#then the character acts surprised when he does something extremely risky that puts people at risk

[constantineshots]

the opinion for today is that john’s never really needed to be fixed and pairing him with any character for the sole purpose of “fixing” him belittles both the character and john himself. john does care a lot for people, but a lot of people want to ‘fix’ him in ships when in reality, he does care. he can be a great boyfriend who understands boundaries ( as shown with kit, for example, and dani ), but he does run away when he thinks that significant other might be in danger because of him and he’s aware of that fact ( like with oliver, in the newer constantine: the hellblazer run ).

is he an asshole? absolutely. but does he need to be ‘fixed’? no. he’s fine. he’s a decent guy, who’s willing to do just about anything for his friends and feels immense guilt if anything happens to them. he’s never needed to be a hero. he doesn’t want to be a hero. don’t force his hand into being one in the dc universe. keep him his little chaotic neutral self. has he saved the world? yes, but it’s more of a “well, no one else was going to do it” mentality and at one point, he only saves the world because there’s a lack of cigarettes and the shipments of cigarettes weren’t coming in, but that’s also because of his “well, i keep saving the world, and it keeps ending. there’s no point anymore”. poor guy, honestly.

anyways, in sum, i don’t like the whole “they can fix him” ships with john. i think it’s demeaning. can someone be with john without needing to fix him please. thanks.

[sleepingdeath-light]

yogurt cream smut hcs ; 18+

requested by ; 🐜 anon (22/05/23)

fandom(s) ; cookie run

fandom masterlist(s) ; hub | specific

character(s) ; yogurt cream cookie

outline ; “🐜 anon back at it again

yogurt cream cookie smut headcanons shhdhsjsd”

warning(s) ; sexually explicit content, pillow-prince-esque!yogurt cream, food play, public sex, threesomes

note ; there were so many conflicting translations for the pet names used in this that i ended up just throwing in the towel — they’re all at the very least complimentary so i’m still taking the win here haha

minors and ageless blogs will be blocked

the type of lover who is happy to lay back and let you do all of the work — who is comfortable to stay on the bottom whilst you ride and fuck him, offering only wandering hands and remarks that leave your skin burning

that being said, he does put in the effort when he goes down on you and he’s fucking excellent at it — making full use of his dextrous tongue, soft lips and smooth hands to bring you to the edge over and over again whilst still able to spare the time to tease you (preferably with you mounting his face so he can get comfortable)

big into seeing you in lingerie — especially if it’s sheer, lacy or made of silk

has a pretty high libido and usually doesn’t like starting the day without having at least one round of sleepy morning sex with you if he can help it

enjoys consensual somnophilia and loves waking up to you going down on him — and on the rare occasion that he’s up before you, he’s also generous enough to return the favour by giving you a handjob beneath the sheets

also enjoys things like decorative bondage on you and himself — but he usually prefers to get straight to the sex itself without having to go through the motions of safe bondage

food play is an absolute must with him and most of his wet dreams are repeats of a time where the two of you gave the most decadent basbousa a second life — or the time where you surprised him with a jaw dropping show involving whipped cream, chocolate and strawberries

massive praise kink (giving and receiving)

tends to slip into his native tongue a lot when he’s praising you during foreplay and sex, particularly when it comes to pet names

the ones that he frequents are: ya amar, habib albi, and ya helo

he also calls you these things (and many more) outside of the bedroom, but these pet names in particular tend to slip out quite often in the moment

if anyone catches you having sex then he’s hardly going to mind, more bothered about getting off — or, if you’re clearly uncomfortable, protecting your modesty

in a similar vein he’s not above or opposed to actively having sex or performing sex acts in full view of others — nor with inviting others into the bedroom with you

of course he’d propose inviting people he trusts the most (like lilac cookie) but he’s also up for any suggestions that you have — or just inviting someone new as long as everyone’s having fun and staying safe

he’s up for trying most things at least once as long as it’s (a) not super risky for either of your health and (b) not something that requires him to put in mountains of effort

extremely loud in bed to the extent that if you don’t want others to know what’s going on then you’ll need to gag him once he starts getting close to climax

he has a massive collection of toys from all over the world and organises them by their function (restriction/penetration/vibrating/suction/pain/sensation/etc.) and he’s all too happy to share them with you if you ask

[imthepunchlord]

Do you have any thoughts on how the guardian role is handled lore wise? Would you change much about being the guardian?

Oh yes I do and there's so much that I would change up.

The more we see of the Guardians, the dumber they are and the more pointless they are. To a point it's a wonder if they were worth the inclusion as they don't amount to much and are just useless. I'm putting this undercut as I just go off.

- Lore wise, they set it up that adults are naturally more powerful, so why did Fu pick two kids to fight his battles for him? Why not adults? Why did he leave them on their own instead of offering them some means to have an edge over HM?

- Of the Ladybug and Cat, we have yet to see anything unique that the Cat brings to these fights that the other 15 miraculi that Fu has with him couldn't do. You need a distraction that's going to mess up the akuma? Monkey and Fox. You need a protector/aggressor? Bee, Turtle, or Dragon. Ladybug is a must as its the only cleanser so far and has ML to boot, but Cat doesn't need to be out there, and as soon as HM had quite publicly stated that he wants LB and Cat, Fu should've reclaimed the Cat immediately to secure its safety and that HM won't get both. Another or two could go out to replace it.

- Why was picking Adrien a good idea? If Fu had just arrived in Paris, ok, but Backwarder reveals he's been living in Paris for a while. And with that, he's seen Adrien's face everywhere.s Adrien is potentially the most well known kid in Pari. Technically, for Fu's want of secrecy, why pick the most iconic face in Paris to get a miraculous? That sets up one of your heroes to always have attention on him. Fu picking Adrien doesn't make any logical sense.

- Why is Fu ok with endangering one kid but not the other? Why does Marinette get a test set up that risks her life and Fu's if it hadn't gone well and Adrien just helps an old man up, a common decency that most would do. It's like two extreme differences that don't work well in comparison as Marinette gets the risky test and Adrien it looks like he got his miraculous on a silver platter as he got the far easier one that takes the least effort to be a decent human being.

- Fu being a terrible mentor and hero picker in general and the whole shebang with Syren. If Adrien is not meeting his standards or if he doesn't trust Adrien at all, why is Adrien being allowed to continue as a hero? Or if he really wants Adrien to stay, why isn't he doing anything about Adrien? Why isn't he telling Plagg to encourage Adrien to step up and get serious? If he can take on the role of being Adrien's Chinese teacher, why not do that to try and guide Adrien to improvement so he can also be trusted with Guardian secrets too and truly help Marinette out. He's got two options when he doesn't trust Adrien or finds that he's meeting his standards: he takes the miraculous back or he addresses this issue himself.

- I also call big BS about him not doing anything at all when he comes upon Adrien detransformed on the roof with Plagg. Cause he's risking himself going out to find Chat Noir only to find him detransformed. That realistically should raise some brows and concern him. Adrien at least should've gotten a lecture or warning.

- Also the reveal that kwamis aren't allowed to know about their own power. that to me is off putting. It really stresses that kwamis are beneath them, these very ancient and powerful beings that have probably seen a lot. And canon validates it by making them children (which to me is the writers being lazy so they don't have to do complex characters).

- The whole thing with Fu's backstory. Dumbest backstory I've ever heard and it just paints Guardians in a really bad light, and by extension, real life monks. Monks didn't go to people's homes to take children. If they did take kids with them, those kids had nowhere else to go and offered them a place to stay until old enough to be on their own. And that test, omg, wtf. Ok, I can get the idea of a test of temptation, but there are other ways to perform it without starving a kid. Especially leaving said kid alone unsupervised with 19 powerful miraculi two of which have wish granting abilities. How would the Guardians even know if Fu used a miraculous as they left him alone with mriaculi. If Fu wanted to, he could've made a wish to never be picked.

- Fu didn't even do shit when he finally had a chance to face off against HM. He just sat in his damb ball and allowed himself to get knocked around. At least try and roll over him! Be a ping-pong ball! DO SOMETHING. Like, why did you even pick Turtle??? Turtle wasn't able to do anything against Butterfly! I thought it could as Fu had been ready to go in Origins, plus the 5 are based off Wu Xing, by set up, Fox and Turtle should have some sort of an edge over the Butterfly. But I guess that means there could be other options aside form LB and we can't have that, Marinette's miraculous needs to be the only thing to take on the Butterfly to really stress on the fact that it comes down to only her.

- The memory wipe thing that's an apparently must when you retire from being the Guardian. Honestly I think that should've been saved as a last resort if you're ever captured and could be forced to leak info, not when you retire. Doing so removes a valid source of advisement that a new Guardian can rely on. History is there to learn from it and this tradition removes a source of history to learn from, either from having guidance or seeing what the old did and how you want to change things. This also makes me concerned as I see Adrien taking advantage of an amnesiac Marinette.

- I went off about the NY Special revealing there's more Orders here.

- And lastly, Su-Han, the other Guardian to see aside from Fu. And with him, it solidifies how stupid they all are. When the Butterfly is being misused in Paris, why is someone aggressive and judgmental coming to Paris? Why is this guy even working with kids when he doesn't like kids? And the reveal that Guardians don't use miraculi at all. That just makes that test all the dumber with testers being unsupervised. And for Guardians not meant to use miraculi, how come Marinette gets a nice perk as LB that she can pull a miraculous out of her yo-yo? They're probably playing that she's "the first" to do so but realistically, I'm pressing x to doubt. In the long history of miraculi and when Guardians were around, you expect me to believe that Guardians never used miraculi themselves? What if there was no one to turn to, do they just the disaster happen? ...Well, based on how terrible canon is setting them up, I wouldn't be surprised.

SO.

There is a lot I would change up about the Guardians and for this, I'll adjust canon.

- Adrien gets the ring another way, maybe a gift from his mom or aunt or grandparents. Realistically, there's no logical reason for Fu to pick Adrien. He just has too much attention on him and Chat being an unexpected miraculous user can make him wary, adding to him only trusting Marinette.

- I'd have Fu be more present in Marinette's life, a customer who comes in a lot. This way he can offer advise when needed but not take away from Tikki. And this has him more closely keeping an eye on things.

- I'd change up Fu's backstory. He got separated from his family in a flood, the previous Turtle saved him, tried to help him find his family and with no luck, took him to the Temple, but only the section where other orphans are where they work to help take care of it, oblivious to the miraculous near them. After a year, Fu is one of the few selected to be entrusted with miraculous knowledge. He's surprised but not all that for it as he'd rather go find his family still. Idk how Temple falls but its not that. That was just dumb and avoidable.

- I wouldn't have Adrien meet Fu at all. In truth, it actually could've been cut out entirely as Adrien meeting Fu didn't amount to anything. He doesn't help with Guardian duties, doesn't help pick heroes, hasn't stepped up at all in his role as a partner. And he's not as torn up about Fu's loss as Marinette is. Adrien meeting Fu was pointless in the grand scheme of things. Nothing was progressed or changed from Adrien meeting Fu.

- I'd have HM ONLY getting an edge on Fu because Mayura was there to help him, catching Fu off guard. I want to see the Turtle truly in action, to see what else it can do cause sitting there to be smacked around was just unimpressive. And if Asstruck even did as much research as he could, he'd know that in Chinese mythology, the Turtle is a boss. It's the keeper of history and symbol of immortality, and it's up there with Tiger as an animal that can go toe to toe with the Dragon. And of the Four Symbols (associated with 4 seasons), the Black Turtle is also known as the Black Warrior. There should've been a lot more to Turtle than just sitting in your shell and allowing yourself to be knocked around.

- Su-Han I'd drastically change up. I'd keep in him being critical and stern, but he approaches things smartly and patiently. Before he dives into aggression and accusations, he wants to know what's going on. Why does this 14 yo have the Miracle Box? How was the Butterfly obtained and misused? And what the hell is going on??? How are these people so small and how did they get into this thin glass box?? Computer? What's a computer??? Essentially, have fun with the fact that Su-Han is essentially a time traveler and one great bonding experience to have with Marinette while also offering some good comedy is him learning about the modern time and her acting as his guide. Su-Han can give her guidance that Fu hadn't been able to give, and Marinette can offer her own in a way that Su-Han will need. Which by extension could remove Marinette having a near mental breaking point and revealing herself to Alya, and could avoid some of that drama of what's coming.

- Speaking of which, Adrien. I'd use Su-Han to finally address the issues with Adrien as a hero and partner. Su-Han prioritized Marinette as she has the Miracle Box, but Adrien is someone he'd take the miraculous away from. Adrien would get a very clear warning and call out for his actions and role.

[pertinax--loculos]

Absent That Night -- Excerpt

In which Latrell takes the opportunity to conduct his own thread of investigation. OR Meet Zaide guys help i accidentally made myself a new favourite character ahaha D: Wordcount: 1297 CW: smoking, cursing, vague threats I suppose? (I’m not great at these, let me know if I’m missing anything oops.) *** Gun on his hip, underneath the untucked shirt. Latrell held his breath as the man stalked past his hiding spot, but his heavy-lidded eyes never moved Latrell’s way. His gaze was fixed ahead. Purposeful.

And walking out of the Warren? Definitely Associate.

Latrell waited until the man was a decent distance past him, then stepped out of the storage room and raised his voice. “Trouble you for a moment of your time?”

The Associate spun, hand going to his waist. Latrell’s breath caught sticky in his throat, but he stayed still, hands open by his sides, expression neutral. He let the stranger examine him, saw the once-over make his conclusion jump to agent, then exhaled slowly as the Associate’s hand dropped smoothly from his holster. He continued the movement to cross his arms, eyebrows lowering a fraction.

“Anything I can do for our vaunted Law Enforcement Agency,” he said.

The amenability was unexpected, but not strictly speaking surprising. The reason the Association maintained its stranglehold on the city was its ability to outfox any and all forms of justice, and acting cooperative — and ignorant — was the easiest way to do that. Particularly when an individual was stopped on the street for no apparent reason.

Latrell gave himself a second to breathe, and fashioned his tone into remote professionalism. Let just a touch of nerves filter through, emphasise his discomfort and hopefully the implication he wasn’t altogether experienced. “I’ve been sent to do some research into a suspect our Homicide Division is looking into. I was hoping you might know of him. Man calls himself Nox?”

The Associate’s features slid into a smile. It didn’t reach his eyes. “Got you out doing busywork, huh?”

“I go wherever they ask me too,” Latrell said, stiffly. He paired it with the slightest jut of his chin.

The Associate stepped forward, slow, nonthreatening. Latrell tensed anyway, only partly out of commitment to his charade.

