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tiny-space-platypus · 2 months

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Part 5 Not your average field trip

Dani had learned that rich people school is SO much different from regular school in the past month and a half. She was actually learning something here unlike the school she used to go to where she'd just sit bored most of the time. She had learnt quite a bit actually. Something that really angered her was realizing that her class bullied Mr.Brother mistaking, bad attitude, Damian Wayne. Though they never actually touched him, just rumors, rather awful jokes, and mean spirited memes. Apparently being a Wayne meant he was practically immune to physical bullying. Something about the others being afraid of his family ruining theirs. Did the Waynes have that much power?

Whatever, Dani has decided she was going to be this boy's friend. So instead of hanging around the other kids she hung around Damian her protective core claiming him as a friend meaning she'd protect him.

Talking to him was almost insufferable though. He was soooooo uptight till Dani started noticing his sketches. Well, that was something they could actually bond over since talking wasn't working. So Dani started bringing her own sketch book though her drawings were mostly blueprints like her brother, she also did like just drawing regular things as well. They might not talk when they spend time together (both finding each other's voice insufferable) but they did share drawings and sometimes even blueprints that the Dannies worked on together. Damian had even admitted they were good! Her brother and her even getting a compliment out of Mr. Always scowling Damian Wayne! Dani got way too excited over that almost falling out of the tree she was dangling from. He compared her to Mr.Grayson Wayne, she huffed when he told her that wasn't a compliment.

Today was like every other day of school. They'd sit in class, do whatever they need to then go out to recess like the rest of the kids. Dani would play games with the other kids for the first half then go sit at the tree with Damian to draw. She was always sitting in the tree hanging upside down. Dani insists it's the best way to draw but Damian doesn't believe her. She's just weird. Anyways today Damian decided to talk with Danielle. "Are you excited for the field trip?" Dani looked down at Damian confused. She didn't know there was a field trip and certainly didn't pay for her spot. She wasn't sure if she could pay for it. "Field trip? I didn't get anything for a friend trip. Did we have to pay for tickets?" Damian scoffed at Danielle not knowing anything about the field trip. They had been talking about in class for a week now. "No you don't need to pay we're going as a class to an aerospace museum. I thought you'd be excited." Just by the look in Danielle's eyes he'd released he messed up. Not that he had upset her but he had hit something she was going to non-stop talk about for the rest of recess. He groaned internationally, at least her rambling was intelligent.

Apparently Gotham academy loved going on field trips and today was supposed to be one of those days. They were going to go to Metropolis to go see The BEST aerospace museum so Dani was excited. She loved space about as much as her brother did after all. Her and her class all got on the bus together and happily chartered with each other, Dani of course sat next to Damian. They were close now after all even if their relationship wasn't built on talking. Damian rolled his eyes at her since she was practically shaking with excitement. Damian and her spent time before the bus ride started doodling for each other then when everyone else got on the bus Dani became much more social with the other students. Telling them about space and aircraft and all sorts of constellations, even drawing them out for them. Everything was going great!

But of course, she was a Nightingale and this was Gotham and things have been going too well for too long. Apparently the weirdo and his gain of fruitloops is the Scarecrow and his goons. As soon as the bus started down the main road the bus was hijacked and forced off course to a graveyard that the Scarecrow used as his base. Dani frowned as they ran over graves and that whenever one of her classmates moved a gun would be pointed towards them. She wasn't afraid they'd actually use it though, they had no intent to kill them if she read their emotions right. She noticed how whenever they threatened someone Damian tensed but in a way that felt more like he was ready to fight not run. Interesting.

Dani was going to wait, she knew that heroes were coming eventually so they wouldn't be missing too long. Then one of the goons mentioned something about them being subjects. Experiments, they were going to be their experiments. Danielle refused to be an experiment again.

Damian had pressed his panic button as soon as the bus was taken over. He could have done something, could have taken out every one of these goons and could have had them back on track to their field trip but that would have blown his cover. He can't blow his cover, he can't put his family in danger. He'd have to wait for the others, he'd have to wait to be rescued.

It was interesting watching Danielle's reactions, she didn't seem scared at all. Actually the only time she seemed any sort of upset was when they ran over grave stones mumbling something about disrespect. Then in an attempt to scare them more the goons brought up the tests they were going to do on them. How they were going to use fear Toxin on them, a new branch of it and they were the first test subjects. Danielle tender at that then tried to get up only to be pulled back down by Damian who was looking at her with a 'what the fuck are you doing?!' Causing her to just smile at him, it was different from her normal smile, this one didn't feel human. This one felt threatening, Damian barely managed to pull her down again. Whispering urgently to her. "Danielle don't- The bats will be here soon, they'll deal with them. Don't kill yourself"

Danielle begrudgingly sat back down next to Damian who now refused to let go of her hand so she didn't do something stupid. So now they were stuck waiting.

It took another 15 minutes to get to their location though they weren't off loaded from the bus. Instead the emergency exit was pressed against a mound of dirt and someone was guarding each one of the emergency exits. They took the role called lists from the adults, guess that was how they were going to determine who it reacts best to. There was a gas canister attached to the top emergency exit. Both Danielle and Damian just stared at it though nothing happened, nothing was coming out frustrating the goon who was supposed to control it. Damian then noticed Danielle's hand growing colder and colder.

They threw in a gas grenade into the bus hitting the adults in the front with gas before stuttering and stopping completely. When the second one was thrown in the one on top stuttered dripping out the concentrated fear toxin.

Dani was creating ice over the exit points for the gas preventing it from spreading but it was slowly getting harder to hold as more grenades were thrown in. This would be so much easier if she could transform but she couldn't do that here. Her reading was probably already going through the roof meaning the GIW- No focus. Just prevent the gas from getting more people. Prevent more people from becoming experiments. She got colder. She looked at Damian for a second then tried to pull her hand away as another grenade was thrown in, instead of the pale yellow of the others this one was bright blood red. Danielle breathed some of it in before freezing that one too. Blood bloom gas, they had blood bloom gas. She choked on it about as much as Damian did. He squeezed her hand as he began to hallucinate. He then attacked her just as the bats finally began to show up taking out the goons and of course losing Scarecrow.

Danielle was holding her own against Damian who was currently trying to tear out her throat. Both now tussling on the ground. Both of them breaking ribs, blackened eyes, broken noses, the works as they battled. This would have been fun if they weren't both poisoned. Maybe when all is said and done Damian would agree to fight her again. Without poison.

Eventually though they were pulled away from each other. Batman holding Damian down as he sprayed something into the kid's face. Danielle almost attacked Batman for it till Damian calmed down and held onto the bat. She hadn't been paying attention to the Red one looking her over and asking questions. She was still breathing heavily from the poison and fighting. His voice caught her attention.

"Ms, are you alright?" RR asked as he touched the red trails left from the blood blooms under her skin. It wasn't a kind of poisoning he's seen before. She flinched away when he touched the trails. Danielle mumbled "Will be, it hurts though"

"We're going to get you to a hospital alright?" It took Danielle a solid 10 seconds before processing what RR had said. The look of pure panic on the little girl's face worried him. "No! No hospitals, No doctors!" Danielle could not go to a hospital, if she went to the hospital they'd realize she wasn't human and if they realized she wasn't human she'd be put back into a lab and Vlad and the GIW.

Danielle was now hyperventilating, causing RR to back track. "Alright, no hospitals. We won't take you to a hospital. Do you know where your home is, we can take you home." Danielle slowly got up and looked at RR then at Damian who was still holding onto Batman. She still looked a little panicked. "Is he going to be alright?" RR looked over at Damian and smiled softly. "Yeah he'll be alright, do you know him?" RR already knew that Damian had been keeping tabs on her but he still wanted to know what she thinks of his brother. "We're friends. Or maybe we were friends, I did break a few of his ribs" she paused and looked away from Damian then back at RR. "Can I go home? Please?" RR was still looking at Basn and Damian but did start to respond. "Yeah after-" he turned to look at her and she was gone. Huh, guess the kid's a meta.

As soon as RR said she could she turned invisible not listening to him complete his sentence. He said yes and that's all she needed. Danielle flew home where Danny was still in the middle of an online class. When she was him she immediately grabbed onto him sobbing. Dani sobbed then passed out mumbling something.

Slight problem, this wasn't Danny. This was Jason who was now very confused and concerned. Dani in her slightly delirious state went to the wrong apartment building. Seeing what she assumed was her brother she just let herself in not even trying the key. So now Jason had a kid in his safe house, who didn't have a key or set off any of the alarms, who looked like hell, now passed out on his couch.

#dc x dp #the robins #batman #danny phantom #dcu #jason todd #tim drake #dick grayson #red hood #danielle fenton

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deluweil · 6 months

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People are joking about ABC realizing why FOX put Ryan in interview jail - Without realizing the consequences of what FOX and KR have done.

Actors don't say anything that they aren't allowed to say, that is Hollywood's iron rule when filming a project.

Whatever Ryan is saying, he was given permission to do it.

ABC sees and understands the ramification of the homophobic narrative forced on the show on FOX's network they can see the bad writing and the altogether 'don't give a fuck about this' attitude the show was getting from it's showrunners.

ABC wouldn't take something that is circling the drain just to continue with the bad form of handling the show got so far.

Now Ryan, bless him, he loves Buck and he loves Oliver and thank God he loves Eddie, he understands the character better than anyone, he also knew where it was supposed to go when Murphy first hired him.

KR taking over put a wrench in that original plan but the choices made by both writers and actors on screen showed her exactly where she could shove her heteronormative narrative.

ABC is simply amplifying the obvious cast and writers cry and giving them a safe heaven to exist in peace.

It's not for nothing that the publicity and the premiere party were this big, this is a promise to the cast and crew that they will be treated better than the crap hole FOX network treated them.

Now, I don't know what will happen, but gay storyline or not, Eddie does love Buck to the core, it doesn't have to be in a romantic sense, it can be in any way possible, that saying alone does not scream gay, everything else that happened in the story up until now, however, does.

Because in CF Severide and Casey loved each other to the core in their best friend way, Vic and Travis love each other to the core in Station 19 without there being a romantic entanglement, Gibson loved Miller until he died still managing to stay straight lol and same for Cruz and Otis in CF - both had gfs both loved each other like brothers.

Eddie loves Buck, it doesn't have to mean anything romantic unless it was played into it, 911 leaned into it and failed to follow through on FOX, I am hoping ABC gives them that last shove.

After all, ABC is the home of Station 19, Home of the beautiful Marina pair, and the first male bi-character, finally, portrayed brilliantly by Eli in S6.

So stop saying Ryan is simply burning the house down, he does better PR for this show than all the anemic interviews Oliver was instructed to give so far.

Again, not Oliver's fault, KR made him, picked her favorite and dragged him down with her kicking and screaming. Shame on her and FOX.

#a little psa #ryan guzman #eddie diaz #evan buckley #oliver stark #911 spoilers #911 speculation #911 abc #fox and KR suck!#thank you ryan!#buddie

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gwandas · 3 months

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Idk where this Nesta vs. Feyre empathy discourse came from but anyway here are my two cents

I think something to remember is that there is a difference between compassion and empathy.

Empathy is specifically a demonstrated understanding of what another is feeling.

Compassion is characterized by the desire to take action to help someone who is suffering. Compassion often involves empathy, yes, but an understanding of why another person is suffering isn't a requirement for compassion.

In my opinion, Nesta has high empathy and low compassion while Feyre has low empathy and high compassion. To be clear, they've both exhibited both empathy and compassion at times, I just think each character favors one over the other.

