#the way they wrote this scene is interesting to me

[dementedkittenribbon]

How season one Rafe meets his goth girlfriend.

MDNI-Smut, dirty talk, the whole nine yards.

“Look at little Tim Burton over there,” Rafe smirks at Topper when he sees you loitering at one of the expensive stores in Tanny Hill. You were completely out of place in the Outer banks. All black clothes, thick combat boots and dark makeup.

Rafe was prepared to approach you but he found himself a little nervous. Why was he nervous? You were some weird goth chick in a state where everyone wore bright colors and sandals. Why shouldn’t he go over there and mess with you? He had heard about goth chicks being freaks. That was it. That was all it was.

Until he found himself slipping beside you ten minutes later, selecting a black t-shirt much to Topper's surprise and side glances. He made sure you looked at him as he bought it. He wasn’t one to be intimidated by girls, he was used to them. Used to getting whatever he wanted until now. But you didn’t fawn over him as he watched you wander around the boardwalk a few days later.

“She must be new.” He muttered to himself. Why else would she not pay him attention? Rafe found her instagram later that night and saw she listed her Spotify. He started listening and cringed at the volume. He wasn't able to understand the lyrics at first but as the minutes went on…it was actually a little catchy.

When he worked out, Topper and Kelce looked at him like he was an alien as he blasted the music through his headphones as he worked out. “Bro, she’s got you pussy whipped.” Kelce smacked him on the shoulder and Rafe glared.

“Shut the fuck up.”

It was a mantra Rafe repeated when he finally went up to you after a week. You were…having a picnic in the middle of an empty park on a gloomy day with a big smile on your face as you wrote something in a notebook. He wore a black shirt with dark jeans, a really poor attempt to have some sort of common ground with you.

“Hey,” He cleared his throat and you removed your headphones, looking up at him with a surprisingly polite smile.

“Hi! Can I help you?” Your voice was soft. A little sweet and his cock twitched. Mmm. A good girl underneath all that darkness.

You were looking up at him from sitting at your table and he almost moaned the vision of what his future would look like with that black lipstick smeared all over his cock.

“Seen you around. I’m having a little fun tonight with some friends.” You quirked an eyebrow and he briefly wondered if he said the wrong thing.

“You’re inviting me to a party? Rafe Cameron himself?” He was stunned you knew his name before you gave him a little teasing smirk.

“I know who you are. Your royalty on this hell island.” Then you laughed. It was a bursting sound that almost made him smile. Something about the giddy way you expressed yourself made him feel even more attracted to you.

“Yeah. I can take you to my house early. We can leave anytime. I can bring you home whenever you wanna leave. You know, sacrifice to Satan or whatever.”

“You know, not all goths are satanists.” You replied and he lowered himself a little.

“Yeah? Come on. Prove me wrong, witchy girl.”

He almost didn’t expect you to accept but then he was driving to his house while your legs were crossed in his car. You were silent but not in a rude way. You were admiring the scene.

Rafe decided to collect this in his mind. You liked watching the outside. You enjoyed simpler things. Interesting. When he arrived at the party, people were already there and enjoying themselves, watched over by topper. Barry spotted him as Rafe walked you inside his penthouse booming with music but you paused.

“Is this…deftones?” You asked him and Rafe smirked.

“Yeah. They’re great. Perfect for a party near the beach.” You gave him a laugh as Barry approached him with a handshake.

“Hey country club, the fuck you doin in that shirt? Tryna impress your lady guest?” Rafe slung an arm over your shoulder, feeling the pattern of your shirt with his fingers.

“Are you impressed?” He looked down at you and you nodded.

“I am actually. Did you hack into my Spotify or something?” Rafe paused before he saw the smile on your face and he leaned down.

“Mhm. You like that, huh? Come on. Show me what you got.”

That’s when he found himself in his bedroom, with you on your knees. Black lipstick mixed with his cum as he fucked your throat. He moans as he thrusts into your soft mouth, his hand buried in your hair locked with hairspray and your eyes leaking with tears that make your makeup run down your cheeks.

“Pretty little witchy girl.” He grunts as he continues his movements and his cum spills all over you.

Witchy girl is one of his favorite nicknames he uses for you. But another one is monster high doll or vampire Barbie. You’re his little dark angel as he watches YouTube videos while you’re asleep on his bed late at night. He has watched in awe of your removal of your makeup. But you were still so beautiful. You didn’t need it but he wouldn’t risk the wrath of Satan if he spoke it.

