#he's forced into a legacy he doesn't want to pursue by a father who is way more canonically loving than usual but still dangerous

[devilfic]

me going into marvel's spider-man 2 expecting to be unwell levels of horny for venom, only to come out of it attracted to harry osborn:

[lesbiansanemi]

Ok, imagine this idea. Mugen Train Arc but Kyojuro has a betrothed, a young woman around his age (maybe a little younger, but nothing alarming) he doesn't like that much, he doesn't even know her that much, but he wants to continue the legacy of the Rengoku bloodline (mostly because he knows he won't be having a long life as a slayer and doesn't want this ending being a burden that Senjuro will have to carry neither by training or marriage). He at least has some control over it and was able to choose someone by himself, a daughter of one of his parent's friend. At least is someone he knew about before starting the engagement.

He convinces himself he actually wants it, that he should actually put the effort into knowing and loving his future wife, that it's meant to be, only natural that he, a man of wealth and with a prestigious name (even if it's only in the demon slaying business) marries a young lady and continue the legacy. [Kyojuro is in the closet cause of heteronormativity]

Then in his fight with Akaza he notices he is making no effort in going back home or to his betrothed, that he doesn't want to go back.... [Also Akaza running around being a bisexual icon, time to force blonde queer out the closet! >:D]

No yeah cuz like, see, my personal little headcanon for Kyojuro is that he is 100% a gay man. Also think he can admit to himself that he likes men, there's not really any questions about that, however, he is desperately trying to delude himself into thinking he also likes women due to the expectation of him to get married. Not just in a societal sense due to the time period, but like you mentioned. The Rengokus are an old, prestigious family. Of course among the Corps, but I'd reckon they're well known by the general population around where they live, just due to their money alone, let alone their family history as swordsman. And as the eldest son, Kyojuro is one hundred percent expected to marry a well bred young lady, just as his father did, and his father, so on and so forth. It's just something he's always known. So.... of course he likes women. He has to like women. He has to. He doesn't have a choice. He likes them. He does!

So the idea of him ending up engaged with a woman that he doesn't know well seems very realistic to me, and adds a fun little facet of his character. Especially when you approach it from this angle where he feels like he should care for her or at least put a genuine effort into trying but he just... can't seem to do it. Why not? His parents were engaged in a similar way, and obviously they loved each other deeply! What the hell is wrong with him? Why can't he do it?

It also add an extremely fun and angsty angle to him ending up being infatuated with Akaza. Not only do you have the taboo nature of their relationship due to them being a demon and a slayer, but Kyojuro feels as if he's betraying his future wife by even being attracted to Akaza.

And on Akaza's side of things.... I think at first it would even make him feel guilty for reasons he doesn't quite understand, pursuing Kyojuro when he's mentioned having a fiance. After all, pursuing someone who is engaged who wants nothing to do with him..... Hm..... pushing some familiar buttons he's not even aware that he has. Ultimately though, after spending time around Kyojuro, I think it would become obvious to Akaza that he doesn't actually love this girl and is only going through with a marriage out of obligation. At that point, he would most definitely get very into the idea of convincing Kyojuro to break it off, for his own sake

So yeah! I think it would add a really interesting spin to their dynamic, and would make sense given the time period and societal expectations for a man like Kyojuro

(Also semi-reminds me of my personal kinda crack headcanon of Kyojuro and Shinobu coming to an arrangement and deciding to get engaged to essentially be each other beards and literally everyone who knows them is like "oh hold on a fucking second what the fuck is going on you cannot convince me you have feelings for each other." I just think it's very funny, and well.... Kyojuro needs a wife. Shinobu might not come from a well known family or anything, but she's obviously well known amongst the Corps.... She's a good option. And Shinobu agrees because well.... She just kind of intended to never get married but hey, a legal husband does get a bit of suspicion off her and again, given the time period, much easier for a woman to get by with a husband than without, assuming she survives the end of the series and the Corps dissolves and she has to be involved with normal society at large again. It's a good deal for her too. Tangent, but I think it's a funny scenario lmao)

[julietasgf]

I guess there's no point in wearing the cool anon glasses anymore after the meme 😭 although it was worth it. Definitely worth it and YES, WHY CORIOLANUS IS SO ARGENTINIAN CODED?

He was a fan of Violetta and he will deny it forever, he also probably watched Patito feo and Antonella was his wanna be. Pls let me share with you the cursed image of a little Coriolanus singing the song of las divinas. 😔🙏

His grandmother def drilled into his head the nonsense that he is more European than the rest. Tigris is the only one who questions it but she has to live with her delusional grandmother and cousin 💀 (by the way I propose Tigris is half uruguayA just bc yes).

I know the Sejanus actor is boricua so as much as I want to steal him (Mexicanization by force) I had to accept it fits him to be from Puerto Rico and Lucy Gray. Where would she be from? Although I have thought that she would be half romani and half latina, maybe Venezuela or Perú because I know they have an incredible musical tradition and she would slay those.

But well. Fun aside. Let's talk about angst.

🥺 I too need to reread 100 años de soledad but my God YOU ARE RIGHT. Its the same THE CONCEPT OF NAMES DICTATING THE FATE OF PEOPLE. To me it's such a powerful idea (amazing what your mom did, in my family 👀 they also gave a lot of weight to meanings and in fact my brothers were named after gods from Mexica mythology -I wish that would be me-) and it has so much logic too. Literally a name defines the way you interact with the rest of the world and can greatly impact the way you relate to it, it's the first step in building identity!!!!!

And yes. You hit the nail on the head of what I was getting at. I think I will combine both ideas because it makes sense that Strabo would want to use the name of an ancestor of his that he probably respects and in this idea of continuing "legacy" at the same time I think he researched the history of the names he could choose from and opted for the one that in his opinion would best reflect the character he wanted in his son. Because that is another tragedy, I think Strabo did dream and wish for Sejanus.

I think there were two big factors in destroying Sejanus and Strabo's relationship from the beginning, first the miscommunication and then that Sejanus I think broke Strabo's heart in a way: he was born and he destroys his ilusions.

Strabo to me encompasses the very spirit of a very intelligent professor who cannot for his life explain things simply and clearly. He didn't know how to talk to Sejanus to get him to listen to him and I'm sure he always got the opposite of what he wanted.

The second thing is that Strabo had a very specific idea of what his son could be like and probably planned many ways to have a close relationship with this hypotical person (Shooting practice I think is an obvious example of an activity that Strabo planned not only to educate his heir in the business but to spend quality time with him) but his son is Sejanus. The worst combination between him and his wife. 

Ofc he was disappointed when Sejanus was more like Ma Plinth than himself. I guess it must have been a hard blow on his ego but personally I think it could have also been a kind of relief and he could have accepted it if Sejanus really was like his wife, at the end of the day, Strabo loved her but Sejanus doesn't have her apathy or passivity.

He has Strabo's stubbornness and fury and determination. And that to me is the crux of the matter, Sejanus is like Strabo, in his opinion in the wrong things. Where Strabo fought for his family and his ambition, Sejanus fights for strangers selflessly and for a better world in spite of himself.

