#there are soooo many additional plot points

[luffysprincess]

Your games are always the highlight of my tumblr week ♡ Today I choose Alhaitham

I know you already know vaguely that me and Alhaitham don't know how we ended up together, let alone how we ended up with a child. We see for like 2 weeks every 2 months because of our undercover line of work. What you dont know yet though is that her name is Aurelia. It means Moon Jellyfish. I didn't know this, and just fell in love with the name. As basically a genius he did know this though, and hates the name jkashdjkahsdj. But I won, and now she has a pet Jellyfish that he caught her. He named it Channary, meaning moon girl. He did this to be a smartass but she loves it and is none the wiser.

We literally have no idea when we started dating, we just know that one day we were in love against our will.

Our daughter lives with his grandmother that gives him hell but absolutely loves me. She does hate that we won't just work regular jobs and be at home with the family though.

Our wedding was a small one, with a max of 30 people, just those closest to us. We planned it and were wed in less than 2 months but it looked so gorgeous it was as if i took 2 years. Kaveh still lived with us until our child was born. She was born about 3-4 years after we got married.

I think that's somehow more than 5 facts idk i was into it i'm sorry kajbsdjkashd Anyways, I cant wait to see this. I'm still completely OBSESSED with your k-drama you made me for my bday with Jackson Wang ♡

⌱ TITLE: The Dagger of His Heart

⌱ GENRE: Historical Romance, Action, Adventure

⌱ PREDOMINANT TROPE(S): strangers to frenemies to lovers; almost arranged marriage but one of them ran away

⌱ SYNOPSIS:

As word spreads across the Kingdom of Ilm of a vigilante who goes by the name Ryder, Prince Alhaitham sends orders to capture “him” in hopes of easing civilian’s unrest. So when Ryder continues to evade each ploy to capture themself, Alhaitham gets restless and ventures out in the desert himself to find his target. But things take a turn when Ryder captures him instead. Even more so when the prince finds out Ryder’s true identity and the real reason she’s kidnapped him. Now he must decide if the notorious vigilante is to be trusted and learn who his true enemies are.

⌱ ADDITIONAL PLOT POINTS:

In case it wasn’t clear, Ryder is thought to be a male by everyone. However, Alhaitham figures out very cleverly that she’s female the first time he sees her in person.

Ryder’s true identity is that of the runaway princess of the kingdom across the desert. It’s been three years since her disappearance. Alhaitham figured this out on his own as well, shortly after meeting her.

The reason why she ran away and is now capturing Alhaitham is bc she knows the corrupt secrets of both kingdoms and needs his help to end it all. Which he accepts.

Alhaitham is instantly impressed by Ryder the first time he heard any news of her. He was secretly rooting her persona on everytime news came of a vigilante raiding an army base etc etc.

Alhaitham and Ryder bicker a looooot. On their adventure, they are assumed a married couple multiple times bc of it.

First kiss happens in book 2, pg 286 when the two are running away from a deadly group and hide in an alleyway. The tight space and need to stay hidden pressures the prince to swoop down and kiss her. And then they kiss again and again…and again for a looong time.

Ryder’s true name is revealed to Alhaitham but it’s never written out in the book. The author chose for only Alhaitham to ever know her name. Not even readers are privy to this information.

⌱ AESTHETIC:

[quinnfebrey]

WICKED PT. 1 REVIEW

(spoiler free*)

*spoiler free is used generously, there are no major or intentional spoilers but i make no promises for smaller things.

casting:

going into it thought the casting would be the weakest point, but i was pleasantly surprised. that said, i think jon chu’s reasoning for not casting unknowns was total bs and he just wanted a star-studded cast. i also wish they were younger. it was kind of giving movie ben platt terrorizing the teenagers of dear evan hansen. it works for the stage, but my belief was not suspended on the big screen. so while i don’t necessarily agree with how we got here, objectively they were great.

production:

honestly it looked amazing, i wish some parts were graded with a little more contrast, but the colors weren’t muted at all and i thought the cinematography was the perfect level of dramatic and interesting. the highlight was the emerald city. nothing else really stuck out to me in particular but the first 30 seconds or so of one short day looked AMAZING.

the singing:

sounded phenomenal, and this is coming from someone who heard the trailers and panicked. i don’t know what they did in post to make them sound so awful and processed in the trailers, but the movie itself sounded great.

the acting:

i wanted… more. jonathan has such an overly expressive face that worked so well, but cynthia was just the smirk emoji for 2.5 hours and ariana looked like this 🙂 the entire time. they had their moments, of course, but with all the added dialogue (and no song to carry the emotion) i wanted more of a performance.

why the fuck was it 2.5 hours?

i don’t know man. i understood (and enjoyed) some of the additions, but there were an equal number that didn’t add anything, and there were so many scenes where i was like whyyyy is this taking so long. it felt like they were trying to (unsuccessfully) justify the runtime instead of it being a natural result.

2-part split:

this is by far my biggest criticism of the movie. the ending was done BEAUTIFULLY, but the year gap will kill the momentum. i 100% believe that splitting it into two parts will take away from the viewing experience. i actually didn’t have a problem with the splitting when it was first announced, but now that i’ve seen part 1 it feels like a forced cash grab.

rewatchability:

even though i actually really liked it, i don’t think i’d ever electively put it on instead of a stage recording.

SONG BREAKDOWNS:

no one mourns the wicked

a fantastic opening. i went into the movie very skeptical, but it managed to win me over on all accounts. it had the richness and fullness you’d expect + beautiful visuals and ariana proves her doubters (me) wrong immediately.

dear old shiz

the song is nearly identical to the musical, but the changed staging was odd (but also insignificant in a way that made it even more odd).

the wizard and i

i blame the directing for why this song fell flat for me. they toned down the physical animation of elphaba but didn’t add anything else so it was sort of just her walking around and singing at us. also didn’t super love cynthia’s take on it until the last verse, which was phenomenal, probably because the directing didn’t let her do anything with it.

what is this feeling?

SOOOO GOOD!! it sounded amazing, looked amazing, the ensemble was amazing. THIS is what a movie musical is supposed to do: take what was great on stage and expand in a way that is only possible on film. it was fun and inviting and probably one of the strongest numbers in the entire movie.

something bad

i liked what they did with this in terms of the pacing, and i also like that it helped bolster the animal side plot instead of it getting swept into the songs on either side. the singing was unmemorable but the scene was very effective.

dancing through life

i have SUCH mixed feelings on this. i absolutely loved it up until the break when glinda gives elphaba the hat. jonathan sounded amazing, the dancing and cinematography was perfect, but the pacing and flow was totally ruined after what should’ve been a brief interlude for plot. the moment between elphaba and glinda is very strong and still made me cry, but the middle section was just so off-putting.

popular

sooooo good. ariana sounded amazing, and the directing was perfectly energetic. it felt like a music video in the best way. the colors, cinematography, and storytelling was great. they did manage to strip all of the homoeroticism out of it, and ariana’s yuh made a few valiant attempts to escape, but neither detracted from the final product.

i’m not that girl

same issue as wizard and i, i didn’t want just another three minutes of elphaba standing around singing to the camera. the last verse was the best because there was actually something happening visually, which i think also made cynthia sound better. the monologue style number works on stage for a variety of reasons, but felt like a waste of screen time in the movie.

one short day

first 30-60 seconds are AMAZING. took the energy of the stage and shot it to the moon. it actually made me tear up and i have no complaints. the added interlude was a little long, but i’m a sucker for nostalgia bait so i’ll allow it.

a sentimental man

ummm i hated it lol. it felt SO out of place due to some poor (in my opinion) script additions, and the singing wasn’t anything special. the jeff goldblum cameo made them give the wizard way too much emphasis at that point and it completely disrupted the flow of the movie

defying gravity

except for (another) unnecessarily long interlude, this was everything i was waiting for and more. ariana and cynthia sounded amazing together and cynthia sounded PHENOMENAL. ariana delivered the “well, where are your wings?” line perfectly, which is usually for me a weak point with a lot of glindas; and the “i hope you’re happy now that you’re choosing this” verse was perfection both visually and vocally. overall, it did what it was supposed to do: it wrapped up the first act beautifully and showcased cynthia’s voice.

[abracazabka]

Good Mx... I am here to ask about your favorite trans Dutch headcanons and if there are any pics you recommend 🫣

OH BOY A FAVORITE TOPIC OF MINE!!!

I'll start off this ask by recommending this fic, "Fight Like a Man" by my good friend @miyagi-hokarate , a mutual with whom I've discussed trans Dutch at length, and who has contributed to many of my headcanons about Dutch. Much of what I say here will be because of discussions with them. Now, on to it:

My idea of a trans Dutch is that, similar to a lot of trans folks (me cough cough) he has a pretty bad relationship with his parents, especially his dad. They don't like to acknowledge his identity or, really, their son. And at times neither does Dutch, for a while. He wants to prove his maleness through the only way he knows how, and sometimes that means hiding who he is. He has a lot of internalized misogyny and the militaristic rhetoric about masculinity Kreese spews has shaped who he is as a young man. (points very conspicuously to the aforementioned fic). However, post-TKK I do think he comes into his own as a proud trans guy and the Cobras are entirely supportive. Duh.

(I - we, I should say, as these are very joint heacanons - think Tommy knew first out of all the Cobras. Because I'm a Dutch/Tommy truther lol.)

Dutch canonically is a wild child and this would be the case with or without a trans identity. However, I think as a young kid he was a "problem child" because he knew basically most of his life he was a boy. (again, jerks my head in the direction of that fabulous fic). I think later in his life he is perfectly fine, however, referring to his childhood as "when he was a girl." This is a point of contention amongst trans folks, but as an older trans guy, and someone very blunt, Dutch would refer to his childhood that way.

Anyway I love trans Dutch because Dutch is soooo problematic. "Is that allowed, can you make a problematic character trans?" Yeah, sure, just did. He's my favorite terrible man in the world.

Now as far as photos, I dont really have any which mark Dutch as trans. Obviously the film does not present him this way, this is my personal headcanon for a good time.