He watched different content on different types of goths. Now that he had you, he had to keep you while you hung out with your…interesting friends today as he sat with you, hand on your upper thigh as you happily talked about topics he never considered to be beautiful or something to notice. The night sky. Full moon. Art. Music. Even horror movies started to become apart of his life. Even though it wasn’t his favorite, his little doll loved it and who was he to not keep her happy?

But something he loved doing most was surprising you with a gift. You didn’t grow up like he did. Into privilege. You told him that you shopped usually at second hand stores and he almost fainted.

So, he looked up the best pair of platform black boots and got them for you. Gift giving was easy for him but seeing your big smile and the way you screamed made it his favorite thing to see. Then you insisted you couldn’t accept.

Rafe decided what sort of payment he would take.

He spread you open on his bed, ripping off your favorite pair of lace panties that he promised to buy more of as your dripping pussy glistened for him as he kneeled, running the tip of his dick along your slick swollen clit. “Not so scary anymore, huh?” He said as he pushed inside to the hilt, balls slapping against you.

“God…” You whined as he thrusted harder and deeper, his hands holding his weight above you while your legs were hooked around his waist.

“Not god, doll. Me.” He growled and lightly slapped your face. “Remember that. Remember who owns you.”

Rafe wouldn’t trade his little witch girl for anything.

Or the way her eyeliner runs like a fucking porn star.

[lovemyromance]

I'm ranting again 🫢

(Inspired by a post from the amazing Elriel @nikachansstuff 👏👏 check it out here)

It's a common anti-argument to say "SJM only gave us the Elriel moment in the BC to show us they didn't work!"

So, as a matter of fact, she didn't have to do any of that because they weren't together in the first place!!

You are telling me. In order to "build up Elucien or Gwynriel" ... SJM proceeded to put two characters together that previously had no reason or cause to get together....quietly slipping in several significant moments between them throughout 3 books....then writing an entire bonus chapter about how Azriel pined over Elain and Elain gave him offer and permission to kiss her...

HOW. IS. THIS. BUILDUP. FOR. EL/GA.

Genuinely HOW?

If SJM wanted to keep Elain & Azriel busy with other people before their respective books - ARE Y'ALL FORGETTING THEY ALREADY HAD EXISTING LOVE INTERESTS??

Elain had Greyson. SJM could've written Elain still heartbroken and pining after Greyson for multiple books.

Azriel had Mor. SJM had NO REASON to make MOR lesbian in ACOWAR. That reveal could've come in ACOFAS or ACOSF.

Seriously, look me in the eye and tell me that SJM wrote:

1. Greyson rejecting Elain

2. Mor coming out

3. Elriel finding their way to each other

4. Elriel finally about to kiss and then "breaking up" in the BC

As buildup for EL/GA?

Oh, but if she was doing this entire complex setup, then she must've also been planting the seeds for Elucien & Gwynriel in the meantime - right? She must've also been showing epic moments between them that showcase why that pairing would be the superior endgame - right?

Oh. Wait. What?

You're telling me there are no equivalent or greater moments between Elucien & Gwynriel that compare to epic moments between Elriel?

There's no Elucien equivalent of the Hybern rescue scene?

There's no Gwynriel equivalent of the Truth-teller scene?

There's no obvious exciting sexual chemistry showcase between Elucien or Gwynriel like there was for Elriel?

Hm. That is so odd.

You see, usually when a couple is intended to be a distraction, a red-herring, just smoke and mirrors and supposed to be the inferior option -

THEY DONT HAVE BETTER SCENES TOGETHER THAN THE ACTUAL ENDGAME COUPLE.

There is no comparison between Elriel moments and Gwynriel/Elucien moments. They have both had the same amount of time to develop - 3 books. They have both had the same amount of time to showcase chemistry, attraction, etc.

So why is it that only Elriel has these grand scenes and moments?

Ask yourself why Lucien didn't rescue Elain from Hybern. Ask yourself why Azriel wasn't thinking about Gwyn every night and losing sleep over her.

That is what you should be paying attention to. That is the story we have in front of us. Zeroing in on "ribbon" and "sunshine" and "sparks" like it's some kind of secret code will not give you insight into how SJM writes. Because it's not how SJM- or any author writes.

No author will leave ONLY "buzzwords" to hint at an endgame couple. This isn't scrabble.

No author will write scenes between a distraction couple that surpasses every interaction between an actual endgame couple.

Why?

Because you are supposed to want to root for a couple. And right now, we are on the eve of the next book - and the story doesn't give you reason to root for Elucien or Gwynriel in any shape or form.

[nexkoyotl]

Warrior dump facts.

