#I would also accept 'ejected'

[bandtrees]

I KNOW I WON’T BE LEAVING HERE - WITH YOU!

my buddy @flux-yggdrasil‘s rp - memento mori LIVE - is hands down the most hyped i’ve been about an rp in a long time - the worldbuilding is SO fun and these characters are humanized in ways so unique to these kids of rps and also the themes of it just hit close and i’m very fond. it’s been taking up real estate in my brain ever since it was pitched and i’ve been having so much fun with it

And i also made a little freak. as you can tell.

ALSO ALSO i rediscovered the brush i like to blend stuff with. so look out

#scribbles #oc #memento mori LIVE #eject (oc) #need to mess w his tags but eh eehhhh #hard to tag 'eject from transformers' vs 'my oc based off him with the same name' #he has a full human name in mml (karmen descartes) and eject (specifically ejectkd-21) is just a screenname #but it would also feel weird to tag art of him in mtmte-verse with like the name of A Guy. OH WELL i'll figure it out #flux very accepting of me applying an obscure transformer i stole and made into an oc to his rp. and for that i thank him. #eye strain #eye contact

[comatosebunny09]

deep breaths, darling | r. kyojuro

Genre: Smut, Modern AU

Warnings: Established Relationship, Female Reader, P in V Intercourse, Cervix F*cking, Light Choking, Fondling, Spoon Position, Unprotected Sex, Bodily Fluids, Explicit Language

Request for @sirenascales.

I changed what I originally wrote for you…a lot. But I hope this helps lighten your mood, even just a little. And I hope it somewhat meets your expectations. ☺️❤️ Thank you for your lovely request, darling!

You’d asked for a simple massage to ease your strained muscles and lay to rest your mind’s dissonance.

Your work week was hectic. Inventories that required heavy lifting under the sun’s unforgiving rays. Hunting down some equipment you hadn’t seen since taking the helm as supervisor. Balancing the needs of your subordinates alongside your company’s objective, ignoring your own needs. It was all so very taxing. And you never knew how to put yourself first. So, forgive you for wanting a little reprieve. 

You also knew better than to ask your husband for something so mundane. This was Kyojuro you were speaking of. Your deceptively innocent husband who couldn’t keep his enormous, mischievous mitts to himself. You should’ve been wise to his antics when he so giddily accepted your request. His incandescent eyes shone like candlelight, flaxen locks puffed up like clouds, and his unbridled smile swam with something sinister. You were too exhausted to contest him. Maybe he would be good this time; stay on track and do what you actually wanted.

Yeah.

Right.

“Kyojuro,” you whine amid a myriad of open-mouthed kisses blistering your neck. One of his diabolical palms cups your ass, squeezing, kneading, lifting. The other hand busies itself beneath your thin t-shirt, toying with your puckered nipples and fondling your breasts, waves of euphoria lapping at your tummy. Your silken sheets crumple beneath your fingers, and you bite your lip, trying vainly to maintain your air of frustration. Though, with his digits doing terribly distracting things between your legs, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to focus.

You didn’t initially oppose the contact. Kyojuro had done as you asked, working through the thick knots between your shoulder blades. Rubbed you down with skillful hands saturated with oil, laboring through solid cords of muscle. Yet, your husband had divested you of your basketball shorts and panties somewhere along the line. Rid himself of his sweats as well. And as he laid down on your plush mattress behind you, drawing your curled-up body into his radiating, virile one, it became pressingly laborious to ignore the torrid length pulsating against your tailbone.

“Darling?” Kyojuro coos in response, lightly nibbling the shell of your ear. You can practically taste the subtle smugness rumbling in his voice, much like a thunderstorm brewing on the horizon. Your eyes slide shut, a defeated sigh ejected from your lips.

“This isn’t the massage I asked for.”

Kyojuro hums thoughtfully, his lips curving into a wolfish smile against the junction of your shoulder. A gasp suddenly escapes you when his hand at your bottom pushes your knee towards your stomach, crisp air kissing your heated, exposed folds. You swallow a moan as electricity courses through your center whilst Kyojuro slothfully grinds his cock against your sex. Spreads your labia further apart with each delicious roll of his hips, grunting softly into your tresses.

“Technically, it is,” Kyojuro rasps, specks of amusement in his timbre. “You did not specify where you wanted a massage, my love.”

Damn your husband and his technicalities.

You resign to your fate, falling prey to the rapture taking hold of your innards. Kyojuro twines his powerful arm around your neck, holding your shoulder to keep you melded to him. He writes obscenities into your pulse point whilst his bucking grows choppier, your pussy glazing his veiny shaft with the arousal you so desperately tried to mask.

“You've been so tense as of late,” Kyojuro breathes hotly, his fingernails burrowing into the underside of your generous thigh as his grip tightens. You angle your head back, a pitiful sound leaving you at such delightful ministrations. “Allow me to be your stress relief.”

And relieve he does.

You moan in tandem when the swollen crest of his cock creeps in, splitting you open with a salacious squelch. Kyojuro stills thereafter, all his limbs straining in his battle to maintain control. You can tell how badly he wishes to fuck you based on how his chokehold strengthens the slightest around your neck. You fight within yourself not to pitch your hips back to nestle him further into your opulent cunt. But Kyojuro’s always been the biggest tease, giving you just the tip until you beg him to fuck you.

Your pussy flutters around him, exhilaration tearing through your veins, searing you like magma from the inside out. Kyojuro growls in reply at your cheekiness. Your eyes involuntarily roll into your skull, lips parted, when he draws his pelvis backward, completely unsheathing from the bewitching suction of your cunt, exhaling soundly.

When you’ve started to adjust to the loss of his impressive girth, Kyojuro pistons back into you, his cockhead licking the responsive nerve endings at the perimeter of your opening. You spasm at such incredible friction. If he continues like this, you might cum from his teasing alone.

Kyojuro builds an infuriating rhythm, inching himself further and further into you with each repetition until you’ve swallowed him whole with a greedy suckling noise, the crown of his erection brushing your lush cervix.

Your husband rarely curses. Vocabulary too refined for vulgarities, but “fuck,” the blond breathes, his forehead pushed between your shoulder blades as he ravenously sucks in air. You smirk despite your pleasure possessing your body, like a devious feline that has caught the canary. You wiggle your hips in a get-going gesture, further spurring your husband’s ire. He needs no more indication to reduce you to a muddled mess.

No matter how often you’ve made love, it always feels like the first.

His dick is addicting like caffeine, working a steady cadence inside you, pulling you closer and closer to orgasm with each snap of his pelvis. He fucks you thoroughly and hard, just the way you like it. Acquaints himself with every luscious ridge and bump snuggled deep between your walls. His rhythm matches the desperate tempo of his fingers stroking your clit, pushing you further into oblivion.

“You feel so fucking wonderful, darling,” Kyojuro husks, notching his hips to yours until the violent clop of skin saturates the air. “I will never get enough of this beautiful pussy of yours. Won’t you cum for me, my gorgeous princess?” He knows that his voice does things to you. How it stirs your ecstasy when he coddles you like you are the most precious thing, every nerve in your body trained on this moment.

You know he won’t be too far behind you in gratification by the sound of his labored breaths. You cling to his arm for dear life, nails imprinting pretty waning moons into his skin, hot saliva coasting down the side of your face. Your throat is raw from overuse, you having screamed his name to the heavens whilst he fucks you towards the edge of the bed.

Your tummy boils with an unmistakable pressure that drags itself skyward. Breath hitches as your peak sneaks up on you, a kaleidoscope of colors entrapping your vision, a muted tingling sensation prickling your petrified limbs, climbing from the tips of your toes to the crown of your head. Your pussy clamps down like a fist around him. And with a definitive, stuttering drag backward of his hips, companied by a shaky sigh of your name, Kyojuro swiftly extracts his dick from your spasming warmth, painting your thigh with scorching spurts of cum.

You catch him with open arms as he floats down to earth like a feather, nestling his cheek into your saturated bosom and forcing you deeper into the mattress with his full weight atop you.

“Thank you,” you exhale once your heart has slowed to a bearable rate. Gentle fingers rake through your husband’s feathery locks, a doting cant to your swollen lips. Kyojuro hums drowsily in reply, his voice rattling your bones. Your heart swells with affection at the sight of his disheveled mane. How hard he had worked to put you at ease. You stroke his scalp until his breaths transition to soft snoring, your husband curling up against you like a satisfied cat.            

Masterlist

#rengoku x reader #kyojuro x reader #my works #demon slayer fanfic #kny fanfic #kny reader insert #rengoku kyojuro x reader #kyojuro rengoku smut #rengoku smut #kyojuro smut #kyojuro rengoku x you #rengoku x you #kyojuro x you #kyojuro rengoku x y/n #rengoku x black!reader #kyojuro rengoku x black reader

[vexwerewolf]

Hello, it is I once again, here with a weird meme build. How would you go about building a hacker Swallowtail at LL6? Standard or Ranger, it doesn't matter which

As it happens, Hacktail isn't a meme build at all - due to the Swallowtail's expansive 20 Sensors and innate +1 tech attack, it's an extremely viable Support pick.

-- SSC Swallowtail @ LL6 -- [ LICENSES ] SSC Swallowtail 2, SSC Dusk Wing 1, HORUS Goblin 1, HORUS Minotaur 2 [ CORE BONUSES ] The Lesson of the Held Image, Full Subjectivity Sync [ TALENTS ] Hacker 3, Spotter 2, Skirmisher 2, Field Analyst 1, Nuclear Cavalier 1 [ STATS ] HULL:2 AGI:2 SYS:2 ENGI:2 STRUCTURE:4 HP:15 ARMOR:0 STRESS:4 HEATCAP:6 REPAIR:6 TECH ATK:+3 LIMITED:+1 SPD:7 EVA:14 EDEF:12 SENSE:20 SAVE:13 [ WEAPONS ] FLEX MOUNT: Assault Rifle AUX/AUX MOUNT: Nexus (Light) / Nexus (Light) [ SYSTEMS ] H0R_OS System Upgrade I, Neurospike, Metafold Carver, Personalizations, Lotus Projector, Manipulators

I call this one Hacking The Omninet.

Firstly, let's discuss the basics. This build is fragile, as all systems-first Swallowtail builds are going to be. This mech needs heavy co-ordination with your team to focus down threats. Employ cover rigorously, stay behind the lines and make liberal use of the Invisibility from Integrated Cloak. Low survivability is the price you pay for being able to turn an enemy comp inside out.

