#but i think it would be funny (and tragic but mainly funny)

[dangermousie]

A danmei lover's biased and incomplete het web novel rec list

@mercipourleslivres thanks for inspiring me!

When it comes to Chinese web novels, I mainly read danmei. I tend not to care too much for OP heroine with a hero who dotes on her for no reason as she fights with 14 year olds narratives, nor inner courtyard fights. BUT!!! There are some het web novels I like and so here is my biased and incomplete rec list. Most of these don't have OP heroines, and very little to none courtyard fights.

Before I start, my favorite het web novel authors are: Gong Xinwen, Mo Shu Bai, Peng Lai Ke, and Jiu Lu Fei Xiang. I have yet to read anything bad by them.

Anyway, rec list:

1000 Miles of Bright Moonlight - one of my ultimate favorites, this would make such an epic drama! A smart as hell heroine, a hero who is a monk and a warrior (but also terminally?) ill and such a vivid world and amazing secondary characters (heroine’s brother is possibly my favorite supporting character of all time) and so much angst and happy ending. This has an amazing romance but it’s not romance-centric if it makes sense - ML doesn’t appear for a while. But once he does, it’s worth it!

Accompanying the Phoenix - the one that just got adapted into The Legend of Shen Li, this is high adventure and cottage core and funny and tragic and powerful ML being putty in the hands of capable FL and just EVERYTHING.

Apocalypse Arrival - Gong Xinwen’s novels are made just for me. Her heroines are always powerful as fuck and rescue abused MLs. In this novel, our heroine who lives in the post-apocalyptic world, wakes up right before that apocalypse happens. She forms a survival crew and also rescues ML who has miraculous blood and has been drained of it and is now hunted after the rescue for it. SO GOOD!!!

Black Moonlight Holds the BE Script - so fucked up, so good, with monster hero who learns to love and be human and heroine who learns to love and be human (but from the other side, her tower of perfection.) Much better than the drama which I did enjoy.

The Blue Whisper - the drama was so-so, but the novel is a bona fide angst masterpiece, which really delves into what it feels like to be imprisoned or to love.

Counterattack of the Cannon Fodder Chambermaid - I remember starting this and loving the realistic feel and the heroine and wanting to stab the hero and @mercipourleslivres telling me to be patient. She was right, by the end I was on board with both the hero (who was abused and is rather autistic-coded) and the OTP. Anyway, heroine is a servant who was a concubine in the last life and got killed as part of a rich family’s harem intrigues. In this life, she just wants to keep her head down but her life gets derailed anyway. She gets sold away and eventually made a servant in the household of an exiled prince who takes a fancy to her and she endures it because what choice does she have? All she wanted was to serve out her term and become a small time merchant. This is quite realistic about lack of options for women, especially lower class women or upper class male attitudes (ML is never vicious or mean to FL but it does not initially occur to him to wonder if she fancies him or enjoys being his concubine or w/e.) It is a DELIGHTFUL slow burn tho as they grow to love each other and grow together and become one of the most wholesome cnovel couples out there.

Dandere General and His Lord - hi there, Gong Xinwen! God, I love this one. Heroine transmigrates from modern world into a brutal slave-holding world at war (think something like Warring States era.) Our heroine transmigrates into the body of a noblewoman who just hung herself. When she comes to, she discovers that woman’s twin brother was the ruler of a city poisoned by a rival claimant and the besieging army of said claimant is about to take the city and original occupant of the body and the rest of the family chose suicide as a way to avoid dishonor. Our heroine refuses, schemes with advisors to pass as the brother and rally the troops. Once the invaders are defeated, she keeps on the masquerade and rides off to one of the never-ending wars “she” is summoned to. Our hero couldn’t be farther from this. A slave and a son of a slave, he’s escaped a horrific, starving childhood during which he narrowly avoided being murdered or raped, and ended up in the army. When the story opens, he distinguished himself in battle and as a reward, he and a few of his fellow slave warriors are invited to a banquet, where they are given some alcohol and to be playthings of any nobles who want them. One of them does not survive this but ML is lucky - heroine feels terrible and so “claims” him for herself. Instead she just tends to his wounds and sends him back. She does not fancy him or anything, she is just a human being with a conscience. And the story goes from there.

Demon King's Repayment - another delicious Gong Xinwen tale with a powerful ML dedicated to capable FL. This one is a great fantasy plot (I keep imagining it as an animated series) and a sprawling cast of amazing secondaries (and secondary OTPs - there is, I swear, an OTP that is Dong Hua x Feng Jiu done thru GXW lens) to boot.

Doomed to Be Cannon Fodder - I hesitated to put this one on the list because by the end I was not keen on how misogynistic novel got to original female lead but it was one of my earliest novels and I loved it for 90% and it’s fucking hilarious at times. Heroine transmigrates as bit villainess into a novel, all she wants is not to die, but her new attitude of “pls stay away” catches the attention of her terrifying general husband. Honestly, imo still worth it.

Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir - my n1 novel on this list, smart and fierce and don’t really read this for romance because it does not start until really late, but ice cold heroine x ice cold hero both of equal brains and ruthlessness is everything. I went from loathing the ML to finding him fascinating to adoring him (and yet he softened around the edges only for FL, he never became “nice”) and loved FL throughout; secondaries are epic. If you read only one non-danmei web novel, make it this one.

The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl - my n2 novel on this list. Our heroine is the unlucky laundry maid A’Chou. She is a di daughter of an upperclass family but her family got destroyed in one of the political upheavals of the time and A’Chou, only a small child at the time, was the only survivor and was made an enslaved laundry maid. Due to various events, at the start of the novel she is a laundry maid in a minister’s household and the minister’s beloved daughter is having a fit because she’s supposed to marry the former Crown Prince which may have been great a few years back but Crown Prince had since been deposed, tortured, imprisoned and now is living in the middle of nowhere under conditions that are too meager to be called house arrest. And he’s seriously crippled too. Understandably, the young lady doesn’t want to marry him! She’d rather kill herself and so she does. And so, a desperate plan is hatched - why don’t we pretend the laundry maid is the di daughter of the minister’s household and send her off? And so A’Chu is sent as the bride. She arrives to discover a broke, seriously injured man on the verge of death…and we go from there. This is so gorgeous and tender and slow in just the right way and like AAAAAA! Secondary OTPs (one of which is MM) are also epic.

Futu Tower - the drama (Unchained Love) was a mess but the novel is such a lovely, dark exploration of coming back to life, for the ML from his dark revenge-strewn path and for heroine from not being allowed wishes of her own. She is a tribute bride, he’s a (fake) eunuch, they are both servants who use themselves to achieve goals and find peace and happiness together.

The Grand Princess - a tale where both members of the OTP reincarnate as their younger selves after killing each other in their 50s, and get a new start, this is smart and slow and so good in portraying old souls in young bodies. Their rediscovery of not just each other but themselves and their passion for living is just AAAAAA!

Heroine Saves Gentleman - Gong Xinwen novel so we have a tough martial artist lady saving a very upper class scholar and it goes from there. If elegant gorgeous ML being saved and protected (and lovingly dommed) by awesome FL is your bag, pls come right in.

Husband Be a Gentleman - schemer meet schemer. He’s an idle prince she’s perfect daughter, in reality both are wolves out for blood. Mmmm. Very OTP gets together early and is us against the world.

I’ll Be the Male Lead’s Sister in Law - one of my all time favorite novels. Heroine is made to marry a disabled nephew of the emperor. He used to be a victorious god of war but went mad and now is basically locked away and kept as a beast. GOD I LOVE THIS NOVEL SO MUCHHHHH! So much hurt/comfort and awesome OTP and after he eventually recovers, all he wants to do is to fight and murder things and dote on wifey. MMM. He’s honestly one of my fave MLs.

I Married a Disabled Tyrant After Transmigrating - if you have a Florence Nightingale complex, this is for you. Heroine wakes up as tribute bride to an almost dead dragon lord and slowly nurses him back to life as his rivals try to murder him. They are both utter adorable babies!

Let the Villain Go - another Gong Xinwen novel, this and Apocalypse Arrivals are AUs of each other. Heroine is surviving in the apocalypse, ML is the “bugbear” of the world but in reality just reacting to all abuse and torture and after she accidentally saves him, devotes himself. Fun fun fun!

Long Wind Crossing - Amazing ML and FL who grow together, clever plot, arranged marriage to love etc etc. Oh, and one point he feeds her his blood to keep her alive, what’s not to love? (Adapted into Chang Feng Du/Destined)

Lost You Forever - this is a short but delicately wistful tale of trauma and loss and love, wrapped in a high fantasy setting but so relatable despite it.

Love In Another Life: My Gentle Tyrant - so so fucked up in the best way! ML cannot live with OR without heroine. It opens on them banging in jail night before her execution (ordered by him) with corpses of men he killed for trying to defile her cooling nearby. If you want healthy relationships with respectful boundaries, gentle and considerate male leads who are modern men in period clothes, OP heroines who have everyone help them and are OP to the max, fluff and wholesomeness, that is about the worst book for you.If you want complexity, dysfunction, darkness, pain and an absolutely lyrical even if fucked up story, come right IN!!!!I am so fucking in love with the melancholy heroine, with ruthless psycho hero and the endless regret and devotion and paaaaain!

The Marquis Is Innocent - our heroine is a beautiful woman married to a warlord who hates her family. (Yes, this was gonna be The Prisoner of Beauty until SZE tax scandal.) Except she's a transmigrator from the future who knows how it ended last time around and has no interest to end up this tragically. This is in my top 5 - FL is smart but believably so (and doesn't have super battle powers) and ML is a believable period warlord. The way their relationship develops so gradually and the way his character changes so gradually as well (and the way they slowly fall in love, her slower than him) is just amazing. It is such a smart, nuanced, gorgeous slow burn. With some gonzo sex scenes :P

Mulberry Song - you like tragic endings? Come right IN! This is short and heartbreaking and wistful and very what-if.

Nightfall (Ever Night) - so long but also so smart and unusual and bloody and tho it’s not primarily a romance, you will never see another ML who loves his FL as much as Ning Que does his Sang Sang. 

Offering Salted Fish to Master - in some ways, this novel is a mess, but I am recommending it because this is a rare example of "nope he's 100% a villain and murderdude and odd, but he does love the heroine" that the author commits to.

Pihanjin - yet another awesome PLK novel, this is once again, like with Marquis, a ruthless man and a beautiful woman getting a second chance on a second go-around. FL is a lot more wounded this time around though. If you LOVE watching ML grovel and slowly, gradually win FL over, this one is for you.

Princess Agents - a dark tale with an incredibly competent and militarily powerful/ruthless heroine and two terrifying men who love her (but neither is as terrifying as she is.) There is an OTP switch halfway through that shockingly makes sense and it's just SO SO GOOOOOOOD

Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage - this is probably the one “typical” novel on this list, heroine is reborn as her youngest self and gets revenge on those who wronged her last time around. It is really really well-written and heroine is competent, hero is doting and powerful etc. It’s not a trope I tend to love but I do when it’s done THIS well.