These are ideals that Ma could have but not pursue, it is Strabo's willingness to pursue what he believes in but not his ideals. A disastrous combination, literally writing in stone that Strabo and Sejanus could not be the father and son Strabo once longed for.

They both resent each other because they failed each other, because they chose to be something that would separate them sooner or later. (Now OBVIOUSLY Sejanus has less AND NONE RESPONSIBILITY IN THAT because HE WAS A CHILD, he only grew up influenced by his parents and his context 🤣🤣 but I don't think Strabo would recognize that. He would think Sejanus somehow chose to be that way, just to drive him away forever).

Which brings me to WHY IT MAKES ME SO FERAL THAT STRABO WILL FIX THE REAPING.

I've seen an interpretation that I also like where Strabo doesn't explicitly pick Marcus, that's just destiny being terrible, he just buys Sejanus' position by mentoring a D2 tribute. And I like it for certain issues but even this slightly more harmless view doesn't take the weight off the monstrosity Strabo did.

Because even if Strabo didn't pick Marcus in particular, he still had to be aware that it could very likely be someone WHO SEJANUS KNEW. A child who couldn't be saved from that horrible fate, as Sejanus in theory was "saved" by him after his decision to move to the Capitol.

And is that I think I like to theorize that possibly that's where his motives went. Strabo believing that Sejanus needs a rude awakening, a child he knows and can remember and tell him explicitly "this could be you if your father hadn't taken you out of District 2." Maybe that's why it was actually Marcus the choose one, he was the only one at the time who didn't go by the horrible things everyone was saying about the Plinth and helped Sejanus.

Marcus encompassing that gentleness. Gentleness destroyed in the eyes of Sejanus. Strabo had no way of knowing that Marcus wouldn't say anything, maybe he hoped he would break Sejanus' heart, to show him that even his hope had turned into hatred and resentment towards the Plinth.

I tend to see it as a destruction of spirit in its purpose but I also thought if it was not a stretching of the limits of Sejanus to understand where he is capable of going, to measure the waters to see if there was salvation.

Because something very interesting is that when Sejanus goes to D12 he mentions that his father explicitly told him that he's not going to be happy there in the districts (or something like that, I should check it later ah) and more importantly lets him go despite believing that.

As if he's resigned to the fact that that's Sejanus. A boy who can't be happy anywhere.

It's possible Strabo anticipated a lot of reactions from Sejanus but I dare say he and no one expected that Sejanus ended to throw chairs and break screens let alone DO THE ARENA THING. THAT WAS SO FUCKING CRAZY but I think it made Strabo realize that he had "lost" his son forever.

It was non-negotiable his rebellion and his dream of a fair Panem. Strabo fought in the war against rebels. He probably met a lot of men like his son and saw them DIE.

He knows THAT HE SON WILL BE DEAD MEN ONE DAY. AND THAT HE WOULDNT CAPABLE OF BE HAPPY EVER EITHER.

About the parallels EVERLACK AND SEJARCUS, MY GOD THEY ARE SO OBVIOUS ONCE YOU NOTICE IT, IM GOING CRAZY, ACTS OF GOODNESS BEING PRECIOUS MEMORIES, MY BELOVED

I CAN'T UNSEE IT, MY GOD. What's worse is that after seeing that answer you gave about Ma and Strabo's relationship I thought of a very strange parallel between Katniss' mother and Ma, maybe one day I'll dig into that OR NOT?, WHO KNOWS. (I've also been thinking a lot about how a nephew of Strabo's family could have been chosen for the first Quarter Quell BUT THATS FOR OTHER WEEK PROBABLY).

By the way, is true!!! the D2 girl DID TAKE THE SANDWICH, Marcus not taking it could only have been his complicated feelings for Sejanus: GOD that fear of a person that maybe if he had stayed in D2 would have been his everything. Marcus and Sejanus haunted by the ghost of the relationship they could have had (platonic and romantic) and Marcus choosing not to break the image that exists in his memory of Sej because he is resigned to his death and does not know if he can bear that Sejanus COULD become the prophecy that everyone was telling him (SEJANUS IS A PLINTH, SON OF THE TRAITORS) 🙏

Very much that line of Mitski:

"I look for a picture of you

To keep in my pocket

But I can't seem to find one

Where you look how I remember?"

And speaking of Mitski, I think it's great how certain songs get identified within a fandom as THE SONG of a certain character but it's more fun when someone has new and different songs that reflect different aspects of the characters personality especially if it's a song in a language other than English, which literally rules the world. PLS WE HAD MORE LANGUAGES

I have also a compulsive addiction to make playlists at the slightest provocation (im not even exaggerating, I HAD PLAYLIST FOR EVEN EACH ONE OF MY FIC IDEAS AND CHARACTERS I LIKE-) so I enjoy making my recommendations, today I have two.

Btw maybe tomorrow I'll turn around to talk about Coriolanus and his propaganda movie and how much I hate the sandwich scene and how they should re-record Clemensia's scenes because I have a lot of things to say about THAT (by the way I agree with everything you say about that as usual lmao) but I think this is already too long and I like that it's focused on Strabo and Sejanus and Marcus <3

The songs:

Caifanes - Antes de que nos olviden

This song makes me feel a lot... I think it is suitable for each of the victims of the games, very much the TBOSAS and THG tributes, I can even see it very Katniss coded but I feel it belongs to all the tributes actually.

Caifanes - La bestia humana 😝 and this one is very Coriolanus and his very normal feelings towards Sejanus and the fact that he likes someone proudly from the district.

Um it kinda reminds me the lyrics to my au suffocation. ALSO: any thoughts on wedding traditions in D2? maybe someone gets married in the mountains of D2 soon hehehehe

KSKSKSKSK plssss I've been thinking abt it non-stop, why were you so on point 😭

I'M SCREAMING coriolanus was so the type of kid to watch all the kids telenovelas, and I KNOW all his favorite characters were the mean girls. he watched chiquititas, carrusel, carita de angel, ALL OF THEM, he was the type of kid to watch it almost religiously and then get to school to gossip about the chapter (and also he memorized every song lmao). plus, I can see baby coryo trying to convince tigris to rehearse las divinas song to show to their grandma while she's sitting looking at them (canon event in the life of every cousins who grew up together).

coriolanus is a little less worse here, so I can see him changing a bit after starting to hang out with lgb and sejanus (plus, lgb bullies him until he stops with it). tigris every single day having to sit and listen throught their nonsense and smiling and nodding like- 😃 someone help her pls. AND OMG I WAS ACTUALLY THINKING ABT, tigris' mom or dad being from uruguay ☝ (non-related, but I'll always have a soft spot for uruguayos bc my favorite football player from the team I root for is uruguayo lmao I was so sad when they didn't got past the group phases on the world coup, so ofc I'm happy with uruguaya tigris, that's my girl <3)

the latin-american urge to make your favorite character to be from your country, I get it perfectly 😭 but I just love boricua sejanus so much, it fits so much of his storyline and UGH. you read my mind because I was thinking EXACTLY about lucy gray being venezuelana (my second option was her being from colombia tho), and I can see it PERFECTLY