Your armament is not going to be used very much, and so is very simple - an Assault Rifle for Reliable damage, and dual Light Nexi for enemies with high Evasion. Oracle LMG-Is consume 1 SP a pop and we're not going to sacrifice system space for guns we might never fire.

We have Personalizations on there for a tiny bit of extra HP, and Manipulators for one simple reason: sacrificial system. We don't want to lose our hacking systems, and so if we take Structure damage and lose a system, we dump the robo-hands.

With all that out of the way, let's get to the meat and potatoes of this build: the hacking tools.

We start with H0R_OS System Upgrade I, possibly the best control tool in the game, definitely the best hacking tool in the game. Puppet System lets you reposition enemies in a straight line equal to their Speed any number of times, and unlike every other form of involuntary movement in the game, it triggers reactions, meaning you can open enemies up to Overwatch attacks from your allies. Meanwhile, Eject Power Cores inflicts Jammed, shutting down an enemy's weapons and tech attacks. It isn't repeatable on the same enemy, but this often doesn't matter - shutting down a heavy hitter's weapons for a single turn often buys enough time for your team to kill them outright.

Moving on to Neurospike, a much slept-on Invade system from the Dusk Wing. We're mostly in this for Shrike Code, which is a very powerful control tool in Lancer's mid-to-late game. At Tiers 2 and 3, a lot of enemy NPC classes get multiattacks, allowing them to use their weapon twice or even thrice every time they attack with it (including during Overwatch). But Shrike Code applies 2 heat per attack, not per action, meaning that a multiattacker who attacks twice will accrue 4 heat in addition to the (at least) 2 heat you put on them with Invade, which can put them close to or at their heat cap. Neurospike also provides the more situational but still useful Mirage, which allows you to make a member of your team (including you) Invisible to a member of the enemy team.

The third and final Invade suite, Metafold Carver, is the weirdest and most difficult to use correctly, but once you master it, it becomes one of the most effective support tools in the game. The biggest trick here is that the primary targets for both of its options are not your enemies - they're your allies. Your allies can choose to accept an Invade from you without taking heat and without it counting as an attack. Once you understand this, your third eye will open and the absurd power of Metafold Carver will be unlocked.

Ophidian Trek allows you to teleport your target a minimum of 2 and a maximum of seven spaces directly towards you. This is impossibly useful for yanking your allies out of melee combat or dangerous terrain, or summoning help if you're getting flanked. You generally don't want to use this on enemies who are already close to you, but pulling hostile backliners towards your team's melee specialist is exceptionally cool and funny.

Fold Space completely removes its target from the battlefield until they start their next turn. The problem with using this on enemies is that they can decide when their turn starts, and if they have an activation remaining, it will often be "immediately after your turn ends," wasting this power - although if they've already taken their turn, you can use it to ruin enemies that rely on reactions to be useful, such as the Sentinel or Archer.

The primary utility of Fold Space, however, is that it's without a doubt the most powerful ally-focused Invade in the game. This ability can quite literally be a lifesaver. Ally went too hard on their reactor and became Exposed? Fold Space. Ally took a bad structure roll and became Stunned? Fold Space. Ally being swarmed by melee NPCs? Fold Space. Ally messing up the shot of your team's artillery? Fold Space. Ally talking too much? Fold Space. You make them completely invulnerable at the "cost" of removing them from the battlefield, which they only even care about if they're a reaction-focused build, and they decide how long they want to stay on vacation, because they can return to the battlefield at any time by starting their turn.

In terms of other support abilities, we have a beautiful SSC/HORUS combo: at the start of an ally's turn, you can Lock On to an enemy as a reaction with Lesson of the Held Image and use your Prophetic Scanners frame trait to inflict Shredded as well. This lets you strip all damage reduction off an enemy just before your ally winds up to hit them, with no chance to react or clear it.

You also have Lotus Projector to help your allies deal with Invisible enemies - standard Swallowtail stuff.

As for talents, we have Hacker to give you even more Invade options (mostly Hack./Slash for shutting down enemy tech attackers) and help with heatgunning (Nuclear Cavalier 1 is in there too, just for kicks), Spotter to provide aim assist and hand out free Lock Ons and Field Analyst to help avoid "missed it by that much" situations.

As previously stated, this is a heavily team-focused build. You are a Support/Controller to the maximum here. Expect to go entire fights without doing a single point of damage. Coordinate heavily with your team to focus targets down and ensure that you stay safe while lighting targets up for them.

#lancer #lancer rpg #lancerrpg #lancer-rpg #swallowtail

[noisytenant]

i think it would be too simplistic to say that kinnie shit is the main reason the system zeitgeist is really detached from the literature (especially when some literature IS frequently cited), but i do think that fictional introjects--a documented and completely understandable phenomenon--trying to wed themselves to their sources of inspiration rather than articulating themselves in the real world is a canary in the coalmine for a lot of the other maladaptive patterns we end up seeing.

you could make the case that dissociation is an extreme form of "escape from the self"; to be one person is so intolerable that you escape to another. And then another, and another. so escapism is arguably the driving mode of dissociation.

but if you have these parts of yourself that long to escape BACK to, essentially, a "pre-birth" state, who can't bear to accept the circumstances they're in now, then you're probably more broadly still in an escapist paradigm. and so of course you're gonna be splitting new guys weekly, of course none of you communicate, of course you have these strong and extreme wedges between you and the others and you have these clearly defined boundaries while also, in practice, existing in such a limited context that you haven't really self-actualized.

escapism is an understandable reaction to trauma and severe chronic stress, so rather than dismissing this entire kinnie-system phenomenon as doomed, i think we can build bridges toward an understanding of Living As A System that are more aligned with established and successful therapeutic interventions.

the kinnie-system combo melds two subcultures that magnify maladaptive escapism tenfold. this adds new terminology and points of focus that aren't necessarily relevant or accurate (distinct and discrete identities and roles, "fictive" and "factive" language, source material focus, generally Online behavior and interests), and obscures other experiences (lack of clear identity, blending and blurring, dissociation as a coping mechanism for the stresses of tangible daily life, introjection as a start&not an end) and strategies (expanding the window of tolerance, grounding in the present, unburdening of extreme roles, intra-system cooperation, etc.)

i think as you work toward a grounded view of yourself and accept your reality, you can start to hold yourself more proudly, and own your experiences--even the bizarre one of essentially being a cartoon character ejected from the screen to do dishes.

dissociation is mushy, highly individual, and weird, but also a really practical solution to an impossibly difficult problem. i'd like it if we could change the common vocabulary and perspective to better reflect the diverse and unique experiences of finding a way to live When Guys.

#indexed post #the opinion haver

[homestuckreplay]

pied in the face by my clown father

(Pages 91-96)

John and Dad's Strife continues, even while we can no longer click the buttons. What I love about this scene is how well matched they seem to be - the narrator says 'Looks like DAD will enjoy the prankster's gambit on that exchange, as is usually the case.' (p.92) but honestly, I think that's unfair to John. He's holding his own, equipping his disguise again just in time, stealing the pie tin from Dad so he can't magically fill it with another cream pie - and, well, the finishing move with ejecting Sassacre's was a lucky break, but maybe it's luck John can learn from for future encounters.

Speaking of Sassacre's, this is the third time where the weight of the tome and its ability to crush something has been relevant. On page 32, 'Good grief this thing is huge. It could kill a cat if you dropped it.' When we learn about John's nanna on page 52, 'A tall bookshelf. A ladder. An unabridged COLONEL SASSACRE'S.' And now its far more harmless, yet thematically linked, activation of the smoke pellets. It's a shame John already allocated hammerkind to his strife specibus, because Sassacrekind would probably be really effective, and very appropriate for his character. I have a lot of questions about the limitations of the strife specibus, and this raises a new one - is John capable of using any item as a weapon if it isn't a hammer? Could he hit someone over the head with Sassacre's still, or eject it from his sylladex to crush them? Or is he completely unable to damage someone with it, and can only use it as defense or utility?

Items being ejected is also a new use of the sylladex - I kind of assumed that the inventory just wouldn't accept any more items once it was full, [thanks to @tenaciouschronicler for the correction - we did actually see this already! silly me forgetting the tutorial so soon] but high speed blasting away the item on the last card is much funnier. It's also more helpful, as John can access the items on both the first and the last card, so long as what's on the last card isn't especially fragile. I wonder if John will be less angry at his sylladex now that it's actually helped him out. Probably not - his hatred seems to be more irrational than that, and he's not going to be in a good mood now that he's stuck with this giant cake - but we'll see.

Are we finally going to get Sburb tomorrow? Is John's path to the game and back to his computer undisturbed? Or is some other nefarious obstacle going to get in John's way once again?

#return of the cursor REALLY crystallized a big theory for me that im v excited to write abt #homestuck #reaction

[jpitha]

Between the Black and Gray 23

First / Previous / Next

Fen's breath catches. Here we go. "I was hoping you could tell me!" It's taking a lot for her to balance sounding hopeful that the K'laxi could shed some light on what happened, but also not so casual as to not be interested. "I was being carried by The Dreams of Hyacinth, and all of a sudden, the ship told me to get into my Frigate and launched me. When I looked back, I saw it doing that move and then all three were destroyed."

It wasn't false, not entirely.

Tavren paused for a split second before taking the pad back. Fen's eyes flicked up to Zhe. She was busy taking another sip of the tea and didn't seem to react. "So you weren't aboard The Dreams of Hyacinth?"

"No, no I was. But, I was asked to get into my Frigate by the ship and then was ejected."

"The ship told you? like an AI?" Tevren's ears flicked like she was trying to shoo a bug away. Short, quick flicks, seemingly unconsciously.

"I don't know Honored Councilor. Don't Human Empire ships not have AIs? I thought they didn't like them." Again, not exactly a lie.

"That is my understanding too, yes. But I also know my history. Before the Empire, humans worked with their AIs much more harmoniously, and human starships trend old. It is entirely possible they have a few ships with AIs left."

"But, then wouldn't the AIs be-" Fen had to be very careful here "-restrained somehow? I can't imagine an AI working with the Empire willingly."

"I can Fenchurch, it's more likely than you might imagine. People of all kinds can put aside terrible things if they think they're getting a benefit." Tavren sighed. "I suppose it was too much to hope you did it."

Fen blinked. "Wait you wanted it to be me?"

Tavren smiled and her tail swished. "It would be very advantageous to us to have an ally that's able to easily destroy three of their most powerful starships. If nothing else, it would give us... leverage." She stood sharply and snapped her pad closed. "I suppose that was all I needed my friend." Fen and Zhe stood quickly after her. "Zhe, please led our guest back out and help her with whatever she needs." Tavren walked to the door and stopped in the doorway. "If you think of anything else... I'd like you to contact me. Remember who raised you. Anything you can think of could help all K'laxi." Without another word, she walked out.

