#we weren’t the main character btw

[starcrossedandstupid]

@mystical-cinnamoon !!!

anti rpf people are so funny they're always like "how would you feel if people shipped you with your friend" i don't know how to break it to you but if i was famous and no one was writing fanfiction about me i would be devastated. i wouldn't feel like i made it until i could search my name on ao3 and find 10k+ explicit results. peace and love though

[calmlb]

It’s been clear that the Tanizakis aren’t siblings from the very beginning

here’s some evidence now that it’s been confirmed canon…

everyone who’s read irl Tanizaki’s book knew that Junichiro & Naomi weren’t siblings as soon as they introduced themselves

BUT just because the Tanizakis aren’t siblings doesn’t mean you can’t feel uncomfortable about them. if you feel uncomfortable, GOOD. that’s exactly what they want

the Tanizakis, Mori— they all use these disturbing ruses to disarm or distract people in order to protect themselves, or to accomplish their goals. this is a writing device that asagiri commonly employs as a way to parallel the irl literature (it’s actually ingenious)

there are 4 main indicators that have always made it clear to me that Junichiro & Naomi are not siblings:

1. most obviously— their character designs. Harukawa is extremely intentional with character designs, & she very intentionally made Naomi & Junichiro look nothing alike

their eye shapes are purposely different

their color palettes are contrasting

even their differing styles of clothing have meaning

this was all done so that the audience could PLAINLY see that they’re not related— so that WE know that they’re lying when they say they ARE related

2. how the people around them respond to their act.

the general reaction is “don’t question it”— which is exactly what they want. “be distracted by how uncomfortable you feel so that you look away from what we’re hiding” (this is likely a protective measure)

3. most importantly, this is meant to parallel irl Tanizaki’s book “Naomi,” where the main character Joji picks up Naomi to raise her into his ideal woman, but since she's so young (& a minor) they call each other cousins (Joji makes no sexual advances on young Naomi btw)

however, his plan backfires because when Naomi gets older & they get married, she flips the script on him & manipulates HIM so that he's under her thumb (which is why bsd Tanizaki is at a domineering Naomi's mercy). Joji let her have her way because of his masochistic tendencies

4. lastly is the emphasis that Asagiri and the Tanizakis themselves put on calling each other siblings.

over & over, it’s “my brother this” & “my sister that”

like they’re desperately trying to convince us that it’s true (“don’t let your lying eyes deceive you”)

here are just a few of many examples from the light novels…

again, if you’ve read “Naomi” you knew that Junichiro & Naomi weren’t siblings as soon as they introduced themselves

just like if you’ve read irl Mori’s works, it’s clear that bsd Mori isn’t a pedophile

just like if you’ve read No Longer Human you know that Dazai’s an unreliable narrator. he makes you think he’s a bad person bc he believes he’s a bad person, but those around him see him differently (btw this doesn’t mean he’s never done anything “bad,” though bsd isn’t about morality— but that’s another discussion)

anyway, i’m so excited for the Tanizakis backstory to be revealed so that we can better understand why they use this defense!!

also let this be a reminder to READ THE LITERATURE if you’re able to!! even reading synopses & analyses of the coordinating books makes bsd make much more sense 🥹

reminder that this how you’re supposed to react while reading bsd:

also, if you’re interested in a post explaining how Mori isn’t a pedo, i wrote this analysis on twt. OR you can read this document that one of my moots sent me (remember: analyzing a character does NOT mean you condone any actions they may or may not commit!)

[pyrobot1cs]

just got out of the shower thinking about how some of the best written female characters I’ve seen that weren’t from media catering to girls are from Homestuck

Like. Homestuck is a fairly female-led story, like yeah the two leaders for each of the main sessions were TECHNICALLY boys, but Vriska was really the one moving the story along for the trolls and Egbert doesn’t even count that much as a boy anymore (I loev June). Rose and Jade for example are two REALLY WELL WRITTEN characters (and they should have talked more) , and when you read about them, you CARE about them. Pretty much all of the troll girls are great as well, Aradia, Vriska, Kanaya, and Terezi (and if we get into dancestors, Meenah, somewhat Damara, and Aranea) are all HUGE driving forces for the plot and,, for most of the boys- well June herself puts it better than I could have

When we get into the Alpha kids though it gets a little blurred, Jane and Roxy are both amazing characters but Jake and Dirk seemed like way more of the focus characters, probably mostly in the fandom but I think Jane and Roxy’s characters kind of suffer in-canon as well, also since a lot of both of their characters revolve around being boycrazy about their respective crush and it sucks!! ALSO!!! CALLIOPE IS GREAT I LOVE HER BUT I NEED TO THINK OF MORE ISSUES WITH HER

THE FANDOM ALSO SUCKS ON HOW IT TREATS WOMEN CHARACTERS TOO BTW like that’s where the worst of it is really, I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen fanart of just Jane on her own and not in a ship or in a lineup

sighhhghghhghh thank you for listening to ramblings im just talking talking blah blah

[romana-after-dark]

Rooms on Fire: I Will Run To You

Dark!Santiago Garcia x Fem!Reader Dark!Francisco Morales x Fem!Reader Dark!William Miller x Fem!Reader Dark!Benjamin Miller x Fem!Reader

Also: FishBen, and an assortment of other M/M relationships (no Millercest). Everyone is Bisexual

Series Masterlist: Main Masterlist : MainTaglist

Spotify playlist

Summery: Madonna learns more about her role and the dynamics of the household.

Warnings and Content:

DEAD DOVE DO NOT EAT

DUB CON MOSTLY but there WILL BE NON CON. Major character deaths, forced breeding, physical abuse, brainwashing, manipulation, violence, gore, alcoholism/addiction, BIG OLE BLASPHEMY WARNING like this cult appropriates a lot of religious themes and they call reader their Madonna, Santi is called the Pope, like all that stuff. However, this is a cult so I mean. It happens. None of it are my thoughts on religion or meant to make fun of religion or demonize religious people. Disgusting views on virginity. Attempted rape outside the boys. T*m warning. Age gap. Creepy terrible men. Non-reader rape, dub con, violence.

Extra warnings for chapter: Mentions of medical malpractice, death in childbirth, mentions of male sexual assault via power dynamics, lots of complex feelings.

A/n: next chapter things ramp up.

3.1k words

A/N I gotta apologize y'all. this was meant to include so much more but I guess this chapter is getting split bc I just put so much Jonah lore. I hope y'all are formal about liking him. We finally get some backstory on the uprising, Tom, and Madonna's dad, who BTW, had a name change. JACK IS NOW MARCUS more info after the story!

Support writers! Reblog and leave comments!

One so young, so changed Should not be left alone Two in love should confess And not be left alone And I will run to you Down whatever road you choose Yes, I will follow you down I will run to you ~I Will Run to You, Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty

“You paint a lot of fire”

Jonah’s voice startled you, making you turn around but you relax when you see it’s just him. Reyansh was watching you outside your studio, and Jonah coming meant you must be summoned somewhere. 

You were painting a picture of a burning house, something you saw in a dream last night. Ben and Will treated you normally, fucking you but also spending time together. You supposed Francisco’s behavior was normal too, considering that he continued to treat you like you only existed to fuck when he had to fullfill his duty. He never touched you alone. In the week since you got your period Santi was ignoring you. He’d call you to his room, fuck you with your face pressed into the mattress, and then toss you out. Last night he shoved you into the hall with your dress still bundled up in your arms.

“I paint what I dream.” You mumble, tired and not totally there. You were terrified to sleep, and after a second visit from the succubus it was getting worse, forcing yourself to stay up later and later. Lack of sleep was making it difficult to be alert, and little noises make you jump.

Jonah approached where you stood, keeping a respectful distance. He’d been distant as well since the night you saw him, and you still were unsure what you did wrong and why Iris was so upset with you.

“You dream of houses burning?” His voice was gentle but curious.

You take a deep breath, too tired to fight off any questioning. It’s best not to lie, anyway. “Ever since I was a child, I dreamed of fire. I dreamed I was dancing in front of it. I dreamed I caused it, and it was out of my control and now I must dance in the smoke and watch as the flames consumed things that I loved.” A pause, tears beginning to burn behind your eyes. “Sometimes, he stood inside them.”

“He?”

“My father.”

Jonah drew in a sharp breath and you worried he thought you were sympathetic to his traitorous cause. You weren’t, you had remembered how betrayed you’d felt that he’d thrown everything away to follow Deacon Davis, the judas who had killed the Divine Mother. As per tradition, when someone is sentenced to death, they burn at the stake and the unmarried women are expected to dance. The closer you are to the individual, the closer you are to the fire. You had been Marcus’s only family, him and your mom having adopted you as an infant. He died in front of you as you danced, embers blowing in the wind and singeing your white dress and sensitive skin. You were only 12, but you knew right from wrong, and your father was wrong. Sometimes you woke up still smelling his burning corpse. You had danced longer than anyone, keeping all the energy your child body could give you until you passed out.