Feyre at her core is a fixer. She has always seen people's problems and wants to help—it's a core tenet of her character. Successfully being able to identify when people are struggling and wanting to help is compassion. Some examples of this are:

hunting in the cabin

giving jewels to the wraiths in Spring

desperately wanting to train and do more to help Tamlin rebuild Spring

her interference in Mor and Azriel's relationship

her interference in Elain and Lucien's relationship

dealing with Nesta after the war

starting the art studio for the kids, etc.

At the same time, she has trouble putting herself in other people's shoes—even in moments where she really should've been able to—which are examples where she is unempathetic.

not understanding or caring of why her sisters are apprehensive towards letting fae into their home and what that would mean for their lives (she hated the fae too)

pushing Nesta into sharing her cauldron story

jealousy of Nesta’s friendship and confiding in Amren over her

not understanding why Lucien doesn't want to be in Velaris

not understanding why Nesta was angry about the vote (she herself was angry when she learned about her mating bond)

not understanding why the CoN wants out from the Hewn City (UTM, enough said)

in general her relationship with Nesta is lacking in empathy—something that comes to mind is making Nesta’s attitude in ACOWAR all about her and the IC and completely disregarding Nesta’s actual trauma. (and it goes the other way around as well, like Nesta thinking Feyre doesn’t care about her, those girls do nooot understand each other at all)

There are times where she is empathetic too! A lot of her empathy goes towards Rhys, she understands Elain's apprehension towards Lucien, she connects the priestesses experiences to her own with Tamlin, and the jewels she gave to the wraith and the art studio are also both examples of empathy as well as compassion.

Nesta from the very beginning of her POV in ACOSF (and arguably before too) displays a deep understanding of how she is perceived and why, in addition to more general examples of empathy.

calculating the ships + crying at the thought of humans dying in the war with Hybern

her general awareness of the effect her presence has (ACOWAR dinner scene, ACOFAS solstice)

understanding while Rhys and Mor hate her

when Cassian was sad about being bested by Eris (really all the examples of her empathizing with his bastard insecurities, of which there are many—also Cassian acknowledges the dick sucking (ew) as an act of empathy)

understanding instantly why Cassian shut down while talking about his mother

softening her tone towards Gwyn when she remembered why the library was created

Feyre's comment to Cassian about how Nesta feels more deeply than others... literally the definition of empathy

understanding why the Illyrians were afraid of her (the children should be afraid of her comment or whatever it was)

if we're being real, her ability to pinpoint other people's insecurities is twisted example of empathy since it requires an understanding of how the other person feels and what would cause them pain

giving the Mask to Bryce after hearing about the murdered humans on Midgard because she understands that drive to protect humans

Something that's notable as well is that she not only understands the feelings of others, but also that she doesn't blame others for disliking her. She consistently justifies and agrees with the way she is spoken to and treated because she is empathetic towards how her mistakes have impacted other people.

Nesta however, for all her understanding, has a lot of difficultly taking action when seeing others suffering, which comes out as a lack of compassion

We know she's always harbored guilt over Feyre hunting, but never stepped in to take over that burden

She knows humans will be affected by war, as we see when she cries when the human queens say they won't help, but is reluctant to help (both in ACOMAF dinner scene and ACOWAR when Feyre wants her to share her story)

Knows what everyone wants from her after the war—Amren wants her to train, Cassian and Feyre want her to deal with her trauma, but she prioritizes going about it her way instead of the way that would make them happier (showing up to stuff and being happy?)

She knows full well what sitting on that rock means for Cassian but chooses her own discomfort and rebellion over alleviating his embarrassment

Doesn’t want to scry until threatened that Elain would if she wouldn’t, was also fine with Feyre taking on the danger if it meant she didn’t have to

This isn’t pro or anti either of them. Feyre always wants to help, but sometimes can’t see when it isn’t wanted and can’t understand the other person’s perspective in order to help them the way that they need. Nesta feels and understands a lot but has a lot of trouble outwardly expressing that empathy towards others either in the form of words or actions. This causes her to come off as cold and unfeeling when… in her POV we can tell she’s not.

#feyre archeron #nesta archeron #acotar

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kiame-sama · 5 months

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Listen, listen, listen so, as someone who is a hard-core sub who wants someone else to take care of her, and is also someone super repressed and bratty because of it...how would alucard and Evan(or one of them if you don't feel like writing for both ) react to a darling that's all mouthy and bratty and with a "I do whateverthe fuck I WANT"attitude, only to fold the SECOND she's grabbed on the back of her neck, I mean blushing, I mean whimpering and wiggling your legs submissive, anyway ❤️ ya

(Didn't know which Alucard so I went with Hellsing Alucard)

Obviously, adult themes under the cut.

Warnings; Yandere, yandere relationship, yandere temper, yandere behavior, bratty behavior, dominant behavior

- Alucard will let you get away with quite a lot of this behavior despite the fact that he could easily put you in your place. He certainly has no qualms about making you a blushing whimpering mess right in the middle of one of your "I do what I want" tyrades, but he finds it much more entertaining to let you do as you will. It doesn't really bother him either way and it does make for decent entertainment to listen to you go on about your independence.

- Alucard will really only intervene if Ser Integra asks him to or he feels like you need to be reminded of where you belong and who you belong to. The moment he grabs the back of your neck he has this knowing grin because he is fully aware that you will buckle and become a whining mess for him. He may even hold a little tighter just to watch your legs shake and your body start to bend to his whims.

#kiame-sama #yandere #x reader #yandere x reader #reader insert #tw yandere #yandere alucard #yandere hellsing

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ineffable-endearments · 6 months

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The Crow Road by Iain Banks

I finished The Crow Road and had a little time to think about it. I'll put my thoughts under a Keep Reading in case anyone is trying to avoid spoilers.

As I speculated before, I think it's likely that The Crow Road is more related to Good Omens in philosophy than in plot. I mean, it's not that the plots necessarily have nothing in common, and we could be very surprised in the end of course, but now that I've read the whole book, its philosophical commonalities with GO are both apparent and kind of inspiring. Also, if I were a writer, I'd be more interested in dropping hints about what themes are important than telegraphing my whole plot ahead of time.

So here, I will describe the book and point out themes that I believe may reappear in Good Omens 3.

This is a long post. If you read it, make a cup of [beverage of choice].

Update on 4/20/2024: I made a second post: The Crow Road and Good Omens: Further-Out Thoughts

Below are mentions of suicide, death/murder, and sexual acts.

The Crow Road centers around a character named Prentice McHoan, a university student in Scotland who starts to sort out his complicated relationship with his complicated family as he explores the mystery of his uncle Rory's disappearance. Although the book is mostly from Prentice's perspective, the narration jumps around in time with the McHoan family. There are quite a lot of important characters to keep track of; the bare-bones summary I put below doesn't even include some of the important ones. I wanted to make the summary even shorter and simpler than this, but the truth is that this book is not short or simple, and if I made the summary any simpler, it might be downright misleading.

There are at least three major cultural aspects of The Crow Road that I am inexperienced with: the overall culture in the 1950s-1980s (I was born in 1988, so of course wasn't here for the relevant decades), the international experience of the Gulf War (again, born in 1988), and the history and culture of Scotland itself (I'm USAmerican with only reading as a source). As a result, I'm sure there are important dimensions to the book that I've missed. If someone has a different perspective taking some of these things into account, I'd love to know about it.

Also, keep in mind, there is a great deal of descriptive writing in this book. There are a lot of pages about the geography of Scotland, and about Prentice as a kid, and about Prentice's father and uncles hanging out together in their youth, and about various family incidents, and about Prentice spending time with his brothers and friends. At first, these passages seem to just make things more confusing, and in my head, I accused them of being "filler." But they definitely serve a purpose. They're a way of showing and not telling the characters' attitudes and relationships to each other. More importantly, because we get to actually live these experiences with the characters, they are what give all the plot points below their deeper emotional impacts. In other words, the everyday experiences give the plot its deeper meaning. They resonate with one of the core themes in the novel: that our experiences in life, rather than any supposed existence after death, are what matters.

The Crow Road's story is like this:

Prentice is rather directionless in life, and he seems to have trouble investing any energy in his own future as he moons over his unrequited feelings for an idealized young woman named Verity. Soon, Verity ends up in a romance with Prentice's brother, Lewis, and Prentice feels that Lewis "stole" her from him. Prentice has also become estranged from his father, Kenneth, over spirituality. Prentice believes there has to be something more after death because he feels it would be incredibly unfair if people didn't get anything other than this one life; Kenneth is not only a passionate atheist, but is offended by the notion of an afterlife.

Prentice's uncle Hamish, Kenneth's brother, has always been religious, although his religion involves a number of bizarre and offbeat ideas of his own, with inspiration from more traditional Christian notions. Prentice is not really sure about this ideology, but he's willing to talk to Hamish about it and even participates during Hamish's prayers, whereas Kenneth is openly scornful of Hamish's beliefs. Hamish interprets this as Prentice being on "his side."

Prentice has a few opportunities to go back and talk to his father, and is begged to do so by his mom, Mary, with whom his relationship is still good. Mary doesn't want either of the men to give up their inner ideas about the universe; she just wants them to agree to disagree and move on as a family. Prentice says he will visit, but he just keeps putting it off and off and off.

Prentice acquires a folder containing some of his missing uncle Rory's notes in the process of hooking up with Rory's former girlfriend, Janice Rae, who seems to have taken a shine to Prentice because he reminds her of Rory. Using the contents of the folder, Prentice wants to piece together the great literary work that Rory left unfinished, which Rory titled Crow Road; however, it becomes apparent that Rory didn't turn his concepts into anything substantial and only had a bunch of disconnected notes and ideas. He hadn't even decided whether Crow Road would be a novel, a play, or something else. The few bits of Rory's poetry for Crow Road read are bleak and depressing.

Prentice also spends a lot of time with a young woman named Ash. They've been good friends since childhood and seem to have a somewhat flirtatious dynamic now, but they aren't in a romantic relationship; mostly, they drink and hang out together. Ash tells Prentice bluntly to get his life back on track when she finds out he's failing at school, avoiding his family, and engaging in shoplifting. She is a voice of reason, and when Prentice insists to her that he's just a failure, she reminds him that actually, he's just a kid.

Prentice's efforts to figure out Rory's story or location stagnate, and he continues to fail at school and avoid his father. He then receives word that Kenneth was killed while debating faith with Hamish. In fact, Kenneth dies after a fall from a church lightning rod, which he was climbing in an act of defiance against Hamish's philosophy when it was struck by lightning; Hamish is convinced that Kenneth had incurred God's wrath. Ash is there for support when Prentice finds out about the death.

With Ash's help, Prentice returns to his hometown again to help manage Kenneth's affairs. Prentice speaks with a very shaken Hamish, who is handling Kenneth's death with extreme drama and making it all about his own feelings. Hamish tells Prentice that Kenneth was jealous that Prentice shared more in common with Hamish's faith than with Kenneth's lack of faith. However, this isn't really true, and as he contemplates his father's death, Prentice begins to internalize one of the last things Hamish reported that Kenneth had argued: "All the gods are false. Faith itself is idolatry."

As the chapters go on, Prentice is compelled by some of the meaningful items related to Rory that he discovers in his father's belongings. He gains a renewed sense of purpose trying to solve the mystery of where Rory went and what happened to him. Among the interesting items are an ancient computer disk of Rory's that Prentice can't access with any equipment he can find; Ash uses her connections in the US and Canada to find a computer expert who can finally open the files on it. This takes quite a while, since the disk has to be mailed and Ash's connection is investigating the disk only in his free time.

Prentice also discovers that his feelings for Verity have changed. He no longer feels angry with Lewis for "stealing her." At first, Prentice's narration describes this as his feelings "cooling" as a result of the trauma of losing his father, but interestingly, this soon means Prentice gets to know Verity as a sister-in-law without getting caught up in jealous romantic feelings. Verity gets along well with the family, and Prentice is actually happy to discover that she and Lewis have a baby on the way. Prentice's relationship with Lewis improves greatly as well, partly because he is no longer jealous and partly because he realizes he does not want to lose Lewis, too.

