#even though the execution is lackluster !! i will say that i am in love with this concept :')

[alwaysxlarrie]

favorite fics of 2021/2022

i love recommending fics & i love appreciating the talented, lovely writers in this fandom, so i wanted to make a list of my fav fics in 2021/2022. there are some longer fics that came out this year that i’ve wanted to read, but haven’t gotten a chance to, so knowing me i’ll make a masterlist of long fics or something bc i simply continue to be a slut for making masterlists & recommending fics idk what to tell u LMAO. anyway, these are in alphabetical order. sorry there’s kind a lot, thank u for ur time xoxo

are you taking clients? by @jaerie / jaerie

“Escaping had been the hardest thing Harry had ever done. They'd stolen his child and nearly stolen his life. Being homeless and pregnant gave Harry few options. It's a last resort to let men fetishize his body, but the luxury of choice is something Harry doesn't have.”

all your mates are here by @londonfoginacup / ladylondonderry

“"The pack is... It's folding, Harry."

Like every werewolf does when they get to a new town, Harry joined one of the many local packs when he started university. Now, three years into his program, he's hit with the news that his pack is giving up, going their separate ways. In the wake of the holidays, the three single wolves from the Majestic pack are pointed in the direction of a new pack to join; one that's got struggles of its own.

A new pack, a new house, and two new roommates with personal space issues... Plus exams, of course.

Happy Christmas, here's to many more.”

babydoll blues by @thedevilinmybrain / devilinmybrain (venomedveins)

“Louis is a high profile, filthy rich label executive who has the world at his feet - a music god.. Harry is the sugar baby trying to make a name for himself singing in shady bars and hanging off the arm of Louis' biggest rival. What Louis wants, Louis gets. But what if the game gets too hot and hits a little too close to the heart?”

boy for sale by @ohpleaselarry / ohpleaselarry

“Three large cushioned chairs face him, each holding a suited man. Mr. Horan, Mr. Payne, and Mr. Malik respectively sit at these chairs, eyes on Harry as he steps up to the middle of the room, lowers fluidly to his knees, hands behind his back, and looks to each man one by one, neck prickling with the eyes all on him, on his nude body.

They’re all going to have him, and yet Harry only really wants one man here, and it’s the man who steps up behind him, sets a hand on the nape of his neck, right over his collar.

“Alright,” Louis says, voice raspy and authoritative, “Mr. Horan, you’re first. Would you like his mouth or his arse?””

between two lungs by @hershelsue / docklands

“Harry and Louis are graduating medical school. There's a big party and everyone has big expectations. All of Harry's are exceeded when Louis remembers him from a long time ago. They fuck.”

boom, boom, don’t you wanna go by anonymous

“It doesn't take much to convince Harry to participate in Lambda Sig's annual ceremony for graduating seniors. She's hooked up with a few of the brothers already anyway, as lackluster as they were. She has to have her legs and bare bottom half on display for the rest of the brothers in the senior class to see, but she's always kind of liked being played with and definitely likes being on display. She's graduating in a few weeks anyway. What's the worst that can happen?

She doesn't expect contestant number fifteen to blow her mind in the first round. He doesn't let up.”

caught in your gravity by @lululawrence / lululawrence

“It felt like the blood froze in Harry’s veins even as he got a bit lightheaded. He hadn’t even made it two practices, only one of which he was remotely in charge of, without giving it all away and now he and Liam were both absolutely fucked.

“Shit,” Harry breathed out. “Who all have you told? Does everyone know? I thought I covered it better than that…”

“No, no,” Louis said quickly. "They’ll figure it out soon enough, though, because they’ll get used to you changing things up, but you’re only going to trip over your so called Americanisms for so long before they realize it’s because you don’t actually know fuck all about football.”

Harry sighed. “Yeah. I figured. I just need to bullshit for long enough to allow Liam to get the situation figured out from his end.”

“Right, which brings me to my entire point. I think we can find a mutually beneficial arrangement with all of this.” Louis leaned forward. “You need to learn the ins and outs of the sport incredibly fast. I can help you with that.”

“What do you want in exchange?”

Or, an AU inspired by a 30 second trailer of Ted Lasso that doesn't actually have much in common with the show at all.

counterculture by @sadaveniren / sadaveniren

“It all culminated to this: Harry in the middle of a crowded basement, music blasting from the live show on the far side, shirtless amongst alphas and omegas who all weren’t covering their scents. He took a deep breath of the heavy air and he felt alive.”

erva venenosa by @hershelsue / docklands

“Harry goes to his first all-gender party. There, he meets Louis, an eccentric bartender who claims to know more than he does. He turns Harry's world upside down.“

hint: i want to be yours by @greenblueish / bluegreenish

“Thinking back to Harry’s rut, Louis shivers, needing to put effort into keeping other bodily reactions at bay. 