“Yes, well, obedience is key in your line of work.” There was the slightest twinge of an accent in the man’s voice, maybe foreign, maybe just from a city far away from the one they were now in. Latrell didn’t have a good enough ear to tell. “Let you in on a secret, though — either your bosses are hazing you, or they want you dead.”

If Latrell actually had been a green agent, the words would’ve been extremely effective. Even as it was, he felt his stomach drop with the finality of the statement, a curl of dread accompanying the rush of adrenaline to his veins.

But experience let him keep his expression dispassionate, and his questioning on track. “So you do know of this Nox person?”

One of the Associate’s brows lifted. He’d thrown him. Good. Though his voice was still smooth when he said, “Of course. Everybody knows of Nox.”

Latrell waited. Realised that might provide too much insight into his actual identity, and prompted, “And?”

“From what I hear?” The Associate’s smile returned. It was not a comforting expression. “He’s a bit of a… freak.”

Latrell’s skin prickled. The word didn’t seem candid as much as carefully chosen. All implications and connotations included.

He kept his voice even when he said, “Care to elaborate?”

The Associate shrugged, uncrossing his arms in the same movement. “I mean, nobody really knows him. Just rumours, mostly.”

“I thought all you people knew each other.”

“We do.” The smile returned, and Latrell finally pinned down what was so discomforting about it; it was cultivated, like a copy of an expression the Associate had only seen, practised in the mirror. Or a twist of features brought about by the strings of a marionette. He’d never wanted the comforting weight of his handgun against his shoulder more. “Which is probably why nobody really knows much about Nox. He’s not an Associate.”

Latrell lifted his eyebrows. “Come again?”

It was a theory he’d bandied about, of course, something he’d even considered likely. But to have it confirmed — and by an Associate who, he was more and more convinced with every passing moment, had to be in the upper echelons of the organisation — was something else. That made it fact. That made it real.

That made it evidence.

“Someone like Nox…” The Associate held up one hand a little, palm out, as he fished in his back pocket with the other. It didn’t stop Latrell tensing, and the tension didn’t ease until the stranger flipped open the thin, square case he’d retrieved and revealed a neat line of cigarettes. He placed one between his canines, spoke as he swapped the shiny case for a lighter. “…you don’t invite him into a brotherhood like ours. Too risky.”

“How so?” The words fell out of Latrell’s mouth without consideration, transfixed as he was by the flickering flame of the Associate’s lighter, the glowing coal that flared at the tip of his cigarette, the stream of smoke that dissipated into the damp air as he exhaled between his teeth.

“He’s got a history,” the Associate said between drags, as if that was all the explanation necessary.

It wasn’t, but Latrell wasn’t inclined to push. He also was less and less inclined to spend much longer around this man.

But he did have one more question.

“So why is it that you work with him?”

The wires twitched the smile back onto the man’s face. “Unfortunately, he’s very good at what he does. Even if he seems to have developed a taste for blood recently.” Drag, pause, exhale. In a mutter: “About time he did something interesting.” Then, finally, back to Latrell; “And he has very high-powered friends.”

Latrell dropped his green-agent facade entirely. He wasn’t convinced that the Associate had been fooled to begin with, and he rather thought it would put him in less danger. “The Marks.”

The Associate tapped ash off the end of his cigarette, wires pulling taught enough to bare his teeth. “The Marks.”

Questions rushed to Latrell’s mind; why do you call them friends and how many of them does he know and how many of them are there? But he beat them all back. Ice prickled beneath the dampness of his jacket, and something about the Associate’s languorous gaze increasingly made him feel although he was standing in crosshairs.

“I appreciate your cooperation.” He thought about stepping back, but doing so would take him further away from his escape route, the retreat back to no-man’s-land which necessitated walking past the Associate.

“Oh, any time.” The man placed the cigarette back between his teeth as he pulled out a sleek black phone; his eyes finally dropped from Latrell as he moved towards the warehouse that bordered the Warren. “I wish you luck on your assignment.”

He couldn’t know that Latrell was not actually on any assignment. It sure sounded like he did.

“Thanks,” he said as he started forward, hugging the building opposite, keeping as much distance as possible between them in the narrow valley carved by the railway lines.

He’d just started to relax, his stride lengthening into a more comfortable rhythm, when the Associate called out to him.

“Oh, and Agent?”

Latrell glanced over his shoulder, slowing a little. He didn’t stop, couldn’t quite convince his feet to do so.

Whatever puppeteer controlled the Associate’s face manipulated the wires into a grave expression. But one failed at the corner of the Associate’s mouth, and it curved up just a fraction.

“I wouldn’t recommend working with people you don’t know. Perhaps next time, you should investigate them first.”

Latrell’s heart tripped, faltered, picked up from its stumble at a racing pace. Surely the slam of it against his breastbone would be audible across the distance between them.

He managed a nod — stiff, jerky, not at all convincing — before he turned tail and fled.

[maaji-maji-majima]

some kissing hcs for Majima?(if u can make it nsfw)

So I'm in a weird place with this. I don't want to leave you unanswered but I know you won't like the answer that I give. It has been a long time since I was active on tumblr and I'm not sure when along the timeline headcanon became synonymous with fanfiction. I appreciate fanfiction authors for their creativity, but I am not one myself. I use headcanon in the older definition of "this isn't in the source material, but it is true in my brain". They are either random things my half asleep mind thought of while walking home from work or a character analysis. At the same token your ask had crawled into my brainmeats and won't leave. So again, I apologize that this most definitely is not what you're looking for, but I hope someone out there finds this to be an interesting read.

Without further introduction, here is a character analysis of our favorite pansexual, gender fluid, emotionally stunted goblin in regards to relationships and why the he desperately needs therapy as brought to you by a different pansexual, gender fluid, emotionally stunted goblin who got therapy but probably needs more.

Trigger warnings: Abuse, self harm, mental disorders, poor coping strategies, unhealthy relationships, random tense changes, not fanfiction

Spoilers for the whole franchise, but very specifically for 0, K1, and 5.

Abuse does weird things to people's brains. In Yakuza 0 Majima has barely been out of the hole for a year. He might no longer be suffering the actual physical torture he had been subjected to the year prior, but he is still directly in the hands of his abusers and being watched every moment. He is still in a cage even if it doesn't look like one. He is depressed and likely suicidal, but doesn't follow through with those thoughts because he is determined to make sure Saejima has a home to come back to. He is willing to endure just about anything to allow Saejima a chance to exact that final moment of retribution because Saejima is the one who deserves it and Majima doesn't feel that there is any possibility for forgiveness. In all likelihood he hasn't sought out anyone for a hookup or paid company for an evening due to a combination of not feeling like he deserves anything that feels good and the fact that he's constantly being watched. The year in hole means he no longer really has a concept of privacy, but he's worried that getting close to someone, even for a few moments, could put them in danger if Sagawa or Shimano feels like holding something else over his head. It isn't worth accidentally dragging someone into his own personal hell. He no longer lives for the present, he is only living for that far-off future that he hopes isn't just a pipe dream.

Enter Makoto. At first she is a stand-in for Saejima's sister Yasuko, but it morphs rapidly from there. She is the light and kindness and hope that he hasn't seen in years and she's being dragged into his bullshit. He knows in his heart of hearts that she doesn't deserve what she is being forced into, so his mind snaps into the immediate and does everything he possibly can to save her. This is is the hill he wants to die on. Maybe, just maybe, he can end his miserable existence with a final act of good and he feels that Saejima might just be able to understand. But because he no longer has any relationships in his life that are not strictly professional or the abusers he cannot escape, he has little recollection of what a nuanced relationship or even friendship is any longer. Due to circumstance she is also the only person that he cannot keep at arm's length, no matter how desperately he tries. So he falls for her and falls hard. But in the end, after everything they go through he does the impossible. He lets her go. She has a life and a future, whereas he has neither of those. What would she do? Become his ane-san? Have some temporary happiness before she realizes she has a target on her back for the rest of her life? No. Majima believes she deserves so much more than that even though it hurts him deeply. What is one more hurt on top of everything else? He's gotten extremely good at burying his pain.

Getting to Tokyo flips a switch in Majima's brain. Like many people with mental trauma who don't have access to therapy he falls into excess as a way of self medicating. He fits virtually everything on the hedonism checklist. Drinking? Yeah. Violence? Hell yeah! Promiscuity? Yeah, but I ain't judging. Drugs? Probably, even though it isn't explicitly stated in game. Everything from his shift in personality to his wardrobe has become, intentionally or not, a defense mechanism. He has escaped from all of his abusers except for Shimano and he refuses to allow anyone to gain that kind of power over him again.

It is a double edged sword, however. His depression and PTSD are running unchecked. In all likelihood he hasn't fallen hard on vices as a way to reclaim ownership off his own body. Instead it seems more probable that he is dissociating. After everything he has been through he doesn't care what happens to his body in the long run because it isn't actually his anymore. Risky behavior, which is practically Majima's middle name, is also frequently used as a passive form of self harm because the end result is either temporarily feeling better thanks to endorphins and adrenaline or permanently feeling better after embracing death. He could achieve a similar feeling by taking up jogging and chasing a runners high, but that takes more time and energy than chugging a handle of whiskey or goading some chump into throwing hands. Sadly even now admitting to mental problems by seeking help is fairly stigmatized in Japan and it was only worse in the early 90s. Can't have a problem if no one tells you it's there, right?

Then he meets Mirei. She's intense but not wild like Majima. At that moment in time she is everything he needs. Head strong, domineering, and very, very determined. She knows exactly what buttons to press to wrap him right around her finger. And he lets her take the reigns, lets her run his life because he realizes he was doing a terrible job on his own. Better her than Shimano, right? Doing something wrong results in the cold shoulder instead of a vicious beating, and doing something right leads to more than simply the relief of avoiding a beating. He decides that making her happy is enough to make him happy. Until suddenly it isn't. He never wanted to be a father, but even the idea that he could have been was enough to cause a fundamental shift in his entire outlook on life. He could have had someone to live for, instead of just survive for. But he had no say in the matter and didn't know until the decision had been made for him. When Mirei told him she had an abortion he snapped. He hit her. The one and only time he raised his hands against her. Disgusted with himself, and wounded by her decision, he left. If he was capable of that, he knew couldn't be the person she had been trying to mold him into. He realized he was nothing but a weight around her neck dragging her down. And so that day signals the end of their short marriage. He spends the next several decades drowning in guilt for his actions while still resenting her for her choice.

That leaves us with Kiryu. Poor, oblivious Kiryu. Majima's fixation is multifaceted but in no small part due to the fact that Kiryu is one of the few people strong enough to hurt him, but is the only one that doesn't want to. And Majima just doesn't understand. After everything, he only deserves to hurt, right? Saejima, Yasuko, Makoto, Mirei. Everyone who gets too close to him ends up worse for it, so why won't Kiryu and his sense of honor seek justice on their behalf? So he does everything he possibly can to wind up Kiryu enough to Pay Attention Damnit, Fight Me. But Kiryu's response is always just flustered awkwardness because he doesn't want like fighting, it's just a part of his job, like wearing a suit or answering a phone. To Kiryu fighting isn't a thing done because it's enjoyable, it's done because it has to be. But he's still the only one who doesn't flinch when Majima brandishes a knife inches from his face.

And then Kiryu is arrested and in jail for ten years. And ten years is a long time to build someone up onto a pedestal. Like only wanting to talk about the best of a person after they've died. The same thing happened with Saejima. Build them in his mind to what he wants or needs them to be since they are not there to actively correct it. The decade is pretty miserable, going through the motions and trying to not make waves with the bigwigs while terrifying the minions into obedience. When he hears Kiryu is being released it is like waking up again. He all but waits at the taxi stand at the entrance of Kamurocho on the day of Kiryu's release, all but vibrating with excitement. It's a fight he has been waiting on for a decade, too bad it was little more than a disappointment.

So Majima decides to bring him back up to spec in that very Majima flavored way. Small fights, big fights, surprise fights. Kiryu is still reluctant because he doesn't have a reason beyond Majima's dreamed up training program he doesn't actually want to be a part of. Of course this only leads Majima to do everything possible to get under Kiryu's skin, including sharing his personal vulnerabilities while disguising them as jokes just to cause fights, but Kiryu just kind of rolls with it which leads to confusion and frustration on both sides. After a while Majima starts to get into Kiryu's hobbies, like pocket circuit, ostensibly as another form of picking a fight. And he discovers he actually enjoys a lot of it. And they are both too dense and emotionally stunted to realize they're basically dating at this point. At multiple points Majima takes potentially lethal blows meant for Kiryu and the excuse that he is the only one allowed to kill Kiryu is very, very thin. He just can't quite admit out loud that he doesn't want to see Kiryu truly hurt because that's weakness and he is Not Weak (tm).

Shimano's death and Kiryu's departure from the clan come as a whirlwind that destroys him all over again. He's left directionless. So he leaves the Tojo in an attempt to find his own way in the world, for the first time in over twenty years.

I think I need to call it here for now. I know I've left out Saejima and Daigo, among others, but I've been working on this for days and my progress has been eaten twice and I just don't have the energy to keep going right at this time. Maybe some day in the future I'll find the time and energy to write out the rest for all the other games.

tl;dr What Majima wants and what he needs are two different things. He wants to fightfuck, but he needs to be bear hugged into submission so that he can have that mental breakdown he's been carefully bottling up for over thirty years. He needs a good, ugly cry. And therapy. Lots and lots of therapy.

[pinayelf]

Cullen’s Revised Redemption - my take

This was previously an undetectable read more but decided to update it and also make it (more) public since people have asked for it. This is very wordy, so grab a bag of chips or something lmao.

Disclaimer and Request (PLEASE READ)

I am putting this above the read more because I need people to see it before they do anything with this post. The reason I had the first version of this basically invisible is I’m genuinely not here for people yelling and fighting in the notes so that being said:

I wrote out the first one so I had something to link to people in the case someone asks me why I’m romancing him with an elven mage

This is a hot button issue and I know people have feelings varying from either extreme sides or in the middle so

If you vehemently hate Cullen and find him irredeemable that is fine and valid, but please do not come onto this post and reply why. To be frank, you won’t make me dislike him considering I hated him initially

If you think his redemption is perfect that is fine and valid, but please do not come yelling at me for this post.

Let us agree to disagree NOW.

I love Cullen. If the URL wasn’t obvious I’m saying it now. But I am also allowed to feel that his redemption wasn’t fully realized and lackluster and wish it didn’t happen off-screen. 

I believe Cullen does want to change. Failing and slipping at first is realistic. What didn’t work is that it wasn’t fully realized. If you disagree that is fine.