Ash's connection who was looking at Rory's computer disk comes through and sends the printed contents of the files to Prentice. The files reveal to him that Rory likely knew Prentice's uncle, Fergus, murdered his wife by unbuckling her seat belt and crashing their car. Rory had written out a fictional version of events and considered using it in Crow Road. I'm not clear on exactly how certain Rory was about Fergus's crime, or whether Rory would have intentionally reported Ferg, or whether Rory even had enough proof to publicly accuse Ferg of murder, but people would likely have connected the dots in Rory's work and become suspicious of Ferg. For this reason, Prentice believes Ferg murdered Rory as well.

Prentice confronts Ferg. He doesn't get a confession and leaves Ferg's home with no concrete proof of anything; Ferg denies it all. But Prentice is soon physically assaulted in the night, and it seems Ferg was almost certainly the culprit, because he hadn't been home that same night, and he had injuries (probably from being fought off) the next day. A day or two later, Ferg's body is found unconscious in the cockpit of a plane, which crashes into the ocean. It's uncertain whether this was a suicide, but Prentice suspects it was. Rory's body is then soon recovered from the bottom of a waterway near Prentice's home, where Ferg had sunk it years ago.

As the mysteries are solved, Prentice realizes his feelings for Ash are romantic love. However, it's too late, he thinks, because Ash is about to take a job in Canada, where she may or may not stay. Prentice also hesitates to approach her because he's embarrassed about his previous behavior, venting all his angst about Verity and his father. He isn't sure she would even want to be in a relationship with him after that. But the very night before Ash leaves, she kisses Prentice on the cheek, which leads to a deeper kiss. They finally connect, have sex, and confess their mutual feelings. Ash still goes to her job in Canada, but says she'll come back when Prentice is done with his studies that summer.

The relationship's future is somewhat uncertain because something could come up while Ash is in Canada, but Prentice is hopeful. The book ends with Prentice getting ready to graduate with his grades on track as a history scholar, fully renouncing his belief in an afterlife while he acknowledges the inherent importance of our experiences in our lives now, and enjoying his time with Lewis and Verity and his other family members.

What's the point of all these hundreds of pages?

Well, look at all of the above; there's definitely more than one point. But the main point I took away is that we get this one life, with our loved ones in this world here and now, and this is where we make our meanings. There is no other meaning, but that doesn't mean there's no meaning at all. It means the meaning is here.

It's not death that gives life its meaning. It's the things we do while alive that give life its deeper meaning.

The Crow Road is described (on Wikipedia) as a Bildungsroman, a story focusing on the moral and philosophical growth and change of its main character as they transition from childhood to adulthood ("coming-of-age novel" is a similar term that is interchangeable, but more vague and not necessarily focused on morality/philosophy). And, indeed, all of the plots ultimately tie into Prentice's changed philosophy.

After his argument with Kenneth, Prentice feels childish and humiliated, and as a result, he refuses to go back home, which leads to a spiral of shame and depression. Kenneth dies and Prentice realizes it's too late to repair the relationship, which also leads him to realize it's what we do in life that matters, and that therefore, his father's argument was correct after all.

At the end of the novel, Prentice outright describes his new philosophy. However, I can't recall one specific passage where Prentice describes the process of how he changed his mind (if anyone else can remember something I missed, do let me know). There is, however, a moment when his narration indicates that Hamish seems less disturbed by his own part in the incident that led to Kenneth's death and more disturbed by the notion that his beliefs might actually be true: there might actually be an angry, vengeful God. In other words, Hamish's philosophy is selfish at its core.

My interpretation is that when his father died, Prentice realized three things: how utterly self-serving Hamish's devout faith is, how Kenneth's untimely death proves the importance of working things out now rather than in an imaginary afterlife, and how much profound meaning Kenneth had left behind despite having no faith at all. After these realizations, a determined belief in an afterlife no longer makes our lives here more profound like Prentice once thought it did.

Also, it's worth noting that this incident changes Prentice's idea of partnership, too. He loses interest in this distant, idealized woman he's been after. In love as in the rest of life, Prentice lets go of his ideals, and in doing so, he makes room for true meaning, both in a sincere familial, platonic connection with Verity and a sincere intimate, romantic connection with Ash.

But what about the sex scene?!

Yes, indeed, at the tail end of the story, Prentice and Ash have sex and admit they want to be in a relationship together. Prentice's narration describes them sleeping together and having intercourse not just once, but many times, including some slow and relaxed couplings during which they flex the muscles in their private parts to spell out "I.L.Y." and "I.L.Y.T." to each other in Morse code. This is relevant because earlier, they had been surprised and delighted to discover that they both knew Morse code; it isn't a detail that came from nowhere.

I didn't get the impression that this scene was trying to be especially titillating to the reader. It was mostly just a list of stuff the characters did together. I felt the point was that they were still anxious about being emotionally honest, a little desperate to convey their feelings without having to speak them out loud, and awkward in a way that made it obvious that their primary concern was the feelings, not the sexual performance. They cared about each other, but they weren't trying to be impressive or put on a show; contrast this with previous scenes where Prentice would act like a clown in front of Ash to diffuse his own anxiety. I've always thought that being able to have awkward sex and still enjoy it is a good sign.

Okay, so what does this all have to do with Good Omens?

Here's where I have to get especially interpretive. I'm doing my best, but of course, not everyone reading this will have the same perspective on Good Omens, the Final Fifteen especially. I believe similar themes are going to resonate between The Crow Road and Good Omens regardless of our particular interpretations of the characters' behavior and motivations, but I suppose it could hit differently for some people.

The TL;DR: I see similar themes between The Crow Road and Good Omens in:

The importance of mortal life on Earth

Meaning (or purpose) as something that we create as we live, not something that is handed to us by a supreme being

Sincere connection and love/passion (for people, causes, arts, life's work, etc) as a type of meaning/purpose

Relationships as reflections of philosophy

The dual nature of humanity

Life on Earth as the important part of existence is a core theme in Good Omens, and has been since the very beginning. We all already know Adam chose to preserve the world as it already is because he figured this out, and we all already know Aziraphale and Crowley have been shaped for the better by their experiences on Earth. But Good Omens isn't done with this theme by a long shot. I think this is the most important thematic commonality Good Omens will have with The Crow Road. Closely related is the notion that we create our meanings as we live, rather than having them handed to us. Isn't this, in a way, what Aziraphale struggles with in A Companion to Owls? He's been given this meaning, this identity, that doesn't fit him. But does he have anything else to be? Not yet.

Partnerships as a parallel to the characters' philosophical development also resonates as a commonality that The Crow Road may have with Good Omens. Prentice's obsession with Verity goes away when he starts to embrace the importance of life on Earth and makes room for his sincere relationship with Ash. Note their names: "Verity" is truth, an ideal Prentice's father instills in him; "Ashley" means "dweller in the ash tree meadow" in Anglo-Saxon, according to Wikipedia, and "ash" is one of the things people return to after death. Prentice literally trades his high ideals for life on Earth. We see in Aziraphale a similar tug-o'-war between Heaven's distant ideals and Crowley's Earthly pleasures, so I can see a similar process potentially playing out for him.

I don't particularly recall a ton of thematic exploration of free will in The Crow Road. However, there is a glimmer of something there: Prentice feels excessively controlled by Kenneth's desire to pass down his beliefs, and part of the reason Prentice is so resistant to change is simply his frustration with feeling censored and not being taken seriously. As the reader, I do get the feeling that while Prentice is immature, Kenneth made major mistakes in handling their conflict, too. And Kenneth's mistakes come from trying to dictate Prentice's thoughts. There is likely some crossover with Good Omens in the sense that I'm pretty sure both stories are going to take the position that people need to be allowed to make mistakes, and to do things that one perceives as mistakes, without getting written off as "stupid" or "bad" or otherwise "unworthy."

Suffice it to say that the human characters in Good Omens will also certainly play into these themes, but it's hard to write about them when we don't know much about them except that one of them is almost certainly the reincarnation of Jesus. This also makes me suspect perhaps the human cast will be 100% entirely all-new, or mostly new, symbolic of how Aziraphale and Crowley have immersed themselves in the ever-evolving, ever-changing world of life on Earth. Alternatively, if we encounter human characters again from Season 1 or 2, perhaps the ways they've grown and changed will be highlighted. For example, even in real-world time, Adam and Warlock have already, as of the time I'm writing this, gone through at least one entire life stage (from 11 in 2019 to 16 in 2024). They'll be legal adults in a couple of years, and if there's a significant time skip, they could be much older. If characters from Season 1 do reappear and themes from The Crow Road are prominent, I would expect either some key scenes highlighting contrasts and changes from their younger selves or for stagnation and growth to be a central part of their plot.

The more I write, the more I just interpret everything in circles. Hopefully this post has at least given you a decent idea of what The Crow Road is like and how it may relate to Good Omens.

I'll end this post with a quotation that feels relevant:

Telling us straight or through his stories, my father taught us that there was, generally, a fire at the core of things, and that change was the only constant, and that we – like everybody else – were both the most important people in the universe, and utterly without significance, depending, and that individuals mattered before their institutions, and that people were people, much the same everywhere, and when they appeared to do things that were stupid or evil, often you hadn’t been told the whole story, but that sometimes people did behave badly, usually because some idea had taken hold of them and given them an excuse to regard other people as expendable (or bad), and that was part of who we were too, as a species, and it wasn’t always possible to know that you were right and they were wrong, but the important thing was to keep trying to find out, and always to face the truth. Because truth mattered. Iain Banks, The Crow Road

#good omens #the crow road #good omens book club #go3 speculation #s3 speculation #good omens 2 spoilers #go s2 spoilers

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bugsbenefit · 7 months

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genuinely still baffled by the "they don't need to address Mike's sexuality, all that matters is that he's in love with Will" crowd. especially when people say it who claim to care about Mike's character (when you could also just say you don't really care for that part of the show, which would be fine, no one cares about all characters/arcs)

because Surely you realize how him being gay or bi would change his entire character, right. whether he's attracted to girls or not would change the way all his actions up until now are to be interpreted. not even making a statement on his sexuality here, this is generally speaking

if he was actually attracted to El you'd have to address when and why he suddenly stopped loving El since in fiction "it just happened" isn't usually a satisfying answer to breaking a multi season couple up. Why is Will it for him? he's been acting weird for ages so when did he realize? and what made it click he fell out of love with El for good? you'd have to give some explanation for why he was able to proclaim his love for El accidentally in s3 and then fail to do it in the same season while looking uncomfortable with kissing her and so on since his pov was so majorly withheld

if he's not attracted to girls his arc in s5 needs to focus more on comphet and how dating El affected him/why he felt he couldn't break up with her/homophobic attitude in his surrounding slash Hawkins. or the idea of platonic and romantic love in general. there would be no how he got from point A(El) to point B(Will), like what the focus of a bi!Mike s5 arc would have to be on to explain what happened, but a focus on how he ended up at point A in the first place and why he was stuck there/how it affected him

and even core moments of the series would have entirely different meanings depending on if he's attracted to girls. "it's not my fault you don't like girls" being a peak example. if he's gay it's easy to explain it with projection. if he IS attracted to girls though it would read as a much more intentional (even if blurted out) act of homophobia, since it would be him pointing something out that Will genuinely does (not liking being around girls) but he himself can't relate to

and that's all just the surface level differences. Mike being attracted to girls or not being attracted to girls would give his arc an entirely different focus in s5. AS WELL as make his past actions have entirely different meanings. the idea that "it doesn't matter for his character" is so insanely wrong it's wild how many people confidently peddle it

#Mike being gay is the better writing choice imo in case some people don't know my opinion on it and the post isn't really about it #because making him bi would contradict major parts of what they already wrote and the coding they gave his character #would also be more conclusive with other themes the show already has like platonic vs romantic love #good example of a character where it's the exact opposite is Richie Tozier from the original It book btw #specifically when people try to make him gay in adaptations/fanworks which always derails his character and requires massive #changes to the way he's interpreted and things to be ignored/written out #because he was specifically BI coded in the book and not gay coded #so any gay interpretations take away from his character massively

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dangermousie · 3 months

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Hey dangermousie some time when you're feeling up for an ask: what are your favorite webnovels? Like danmei, bg, general fiction, anything. You've shared so many intetesting sounding novels in other posts so I was curious what some of the top favorites are? I remember Sha Po Lang, Ever Night, and The Dreamer in the Spring Boudoir (which I'm reading because of you ToT)

I love this ask! I am gonna limit myself to 35 novels or we will be here all night. The usual caveat is - this is very personal. You will see that out of 35 (well, 36) novels, there is only one modern, there is a lot of angst and things like noncon and unhealthy relationships don't bother me. But I dislike harem infights and protags who are too OP.