“Are you cold?”

While Niall’s been commenting through the entire film, Harry had stayed mostly quiet, so it’s a surprise when he speaks up, eyes zeroed in on the omega.

“Uh, yeah. It’s a bit chilly, innit?”

Niall shrugs, dressed in a sleeveless t-shirt and seemingly unbothered by the room temperature. Harry doesn’t ask for an explanation though. 

“You can have my hoodie, wait, here.” Before Louis can counter, Harry’s pulling the light grey piece of clothing over his head and handing it to the omega. 

or, the one where Harry unconsciously starts acting like Louis' alpha after they spend his rut together and Louis finds ways to make sure Harry's affection doesn't end.”

hike up your skirt (and show your world to me) by anonymous

“Louis has a very hands on approach to training his new secretary. How else can he make sure Harry realizes his full potential?”

i can’t wait to see what you find by @non-binharry / enbyharry

“"What do you do for work?"

"I, uh, don’t. I don’t work."

"Cuckold’s got you well kept then, yeah?" Harry’s face morphs into a frown, adorable creases forming along his brownbone, and Louis throws up his hands in a placating gesture. "Sorry! Sorry! I’m just taking the piss. You can do whatever you like. I swear I’m not some judgemental prick." Harry’s expression relaxes. He wedges a hand between his crossed legs, looking down at the arm of his chair. "You do like it though, yeah? You know, the whole —" Louis cuts himself off, gesturing broadly to avoid overstepping on a dynamic he doesn’t fully understand.

"Yeah, I um. I do like it. I get off on feeling used for him. I only belong to him and he loves that, no matter how many hands I’m passed through."

"Okay, so what happens if I agree?"

or

Louis finds himself entering an interesting sexual arrangement with a happy, committed couple.

He gets more than he bargained for.”

i’ll be your new favourite tune by @harrystinyshorts / lsforever

“Louis gulps, all coherent thoughts flying from his brain as he unabashedly stares. There’s just so much to take in, from the silky curls springing out in every direction under some sort of headband/scarf looking thing, to the bright eyes and rosy cheeks and cute dimples that make the man’s - Harry, Louis reads from his nametag - smile so charming. He’s wearing a simple black shirt paired with some short jean shorts that only reach the middle of his thighs, and Louis has to force himself not to stare at those long, beautiful legs.

“You okay there?” Harry sounds amused.

Louis clears his throat.

or, Louis is the Pop Punk King of our dreams, and Harry is the cute associate at the rescue who helps him adopt a cat.”

it’s been ages by @2tiedships2 / 2tiedships2

““We need to talk,” Niall said as he plopped down on Louis’ bed. “It’s you and Harry. You like him, he likes you, it’s a match made in heaven and you will one day be mates,”

Louis shook his head in exasperation. “If you’ve been watching, you would see that Harry is interested in, like, alpha alphas. Not me.”

“What the fuck is an alpha alpha?” Niall asked with furrowed brows.

“You know what I mean,” Louis said, giving Niall a pointed look.

“I literally have no idea what you’re talking about.”

i love this feeling (but i hate this part) by @lululawrence / lululawrence

““Stand up.”

Harry stood up from the couch, not a moment’s delay.

“Oh my god, is that what that’s like?” Harry turned to Louis, surprise on his face. “I really thought they were somehow exaggerating, but it really is an automatic response with absolutely no thought from me behind it whatsoever.”

Louis sighed again. “You really wanna keep doing this? Have me use my alpha voice on you so you can work on resisting it?”

“Yup,” Harry said, clapping his hands and smiling. “How else am I going to be able to have any chance at reducing the power an alpha voice has on me?””

keep me closer by @zanniscaramouche / zanni_scaramouche

“Louis expects Harry to react poorly, maybe even file a formal complaint and that’s gonna suck ass but Louis won’t say shit cause he knows he deserves it, so he prepares an apology before Harry’s even turned around.

What he doesn’t expect is Harry to fucking drop.“

know you better. by @wabadabadaba / wabadabadaba

“It didn't help that oftentimes Niall and Zayn's other friend, Louis joined them and from all the stories Marcel has heard about Louis, he was positive they wouldn't get along. From their description, Louis was loud, annoying, and competitive. He liked to tease Niall and Zayn mercilessly and he was creative. Being a tattoo artist, Louis knew things about art that Marcel would simply never understand due to his analytical mindset. He was the complete opposite of Marcel and Marcel didn't think he would ever last in a social setting where he had to be with Louis.

or the one where Marcel and Louis fall in love.”

like air to the fire i need you to breathe by @larrydoinglaundry / cuckootrooke

“Louis is going to do this right. He is going to praise every little effort Harry has made and will still make with his nest, telling him how cozy and well put together it is. And practical, on top of everything. Despite being situated in Louis’ closet. But it has so many blankets, duvets and pillows that Louis will happily make Harry fall apart in that nest when he goes into heat.