Cullen’s PTSD is a reason for the things he did. It is a reason NOT an excuse. Mental illness is not an excuse to do bad things. You can say that while acknowledging his trauma. Said by a person who also suffers from mental illness

“Ellie why do you care so much about a white dude, he doesn’t deserve your time and energy!!!” - because he is a comfort character of mine, he is fictional so I have the ability to make him safer for me and for my OCs and I think that’s more than fair

This is NOT the only right way to write a fix-it for him you can 100% write your own, this is just mine and an example of one

Now...let’s go!

This is meant to have been a longfic, but I can never finish anything I write so you’ll get a condensed version. This is for my worldstate where Imryll (my main Cullenmance) is the Inquisitor, but I also use this same redemption in all my timelines, just tweaked a bit for whoever the characters are.

DAI starts and Cullen has just stopped taking lyrium. He wants to change, , he is full of regret and ready for it but is obviously harder than he anticipated. Especially since the Herald, Imryll, wants to ally with the mages. He and Imryll do not get along, Imryll doesn’t trust him and they have had a couple of public fights. 

Imryll allies with the mages. Cullen is worried abominations might occur. The ones from Kirkwall see Cullen and refuse to interact with him. Some hate him and look at him with disdain. He’s made an announcement saying he no longer operates under the Templar Order and denounces what Meredith did. But they still don’t trust him.

He is frustrated by this and Leliana calls out the fact that he still doesn’t trust them because he believes they’ll turn into abominations, so why should they trust him? Cullen says he’s seen it happen, like in Kinloch, especially if they’re exposed to power. Leliana points out how the same thing happened to Meredith. Cullen snaps out of his frustration, admitting he knows he’s wrong but it’s hard to accept it. Leliana tells him he must accept he is wrong if he wants to really change.

(Note: In my canon Leliana becomes his support for this rather than Cass. I love Cass but she is too static in her beliefs and will just enable or stunt Cullen from growth. They are still close friends but it’s Leliana who he confides in with about this - they both have the same faith but Leliana is more open-minded and will help him grow)

The Templars and the Mages clash at Haven and Imryll demands Cullen to do something about it. Cullen is hesitant and doesn’t do much, he doesn’t want to believe his comrades are acting this way. This sours his relationship with Imryll and the mages.

(This idea is taken from a text post that I can no longer find :c) One of the mages give birth and the others are overjoyed and crying. They need supplies and Cullen offers to help but they all refuse to speak to him until he arrives back with Josephine. Cullen wonders why they are celebrating and crying and Leliana says that most mages never stay with their family because they are separated. Another realization hits Cullen.

Cullen joins Cassandra in looking for rogue Templars and when they encounter the group, Cullen attempts to reason with them but they don’t relent. He sees his old self in the leader and realizes what he sounded like. After dealing with the Templars he and Cassandra see a group of young refugee mages starving and hiding in a small cave. They quiver in fear when they notice his Templar gauntlets and refuse to come to Haven despite them being in near-death from starvation. Luckily, Varric is there and convinces them to come. 

The encounter dawns on Cullen what the Templar Order truly looks like to mages. This haunts him. It is the same fear he had for years after Kinloch - the difference is, the order protected him but no one truly protected the mages. He finally accepts that the order he once romanticized so much is corrupt.

The next time he sees that his Templars are the ones who start the altercations. He does something about it - but at the same time angering his lieutenant. 

During the fall of Haven, the Red Templars show Cullen anyone is apt for corruption, seeing the people he once trusted become the army for a magister breaks his heart. He witnesses the mage recruits give their lives for the Inquisition. He watches Imryll sacrifice herself for the sake of the Inquisition. When have the Templars ever done this? He’s never witnessed this. He must make amends. He must. 

Upon arriving at Skyhold he requests to be judged by the mages and Fiona - the ones from Kirkwall especially. He tells them it’s time he answered for his inaction and the things he enabled. Surprised, Imryll calls Fiona to form a council of mages to judge him. 

Cullen prepares for whatever sentence they are to give him. All the while after owning up to what happened in Kirkwall, the Inquisition loses some support, including soldiers who leave due to their disillusionment in him. The day of trial comes and to Cullen’s surprise they sentence him with reparations. He is to do the Inquisition mages’ bidding and to work with Fiona along with his Inquisition duties.

Besides the loss of support, many begin to look at Cullen differently and turn cold towards him, like some staff and people who have joined the Inquisition. He helps build a mage tower and joins Fiona in doing small missions  to help the refugee mages. While some mages warm up to him, some don’t and while hard he accepts they never will.

One day a missive arrives at Skyhold stating that mages from Starkhaven are taken hostage by Red Templars for a hefty ransom. Josephine insists they pay the ransom and plans to take a loan out from an Antivan bank - however Cullen sees the situation as time sensitive. He is afraid that if they wait too long, the Red Templars will kill the mages. Josephine, and Leliana surprisingly argue against this, seeing it too risky. But Cullen has a terrible gut feeling, and after finding the location of the abandoned keep they are located in, he takes some of his troops who are willing, and mages who are looking to save their brethren.

The raid goes all right, and the troops manage to retrieve the hostages without any casualties, however at the last minute, one of the templars set off hidden explosives that begin to set the the keep ablaze. As it falls into ruin, Cullen makes sure everyone makes it to safety. But then he sees a young mage girl trapped under rubble, and in spite of his lieutenant demanding he leave her, he doesn’t. He runs to her rescue and seemingly dies as the castle crushes both of them.

The troops return to Skyhold with the news that Commander Cullen has died in the rescue. Shocked, the remaining advisors and Imryll set off to find a new Commander.

Surprisingly, Cullen and the young mage girl, who introduces herself as Lyra, survives. Lyra mustered up her remaining strength to put a barrier around them as the castle fell. Cullen and Lyra then set to Skyhold in order to get her to safety. Cullen does everything in his power to make sure she is safe, and shocks everyone at their return. 

After this event, Imryll begins to warm up to Cullen. They form a friendship as Imryll often spends late nights at the mage tower doing research. Cullen initially stayed there to make sure nothing happened to Imryll (as she was not very popular with his troops or certain Orlesians). Despite them being from separate worlds they find they have a lot in common. 

When asked how he feels about the Dalish, Cullen tells her that in the Circle, elves were not treated differently and it does not matter who you are. Imryll tells him it’s a very blind way to view discrimination, as despite her existence not revolving on her being a Dalish elf, her being a Dalish elf is how people will always view her. Cullen finally understands when he accompanies her to Val Royeaux to deal with Josephine’s assassination contract and he sees how Orlesians treated Imryll in spite of her title. He speaks to her about it, and apologizes, saying he will never understand how it feels, but he will make sure she and the other elven members of the Inquisition feels safe. 

And all the while, Cullen begins to see what protecting those who need it is truly like. 

Cullen opens up to Imryll about his withdrawals. She tells him she supports him not taking lyrium again and encourages him not to. While suffering from a terrible spell, Imryll uses a healing spell to alleviate his headache and it triggers a memory from Kinloch. He freaks out at Imryll, who he scares off. He and Imryll don’t speak for a few days until he goes up to her and explains what happened. Imryll then says that if they are to be good friends they must always remain transparent with each other and learn boundaries and communicate well. Cullen agrees.

Cullen quitting lyrium inspires some of his troops to leave the order and quit lyrium. To be able to cope and deal with it, Cullen asks if they can have a rehab clinic in Skyhold. Imryll agrees.

As Cullen’s friendship with Imryll deepens he realizes he’s falling in love with her. Unsure what to do and already assuming she will never feel the same way he tries to shove the feelings aside despite Imryll showing signs of reciprocating. 

As time goes, Imryll’s relationship with Cullen’s lieutenant worsens because of the decisions she makes as the Inquisitor. The Lieutenant and Imryll get into a fight when Imryll allows the mages to make their own separate army group, as the lieutenant feels it will make them corrupt with power. He calls Imryll slurs and tells her that she has no right being a leader because of who she is. Cullen publicly calls him out, to which the lieutenant responds he is only doing because he wants something from Imryll. Cullen tells him he is doing it because it’s the right thing to do, and that the lieutenant should not speak or Imryll or any elf or mage in the way again. When he refuses to apologize, Cullen kicks him out of the Inquisition. 

Meanwhile, Imryll struggles with learning how to be a Knight-Enchanter. She questions her self worth and her bravery. Cullen comforts her, telling her she is the best person he knows. He tells her she is brave because of how she still continues to fight and to lead the Inquisition, not in spite of who she is, but because of who she is. He offers his support.

During the Shrine of Dumat, Cullen is hurt badly after attempting to keep a Red Templar Shade from Dorian. He refuses care, saying the others need it more. Imryll insists he does and asks if she can use a healing spell to alleviate the pain of his bruised chest. He lets her. Amidst this, they share a kiss and cements their romantic relationship.

Cullen and Imryll’s romantic relationship flourish and for the first time in his life, Cullen feels he’s found someone he can have a healthy love with. He also finds he has friends - real friends, which he hasn’t had in a long time.

During Samson’s capture - memories flash back and threatens Cullen to slip. This makes him realize that his say on the matter is biased and lets Imryll and the others choose what to do with him. (Imryll conscripts him but doesn’t have Cullen handle him, she has another recovering ex-Templar work with him and spend time in the rehab they’ve built in Skyhold).

When Imryll chooses Leliana as the Divine, Cullen shocks his former colleagues when he says he approves of the choice.

After Corypheus’ defeat the idea of the rehab clinics begin to spread and open up in other places - which begins to open conversation about how the Chantry exploits their own Templars.

Following the events of Trespasser, Imryll disbands the Inquisition. With land Cullen inherited from his parents he and Imryll build another rehab clinic as well as a place for former Circle mages to find a home in, and learn how to live lives outside the Circle (this post is Cullen-centric so I’m not gonna write a long thing about it but in my canon Divine Leliana and Vivienne find a middle ground and build centers/schools where abandoned and former Circle Mages can find a home in and learn, without them being prisons)

And scene! If you reached this end thank you for reading all that. A lot of the later stuff is mainly skipped over because this focused more on how Cullen changes - the repercussions from his actions and how he actively shows the changes.

[kimkymury]

Blue Rose Tears - Chapter 9

Hey everyone, another chapter of Pascal x Carl fanfic is here, I hope you like it!

I’d like to thanks @depressedoverdrawings​ for  for reviewing the history and help fixing grammatical errors.

Warning:  Just a little warning, some characters have distorted views about sexuality, and those views do not represent what I think in real life. This was written on purpose to suit the environment and the time that the story takes place, since at that time people were more closed minded.

The Portuguese Version of this story is avaliable on Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/963625097-as-l%C3%A1grimas-da-rosa-azul-cap%C3%ADtulo-9

Under the cut!

Chapter 9

P.O.V Narrator

The boy who had been concentrated on the teacher's lecture now found himself exchanging messages with the friend next to him. Carl's every movement was made with care and apprehension, fearful that they'd be discovered. On the other hand, the red-haired boy didn't care so much about discretion. His indifference towards the classes was evident: every time he attended the class, he always counted the minutes to return to the laboratory. The dark-haired boy discreetly unfolded the paper he was given, preventing the act of unfolding it from making any noise and hiding it in one of the pages of the book. The almost illegible handwriting was one of the scientist's characteristics, and it took a little effort to understand what was written. Carl was already used to it, reading what was on the paper was not a problem.

Carl begins to read the note hidden inside the book:

"Latin truly is a dead language, they could teach us actually useful things, like Biology, ne in vobis? (Don't you agree?)"

The last part of the sentence was written in Latin. The redhead liked to make clear that the fact that he found the subject useless didn't mean he was ignorant of it. Complaints on his friend's part were common, Carl just didn't think he would expose his whining during class. Pascal looked at him as if waiting for an answer. The dark haired boy needed to think about what to write and return the paper without causing suspicion. The pencil slides over the surface of the paper quickly, as the writer struggled to make as little noise as possible. The redhead is pleased to receive the small piece of paper back, he opens it and gets ready to read and answer. Carl's careful and beautifully rounded handwriting carried the words the scientist had already expected.

"I know you prefer to study other things, but you need to learn Latin if you plan to graduate someday."

Carl's words were so predictable that Pascal had an answer ready, he just needed to know if it was the right time to make his proposal. The small piece of paper is passed again to the friend, who was eager to continue the conversation, despite being afraid of getting caught.

"We have yet another class after lunch, the teachers must be trying to destroy our brains, like this. I was thinking of going to the greenhouse to pick new species of flowers after noon. Would you like to join me?"

The religious boy repeatedly reread what was written, for fear of being mistaken. Had Pascal just invited him to go the greenhouse during class time? The friend's habit of failing on purpose was known to everyone, and no one was surprised when they didn't see him in class. But with Carl it was different, he was the complete opposite of Pascal, he could count on the fingers of one hand how many absences he had in an year. It would be risky, they could be caught, punished, warned and maybe even their families would know. His good nature and rigidly constructed morals screamed at him to refuse the invitation, the fear and emotion of being doing something wrong mixing together. But the desire to spend some time with the redhead proved greater than all that. Fervently hoping that they wouldn't be seen or discovered, the dark-haired boy internally asked for forgiveness for what he was about to do, feeling unimaginable guilt. But it was his curiosity won the control over his actions, not his guilt. The note is returned slowly. Carl could not believe what he had written, there was still time to change his mind, but he didn't.

Pascal opens the paper and smiles, satisfied with what he'd read. The opportunities to see his friend doing risky things were rare; he liked seeing him leave his comfort zone.

"As long as we don't get caught, I accept." - That small sentence was enough to end the message exchange. Now they had to calmly wait until the right time.

In a way, the scientist wasn't so bothered by how long Latin class was taking now, he seemed distracted, thinking about what was going to happen, with a simple, surreptitious smile on his face. The religious boy, on the other hand, turned his attention entirely to what he was learning. For him the hours seemed endless, as he felt a sickening mixture of anxiety and excitement at the same time. He'd never agreed to doing something so risky before. The truth is that Carl would have refused the invitation had it been made by anyone else, but with Pascal was different, he knew that he would have fun, as long he was with his friend. It was a time that deserved to be spent and a risk that was worth taking, he concluded. And while the religious boy was lost in his thoughts and feelings, the scientist's mind worked at full speed. He was extremely determined in what he did and felt, and didn't make the proposal to his friend without a proper reason behind it. He wanted to put his feelings to the test.

With his chin on one hand and a bored look that watched the professor read the passages in the book, Pascal remembered what it had been like to discover what he felt. It was a strange feeling, it wasn't like anything he'd read in his biology books. It was a genuine happiness, that seemed to have no particular cause. He was surprised, but he was not disappointed, after all, he knew he was liable to have feelings like anyone else. He just didn't expect those feelings to be for the person he least expected. Someone who was by his side all the time, someone who probably wouldn't feel the same way about him. Frustration was part of his life, but the frustration he felt now burned like impotence, it wassomething that even made him feel physical pain. Discreetly, the red-haired boy's gaze turned to the boy next to him; he carefully analyzed his friend, who was concentrated on what he read. The white skin had few imperfections, just a few slight marks, too subtle to be noticed. The hair was as dark as black ink, its texture was smooth, and it looked thin, soft, and easy to comb. The eyes, dark as the night sky, showed a permanent expression of sadness or worry, as if something was always troubling him.

