just to take me already dammit, we haven’t even gotten started and u just undressing me has me so sh00k

masamune

WONDER WOMAN

okay not actually wonder woman but build-wise, she’s lean and muscular and proud of it

she ties her brown hair back into a braid that’s long enough for her to tuck into her belt, and you can see mischief playing in that bright eye

you see her playing with her sword one day, and when she catches you watching, she grins at you and bites her lip

well that’s it you’re done for

she’s actually a little short compared to the others, which makes her fighting style even more ferocious and calculated as she’s got the speed and slipperiness that they don’t

the first time she kisses you you’re so shook

like maybe you haven’t even kissed a girl before (or if you have, definitely not one as attractive as masamune)

and she flirts with you even more than she already did after that because gotdamn you’re So Attracted to her

the first time you go horseback riding with her you’re so shaken; she pulls you close and you can feel the hard muscle of her body against your back as her throaty laughter rings out in your ears

not many women are allowed to have such a high military position, she explains, and she had to prove herself time and time again and you can tell by the way she so clearly enjoys her time with the troops and riding her horse that she was born for it

she was born to ride other things too

she’s a biter, and she leaves her mark up and down your body

definitely keeps her habit of calling you “kitten” and one day calls you a “good girl” in bed. automatic nut

anyways after a night of Fun you come into the common room without realizing how many bite marks you have up and down your body

hideyoshi bursts out laughing

masamune just smirks. you berate her for not telling you. she simply catches your finger between her teeth while you’re wagging it at her and winks at you, and you’ve gotta excuse the two of you for maybe an hour or the entire day

ieyasu

fighting smol

seriously like she’s even shorter than masamune

but she’s slender and literally looks like a doll she’s so pretty and porcelain, like you’d never expect her to be anyone scary

probably like 5′0″ and 100lbs, hair cut to shoulder-length (think the wavy windswept bob hairstyle in-game)

has a glare like ice honestly, and tbh her voice is probably pretty high pitched compared to the others ;;; probably the one to give off the ~cute~ image but lowkey wants to murder you in your sleep

when she’s practicing archery, she suddenly becomes someone imposing

and when she gives you that pair of earrings she scowls, but blushes anyway and she has really good taste in jewelry

so you buy her this beautiful necklace and she honestly turns beet red

“well…… i guess i have to take it since you spent money on it…… but i wish you didn’t buy me things as useless as jewelry”

you see her wearing it like everyday after that tho

but you take heed and instead commission mitsunari to design a practical bracelet that helps with archery (idk maybe it holds arrows or smthn so she doesn’t have to reach elsewhere to pick one out to nock?) and ieyasu is so shook she can even overlook the fact that mitsunari designed it

when she kisses you, she has to stand on her tiptoes and sling one arm around your neck to pull you down. in any other situation it would be cute because “omg she’s so short” but in this situation like… “wow ieyasu that’s really hot” with the confidence with which she brings you to her level

she’s really outright with what she wants in bed. “no i don’t like that” or “yes, that feels perfect” are common phrases you’ll hear

she pays special attention to bringing you to climax. her brow furrows as she focuses on touching you in all your sweet spots

mitsunari

Extremely Gorgeous Goddess Lady

long hair that falls in the most perfect waves, voluminous, straight out of a pantene commercial. lips that are a natural scarlet color like she’s just been sucking on a cherry popsicle. tall-ish, about your height, but not quite as tall as nobunaga and mitsuhide

you’re drawn in by her almost immediately because her eyes are clever and kind

that one girl who all the boys follow around, but she doesn’t know that;;; she thinks that they all want war advice

you become fast friends as she teaches you to play go before u realize,, Oh Shit, I’ve Fallen for Her!

she has a laugh like bells honestly. so good. so pure

you have tea with her all the time but she’s SO BAD at making tea and apologizes profusely when you nearly throw up since it tastes like gasoline?? um??

it’s fine, because you make her these delicious dumplings and sew her a pretty new kimono which quickly becomes her favorite. she wears it to all the important war councils which makes her even more of a stunner among men tbh

on that note……. during war councils she goes from soft angel to confident war woman…… her eyes take on this sure and calculating gleam and it’s so hot you can hardly keep your hands off her when the council is over

she loves to hold you in bed and stroke your hair— you both always find yourselves laughing together, and her skin feels so soft against yours

she’s really careful, always asking you what feels good, though she’s not afraid to experiment. her hair is soft and silky and you love to run your fingers through it while she kisses your neck

she alternates between big spoon and little spoon tbh. when she’s big spoon, her breath washes over the back of your neck while she sleeps and even the sound of it is so calming um wtf?

when she’s little spoon she rests her head on your shoulder and gently kisses along your jawline till you fall asleep

even when you become romantic partners, she stays your best friend and you can talk deep into the night

hideyoshi

MOM FRIEND ALERT!

she’s about the same height as you and mitsunari, so it’s pretty funny to watch her order around the likes of mitsuhide, one of the two Tols in the group

especially when she scolds him oop

her loyalty to nobunaga is something to be admired, because it’s passionate and devoted and she’s completely unashamed of it

she garners the attention of both men and women (and you)

like she makes people question their sexuality not for the same reasons as mitsuhide’s attractiveness, but rather because she’s confident and independent and women are often confused whether they wanna bang her or be her

it’s a little bit of both, at least for you

she doesn’t trust you initially and makes that clear, but you’re persistent

and as you get to know her you fall hard b/c if she were a modern woman, she’d be the Strong Independent One you hear about all the time who runs a business

she takes good care of you

you fall ill one day and she nurses you back to health,

“honestly, mc, i told you not to go out in the rain like that”

and she sighs, looking genuinely distressed, and you’re shook to the max

she stops by a lot to make sure you’re doing okay, and usually swings by and keeps you company, putting off this sure, steadfast aura that comforts you and makes you feel safe around her

she knows what she wants in bed and guides your hips to where she wants them to go

but she’s also gentle and patient and makes sure you climax as well

in the morning, you’ll wake up and see her smiling at you and all is well in the world :’)