With her gone, Fen sat back down. Zhe dithered, not knowing what to do. With the attention that the Councilor of Ships and Starbases gave her, Fen clearly was of a higher social rank than Zhe, but still she was a human. Fen noticed this and gestured for her to sit too. "Please Zhe, let's finish this tea, there's no need to waste it, it's really quite nice."

Zhe sat down gratefully and tore into her tea. It had cooled in the conversation and she was able to down the cup in one shot and immediately poured herself another cup. Fen stared into the cup and thought. It seemed like Tavren knew more than she was willing to let on, but also was willing to accept Fen's story as she told it. She didn't pick apart any details or even ask for more elaboration.

Zhe powered through another cup of tea and went to pour a third when she stopped. "Uh, do you want another cup, Fen?"

The reverie broken, Fen looked up and smiled. "Oh no thank you Zhe, you may finish it"

Not waiting to be told twice, Zhe finished the pot. When she was done, Fen stood. "Come on Zhe, will you show me the way out?"

"Of course!" Zhe jumped up and together they left the lower levels of Minaren.

Out in the main gallery, Zhe stood awkwardly. "Uh, here you are, Fen. I guess... I'll let you go and I'll..." she trailed off. Fen stared at Zhe as she did this. She really was quite young. Listening to her speak she seemed younger than she first guessed. She wasn't Ma-ren's age, she was easily 5 or 6 K'laxi years younger. This was probably her first job. "Zherun, do you know a good place to eat around here? I could use a meal."

Zhe's head bobbed excitedly and her tail started swishing. "I do! It's over here, follow me." Zhe took off deeper into the artificial forest as Fen strode after her.

Deep into the forest, the light from the star was shaded and dappled. The noise and crowds of the edges near the elevators and docking rings quieted. Zhe turned a corner and they entered a clearing which had been set up with tables and chairs. It was a restaurant, completely in the open. Most of the seats were full of K'laxi eating. Fen noticed that there wasn't a single human here. Zhe bounded up to the smartly dressed K'laxi standing at a podium. "Hello Lii! Can we have a table please?"

Lii's ears swiveled as he turned to see Zhe and Fen. "You're bringing a human here Zhe? I know you're fascinated with them but-"

Zhe punched him in the shoulder. "But she speaks K'inmar and was raised by K'laxi Lii, so be nice!"

Lii's demeanor immediately changed. K'laxi are furred and don't blush, but Fen could read his body language well enough to know he was embarrassed at his gaffe. He faced Fen and placed his hands together in apology. "I'm sorry, friend. My... prejudice got the better of me."

Fen was a little miffed at the assumption that she was just another ignorant human, but what could she do? She could make a big deal out of it and miss lunch and possibly make Zhe and Lii mad, or just... let it not bother her. Ancestors know she got enough of that back home. "It's all right Lii, all is forgiven." Fen put a little extra effort into her K'inmar to make sure her northern accent was picked up. "I am hungry though, and Zhe graciously offered to show me a great place to eat. Is there a table for us?"

"Of course! Of course! Please follow me." Lii lead them towards the center of the group of tables, and placed them slightly further from everyone else. Fen noticed that the K'laxi diners' ears swiveled to follow their conversation and a few eyes tracked them, but she was used to the attention. Just another price to pay given her upbringing. As they sat, Lii brought menus. "Today, might I recommend the mali'me? We just got some shipped up from K'laxi this morning."

Fen marveled. "I haven't had mali'me in ages. It's so hard to grow on stations." She looked at Zhe. "I know what I'm having then, what about you?"

Zhe stared at the menu a moment. "Actually Lii, can you come back for me in a moment? I'm not feeling like mali'me today, I want to look over the menu."

Lii inclined his head slightly. "Of course Zhe. I'll be back." and walked off silently, and checked on the other patrons as he swished his way back to the front.

Zhe watched him leave. "Don't mine Lii. He spends all his time among K'laxi, I don't think he's ever even left Minaren."

Fen nodded. "Thanks Zhe, it's okay really. I'm used to it. I grew up on a Gren station raised by K'laxi."

Zhe blinked and stared back at Fen. "You grew up on a... Gren station?"

Fen nodded. "Yup, my parents passed soon after I was born and Group Gen'mil took me in. I'm officially a member of the familial line, I was adopted in."

"That makes you legally K'laxi, right?"

Fen chuckled. "Except I'm not right? No matter who raised me and what language I speak natively, I'm always a human first."

"No!" Zhe pounded the table for emphasis, and some of the conversation stopped. Zhe looked over embarrassed, and in a much quieter tone said "No! You were raised by Gen'mil, you are in the familial records, you speak K'inmar, you. Are. K'laxi. As much as I am, as much as Councilor Tavren is."

Fen leaned back. "You know, my wife, Ma-ren would have liked you. Hell, I like you." She noticed Zhe's body language register a K'laxi blush and she mentally raised her eyebrows. "How long have you been with the Discoverers?"

Zhe looked away for a moment. "Only a few months. This is my first job."

Fen nodded. "I can tell." Zhe swung her head over, her eyes wide and Fen held up a hand. "Not in a bad way! You have a lot of heart and you wear it well." Fen mentally shrugged. Worth a shot right?" "Zhe, I find myself in need of a crew. I'm starting up a mercenary group, do you want a job? I can't promise much, but I can promise it'll be more interesting than leading people around and I bet I can pay better too."

Before Zhe could answer, Lii returned. "Zhe, do you know what you want?"

"Uh, yes Lii, I'll just have the fried uulan." Zhe handed the menu back.

"Great, that'll be right out." As Lii left, Zhe's voice was low. "Fen, what would I do with a bunch of mercenaries? I can't shoot, I'm not tough!"

"No, but you are good with people, and I'd need someone like that. Do you know anything about piloting a ship?"

"No!" Zhe looked horrified.

"Good, no bad habits to unlearn then." Fen smiled as Zhe sputtered. "Think about it at least. It doesn't have to be forever. I'd ask you to sign on for one human year, and then after that you could decide if the life is for you. If it's not, I'd bring you back to Minaren and you could do whatever you wanted. I'd make sure you'd be paid better than almost any job here."

"You'd just sign me on like that?"

"Think of this as your interview." Fen leaned back in the chair, and breathed in. The smell of the forest combined with the food was wonderful, cozy. The light, the sounds, the... everything was just right. These were the moment when she felt the least human.

Zhe stared at Fen a moment. Their eyes locked. Zhe's golden pupils locked with Fens and there was a weighing going on behind her eyes. She stared hard into Fen, and Fen felt like she was being weighed.

"You're serious." It wasn't a question.

"Utterly serious, Zhe. Sign on with me."

Zhe threw up her hands, but her ears twitched amusement. "You know what? Fine. I'm going to say yes now, but I still want to sleep on it." She smiled. "You know, I'm not normally this impulsive. I think being around you is rubbing off."

Fen just smiled.

After saying it, making it real, Zhe's face flashed a moment of second-guessing. "But why me?" She almost wailed as Lii brought the food.

"Because I believe in you." Fen took a bite of the mali'me. It was spiced and chewy and fresh and melted in her mouth.

It tasted like home.

#humans are deathworlders #humans are space orcs #sci fi writing #humans are space oddities #humans and aliens #jpitha #writing #humans and ai #humans are space capybaras #humans are space australians #Between the black and gray

[fanfic-obsessed]

Tug of War

Ok everyone,  here is another weird one.  Let’s get some house keeping out of the way first. 

This is set mid clone wars, where Palpatine does not quite have enough support to change the republic into an empire. 

For this, either there are no chips (and no order 66), or Palpatine does not want to activate the chips until the appointed hour, when his Empire is truly ready. Either way the clones side, pretty much exclusively with Jedi. 

This is very much an AU idea, with little connection to canon. 

Now the base of this is that Jedi finds out that Palpatine is the Sith Lord, however the twist is that (because Palpatine has been in charge of the laws for over a decade, plus the work of the other Sith before him) being a Sith Lord is not actually illegal. In addition Palpatine has been exceedingly careful about his conduct and contact with the separatists. Nothing he has done is illegal (practically nothing is illegal for him, due to his position as Supreme Chancellor, not even treason). Finally most of the galaxy, including most of the senate consider the Sith/Jedi split religious differences (Also from generations of careful Sith propaganda).

I want it clear that this take is not correct. Sith are evil, Palpatine very much included. It is only the result of centuries of work that ensured that this even happened.

All of this means that the Jedi very much are not able to oust Palpatine legally, and killing him would see the entire Order being classified as a terrorist organization, which is an automatic execution order for every member regardless of age.  

Now for twist number two. Due to the fact the Jedi were the founders of the Republic, declaring them traitors (an actual attempt to kill the Chancellor being the only exception,due to the Ruusan Reformation treaty) would destroy the Republic. And not in the way it will eventually become an empire kind of way. Instead whatever the power base (political and otherwise) the republic laws are built on, it is intrinsically tied to the Jedi Order’s existence. 

Look I am not sure how exactly it would work but work with me here.  Also this entire idea is meant to poke fun at the idea that laws are anything more immutable than a social contract we all agree to follow. 

All this means that until Palpatine is ready for his Empire to Rise, he cannot destroy the Jedi Order.  And he is found out to be a Sith just a little too early for that to happen. 

So now we have the Jedi on side, unable to eject the overt Sith in the Senate (also not able to leave due to their ties to the Republic).  On the Other Side we have an actual Sith running the government  but unable to kill the Jedi until he is fully ready to launch his empire.  Both still have to deal with a Senate that on a fundamental level does not understand goals, the methods, or the beliefs of either group (Jedi or Sith). 

And they still have to work together.  They still have to make plans and fight a war and deal with the Senate. Palpatine's entire schtick means that he has to keep up appearances, particularly since the Jedi have outright, and publicly, stated to him that the moment he is not the supreme chancellor (and thus it is no longer terrorism and treason to kill him) they are going kill him for being a Sith.  

Following this declaration there was a brief but intense debate in the Senate regarding this declaration and if it counted as threatening a government official/head of government.  It was eventually decided that the clarifying statement that they would only kill him when he was no longer in office meant that it was acceptable, since the Jedi are allowed to kill Sith (that is one of the oldest laws on the books, it fall in the ‘cannot change without destabilizing the Republic’), they just can’t kill a Sith that is also the Supreme Chancellor.  Unfortunately it was also decided that the Jedi, or Jedi allies, could not have any part of removing Palpatine from office; due to the declaration. 