Rebirth of the Tyrant’s Pet: Regent Prince is Too Fierce: Borgias cnovel style! Our heroine was empress in last life and put her husband on the throne tho he did not love her. However, he had her executed and had his half-brother carry out the orders and heroine died horrifically. She opens her eyes and she’s a little girl again. The OTP this time around is heroine and half-brother executioner. Why do I love it? Heroine is smart and tough but also this is a rare rebirth novel where heroine does NOT decide to seek revenge for past life wrongs because they haven’t happened yet! In fact, she sees ML abused and stands up for him because he’s a kid and no kid should be mistreated and this go around he hasn’t done anything wrong. She also gets and likes her former life husband. Anyway, this is fakecest galore because she’s supposed to be their half-sister and while she knows (from past life) she is not, they do not and fall for her anyway. ML is especially gonzo, at one point carving chunks of his flesh to save her. He’s feral and unhinged and she’s the one person he worships because she protected him and like - it’s all awesome. (I love secondary ML too.)

Reborn to Love Lord Qiansui - yes, this is a eunuch novel! If you like gender tropes reversals, this one is for you. Heroine is a tough martial artist, hero is a smart as hell and powerful eunuch. A real eunuch. Heroine finds out she owes him her life and decides to protect him. This is a total delight and an awesome love story between two really scarred people. And yes, there is sex - heroine literally reads manuals on pegging :P

Return of the Swallow - so freaking long! But really good. Heroine is neither transmigrator nor reincarnator, just a smart period woman. She is a lost family daughter taken back in. Her father is a minister in a dying empire (father-daughter relationship is one of the best things in this novel), her OTP is enemy general, and the smartness and the awesomeness of this all knows no bounds.

Seven Unfortunate Lifetimes - probably the wackiest JLFX novel I read, this is quite different from Love You Seven Times drama that was adapted from it. Our deity protagonists go through a bunch of lives figuring out they fancy each other. It's light like a souffle but just as delicious.

To Be a Virtuous Wife - some people prefer 8 treasures trousseau but I never warmed up to that one. This one is so good, with smart people (who actually enjoy sex, a ratity) and a perfect mix of plot and romance.

Transmigrator Meets Reincarnator - my very first web novel. A lot lighter than a lot of the ones on this list but a total delight. Heroine transmigrates into a novel as the heroine; she has no interest in drama or chasing true love, she just wants to live a nice life with her nice husband. Too bad for her, her husband has reincarnated into his younger self and remembers how she betrayed him, so is not interested. This one is funny and light and romance doesn’t start till late on but a total delight!

Wishing You Eternal Happiness - this is tied with Dreamer as my favorite het web novel ever though it couldn’t be more different from Dreamer, with its hard-edged and hard-souled protagonists ruthlessly cleaving their way to the world and, eventually, each other, its smart cynical air. Except in one thing - the world of Wishing is just as bloody and dark. Its two protagonists are gentle, deeply wounded souls who may find salvation in each other but even something as basic as safety almost seems out of reach.

Jliafu, our heroine, is neither a modern-day transmigrator, nor some exotic princess or demoness. She is very much a period woman of her time, from a weathy merchant clan, whose beauty is her curse. You can tell the novel’s tone from that utterly bleak opening chapter where she, a favorite concubine of a capricious dying emperor, is ordered to be buried alive with him and is not even given the “grace” of white silk but slowly suffocates in the coffin, scrabbling at the lid. There is no grand threats of vengeance on her part, not dramatic opera events. Just despair and death. The whole introductory chapter is haunted by emotional ghosts - the empress’ unrequited love for the monster on the imperial bed (turning into desire for Jiafu’s suffering after he dies), the emperor slowly dying in his prime after waging too many wars, and his fear of being haunted by Pei Youan, a brilliant if sickly minister who died of illness long ago on one of imperial campaigns. There is no triumph for anyone, only loss.

When she wakes up as still a young woman, all she wants is to escape the same fate. There are no plans for power or revenge, only a desire for survival. And so she latches on asking for help from Pei Youan, the only man in her past go-around who showed any consideration and desire and ability to protect her, though he barely knew her. Pei Youan is probably my favorite het web novel ML. Despite his brains and ability, he drifts through life. In modern terms, he clearly has depression. One of the biggest, best joys of the novel is watching these two very good, very quiet, very wounded people discover happiness and love with each other. I sort of want to cry just thinking about it, tbh.

The Yandere Came During the Night - a bit of fluff that’s oddly delightful. Heroine is reborn as a (fake) sister of ML, she hurts her legs saving him and the “siblings” form a bond that ends up in fakecest delight. They are both smart and efficient and he becomes a sexy marquis etc.

#cnovel #rec list #the yandere came during the night #accompanying the phoenix #wishing you eternal happiness #to be a virtuous wife #transmigrator meets reincarnator #seven unfortunate lifetimes #i'll be the male lead's sister in law #return of the swallow #husband be a gentleman #apocalypse arrival #counterattack of the cannon fodder chambermaid #Reborn to Love Lord Qiansui #Rebirth of the Tyrant’s Pet: Regent Prince is Too Fierce #princess agents #rebirth of the malicious empress of military lineage #pihanjin #offering salted fish to master #the grand princess #mulberry song #nightfall #ever night #the marquis is innocent #long wind crossing #lost you forever #Love In Another Life: My Gentle Tyrant #let the villain go #I Married a Disabled Tyrant After Transmigrating #futu tower

[intotyun]

Analysis on aizen's goals and motivations + why he actually lost

Since bleach cour 3 is coming out so much later, I thought I should do an analysis on aizen, mainly focusing on his goals and motivations.

So one thing that is made abundantly clear is that aizen's whole reason for going to war with the gotei 13:

1. Change the world that is built on treachery and lies

2. By overthrowing the soul King and become God itself so he can rebuilt it in his image.

“That's an argument only a loser would make! A victor should speak on how the world should be, rather than how it currently operates. I refuse to accept the world ruled by that thing! I am a victor, I shall decide how the world should be! ”

Don't think I have to do a word for word analysis on what Aizen meant here. But what's interesting is how aizen referred to the “soul king” as THAT thing, as if his disgusted and we all know from cfyow how the soul king was betrayed and mutilated by the 5 nobles and used as some linchpin because they were terrified of his power. The 5 nobles then went on the rebuild the world in their image. And when they “rebuild it in their image”, they were actually rebuilding a world that would benefit ONLY them.

And we see how this image they built turned out: the current soul society.

Soul Society is a very shitty place to live in if I'm being honest, and I'm pretty sure someone as smart as Aizen would have noticed this. I always headcanon him as someone who lived in the Rukongai District, so he would naturally see first hand on how the world operates.

Aizen does not have a backstory, but I'm certain that something tragic must have happened in his past for him to be SO motivated to change this world. I'm sure Aizen did not suddenly want to become a God when he was first born (as funny that would be). He took on that role because

1. He had the power to do so and

2. No one wanted to

Aizen's "loser" speech was directed to Kisuke telling him how he despised him for not taking action despite his intellect. Which is why I think Aizen isn't really a egotistical man per say who wants to overthrow God because he believes he is superior. If God was doing his job and making life after death a “true paradise” instead of “a hell hole”, Aizen would have never tried overthrowing him.

And this is also why I don't think Aizen would have mind if someone else such as Kisuke became the soul king. Just as long, they had the intellect and power to change this horrible world. But since no one could see what he can see, Aizen took on the manter to change the world as he had the power and intellect to do so.

Now we all know what aizen's main goal and motivation was: to change this stagnant and shitty world that only existed to benefit the 5 nobles.

Now we move into another goal and desire that is a bit personal. Something that was locked away in Aizen's heart. Something that can only be found if you are on equal footing with him and can feel his sword.

the goal to find an equal.

this was stated clearly by Ichigo when he said, “perhaps he has been searching all this time for someone to regard as his equal” now I don't think kubo would dedicate 2 pages of Ichigo talking about Aizen's loneliness just for it to be simply “Ichigo assumption” I think this was Kubo's way of telling us readers this was how Aizen was truely feeling deep down.

Now, what exactly did Ichigo meant by equal? Did he mean in terms of strength? Well, we have yamamoto for that. How about in terms of intellect? Kisuke has the same kind of knowledge Aizen has. How about a combination? Is there actually anyone who is both smart and strong? nope it's just Aizen.

Then why do people say Ichigo was the only one who Aizen regarded as an equal? Ichigo definitely does not see eye to eye with Aizen's idealogy. Ichigo is strong yes, but that can't be the only thing considered to be “Aizen's equal”.

What is considered being “Aizen's equal” is the ability to understand him as a person and also understand the burden of his strength (really reminds me of gojo)

But you see, at the end of the day, Aizen has not find that equal. Ichigo is not that equal, he can never understand Aizen. He has no idea of his past and had no idea of what exactly pushed him to the edge. He can only understand more aspects of him than the other soul repears. And that is just very.... depressing. I truly think the only reason why Ichigo prolonged that battle, was so he could understand Aizen more. But he gave up when Aizen kept evolving and remembered why he came here.

Why did Aizen actually lose?

First let's mention about the traitor trio relationship.

First we have Tosen, the one Aizen killed.

Toswn served Aizen even before he became a shinigami. He saw the corruption of the Soul Society and believed that Aizen is the only one who can remake it to a better world. But where is he now? Oh that's right, gone.

In cfyow vol 3, page 370-375, the author described aizen and tosen relationship as ��close” very bold choice of words given the fact we barely see Aizen being “close” to anyone. But this is backup with evidence:

1. Aizen able to sense the soul of Kaname vanishing, and then the author went on to say, "the soul of the man with whom he shared a destined relationship with; the man who was his confident"

2. Aizen respecting Tosen's wish to be killed if he ever started to accept the world of the shinigamis

3. Aizen telling himself, “sometimes, fear is necessary for evolution” when Tosen asked aizen to kill him.

I think Aizen truly did care for Kaname in his own way and not just use him as a means/tool. He formed a genuine bond with him though I wouldn't go to an extend and say he was an equal. As the only thing he saw eye to eye with Aizen was the state of the world.

And next, we have Gin the one who betrayed him. I believe Aizen knew deep down Gin was going to betray him but kept him around out of curiosity, and he wasn't bullshiting his way. But what I want to talk about is this panel of aizen after killing Gin and seeing everyone around him suffering. He looks... sad???