As a teenager, The Warriors was my special interests and I LOVE the movie and I used to play the Rockstar game when i was younger and now I LOVE the Lin & Eisa album so, here are some facts from the movie (+the comics) and game (Not canon to each other) to give you guys ideas for fanfics, fanarts, etc.

I'll refer to them as their masculine counterpart since I'm talking about the movie/comic/game, where all (except Mercy) are men.

Warrior facts.

The most known fact, 2 warriors weren't included in the album, Vermin and Snow

The Warriors get their money by mugging, and selling Stereos they steal from cars

Cleon has a Girlfriend named Lincoln, she was supposed to appear at the start of the movie but they deleted the scene

Mercy hated that his then boyfriend Sully (Yes, the guy from the Orphans) care more for his car

The warriors and the riffs brake Ajax out of prison

Cochise lived in Harlem until he and his mother moved to Brooklyn

Rembrandt is gay

Ajax has like a few girlfriends

The warriors started as part of another gang "The Destroyers" they had problems with the leader so Cleon and Vermin left and formed the Warriors

(Not sure if this is true) Fox was supposed to be Mercy's love interest at first

The warriors make some Coney businesses pay them for protection, 25$ weekly I think

Their hangout is an old abandoned building that, to me, looked like a storage for the amusement park

Cochise lived in Harlem, yes but didn't join the boppers 'cuse he thought they weren't tough and he didn't like their colors.

In a deleted scene, Cleon said there's like 120 warrior members

Mercy dated a rich guy. He gets her an apartment and other stuff. This, of course, causes trouble between her and Swan

Ajax sucks at pinball

Rembrandt can use both hands, he's ambidextrous (dunno if I wrote it right)

Cowboy is really protective of his hat, and calls it buddy

Rembrandt also goes to an art class

Swan was a destroyer too, but him and Cowboy left the gang before Cleon created the warriors

Then Cleon ask Swan to join the warriors, and he accepts only under the condition of them accepting cowboy too

Only Cleon, Vermin, Swan, and Cowboy were Destroyers first. The rest arrived directly to the Warriors

Mercy dated the rich guy to get her apartment because she thought the Warriors life was no way to live

Technically, Mercy and Swan are not really together, tho Swan insist for her to go back to Coney with him

They (Mercy and Swan) end up reconciliating, and she goes back to living with him in Coney

Rembrandt sprays paint on his enemies faces as a fighting attack

Before Fox, they also lost a member named Ash, the leader of the Destroyers killed him

He (Ash) was also really close to Vermin, and his death affects him pretty deeply

Rembrandt's art teacher tries to convince him that the gang is only using him and to leave it so he drops his class

Mercy was not only Sully's girlfriend but also the Orphans' prostitute

Rembrandt gives Swan a drawing of Mercy that he made for him

After Cyrus' death, everything went back to the "normal". The truce was off, and the gangs went against each other again

This is not an IN movie/game fact, just a movie/game fact, but still interesting

You may know the movie symbol, a skull with feathers. Well, this symbol looked too similar to an actual gang that sued them, so it changed to a snake in flames

These are some of it, if I remember more, I'll do another list, but I think this are the most important. Do with this information as you guys pleased.

[nalyra-dreaming]

im definitely not the first person to have noticed this but in ep1 of season 1 when louis is talking about lestat he says 'I was being hunted' and i remembered that in chronological order, its lestat who said that first. At the trial in Paris he uses those same words 'i was being hunted' only this time, hes most likely reading it from the script that ARMAND wrote.

kinda poetic to me in the sense that those were armands words, but louis is 'taking' them from lestat (im not sure how to describe that) who said them 70 years prior. (because ofc louis doesnt know that armand scripted it all)

i think im putting something down but im unsure if you could be able to pick it up because this doesnt make complete sense (the way i worded it) so im sorry for that 😭

Well... I'm not sure if Louis is "taking" them from Lestat? Because, remember, edited tale and all that?! In fact, it might be another clue that Louis is narrating it as Armand wants him to... because Lestat did NOT hunt Louis.

They spent months courting, shopping, reading, talking. Months. Lestat was not hunting for sport (though that does happen in the chronicles with vampires, and in a way, it describes Armand's and Daniel's "hunt", too) to kill Louis - no, he was trying to build enough trust to start a relationship.

And then went and turned Louis.

That's... not a hunt.

That's courting.

It will be very interesting to see if they ever pick that up again, and how Louis might describe it himself at a later point - because there is a part in the books, at the end of "Prince Lestat" (which we know Rolin is taking from), where Louis sits down with his own story and reflects and comes to terms with it - and then leaves it behind.