Pascal might consider himself stupid for being enchanted by such common things, things he saw daily and for so long, and yet, no matter how much time passed or how close they were, Carl kept fascinating him. A slight sigh is released, the expression that seemed bored before, now seemed thoughtful. Every second until lunchtime was counted impatiently by both boys, who were surprised at their excitement over going flower-picking together.

After a few hours, the lunchtime bell rang, providing a great relief for all students. The way from the classroom to the cafeteria was walked quietly; Carl still wondered if it had been a good idea to accept the invitation, and whether he should have refused. But that thought changed shortly after they sat down to eat, as Serge was unaccompanied and sat next to Carl just like the night before. The pianist asked some questions about Carl's morning tardiness, but soon his curiosity was placated with some excuses. However, the other boys present, like Kurt and Neka, quickly took the opportunity to make all kinds of jokes possible with the situation.

"Professor Watts often complains that we are late for the first class of the day, next time I'll just tell him that even the Class Representative does it, so there's no reason why I shouldn't do it too." - The boy with curly red hair said, making everyone at the table laugh, even Carl.

It almost made him forget why he had been so excited for lunch, but the exchange of looks he had made with Pascal quickly reminded him. It was as if they agreed on the right time to act by exchanging looks. Conversation between friends flowed naturally, the dark-haired boy was so distracted that his thoughts about the gypsy boy, which had previously disturbed him, were forgotten for a few moments. The minutes passed and the number of students in the cafeteria decreased. The boys' dishes were progressively emptied as they became more apprehensive about how to leave without being caught. The older boy, who sat across from Carl, nodded discreetly, indicating that it was time to act.

The two young men stood up after making up some excuse for their friends who were still eating, afraid that their nervousness was evident in some way. Everything would have gone perfectly, were it not for Serge's intervention:

"Carl, Gilbert didn't come to class today, why don't we sit side by side in Latin class after lunch?" - The pianist asked before Carl could walk away, leaving him at a loss for an answer.

Pascal stopped walking after hearing this. He had his doubts whether Carl would really continue with the plan after receiving Serge's invitation. He wasn't a hypocrite, he knew it was difficult for his friend to deal with unrequited feelings. Yet, he couldn't help but feel frustrated at the gypsy boy's attitude. He knew that feeling wasn't reasonable, it wasn't as if Serge had asked that just to annoy him, he didn't even have any idea about what was going on with Carl. The scientist patiently waited for the religious boy to respond. Carl's conscience was split in two. It was a fact that spending time with Serge was all he wanted, especially now that the blond boy wasn't near. But a part of him, the part that controlled his decisions, made him think that perhaps the time he could spend with Pascal, as risky as it could be, would be more worthwhile.

"I'm sorry, but I promised Pascal that I would help him in today's class" - The dark-haired boy said, trying to look as convincing as possible, feeling bad about lying and refusing his friend's invitation.

It was difficult to refuse the request of a person he so yearned to be close to, but in a strange way, he found himself wanting to be with Pascal even more than with Serge. The redhead understood him like nobody else, he could be who he really was with him, he felt understood and safe. Pascal, on the other hand, was somewhat jealous of the way Serge was deified by Carl. But the scientist made an effort to be rational, and he would not let a feeling or a whim impair his relationship with his friend.

With a gesture of understanding, Serge made no further inquiries and soon went back to talking with the other boys. The two friends then took the opportunity and left the dining hall, which was already getting empty as the students finished their lunch. In the corridors were some teachers and other school staff, who guaranteed the supervision of the students, so that they didn't escape the school or avoided attending classes. Some boys used the last minutes of lunch to talk or rest outdoors, at the small courtyard in the center of Lacombrade.

A feeling of nervousness came over Carl. He walked calmly beside his friend, who seemed to be concetrated on his own thoughts. It was practically impossible to get out without being caught, but the red-haired boy was already an adept truant, and so had a plan already orchestrated in his mind.

"There is no way to leave without being seen! What are we going to do now?" - The dark haired boy asked in a low voice, doubting the possibility of his friend having an answer.

"At exactly five to one, Professor Watts crosses to the other corridor, leaving free passage to a small room used to store materials and other useless things. There's a small window that gives access to the outside. After leaving throught it, we simply follow the path to the greenhouse. " - The redhead replied as if describing an everyday act, which it really was, to him.

While he was somewhat impressed wish his friend's experience in truancy, the dark-haired boy felt the need to reprimand him for taking such risky and immoral actions, but he knew that now was not the ideal time for that. And even if it was, Pascal would not hear his sermons; he was used to his routine of going to look for flowers to pick, and would have no intention of abandoning it. The two friends waited (one of them anxiously) for the moment when the professor would leave his post and the passage would be free. The scientist as naturally, as if nothing was amiss, while his religious friend watched the surroundings in fear of being caught. There was nobody else in that part of the school, it was a seldom frequented place, which relaxed their worries over being watched.

However, it would have surprised them to know that there was one person who watched the scene intently. A young boy who also carried the surname Messier, saw his brother accompanied by the redhead, and was surprised by what he saw.

 In a deeper part of his mind, he had already imagined the scientist's possible intentions, and noticed that he had some sort of strong affection for Carl. Sebastian did not imagine that his brother would go as far as breaking a Lacombrade rule however, rules that he defended at any cost, just to be able to hang out with Pascal. He let out a tiny sigh and started walking in the opposite direction. Sometimes, it seemed that they weren't even brothers, so different they were.

After the short journey was made without raising suspicion, they approached the old wooden door. It was not well cared for like the other school doors, and it seemed to not having been changed in a long time. Carl vaguely remembered this room. He hadn't had many opportunities to enter it, but he knew it was always locked and could only be opened with a key that only the school staff had access to.

"We don't have the key, how are we going to open it?" - The religious boy asked while turning the knob and failing to open the door, wondering if his friend had any solution to this problem.

From inside one of the pockets, the red-haired boy took out a small key that he used to unlock the door, prompting Carl to ask where he got it from. He did not believe that his friend would be able to steal something just for his own benefit. Pascal had many defects, but dishonesty was not one of them.

"This type of doorknob is an old model, similar to those in my house. I just took a key of mine and filed it in a similar shape until I managed to open it." - The redhead said just before opening the door.

Really, he might not look like it, but he was a real genius. An eccentric and even rebellious genius, but one who possessed a greater intelligence than most usually expected. He went in first and waited for his friend, who was still standing at the door, hesitating. The dark-haired boy looked around before entering, asking God's forgiveness for doing something wrong, letting guilt consume him before proceeding. Carl had gone delinquent. He wasn't proud of it, but something was telling him to continue. Maybe it was the strong desire to forget about his problems and get a little distraction, or to just enjoy the company of his best friend, which was comforting. Their friendship was inexplicable, unshakable, they understood each other better than anyone. Pascal didn't show it much, but he was extremely happy that Carl had accompanied him. It meant a lot to him, it meant that the dark-haired boy liked his company.

The scientist's feelings, which were already strong, had intensified in recent days. He knew that he was not reciprocated, that Carl's heart was already broken and he would not surrender easily, but he was satisfied with only his presence.

I loved you from the beginning, Since I saw you, you have won a special place in my heart. I don't know what makes me love you so much, it's irrational, it's against logic. It's like breaking the laws of physics, it hurts me to see you so close, And to know you are so far away. If numbers could describe us, we would be the Riemann Hypothesis*.

Frustrations were part of Pascal Biquet's life. He had already become so used to them that he saw no problem in having one more in his collection.

* Considered one of the most difficult mathematical problems of all time, this equation has never been solved and there is a prize for those who can solve it.

Continued in Next Chapter

[every1studio]

SPECIAL: “pirates + kidz: attention” [ateez]

genre: misc. + mafia!au (mafia: violence, MORE hints of spice, foul language) + female reader

ficstyle: bulletpoints + long scenario + alternate versions + series [INTRO] [ATEEZ] [STRAY KIDS]

requested:  “detective y/n gets involved with two conflicting mafias and has the hearts of the leaders”

note: I hate how messy this is but I hope it’s something 

you pulled Yunho’s arm away from Jisung’s

“please don’t fight..” you tried your hardest to be as scared as possible; giving him you infamous puppy-eyes 

Hangyul said was the quickest way to the hardcore chief of police of yours, was your puppy-eyes

if you could use it to get through that stone-cold chief, you were so sure that it was going to get through Yunho 

and yet to your surprise, it did

he felt like he was melting with happiness; no treasure could ever make him feel that elated, that euphoric 

Yunho “playfully” shoves Jisung one last time in the chest, “guess she choice me, pipsqueak.. see ya later, alligator~”

they both stuck their tongues out at each other like little kids 

Jisung shoved his hands in his pocket and looked over his shoulders at you to wink at you 

will you ever see him again? probably 

but now all you had to focus on was getting to know about both Pirates and KidZ through Yunho

speaking of Yunho, he sweeps his arm around your waist and hovered over the nape of your neck, next to your ear, “do you wanna get out of here?”

you knew this moment was going to arise but you needed to get some sort of information about either gangs

“didn’t you come here with your friends?”

Yunho looked surprised; he starts to chuckle at you obliviousness 

“you probably wouldn’t know my friends and I if you aren’t a regular here at this club but... we are patrons of this club.. well us and Jisung and his friends...”

you looked up at him through your long, flirty lashes, trying to get more information 

“you and Jisung aren’t friends?”

Yunho was getting bored of the questions but he wanted to keep your attention on him, “did we seem like friends to you, baby girl?”

you shook your head, innocently

knowing that you were interested in who he was, Yunho didn’t seem to think there was any harm in telling you about his occupation 

he playfully twirls your hair as he gets incredibly closer to you; you had your eyes out for the hidden gun he had under his jacket in his gun holster  

“let’s just say, I am a dangerous guy with some dangerous friends who have a dangerous job..”

you had to find some way to make him say more than just that

“I like dangerous...” you murmured softly; even though it was loud in the clubs, Yunho found the quietness of your voice EXTREMELY sensual 

it’s like he hit the jackpot

all of the other girls he tried to score every time at the club were mediocre; basic, predictable, tried too hard for his taste

he took your innocence as a new sort of kink he wanted to explore

he wanted to see if you had it in you to break out of that shell

“you better not back out on me, kitten~” 

you shook your head in response as he led you to the VIP floor of the club; it was an upstairs, with access of looking over the crowded dance floor

it was separated into two different sides

the north side belonged to KidZ 

while the south side belonged to Pirates 

Yunho brought you along to meet his crew

each of them had some female company with them but when they all turned to see who was exiting out of the south elevators

they all whistled and gaped as they saw you; you could feel the penetrating glares of the girls that were sitting closely to the men in suit 

“Yunho, introduce us to your beautiful friend there~” you recognized as that taller guy as Mingi, the files told you that he was someone that was in charge of dealing with fighting off anybody that got in his way 

but he didn’t look like it; he definitely had a baby face

Yunho pulled you closer as he noticed the guys leaning in to hear more about or from you 

“this is Aurora..”

they repeated your name after him; completely enchanted 

but Yunho didn’t like the way they looked at you; you were his and he didn’t like sharing 

“hi-” you began, reached your hand out; this was a good start for you to get a good look at all the members of Pirates and analyze their behaviors 

but Yunho tugged you back from any of them trying to take your hand, “we’re leaving”

they all started to pout and complain 

“she just got here!!!”

“and now she’s leaving,” Yunho pulls you towards the elevator 

“wait but I want to meet your friends..” you tried to do what you could to get intel, you couldn’t let this opportunity slip away 

but he had other plans, “you’re not interested in me, but my friends?”

you opened your mouth to respond to him but the way he closes in on you with your back to the elevator door and his body caging you in 

“sounds like you’re just using me to get to my friends..”

you showed no facial expressions when he was spot on about your intentions

you had to get yourself out of this situation or you could get hurt one way or another 

with fumbling hands, you found the button to go up; you didn’t know where it led to but you hope it would give you enough time to change his mind about you

the elevator door dinged

you felt the doors open behind you and you pulled Yunho by the collars into the elevators 

you used the rails in the elevators as leverage to wrap you leg around him, you could feel his gun hitting your inner thigh, “you think I’m not interested in you?”

his eyes went wide by the switch in your behavior 

“I knew you were hiding something.. this kitten was hiding under that innocent little act all along~”

and that surprised look was morphed into a playful smirk, “what’s the rush baby?” 

Yunho turns to press the button to close the elevator doors as you try to keep his attention on you 

you really went out of your way to be overly flirty and sensual 

this was soo out of your character; but isn’t that what going undercover is all about?

he occupied himself in the crooks of your neck, going up and down from your jawline to your collarbones; intoxicating himself with your scent 

“is this all you do when you’re here? showing off some new girl to your “dangerous” friends, just to be upset when they get interested..” you managed to mutter without getting TOO hot and bothered 

you felt him smirk against your skin, “you just want attention and I’m giving it to ya..”

you heard the loud music of the club blaring through the doors

that was when you gently tugged on his hair to push him off towards the doors, “well I want more..”

the doors open and you were met again by the loud, drunk music of the club, you led him to the dance floor 

but he tugs you to the bar, “I think I need some more drinks to handle someone like you..”

every time he got you shots, you stealthily threw them so that you could be as lucid as possible 

minute by minute, he was getting tipsier and tipsier 

usually people are more sexually teasing and they would have a sensual aura to them

but Yunho became extremely cute and flirty

“Aurora~why don’t girls wanna be with me~” he pouts as draws circles on your hands 

you almost forgot that you were on the job when you saw how adorable he was, like you were falling for him

but you didn’t answer him at first because you were so star-struck by him 

“is it because I’m a mafia man? and they’re scared??” he looks up at you with huge puppy eyes 

you immediately gulped down your emotions; the job comes first, you kept on telling yourself 

“a mafia man?” you echoed his words, trying to get more information out of him 

Yunho does a little gasp as he covers his mouth, “I shouldn’t be saying that out loud!”

only a couple seconds went by as he slumped onto you, you could smell the booze and his cologne 

you had your rental car out in the front and a go-bag for you to sleep at a hotel if needed

you couldn’t risk any of your personal life while being on such a risky job 

you were stuck between taking him up to the Pirates’ wing of the club and just heading to the hotel

“Yunho? where do you want to go? upstairs? or-”

“I wanna go where ever you wanna go~” he slurred

maybe this was a good chance to head to the hotel room, so you did

carrying a guy that was more than 6 ft was already hard enough, but you had to carry a guy that was more than 6 ft that was completely shitfaced

you took a breather when you entered the car, contemplating if this was worth it 

Yunho slings his arm over you and breaths into the area right below your ear, “you’re so pretty... I think for the first time... in a long, long, long, long, loooonnnggg time... I’m in love....”

you looked over at him and although he was slurring at his words, his eyes were so clear; you swore you could see your reflection in them

you leaned it 

Yunho thought you were going in for a kiss but you reached over to put his seat belt on

he gave out a huffy sigh in annoyance; how is this man even apart of a mafia???   

you tightened your grip on the steering wheel as you made your way to the hotel  

it took all of your last energy to throw him on the second set of bed that was standard for any hotel bedroom

Yunho was passed out; his long limbs were hanging off of the bed 

you made sure that he was sound asleep when you decided to carefully take his gun, while searching for other weapons, you place it across the room, then you proceeded to slip his wallet out of his pocket 

no cash, a couple of luxury cards, and a couple of fake IDs 

you used to work in the branch of the police that worked with identity theft and fake ids; you finally found his real ID

he wasn’t even old enough to be in a bar in the first place; he still had one more year 

and the fact that he was in a mafia for so long made your heart hurt

how long has he been involved with the mafia?