But scenes I'd draw your attention to are at the tournament, when Dutch is waiting on the sidelines during the whole montage of fighting. He is bouncing up and down and cannot contain all this violent energy. This, in addition to the locker scene where he is very aggressive toward Daniel, is where my interest in his presentation of masculinity is most centered. He has an idea of a what a man is, and as we know from the whole damn plot of the movie, it's not the greatest. The Cobras have this toxic idea too, but it's so interesting for a trans guy. The scene with Daniel, miyagi-hokarate and I really obsess over, because Dutch has this intense aggression and hatred for how Daniel presents himself as a man. Daniel's masculinity is notably different than the Cobras, but Dutch feels he can't be the kind and earnest kind of young man Daniel is, because then he's not really a man. Because surely, Kreese is the best example of what it means to be a man...(incorrect buzzer sound)

I do suggest searching up trans Dutch on tumblr search, because I feel like there's at least 1 or 2 fanarts out there.

Sorry for rambling I truly could go on for an age but Uh, Nah Lol AJFJRJFJ but yes hehe. My fevered thoughts. Go follow @miyagi-hokarate if you dont already ❤️

[hakuyan]

Was bored at work so… here are my rankings of all KOTOR 1 & 2 ships with more than 1 fic on AO3, with commentary.

KOTOR 1

1: Revan/Malak

“The apprentice has learned his final lesson.”

Peers to war criminals to Sith mentor & apprentice to enemies to strangers (??). It’s so good. Insert romance at any point and it’s going to be delicious.

2: Revan/Bastila

Did not expect it to be so high, but I guess forcebond romance got me. The melding of minds really does it for me. I do find I like the concept of it more than the actual execution (some of those romance dialogues are soooo 2000’s, in a bad way).

3: Canderous/Revan

“I’m your man until the end, Revan, no matter how this plays out.” 

Sentences that changed the course of humanity. Those two have so much history. The mutual respect!! The tragedy!!! I especially love the line from Kreia to Mandalore is Revan was female and dark-sided: “Do you wonder where she wanders now, Mandalore? Why she cast you down, left you broken, at the edge of the galaxy?” guhhhhhh

4: Belaya/Juhani

Cute, and I love the fact that Belaya can become a Sith if you kill Juhani.

5: Juhani/Revan

Another go at “loving the champion”, which I enjoy it a little less than Atris/Exile (but enjoy nonetheless). I cannot imagine what went on Juhani’s head when Revan’s identity was revealed, but it’s bound to be delicious.

6: Carth/Canderous

“Nice speech. I bet you tell yourself that every night so you can sleep.”

I wish this was more popular. Their banter was rather enjoyable and I love enemies to lovers. Could even span into K2 with them communicating through Mical (lol). You can also add them both being left behind by Revan and bonding about that.

7: Carth/Revan

“You were born out of the loop.”

I never actually completed this romance and I’m not particularly fond of it. But the dark side ending seems pretty cool.

8: Carth/Bastila

Both are so high-strung and responsible, this would probably never happen barring some sort of space sex pollen scenario. That’s exactly why I want to see it.

9: Canderous/Bastila

Never considered this but I’m so intrigued. The Jedi princess and her questionable decisions…

10: HK-47/Revan

Hmmm…

11: Juhani/Bastila

Seems unlikely.

12: Revan/Mission

Yeah no.

13: Carth/Wife

There’s basically nothing.

14: Yuthura/Revan

It’s so low not because I don’t like it, but because Bastila/Yuthura wasn’t on the list and it’s so much better.

Multi (also ordered from most to least liked):

Malak/Carth/Revan: Revan between her old and new romance, also the funniest possible thing to ever play out in front of Saul Carath.

Carth/Canderous/Revan: Revan and her lapdogs :3

Malak/Revan/Bastila: the evil throuple.

Juhani/Revan/Bastila: the lesbian troubled Jedi throuple. Honestly, would prefer them bonding as friends.

Carth/Bastila/Revan: pretty milquetoast and somehow less than the sum of its parts.

KOTOR 2

1: Exile/Atton

“You'll be right here with me, playing pazaak, where they can't reach you.”

They honestly have my heart, the perfect couple in that they’re anything but perfect. There’s so many ways this can go, so many ways Exile can redeem Atton or make him worse. The pathetic flirting. The yearning. The self-sacrifice. Everywhere she goes, he follows.

2: Atris/Exile

Atris is one of my favorites, and the tragic love for the Exile is such a good addition to her character. Toxic exes, except the Exile seems kind of unaffected… meanwhile Atris is plotting her demise while clutching her old lightsaber to her chest. Delicious!

3: Bao-Dur/Exile

“Your command echoes still, General. And I obey, as I did at Malachor V.”

Beautiful, haunting romance, made all the more tragic with how Bao-Dur just disappears for the last act. Forever heartbroken about them.

4: Exile/Kreia

“There is no truth in the Force. But there is truth in you, Exile.”

Love treacherous mentors, especially those as who can articulate their affection as beautifully as Kreia.

5: Exile/Mical

“Your muscle tone looks good, you response time seems excellent, and I see nothing that would otherwise impair your health. You have the same vitality about you that you seem to possess, no matter what the circumstances.”

In a vacuum, this is boring, but I replayed K2 recently and the fact that Mical could’ve been the Exile’s apprentice is… interesting. Even wrote a fic about it. Once I write fic about something, I’ll always have a soft spot for it.

6: Brianna/Exile

Yes, Brianna, please abandon your cult and break all your vows for the Exile <3 

7: Exile/Visas

“Where they look at you and see the death of the Force, I look at you and see hope for all life.”

It’s sweet.

8: Brianna/Visas

There’s criminally little fic of them? I might have to write my own.

9: Atris/First Handmaiden

There are exactly 2 fics of them, both written by the same user, but I approve wholeheartedly: Atris should kiss more women. Like do we think they ever got cabin fever in the polar academy.

10: Exile/Sion

Exile/Atton at home... but this dynamic is compelling too.

11: Arren/Yusanis

We know next to nothing of them, but adhering to the Arren Kae = Kreia theory, I love the battle couple image this invokes.

12: Brianna/Atton

Listen. Hear me out… just listen… This would be so dysfunctional and so hot…

13: Exile/Luxa

A hot bisexual woman flirts with me and I do as she asks. Simple as.

14: Mical/Atton

Ehhh…

15: Exile/Kavar

A ship that seemed to be surprisingly popular... then I realized most if not all fics were written by the same person. Respect.

16: Brianna/Mira

I can see them getting along and wish we saw more of that in the game.

17: Brianna/Mical

They don’t even interact in the game, but I can see it. Liking the jock/nerd dynamic and especially the fact that it sort of reverses—after all, Mical is a soldier, and Brianna will become a Jedi historian in the future.

18: Bao-Dur/Visas

Cute.

19: Visas/Mira

Brought them to the tomb of Freedon Nadd once, and Mira warned Visas against interacting with the Dark side energy. It was cute enough.

20: Exile/Mira

There’s so many Exile ships I can see happening but not this one. Like the vision is just not there.

21: Visas/Nihilus

Not safe, sane, or consensual… of course there’s fic of them.

22: Exile/Revan

I’ve never been that interested in Revan/Exile. Perhaps because both of them are essentially OCs, and it’s hard to pin the dynamic down.

23: Malak/Exile

Why this has fics at all is sort of beyond me.

Multi:

Bao-Dur/Exile/Atton: I mean, who could possibly choose between those two…

Exile/Visas/Atton: ah yes, the Exile and those two who’ll always approve of them no matter what, who’ll happily do their bidding in any case.

Malak/Revan/Exile: somehow this concept just fails to interest me.

[sybaritick]

ok actually fuck it i will talk about one of my random feedist wips i was tagging about here

my description of it to a friend:

i did start writing a little bit of it at some point a few months ago, and, how very feminist of me i actually decided to do it m/f with the girl as the dom feeder. a bit of near future speculative stuff but mostly realistic. however the "plot" is 110% self-indulgent. girl is obsessed with him because he's a journalist trying to expose this whole "food additive that kind of drugs you into obsession with overeating" thing... and therefore he is trying very hard to avoid a particular list of brands and things that might contain it. of course, that list grows by the day. of course, he knows too much, so she needs to get rid of him. but he's also kind of cute, isn't he? i mean, not quite her type yet but she sees some real potential in that skinnyfat 20something little belly. boy's all lanky and fidgety and increasingly paranoid. would be a shame to take care of him without at least... taking care of him. :)

tl;dr as part of the normal course of trying to engineer more craveable, chemically-delicious fast food this lab stumbles upon a supremely effective drug but for an effect vanishingly few people would actually want (that is... craving-inducing and metabolism-destroying in a way that causes like 90% of people who are regularly exposed to 1) gain significant weight, and 2) experience pretty strong chemical addiction.) the thing is that i don't necessarily think it is much more than what existing medication causes-- some people end up gaining significant weight as a side effect of gabapentin or prednisone or antipsychotics. i want to do more in-depth research for the science here but i want something with a bit more consistency and with that as the primary effect. but what is relevant is that it is not ultra-sudden-instantly-fat because while i understand the appeal of that it's just not my sort of thing, i am obsessed with a more gradual change.

anyway. hides the longer-term studies, manages to get it considered Generally Recognized As Safe by the FDA, and gets enough people coming back for it that it's starting to look... weird. and suspicious. cue the journalist investigating this with a company that is increasingly unwilling to talk about what's going on.

but he will eventually discover the head of R&D seems to have things other than just the profit motive in mind, shall we say. look she's living out her dream here watching this cascade across the population as people try to figure out the cause (and she tries to evade actual blame for it.) girl you better burn any evidence of those studies before you're having them read to you in court...

but What You Can't Have is always such a temptation and this particular guy's insistence on taking on the company alone betrays he has read a few too many cute stories where the underdog wins the day. the truth will get out in the end, right? the good guys win.

anyway 'ts like catnip to her. who would not daydream about declawing him and keeping him as a trophy. he's soooo paranoid about accidentally taking a good few doses of this little concoction in his food. it's not like it'll make you forget about this little crusade! at worst you'll put on a few pounds and find yourself with a bit more of a french fry habit. what's the harm, hm? is it really worth being such a conspiracist? sorry, with a schedule like hers the only time she's available to talk this week is for a lunch meeting, but she knows a good place...

[sazorak]

Every Game I Played in 2023, Ranked

I debated moving this list to Cohost (after all these years, the Tumblr text post interface still makes me want to punch a wall) but whatever, here we are! Keeping it relatively short this year.

