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lover-of-mine · 18 days

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Okay, so, I don't know if I'm typing this out to make myself feel better because I can't believe THIS is the thing I'm gonna be right about in this fucking show BUT back in May last year, I added some tags on a post about how Buck is in Eddie's season 5 arc, so he would break up with Natalia pretty early on and Eddie and Marisol would go off to build stuff together (It's the only post I can find that proves I had the thought before all this because I don't know if I put that in a meta or not, I think I did on a post talking about how Buck and Eddie mirror each other narratively, but I cannot find it) but the thing is, season 6 for Buck mirrors season 4 for Eddie, which would put them in season 5 but from Buck's side. It was the main reason I kept saying I believed Natalia would have the same treatment as Ana, and go away early on in the season to open space for Eddie's journey of self-discovery, which is what happened, Natalia went away to open space for Buck's self-discovery journey. I was betting on a Buck breakdown, but bi Buck works. Why did I had that thought the second Eddie called Marisol in the s6 finale? Well, Buck and Eddie are literally running parallel to each other but slightly misaligned. You have tiny things like the way the first loss on the job for both of them is someone falling to their death, but Devon didn't want to live and the gross dude did. Or the shaky relationship with their parents that runs opposite because Eddie had too much responsibility placed on him while Buck was literally treated like he was invisible. Or more aggressive things like the way the well mirrors the lightning (set on that if you need help visualizing), with the way both of them volunteer into the rescue, the well is in the middle of nowhere, Buck gets struck in the middle of the street, Buck is in the sky, Eddie is underground, the rain aspect, the 118 as audience, they are even on mirrored sides of the frame, and I think even the way Buck needs to choose to get out of the coma mirrors the way Eddie saves himself. There's also the breathing things since Eddie almost drowns and Buck's lungs stop working. The well mirroring the lighting put Buck in season 4 for 6b, the "'I'm fine' *narrator voice* he wasn't fine" era, which would put Buck in season 5 now, the "I'm dealing with what makes me who I am" era, which he is, go Buck.

Well, this works with love interests on a ridiculous level. We have the ABSOLUTE MADNESS of the way Shannon comes back, next episode Ali shows up, Shannon dies, next episode Ali is gone, Eddie meets Ana, Buck keeps complaining about the struggles of being single (while Maddie totally sets him up with Josh, because now that Buck is canonically bi, the fact that they are in blue and green is too on the nose for me to ignore), nothing comes of Eddie and Ana, they both stay single, Eddie asks Ana out, next episode Buck is dating and Taylor comes Back, Buck starts dating Natalia, Eddie starts dating Marisol. The only ones who are not aligned are the breakups with Ana and Taylor, because Buck chooses to hang on for too long. We also the way they have the first love who left them and never really gave them the closure they needed, we have the inconsequential girlfriend they only got because people kept telling them they had to move on. Shannon works for Eddie the same way Abby works for Buck. Ana works for Eddie the same way Ali and I guess Natalia do for Buck. That means Eddie needs a Taylor. Someone he meets on a call who comes back later on. Check. Someone he's supposed to work with in theory but never had a real fighting chance. (I say that because if Taylor were as intense about Buck as she is about the job, they could've been a very interesting installment of golden retriever boyfriend/black cat girlfriend, but they never try). Something about their personal journeys is that Buck tends to take longer to learn, while Eddie tends to need a stronger hit. Buck's takes more time and Eddie's tends to be more intense in a sense. Like the way Shannon dies and Abby just leaves, but they actually kinda paint Buck as hung up on Abby all through seasons 2 and 3. Or the way Taylor goes away for a whole season, just to come back and stay for 3 half seasons. So the Marisol of it all. Taylor had more dept in the helicopter than Marisol has right now, but sure, let's say the point here is to make Eddie do something stupid in the name of not being alone. Because that's what Taylor is. The whole time, Taylor is about Buck being scared of being alone, even hooking up with her the first time is about how he didn't have Abby to hang on to anymore. Taylor and Buck are also fundamentally incompatible.