(lucy gray and sejanus bonding bc they both hate the usa for fucking up everything, i know that's right!!!)

the idea of characters doomed not only by the narrative, but by their name- <3333 I'm in love with it, and even more in love how we can see it constantly in thg and tbosas. (your brothers being named after gods is SO COOL OMG) and yes!!! that's the way you'll be called for a good chunk of time, and it's no wonder some countries have some rules regarding names and their meanings, because it can impact heavily on a child's life (either if you believe that names have some impact on their destiny or not).

and absolutely yes: when you think in that way, that strabo probably searched about his name, that he bought baby stuff for the house, and that he wished for a son so much, it makes things so much more tragic. I think strabo was the kind of dad to idealize a child in his mind and then get disappointed when the child is born and isn't exactly how he imagined. he would try to do things he remembered dearly from his own dad and childhood (I imagine the shooting lessons to be something he remembered fondly from his childhood, at least), things he idealized, just for none of them to be compatible with his and his son's reality.

sejanus didn't even need to do anything to disappoint his father. he disappointed him just by being himself, and that's what hurts the most.

what you said about strabo pretty much not knowing how to get sejanus to listen is so true. he talks to sejanus is a language he understands: discipline. he's stern, he givers orders, and gets angry when sejanus doesn't listen, because when strabo was a child at least his dad was so stern and he just knew that he needed to obey and respect his pa without questioning. one of the biggest example of their miscommunication and problems on how to understand each other is that strabo thought it was a nice thing to teach sejanus how to shoot, because at least it was a thing he enjoyed doing with his dad when he himself was just a boy, but sejanus is heartbroken because he doesn't get WHY his dad can't do normal things other dads do to their kids. strabo is only gentle with him after regretting being too harsh.

when you said that sejanus is the worst combination between strabo and ma plinth I gasped because IT LITERALLY IS, you put it in words perfectly.

I don't think he would've cared that much if sejanus was just soft. he literally married ma plinth. it would be a disappointment, for sure, but not the worst thing in the world, he could live with it. but what actually kills strabo inside is that sejanus talks back. yes, he's sweet, yes, he's soft, but he won't shut up and just take things as they are. he questions them, he questions strabo. and that's what he can't swallow. he can't accept a boy that's pretty much a mirror of himself, too, except that for the wrong reasons: strabo would kill for the people he cares about, sejanus would die for the people he cares about, and strabo sees it and it drives him INSANE.

I kinda laughed bc I genuinely imagined strabo sitting there, annoyed at 9 years old sejanus because he was disagreeing with strabo and actually talking back, and strabo speaking to vesta like "he knows I hate it when he does it, he hates me and he's doing everything to make me hate him too" and vesta goes like "that's a child. he barely knows how to read." 🤡

there's this thing about the reaping, that it's very vague if either strabo just bought sejanus' mentorship for D2 and marcus was a very unlucky consequence, or if he straight up bought marcus being reaped. I, at least, always got confusing, because I never understood which one of the two options were the one (I personally choose the second one for angst reasons lmao). but either way, as you said, even if he didn't pick marcus in particular... it was still so fucked up, because sejanus grew up in that district. he was 8 when he left, and when you're 8, you're already old enough to remember some kids. and I agree with you!!! I think it was a lesson in his vision; "see? it could've been you", in a way to make sejanus grateful, in a way to make him scared but scared as in to go running back to his pa and apologize and just comply to anything strabo though that was better to the family. but instead, it did make sejanus scared, but he wanted to make a change. it didn't matter to him that he was safe from the games now, he wanted every other kid to be safe from the games, now more than ever.

as I said: if anything, he made sejanus radicalize even more lmao

if we go for the path that strabo chose marcus purposelly, he for sure thought it would teach sejanus a lesson as in to show him sejanus could NEVER have that life he envisioned. "see that kid that you held dearly in your heart? it doesn't matter anymore. you have to resign to your life now. that's it." also, you saying that it's also a way of strabo measuring the waters is so good!!!! and yes!!!! at that point, strabo just gave up on trying to "help" sejanus. if it was on another occasion before the whole thing in the arena and the 10th games, I could see him forcefully impeding him from going to D12, but no, strabo doesn't do anything. he just let him go.

(let him go to his grave, after so many years of trying to save him and just hurting sejanus even more.)

I think that strabo didn't know how much marcus meant to sejanus. I mean, he knew he was important, and if we consider that he got marcus purposelly on the games, then for sure he knew what he was doing... but what I mean is not to this degree. sejanus may not know how to keep his mouth shut, that's true, but he's mostly sweet. him throwing that chair was a big surprise. and then sejanus tried to basically kill himself getting inside that arena, with 0 intentions of getting out. he really pushed sejanus to his limits by this.

and OMG IT HITS SO HARD, the idea that he knew boys like his, and he saw these boys dies, I'm screaming crying throwing up right now

the sejarcus and everlark parallels are the kind that once you see it, YOU CAN'T UNSEE IT. tbosas is full of parallels and references to thg, and I genuinely wonder if this was on purpose because omg why would suzanne collins do that to us 😭 also, please, tell me about the paralles about katniss' mom and ma, because I would love to hear them!!!

about the quarter quell: for a moment, I forgot about them, then I searched up and my jaw DROPPED when I remembered it. because OF COURSE D2 would get rid of at least one of the remaining plinth children as revenge. OF COURSE. I'M SCREAMING

(thinking about before the quarter quell: sejanus had cousins he knew he didn't know. imagine him seeing D2 kids being reaped each year and questioning himself if he knew that kid? if they had his blood? if they were his cousins, but he would never know?)

worst than mourning for what they've been, it's them mourning for what they could've been but never were. okay, now, imagine marcus growing up and refusing to give in to the idea that sejanus became just like those capitol children. he must still be nice, that's what he thinks, it doesn't matter if his dad is a dick. and marcus keeps this thoughts everytime someone brings the plinths up, just for then he end up reaped, and then for sejanus to be his mentor. that's a punch on his guts. he'd rather die not knowing if sejanus was as bad as everyone said than to actually discover and die heartbroken.