A lot of the games I played aren't going to be on this list because I don't have much new to say about them (MTG, Dwarf Fortress, Strive, etc), but for those that I do, here's the games I played this year.

2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022

SD Gundam Battle Alliance - 2022 - Steam - ★★★

I really wanted to like this- you know I like me some Gundam- but the experience is simultaneously too thin, too grindy, and bereft of stakes. There's nothing like "oh no we have to preserve the Gundam metaverse from hackers ruining the archived story!" to make me go to sleep.

There's something about the progression system of every "hey, gotta catch 'em all!"-ish Gundam games that is designed exclusively for people who either played these games in the early 00s, or people with addictive personalities. There's been little in the way of evolution. Yeah, the gameplay here is different as a sort of Action RPG, but this is far more Dynasty Warriors than it is say Armored Core.

Just not for me!

... Where's my new Super Robot Wars at damn it?

9. Pokemon Scarlet/Violet DLC - 2023 - Switch - ★★★★

I talked last year about how I mostly liked this game in spite of its many, many issues. The DLC mostly plays to SV's strengths: fun plot and characters, improved open world catching system from Sword/Shield. They also run considerably better, due to a year of opportunity to make things more stable and address bugs.

That said: It doesn't address any of the other issues that have always been there. Open world exploration becomes kind of pointless when you have the ability to invalidate any level geometry. There is such a thing as too much mobility, believe it or not, when you can just jump over everything. At the same time, the ways cutscenes work is soooo slowwwww, to the point that getting through them to the "action" can be quite tedious.

This DLC also continues the unfortunate thing that drives me nuts about all these DLC, that the level scaling is just awful. It basically assumes you have done literally nothing since finishing Scarlet Violet, and not engaged at all with the post game. Which hey, works out for Lil Timmy who is experiencing this DLC in-line with the base game or only after beating it (since it does dynamically scale for earlier progression), but it makes the whole thing kind of a rote exercise for those who actually played the game more than that?

I realize this is multiple decades now of me barking that hey, it'd be nice if Pokemon didn't exclusively try to appeal to 5 year olds, which is definitely a lost cause at this point. We don't even get stuff like Battle Towers or Frontiers anymore really. Ah well!

8. Street Fighter 6 - 2023 - Steam - ★★★★

Ok, here's the thing: Street Fighter 6 is overall a very good game, lots of care and polish, but I got a few bones to pick with it.

1. I kind of hate its input buffer. Just drives me nuts, particularly with how it handles supers and specials with overlapping inputs.

2. World Tour while is neat, the progression of it is so goddamn grindy and miserable. So much HP for enemies as you go on, and you don't have access to a fighter's full skill set even at the very end due to how special "slots" work.

3. The cast feels too safe. I like the new additions a lot, and in general the old chars have been rendered quite well, but there's just not a lot of innovation going on. The system mechanics are quite good, but it's the thing where no one on the cast really calls out to me. Personal taste thing.

Marvel's Spider-Man - 2022 - Steam - ★★★★

I don't think I have anything particularly unique to say about The Spider-Man Experience beyond hey: that's a pretty good Spider-Man. I think the DLC was obnoxious as shit, and a number of the decisions tied to box-checking-completionist stuff were mean for someone like me who has the stupid brain that thinks it's important to do Everything no matter how tedious it is, but overall: a good Spider-Man. Some of the villain stuff felt pretty weak though.

7. Resident Evil 4 Remake - 2023 - Steam - ★★★★★

A great remake! They trimmed down some areas a fair but, but none of them particularly egregious (some of them, particularly a last act boss being removed, was quite appreciated), and the mechanical additions are fun.

Does it invalidate the old version? I dunno, maybe?

6. We Love Katamari Re:Roll - 2023 - Steam / Switch - ★★★★★

Hey, you know what's also a very good game? We Love Katamari. Not much new to say beyond hey: the name is accurate, and you should buy and play it. I liked it enough to buy it twice on two platforms, which is silly but it gave me the excuse to play more Katamari so quite understandable.

A thing that does annoy me about the game is them reusing certain models from the other Katamari Remake, even when they were deliberately replaced in We Love Katamari and are even called out as different in the item descriptions despite not being so. Arrgh. It doesn't really matter, but I got the dumb brain for that kind of thing.

5. Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising - 2023 - Steam - ★★★★★

A fighting game that I enjoyed years past now has actually good netcode! The mechanical additions have been very nice, and I've been enjoying myself grinding away for my meager gains. It's also funny having skipped all the base game's DLC and coming in now, since it's like this release just added 20 more chars I'd otherwise not engaged with before.

A ton of polish has made this a fantastic package across the board, so many smart decisions and little details. I'm sure for GranBlue gacha fans it's probably incredible as something that pays tribute as well.

… but see, my main annoyance with the game mostly ties to being unable to stand the source material it pulls from. It's not enough to diminish my positive feelings for the game, but none the less: man, everything about the lore and characters themselves just does NOTHING for me. This is nothing particularly unique to GranBlue itself even, it's pretty in line with how I feel about every gacha title that exists to roll out chars and appeal to as many niches as possible without real forward movement or actual story, but hey here we are.

Looking forward to that 2B.

4. Baldur's Gate 3 - 2023 - Steam - ★★★★★

A game I admittedly haven't completed yet (I got up to a certain kidnapping in the last act and had to set it aside due to stuff repeatedly coming up for the past couple months) but still: this is a very good tactical RPG. I enjoy the writing, characters, and gameplay quite a lot. A ton of polish went into this.

I don't think I have much to say about it that hasn't been said by others, especially with all the Discourse that has circled it for months-to-years now across Early Access into release.

If there's one thing that does kind of annoy me about the game design, it's the way the player characters are handled. You have the option during character creator to create a character with a number of character-build-y backgrounds, or use their pre-built characters that have existing stories. This choice is lose-lose.

A fully custom character is blank, unimportant. There's nothing special about them beyond their affinity with a certain orb and being Protagonist Man. Their background doesn't really matter, even as you express your personality. You have nothing behind you that meaningfully comes up or affects the story (no Gorion, etc) beyond your role in the conflict. In other words, there's not a lot of reason for you to exist except as a cypher for the named characters.

Playing one of the named characters also sucks, because you lose those the writing for those characters. If I'm stuck aping Karlach, I have no Karlach in my party. You barely even get voice acting once you choose to play those characters either. You effectively end up with less writing and characterization, which kind of sucks! Yes, you do get your backgrounds being looped in and mattering more, which is indeed something, but not enough.

There is secretly a third option that, the more I think about it, is the correct one, they just don't tell you it. You can choose your character background to be tied to the Dark Urge, which results in a lot unique interactions, gives your character an actual background and comes up, etc. They don't outright make this the main option presumably because it comes with a lot of baggage (which, yeah, it does), but it seems completely worth it by comparison to just flitting through the story as either a ghost or the phantom of a real character.

3. Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective Remastered - 2023 - Steam - ★★★★★

Play Ghost Trick.

2. Armored Core VI - 2023 - Steam - ★★★★★

From Software continues to not miss. Fantastic game, some of the most satisfying mecha combat I've played. Story is great; it's still your usual "oops we're not explaining much other than in medias res or by circumstantial details" that From Soft has continued to double down on, but I really enjoy that stuff so hey. I 100%'d this game, got all the endings etc. Great stuff.

Really want some proper DLC so I can do even more, though.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom - 2023 - Steam - ★★★★★

Let's face it: this wasn't going to end any other way. Breath of the Wild is probably my favorite game of all time, and this is basically just more of that, remixed and remastered into a Second Quest that builds on the first one.

Something I kept thinking about while playing is that while there is volumetrically more to do, more things happening, more mechanics, etc etc, the different approach it takes in terms of focus and approach doesn't make it necessarily a "strictly better" version of Breath of the Wild.

Breath of the Wild was deliberately spare, quiet, and minimalist. Like the name says, its about the quiet wilderness, a poignant world that you explore. Tears of the Kingdom drops much of that, in many ways turning into a kooky madcap version of BOTW. You don't spent nearly as much time smelling the roses and taking in the scenery, as you're often too busy blasting by using any number of the new movement abilities or combat tools or literal flying machines you can now Nuts and Bolts together.

It's a deliberate escalation, one that in my opinion requires the preceding part to work. They add together into one complete singular experience, rather than pulling against each other. That's awesome, exactly what I wanted. Now I get to have two favorite games of all time that are secretly just one-and-the-same.

Some minor thoughts:

1. Lots of great writing and characterization, built up well on BOTW there.

2. It's kind of funny how much it goes out of the way to avoid talking much about BOTW in case someone plays this game first.

3. The last of a Master mode this time around is kind of a bummer but oh well!

4. The vehicle crafting system and everything about it, including the way it plays into the existing physics system is fucking insane. Absolutely incredible game design. Bonkers.

I'm really curious how the hell they're going to follow these games up. Going back to square-0 from this formula- one that is so built up and diverse, seems like it'd be impossible to me. What the hell could you do? Looking forward to finding out.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

No because Karasu just has it all no one compares to him like Aoyama stressing for good reason LMAOO

Fr no in between….Mira once again serving the community with realistic dynamic representations….

LMAOOO EXACTLY that was my exact vision for Otoya!! I think it works esp well because we know he’s such a good with the flow dude…so he’d be like ok welp boxers are swag

FR im so excited for Karasu content because I’d imagine we’d get at least like two more chapters worth of Karasu panels soooo (please let him appear more in the main series too omg) another visual added to the manifestation circle

He’s so gorgeous in the epinagi series!!! I think it’s also because the artist has more time to like thoughtfully draw everything out so there’s not as many low quality npc type panels or moments LOL

LMAO good luck coming up with the au theme!! In Mira we trust part 15 but omg a title already…is this top secret….if not…..I’d love to hear it….