“snooping around, sweetheart?” you heard a groggy voice coming from the side of the room that Yunho was in 

you didn’t turned around but you eyed his gun that was in front of you; you knew that you searched him for all weapons

so knowing you were safe, you slowly turned around

he was sitting on the bed, leaning back with the buttons of his shirt popped open; exposing the top of his toned chest 

“who are you with? the KNPA (Korean National Police Agency)? the KCIA (Korean Central Intelligence Agency)? KMP (Korean Military Police)?” his voice was deep and quiet; but not scared

you sharply exhaled, “I’m working with Interpol....”

you didn’t know what came over you, maybe it was the remaining alcohol in your system but you felt inclined to tell him the truth; partially 

he exhaled the same way you did, “so your name isn’t really Aurora?”

out of all the questions a mafia man could ask, he asked about your name

“no...”

Yunho stayed where he was; showing you that you could trust him, but you were trained to be cautious 

“is it wrong to ask what your real name is?”

“it’s wrong for a detective and a criminal to be together?” you were fumbling with his wallet 

you threw it at him as you took your go-bag and walked backwards towards the door

“since I got caught, there’s no reason for me to stay around...” you couldn’t cause a scene, this was suppose to be a quiet job 

but when Yunho got up, you quickly grabbed the doorknob; ready to flee 

“w-wait.. don’t leave...” he placed his hands up to surrender, “if you don’t trust me you can take my gun...”

you did what he said, but you were still vigilant 

“look.. Yunho.. my only job here is to get intel... about you, your gang and the KidZ too... I don’t want to cause any trouble and-”

“I can give you information..” there was a strong indication in his voice that he wasn’t going to hide anything from you

“why?” you were confused; did he somehow call for backup and was wasting your time so that they could get here to dispose of you? or is he trying to devise a plan to get rid of you? or?

“I like you... I don’t... I don’t want this to be the last time I see you...” his eyes softened, he began to wipe his sweaty hands on the sides of his pants 

he was young, problem is, he probably never had the time to be a normal kid his age growing up 

you had to make sure you weren’t being set up, “how do I know you’re not lying? you are apart of something way too big to just drop and give up...”

“aren’t we both?” 

he slowly walks up to you; takes your wrist that was holding the gun so firmly and placed it on his temple, “you can pull the trigger if you don’t believe me...”

a couple seconds went by and you didn’t do anything

“God please stay with me...” he mutter as he threw his head back and squeezed his eyes shut

he was so beautiful; you convinced yourself that there were many ways to gather information, including one that satisfied your unprofessional urges 

“fuck it...” you dropped the gun and your bag

you grabbed his face and latched onto his lips 

Yunho let you push him onto the bed, “I would give you everything and anything even if you didn’t ask me to...” 

you haphazardly smirked, “even about your business?” 

he nods as he’s waiting for you to do something more for him, to him 

slowly, you reached for something in your back pocket and you preoccupied him with soft, erotic kisses going back and forth between his lips and his jawline 

you pushed his jacket off in an upwards motion so that his arms were in front of the headboard

click; you handcuffed his wrists to the headboard

“still don’t trust me?” he tugs on the cuffs as it makes clinking noises 

“better safe than sorry. you are a big guy..” you shrugged, “let’s play a little game..”

you dragged your nails from his jawline down to his belt in an excruciatingly slow pace, “you tell me all I need to know about your gang.. and anything you know about KidZ.. and euphoria is yours..”

Yunho was getting antsy and impatient, waiting for you to do anything.. “what do you want to know, sweets?”

you both knew it would be a short night or a long night depending on how well he can give you information

the more you egged him on, the clouded his mind became 

but the more his mind was clouded, the less information he was able to give you

and you would stop, and he didn’t want that

the whole time, he asked you for your name so he could chant it as if it was the only thing he knew, but you wouldn’t give it to him 

you had to be the one in control here 

sometimes all it takes is a slightly dominate female to get the job done 

when you got enough information, you put your clothes back on and cleaned yourself up

“you’re not going to get these off of me?”

you raised your brows at him, “you could do that yourself, hun...”

you continued to collect your things; when you grabbed your bag, Yunho knew that you were going to leave him

“wait.. what did I do wrong? I did everything you asked of me!” you knew if he really wanted to, he could break the headboard and free from his restraints 

you had the key to the handcuffs in your hands as you drew it along his face, “I love my job and that comes first.. you’ll see me around.. maybe sooner than I would like... but since, you could be liable to get in trouble with your people, I’ll give you my name..”

you placed the key so that he could clamp it with his teeth 

you made your way to the door as you winked at him, “Y/N.. the name is Y/N...” 

when the door closed, Yunho pulled his body up so that he could unlock the cuffs with the key that you placed in his mouth

he got all of his things as fast as he could so that he could try to catch up to you

he remembered where you parked your car but the moment that he got out there, you zoomed passed him

he ran his fingers through his hair in frustration; he checked if he had gathered all of his things from the room

Yunho checked his wallet to find a white card with nothing but a phone number and a note

“you know I can’t give you my personal phone but if you ever want to share some more information with me.. here’s how to get a hold of me..”

Yunho smiles in relief; what’s scarier than a mafia man who doesn’t get what he wants?

a mafia man who’s in love; and not just in love with anyone, in love with an undercover detective 

@utopiamiroh

[ masterlist + guidelines ]

[radiantmists]

rhythm of war part two thoughts

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa  (spoilers through the second interludes under the cut, and at the very bottom some comments based on what i have to assume is a major spoiler for the entire book, or close to it, though i'm warning again beforehand.)

well, last things first: taravangian's working against odium! i'm super excited about this, and very happy about the support for the concept that Taravangian's compassion isn't his curse, it's just the division of his intelligence and compassion that's sthe problem.

so we've been able to talk to the sibling, who is mostly trying to help despite genuinely feeling that what navani is doing is wrong. except now they're locked away, and navani is under the direct scrutiny of rabaniel and messing around with her is going to be risky. that being said, we're on our way to some very interesting revelations about how investiture works on roshar:

the stormfather is purely of honor. the sibling is a mix of honor and cultivation. the nightwatcher is purely cultivation

the sibling should not be able to function on pure stormlight, because it's purely of honor.

lift may not run on stormlight at all-- we already knew she can't pull it from spheres.

adhesion, which is somehow a fake surge and purely of honor, is not totally cancelled by whatever rabaniel did to the sibling. from lift's interlude, neither is regrowth when she uses it, which if i had to pick is the surge i would choose to be purely of cultivation.

as far as we can tell, people can still draw in stormlight with no issue, they just cant use it to power surges.

windrunners, who bond honorspren, are less affected by the fabrial: this applies especially to kaladin and syl, and we know syl is different from other honorspren, older. my money is that she's in some way more fully of honor than the others. lift, who's been hugely modified by cultivation directly, is also immune. the edgedancers as a whole are not immune and apparently are reacting as badly as anyone else.

...syl notes in the last set of interludes that she's different from other honorspren, mentally. is this a byproduct of whatever she did to sneak out of shadesmar, or of her being older? interesting.

To me, this all implies that whatever rabaniel did interferes with how cultivation and honor interact. lift, who seemingly only uses cultivation's investiture, can power the surge that seems most directly associated with cultivation; kaladin, probably closest to honor, can do the surge that seems to be entirely honor. the regular edgedancers aren't immune at all because they run on stormlight; the windrunners are somewhat but not fully immune because they're almost fully of honor, but cultivation likely had some hand in the way honorspren were made after the shattering.

Regrowth really is a very odd surge, compared to the others, which seem to deal with much more fundamental physical forces.

the fused do have access to regrowth while powered by voidlight, though. interesting.

speaking of: did navani's weird sphere contain some kind of... cultivationlight? or maybe it's some kind of combination, and that's why the sphere exploded right around the time of rabiniel's experiments (or the sibling was drawing on it somehow?)

on a more immediate level, the current tower resistance is as follows: navani, under constant monitoring but she has the best chance to figure out how to fix this shit. kaladin, who's a mess, being hunted by the pursuer, and who's about to start getting suicide-baiting nightmares from odium, but he does know how to fight! lift, who's amazing and knows how to sneak around the tower but is being hunted by someone who i assume has to be mraize. and rlain, masquerading as a singer (im so worried about him i hope he's okay).

if this somehow ends with kaladin killing mraize to protect lift before he can give shallan answers, i'm going to fucking SCREAM.

speaking of frustrating things: lirin turn on ur location i just wanna talk. Kaladin was actually rebuilding himself until this whole invasion thing, and i don't understand how lirin can look at a man who's that committed to doing good, sees exactly what it is that drives him to kill, and then calls him a monster.

I loved Kaladin's efforts to deal with mental health care! He's in the unique position ofhaving way more political power than any medical professional, darkeyes, or mentally ill person could ever have hoped to have, and I really want to see him come back to this once the world is burning down a bit less again, especially because it genuinely seemed to be helping him.

navani's plots have sorta been subsumed into this whole plotline, but i enjoyed what we got-- the little episode with the other scholars taking bets on whether she'd use tomor's fabrial was adorable, and i also liked how clear it is that they look to her to make things work.

moving on, uh... shadesmar stuff.

adolin's making some progress at waking maya! she doesn't talk but she shows a clearly unusual ability to learn and make independent decisions. i love it.

...also the thing with notum's horse implies that ryshadium are sentient enough to imagine spren. that's fun, and also terrifying.

adolin offering to stand trial for the crimes of humanity is fascinating, but all i'm thinking about is the episode of avatar where he agrees to stand trial for kyoshi, except in this case we already know that humanity did actually do the thing he's in trouble for. it would be unjust to punish adolin for it, but... i worry.

especially because there are, apparently, new deadeyes. this isn't extraordinarily surprising as syl was two skips away from death (though, im curious, does it work differently if the spren's never been a blade prior to dying? or are there just deadeyes wandering around who aren't tied to blades?) but it is very alarming.

and then there's the other thing: pattern is lying to shallan. i frankly don't think it's as simple as him being a spy for the ghostbloods; we saw even here that he's a terrible liar, and to have concealed this he'd have to have been pretty impressive.

on the other hand there was clearly some shit going on between shallan, her family, and the ghostbloods when she first got pattern. he's admitted that he has more exposure to humans than most spren. it doesn't look great, honestly.

i also appreciate that brandon is acknowledging how fucking weird shallan's timeline is. hopefully we get some answers about this.

adolin and shallan's relationship continues to be adorable; the sequence with the starspren is lovely and i totally get why it's brandon's favorite chapter in this part. between this and part one, he clearly enjoyed how the shadolin came out in this book and i agree. the fact that his romances continue after the marriage, with issues beyond just jealousy, is one of my favorite things about sanderson books.

venli's whole set of pov's this part was about walking up to urithiru. i really do want to like her, but she spends a ton of time just following more dynamic characters around and observing in these first two parts, and if not for the juicy secrets rabaniel's been dropping, it would make me just want to get back to other characters. hopefully that'll change in the next few parts.

i was going to make a comment about how we havent even had flashbacks yet, but i just glanced at the POVs for the next part, so I guess those are coming. I do wonder if these eshonai flashbacks will be info venli knows, or what.

she did kill someone for the first time, and attuned the rhythm of the lost for the dead man. the whole incident disturbs her, and i appreciated that as the rest of our viewpoint characters are extremely accustomed to death. i'm interested in seeing how this affects her going forward.

the epigraphs are so exciting! sazed is writing to hoid again, but this time he's gotten his bearings and spoken to some new shards... ones we haven't heard from before! also he asks hoid to say hi when he's on scadrial, which, fair enough tbh. i dont remember whether hoid shows up much in mistborn era 2 but for some reason i have the feeling he is not going to oblige this request.

the epigraph where sazed mentions he wants someone who can both preserve and kill immediately made me think of kaladin. (i think this is what he ends up trying to do with wax, but shhhh) he and sazed would agree on a lot of things philosophically, i think. (omg au where kaladin ends up working for sazed?? i have no idea how this would work the idea just fascinates me.

...where are the heralds? did dalinar take them with him, or are they in the tower? if the latter, are they also passed out? probably not, since they're not radiants, right? although whatever they are is very investiture-dependent so who knows. vasher's probably alright.

why is odium afraid of nightblood? is he worried it could eat him?

lots of POVs for the next part, but no shadesmar crew, so i guess we'll find out whether adolin gets executed by honorspren later. i do wonder why so many pov's from the battlefront; i guess something more is going to happen along those lines than i'd really expected. crossed fingers for some actual insight into renarin, finally.

in light of said spoiler: holy god i hope that division (between taravangian's intelligence and compassion) doesn't continue, though I have the horrible feeling that it will. This puts sazed's discussion of the intent of a shard combined with the cleverness of its vessel into a terrifying light: a godlike being who is at his smartest when he's a complete sociopath is like, the worst case scenario,  not even taking into account that the odium shard is uniquely suited to make people act on impulses. this is so bad.

but i can't know the full extent of that until i read the context, so let's move on!

[ch4nb4ng]

Lap Dance (Lee Minho)

Minho Stripper! Au

Words: 1628

People: Minho x (fem) reader

WARNING: kinda smutty? Like no sex or foreplay or anything, just a lot of touching and grinding.