35 I Became the Older Brother of the Heroine in an Abusive Novel by Liu Gou Hua (danmei) - a lovely novel where one half of otp is healthy and wholesome and the other abused feral wreck who melts under sanity and care.

34 After the Disabled God of War Became My Concubine by Liu Gou Hua (danmei) - our MC is a modern person who transmigrates into a historical bad guy who apparently married a captured and crippled general who eventually healed, escaped and committed a lot of murder to avenge his humiliation. Poor historian MC transmigrates right before the wedding and is desperate to avoid the fate of having his head hang on the city gates for three years in the near future. Good luck! This has such a wholesome (yet not boring) OTP. Proof that healthy doesn't have to be dull.

33 You've Got Mail by He Dan Bai (danmei) - the sex in this one is gonzo and biologically questionable but the love story is wistful and sweet and somehow both hilarious and involving two rather damaged people.

32 The Blue Whisper by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang (het) - the novel is a bona fide angst masterpiece, which really delves into what it feels like to be imprisoned or to love and what makes you you. I sniffled throughout.

31 The Paranoid Emperor’s Black Moonlight Shizun by Chen Sensen (danmei) - a really screwed up disciple and a really decent master have some insane entanglements. To say more would be to spoil but if you want some intensity, angst, groveling and utter codependency and did I mention ANGST? this one is for you!

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

29 Accompanying the Phoenix by Jiu Lu Fei Xiang (het) - the one that just got adapted into The Legend of Shen Li, this is high adventure and cottage core and funny and tragic and powerful ML being putty in the hands of capable FL and just EVERYTHING.

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

27 The Black Moonlight Holds the BE Script by Teng Luo Wei Zhi (het) - so fucked up, so good, with monster hero who learns to love and be human and heroine who learns to love and be human (but from the other side, her tower of perfection), with a complex plot and no easy outs.

26 The Grand Princess by Mo Shu Bai (het) - a husband and wife who really drifted apart and ended up killing each other (or did they?) get a second chance as they are reborn as their younger selves. This has a great plot, a competent set of protags, and slow burn with complexity and trauma and somehow yet lightness. Plus awesome secondary OTPs!

25 Copper Coins by Mu Su Li (danmei) - a monk and a dragon? More likely than you may think. This is smart and wistful and made me cry; the romance doesn't kick in for the longest time and it doesn't even matter.

24 The Golden Terrace by Cang Wu Bin Bai (danmei) - two smart and principled (yes, they both have principles different though they may be) men navigate their arranged marriage, their past friendship and their past break up, become a super couple (one of the healthiest danmei couples I’ve ever read and proves healthy doesn’t have to be boring), save the country and bring down the emperor or two and just generally this is my rainy day book.

23 Long Wind Crossing (Destined) by Mo Shu Bai (het) - two functional lovely people fighting the world and growing up together and forming an amazing marriage.

22 Mistakenly Saving the Villain by Feng Yu Nie (danmei) - so underrated. A perfect h/c fantasy with the most functional MC and fucked up ML that never puts even a toe wrong with a premise that could go seriously bad so many different ways, instead telling a funny, moving story of love helping you heal.

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

20 The Rebirth of a Star General by Qian Sha Cha Ke (het) - not a typical QSCK at all, this one has a heroine who wakes up after being killed by her awful family; in her past life she was a general whose glory went to her cousin but here she chooses to start anew. Revenge is secondary to her - forming a new life and healing are really the focus. Also the OTP (FL and a male general with his own tragedy, and her former schoolmate) is just EVERYTHING!

19 Nan Chan by Tang Jiu Qing (danmei) - it reads like poetry crossed with a nightmare. One of the most unusual novels I've read and with the most alien set of protagonists I've ever read and believably so (a personification of a sword and a cannibalistic fish), I can't even describe this in any way other than a deity-centric paean to atheism.

18 The Rest of My Life by Mo Shu Bai (het) - the sole modern on this list, this is a novella about an aftermath of a regular office worker with a regular life and a regular husband being raped. It's a hard hard read but it's amazing.

17 To Rule In a Turbulent World by Fei Tian Ye Xiang (danmei) - gay Minglan is my elevator pitch. Well that or "what happens if you stick cottagecore and crucifixion in one novel."

It’s a BL novel but honestly, it’s a slice of life period novel with fascinating characters and setting that happens to have a gay OTP, not a romance in a period setting per se. It’s meticulously written and smart and deals with character development and somehow makes daily minutia fascinating (I never thought I’d find daily farming things interesting but here I am.) Farming, politics and the sudden horrors of war all intermingle perfectly.

Our protagonist, You Miao, is the son of a fabulously wealthy merchant, sent to the capital to make connections and study. As the story starts, he buys a sex slave on a whim from his friend (OK, wait wait wait don’t go, why are you bailing :P) Basically You Miao sees his friend’s servants beating someone to death, feels bad, and buys him because, as we discover gradually and organically, You Miao may be wealthy and occasionally immature but he is a genuinely good person. Let's back up - You Miao - our protag. He is the main reason I love the novel. It’s hard to write a character who is wealthy, kinda spoiled, sometimes immature and still make him eminently likeable. You Miao is also smart, pragmatic, funny, surprisingly laid back, a people person, and with a stubborn streak a mile wide. He is not perfect in any way but he is a real living breathing person I came to love.

Anyway, the ostensible sex slave he buys is a barbarian from beyond the wall, named Li Zhifeng. It’s touch and go if the man will survive but eventually he does and You Miao, who by then has to return home, gives him his papers and lets him go (not before they have some pretty explicit sex because hey - You Miao is all ‘why not, might be fun to try’ and LZF is “dude saved my life, why not.’ One of the things I love about the story is that there is no instalove - both sex and love make sense in the way and the order they happen; the two bang on a semi regular basis long before their feelings fully develop into love, which is pretty gradual and realistic.) However, LZF decides to stick with You Miao instead, both out of sense of debt for YM saving his life and because he genuinely likes him. One of the pleasures of the novel is watching LZF slowly transform from a piece of wood automaton into a genuine person who allows himself joy or temper.

So meticulously written, so smart, so vivid, such a cast of secondary characters (that friend who was beating LZF to death ended up being one of my favorite, most tragic characters in the novel because the author gets people are complex.)

16 The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System by MXTX (danmei) - a pastiche parody of web novels that somehow is both witty and makes me genuinely feel desperately for the protags. Go read!

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

14 The Marquis Is Innocent by Peng Lai Ke (het) - this is the set up of very beautiful yet utterly cold-hearted woman marrying a ruthless, powerful man who eventually ends up on top of the murder pyramid. And a relationship that starts as a political arrangement with the husband not caring for her but then the ruthless scheming murder machine falls hard for her while FL actually does not, not yet. It takes a long time. This is such a glorious slow burn (I think by now you realized I love slow burns) and it takes her a very long time to open up or for him to realize that is what he wants (he's a very believable period man who finds it hard to admit he can actually have his happiness based on a woman) and there are steps forward and back and it's glorious, glorious!

13 Thousand Miles of Bright Moonlight by 罗青梅 (haven't seen it transliterated) (het) - one of my ultimate favorites, this would make such an epic drama! A smart as hell but cautious and wounded heroine, a hero who is a monk and a warrior but also terribly ill and such a vivid world and amazing secondary characters (heroine’s brother is possibly my favorite supporting character of all time) and so much angst and happy ending. Both the protags are such intense, good people longing for happiness but not daring for it. This has an amazing romance but it’s not romance-centric if it makes sense - ML doesn’t appear for a while. But once he does, it’s worth it!

12 Mountain and River Pillow by Mo Shu Bai (het) - a tender intense and tragic slowburn which shows the limits of knowing what will happen and the fight to reestablish the family with an amazing amazing OTP. Heroine transmigrated into her past self; this time she chooses to go through with her arranged marriage instead of running away for love (it ended badly) but her knowledge fails to prevent her new sweet husband and his whole family murdered in battle and framed for treason. All that is, except for her husband's youngest brother, barely adult and left with an almost impossible task. In the past life he managed but it hollowed him out. In this one he has a sister in law to assist so...Anyway, both the protags are smart, good, intense and amazing people and I love them separately and as an OTP. By far my favorite MSB novel.

11 Those Years In Quest of Honour Mine by Man Man He Qi Duo (danmei) - another really underrated gem, it’s funny and heart-breaking and made me laugh and sniffle within pages of each other. Its two protagonists are both walking wounded but also good people, and watching them find happiness despite all the horrors the world threw at them, watching them take care of each other is so lovely. Also, someone once described the ML as “Lan Wangji gone feral” and that is just A++++

10 The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by MXTX (danmei) - we all know that one is there even any point describing it.

9 Nightfall/Ever Night by Mao Ni (not romance centric but het) - so long but also so smart and unusual and bloody and tho it’s not primarily a romance, you will never see another ML who loves his FL as much as Ning Que does his Sang Sang. And the worldbuilding and the plot and the characters and just so so bleak.

8 Wu Chang Jie by Shui Qian Cheng (danmei) - are you an emotional vampire? I am and this novel is a banquet. In a highly fantastical setting, we meet our protagonists - the sunny Xie Bian and the intense and surly Fan Wushe. Xie Bian is a human who assists his master in conveying souls to the underworld and making sure no mishaps happen. Bian is concentrated sunshine in human form and to meet him is to love him. When the novel opens, his drunk master brings back another human to be his shidi and assist with duties - said human is uncommunicative, intense and surly Wushe. Bian is excited to have a shidi but little does he know that a story dealing with the horrors of past lifetime is about to start.

Anyway, why WCJ? So many reasons. It has such a dark bleak worldview - this world is a horrifying system where powerful cannibalize each other’s cores for an impossible chance to ascend, where gods have sealed off their realm and all that’s left is neverending human misery and hell (the only way you’d see a deity is if they’d been sent down to suffer over and over and over), where even reincarnation doesn’t fix things and bad acts are often unpunished. And the novel then asks - is it worth being a good person in such a world? More, is it worth being a good person in such a world when nothing good has ever happened to you and you have been repeatedly betrayed due to your goodness? And the answer, on Bian’s part, is an uncompromising yes.

Ah yes, the other reason to love this novel - the protagonists and their fucked up fucked up relationship. Bian (who was Prince Ziheng in the past life) is so genuinely good. But he is that rare thing - good but not saintly, noble but not cloying. So much of the novel is his getting taken apart over and over and barely able to put himself back together every time but his soul is still as amazing as ever. And then there is Wushe (who was Prince Zixiao in past life, Ziheng’s not-bio-related brother.) Wushe is not a good person. He is a monster. And he loves Bian/Ziheng more than his life and his soul and the entire world but he’s also the one who hurt him more than anyone else ever could and did it over and over. His love survived a literal century of torture in the worst kind of hell and refused the usual memory loss of new life. But it also humiliated and broke Ziheng down to his constituent parts.