And I cannot wait to see that on the show (and no, I do not think the scene we saw of Louis in Dubai at the end there is that... not yet).

I cannot wait to see what Jacob will do with that Louis.

[vi-is-badass]

"I think ultimately our difference is that you're approaching your critique from the perspective of "here's what the writers should have done in order to more effectively tell the story they wanted to tell" and I'm more going at it from an angle of "here's the story I wanted them to tell"."

You definitely hit the nail on the head haha. I hadn't really noticed that until you pointed it out, but now that you have it's obvious.

I hadn't really considered talking about the show in terms of "what I would have wanted". I think about my issues with stories in a way that's centered around improving/maximizing the impact of what we have because I can't go back and completely change it to fit my expectations. I hadn't really considered thinking of what-ifs. So I think the way you've approached our conversation is interesting!

I was definitely looking at your point about Vi's role in the final battle through the lens you accurately pointed out and it caused me to misinterpret the intent behind your viewpoint that Vi not doing anything isn't inherently a problem and could instead represent an (incredibly interesting!) commentary on the fact that a truly kindhearted person can't change a broken system. My perspective caused me to look at it from a different angle than you intended and looking back with that in mind a few of my points sound a bit nitpicky over semantics and that was not my intention at all. I hope none of my counterpoints came across as confrontational. Sorry if they did!

I want to address your point about the final battle first since I think it's really interesting. I will admit I saw the writing on the wall as someone who knew league lore and saw the trailers for the season that Viktor and the arcane were going to be the big bad of the season, so I wasn't caught off guard. However, I was still disappointed with what was sacrificed to get there, especially in hindsight, and I completely understand your point that the show shouldn't have ended in a big final battle of good vs evil and I agree. The show that was presented to us in the first season and even the first 2 acts of season 2 didn't effectively build to that.

I would like to hear what you would have wanted the final episodes/act to be about instead. (I'm going to guess the civil war between Zaun and Piltover, but I would definitely be interested to hear your full thoughts)

Quick question: What other issues did you have that we haven't talked about?

I also want to say I would love to read a fanfic centered around the idea of committing to Caitlyn's villain arc. That would be fascinating. Please let me know if you ever decide to post it! I mean this completely genuinely. I would be excited to read it.

(sorry for the quality and text over the photo, but I couldn't find the original moment in the videos while scrubbing through so I had to resort to Google Images haha)

The scene where Caitlyn has a breakdown is one of the many season 2 scenes accidentally shown in the Bridging the Rift behind-the-scenes documentary. Caitlyn's in her enforcer attire (because of her hair it's probably after she takes the role of commander), alone, and you can see her go from collected to crying. So it's not a full scene that's been released (I hope it will be on the season 2 DVD release though!). They started animating it but it ended up on the cutting room floor.

On the topic of Caitlyn, I completely agree with the points you made. they had 2 set paths they could have taken Caitlyn and they didn't fully commit to either one, which hurt her character.

I kind of feel like the writers wrote themselves into a corner with her. They gave her this complex and interesting arc that fundamentally puts her at odds with Vi and yet they still had to/wanted to make them endgame, something they have been very vocal about being the plan since day 1. With that in mind due to the time constraints, they couldn't go all in on her dictator arc and relegated the worst of it to the "Paint the Town Blue" montage (seriously I've rewatched it multiple times and Caitlyn is painted very villainously in it) and had to immediately course correct at the beginning of act 2.

The problem is the fact that they didn't commit enough to it and I think it's partially because they didn't want us to hate Caitlyn, so they didn't show her committing her worst acts and actively went out of their way to show the ways in which she's "better" than the previous sheriff (forbidding the use of the dungeons Vi was in, forcing the stillwater guards to keep meticulous paperwork, having her be vocally against arrests without cause, giving prisoners better meals, etc) which ultimately backfired because this middle ground simply didn't work.

I guess this is where I have to finally talk about Caitlyn and Vi, which I have been avoiding purely because it's such a volatile topic online, but on a personal level I don't think they work with the way they played out after Caitlyn's descent into fascism within the show. There were ways they could have made them work, but the way they went about it brushed most of what happened in season 2 under the rug and they get together almost immediately after Caitlyn's turn.

And I don't hate them. I loved them in season 1 as individual characters and their relationship and I liked the idea the ship initially presented with the two of them being a bridge between the cities. But when they got together in act 3 I was left with the question "Why do these two characters still love each other?" and I think that's my biggest problem. (I completely acknowledge this could be my own views)

Or more accurately, since I think Caitlyn still having feelings for Vi is significantly easier to understand, my main question was "Why does Vi still love Caitlyn other than the fact that once Vi starts loving someone she can't stop?"