Again, I know nothing about Marisol. They gave her no dept beyond being a glorified babysitter. Nothing in her relationship with Eddie so far has been about Eddie and her. Even their dates seem to be something that will be about watching other people. I don't wanna say buddie canon, because Lucy is her own category (I miss her) but, Eddie looking at Buck and Tommy and making the very harsh decision of asking her to move in "I'm gonna die alone" moment, I don't wanna say makes sense, but could work, even more considering that the Buck/Tommy/Eddie/Marisol date seems to be mirroring the colors of the Buckley-Diaz family + Taylor dinner in outside looking in, and the next episode is a madney episode. It's the same progression of events. I doubt Eddie is gonna cheat and panic ask Marisol to move in, but they are not so on the nose with the actual storyline parallels. I don't have the brainpower to come up with any theories about what he might do, but considering how rocky his relationship with Buck could be, considering the last episode, I can absolutely see Buck triggering that (that would make me accept I am right and Eddie is aware of his feelings and I won't give that up even if the show explicitly says he wasn't) because Eddie's abandonment issues make him overcorrect. And that's never a good thing. Do I think Marisol is going past the season finale? No. Eddie's understanding arcs are usually shorter than Buck's. How would she leave? No clue. The fact that Taylor hurt Buck's family, in a literal sense with Chim, and the focus on her relationship with Chris as someone taking care of him, also the ominous shots of Chris and the whole theory that Chris would get hurt last season makes me scared tho. It could be something that's not her fault that she doesn't reach Eddie instantly, like, Chris cuts himself or something and she doesn't call, that can even work to push Buck and Eddie closer, and put buddie explicitly in a parental role together. My brain keeps saying appendicitis for some reason, but no idea why, maybe I just don't want to believe the show would make someone purposefully endanger Chris. Eddie kind of snapping in a hospital makes sense? Let's say Chris gets sick while at school and someone calls the house trying to reach Eddie because he's not answering and he chews her off. But that's just like, the only thing I can come up with with the correct energy.

So, yeah, Marisol is Taylor. I'm too tired to keep typing, but I can't believe the one theory I don't fully type out is the one the universe is gonna give me oaksoaksoaksoaksokasa

If you read this I love you. I don't know how this made you feel, but I hope it makes sense.

#im going to bed now #bye #911 #911 speculation #911 spoilers #911 meta #???#i dont know #i know nothing

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pilot-boi · 5 months

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Cinder being adopted by the Arcs would objectively be hilarious for the following dynamic:

Cinder: Can I go brood for a bit?

Saffron: Sure! Just lmk when you're ready to go get coffee and go to the theatre! :D

Truly a black cat in a family of golden retrievers

#rwby #saphron cotta arc #cinder fall #mine #asks #dicknouget

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your-mums-nuts · 1 year

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You ship breagan in a ‘male lead and female lead are inevitably going to get together’ way.

I ship breagan in a ‘girlboss,malewife, black cat, golden retriever, bi king and queen, best friends, love of each others lives, she’s only soft for him, he fell first AND harder, it works for their individual arcs, it works within the trajectory of the plot, it works overall, him hating her bf but not knowing why, her happy ending being left ambiguous, he let her go because he wants what’s best for her, she came back to work but also to HIM’

We are not the same

#inside job #reagan ridley #brett hand #breagan

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onepiece-polls · 9 months

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One Piece Shipping War - Round 2 Side D

MiShanks art by @oz-gauze. Check out the original post here.

Propaganda under the cut.

Propaganda for Iceburg x Paulie:

"I find the 'IcePaulie' ship in the "One Piece" fandom particularly compelling, and there are several reasons for this. Firstly, the two characters involved, Iceburg and Paulie, are wonderfully complex and engaging. Iceburg, as the mayor of Water 7 and president of Galley-La Company, is a serious, highly respected figure whose calm and composed demeanor grounds the duo. On the other hand, Paulie, one of the company's top foremen, is known for his strict moral code and boisterous nature, which provides a perfect contrast to Iceburg's character. What I appreciate most about the 'IcePaulie' ship is the potential for dynamic interactions and growth that arise from these contrasting personalities. The calm, collected Iceburg and the more hot-blooded Paulie provide a balanced character interaction, which can lead to interesting conflicts or heartwarming moments of mutual understanding and respect. Moreover, their shared commitment to their work within the Galley-La Company serves as a common ground that bonds them together, further enriching their relationship. In conclusion, the 'IcePaulie' ship, to me, is about more than just a potential romantic or platonic relationship. It's about the exploration of two distinct characters, their individual quirks, values, and the unique dynamic that forms between them. This interplay of personalities and the potential narrative arc their relationship could follow are what make the 'IcePaulie' ship truly captivating to me."

It's one of my fav ship not including the big 5 so 👉👈 It's really damn adorable and romantic, like just paulie being extremely overprotective and iceburg just loving him more everytime. And how they deal with the others shenanigans (that they love)

Propaganda for Shanks x Mihawk:

They had a massive battle at one point, when mihawk showed up on that island where shanks was relaxing shanks convinced him to get drunk with him very easily, also in the war of the best mihawk just flat out said he refused to fight shanks

Goth swordsmith & Golden retriever

Two of the most badass characters in the whole series, cat/dog energy, the fact that Mihawk specifically sought Shanks out to show him Luffy's bounty??, also Mihawk leaving the fight because he didn't sign up to fight Shanks??, I love two middle aged man who are somehow friends AND MAYBE MORE lmao

They’re so funny to me. Like seriously goth Mihawk and happy chaotic Shanks. I just think they could be so good together