You turn to Jonah with tears in your eyes, “I hold no mercy in my heart for him, please know that. I am loyal to the Divine Mother, I am loyal to my husbands above all else! I don’t know why I didn’t get pregnant but know I’d die for them happily should it came to that!” Crying now, you desperately plead to him but it’s not Jonah you are speaking to, truely. You know Pope is questioning you right now, and you cannot bear the thought that he doubts you.

“Honey” Jonah’s voice is strained, pain anguishing him. “How much do you know about the uprising…”

Your face is wet with tears, almost shaking in fear and frustration. You didn’t know how you’d messed this up so badly so soon. You just wanted to be held, you don’t remember the last time you’d been held without sexual desire… it was probably your father, may he be damned.

“Deacon Davis… he was an advisor to the Divine Mother, a friend to my husbands… he and Deliliah conspired against the Divine Mother and her family. Dad- um, Marcus, was a part of the traitors and he allowed Deacon Davis into Divine Mother’s quarters where he murdered her. Deliliah was Will’s betrothed before. She had seduced him for information and, and betrayed her husband! I would never do that, Jonah!” You realize now why he was questioning you, he thought a traitorous blood ran in your veins. Had Pope sent him? Had Francisco seen the evil in your heart, the evil that was inviting a demon?? Or had Jonah simply seen you for what you were. “I would rather die than betray them! You have to believe me!” You sob, closing your eyes as you are no longer able to look into his in shame. Strong arms wrap around you, practically holding your body up. 

Jonah held you tightly and you cried into his shirt, so tired, so sleepy… You just wanted to feel peace again. Jonah allowed you your release, wetting his shirt with your tears until your breathing slowed. It occurred to you that you were hugging and being held by a man who was not your husband, so you take a step back looking down.

“I- I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me, I haven't slept well-”

“It’s okay, honey.” His voice gently reassures you. “It’s okay to cry sometimes.”

You shake your head. “No… no I’m happy, I should be happy here, happy with my husbands, I am!” You’d shown weakness, surely Jonah would tell Pope that you were unhappy, that this was proof of your doubt, of unworthiness… Instead, Jonah pulled a sleeve down on his hand, stepping up to you once more. He ran the sleeve carefully under your eyes wiping the tears.

“There is nothing wrong with feeling what you feel. Your husbands are blessed with a kind, beautiful, artistic wife and they should be so lucky you sit at their table, nonetheless someone who cooks them dinners and paint them pictures. It is they who are unworthy, not you.”

You gasp at the blasphemy. “Jonah! No, no they are-”

“Gods, I know.” He wipes snot from your running nose. “But you… you’re like a daughter to me, and a father is allowed to place his children above Gods. Marcus may not… he may not have made the right choices, but he wanted nothing but good for you, just like I do. So please, for me, show him and yourself a little grace.”

With a little sniffle, you nod. “Thank you, Jonah.”

He gave you a smile, the bright one you like that made his eyes squint. “Good girl. Now, I got a surprise for you that I think will brighten your day.”

*

Jonah watched as you practically skipped down the hallway. When he told you Frankie wanted to take you out for a picnic, you perked up so fast it was like you hadn’t even been sobbing in his arms a moment ago. He wished he could be honest with you, he wished he could tell you the truth about Tom, Delilah, and most importantly, Marcus… but you were so brainwashed, there was no way for him to break through to you. He couldn’t simple tell you everything you’d know and believed whole heartedly, your religion, your life, the very thing that you chose above your father was a lie… not yet anyway. Maybe one day you’d doubt, you’d question, and the first people you’d go to would be Iris or him, maybe even Reyansh. Rey played the part well of a good soldier boy, he wasn’t as overt as Iris was but he knew you trusted him.

Despite being late already with the crying, you insisted on stoping in your room to grab a ribbon for your heart. Jonah’s heart hurt watching you put so much effort into this.

Will treated you well. Despite Jonah and Will’s… past, he couldn’t deny Will  was a good husband. He took care of you.

Ben was a little shithead and was absolutely going behind your back with women still he just couldn’t figure out who. Ben had to be more sneaky now. This didn’t stop him from very loud late night fucks with Frankie that it seemed only you and Santi weren’t aware of. Still, he gave you affection and spent time outside of sex with you.

Santiago, he expected nothing less. Santiago’s moods were unpredictable, they had been ever since he was a child. Jonah had known Santiago and Beatriz since he was young, when all this was fairly new and traction was growing more and more. Jonah didn’t exactly believe, but his wife Jess did. Maybe he did for a while, it was hard to not with the things he saw… Beatriz had taken an interest in him and thus, despite being married, he spent a lot of time at the mansion with her. Jonah felt like a hooker, like his body was a commodity and up for grabs from anyone, and the worst part was how okay Jessica was with it. She fucking encouraged it. “Its an honor!” It wasn’t such an honor when she died giving birth to Iris and was denied medical treatment. Doctor said it wouldn’t have helped. Jonah knew Beatriz had something to do with it. He was luck Irish lived. She was his only reason for living sometimes.

It was Frank he was surprised about. Jonah had known all four men for most of the 3 decades of their life, and next to Santi, he knew Frank the longest. Frankie was raised with Santiago, practically as brother. Beatriz couldn’t adopt him, because something something divine blood, but that didn’t matter when Santi pissed her off enough. Jonah had witnessed the lashings and beatings he had taken, but what seemed to hurt the teen the most was when Beatriz would hang his godhood over his head, saying that it should be Frankie who was the savior, not him. After Jess’s death, Jonah was moved into the mansion and promoted to captain of the guard. It was just an excuse for Beatriz to demand sex even more.

Frankie was a good kid, but he always followed Santi like a lost puppy. Santi became obsessed with Frankie, forcing Frankie to become more and more withdrawn. Still, the nice young man was in there somewhere, and Jonah would bring it out. After the girl came to his room crying about Frankie not loving her, Jonah spoke to him and said he needed to do better by her hence the picnic.

Rey was out at the stables by the time Jonah got there, preparing the three horses. He was there a lot, knowing a lot about horses. If he has any choice, Jonah was certain he’d have been a vet. Another life, he supposed. Jonah and Rey would accompany them since they were going out a ways.

“Hello, Francisco.” She spoke softly, but enthusiastic. For all he and Santi hurt her, she loved him.

Frank gave a small smile. “Hi, Madonna. I thought maybe we could take a picnic. Get away from… everything else.” He brushed the mane of the horse.

Everyone else, Jonah thought.

“That sounds wonderful!” You walk over to him. “What’s his name?”

“This is Cielo. And those two,” He points to the other horses being settled. “Are Estrella and Flora.”

“Will we be riding Cielo?” You ask, but Frank turns away.

“I’ll be riding alone.”

You look dejected again, so Jonah steps up, frustrated with Frankie. “C’mon, you can ride with me.” Jonah puts a put in a stirrup, launching a leg over the saddle and onto Flora, his favorite horse.

“Actually” Frankie interjects. “I think she should ride with Rey.”

Of course. 10 years later and everyone was still suspicious of him. Frankie climbed onto Cielo, and Jonah rode up to him, whispering. “Compliment her ribbon. She picked green just for you.”

*

Reyansh pulled you up and onto the saddle, allowing you to ride the side saddle to protect your modesty in the dress. If you knew you’d be riding a horse, you’d have worn pants. It wasn’t the most comfortable, and you feared falling, but Reynash’s arm was strong around you. He was careful to keep his hands at appropriate places, which you were thankful for. 

“How is your painting going?” He asks, as since Jonah leads the group and Francisco is in the middle still not keen on talking to you. Still, this was a step forward.

“It’s good, thank you. It’s nice and peaceful. I miss-” You stop yourself. What you missed was when Santi used to sit and watch you paint, drinking his wine and intent eyes on you. It had been a comfortable silence. “I do miss having company sometimes…” You missed your husband, you missed his laugh, his smile, his praise.

“Hey, I’d love to sit in on a session!” You could tell by the tone of his voice he was smiling. “I’d love to see a real artist at work!”

You laugh just a bit, “I’m not an artist, but if you’d like to watch, I'd like that.”

“Deal.”

*

You sat against a tree, legs bent modestly in your skirt and eating the sandwich Iris packed. She also packed apple juice, which you loved.

Francisco was silent. He’d thanked you for your help setting up the blanket and spoken as he served his food, but now he simply sat there. He looked sad, but even then he was handsome. Francosco sported a mustache, which had remained consistent the whole time you’d known him. Santiago was growing out his hair and beard, which was making your heart ache even more that you couldn’t kiss and touch him like you wanted to. Still, the silence wasn’t awkward. You had begun to wonder if he was just… quiet.