Vi falls for Caitlyn in season 1 because Caitlyn chose to fight for her and the undercity. She didn’t have to fight— she had nothing to gain, nothing to lose if she didn't fight like everyone in the undercity— and yet she chose to fight anyway.

Caitlyn was genuine in her desire to help and fight against a system she learned through her connection to Vi has oppressed the people of the undercity. She also sees what Vi believes is the worst of her during the bedroom scene and still reaches for Vi anyway, giving her empathy and grace that has never been afforded to her before.

But then all of that crumbles in season 2. Caitlyn becomes the worst version of herself out of grief and the sudden immense responsibility thrust upon her shoulders and actively becomes the face of the oppression Vi and her people face. Caitlyn no longer wants to fight corruption and actively participates in it. Gone is the empathy and understanding of season 1. Gone is that desire to fight for Vi and the undercity that made her fall in love in the first place.

That idea in and of itself wouldn't be an issue. It's actually very compelling. Vi truly thought Caitlyn was different, but now she's everything Vi initially believed she was. Presenting this conflict and forcing the characters to confront these opposing parts of themselves and grow back together had the potential to lead to a powerful and heart-wrenching storyline.

In the wake of this conflict we're left with the question I initially presented: why does Vi still love Caitlyn other than the fact that once Vi starts loving someone she can't stop? Plus the question: how can these two characters grow back together after all of this?

And the show really doesn't want to acknowledge the first question and it simply speeds by the second.

And I'm not saying this to be harsh. I feel like these questions needed to be answered because they're problems the show presents.

The biggest problem for me is that it felt like the show was tiptoeing around the fact that Caitlyn was a dictator so it didn't have to answer these questions. The biggest example of this is that we weren't given Vi's feelings on Caitlyn’s role as the commander, the checkpoints, the detainments that lack adequate cause, and the brutality and oppression disguised behind a thin veneer of justice.

We only really get insight on her guilt over it all in the montage at the start of episode 5. She feels responsible for what Caitlyn has become because she failed to protect her and for being a part of the start of something that turned into an oppressive occupation of her people.

Even when she's with Caitlyn again and yells at her in act 3 it's about Caitlyn listening to and actively participating in Ambessa's violence. Again it's framed around Ambessa rather than her actions towards Zaun or Vi.

I feel like this is making it seem like I hate them or hated that they got together and I don't want it to seem that way. I wanted to be able to buy into this romance. I adored them after season 1. I was just personally so confused by the lack of exploration on what should be a massive roadblock to their relationship.

And I do genuinely like the scene where they get together in a vacuum (even if I am ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about sex scenes because I'm very aroace haha). The little nuances that people keep pointing out are incredibly impressive and every time I see that gif of Caitlyn looking at Vi's injury with so much softness and regret I completely buy that Caitlyn loves Vi. In a vacuum, the scene does sell that they care about each other. It's what builds up to it that I have a problem with. (That and the context of the scene. The way Jinx left Vi makes it so it doesn't make sense to me that Vi wouldn't immediately storm off to find her.)

I just genuinely believe they needed to slow down and have them grow back together instead of getting back together immediately after reuniting or at the very least explore their individual feelings on the other while separated. This way they could show Caitlyn earning back Vi's trust or give us more context for their reconciliation. But I also understand they didn't have the time. I think they were between a rock and hard place: rush Caitlyn and Vi together or end the series with them starting to grow back together and get a ton of backlash for promising a ship they didn't end up committing to (they did so many interviews about caitvi after season 1).

Oof. I think I might get murdered for that take. The discourse around Caitlyn and Vi's relationship is very heated and I understand that my views are my own. I'm not going to go on a tirade that people should love or hate this ship. How people feel about it is valid. I'm not in the business of telling people how to feel.

I know you've alluded to your feelings about the relationship, but if you're willing to share your full thoughts I would be willing to listen. If you think I'm way off the mark let me know! I really enjoy this back-and-forth.

I actually think this video is really interesting. Not because I fully agree with it (there are a lot of points in the video I don't agree with and a lot that I do), but because I appreciate its intent.

I also fall in the same boat where I really liked the second season, but I didn't love it like I did the first and I appreciate that this is a video that wants to start a conversation. He wants to talk about why things didn't necessarily work for him, why it didn't seem to have the same impact as the first, and about how he wants to hear why those things might have worked for others.