But why? Does that mean deep down in his heart, Aizen cared for Gin? I mean looking back Gin was a child prodigy something Aizen could probably relate to (as Aizen was also born with exceptional talent and strength)

I think this is the moment where Aizen was slowly beginning to have the desire to lose. He lost thr espada and the only 2 confidents he somewhat cared for. He truely has to stand above the heavens alone. But Ichigo pulled up and obviously Aizen has to put on the facade of “i'm stronger than you”

now, let's move on to the fight

“Let's do this Aizen real quick. It will be over”

But then, when they clash swords, he feels Aizen's sword and the loneliness coming out from it, it probably made Ichigo curious. This was not the Aizen he faced before, the Aizen he faced was confident and showed no signs of "loneliness".

Ichigo says this but goes on to prolongs the battle and keeps asking Aizen a bunch of questions. You can see it as Ichigo flexing on Aizen but I think Ichigo truely wanted to end this battle quick by all means necessary.

This isn't Ichigo flexing, this is Ichigo trying to understand Aizen. But I guess since he spend so much time in the dangai, he probably cannot properly ask aizen like how he would normally do in his battles.

Asking him questions that Aizen asked him before as he thinks this Aizen would be feeling the same thing ichigo did when he first faced aizen. Trying to relate to him and overpower him to tell Aizen, “hey i'm stronger than you, you arent the only one with overwhelming strength in this world”. Trying to relate to Aizen.

Obviously, this doesn't work, and Aizen gets angry and transforms into monster aizen.

Ichigo is confused and looks so sad, his probably thinking, "I don't get it. Why is he doing this? Doesn't he hate his strength? Shouldn't he feel better knowing that there is someone else as strong as him? Dosent he want to lose?"

“I see, so you cannot allow it, hogyoku. You can't forgive me...”

this was the beginning of Aizen's downfall: relying too much on the hogyoku. Aizen talks to the hogyoku as if a shinigami talks to its zanpakuto. The more he bonded with it, the more the hogyoku forged a relationship with him and read deeper into his heart.

Monster Aizen managed to damage Ichigo and I guess since he realised that lives were at stake here, he gives up trying to understand Aizen and ends it. You can see the look Ichigo gives to Aizen's “dead” body and his reaction when he found out he was still alive.

“Hogyoku has determined I no longer need a Zanpakuto!”

Once again, Aizen relies on the Hogyoku rather than his own zanpakuto. His zanpakuto is not disappearing because he has become more powerful. it's because he himself has replaced it with a new weapon.

And once that was done, the Hogyoku managed to bond with Aizen more, and it read deeper into his heart and ultimately saw what his true desire was. The desire to be normal so he can relate to others. So the Hogyoku granted Aizen his wish.

In the end, Aizen lost because he himself does not understand what he truely wants: to be a god or to connect with others. In contrast to Ichigo who has fully accepted himself.

*btw I believe aizen did lose his zanpakuto here, but during the events before tybw, well he did alot of reflection with himself and his zanpakuto spirit and thus, he got back his powers which is probably why he didn't know who yhwach was seeing when he was fighting him

TYBW

In tybw we see Aizen back again, even more stronger than before as stated by urahara and it also seems he has kyoka suigetsu's power back again.

And from what we can tell, Aizen is back to his normal "arrogant" self with a little twist. Starting with his interaction with yhwach.

Aizen pokes fun at yhwach for “having more trouble with kurosaki Ichigo” then he had forseen. But Yhwach refutes back at him and tells Aizen, “not to project his insecurities onto me” (lmao yhwach) but funny enough, Aizen dosen't even try and talk back. He instead ignores him and tells yhwach he plans to stop him.

“so you see me as Ichigo Kurosaki? Fascinating...”

another moment where the old aizen wouldn't have done: using himself as a shield/sacrifice to help to defeat the enemy. I guess yhwach was right, “to join forces when confronted by a common enemy, is this not the actions of those cowards you detest so much?”

Not only that, aizen was trusting the fact that ichigo could figure out that he activated kyoka suigetsu to deliver the blow to Ichigo. A complete contradiction on his statement on “trust is the same thing as reliance”

People always see that moment as a badass moment, but personally this was when I knew tybw aizen was not the same aizen as before.

This is probably why Aizen was getting stronger, he is not scheming anything anymore, and thus has no choice but to do a reflection on himself and has to come to terms with his conflicting desires. The more he understands himself, the more stronger he would become.

And lastly, we have iconic panel of Aizen speech on courage.

There is nobody in bleach that embodies the word "courage" more then Ichigo. He experienced all kind of defeats which shaped him as a person. Even when he was faced with a stronger opponent, never once did he back out and instead he pushed forward and conquered his fear.

Something Aizen was not capable of. Aizen was afraid of his own conflicting desires that lies within deep in his heart. Because he thinks that part of him wont help accomplish what he set out to do and thus, refused to acknowledge that other part of him.

But Ichigo instead accepted both the quicy and Hollow parts as Zangestu. Both who are also conflicting parts of him.

Aizen is definitely returning in the hell arc, szyal stating that the reason why the gates of hell were shut was because of the immense spitrual pressure of aizen. The gotei 13 will have to come to terms that despite how shitty aizen is, they can not deny he is STRONG. And will have no choice but to ask him for his strength. I would really be vv interesting to see how aizen would play out and his role.

#aizen #sosuke aizen #bleach #character analysis #intotyun:analysis

[ckret2]

i dont think this is how that was meant to be interpreted but if i was bill, told ford his reality's a hologram, and saw him react like that i would be catching feelings. i choose to believe bill has had a subconscious crush on that man since 1981

No yeah it's meant to be interpreted that way.

There's something about Ford that made Bill go "no wait I changed my mind about kicking him to the curb after the portal's done, I want him in my gang"—an offer he extended to Ford at least three times that we know about, and one of them IMMEDIATELY after an assassination attempt when Bill didn't think Ford had anything useful to offer him. Why?

I think it was moments like that. When he wasn't just the smart guy suckered into doing Bill's manual labor, when he wasn't just a reverent easily-awed human; but when Bill saw him discover something new that most people would find horrifying, and Ford enthusiastically, joyously embraced it. It's his brilliance and curiosity combined with a wholehearted love of the strange and novel, the more bizarre the better. Who could be a better fit for the Henchmaniacs? Who else would fully understand and appreciate Bill's vision for Weirdmageddon?

He still doesn't understand what went wrong.

Anyway, I don't think it was a subconscious crush yet. But it was, like, a proto-crush. The seeds were planted. It didn't sprout into a proper subconscious crush until Bill saw Ford as not just an obedient worker with a few charming quirks, but as an entire person with a personality separate from Bill's will and a fully-developed spine. Which didn't happen until Ford stood up and told Bill he'd stop his plans.

Mainly because I think it's extremely tragic funny as hell if Bill didn't go "no wait WAIT HE'S COOL I WANT TO KEEP HIM—" until five seconds after he nuked their entire relationship.

#anonymous #ask #bill goldilocks cipher

[scarefox]

This is a whole ramble but there is a theme in there (for fun and giggles)

I sometimes have to think about the whole "petplay" / master-servant game Gun has going on with some of the GMM guys (Tay and Joss, officially but he probably has some of the others joined too). It's just so damn wild and funny. And everyone is pretending like that's just the most normal thing besties do. I mean sure why not but also 😏 Just them taking turns in being the others obedient cute pet-servant for one day, while he calling him "his pet" and treats him like a pet (and that outside of cameras and fanservice stuff, they do that in their private time mainly. just dragging it out in the open occasionally). I love that for them 👌

OG Fun Night S1Ep3

-

-

-

... hmmm 😏

yea that's more likely

-

THE WHOLE ENTIRETY OF FUN NIGHT S2EP7 is just damn wild where they compete to be Guns number 1 pet, winning a freaking collar of all things! While talking about the drama "3 Will Be Free" (which is literally a canon polyamory drama with Tay, Joss and Mild)

-

-

also that TayGun date special

But Off is always like "You guys have fun but leave me out of that nonsense" 🙅‍♂️ whenever Gun asks him to join the pet poly circle....

BUT isn't he basically Guns first "pet" before Tay even?! Guns nickname for him is literally Papii... which I first thought means "dad" (or daddy if you will 😏) but someone once educated me that it means "puppy". Because of their first drama together "Senior Secret Love: Puppy Honey".

So what I am trying to say here is: Off you lost that fight already years ago!! You have been Guns doggo all along!! lol

(but that's fine, he just doesn't want to mingle with the others 😌)

It's tragic, there once was a compilation of all the Tay and Gun pet moments (+ trust falls) with parts of an interview where Tay explains his side. And the MC was shook like "And you just let him treat you like a pet??" and Tay all shy and giggly "Yea, it's just a thing between us. I don't even know why. I went with it" 🤷‍♂️ And that he thinks that Gun is the most powerful guy in whole GMM. (A+ video.. why did they take that from us)

Yall don't understand how neat the whole OffGunTay(New) and Gun swinger / poly dynamic is. Alone for the fact that they don't care for the strict exclusive ship rule where they can only be touchy with their on-screen partner. But Gun is touchy and playful with every GMM guy and that's fine and neat af (even tho they all mainly stay in their official ship constellation as well). Meanwhile there are still so many couple themed ship war fanvideos from fans out there about which couple would be most likely real and which one will sink: OffGun or TayGun 🙄 Like bruh, everyone is Guns pet or cuddle buddy, what are yall not getting? OffGunTay(New + others) love and cherish each other (in whatever way that is does not matter). And Tay AND Off and even New encouraging Gun getting cuddly and kissed by other guys. Off and Tay are literally that "You are doing great sweety" meme when Gun has fun with others. Off being jealous is literally just a playful running gag.

I swear most BL fans are way too innocent and stuck with the oldschool relationship style for this awesome GMM (friend)ship dynamic they are playing with here...

Like look at this pile of TayGunNew while Off takes a photo

I don't know why this post turned from the petgame thing to OffGunTay & GMM polycule but it's basically the same ven diagram. Just everyone gets kisses, flirts and cuddles. As they should.

But it does not have to be the one ship over the other. Each of them literally has two hands 😌

holding hand throuple style 😌

Thanks for coming to my TED talk

Anyways.... A poly drama with them when?? Didn't P'Jojo say he wants to do a drama with Gun but doesn't know what theme? (P'Jojo who did "3 Will Be Free" with Joss and Tay already). Here! This? ✨

EDIT: I had to ad this

#offgun #OffGunTay #OT3 #GMM polycule #OffGunTayNew #propaganda #off jumpol #gun atthaphan #new thitipoom #still waiting for that OffGunTay youtube channel

[dreamperson-poll]

do you ever have really vivid dreams where your brain entirely fabricates people you’ve never seen or heard of before? boy, do i have the bracket for you

welcome to the dreamperson-poll, where you submit the craziest figures from your subconscious imagination to battle to the death! i’m mod rem, as in rem sleep, because i think i’m funny. this bracket is mainly self-indulgent, because i have dreams so vivid i could write a book. all submissions will be accepted unless they violate the rules!

speaking of, here are the rules:

no real people or fictional characters! these guys have gotta be entirely made up by your subconscious. this DOES exclude goncharov. sorry

ocs? sure! as long as they came to you in a dream first. oc information would be included in the 'elaboration' question

that's it, really. and, ofc, play nice. this is a silly little tumblr poll

here are some examples of dreamperson intros! they're mine. they will be included in the poll. all contestant intro posts will be tagged with #dreampeople and their title

half-dragon girl

kai

raccoon mad scientist

submissions are closed

this bracket will be run similarly to @the-nobody-tournament and @original-character-championship i think!

also inspired by @artificialkids-2k23-official @underrated-adversaries @qpr-competition @ultimate-tragic-couples-showdown @lighthairdarkhair-battle @yuribait-battle @homoerotic-shonen-rival-showdown @cosmic-showdown @hexenzirkelshowdown and many more!