“Thank you for taking me out.” You say, speaking quietly. Jonah and Reynash were circling the parameter and you felt… watched. “I hadn’t realized how much time I spent inside until now.” Had you even left the house at all since your wedding? When was the last time you felt sunshine before today?

To your delight, while still looking down, he smiled. “I’m glad. Don’t like seeing you cooped up in that house all day.”

Your heart warmed at his concern for you. Feeling emboldened, you scooch close to him.

“It’s not cooped up with the men I love.”

This makes his eyes flick up to you. He narrows them suspiciously, but not angry “You… love… me?”

Your heart nearly shatters at the question, and you can’t help but find him so endearing. “But of course I do!!!” Careful, you place a hand on his face and feel the patchy bit of stubble. “You’re my beloved husband!”

“But… you had to marry me.”

You shake your head. “No, Francisco I chose you, I chose all of you and I love all of you. Is that why you’ve been distant? Is that why you’ve been so cold to me?”

“I-” He stutters over his words. “I don’t think this is good for you… I don’t think I’m good for you…”

If there were ever words you hadn’t expected from him, it wasn’t that. Francisco was a God, he was holy, good and righteous, how could he not be good for you. It didn’t matter. Clearly he was hurting, and as his wife, it was your duty to make him happy again. “Francisco Morales, you are my husband, you are the foster child of the Divine Mother, and the love of my life. I chose you before, I choose you now, and I will choose you in heaven, Divine Mother willing.” You bring your face closer to his. “I adore you, in all your God and human.” Feeling brave, you bring your mouth to him and tenderly take his pouty lower lip into your mouth, making him whimper. You liked that sound.

“You choose me?” He whispers, slowly kissing back. “Out in the open, no secrets?” His voice is slightly higher now, almost whining as he begins to chase your mouth. 

“Always” The desperation growing, you give him everything you have. You don’t care that it’s an open field surrounded by trees, you don’t care that Reyansh and Jonah could ride up at any point, and you don’t care who might see you. You were divine and if you wanted to make love to the god of nature in his own fucking land you will. You had Francisco Morales, demi-God, whimpering for your touch. You had HIM, finally had him and you weren’t going to waste it for one second. He wanted thing sout in the open, you would show him you weren’t ashamed to be seen getting filled by his seed. Before you, your husbands were not celibant, that much was known. The sex parties were stuff of rumors and you couldn’t decipher the truth from fact. However, it was clear that public sex was not off the table. Shame is a punishment for the sins of Adam and Eve, and for men born without original sin, there was no shame in sex. “I choose you, always.”

Frankie entangles his fingers into your hair, feeling the green tie in your locks. His other hand slides up to cup your breast.

“I love this ribbon, it suits you.”

*

“Whatcha think’n, old man.” Rey asks as he rides up to Jonah. Both are perched up on top of a hill overlooking the field you lay on and he watches you kiss Frankie. 

“I’m thinking,” Jonah turns to Rey, nodding his head back home. “That I got it here, and since the others are out, you should run back and try and sneak some time with Iris.”

Rey smiled at that, but hesitated. “You sure? Morales didn’t seem like he wanted her with either of you.” 

Jonah rolled his eyes, but it was good natured nonetheless. He liked Reynash, loved him even. He was a good kid. Iris was put in the position she was in, not any older than the girl was now, because of his shortcomings, his weaknesses. She was punished to punish him. She deserved all the good she could get, and Reyansh Saha was about the only bit off good left in this world, beside Iris and now Marcus’s kid he was looking after. He reminded Jonah of Delilah in a lot of ways. Always smiling. Always kind.

“Look at ‘em.” Jonah referenced the pair kissing below. “She’s going home on his lap.”

Rey laughed brightly, turning his horse. “Oh yeah, you’re quite the matchmaker!” And he road off, long dark hair wild behind him. Handsome devil.

The words matchmaker hung in the air. Was Jonah giving her false hope he wondered? Or was he giving her the time she had left and filling it with better memories. He wasn’t sure. Maybe he was delaying the inevitable. It was always going to end one way for her. There was no way to live up to what Santiago wanted.

Because what Santiago wanted was Frankie with a womb.

SO MUCH JONAH HAPPENING!!!!!!!!

And poor madonna bc Jonah christ smelling your dad burn is a lot

So Marcus's face claim is David Habour, this came out of some chats with. @umnitsa in my romanaverse discord server. He is now your adopted father to keep things inclusive, but this is important as he has background info and ties in a lot. Think hopper in stranger things. Also May is already shipping him and Jonah so that ship name is Jonus lmfaooooo

If you are an active participant in one or more of my universes and have a discord (this means commenting or comment Reblogging, im looking for people who want to theorize and chit chat) dm me for a link! This is primarily focused on giving you extra content and sneak peaks but a lot of cool people are there too and you can share your work!

Please consider joining me in in donating to humanitarian aid in Rafah through Doctors Without Borders

LOVE YOU ALL!

How to keep up with the story!

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Follow the tag Rooms on fire

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If I forgot someone or you'd like to be added/removed LMK!

[2manyythoughts]

Arcane S2 Review/Random Thoughts

Look at them. They're so happy.

Btw I'm not familiar with LoL lore so my thoughts are just as a casual watcher of the show. I'm gonna be very critical in this post. Keep in mind, these are just my opinions. If you think differently, that’s cool

tl;dr Arcane season 2 is entertaining but doesn’t carry nearly as much emotional or thematic weight as the 1st season imo

Likes

• Gorgeous animation I mean obv

• Soundtrack is still pretty amazing (besides my unpopular opinion)

• "What's wrong with my pants?"

• I liked the siblings bonding again

• Timebomb. I love Jinx and Ekko. They both can stand alone as characters and the relationship they have adds more to them imo (doesn’t take away from them, unlike another ship…)

• JayVik is cute. Platonically, romantically, whatever. Their love transcends space and time. They are soulmates

•I liked the Ekko scenes a lot in general. I think he was one of the only characters that felt consistent with how he was in season 1. Ekko, Heimerdinger, and Jayce seemed more in-character than a lot of the others.

• Episode 7

•Jinx seems very alive!! I liked the blimp callback to the first season.

•The 3D, 2D, music, character design, storyboarding, etc. artists of this show are all amazing. I can’t thank them enough for bringing us this flawed visual masterpiece.

Dislikes/Disappointments

•Character conflicts were way more surfacey. I don’t recall any being about ideological clashes, which the first season was rife with. The conflict seemed much more physical than ideological.

•The conflict of the story suddenly became large-scale, which was to the story’s detriment. This is a pitfall of many fantasy works. The 1st season was great because it focused on the small-scale, the conflict between the sisters Jinx and Vi. This small-scale conflict was so impactful because it was personal. Also, we understand it was caused by a larger issue, that being the divide between Piltover and Zaun. We can relate the themes of estrangement and classism back to our own reality. There was a shit ton of complex and nuanced ideas in the 1st season. That the desire to help could cause irreparable damage, that people who seem villainous can make genuine connections (show genuine love), that the wealth of one society is built on the exploitation of another, etc.

•And then season 2 was just all over the place. It wanted to do way too much with too little time. It didn’t have a clear focus like the first. Worst of all, it became a “defeat the big bad” type of story in the end, when the first season showed us that it was never about defeating some villain to end all conflict, but about systemic issues and flawed decisions that are almost impossible to prevent and inevitably lead to tragedy. The story of Arcane was bastardized into becoming a near black and white story, when initially it was all about the grays in between.

• Where did the class conflict go? I don’t agree that the conflict was magically solved at the end by having Piltover and Zaun team up, they (tbf, very briefly) showed us at the end that the counsel still showed contempt for Sevika representing Zaun. But then I wonder if their themes about societal oppression were even what they intended to do with the story to begin with. I think it’s wonderful that we could interpret this story as a meaningful commentary about the oppression of the lower classes (and other things), but ultimately season 2 shows us what the writers actually intended. It seems they weren’t ever trying to deliver that complicated a story. Their main goal was to write an entertaining story about LoL characters. So, I personally don’t criticize the show for this, but I fully share the disappointment. We were at the cusp of greatness.

• I was all for Caitlyn dictator arc but ig it wasn't meant to be. No, she is simply Vi's girlfriend. Vi's girlfriend who is part of a society that actively oppresses/exploits her people and later gasses them (why was Vi okay with that and why was it just tossed aside??).

• Oh boy, Jinx. I was all for Jinx becoming Zaun's symbol but that was only dangled in front of us and not really fleshed out. In this case, it was too much show and not enough tell. Also Jinx's psychosis just sorta disappeared.