A/N: Hello and welcome to my tumblr! My name is venus and this is my first pic I’ll be posting on here. I already have stuff lined up to post, however, I am also open to requests as well, I really encourage them! So yeah that’s all from me, I hope you enjoy! 

Let me know if I should do a part two for this!

It was a typical Saturday night. You waiting backstage, doing your makeup, waiting for your set. Even though your job was out of the ordinary, and some people in your life were not supportive of it, nothing could stop you when you were up on that stage. Twirling, spinning, grinding, you name it, on that pole. Being a stripper was your passion. Fuck what other people thought.

You were the last performer of the night. Of course, you had to do private sessions with old, sleazy men and women, however, you complained nevertheless.

“Y/n, you’re up,’ the manager called. You nodded, completing the last finishing touches on yourself, before looking in the mirror one more time, getting up, and proceeding to the curtain backstage, waiting to be called for your time to shine.

“ANDDD NOW, THE MOMENT YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! SHE’S THE BRILLIANT, SEXY, GORGEOUS, MESMERISING WOMAN ON THE NIGHT! Y/N STRIPPER NAME!”

Loud roars, cheers and whistles came about in the room once your ‘name’ was called. You began, slow struts down the runway, a combination of $1, $5 and $10 bills being thrown at you. Ignoring them, you bent down, leaving your whole backside exposed to the right side of the room.

“OOO DAMN BABY, YOU HAVE TO SIT ON MY FACE LATER!” some crust man yelled out, however, like usual, your disregarded them. Little did they know, this was your strategy to scan the room, check who was here. On the very rare occasion, there was a couple of hot guys that walked in here and there, but you were so surprised to see probably one of the most beautiful men that had ever stepped foot into here. He was leaning against the bar, cooly sipping his alcoholic beverage, when you made eye contact. His eyes were so dark, they almost took you off guard for a second, forgetting your surroundings and your performance. He quickly whispered something to his friend, pouting to you as he spoke.

‘Let’s have some real fun,’ you thought to yourself. You smirked at him, before standing back up, body rolling and flipping your long hair. You proceeded to the pole, refusing to break eye contact with this mysterious, but extremely sexy man. You sent him a week, before doing a 360 spin on the pole, legs wide open and in the air. Usually, a lot of jaw would drop to floor, amazed by your capabilities, and they did, but it wasn’t the one jaw you wanted. Instead, the man nodded, lefties his glass up to you and had a drink, looking only slightly impressed by your skill.

Determined to wow this man over, you brought out your most top notch and advanced skills you could do. Flips, tumbles, even stepping away from the poll and moving and just dancing freely. Thrusting your pelvis hard, flipping your hair over and over again, doing set choreography. The money bills, cheers and overall support was consistent, everybody was really enjoying your performance, except for him. He just had that sly smirk on his face for the whole time. It was about to drive you insane.

Losing track of time trying to win this hard to impress man, the music stopped, and your age was over. You smiled, bowed down in appreciation, before sending one more wink his way. Strutting of the stage, nothing but frustration filled you when you sat down. Was it him? Was it you? was the performance sloppy? You simply could not put your finger on it.

“Damn Y/n, that was literally one of your best performances. I’ve never seen so much money thrown on the stage for a solo performer. Not in the mood to talk, you smiled, gave a quick thank you, and checked your phone, waiting for the manager to let you know if you were asked for any private sessions tonight.

“Y/n, surprisingly after that performance, you only have one man that wants a private session tonight, then you are free to go home. Be ready in 10 mins.” You nod at him as he walks back outside. A sigh fo frustration, you text your boyfriend, telling him that you will be home a bit later than usual. You give your a hair a quick brush, touch up your makeup and move to the private room, waiting for your usual sleaze bag appointment. You walk in, scan the room, your hopes slightly up with the chance of seeing the suave man from earlier. But your hopes are crushed when there is no sight of him. Your manager comes into the roo, tells you what area you will be working in, but you look over to see no one, therefore, leaving you to sit and wait.

“Hey sweet cheeks,” a low, raspy and husky voice fills your ears. You look up, eye slightly widening when you realised who it was. It was him. The mysterious, hard to impress, suave man. He was good looking from a distance, but holy shit was he even more attractive up closed personal. You felt a little uneasy, knowing that never had of your clients had such an effect on you. However, you had to keep your character, not wanting to show the man how much of an effect he really had on you.

“Well, well, well,” you got up, grabbing his tie all the way up to the base, almost choking him lightly, “what’s your name sweetheart?” you ask, swirling your tongue around the front of top teeth.

“The names Minho, Lee Minho, but that doesn’t mean much to you, does it?”

The hint of arrogance in his voice slightly annoyed you, but also intrigued your curiosity about him. Who was he really?

Acting like you did not like his attitude, you swayed his tie, forcing him to roughly sit down on the couch behind both of you.

“Oh we have cocky one do we?” You ask, jumping onto his lap, his legs in-between yours. You begin a light straddle, a little bit of pleasure running through you every time your core slightly brushed over his own. You could feel him shover a little at your touch, a smirk appearing on your face, knowing you had such an immediate effect on him.

“Cocky enough to know that you couldn’t keep your eyes off of me the whole stage.” He looks up at you, bringing his lip between his teeth, lazily placing his hands on your hips to guide you over him. Annoyed that he was onto you, you turn around, your back facing him. Frustrated, you grabbed his inner thighs, grinding at the same speed, but with more force moving down on him. Even though you couldn’t see his face, you knew he was enjoying it, especially from the sibling moans that were leaving his mouth every few seconds.

Arching your back, you kept your pace, snaking an arm around the back of his neck, leaning most of your body weight abasing him. You cock your head to the side, moving towards his ear.

“Did you enjoy it?”

A seductive whisper escapes your mouth. Minho chuckles deeply, a deep huskiness filling your ears.

“So it was for me then?”

He gives your hips a quick squeeze, then moves his hands down to the sides your rear.

“May I?”

There was usually a rule: dancers can touch guests, but guests don’t touch the dancers. However, you wanted nothing more than him to grab your ass, smack it, pull your hair, get his finger inside of you. You had no idea why, but there was something about Minho that drove you wild. You wanted, no, you needed him.

You nod,  making sure the manager doesn’t see. You feel his calloused, deeply textured hands up against your skin. The tips of his rough fingers move up and down you, almost cooling down from the rising heat and sexual tension between you two. Sure, every time you did this, there was sexual tension, its inevitable. However, you never felt it. They were usually not exciting or sexual for you at all. It was different this time though. The more he touched you, the more you wanted to give into those desires.

“OOO, damn, you really know how to move.” Minho whines, followed by a string of curse words. Feeling risky, you move your hand down towards his throbbing cock. You moved your hand around his clothed member, light circling your thumb around his tip.

“Wow, you’re so hard for me, baby,” you accidentally moan, “am I making you fell good?”

You turn around, putting your arms around his neck, leaning your head back, giving him as much possible access to your chest as possible.

“I’m impressed. Fuck, you feel so good against me.” A deep groan is released from his mouth.

Without asking this time, his hands move towards your breasts. He cupped them for a moment, before seeing your hardened nipples through your limited clothing. You roll your head back when he pinches one. Your sensitivity at an all time high.

“What’s your name?” He mutters out, barely being able to speak from the immense pleasure that was building up in him from your touch. Disappointment fills you when you realise that your time is up. You stopped moving against him. Instead leaving like usual, your sat there, moving one hands up under his shirt. Your mouth almost watered when you felt his well-well-defined stomach muscles.

“That’s for me to know, you to find out.” You whisper in his ear, pressing a small kiss to his lobe before getting up and walking back to the dressing room.

Lee Minho. Who was he? You had no idea, but you sure as hell wished that you would be seeing him again, and fast.

[theonceoverthinker]

OUAT Rewatch 4X14 - Enter the Dragon

Sorry for all the delays with these reviews! I’ve really been DRAGON my feet through this whole season, haven’t I? 

...You don’t come here for smart puns, Regina! XD

Anyway, there’s a nice juicy review under the cut!

Main Takeaways

Past

I love how this plays as the evil version of every “young person melts the heart of older person and convinces them to go back to doing what they love” story! While it’s not a parody -- and is in fact played deadly straight -- it’s funny as hell to watch because of that!

It’s kind of weird seeing such vague mentions of Mal’s backstory. All throughout the episode, we hear clues, but are never given anything concrete. I wonder when or even if we ever would’ve gotten a backstory for Mal and Briar Rose.

Present

Wow, I gotta say, considering how DESTROYED Mal was by what Snowing did to her kid, stealing another kid is just horrible (The fact that he’s turned back into August and she may or may not have known that is irrelevant for me since she stealing a son from his father at the end of the day) ! I don’t know if it’s exactly poorly written or not -- a case of extremism turning her into what she hates or mishandling a character who is supposed to be more balanced between being evil and sympathetic. I guess it’s up to interpretation, but given that the there doesn’t get to be a reaction from Marco to Maleficent over the fact considering how big of a deal it is that she reverted a little boy back into being a grown man, I feel forced to say the latter.

This also applies to Regina too, ESPECIALLY considering her conversations with Marco in the last episode and this is more of a problem than I realized. She’s stealing a child, putting him up against three villains, AND disposing any direct means of contact between herself and her backup. And the fact that Rumple reverts him into being August at the end of the episode changes nothing here because that wasn’t an anticipated move. It’s even more distracting given the gravitas of the moment where Emma and Regina try to figure out whether or not to steal him in the first place. Regina says she’s going to protect him and pull out if he’s in danger, but what does she think they’re going to do to him if not threaten his life? Even just the emotional duress of those kind of threats is crazy to do to a kid. And then to drop her phone so he can’t even be tracked? It’s played as this necessary evil, but is never given the payoff to back up what a horrible and reckless thing this was to do. They STOLE his childhood -- what was essentially his happy ending -- and that has to be answered for by ALL involved parties: Maleficent, Regina, and Emma too for ultimately agreeing to this.

This segment has a really interesting theme of not being overly insistent on complete control. Throughout it, Regina insists to her friends that she can handle the Queens of Darkness. Even as the stakes raise, she makes risky and riskier decisions that she says she can manage. This culminates in a horribly risky decision (See above) that, in her insistence in keeping control over the situation and her sureness that she’s right, has Regina abandon her means of getting backup. And this all ends with Regina, forced by her own hand, to relinquish control to Rumple. I think that this is an important lesson for Regina to learn, and while I didn’t like the big decision that she had to make for lack of a proper fallout (I’ll actually discuss in a bit why I choose this episode to take the issue with it), I think the rest of the story is good!

Stream of Consciousness

-Regina, you trying to KILL ME with the cut of that shirt?! Because it is working!

-Damn, Regina is AMAZING at acting evil! XD

-HOW THE FUCK DID YOU CRUSH GLASS?! ARE YOU THE FUCKING HULK? XD

-I love how Regina looks between Mal’s castle and her book like “I’m gonna get my favorite author to sign my book!”

-Wouldn’t someone just win “Don’t Be a Hero” by only saving themselves?

-I love how there were freakin’ BETS on the game! XD

-We got another Henry and Belle scene!!! Tbh, I wish there was a bit more substance here too. Belle ADORES books and this is literally a mystery surrounding a book! Why couldn’t she give him some advice on maybe where to look or just talk about the nature of books! You have two book fans sharing a scene! Why not use that?

-I would KILL to know how Regina’s night of drinking with the Queens of Darkness went! Like, they drank a whole bar! XD

-To be fair, Emma, Regina’s probably not reaching out because she’s hungover as FUCK after DRINKING A WHOLE BAR! XD

-MAL, DRUNK AS FUCK, SINGED A COP CAR! XD WHERE ARE FICS OF THIS! THIS IS THE TRUE SEQUEL TO “THE HANGOVER!” XD

-”Some drinking.” SOME DRINKING? YOU DRANK AND ENTIRE BAR! XD

-I like how Regina’s “pathetic” flame was more of a matter of nervousness than inexperience. It shows that Regina’s learned a lot during her tenure with Rumple while still having a lot of space to grow.

-Maleficent is introduced as a druggie! She literally stabs herself with something that “takes the edge off!” XD

-”You need to remember who you are.” “That Maleficent had a foul temper, and if you insulted her, she’d turn into a dragon and eat your flesh.” Holy hell! My eyes are filled with hearts!

-”Where the hell have you been all night?” I WOULD LOVE TO KNOW THAT AS WELL!

-NOW WHAT KIND OF CRAZINESS HAPPENED IN THE VAULT?! XD

-To be fair, Emma, Regina’s been ROCKING this undercover mission so far.

-This episode is full of sexy, badass people, but this cake is the sexiest thing of all!

-”Well, look at which two survivors found a dinghy together.” ...Rumple, HOW ARE YOU SO BAD AT BEING KILLIAN? IT’S NOT ESPECIALLY HARD AND YET YOU SOMEHOW FAILED AT IT! It’s like trying to pet a puppy and instead doing a handstand! XD

-I love how Storybrooke can appear on a GPS system! Is someone in town just a really good techie or is Google our new God? XD

-”The only magical thing you’ll find here is duct tape.” Accurate! XD

-”You didn’t ask your questions more forcefully.” Oh trust me, she did. It was scary.

-”One little snafu?” YOU WOULD HAVE TO STEAL A CHILD!

-”Break some rules.” YOU ARE STEALING A CHILD!

-A Pirate’s Oath! XD What the hell? Someone’s just looking to cop a feel!

-I love the fact that it is 100% canon that Regina rode on the back of a dragon. Maleficent gave her the best piggyback ride in the UNIVERSE!

-Wait: GOLD HAS A CABIN?

Favorite Dynamic

Rump-illian and Belle. I absolutely love Rump-illian and Belle’s subplot here. Rumple, for better or worse, knows Belle and is exactly slippery enough to forge a story to get the dagger back for himself but also not infallible as to still fail to  discuss things he wasn’t privy to. Major props have to go to Colin. He’s playing Rumple playing Killian and that is AMAZING! His lines and delivery are just awkward enough to capture Rumple’s failure to perfectly capture Killian, but they’re close enough that they could fool someone who’s just getting to be close with Killian like Belle. He’s always a little off center in how he conducts himself, making the reveal something that could feasibly be guessed but also surprise everyone! And the transitions -- the one at the docks the one as he walks into the pawnshop, and the one outside the pawnshop are done so well as to make the whole subplot even better!

Writer

David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz are in charge of today’s episode! So far, they’ve had a perfect season! But...well… Look. This episode isn't bad, but I do wish the present segment had some more polish. Considering that the three people involved in that final decision are all mothers and to not do more with that idea is really distracting in hindsight.