So there is a small amount of ‘race to the finish line’ where the Jedi are still very much trying to end the war and/or maneuver Palpatine out of his position of power, so they can eliminate the Sith.  And Palpatine is working to extend the war, and thus his power, until he had the support needed to unveil his empire (he was set back quite a bit by the revelation that he is a Sith, enough people become suspicious of his motives that he can’t just declare an Empire) so that he could then kill the Jedi. 

The Jedi have an advantage in that there are 10,000 of them and they can trust each other and work together.  Palpatine is not able to trust anyone with his plans, not even his minions or other Sith since they all plan to betray each other. 

Palpatine has an advantage in that he, and his minions, will do things that no being with morals ever could. Not that being restricted by morals is a bad thing, but it does mean that Palpatine can take any action he wants to advance his plans with little concern with collateral damage. There are some days, particularly when that same collateral damage spends hours telling the Jedi that saved them exactly why the Jedi Order are baby stealing monsters, where various Jedi are slightly jealous of Palpatine’s lack of morals. 

Even weirder are the times when both the Sith and the Jedi agree on something, or their short term goals align. Neither group ever forgets that they are enemies who ultimately want to eliminate the other, but there are some days where Adi Gallia has been dealing with idiots in the Senate all day and wants to drink with possibly the only other Force user who deals with the same volume of Senate idiots in one day (look, Palpatine may capitalize on the fundamental misunderstanding the galaxy at large-and the Senate in particular-has about Force use and the difference between Sith and Jedi, but even he is going internally ‘I am trying to subjugate all of you and the Jedi are trying to stop me from subjugating all of you. These goals are not the same.’-I personally head canon that Palpatine is self aware enough to know that he is objectively evil, and is quite proud of that. I just want my bad guy to be an unrepentant ass, be aware that he is an unrepentant ass, and not feel any kind of guilt about that- ). Or every so often for the first year after the reveal Palpatine invites Obi Wan Kenobi to drink with him because Anakin has done something so ridiculous again (while trying to save Pame from something she had already taken care of) that it has managed to accidentally derail six of Palpatine's plots,  endanger two Jedi missions, injured no less than 50 troopers across three battalions, and almost took out the economy of a mid rim world.  Obi Wan goes because after the reveal Palpatine stopped trying to kill him personally (though he still go caught up in the occasional plot), and the Sith has surprisingly good taste in liquor (It should be noted that most of the friendly interactions with Palpatine seem to include heavy drinking and commiserating).  Or Mace Windu catching Palpatine’s eyes from across the Rotunda or some foolish gathering as some being is blathering on and they have just a moment of understanding and commiseration pass between them. 

It is only for the first year because that is when Anakin finally stops hanging around with Palpatine. Anakin also did not have a great grasp of the difference between Sith and Jedi and had bought fully into ‘Palpatine is my friend’.  Then one day they were talking about various Sith and Palpatine made the mistake of sharing a bit too much about drawing power from being in pain, and his (Palpatine’s) plans for the Vader suit.  He never said that the suit was for Anakin, but he was just a bit too gleeful in describing causing another being pain and it freaked Anakin out. 

After the reveal and this holding pattern there is at least one scene where Dooku pouts because Palpatine can drink with Jedi, but Dooku cannot have Tea with Jedi any longer. And it is not because Dooku is a Sith and only partially due to the fact that Dooku is the head of Separatists (thus the enemy). No the real reason that Dooku can not have tea with he Jedi any longer is because Jocasta Nu was told at the beginning of the war that Dooku had removed information from her archives and he knows that no one, not even Yoda, would keep his location a secret from her and risk her wrath. 

He had felt her wrath in the Force as soon as she was told, and that wrath had lingered. Very occasionally Palpatine considers trying to lure her to his side by telling her where she can find Dooku, but figures that she would usurp him and rule the galaxy with an iron fist within a standard week. 

And Palpatine had put far too much work into everything to be a minion again.

#no order 66 #star wars #star wars the clone wars #fanfiction prompt #star wars au #obi wan kenobi #sheev palpatine #absurd #The surreal existence of knowing someone wants to kill you but you can't do anything until they actually try.

[pebbledragon78]

Headcannons I have about Melami Goldmine (Edited because I have more info!)

Spoilers will be below the cut:

Yo! Just wanted to share an idea I had in my mind before I somehow forget about it.

I’m not sure if people even remember, but a bit I used to do when posting Rain Code memes was pretending that Melami and the other Chapter 0 Master Detectives were still alive. I know they’re as dead as a doornail (as hard as it was for me to accept at first); I just wanted to mess with y’all.

So having that out of the way, I want to share an idea I have for Melami, or more specifically, her Forte, as well as its requirements and benefits.

Upon introduction, we see Melami tell Yuma that clothes that reek or are unfashionable are out of the question when using her Forte. While I think that’s just a preference she set for herself, I also believe this gives way to a deeper idea. I believe that Melami actually prefers to use her Forte as least as possible, and will only use it if necessary or if she happens to like the victim’s clothes. This would explain why her official description makes note of her intelligence, since she would prefer to make logical deductions regarding a case before resorting to summoning the victim.

As for the reason why I believe she prefers to use her Forte only as a last resort, I think it’s because she deeply cares for her body. We see how much care she puts into it by frequently styling her hair, using make-up, preparing flashy clothes for her to wear even in casual settings, etc.. And while I am aware this is probably just because of her hobby as a fashionista, I find it very hard to believe that someone who puts that much care into her body and its physical appearance would be okay with giving it away to a foreign entity so quickly.

This also leads me to a second idea. The mastery of a Forte that can summon the dead while using one’s own body requires mastery of two separate abilities. The first is the ability to manipulate the dead, meaning that Melami can see spirits much in the same way Vivia can when he’s not using his Forte. This would also mean she can interact with Mystery Labyrinths as an outsider without risking her memories being erased (I believe people have already talked and made additional ideas around this concept).

The second ability (which I believe is far less talked about) is the manipulation of one’s own body as a vessel, meaning that Melami can also set restrictions within herself to prevent the spirit she summons from taking certain actions using her body (for example self-harm, murder, suicide attempts, etc..). Melami deeply cares for her body and its physical wellbeing, so restricting the spirit she summons to only answering questions seems like a reasonable headcannon to have.

Edit: Also! Melami being able to control her body means she can forcefully eject any spirit that tries to possess her body without permission. At least I think something like that would make sense.

Are all of these ideas already out there? Probably, but I still want to share what I’m thinking, bounce ideas off the wall and see if anyone agrees or not. Of course we might never know if any of this is true, given how we only got to know Melami for a few minutes. Either way, I hope that Rain Code’s success gives way for more content regarding the Chapter 0 Master Detectives in the future, since I’d love to hear about Melami again.

Anyway, these were all ideas I wanted to get off my mind, before I somehow forgot about them. If you made it this far, then thank you for listening to my ramblings. Have these Melami images as a reward, and I hope you have a great day 😄👍

Edit: I forgot to share this after uploading, but she would also have one of these in her bag in case of emergencies. This just screams Melami to me 😆

#MELAMI!!! MELAMI!!! MELAMI!!! #Yeah I ain’t even gonna pretend anymore #I am NOT normal about her but what else can I do #it just be like that sometimes #master detective archives: rain code #rain code #melami goldmine

[incorrecttowerofgodquotes]

Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Season 2 Episode 11 Discussion

- Martin was me the entire episode, freaking the fuck out

- Eri vs Suletta is such a great fight. The two love each other, but their viewpoints and morals are on such opposite wavelengths. Eri, much like Suletta in the past, is doing everything for her mother because she wants her mom to be happy. The Eri we see is simply lines of code reconfigured into what could possibly be construed as a human being. She has Eri’s memories and feelings, but she hasn’t, can’t, grow up, unlike Suletta. Suletta loves her mom, she wants to be there for her, but she can’t accept killing people. She’s realized just how much heavy a life is and so she moves to protect it.

- Peil and the SAL have taken the mantle of final boss. If they really cared about punishing the Benerit Group, they would arrest the leaders, not shoot them with a giant fuck you laser while children are on board all while supporting the people who make nuclear child body doubles. The League is doing exactly what Delling did during the Vanadis incident, right down to the “I’ll take responsibility (but I really won’t)” shtick.

- However what’s interesting is how out of place Elan seems to be. He isn’t sitting down with the Peil ladies, he’s standing off in the corner, staring at his own reflection, and I think this shows a lot of us got his character wrong. Elan is just another child the Peil ladies are taking advantage of. He only got where he was due to sheer luck that the AI picked him, if not, he probably would have either ended up as the other body doubles or dead and discarded. It’s common with abusive parents that they’ll choose a “golden child” and use that child to put down the others, and Elan seems to fit in that mold. I hope he breaks out just like El5n and creates his own life.

- God the Schwarzette is the best fucking Gundam. Between it and Calibarn, how are they ever going to challenge it in the future? It has space rave lasers, it’s sword is the GUND bits and it can become a wing, and it has bisexual lighting.

- Lauda is too good for every one of his haters. He’s been second string to Guel for his entire life, his very name “Lauda Neill” is just a reminder of how he’s a mistress’s child. But here he proudly proclaims himself as “Lauda Jeturk.” His feelings for his brother come from both admiration and self-worthlessness. He puts his entire identity into being Guel’s brother so when Guel falters, he does as well. He wants Guel to rely on him. He wants to be his equal. He put Guel on such a high pedestal because he was everything he wanted to be.

- My poor son Guel. He’s always loved his brother, no matter the fact that they come from different mothers, but as always he has trouble understanding others. Also, we get to see a far darker part of his psyche that most others might have missed. In his fight with Shaddiq, despite being stabbed, he managed to eject and save himself, but here he waits for death. Guel has been keeping himself moving with the idea that his family still needs him, but once Lauda seemingly rejects him, he loses all that energy. He hasn’t recovered from the trauma and pain he’s been through, he’s only simply masked it. But in that moment, he’s perfectly fine with dying because he believes it would be better for everyone

- But best girl Felsi says fuck that! She reminds Guel and Lauda that the world is so much bigger than them, and that there are people who still care about them. They can’t ignore their problems, they need to talk through it. Lauda’s insecurity and Guel’s suicidal nature and guilt, these are things that can’t be held within or else they’ll bubble over and end in tragedy. Felsi the hero says cut the bullshit, and I love her so much for it. I need Felsi merch right now

- El5n was another MVP of the episode. I’m surprised just how talented he is with a gun and shoot outs. Does he have experience, either from his past life or current one? And the fact that he didn’t hesitate to get the head shot off of Prospera says so much. He’s ruthless because he has a purpose. He ain’t letting anyone die unnecessarily, but he also recognizes when the doing needs done

- And Belmeria really stepped up as well. She’s spent the entire series running away from the consequences of her actions but here she finally stands up and protects the children who have been abused by the system she supported. Her diving to protect Miorine from getting shot was beautiful, and you can tell El5n really appreciated the gesture.