•Don’t get me started on the jail scene. We understand you want your sesbian lex (the scene itself was hot!), but there’s a time and a place. When your sister obviously looks distraught like she’s about to kill herself, maybe don’t start banging your girlfriend.

• Vi. You are a fighter. What happened? Okay, I can understand that maybe it all just became too much for her. That’s why we see her self-destructive habits, like drinking or entering a fighting ring to just punch away her feelings. But none of these moments are significant (the first is played mainly as a joke, the second as a music video montage), nor are they elaborated on. They don’t really develop her character, either. It’s a shame.

• Loris or that guy who looked like Vander. What was the point of him? That he was just a normal guy who died unceremoniously like they do in war with no fanfare? Sure, you can argue that. I still think it was odd how much attention they brought to him only to have virtually no impact in the story

• Viktor went from Hex-Jesus to destroyer-of-worlds way too fast and it felt very out of character

• So Silco knowing Jinx and Vi's mom makes his interactions with them in season 1 retroactively less compelling, especially his interactions with Jinx. I'm just gonna block that out and say he got amnesia

•Practically every character was flanderized and not nearly as complex as in season 1

• The Black Rose plot line should've been cut out. It took way too much time and only advanced Mel's arc, none of the others

• Ambessa and Viktor becoming the big bads was really weak. You had an intricately nuanced and complex plot, what happened

• I still don't understand how Viktor manipulated everything at the end and Idk if I like that plot point anyways

• When I watched the ending, I didn't really feel anything but confused and I wished I hadn't felt that. After I let my opinions stew, I simultaneously appreciated the season more and saw more of its flaws.

Unpopular Opinions?

• The opening was misleading... I'm not a great theorist, but I saw the Macbeth, Phantom of the Opera, and L'Miserables theories and got so hyped but none were fulfilled. I'm actually not criticizing the show for this but it would've been so cool to have those elements.

• The lyrics of Wasteland are too on the nose and the beat is clunky

• I liked Vander being brought back but I feel like he only really was there to bring the sisters closer together and tug at our heartstrings

• Characters acted too silly at times imo

• I could hear the sad music but not feel the sadness (unlike season 1 which wrecked me, “ripped out all my parts”)

• I was only slightly saddened by Isha's death. Imo she didn't have that much development so I didn't feel it that much. I still like her but alas she wasn't fundamentally much of a character

Misc

• Damn the shitposters, fanartists, fan fiction writers (I don’t read those but I bet), etc are cooking

• Violyn is still an amazing ship name and I like it on a surface level (if only the characters weren’t botched and the relationship development was as good as it...)

• "Our Love" is one of the best Arcane songs and I think it's my personal favorite. It's just so cozy and nostalgic

[princess-olaf]

OK, time for me. It won’t be the last post, because boy do I have lots to say about the last episode, but you gotta start somewhere 😉

I can’t believe I have to say this but two things can be true at the same time.

1. Stellaride adopting a baby feels totally right. Stella lived with her aunt after her parents died. Kelly moved in with April when Benny left and his mum couldn’t take care of him anymore. Both of them know how life changing it is when someone else than your parents opens their home and their heart to you and help you. How much that means - especially when you are a kid (I know Kelly was in high school at this point but he wasn’t an adult, he still needed his family, he still needed support and care and love. Like every kid).

Both of them help people at work. They do it without hesitation - like Stella told Kelly, when someone needs help, he doesn’t ask questions, he does everything he can to help them.

Their relationship helped both of them heal their wounds, showed them that they deserve true love, happiness and peace. Was it an easy road? Nope. Was it worth it? Totally.

Also, another thing that is worth pointing out is the fact that they are actually the first couple who talked about adopting a baby before meeting the baby. Gabby saw Louis on call, same with Cruz, Brett and Burgess. It wasn’t something they considered before - and if they did, they never mentioned it (correct me if I’m wrong). It’s nice to see two people talk about it, take time with it and make decisions based on what feels right to them - because they want to and they are sure of it, not just because they rescued a baby during work (I don’t day it’s not a good thing, but again, repeated storyline has entered the chat).

2. Being mad that we might get another adoption storyline is also totally valid. BTW let’s point out that she said she wanted to know if adoption is something he would consider and want. She didn’t say it’s their only option. And she didn’t say ’absolutely no’ to being pregnant. OK, moving on. We’ve seen adoption so many times already - with Dawsey (I didn’t say it was all successful), Burgess, Cruz and Brett. We’ve seen Casey fostering Darden boys (twice actually), we’ve seen that with Maggie on MED. At this point it feels like it’s the only way for a couple to have a baby. Yeah, Cindy was pregnant, same with Donna and Chloe, but they are not main characters. And their pregnancy was being told from male perspective - their husbands were the ones talking about that, their jobs weren’t at risk because of that, it was there but it wasn’t the centre of attention. By making Stella pregnant they could show how different women are treated, how different is for female firefighter to become a mum than it is for male firefighter to become a dad. Itd make dominated environment, it’s hard as it is, so they had a chance to show how pregnancy make it even harder. And with Stella being the lieutenant? What would that mean for her company? Would they put her behind the desk to do some boring paperwork nobody else wants to do - or would she use that opportunity to make a difference in the department and work to make CFD better place for female firefighters?

And not only that - you have WOC and you don’t use her to shine a light to the reality of how much that impacts her. Nice, you brought up PPD, but what about the fact that pregnancy is way more risky when you are POC? I don’t live in USA, but I’m not blind or stupid, we all know how mortality rates during pregnancy and childbirth are raising lately and how it is worse for people of colour. Perfect opportunity for showing that you are aware what is happening around you.

So, like I said in the beginning of this very long rant (if you made it to the end, thank you - and wow, congratulations, you made through all this rambling), it’s ok to be annoyed at another repeated storyline while being totally happy for two people who wants to expand their family (because two of them are already a family of their own and you won’t change my mind about that).

[bigmakxp]

Monty isn’t jealous, envious or wants to take Freddy’s place nor does he hate him either.

Spoilers for Ruin btw!!

So the popular theory right now that everyone’s claiming to be canon is that Monty was jealous of Bonnie and Freddy and decommissioned Bonnie to be in the band and makes his way up in the band and take Freddy’s place as well. The most popular reason for this theory is because of the Monty Golf ARcade game that shows Monty as the lead while Freddy’s in the trash. At first glance, I can see why people fall for this and think Monty wants Freddy’s place in the band but there’s some evidence that suggests otherwise.

1. The faz watch message Monty mischief makes it clear that Monty has missed main stage performances more than once to stay in Monty Golf, The place where he was once just a one man band in his own attraction (info thanks to ruin). If people are claiming that he was the one who decommissioned Bonnie out of spite or malice or fame why would he bail on his position that he went to such “great lengths” to get? Like I’m genuinely curious how it fits.

2. People never talk about this. Just moments before in the game we heard Vanessa threatening to scrap Freddy if he was involved protecting Gregory and Monty would run the shows. Now I know she said that his casing would be slapped on a new endo and it would be a temporary thing but his endo, Freddy’s true essence and person (or robot) would be scrapped thrown in the trash. Sound familiar? A certain AR game depicting just that? Nope not a clue.. /s

3. So your not convinced still? Fine. One of the endings of security breach has Gregory and Freddy driving off in a van and just who did they put in Freddy’s position as the lead? Yup. Monty. And they created an entirely new animatronic as a 4th member, glamrock mr. hippo. The decisions of fazbear entertainment is… questionable. But this proves that game is not Monty’s true intentions or desires it’s more of the company’s desires if anything. He might just be pushed into situations that he has little control over.

So in Ruin, in the Monty golf ride there’s a scene of cardboard cutouts of Bonnie, chica, Roxanne and Freddy, the original four glamrocks while Monty is looking in admiration and starry eyes. However, Freddy’s is in the shadows so people assume that Monty definitely dislikes Freddy. I think people are reading to into this though as this could have another meaning too. Call this a bit on the nose here but hear me out.

Freddy is the only one who is not present in the pizzaplex or the entirety of the ruin story. Or at least his proper head isn’t and there’s a headless prototype attacking you. Point is every cutout that has lights on them is still in the pizzaplex activated or deactivated and that includes Bonnie.

It’s just astounding that people draw these conclusions about Monty based on sources that probably weren’t even made by him or might not reflect his personality and claim it as canon. The information that we get in ruin still makes most of Monty’s character vague and non-confirming. As much as I try to accept the theories that Monty really does envy Freddy and decommissioned Bonnie on purpose I just can’t. Cause a lot of the contrasting evidence sticks out like a sore thumb.

I’d like some feedback on this whether you agree or disagree I’d like to hear different pov and interpretations on this.