(brb I'm crying on a corner right now)

AND YESSSSS LITERALLY THEM 😭 and I love mitski so much, I haven't thought about it before, now I need to make a playlist only of mitski songs that are very much sejarcus coded

yesssss!!! like, I always get surprised when fandom spaces are so diverse regarding countries and different places (even though most of us speak english to communicate here), and still, we get so few songs in playlists and stuff that aren't in english :(( and about the playlists: I SEE YOUUUU my spotify is a mess because it's full of playlists of original projects and characters, but I never put the titles to be too obvious, so when sometime passes by and I forget a bit about it, I come back and be like "...who was that about, again?" 😭

about ante de que nos olviden: I've got CHILLS listening to it and thinking about the tributes, but more specifically, it have so much reaper's vibes. but you're so right about it belonging not only to katniss but also to the other tributes, the ones that survived and the ones that passed away, because even after all this time, they were never really forgotten; they still live through the rebellion and through the survivors :(( (plus, it's also so D11 coded too, it's actually driving me insane now)

about la bestia humana: I'M SCREAMING because this is so coriolanus coded, SPECIALLY on his peacekeeper arc (this also can apply to lgb). it's in D12 where he actually have to let go a bit from what he knows from the capitol, and if he starts to notice that he's starting to pick a bit from their behavior, that man will go INSANE (more than he already is, if it's even possible)

AAAAAAA omg now I'm so excited to read about the wedding on your au omg 😭 okay, so, there's a veryyyy small line in the ma plinth study that says that she got married kneeling in front of the mountains. my thoughts were that usually, a priest will be present and the people who are getting married kneel in the base of the mountains, in front of them. they have to say in front of the mountains if it's their desire to accompany the person for the rest of their lives. for good omen and as a way to request protection and prosperity, it's common for the newlyweds to sacrifice something from their old life to now start their new one. it can be an old piece of clothing or a a piece of jewerly or shoes, anything, really; you give so you can receive too. it's also common for the guests to bring offerings to put on the base of the mountains, too, as a sign of respect. and ofc, people bring traditional D2 bread for the newlyweds (bread as a language of love and life, my beloved <3). I think that's just this what I was thinking about :')

(also, tysm for asking my thoughs abt the D2 culture, it makes me so so so so happy <333)

[avelera]

House of the Dragon wasn't morally gray, its characters just weren't allowed to WANT anything and then pursue it

It's amazing to me how much having a character who visibly wants something clarifies a story.

Throughout 90% of "House of the Dragon" I was all but screaming at the screen, begging someone, anyone to clearly and indisputably say they want something and to be shown fighting for it with single-minded intent and it was shown so very rarely, it was astonishing. Rhaenyra supposedly wants to be Queen but is almost never shown taking material steps to becoming worthy of the role or fighting for it.

She's not the only one, by the way, to have stated goals they don't pursue, or motivations that seem deliberately muddied to make the character seem "better" or "worse" on some moral spectrum as needed, or to take idiot-ball level actions that run counter to their goals supposedly while in pursuit of them, and I just want to explore a few of those (with spoilers, obviously).

Rhaenyra is bored in council meetings, she has not one but three children with a man who, in the context of the story if not the original book, is very obviously not her husband based on their appearances, she takes herself away from the capital when her father could die any day from his illness, when any power-driven person worth their salt would be absolutely glued to his side until the crown passed to them, especially given that Rhaenyra had reasonable suspicions that others in power would try to take the throne before it could pass to her. She basically retires and takes herself away to live in semi-retirement raising her children in a remote location at the exact point she would be better served by building up her power base. It was infuriating to watch.

And it happens again and again in the show! Is Otto Hightower motivated by wanting his own descendants on the throne or does he truly think he's acting in the best interest of the realm? It's never entirely clear!

Does Alicent just want to keep her own children alive and is thus driven to civil war in order to do so, or does she want power for herself? It's not really clear! Because when Rhaenyra offers her clear opportunities to ensure that she and her children will be safe and legally intertwined with the ruling family, she doesn't take them. But she also appears horrified at the idea she'd ever start a civil war for reasons of personal ambition?

Does Aemond want to kill Jace? He'd be pretty justified in wanting to do so after losing an eye to him! Yet at the last minute he "loses control of his dragon" which just seemed like an absurd play to try to make him somehow not entirely to blame for the death. But why do this? No one else is up there anyway to witness the act, why not simply let Aemond want, overpoweringly, to kill this Jace. He can have regrets after and realize the true horror of what he's done, but why muddy the moment itself by making it mixed whether or not he's to blame?

Aside, I actually liked Aemond a great deal because he was one of the few characters who seemed to want to be king and take material steps to becoming a king in the Targaryen historical fashion! He's obsessed with the history of the Targaryens, he models himself after that legacy, and he pursues becoming a dragon rider to the point of putting himself in danger. It's so refreshing! I want to follow the story of his single-minded pursuit of the throne. I'm so sick and tired of all the people who say they want it and then just expect it to fall into their lap!

Larys Strong having some bizarre interest in Alicent's feet wasn't just a weird gross scene, as if a foot fetish is supposed to be some sort of shocking, horrifying deviance in the same episode where we saw children forced to fight to the death in a cage match. It also is stupid because it muddies his motivation. Is he attracted to Alicent or does he want power? We don't know! It's kind of both? But he never really says what he wants, he just lurks around, and then we get the weird foot scene to make it even more unclear why he's doing any of this. It was stupid and unnecessary and didn't actually illuminate anything useful about the character.

This isn't even getting into all the boldly stupid things that each of the "power players" of this story do, like making enemies, stating their motivation aloud to fuck others over before they've confirmed their own victory, stating treason aloud to crowded rooms, or killing other members of the nobility openly and apparently without consequences. At least, not without consequences that aren't immediately undone by another pointless time skip that undoes all the previously built-up drama.

By the end of the season I was absolutely longing for the original GoT's Littlefinger to show up and tell everyone how it's done. At least in the early seasons of the original GoT we knew what everyone wanted, many people wanted evil things and what made it gray was not that people had mixed motivations, but that every character had a clearly stated motivation, good or bad, and the "good" guys were just as likely to lose as the "bad" guys, because motivation didn't matter, you played the game to win or you died.

[piduai]

honestly my only complaints about the gk ending are and will always be tsurumi and tsukishima surviving, first one was unnecessary second one was plain weird and character assassination. but like whatever nothing is perfect, everything else was too good to focus that much on what wasn't. i'm still baffled with how vocal and negative people seemed to be about the ending otherwise though, particularly with the main characters & the ainu question, because not only i can't imagine more fitting endings for any of them, all of that has been... extensively foreshadowed during the whole course of the manga.

sugimoto's survival was a make it or break it situation, while i *personally* would have preferred him to die because i'm a sucker for classic sad endings and stories culminating in tragedy, golden kamuy was obviously trying to ultimately be an uplifting, optimistic story, so the main character making it through is only natural. like it's about preference, from a technical and creative pov there's no reproach here, acting like keeping sugimoto alive was "bad writing" or "unrealistic" or what have you is simply ludicrous. shiraishi's ending was also perfectly fitting, his whole deal is that he's never been sedentary and kept chasing a hilarious dream his whole life, jumping from prison to prison; of course he wouldn't settle with his two friends after all is said and done like in your stupid infantile found family fanfiction or whatever. like why would he. why would he. that guy is a fucking gambler, although a bad one when it comes to racing horses.

asirpa is the most severe case with how much cretinism she ended up stirring. like you really have to lack a sense of foresight entirely to not figure that that's where her character has been going from the very beginning. she meets sugimoto and she says that she doesn't want to see people die, much less see them die for her goals. asirpa's story arc is accepting her father's legacy, respecting it, accepting her father's at times questionable actions because she loved him, but doing things her own way because she's not her father. she meets people she grows to love and she loses them in pursue of her father's dream - which he ultimately also chased because he wanted asirpa to be strong and happy and for her people to prosper. she prioritizes her own values because she's her own person. it's the pursuit of the golden ratio, of the middle ground, which is how most things in life are reasonably resolved. this "all or nothing" mentality that people seemed to force on her is just so very childish, especially for *asirpa* who has always been defined by rationality, frugality, and diplomacy.

but no because the story didn't go the alternative history approach with a full-blown revolutionary movement it's suddenly bad for western liberals. and asirpa is a shit character for having her own values and priorities and seeking to resolve conflict in a way pertinent to her consistent characterization. like you guys always are the first ones to raise the question of cultural sensitivity, but it somehow went out of the window immediately in the end. because clearly the historical revisionism and bizarre revenge fantasy fulfillment would have been so much better than respecting a culture's actual history lol

[serendipetite]

so i read the kiss quotient (thoughts under cut)

ps: i don't usually do "book reviews" but i just....am feeling so many things and just want to put my thoughts SOMEWHERE. it's all a jumbled mess and pls feel free to ignore.