Rivals to lovers -- Powerhouses -- Introvert and extrovert -- Mihawk wears red and has black hair while Shanks wears black and has red hair like ✨Color schemes✨ -- SAME BIRTHDAY YOU CAN'T CONVINCE ME THEY DON'T CELEBRATE IT TOGETHER

They are rivals. They are besties. They are so friggin gay for each other. It's DILF love.

what if we were both swordsmen but you lost your arm to save the future king of the pirates so i have remained SOOO bitter about it but then find out the kid u saved has a promising swordsman so im less bitter so i go drink with you and you force me to ditch my wine for booze but it works because you care about me despite my solitary life so we remained long distance bfs and think about each other constantly. is that something

Mihawk being a recluse but going out of his way to visit his bf regularly is proof enough

#one piece #icepaulie #mishanks #akataka #op shipping war #tournament poll #round 2 #side D

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grelleswife · 27 days

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Hey this is maybe a strange request but I was wondering if you had any good anime recommendations ?

I've been watching JJK and I've been left feeling a bit disappointed with the writing (it feels kinda all of the place and it feels like characters are dying just for the sake of dying)

So I'm kinda looking for something with darker themes and also maybe with supernatural elements, but that gives all the characters good arcs and development and also maybe is a bit on the happier side?

But honestly anything will do I'm just looking for some new stuff

I've been thinking of watching Vanitas no Carte so that one's already on my list

Hi, anon! I understand your frustration; the despair of the Shibiya arc had become rather gratuitous by the end of Season 2. :/

VnC was one of the first shows that came to mind while I was reading your ask, so you’re already ahead of the curve! Content warnings I recall off the top of my head include child death, nonconsensual blood drinking (which carries certain unpleasant implications in vampire media), use of children for scientific experimentation, and unsavory dynamics (aka the man repeatedly disregarding the woman’s boundaries) in the canon m/f pairing. However, the quality of the story and its unmistakable queerness still make Vanitas no Carte a worthwhile watch, in my opinion. And the manga is even better!

Some other recommendations I can think of, albeit with varying ratios of darkness to good character development and happy moments, are listed below. Please note that content warnings provided are given off the top of my head and thus are not comprehensive.

Mushishi

Though existing beyond the realm of human perception, the diverse array of primitive lifeforms known as mushi can warp their surroundings—and the people inhabiting them—in bizarre, sometimes frightening ways. As a mushishi, Ginko is one of the rare few who can see and interact with these creatures, and travels Japan lending assistance to those struggling to coexist with the mushi. Suffused with a quiet melancholy, this anime is perfect to watch on a rainy day with a cup of tea in hand.

Content warnings: Body horror

Mononoke

Nope, not the Studio Ghibli film that gave birth to the classic “I’ll cut your throat” ship meme. This 2007 anime follows the enigmatic and possibly immortal Kusuriuri (medicine seller) as he helps people impacted by mononoke, malevolent spirits that latch onto negative emotions. However, he can only dispel these spirits by uncovering their true nature and the reason for the appearance, forcing him to play detective along the way. Though a spiritual cousin of sorts to Mushishi, the two shows vary radically in style: Whereas Mushishi’s color palettes tend to be earthy and subdued, Monoke’s animation pushes the envelope with a dizzying, gaudy spectacle that could have come straight out of a drug-induced nightmare.

Content warnings: Violence (including violence against women), discussions of forced abortion, body horror, a highly questionable relationship between a monk and his sister, eyestrain (the colors are gorgeous but can be a bit overwhelming at times)

Otherside Picnic

College students Sorawo Kamikoshi and Toriko Nishina team up to periodically explore the Otherside, a parallel universe where urban legends pose all-too-real threats, growing closer over the course of their adventures. Fans of the light novels on which this 12-episode anime is based have criticized the differences in tone between the adaptation and the source material, complaining that the anime tends to come across as a bit goofier. However, as someone who went into the series blind, I had a fun time! Otherside Picnic also numbers among the rare examples of sapphic anime with adult protagonists, although most of Sorawo’s and Torino’s relationship is relegated to slow-burn due to the short run time. Their black cat/golden retriever dynamic is still a joy to behold!

Content warnings: Occasional gun violence, body horror

Death Parade

The souls of the recently deceased are pitted against eachother in nerve-wracking games meant to uncover the darkest corners of their psyches so that beings known as arbiters may pass judgement on their fate—reincarnation, or eternity in the void. Alongside his assistant, Chiyuki, the arbiter Decim begins to gain greater insight into humanity while starting to question the very role for which he was created. This underrated gem will probably reduce you to a puddle of tears at least once, so have a box of tissues ready.