- Miorine is the best wife. That’s it, that’s the tweet

- Right when Eri was about to merc Miorine and co, something interrupted them, and I believe it was Notrette, Miorine’s mom. We never learned how Miorine’s mom died, so it’s possible she also got sucked up into the data storm and resides in Quiet Zero, and that’s why Delling was working on the project. She also added a failsafe so her daughter could shut it down, one that speaks words of love. Mother of the year

- The fact that Eri’s final act is to protect her sister and mother is so sad. She never had the chance to grow up, she’s forever stuck in stasis inside a giant hunk of metal. Quiet Zero offered the hope that she could finally escape and travel the world as herself, but it still wouldn’t give her herself back. However, Suletta can still live on, and so she valiantly protects her from the big laser, giving one final smile to her little sister. I hope she can finally rest in peace.

- But will Prospera allow that. She’s watched her daughter die twice now. Everything she worked for, all the lives that were sacrificed, they now all mean nothing. The world has rejected her once again. Whether she can accept it and become a better mother to Suletta is to be seen, but I don’t think she’ll follow that path.

Really hoping we get that second half so I can see the Peil girls get fucking incinerated. Also can we paint the Schwarzette red and give it to Guel? Double the points if it’s revealed he’s bisexual.

#gundam #g witch #gundam witch from mercury #ericht samaya #suletta mercury #guel jeturk #lauda neill #prospera mercury

[overleftdown]

Congrats on meeting Charlie Cox!

Regarding Farleigh being so easily dismissed as a liar and thief and ejected from Saltburn I think there is a small part of it about his jerkass hedonist persona+perception the Cattons have of him as a troublemaker (Felix readily accepts he would lie solely out of pettiness/jealousy).

Some of it is arrogance, loving to think they're perceptive and their judgment superior rather than people constantly giving in to them.

(It's not that Oliver is especially good at playing games, they're done in precisely because of how much they underestimate him til it's too late. They also greatly underestimate Farleigh's forethought (As Felix himself says, why go about things in such a traceable way?))

Some of it is the same as with every other of their "charity cases". Farleigh is their longest-lasting outsider but he's been overstaying his welcome or at the very least taken it for granted (in their opinion).

So why look for an alternative explanation when this gives them an excuse to:

1.Boot him with a "clean" conscience 2.Remind him who holds the reins, what his place is, and what happens if he forgets 3.Feel good they're being so generous and gracious by accepting him back.

so SO accurate, thank you so much!

i fully agree. as seen in the oliver and elspeth lawn scene, elspeth would rather see the worst in her friend because if she acknowledged someone's innocence, then she would also have to acknowledge her guilt. the same goes for sir james, paying for farleigh's education and spreading the rhetoric that frederica and mr. start are horrible people. they want to believe they're saving/helping people that don't deserve to be saved; in actuality, they're being generous completely within reason. they have enough money to host multiple guests. hell, they have enough money to throw oliver a 200-attendee party. with farleigh's family specifically, i find it so comedic when felix says "maybe we've done what you can." like no. you haven't.

it seems to be a healthy blend of greed, superiority, and discomfort with what they don't really understand. they are allergic to genuineness. if they were to actually help people rather than temporarily toying with them, they would have to acknowledge what human connection actually is. within that, they would have to acknowledge the lack of human connection they experience in real life. it's all very interesting to me.

and of course, people just like being better than other people. felix, for one. elspeth, for another. i could actually talk about how similar felix and elspeth are, but i'm not gunna get into that right now HEHE.

thanks for the ask!! gave me something delicious to gnaw on.

#saltburn #saltburn 2023 #farleigh start #felix catton #venetia catton #the cattons #i love this movie chat #chat i love this movie #chat? chat #chat are you there?

[jacksoldsideblog]

Is there any storyline in FC that you think is underdeveloped? Or maybe a relationship you'd like to devote a little more screen time to?

Marla got kinda shafted by the movie due to time constraints. There was more done in the book to flesh out her and the narrator reaching some sort of begrudging platonic acceptance, she got more of a character arc in general. It's not surprising that that was the first thing to go in the screen adaptation but it does suck and I would've loved if there was a little more time put to it.

Also, ironically, the narrators relationship with non-Tyler fight club members. The car scene got made into a talk between him and Tyler, the scene where he gets ejected from a fight club got removed as well as the one where he signs up to get pummeled into ground meat. I think it ends up subtracting from the sense of a machine that operates with Tyler's invisible orders, even against Tyler himself.

Basically I just would always be totally up for more of the book having had made it into the movie, though I get why it's the way it is (money)

#asks #fight club

[lucky-clover-gazette]

prince's gambit highlights & annotations

chapter 2

indented text is from the book. some quotes have commentary, some do not. some comments are serious, and some are definitely not. most of them will only make sense to people who have read the series. and, like, there are spoilers. so please read the books first if you're interested!

also: part of the reason i'm doing such a close reading is to study cs pacat's style, especially in terms of how she does romance and erotica. there are "craft notes" that might seem weird, like i'm being redundant or restating something rather than analyzing, but those are more things that i want to remember/take away from the writing!

i'm going to tag these longer posts with "sam reads capri" in case anyone wants to read them all at once.

this is a google doc i wrote with overall content warnings for the captive prince series. it's not perfect, but i do think it's important to include.

With a rabble like this, Laurent’s pretty face wasn’t doing him any favours. Damen must have heard a dozen slurs and sly insinuations before he’d even saddled his horse. No wonder Aimeric had been furious: even Damen, who had frankly no objection to men slandering Laurent, was finding himself annoyed.

“he’s a bitch but he’s OUR bitch” 😤

They would not be riding in a straight line south. Instead, it was to be a two-week journey southwest through the Veretian provinces of Varenne and Alier, their route hugging the Vaskian mountain border. It was a change from the direct route that had been planned by the Regent, and Laurent had already sent out riders to inform the keeps.

already, damen’s involvement in laurent’s life is starting to mess with the regent’s plans. GOOD.

As the night wore on, Laurent had abandoned his deliberate comportment for a relaxed, youthful pose, drawing one knee up to his chest and slinging an arm around it. Damen had found his gaze drawn to the easy arrangement of Laurent’s limbs, the balance of wrist on knee, the long, finely articulated bones. He had been aware of a diffuse but growing tension, a sensation almost like he was waiting . . . waiting for something, unsure what it was. It was like being alone in a pit with a snake: the snake could relax, you could not.

laurent: literally just vibing during a strategy sesh damen: He Is Going To Bite Me So Hard Any Second Now

If Laurent had slept at all, he hadn’t done so in the Regent’s bed.

>:(

Laurent’s pre-dawn arrival and whatever cold bitchy remarks he had made—sharpened by a night without sleep—had been enough to eject the Regent’s men out of their beds and into a semblance of lines.

There was no immediate disaster.

really setting your expectations high here, damen

Laurent looked like a figurehead, eye-catching and useless.

There was going to be a fortnight of this, with a fight at the end of it. Damen set his jaw, kept his head down and got on with the work he had been assigned. He saw to his horse and his armour. He pitched the Prince’s tent. He moved supplies and hauled water and wood. He washed with the men. Ate. The food was good. Some things were done well. The sentries were posted promptly, and so were the outriders, taking up position with the same professionalism as the guards who had watched him in the palace. The site of the camp was well chosen.

damen should have a tv show where he yassifies military camps to his personal standards. like queer eye

‘I heard you were good at carrying tales. And what will you be doing while Jord stops that fight?’ ‘Getting massaged,’ said Damen, succinctly.

“succinctly”

‘Well? Attend me,’ said Laurent. ‘Attend,’ said Damen. The word sank into him. He felt as he had in the training arena when he had been unwilling to go near the cross. ‘Have you forgotten how?’ Laurent said. He said, ‘The last time, this did not end pleasantly.’ ‘Then I suggest you behave better,’ said Laurent.

It was the normal duty of a body servant to dress and undress his master. Laurent accepted the service with the indifference of one long used to attendance. The opening in the brocade widened, revealing the white of an undershirt pressed warm against skin by the heavy outer fabric, and by armour atop that. Laurent’s skin and the shirt were the exact same delicate shade of white. Damen pushed the garment over Laurent’s shoulders and just for a moment felt, beneath his hands, the hard, corded tension of Laurent’s back.

in a theater au, these two would go fucking crazy doing each other’s mics

On the table was the familiar map, weighted by three oranges and a cup. Arranging himself in the chair opposite Damen, casual in pants and undershirt, Laurent picked up one of the oranges and started peeling it. One corner of the map rolled up. ‘When Vere fought Akielos at Sanpelier, there was a manoeuvre that broke through our eastern flank. Tell me how that worked,’ Laurent said.

this is so domestic ahhhhhhhhhh!!!

He caught the wooden practice sword instinctively when Orlant tossed it to him. ‘You any good?’ ‘Yes,’ said Damen.

yes bitch!

‘That’s right. You don’t like fights,’ said Orlant. ‘You prefer going behind people’s backs.’

is this because he breaks up fights and reports to laurent? tf do you want him to do (fiercely defend his prince, i knowww)

‘Afraid to spar?’ said Orlant. ‘No,’ said Damen. ‘Then what? Can’t fight?’ said Orlant. ‘You’re only here to fuck the Prince?’ Damen swung.

“I CAN DO MULTIPLE THINGS”

Damen supposed he should feel flattered that Laurent had set his best swordsmen to guard him in the palace.

they're so "i can't decide" by the scissor sisters

‘You were looking for me?’ Laurent didn’t answer, and Damen couldn’t interpret his expression. ‘What is it?’ said Damen. ‘You’re better than I am.’ Damen couldn’t help his amused breath of reaction to that, or the long, scrolling look from Laurent’s head to his toes and back again, which was probably a little insulting. But really. Laurent flushed. The colour hit his cheeks hard, and a muscle tightened in his jaw as whatever he felt was forcibly repressed. It was not like any reaction that Damen had ever seen from him before, and he couldn’t resist pushing it a little further. ‘Why? Do you want to spar? We can keep it friendly,’ Damen said. ‘No,’ said Laurent.

this might be the first moment where laurent is clearly flustered by damen in a non-disgusted way. the blush!!! i think laurent finds competence very attractive, especially in areas where he also excels. with some people it can just be a matter of platonic respect, but in this case it’s almost certainly hot to him that damen is such an impressive swordsman—even better than laurent himself.