SHSHSH stop this has me kicking my feet we’re like y/n and tullia in the Miraverse but on tumblr LMAOOO but SAME sometimes crack is refreshing like I’ll never saw no to a goofy moment where no one’s dying but instead they’re just involved in crazy stupid shenanigans

HSJSHSJS you’re about to collect the entire bllk cast with that thinking /j it’s ok we steer you away and back to the tabietiaken side character agenda….but yeah something about ness just doesn’t do it for me LOL but FRR I remember following along with the chameleon/Charizard rebellious phase I ate up that drama

LMFAOOOOOO BRO BROCK I can’t that’s so funny….im ngl I always lowk made fun of Brock because he’d always go for all the nurse joys and office jennys and any adult female…maybe this was the first sign to your Otoya conversion HAHA ok but you are onto something….bro knows first aid and can cook well it fr is Otoya x Barou love child……kinda a player but I’d like to think he wouldn’t cheat and also husband material without all the yelling LMAOOO

Im ngl whenever I think of Brock I think of his croagunk coming to reign him in in the Sinnoh season and also his iconic line “I’ll use this frying pan as a drying pan” when they were running in the rain….so many good memories….

Ok responding to the other response here too so I don’t keep piling on asks

TULLIA >>>>> I’ll never get over her death in pi though…I was so invested I thought she’d end up happy with toge but no??? Anyways….but I see what you mean!! I think like a lot of the insert fics I’ve seen where the mc actually enters bllk it ends up just kinda following the plot of bllk but with the addition of the mc into the main character group and that setting makes it a bit hard to add canon divergent scenes that show character growth etc…..honestly the smau was perfect because we get to see the character interactions in the realm of “girls in bllk” while not having to worry about the logistical details of plot and whatnot LOL

LMAOO Otoya and Shidou a menace to everyone in bllk im crying Karasu getting constantly targeted and attacked was hilarious and it was honestly how I envisioned their characters to be like too sooooo (the head nod emojis crack me up in general they’re so goofy but SHIDOU using them just amplified the effect by like ten times)

I snorted at that part like bro really tweeted onto social media “please take me in as your child pls I need parents get married and hurry up”

THE GRAMMAR GUARDIAN + THE ALTERNATIVE INTERPRETATION OF TBE WORDS BEING A POINT OF TEASING ISAGI WAS GOLD like I read that part and really thought “this is so big brained omg this is hilarious”

PLS DO!! These were so entertaining to read LOLLL

ALSO apparently there’s some live/talk show going on in the next day or so with some of the vas where they’re gonna release new info on s2….will keep you posted if I see anything…..

- Karasu anon

words cannot describe how perf karasu is 😔 truly i feel like i haven’t liked a character this much in AGESSSS (besides nagi) like bllk really reignited smth in me!! and YES for sure there’s def a time constraint thing but also idk if you compare otoya or barou in epinagi with karasu specifically it’s just like damn…not even trying to hide who the fav is 😭 although maybe i’m just biased because he’s MY fav

i have a few titles floating around so ofc it’s subject to change especially based on what i actually end up writing abt but atm my fav is “dragonfly dance” 🤔 haven’t picked an au yet but i’m getting a very sad feel based on what’s brewing in my mind ☝🏻 not angry sad the way hollyhock is but like regretful sad if that makes sense 😰 smth abt fighting an inevitable destiny but knowing deep down you can’t really change it…we will see though maybe it’ll end up being smth more lighthearted!!

i think brock would be so happy to have a girl be into him that the thought of cheating would NOT cross his mind he’s like peak malewife material 🤩 PLS the frying pan like is so good 😭 he’s so iconic tbh the first few seasons of pokémon looking back were SO funny on a level that i as a child could not comprehend

LMAOOO i fr pulled up w a spin move there her death in pi was so brutal honestly 😓 but yk me letting my readers be happy is a new development and a bllkverse exclusive normally i’m much meaner!! and i will say that in this version in my mind mc is actually in a different wing altogether during the first selection…she was on the same first selection team as other characters we know (maybe like hiori and aryu??) and she was def on team z but not THE team z ☝🏻 meanwhile tullia was in yet another wing (maybe with shidou) so definitely opportunities to branch away from the main plot!! but then mc and tullia do end up as 2 and 3 during second selection (replacing aryu and tokimitsu) because they’re professional players so they can score 100 goals much faster than the others which means we do circle back to being alongside the manga storyline 😔💔 i don’t even have an issue with following canon because idm messing with that — it’s more so that there isn’t necessarily a CONFLICT for the mc besides being a girl?? but she’s a way better player than most of the bllk guys so it’s not a huge issue which means she doesn’t really need to develop much as a character 😬 plus my vision for her in the NEL is literally that she stays benched for the most part because loki thinks she’ll inhibit charles’s growth too much….so honestly i’m afraid a fully fledged story might not be too entertaining (although it certainly would have its moments…karasu x mc partnership plus a deconstruction/subversion of the “i can fix him” trope with nagi plus the tullia and isagi drama going on in the background) 😵‍💫 BUT smaus are perfect!!

THE HEAD NOD EMOJIS ARE SOO FUNNY and shidou would be the one to use them unironically 😭 pls karasu getting bullied was so good LMAOAOAO when he was like “it’s just one thing after another with you today” to otoya i think that was his best line he was so done 😔💔

can’t even blame hiori for that one because his only other options for a mother and father duo in this au are tullia + isagi which would be too friendly for him, tullia + barou which is just scary (mostly because of barou), anri + ego which is even scarier because they’re BOTH crazy, and mc + nagi which would actually be a worse situation than the one he’s in…nagi is NOT cut out to be the father that stepped up 😭💔 in a world of nagiy/n shippers (aka tullia and chigiri) hiori stands alone as the sole tabiy/n shipper 😓 besides maybe otoya but tbh otoya just roots for whatever he finds the funniest at the moment

LMAOOO i think my fav parts of smaus is making random characters interact when they hardly ever do in canon…like grammar guardian isagi and womanizer otoya hardly have any scenes together in the manga but they are beefing HEAVILY over twitter!! NOT TO MENTION OTOYA AND SHIDOU GANGING UP TO BULLY KARASU AND RIN 😭 like those two genuinely do not even interact but yet they just came together so naturally in the smau and i think half of the humor is just those random unexpected relationships that end up occurring HAHAHA

ooh definitely do keep me posted!! i’m always ready for more s2 info…because it means we’re just that much closer to tabieitaken on screen + the returns of nagi and barou (and the other characters ig 😩 preparing myself for the influx of aiku and sae content that’s abt to FLOOD my dash i’m sure)

[ao3feed-undertale1]

I Donut Care About the Deranged Sociopaths I befriended (I like to lie to myself)

read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/54410737 by DumpsterFireOfLife Listen don't expect much from me. I write this in my spare time and I'm always busy. This will probably be one of the shittiest things you will read on this site. I'm trying. If you want to insult it, be creative. I don't want "this is bad" or "this is cringe". First off your reading fanfiction by a freshman about a murderous deranged skeleton from an indie game that the internet gave a glowing dick and sexy tumblrman award to. Grow up. Second off you will either put positive things, constructive criticism, or you will be creative with your insults. Make me laugh bitches. If not, you can get rear ended by a car so hard that when you wake up out of a coma you end up masturbating to the Cars movies and grow a crush on Mater. Judging by that you can tell what kind of person I am and how this fic will go. Read at your own discretion. Words: 738, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Undertale (Video Game) Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: F/M, Multi Relationships: horrortale sans/reader Additional Tags: Horrortale Sans (Undertale), Bad Sanses | Nightmare's Gang (Undertale), Obsessive Behavior, Possessive Behavior, I don't really have a plan, This is a fuck it we ball with like, only a little thought out plot, Some Humor, so many things, not mentioned, Horror, listen buddy, I Love You, you are creepy, but its okay because, your also bbg, other bad sanses at some point, dont know, they all have trauma, Trauma, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Reader-Insert, Reader interactive sometimes?, Reader is college student, Reader Is Not Frisk (Undertale), Reader Is Not Chara (Undertale), Reader is not Frisk or Chara (Undertale), reader is broke, like BROKE broke, i mean its college soooo, What Did You Expect, Out of Character, Canon-Typical Gang Behavior (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) read it on AO3 at https://archiveofourown.org/works/54410737

[lakesbian]

ok thank you everyone much appreciated. here's my reviews for fun

scp 1730: didn't care for this one very much, it's in the genre of scps that are trying to be action movies referentially synthesized from other scps. which is not something i think holds very much narrative appeal. additional subtracted points for "the Marxist extremist terrorist attack on the sears tower in 1994"

scp 4991: nothing to complain about here, perfectly fine 2 minute read. imitations of social media posts within scps are always fun when they're done well

scp 6595: the best thing this one has going for it is the part where the scp foundation interviewing muppets that are real and alive as a normal part of the universe is introduced and played completely straight without acknowledgement. apparently this bit was inspired by a predecessor article that also offhandedly includes the muppets being alive for real, but i overall liked this one more than the predecessor for having a more natural (and thus funnier/more interesting) take on it. however i think the most recent comment on it has agreeable criticism re a few factual and plot nitpicks. it doesn't feel like quite the attentive love letter to the source material that it could have, which is a shame, bc that's what elevates these scps referencing a pop culture thing from "not a bad read" to "genuinely quite good." and this just stayed at not a bad read level for me

scp 5999: im bad at mystery scps and scps that reference a bunch of other lore so i can't fairly review this but i thought it seemed well written...the exploration log had personality to it. also i notice a lot of scps just shamelessly casually don't include any female characters/don't include any women in non-stereotyped roles so i was glad that this one at least had women casually on the mobile task force and all that

scp 5031: ive read this one it's cute. i do always think it's funny how a story intended to subvert the idea of murder monster scps for wholesome effect does still textually take place in a setting where the scp foundation is feeding random prisoners to murder monsters lmao. it's a fun one though i like it

scp 2747: ive read this one before as well but i reread it bc it's so good. great concept and execution, by far the best one listed in this post so far. the linked tale is admittedly dense enough i don't have a thoughtful opinion on it but it's really well written too. this type of scp is scp at its best i think, higher concept horror couched in academic language. the fake media snippets are great, reminds me of the library of babel one that i also like

scp 2293: yeah this one's fun, not much to say about an scp that was created by someone online as a meme, but it does what it sets out to do well

scp 2790: i liked this one :) one of those short fun little "SCP affects the documentation" ones. like it's not unique no but it made me smile, it's fun (said in a different tone of voice than prior usages of the word 'fun' indicating that i liked this one more than those other ones but called them fun regardless because i didn't want my picky tendency towards calling things 'Fine.' as a review to sound mean)

scp 7179: agree w what the recommender said, concept is good, execution isn't much of anything. it's a short story about the horror of eternity that doesn't have a grasp on the scale of time or a natural progression of dread. amateur writing

the whole antimemetics division: already read it, my rating of different parts of it varies but overall it's my good friend because there's Urs in there. like from pact. soooo many fantastically fucked moments it's great. like the original antimeme scp is Fantastic in its own right and it's so impressive how the tale revealing what the indescribable object actually is succeeds at making the answer more horrible than whatever you were imagining. like in horror i think oftentimes people shoot themselves in the foot by removing a sense of mystery but here the answer to the question of what it is is terrifying and gripping

scary gatorade: recommender lied to me, it's not bad, it's good

scp 3001: ILL BE REAL. i get why people like this one. but i did not care about it that much i did not find the logs of the dude slowly progressing into madness™️ scary. LIKE I GET IT. but it's not up there for me at all

does anyone have any scp recommendations im in the mood to read scps. not ones that are bad please

[absolutebl]

10 BLs where the Main Couple has NO Prior History

Or at least, very very little of it. The opposite of the very popular LTP (long term pining). 