Content warnings: Violence, assault, suicide, depictions of alcohol use (much of the action takes place at an otherworldly bar)

Noragami

Hiyori Iki’s ordinary middle school life is turned upside down when a bus accident weakens the link between her body and soul, enabling her to perceive the gods and spirits in our midst…including Yato, a brash yet destitute young god without a single shrine to his name. How will their fates intertwine? Written along a similar vein to Fruits Basket and Kamisama Kiss, Noragami charms the viewer with its sillier shenanigans while ripping your heartstrings to shreds during the darker moments. Although the manga (at least what I’ve read of it) is superior, and the anime only adapts a handful of the original arcs, it still holds its own. And the OPs are excellent! 👌

Content warnings: Body horror, child death, suicide

#anime recs #mushishi #mononoke #otherside picnic #urasekai picnic #death parade #noragami

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corvus-heliantheae · 11 months

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Present Mic - the sad happy one

For one of my first texts, I want to talk about one of the most underrated, and sometimes borderline forgotten, characters in My Hero Academia, Hizashi Yamada aka Present Mic. This will contain spoilers for the MHA manga, the anime, and the MHA Vigilante manga. Let me start with a brief recap of what we learn about him early on. Mic is a pro hero and a member of the UA staff who teaches English. Like most teachers, he was a student of UA. Besides teaching, he is also the announcer of UA events, probably because of his voice quirk which allows him to amplify his voice to the point of creating a dangerous shock wave or sonic boom. And because two highly stressful jobs aren’t enough, he also has a weekly radio show called “Put your hands up radio”, where he broadcasts nonstop music every Friday. He presents himself mostly as an extrovert, loud and enthusiastic guy who wants to pull everyone around him into his excitement, which leads to him actually being mistaken for an announcer rather than a pro hero. He is the hype man of UA, no matter what, being a perfect contrast to Aizawas stoic and rational approach to everything. But is that correct? I think the fandom perspective on him is “the golden retriever to black cat Aizawa” doesn’t do him any justice and ignores some feature plot points!

Before I get into the bigger theme I want to focus on, I’d like to call out how perceptive Mic is and how analytical he works, because after the incident at the training camp arc, where the League of Villains attacked the secret location of where it was held, he called out the logical thing. In the staff meeting happening in Chapter 83 he was the first to coin the theory of the UA traitor, because if just the people inside UA knew about the specifics, one of them had to leak it. He is proven right in chapter 336, but nobody ever talks about it in this context. As much as I love the plot of Class 1-A being one united front, a bit of recognition towards Mic would’ve been nice. But the biggest misinterpretation of his characters stems from his and Aizawa’s shared backstory, including Oboro Shikamaru, the later Nomu called Kurogiri. In the prequel manga MHA Vigilantes, set a few years before the main series where Aizawa just starts teaching, we get a detailed flashback in chapters 59-65. They are shown as second year students at UA, with their struggles with planning their future, school work and of course becoming pro heroes. Calling themselves the rooftop trio, they dreamt of opening an agency and adopting stray cats. In every hero student's career comes the days of the work studies, when they do internships with experienced heroes, so they get some practical experience. Unfortunately, a catastrophe happens while Aizawa and Oboro were together in their work study, and Oboro died tragically when a building collapsed onto him. Aizawa wasn’t able to save him and Mic came much later to the scene and couldn’t do anything. The first time, Mic was not there to safe a friend and could just deal with the aftermath.

The second time something like this happens is in the war arc, where the conflict between heroes and villains gets to an unknown height till this day. In the conflict in the Paranormal Liberation Arc there were a lot of casualties and one of them was the pro hero Midnight, fellow UA teacher, and someone the rooftop trio knew from school, because she was just a little older. The mistreatment of Midnight and other female heroes is maybe a topic for another day, so I focus back on Mic. Again, he wasn’t by his friend's side. In the same arc Aizawa loses an eye and his leg, by cutting it off himself, when he was hit by a quirk erasing bullet and wanted to prevent himself from losing his quirk. Aizawa is stable and has accommodations, but Mic was not with him. He fought Kyudai, the doctor who helped OFA creating the Nomus. But still, he was unharmed while one of his friends died and the other one was gravely injured. And at this point you can’t tell me that on top of the trauma of being a pro hero, being in a war and losing people, the fact that he is fine while others aren’t, isn’t fucking a person up. One thing that feels weird and outrageous to be, but really unsurprising when I look at the real world, is that there seems to be no actual support system or help for the pro heroes because all of them should have therapy. The amount of trauma, stress, probably PTSD, they have must be unbearable, but for them, it’s probably just a part of the job. I mean, we also see this very early on in the young students, but it’s easier to recognize it in them, than it is in the pros. I think Aizawa and Mic are not so very different, I even think they are two sides of the same coin, because while Aizawa went into isolation after Oboro’s death, Mic went on throwing himself into work to drown out the thoughts and the pain. He kinda lost two friends with this incident because Vigilantes shows how Mic and Aizawa are distant from each other. They both have to deal with very similar pain, but not one of them talks about it, because they have to go on being heroes. The thing is, I wouldn’t be writing this is Aizawa just naturally got more screen time because of his home room teacher position and that’s why we don’t see as much of Mic, but in Vigilante and in the Kurogiri/Oboro reveal they are focussed equally but still, we ignore the guy who just seems more happy and energetic. I don’t think the final chapters we are now getting, because the manga will end this year, will give Mic and Aizawa time and focus to deal with Kurogiri, but if it happens, I can just see a few options that would make sense for Mic. He may break down, if he loses another person and let’s be honest that could be Aizawa because things are bad enough as it is. What I consider more realistic is that he will not break down passively, but just the danger of loosing another will fuse his anger and his survivor guilt, and he will throw himself into danger, protecting others and may be even killing himself in the progress just to not having to watch another one die in front of him. I think each one of the characters is tragic in their one way because of how hero society works, but as in real life we tend to ignore the people who say that they are fine, which makes Present Mic as a character so much more bitter.