Rating

8/10. I’m torn about whether or not I should punish this episode for what goes down with Pinocchio. This episode is more setup in that regard than payoff and it’s not bad setup. But at the same time, I do have to ask myself if that payoff was ever going to happen and if it wasn’t, then the setup of something that upon inspection is so fucked up. And I do think that the payoff wasn’t intended to come up -- they had to know -- and so I do find fault with this episode for executing this idea in such an irresponsible way. Otherwise though, the storytelling is really good. Everything makes sense, the story’s engaging, the pacing works, the characters are for the most part in line, and the theme of the past segment lines up in a way that’s subtle, yet effective.

Flip My Ship - The Home of All Things “Shippy Goodness”

DRAGON QUEEN - This is my JAM! Look at Regina’s face as Mal enters the room. That is the face of a woman realizing “I am gay for LIFE!” And in the present, could these two flirt any MORE?! <3 Just look at the aspirin scene! Mal and Regina are both letting their guard down (Regina’s being more of a casual spitfire, Mal’s not wearing the jacket and is giving a bit more info), Mal’s helping Regina out a bit, there’s candles everywhere, and there’s a touch of loose tension in the room. It’s enough to make the moment pretty sexy. ALSO, they go on a mission alone and the presentation to it plays out exactly like an impromptu date! This is the BEST! I just love how Regina smiles for Mal. It’s big, but natural and just kind of happy!

Swan Queen - Dude! Emma is so worried about Regina! That panic in her voice is CRAZY and her dedication to having Regina’s back and protecting her really shows how much she cares for Regina! This as some of their best shippy moments by the sheer amount of concern Emma has for her!

Captain Swan - While it doesn’t work exactly, Killian does a really good job assuring Emma that things with Regina will be okay.

Mal/Briar Rose - “What happened to you?” “A Rose. A Briar Rose.” Mal says that line in the same way someone talks about someone who they had a bad breakup with!

-----

Hi!!! Thanks for reading and shout outs to the fine folks at @watchingfairytales and to the lovely @daensarah! See you all next time!

Season 4 Total (121/230)

Writer Scores: Adam and Eddy: (34/60) Jane Espenson: (20/40) David Goodman and Jerome Schwartz: (38/50) Andrew Chambliss: (22/50) Dana Horgan: (6/30) Kalinda Vazquez: (22/40) Scott Nimerfro: (14/30) Tze Chun (8/20)

Operation Rewatch Archives

[theunnamedlizardrogue]

Books! - Chap 1

Backstory: So, I got really attached to a D&D character I made about a year ago, and the first day of January, the DM abandoned ship for disclosed reasons. To account for this. I decided to take up writing, to itch all that missing character development

Chapter 1: Corn starch A bouncer stands at his post, the cordial party held by the noble underway. The white brick accentuates the wealth here and the aristocrats walking about would make the colour brown stick out like a saw thumb. The door leading into the party is ornate and gigantic, approximately the size of 2 men and more gold than a bank. Money couldn’t be burnt in more useless ways than literally burning it. The lizard wanders up, looking his best to act casual; as much as one could be when a bipedal reptilian is in the middle of a group of humans and elves. He slyly slinks towards the bouncer and quietly whispers “Corn starch” The guard looks in confusion. The lizard realises this isn’t the contact, but an actual bouncer. He takes a step back to think to himself. Godsdamn it, Snakes fed him false info. Time to improvise. He distorts his voice and puts on a fake accent he’s never heard “My mistake. Friend tell me Corn starch secret access code to ball. I invited and thought ‘No, that not make sense.’ But he insist and I thought human custom.” The guard looks even more confused. While the guard’s processing the situation, the lizard notices the line behind him, the crowd are getting annoyed at the wait. This could work to his advantage. “I am Ackl-Snarr. Lizardfolk… ambassador? That is what human with brown hair say. Noble host give good negotiation and worldwide peace in exchange for warm rock and women” The poor sod finally speaks. “An ambassador? What ambassador wears a scarf and a hood?” “Scarf?! I have you know this efficient battle garb for enemies! Blood absorbed to not get on precious scales and sneaky like fox as enemy think normal clothing inappropriate for war. You offend me with human custom.” “Right… Sir. I’m sorry, but I require a letter of invitation”. “YOU DARE REFUSE ACKL-SNARR?”. Whilst the lizard might be drawing more and more attention to himself, it’s certainly for the right reasons. “No, I ne-“ “YOU WANT TELL NOBLE YOU RESPONSIBLE FOR DESTROYAL OF HUMANS BY SCALY HANDS? I SPIT ON YOUR HATCHLINGS WHEN THEY PILE OF ASH” With a resigned sigh, the door is opened to the lizard. Looks like most people aren’t willing to be responsible for severance of diplomatic relations, even more so when the upper class are waiting, though Lizardfolk aren’t even a nation in this country.

The place is filled with more guests than he expected, and much more wine. The decorum is… elegant. To be expected, of course. The lizard takes a second to stare at the marble staircase, the marble statues, the marble tables, marble… There’s a lot of marble. Whilst his eyes wander, he looks at the other guests at this party. Shit. Masks. So many masks. This is a masquerade. Yes. Masquerade. Masks. Everyone… has masks. Yep. Alright. Perfect. Okay, let’s calm down. The lizard considers exiting the mansion and running, but he just talked his way through the bouncer earlier so it’d look embarrassing if “Ackle-Snarr” decided that he’d be intimidated by simple masks. However, minor phobias aside, does the lizard really need a mask? The noble in question, Alexander Covingtree, is supposedly getting ready for an event in three hours. There’s plenty of time to go up to his room and talk to him abo- “Have you heard? Alexander is going to start greeting the guest members!” two nobles chirped behind him. One of them, a woman wearing a crow mask responds “Oh how wonderful. He truly is a spectacular host!” The lizard is quietly muttering every known swearword to man, elf and dwarf. This is a test, he guesses. Either that or a practical joke. Knowing Snakes, it was probably both. The last few jobs had been rather simple, so Snakes might have just been trying to sharpen the lizard’s resolve. It’s a little touching that his father had that much faith in him, but it’s a bloody pain trying to do this.

The lizard realises he needs to focus on the task at hand, a mask. It needs to be long enough to account for his muzzle. Though it’d be effective enough just to grab a half-mask, the whole ‘being a lizard’ thing would be noticeable.

A man nearby is drinking a rather lot of wine, his mask is perfect. Designed after a fox, but the snout itself is long enough for it to be used by The lizard. The lizard hopes the mask doesn’t stink of alcohol. … And from the noises the man’s making, let’s make sure it doesn’t stink of anything else as well. The lizard runs to the masked noble, feigning care for the poor soul who thought it best to drink six glasses of rosé. He lifts off the mask and pulls him away, to a Fern plant in one of the corridors. It lasts for a little too long. The guy passes out after he’s done releasing his stomach and the lizard tries to place him delicately on a chair. Mission completed, he dons the masks and shudders a little. He pulls up his hood, hiding the scaly back of his head. Leaving the corridor, a companion of the drunkard notices the mask and calls out to the lizard, “Hey! You there! That was my friend’s mask.” The lizard responds promptly. “Ah, I have forgotten my own this evening, and I thought it a personal challenge to acquire a mask at the party. After all, who doesn’t disagree to a little excitement every once in a while?” The man laughs, “Indeed, sometimes a little bit of debauchery can spice up our lives. Just give it back to him when you’re done, alright? You have no idea how much he paid for it, custom made, they say!” The lizard nods. “That sounds for a rousing tale! But I give my deepest apologies, I’m in a tinsy bit of a rush”. He’d have to satisfy his curiosity another time. He goes back to scanning the room, seeing if Covingtree has arrived yet.

Aha! The lizard spots Alexander walking down. Covingtree has straight brown hair, is clean shaven and looks rather young, approximately seven years older than the seventeen-year-old lizard. Best guess would be the Alex has inherited the money that he used for this mansion. It’s obvious that the place wasn’t designed in mind of someone in their forties, so what would be the reason that Alexander has his own mansion at such a young age? Parents are either extremely rich, or the Covingtree must have had a few deaths in their lineage. Someone bumps into the lizard and he’s brought back to reality yet again, he’s got to stop doing that. Alexander’s one for theatrics. He’s holding his mask as he’s walking down the stairs, just so he can put it on with a flourish. He takes a bow when he reaches the bottom, and the crowd let out a cheer in his health. The lizard is admittedly impressed.

Now how does one approach this? Alex wanders around, shaking hands. The lizard needs to get Alex alone by himself. An idea sparks, but it’s as risky as swallowing a dirty knife. Normally this would work with a Lord’s wife, not the Lord himself. He struts towards Alexander. The lizard seems confident, probably the mask, he guesses. Something about anonymity? He read it in a book once… Well, Twice. Alexander’s taken notice now. With a quick inhale, the lizard bows, similar to how Alex did earlier. He offers his hand out for a dance. Alex is taken aback, but he accepts.

Alex is obviously not used to being a follow, he instinctually looks down as soon as they start. As they dance together, there’s a small trip. It’s hard to tell who caused it, but the lizard’s footwork kept them upright and attempts to mask it through a spin. the crowd didn’t seem to notice. Perfect. A few minutes in, the lizard notices he’s trying to impress the audience with his dancing. It’s the mask. Probably.

The crowd let out another cheer, this is the lizard’s chance. He takes Alex by the hand and points up the stairs. Alex takes a second to look into the mask’s eyes and awkwardly nods. The lizard’s seen it before, Alex’s interested in the mystery of the man behind the mask. As they retreat upstairs, He swears he heard someone whistle.

In Alex’s master bedroom. The lizard, with a sigh of relief, takes off the mask. Alex seems a little surprised to find out the lizard’s identity, predictably. The lizard begins. “Okay, great. This was much more difficult than I thought it would be.” The lizard looks out the doorway “Were you on the guest list?” “No, I had faked my way in pretending to be an ambassador for Lizardfolk. Gave your bouncer outside a particularly tough time. More importantly, I’m here representing an individual named ‘Skirt of Snakes’, are you familiar with him?” There’s a quick pause. “Not particularly, sorry.” Alex takes the time to relax on his bed. “Ah, alright.” The lizard sighs to himself, Snakes misinformed him yet again. “We’re part of the rogues found here in this city. We’d like to request assistance with infiltrating the Slater residence.” “What would I gain from such a bargain? You seemed to do fine with entering the party.” “Yeees, but it’s going to be done in the dead of the night, looting everything that isn’t nailed down. We’d like to make this as easy as possible.” The lizard just realised he gave information to a man he hadn’t fully convinced. Fuck. “I could report you to the guards for what you’re telling me.” Fuuuuuuuck. “Come now, it’d be bad manners to imprison a dance partner.” The lizard lets out a smirk and continues. “If you help us out, we’d pin the blame on Samuel Hagan, stating that he bought off rogues to steal Mr Slater’s valuables. This would cause an uproar, discrediting his name. Meanwhile, you can snatch up his land.” Samuel had been known for being an… unsavoury sort. The lizard’s band of rogues have been trying to expose his corruption for months. “Tempting. I’ll consider this.” Alex seems deep in thought, it’s an opportunity few would refuse, after all. “Perfect, I’ll notify my crew and tell someone to meet you three days from now. We’ll leave a note outside your door for details.” As the lizard stands to leave the bedroom, donning his mask, Alex dons his earlier tone “Care to stay for wine?” “Maybe another time, you’ve got to be a good host after all.” The lizard winks and leaves.

He can’t believe any of that worked.

Chapter 2: https://theunnamedlizardrogue.tumblr.com/post/172107548441/chapter-2-feline-good

[oumakokichi]

We know Saihara's favorite character was Kirigiri and Shirogane was Junko, but have you tried to guess who the rest of the cast's favs were based on how they built their own characters?

This is a really fun ask that I’ve had sitting here for a while now, because it’s really, really interesting to think about.

Most of what I have is just speculation of course, and personal feelings about which characters they must have liked based on similarities, so I’ll try my best! You already mentioned Saihara and Tsumugi, and both of those are on-point obviously, so I’ll just handle all the other characters.

One of the easiest to go with is Kaede. Sayaka Kanda has already admitted that she was told Kaede is extremely similar to Asahina, and I can really see it. The cheerfulness, the go-getting attitude—even the willingness to do very questionable things, when push comes to shove. Kaede’s decision to kill the ringleader is no less risky and dangerous than Asahina’s attempt to get the entire group killed in dr1 Chapter 4.

I think Asahina’s optimism and very strong belief in people, especially people like Sakura, is probably part of what Kaede wanted to imitate when joining the game. Basically, “I want to be that character but put into a more focal role as a protagonist and a leader.”

Amami is a little harder to tell. There are the obvious similarities in his sprites to Komaeda, but he’s really nothing like Komaeda personality-wise, and since he doesn’t know or remember much about himself outside of prison mode, we have to assume he probably only got to audition about the kind of character he wanted to play for the 52nd killing game season, not ndrv3.

Given his mysterious nature and big sibling status though, as well as their bonus mode interaction, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had used Mukuro as a sort of inspiration. Both of them travel quite a lot due to the nature of their talents (Mukuro as a soldier, Amami as an adventurer), both of them are highly protective of their siblings, and both of them act rather laid back around the rest of the group. Using Mukuro as his inspiration would also make the fact that he dies so early even more hilarious, especially since it was all because of plans the ringleader made behind the scenes.

Himiko and Hoshi I can ironically see as both having taken some inspiration from Gundam. Both of them certainly have a bad case of chuunibyou, to some degree, and while Himiko probably adored the very occult and mystical element about Gundam, Hoshi seems to have quite a lot in common with Gundam in that both of them largely prefer to remain loners, but definitely care for the well-being of the group. Either way, I’m just glad that he seems to have nothing in common with previous “joke characters” like Yamada or Teruteru.

I can also see Himiko having taken some inspiration from Maizono, weird though that might sound. We don’t see a whole lot of stage performers or entertainers in the DR franchise, but like Himiko, Maizono is someone who works tirelessly for her craft and constantly avoids confronting her true emotions about things. They don’t have a particular lot in common personality-wise, but it’s true that Tenko does bring up the fact that idols and “mages” are somewhat similar in her FTEs. So it would actually be cute if Maizono had been something of an inspiration.

Maki could go so many different ways. The most likely ones are Peko and Togami—Peko for her selfless dedication to protecting another character, as well as her terrifying willingness to kill for it, and Togami due to his unpleasant aloofness from the rest of the group, especially in the earlier parts of dr1. If dr3 counts, then throw Juzo in as well, since he’s also similarly reckless and violent. Given the whole cosplaying convention part of her backstory and her own handy skills with swords and knives, I’m going to guess Peko was probably the biggest inspiration out of all three, though.