This post in response to a question posed by the most excellent @luuhecia​ who asked: Soooo here's my plea: do you have any recommendations of shows where the people involved have no previous history?

In other words we get to watch them meet and fall in love with no prior history on either side. So I eliminated those were there was a made crush even if only recently (e.g. Light on Me, Takara & Amagi). 

1. Seven Days

They know of each other but just in a normal high school way. No pining. The story is basically about the 7 days it takes them to fall in love. 

2. Color Rush

They are destined for each other but they have never met before. 

3. Semantic Error 

In fact, part of the premise is a “hunt for the unknown boy who made him fail to graduate.” 

4. To My Star 

They have a couple of meet cutes, accidentally shack up together. 

There are actually a TON from Korea. 

5. Addicted 

The new kid in high school. They have a family connection (it turns out) but they didn’t know each other. 

6. Restart After Come Back Home

We see them meet for the first time and then go on from there.

7. HIStory 2: Crossing the Line 

They meet by crashing into each other because... Taiwan. 

8. My Tooth Your Love 

Just so cute. 

9. Eclipse

There are a lot of good ones from Thailand but I chose this because it’s part of the plot, how they know nothing about each other. 

10. Love by Chance 

Just the greatest meet cute ever. 

NEW ENTRY

11. The Eighth Sense

Actually uses the fact that the DO NOT have prior history with each other as a plot point and for character development. It’s addressed directly ind dialogue. Very nicely done! 

Others that didn’t make my top 10 but still have no prior pining

China 

Advance Bravely 

Capture Lover

My Esports Genius Brother - love at first sight 

Japan

Candy Color Paradox 

Given - love at first sight 

His the series  - love at first sight 

Senpai This Can’t Be Love (he has a crush on him but they haven’t actually met each other) 

Silhouette of Your Voice

Kieta Hatsukoi

My Beautiful Man 

Mr Unlucky - love at first sight 

Korea 

Kissable Lips - fated mates

Mr Heart

My Sweet Dear 

Love Class 

Behind Cut 

Shoulder to Cry On 

The Lover - cohabitation 

Unintentional Love Story 

Tasty Florida - love at first sight 

 Roommates of 304 

All the Liquors

Blueming

New Employee 

Nobleman Ryus Wedding 

Oh Boarding House 

Ocean Likes Me 

Tinted With You 

Wish You - love at first sight 

You Make Me Dance  

The Philippines 

Like in the Movies

My Day 

Rainbow Prince 

Taiwan 

Because of You 

Be Loved in House I Do

Craving You - love at first sight 

HIStory 2: Right or Wrong 

See You After Quarantine? 

Vietnam

Hay Rival I Love You 

My Lascivious Boss - one night stand

Nation’s Brother - one night stand

Want to See You 

You Are Ma Boy

Thailand

(not all are chronicled, there’s too many, main couples only) 

Ai Long Nhai - love at first sight 

Bite Me

Between Us - one night stand 

Coffee Melody

Love Mechanics - one night stand  

Ghost Host Ghost House

Gen Y - love at first sight 

KinnPorsche (family connection but they don’t know about it) 

La Cuisine 

Tale of 1000 Stars - Well there is the heart connection but it’s not quite the same thing

Love in the Air 

Love Area 

My Engineer 

Meow Ears Up 

Moonlight Chicken - one night stand 

My Ride - GREAT example of well developed meet cute and then romance 

Never Let Me Go

Not Me - erm, it’s complicated 

Oh My Sunshine Night 

Oxygen - love at first sight 

Paint with Love

Puppy Honey 

Siew Sum Noi

Something in My Room 

Top Secret Together 

TharnType 

Tuxedo 

Unforgotten Night - One Night Stand 

Vice Versa 

What Zabb Man 

YYY 

This post as of April 2023, not responsible of BLs that fit this criteria after that date. But feel free to leave a comment or repost with more additions. 

(source)

[seirclys]

HIIII HELLOOOO IT'S BEEN AWHILE

I have so many questions but never got to ask you cuz guess what i am gonna go to collage soon

But that aside, here are the questions, now updated after your 4 part posts about OG!Penny and Shrike!Penny

The revived butterfly in the fic, it was presumed dead by Penelope, but after she removed the webs and turned around and walked back, it twitched meaning that it's still alive.

We know that butterflies symbolize life, death, and metamorphosis. But what of a "revived" butterfly?

Well not like revived, more like presumed dead but is actually still alive.

I've dug a little deeper (not that deep) about a butterfly's symbolism, it can also represent hope and faith.

Soooo, assuming you go with that too, does a still living butterfly that was thought to be dead meant there's still some—albeit very very slim chance to me—hope left for her even though it didn't seem like it?

As for the faith part, I really don't see that fit anywhere. She lost all faith in gods, the Eckharts and the MLs so, yeah.

And, and, Cassian,

I went thru the comments and you said he is gay and a sad boy.

Does he ever have romantic feelings for one of Penny's brothers?? Or is he sad about Penelope just pushing and burning herself out again that her health is just- shit. Like when she was still small and within her Empire?

One more question, I remember that Penelope said(?) that the Second Prince faction would pay for siding with Leila (memory fuzzy here but i remember it mostly)

Will she do it in the Eternal Ataraxia? Along with the Eckharts? :Eyes:

Probably not but, just curious.

ahh welcome back!

unfortunately, I've hit a bit of a roadblock with Shrike. It's the sad reality of having grand plans for a fic and then life chucking a brick at your window with you right next to it. It'll become a backburner fic, probably, but I really, really hope that it doesn't die off in my mind, even with the lack of interest it generally has. I'm glad you still love it enough to reread <3

I'm also going to college soon, so you aren't alone in the hectic mess.

I'm still churning out some of the OG! Penelope headcanon posts! a bit stuck on part 5, and the series might get added onto later if I ever get new ideas.

(I'm actually churning these out for a self-indulgent crossover I've been chatting about on Discord but shhhh)

Ooh, the butterfly was a while ago. I honestly forgot about it, but yes, it was meant to be a sort of rekindled hope, but also to symbolize someone. I had the idea for Rheiana to have butterfly powers similar to Roxana, but more like a butterfly-human hybrid but scrapped the butterfly part.

And... RIGHT ON THE MONEY! Cassian had feelings for one of Penelope's brothers. It won't be a big plot point in the story, so I'll just tell you now. He was in a semi-secret romantic relationship with Adrastus, Penelope's second brother. If you remember, Adrastus was also the brother that died in Penelope's arms, just like her mother.

hnnh bodyguard-prince relationship trope

In addition, he is pretty sad about how self-destructive Penelope is, especially since he feels like he has an obligation to take care of her in Adrastus's absence(the two of them were really in love with each other, and although there were talks of Adrastus marrying out for political ties, they were devoted to each other). He believes that it's his fault that Penelope was lost in the first place, that she became so reckless even as a child.

As for the Second Prince's faction, since they aren't as traumatically significant to Penelope as the Eckharts are, I was thinking of an end that was less horrific, but more public.

And for the "sheer clothing" in my OG!Penelope hcs series, it's actually not referring to Hanfu! Shrike!Penelope's culture/the Ancient Wizards were influenced by different IRL cultures(with how I mentioned that dimension travel is a THING that they used to do), which is why I mentioned Hanfu since China was one of the big ancient empires.

I'm thinking more manhwa-sheer, as in, like. Roxana(yep, here we go again), her sheer overskirts and sleeves. Maybe some more modern dress styles. Think haute couture. Sheer cutouts, satins, etc. Lots and lots of lace and netting.

Glad to see you in my notifications and my inbox again <3 keep yourself safe and healthy(super ironic since this dumbass just recovered from her 1st Covid... as in Sunday. I only tested negative SUNDAY.) edit: i forgot i queued this but dw kids I've been covid free for two days

[thamepo]

There's so many amazing scenes in triage but I am still kinda stuck at the funeral/memorial scene for Tin in ep 10 with all his colleagues and Tol. In such a plot and action dense scene, all these characters feel real and the loss of one has an impact on each of them and it shows with their little speeches and you feel it so much!! And then there's tol who cannot say anything. Which is !!! Of course he cannot. He is too taken by pain to verbalize it, hasn't accepted it but also an additional layer is that it's a bit tragic that he just re-met this guy and has already lost him and is grieving him along side people who know him better and !!! I love this show sorry for the ramble dump

HI NADSSSSSSSSS!!!!! i’m Obsessed with your url!! your mind is Unparalleled!!!!

YES!!!!!! that scene is soooo Visceral, it genuinely feels like they’ve lost a friend, someone so dear to their hearts and honestly, the only reason why i didn’t have a mental breakdown was because i knew it wasn’t the end. but still, it’s such an effective scene in its simple sincerity.

because it’s always been established that tin loves his friends as well as they love him right back but that moment is the culmination of that knowledge, when it Really hits you that nothing’s really the same without him and that everyone’s feeling like they’ve just lost a part of them.

it’s GOOD storytelling and world building and characterization.