OH MY GOD okay so recap (spoilers ahead)

main character, stella, has ASD and is very much socially awkward. her mother, in a push for grandkids and to force stella out of her comfort zone, threatens match-making

stella's only experiences with men have been....traumatic to say the least. think, no thought or care towards her or her anxieties. no foreplay. no respect towards her at all. stella sees this as a fault in herself.

stella decides to hire a male escort, hoping he can help her relax and can teach her the ropes. all her sexual experiences have been less than favorable at best, and at worst well....it's been bad.

she wants someone who can teach her what to do so guys will be interested in her

enter michael. michael is a male escort working to pay his mother's medical bills after his father abandoned the family. he takes up stella's offer, but tells her that it should be about her. that she should want to pursue pleasure because she wants it, and not because she thinks it'll make her desirable. she already is, he informs her.

michael is apalled to find that stella reacts to his agreed upon advances pale and near tears. he says he cannot and will not follow through with her in that state. this is surprising to stella, as no man has ever cared before her and has just had his way with her regardless. michael is vastly different to stella. he wants it to be all about her pleasure. he doesn't care about sweat or other things she feels very much anxious about. in fact, they can banter together and have fun together as equals and stella is very much intrigued.

they strike up a deal. she'll pay him a large advance to kind of "buy him out" for awhile, and he'll teach her the ropes. however, she quickly finds that michael is so far from what she's used to. he listens to her. he makes her feel safe. she doesn't feel self conscious or anxious around him. she can relax and be herself. even out on dates, even in public, she finds she can flirt and - quite literally - let her hair down. so she asks that they change the arrangement. instead of making it about learning sex, she wants to learn how to be a girlfriend - how couples interact.

cue fake relationship trope

with michael she find that she really can branch out of her comfort zone, not because she feels forced to, but because she feels safe to.

and michael in turn starts to completely fall head over heels for her. she treats him like a person. previous clients really have done a number on our boy, and even his father too. telling him all he is is a pretty face, and worthless aside from that. michael feels not good enough, like he doesn't deserve stella. she makes tons of money. he's poor. she comes from a cookie cutter family. his dad is a criminal who abandoned them. he feels destined to his father's legacy, a weight that forever hangs over him. he decides to pull away. to protect her from himself.

drama ensues

things are revealed

creepy co-workers are creepy

and in the end, michael and stella realize what they have between them is something very much real. nothing fake. nothing pretend. it's something real and worthwhile and worth fighting for.

this book came to be because the author was interested in finding out if her daughter was autistic. she kept getting resounding "no"s at every turn. she decided to write the character of stella about a girl who is autistic in ways her daughter seemed to be. in doing her research though, helen hoang descovered so many relatable things among people with ASD and herself. and in her mid-30s, she finally was diagnosed.

i haven't read her other books yet, but i plan to. they all feature contemporary romance featuring characters with ASD. this book was steamy, delicious, and comforting and i am so, so happy i read it!

[nilthonsjapaneselitblog]

5 Interesting Novels related to Japan

Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo

In old Edo, the past was never forgotten. It lived alongside the present, in dark corners, and in the shadows. In these tales, award-winning author Miyuki Miyabe explores the ghosts of Japan, and the spaces of the living world they inhabit. Written with a journalistic eye and a fantasist’s heart Apparitions bring the restless dead, and those who encounter them, to life. (Amazon)

I Am a Cat

"A nonchalant string of anecdotes and wisecracks, told by a fellow who doesn't have a name, and has never caught a mouse, and isn't much good for anything except watching human beings in action…" --The New Yorker Written from 1904 through 1906, Soseki Natsume's comic masterpiece, I Am a Cat, satirizes the foolishness of upper-middle-class Japanese society during the Meiji era. With acerbic wit and sardonic perspective, it follows the whimsical adventures of a world-weary stray kitten who comments on the follies and foibles of the people around him. (Amazon)

See You When The Snow Falls

Yamato Satoshi is a high school student when he finds a Snow Maiden spirit in the snowy mountains near Nagano. Her name is Yuki, and she has an unfulfilled desire preventing her from passing on. She wants to try all the drinks in nearby vending machines! With no one else who can see her, Satoshi is the only one who can help. He returns to the mountains every winter, bringing her new offerings every time, hoping she can find peace.

While helping her pass on throughout the years, Satoshi struggles with growing up, starts dating, and makes mistakes. He stands at the border between youth and adulthood while she is on the border between the living and the dead (Amazon).

Mist of Iga (Sons of Yokai)

1581, In the midst of Japan’s warring states, a group of four shinobi have just become some of the few survivors of a scattered tribe. The legendary warlord, Nobunaga Oda, a man obsessed with the unification of Japan, is responsible for the devastation upon the shinobi’s home village. In order to avenge their clan, two young brothers make a pact with the former comrades of their father. Unaware, the shinobi are dragged into a mysterious journey in search of a legacy left by their departed mentor that will change the destiny of a nation. (Amazon)

I Met You After the End of the World

A deadly pandemic sweeps across the world, and Yamada Daisuke is the only survivor in Tokyo. Get up early, fight rush hour, work until the last train – it’s all over. He doesn’t have to worry about anything anymore. Even money has lost its value because there is nowhere to spend it.

But things do get quite lonely as the last man standing. He has the city all to himself and no one to share it with.

One day he meets Sayaka – a girl who came from outside Tokyo. They decide to stick together because there is no one else left. A high school girl and an office worker. Two people who would’ve never met otherwise.

