#the storylines were greatly developed

[lenteur]

random thoughts about run on, episodes fifteen & sixteen

(please do note that this post contains spoilers so read at your own risk. this post will also be lengthy because i’m going to share my thoughts about both episodes.)

just a little announcement: i will cut this post into sections. so if i talk about a topic/character, i’ll share my thoughts about what happened in both episodes instead of talking about the same thing in different points. am i making any sense? i don’t think so 💔 sorry about that

we’re starting this post with dan ah being torn about how to end things with yeong hwa :( like she said in previous episodes, everything she ever liked was temporary “everything i like ends up as regret”. it all ended too soon for her liking. so, in order to not be so heartbroken, she wants to end things with him before things get complicated. what spurred this reaction was her father’s health problems. it’s like she was finally starting to open up to yeong hwa before she heard the news. and, just like that, she went back to being more distant. she ended things because it reminded her of her own health problems. she knows she’s weak and she’s at risk. that’s why she always told yeong hwa to “live a long life” and called him “kid”. she didn’t want to even start a relationship because she knew things would end. no matter how hard she tried to not develop any sort of feelings, she was faced with a more powerful force than she knew: yeong hwa’s love. his love is so sincere and he has such a pure heart that, in the end, she couldn’t take it and succumbed to her heart’s desires.

talking about yeong hwa, he’s the character with the most interesting development to me. he went from being a”kid” discovering about love and experience his first love to being more emotionnally mature by the time things ended with dan ah. like seon gyeom said (not his words because i forgot to take notes when he said it sigh) “without dan ah, you wouldn’t have become as mature as you are” meaning that dan ah has taught him that things don’t always go his way and how to handle frustration and work around miscommunication. it’s also telling that during their first encounter after they broke up, he was the emotionnally stable one “i’m still the same. nothing you do makes me hate you. i just keep liking you” he said this with so much love and care that dan ah couldn’t help but cry. she must have been shaken by the fact he still decides to love her, even though things ended between them. he was the one to hug and comfort her. this might have been a first for dan ah because she’s always put that strong front in front of everyone around her. people must think she’s not fragile, when in fact, she might be one of the most fragile characters in this show. she’s just guarding her heart because she doesn’t want to be broken. and yeong hwa understands that. he chose to keep liking her because she was his first love 💗 the only thing he asks of her is to keep him in her heart for as long as she likes, and when she no longer needs it to just throw away their memories. it’s his way of saying she can still keep this relationship alive on her own, even though they broke up. you can also see that dan ah will be kept in his heart forever because she’s always in his paintings, even the one that was hung in the museum. i know i said yeong hwa was mature (and he is) but it was heartbreaking to see him cry after the breakup when he got home. he let it all out and it must have been difficult for him to handle both the breakup and seeing his first love cry in front of him for the first time

the jewelry box metaphor was such a great idea. i don’t know who came up with it but i’m impressed. it links back to what yeong hwa told her (keep me in your heart for as long as you can) “saving a precious moment you might never get to experience again” what a beautiful way to put their relationship.

i’ve seen many posts/videos talking about how the writers of the show decided to give the couple (dan ah and yeong hwa) an open ending because they wanted the viewers to form their own opinions/theories about them and i think this was the best decision for this relationship. you can see there’s no animosity between them and i’m sure a lot of people rooted for them and imagine they’re back to being a couple. others would think that dan ah would protect her heart forever and stay out of this relationship for her own sake. it might be frustrating to not know how their story ends but, in this case, i’m 100% behind this choice. it was the only good choice for this relationship

to end on a lighter note about this couple, i found it hilarious how dan ah couldn’t remember anyone’s name lol and everyone’s reactions to her not knowing added another layer of funny to the barbecue scene haha

not getting too far away from dan ah and yeong hwa, i’m glad the last two episodes focused a little on ye jun. looking back, the longing gazes and avoiding eye contact were subtle hints about ye jun’s preferences. i found his character very complex yet easy to read at the same time. he kept on hiding himself for the longest time and then boom everything unfolded quickly at the end of the show, just like how he came out to his mom. it’s also ‘funny’ (not in the literal sense of the word but my brain sometimes forgets words so i resort to using another word that’s similar to what i wanted to say) that the child named after jesus ended up being gay and viewed down by his religious mother. ms dong (ye jun’s mother) demands he goes back to church with her and blames him being homosexual on her focusing too much of her attention on her job instead of her children. it’s something that a lot of gay children must have faced. his mother wants him to change because she’s not ready to admit the truth, she thinks she’s a bad mother because one of her children is gay. ye jun’s response to her reaction to him coming out was “you can deny it all you want but this is who i am” reminding her that no matter how hard she tries to “bring him back on the right path” nothing will work because that’s who he is.

it was also nice to see ye jun interact with both dan ah and yeong hwa in the last episode. the first person he came out to (among dan ah and yeong hwa) was dan ah. and we got dan ah apologizing for the first time. after realizing ye jun liked men, she wanted to apolgize to him because she used the excuse of being gay to avoid getting married while ye jun (the actual gay) was living in fear. she realized what she did was wrong and she apologized to the right person. and then we see ye jun come out and admit his feelings to yeong hwa. ye jun admits yeong hwa was his first love but yeong hwa cries because in order to be first love feelings have to be reciprocated. i think he cried because he was handling the post-breakup and ye jun added his feelings on top of that. it was a lot for yeong hwa. 

allow me to fangirl a little because this is my post and i can do whatever i want for this. i finally found my one and true otp: mayhyun (may x jeong ji hyun) 💖💖💖 this was such a wholesome moment when they unveiled their relationship to their friends/colleagues. i mean when i found out about this, i was immediately their #1 supporter. i mean how can you not? they’re both so cute and made for each other. it was nice to see mr. jeong outside of his work persona. jeong ji hyun falling in love with may during the fight scene with the slowmo shot on may’s face. and then him following her around asking if she’s taken. i hope they’re both in love with each other forever and ever (alexa play love4eva)

after that wholesome and sweet moment, let’s tackle the ki family situation. we left off with eun bi involved in an affair scandal with ki jeong do’s rival assemblyman noh (idk how i remember all their names). this has caused eun bi so much stress that she had the yips. i was suspecting ki jeong do to be behind all of that. and i was right! he used his daughter as a tool to look like a great man just so he could win the elections. so much for eun bi trusting her father to resolve the whole scandal... when he was the one behind it all along. to say eun bi was disappointed would be an understatement. she was going through all of this scandal and ryan running away from her on her own and the traitor was her own father. when seon gyeom told his sister he would defend her, he wasn’t joking. he did the one thing he never did before: tell his mother about the incident. it might seem like a childish thing to do but he made the right decision. with everything that was shown in previous episodes, you’d think yook ji woo (the mother) would choose her career over her children like she has done many times in the past. but the one time she chooses to prioritize her children is also the day of her biggest opportunity career-wise. it’s nice to see her finally wake up and choose to defend her children. “think of everything i achieved at the expense of neglecting them (eun bi and seon gyeom)” she can have another great opportunity in her career as long as she keeps working but her daughter needs her the most right now. so, she made her decision: her children are more important. when she stormed into ki jeong do’s office to slap him, i screamed YES because i think we’ve all been waiting for it to happen. “how dare you use our kids to show off your fake fatherly love?” “i wonder why my divorce wasn’t my decision to make?” and then she kept attacking him where it hurts: her family’s background. she thought ki jeong do at least married her out of love but it ends up he married her because of her family’s fortune and reputation. in the end, we see yook ji woo eun bi and seon gyeom thrive and ki jeong do losing everything: his career and family that he’s used so many times. 

to end this post, i need to talk about the main couple. i’ve already developed the ins and outs of their relationship but i’d like to note a few more things before ending this post. i like that in the last episodes, every time we see them, they’re always together. they’re going through their routine as a couple: cooking/eating with each other for the first time, then running with each other, going to work/doing their things on their own, and then reuniting at the end of the day. i like that they’re getting more comfortable with each other. they’re finally “clicking together” like mi joo said compared to how they communicated in the first episodes. “we’ll probably never totally understand each other. but we could align our worlds next to each other, couldn’t we?” while it is true they’re still very different, i think it’s beautiful how they have met each other halfway. they’re a beautiful pair and it was refreshing to see them enjoy their time together and be affectionate with one another.

i’ve seen this quote in run on gif posts but i just want to share it here because it’s a beautiful one “delicate and sensitive people should live happy lives. those who are polite shouldn’t be looked down on”

it was probably an obvious choice but mi joo’s movie’s ending credits being run on’s ending credits was such a great idea. and the pictures were all cute :( i felt a pang in my heart when watching it because i realized the drama actually ended

[blade-liger-4ever]

Why Cody Burns succeeded where Rafael Esquivel failed

Honestly, Raf is one of those characters I never thought much of, in part because he was so forgettable. More often than not in Prime, Raf was just the sweet baby who everybody thought the world of and wanted to keep out of harm's way, even though the most he ever did in the show was provide technical help with Earth machinery or play the part of innocent child. This was not helped by the fact that he was buddy-ed up with the mute Bumblebee, who's sole contributions up until his two part arc and the series finale was additional man power and adorable mimic. While this was good for background humor, it ultimately did nothing to the overall storyline in the series, both for Raf and for Bee, and for the series itself.

By contrast, Cody Burns - the resident team baby, beloved by all and unwaveringly helpful in rescue missions - stood out far more than Raf. And what's more, is that he never had "his own" Autobot/Cybertronian partner, when literally his whole family had one of their own.

Allow me to delve into this, hopefully, final observatory post regarding the TFP kids.