#tournament poll #dreamperson-poll #submissions close my 6th. after my ap exmas. #i am .running a couple other polls #but im not saying which :3c

[sporkberries]

Hello! Do you have any recommendations for Roy Harper reading? I'm not bothered about which continuity or where, just if you had a suggestion for where you think he's best 👀

If you wanna go back to some older stuff you can check out the silver age green arrow comics and Teen Titans 1966, I'm not the BIGGEST fan of TT 1966 but it does have some cute and funny moments. I mainly read Bronze Age to Modern age so we'll go with that moving forward. Green Lantern(1960) #85-86 This is Snow Birds don't fly and Roy's most iconic story, It introdcues Roy's struggle with heroin and is pretty sympathetic to addicts which was QUITE the big deal at the time. I also think its important for to me say Ollie is not the best parent in this one, he reacts out of anger and is incredibly upset with both Roy and himself for Roy's addiction. OLLIE DOES LOVE ROY AND IS USUALLY QUITE A GOOD PARENT, THIS IS ONE MOMENT THAT DOES NOT DEFINE HIM OR HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH ROY. MUST READ not just for Roy but for comic book history in general Action Comics(1939) #32 This one is a small one shot thats post snowbirds. Roy is on his own but it shows that he and Ollie still care about eachother and that Ollie really misses Roy. The New Titans(1984) #20-21 THE REVEAL OF LIAN'S EXISTENCE !!!!! ALSO JADEROY!! also itty bitty robin Jason is in this story. ABSOLUTE MUST READ Action Comics(1938) #613-618 I LOVE THIS STORY I LOVE THIS STORY I LOVE THIS STORY. It hurts me but i love it... Jade and Roy and Lian... It also shows how Roy ended up getting Lian. other than that I will say no more... ABSOLUTE MUST READ Titans(1999) #1-2 Lot's of Cute content with Roy and Lian here. I wouldn't consider it an absolute must read but again its fucking adorable so i recommend it. Titans(1999) #6 Donna Kyle and Roy beat up a Nazi with a tragic backstory or whatever, meanwhile Lian is being babysit by someone her mom has personally affected.

Titans(1999) #8-13 JADEROY!!! JADEROY!!!! LIAN!!!! Deals with the aftermath of the previous rec. Also some DonnaRoy which is admittedly cute. This story kinda covers all the moral complications of Roy and Jade and Lian. How Jade's crimes affect them all, as well as how Roy feels about Jade. I would consider this one a must read. Titans(1999) #21-22 Aftermath of previous rec, Chesire is being held to be tried. I realize a lot of these recs are relate to JadeRoy and Lian but they are so important to his character. If you enjoyed the previous story read this one, but i wouldn't recommend it in a vacuum. Titans(1999) #30 More JadeRoy, I am predictable. This is Jade's trial. If you like the previous two storylines read this. It makes me sad it makes me emo I love Jade so much and she went through so much and it doesnt excuse here actions but it still hurts. Roy makes a decision. Roy appears prominently in The Outsiders but i haven't read it all yet so i can't speak on it. Green Arrow(2001) 1-10 This is an ArrowFam MUST READ. Ollie returns from the dead, mia is introduced, Ollie and Connor, and Ollie reuinites with Roy and Dinah. It's very good. Green Arrow(2001) #16-21 General ArrowFam goodness. Ollie and Roy Goodness. Just,,, emotions.... Ollie is Roy''s dad... I weep...

Justice Leauge of America(2006) #1 Roy and his Uncle Hal :). Also Roy joins the JLA

There's more probably but this list is getting pretty full. These are also all in chronological order so :333. as a sort of anti- recommendation if you want to read an absolutely awful roy that is horrible in every way and want to be mad about it read rhato. its awful!

#spork says stuff #reading recs #roy harper #jade nguyen #jaderoy #lian harper #arrowfam

[coffinbrotherr]

Istg I keep seeing videos in my recommend that have either Andrew or Ashley sprites in the thumbnail and it's always in the lines of "shock storytelling is BAD" or "this needs to STOP" (I'm not providing examples as to not install a witchhunt but if youve seen them, you know EXACTLY who im talking about.) and I dont...I don't get why? Like, ok genuinely I'm having an actual hard time understanding why because being disturbed and being made uncomfortable is quite literally the definition of horror, so why is it a problem now.

To I guess throw my hat into the ring, I'd like to explain why i personally think incest integral to Tcoaal not only because I'm just fucking tired of seeing people not like the game just because of that aspect and I'm not knocking those people because of it because people can not like things for specific reasons, for example I am not one for horror involving teeth or the mouth so I tend to ignore horror media that prominently use those as setpieces. I'm mainly talking about people that bash it without actually playing it and people that see it at surface level and just make a Baseless assumption because to me and obviously a lot of other people as it still has great reviews, Tcoaal is wonderfully written and that IS thanks to its incest themes.

We see that throughout the game, Ashley obviously loves her brother, not only in the romantic sense but also in the power dynamic. While some aspects have yet to be revealed about thier relationship as we still only have two chapters, Ashley obviously manipulates Andrew and has since they were little as evident by the hide and seek flashback. It's incredibly obvious that Ashley likes control over people and since she doesn't really have anyone else that's closer to her, she uses Andrew exclusively as he's always been there with her figuratively and literally. While this behavior definitely comes from a sense of loneliness and fear of losing the one person that tolerates her as not even thier own parents wanted to stay around them let alone her, I think it also comes down to enjoying the control. Genuinely think about the story of the game for a sec, could you imagine being in that exact situation we see the siblings in. The closest thing we can even relate it to is covid, and we could at least still leave the house to an extent and have things sent to us that we wanted. Imagine going through all that not being able to leave, literally having the bare minimum of food being dropped off to you and being FORCED to stay inside not with a slap on the wrist but with active threats of death even though you know other people get to freely live outside peacefully. Not only is that terrifying but it gives a lot more insight to Ashley's character as she's literally stuck in a place she cannot control in an unfounded situation that is positively awful, but she does have one thing she can control, she has one person she can make exclusively hers and make him do whatever she wants through manipulation and the connection with love. The same goes for Andrew as we know Andrew was at least a bit more popular with people to the point where he even had a girlfriend (Julia) and to have literally all that stripped away from him is tragic, however for him there's one more person he can interact with, one person that cares about him and truly does love him in a way only they can share. It's a beautifully horrific way of telling a story because on the outside, it just looks like "oh hah hah, that's the incest cannibalism game" but if you actually played it you would see not only is the writing genuinely funny but also incredibly smart with its subtle meaning and player interpretation. It's NOT glorifying incest, it is actively showing an incredibly toxic relationship that was made through the circumstances and actions taken with both characters and to say it's just "shock storytelling" or "it's just trying to glorify incest" is just wrong, it's using the incest to further the narrative and that's why I personally find this game to be my favorite work of horror.

But that was just my interpretation, I'd love to hear your guy's views on it because I'd love to further the discussion and potentially add to my analysis as this was just something I wrote at 12:30 AM in bed. I could go on and on about my personal analysis but a lot of it would just be me being genuinely pretty annoyed with the games detractors and overall just make for a poor reading experience.

#the coffin of andy and leyley #tcoaal #andrew graves #ashley graves

[crimeronan]

writing this eda-centric princess AU fic is very funny and sad, as most things about this AU are. mainly, it's the first time i've explored what luz's separation anxiety actually looks like in action. like the series has illustrated that she HAS separation anxiety and WHY she does, but this is the first installment where she Actually Is Separated from hunter. even though it's through exactly one (1) wall & she knows she can walk out to check on him at any moment so it arguably doesn't even Count

the thing making this very funny instead of just tragic is that luz's approach is to go "i do not have separation anxiety, actually. i'm not anxious at all and i don't even know what the word anxiety means and i'm going to Prove It by Not obsessively going to the window every two minutes to check that hunter still exists. i'm neurotypical and always have been. i am the Most neurotypical. i'm concentrating really well on diplomacy and being normal because i don't have separation anxiety. nobody would notice a thing wrong if they looked at me right now because nothing is wrong :) yay :) :) :)"

while eda - who has ABSOLUTELY no context for Any of luz's shit, besides knowing that belos was abusive - is just like "hey, listen. kid. no offense but. i think you might be the single most anxious person i've ever met in my Life."

#in conclusion hunter needs a service dog vest so eda will be ethically obligated to let him in the door #<-jokes. but also truly the role he is playing #luz's separation anxiety isn't the main focus of the fic by a longshot. it is however the thing most on my mind right at this second #toh #princess luz au #eda clawthorne #luz noceda #horrible mindscape trauma pals #abuse m

[codajaiden]

I don't get the gist of Nightbow (Rainbow Steve x Nightmare) like, how does that work??

(warning I might rant so much y'all would explode, correct me if I'm wrong tho)

"enemies to lovers!" No. Lemme clear this up for you

Nightmare and Rainbow were created to kill each other, hate each other's guts, there is no conversation or part in SS or RQ where they went and be normal people talking to each other and stuff (not that I can think of anyways)

"for fun" I don't care if it's for fun, sure it's funny but like????? How is it y'all's favourite????

I'm someone who likes to go insane just watching plot, WHILE YES, STEVE SAGA WAS JUST A RANDOM STEVE SERIES AND WAS VERY RANDOM WHEN IT COMES TO PLOT, ITS SILLY, ITS RANDOM

But y'all are like "I can fix them", there is nothing to fix???? they are literally people wanting to kill each other and that is their goal.

Oh and let's not forget, I have my eyes on the people who write in Wattpad, don't think I have not seen their "freaky" writing at all.

It's not only Nightbow at least, I see the people here who ship Rainbow and Void together, same thing, but if we're talking SS then there was still no good interaction of them both to be on the level of actually being good friends. Still, Wattpad people are freaky about them too.

This can be implied to Favremyrainbow ig, but to me it's very bland and boring. I admit I did in fact ship them, but as time passed I just stopped because it was so cringe 💀💀

I don't want to be mean and rude when it comes to this but it bugs me every time.

Okay the only thing I can counter this is Alux x Petro.