They decide to travel together all over Japan. Side by side. Partners at the end of the world. But what will they find on their journey? (Amazon)

I am Blue, in Pain, and Fragile

Two young people in their first year of university, drawn to each other’s passion, establish a secret society to pursue those ideals. But as time passes, the demands of a world that isn’t kind to dreamers threatens to force them apart, filling the space between them with shattered hopes and the fallout of lies. A tender, tragic tale about growing past pain and the cruelty of youth, by acclaimed author Yoru Sumino. (Amazon)

I Have a Secret

Five high school classmates hold secrets close to their hearts–hidden talents, unspoken feelings, and buried pain. As they collide with each other on the path to growing up, they might jostle some of those secrets free. (Amazon)

I Had That Same Dream Again

An unhappy girl who engages in self-harm, a woman ostracized by society, and an old woman looking to live out her twilight years in peace—what could three such different people have in common? That’s what grade schooler Koyanagi Nanoka is trying to find out. Assigned by her teacher to define what “happiness” means to her, Nanoka sets out to get to know these three strangers—and through them, perhaps, to know herself too. (Amazon)

The Tunnel to Summer, the Exit of Goodbyes

One summer morning before school, Kaoru hears an unsettling rumor—of a mysterious tunnel that can grant any wish to those who enter it, but ages them dramatically in exchange. At first, he writes it off as nothing more than an urban legend, but that very night, he happens upon the selfsame passage: the Urashima Tunnel. As he stands before its gaping maw, a thought occurs to him—if this tunnel truly does have the power to grant any wish, could he use it to bring his younger sister back from her untimely death five years prior? Yet when he returns to explore the tunnel the next day, he finds he’s been followed by the new girl in class: a total enigma by the name of Anzu. She takes an interest in Kaoru, and they agree to work together to investigate the time-twisting tunnel and uncover its mysteries. Together, they might achieve their deepest desires…but are they prepared for what it may cost them? (Amazon)

Snow Country

At an isolated mountain hot spring, with snow blanketing every surface, Shimamura, a wealthy dilettante meets Komako, a lowly geisha. She gives herself to him fully and without remorse, despite knowing that their passion cannot last and that the affair can have only one outcome. In chronicling the course of this doomed romance, Kawabata has created a story for the ages, a stunning novel dense in implication and exalting in its sadness. (Goodreads)



[thevindicativevordan]

On Kong Kenan/Super-Man

It should've been him. He should've been the Superman of 5G/Future State/right now not Jon, and he should be the one getting an HBO Max series not Val. Hell he should be getting a movie!

God this dude is literally the best legacy character Superman has ever gotten, wholly his own person with his own lore and status quo while still building on the idea of "Superman". I am so pissed at DC for essentially just dropping him after his ongoing ended, what the hell Lee? You keep trying to make the Wildstorm characters happen, I need you to get my man Yang another Kenan book.

Have to admit I was a bit nervous at first about whether or not Kenan would be a worthwhile character. Yang's New 52 Superman run had been a disappointment to me overall, with only the the arc where Superman has underground wrestling matches against forgotten gods really sticking with me. Now he was introducing a brand new Superman? Didn't feel like he had "earned" that yet. But from the first issue I was hooked on this new character.

Kenan was unlike any other member of the Superfamily. He wasn't kind or sweet, he was an asshole! He was a bully! He was fantastic! Right from the start Kenan was set up to undergo a very different kind of character journey than the other members of the Superfamily. Empathy, humility, respect for people weaker than himself, these are all traits most heroes wearing the S-shield already posses by the time they first don the crest, but not Kenan.

Like all bullies he was even a bit of a coward himself at first, trying to bail on the experiment meant to give him Superman's powers right as it begins. After "saving" Lixin (the kid he bullies and steals lunch from every day) from Blue Condor he demands all the money Lixin has on him as payment. He's not courageous or selfless either at the start, Kenan is as much of an opposite of Superman as you can get short of being Bizarro. Learning the appeal of these traits formed the basis for his growth over the course of his series.

Seeing Yang bring in a lot of recognizable "Superman" elements in the series, but with a twist, was also great. Kenan is the one who bullies "Luo Lixin" rather than the traditional Clark/Lex friendship of Pre-Crisis and Birthright. Initially Kenan develops a crush on intrepid reporter for Primetime Shanghai, Laney Lan, but she dismisses him as too young and Kenan eventually ends up pursuing Avery Ho (Flash) instead. Baxi the Bat-Man of China has a similar relationship with Kenan as the traditional Superman/Batman in terms of being vitriolic best buds, however Baxi is the one who has the most respect for authority while Kenan is the rebel. Kenan is a part of the "Justice League of China" which does not meet with the approval of the already established Chinese superheroes, the Great Ten. That contrasts nicely with the good relationship the Justice Society and Justice League have, as well as seeing Yang lampshade the "Chinese copy" trope and incorporate that into his storytelling.

One of the funniest differences is how Kenan chooses to immediately reveal his identity as Super-Man to the world by taking off the compliance visor he was forced to wear, contrasting with Clark's choice to hide his identity. He was so eager to impress people that he never gave any thought to the danger he could put himself or his family in by revealing his identity until it was too late, something Clark is well aware of and has taken great pains to keep his identity secret. Was a missed opportunity for DC to have Kenan comment on Clark copying him for once when he outed himself under Bendis.

But one of the most poignant differences between Clark and Kenan is the gulf in separation between their relationship with their parents. Clark has a loving relationship with Ma and Pa Kent, trying to live up to their lessons as best he can. In contrast Kenan's mom was believed to have died in an airplane crash when he was just a child, and he never really knew her. His father was distant from him after that and the two weren't really close despite Kenan's attempts to impress him. So Kenan lacks that strong connection while still clearly loving both of them.

Pa Kent's death is one of the most tragic examples of Clark's love for his parents, and I've always been a fan of takes where Clark promises his father to fight for the powerless on Pa's deathbed. Kenan gets a similar scene at the start of his career, his dad "dies" (after being exposed as Flying General Dragon, a pro-democracy "supervillain" from the Chinese authorities perspective) and wants Kenan to promise he'll fight for Truth, Justice, and Democracy. But because Kenan's dad never really bonded with him, Kenan doesn't know what those mean, and can only promise that he never wants to see people die, something his father takes comfort in at least. In classic comic book fashion it's revealed that Dr. Omen, Kenan's "boss" and the one who gave him his powers, saved Kenan's father, because she is Kenan's mother! Kenan's relationship with his parents forms a lot of the crux of his character arc, and seeing how Yang utilizes the classic Superman concept of family kept the storytelling exciting.

Yang's brilliant exploration of the concept of "Superman" through the prism of Chinese culture was a great way to differentiate Kenan as well.

I absolutely freaking love how he tied to the concept of Qi to the S-shield in particular. Connecting the shape of the shield with the way Kenan has acquired his powers along the path of the Bagua (eight trigrams used in Taoism that represent the fundamental principles of reality), with his octagon S-shield outline representing all eight principles together, was mindblowing! So was the idea of restricting Kenan's access to his powers unless he was actually acting in a Superman manner, that tied his character growth to his power growth in an entertaining manner. There were so many characters and concepts that meshed Chinese and DC lore together, like how Emperor Super-Man was Kenan's "Doomsday", they even recreated that iconic dual kill shot! The Chinese Wonder Woman Peng Deilan, being based on the Chinese Legend of the White Snake! There was even some Korean mythology referenced with the Aqua-Man member of the JLC "Dragonson".

Yang also managed to do a Superman Blue/Superman Red story with Super-Man Yin/Super-Man Yang!