Of all the humans, we quite frankly get the least out of Raf. We know he's a prodigy, given that he's twelve (and a quarter) and jumped straight into the same classes as Miko and Jack, the former of whom is no slouch as I've already covered. We're shown that his family allows him free reign of Jasper, as he's playing by himself near the road, although he's alone. That tells us that his family is either extremely lax in their attention for their youngest child, or that Jasper is an actually safe location for a kid who's barely filling out his shoes to be on his own. Whether or not either option is true, that's dangerous and shows that Raf goes unnoticed by his family. I'm not saying they're abusive or willfully neglectful of him, but this points us to the conclusion that Raf has a very lonely home life, and we already know that he's got zero friends until he meets the Autobots.

This could have been a great plot-point for the series: by giving Team Prime a small child with no one for company, the writers could have more clearly given the Autobots hope for the future of the War/after the War, while Raf could have gained confidence and security from having people who actually cared and listened to him. It could have been fun, having him be the human cycling through the Autobots for various needs. Imagine Raf going to Optimus for comfort after another day of feeling ignored, talking to Arcee for ideas on how to stand up to Vince (being the sole child in class makes you a target, after all), or coming to Bulkhead for how to struggle through the physical aspects of his school regimen (i.e. the time he brought up the rope climbing to Ratchet.) The possibilities were endless.

But instead, he's specifically handed over to Bee. Bee, who is the disabled child that is also largely forgotten, and who, while he does bond with Raf and provide him with much needed company, offers nothing else in the way of development or storylines. We got something marginally better when Raf started spending time with the grumpy grandpa that is Ratchet, which was great to highlight Ratchet's soft side that nurtures his own character progression, but it's not enough for Raf's development. I greatly prefer the company of the Autobots to the human characters in virtually every series, but there needs to be a noticable human presence to ground the Autobots' protective instincts toward Earth and to push along the story. Raf ended up being a token character not even halfway through the first season, which is a shame given his potential, especially since he and Bee ended up being background décor.

Now, as a counterpoint, we come to Cody Burns.

Like Raf, Cody is the youngest child of the Burns clan - and I say clan because his family has been the one providing Griffin Rock's safety and protection for about...roughly three hundred years? (Correct me if I'm wrong, but his family were the ones in-universe to discover the island. Thus, there's a large claim and respect to his family's name.) His father Charlie is the chief of police; his oldest brother Kade is the chief firefighter; his older sister Dani is the helicopter pilot and primary search and rescue operator; and his brother Graham, who's about eight years older than ten year old Cody, is already a chief engineer and inventor himself. Clearly, Cody has an impressive family. Clearly, they're the best of the best, and he couldn't be prouder of them.

And clearly, Cody feels the need to earn his stripes given their talents and the family's reputation.

A recurring subplot in Rescue Bots is how Cody is insecure about his role on the team, and that often leads him to attempt to provide help and find his place in life in the family. Sometimes, this works; although he's often left monitoring the situations across the island at home through the cameras, Cody finds ways of giving advice or pointing out a hazard that the others are oblivious to that would have likely killed them. And this is a noble occupation his fills, with his aid saving many lives and much trouble.

However, sitting around and merely being an observer wears on him. It makes him restless, and he often seeks aid from the 'Bots to figure out his problems before typical shenanigans ensue that rectify the current episode's dilemma.

This is an important part of Cody's characterization because while he does occasionally feel left out/ignored by his family, he understands it is because of their duties. Charlie has to daily wrangle different criminals and legal offenses while Graham is eagerly going to town on his latest project. Kade and Dani each have their own lives that are beginning and that they're pursuing, but additionally maintain an intense sibling rivalry due to them being not even three years apart. Thus, while they're seeing they're respective girlfriend and boyfriend, they're also competing in various childish ways that, sometimes, result in massive fights. It's no small wonder Cody rarely goes to them for advice.

For this, he's left with the 'Bots, and because they view him as their darling little brother who inspires them every day to give the humans of Griffin Rock and Earth a chance, they listen and advise him. Heatwave is the oldest of the 'Bots, and thus more experienced; additionally, Heatwave more than once nearly threw in the towel in the early days, but only relented due to Cody's convictions and virtues. Therefore, while they have a special bond without it being the sole focus, Cody tends to run to Heatwave the most when emotionally unwell and Charlie is unavailable. Heatwave in turn gives him comfort and advice, and backs him up in most situations. Chase is one he less often seeks help from, mostly due to Chase's nature of being a rigid rulebook. Most times Cody helps Chase understand human expressions and terms when Charlie is busy or otherwise engaged, with both their efforts helping the police 'Bot to loosen up. There are times when he needs Chase's input, as strange as that aid might be, and Cody doesn't hesitate to seek it.

Boulder he goes to almost as regularly as Heatwave, and the two get along fantastically. Boulder provides him with loving company he's hungry for, and sound advice without being overbearing. Blades sometimes needs more encouragement than anything, and thus Cody plays the rare part of helping guide someone through their numerous fears. Because of that, the 'copter 'Bot is extremely loyal and protective of Cody, and when Cody does ask for his help or companionship, Blades readily gives it. Sometimes, Blades will even go above and beyond what is asked, and never asks for anything in return.

These are healthy, constantly growing relationships that Cody develops with the 'Bots, as well as magnificent characterizations that are always expanding. While the focus tends to be shown through Cody's eyes or centered around him, it never fixates on him more than is necessary. Rather, by setting him up as the show's heart, the writing team is able to stretch out towards arcs related to other characters, both the 'Bots and their specific partners, and the other human cast members who interact with the 'Bots on a less frequent basis.

This is how Cody takes the potential of Raf from Prime and not only runs with it, but builds up countless heartwarming moments and strong characterizations over the course of Rescue Bots' run. Cody is positively and rightly shown as the glue of the family element of the show, and is given the autonomy to maintain his own personality and growth without being forgotten like Raf consistently was. That's why Cody stands out, and poor Raf is left hanging.

Well, that's my thoughts on the matter. I felt I should tackle Raf, given I covered his two peers, and Cody is a cute, fun, and constantly evolving counterpart to Raf that explains much of why I feel the poor baby of Team Prime was ultimately misused and unnecessary. I hope you enjoyed this, and that it got some gears turning in your heads.

I'll be seeing you guys!

"Rescue Bots, roll to the rescue!"

[literaryvein-reblogs]

How to Write a Character

For creative writing to have as deep an impact as possible, you need to give the reader strong characters they can relate to on a personal level.

By borrowing from tried-and-true character archetypes and giving them your personal spin, you can create heroes, villains, and sidekicks that will affect your readers as if they were real people they knew.

Come up with a backstory

Crafting a backstory can help you flesh out an interesting character profile.

“When I’m dealing with characters,” says legal thriller author David Baldacci, “and I’m trying to explain somebody's situation and motivations, you have to look into their past, because [the] past always drives motivations.”

Ask what experiences your character had in elementary school or high school that shaped who they are today. Your character’s backstory can greatly inform your plot.

Develop a character arc

A character must evolve throughout a story.

“The character has to change,” insists crime fiction writer Walter Mosley. “The character doesn’t have to become better. The character doesn’t have to become good. It could be the opposite. He could start good and become bad. He could start off hopeful and end up a pessimist. But he has to be impacted by this world that we’re reading about.”

Plan out your storyline based on your character's goals and how achieving or not achieving them will change them as people. This sort of template can help anchor your narrative.

Do research

If you plan to set your story in a specific locale or period, do enough research to make your characters seem true to life and believable.

“What does it mean, for instance, in the Tudor era to be a male person?” asks Margaret Atwood, author of The Handmaid’s Tale. “What does it mean to be a female person? What do those things mean when they’re at different social levels?”

Empathize with your characters

No matter what the type of character you’re developing, try to find some reason you and your reader can relate to their internal conflict.

“You’re living with these people every single day for months at a time—in some cases, years at a time,” says acclaimed children’s author Judy Blume. “You had better feel for them. So, for me, yes, I have great empathy for them.”

When people can empathize with characters, they’re more likely to find them compelling.

Experiment with different approaches

If you usually write characters from a particular point of view (or POV), change things up to challenge yourself.

“Write about someone entirely through the eyes of their friends and family,” suggests journalist Malcolm Gladwell. “So do a profile of someone where you deliberately never talk to the person that you’re profiling.”

There are plenty of ways to craft compelling character descriptions—free yourself up to try new alternatives.

Give your characters flaws

To craft believable characters, you need to give them flaws.

“One, it makes the characters human, just by default, because everybody recognizes that we all have flaws and mistakes,” David says. “But two, it gives you plot elements and plot opportunities because somebody makes a mistake. Why? Because they’re flawed.”

Learn from real people

Pay attention to real people’s mannerisms, personality traits, body language, and physical appearances.

Do research, and be respectful, when you want to write characters with backgrounds that you are not familiar with. Become familiar with different people's cultures, sexual orientations etc.

Talking to people about their experiences will help form your character’s personality.

Let your characters surprise you

Character development can proceed down a host of different avenues.

“Spend a lot of time with your characters and getting to know them,” Judy suggests. “And the way that you get to know them can be different from the way I get to know them. But my way is: They don’t come alive until I write about them, until I put them down on paper.”

As you write, your character’s motivation or perspective might change from what you originally planned.

Play characters off each other

Ask yourself how a secondary character’s personality might thwart the main character’s motivation.

“One of the best ways, as I said, to develop a character is to put that character in relationship to another person,” Walter says. “So as they talk, as they fight, as they work together, we find out more about who they are and what they are.”

The character’s close friends, adversaries, and acquaintances might all have different effects on their behavior.

Take an organic approach

Over the course of the story, be ready for your characters to surprise you as much as the people you know in real life might, too.

Your characters may take on a life of their own.

Avoid static characters by letting yours have their own lives and personalities. Let their stories take you where they lead.