… Well. He’ll try.

The thing is, Louis is sort of terrified.

OR Harry is in preheat and Louis is nervous about his upcoming heat, fearing that he might not be able to fulfill his mate's needs. Lucky for him, Harry knows how to push the right buttons to get him relaxed.”

lost in your paradise by @sadaveniren / sadaveniren

““To the alpha I fucked at the Ziam concert, I think this is yours.”

aka Harry and Louis have a one night stand.”

my service, your pleasure by @hershelsue / docklands

“Harry moves in with Louis, his childhood best friend. He had always enjoyed doing things for him, never putting much thought into it. What happens when they're in the same space all the time and Harry can't keep his hands to himself? Surely, his adoration bursts at the seams and a very suspicious Louis tries his best to keep up.”

making my way downtown by @disgruntledkittenface / disgruntledkittenface

““Bye, Harry!”

“See you tomorrow, hon!”

Harry turns in the doorway and waves before he hitches the strap of his backpack over his shoulder and steps out onto the pavement. He tries to ignore the pang of regret after he couldn’t muster a smile, knowing that the middle-aged women he works with love him and won’t hold it against him. The walk from the bakery to his apartment takes almost an hour, which is usually brutal after being on his feet for a full shift, but he decides to skip the bus today. Maybe the sunshine and light breeze will lift the mood that had taken a nosedive when he checked his phone after getting off work.

So Louis didn’t text him back. So what?

So fucking everything.”

milk kinship by @jaerie / jaerie

“Harry had aspired to become a wet nurse since first learning about the honored and respected tradition when he was a teenager. The first documentary he’d seen had been detailed and brutally honest and Harry had still fallen in love with the idea. It’s origins were rooted in highly regarded positions of the royal staff and were credited in playing a role in the lives of some of the most famous children in history. There were medically trained wet nurses and other milk services for mothers unable to feed their babies, but true wet nurse nannies could only be afforded by the rich and famous. The glamorous life appealed to Harry even if his understanding of his role changed to a more realistic view over time. As a starry eyed kid, that was where he wanted to be.

Or Harry is a wet nurse and isn't allowed to have an alpha. He may or may not break his vows.”

my pleasure (to make you mine) by @zanniscaramouche / zanni_scaramouche

““Think about it.” Niall raises an eyebrow at him before amiably leading the interrupting customer to the other side of the store.

And the thing is, even a day later, Harry's done nothing but think about piercing his nipples.

Harry decides to get his nipples pierced. Louis is the piercing artist with a smile that breaks every rule of the universe.”

no one likes to be alone by @lululawrence / lululawrence

“Harry was a full-on fucking failure.

Letting out a whimper, Harry pressed his hands to his face as he finally allowed himself to cry. After a few sobs, he realized that something soft was pressed to his face, catching his tears instead of his hands. Harry pulled it away to see what it was and saw it was one of his sister’s shirts.

Shaking his head, he turned and placed it very specifically right where he usually tucked himself up against the wall. As he carefully shifted the shirt so he could see the faded image of Britney Spears looking out at him, Harry was overcome with a need he had only ever felt once before.

He needed to nest.”

opulence thrills by @brightgolden / brightgolden

““You know, it’s my first time bidding-”

“Bidding on people?” Harry supplies.

Louis snickers as he shakes his head, a small smile playing on his perfectly shaped lips. “You could say that, yeah.”

OR

Where a well-versed submissive, Harry Styles has spent eighteen months in BDSM abstinence after an irreconcilable difference in kink preferences with his ex-dom, and a random winner for a charity auction might just be the one who brings him back.”

plenty of time by @juliusschmidt / juliusschmidt

“Harry gets into Louis' Uber. He's not in heat. Not fully. Not yet.”

picture this by @kingsofeverything / kingsofeverything

“Part of Harry’s job at the bar includes working the door on Friday nights, checking IDs and asking for proof of vaccination. One night, Louis Tomlinson accidentally shows him something else.”

sweet like candy by @neondiamond / neondiamond

“Louis is an Alpha with an odd obsession for gummy bears. Harry is an Omega who makes friends a little too easily. They meet on the bus.”

scent partner by @daggerandrose / amomentoflove

“The name of the company was horrible: Scent Partner. Whoever was on the marketing team should be fired immediately for green-lighting that name. But the instructions were simple.