So much discourse about this season has framed it as either the best thing ever, above any criticism, or the worst thing ever with no redeeming qualities and it's made it very frustrating and demoralizing to try and talk about it online.

I want to talk about how I loved aspects of this show and that I was also let down by certain aspects of the show as well, but anytime I try and talk about criticism it's rarely met with a genuine conversation.

I would love to hear how people interpreted things differently from me, why they felt that way, how it connected with them, because I feel like that's the purpose of stories. It's never going to resonate with anyone the same way and there may have been things I missed.

I also know I haven't always worded what I've wanted to say and my criticisms the way I want to get across what I mean. It has never been my intent to sound like I wasn't open to discussion, different interpretations, or counterpoints. I would like to actually talk more about this season and hear other people's thoughts as well.

[sensitivehandsomeactionman]

[o-uncle-newt]

I just got a bit more time in my schedule and I'm hoping to get started on a Sayers-and-Jews reading list, if anyone has any suggestions! I just really feel like I've never seen anyone talk about how WEIRD the apparent received wisdom is of "Sayers was in a relationship with a completely secular Jew who tried to convince her to have premarital sex she was religiously uncomfortable with, which NATURALLY made her start writing about Jews, but a totally different kind of basically fetishized ultra-conservative type than Cournos was." There are clearly missing links there- not an obvious or intuitive connection at all- and I have my own ideas of what they are and am so curious if it's already been written about.

[sysig]

The brainworms are winning, clearly (Patreon)

[disposal-blueeee]

really really small guys

edgar belongs to jhonen vasquez

scriabin belongs to @zarla-s

png ver. for some reason

andddd the sketch. for some reason too

[holydramon]

legitimately feel tri would have been way better received (and honestly just a legitimately better series) if it didn’t treat the 02 kids like that

[aria0fgold]

Two birds, One Stone, and Me

A Persona 5 snippet starring Akechi ft. Kaito Kuroba (Magic Kaito) and Asuka (an oc by @misty-wisp)!

Akechi massaged his temples as he walked through the station after having just gotten out of the train. It was headache one after another for him nowadays, the matter with Shido's jobs combined with the emergence of the so called Phantom Thieves of Hearts, not to mention the return of that pesky thief Kaito KID in Japan after doing heists overseas. His first problem is easy to deal with, as something he had gotten used to doing, his second problem was coming along well enough as he already has a good idea on who the members of the Phantom Thieves are, and the third problem is the biggest headache of all as Kaito KID has been a consistent problem for years now. Disappearing in the past only to have a come back years after and no one has any idea how to deal with him.

There's already even a police force specifically designed to capture that thief and yet there's no progress at all anyway. And for some goddamned reason, Akechi was also tasked to help with that too!

If a police force dedicated to capturing that thief can't even handle it then what else can I do anyway? Detective Prince my ass, if only those people know the truth they wouldn't add on to my mountain of problems something nearly impossible to achieve!

Figuring out the identities of the Phantom Thieves were easy with how sloppy they were at keeping it hidden in the first place but figuring out the identity of a criminal that's most likely been at it for more than a decade isn't something Akechi should be doing in the first place. That should fall on the hands of the adults instead.

Ah but of course! Adults are practically useless, good for nothing fools who's only good at hurting others and getting children to clean up after them, OF COURSE! WHY ELSE AM IN THIS WHOLE MESS ANYWAY IF NOT FOR THAT!

Akechi let out a small quiet sigh, it's best for him to retire for the day and take a rest, although, just as he rounded the corner, he was met with a particularly familiar face that had immediately fallen into a frown the split second she noticed Akechi.

“Ah, Asuka, yes?” Akechi put on his usual polite smile, the face of the exemplary Detective Prince.

“Riight, yeah.” She averted her eyes from him, it was obvious it wasn't out of embarrassment, “Excuse me.”

Akechi could just let her go, but a thought formed on his mind, “Wait, if it's alright with you, could you spare some of your time to have a short chat?”

Asuka attends the same school as Akira. In fact, she attends the same school as most of the members of the Phantom Thieves. There's a possibility of her being involved with them, it's better to check just in case.

There was also... That... Although it doesn't seem to be relevant at the moment, it was still a particular pattern to keep in mind.

Asuka looked back, her eyes squinted slightly, though it was still a frown, Akechi can feel the sharpness of a glare hidden behind a thin veil of public civility. “Unfortunately, no. Goodby—”

“Isn't that…”

Just before Asuka could finish her sentence, a person by the distance caught Akechi's attention. And as his gaze fell on the figure's back, the person turned to meet his eyes.