Petro and Alux are basically Anna and Hanz in Frozen, gaslighting and manipulation exist but dynamic and trust are important. There is communication towards the two that leads into something in the plot.

Nightbow has none of that, they hate each other's guts. People say they can fix them, nah, with Palux you can make them worse (/j) HEJWJEJWJSJA

"Petro and Alux's entire dynamic is mainly built off of manipulation" YES but thats on Petro's side. Most people ship it due to it being tragic on Alux's side because everyone in this fandom likes doomed mlm i guess (I'm one of those people but again the plot reasons goes on for both of their dynamic)

"But he stabbed him" YES. I have not seen a single person who ships them currently its mainly a one sided ship. For alux its built off genuine love and care for Petro, knowing he's the only REAL connection in his life. The people who ship them (from what I've seen) mainly do it for tragedy and narrative purposes. no one is actually here WANTING alux to be stabbed and abused

And for Petro it adds much more conflict to his character if you add like any romance to him. like, loving the person your meant to kill and killing them anyways is a really interesting narrative plot idea. Its also really funny tbh but oh well.

Narratively it adds more to their characters as long as you dont romantize it and treat it like it'd be healthy especially at this point in the story.

This is literally doomed Yaoi (it's funny I wanna say that) and it works so well because of how they were narratively written this way towards each other. This cooked better than some enemy wanting to, excuse my language, have freaky SHIZ going on with the Hero 💀

Okay I'm done with my ranting I'm sorry for the people who like Nightbow but I'm sharing what I'm saying and y'all are gonna respect it and not be problematic. I feel like I should not be on the internet for a good while late and night this is how freaky I get when it's past midnight lmao

#favremysabre #steve saga #alux rising mentioned #nightbow #how does that ship even work???? #feel free to block me because of this idc anymore #the fms fandom can get a bit too quirky and that would be my limit

[transsexualcoriolanus]

I want to read more Shakespeare and would appreciate your recommendations! I especially love tragedies and also when there's Gay Things/gender fuckery. So far I have read 3 plays, all for school: Romeo & Juliet (I thought it was fun, interpreting it from a humorous lens rather than a tragic one), A Midsummer Night's Dream (found this one boring), and Hamlet (LOOOOVE, I'm so obsessed, Hamlet made me insane)

oooh okay - i'm not sure how many recommendations you want but these are the main ones i think you'd probably like based on that criteria -

Richard II - this is probably the main one i'd recommend, because if you love hamlet you will almost certainly love richard ii. it's tragic, it's gay, the protagonist is a absolute wet cat of a man with great monologues. as it's a history, researching the real richard ii can be fun to compare the two, but that's not at all necessary to enjoy it. here's a production of it that i haven't actually seen yet, but tumblr is obsessed with, with david tennant as richard

Coriolanus - i mean. i couldn't not recommend coriolanus. it's one of the less popular tragedies and i can see why, but trust me it's amazing. it's really interesting about gender, masculinity and performance, and it's also one of the gayest things shakespeare ever wrote. like richard ii, it's about a guy whose identity completely revolves around a role he was forced into from birth, and the consequences of that, which is really interesting and makes the two plays interesting to compare. there are five good filmed productions of coriolanus in my pinned post

Macbeth - i'm recommending this one mainly for the gender fuckery angle - it presents gender in a really interesting way, especially through lady macbeth. it's also just a great play, and surprisingly very funny. here's a really good production of it with christopher eccleston as macbeth

Twelfth Night - this is known as The gay gender fuckery play for a reason. a shipwrecked woman disguises herself as a man, falls in love with her boss, who is in love with another woman, who falls in love with the protaginist thinking she is a man, with hilarious consequences. meanwhile the protagonist's brother gets up to some gay shit in the background. here's a production of it

As You Like It - similar to twelfth night, less popular but in my opinion better. another "woman disguises herself as a man and gets up to awkward romantic shenanigans" play. has the "all the world's a stage" speech. both this and twelfth night have huge potential for queer/trans interpretations, and i saw a production of this at the globe last year that went hard with that interpretation. i don't actually know any recorded productions of this, so if anyone has any that they'd recommend please rb/comment them

i hope this was helpful!

#this was fun #i love when people ask me to recommend them shakespeare plays #i cannot emphasise how much i constantly want to talk to people about shakespeare #shakespeare #richard ii #coriolanus #macbeth #twelfth night #as you like it

[ordinaryschmuck]

Season One of Percy Jackson and the Olympians is FINE

All and all, I'd say it's a fine adaptation of the first book.

The spirit is very much in place. The story's sense of humor and light drama is present and well balanced through the show. One moment you have a gripping discussion of Sally explaining she fell in love with a god, and it's followed by Percy asking if she found Jesus. It's a funny line that doesn't undercut the drama because that's exactly what a kid like Percy would ask. Even some bits that WEREN'T in the book that very well could have been, like Mr. D lying to Percy about being his father for some cheap booze or the gosh dang Consensus Song. Moments like that show me that the people behind this show are HUGE FANS of the books and wanted to make something that's faithful but still provides something new to enjoy.

And there are SOME changes to the story, a lot of them I don't really mind. I like that they made Sally more sassy and Grover more proactive. I like that Medusa's made more as a tragic villain instead of a monstrous one. I REALLY like that we got to see Poseidon early. That last one takes the punch out of the dramatic weight of seeing him in Book Four, but seeing him now really helps cement the idea that this version DOES love Percy and Sally, something that I didn't really get in the books. Which might have been the intention, but the show is trying to be something different, and I respect it for it.

When it comes to the action, it's pretty good. Stuff like the Minotaur fight and the battle with Ares wasn't as long or epic as it was mapped out in my head, but I can understand it. These are big fights involving little kids and CGI is expensive (Even though you wouldn't have this problem if the show was ANIMATED, but I digress). Despite the limitations, the show did will and provided some kickass moments.

As for the actors, frickin' round of applause across the board. Nearly everyone they got does GREAT in their role, fitting the changes the show is going for and the spirit of the book everything is based on. Some particular standouts for me are Adam Copeland as the perfect D-Bag that is Ares and Walter Scobell who IS Percy Jackson. It's the kid especially that impressed me the most, as he nails the sarcastic, angry, endearing, idiotic, and loyal to a fault hero that makes Percy the best. If there's any actor who I think is struggling it's probably Leah Jeffries as Annabeth, who seems a bit too standoffish and closed off, as if she's holding back a lot of personality that the character has. However, to be fair...

A. Annabeth was more or less the same in the first book, so I'll allow it. Just as long as she has more of a wit to match Percy's. It's what made Percabeth amazing.

B. This is a child actor we're talking about. Even Walter, who is PITCH PERFECT casting, manages to have some awkwardness and stiffness to his performance at times too. I'm sure that as more time goes on, these kids will get better and better each season.

And, yeah, I'd say that this is enough to make Percy Jackson and the Olympians a FINE TV show...But there's some things that hold it back from being good or even GREAT.

Firstly, there's the pacing. The pacing in this show is off a lot of the time, and this is mainly a problem with most straight to streaming shows nowadays. We can have long, extensive TV shows anymore as networks and services are demanding shorter and shorter seasons, to the point where its less of a season of television and more of a long movie. It's no different here as we're forced to fly by past plot point after plot point, all while trying to be more episodic AND while setting up future stuff. It makes you appreciate the moments when the show DOES slow down and let moments settle, but there's not enough of that.

Then there's the way moments are told out of order or are condensed. Like how Percy and Annabeth have their heart-to-heart on the train instead of on the animal truck. Or how Annabeth starts calling Percy Seaweed Brain when the journey's almost over instead of doing it right away. Or how Luke sparred with Percy near the END of the season, not the beginning. I'm not exactly an accuracy purist. I find changes are fine as long as the spirit is in tact, which it very much is. And if I wanted the story told exactly as it was, I would have just read the book. But changes like that make me feel like they're missing the point. Like, that zoo truck wasn't great, but it will be a happy memory between Percy and Annabeth as a time when they REALLY talked. Annabeth calling Percy Seaweed Brain was a straight up insult that Percy hated but grew to accept as something only SHE can call him as it later turns into a sort of petname for him. And interrupting Percy's battle with Ares with Percy sparring with Luke spoonfeeds us information, when showing them do that in the beginning would have benefited in making that scene act as a set up with a pay off. Besides, we spend so little time with Luke anyway that when we get to that BIG REVEAL, it's not as impactful because he was barely a character. Again, I don't mind changes, but if you're going to do them, make sure the story doesn't suffer.

But while we're on the topic of changes, let's talk about the ones that REALLY bother me.

I don't like that some other gods are introduced too early. It takes the impact out of Ares and Hades being big, intimidating figures when there are other gods that the characters can just chat and reason with.

I don't like that Annabeth's fear of spiders is just glossed over. Not only does it SHOW US (instead of telling us) that a strong-willed character like Annabeth can be emotionally shaken by something as small as a spider, but leads to a sense of tragedy of her past and her being a child of Athena. To gloss over it is a huge disservice to Annabeth as a character and it doesn't feel right.

And I REALLY don't like that the movie did the Lotus Casino better than the show. Because if the movie that the author loves to shit on managed to be more faithful than the SHOW...it messed up.

So...the show is a mess at times. I still enjoyed it and I hope we get a season two. But if this series wants to get past The Sea of Monsters, it'll need to focus on what makes it GREAT instead of using more of what holds it back as just FINE.

#percy jackson #percy jackon and the olympians #percy jackson tv show #percy jackson tv spoilers #pjo tv show #annabeth chase #ares pjo #sally jackson #poseidon pjo #quick thoughts #what i thought about

[ckret2]

Wait what's up with Dr. Horrible?? (I never watched it I just know of the song Brand New Day and that's it)

Okay so short plot summary: the main character is a mad scientist/aspiring supervillain who's presented as an earnest, nerdy, likable guy. We're intended to find him sympathetic; his villainous goals are comically cliché and he has some moral standards he sticks to, like we mainly see him commit property crimes but he refuses to kill people.

He has a crush on a very nice idealistic girl who wants to feed the homeless.

His nemesis is a smug handsome dudebro superhero whose collateral damage from his fights is arguably worse than what the villain himself would have done. The superhero ends up dating the idealistic girl after saving her from a near-death experience he himself caused by breaking the villain's machinery.

The superhero says some douchey misogynistic things about his new girlfriend to Dr. Horrible in private, so, naturally, he decides to compromise his values and murder the superhero. Through no fault of Dr. H's own (the narrative would like us to believe), the superhero makes the weapon malfunction in a way that, instead, kills the girl. Dr. H is broken-hearted and despondent but finally recognized by society as a true supervillain.

So, good nerd "villain" VS bad jock "hero" and the nice girl takes the douchebag with muscles.

This was several years before the "incel vs chad" meme took off—but it's hauntingly familiar in hindsight.