[eldesperadont]

hello and welcome to the start of my rough Despe/Hiromu recap essay! I'll go over their history in relation to one another. A big reason for this recap is to explain my fascination with the 10+ year long history of these characters, and why I, a queer person, is so drawn to it — this post will include links, spoilers and cover the first 9 years of their careers. If you have corrections or additional infos pls DM me!!

egg, (2010-2012)

Hiromu Takahashi and El Desperado started their pro wrestling training around the same time in NJPWs dojo – both passing NJPW's entry exam in 2009 and training for roughly a year till they officially debuted in 2010.

Desperado in March under his real name, Mikami Kyōsuke, and Hiromu later in August. And here we already have some key moments:

Takahashi's professional debut was a singles match against Mikami. (its on YouTube btw)

Despe's first ever singles victory was defeating Hiromu in said debut match.

Mikami is older and ahead of Takahashi, going on to have an impressive winning record over Hiromu, who only managed to get a sole victory over Despe during their time together as students. (two if you count in a dark match)

Hiromu genuinely struggled a lot as a Young Lion (dojo trainee), having been close to giving up on wrestling if it weren’t for main roster wrestler Tetsuya Naito, who took him under his wing.

So yeah starting off Despe had the upper hand.

This part of their career is the hardest to research given that 1.) the language barrier was way higher a decade ago, 2.) there straight up is barely any footage. So instead, I want to explain the emotional importance of the NJPW dojo background:

The time as Young Lions in NJPW is kayfabe canon. These guys are rivals but also teammates, live and train together, fight with/and each other, cheer each other on in their bouts with the seniors, carry each other to the back when they once again got beaten – these guys are close, they have to, it's them against the world.

And that is the case for pretty much all the homegrown NJPW talent. This system provides feuds with an emotional core; why would someone who was that close be so cruel to each other now? What turns brothers, best friends, partners into enemies? So much room for juicy rivalries with a real weight behind it, after all we watched these guys grow and learn, saw their highs and lows.

Also on a less serious note it's simply amusing to watch old stuff and see two guys that will be bitter rivals, who’s matches will get praise and awards - tag together in mostly fruitless efforts, stumble behind the curtain together and be so clueless about all the greatness they’ll achieve one day thanks to each others hard work.

Young Lions my beloved <3

oceans apart, (2012-2016)

As is custom with most Young Lions both went on excursion: Mikami graduating first, in 2012, and working in Mexico for a year as "Namajague" - Hiromu leaving Japan the year Desperado debuts on the New Japan main roster, in 2014, touring in Mexico and the US as "Kamaitachi" till August 2016.

Both worked in CMLL as heels, as is custom for foreign trainees, starting as masked wrestlers, loosing them in a stipulation match, and also getting their hair shaved at some point.

Here you have unmasked Namajague, who went on to rock a half facepaint look and had half of his hair bleached (in 2014, a trendsetter)

and here you got a young unmasked Kamaitachi (yes he was in a team with Christopher Daniels and Frankie Kazarian in RoH)

These are the years Mikami and Hiromu don’t interact in canon, but in an 2020 interview Desperado confessed that he kept an eye on Takahashi during the latter's excursion, cause of his success in Middle/North America and spectacular matches with Dragon Lee.

Love confessions, (May - June 2018)

Their rivalry was fully rekindled in the “Best of the Super Juniors 25” tournament, so let’s set the scene:

Takahashi’s successful: having won the most important championship for their weight division in his first year on the main roster. He’s beloved by fans and critics and a valuable member of his mentor's faction, Los Ingobernables de Japon.

El Desperado is struggling: unsuccessfully having fought for singles titles several times in the last couple of years. His only championship victories so far having been in the tag division, after joining Suzuki-gun, a shady group that tolerates him, but not without hurdles. The masked man debuted in 2013 as a cheerful honourable guy, but by now he was just a bitter, sinister bastard.

They will have their first singles meeting in 6 years, and their first on the main roster.

They are winking and nodding towards the fact that Desperado already has several wins over the younger guy, but do not address who Despy really is - officially Mikami Kyōsuke hasn’t wrestled in New Japan ever since he left for Mexico.

Leading up to the BOSJ Hiromu made a booklet in which he describes all of his possible opponents, Desperado's page is kept blank at first, but later Takahashi adds “I know who you are, and I hate you.”

Despy wants to impress Hiromu. He was one half of the IWGP Jr. Tag champs at that point and took both belts with him to the ring - he's also wearing a special mask, that is mostly white, a colour Japanese wrestlers tend to only wear on special occasions/in big matches.

A lot has changed since they last fought 1 on 1 - except one thing: Hiromu cannot beat Desperado.

Both didn’t shy away from using dirty tricks, but in the end Despy has the upper hand once more. As his opponent lays defeated in the ring the masked menace has this to say:

(postmatch promo) (the match)

Hiromu will go on to win the tournament and IWGP Jr. Heavyweight belt from Will Ospreay at the 2018 Dominion show, but the loss to his fellow former Young Lion means that the latter has the right to challenge him, and so he does, in this now infamous promo.

please watch the whole thing: link

(funfact, this happened the same night Kenny won the IWGP Heavyweight Title with Ibushi in his corner, the gays were EATING that day, in pride month no less)

Leading up to their confrontation Hiromu would post a video on his twitter playing the 'love me/not' flower game, landing on "he loves me" - which promptly makes him eat the flower in frustration

On the day of their match, June 18 2018, he brings Desperado a present:

A bouquet in a guitar case, a cruel call back to Desperados main roster debut back in early 2014: after Kota Ibushi won the IWGP Jr. Heavyweight belt at Wrestle Kingdom 8 a masked stranger approached the ring with a guitar case, revealing it to carry a bouquet of black roses for the freshly crowned champ (who was a lil confused by the whole situation)

It was the start of Despes unsuccessful run as a face and partnership with Ibushi (which you can read as the first man he tried to pursue).

The masked lad wasn't that fond of Hiromu bringing back old memories.

Their match is an all out war, both using underhanded tactics to keep the other one down, including Hiromu unmasking Despy, who shockingly doesn’t care at all - which is a huge deal, I'm going to quote Japanese NJPW commentator Milano here because he said it best:

“To a masked wrestler that’s your identity. It’s everything. But Desperado has it ripped off and then just puts it on like he was fixing his necktie. He was saying that this very essence of himself wasn’t as important as Hiromu or the belt." (translation by Chris Charlton)

But in the end Hiromu is victorious, finally ending his losing streak. After the match he has some interesting things to say:

(postmatch promo) (the match)

Life’s a b*tch. (mid 2018 - late 2019)

Hiromu's next title defence is in August 2018 in the USA against Dragon Lee, a match I still haven't been able to watch and probably never will. Due to a messed up move from his opponent, Hiromu lands hard on his neck, breaking it in the process. He somehow managed to finish the match but collapsed backstage, immediately being rushed to a hospital.

In the documentary RED HEADED REVIVAL Hiromu shared that he knew right away that something was wrong – he saw his life flash before his eyes and feared that this is the end of his career, but he decided against stopping the fight:

It took Hiromu over a year to fully recover.

That wasn't the only unfortunate incident though: in spring of 2019 Desperado broke his jaw in a deathmatch against his idol Jun Kasai. The timing couldn't have been worse: the highly anticipated BOSJ Tournament for that year being just about to start. Despe had to withdraw mere days before its opening.

Neither of them would make a return till late 2019. And their next actual confrontation wouldn’t be till 2020.

It was a sad time to be a fan of either - with Hiromu we didn't know till his return if he will even be able to wrestle again. And with Despy we had to witness fans being unnecessarily rude to him, ridiculing him about doing a deathmatch in the first place, eventho the injury could have occurred in any type of match. (if I remember correctly, Desperado even deleted his twitter due to the fan backlash)

BUT I'm gonna end this post on a good note:

1.) Despy's return marked the start of a new era for him:

He wasn't gonna apologise, he broke his jaw, so what? Shit happens. He wasn't going to pretend that the situation didn't happen either tho, hell - Despe returned in a shirt covered in blood spots, making direct references to the match he got injured in. (sth he talked about in this video) And his mask? Dons a fractured jawbone now, the cracks filled in with gold - reminiscent of kintsugi, a Japanese method for repairing broken ceramics with a special lacquer mixed with gold, silver, or platinum. The philosophy behind the technique is to recognize the history of the object and to visibly incorporate the repair into the new piece instead of disguising it.

2.) Hiromu wasn't giving up on his way of life either, making a spectacular return - the best was yet to come. Individually and together/against each other.

Stay tuned for the next part, that will absolutely also take me ages to finally put out, I'm apologising in advance,, anyways thx bye!! <3 👹🐱

[wuxiaphoenix]

On Writing: Levels of Villains

Kryal tossed an interesting idea at me the other night; thought I’d lay it out and hopefully expand on it here. Basically, does every story have to have a villain? How do you define a villain?