#helia #corvus heliantheae #mha #bnha #my hero academia #present mic #yamada hizashi #hizashi yamada #analysis #opinion piece #oboro #midnight #kurogiri #aizawa

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badbraincake · 6 months

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tropes that I eat up on the daily

The hero being just as scary as the villain

The golden retriever and black cat duo

A redemption arc

The hero and the villain mirroring each other

Unlikely allies

A character that doesn't mind being disliked

Mad genius

A character using their attractiveness as a weapon

A morally gray main character

Falling for the underdog

#writing tropes #writing #creative writing #writeblr #writing community

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solnishkawrites · 1 year

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So my boyfriend @mikk1n and I have been developing a 1920s Call of Cthulhu AU for Dishonored. This started off really small—I was mostly just desperate to get my boyfriend to play a TTRPG with me, and lured him into CoC 7th edition with the promise of having him play as his Dishonored OC, Moira O’Farrell—with the module “Paper Chase” from the Starter Set. And then, everything spiraled out of control and into this sprawling saga. Some highlights from the primary AND secondary campaigns we have planned:

PRIMARY CAMPAIGN

Havelock and Moira are bootleggers in the early 1920s in America. When they get a tip-off that the police are after them, they flee to Berlin, Germany and become smugglers trafficking archaeological artifacts through the black market.

They also run a bed and breakfast together, because why not.

Havelock and his smuggling partner, Josef, attract the attention of strange cult when a business deal goes awry. They’re captured, and it’s up to Moira (a disabled Black Irishwoman, for those who aren’t in the know) to go and find them.

Josef escapes on his own, but Havelock is transformed via a strange ritual into… something that is no longer human. Something that craves the taste of human flesh.

Even though Havelock retains his memories and capacity for reason, he is losing his sanity as he struggles to come to grips with his new, uncurable condition. Also, the cult is hellbent on recapturing him. Unfortunately for the cultists, Havelock is also hellbent on revenge.

SECONDARY CAMPAIGN

Corvo and Jessamine Attano are a young couple trying to make a new life with their infant daughter, Emily, in Berlin. Jessamine has left her wealthy family in England behind; the only thing she took with her when she left were the clothes on her back… and a small, insignificant-seeming pendant that her father gave her when she was very young.

Little does Jessamine know that the pendant is an eldritch artifact. Euhorn (and the cult he’s cozy with) want it BACK, and they’re willing to hire an assassin named Daud to kill Jessamine and retrieve what they view as theirs.

Daud accepts the job, but finds that he can’t kill Jessamine. This isn’t Miss Kaldwin, a shallow little rich bitch living off of her daddy’s money… this is Mrs. Attano, a scared young woman trying to make ends meet while caring for her daughter and husband. Daud runs away, but is found by Corvo later on. They talk and compare notes… and then decide to go cultist-hunting together.

I can’t say much more without releasing spoilers that Misha can’t yet know about. More shall be revealed with time.

I’m really enjoying this AU. Without all of their power and influence, the characters have a chance to actually be better people. There’s still a massive initial class divide between Corvo and Jessamine (he grew up in poverty on the streets of Havana, Cuba, while Jessamine was sipping from crystal glasses in her family’s townhouse in London, England), but the fact that Jessamine was able to walk away from that life makes her a better person than she was in canon as an Empress who responded so poorly to the Plague Crisis. She, Corvo, and Emily get a chance to be a real family together.

Likewise, Daud gets a real redemption arc. I’m not a big fan of Daud in canon; I feel like he can’t ruin Corvo’s life the way he did and subject him to the trauma of being accused of Daud’s crime and allow Corvo to be TORTURED FOR MONTHS ON END for that crime and then earn any kind of forgiveness. It doesn’t resonate with me.

I’m not sure if the primary or secondary campaigns will ever intersect. Currently I don’t expect them to, but it’s impossible to say what the dice will dictate. Some more tidbits about the characters and world before the post ends:

Billie is Haitian.

Daud is Moroccan, thereby giving him that French colonial connection to Billie.

The Outsider is the figurehead and puppet of a Great Old One.

The Golden Cat has become a cabaret club.