YES!! and it’s also the very first time that tol loses tin. it’s usually the other way around and while after some time it got super hard for tin to lose tol, there was always another chance to save him and that kept tin going.

but at this point, tol was left with nothing. he’s just re-met the guy whom he feels so much for and lost him right away, he remembers a lot but he can’t tell anyone, they wouldn’t understand. while those people around him can pour their hearts out, they’ve known tin for much longer anyways. it’s their right while tol is almost an outcast mourning a lover he’s never had.

and then the world just decided to keep moving forward while tol is absolutely consumed with grief for the future that he and tin wouldn’t get to have, for the life not lived. so much that tol wanted to say and do with tin and nowhere to put all that love.

that feeling of powerlessness is maddening. no wonder he almost lost it looking for jinta 😭😭😭😭😭

I’M SO GLAD YOU LOVE TRIAGE!!!! I LOVE IT TOO!!! feel free to ramble!!! 🥰🥰🥰

[faerociousbeast]

i like asking questions so! why do you think people should get into aa?

HELLO HI THANK YOU i think this is probably violet if it is ily/p :) if not i still do but. okay

- so ace attorney basically basically takes the mystery game genre, but adds another part to it: ghosts!!!!!!! and trials too ig

- lawyers is such a niche thing but they REALLY make it work its so entertaining and satisfying when you finally make the connection and have that OHHHH!!!! moment and solve the case. Bc youll immediately get disapproved and have to do that again. and also nothing follows common sense so if youre like me and easily figure out riddles and what not, ace attorney is your go wild go crazy go to

- in addition to the last point the plot is CRAZY!!!! crazy good but also the TWISTS the twists damn it. but its also very very genuine, found family sibling parallels parents human connection and reaching out for each other and. if you think about it too much its very emotional.

- gameplay is super fun you have investigating, cross examining, story bits, in some games examining, all the different protagonists have their own different mechanisms, the witnesses all have the FUNNIEST cheesiest pun names and theyre all very memorable and unique too

- SO MANY GAMES so even tho we've been waiting soooo long theres plenty of content to get through. a lot of it is easily pirateable too :) capcom is very unhinged theyre funny i think for a company

- gay people. Cmon. gay lawyers youve GOT to be interested in that

- THE SOUNDTRACK IS SUPER INTENSE considering how old the series is, the music is soooo good throughout very good at getting you in the MOOD of woo trial time oh noo sad moment YEAH WE'RE IN ANCIENT ENGLAND

[bi-naesala]

Demonstration

Fandom: Yakuza Rating: E Warnings: / Relationships: Kasuga Ichiban/Zhao Tianyou Characters: Kasuga Ichiban, Zhao Tianyou Additional Tags: Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, Established Relationship, Rough Sex, First Time Bottoming, Nonbinary Zhao Tianyou Summary:

Ichiban demonstrates to Zhao how he felt about him the first time they met.

(Also on AO3)

Every time Ichiban and Zhao have been intimate, they’ve always kept things quite simple, gentle even.

They never thought about it too much; it’s just that they enjoy each other, nothing more, and they don’t really care about what they do, as long as they are together and have both a good time.

It’s almost weird considering how their first meeting went. Of all things, Ichiban would’ve never imagined that he was going to end together to the person who threatened to kill him with a smile on their face, but so is life, and he couldn’t be happier about it.

“Oooooi earth to Kasuga-kun!”

Contrary to what Zhao might believe, Ichiban doesn’t jump hearing their voice calling out for him. Nope. Not at all.

“H-Hey! Zhao! What is it?”

Zhao shoots him an unimpressed look. “You haven’t been listening to a word I said, haven’t you?”

“Huh…” Ichiban smartly replies. “Sorry?”

“You’re unbelievable,” Zhao mutters, shaking his head, but despite their words, there’s a smile on his face, finding Ichiban’s behavior endearing. “And what were you thinking about that was so important that you’d stop in the middle of the street like a lunatic?”

Oh right! They went out grocery shopping for the barkeep. And here Kasuga was, lost in his thoughts…

“Oh, nothing much, really…”

“C’mon, I’m curious now. Pretty please tell me?” Zhao insists. Oh hell, Ichiban can’t resist that tone of his.

  “Just… Wait,” he mutters, taking Zhao by the arm and guiding him away from the main road, entering in one of the smaller streets. If he truly has to answer to Zhao, he’d rather do it in a place where they can get a modicum of privacy, which would usually be at Survive, but this is close enough. At least there’s nobody there for the moment.

Zhao hasn’t said anything about Ichiban’s behavior, not even a little word of teasing, for which he’s grateful for.

“Should I get worried?” he asks though. Considering how Ichiban’s acting, it would be safe to assume that this is something serious.

“Oh? Oh no! Not at all!” Ichiban’s quick to reassure him. “I was just thinking about… well… about us.”

Now Zhao looks extremely curious. “Us? And what about us were you thinking about?”

“About how funny it is that we ended up together, considering how we met and what I thought of you…”

“Ooh?” Zhao perks up. “And what did you think of me?”

Were their relationship still in its early stages, Ichiban might’ve felt so embarrassed about what he’s about to say that he would’ve tried to find an excuse not to reply, but now he replies calmly, accepting the challenge hidden in Zhao’s tone: he uses his bigger stature to tower over the other, reveling in the shiver Zhao isn’t able to suppress at the motion - though they don’t look intimidated at all.

“That you needed to be put in your place,” he growls then, voice low and gaze dark.

“Ohohohoh~” Zhao’s voice sounds more like it did when they first met: dangerous. “That so?”

Ichiban nods.

“Well then…”

Zhao stretches a hand towards their partner, cupping his cheek. “Feel free to put me in my place anytime.”

Oh, he’s into it. Ichiban can tell. Those glasses of theirs can’t hide shit from him, not when he knows them so well; there’s no other way he can interpret the shine in his eyes.

    After that revelation, of course, Ichiban hasn’t had a way to clear his mind enough to think about anything else that isn’t him putting Zhao right where he wants to and taking him the way they deserve.

How are they supposed to do it, though? They share a room with so many other people that they can't possibly put themselves in a situation where they would most likely traumatize someone!

This requires a solution, because as much as Ichiban could easily let this go and wait for the proper occasion, he has no idea how long that would take, and he wants it so bad. Usually, in the bedroom, Zhao’s the one leading, so changing things sounds very interesting, and Ichiban can’t deny that he’s curious to see Zhao’s reaction if he lets him get away with what he wants to do, so no, he can’t wait at all.

  Mmmh what to do…

Wait! He's just got an idea that might work!

    It’s harder than he thought having to save money, since he’s an impulsive buyer, but he manages because this is too important for him to ruin everything. Thankfully he makes enough as Ichiban Holdings’ CEO that in about a month he’s managed to get enough so that he can finally put his plan into motion.

What does his plan consist of? Renting a room at a love hotel, of course! Yeah, it doesn’t sound that fancy, especially considering that Ichiban’s been saving for this, but hey it’s not like he swims in money! Neither of them does!

At least like this they can be as rough and loud as they want to and, especially, they won’t have to be quick, because nobody’s supposed to walk into them when they least expect it.

  It takes him nothing to convince Zhao. They’re on board as soon as he mentions the love hotel part.

“Oh yes please,” they say, and is Ichiban dreaming things, or does he sound very eager? Eh, he supposes he’s been waiting for this for a while - though if they have, why hasn’t he ever mentioned it?

  During their ride - there’s no way they were going to walk all the way there, so they’ve taken a cab - Zhao hasn’t pulled away from Ichiban not even once, holding his arm tightly and whispering pure filth in his ear.

“I bet you can’t wait for it, can’t you? Are you going to make me scream? Are you going to make me beg for it? How long ‘till I’ll be able to walk again?”

On his part, Ichiban does his best to ignore what they say, even if the more time passes, the more difficult it becomes, especially when Zhao begins to lavish at his neck, like they’re not sitting inside a taxi and there isn’t a clearly uncomfortable driver.

“Z-Zhao… Please, not here…”

In response Zhao looks at him with such an innocent gaze that it almost makes Ichiban believe that he truly doesn’t know what they’re doing wrong. Ass.

  At least after that they calm down, not trying to rile Ichiban up anymore. Not that they needed to continue, since he did manage to get Ichiban going, even though there’s nothing he can do about it at the moment. Once they get to the hotel, though…

Ah. So this is why Zhao’s been acting the way they were acting: getting Ichiban so riled up that as soon as they were alone, he was going to explode.

Well, if that’s what Zhao wants, then Ichiban will give it to him, and with interests…

    Ichiban might be moving things along a bit too fast once they get to the love hotel, to the point that once he gets the key to their room, he almost runs towards it. He doesn’t only because he doesn’t want to appear too eager, though by the way Zhao’s looking at him, they must’ve caught it either way.

  Once they’re inside, they take a moment to study their surroundings. Huh, classic love hotel stuff: tacky pink everywhere, enormous bed, even bigger mirror, cabinet with lube and condoms… yes, the usual. Not that Ichiban has been to many love hotels…

He gets distracted when Zhao presses against him, circling his back with their arms. “Soooo Ichi, how are we going to do this?”

Seeing that Ichiban doesn’t reply, he begins kissing up from his neck to the corner of his mouth. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

  Before he can react, Ichiban grabs him by the waist and throws him on the bed, making him land with a loud oof.

“Hey, what the hell?!”

Before Zhao can complain further, Ichiban has found his place between his legs, pressing him against the bed.

“This what you wanted?” he asks, grabbing Zhao’s chin with a hand, sending a shiver across their spine.

“Huh-huh,” Zhao nods, looking at Ichiban with feverish eyes.

Oh god, they’re already get going… and Ichiban would lie if he said that this isn’t having an effect on him as well.

  He kisses Zhao hard, forcing their lips open with his tongue. The objective is to be as overwhelming as possible and, judging by the way Zhao is holding onto him, he must be doing a good job at it.

When they pull away, Zhao’s already panting hard, and his face looks even more debauched with the glasses that are threatening to slip off at any second. Ichiban takes hold of them and puts them aside, so that they won’t risk bending or breaking them - that would certainly be a mood killer.

He licks Zhao’s lips, taking then their lower lip and sucking, before biting it. Zhao gasp, body twitching against Ichiban.

“That all you thought about when you saw me? Kissing me?” they provoke Ichiban then, even though his voice doesn’t sound as confident as they’d like to appear.