IMHO, every story has to have an antagonist. Something that opposes the protagonist. Which could be anyone or anything from the uncaring cold sea assaulting your ship to the tomato hornworm infestation you’re trying to pluck out of your garden to Sauron ravaging Middle-Earth.

Antagonists, all of these. But only Sauron counts as a Villain. By which I mean a character who by actions and evil exerts just as much pull on the story as the protagonists. If you’re writing a gardening story, then if it weren’t tomato hornworms it’d be aphids, or potato beetles; just some annoying critter you have to defeat if you want a good harvest this year. If Sauron vanished from Middle Earth? The whole story would be different.

So. We have antagonists; who may be very small-scale, personally motivated, and not necessarily evil, just opponents to our good guy. We have Villains, who technically qualify as a highly specialized and demonstrably evil subcategory of antagonist. But what do we have in-between?

...Here’s where writing vocabulary tends to get scanty, beyond defining lowercase “V” villains as “bad guys”. Characters (usually) who are evil, or at least highly amoral, and do affect the plot by their evil deeds and the fact that the hero goes to stop them... but they aren’t the entire reason for the plot. Kind of the difference between Buffy’s Monster of the Week and Angelus tormenting the Scoobies until Buffy finally sends him (and, unfortunately, Angel) to Hell. MOTW are bad guys. Angelus was a Villain.

Note that not all stories need a Villain. You can do plenty with a good antagonist or bunch of bad guys. If, for example, you’re focusing on the main character adapting to a new situation and learning to navigate unfamiliar surroundings (hello, isekai/portal fantasies!), then you may not want a Villain pulling the plot six ways from Sunday. The hero’s in enough hot water as it is.

...However, once your hero gets his feet under him and starts to cope with a different world? Yeah, then you might throw in a Villain. Up the difficulty level again!

BTW, the difference someone laid out between isekai and portal fantasies on Tumblr was pretty cool. Basically, in an isekai it doesn’t matter how the main character got to another world, and what form they take in the new world may vary. (See SAO, How Not To Summon A Demon Lord, Accomplishments of the Duke’s Daughter, and so many others.) In a portal fantasy how they got there matters a lot, because they get to the new world with their own minds and bodies. (See Witch World, Narnia, John Carter of Mars.)

...So technically Colors of Another Sky is a portal fantasy. I am Amused.

How do you define your spectrum of villainy?

[moonsuke]

Episode Nagi thoughts

Latest chapters just reinforce how pure Nagi is to me, probably because he really lacks social experiences? Yet, he seems to always go above and beyond when trying to understand them, the people involved, and himself in relation to it all? The insights he gain whenever he reflects upon each personal encounter are usually so genuine. Actually, I find his approach to anything in general always so genuine which is why I’ve always thought he has such a pure soul (baby chick), and why his spin-off has such an idealistic and almost childlike feel to it. Like when he saw fighting with the “facing reality” mindset isn’t working, he decided to fight while “living in a dream (as we say bye bye)” instead which again is so idealistic and poetic?

And of course he would think back to Reo because Reo’s his frame of reference and gateway to everything, which is really sweet but also tragic to me. Even during his moment of despair this chapter when he saw his dreams weren’t gonna be realised, the first thing he thought of was back to his fight with Reo and how Reo must have felt back when HIS dreams were getting crushed. Not only does it show his care for Reo, but also his level of empathy especially for someone with his level of social experience? And even more so since he was feeling angry at Reo (which I think is totally valid of him to feel that way btw).

Tbh, I felt quite mixed at first because my initial thought was “this train of thought seems kinda forced so we can get the big skull ego awakening moment”, but I do like how it portrayed Nagi as someone who really treasures his personal relationships (Reo), how they can motivate him and lead to his evolution, and how empathetic he actually is.

And the other reason why I felt mixed is what I said about him being totally valid to have felt frustrated at Reo during their fight. Nagi wasn’t the only one who said something “cruel”, Reo did too when he lashed out first. That’s why I felt really happy for Nagi when he finally pieced together that those feelings bothering him after their fight was actually “anger” because he had every right to feel that way.

But then I realised what he’s feeling now doesn’t completely negate what he felt then either. It just meant he’s able to look past his own feelings and feel sympathy for Reo instead. Him being the bigger person, empathising with Reo’s position, feeling guilty for not noticing Reo was suffering (from his inner demons), and how he could have responded differently just reflects how kind of a character he is. Like he’s just so precious to me? Nagi for sure a better person than me lol. And I’ve to keep reminding myself he never had much social interactions and experiences before this, same with soccer. I really think his entire being (or trope) can be defined as “baby chick genius” lol.

And tbh, I don’t think even the most empathetic of characters would have been able to fully grasp the feelings and level of despair Reo was in. He was feeling more than just “my dreams were getting crushed”, it’s mixed in with self-loathing, and his ego and superiority complex being crushed which led him to react that way to Nagi. It’s a hidden side of Reo and I don’t think he would want Nagi (or anyone) to know about it anyway, especially with the thoughts he was directing at Nagi. Which is why I think it would be wrong for only Nagi to apologise because that situation just wasn’t about him calling Reo a pain, it’s way more than that. But I don’t think most people who want Nagi to grovel gets it.

I guess though, the main point still remains to show us how Nagi’s understanding of human emotions and personal relationships (Reo) is a trigger for his growth/ego (dream). Still feels a little forced to me ngl, since I can’t tell if it’s a case of unreliable narrator (of Reo’s perspective) or just incoherent writing.

I like to think it’s the former considering Episode Nagi deals with miscommunications and misunderstandings leading to growth after all. Each character’s gonna have their own take on situations (accuracy notwithstanding) that’s gonna lead up to “who they become at the end”. Will just have to see where Kaneshiro is taking this~ I did notice some inconsistencies between Episode Nagi and the main Blue Lock series sometimes that give me whiplash. Like certain vibes and impressions I got from the main series, and/or their weight and importance, are different in the spin-off and I’ve difficulty reconciling them sometimes? Characterisation too sometimes and not just for Nagi and Reo. Adds to the mixed feeling I got and how I can’t simply trust in “let Kaneshiro cook” lol.

I don’t particularly have faith in how he writes interpersonal dynamics and relationships tbh. It works enough in Blue Lock since the initial theme was the rejection of “friendship is magic” for ego’s sake (which was why I got so hooked in the first place). But Episode Nagi (and Nagi’s character) is obviously heading in a different direction which I don’t mind, but like I said I don’t really have faith Kaneshiro can do it well lol.

Anyway I can’t wait for hype Nagi. I’ve a lot of thoughts on his “ego” or “dream” and the different roles and impact Reo and Isagi has on him. But I think I need to sit on it more considering I haven’t caught up with the main series… Things like why is Nagi so insistent on rejecting “ego” and replacing it with “dreams” and how it seems to be linked to gaining recognition which ties to how prodigies can only be discovered… Or how his “dream” can meant fulfilling the dreams and expectations of those around him including the world.

[jumpinjordan]

Just finished Terror Fest, and this may be the best book PB has released in a very, very long time.

Spoilers below cut (long post for those that read)

Top scars on Zaire were a pleasant surprise. The fact that PB were consistent with their pronoun use when they’ve struggled in the past was great. Zaire got the utmost respect and love throughout.

LI’s that were actual individual people and not cardboard cutouts was a breath of fresh air. They breathed life into the story by having their own characterisation.

I wished we could have had a tangible icon to see our fortitude score. They could have reused the skull from It Lives. I would have liked to have made choices that also determined the friend group fortitude (like ILITW) and that should have determined who died and when.

The ending was a little lacklustre after the final showdown. Once Tyson was dead (the reveal was great btw), we should have had time to reconnect with our remaining friends (or mourn them). A proper epilogue would have been nice (like ILITW)

We should have been able to collect weapons and lore documents (like ILITW) to prepare for the final fight.

The reveal that it was Tyson all along was nasty work. Especially since there was an opportunity to sleep with him before the reveal that he had been in a relationship with our sister. More foreshadowing would have been nice, he should have been a little more manipulative. But overall, it was very real and very human. It just could have been a little more tense. He should have been more easy breezy.

It was a little too easy jumping into a relationship with the LI’s. There should have been some hesitation at least because the MC is their best friend / group leaders kid sister. More fleshing out of the relationships would have been nice, which would have come with a clear and more staggered timeline.

We didn’t get to see much with the detective and the mayor, but there was a lot there and more chapters would have allowed for that to have been fleshed out. The characters didn’t have time to breathe, which there should have been. A filler chapter here and there would have been fine. If PB can make 100 chapters for My Two First Loves, they can add filler into a horror story.

It also would have helped with characterisation. While there was a lot of showing, having a filler chapter where the characters got to be the friend group they kept saying they were and having more moments like the cliff jumping would have helped make me like them more and want to save them more.