It was Kaito Kuroba. Someone who's close to Akira.

Asuka followed Akechi's sight with a glance and it was at that moment that Kaito beamed at them before waving his hand as he approached the two.

“Oh hey! You're that so called Detective Prince, aren't you?” He smiled so brightly at them Akechi felt blinded and very much so annoyed.

But he can't quite show such a thing, smile, smile… smile… he needs to smile.

“Ah, yes—”

Kaito then quickly turned to Asuka, her passive aggression towards Akechi was replaced with slight anxiety, “And you… Ah! You're that student Akiki told me before! You sit behind him, yeah?”

She nodded, “R-right…”

. . .

Akechi really hates this guy.

He mentally collected himself, it seems that he'd have to talk to Asuka another day. Though this is an ideal situation of killing two birds with one stone, both of them have possible connections to the Phantom Thieves but right now, he'd rather not deal with someone as obnoxious as that guy.

Kaito clapped his hands, “Hey! Since we're all here, how about a meal? My treat! I'd love to get to know more about Asuka and Mister Detective Prince! It's not everyday an opportunity like this can come by!”

Goddammit, WHY?! “You're right, I'll take you up on that offer then.”

“I'll take my leave instead…”

“Now, now, Asuka. Since this kind person is going to treat us, wouldn't it be polite to accept such an offer? He seems to know someone close to you too.”

FINE! Might as well take this chance! DAMMIT!!!

“I'm not really… close to him though.” Asuka tried to take a step away from them.

“Aww! Please, please, please, pretty please? How about I help you with homework too? Please come with us! The more the merrier after all!” Kaito pleaded with the best puppy dog eyes expression he can muster.

“Exactly!” Akechi added, to which Asuka openly glared at him for.

For a second, the two's expression seemed to telepathically communicate with each other, two different thoughts yet both in sync enough to converse with the other.

This bastard is surely planning something…

If I'm getting roped in with this guy, I'm going to drag you into this one too.

. . .

And so, the unlikely trio sat by the table of a restaurant nearby. One who was visibly dragged in, another beaming with a light as bright as an artificial sun, and lastly someone who deep down wanted to break the glass of water nearby as they waited for their orders.

Dealing with Asuka should be easy enough but this obnoxious bastard has got to be faking this entire overly cheerful personality of his otherwise his entire existence is just gonna piss me off to no end.

“So, you go to Ekoda High, Kaito? That's quite far from here.” Akechi is luckily used to maintaining this image of his, it should be easy to do despite how badly he want to just get out already.

“Nah! So long as you know your ins and outs, it's actually pretty close by!”

“Is that so—”

“By the way, Asuka! Your scarf suits you so well! It even matches your uniform!” Kaito cut Akechi off again.

Deep breaths… This guy… is clearly doing that on purpose!

“Ah… Thanks…” She took a small glance at Akechi and then at Kaito before looking at her scarf, she seemed to be thinking about something.

It's fine, if his goal is to rile me up then let him try, his attempts won't work on me at all anyway.

“Being a so called Detective Prince at that age sure is impressive, huh Akechi?” Kaito threw the ball back at Akechi's court.

“It's nothing I can't handle—”

“Yeah, it must be so hard getting swarmed with cases left and right that you don't even have time to do all of them anymore.” It was Asuka that cut him off this time.

“Pardon?”

“Oh, I'm just saying. In a general sense.” Asuka slightly squinted at him and seemingly rolled her eyes in a subtle manner as she turned to look away. It was as if a switch was flipped and now, instead of Akechi killing two birds with one stone, it feels as though that two birds are killing him with one stone.

. . .

Akechi mentally sighed as he could only freeze his own smile in place to keep it from faltering, he shouldn't have accept this invite.

[kakushigotofanclub]

Scene from my KnY AU which is entitled, “A Couple of Bad Ideas and a Shot in the Dark.”

“Zenitsu?” Tanjiro blinks. “What are you doing outside in the middle of the night?” Zenitsu doesn’t respond; Tanjiro realizes he must be having a sleepwalking episode. “Come on, let’s get you back to bed,” he says gently, putting a hand on Zenitsu’s arm to guide him back inside. Quicker than Tanjiro can process, Zenitsu grabs his wrist, holding it in an iron grip. He still doesn’t turn to look at him. Tanjiro tries to tug his arm back. Zenitsu’s grip tightens. “Hey,” Tanjiro says, brows furrowed in concern and confusion. “Stop that. Let me go, you’re hurting me.” No response. “Zenitsu. Come on, cut it out. You’re freaking me out.” Finally, Zenitsu speaks. At least, it must be him, because there’s no one else around…but it doesn’t sound like him at all. His voice robotic and almost distorted, nothing like Tanjiro’s ever heard from Zenitsu—or...or even a human—before. But what he says is even stranger. “Sleepwalker Agent 038 has been activated.”