In response, Ichiban grabs Zhao’s shirt and rips it open, making the other gasp as buttons come fly all over the place. Zhao doesn’t think he’s ever been so wet in all his life.

  Ichiban’s so glad Zhao didn’t feel like binding today; that thing is always a bitch to take off.

Like this, instead, he can already hold Zhao’s chest in his hands, squeezing it. His fingers are rough when they find Zhao’s nipples, twisting them in a way that makes Zhao whine.

“I-Ichiban…”

This is so different from what Ichiban usually gets to see, or hear, but he’d lie if he said that he doesn’t like it.

He lowers himself so that he can take one of Zhao’s nipples in his mouth, licking and sucking at it like he’s never done before, but when Zhao grabs onto his hair he pulls away, grabbing Zhao’s wrists and forcing them on the sides of their head.

“Stay still,” he orders then, but even after Zhao nods and Ichiban goes back to what he was doing, he still keeps his wrists in his hold. It would be easier to use some rope, or handcuffs - there must be plenty of those in here - but Ichiban has always preferred holding them down with his body, no need for anything else.

“Fuck…” Zhao moans when Ichiban bites down on his nipple, his whole body jolting at the sensation.

Ichiban raises his gaze towards him, and Zhao has to bite his lips to stifle a moan having that heated gaze on him. That, and also he looks so fucking hot while sucking on his tit like that.

If only Ichiban wasn’t between his legs he would try to rub them together, anything to dampen the wet sensation he feels between them. On his part, Ichiban doesn’t seem to care at all, at least for now, focusing only on their chest.

  They test Ichiban’s hold by trying to move his arms, but the other doesn’t budge.

“What did I say?” he scolds them. He usually sounds so gentle and careful, but Zhao hears nothing of that now. How much was he holding back all the times they’ve had sex?

“Sorry…” they mutter, though they don’t really sound that sorry.

Ichiban scowls, but apart from that it seems that Zhao’s apology is enough for him, because he begins kissing a line up to Zhao’s mouth, capturing his lips once again. He at least stops holding Zhao down, but just because he begins slipping his now thorn shirt off, and then going to their waist, thumbs caressing the exposed skin.

At the soft moan that leaves Zhao’s lips, however, they don’t stay still for long, and soon Zhao’s pants and leggings say goodbye as well, getting thrown on the ground with the shirt.

They pull away again, and god if Zhao doesn’t feel like a piece of meat from the way Ichiban’s looking at him. So hungry…

“You’re overdressed,” he points out, instead of saying anything about that.

“So?”

Zhao rolls his eyes. Ichiban has never defied them so much, but he supposes this is what’s fun about what they’re doing today. “C’mon… pretty please?”

It seems that his act does convince Ichiban a little, because he sheds his jacket, and then his shirt, so that Zhao can admire his body. Unfortunately, however, they don’t have enough time to stretch their now free hands to cup his chest because Ichiban drags him forward by the hips so that he’s resting on his knees, open and exposed.

  Ichiban looks down at them, and then a smirk appears on his face.

“Wow, you’re really into this…”

“Huh?” Zhao mutters, confused, but then they realize that there’s must be a pretty big damp spot between his legs. He nervously chuckles then. “Yeah… I am.”

Besides, it’s not like he can’t feel Ichiban getting hard against them. He’s into it as much as he is, and Zhao reminds him by grinding their crotches together, making Ichiban hiss.

It doesn’t last long, however, because soon Ichiban takes back control and pushes Zhao down, holding him still with a hand on their stomach, while with the other he travels down on Zhao’s body, until he reaches his pussy.

The fucker teases his clit just for a moment before lowering his fingers further, down to Zhao’s entrance. At first, he slowly gets only one inside, but seeing how wet Zhao is, he easily slips another one.

He doesn’t bother with being gentle, and thrusts his fingers in and out, in and out, getting the wettest sounds out of Zhao as he does. Holy fuck.

“Yeah… fuck! Ichiiiii!”

“Something tells him you’re liking it…” Ichiban grins, slowing down his movements. “But I bet there’s something you’d like more.”

“God, yeah,” Zhao moans in reply, knowing what Ichiban’s talking about. “Fuck, I need it…”

“Do you? ‘Cause I can keep going like this.” Ichiban twists his fingers up, and Zhao arches his backs against him as a loud moan escapes their lips. Oh yeah there, right there.

Ichiban doesn’t stop, making Zhao edge closer and closer to the orgasm, and all they can do is to hold onto him, scratching his shoulders with his long nails, unable to stop him - not that he wants him to stop. Holy shit it’s so good.

“I’m gonna… Ah!”

They try to warn him that they’re close, that they’re gonna come if he keeps going like that, but Ichiban doesn’t give him the time, going so fast that Zhao reaches the orgasm before he can even finish that sentence. His body tenses up at the sensation, arching and twisting in order to get it to last longer, just a moment longer but then, just like it started, it’s over.

  Ichiban pulls away, and Zhao already misses the feeling of having something inside him, though from the hurried way Ichiban’s unfastening his pants - he doesn’t even bother cleaning his fingers, the idiot - they suppose it won’t be for long.

Indeed, once Ichiban’s as bare as Zhao, he grabs their ankles and pushes them down, on either side of his head. He takes a moment to admire his lover under him, so pretty and flexible, at least until Zhao speaks.

“Again already?”

“You don’t sound upset about it,” Ichiban points out, and he can’t help but to smile, before remembering that he’s not supposed to do that, at least not during this particular occasion.

He distracts himself by kissing Zhao so that they can’t speak anymore, except for a few moans they can’t hold back when he begins to grind his cock against his pussy, getting it wet with all their juices.

He wouldn’t mind getting off like this, if he has to be honest, but he knows how good it feels inside Zhao, and he wants to get back there once again, so he temporarily lets go of one of Zhao’s ankles in order to better guide his cock, holding it as he begins to slide inside. Zhao hisses at the sensation, but otherwise he clenches around Ichiban, almost like he wants to suck him in.

“H-Hey, slow down!” Ichiban exclaims at the sudden stimulation, and he begins to thumb at Zhao’s clit in spite, knowing that it’s still oversensitive.

As predicted, Zhao shouts, body instinctively trying to pull away, but there’s nowhere they can go with Ichiban pressed against him like that, and it’s not like he’s giving him any mercy.

“Fuck! S-Sorry!” they try to apologize, but it still takes a while for Ichiban to stop, leaving Zhao a mess. They feel like a puddle, unable to move a muscle on his own.

  Only when Ichiban begins moving, Zhao manages to get partially out of the state of drowsiness that has been taking over them, body jolting awake at the pounding they’re receiving.

Ichiban’s going completely all out. He even makes the bed rattle with them, hitting the wall countless times. Had they been more coherent, Zhao would’ve wondered if they were going to make a huge hole in it, but with things being as they are, they don’t really care if they do, as longs as Ichiban doesn’t stop.

Usually they’re pretty quiet in bed, but this time they are unable to hold back his voice, moaning and screaming each time Ichiban sinks in. He swears he can feel him get deeper and deeper at each thrust; it’s like he’s drilling him open.

Their vision is cloudy, though it’s hard to tell if it’s just because they’re not wearing his glasses, or if there are some tears that are threatening to run down his face, but Ichiban’s close enough that he can see him pretty decently. He looks focused in a way that Zhao doesn’t think he’s ever seen him.

  Despite the fact that they’ve come recently, Zhao can feel another orgasm building up inside him. Once Ichiban notices - he always begins to tremble when he’s close to coming - he reaches down between his legs again, rubbing his clit with the same roughness from before, but at least it’s had some time to recover, so even though it still hurts a bit, it’s the kind of hurt that Zhao likes.

They feel a bit of drool trickling down their chin, but they don’t have enough strength to lift a finger and do anything about it. Besides, they barely have the time to think about that when Ichiban captures his lips again. It’s obvious by the erratic way he’s moving that he’s close as well.

“Zhao… Can I come inside?”

Zhao almost laughs. Really?

In a way, though, it’s sweet that he still asks.

“Please,” they say then, because he needs it, he needs Ichiban to come inside him so bad.

  Thankfully, it doesn’t take long for his wish to be granted.

God, it feels like Ichiban’s never stopping coming, which in turn tips Zhao well over the edge too, coming with a last shout.

Everything feels intense and not enough at the same time, and Zhao wonders if they've hit their head somehow for him to feel this way. He almost feels feverish.

  Soon Ichiban begins to slow down his movements, until he stills completely. He takes a moment to catch his breath, forehead gently pressed against Zhao’s, then he pulls out, making the other twitch at the sensation of sudden emptiness.

“Fuck…” he very eloquently says then. It makes Zhao chuckle.

“Indeed,” they reply, lazily dragging Ichiban in another kiss, this time softer and much slower than the ones they’ve shared until now.

When they pull away, Ichiban looks at them with badly hidden concern. “Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere?”

“You fuckin’ destroyed me,” Zhao chuckles, but before Ichiban can begin fussing over them, something they’d frankly hate, they continue. “But that’s exactly what I came here for.”

“So it’s fine?”

Zhao nods. “More than fine I’d say.”

  “So… You liked it?”

Zhao raises an eyebrow at him.

“What do you think?” he asks, instead of replying.

After a moment of silence, Ichiban sighs. “Yeah, alright. Dumb question.”

  He lays down close to them, and immediately they drape themselves over him, holding him close. Ichiban hums contentedly, and returns the hug.

All that rough stuff is fine and all, but if he has to be honest, he prefers this “mushy shit” - that’s how Zhao would call it. This is simply how he is as a person, and nothing can change that.

He begins to idly caress Zhao’s back, fingers barely brushing against their naked body.

“Hey,” he says then. “Shouldn’t we take a shower?”

“Gimme a moment,” Zhao replies, voice a bit strained for the effort from before.

Ichiban nods, and waits until Zhao feels good enough that he can get up, because Ichiban knows that’s the problem. He’d offer to carry him, but Zhao would say no and maybe even get offended, so he stays silent.

  It’s not a problem, he can wait a bit.

Actually, with Zhao so close to him, he can wait more than just a bit, as long as they remain here.

“Yeah, take all the time you need.”