I would have liked more backstory on MC and Destiny’s relationship. They clearly weren’t close but a flashback chapter to show more of that and the earlier friendship dynamic would have been nice. Not to bring up ILITW again, but the way they started those chapters with mini flashbacks helped fill out the story. More of that to flesh out the friendship dynamic and start the romance tension would have been nice. There was a reason Destiny made the no dating within the friend group rule and especially pointed out their kid sibling and it wasn’t to just be polite.

Bex was under-utilised. Sure she was definitely going to betray MC and the group but the opportunity to do a little backstabbing should have been offered. Bex’s death should’ve come after she posted an insider story or started to raise further speculation. There wasn’t a lot of investigation going on and there should have been.

The other murders. Why? They happened but they weren’t exactly explained. Did Tyson commit all of them? Who was the copy cat killer? Plot points introduced that didn’t really go anywhere because we had limited chapters and a small cast.

These are just my main points. There are others but these are at the forefront of my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I loved the book. It’s some of the best content PB has released in a very long time and it’s because it doesn’t focus on romance or sex. The LIs are their own and not customisable, which has been one of my biggest problems with PB along with poor writing, cancelling everything and making all their books about sex.

Overall, a good book. Koda is being added to my list of loves.

[ranchycowgirllover]

So we got ourselves a Charlie Re Design

I decided rather than basing her off of a doll like the original I wanted to go for a puppet vibe (this will play into her lore re write). I’ve also given her horns and the little anime neck wings (idk what those are called) to give her a more demonic appearance. Her eye color and nose shape were changed to be more reminiscent of her mother. I’m also making her the tallest out of the main cast to add to her other worldly vibe. I’m also renaming her to Abrahael(shortened to Abbie) rather than Charlotte. Abrahael in demon mythos was said to be Liliths child (tho she will not be a succubis)

Lore + Character Re write

Okay so her whole “Disney Princess in Hell” thing is kinda lame. She’s princess of hell, like you can make her good person who’s naive but give her some bite. Idk out of all the characters in Hazbin she’s the one I find the least interesting. So she’s the one I’m probably going to change the most. In my little re write au she is an Eldridge horror, she still very much has good intentions and wants to help people. But she knows that she’s the princess of hell, she is very aware that should easily kill just about anyone. But this comes with her being quite arrogant and taking risks she shouldn’t (like inviting Alastor into the hotel), she is not a planner so people like Alastor who are would be able to more easily manipulate her.

Alright so her lore- she was puppet built by Lucifer to be a daughter to him and Lilith. She didn’t have a childhood she just simply awoke one day. Her parents weren’t married btw they didn’t exactly get along . I’m thinking about making a comic about this Re Write so that’s all I’ll say

Her parents

And here’s some extra art

(I’m so glad I can finally draw Abbie and Vaggie doing cute couple stuff)

[o0anapher0o]

Miss Lily and character stereotpyes

I’ve been re-reading @halo4life2017-blog's rewatch blogs and the discussion we had about Miss Lily and about how Lestat might at some point tell us he only killed her because she was actually planning on blackmailing Louis or something like that, and I had some more thoughts I need to get out.

The thing about Lily as Louis presents her is, she’s a stereotype. The ‘whore with the heart of gold’ is a common trope. It’s a cliché the same way the though, street-hard, black pimp is, or the rich European genteel who is abhorred by American racism, the stately southern matron who saves face at all cost even if it means waving off a guests outburst with a comment about the weather, the sassy little sister who supports her gay brother and only wants to see him happy, or the religious zealot who is really a gentle angel when he’s not possessed by the holy spirit. All those are sterotypes that Louis uses when he introduces the people in his life to the story, ways he tries to shape the narrative perception of them. Or maybe lies he tells himself about them.

And all of these stereotypes get dismantled within the first episode: Louis is really a sensitive baby gay who likes to read and cries at the opera. Lestat is a terrifying vampire, who we can rightfully assume has never cared about how black people are treated anywhere prior to meeting Louis, and really still doesn’t.  Florence is an emotionally abusive bitch who happily unloads her own grief on her child, Grace is mommy little princess who deserts Louis when he needs her most to side with Florence and Paul is a condescending brat who shamelessly uses his mental illness for the liberties it gives him (we don’t talk about it enough because mental illness is tricky and Paul is a great character, but the way he acts towards Grace’s fiancé and wedding, and how he talks to the priests when he goes to confession are on a level of entitlement that’s breathtaking. And that’s instances when he’s supposedly ‘right in the head’. My favourite is ‘I wasn’t being rude”, like, yes, you were. Just because the voices in your head told you to say it doesn’t mean it’s not rude to say it and the fact that you’re trying to justify it tells me you know that.).

You could probably make a similar case almost all other characters, Bricktop, Tom Anderson, Levi, all of them are initially presented in a very stereotypical way and later we’re shown they are not quite what they seem at first (Fenwick might be the exception here, he’s always a horrible racist pig). Except for Lily. She never gets the chance to be shown as more, because she gets killed off-screen and is never brought up again.

But we do get hints that everything isn’t as Louis presents it with Lestat’s throwaway comment on her wretched life, or the fact that it takes Louis two weeks to even notice she was dead, which tells me they weren’t as close as some people seem to believe. (Yes, he was a regular customer, one she might even have liked but they definitely weren’t friends.). So yeah, I won’t be surprised if we do learn about some nefarious goings on she was involved in. That’s not to make Lestat look better btw, he did kill her and the main reason was no doubt to get a reaction from Louis and/or to dismantle his support system, but I do think there was more to it than that just ‘she was a poor substitute’. And just as a side note: since we tend to treat Louis as an unreliable narrator (justifiably so) if and when the time comes we certainly need to look at Lestat’s story the same way, because I’m pretty sure if anyone is trying to make Lestat look better, it’s going to be Lestat.  

[adotmbrosia]

season 7-9 spoilers, particularly abt kevin tran

thinking abt kevin tran and how FUCKED everything was for him.

sam winchester is doomed by the narrative because he is the main character and he always got to go through shit but i’ve never seen anyone talk about how kevin tran was also doomed by the narrative due to being a prophet. maybe it’s bc of his actor and his horrible actions — which i do not condone and i feel so horrible for all the victims. but kevin tran as the character is so pitiful and sad yet i see nobody in the spn fandom talk abt it.

jst bc he’s the prophet he is ripped away from his normal life at like fucking 17/18 yrs old ffs his main concern was abt his ap classes 😭😭😭 imagine living almost two decades of normalcy and you’re thrown into this world where you’re being goddamn hunted down by everybody, especially these two scary ass 6 feet middle aged men who knows too much about everything spouting shit about “responsibility.” girl i havent even paid taxes yet!! idk shit abt responsibility!

after being forced into this role of the prophet, kevin literally worked — which is grueling btw transcribing is not easy and we can see it take a toll on him as he continues to work throughout the seasons — himself to the point where the winchesters bought him fucking xanax (i may be wrong here but it was some sort of medication) to calm his anxiety 😭 like ts is NOT okay to give to an undiagnosed teenager. not to mention crowley always looking for him.

the winchester brothers say kevin is family and how much the winchester brothers cared for kevin but they never rlly show it. kevin figured out he was kidnapped by crowley bc fake sam and dean winchester were too nice to him. they were willing to go through some trouble to get him food he wanted despite there being leftovers in the fridge. if i was depending on this poor kid to save the fucking world i’d buy him some barbecue.

i mostly have a gripe with dean’s “pep-talks” he has with kevin too. kevin is rightfully unhappy about these circumstances. he’s allowed to feel fucked and scared and all of these emotions but dean pushes his agenda in kevin’s face. he doesn’t consider the nuances of the situation because dean has never lived a life where he had a choice (which is another conversation) but it’s not okay to make kevin feel like that as well. dean says shit like “oh i expected this wimp to choose the cowards way out” when kevin was literally KIDNAPPED😭 (unbeknownst to dean and sam but i digress it’s understandable he would run away from all of this) after kevin finds out that his mother is alive from crowley, he wants to go out and find her yet dean makes kevin stay once again to serve his agenda of saving the world and shit veiled by claiming kevin was family and crowley has reasons to lie. but after kevin’s death we find out that she was, in fact, alive!!!

kevin could’ve saved his mother from months(?) of torture by a demon yet dean stopped him because of what??

speaking of deans treatment we go over to sam’s treatment of kevin how he jst went AWOL on the poor kid leaving him to hide and live alone for a year despite kevin calling him Numerous times to tell sam that he was alive and Needed help

and i’m not saying that dean and sam doesn’t care abt kevin bc they have said so in many instances and have saved him many times. i jst feel like they weren’t perfectly great to him (honestly i can’t really blame them either) and the narrative has truly fucked kevin over many times.