The thing is, even though the main character does have his "villain" moments, the way it's written makes it pretty clear the audience is supposed to be on his side. His evil is cartoonish and funny rather than things that actually tend to bother viewers, we're supposed to want to see him win over the girl and be mad that she went for the jock. Not only is HE your typical "nice guy (who isn't nice)" who doesn't understand why he skeeves out girls—but the STORY thinks he's genuinely a nice guy, too*.

(*This is the part that's controversial. Some people think "nah, Joss Whedon knew exactly what he was doing, we ARE supposed to recognize that he's really just a creep in defiance of how the narrative frames him, it's an unreliable narrator thing" and other people think "Joss really thinks Dr. Horrible is a tragic underdog who deserved to get the girl." Personally, I think the truth is somewhere in between, but it's closest to "tragic underdog.")

Except, Dr. Horrible is a supervillain! That's what makes the whole thing extra interesting. On a surface level, this is your basic role-reversal type story, "the supervillain is actually the hero and the superhero is actually the villain"—but once you recognize Dr. Horrible isn't quite as much a decent guy as the narrative paints him, the role reversal reverses: "the villain really is villainous, he's your typical vengeful entitled incel, but seeing the story through his eyes he can't see himself that way."

It's really a masterfully done unreliable narrator story breaking down the toxic incel "girls only don't like me because I'm nerdy" "they go for bad boys with muscles" "if I can't get a girl it's my right to lash out at the world" viewpoint, done convincingly enough that you can totally buy into the narrator's skewed perspective. (Like, it took years before I started seeing this "it's a breakdown of nerd culture toxic masculinity" interpretation of Dr. H in mainstream discussions. Some people might've been saying it at the time but it was nowhere near as widespread as it is now; when it first came out, just about every discussion I saw took it for granted that the narrative considers Dr. H the "good guy.")

But, on the other hand, it's only an okay trope role reversal story. Like it's pretty good? It's all right. It's fine.

The story is better if you look at it saying "Dr. H really is the bad guy here, but is so deep in his head neither he nor the narrative sees that" and worse if you look at it saying "Dr. H is a misguided good guy stuck in a tragedy."

And yet, I'm pretty confident "misguided good guy" was the authorial intent. For other folks who believe that was the intent, in order to let the narrative truly flourish, they have to interpret it in a way that directly defies what they assume the author wants; in order to say "the main character is blind to his true nature" they also have to say "the author is blind to the main character's true nature." And I think that's fascinating.

#dr. horrible #anonymous #ask

[apolloanddaphnis]

Liz and Billy

Synopsis: Minka Farrah is the screen siren of the Art side of Hollywood's. David Lynch's new muse, inspires designers the new Elizabeth Taylor. Despite her appearance, she's always there for her friends. Megan's one of her best, but it turns out Megan isn't the only one who needs a shoulder to cry on, her fiancé Colson Baker, known to the world as the notorious Machine Gun Kelly, needs a shoulder too, and what a lovely sweet smelling, empathetic shoulder it is.

Going to be a Colson x OC fic.

It's going to be an explicit fic.

Warnings for first chapter: Not proofread, mentions of suicide attempts, mental health mentions.

I. Giant

♡♡Minka's POV ♡♡

Megan wasn't doing good.

We've been friends since we met on the set of my film Poison. We bonded over our love for music and she was easy and fun to be around, after that we started spending as much time as we could together and texted everyday, when we weren't filming on location she made herself an unofficial resident at my French revival on Ridgedale drive. Claiming I give the best sleepovers.

The harlot loves stealing my makeup too, Claiming I have so much makeup like a department store I wouldn't notice it missing. I let her, it's not as if I couldn't easily replace it.

I was the only person she told absolutely everything to, perhaps that's why I never corrected her when she would irk me.

Pour example, when she bugs me about why I don't get down there surgery, or after my mother who was my best friend died how I didn't find her warm enough, she has a habit of dealing with tragedy in a way Jack Frost would; Too much silence, almost like she's watching a car crash. And let's not forget that every time I desired to come out to everyone about being a transwoman, she discouraged it because my career is far too successful. Which in my good opinion is precisely why I should, I owe it to my fans to every child or adult who feels trapped inside a body that doesn't belong to them.

I well ignored her well-intentioned advice and came out anyway, while I was a judge on RuPaul's Drag Race. The media lost it people lost it, many angry men who harbored illicit fantasies of me were outraged and women claimed I was far too pretty to be a man. The news beautifully purged me of my ignorant fans, the loyal and open minded remained, and my film career didn't hurt too terribly because I was already in a more artistic genre, people would say I'm the Elizabeth Taylor of Isabella Rosselini, a Bettie Page sort of Isabelle Adjani.

When backlash arrived, Megan lovingly pointed out it was expected because of how people are, I didn't need that. She's not like Anya, who is my warmer friend.

It can't be helped, it's just her nature, she has never dealt with emotions and high stressed situations well, I can accept that.

Despite that, whenever something particularly irks or disturbs her good moods, I'm the first person she calls, and like a dutiful friend I drop it all to run to her beck and call.

She's been starting to see the rapping singer Machine Gun Kelly, the gorgeously painted tower of a man. I never listened to his music and as a fan of Motley Crüe I found The Dirt inaccurate and ridiculous. But he did a very good job as Tommy Lee. I'll admit that.

Megan is mad about Colson, that's his name. She's peanuts and almonds about him, I think it mainly has to do with how apparently skilled he is between the sheets which I can definitely see. But, unfortunately Colson like many artists, suffer from mental health issues, and Meg darling little Nutmeg is not the best with that especially as someone so beautifully intense and tragic as Mr. Baker.

Pete and I have talked about this, my best friend, my absolute beloved, who is actually Colson's beloved best friend as well. So funny that the rapper and I have only met once at Pete's birthday party. He stared at me for a rather long time before offering me a cigarette, I asked if they were French and he laughed before some girl took him away. And that was that, I was called away to Budapest for that Polanski movie.

But Megan has been telling me her forever love has been incredibly paranoid, and blaming her for not being there enough. She was thoroughly upset, and this morning she called me at 5, she couldn't sleep. She told me they fought all through the night and she was glad Casie was at her mother's. I bit back asking about her boys who she spends less and less time with these days. I climbed out of my big, comfy bed away from my canine kinder and American Sable. "Boys, we're going to Auntie Meg's a little early this morning." I Yawned, removing my silk sleeping mask and headscarf. This wasn't the first time I woke up at this time of course, but I savored my days off.

I tie on my vintage circa 1980 Victoria's Secret robe and slip on my satin rabbit shaped slippers before turning on the light on my side table.

I opened the curtains of my French doors that opened up to my bedroom balcony before inhaling the sweet air of the rose hour, and walked through the connecting door to my hardly humble and spacious master bath. No time for luxuriating in my jacuzzi tub, it's a shower today. I rubbed my eyed and messily pinned up what I could of my raven bob, pushing it back by a satin headband and capped it before slipping off my robe and entering my four person shower for one.

The heat was high and delicious and I had to remind myself that this was to be quick, Chanel facial care was my friend and aveeno's oat shower oil and doves macadamia nut body polish were the lovers that kissed my skin.

Once my duties were done I shut off the well pressured shower and dried off with my egyptian cotton towels from the warmer. I rubbed on my toner, serum, essence, moisturizer, spf, eye cream and lip care. I massaged my aveeno baby lotion on and brushed my hair down brushing in the L'Oreal mythic oil, and washed my hands with L'Occitane before moisturizing my hands with their hand cream. I quickly brushed and water flossed my teeth and for makeup it was very basic for my usual, just L'Oreal serum foundation, reddish sweetbriar and rose oil comfort lip oil by Clarins, and Lancome mascara to accentuate my violet-blue eyes a little.

I neglected my underwear today and pulled on my black, v-dipped spandex shorts, and pulled on my white polo halter, backless cropped top that says Los Angeles in black old English text on my right breast. I perfumed my pulse points with eau fraiche by Chanel before rushing to slip on my black 90s slip on sandal wedges.

I washed my chiweenie and skunks faces and leashed them up, before grabbing my Coach black tabby and 90s Prada sunglasses.

I locked up the house and called my driver Kaiden. In record time he pulled up in my black Rolls Royce that I was still too afraid to drive. I'm afraid of driving, yes, and I know it's ridiculous but I can't help the irrational fear. "Morning Kaiden, I hope you had enough sleep."

Kaiden is an ex user. I was at the Beverly Center one day and I saw this hungry young man who happened to be homeless, it upset me so much. I can't stand seeing people on the street and there's so many, so I asked him if he could drive and he said yes, and I asked him how would he like to drive luxury cars for a living. I set him up in a luxury apartment on la brea, got him medical and dental and mental health care all holistic, a signing bonus. The rest is history, Kaiden is like family and he likes to act as my bodyguard as well even though I do have one, Jack. He's protective of me, forever grateful. I look after him, make sure he goes to his therapy sessions and I cook for him and take care of his laundry. I've got a soft spot for the twenty four year old.

"I did, did you?"

"Yes I was a good girl, no parties last night, got my full eight hours father." I teased. "Have you eaten yet?"

"No mother." He teased right back.

I smiled. "I'm going to make breakfast at Meg's, she won't mind you joining, how does that sound?"

"Like I'd ever turn down your food."

"Don't make me blush."

It takes about forty minutes for me to get to Meg's new Encino mans with her rakish knight.

Kaiden parks and takes my skunk, Nikki, as I carry Vince, my chiweenie. I text her that I'm here with Kaiden and she tells me to go around back to not wake Colson.

We do as we're told and Meg is there waiting for us in her pajamas that consist of booty lounge shorts, UGG slippers, a t- shirt that obviously belonged to Colson, and her ebony hair up in a messy bun. "Hi beautiful." I whispered softly before pulling her into a hug and kissed her cheek that was warm from sleep.

"I'm so glad to see you, babe." She said softly as she squeezed me. She waved to Kaiden and slid the backdoor back to let us in.

I set Vince down who followed Kaiden and Nikki, my inked driver knew the routine and headed to the den to give Meg and I privacy.

I slipped off my sandals and followed Meg into the kitchen. I went to the coffee station to start that. I got her and Colson a Nespresso machine and milk frother with many capsules for a housewarming gift.

I put in the rich chocolate capsule that was known for its creamy and chocolate notes, and poured oat milk creamer into the frother. "Okay, I want your guts on the table." I said to her with a smile.

She sighed and slumped her body onto the island. "I can't even like…Mink…" she said my nickname with such exhaustion.

I went over to her and gently rubbed her back aside and pushed a random object off the counter. I love Meg but she's kind of a slob, but a very cute slob. "Deep breaths, like you're using a straw." I encouraged softly.

She did the breathing exercise I taught her and l went to grab three mugs and filled them with coffee, cream, and sugar. I gave her a mug and kissed her head. "Sip some of this and prepare to let It all out, I'll be right back." I left her briefly to give Kaiden his coffee, he and the fur boys were laying on the couch. I then returned to an exhausted Megan sipping her coffee. I took my mug and sat beside her. "Okay, let it out, it's just me."