One of the things that is so fascinating to me about this novel is the question of what can be forgiven/what should be forgiven/what kind of expiation is enough/can you ever love someone who you loved so much and then he hurt you so badly and is now repentant? And it never sweeps trauma under the rug or hand waves it away but deals with it head on. If you want healthy relationships, you should stay far away from this novel but if intense insane ones with a feral barely human one capable of destroying the world leashed by love and guilt to the sane deeply good one is your bag, come right in. There is also the world building and the fact that yes, the big fall out between Ziheng x Zixiao is based on not knowing all the facts but it’s not “why can’t you talk?! This is dumb!” But is totally in keeping with both events and their characters. It’s reasonable for Ziheng to do what he does and for Zixiao to misunderstand and decide Ziheng is now his biggest enemy (but still one he’s fixated on) and for Ziheng to never be able to clarify. Anyway, once again this is trigger warning central so please heed those, but if they are no issue, this one is wonderful.

7 Stars of Chaos (Sha Po Lang) by Priest (danmei) - so smart and so much clever world building. There is enough politicking to satisfy a Qiang Jin Jiu fan, it’s steampunk, and our two protagonists - Gu Yun, the empire’s most powerful general, who’s loyal to the empire despite being badly wronged by it, and Chang Geng, a cursed prince with barbarian blood and horrifying childhood - are wonderful separately and together. This is a huge slow burn but it’s totally worth it! They fall in love with each other’s hearts and brains and ability as much as anything. (Yes, this is the one with the yifu thing. Gu Yun is made Chang Geng’s foster father when he rescues him and brings him back to the capital as a way to keep CG safe in imperial strife. They are 12 and 19 at the time so clearly it’s never a parental relationship.)

6 Heaven Official's Blessing by by MXTX (danmei) - I love it’s sprawling narrative and cast, I love its inventive setting and picaresque story. It’s hilarious and can make me cry. But the novel’s place on this list is due to Xie Lian who is part Kenshin part drama WWX part pure goodness wrapped in heartbreak and trauma wrapped in sunshine.

5 (tie) The Emperor’s Beloved Ugly Girl by 一味相思 (haven't seen it transliterated) (het)- Our heroine is the unlucky laundry maid A’Chou. She is a di daughter of an upperclass family but her family got destroyed in one of the political upheavals of the time and A’Chou, only a small child at the time, was the only survivor and was made an enslaved laundry maid. Due to various events, at the start of the novel she is a laundry maid in a minister’s household and the minister’s beloved daughter is having a fit because she’s supposed to marry the former Crown Prince which may have been great a few years back but Crown Prince had since been deposed, tortured, imprisoned and now is living in the middle of nowhere under conditions that are too meager to be called house arrest. And he’s seriously crippled too. Understandably, the young lady doesn’t want to marry him! She’d rather kill herself and so she does. And so, a desperate plan is hatched - why don’t we pretend the laundry maid is the di daughter of the minister’s household and send her off? And so A’Chu is sent as the bride. She arrives to discover a broke, seriously injured man on the verge of death…and we go from there. This is so gorgeous and tender and slow in just the right way and like AAAAAA! Secondary OTPs (one of which is MM) are also epic.

5 Wishing You Eternal Happiness by Peng Lai Ke (het) - this is almost tied with Dreamer as my favorite het web novel ever though it couldn’t be more different from Dreamer, with its hard-edged and hard-souled protagonists ruthlessly cleaving their way to the world and, eventually, each other, its smart cynical air. Except in one thing - the world of Wishing is just as bloody and dark. Its two protagonists are gentle, deeply wounded souls who may find salvation in each other but even something as basic as safety almost seems out of reach. Jliafu, our heroine, is neither a modern-day transmigrator, nor some exotic princess or demoness. She is very much a period woman of her time, from a weathy merchant clan, whose beauty is her curse. You can tell the novel’s tone from that utterly bleak opening chapter where she, a favorite concubine of a capricious dying emperor, is ordered to be buried alive with him and is not even given the “grace” of white silk but slowly suffocates in the coffin, scrabbling at the lid. There is no grand threats of vengeance on her part, not dramatic opera events. Just despair and death. The whole introductory chapter is haunted by emotional ghosts - the empress’ unrequited love for the monster on the imperial bed (turning into desire for Jiafu’s suffering after he dies), the emperor slowly dying in his prime after waging too many wars, and his fear of being haunted by Pei Youan, a brilliant if sickly minister who died of illness long ago on one of imperial campaigns. There is no triumph for anyone, only loss.

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

4 Ballad of Sword and Wine (Qiang Jin Jiu) by Tang Jiu Qing (danmei) - a dense political tome that takes a while to get going but then it’s a runaway train. In a fictional dynasty, Shen Zechuan, the only remaining son of a disgraced aristocratic family and Xiao Chiye, the younger son of a family of generals guarding the border join forces (and then something else) to get power and pull down the dysfunctional system.

This is so elegant and smart (a rare web novel I’d recommend to anyone who just loves solid period fiction) and you probably need a notebook to keep track of the politics and military strategy. These characters are very very smart not just because the author says so.

As to the characters, there is a large cast and I love many of them, but for me the novel is made by Shen Zechuan and Xiao Chiye. SZC is gorgeous and delicate and icy and can kill you before you have time to blink. Saddled with the sins of the family he had no pleasant interaction with, he claws his way out of hell (seeing the sinkhole he was trapped in, literally as well) to take down those who wronged him but also to amass power so all the tragedy and corruption won’t happen again and the whole rotten system comes crashing down. XCY is a military genius who is trapped as a hostage in the capital because the court doesn’t trust his family. He longs to return to the plains of home and to take his rightful place. The two men start out as bitter enemies, then reluctant and sniping allies, then as friends and eventually as one of the most gorgeous, tender, swoony OTPs. Anyway this is one is a bona fide masterpiece, equal parts smart and emotionally intense.

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

2 Stains of Filth (Yuwu) by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat (danmei) - another novel by the author of 2ha. Clearly she just pushes all my buttons every time. This one is much shorter and has a plot that is twisty but less twisty than 2ha. Still, all that means is that intensity and the pain are more concentrated. Aristocratic Mo Xi and former slave Gu Mang were both legendary generals of the empire and lovers. But Gu Mang betrayed the country and switched to the enemy. Now he is back as a peace offering by that country and Mo Xi has to deal with the fact that his feelings are as strong as ever.

This novel!!! So much pain and intensity!!! So many amazing plot twists and supporting characters. The same bleak world view, the same unjust society, the same protagonists doing right things despite the cost. Mo Xi’s intensity and inability to let go (he’s imprinted on Gu Mang and that’s it) is romantic, bone-shakingly intense, and tragic all at once. And oh Gu Mang! So many times I just wanted to reach into the book physically to protect him. The novel deals with unjust societies, memory versus personality, what it’s like to be good in a bad universe etc. And it both made me sob and giggle, repeatedly, and sold me on literally death-defying (but not honor-defying!) love. Oh, and special shout out to the fact that like 2ha, you may start out hating some characters and end up a rabid fangirl (cough Murong Lian!)

1 The Husky and His White Cat Shizun (2ha) by Meatbun Doesn't Eat Meat (danmei) -my n1 forever and ever.

Taxian Jun, the horrific cultivation emperor of the world who razed cities and destroyed sects, is surrounded on his mountain. The righteous sects are terrified to confront him but tired of living, Taxian Jun consumes poison and dies by suicide at the age of 32. And opens his eyes as 16 year old Mo Ran, Mo Ran long before he became Taxian Jun, Mo Ran who is excited at a chance to save the one person he loved and lost. Oh, and to deal with his loathed shizun, the unapproachable and strict Chu Wanning, his past life’s biggest enemy.

I have no idea if it’s objectively the best on this list but it hits every trope I love, its bleak worldview (the world will change only incrementally but that’s enough, average person will not appreciate the sacrifice but it’s still worthwhile, and love is worth everything) mirrors mine, and the sheer complexity of the plot and cascade of plot twists each of which is insane and yet completely logical, is amazing (this is a rare novel where it’s even more fun to reread than read for the first time because you keep seeing all the hints and trail crumbs laid out that you did not see the first time.)

And the characters!!! I mean, this novel has multiple universes/timelines, a side trip to the Underworld AND the demon realm, a plot more twisted than a store’s worth of pretzels and yet the thing that hits me the most are the characters. Mo Ran is my favorite web novel character of all time and I love Chu Wanning so. All the secondary characters are wonderfully written (and some of them made me bawl) and they are all complex. My opinion of all of them changed many times over; the novel doesn’t make it easy to love some of them but then you do and it’s so worthwhile! That slow change is one of the delights of the novel - I started out disliking the unpleasant, superior Chu Wanning and cruel, callow Mo Ran and then I loved them so so hard and cried for them so so hard and was in awe of their heroism and sacrifice and selflessness and capacity to love.

Oh, and the fact that this novel does something almost impossible - it has its protagonist start out as so clearly irredeemable and then slowly and painfully and thoroughly redeems him (without ever letting the reader forget what it is he needs redemption for.) Also, for a novel that made me cry so hard I felt ill, this book is just so damn funny with the most sarcastic sense of humor imaginable (the serious angst doesn’t even kick in until 90+ chapters!) Anyway I should stop or I will write a dissertation. But this is the one web novel that I would put in my top 5 not just web novels but any novels in any shape or form. The plentiful trigger warnings are there for a reason so stay away if they are an issue, but if not, if anyone hasn’t read it yet, what are you doing with your life?!

#asks #cnovel #i stole some of those write ups from my earlier posts or i'd be writing until 2025

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avariantflaire · 10 months

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i called saiteru 'unconventional' but that doesn't even begin to describe them. like. saiki is ace (textual evidence: guy literally made it impossible for marilyn monroes to happen) or at least on that spectrum. teruhashi? as the prettiest girl?? who can charm anyone out of their knickers (pardon my language) if she wanted to??? the act would lose all meaning. no way physical intimacy is her love language.

teruhashi's love language is "does he see me for who i truly am" coded but subverted in an empowered "i know exactly who i am and i've proved it effortlessly thus far but saiki is the greatest challenge i've ever encountered and he might actually be trumping my worldviews". it's the 'i want a guy whose net worth is five million yen' BUT 'i like saiki' and that's more important than everything else. i don't think he ever actually changes her mind about things. but he DOES become one of her most important people, and that implies a compromise. a change in the approach, not necessarily in the attitude.

you see this with saiki as well. he never really shakes off the 'romance is a no go' attitude, but his approach to teruhashi definitely DOES change. it's still 'trying to get involved with me is a waste of time', which never really changes, except that now 'i can't give her to any of you' becomes the priority, the way he deals with her.

saiteru is unconventional in that the characters themselves never, at their core, really change; it's not an "i can fix them/heal them/change them" story, it's a "there's someone just as important to me, if not more important to me, than what i think/say/do."

it's the way they push each other's comfort zones, break/exceed each other's expectations, and in the process not only solidify who they they are, but also crack the valuation of these identities just enough for development to happen. saiteru is the process, not the ending. i daresay all the best relationships are.