Source ⚜ Writing Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[conundrumoftime]

tbh I was fine with the lack of interaction between Galadriel and Sauron in s2, but I also feel like she as a character spent too much time being lectured to by men or being ignored by men (at least Elrond did say ‘forgive me’ I guess!) or saying inspiring things to men, in storylines where she didn’t get to do a lot else. This is something that tends to happen a lot more to female characters than male ones in fantasy & sci-fi and I always dislike it.

I don’t think it’s driven by direct malice, or of anyone going “hmm well she was our main character but Reddit user Peter_Jackson_is_my_god didn’t like her so let’s cut her out” - I think it’s a result of having too much story to pack into the reduced season lengths they’ve got, and wanting to do Celebrimbor and Annatar making rings in a condensed timespan, so there’s no space for any character things that don’t directly drive the plot and so Galadriel is hanging round on the outskirts of stories. But it isn’t the only possible result of having those constraints. There were other ways the story could have gone with her that I’d have greatly preferred.

This show needs longer seasons and more time for characters, anyway. Big ensemble genre TV works best when it’s got 20+ episode seasons to work with, because characters get to do things and interact with others in a way that isn’t all directly driven by the main plot, and then character development can happen incrementally and not as part of a big dramatic event, and when we do get to the Big Epic Battle Sequence it matters because we’ve got invested in these people. I know we’re never going to get that for this show but God I wish Amazon would give them their 10 episodes as originally planned and cut the effects budget if they need to make up for it, because I would so much rather 2 more episodes of characters talking to each other over some things going boom.

[bronzefuryfic]

Rhae Targaryen

When the only child of Daemon Targaryen and Rhea Royce is brought to King's Landing to meet with the rest of her family, she finds herself caught in a crisis of succession. The Greens battle for her support... and her affections.

Fic Highlights

Bronze Fury is a heavily green-centric fic from the perspective of my OC, Rhae, as she struggles with identity, love, and loss over the course of the canon events in House of the Dragon!

Canon-compliant, but greatly expanded!

This fic aims to enhance what I love most about the show! Rhae is used to add to the themes already present- providing additional motivation for the Greens, and facilitating more opportunities for them to talk and develop. HotD is the outline, and Bronze Fury stuffs it full with...

'Missing' scenes! Have you ever wondered what happened between the time skips? Who were these characters ~before~ tragedy strikes? And when it does... what do their transformations look like up close?

New storylines! Rhae has her own characterization, and her own goals, unique to her experience as Daemon's forgotten daughter by Rhea Royce. See her grapple with her legacy as Daemon's daughter and Lady of Runestone, as well as navigate her role amongst her new found family, the Greens.

Rhae has unique romantic storylines with both Aegon and Aemond!

If you are a fan of jealous!Aegon or jealous!Aemond, you will find it here in spades. This fic explores the jealousy between the brothers on all levels- not just as it pertains to their romantic rivalry! See them bicker, fight, make-up, then do it all over again. And again. And again.

Childhood friends to lovers! (And occasional enemies). This fic begins with the younger version of the green kids and follows them into adulthood. See how it all began. See how it all falls apart.

Pining! Lots and lots of pining. And co-dependency. And betrayal.

Rhae proves herself to be worthy of their infatuation. Their respective connections are heavily grounded in shared experiences (parental neglect, grievous injuries) and genuine feeling. You won't be left wondering why they're both attracted to her, or her to them- It's all very earned!

Rhae and Helaena are best friends!

We need more female friendships! And the one between Rhae and Helaena is tooth-achingly sweet, with an equal amount of time dedicated to their bond as with either brother. They have tea-time, they play with bugs, they pray at the Sept. They have sleepovers and talk about their freaky dreams...

Rhae gives Helaena the space to freely voice her own opinions- learn how she feels about her family, her future, and more!

Alicent and Criston as complicated parental figures!

Watch Alicent lure a motherless girl to King's Landing to secure her allegiance to their cause- by any means necessary. Private communications, private dinners... does Alicent truly care for the teenager she's brought into her home? Or is she merely a means to an end- fodder for the war, meant only to protect her children?

When your father is Daemon Targaryen, pretty much anyone looks better in comparison- and Criston Cole is no exception! Once fearful of the knight, Rhae quickly comes to appreciate his strength... and his tutelage. He's a tough instructor, but Rhae will put up with anything if it means learning to fight from the best of the best.

Dreams of patricide

Sometimes it feels that Rhae can trace all her problems back to a singular cause- that being none other than her father, Daemon. The Rogue Prince killed her mother and abandoned his daughter for fifteen years. Rhae thinks she ought to kill him for that... but not before understanding one thing: Why?

How is Rhae - a young, disabled, dragonless girl - ever going to face her father? Work. Hard, long years of it. Will her efforts to learn combat and claim a dragon be enough? Can she protect her new family from his wrath? Will she be able to avenge those who have already fallen victim to it?

Interested in reading? Check out the BRONZE FURY DIRECTORY!

Still not sure if it's for you? Feel free to send any questions you have! My anons are always on- let me know what you're looking for (characterization, plot, specific character dynamics etc), and I'll let you know if you'll find it in my fic!

[penultimatefan02]

A Penultimate Pen Theory.

Recently, @pentition posted a very insightful and thoughtful analysis regarding Pen’s potential future as a core romance candidate in an upcoming game. This gave me food for thought about Pen's future direction and how his past relationship with the Sandrock builder could come into play, or whether he should find love with a playable character in an upcoming game.

When I think about Pen’s future, I’m limited by the few crumbs Pathea has offered us to theorize about his history and motivations. It’s not much but there are tidbits that I’ve clung to that put me in the camp of “team Pen.” There are also a few Discord posts by zede05 that I’ve added to the tiny pile of details.

Some history to note is that players who participated in the MTAS early access may have a different opinion of Pen than late-comers due to Pen’s romance being a Kickstarter goal and not originally developed. Also, his character art was greatly improved after he was introduced (I’m basing this on Discord comments as I did not participate or see prior iterations of Pen). These details may put EA players in the “Pen’s romance and physical characteristics were an afterthought” camp, which is valid.

Regardless of the romance aspect, it was Pen’s story that was greatly developed. He was such a BIG character for 2/3 of MTAS. No one makes a character that big with that many parallels, hints, and ambiguities unless they plan to utilize them in the future. Pen may become a big deal, and his arc may likely have a strong emotional impact on the player.

The one thing we know is that Pathea can and may change their mind about storylines and character development based on player response. Many discussions regarding Pen’s future romance potential are read and possibly considered in how they will approach his story arc and resolution. The more we talk about it on Reddit and Discord, the more chance we have of helping to shape Pen’s outcome. Based on zede05’s comments, nothing is set in stone.

Now, with that said, I think the original direction they may have decided on, and why Pen was not a marriage candidate is because he’s going to take the true role of the anti-hero, and his ending will be his end. Please forgive me for typing it out, it’s not meant as a jinx, and I truly don’t want it to happen. However, I do think there is a strong possibility that the writers may decide or have already decided that this resolution needs to happen to counterbalance his actions in MTAS (and in future game(s) if he continues the villain path a while longer).

I’ve been wrong many times before, but I see Pen as being the main hero of the series at a great cost to himself. Aadit gets to go home, but Pen doesn’t. Pen may even be the one to save Aadit so he can return home to Portia’s builder.

Pathea doesn’t think players will be disappointed by “how” Pen ends up, not “where” Pen ends up. Granted, there are translations involved and they didn’t know whether Aadit would be the Rogue Knight or not by Portia’s end, so it’s all speculation. However, if Pen sacrifices himself for the greater good near the series end, zede05 would be right that we wouldn’t be disappointed. If anything, we would all be greatly moved by it and the emotional impact and payoff would be huge. Pen ends his story as a true hero.

I’m not sure how many games they plan for the series, but I’ll play the odds that Pen will be recurring until the end. I believe someone at Pathea mentioned using Marvel’s film series as a guideline for its continuing characters (in reference to Aadit and Pen).

To bring the discussion back to romance, I think Sandrock’s builder was the first time Pen ever felt something akin to affection or love. At the end of the Paradise Lost quest, we know he’s quite familiar with sex, but then sex doesn’t require emotions. He was unsure of what friendship was, and he didn’t understand the feelings he was left with after his dates with the builder. Pen only knew he liked it and wanted to spend more time with them. He comes off as very emotionally stunted, which aligns with his more narcissistic traits.

One comment that stood out to me was in response to a question about Pen becoming romanceable again in the future, zede05 replied, “But Pen only loves himself and his form of justice. Haha.” So, if anything, Pen must grow and learn to have concern for others not just himself. I think the builder’s relationship with him in Sandrock set that into motion, but we won’t know the impact until he’s reintroduced later on. While I wouldn’t be surprised if Sandrock’s builder has a role in his future, I believe at the very least they helped build the foundation for his potential redemption arc.

I don’t think Pathea will let him be romanced again until something happens to counterbalance his past crimes. So, if he does do the big thing to save the day and lives, then maybe the next game could see him become a marriage candidate. Although, I really like @pentition's idea of Pen heading off to find the builder or having them ride off into the sunset, preferably on Merle’s back. I’m a big fan of full-circle storylines, so Pen dating a new character comes off to me as slicing the pie in half and chucking it in the bin.

Regardless of what is to happen in the My Time series, we know that Pen will probably play a big role in it. I do hope that whatever road Pathea has laid out for him will ultimately lead to his redemption and that we are all left feeling proud of him and satisfied with his story.

Gosh, this was hard to write. @pentition, thank you for sharing your thoughts, which in turn gave me a bit of courage to share mine. I hope I'm not a total Debbie Downer on this topic.

[grape-jucie-dog]

I'm going on a yap session about my Devil AU because 600 Strike actually gave me an idea. This is a long post so I apologize-

Ok so if you're new and aren't aware of the Devil AU, THAT'S TOTALLY FINE. I haven't posted much about it here on Tumblr, and I'm not a huge creator or anything, so of course not many people know of it.