‘When I fought Govart,’ said Damen, ‘I had my lungs full of chalis.’ Another slow nod. ‘I’m not sure how it is in Akielos,’ said Jord, ‘but . . . you shouldn’t take that stuff before a fight. Slows your reflexes. Saps your strength. Just some friendly advice.’ ‘Thank you,’ said Damen, after a long, drawn out moment had passed.

it doesn’t even occur to jord that laurent drugged damen before the fight. shows how highly he thinks of laurent, and gives us a hint about laurent’s typical behavior when he hasn’t just been jumpscared by his brother’s killer in chains

‘Aimeric’s not a child lured in with a honeyed treat. He’s Guion’s fourth son. He knows that his being here splits his father’s loyalty. It’s half the reason he joined me. He wants his father’s attention,’ said Laurent. ‘If you’re not here to talk to me about Aimeric, why are you here?’

laurent offering aimeric this, like, annoying your elders solidary… it’s strategic for sure, but maybe that’s a tiny part of it too?

I can’t believe you fear Govart. If you did, you’d never have set me against him in the ring.

WAIT so we’ve gone from “laurent hates me and wants me dead” to “i know you didn’t want me dead” ?? i guess it could make sense, though—laurent would have wanted to kill damen himself, right?

‘Why do you give me good advice?’ asked Laurent. Isn’t that why you brought me with you? Instead of speaking those words aloud, Damen said, ‘Why don’t you take any of it?’

this is like dirty talk to me. yessss consider each other as intellectual equals with mutual incredulity

He knew by now that Laurent never acted precipitously, but always walked away and gave himself time and space alone to think.

oh, that’s what you think? note to self: remember this line. it’ll be funny

#capri #sam reads capri #prince's gambit #lamen #damen of akielos #laurent of vere #captive prince

[good-wine-and-cheese]

Gambling Apocalypse Tenma AU

As I rewatch Kaiji I inevitably end up wanting to combine show I like with other show I like and stuffing fav characters into show. So here we are.

This was uh going to be a short summary type thing but I accidentally wrote a novella about it sorry

This AU starts off with a much more depressive Tenma. After Tobio's death, rather than immediately pour his grief into developing a robot version of his son, he recedes into himself, psychologically paralyzed, likely turning to alcohol to drown out his anguish.

His mental state is taken as an opportunity within the Ministry of Science to have him ejected from his position; Tenma was never the most well-liked director, and there were those with ambition to usurp him that would jump at the chance. Not that he especially cares in his state.

He's eventually dragged out of his stagnation by Ochanomizu - who, inadvertently, becomes the very catalyst pushing Tenma to develop a robot replacement to his child. This was not what he meant by encouraging Tenma to fill the void left by his son.

...But, well, he is no longer the director of the Ministry of Science. His access to limitless government funds and resources for "scientific research" has been cut off, and this is a project he cannot finance on his own. He can't ask Ochanomizu for help, but...interestingly...a representative of a certain shady organization known as the Teiai Corporation reaches out to him, offering to finance and support his project. A sane and well-minded Tenma might think better of it, but grieving and desperate, Tenma accepts their offer and is able to create a robot in the image of his beloved Tobio. For a while, there's joy in his life.

But the bill, as ever, comes due: Tenma must pay up, and the very resources that had been at his disposal will certainly ensure that he will, or else. Of course, he doesn't have the money; instead, he is given a choice. He can relinquish the robot Tobio in order to wipe out his debt - the child is a sophisticated and powerful robot, after all - or he can participate in a certain illicit event hosted by the Teiai Corporation.

It's nothing major...just a four-hour gambling cruise with a collection of desperate, damned souls that were also swept into debt with Teiai. The conditions are simple: Those who choose to participate are given a chance to clear their debts wholesale should they win. And should they lose...?

Well...no one really knows what happens to the losers seized by Teiai. It's said that they labour away their debts under Teiai's watchful eye and are freed once their work has covered their debts, though it's rumoured that most perish before they reclaim freedom.

There's only one answer Tenma can give, of course; he's not willing to lose Tobio again.

Thus is Tenma's debut into the Gambling Apocalypse, where he must become cutthroat in order to survive; if he wants to see his son again, he must make choices that will doom the hapless to miserable servitude, with a nonzero chance it ends in their death.

He survives the cruise, but of course, it was hardly enough to clear his debt; the cruise was never going to be the end of it. Teiai doesn't let go of its victims that easily. He will be called on again: this is a weight that hangs over him, all while he returns to his son Tobio. The same hands that have pushed innocents into hell must now be the hands that can embrace his child.

He wants to protect Tobio from the truth and enjoy what peaceful moments he's allowed with his son, but it's difficult. It's difficult to be the parent of a child who cannot understand the danger that looms ahead; this "happy" home is not to last. Tenma angers quickly and easily. He turns that anger onto Tobio.

As Teiai's games become more and more vicious and unrelenting, as his conscience holds onto the last vestiges of thread that remain, Tenma even threatens, once, to give the boy in: it would all end, then; the debt would be clear and no longer would he have to endure Tobio's childish annoyances, his ungratefulness.

The next time that Tenma is beckoned, Tobio takes matters into his own hands. He does understand, now; and he would have, if only Tenma had bothered to explain sooner. If it's a debt that needs clearing, he will work. He will help his father clear his debts however he can. Of course, it's difficult to find work as a child; but a circus troupe finds amusement in the idea of a child robot, and takes him in. He is whisked into a certainly unpleasant working situation, but he remembers his father, and what he must be enduring. Tobio, also, will endure.

When Tenma returns, Tobio is gone.

All that held Tenma back from becoming something monstrous has disappeared. All that kept him going has disappeared. When he is called upon by Teiai, there is no knowing what sort of person might come out the other end; whether a monster clawing his way to freedom regardless of what actions he must take, or a desolate husk surrendering defeat.

There is still a light, however dim: Found by Professor Ochanomizu and rescued from the circus, Tobio - now Atom - is able to shed light on the situation which Tenma took great pains to keep hidden from his old friend. With time running out, Ochanomizu and Atom must do what they can to save Tenma - from Teiai, and from himself.

-----

UHHH and that's a wrap!!!! I couldn't quite decide which way Tenma would go after hitting Rock Bottom in this AU, and tbh it would really depend on the kind of mental state he's in at the time. On the one hand I like the narrative of Ochanomizu and Tobio racing to prevent Tenma from crossing a line (actual outright murder probably) - or having to pull him back into humanity (and yknow, his ensuing penance)

But on the other hand having him get sent to Teiai Evil Hell Prison would be interesting because a) there's a lot of narrative potential having Tenma faced with what Teiai is doing with the people that lose the games and b) need him to decimate the foreman at chinchirorin Kaiji style

Tenma's whole character is definitely a much different guy in this AU, he starts off pretty sympathetic, the guy you wanna root for, he just ends up having an inverse character arc where he gets worse instead of better. His conflict with "Tobio" is also kind of reversed, less about being unsatisfied with Tobio as a son and more not being able to handle the fact that he probably has intense PTSD now and isnt capable of coping with it in a way conducive to being a parent (or like, coping at all)

Anyway that's gambling apocalypse tenma!!!

#umataro tenma #long post #well that became a novel. sorry lmao #in my mind teiai's evil hell prison in astro boy verse would probably be quite a bit different than regular kaiji #like. fuckin. weapons manufacturing for teiai or something like that. or scary bad danger robots. horrifying concept #Tenma would be a valuable asset to them whether by giving up Atom or by losing in death game hell and being forced to work for em #and if he dies? they can just take atom #get him out of there. #I'm also thinkin of who Teiai would be represented by.....the snakey loan sharks u could easily put skunk in there. #but who is an evil fucked up sadist billionaire. theres probably someone who could be fucked up enough I just dont know offhand #and im allergic to mischaracterizing in AUs lol im not gonna make a slightly bad guy into an evil freakguy. so. Hyoudou is just himself. #if you squint this could be considered an 80s astro boy AU..has a cruise arc & not actually giving atom away #but man. that tenma LEAST of all deserves this fate lmao #do I want to write fic of this? yes. will I? not likely! #I can just smell it dude this would be some crazy fuckoff 100k shit I am not ready brother #also it would just be soooooo so so so so so edgy. I dont really enjoy writing intensely grim stuff w/ little to no respite #also tbh. I am too stupid. LOL. I cannot write clever gambles alas

[dramavixen]

are producers the clowns for approving subpar endings or am i the clown for expecting more

**Spoilers for:

Love Like the Galaxy (China, 2022)

The Red Sleeve (South Korea, 2021)

Late as I am to every bandwagon, I at last completed my first watch-through of Love Like the Galaxy a few days ago. For the past couple of weeks, I have done nothing but think about, consume, and breathe this story. At last, a show that was ticking all the boxes! I could tear myself free from this drama slump of mine!

This celebration lasted until I sat down with my parents to observe that thing the producers might call an "ending," but which sparked a frustration in me so severe that it triggered a post-COVID coughing fit, which in turn almost made me throw up. I couldn't comprehend it: was this the same show? Did I accidentally click on a parallel universe version where everyone's intelligence was operating 20% capacity?

Since I'd like to avoid making myself physically ill again, I'm not going to focus too much on how logic abruptly becomes an imaginary concept throughout the last two episodes. At least all that did was make me angry. What I can't accept is that they use that lack of logic to curse our leads with the most careless of reconciliations.

To alleviate my distress, we're going to perform an investigation. A deduction, if you will, of precisely what the ending was lacking, and utilizing a case study of how to conclude a story in both a fitting and compelling manner.

An unresolved misery

In recent years, my tolerance for male leads' misbehavior has plummeted down into the core of the earth. You could say that after years of being brainwashed by media into excusing male characters' questionable actions due to how much they "love" their partners, I'm taking back my common sense. So when faced with Zisheng's killing spree while armed with the knowledge that a "happy ending" was endgame, I anticipated how the writers would close such an abyssal rift in the leads' relationship. And the result was...well, not all that worth it.

If you need a memory refresh or you're reading this without fear of spoilers (godspeed), the conclusion of LLTG sees Shaoshang being kidnapped multiple times by people who she knows don't hold good intentions, but she goes along with them anyway. Don't ask why (the answer is so Zisheng can swoop in to rescue her). Some needlessly dramatic things lead to Shaoshang assuming for a few seconds that Zisheng has died in an explosion. But lo and behold! Here he comes, emerging unscathed from the ordeal. She flies into his arms and forgives him. Then they run off and save China, because it's not a historical C-drama until they do.