Kiibo is a hard one to guess, mostly because we know very little about him from a pre-game perspective. If he was created by Team DR from scratch as Tsumugi says, then he wouldn’t have gotten any kind of audition. If he wasn’t (and he certainly does look different from that one glimpse we see of him in the prologue), then it’s possible he did audition like the rest of the group but was simply picked to play the part of audience proxy because he already looked physically similar to Naegi.

He and Naegi are the exact same height, after all, with similar voices and a similar hairstyle. If you assume the audience wanted to connect with someone who could “embody” what DR is all about, then it would make sense if they intentionally chose someone out of the group who looked the most like Naegi, and gave them that “inner voice” of “hope” for that exact purpose. But this is, of course, highly speculative, since again, Kiibo doesn’t even get a single speaking line in the prologue and it’s very hard to determine how much of what Tsumugi said about him was true or not.

Korekiyo is another hard one to judge, and it’s hardly a fair comparison at all, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Saionji was something of an inspiration, at least aesthetically. The bonus mode interaction between them shows that while they aren’t compatible at all personality-wise (he doesn’t even think she’s suitable to “become friends” with his sister), Saionji’s strict upbringing and knowledge about traditional Japanese dancing still interested Korekiyo quite a lot.

We don’t see a lot of DR characters with this super traditional, super formal background; I don’t doubt Saionji and her family would fall right into Korekiyo’s field of study, considering how much dance is a part of culture. So it’s hard to judge if there is any other character who Korekiyo might have based himself on (I certainly hope he didn’t ask to be so horrible on the show, but you never know), but he and Saionji exhibit the most similarities in terms of design and background.

Tenko is a pretty easy one to compare with—she’s extremely similar to Sakura. Her talent as a Neo Aikido master parallels Sakura’s martial artist talent pretty obviously, just like her role as a protector figure for Himiko parallels Sakura’s role in protecting Asahina. If anything, Tenko strikes me as having taken inspiration from the both of them. She has Asahina’s love for food (and never goes quite as wild over food as Akane, for instance) and upbeat personality, as well as the refusal to run or hide from her emotions. I kind of half-wonder if Tenko didn’t specifically go and ask to be some kind of Asahina/Sakura fusion on the show.

Gonta is… a little trickier, but I’m almost inclined to bring Gundam up again. The obvious choices would seem to be Nidai or Sakura, considering “big bara protector figure,” sure, but Gundam seems to fit a lot more with Gonta’s desire to be a “true gentleman.” Both of them die as the Chapter 4 culprits as well, and both have a very open fondness for animals. Gonta isn’t nearly as sure of himself as Nidai or Sakura are either, so I really am inclined to say Gundam is the better fit.

Kirumi’s sort of a toss-up. Both her gothic sense of fashion and her mid-trial breakdown suggest Celes as an inspiration, but she’s also far smarter than Celes and less selfishly motivated. She seems very much like someone who might have appreciated Celes’ design and aesthetic as a character, but not her motivations (or lack thereof).

If DR: Kirigiri counts as a source of inspiration, then Uozumi would seem like the obvious pick. As another maid-who-isn’t-really-a-maid, and who has a similarly serious personality, I could really see Kirumi having liked her a lot. Maybe she wanted to embody a character like that on the show, since Uozumi is only limited to light novel materials.

Angie is… another interesting toss-up. She’s somewhat similar to Mikan—she hardly puts on an act of clumsy helplessness, but it’s true that she does downplay how cutthroat and cunning she can be, and her seeming ditziness or airheadedness as a foreigner helps to mask a lot of that. Like Mikan, Angie very much enjoys having people under her who she perceives as “weak targets.”

Unlike Mikan though, she takes it up a notch, particularly seeking anyone who seems easy to take into her cult, who will do anything she wants them to. And it’s also true that unlike Mikan, we don’t see Angie demonstrate any actual willingness to kill, since she mostly seems to just be interested in self-preservation.

I’m just going to assume Mikan was a general reference for Angie because there aren’t really a lot of others who fit. Considering the racist undertones of Angie’s entire religion and home island though, that’s probably a good thing.

As for Miu, the obvious choice for loud and brash inspiration would be Ibuki, although Miu amped up the crassness a whole lot. I could also see Souda as being one of her favorites. Both of them like to talk big but are quite insecure under the surface, and want attention from other people quite a lot, even to the point of being annoyingly persistent. Souda’s mechanic talent also parallels Miu’s inventor one quite a lot, so I could see him having been her favorite character.

It’s even possible that there were plenty of mechanics or people with a similar title on the show before, but no outright inventors. Maybe Miu asked for the inventor talent for the first time specifically, which would explain why her talent blindsided the ringleader so much—they had no idea what kinds of things she’d actually be capable of creating.

Then there’s Momota. Between his audition video, his violent streak, and his talk about “promises between men,” Mondo is most likely the biggest inspiration. Like Mondo, Momota also has something of an inferiority complex and a need to prove himself as a result—his jealousy of Saihara in Chapter 4 brings to mind Mondo’s jealousy, both of Daiya and of Chihiro. I could see Mondo’s entire backstory and unfulfilled promises having resonated with Momota. The ridiculous hairstyle might also have been something of an inspiration, too.

Momota is someone extremely concerned with appearing “masculine enough” and “proving himself,” so I can’t see him having found much inspiration in any character who didn’t appear “strong,” “tough,” or “manly.” That leaves Mondo as pretty much the only option.

Finally, we have Ouma. My favorite headcanon of all time is still “Ouma hated Danganronpa and everything about it and wanted the godforsaken show to end”—which I think might be a very real possibility if he entered wanting to end the killing game from the start. But given how timid and upset he looks in the brief glimpse we get of him in the prologue, it’s also very possible that Ouma asked for one particular kind of role or talent, and was given something very different from what he asked for, just like Saihara.

I’ve always thought it possible that if Ouma had to pick any character as his favorite from the DR series, he would’ve really liked Nanami. It would explain the many, many similarities between their sprites and designs, as well as the ways in which their roles parallel each other. Assuming Ouma might have asked for some kind of role similar to Nanami’s, I could easily see the ringleader having felt it would be a much better twist if he just looked cute and innocent, but was actually an “evil Supreme Leader,” and a liar.

Either way, given everything that happens in canon and what we know about Ouma’s distaste for killing and death, he hardly strikes me as a Junko fanboy. The whole game is spent framing him as one, so it really would be the perfect kind of subversion if he’d looked up to a much more peaceful kind of character like Nanami instead.

Anyway, this got really long, but I’m glad I could finally answer it. It was a really fun ask, Comun, and gave me a lot of food for thought! Thanks for asking it!

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S19 E13 - I Do, I Do, I Do.

What follows may be a disjointed review. And long. Sorry!  I really ought to have a rewatch before I post, but I’m not ready.  So, there may be future reblogs if I miss anything important.

Firstly, Mr T’s wedding.  I was ridiculously pleased to see Hanssen back, I always miss him when he’s gone.  And it’s remarkable how well he managed to pull the Swedish trad attire look - never more noticeable than when he and Hanssen were making their way back to find Mo after Hanssen applied his uncanny ability to see right through everyone’s personal feelings - let’s call him the Feelings Fairy, or the Fairy Feeling-Father of Holby...  But I digress.

Hanssen was great in this episode.  As just mentioned, his counselling of Mr T that it’s Mo that he loves - coupled nicely with his wedding speech with the nod to Mo about everything that is meant to be happens eventually.  Hiding in the tower, looking for woodpeckers to avoid being chased by Mama T, and just generally his reaction to the totally inappropriate sexual harrassment from the aforementioned Mama T.

Mo was great in this ep too.  She looked amazing and had some great one liners, something about Swedish feet and lack of nerve endings, or some such!  She knew what she was doing, telling Mama T about the lack of baby.  She knew Mama T would blow the whistle.  And hell, fair play, why not?  If she couldn’t do it herself, best to hand the reins over!  Also loved the birthing scene, with Mr T, Mo and baby Charleston.  (Wonder how long they get to be happy before Charlie’s life is threatened?)

Without a doubt, the undeniable star of the wedding show was the inimitable Jac Naylor, Queen of sarcasm.  She was just an absolute delight, from her first appearance in her suit, to her reluctant wedding dance and appeal to Mo to rescue her, down to her complaints about being Mo’s unplanned birthing partner for a second time.  But then just getting into the water with all her damned clothes on to help Mo out regardless.  And then, missing the drama and getting drunk...  I can say without question that Jac was the saving grace for me tonight.

HOWEVER.  I barely concentrated on a moment of the damned wedding.  Even the Jac bits just flitted before my eyes.  Because the whole episode was waiting for the next Elinor/Jason bit.  There had been no secret in the spoilers that there would be a) an accident involving Elinor and Jason, and b) Serena and Mo would be having life changing experiences.  Now, I may not be a rocket scientist, but...

So, on to the only bit I managed to really take in.

Wow, the accident happened early in the episode.  When Elinor came in wired, talking about her report that she’d written, it appeared early on that her drug use was going to play a bit part in the episode.  Actually, that theme was continued on later, when she was asking Jasmine where she could put her bag so that it was ‘out of the way’, ie hiding the evidence.  However, from that point, the drugs were not really mentioned.  I am surprised, however I suspect the issue may resurface (theories later).

The basis of the argument, or Serena supposedly keeping things from Elinor, turned out to be something as minor as Serena having stepped down as CEO and not discussed it with Elinor.  It seems silly, but I guess if Elinor is feeling a little at sea having to adjust to a new relationship in her mothers life (gender irrelevant), then I guess she’s more likely to be a bit sensitive about everything, even the littlest things.  And the drugs don’t help, kids!

Cue the racing to follow her out, and the accident - which Serena puts down to Elinor being so tired from being up all night.

Bernie was absolutely awesome, taking control.  I guess her army training coming to the fore, as she has undoubtedly got feelings for Jason herself.  She was amazing in theatre, although I felt the ‘it can’t be done’ from Morven, followed by the highly risky, almost impossible liver lac repair being successfully achieved by one Bernie Wolfe, Trauma Surgeon extraordinare was a mite heavy handed.  Especially considering later events.

Bernie’s moment after the surgery, when all her emotions came out, was just beautiful.  At the time, I was disappointed that we didnt get to see her break the good news to Serena, but again, later events explained why that wasn’t done.

Serena’s chat with (most probably shiftily playing around with drug paraphenalia) Elinor in the locker room was lovely.  I loved the attempts at openness on both sides, of course designed to make Elinor a more sympathetic character before sending her to her fate, and Serena’s game was really sweet.   Also Serena’s later reveal to Jason that she was thinking about inviting Ellie back to live with them again, ramping up the angst.

I will mention Liberty briefly, but I don’t think she deserves it.  I can’t really see the point of her character anyway, so she showed up whilst Serena had to perform life saving surgery - she served no purpose to me at all, she didn’t make Serena look bad, she just showed up then buggered off, leaving nary a ripple on my screen.

Now to Elinor’s collapse.  Naughty, naughty Jasmine.  She is a doctor, yes?  Since when is it OK for doctors to let themselves be talked out of giving a patient neuro obs?  I know people can refuse treatment, but Ellie technically didn’t do that, and hells, woman, she’s Serena’s daughter.  Mindless stupid girl.  Not endeared her to me at all.

Bernie and Serena whilst watching Ellie’s surgery were lovely.  The hand clutching for support, perfect.  And finally, Serena at Elinor’s bedside running through the neuro tests that Ellie had failed - all the basic tests to determine brain stem function.  Which seemingly is not present in Ellie.  An absolutely heartbreaking scene.  Bernie has clearly demonstrated her commitment to be there for Serena, which is great.   BUT, I do feel that this disaster has been of rather epic proportions, quite unnecessarily so.  I believe exactly the same committment could have been shown without tearing Serena’s life apart quite so dramatically.

I rather discordant note from that scene - for me - was Bernie asking Serena if Elinor was a donor.  I don’t think  Bernie should have done that at all.  She was there as Serena’s support, not a transplant co-ordinator.  And to have brought that up as a ‘spouse’, well, I think perhaps it’s a little soon in their relationship to be claiming joint parental responsibility for Elinor, especially with Elinor’s reaction to them.

This a pretty long post, seems a bit pointless to put a cut in now, but since I’m about to chuck in some speculation, here goes.

Elinor’s drug use.  As I mentioned, with the repeated nods to it within the story, it seems that Serena is still unaware..  I feel it’s likely that the discovery has something to do with the chewing out she gives Jasmine in the Autumn trailer - so that’s one way they’re going to use it.  But how will it come up now?  My main bet is that Serena will decide to donate Ellie’s organs, so something good can come out of her death.  But then some test or other will somehow highlight her drug use and render her organs unusable.  Yet another blow for Serena.  But with this theory, why do it?  Does it really add to the drama?  They’ve already established that the car accident could just have been a combination of tiredness and upset from the argument.  They didn’t need to have Elinor as a drug user - the pain tht the knowledge would have brought Serena would have been far greater in life than after Ellie’s death, surely?  It just seems extremely unnecessary - unless it really IS just a tool to allow Serena to yell at Jasmine, and surely, she’s got more than enough reason without that one.

My other theory, and I am aware that this is not going to happen (apparently some writer on Twitter categorically confirmed that Elinor was dead?) was that the drug use could have a far more interesting part to play.  In an (quite possibly outdated and superceded) medical paper from the 1980s detailing the criteria for determining brain death, as seen here, in the case of head injury combined with a history of drug use, accurate measures of brain stem activity can’t be determined until several days have passed, as drug use could cause a temporary lack of activity.  Therefore, I feel the most effective use of the storyline would be to have this happen - in other words, the drama without the death.  It would still have been unlikely in this scenario that Elinor would have recovered unscathed, so still plenty of scope for long term angst.  That, folks, is how I would’ve written it anyway :-)

Anyway, I rarely speculate quite so wildly in these reviews, so apologies.  There are a lot of feelings out there at the moment, some folks are hopeful, others disheartened, and others still are painfully affected by the story.  Regardless of which each viewer  is, it’s undeniable that it’s going to be hard to watch, because if you’re reading this, there’s a fair bet you care about the characters.  Bernie wasn’t wrong when she said that no parent should outlive their child.  As an avenue to explore Bernie’s commitment to Serena, it all seems a bit crass to me.  But we will no doubt get some amazing acting out of it.

Grief sometimes brings couples together.  But sometimes it drives them apart.  And since I’m all aboard the speculation train, I am just going to throw one last thought out there. I don’t know when JR’s contract is up, but Serena’s grief and pushing Bernie away, hell, it’s not inconceivable that a few months down the road it could be a departure storyline. Grief doesn’t pass overnight, the ramifications can be seen months down the line.  And there’s only so long Bernie can try to be there for Serena if Serena chooses to repeatedly push her away.  (Not specifically saying this is what I think will happen.  Just generally sayin’!)