Havelock is a veteran of World War I.

Moira’s sister, Sian, was a volunteer in Cork, Ireland during the Easter Rising of 1916.

Martin is still a shady priest.

#call of cthulhu rpg #dishonored #fanfiction

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mermaidsirennikita · 8 months

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ARC Review: Salt Kiss by Sierra Simone

5/5. Out now!

Vibes: retellings, VIRGIN BODYGUARDS, two angry black cats falling in love with a golden retriever, local man never reads the room ever.

When PTSD-ridden veteran Tristan Thomas is offered a job as the bodyguard to his step-uncle, kink club owner Mark Trevena, it seems like the change he needs. The problem: Mark turns out to be quite dangerous, and Tristan turns out to be quite smitten. As the two engage in an ill-advised affair, he falls deeper and deeper, knowing Mark has secrets he refuses to tell. One of those secrets? Turns out to be a fiancee, Isolde. For Tristan, escorting her across the sea to Mark seems like a nightmare. But the more get gets to know her--the more he he realizes he's not just falling for Mark, but Isolde as well.

I have been dying to read this ever since I knocked out New Camelot earlier this year. Nobody does a menage romance better than Sierra Simone, and this kick off a new series once again retells an Arthurian legend--but in a very different way from New Camelot.

I will advise: if you haven't read New Camelot, this book will have spoilers for that trilogy (and it's a fucking banger, so go read it). Additionally, I feel you are missing out a LOT if you don't read the "prequel novella" (aka first book) Salt in the Wound first. This shorter installment details Mark and Isolde's early "courtship", if you can call it that.

Anyway, I fucking loved this, let's get into it.

Quick Takes:

--Mark Trevena has been hyped throughout Sierra Simone's New Camelot-verse. I mean, he made Maxen Colchester try a butt plug. (And yes, Tristan is absolutely, physically, Baby Ash. In terms of personality... couldn't be further from him.) Does he live up to the hype? Yes, though I will say (and this is obviously on purpose) we still don't know a lot about him. He's snakey and sexy and a bit weird and boyishly excited about doing his little cat burglar things. He clearly controls a lot, but he also very clearly does not have control of nearly as much as Tristan thinks he does. This works, because for all that Tristan has experienced so much violence, psychologically and emotionally he's still something of a babe in the woods. Yes, Mark is hypercompetent and powerful, but you just feeeeeel the disaster lurking under the surface.

Which is one of many ways in which Sierra Simone distinguishes between the dynamic of Ash, Embry and Greer, compared to Mark, Tristan, and Isolde (Auden, St. Sebastian, and Poe were a whole other thing). Ash? Did have his shit together for much of New Camelot. Like, he was doing some galaxy brained shit, but until things really started to get out of control towards the end of the second book, he is like, the ultimate dom. He's got it together, he has the attention of his subs, he handles their specific individual needs, he puts them first.

Mark... is more chaotic. I think he very much wants to be a puppet master, and in some ways he genuinely is. But emotionally, you get these glimpses that suggest he's balancing on a knife's edge; and with Isolde in mind in particular, I don't think this is all going to work out exactly as he planned. At all. Which is delicious to read, right?

--Related: Mark is not a daddy, stop this slander of Mark and to daddies, he is a dominant (and I'll be real! I don't think he's as harsh a dominant as Ash or Auden) but not all doms are dom daddies, let's get this straight.

--While this is the beginning of a clear MMF series, you don't actually see the menage a trois on the page just yet. The first two thirds of this book are really Mark and Tristan getting to know each other and falling in love. The last third is the instant attraction between Tristan and Isolde. I knew this going in, and I was a bit concerned about the balance between relationships, and Mark/Tristan being favored over Tristan/Isolde. This is a frequent issue with MMF books--readers prioritize the MM over the F, and the girl is basically window dressing. I find that Sierra pretty much always avoids this, but still.

After reading, I totally get it. First off, a lot of that Mark/Tristan pagetime is, understandably, not only Tristan falling in love with Mark but Tristan becoming acquainted with kink, which is obviously going to figure into the triad dynamic. Tristan is a virgin when the book begins, and again, in many ways remarkably sheltered. So while you totally get this bond he and Mark develop, their pagetime is more than that.

Whereas Tristan and Isolde are pretty much all Tristan and Isolde. And it makes sense that while it takes a good amount of time for Mark to give in to Tristan's desires because of all the complex dynamics at play... And Mark being Mark... Tristan and Isolde can throw themselves headlong into this passionate, super horny affair in which, in many ways, they're both venting their emotional issues onto each other. It's like a breath of fresh air for them, a release (literal and metaphorical) they both need. And so it makes total sense to me that they connect as easily as they do. Neither of them have that easy connection with Mark, but as Tristan's employer and Isolde's fiance, he's accessible to both of them in a way they can't be to each other. Yet on an purely emotional level, their mutual bond is simple, straightforward; it's just thwarted by obligations practical and otherwise.