#saiteru #unpexpected analysis at 1am #saiki k #saiki no psi nan #saiki kusuo no psi nan #the disastrous life of saiki k #saiki kusuo #teruhashi kokomi #analysis.vtf

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tododeku-or-bust · 2 months

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Wait I always thought "outrage is not activism" meant like, that outrage on its own won't change the status quo because we also need protests, direct action etc, like as a criticism of slacktivism. But ppl use it to mean "if you wanna change the status quo you can't be outraged"?? Oh man fuck those ppl, that's the stupidest attitude ever!! "Misogynist pretending he's winning an argument about feminism with a woman because she let her voice show emotion" core

The first way you said it is not wrong. But people will often use it towards or about bloggers of color to microaggressively say that "oh you're online complaining but you're not doing anything" and it's like... 1) I have the right to do that, it's my fucking online blog, 2) I'm DEALING WITH RACISM, so yeah I can be mad all I want, and 3) just bc YOU don't know what I do with my time, doesn't mean that EYE'M not doing shit!

So yes, it can be a criticism of "slacktivism", but when you're walking into someone's space (where You Too don't do shit but complain and expect people to pity your circumstances), and accuse them of not doing anything about their oppression (that YOU aid in, btw!)... It means you think that they're "being too aggressive". It's a really roundabout annoyingly performative way of saying "why are you so angry?" When they need to Quit wasting my ttiiiiiiiiiime 😂😭

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corvennite · 10 months

Text

—⛥ ROCKSTAR ABBY'🎸

headcanons w/fem! reader

I'm writing a fic about it so stay tuned, these are just some ideas that popped up in my head.

cw: nsfw (smut), kinda enemies to ??, voyeur, fingering, female masturbation, phone sex, nude pics, possessive behavior (kinda toxic Abby lol), lesbian sex, p in v (strap on), degrading, edging, overstimulation, lots of teasing, rope bunny, gagging, senses depravation, ghosting. Let me know if I forgot something.

All right so for context, you and Abby do not get along very well since you both know each other, she always had been very stubborn and proud always thinking she's better than anyone (bc she is 🤭) and it got in her head mostly after she started her band. Your friends had always been supportive towards her since you were the only one with problems, they didn't mind much, always dealing and putting up with your attitude when she was mentioned or asked to go out with the group (which was a bit frequtently). Even if you both despised each other, more you than her, there was this oddly weird sexual tension between you two every time a word was exchanged. That's how I think she would be if somehow you managed to get closer to her.

︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶

(sfw)

⛧ I think she would be an extreme tease, always making jokes and playing around with you;

⛧ she'd put into effort to know your tastes, what you enjoy, favorite music (so she could learn and play), shows, moves, books, etc;

⛧ even if she jokes a lot with you and sometimes she can be a lil mean, she's the only one who can do it;

⛧ she would be a bit of an asshole with the people you go out/hook up with, since she's a bit jealous but would die first than admit it;

⛧ Abby would be overprotective towards you, any guy with a wrong mind and action be sure she would beat them to death without your knowledge;

⛧ she's a good listener, even if it doesn't look like she hears all your bullshit and puts up with it;

⛧ I think she would try to teach you a thing or two around the guitar, however, she would mock you a lot during it;

⛧ would always have you backstage or nearby during the shows;

⛧ asks your opinion (indirectly) on the songs and medleys;

⛧ probably made some demo music thinking about you;

⛧ would never say it but, she gets less nervous when you're around while she's on stage, when she can see you;

⛧ would treat you like a fan despite hour 'hate' towards her, is just her way to provoke you;

⛧ gives you one of the official band merchan before even start to sell it;

⛧ doesn't let any other band member be too close to you, they're her friends but she wants you all to herself;

⛧ she would be very troubled if you got lost around the shows so she always leave her guards keeping an eye on you;

⛧ she probably let you sign one of her guitars on a playful conversation you both had, she never took it off though;

⛧ gave you a necklace with one of her favorite guitar pick.

(nsfw)

⛧ okay so, she would be always dominant at least at the beginning, never submitting for you, sometimes she would get a bit weak if you topped;

⛧ this woman is a guitarrist so she's very skilled with her fingers;

⛧ she would edge you for hours after a show, or even before, inside the dressing room or in the van while heading back;

⛧ her hands would be always over you, gripping around your waist, hips, thighs, ass and even teasing around nearby your clothed core;

⛧ her favorite thing to do is to go down on you while you're reading some lyrics you helped her out with, or, some she made to you (the dirtiest shit she wrote) without your knowledge;

⛧ Abby would definitely finger fuck you while she's recording a song, making some of your moans be the background of it;

⛧ she has a shameless polaroid of you only in her jacket and laced panties, her fingers around the sides pulling a bit down revealing your hip bone, she keeps on her wallet;

⛧ she makes you ride her thigh as she write new lyrics or talks to her manager thru the phone;

⛧ boot humping while she plays the guitar;

⛧ she has those collars around your neck with spikes and a metal circle to hold onto, she enjoys pulling it randomly;

⛧ Abby is a bit too shameless sometimes, if there's another person around the studio she doesn't mind, she touches your pussy until you're begging for her to stop and even so, she'll mock you and ask why you're whining out of no where;

⛧ whenever she's away on tour, she makes you take pics of your body and send to her, most of them with her jacket on or t-shirt;

⛧ she enjoys phone sex a lot, putting you on line making you touch yourself while she's needy for you or even turn into a video call where she can watch you play with your pussy;

⛧ when she gets jealous she gets real jealous, fuckin' you so hard with her 8 inch strap you can see stars, she doesn't care much if you're crying or if it's hurting, she'll take you bent over her desk;

⛧ Abby enjoys gagging you with your own panties, sometimes underwear she buys for you and rips it off afterwards;

⛧ makes you gag and almost pass out on her strap she proudly calls it her own cock;

⛧ despite enjoying the strap, she much more prefer to use her mouth and fingers, the tongue piercing making you see stars when it rubs against your clit;

⛧ she goes totally off fuckin you for the first time, the tension was too much and you were just so pretty with those tight clothes she couldn't resist, even if she hated you so much;

⛧ Abby wouldn't speak with you after your first time, leading into a fight you picked up being stubborn and then, you being all spread out with your eyes covered and her fingers edging you for hours;

⛧ she likes to tie you up, how pretty you look with red ropes around your wrists, thighs, ankles, chest, everywhere she can put them, she just loves it. maybe it will even be a cover of one of her new albums;

⛧ you're not the only girl in her life, a rockstar like herself has a couple share of groupies and even if she's over possessive with you, the same behavior coming from someone she could only toy with makes her kind mad;

⛧ she loves watching you touching yourself, she always makes you do it but then slaps your hand off when she sees you're ready to cum, the way you back arch and toes curl, how you look so beautiful trying to reach spots only she can get, she gets so damn turned on;

⛧ while fuckin, she will call you the most degrading names, it's not a lie, after all you are her little slut and shameless harlot, the doll she enjoys to break and the bitch who swore she hates her sooo damn much.

#abby x fem!reader #abby tlou #abby smut #abby x reader #abby anderson #abby the last of us #abby headcanons #the last of us #tlou smut #tlou2 #tlou #x reader #headcanon #smut

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kurogane2512 · 1 year

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can i get some hcs nsfw/sfw with keqing, ningguang, or yelan, and fem reader? literally any au if you’re interested im just thirsting for anything atm and you’re a really good writer Kuro❤️

Aww thank you so much, your words mean a lot to me! I decided to make this a school au since I was craving to write something like this for a while, I hope you don't mind and enjoy! <3

18+ CONTENT MDNI

Game: Genshin Impact

Characters: Student! Keqing, Teacher! Ningguang x fem! reader (student)

Type: Smut and Fluff (sfw hcs with nsfw drabble, school au, there is a common storyline with branching routes for each of them, reader is not underage btw, teacher x student relationship for Ningguang, scissoring, oral)

Teyvat Academy has the reputation of being the top ranked school in Teyvat for all domains, and quite rightfully so. Housing top of the class facilities, courses and of course, professors. While it appears as a place for the rich and wealthy, it welcomes everyone with its elaborate scholarship system. However, even the purest and finest of places hide some deep, sinful secrets....

Keqing

The current Student Council President is loved by all, teachers and students alike. She's disciplined, responsible, well-spoken and trustworthy. Not to mention, you are the Vice President of the Council and her fellow classmate.

The two of you are together almost all the time due to work, often staying back until late to complete documents and planning for any and all events. And of course, also taking time out for studies. You act as each other's support, filling up where the other falls.

People often gossip you two are dating but Keqing's straightforward attitude makes them discard all those thoughts. However, they don't know the truth is that you are indeed in a relationship. You two wanted to keep it a secret until graduation hence always acted normally in public.

But there were times when you liked teasing her and acted mischievously. While Keqing was very firm and always appeared diligent in public, it was rather easy to make her flustered in your presence. She had a reputation to maintain, and you always liked testing her limits~

"Y-Y/n....not here—aah!~"

Keqing moaned out as quietly as possible as you lapped up her cunt, the two of you were hiding in the storeroom at the sports ground. You had been instructed by the PE teacher to check up the equipment for the upcoming competition; but one wrong step and Keqing almost tumbled on the jumping bars and you tried to catch her but fell down with her. Your head got cushioned in her soft breasts and your knee pressed against her core, making her let out a surprised gasp.

You immediately got aroused at her voice but held back as it wasn't the right place nor time to do this. The two of you got back up and continued the work while feeling all hot and bothering the whole time, glancing at each other every now and then. Once you were finished, you pressed her against the door and captured her lips in a passionate kiss. She melted into you, as if she was waiting for this. She felt your hand slip under her shirt and cup her breasts, making her moan into the kiss.

"Y-Y/n, wait— Someone will come...."

You smirked, "Then be quiet, babe."

"Huh?! How do you expect me to—ngh!~"

You thumbed her clit, a close-mouthed gasp leaving her mouth. You kissed down her neck while toying with her left nipple through her shirt, her knees going limp at the sensations.

"H-hey....don't....please....mhm~"

"You are enjoying it, Keqing~"

"I'm not—!"

You pinched her nipple and she bit her lower lip in retaliation, trying to hold back her voice. You then kneeled down between her legs and unbuttoned her pants then slid them down with her panties, gazing at her throbbing wet core.

"You are so wet, Keqing. Does being in public arouse you?~"

"N-No....it doesn't...!"

"Tsk tsk, how bashful. You know you can be honest with me~"

You wriggled your tongue on her clit, sending shivers up her body. Her fingers lightly gripped your hair, trying to make you come closer. You chuckled to yourself then finally lapped up her outer walls, a pleasured sigh leaving her as she threw her head back. Just then, some unknown sounds resounded from the other side of the door.

"Huh, it's locked. Didn't sir say the Student Council members should be inside? Did they already leave?"

You heard 2 girls talking outside, trying to open the door to come in. Fortunately, you had locked it the moment you both had come in. However, this gave you an idea. You quickly plunged your tongue inside Keqing, a surprised moan echoing as she put her hand over her mouth as quickly as possible.

"Y-Y/n?! What are you— Stop! N-Not right....aaah...not right now!~"

"I told you to be quiet, baby~"

You relentlessly moved your tongue inside her, lapping at her spongy hot walls. She almost screamed, biting down her palm to conceal her voice. Her other hand pulled you closer by your hair, telling you to go faster. You held her thighs and lifted them up to rest on your shoulder, her back arching against the door as she desperately wished for the girls to leave.

"Aaahn....y/n...faster....mmmh!~"

You fastened your pace, sucking out her juices and eating her out while fingering her clit. The noises finally stopped as the girls walked away saying they'll bring the keys from the PE teacher. Keqing removed her hand from her mouth and gripped your hair more, messy whines leaving her lips as you sucked harder and she finally released all over your mouth. You cleaned her up and licked your lips as you stood up, gazing at her breathless state before going closer to kiss her but she instead pushed you away and faced away from you.

"Y-You pervert! What if they had caught us?!"