By the time we got to the fire/explosion scene, my mental state had already been reduced to a pulp. Therefore, to write this piece, I had to rewatch that part and make sure I was getting all the details right. It shocked me into a second round of holding my head to prevent my brain from ejecting itself as it sought to escape this reality.

(Also, I have to take a moment here to demand justice for He Zhaojun. They leave a pregnant woman on the floor after dragging her out of a fire, while she's having contractions, so they can instead take the time to hold a premature mourning session for Zisheng. Guys, it's not the end of the world if you don't have a brain. But please don't throw away your conscience.)

However the writers did it, it still counts as a happy ending. Such a conclusion should come as a relief, so why do I find it so hard to come to terms with? Let's rewind a tad.

Both Shaoshang and Zisheng grew up under grim circumstances, their identities subjecting them to emotional and social turmoil. But while they share a similar internal struggle, they must deal with it in opposing ways. Shaoshang opens herself up to anyone who shows her true kindness, desperate for someone to accept her for who she is. On the other hand, Zisheng can only isolate himself from everyone, unable to reveal his true self due to both political and personal interests.

Their eventual parting is unavoidable. Shaoshang is moved by Zisheng's unwavering love for her. Can't blame her all that much; just look at him. But the closer she gets, the more Zisheng fears dragging her into his mess of a life, and the more he pulls away. When Zisheng chooses vengeance over love, he's already crossed Shaoshang's bottom line several times by refusing to share his troubles whenever she asked—the irony being that he once scolded her for keeping things to herself.

ZS: If, one day, they really intend to kill you, would you not tell me then, either? Shaoshang, exactly who do you take me for? Why must you always act on your own, and not trust me? SS: It is not that I do not want to trust you. I simply— ZS: You simply do not care about me. After betrothing you, I would frequently think about how great it would be if I could become your confidant and anchor. You could tell me about all of your fears and loneliness. I do not wish to control you. All I hope is that you can be honest with me. But how is it that your heart never warms toward me?

I see that Zisheng is a loyal believer of the "do as I say, not as I do" doctrine.

While it's initially funny to look back on the above scene in context, it's quite sad once you mull over it more. Zisheng's desire to know Shaoshang's troubles is rooted in a concern for her safety that is both emotional and practical in nature. When Shaoshang later applies that same thinking on him, the tables have turned completely. Zisheng is now aware that few situations are simple enough to be resolved just by being honest with someone else. And if the problem is severe enough, doing so may only aggravate it further.

From his perspective, telling Shaoshang would mean ruining her and her family's lives by association. Not to mention, she herself swore that she would stay with him through everything. So if he dies as a result of carrying out his revenge, the possibility of her dying solidifies itself as an inevitability. Leaving her behind is the one method he has to ensure that he alone would suffer the consequences.

Like it or not, it's hard to blame either of them for the end of their relationship. Is Zisheng wrong to keep Shaoshang in the dark? Arguably yes, arguably no. But is Shaoshang justified in her anger about being kept in the dark? Absolutely.

While we can be reasonably upset that post-timeskip Shaoshang possesses none of the outspoken nature of her teenage self, her lingering depression is the most realistic result of everything that happens. She has tried repeatedly to find her place in the world, yet arrives at nothing but failure every time. Not to mention, she suffers from an inferiority complex that intensifies the ache of each and every rejection. She isn't unfamiliar with being abandoned, but Zisheng doing it to her is the final straw that breaks her. The coffin her family was preparing for her didn't go to waste—the moment that Zisheng turned his back on her, he killed a part of her. Meanwhile, Zisheng becomes a corpse with a pulse, someone who only continues to breathe so he can regret what he has done.

When you delve into how much Zisheng hurt Shaoshang and himself, it becomes clear that a Michael Bay explosion shouldn't have been the answer to their problem. After the timeskip, the issue at hand should be less about her forgiving him than it is about each of them needing to redeem parts of themselves that they lost to the circumstances. That's why their interactions at this point are so painful to watch. Every word, every look, every movement brims with love for the other person, but they are both shells of their former selves that cannot move on.

No words for the above; too busy sobbing as they each individually accept that they'll never experience true happiness again.

As a viewer, you know that Shaoshang accepting him at this point would be an objectively bad idea. But it's also hell to watch two people, both overly accustomed to suffering, walk away from the person who brought them the greatest joy in their life. That's the art of tragedy, flourishing before us in a quiet, leaden fog. And they killed it in a bloom of gunpowder, of all things?

The beauty in tragedy

To say that a tragic ending is inherently superior to a happy one would be a pretentious fallacy. At the same time, a forced happy ending will feel unstable enough that the slightest of questions will cast it into doubt. The genre of an ending is irrelevant. It only matters that the ending is the right one.

So should LLTG have ended with the leads parting ways for good? To find the answer, I want to first dig into a successful example of tragedy. For that, let's look to our dearest, our legendary, our precious: The Red Sleeve.

Similar in premise to LLTG, TRS features a female lead with independent thinking and a dream for freedom, faced with a man of high social status who goes about chasing her in a way that flaunts his power. The stakes are higher in TRS since the man in question will one day be king, but the highlight of the show is the same as in LLTG: you bounce back and forth between hoping that she ends up with him and praying to any god that exists that she runs far, far away from him. You can't really win.

One day I'd love to write a thorough analysis on the amazing character that is Sung Deok-Im, but for our current purposes I'll focus on the nature of her ending. TRS is roughly based on history, and a quick Google search when you begin the drama will inform you that our female lead is fated to die at 33 years old—only a few years after she is "promoted" from gungnyeo to Yi San's consort. As a result, you spend much of the drama battling the lurking dread of how her death comes about.

A few months after her young son passes away, Deok-Im falls ill and dies. The unborn child in her womb follows her. Yi San is beside her as Deok-Im slips away, and her dying wish is cruel but fair: should they meet again in another life, she begs Yi San to pass her by. Only then can she choose to live a free life, full of choices, which was all she had wanted until she fell in love with him.

While watching LLTG, my emotions mirrored those I endured through TRS. Both dramas force you to get to know the female lead as someone who wants to be herself, a baffling idea in the face of a society where women's primary identities are those associating them with someone else: daughters, wives, sisters, mothers. Yet she continues to harbor hope that she can control her own life, even as she falls in love with a man whose station will certainly snuff out that possibility. The saving grace in LLTG is that Zisheng is not a part of the royal family, and even then Shaoshang goes through her fair share of frustration. TRS on the other hand...even if you haven't seen it, you can likely guess what happens.

The biggest tragedy in TRS is not that Deok-Im dies young. It's the despair that trickles through every part of you as she transforms from a free-spirited, boisterous young woman into an obedient consort whose every word and movement is straight out of the books of etiquette, who isn't permitted her own feelings or thoughts in the face of the country's interests. History may not share the specifics behind how the consort actually died, but the drama all but tells you that depression played a major role. By the end of the drama, Deok-Im hasn't existed for a while. She dies as Royal Noble Consort Ui.

I wonder what I have gained by being in this place, and what I have lost.

I cry inconsolably whenever I see this expression of acceptance and resignation on her face as she sends off her friends and her former self, knowing full well that she has caged herself into a life of sadness so she can be with the one she loves—a man whose first priority can never be her.

But oh, no; our suffering doesn't end there. Yi San lives on after her, looking after his country while carrying the lingering pain of Deok-Im's death. At one point, he retrieves her belongings and appears stunned by her gungnyeo clothing:

It is so small. Were you always so small? Yet, I loved you.

In Yi San’s memory, Deok-Im was a person of great stature. What she may have lacked in social position, she more than made up for in personality. Her tenacity made her appear so strong that only in hindsight does Yi San understand just how vulnerable she was.

Yi San is also someone to be pitied. When we watch palace dramas, it's easy to say that the king's consorts have it far worse than the king. They fight over a man in order to survive, and arguably their sacrifices are greater in number and magnitude. But it's egregious to host a competition of suffering, and you can't deny that Yi San himself leads an unfortunate life. In the cold isolation of the palace, Deok-Im gives him warmth and company. It's no wonder that he wishes to have her by his side, but he is still willing to let her go when she pushes him away.

Almost every other palace drama would have you turning up your nose at the king or emperor's so-called "love" for one of the women in his harem. TRS leaves no room for such doubt. The throne takes away Yi San's ability to choose, and ultimately his ability to wholeheartedly love someone. Even so, Yi San holds Deok-Im so dear that you might want to blame him for how she ends up, but it's hard. Really, really hard. (For anyone interested and who hasn't already, I highly recommend reading the actual history behind this drama. Dude was so in love that it physically hurts.)

In the final scene, he reunites with Deok-Im in the afterlife. At last, they are together and without all the frills and chains of royalty tying them down.

Many years have passed, and at times, I was not certain myself. Do I truly miss you, or do I simply glorify the past? Now I know. I missed you, and I missed the time that I spent with you. [...] Now I understand that we do not have much time. And we do not have the luxury to wait. So, love me. Please. Love me.

I'm always scared to watch the last episode because I just spend the full hour and a half bawling until I can't breathe. Taking these few screenshots was truly a test of my entire being.

So what makes a good tragedy? Tragedy is not "bad things happen." It's "bad things may have happened, but I wouldn't have chosen any differently." When Deok-Im becomes Yi San's consort, it isn't because he keeps her there. She chooses to stay. She loves the prospect of freedom, but she just loves Yi San more. It's awful, it hurts, and it's perfect.

What could have been

We've taken a slight detour, but have at last arrived back at the topic of: how should LLTG have ended?

If given the choice between Shaoshang and Zisheng being together and them not being together, I would obviously choose the former while beating the latter into a permanent nonexistence. With any degree of empathy, you can't watch two people suffer as Shaoshang and Zisheng do, then turn around and wish for their continued misfortune and loneliness. So although I'll concede that it would have easily made for a fantastic tragedy like TRS, I can't bear to say that it should have been one. But if the writers want to go for the non-obvious happy ending, it still has to follow the progression of things.

The current problem is this: Zisheng abandoned Shaoshang and scorned her trust in him. We're now in a position where Shaoshang has the decisive say in whether the relationship can be revived.

LLTG's primary focus has always been Shaoshang. Though multifaceted, her personality and motivations are pretty straightforward. Each time she suffers is a result of her lack of agency. She had no choice in her parents leaving her as an infant, no choice in her poor upbringing, no choice in agreeing to marry Zisheng. Even when she gave up Lou Yao, was that truly a result of her volition alone? For someone whose greatest enemy is helplessness, what matters most is maintaining her own free will.