[daxieoclock]

Do you have top 5 books? I think we haven’t spoken much about books. And, as an alternative or addition: top 5 words (in meaning or sound or stimming potential or)?

oooh tough questions! thank you!

i haven't read many physical books in a hot fucking minute thanks to adhd and comfort difficulties living in my parents' house, but I used to read a TON when I was in high school. Soooo

#5: Speaker for the Dead, by Orson Scott Card. Card is a homophobic piece of shit and the story of this book isn't even that good, but I probably read it at the perfect time for its themes to sink in, and it affected me really heavily for the whole rest of the Summer. It probably helped me get out of one of my deepest funks in a while, so I can at least be thankful for that.

#4: Sophie's World, by Jostein Gaarder. This was a fucking DENSE book, I remember it taking months for me to work my way through, but it was a damn good read. The whole book goes back and forth between "lessons" examining different philosophers throughout history and then the actual plot of a teenage girl applying those lessons to her day to day life. That description makes it sound kinda like "baby's first philosophy" but I read it in high school and it was fucking in-depth, it was kinda dizzying. Great story, fascinating stuff, but only if you enjoy reading someone infodump for like 500 pages about old mostly-white dead guys.

#3: A Wizard of Earthsea, by Ursula Le Guin. Lower ranking only because it's been a while since I read this one but I tore my fucking way through this series when I was a kid, and remember the first one the best. I've been meaning to go back and reread Le Guin's works, especially this whole series, but I've still been struggling to do so because of the aforementioned reasons. Still, at some point, I'm gonna reread the fuck out of Earthsea again, and then I'll probably put it higher.

#2: Mistborn, by Brandon Sanderson. I lost interest about halfway through the second book of this series but the first one fucked so hard. It's this great slow burn fantasy that steadily begins to unveil the mysteries surrounding this dystopian kingdom, it's got one of the coolest magic systems in any story I've ever seen, and the pacing was fucking masterful throughout, besides for a bit of a rushed-feeling ending.

#1: I'm kinda cheating buuuut the entire Vlad Taltos series by Stephen Brust. It's a high fantasy noir series where everyone talks like they're New Yorkers and it's the perfect mix of tongue in cheek absurdity and genuine dramatic mystery, it's a fucking delight. I don't know if it still holds up but when I was working on my own high fantasy story about five years back I reread them just to get a taste of like how to write fantasy that doesn't sound like fantasy but still feels real. And I had a fucking blast then, so I'd probably enjoy myself at least a little bit now.

i literally could not pick favorite words i'm sorry dfhjgbh i just have a rotating cast of ones that i tend to use at any moment, and i'm forgetful as fuck.

[searchingwardrobes]

I’ve been thinking all day about this post that I saw and reblogged about Snow’s desire to have another baby and how that hurt Emma. While it is completely understandable for Emma to feel that way as the lost girl that she is, I don’t think Snow is evil or a bad mother to want another baby. I’ve even read fics where people delete the birth of Snowing’s son altogether, seeing them having another child as a betrayal of Emma. I disagree completely. It isn’t them having another child that is problematic, it’s the way it was written in the show. Snow’s words in the echo cave that what she has with Emma isn’t what she wanted is a poor choice of words, but as a mother myself, I get what she was trying to say. Every mother wants to experience all the special moments as their child grows: the squishy baby against their shoulder, the first steps and words, the gap toothed six year old smiles - all of it. It’s what’s so tragic about the curse and what it did to Snowing and Emma. Snow having another baby doesn’t mean she’s “replacing Emma” because, by that logic, every mother who has more than one child is a bad person. Every mother who has a baby after losing a child is a bad person. That’s ridiculous. Any mother will tell you that ten babies can never replace the one you lost (or the ones you have for that matter). And if the Snowings should never have children as some sort of penance for giving Emma away, then by that logic, Captain Swan should never have children either because Emma gave up Henry.

Soooo, the problem isn’t Snowing having another baby. It’s the show’s writers doing Snowing dirty time and again by sweeping Emma’s emotions under the rug and having David and Snow cater more to Regina than their own daughter. We’ve heard the shows creators and writers use the excuse that they didn’t have time. Well, it wouldn’t have taken much. Dozens of little moments could have done the trick, they just didn’t take advantage of the opportunities they had to include them. So here are some quick scenes I wrote that either tweak canon or add to it and fix what the writers botched. These are written like scripts because I just needed to get them out of me. If anyone is inspired to use these as prompts for fics, feel free!

In Neverland:

Snow: If you can’t leave this place, then I’m staying with you. I’m not losing you again.

Charming: No, you can’t do that, Emma needs you.

(tears fill Snow’s eyes)

Snow: You’re right.

Charming pulls her close

Charming: I have hope that you and Emma will find a way to bring me home. We always find each other, remember?

Later, Emma is alarmed that they are leaving her dad behind. Snow takes her face in her hands.

Snow: We’ll find a way to bring him home - together.

Emma and Snow have a conversation in 3B ( did they ever get this chance in canon? I don’t think they did.)

Snow: (rubbing her belly) I get the sense that this is bothering you.

Emma: Why would it bother me?

Snow: (touching Emma’s arm) You can tell me.

Emma: I know it sounds silly, but I feel like . . . like I’m being replaced. (her voice hitches)

Snow: Oh sweetheart, we always knew we wanted you to have siblings. You could never be replaced.

Emma: But in the echo caves, you said I wasn’t what you wanted.

Snow: (eyes widening) Oh baby, no! That’s not what I meant at all. I meant that being separated from you wasn’t what I wanted - as a mother. We deserved so much more than we had - you deserved so much more. I wanted a chance to hold a baby, see his first steps, hear his first words. I’m sure you understand.

Emma: (chokes on a sob) I do, actually. I wanted all that with Henry, but I knew he needed more than I could give. And the worst part is, these false memories of raising him? Now they’re torturing me.

Snow: (pulls Emma close and holds her) I put you through that wardrobe because I had no idea what the curse would do.

Emma: (chokes out laugh) I would still be a baby now, for one.

Snow: (pulls back and cups Emma’s face) And who knows if Regina even would have let us be together. Your father was in a coma in the hospital. I shudder to think where my precious baby Emma would have been. (She presses her forehead to Emma’s.) Nothing could ever replace you, not now, not ever. Do you hear me?

(Emma nods and smiles through her tears.)

While Charming and Emma are putting together the crib, Snow gets quiet and wistful, then tears fill her eyes.

Snow: You were supposed to be so much younger when it was time to get ready for a new brother or sister.

Emma: (pauses in what she is doing to give her mother a watery smile) I know.

At the naming ceremony:

Snow: David and I thought about all of the many people who have loved us and supported us over the years. There are two special people who have not only been our friends, but also sheltered me when I needed a home. (chuckles) And didn’t hold it against me that I was hiding in their barn stealing their eggs. So we would like to introduce: Prince Lucas!

(Ruby and Granny gasp tearfully, then rush over. Ruby hugs Snow tightly and Granny gently takes the baby.)

Granny: Well, now that he has a name, I can finally finish that baby blanket.

(The crowd in the diner laughs.)

(Now Emma doesn’t have to be reminded of her painful past/awful ex every time she says her brother’s name.)

Emma realizes she’s made her baby brother’s bottle start boiling - ignore my alliteration :) - all the other mothers in the mommy & me class gasp or recoil, but Snow reaches out gently to her daughter.

Snow: It’s okay, Emma.

Emma is freaked out that she could have hurt her brother and runs from the room while Snow shouts after her, frantically getting LUCAS (not Neal) into his stroller so she can go after her. This sufficiently establishes the fear Emma has that she will hurt her family or push them away - Snow recoiling wasn’t necessary just as it wasn’t necessary for Hook or Henry to recoil from Emma to convey the plot point.

Instead of teaching Regina to dance:

Snow: (in her chambers, sees her husband rushing to leave) Where are you going?

Charming: I just realized I never got a chance to teach my daughter to dance, (harkening back to the dream he had in 3b - HELLO writers!) and this is her first ball.

Snow grins at the excitement on his face and in his voice and rushes out with him, baby LUCAS in her arms. But when they get to Emma’s chamber, the door is ajar, and they see someone has beat them to it:

Hook: It’s a waltz Emma, remember? You’ve done this before, and splendidly I might add.

Emma: You did it splendidly, you mean. Remember, pick a partner who knows what he’s doing?

(Hook laughs, and in the doorway, Charming deflates, smiling sadly and wistfully.)

Charming: (whispering to his wife) I forgot, this isn’t her first ball after all, and she already has a teacher.

(Snow touches him in a comforting way. Across the room, Hook looks up and sees them. He catches Charming’s eyes, and a look of understanding crosses his face.)

Emma: Besides, there will be other dances besides, waltzes, right? How will I learn those in only a few hours?

Hook: Well, love, I believe reinforcements have arrived. Someone else would like a dance.

(Emma looks up as her father approaches, a smile beaming across her face. Charming is visibly choked up as he takes Emma in his arms to dance. Hook and Snow exchange emotional smiles.)

Snow: And after the dancing lessons your mother is going to help you get dressed and do your hair.

Emma: (pretending to be embarrassed) This isn’t the prom.

Snow: No, but it is our first ball together. (She’s choked up - they all are.)

In addition to these, I believe the writers should never have done the “darkness was taken out of fetus Emma” storyline. I could write an entire post on this, but all I will say here is that it harmed Snowing’s established characters and did further damage to their relationship with Emma. For no reason at all, really. (And does Emma really seem like a pure snowflake with no darkness in her? Does that even fit her character? Please.)

They also never should have added the plot point in season 6 that Snowing could have gone to little girl Emma and chose not to. Why in the world would them going to her prevent the curse from breaking? That makes no sense! They could have raised her from that point, preparing her for her 28th birthday, when they could have all returned to Storybrooke TOGETHER to wake everyone else up from the curse. The only reason that couldn’t happen was - plot. You change the entire show. So why even include this plot thread? It did nothing but make Snowing look like bad parents. I’m a mama, and let me tell you, nothing would be keeping me from my kid, curses be damned. I would have gone through that portal in a heartbeat, telling Rumple, “we’ll figure it out, see ya!” So - yeah - never should have included this. And Emma’s reaction to this revelation? Completely out of character! Ugh!

Um, so there ya go - “How the show could have been better” by Melanie. 

And reading back over this, it’s kind of a mess, but I just had THOUGHTS that needed to come out.