ESPEICALLY kevin’s death which could’ve been so easily prevented, but it happened because he no longer served a purpose to the narrative. like kevin only got a few episodes where he didn’t serve as a prophet and was allowed to help the winchester brothers in his own way— which he COULD btw. he hacked into the military wifi to help them convince this lady to allow them to investigate the bus.

i also think abt how the show presents kevin. in the beginning it’s the overdone and stereotypical joke of “oh look at the asian kid who wants to go into an ivy and is in a million ap classes” and they never elevate themselves out of that box kevin is put into. not to mention his mother who when introduced the episode name is literally “tiger mommy” which is another asian stereotype that they are pushed into. which is frankly racist and jst not good writing which IK the writers are capable of bc look at sam and dean winchester at certain instances bc sometimes they fuck that up too.

[keeksybee]

Rick and Spanish:

I’ve always wondered why he never speaks Spanish, Sanchez is obviously a Spanish name and while I get not using it with the kids or Beth because he actually cares about them understanding him, it’s totally in his character to use it with other Ricks or to piss Jerry off knowing it would drive him crazy to be talked about and have no idea what he was saying.

My main premise to this is I honestly don’t believe Rick is a no sabo kid (nothing wrong with being one BTW) I’ve done the math and if we assume Beth is 34 at the beginning of the series in 2013 (Summer must have been born 1996 when Beth was 17 and Morty would’ve come 3 years later in ‘99) that makes her birth year 1979 and presuming Rick had a slightly more planetary mindset when she was born that makes him 23-26 as was average for having kids back then, making his birth year 1953-1956.

Historically I get Beth not being taught Spanish to avoid discrimination, maybe it wouldn’t have been as bad when she was growing up but If Rick’s parents immigrated during WW2 , just before or after Rick was born or when Rick was a very young child that makes him a first gen immigrants child and while northern states were better, they weren’t great either, he would have very much been subjected to some pretty intense racism that he wouldn’t have wanted for his daughter no matter how much it hurt him to not know part of her own culture.

However I also believe Rick’s defiance streak is probably genetic and like hell he would give up his first language just to assimilate like many children of that generation may have been forced to, it was a thing in immigrant homes in America, particularly South American ones ( I’m not sure where the name Sanchez would be from specifically) where the children were banned from speaking their own languages. He however, was Rick Sanchez and would steadfastly refuse to be ashamed of himself or where he came from. It would have been a massive scandal when he married Dianne in their small town, she was most likely pretty, popular and white, he would have been heavily targeted as the schools wouldn’t have been non segregated for very long by the time he was in high school. Marrying Dianne was probably a very satisfying “Fuck you” to people who’d tormented him.

Which leads to the question why do we never hear him use Spanish. Six seasons and 40 years of heavy drinking and drug use and we never hear him slip once, and it’s not like he doesn’t screw up in other areas, language would be a simpler one. He never switches, never even swears in it, but there has to be something that triggers it.

I always imagined it would be Morty getting mortally wounded in a way that he can’t seemingly fix with what’s available to him. His June-bug is bleeding out in front of him and he can’t do shit, another person he couldn’t save. He breaks down, clutching the limp body his grandson, begging a god he doesn’t believe for the first time since his teens in a desperate mix of Spanish and English to do something, and illogically, when he thinks Morty has died, giving him what he remembers of his last rights knowing that if there’s a God the fact it’s him administering his rights is probably not doing any favours for his Grandson’s eternal soul, but then Morty miraculously coughs up blood.

He coughs up blood, not good but it means he’s alive, he can think now, he can do something, so he does.

Morty survives. Barely. He erases the memory, even he considers it too traumatic for Morty to recall, but he has to live with it, it haunts him, it haunts him in a way he hasn’t felt since his Dianne and Beth were killed in his dimension. That’s when he starts speaking to Morty in Spanish, the occasional “mijo” here, the rarer story about his upbringing there and openly conversing in Spanish with other Ricks in Morty’s presence.

Morty learns almost fluent Spanish in four months just to try and spite him. That’s his June-bug, guess Beth did pass down that competitive spirit, and some of his smarts too. It’s nice talking regularly in his mother tongue again even if he’d never tell Morty that, and it’s adorable when his grandson can’t pronounce something properly, messes up the tense of a word or stumbles in Spanish when he’s pissed off, it reminds him of a little kid. He gently corrects the tense errors under his guise of grumpy, codgery old man, Morty doesn’t even know how much better he gets.

Jerry’s pissed that he now doesn’t understand his father in law or his son, but that’s okay, it’s Jerry.

[op-81-lvr]

Censored fic vote.

x reader btw just so theres no jump-scares for people who don’t fw that

Hey all, sorry for my lack of writing recently. I really want to get back to it and I want y’all to decide which I write first. So i’ve made a list of extracts from all my WIPs with the catch that they’re all censored so nobody is picking just for the driver

Key for my censoring:

[REDACTED] = Main characters name

[CENSORED] = Sub characters name

___ = details that give too much away

See extracts in the ‘keep reading’ tab below 👇🏼

~

1.

You pushed your way through the crowd and sat yourself on one of the high stools at the bar area. “Vodka-Lemonade, please” You said to the bartender who nodded and began making your drink.

A man came up beside you and looked to the other bartended “Vodka-RedBull on ice, please” The man was gorgeous, a ___________ face. His ___ skin and ___ hair were beautiful.

“You’re staring” The bartender said as he put your drink down. She wasn’t judging just telling you so you could compose yourself. “Oh right, thank you” You said, reaching into the inner pocket of your jacket and handing her a generous tip. Yes it was an open bar but you had the money so why not tip?

~

2.

“We did it, We won” You said softly, you were sat on your balcony in Abu Dhabi with your trophy sat on the small side table. It had been such an odd season what with the pandemic and then [CENSORED] announcing his retirement

“Yeah we did, feels good doesn’t it?” [REDACTED] said as he lay his head on your shoulder as you wrapped your arm around him.

“Yeah” You whispered under your breath, kissing the side of [REDACTED]’s head as you did so. There was an air of confusion in your tone however.

“Hey? Whats wrong? We won a race” You boyfriend said looking at you pitifully. He rolled over so he was on his stomach, ___ eyes staring into your own as if begging for answers

~

3.

The fans slowly pieced together that you were not being rude, you were not hard of hearing and you weren’t ignoring them. You simply didn’t understand when [REDACTED] wasn’t with you.

You slowly became more comfortable have assisted conversations with the drivers when [REDACTED] was present. Soon enough you began pick up the basics; Hello, goodbye, please, thank-you, how are you?, mainly conversational stuff and most importantly [CENSORED] and [CENSORED] had began trying to teach you every swear word and insult that English offered in exchange for swears and insults from your native language.

~

4.

“[REDACTED]! Go to your drivers room. Now.” [CENSORED] demanded. It wasn’t often he shouted but perhaps that was what [REDACTED] needed. He couldn’t be the one to tell [REDACTED], that wouldn’t help him.

So, like a toddler he went to his drivers room like he was told. Pissed off and confused. He entered his drivers room and instantly slammed the door. This caught the attention of his mum and [CENSORED] who were sat on his couch.

“WHA- Are you crying?” [REDACTED] was away to rage at [CENSORED] until he seen the look on his mother’s face and the tears rolling down her face. “What the fucks happened?”

“[REDACTED], it’s (Y/N).” [CENSORED] began “We got the call and made the decision to pull you out. You can get to him faster that way.”

~

5.

“I think I was just adopted by [CENSORED]…” you blurted out

“Hold on- back it up, adopted? by [CENSORED]?” Your brother asked, looking at you with a raised eyebrow.

“I mean not literally of course but he asked if he could mentor me” You said, smiling slightly. You really wanted this “I said I would think about it” You shrugged

“(Y/N)…” [REDACTED] started as he drove away from your parking space. “No, this is what I need I think. Someone to teach me who won’t punish me for my mistakes.”

“Fair” Your brother notes.

“Oh, I also got put in therapy” You added

“And there was the thing I was waiting for”

~

6.

“No, No we are not. You are getting in your own head, it is dark and crowded in here, no one is going to recognise me.” [REDACTED] said, pulling back slightly to look you in the eye.

“Besides, i’m covered in body glitter. It think thats a pretty decent cover up no?” He said, looking down at himself. He was not lying he was covered in body glitter that he himself had out on before you left your UK apartment.

“You’re right, I’m absolutely being an idiot” You said, pulling your boyfriend into you so you could kiss properly again. “Everyone’s just gonna think you’re a doppelgänger or something” You muttered, more in reassurance to yourself.

“You’re so fucking perfect, now stop worrying” [REDACTED] muttered as he pushed you back against the wall as he began groping your ass, perfectly normal behaviour for people clubbing on a Saturday night.