Through this lens, each time Shaoshang asks Zisheng if he has something to tell her, not only is she asking him to trust in her as his equal, she wants him to let her decide to stay with him. Zisheng turning her away scars her so deeply because it's the same thing as telling her, "I don't care what you want to do." He's drawing a line while taking away from her the power to choose—the one thing she's told him repeatedly matters to her.

SS: I used to hate you for abandoning me. I hated that you acted on your own. I hated that you would rather leap from a cliff than walk alongside me. I hated that I loved you so truly, whereas you told me lie after lie. It has been five years. It was not easy to let go of all of this. I can no longer give away my heart or trust again. ZS: I am sorry. Regardless of what choice you make, I will respect it. These last few years in the Northwest, not a day went by where I was not filled with remorse. I know you. I knew completely that you feared being abandoned. Yet I still chose to harm you in the way that would hurt you the most. In the first twenty years of my life, I lived in hatred. And for the rest of my life, I will live in remorse. If I could, I would tear my heart from my chest to show you. But I know I no longer have that right.

"A married couple exists as one entity." Such is what the drama emphasizes time and again, but what does that mean? Not that one party is in automatic agreement with the other. It's about learning to reach compromises and understanding what's important to the other person. When you don't give your partner their say in that conversation, then what relationship is there to be had?

That is why Shaoshang's unwavering desire for individual opinion matters even more after entering a relationship, and why she still struggles to come to terms with what Zisheng has done. She doesn't blame him. She doesn't want him to beg for forgiveness. After everything she's been through, she just can't put herself in the same vulnerable position again. And he's learned to fully respect her opinion, which means that he has to let her go.

TRS's ending works for the simple reason that it remains true to the characters and their motivations. The tragedy isn't there to make us sad, it's just where the story was always going to find itself. This is why we as viewers hate the ending, but we wouldn't have wanted it written any other way—to do so would be betraying Deok-Im and Yi San.

But when you look LLTG, it gives you a very weak argument for Shaoshang and Zisheng's reconciliation. In front of you are two people whose love for one another could not run any deeper, yet there are legitimate obstacles to their relationship. Shaoshang needs to relearn trust and feel respected. Zisheng's conflict mimics that of Yi San's; as much as he may regret the past, there is nothing about it that can be changed. That regret is something that has to be addressed. (Of course, in Yi San's case, that was addressed through his death. So maybe not that for Zisheng, if you please.)

I can see where the writers attempt to cure Zisheng's remorse, but come on now. They stage a bizarre speech for him where he denounces his previous actions, like a child being punished by his parents and being forced to write a 200-word essay reflecting on his wrongdoings, and while they're being held in the most asinine hostage situation ever known to man. He seriously proclaims that he should have walked the honorable path instead of opting for vigilante justice.

This entire scene was a nauseating roller coaster, but that last part threw me for a major loop. Sir, the only reason you can say that so shamelessly is because your soon-to-be wife found evidence after you killed the guy. Are you really going to stand there with a straight face as you tell me that you regret how you killed the man who you watched murder your father, and who brought about the horrific deaths of your entire family? There was no other option at the time. Of course you had to kill him. It was as much a personal vendetta as it was political. No one likes what happened after that, but those are consequences that should be dealt with separately. Also, Shaoshang's qualms aren't rooted in you killing the guy, they're rooted in you killing him and then trying to kill yourself, all without taking her desires into consideration.

And just as I was thinking the above, the next thing that happened on-screen: Shaoshang turns to him with an expression that says, ah, so he's learned his lesson! Oh...my goodness.

Hi, ma'am? Question. What exactly is more emotionally persuasive about this weird declaration now than when he laid his heart out that night when you wished one another well and said goodbye? Is it because he almost explodes afterward? In the five years he spent out on the battlefield, was he not always in danger of exploding, or being stabbed, or being tortured to death, etc.? Did he not almost die saving you from falling off a cliff two days prior? Why didn't you waver then, especially since it should remind you of, you know, the other time that he jumped off a cliff?

During the scene where she runs to him after discovering he miraculously is not dead, a severe suspicion came over me that perhaps they inhaled so much smoke that they were no longer thinking straight.

A solid happy ending was clearly a possibility. Even if they wanted to go with the above nonsense, could we not also have had a moment where they admit to one another that while overcoming their pain will be difficult at first, being apart from one another for eternity would be much more painful? That nothing in life is easy, but it will be easier with each other? That that commitment is what makes a married couple a single entity, and they just want to commit to each other? Then they can go off and save China, whatever.

They deserved an ending that had me rejoicing that these two are finally, finally, finally on the same wavelength. It should have been more introspective and more considerate of Shaoshang's hurt and Zisheng's regret. Their psychological wounds are instead dismissed through an absurd monologue in a basement and the arbitrary realization that death is lurking around every corner.

The hilarious part is that in the last two episodes, even the actors are noticeably less enthusiastic. In their performances, I see essences of how I feel when a client requests edits to a design that will make it significantly uglier. You gotta do what you gotta do to pay the bills.

Sigh. I could forever grieve what could have been, but this is still one of my favorite dramas. Characters that feel like real people, relationships that make your heart hurt. Those should be common sense in media but are hard to come by in reality, and I'll continue to appreciate what LLTG gave me.

All I really want from the drama industry is for it to please, for the love of our collective sanities, stop thinking that "happy" endings are a valid shortcut to satiating an audience. Good tragic endings are difficult to write, yes, but good happy endings are not any easier. To underestimate that is to let down the story and characters that were so painstakingly brought to life in the first place.

#星汉灿烂 #love like the galaxy #scribbles* #i had to get this out of my system before i created a reco graphic #otherwise it would have haunted me the entire time #anyways now onto rewatching nif to relive baby wu lei #lltg

[daughterofthereaper02]

Hey! Could I please request a 80’s IceMav x reader fic where the reader is also a pilot and they have all been really good friends for years but there has always been something more under the surface. The reader and her RIO have to eject from their plane after loosing control because of mechanical failure and the reader gets hurt. Both Iceman and Maverick are freaking out because they were in the air with her but there was nothing they could do to help her, they immediately land and rush off to the infirmary to see the reader. When she wakes up they both confess their feelings for her and they live happily ever after! Thank you!!!

A/N: I LOVE THIS!!!

Callsign: Sparky

"Iceman, I'm coming up behind you" You told him as you went through drills. Your RIO, Ghost, keeping an eye on everything, "Copy that Sparky" Iceman responded. "Ghost, do you see them anywhere?" you asked, "Negative, Sparky. Skies are clear" She responded.

"Maverick, do you see anything?" Iceman asked. "Negative, Iceman. Clear skies here" he responded. Suddenly, Ice is yelling "SPARKY BIRD STRIKE!" and you managed to get away but suddenly your systems alarms began to blare and your plane spun out of control.

"What's happening, Ghost!?" You yelled as you tried to regain control. "I don't know! All systems are failing! I can't get anything up and running!" She yelled back. "Mayday mayday! Sparky and Ghost are going down!" Maverick and Iceman yelled. Their hearts were pounding as they watched helplessly as your F-14 spun. All they could think was after all these years of being your best friends, they still never admitted their feelings. Now there was a chance they may never get to tell you how in love with you they were.

"Eject Ghost! I can't get this under control!" You yelled and you both managed to eject safely. From the force you were both knocked unconscious when the Coast Guard came to rescue you both out of the water.

Tom and Pete landed as soon as they could and paced until they could go see you. "We should have told her! I can't not tell her Ice! Not after we almost lost her!" Pete told Tom. He sighed, he was a little more collected, "I agree but we can't rush straight into it. She'll be disoriented, Mav" he told his wingman.

As soon as a nurse let them know you were awake and accepting visitors, they rushed to your room. You were sitting up in bed, looking bored to death. Your eyes brightened when you saw them, "Oh thank God! You both can save me from boredom!" You laughed. Tom and Pete brought chairs over, looking relieved "You're okay?" Tom asked. You nodded, "I have a concussion and a few bruises from being banged around but I'm okay" you smiled. Pete grinned, "Good. Can we tell you something?" He asked. Tom looked at him "Pete! Not even five minutes!" He said exasperated. You looked between them in confusion, "First of all, I'm right here, second of all now you can't leave me hanging so talk Mav" you said, wincing as you moved to fully sit up. They both moved to help you and you accepted it, normally you would fight but you didn't have the energy. "We're in love with you" Pete said bluntly, knowing you prefer it when people shoot it straight. "Oh wow" you said in shock, they started to look worried. "I feel the same but I really thought it was going to be a lecture or something" you laughed. "No big, "I'm deeply in love with you both too, Maverick!"?" He asked with a grin. You snorted, "I save the dramatics for you both... I say let's see where this leads us" you grinned.

The next few hours were you three talking for hours, Ice planning your first date as soon as you were all back stateside. It wasn't dramatic but it was a almost happily ever after.

Taglist:

@peaches-and-sunshine

@natasharomanoffisbaebby

@sweetheartlizzie07

@lollypop90907

@the-hottest-lieutenants 

@jamiedontbeacracko

@fandomstanner24 

@casperlikej

@blackcat2907

@18crazybutcutealsopsycho

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[xenosagaepisodeone]

idk if this is the right thing to say, but you haven't fucked up your life, you're still really young, and you're cool and talented and wise. AND funny. you're kind of OP, to be quite honest. on the other hand, i also feel like i've completely fucked up my life, so if/when you get out of this rut could you throw me a rope or something

I took my youngest sister to burgers priest today as a thank you for hacking my 3ds for me while I was at work a while back. I had sworn up and down to her that they had the best burgers, because thats how i remembered them when i used to go to the one near ish my university. so she gets a chicken burger and sits down on the outside patio to eat it. when she attempts to pick it up, the thing just starts falling apart in her hands, like, buns and all. the volume of sauce on the burger is actually causing the bottom bun to crumble to dust (yes the outside of the bun is still fairly dry), and the top is fighting with all it's strength to keep it together. the chicken itself is too far between the excess of bun and sauce so biting into it just ejects spurts of soaked lettuce and bread. I watched her attempt to shove what she could into her mouth in a manner I can only describe as The Saving Private Ryan Opening Scene of Eating. Im looking at her and going "you cant accept half measures, KILL that thang. TEAR her apart.". when the thing had come apart to the point where further destruction would entail scraping the chunks of fast food viscera off of her tinfoil wrapper like some kind of vulture, she just looks at me and goes "it's like a war zone in here"

I still feel dreadful but it was kind of funny. Do that.

#asks #anonymous