--You're in Tristan's head for the entire book, and it's a pretty head. I love the contrast of someone who's really good at killing and violence being so bighearted and sensitive. It really evokes the legends surrounding the original Tristan. Yes, he can fuck a dude up, but he just wants to fall in love and please and sing his little hymns.

I also just super enjoyed how many times Tristan would just let clear and present warnings sail over his head. The allusions to Mark's previous bodyguard Doing Stuff with him? Tristan didn't hear them. Everyone trying to suggest that Mark is getting married? Tristan doesn't notice. Mark telling Tristan to "be him" with Isolde? Repeatedly? Tristan sincerely does not get it. Himbo lovers, this may be a book for you.

--We still haven't experienced Isolde in her full form, in my opinion. Mark hasn't seen her for two years when this book begins, and she's a total stranger to Tristan. There's an underlying sense of both masochism and sadism in Isolde. She's someone who enjoys the pain, but on a much deeper level, seems capable of inflicting it. I definitely get the sense that Mark isn't the only one who's going to be fucking with Tristan's head, and I'm frankly about it.

--This series is being pitched as darker than New Camelot; and I will say, so far, I don't see that? But considering how dark Thornchapel (which is also in the same 'verse, albeit more tangentially) got, I trust and believe Sierra Simone can ramp it up. However, this first book is truly one where you the reader stumble into it knowing no more than Tristan does. You are fresh and new, as he is fresh and new. Even if you've read New Camelot, I feel like you're really stepping into an entirely different part of that world.

--I personally love the angst of a good "love triangle to MMF" angle, and we're most definitely getting that here. The way in which everybody is in love or at least close to it, while nobody is actually willing to admit it? Um, absolutely.

The Sex:

It's Sierra Simone, so obviously the sex is 10/10. She writes the best sex scenes in romance, for me. They're erotic and daring and explicit, but also so emotionally revealing and poetic? Her characters truly connect through sex, accessing a level of soulfulness and, like, honestly? Spirituality during sex.

With that in mind, people do fuck in church in this one--like I said, it's Sierra Simone. Tristan and Mark have a very intense sexual relationship that does involve D/s, though understandably, it's not quite as kinky as what other Sierra characters have gotten up to. Mark is very tender with Tristan's precious virginity (.... more emotionally than physically) which? Right now? Kinda makes him more of a soft dom than Ash or Auden. Or Father Bell, really.

I'm sure this will be completely subverted when Honey Cut comes out.

I really appreciated this book exploring things we don't see often in these big, sweeping romances--M/M breeding kink, which obviously is A Thing, but we often don't see it, I think, because there's this huge emphasis on heroes being hypermasculine. Which in some ways I enjoy, right? But here, Tristan is masculine and.... also wants to be bred. And he wants to breed Isolde. The duality of man!!!

Also--the face sitting scene was great. That's all.

It's just a different take on kink than we've seen in Sierra's other books. I think she also manages to give all her characters' sex styles, as it were, unique spins; but Salt Kiss's take felt particularly different from the other triad books she's written in that sense.

I'll also add--I was impressed by the tension-building moments in this book, especially with Tristan and Isolde. Neither of these relationships are truly slow burns in terms of time covered. But Tristan and Isolde definitely burn faster than Tristan and Mark, yet somehow Sierra made the tension so tight and delayed-feeling. There is a moment... when Isolde is wearing her swimsuit... and Tristan notices a thing... I gasped like it was the Pride and Prejudice hand flex. It might be my Pride and Prejudice hand flex. In a very different way.

I just super loved this. It definitely has more story to cover. You don't end on a one and done happy ending--we'll have to work for it a bit more with this trilogy. But I have a feeling that it will be worth it.

(And I cannot wait for the slutty vellum overlay version of this book.)

Thanks to Bloom Books and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

#romance novel blogging #arc reviews #netgalley #book recs #book reviews #books #i'll reblog this tomorrow during the day but i want my thoughts out now!

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ash-and-books · 9 months

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Rating: 5/5

Book Blurb: Murry Summerfield, relentlessly decent son of the farmstead, meets Jacob Durris, charming but troubled new neighbor. When he discovers why Jacob has moved out to the countryside, Murry has his hands full keeping his friend happy and dealing with his own blossoming feelings.

Review:

THIS IS THE CUTEST BOOK EVER!!!! PERIOD!!!! The story follows Murry Summerfield, the embodiment of a golden retriever. He's a farmer, football player, and dreams about becoming a vet. Then he meets Jacob Durris, the very embodiment of a black cat. Jacob is new in town and has just come from the city, he's an artist and is homeschooled. Jacob is shy, reserved, and has his own secrets. Yet the more time Murry and Jacob spend together the more they begin to fall for one another. This was one of the sweetest and most adorable countryside love stories with such a sweet and adorable couple. I seriously need an entire series of their relationship and life together because I just can't get enough of them!!