The Devil AU is an AU where Athena plots to overthrow Zeus after the events of Epic the musical. This AU was inspired by Teagan's song, DEVIL, hence the name. There are two storylines with this AU: The canon version, where all of the Gods help her overthrow Zeus, and the non canon version, where the gods are against the idea, which makes Athena snap at them too. Originally it took place after God Games, but there's a fic I wrote that gave me a better idea and a better motive for Athena.

The main motives are:

The death of Pallas. I know there's a few people who don't believe Pallas and Athena were lovers, but I like to think at the VERY least it was one-sided love or a QPR. Whatever the relationship was (friends, one sided, lovers, family even), this really shook Athena. I like to think Zeus truly didn't mean to harm Pallas, but in this AU he was extremely dismissive about her death, which greatly upset Athena.

God Games of course. In Greek Mythology, it's said that Athena is Zeus' favorite child, and she does basically whatever he orders her to do. And the one time she asks him for something, he strikes her with lightning that leaves her with scars and seizures? I'd be pissed too.

The death of the royal family. In this AU, Zeus kills Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus as a punishment, believing Athena was "getting too soft". This of course REALLY shakes Athena up, and it's her final straw before she completely snaps.

Now, I know this AU will take A LOT of time in the story. There needs to be enough time for Athena to heal more from her injuries, and plotting to kill the king of gods and your own father would definitely take a lot of time to do. I don't have a confident timeline just yet, BUT, I do have weapons.

Athena has two new weapons. Well, technically one, but we'll get to that in a second. I gave her these metal claws to represent talons, mostly because I thought it was cool, and also because the vivid image of Athena scratching one of Zeus' eyes out lives rent free in my head. The other thing is an upgrade to her spear, which doubles as a Scythe as well now. In the main/official storyline, Hephaestus gives these to her. In the no canon version of the AU, Athena basically steals them.

Now for the idea 600 Strike ended up giving me

Originally, I was gonna have Athena fight Zeus alone. She gets pretty battered, but she ends up defeating him by slicing him in half with her scythe (after getting her arm snapped by Zeus-). I'm probably going to keep this for the non canon story tbh, anyways-

600 strike made me picture Athena and the other gods all fighting Zeus (I'm tempted to throw Ody in the fight because of Hades being like "lol let's piss him off more by bringing Odysseus). Zeus laughs in their faces, being all like "You're too weak to stop me" and Athena goes "Oh really?" and uses her Scythe to slice off his limbs. Then it turns back into a spear, and she stabs him repeatedly. And after that she uses her claws to dig into him further before resulting to just punching the absolutely daylights out of him. Eventually Ares pulls her away from Zeus (who's definitely knocked TF out after all of that), and Athena finally gets her revenge for everything Zeus has done.

That's basically it. I'm still kind of developing this AU and trying to fill in the plot holes, BUT LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUYS THINK! And feel free to ask me questions or give me suggestions :3

And I'm so sorry this post is so long-

[mojo-is-rising]

I have finished coloring all my artpieces for the OLNF week, just missing background and rendition now! So as a reward for myself I thought I'd share my third mc - Caroline "Carol" Mulholland

(step 3- 18 yo)

Caroline's storyline focus on Self, your sense of self, identity, self-confidence and expression. Her LI is Qiu in a very fun take on the Rivals-to-Lovers trope with their inner character turmoil having a lot in common. Her and Tamarack were always very good friends and they look after each other. -Caroline's unique trait are her nose scar and full body freckles -Her hair quirk are natural brown roots and highlights At Step 1, Caroline is a very self-conscious little girl. She is deathly afraid of being alone so attempts at all costs to be well liked by everyone. Tamarack is superb company but Qiu is a perceived threat, as they are the top dog of the town. So Carol goes out of her way to surprass them at every step. At bycycle races, at being friends with Ren/Baxter and popular in school. Qiu embraces the competitive spirit but are trying to be actual friends with the girl. By Step 2, she has greatly succeeded in her endeavours. She reigns supreme at school, always surrondered by friends and invited to do stuff. Carol is scared to fall from grace, so she adopts a persona that is sure to impress. She dresses how others like her to dress and does what others want her to do. She is lost about who she actually is. Qiu is too tired to actively fight for anything, however, they can't help but relate a little to her situation (and admit she is dead-pretty). Tamarack is still a good friend, even if Carol is not as available as she used to.

(Left to Right - Step 2 [14] and Step 1 [10]) Now in Step 3, Caroline is on her path of discovery. Her childhood energy has come back and she wants to try everything. She now dresses in a sporty casual manner, instead of engaging in the hyper-femininity she thought she had to perform to, and spends time engaging in the hobbies she actually likes. This also means to actually pay attention to feelings about a certain someone that were burried a long time ago.

This oc recently has gone through a major re-design so i don't have a lot of references Step 4 in development!

[tenapricots]

My thoughts on Lemuria (warning for spoilers):

Probably my favorite world yet. I’m glad to see that KI is taking the game in a new direction story-wise. This is definitely the most engaged I’ve ever been with the storyline and dialogue

First of all, DASEIN. I’ve only known him for like 4 irl days, but I already love him so much! “Or am I indelibly stained by what I have done?” Oughhh!! I’ve never felt this attached to an NPC before, he is so darling. And as a general note, I’m glad that we’re getting more focus on characters as the game progresses, instead of it being generic NPC gives us quests for one area and then we forget about them forever

I also really loved the exploration of heroism and morality in Lemuria. Both Dasein learning about what is good/bad and the heroes themselves. I think there’s a good parallel between Dasein and the heroes, where all are greatly shaped by the Old One (Dasein physically looking like him, the heroes designed by him), but that doesn’t mean that they can’t develop independently from him and ultimately reject his ideas

It’s also really interesting that the final dungeon, which is usually when we defeat the big bad of the world, is actually us stopping our own allies, the heroes, from using the world synthesizer to decide the fate of the whole Spiral by themselves and robbing everyone else of their agency

The whole world seems like a critique of powerful figureheads in general, whether their intentions are immoral (the Old One, who conducted deadly experiments on a whole world in order to remake a better Spiral through eugenics) or benevolent (the heroes, who wanted to remake the Spiral but without everything the Old One stood for, but were still shown to be wrong), which is a very interesting angle for the game to take, considering that we have been a powerful figurehead (savior of the Spiral x3) for arcs 1-3. I really wonder how they’re going to expand on this for the rest of arc 4 and future arcs

Also this is why imo Heap >>>>> Marleybone, I loved the contrast/dialogue between the Shadoe and Dog Tracy and that more systemic causes of crime are mentioned. Whereas in Marleybone where we basically just show up and beat people up to address the gang/crime issue, occasionally helping individuals with their problems but hardly doing anything to fix the class/species discrimination, the Shadoe actively challenges this approach, criticizing us for doing just that (just showing up and beating people up), teaching us that we need to help and understand the people who live in Heap in order to address the underlying issues in the community

I’m glad to see a more sympathetic approach toward a downtrodden group and that the prejudiced viewpoint is rebuked (clearly the Old One is wrong for using Heap as a dumping ground for those he saw as too degenerate for his eugenicist vision). On the other hand, questing through Marleybone is so bizarre because I feel like KI makes the discrimination issue quite clear, so the game is pretty self-aware. But then somehow we spend time helping racial profiler Abigail Doolittle and following the orders of cops who have arrested innocent people (technically the first one is a side quest but still)

Additionally the badges for this world are so unique (“Desperately Seeking Lemuria”, “vs. the Volcano”). “Accomplished…Something” is my favorite though, it’s the one I currently have equipped. I really hope Dasein’s arc gets a good resolution in Wallaru (I know basically nothing about it story-wise because I’m still midway through Novus. This poor man is getting colonized and having a breakdown about it, somebody please help him)

[thenightling]

This is interesting. Apparently Nickelodeon's live action TV movie musicals of Monster High were / are so successful that Universal Studios now wants to make a high budget (to be theatrically released) live-action Monster High movie.

(As far as I know, there will still be a third Nickelodeon Monster High movie this October, not connected to the Universal Studios version in development).

Universal Studios has made a new deal with Mattel, which suggests that their own planned Monster High movie will make specific reference to the Universal movie versions of the classic monsters and not just the public domain or zeitgeist idea of the characters.

So for anyone confused, this is NOT the third Nickelodeon Monster High TV movie. This is different. This will be a high budget Universal Studios project for an actual theatrical release and probably with direct references to the Universal monster movies.

(Joking) Boy, Universal's Dark Universe is certainly going in an unexpected direction! :-P

For those who don't know what Monster High is, Monster High is a line of collectable fashion dolls meant to be the children of classic monsters. They have tie-in books, animated series, music videos, and live action musical TV movies made by Nickelodeon.

Every six years Monster High gets a "soft reboot" where the collectable dolls get redesigned and the attached storylines are changed. For example in Generation 1 the school was like an American public High school and the principle was the Headless Mistress (A woman Headless Horseman, whose doll is now highly sought after by collectors).

Generation 2 changed the school to a boarding school created by Count Dracula to protect monster children from the threat of humans. This incarnation of Monster High heavily "borrowed" from Hotel Transylvania. The dolls also lost some quality and were more cheaply made. Their eyes were made bigger and the monstrous traits softened or greatly reduced. The zombie character, Ghoulia, was almost entirely dropped.

Generation 3 restored the dolls quality and gave them new body types such as Draculaura being shorter and more full-figured. She's also a vampire-witch (Love that combo).

Lagoona Blue is no longer Australian and (this change I don't like) is now pink instead of blue and they removed her webbed hands, making it hard to tell she is even the daughter of The Creature from the Black Lagoon.