Tanjiro feels his heart rate begin to pick up. He tries to unfurl Zenitsu’s fingers tightened around his wrist. Something is not right. Zenitsu faces Tanjiro. His head is tilted to the side and his eyes are all white. His expression is blank, totally emotionless. Tanjiro finally frees his arm, and he stumbles backwards. “What…what’s going on?” That same strange voice, the one that can’t possibly belong to him: “Target identified. Termination to ensue.” “What?” Tanjiro sputters. Zenitsu begins to walk towards him, face completely void of emotion. “Zenitsu! What are you doing? Snap out of it! What the heck are you talking about?” “Any attempts to reach host will be unsuccessful. The Sleepwalker will remain in control until target has been terminated.” Zenitsu stops walking for a moment. Then the porch lights go out, leaving them lit only by the moon, peeking out through the clouds. Electricity crackles around Zenitsu for a moment, indicating he’s charged up. And then he lunges forward with the intent to kill.

[red-queen-on-the-heathen-throne]

Stop reading the reviews

I am so, so serious. I am BEGGING indie authors especially to stop reading the damn reviews. Nothing good ever comes of it.

If a negative review upsets you to the point of crying for hours.

If a one-star rating sends you "spiralling".

If you think that the most tame, neutrally written one-star review is "bashing the author" for something that wasn't even explicitly mentioned in said review.

If you get mad just on general principle because you personally feel like your book "deserves better".

Stop reading the reviews.

And if you just can't help yourself, at least stop engaging with those reviews publicly. Stop complaining about them, stop quoting them and defending yourself, stop being snarky when you think a reviewer "didn't understand the book" (while also misconstruing what the review actually said). Just. Don't do it. It looks so unprofessional, and you have no idea how much that turns people off of ever reading your work. Reviews are not for you, and knowing that you not only read them all, but can and will publicly complain about them to (potentially) thousands of followers is the opposite of an incentive to buy, read, and review your stuff.

It also just costs so much energy to be constantly upset about this. And there is no point. Bad reviews will happen, there is no avoiding that unless you never publish anything. So for the sake of everyone's peace of mind - including your own - just don't read the damn reviews. Spend that energy on something better, like writing another book maybe.

[sskk-manifesto]

The best 68 seconds in anime history (and a 22 minutes 32 seconds of prelude to that, I guess)

[jackass-jones]

Persona romance routes are all pretty bad but damn they really hit rock bottom with p3p femc route like the misogyny is very blatant and it’s almost hilarious like look at the Shinjiro romance. When you do his social link he’s like very clearly respectful of Kotone as a leader and explicitly says stuff like "oh yeah you’re clearly the best fighter we have, I don’t really know much about fighting like you do, I hope I’m not dragging you down, you’re doing a good job as leader just remember to take care of yourself, everyone looks up to you I know you can rely on them" etc. like he has faith in her leading abilities. But then when you romance him he’s like got dialogue like "bwah bluh i gotta look after you because you’re a GIRL and you need to stick by me, a big strong MAN so you don’t get hurt" and "don’t wear that revealing outfit in front of other guys 👺" and it’s like. Does he respect her or not and also like it doesn’t make sense for him to look down on her for being a girl cuz he literally has never not been led by a girl leader during his time in sees and Mitsuru in particular really has her shit together when it comes to being responsible and a good fighter and she’s always known the most about Tartarus

It’s also like. Idk maybe its just me I’m not a girl so FUCK IF I KNOW but to me the appeal of romancing Shinji is the fact that he’s sweet and sensitive and gentle and has respect for you despite the fact that he acts all scary. That’s like, what made me like this character in the first place. But the writers seem to think what women want is for a BIG STRONG MAN to protect them because they are just DELICATE WOMEN who are inferior in every way it’s like. Shut upppp thanks

[silentsockfeet]

ugh it’s just. i really do love arcane so so much. which is why s2 is stinging so bad. i’m disappointed in a lot of it and i think i’m always gonna mourn the potential it had. but all i’ve been doing since act 3 dropped is stewing over it and talking with my friends about it and airing out our grievances and i’m tired. i’m tired of being grumpy over it. i just want to love it for everything it did right and accept it for everything it fell short in. but it’s gonna hurt for a while