She teared up as she nursed the glass mug. "It's so fucking hard sometimes, Mink." She whispered. "I can handle it I can but…I mean I'm fucking human, I can handle shit like remember I told you about the accident with Brian."

Brian was her ex husband, only knew him from playing David Silver on Beverly Hills 90210, and he's the father of her boys. They went through a lot together between his ex, being victims of the Bling Ring, and his car accident that had him partially paralyzed for a while and not to mention her affair with Shia LaBeouf. She's right, she can handle a lot.

"But," She continued. "It's fucking insane when you get called up at work from your fiancée, and he fucking tells you you're not there…" her eyes are watery and her voice starts to break.. "And talking crazy shit like somebody's after him, a-and he has a goddamn gun in his mouth!" She whispered hysterically before crying on my shoulder.

I felt my throat run dry, my tongue heavy, I set my mug down and pulled her into a hug as she wailed. Colson tried to kill himself? When was this? He must be in some awful pain to feel like he needed such an awful way out. I took a deep breath to push my own floodgates back, because it's not about me. "He was using at the time, he stopped since then, but I can't get that out of my head, Minka. I fucking can't. Why the hell would he do that to me? And I have been there for him I'm always there, I'm starting to think he wants me to stop my career and keep me in this fucking house!"

My blood ran cold, no wasn't the time for Megan to make it about herself. She Knew what she signed up for with Colson, he trusted her enough to be vulnerable with her. I took a deep breath. "Meg, I'm going to run you a bath, relax, listen to a true crime podcast and I'll make you breakfast okay? and try to clean this place up." The sink was full of dishes.

She let out a shaky breath of relief before hugging me tight. "Bitch, I swear to God I don't know how I got along without you before."

I wiped her eyes. "Please, I'm just nosy." I took her mostly empty coffee and put it in the sink before we both crept upstairs. The bathroom was chaotic and I ended up doing a quick cleaning and made a mental note to have Petra order them that new kItty litter I saw on TV with the cat goddess. I found some Lush bath bombs and put them in the big, hot jacuzzi tub, poured Laura Mercier in and lit some candles. I had Alexa put on some true crime and had the towels set up in the warmer.

Once Meg was situated, I crept back down to the kitchen. I had music on low and gathered ingredients from the fridge and pantry. From scratch I made Russian, honey poppy seed roll, croque Madame sandwich, and fruit salad. I made orange juice from scratch and added turmeric-ginger shots. I was cleaning the kitchen with the vigorous intention of making it spotless, dancing to 'Giant' by The The, swaying my hips when a familiar voice breaks into the scene. "Am I interrupting something?"

I stopped abruptly holding the broom, and spun around to see none other than all 6'4 of freshly awakened Colson Baker. He looked Michelin level delicious in boxers that hung low on his hips and absolutely nothing else.

His cobalt blue eyes weren't looking at her, they were staring. They traveled down her body making her feel self conscious. Like most people, she's attracted to him, he has that typical Taurus beauty that has you hypnotized. No one would ever guess from her vintage, art house style but, the entire punk rock and tatted I just got on parole for good behavior look is her absolute favorite.

"I just made some breakfast, Meg's in a bath, would you like some coffee?"

He sucked his lip in before giving me another once over. "Yeah, have you seen my lighter? Shit it looks clean in here."

"I have and no, you're not smoking right now." I said as I handed him his coffee.

He smirked and sat down at the island with his mug. "Okay ma." He moaned as he sipped the coffee. "Damn I love this shit, even though it gives me the shits."

I smiled. "Everything gives you the shits because you're taurus, you guys have issues." I teased as I made his plate. Megan is the same, the beautiful actress is quite gassy.

"Meg told me you know a lot about astrology."

I set his plate down, and a glass of the juice I made. "My mother was into it, her great grandmother was a gypsy from Krakow."

"That's bomb, was she psychic?"

I gave him a secretive smile. "I'll be back." I had Kaidens plate and bowls for all the animals in the house. After making sure everyone got their food, except for Megan because she's still in the bath, I grabbed my plate and joined Colson, who was inhaling his plate. "Fuck, this is so what I needed. You can cook, you know that?"

I don't know why I liked hearing his approval, he's just one of those people you always want to impress perhaps. "Glad you like it, I love cooking, I believe a good meal can fix just about anything."

"Well maybe if you hosted Thanksgiving this year, it'll fix how fucked up I am." He finished his sandwich looking like he wanted to say something. "She told you, didn't she?"

I didn't respond, which answered his question. "Did you come here to check up on her? And chew me out?" He had a defensive tone, used to people yelling at him to get his shit together no doubt.

"Truthfully, I wanted to make sure you were okay. Colson…I know we hardly know each other, but I worry about you. And you don't need a lecture you need…" he needs someone to understand him, he needs comfort, he needs everything Megan isn't giving him right now. But I didn't say that. "A few good meals." I finished.

His eyes were on me as his teeth tore into the poppy seed roll. My eyes admired him, he's so beautiful, the way he was put together was perfect. How could someone so beautiful be so broken? I didn't want to give him the you're not alone spiel, but he isn't. He's a true artist, he feels more than the average person and has gone through so much, being proven again and again he's no one's priority. He just wants to feel that he matters that his demons are wrong. He doesn't need to be told how to deal with his mental health.

Anything Anything by Dramarama played on my Spotify, he perked up before bobbing his head to the moody yet bouncy rock music. "Yo, I felt that before. I like these lyrics."

"Yeah me too, I love music like this, that makes you feel so raw."

I sang along but stopped as Colson stared at me wide-eyed. "Sorry, I know I'm not good." I said sheepishly.

"No! No, you actually have a very beautiful voice. Why didn't you ever do anything with it?"

I could feel my skin heat up. "I…acting is more of my calling and I thought my voice sounded too squeaky to be any good."

"Well, you can do both, it's done everyday. "

I smiled as I finished up my meal. "After you're done I'll clean up and get out of your hair, Meg's plate is in the microwave okay?"

"Nah you can stick around, kinda having a calming effect on the house. Like human sage." He smiled.

My heart raced and I couldn't help but return his effortlessly pretty smile.

He spoke again due to me not answering. "If you're not busy, I know you got a lot going on."

I took out my phone to text my manager. "We're good, I pushed it back."

His eyes lit up. "Cool, you play Mario Kart?"

"Never have." I don't play video games but for Colson, I will. "I guess you'll have to teach me."

"You're so…"

I bit my lip. "What?"

"You're like someone went back in time and brought you here, it's cool."

I laughed. "Thank you, I suppose."

"Hey, for real though, where's my lighter? I was a good boy and ate my food."

"More like inhaled it." I teased before going to a drawer and pulling it out and handing it to him, our fingertips brushed and I swore I felt an electric jolt. How strange. Our eyes met and I laughed before gently stroking his nail. "I need to give you a manicure, your paint is chipped." I took his hand and pressed a chaste kiss to it. I was always affectionate to all of my friends, kisses and hugs, they always teased me that despite looking like a child I behave like I'm someone's aunt that hasn't seen them in a while.

Colson must have not liked it because he stared at me like I grew two heads. I got up from the table and took his empty dishes. "I'm sorry, I forget not everyone likes to be touched."

"No, I– it's cool, I…liked it. It's just, unless it's someone I'm with, I'm not used to being touched."

"Maybe you're platonically touch-starved." I suggested as I loaded the dishwasher.

"Maybe you could help me satiate that."

A shiver ran up my spine at him saying satiate and it shouldn't have. He doesn't need more people who lust after him or want him. He needs someone to care just to care and not to gain.

"I was in a mental hospital for six months." I said suddenly as I started the dishwasher.

It was quiet for a moment and my heart was racing because Maybe I said the wrong thing.

"Minka…you don't have to say anything…" His voice was soft and tender.

"I want to, I want you to, to…I'm not just blowing smoke up your ass when I said I understand. I'm not just placating and patronizing you to make myself feel better 'helping' or to say I tried." I took a deep breath and turned around to face him, my back against the counter. His eyes wandered over my image again. "Colson, I was bullied so badly and I didn't know what I was…it was all so confusing, so awful…I didn't react too well…I don't know what I hated more, the hospital or school. My mom couldn't handle me being away that long and took me back home. I'm glad she did. She made it a little easier and less confusing…I don't know what I'd do without her." The last word turned into a frightened whisper. "I lost her almost two years ago and…it hasn't been easy, I feel so empty. I know it was awful for you when you lost your father Colson, even if he wasn't the father he should have been." A cold tear slipped down my cheek and I closed my eyes and turned away. I took a drying towel and dabbed my eyes carefully. I checked my reflection in a dish and turned back around To face him. He stared again, always staring.

"Minka…I'm so…sorry." His pretty powder blue eyes teared up.

I quickly made my way over to him and gently took his hands. "Goodness, you're tall." I put on a good smile. ''Don't you dare feel bad for me, and besides we're not making this about me. I just want you to know you can talk to me, be raw with me. You can be sushi!" I attempted to joke, he cracked a smile.

Unexpectedly, he pulled me into a hug. It was such a warm and comforting one, strangely it made me feel safe. I felt so selfish for thinking that way. I wrapped my arms around his slender waist. I think he needs a hug, but it's easier if he convinces himself it's for me.

We stayed like this for a while. He smelled like warmth and sleep and a little kush.

"Hey, I smell food!" It was Megan's raspy, sensual voice.

I pulled back from Colson fast enough to cause whiplash. Quickly I got her plate from the microwave and her juice from the fridge, handing it to her and pressing a kiss to her cheek. Colson went over to hug her from behind and kiss her neck. She giggled and turned to kiss his mouth.

I felt rude being here as their kissing became more intense, quietly I left the kitchen and headed into the living room. "Kay, gather pups, let's go." I texted my agent to tell him nevermind.

Music in Chapter:

#colson x oc #colson baker x reader #colson baker #mgk fanfic #mgk smut #mgk imagine #mgk x reader #machine gun kelly #megan fox #Spotify

[eletricheart]

Is it a deal?

(Katherine Pierce x Reader)

*image creds to the owner

Word count: 550

mostly fluff, idk how to do summaries •᷄⌓•᷅ (btw i lowkey killed everyone)

----------------------------------------------------

The deal was simple, you would help Damon open the tomb and he would give you a vial of doppelganger blood. Of course you could easily get it yourself, but Damon has met you for too long and knew that it was best to set terms now than owe you.

Mystic Falls was boring, almost trapped in time. You would have to find a Bennet while Damon deals with family business, but at least the city has a bar.

The first time you saw Katherine was on your third day at the bar. You had already confirmed Bonnie's lineage and Damon decided to have a crush.