Shameful that it took me a while to realize what Gene Yang was doing but once I caught on I was touched. You can tell how much Yang loved Superman and his mythology, and how he was excited to incorporate as much from Clark as he could, while still using it in a way that was solidly Kenan's. And not just Superman's mythology, but the history and lore of the entire DC Universe. I-Ching got to be brought in, fleshed out, and used as Kenan's mentor! The "Yellow Peril" villain from Detective Comics #1, the comic DC gets its name from was brought in and revamped as I-Ching's twin brother All-Yang! Hats off to Yang for taking a racist caricature and attempting to make him into something more.

This series was a beautiful attempt by Gene Yang to build a space for Asian heroes and villains where they could be more than stereotypes, Kenan himself being a defiant mold-breaker in every regard as the complete opposite of most Asian characters in Western media (a jock, a bully, loves his dad but not on great terms with him, a powerhouse as a hero, etc). So much thought and hard work was poured into this by Yang and his team of artist collaborators.

Especially the costumes, man Kenan had so many great looks. From his starting outfit (which is my favorite Superman variant not worn by Clark himself), to the one with the Yin/Yang shield he acquired later on, to his Super-Man Yin & Super-Man Yang outfits, Kenan looked damn cool. Part of me is bummed they didn't go with the Chinese character shield they toyed around with, but I loved how Yang used the "s-shield" as a plot point, so I'm not too broken up over it.

All that great work Yang did to build that space up has been more or less forgotten sadly. It was nice to see Kenan in the DC Asian Month Celebration issue. Avery is going to be in Justice Incarnate at least (unsurprising considering she was created by Williamson). So fucking bummed that Superman Family Adventures cartoon didn't happen, they were going to have Kenan and John Henry Irons in it! Would've been a dream come true for me to see Irons in animation again, and Kenan making the jump to outside media! Maybe that would've encouraged DC to let Yang keep writing New Super-Man, or at least encouraged them to use him elsewhere instead of allowing him fall into Limbo.

Unfortunately I'm not sure what the future holds for Kenan. Jon is being pushed as Clark's replacement in the comics, with DC keeping all the other contenders such as Kon benched. Calvin is leading the Justice Incarnate team likely due to the upcoming Coates reboot that will make Clark black. Val will probably get something once Taylor leaves Jon's book or once they officially announce the HBO Max show is happening. So where does that leave Kenan, my new favorite PoC legacy hero? Currently my only hope is that Yang is working on something for DC involving him. Yang left Batman/Superman, where I was hoping to see a Baxi/Kenan team up, to go work on "exciting other opportunities" per his Twitter. So fingers crossed that there's something in the works for Kenan!

One day I hope he gets his day in the sun again.

[exclamaquest]

what drew u to hiyuta? its just such a unique pairing

essay under cut

as all good things do, my love of hiyuta started in an au! in my original talentswap au, the way things shook out had Hiyoko and Yuta on Jabberwock together after the events of swap universe SDR2. through that, i started to explore their potential dynamic in the au more (Yuta having been through Towa City with soldier!Hifumi, and Hiyoko dealing with the guilt she felt from being a blackened) and started putting them together in more aus (most notably powers au, which is where it solidified more as a ship for me).

eventually, i started thinking about them in a potential nondespair au. i think that while they're a great example of opposites attract (their dynamic is in the same very rough vein as April and Andy), they do have a LOT in common (although Yuta's character is very speculation-heavy, you can easily extrapolate a lot about potential directions he could have gone in).

Hiyoko and Yuta are both uniquely affected by their talent or by their lack thereof. we know in canon that Yuta is a gifted swimmer in his own right, but chose to pursue track and field because he knew that he would never be as good as his sister. despite being incredibly good at his chosen field, there's no question of him ever being an ultimate. as someone who grew up in the shadow of a famous relative, i can say firsthand he's in a very unique situation. despite his own merits, through no fault of his own, he will always, always be overshadowed by his sister.

it's nobody's fault, really--it's a combination of what's necessary for Hina to shine to her full potential and the way that the world is structured around the ultimate system. that doesn't make it any easier for him to cope. for the most part, he isn't Yuta, he's Hina's brother. if one thing had changed, if he had been noticed before her, he would be an ultimate, but that's not how the cards shook out, and he has to be okay with that fact.

Hiyoko, as we all know, isn't "herself", either. she's the heiress to the Saionji family. ever since she was taken from her father, she's been shoved into the spotlight. she's desperately trying to carve her own path while still being forced onto one that's been set for her since before she was born. she's under a lot of pressure to perform in specific ways and to be "on" all the time--she doesn't have time to figure out who she is. she's a pessimist with trauma she's unwilling to work through. she does legitimately care about her talent and about preserving japanese tradition (as you can see in her FTEs), but her relationship to her talent and her family's legacy is tainted.

i think a lot of the ship is about the contrast of the shadow vs the spotlight. they're two people with very different but equally fraught relationships to their talents or lack thereof. due to this i feel like they'd very much be able to see through that in each other--they're not Hina's brother and the Saionji heiress, they're just Yuta and Hiyoko.

they're also finding themselves outside of their families and cementing their personal identities alongside one another.

ofc there's the fun combination of the unhealthy pessimism with the unhealthy optimism too. Yuta has the good old Asahina "if i don't think about it, it didn't happen" don't-do-sadness thing going on, while Hiyoko is firmly in the realm of assuming the worst from everyone. Yuta sees beauty in everything and Hiyoko is drawn to destroy it.

i think there's a lot to be said about them learning from each other in this regard--Yuta learning that it's best to be cautious in certain situations and that it's okay to take what he wants and to be selfish sometimes, and Hiyoko gradually coming to realize that there is beauty in things and sometimes things DO work out for the best in addition to letting herself put her guard down.

i'm gonna cut myself off here because this is getting long. i COULD go on for longer but tl;dr i think they're very very cute together and am always open to talking about them.

and they both like traditional sweets :]

[elizasims3]

Screenshots of a new let's play I'll be doing at the same time as the "My Sims Legacy!" series.

Welcome to Praaven. This world is a Custom World with a medieval theme. I have downloaded the reworked version. I don't know the world's lore yet, but to fit MY story I created a new one. Potterheads are going to love it as I was inspired by the Hogwarts houses for it.

Praaven was the name of the founder of this kingdom. King Praaven Gryffindor. He was a mage/wizard and had 3 other brothers(same mother but all different fathers) who were a fairy, a werewolf and a vampire. Their last names, after their fathers were: Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Upon their mother's death(who was Queen of the kingdom, which was not praaven as Praaven is only part of the original) they decided to split it between them. Thankfully, it worked well and each kingdom got their name after the father of each child. The Gryffindor Kingdom, Praaven, is house to both humans and only witches and wizards as supernaturals. That is what makes it the strongest kingdom as upon the supernaturals the witches are the most powerful defendants. Ravenclaw is the kingdom of humans and fairies. Fairies are peaceful creatures that are wiser than the rest of the supernaturals. They are respected by all other kinds as they communicate with the earth, provide solutions to every problem and use their magic to bring balance in enigmatic and creative ways. Hufflepuff is the kingdom of humans and werewolves. Werewolves are the best hunters, seekers and detectives. Their heart is made of gold and they act nice to everyone that they come across. Last but not least, the kingdom of Slytherin is the land of Vampires and humans. Vampires are the best assassins, liars and they are much sneakier.