Frankie Stein was given a prosthetic leg and is now nonbinary, using they / them pronouns.

The weird thing is Clawdeen (the werewolf) is now "half-human." ...How? Werewolfism is like diabetes. You either have it or you don't. There's no "half."

It is likely the new Universal movie will be intended for the next soft reboot but that's not scheduled until 2028.

It will be interesting to see what Universal studios does with merging their own classic monsters with the Monster High franchise.

[deadbydad]

What if Mortal Kombat...Was Turned Into A Show?

Look, I know that they already did something like this, but let's be honest it sucked.

The lore in Mortal Kombat is so interesting yet confusing, and I feel like that's what makes that game so special. And I think that, if done right, it could be made into a show and do well!

But I don't mean that the show needs to like show the whole plot or storyline because we've already seen that. Instead I want to see episodes about different characters and/or their relationship with other characters.

Here's a list of the characters I would like to see get an episode about them:

Kung Jin - He's one of the most underrated characters and it doesn't help with the fact that he was literally in only one game, and even in that one he didn't have that much of a chance to develop his character a lot. He's one of the first confirmed gay characters in the game series, and that's great we love to see great LGBT representation in games. In an episode I want to see more about his past, his parents and who they were and what happened to them, and especially his relationship with Kung Lao. I also want to see his relationship grow stronger with the other Kombat Kids Cassie Cage, Takahashi Takeda, and Jacqui Briggs. We hear about this character yet I feel like he has so much more potential and they could prove that with an episode just about him and how he develops.

Takahashi Takeda & Takahashi Kenshi - One of the father and son duo's, I feel like Kenshi gets way too much hate for doing something to protect Takeda from getting hurt or even killed like his mother did. Any father would do that for their family and their child. At first when Kenshi comes back to see his son after Hanzo Hisashi trained him as a Shirai Ryu warrior, Takeda hates him and says that Kenshi had no right to walk back into his life just to be a proud dad, but after Hanzo explains why Kenshi did it, Takeda tries to forgive him and give his father a second chance. And he does, later on in the game we see that they have a great father and son relationship. I want to see how that happened and how that developed in an episode. It definatly wasn't talked about enough in the game and I feel like in a show it would be better explained.

Hanzo Hisashi & Takahashi Takeda - Hanzo Hisashi had taken in Takeda when Kenshi asked him to take care of his son and train him until he was strong enough to fight. Hanzo did, and it seemed that Hanzo and Takeda had developed a father son relationship in some shape or form. Again, this wasn't really shown how it happened, and I feel like it would be greatly explained better in an episode instead of in a game.

Cassie Cage & Jacqui Briggs - Cassie and Jacqui are best friend that grew up together due to their parents, Sonya Blade and Jax Briggs, being close friends for many years. Not a whole lot of how their friendship began and formed was shown on MKX or MKXI, which is a shame. I feel like it would be interesting to see how these two grew up together and became friends over the many years they've known each other.

The Kombat Kids - Cassie Cage, Kung Jin, Takahashi Takeda, and Jacqui Briggs are the next generation of fighters and defenders against Shinnok. And basically the whole MKX game we see these four get to know each other and become closer. But that's it, we really don't know what happened between the four of them except that Jacqui and Takeda are married or engaged, but other than that we don't know exactly what happened to this group. It seems like they're all still friends which is a good thing but I feel like that an episode could be a great way to explain what happened and give us more details.

Kung Lao & Kung Jin - Okay NetherRealm make up your damn minds because in MKX it says that Kung Jin is Kung Lao's cousin but in MK11 it says that he is Kung Lao's nephew. Why make that change I have no clue, but that's besides the point on why I think these two deserve in episode of their own. The episode could show stuff that we haven't seen clearly in the games and stuff that we've heard through dialogue intros. The episode could show us them training or sparring, getting to know one another as family and hell maybe they'll fucking help each other with their damn egos, but that's what I love about these two to be honest. Not much is said about these two's relationship with one another and that is a damn shame if you ask me.

Kotal Khan & Jade - This couple really came out of nowhere, and the game did give us like a small hint about these two and how their relationship started, but it still just came out of nowhere. NetherRealm Studios could explain this and how these two got together and the whole back story of these two with an episode and it would be better explained than in a video game.

Johnny Cage & Cassie Cage - I love this father and daughter duo so much, but I want to see an episode about these two. Maybe how they're both dealing with Sonya's death and how they're navigating that together as a family, maybe Johnny helping Cassie with how to handle and use the green magic that they have, or maybe even just how Johnny is feeling about seeing his daughter growing up and how he deals with that too.

Kuai Liang and Bi-Han - I want to see an episode about these two growing up together, so badly. I want to really see how these two brothers interacted with each other before everything went to shit. I just want to see that. No like sad shit, I've seen enough of that, I want happy memories.

[hobiebrownismygod]

My OC but I can't draw - The Widow

Maitreyi Jokhar (she/her & South Indian), Earth-206202, Present day, Spider-man/Black Widow (kind of) variant

I doubt anyone's gonna see this, but if you do and you like my character, let me know, cuz idk whether I should try to write stuff about her like other creators on Tumblr or if I should just keep her within the confinement of my mind lol.

Summary: She's basically the Black Widow if she was Spider-man and Indian. She went through a very similar process as the MCU Black Widow when it comes to her backstory. As for her suit, I got inspiration from Cindy Moon/Silk Spider and she basically wears a black face mask with a silver and black suit with straight black pants/jeans over them. She has her black hair pulled back in a braid that falls to her mid-back with curtain bangs to frame her face. For her backstory, I tried to make it as accurate to the MCU universe as I could because shes a product of H.Y.D.R.A, and I also tried to follow the storyline of ATSV but if there are any mistakes, please correct me! I made her bisexual and it'll briefly mention that below too. I'm going to ship her with Hobie Brown, cuz I'm obsessed with him, so some of that will be down as well. If you have any feedback or anything, that would be greatly appreciated, because I'm still pretty new to Tumblr and this is my first Spider-sona/OC! Also, if anyone can think of a better name for her, please let me know, cuz "The Widow" feels kind of cliche, lol.

This is a MEDIUM-LENGTH POST (About 1.2k words)

Backstory, Personality, Looks, Relationship, Fighting Style and Canon Events are all under the cut! 💜

I think I gave her too much trauma but whatever, character development and all that great stuff :p

Backstory:

Kidnapped and sold into child trafficking at the age of 5

Eventually forced into the Red Room/Black Widow Program from the ages of 7-14(the same one that Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow was subject to)

In this universe, the Red Room Program is an extension of Hydra

Chosen to be part of one of Hydra's new super-soldier experiments at the age of 15 after hundreds of failed attempts at replicated the super-serum used on Captain America during WWII

Gave her the same powers as the normal Spider-man except she has a limited amount of webs and has fangs which inject extremely deadly venom

Continued to be trained by Hydra until the age of 16, when the Avengers of her universe were finally able to find the base and invade it

Captain America/Steve Rogers of her universe took her in and treated her like a daughter, because she reminded him of Bucky who he lost in the war

She became an Avenger until her universe's version of Avengers Infinity War happened, except they weren't able to bring everyone back, and they were only able to get rid of the infinity stones

Half of the universe disappeared, including most of her Avenger friends

The world blamed superheroes for this and superheroes were no longer revered in this universe and were instead hated

She gave up her mask until she was eventually recruited by Miguel at the age of 18, only a few months after she gave it up

Looks:

I can't draw her out but this is what I imagine her to look like in my head

Fairly short, about 5'5ish

Black hair that she pulls back into a loose braid that falls to her mid-back with curtain bangs framing her face

Medium brown skin cuz she's South Indian, so probably an almond brown color with big dark brown eyes and long lashes

Wears a black face mask instead of a normal Spider-man mask, kind of like Silk/Cindy Moon's

Her suit is a black and silver spider-man suit and she wears straight black pants, kind of like straight jeans over them.

Has a big silver spider emblem on her back

Fingerless gloves to make it easier to stick onto walls

Has a side pocket in her pants where she hides a knife given to her by her version of Aunt May (expanded on in the canon events section of the post below)

Personality:

Cold, and doesn't really like to open up to people because of her trauma

When she does open up it comes out very emotionally and she kind of bursts

She has anger issues, and can get pretty heated, especially if she's performed badly during a mission or missed a punch during a fight

She beats herself up over little things, and expects perfection from herself (trauma)

She has a punching bag for this reason and she's always in the conditioning/training area of the Spider Society, trying to be better, to be the best

Despite this, she's really gentle and quiet around people she cares about (Hobie, Margo, Pav, etc...)

Doesn't enjoy physical touch unless its from someone she really cares about or feels safe around

Her love language is physical touch and quality time and if she's around someone she cares about, she'll constantly be touching them, whether its holding their hand, holding their finger or having her arm around their waist

Doesn't crack jokes like the average spider-man, has a very dry sense of humor when she does make jokes

Once someone get really close to her, she'll never let them go, always being really clingy and hugging on to them, cuz shes afraid of losing them like she lost everyone else

She never got the chance to be a kid, so she can seem a little clingy and childish at times.