Katherine knew you, many did, you were smart enough to control the rumors running around, making them all picture you more dangerous than you truly are. Yes, you were a powerful witch, but nothing out of the ordinary, however the people didn't need to know that, their fear alone was enough to win anything.

At first, Katherine considered leaving, but she was intrigued by you, after all these years and she has yet to meet the Mikaelson's rival. So, she ordered a drink, sat in front of you at the corner table and simply stared with an arched eyebrow.

You smirked, being amused by her brave appearance. "Oh my, Damon is gonna be very disappointed when he doesn't see you on the tomb." You said, faking a pout.

She chuckled. "Unfortunately, I had a very tragic death. Did you not hear it?"

You leaned back. "So, what do you need?"

She took a sip of her drink before speaking. "Primarily, I want to kill Elena, but it's quite annoying with Stefan hanging around."

You place your hand in your chin, seriously looking at her. "And what do I get?"

Katherine smirked. "What do you need?"

You smiled. "You."

You dealt with Stefan, as promised. It was relatively easy, thankfully the Bennet was still learning magic, you've fought one of them once and it wasn't pretty. Damon was angry but it will pass…you think. Elena was beautifully dead and Katherine was happily torturing every inhabitant of the city. The vampire also kept her promised, finding it funny when all you truly asked was a vial of her blood and Elena's.

You stayed in town a while, watching her traumatize some humans, but eventually it got repetitive, so you chose to leave. Therefore, you invited the vampire for a movie night, picking Twilight mainly to anger her. It was around the second movie when she called for your attention.

Her face was still emotionless, fully staring at the projector. "Why are you leaving?"

You turned your face to see her. "There's nothing for me here."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "But I'm here."

You gave her a gentle smile. "Maybe I was planning to invite you…to travel with me."

Katherine turned to look at you. "Why would I do that? I have everything I've wanted here."

You shrugged. "I want you to live with me, not survive, live."

She smirked. "Is it deal?"

You laughed. "It's a deal."

She left with you, managed to make peace with Klaus, since he owned you one, and lived. She wasn't just a survivor anymore, now when someone would tell her story, she was always with you, it was the deal.

----------------------------------------------------

masterlist

#katherine pierce x you #katherine pierce #katherine pierce x reader #katerina petrova #tvd fanfiction #tvd imagine #the vampire diaries #non canon #fanfic #tvd fic #tvd fandom #tvd katherine

[rashoumon-homo]

BSD Theory - The DOA's Objective

I’m super excited to be able to theorize about this since I joined the fandom late and haven’t read the manga. Lots of spoilers, so this is continued under the cut.

My theory

I think the DOA (mainly Fukuchi) wants to use the book to re-write history so that abilities don’t exist at all, and never did. 

Fukuchi’s motivation

In the recent episode, there were a lot of flashbacks hinting that the formation of the DOA and its true objective can be traced back to Fukuchi’s time serving in the Great War. Fukuzawa guessed that his goal was revenge, but he said that wasn’t true. I think that when Fukuchi witnessed all that horror, he realized that the existence of abilities would only fuel the endless cycle of war. Revenge is such a future-focused concept; it implies that the past cannot be changed, only dwelled on. Fukuchi’s goal is more solution-based. If he were somehow able to get the book and rewrite the world so that abilities never existed, he would both end future suffering and reverse the suffering that has already been inflicted. 

Big risks aren’t actually that risky

This theory would also explain why the DOA is so nonchalant about killing people— if their plan succeeds, those deaths will be overwritten anyway. They’ve been almost reckless with their moves, like they aren’t thinking long-term. They’re able to make such bold moves because they’re betting on their success. A little loss is worth it in the long run as long as one of them is there to write on the page and set everything right again. 

On being “Overpowered”

I think the space-time sword serves as an excellent piece of foreshadowing. It introduces the idea that nothing that happens is set in stone. Even the past can be rewritten. If I’m right, that concept plays on a much larger scale in the DOA’s plans. Battles lost can still be won. People who have died aren’t gone yet. 

I think it’s funny that people get so mad at Fukuchi’s character for being too overpowered. It’s ironic, really, since he is to the other characters what ability users are to everyone else. Like, yeah, of course a time traveling sword feels like cheating. But then doesn’t bringing people back from their deathbed? Doesn’t transforming into a tiger and regenerating limbs? Gravity manipulation; a coat that can cut through any material and become stronger than armor? Regular people never stood a chance. If ability users want war, people will die. 

The name “Decay of the Angel” makes more sense with this theory in mind too. Angels are powerful, untouchable, holier than everyone else. The only way to achieve true equality is to knock them down a peg. In a world without angels, there are just… people. No more overpowered shortcuts. No more cheating. 

Atsushi’s reaction to learning the true motives of the DOA

All the pain and suffering Atsushi has experienced in his life has been directly caused by ability users. Even his own ability caused him a lot of grief for a very long time. The abuse he endured at the orphanage was in great part because of his ability, even though he didn’t know it at the time. And (as revealed in Dead Apple) he was tortured nearly to death because of Shibusawa’s greed for his ability. 

I think that after imagining the past rewritten without abilities, he realized that the DOA’s plan was actually a pretty good move morally. Nobody dies and the millions of people who have already died in ability-fueled wars would get their lives back. 

After finding out the truth about the DOA’s plans, he ran to tell Fukuzawa because Fukuzawa’s current course of action was to try to stop Fukuchi (and that would cause a greater net death in the long run). At the very least, sharing the new information with him would give them both a chance to think things through. 

Sigma’s story becomes even more tragic

The unfortunate side of things is that if I’m right, Sigma would be an even more tragically fated character. He was already brought into the world for the sole purpose of serving the other members of the DOA; people who seem to have no regard for his wants and needs. The only home he ever knew was blown up in one of their scuffles, and he was left for dead. But if the DOA’s plan truly was to erase abilities from existence, he was created with the full knowledge of his creators that he would not survive. 

Since he was born from an ability, from the page itself, he is intrinsically linked to ability use. If the DOA rewrites history to be free of abilities, he would also disappear. I suppose it’s slightly less cruel than killing him; it’d be more like in time travel movies when someone accidentally erases their best friend by stopping their parents from meeting or something. If he never existed, he isn’t technically dead. But the DOA still would have created him knowing he had no chance at a normal life. A disposable human, if you will. 

Conclusion

I have no clue if any of this is right or even if it’s been disproved somewhere in the manga or something. I’ve only seen the anime and Dead Apple, so I’m already working with a lot less information than I could be. But as I mentioned earlier, I absolutely love theorizing about these things, so I’m so glad the manga chapters and the anime episodes are starting to catch up to each other. 

Someone take my computer away from me, I am up at nearly 1 am writing a full goddamn essay about my favorite anime…

#bungou stray dogs #bungo stray dogs #bsd #bsd theories #bsd predictions #bsd essay #bsd spoilers #bsd season 5 #bsd doa #bsd fukuchi #bsd fukuzawa #rashoumon writes

[cookierunauprompts]

yooooo! Guess who’s back! Here’s a post about arcane egg cookie again, I hope you enjoy it. :)

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Hello hi! This post is about my cookie run kingdom oc arcane egg, if you don’t know about them read my previous writings about them. Anyways! This post will be about exploring the personality of arcane cookie, along with some of their habits, hobbies, and general info. Hope you enjoy.

-First off, I imagine arcane egg uses both she/her pronouns and they/them as well.

-arcane egg was the last of the old ancients that were made, about 2 hours behind the rest.   As a result the rest have the tendency to treat them like the youngest even though they to were only created like a few hours before hand. Her natural naivety and trusting nature does not help… their small stature as well also REALLY doesn’t help.

-arcane egg holds the light/soul jam of defiance, they’ll always look for another way. Because their has to be, and if there isn’t one she’ll make one. She’s also big on justice and general good morals, if something isn’t fair she’ll make it fair! So in her earlier years she was quite the rebel and revolutionary. Even as time took so much from her, they’ll always hold this belief… even if they don’t believe in it either.

-their quite an introvert, their both “oh no, people!” And “ ew… people”. So when people met the small cookie they thunk them aloof and mysterious, while her family knew this to be… incorrect 

-she can be so SO chatty to the people she’s comfortable with, like it’s surprising how much she can talk. Doesn’t help she goes on tangents either. As a result when explaining or asking someone for something they can be quite blunt and to the point.

-also when they talk they tend to slurr words together or say them incorrectly, their greatly embarrassed by it.

-as the name suggests they LOVE magic, no matter the type or flavor she wants to learn and do. Be it coffee magic to the spiciest she’ll get her small cookie hand on it! As a result this helped start shadow milk cookies and their friendship. Comparable to pure vanilla’s and white lily cookie’s friendship during academy days.

-compared to the more chatty shadow milk cookie, she was happy to listen and learn from him. And happily help him when they could. They spent many a long night together dreaming up ways how magic could help people, be it to the wondrous or mundane magic is what brought them together… present day she can’t look at any illusion magic with out thinking of him though.

-some traits that describe arcane egg are kind, silly, rebellious, quite, creative, clumsy, awkward, naive, and a little bit dense and I observant. She’s still quite emotionally and intellectually intelligent though.

-fun fact! The reason the world so easily forgot arcane egg cookie was for mainly two factors, she looked a lot like her other ancient comrades. No real unique color or bright identity to separate themselves from the rest. And secondly she in fact used this forgettable nature of hers to infiltrate places and collect information, so even they saw no point in trying to stand out. In fact it was useful.

-hmm… it’s almost funny. The arcane egg cookie of the past is so much different compared to the arcane cookie of the present… it’s tragic isn’t it? But you can rest assured theirs hope for them yet.

Anyways that’s all I have for now hope you enjoy! Sorry for any spelling / grammar errors.

(also question learning this information about arcane egg, do you think her and golden butter cookie would be friends? I gotta know)

Ooo!! I did enjoy reading about Arcane Egg!

Also, as for your question, I do believe that Golden Butter Cookie would consider Arcane Egg a good friend if they existed in the same universe, however, like with mystic flour, She would envy Arcane Egg. Mainly due to the fact that they hold the light of defiance, perhaps if Golden Butter had such a strong will to defy like Arcane Egg did... Maybe she wouldn't have fallen so deep into her burnout

But nonetheless, they would still be good friends. Though I doubt that Golden Butter would tell them the location of the Toy-Box( they hardly do tell anyone, cause I'm pretty sure that I made Shadow Milk find out on accident.) though.

Also, small little thing but if Arcane Egg believes that there's hope for themself then that creates a fun little opposite between them. Golden Butter doubts that there's hope waiting for her at the end of the road, only moving forwards at others suggestion. Maybe one day she'll start moving on her own... maybe.

#not a prompt #oc talk #Golden Butter Cookie Tag #(because she's mentioned here) #(also fun fact i'm working on a thing for your other ask right now. so stay tuned for that!) #(I also threw golden butter cookie in it as well so yeah)