*Thanks Netgalley and Yen Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

#book review #bookish #graphic novel #lgbtq reasd #lgbtq books #cassandra jean #mosskat #cuckoos three

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multifairyus · 1 year

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Genuine question about the Legendborn series do you know how many books are set to be in the series ? Or is that it just those two that have come out ? Also if someone wanted to get into the series how would you persuade them to read it?

The Appeal of the Legendborn Cycle Series

According to Deon’s website, it was planned as a trilogy…the wording makes me hold out hope for more books, especially since it was announced in February that we’re getting a TV series

Onto how I’d persuade them to read it: whew boy do I have THOUGHTS

Tl; dr:

1. Magic system is enhanced by being grounded in reality; the book itself stays grounded by being easy to read while maintaining mystique and intrigue

2. Complex character interactions that arise naturally from strong characterizations and a dynamic plot allow for compelling love interests/a believable love triangle.

3. Themes of grief, identity, heritage, and agency are elevated by the unique perspective of a teenage black girl in the American south.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

• It’s a YA book, young adult. IDK how old you are or the people you wanna persuade. Most people stop reading before finishing high school and aren’t likely to pick up books that a) require a lot of background/genre knowledge to understand b) dense syntax and complicated plots. The Legendborn Cycle (TLC) being YA counters both of these issues. It’s audiobook is an excellent way to consume it, since ~500 pages is a big ask for people who aren’t readers all. Emotive with distinctive character voices.

• TLC subverts and/or reimagines major writing tropes in a way that is satisfying and compelling, not just as a “gotcha” to shock the audience. Getting into HOW exactly is major spoiler territory, but in general you could mention secret magical societies, lines of succession, love triangles, magic systems…you can’t build a story without tropes, but using them in interesting ways is how you circumvent it being cookie cutter.

• Very solid worldbuilding. It’s Urban Fantasy without forgetting the “Urban” part. While the plot doesn’t focus much on Onceborns, the fact that TLC touches on how a magical institution would last for centuries as a secret keeps things grounded without getting bogged down with worldbuilding details that don’t come into play later. Getting into Bloodmarked is spoiler territory…but you could mention how TLC has draws analogies between the consolidation, conservation, and enforcement of power within the Legendborn world and within real life society. That’s the focus in the first book. The second book sets up main characters to have even more dynamic character arcs as their worldview expands alongside the reader.

• Thus far, nothing feels like fluff or filler. All the worldbuilding, character dynamics/interactions, and plot threads are followed through, or set up for something later on. Callbacks and echos galore. Lots of rereading value.

• Bree, Nick, and Sel’s relationships are interesting BECAUSE of the plot, not the other way around. Their feelings for each other are informed by revelations in what they do *outside* of pining for each other. The “insta first love golden retriever” Nick and “secretly dedicated argumentative black cat” Sel have more depth than those tropes would imply. The same traits that manifest as romance to Bree, but look different to side characters—and especially to each other—while still being consistent overall. The fact that the two HAVE so much history with each other is entirely because of plot reasons, which means it will always carry weight in how they interact with each other and with Bree. You can argue that one romance is more compelling than the other (I am an unabashed Brelwyn/BreeSel endgame shipper) but you can’t argue that there is an actual dilemma for the main character, Bree—which is all that matters for a compelling love story, triangular or otherwise. AND it doesn’t subsume the whole plot—it’s adventure first and a romance second with plenty of room to fill in details yourself.

Okay I think that’s a good enough answer to your question without straight up ranting about how much I love this damn book series lol. Hope that was helpful!

#legendborn #the legendborn cycle #bloodmarked #askme #omg can you tell this is my first one #shiii got me blushin and everything you want MY opinion?#be careful what you ask for cuz I won’t shut up about this #book review

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myrozendream · 10 days

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Myungdae Profile

Demographics

Name: Myungdae (Wolfie/Neugdae)

Age: 23

Birthday/Zodiac: March 23 / Aries

Sex/Gender: Male (He/Him)

Ethnicity: Thai-Korean

Sexuality: Demi-Pan (Extreme Demi)

Occupation: Actor

Education: Bachelor's in Business Administration

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Physical Appearance

Eye color: Black

Skin color: Golden/Tan/Dark Peach

Hair color: Black

Height: 6ft 2in

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History

Place of birth: Thailand

Key family members: Dao (Mom), Jihoon (Dad), Eunji (Sister), Chunhwa (Sister)

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Languages known: Thai, Korean, German, and currently learning English

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Relationships

Partner(s)/Significant other(s): Rozen (Rose/Rosie/Ro)

Parents/Guardians: Dao (Mother) and Jihoon (Father

Children: None currently, but he does want a child with Rose in the future.

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Pets: Taeyang (American Curl Cat) and Wolfram (Golden Retriever)

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#profile #myungdae

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