She tries hard not to be, but its so difficult when she's so afraid of being alone again

Fighting Style:

She's very acrobatic

She tends to fight differently than the average Spider-person because she was trained to be more of an assassin

Uses anything in the environment she can get her hands on, like sticks, knives, sharp rocks, even pencils

Shes very handy with guns

Stopped holding back her punches after her canon event (expanded on in the canon events section of this post below)

Relationships:

After joining the Spider-Society, she met Hobie Brown and fell head over heels for him, although she would never admit it

He reminded her of Captain America/Steve cuz of how vocal Hobie is about his values and beliefs

Steve was the same way and she always admired that so it fueled her crush on Hobie

They became friends shortly after she arrived

She told Hobie about how people in her universe don't like superheroes after what happened and he immediately asked her if she wanted to stay with him in his dimension instead

She got very flustered but eventually said yes and now she stays in his spare room

He's trying to teach her how to play the guitar, but she's not that good at it

But she has a really nice singing voice

Sometimes she'll sit down next to Hobie when he plays the guitar and softly sing along to the music with her head on her knees

Its comforting for her and she likes being around him

Maitreyi isn't ACAB like Hobie, but she supports him either way, going with him to protests and being in the audience when his band plays

Since she was brought up in present-day she doesn't have as many bad experiences with racism as he does, but she, as a brown-skinned individual, has dealt with it before

She found that after moving to Brooklyn, there was a lot of prejudice against dark-skinned people, especially since she lived in the upscale, predominantly white neighborhood with her version of Aunt May

Because of this, she can somewhat relate to him, but not on the same level

Maitreyi also became close with Margo Kess/Spider-byte

They clicked when they first met

Margo likes to show Maitreyi all the cool tech she makes because her universe is a lot more advanced than Maitreyi's

She loves silently sitting in the corner while Margo works because she feels safe with her

She and Pavitr immediately clicked when they first met

Hobie introduced her to him and she was absolutely in awe of this optimistic, colorful young man who was basically the exact opposite of her in personality terms

They're both South Indian so they quickly bonded over their shared culture

Despite Maitreyi being South Indian, she does speak some Hindi, along with German, English and Russian

She doesn't speak her mother-tongue or even know what it is because she was taken from her parents so young, but she tried to learn Hindi after moving to Brooklyn because she wanted to be closer to her culture

Pav and Maitreyi talk in Hindi to each other sometimes, which confused Hobie whenever he's with them

She looks up to Miguel O'Hara

She thinks he's a good leader and aspires to be like him, even though she hates his justification of canon events

They have similar powers (they both have fangs) and he taught her how to talk without showing her fangs so she can be less intimidating

She likes Mexican food and they often go to the cafeteria together to eat empanadas and etc...

Both of them enjoy silence and quality time, so when they do get food together, they don't talk, they just quietly enjoy the vibes

Its the same with Jess Drew

She thinks she's freaking awesome

Jess was Maitreyi's mentor, similarly to how she was Gwen's mentor in ATSV

Jess taught her how to drive a motorcycle and she fell in love with it

Sometimes when she needs to blow off steam, she'll ask Jess to take her motorcycle out for a drive (She'll always say yes)

She does NOT like Peter B. Parker

She doesn't find him funny and doesn't like his vibes

She doesn't appreciate the fact that he brings his baby on dangerous missions, because she has a major spot spot for children

She DOES however love Mayday

She especially loves babysitting her with Hobie and watching him play with her

She finds it very comforting and sometimes she'll find herself staring at Hobie, just admiring his features and his voice and has to snap herself back to reality before he notices

He 100% has no idea about her major crush on him because he's kind of dense about those things

Also she's not vocal about it and tries her best to be inconspicuous about how attracted she is to him

Canon Events:

Maitreyi's first canon event was the experiment in which she gained her powers

It functions as her version of the "Spider-bite"

Her second canon event was losing Gwen Stacy

After being saved from H.Y.D.R.A. by the Avengers, she tried to live her life out as a normal teenager, under the protection of the S.H.I.E.L.D.

S.H.I.E.L.D wanted her to assimilate with the public quickly in order to prevent the possibility of her falling under the influence of H.Y.D.R.A again, and believed that by engaging with people her age and creating emotional connections, it wouldn't happen

They allowed her to use her powers to protect Brooklyn as they wanted her to hone her abilities in a safe way, while also being able to ward off the possibility of Kingpin, Green Goblin or any of the other New York villains becoming Avengers-level threats

She was given a new name, Mary-Jane Watson, and sent to live in Brooklyn under the protection of May Parker, a retired S.H.I.E.L.D agent

She met Gwen Stacy at Brooklyn High and fell in love with her

They dated for a few months and Gwen quickly found out that she was Spider-woman

Maitreyi lost Gwen Stacy during a battle with her nemesis, Norman Osborne/Green Goblin

Maitreyi dropped out of school immediately after Gwen's death and turned her attention toward becoming a full-time Avenger

She also got rid of the alias, Mary-Jane Watson, because she wasn't fond of it in the first place and started using her original name instead

Her third canon event was losing her mentor, Steve Rogers/Captain America

In her universe's version of MCU Infinity War, where Thanos collected all the infinity stones, they were only able to stop him by killing him

Thanos destroyed the stones right before he died, and dusted away 50% of the population

Iron Man/Tony Stark was one of those 50% and therefore, they were never able to travel back in time to get the stones or do any of the things that happened in MCU Endgame

Steve Rogers was one of the people who was snapped away as well and Maitreyi held his hand as he died

Her fourth canon event was giving up her mask

Only a week after Thanos happened, she threw away her mask and went back to live with May, who was perfectly willing to house her

About two months after she gave up her mask, Miguel approached her and asked to recruit her to the Spider-Society

At first she was hesitant, but she accepted, taking back her mask and once again becoming, The Widow

This is all before the events of ATSV by the way, I have no idea how I'm gonna introduce her to ATSV-Gwen Stacy or Miles yet lol

You must be exhausted from reading all this, so here's a Hobie to refresh you!

Definitely one of my favorite pictures of him, he's so gorgeous mwah

[ohithankyou]

So I was thinking. I never understood why they broke up Buck and Ali. She was nice, she seemed a good fit, and outside of one superbly acted teary scene by Oliver, it was never really used for angst.

But then I realised, assuming they had some sort of plan of where they were taking Buck in season 3, they needed Buck to be single so he'd feel so alone once Bobby took him off the team. So Ali had to go.

And I do think it's the same with Tommy. They want Buck all alone, so Tommy had to go.

hii! thank you for sharing your insight! i find it so interesting to see how people interpret the relationship arcs/storylines. i will say, i have to disagree re: buck and ali’s relationship and why it possibly ended/parallels to tommy.

of course we don’t know the exact line of thinking (or maybe it’s out there and i’m unaware) but i don’t think the driving force for the writers breaking buck and ali up was so that buck would be alone. maybe it could’ve been a small factor but really, i think it came down to the writers not wanting to settle buck in a relationship at that point (which makes sense because it was season two).

yeah, ali was nice and there was potential but we really didn’t get to see that potential because buck and ali met up for coffee at the end of “buck, actually” (2x08) and that moment is mostly montaged) and then the next time we saw her again was in 2x18—which is the same episode they breakup. so, not much development on that front or even us seeing them together as a couple/unit. so i can’t quite see that impact of removing ali so buck could be isolated, yk?

and, again, i don’t think the writer’s necessarily wanted to develop it more than that because 1) the relationship, in my opinion, was more-so meant to symbolize that buck could move past abby, that there was someone else out there for him (for both buck and the audience) rather than something long term. 2) because it would be, by the nature of the show, too early to put buck in another serious relationship so soon after his relationship with abby AND also too early in the context of it only being season two/three.

with buck and tommy though, i could see that they broke them up because they want buck to be isolated again for a bit (don’t know why but sure. it would be more exciting to see buck have a shoulder to lean on imo, but anyway). i could see that because they really established tommy being there for buck just the episode before (and outside of that episode as well) and therefore, from a narrative standpoint, his absence would be more greatly felt by buck and the audience in buck’s time of need.

and i know you didn’t reference this so this is just me yapping in general, but buck and ali’s breakup was very final narratively because the reality of being with a freighter hit her and she could not do that (which completely understandable). and as i’ve said a million times about now, buck and tommy’s breakup did not feel like an end but like something that only opened up more doors.

anyway, sorry how long this got lmaoo. but thank you for sharing your interpretation with me 🫶

[katurdayss]

It’s been a full week since the finale of Rings of Power and every time I've sat down to try to write my S2 review I see a new take and start rethinking. I eventually circle back to the same ideas tho, so fuck it, here are my thoughts in no particular order.

Season 2 was a lot better than Season 1. This is true for most shows, as S1 is usually a 'lets find our footing' scenario, but also these seasons are SHORT. Which leads me to...

This show would benefit GREATLY from seasons longer than 8 episodes. The way they've structured it means they juggle a LOT of storylines at once. Sometimes this is great, other times it feels like storylines suffer because they're just planting seeds for the future and it doesn't really have an impact on the Main Storyline for the season. For me, Arondir was one of these. His started with this great potential for how an immortal would understand the concept of grieving the forever loss of a loved one. Unfortunately that was really watered down into tracking down Adar to kill him, full stop. Which brings us to...

What.the.fuck.is.the.timeline? How much time has passed? S1 and S2 feel like they happened in a month. I don’t care if the timeline is compressed, I still want to feel time passing other than noticing Annatar's/Sauron’s hair magically grew like 4 inches in one episode.

Speaking of Annatar, I feel like what the show did really well was creating original dialogue/moments (even with canon things) instead of what I would call fan/studio service. The parts that I have loved the most were the more original moments: like anything involving the dwarves, the development of Miriel and Elendil, the Ents, and Cirdan. The parts that I felt were weakest were when the show relied too heavily or used dialogue from the Jackson movies. I didn't want the Stranger to be Gandalf, not because it isn't canon, but because Peter Jackson already did that. I don't need multiple call backs to his movies (I love those movies too). I'm here for NEW STUFF. Expand my Tolkien universe, show me shit I've never seen before that will make my head explode. That weird nameless thing Arondir killed? Imagine the Cardi B 'What is that' meme and that was me. Fucking great. I don't want to be constantly reminded of the Jackson version of shit, I'm here to see Prime's version.