All these kingdoms are loyal to each other. Each of them has a royal family, with the king and queen either being human, or supernatural, or both. To protect the king and queen the founders had created magical spells that can save them from all sorts of supernatural attacks, in case the throne was desired by other individuals. While the spell also protects the rest of the royal family, it can't guarantee success like it can for the core of the kingdom, the king and queen.

Unfortunately the spell only protects against the supernatural, so humans or any gesture that isn't related or caused by a supernatural can't be stopped by it. This is something humans, from kingdoms that have eliminated the supernatural use as a threat to force marriages between the kingdoms, in order for the human royal to earn more power as a king and queen function as one and share their power. Humans hate supernaturals due to them taking advantage of mere humans, threatening them and using them for awful reasons. That is why humans are trying to wipe out the Supernatural Royals. Forcing the marriages not only makes them stronger but radically decreases the chance of the birthing of a new royal supernatural, meaning the loss of supernatural royals,meaning the kingdom would fall into the hands of humans only. The pursue of this is mainly because the aforementioned spell can only be altered when both the king and queen of the kingdom are humans. This would mean that if only humans are bred out from royal families the spell would be used to protect all humans against the supernatural, making it easy for the humans to wipe them out.

Gryffindor, is the most powerful of the four main kingdoms in our story due to its high defence, the witches. Unfortunately,a few years ago, a human kingdom attacked Gryffindor sneakily and burned down a big section of the houses in the town center. Henry Gryffindor(the current king), not wanting to resort to war, accepted to marry his Heiress, Princess Celestia Gryffindor to the prince of Kahoo, a human kingdom. That would mean that Celestia would now become the queen of the human kingdom and not her own as the heiresses can only become queens in the kingdom they are married to unless they choose their spouse themselves. This leaves Apollo, the next heir to become a target of multiple other human kingdoms, but also Slytherin and Hufflepuff since they are trying to not only protect Gryffindor but their own kingdoms from having to accept a non-supernatural into their family like Gryffindor had to. Ravenclaw, as all kingdoms in that area know, doesn't get the princes and princesses to marry unless something were to happen to the king and queen of it, so no one bothers with marrying themselves into the fairy kingdom. In addition to that, their earth powers are far too challenging for supernaturals and deadly to humans, so no one would dare threaten them or pick up fights with them.

The royal families of Hufflepuff and Slytherin have temporarily moved in to two mansions in Gryffindor, as King Henry Gryffindor has accepted their offers and is willing to let the son make the decision. Since Apollo actually wants to find true love, they'll have to stay there for a while.

This was Praaven's Lore, with Apollo our main character and the pictures are a few screenshots I captured while manifesting the storyline of our other Main Character, Reina.

I will soon be introducing them

[softshuji]

“Since I met you, I've felt abandoned without your nearness; your nearness is all I ever dream of, the only thing.”

>>She was in search of something and he was in search of something, enraged, pulling faces, burrowing into each other's breasts they searched, and their hugging and heaving bodies brought them no oblivion but reminded them of their duty to search<<

KAFKA IT'S KAFKA OH MY GOD UR A GENIUS AN AMAZING GENIUS I LOVE U the single most beautifully gorgeous line in history and its been said to ME, i will cry <3

I started reading kafka again, but my heart beats for murakami

>>Jealousy—at least as far as he understood it from his dream—was the most hopeless prison in the world. Jealousy was not a place he was forced into by someone else, but a jail in which the inmate entered voluntarily, locked the door, and threw away the key. And not another soul in the world knew he was locked inside. Of course if he wanted to escape he could do so. The prison, was after all, his own heart. But he couldn't make that decision. His heart was as hard as a stone wall. This was the very essence of jealousy<<

>>The human heart is like a night bird. Silently waiting for something, and when the time comes, it flies straight toward it.<<

To odysseus, finally:

So before I start I can say that he is a very good written hero, a beautiful story and one of the most human felt greek heros I've seen.

But songbird, let us look at the facts here:

Diomedes was actually known to be just as smart as odysseus, the other one was just mire sneaky and obnoxious about it. Of course every ancient hero was selfish from our modern perspective but for me he was... well one of the most self absorbed ones. He used the people close to him, circe, Calypso, achilles- he was charming and smart about it and he certainly deserved to be loved by athena but he was just as brutal as the others.

Maybe circe and Calypso were seen as the evil god-born woman who bewitched him but wasn't he the one who played the gods and them in the end?

Wasn't he the one especially cruel to the trojans and Ajax?

He wasn't evil but he wasn't a good person either.

So, anyway,

How is the mission going little clover? Don't just go around shooting people, okay? We don't want another sanzu -one lovely, pretty mad dog is enough for bonten.

Oh, and tell shion I know where he lives.

- ran

"...the way dogs scratch desperately in the earth they scratched at each other and in helpless disappointment, still pursuing final bliss, now and again swept their tongues over each other's faces. Only weariness quietened them and made them grateful to each other.”

Ok don't kill me but I've only ever read one Murakami novel and that was South of the Border, west of the sun but the one you quoted was colourless tsukuru Tazaki wasn't it? I haven't read that :( WOW you have caught me lacking here. I'll have to read it and think of you as I do <3

("I didn't understand then that I could hurt somebody so badly she would never recover. That a person can just by living, damage another human being beyond repair.")

OK SO, I agree about Diomedes, and I think in some narrative sense he serves as the second hero in the illiad and takes a centre stage whenever he's there. That being said, I think what's kind of interesting is the way he stands in his father's shadow, and I'm not sure how much that accounts for his brutality and thirst for success but even before he sets foot in troy, he's already cemented himself as a warrior and despite saying he doesn't remember his father, he still avenges him. I like that his many enemies among the greek chieftains that he competes with for glory are a kind of parallel to the way he's constantly at war with his father's legacy. But I think the fact that there is that comparison serves to prop up Diomedes as a warrior in the first place.

With Odysseus, he was definitely more cunning (doesn't Homer refer to Diomedes as "forceful" or something along them lines?)but i just... dislike him. odysseus comes up with the idea of the trojan horse which led to the sacking of the city and it always rubbed me up the wrong way how he was always talking about how he hopes Penelope was going to be faithful to him but slept around and fathered many children in some translations, (he didn't even know about the kid he had with Circe till later) and idk it didnt sit right with me. He's not evil... but he's not exactly great. But that makes him interesting!

WHEW, that was long. You're making me remember things I thought I'd forgotten. You make me feel clever <3 im sorry this message is so long I had a lot to say.

OH AND THE MISSION IS.... IS GOING TO SAY THE LEAST. Don't worry I wont shoot anyone... maybe. That depends on if they piss me off or not. no promises babe. Rindou is behaving sneaky and strange so I may have to shake him for some explanations. I won't hurt him ofc.

love u <3

always yours, Hal <3