You smirked then walked closer and hugged her from behind, biting on her ear lobe, "Then our relationship would have been out, which is completely fine to me~"

Ningguang

Ms Ningguang is the Head of the Commerce Department and the economics professor of your class. Additionally, she's also the advisor for the Student Council for the past 3 years. Both you and Keqing are her best students, but only you know who really is her favorite.

She often gives you both work during her lectures but her bias couldn't be more obvious. Keqing is always sent out for more physical tasks while you stay in class and help with paperwork and documentation. Ms Ningguang does it intentionally as Keqing appears as a teacher's pet more due to this.

What Ms Ningguang truly loves is keeping you beside her, watching you do paperwork and tease you in between. Keqing hates that she's always the one being sent around, but doesn't complain to her as she'd rather keep a cordial relationship with the advisor.

Of course, you have offered to swap with Keqing many times but she always refuses, making up some excuse or the other. But you know very well why she keeps you with herself hence you never outright deny~

Your pen slid along the paper for the nth time as you were seated in the Student Council room all alone, trying to get on with all the piled-up paperwork from the last few weeks. Keqing and the other members had gone home ahead of you as they had completed their part of the work, Keqing offered to help you but you refused saying you can handle it; not to mention that she had tuitions to attend.

"Still here, Y/n?"

A soft, angelic voice called your name from behind and you turned around to see none other than Ms Ningguang standing at the door before walking in beside you.

"Yes, ma'am. There's just a few more left."

She glanced at the document on your table, one hand resting on her waist while the other caressed the back of your head, her touch sending shivers down your spine.

"I believe I told you not to stay back until late hours." she spoke while twirling your hair in her fingers, a slight blush appearing on your face.

"Y-Yes, but it's okay. It's not too late right now..."

You looked down in nervousness, you heard her chuckle as she moved behind you and wrapped her arms around your neck before leaning down, her breasts pressing on your head.

"Disobeying me now, are you? It seems you are looking for a punishment~"

She whispered in a sultry, seductive voice, shivers erupting in your body. Her hands moved towards your collar, fingers fiddling to unbutton your shirt.

"I let you relax in my lectures so that you aren't overworked, that doesn't mean you'd disobey after hours~"

"I—I'm sorr—"

"Shhh~ Well then, shall we take a break? I promise to help you complete the remaining work afterwards~"

You nodded almost immediately, feeling turned on at the situation. Ms Ningguang placed kisses down your neck before moving in front of you and straddling your lap, your heart jumping out of your chest at the action. She proceeded unbutton her own shirt, exposing her breasts for you to fondle as she wrapped her arms around your neck and began rocking back n forth on your lap. Your face was smothered in her boobs, your hands slid up her skirt as you gripped her hips and moved against her as well.

Your clothed clits bumped against each other, the bare minimum contact making you both more needy and desperate. You slouched on the chair slightly, gaining a better angle at her core. You rutted up against her, hissing and pulling her close to gain friction. She shifted to your right leg and her knee pressed on your core now while she continued to grind on your thigh. You could feel her wetness form on your pants, and she too felt your wetness on her knee.

"Mmm, l-look at you....already so wet- aaah....f-from this~"

"Y-you...ngh....you aren't one to talk....mhm....m-ma'am~"

It's true, she wasn't one to talk. She said she'd help you take a break but it seems she was more focused on her own pleasure here. You looked up at her face and saw her frowning, gritting her teeth and rutting faster.

"Did s-something happen?"

"Mmm....ngh~ J-Just....an annoying meeting....haahn~"

You almost became surprised then smiled to yourself before pulling her close, holding her waist tightly. She stopped moving for a moment and was about to question you but you swiftly stood up and placed her on the table in front. She gasped and held you tighter, not expecting this action from you.

"It seems you are the one who needs a break here, ma'am~"

She looked at you wide-eyed then smiled softly and pulled you down into a passionate kiss. This is why Ms Ningguang loved you, you were always so much more perceptive than you let on, always catching her off guard by guessing her hidden feelings. Nobody could see through her poker face, nobody except you. She continued the heated kiss and wrapped her legs around your waist, you began grinding against her body while swirling your tongue with hers.

"I-If you....do well then I'll r-reward you nicely~"

"A very tempting offer, ma'am. No wonder you are the best commerce teacher here~"

She chuckled and bit your lip before you moved down and placed kissed on her chest, playing with her boobs then going between her legs. You removed her underwear and let it hang on her ankle as you held her legs up, her thighs enveloping your head. You then dived down to eat her out, thrusting your tongue in and out of her hot walls. She arched up and entwined her fingers in your hair, rutting against your mouth and moaning out.

Her voice was absolutely divine, you had often been lost in her voice during lectures and she had caught you daydreaming. But in moments like these, you could be lost in it as much as you wanted. You thumbed her clit and drew out more messy moans from her, her angelic whimpers echoing in the room. Masterpiece of a music. Her sweet juices coated your tongue and you were drunk on her, drunk on her body and her being. Her thighs enclosed around your head more and rutted herself faster, indiacting her orgasm.

"Mmmm~ C-Cumming....don't stop! There....right there....aaaahn!~"

She arched up and moaned the loudest as she came and you drank up every last drop of her sweet essence.

"Was that satisfactory, ma'am~?"

She breathed out and chuckled before sitting up and pulling you close by your collar, sloppily kissing you.

"Pack your things. We'll continue the rest at my place~"

#genshin smut #genshin impact smut #genshin women #ningguang x reader #ningguang smut #ningguang x you #ningguang #keqing #keqing x reader #keqing smut #keqing x you

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redphlox · 3 months

Note

Are you feeling about Touya? I can't imagine Horikoshi it would be way too cruel, especially since him and Shouto need to eat soba together.

Feeling hopeful. I know the general consensus in the Dabi fandom right now is fear and despondency but when I look at the overall picture of the story, Touya dying doesn't make any sense and there's a lot of setup for him to survive.

The random guard/whoever saying Touya is heading toward a slow death means nothing to me. Not when Ujiko, the brilliant (but evil) doctor who saved Touya from certain death on Sekoto Peak, was wrong about Dabi's body not surviving a month after he woke up from the coma. The core of Touya's character is literally about survival and determination, going above and beyond to exceed expectations to live and be seen. I also feel that there might be something within Touya that allows him to survive, which is how he has any fire resistance at all. He was crying actual real tears this chapter instead of blood, which hints that his body is healing. I've seen other people theorize that Shouto's Phosphor has healing properties, which is promising and more in line with the stories' themes and messages than Touya dying again.

Overall, the tone of the Todoroki family arc is positive and hopeful. Yes, Fuyumi quit her teaching position, but one of the students' parents helped her find another one. This means that not only does this one parent believe in her, but so does this new employer. And those kindergarteners that Shouto connected with during the remedial license Arc have been supporting him this entire time. These instances show that society is changing their attitude towards the relatives of those who commit crimes and are willing to accept the Todorokis back into society and are literally cheering for them. This doesn't change the fact that some people will definitely hate them, but it's not all doom and gloom. And the soba thing - what a way to connect to someone who was born to replace you! That's a deep connection right there, and that's good. The story has focused a lot on connections and how life-saving and important those can be. Dying would rip that connection and go against the themes

Also, I feel like the Todoroki family would be much more worried and emotionally wrecked if they thought Touya was actually dying. Endeavor keeps talking to Touya about the future and visiting him. Unless all of them are in denial about what is happening, then why would they torture themselves talking about something that can't happen? All these conversations they want to have etc etc. It would be cruel, and Horikoshi is a sensitive guy. I don't think he could write something like that, and it doesn't fit what he's written so far.

To go further than Touya, I wouldn't be surprised if we see Toga and Spinner also on their deathbeds currently too, tbh. I'm thinking that mysterious new character (who is Tenko, no doubt), saved by his regeneration quirk, may help them. There's set up for it via Kurogiri telling Shigaraki his friends are waiting for him, and not to mention Shigaraki's always been the hero of the lov. He might not have saved them emotionally like the hero kids did, but he can save them physically. I'm not sure how exactly it'll all happen but I think they will all be okay in the end.

I know some readers have a different, more critical/negative opinion than I do, and that's fine. Ever since Shigiraki died, I've been saying that it's going to get worse before it gets better and that we're not going to see a resolution to that soon, and that's all been happening. I hate this saying, but, it's not over till the fat lady sings. I'm just going to keep on reading. I keep telling my friends this over and over again but it's kind of like reading the last Harry Potter (author is dead to me) book and stopping/rage quitting when Harry is killed by Voldemort in the forest. Keep reading. The story is not over yet, and a lot can change for the better. Let Horikoshi tell his story.

#bnha #bnha 426 #bnha spoilers #bnha asks

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hunterbunter3000 · 1 year

Note

Sweetheart can crush a watermelon between her thighs and I KNOW it

AND YOU'RE 100% RIGHT

18+ MDNI PLS I BLACKED OUT ON THIS

NO PENETRATION HAPPENS BUT STILL OTHER STUFF HAPPENS

(Leg Humping, thigh licking, Sweetheart being mean😱😱, praise, hair pulling, thigh kissing, thumb sucking, threatening(at the end) femdom? Yeah i think, choking (at the end), degradation, cumming in pants) idk what to call the last one 😭😭

Woooooo babes when Graves arrogantly dared Sweetheart to open a watermelon without using a knife, he didn't expect her to do THAT

He didn't believe her when she said she could do the dare. And that made Sweetheart irritated (everything Graves says and does make her irritated)

She had a frown on her face throughout the whole time she did it

Laid down the mat with a frown. Took her jeans off with a frown (IN FRONT OF GRAVES MIND YOU) grabbed the watermelon and sat on the mat with a frown. Placed the said fruit BETWIXTED her thighs with a frown. And then looked Graves dead in the eyes with a deep glare while crushing the watermelon with ease. Some of the insides of the watermelon splashed everywhere and on top of her thighs.

Graves was SHOOK

FROZEN TO THE CORE

HE WAS LIKE

Omg his mind went PSYCHO- Her legs are THAT STRONG?? like I know they're big but FUCK that was hot for no reason and I want that to be my head or my di-

"Ey. Graves." Sweetheart says with a low voice. She always used a cold, uninterested tone with Graves. And my god did it give him shivers. "I did your dare. Don't underestimate me, it makes ya look stupid." He shifts his feet, trying to hide his rapidly growing erection. With his arms crossed muting his rapid heart he clears his throat. "That was- impressive, I'll give ya that." He forces out. (That is n o t what he wanted to say)

"Didn't really complete the dare, Darlin'." He says with a smirk. Sweetheart looks up at him with wide eyes. "Are you serious?! I totally did, I opened the watermelon without using a knife!" She exclaims. Ugh God, his brat mode is on.

"Yeah, but it's everywhere. Very messy to even enjoy the melon." Graves pointed out. He knows she did the dare right. He doesn't know why he's like this, but he enjoys Sweetheart's outbursts. And he's so ready for this one.

"Then lick it clean."

....Or not. What the fuck--

"...'Scuse me?" Did he hear her right?

Her face is neutral, with no amusement or joke in sight. Still on the mat, she slowly widens her legs. "You said it's messy. Lick and eat it clean."

Philip didn't know what to do. Yes he did. He wanted to get on all fours and lick the juice on her meaty thighs. Feeling the heat from her soft, scarred brown skin while he moves up, up, up... all the way to her hips with his tongue.

But will he give her what she wants? She always gets her way around everyone, and it makes him annoyed. He huffs out a laugh with an exasperated expression. "You fucking serious? As much as that sounds like a good time, no way in hell am I doing that--" Philip's breath sucks back in when her hand cups his clothed erection. "This says otherwise." Sweetheart stated. He can see that tick of amusement smeared on her mouth, yet her eyes are still hard and cold zeroing on his crotch. Shit, he got caught.