That brings me to the idea of consistency. I have yet to figure out what the methodology the showrunners/writers have when choosing to follow or not follow canon. Example, they included that little orc family but didn't make Elrond an elf lord? WHY? His lineage is like royal af. Even when not following canon, I feel like the writing can be really inconsistent. The Numenor storyline is a great example of this. Sometimes it's awesome, but the dialogue for the Kings Men characters are often really cringy, and not because what they're saying is fascist. Galadriel is another one for me. Do I need to like her, no, but her character is also used as a studio catch all for every woman character archetype possible. She's single-minded and driven, she's soft and caring, she's thoughtful and wise, every dude apparently is in love with her and it swings WILDLY from episode to episode. You need space to build in these changes to make them believable, which see points 2 & 3.

And finally, on the subject of romance/shipping, for the love of god a story can be great without all the fan service romantic tension editing and teasing. People can exist without romantic partners. People exist without romance. I literally do it every day. I'm not saying you need to make characters asxeual or anything either. Just you know, let people be people. Did The Kiss bother me? No, but you also could of written Elrond slipping Galadriel a lock pick numerous other ways. Is Sauron obsessed with Galadriel? Sure, but maybe its because her hair shines with the light of the west or something and not this tired trope of 'bE mY qUeeN'.

There are other things I would personally change, but I thoroughly enjoyed this season. It made me do a whole lot of reckoning with the ideas of canon representation vs just good storytelling for the audience, which is a really good thing. But it also showed me the folly in treating every media property the same, because Tolkien is not Marvel is not GOT is not The Witcher. You can't be like, 8 episodes works for X so it should work for this too, or x worked for GOT so we'll use that here as well. Maybe it's the Graphic Designer in me but just because Pepsi and Coca Cola are brand soda's doesn't mean the design language and marketing is the same, ya know?

[heidisbooknook]

Twisted Love - Ana Huang Review

  ┏━━━━━༻❁༺━━━━━┓

➺ IT’S ME AGAINN (you hear that? Crickets..) 

This time I'm coming at you all with a JUICY review of the last book I read.

Twisted Love - Ana Huang

FIRST OF ALL. Let me say I love Ana Huang even more when I realized she has a page in her book AND on her website dedicated to the playlists she made for her books. STOP. I will literally buy any book as long as it has a dedicated playlist. I’m so serious. (Butcher and Blackbird I'm looking at you) 

This book had me cycling through every emotion you are capable of experiencing, and then some. Character development? Chefs kiss. Storyline? Immaculate. SPICE?? Don’t even play with me.

Let’s begin:

“Love. Deep abiding unconditional love. You want it so much you're willing to live for it. You want it so much you'd say yes to anything. Believe anyone. One more favor, one more kind gesture…and maybe, just maybe, they'll give you the love you want so desperately you’d whore yourself out for it” -Alex Volkov.

❥ Overall Story: When our FMC (Ava Chen)’s overly-protective brother decides to pack up and leave for Central America for a year, He asks his best friend Alex Volkov (MMC) to watch over his little sister. Neither party is too happy about this arrangement but Alex begrudgingly agrees. He shortly after moves into Josh’s house while he is away, which just so happens to be the next-door neighbor to Ava. (coincidence? I THINK NOT!) 

Meanwhile, Ava is haunted by her past that she can’t quite remember while Alex remembers his all too well. Driven by revenge from a past family tragedy, Alex spends his time trying to take down the man that caused it, all while “watching over” his best friend's little sister. (BROTHERS BEST FRIEND TROPE AHHH) 

“You are the light to my dark, Sunshine. Without you, I’m lost.”  -Alex Volkov.

❥ Character Analysis: 

➺ Ava: Despite all the challenges Ava, our FMC, has faced, she never lets it dull her shine, and she still chooses to see the good in everything and everyone around her. You cannot help but fall in love with her kind soul and the depth of her character development was so well done that I really felt connected to her thoughts and emotions. She is such a badass FMC and I loved being a part of her self-love journey throughout the book. Her entire story is both tragic and empowering and has definitely left a lasting impression on me as a reader.

➺ Alex: Alright, everyone, buckle up for this one. By now It’s pretty well known that our MMC is a grumpy, possessive, and intimidating character (and may I add, possibly the biggest red flag I've encountered to date) He is your typical egotistical, wealthy CEO, and throughout the book, you learn a lot about his past and why he is the way he is. Let me just clarify, If a real man treated me the way Alex treats our ray of sunshine, Ava, most of the time, he'd find himself immediately blocked—buh-bye!

Alex does reveal a softer side for her, and that's exactly why I found myself drawn to him in this story. It's a classic case of 'he-hates-everyone-but-has-a-soft-spot-for-her,' and I'm here for it. 

“If you wanted, I would burn down the world for you.” -Alex Volkov.

❥ Romance: The tension portrayed in this book was immaculate and had me crying, screaming, throwing up, etc. It was a total rollercoaster of emotions, with every turn leaving me eagerly anticipating the moment they would finally make a move!! Their chemistry was undeniable and it took every ounce of self-control in me to not annotate literally every line of the book. 

Now be warned if you don't already know this is a very spicy romance novel so although there were only two or three intimate scenes they were vividly detailed and definitely didn't leave anything to the imagination!

Something I greatly admired about this book was that the entire story didn't solely rely on the spice. It was definitely there and added to the story but the real plot was so intriguing and I was constantly sucked in by all the twists, turns, and action happening throughout.

I'm definitely hooked on this series and eager to explore the perspectives of the other characters and delve into their own stories.  

“But secretly winter fascinates you, it's everything you fear and for that you love it. Because the fear makes you feel alive.” - Alex Volkov

Next up…Twisted Games (I fear Rhys is gonna join my ever-expanding book boyfriend list real quick)

❥ More Quotes:

 Ava: “Alex the piece costs $40,000”

Alex: “Really? Shit.”

Ava: “I'm sure we can-”

Alex: “I thought it was expensive”

Ava: “Do you ever smile? It might help with your condition”

Alex: “What condition?”Ava: “StickUpTheAssitis”

Alex: “No. The condition is chronic.”

Ava: “Alex…”

Alex: “Yes, Sunshine?”

Ava: “Kiss me.”

❥ Playlist:  Credit to Ana Huang

➺ https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4yuOEzi88vKDskX8fVma8d?si=de0b43b6606b46e5

❥ Moodboard/Fanart:

[tmwcs]

Mermaids Tale - Chapter 4

This was a fun chapter to revise, no smut, just pure details of Heeseung's ancestry. hehehehe. it's getting good.

So because tumblr is still being a pain, this isnt' really proof read. I couldn't copy and paste the chapter in, so i had just retype the whole thing while staring at the original draft to keep the flow of the storyline accurate, but there might be some grammar errors. I'll fix that whenever Tumblr stops being mean to me.

Pairings: Heeseung and you

Warnings: So while there is no smut, there is mentioning and implying of slave breeding, coerce sex, rape (not mentioned directly, just implied) being used for DNA, capture and imprisonment, and i think that's it. some of it is directly stated, while majority of it is heavily implied.

Begin read below line :)

8th Century BC

In the northern sphere of the southwestern district, an area where the Balkan Peninsula would eventually run through in the Mediterranean region, an ancient kingdom currently occupies a large part of the European continent, bearing as the most notorious empire in the world.

Named after its line of successors during the age of its victorious period, the kingdom had become the most significant empire during the Byzantine Dynasty. It’s last known ruler, history’s triumphant conqueror, Alexander III of Macedon, son of Philip II, became greatly known for his enhanced strategic command and leadership, and the greatest King during the Macedon Dynasty.

Today, he is commonly known as Alexander the Great. 

Following the events that took place within the Asia Minor, the great king feared of the dangers that lurked and threatened his line of succession. Establishing a hidden order and made up entirely of his secret sons to carry out his legacy, a clan, called the “Sons of Adam”, named after the First Man, was created. Carrying the bloodline of his ruling essence, through ages of descendants produced by his own offspring, Alexanders will, unaware by the myriad of enemies he made during his conquer, thrived through the proposed non-existence of his male heirs.

Knowing the dangers of corruption that remained prevalent in his kingdom, Alexander could not afford to put his bloodline at risk of elimination at the hands of his enemies, thus all records of his sons were destroyed, as they were removed from the kingdom and tucked away within the great monasteries of the continent.

By forming the clan, members, simply known as an “Adam”, were highly trained and skilled in the art of using sword and shield. They learned the battle techniques that were both domestic and foreign to them, developing advanced flexibility, stamina, and strength. Under secrecy, they were assigned to the temples that worshipped the ancient Gods of their time, serving as the guardians that protected the old religion, becoming just as forgettable as the priests and nuns who lived amongst, and cared for them.

When Alexanders untimely death came about, many throughout Persia and the Asia Minor displayed their corruptions as countless formations that the former king left behind, were eradicated. Many agreements became broken, all leading to the division of the Macedon Kingdom, ceasing its existence.

To avoid the risk of exposing their identities, the Sons of Adam were eventually migrated to Hellenistic Sicily, to further keep their lineage a secret as the last known warriors of Macedonia.

Through the natural and manmade disasters that occurred through every period of the world’s age, the sons of Alexander the Great had no choice but to spread, furthering the promotion of their procreation as the prestige lineage of a dying breed.

In the early 19th century, a young Merchant Marine by the name of Ethan Alexandros, travels and participates in the Russo-Japanese War during the Joseon Dynasty. In the aftermath, Ethan retires and remained in the conquered country of Korea, marrying a local woman, and carrying out his deed as a descendant of his great relative and wife, Alexander and Roxana, as well as carrying out the sworn duty as an Adam.

Much like his relatives, the fellow Adams immigrated throughout the world, spreading their legacy, and secretly merged with humanity. Through their great traits, some of which displayed longevity in their lifespan and youth, or inhuman strength, the Adams were careful to remain unidentified, Ethan was no different.

Continuing the bestowal of his ancestor’s birthright in the oriental region, Ethan and his wife produced three sons, all of which continued the lineage of male born offspring to continue. Just as his relatives had done to him, he blesses them with a surname that is not of his own, to carefully maintain the discretion of the clan’s formation. Allowing his children to inherit the name of their mother’s family, Ethan’s sons were all christened with the surname, Lee.

Today, a young man, unaware of his superior lineage, migrates through the city. With the intelligence equivalent to that of the most respected educators in the world, and the abnormally high aptitude of mastering abilities, both in combat and various skillsets, Lee Heeseung is bidding farewell to his peers and employment, as a member of the elite SWAT force of the Provisional Government in his division. Along with his elder brothers, the boys displayed impressive records of their abilities in their military background, earning them an expedited transfer into the force upon completing their time in service, as the eldest became the lead security chief of staff for the nation’s government, while the middle brother was contracted as a general for the nation’s largest military force. The youngest, with his high modest and humble value, opted for a contract to better serve the public, and signed with the police organization, accepting the role of supervising team leader and chief of his division.

For the youngest son, that was always the case, he differed greatly from his elder brothers. He was smarter, stronger, the highest skilled and talented among the three. It was widely known how abnormally attractive each brother was, however, Heeseung always won the majority of popular votes when it came to being the best looking out of the three. It wasn’t just limited to his appearance either, the man had a gift of song as he would often, while unintentionally, serenade every woman, or even men, whenever his team would let off some steam and partake in a night of drinking and karaoke. Bewildered by the trait of capturing the hearts of everyone around him, it was eerie for his friends and co-workers to note how the people around him, as he sung sweetly to the tunes of the song of choice, entranced all around him.

How was this possible?...

‘The ancestor Ethan was a descendant of Alexander and his youngest wife, Roxana, well after the order was established, many Adam’s caught the eye of kings and rulers during the period of when mortals were at war with the Sirens. Noting their enhanced combat abilities and vast knowledge in foreign weaponry and techniques, the Adam’s were all bid and hired by the kings of the land to aid in humanity’s conquest in defeating the Sirens.

Just as expected of them, the Adam’s were able to not only fend off the maidens of the sea, somehow, though still unexplainable, the Adam’s were immune to the whims of the oceanic goddesses as many of them were defeated and brutally killed off by the prowess of the clan, though, had they not been masked and blinded by the steel guard of their head pieces, inhibiting the clear view of the other worldly beauty of each maiden slaughtered, the clan would have committed to more humane death.

After realizing the beauty of these maidens, which appeared to be the only factor that had any effect on the clan, the eldest Adam, Philippe, commanded his brethren to capture and detain whatever maiden was left. Upon learning that the maidens had the ability to develop legs, the captured Sirens were imprisoned on land, within the grand estates of the clan, all awarded by the kings that hired the young men.

Unbeknownst to the royal family, the Adam’s brought back the remaining Sirens, trapped them within their mansions as they turned them into wives, and produced future sons with them. It was both out of endearment and love for their beauty and to enhance their bloodline as they discovered that offspring between an Adam and a Siren, contained the capabilities of both worlds. Their lifespan increased, immunities against disease and poison was enhanced, their strengths and ability in the water also evolved. Though it wasn’t apparent with every single offspring, some, the rare types, were born with all the above traits, along with the ability to hypnotize their opponents with their voice, a trait that solely came from the lineage of their maternal side.

An uncommon ability, yet widely desired amongst the descendants, the Adam’s strived to produce the strongest of heirs, as they kept the Siren’s to themselves, forcing them to live and adapt to live among mortals, something that Celine, the youngest siren, did out of her own accord.

Aware of what had happened with her captured sisters, Celine was careful to avoid crossing paths with the male descendants. However, the dying number of sirens that managed to avoid getting captured, were all forced to hide in the deep trenches of the ocean, remaining out of sight as they feared the clan. Realizing that she did not desire to lurk in darkness forever, Celine migrated to the land, where she portrayed herself as a mere mortal survivor from shipwreck, met and married a kind sailor who became enamored by her beauty and sweet voice.

Within due time, Celine learned to love and care for her husband, wanting nothing more than to be by his side forever. Even though her tolerance for mortals was more temperamental and gentler compared to the ruthless behavior of her sisters, Celine never thought it possible to love one. Yet, as fate would have it, her immortality inhibited her from continuing her happiness with him in the afterlife, thus was left with no choice but to disappear and go back to the sea once her husband aged but noticed that his wife’s appearance remained the same. It was heart breaking; however, she knew it had to be done for the safety of herself and her daughters. Making a pact and telling them of their bloodline, the daughters bid farewell to their mother, and continued their lives, promising that the story of their ancestry is passed down to each generation, and if the moment comes where a daughter falls in love and marries a mortal, she too, at some point in her life, will have to disappear and live her life roaming in the sea…’

Earlier in the year, the elders of the Lee family established an agreement for the three brothers to take over the major corporation as the President, CEO and Executive Director of the affluential company that monopolized the world, establishing an impressive family background and insurmountable wealth to their name. It was always the family’s wish, contracting an agreement with the boys since childhood that they were free to choose their path up until the time would come, where each one must set aside whatever career or background they marked on their own, and take in the responsibility of continuing the direction of the family’s economical creation, to maintain the superior status of the Lee family line. It was an act to keep the business strictly within the family, avoiding the risks of outsiders in corrupting and ruining what the Lee family had created and entitled in their name.

Each day, adorning dashing suits and expensive accessories, Heeseung slowly acclimates to a lifestyle that lacked the thrill and adventure he was accustomed to by joining the Navy Seals, transferring into the SWAT force, and overseeing the division of the districts most promising officers.

Soon after he inherited his new billet of becoming the executive director of his family’s company, under the mentorship of his grandfather, the feeling of complacency coated his mood as he found himself succumbing to boredom. Taking note of his lack of enthusiasm, the senior member of the company’s presidential board did his best to enthrall his grandson in a myriad of ways; hiring the prettiest applicants to fulfill the roles of his personal secretary or filling the entire upper floor of the headquarters building with the loveliest staff members to accompany his business trips at his choosing.

Appreciating his grandfather’s efforts, Heeseung put up a front, but never exposed that his grandfather’s method didn’t work. It only provided temporary aid in relieving the mental frustrations he developed from his administrative duties as he chose one lovely woman or another each week, bedding and spoiling them rotten until they too became dull and boorish to his desire.

Day by day, Heeseung managed to acclimate to his new duties by balancing his time in the prestige gym facility at the company’s headquarters building, or by frequenting the luxury spots in town with a different beautiful woman by his side. The thrill of seeking, tracking, and capturing criminals or terrorists was hard to replace, but he somehow was able to manage. Long before he knew it, the yearning sense of that active career didn’t bug him as much, largely thanks to the amount of martial art sessions he did throughout the day, at least his senior position at the company allotted him his own schedule to do nearly whatever he wanted. It was good to be king. Within due time, he mastered the arts of Karate, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, hell, he ever learned to dance extravagant choreographies, hiring the best in the business as tutors.

Getting by, he grew more content, putting his elder family members at peace of mind as they were overly concerned the boy would stray from his diligent duties, due to the austerity of adapting to his new environment. It all became a lot easier once he was able to fill his days with the most challenging and physical demanding hobbies, and developing friends whose families became connected to his family through contracted partnerships, expanding influence and wealth, yet remained just as humble as he did. Friends such as Jake, and Jay.

Yes, all was seemingly going well and finally he was beginning to feel content…

Until he met you…

Not only did the urge and the thrill of ‘hunting’ came back to his senses, but it was also stronger. Much stronger than it ever had been. Unsure as to why, it was clear that you weren’t a criminal or posed as a threat to anyone, if anything, you were dignified and classy, it was remarkable. Yet your physical traits, whistling voice, and royal posture went unnoticed as he couldn’t help but watched you the entire event that night. His mind was filled with all sorts of thoughts, some sordid, while others were genuinely romantic. It was hard to make sense of the feeling, he’s never felt it before, something just stirred inside him, and it was so powerful that he swore he stopped breathing for a moment.

Aside from being trapped in a world of your wonderous beauty, there was another matter that was left unexplained. In the parameters of your presence, there was a feeling, a sensation that ripped through his body, it was neither painful nor pleasant. Almost as if something about you was calling to him, it was a phenomenon that only could be felt whenever you were nearby, yet the moment he noticed and watched you sneak out, under the pretense that you did so undetected, he allowed you to ‘escape’ as his theory turned into a fact when he watched you exit out of the ballroom, and along with you, that odd sensation disappeared.

However, even after you departed, it did nothing to inhibit the image of your face, the swaying of your body and feminine essence as you walk, and the flowing of your hair, it all permanently remained in his mind. When he took Kourtney to his bed that night, fucking her was hard to focus on, which wasn’t an issue with all of the women he’s had in the past. Fact is, the dashing playboy became desired not just for his handsome looks and soothing voice, the rumors that spiraled from one woman to the next built his reputation of how talented he was in bed. By morning, each woman lucky enough to be plunged by the Asian Casanova became a pool of a submitted mess as they became dazed and begging for more, in which he gladly obliged, all thanks to his high stamina, yet after weeks, perhaps even months, he left a trail of broken hearts as he expressed his lack of enthusiasm with whatever beauty he had been courting at the time.

Somehow, there was something inside that gave a sense, that when it comes to you, things would be different. Much different. Almost as if his gut was telling him that you both were meant to be, that you were his soulmate, it was crazy, yet it only made sense to him as the voice in his head beading his mind, repeatedly chanting…

‘Take her.’

Writer's note: Chapter 5 is going to be posted really soon ;)