Sweetheart hums as her hand paws through the denim of his jeans. She can feel his cock getting bigger and bigger through her fingers. Picturing his girth, his length, fuck-- the head of his cock. She never thought of his size, as she can't stand him. But her patience has run insanely thin with his attitude and obvious envy with her team. He needs to be knocked down a peg;

So why not do it now? In her own way?

She looks up at him with doe eyes, her dolly eyelashes fluttering against her cheeks. She smiles at him fully, which catches him off guard, until he feels a harsh pull against his jean belt hoop that makes him tumble to the floor. Eyes connecting with each other. Her grip on his jaw is painful, but not as painful as the stretch in his pants. She brings him close to her face, lips almost touching. Just a bit more, just a bit more and they'll actually kiss... how Graves has been dreaming of that to happen.

Fate is not on his side, however.

"Lick. It." She grits. Graves will is deteriorating by the second. With the sweat coming down his neck and a swallow of thick saliva, he changes his position. Now straddling her right leg, he stares at the wet sticky thigh. Different war scars and bullet holes scattered across the skin, like someone scratched and bruised pure gold. Sweetheart spreads her legs slowly, still looking at him with narrowed eyes.

You could at least say something. Graves thinks. Say anything to me. Please.

"Go on, Graves. Show me that you're actually useful." Sweetheart coos, in a sugary condescending tone. He closes his eyes and shivers. More.

His hands tremble when he grips the fat thigh, squishy and softer than he thought. The whine he let out when his tongue meets the sticky skin was so broken and desperate; wanting to please her.

"There we go," Sweetheart mumbles, her hand finding his hair and grabbing some. "Good boy. Use that filthy tongue. Always talkin' shit where you could be used for things like this." She chuckles, a dark undertone in it. "Who would've thought, huh? You being a fucking bottom bitch suits you." Yes. It does. It always has when it comes to you.

Sweetheart hears a broken moan come from Graves, seeing his hips snap on her shin. "Are you... Are you getting off to this?" She raises her voice at him, pulling his hair to meet her face. His short gasp and heavy-lidded eyes tell Sweetheart everything she needs. "Oh god, you are." Her face scrunches in disgust, not knowing that just turns him on more. "You're fucking disgusting ya'know that? Grinding on my leg like some bitch in heat." Her finger traces his jaw and flicks his wet chin. More. Please call me disgusting more. I need it.

Graves bites his lip, not wanting a loud moan out and cause attention from other people. His hips are still humping her shin, like he can stop it. He craves the friction of getting off. If Graves stops now, he wouldn't know what to do with himself.

"Do you like being a little bitch in heat? Hm?" She asks again in that sugar tone. Graves nods, brain turn into mush. "Yes... I'm a little bitch in heat... I'm a bitch and I need to cum-- please-" the grip in his hair tightens, making his eyes roll back and whine.

"Such a fuckin' whore." Sweetheart growls, shoving his head back to her thigh, tongue immediately licking and eating more of the watermelon. I'm your whore. I'm yours.

Sweetheart thinks of something, grinning like a devil when she moves her knee, making her shin go deeper into Philip's erection. "Fuck!" He yelps, his own legs clamping around her calf and hands clawing her cleaned thigh. "Awww, ya like that? Y'know what, since you cleaned my thigh, you deserve a reward. Don't you think so, little bitch?" Yes. Yes yes yes. I've been good. Please reward me.

Sweetheart looks at the huge tent in his pants while he babbles mindlessly. The dark spot on his jeans is getting bigger. She smirks and sighs. "You're such a mess, Philip." Her thumb interrupts his talking, his low moan made Sweetheart clench around nothing. She shakes off the heat that pools in her stomach and focuses back on Graves. "Go on, now. I want you to cum on my leg." She orders, his hips grinding faster into her shin. He sucks on her thumb, tongue swirling around her nail. Sweetheart's eye twitches; seeing Graves big, teary eyes and flushed face, that desperate face, is making her feel fuzzy and hot. Too hot.

She kisses her teeth and frowns, "This is taking too long." She mumbles. Her other hand grips his hip and forcefully moves him quicker while also rubbing her shin on his bulge. "Come on, Graves. I know you want to cum so be a good boy and fucking cum already." She whispers harshly in his ear and he whines, sucking on her finger harder. I'll be a good boy for you. Let me please you. Let me impress you.

He can feel the build up of his orgasm coming quickly, it almost feels too much. The quick friction on his cock, her thumb in his sweet mouth, her deep and ordering whispers in his ear, her scent; it's too much.

"There you go. Your breath is pickin' up-- you're close aren't you? Fucking finally." Sweetheart breathes out. She feels excited. She shouldn't be. "Now be the good little whore I know you are and cum for me." She says, moving to kiss his temple. That was it.

Graves let out a loud, broken moan as his hips stutter against Sweetheart. His legs shaking around her calf, his brain absolutely fried with pleasure. She coos, slowing down his hips and cupping his face. "Such a good job, Philip. Good boy." He sighs contently. I'm your good boy. I always want to be your good boy. Make me yours.

Sweetheart could've sworn she saw little hearts in his eyes. "I came f'you...M'a good boy.." Sweetheart chuckles at his slurring words. "Yes you are, honey. But just know this..." She moves her hand down to his throat and tightens. "Tell anyone about this, and I'll edge you until your dick falls off and feed it to you."

"Understand?"

He nods.

She smiles. "Good." She pushes him off and gets up. "Now go clean yourself off. No one wants to see your disgusting cum in your pants."

(I'm not very good 🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️at writing smut but if I want to get better at it then I gotta keep writing it 🧍‍♀️)

#cod smut #philip graves #graves smut #modern warefare ii #black fem reader #modern warfare smut #black reader #cod x reader #cod oc #x fem!reader #black!reader #mw ii #mw2 graves #141 sweetheart #hunter's ask lounge ☕️

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strawberryys-stuff · 2 years

Text

Neteyam x Omatikaya!reader

genre: no clue + teasing

possible grammar mistakes

part 2

...

Your relationship with Neteyam could be described as unhealthy and extremely unstable with a tad of emotional exhaustion. You despised his guts to the core and weren't bothered to hide it. Neteyam found it a bit concerning when he began to notice your obnoxious attitude towards him, but after he caught your slim figure react to him snarling back at you in certain ways several times, his concern turned into amusement. He would purposely anger you, convince you that you misplaced your belongings, make your tasks more difficult, wink at you while you were trying to defeat him during your shared trainings, tug at your tail whenever he was passing by, fool around high in the air and push your impatient Ikran out of his concentration with these silly caresses on his belly from below you - basically making it his mission to tease you.

You trail a hand along the side of your Ikran, his mixture of orange and yellow illuminating your sharp jaw, and leave an affectionate rub on his cheek. The mountain banshee stifles a roar of content as you connect your queue to his, both pairs of pupils widening for a split second. You trace his uneven black stripes on his neck, absorbing his mess of emotions and growing impatience. Your Ikran huffs and steals a glance at an obnoxiously loud group of young Ikranä Maktoyu [banshee riders] who you got assigned to stick by for the rest of the day.

You are also incomplete.

"I bet they're getting scolded," one of the boys snickers and connects his queue to his indigo Ikran as you roll your eyes at his caustic comment. "Sir, we're begging you to let us go-"

"Fatao," Marali, a determined hunter who successfully passed her Iknimaya by your side and your friend, growls at the smirking boy and slaps his shoulder, him hissing at her sudden attack. "We're not children anymore. We wait."

"We have been waiting," Fatao's ride-or-die friend states, coming to his best friend's defense as always with his usual snarky attitude. "I say we go without them."

The group cheers, agreeing with the boy.

"No," your sharp and emotionless reply cuts their chant short. You hop on your Ikran alongside Marali, caressing his head, "If you're so eager to get to Ayram alusìng [Floating Mountains], go. But don't expect us to lie for you."

The group huffs, following your lead in connecting their queues to their banshees and filling out their designated spots on the backs of the animals.

"Y/n," you face the source of the enthusiastic tone, make eye contact with the youngest son of Toruk Makto and send a soft smile his way. His brother is trailing behind him, chin held high, which makes you scoff. "What did we miss?"

"Not much," Marali answers for you, stepping in front of the group to shield the boy from an enormous amount of nasty remarks the rest of the hunters were planning on shouting at him and his brother.

"So," she turns to the laughing hunting team and claps her hands to buy their attention while Lo'ak and Neteyam are climbing on their Ikrans, "We are complete," Fatao elbows his best friend and gestures towards you with a raise of his eyebrows, yours knitting. "I don't want to see any abrupt stunts in the air, tslam? [understand?]"

You glance over your shoulder to see what Fatao was pointing to and mentally scold yourself for letting your curiosity take over. Neteyam narrows his eyes as you continue to stare blankly at him and checks if he is the one you're looking at.

'What?' He mouths, but doesn't receive a response, nor a reaction, from you. Your eyes travel from the top of his braided head to his lower torso and take a notice of new scratches on his chest, shrinking. He follows your gaze and glances down at his body in confusion.

"Fatao," ears twitching, you turn to your friend with furrowed eyebrows, leaving Neteyam baffled. "I mean it," she looks at you, desperately asking for your help. You swallow, realizing that you weren't listening. Marali sighs, "Nevermind. Everybody, out of my sight."

____

With your sudden downstroke in order to dodge one of the reckless banshee riders, Neteyam, to his dismay, is pushed forward by your growling Ikran. You are quick to snarl at Fatao as the creature with your weight on its back is trying to find a new position in the tepid wind, slightly shaken and irritated.

"What?" The boy laughs at your venomous glare, rewarding his Ikran with a pat. "Do you even know how to have fun?"

You scoff, rolling your eyes at his provoking question, "Get lost, Fatao."

"Wait," he flies over to your other side, the corners of his lips stretching into a teasing smirk. "Silly me, you don't have the word fun in your vocabulary."

"I mean it," you warn the rider through clenched teeth, your growing frustration making your Ikran stifle an annoyed roar. "Get lost."

"Come on," his remark is interrupted by an aquamarine Ikran pushing itself up between the two of you, his banshee hissing at the uninvited animal.

"You heard what they said," Neteyam stabilizes himself in the small space he created and repeats sternly, "Get lost."

Fatao hesitates but with a threatening growl from Neteyam's Ikran, he retreats to his friends, your stone-cold gaze watching him do so.

Awkward silence falls upon the two of you with your well-known tension arising.

Neteyam clears his throat and drops the blade of a knife down on your unusual quietness, "No thank you?"

Your eyes lock with his gold ones, revealing a big amount of specific emotion you have been trying to hide for months, maybe even years.

"Okay," he purses his lips as his gaze widens slightly, regretting his attempt to joke.

Your deadpan expression is replaced by a brightening one, a sweet laugh scratching your throat. Neteyam's head jerks in your direction, ears twitching at the newfound sound.

"What's so funny?" he tries to fight off the growing smile on his face but loses, it only growing wider. "No, really, what set you off? I wanna laugh as well."

You continue to chuckle beside him, tears pooling in the corners of your eyes. "Oh sweet Eywa-" you wipe your eyes with your sweaty palms, coughing.

"Come on," Neteyam groans when you remain silent, only couple giggles escaping from you. "I want to know what is so hilarious."

"Your face," his smile drops as yours grows. He rolls his eyes at your response and looks away from your laughing figure, acting offended. "Aw, did I hurt your feelings?"

Before you can tease him more, his Ikran folds her wings and dives down, feeding your amusement.

"Don't be a baby!" you call after him, hoping your 'affectionate' words get to him. He doesn't have to turn around to flip you off. "Ouch!"

#avatar #avatar imagine #neteyam #neteyam imagine #neteyam x reader #james cameron avatar #avatar x reader #avatar 2 #avatar the way of water

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