Alphas wear a shirt for three days and nights. The shirt gets sent to omegas nearing their heats to pick the alpha who smells the best to them. The company notifies the alpha and gives them the opportunity to say no. If both parties agree, they meet at a heat room for the omega’s heat. Everything is safe and consensual.”

secrets don’t make friends by @thedevilinmybrain / devilinmybrain (venomedveins)

“5 times Louis' crew knew too much, and the 1 time they thought they knew, but didn't really. Not at all.“

single bells ring by @absoloutenonsense / nonsensedarling

“A holiday singles event is not where Louis wants to be tonight, but there he is, helping his best friend find love. Just as Louis is settling in, ready to have a terrible time, he meets the fittest alpha he’s ever come across.“

skip the small talk by @sadaveniren / sadaveniren

“"Your initial Result is that you are a service based submissive.”

Harry froze. James’ eyes were on him, boring into his soul. Harry had never felt so exposed. He wasn’t a submissive. He was an alpha.

“But I’d been so careful,” came out before he stopped himself.

aka Harry is an alpha that's just a little too soft to be a good dom but that's okay because Louis is an omega who is a little too rough to be a good sub.”

the lost art of breeding and (mis)behaviour by @indiaalphawhiskey / indiaalphawhiskey 

““Strip, slave.” His voice was rough – stern, as a proper Master’s voice should be. Harry couldn’t help but feel pleased. “I could have had five of your kind for your price. Best make sure I’ve not been cheated.” -- Or, Harry learns a thing or two about fate and faith.“

the only one (when it’s said and done) by @londonfoginacup / ladylondonderry

“Louis Tomlinson, alpha, twenty nine years old, is head of the Tomlinson pack.

He's unbonded, and happily so. A trip to the neighbouring Arthur pack certainly isn't going to change that.”

there’s always another option by anonymous

“Harry gets all dressed up to go see his boyfriend with one goal: get railed. He doesn't expect his boyfriend's cousin to be staying in his flat, and he definitely doesn't expect his boyfriend to dip out to go cheat on him. Oh well, just because his boyfriend isn't there doesn't mean he can't still get what he wants.“

this is my jam by @disgruntledkittenface / disgruntledkittenface

“The guy’s eyes are so blue that Harry can’t tear his gaze away, even as he moves to the beat. The searing light shade is magnetic; he finds himself leaning in and yelling, “This is my jam!” only to earn a laugh from thin pink lips that Harry’s definitely going to be dreaming about tonight.

“Your jam?”

When the guy yells back over the music, his blue eyes sparkling and his lips twisted in a smirk, Harry’s chest literally puffs out with pride at earning his attention. His obvious approval. Tongue-tied, Harry nods and closes his eyes as he lets go, the music reverberating around them. All of the usual inhibitions that keep him in the corner at parties fall away and he bounces around the center of the dance floor, waving his arms above his head. Somehow his towel stays on, even as he starts to think he wouldn’t mind if it fell off. Fuck it. He finally made it here, he’s damn well going to enjoy it.

Harry goes to a gay bathhouse for the first time. 90s AU.”

the money mark by @brightgolden / brightgolden

“Harry's heart beats faster in his chest as the name sinks in. The Tomlinson name is awfully familiar, and he isn’t sure how many rich Tomlinsons are out here in London, but he knew one. Seven years ago.

Like all fine things in the world, Louis Tomlinson ages exceptionally well.

OR

Where Louis is Harry’s first sugar daddy who dumped him over text and their paths cross, seven years later.”

the risen by @creamcoffeelou / creamcoffeelou

“In search of the next breaking story, Harry goes off to do something no one else has been able to do: get the scoop on Louis Tomlinson and his devoted group of followers.“

the flower that blooms in adversity by @hershelsue / docklands

“Harry is twenty-six and he hasn't presented yet. He lives in London with his alpha best friend, Niall, who invites him to a New Year's camping trip with his other alpha mates. Amidst them, there's the always sharp Louis, who has a knack for observation and dirt under his toenails. Harry ends up agreeing on going, unaware he's leaving for the trip of a lifetime.“

venus as a boy by @hershelsue / docklands

“When Harry goes to a friend's movie night, the last thing she expects is to meet an enigmatic and handsome stranger who sweeps her off her feet. Louis might just think she’s the most wonderful thing alive.“

where’s the divide? by @2tiedships2 / 2tiedships2

“Louis brings potato salad to Niall's barbeque.“

wait by the light of the moon by @jaerie / jaerie

“Being a single parent of a newborn was not in Harry's plan. He can barely keep himself together doing everything on his own. He can't explain why he finds comfort in his neighbour next door, but apparently it's mutual.“

you’re shooting stars from the barrel of your eyes by @thedevilinmybrain / devilinmybrain (venomedveins)

“5 times Louis was gross hot and 1 time Harry was.“

you make the world taste better by @loveislarryislove / livelaughlovelarry

“"Nice to meet you," Harry said. "What can I get for you today?”

Louis rattled through the order – a couple loaves of different breads, some pastries, and a dozen cookies. There was a niggling sensation in the back of his mind that he was forgetting something, but he couldn’t think what it might be.

Harry nodded along as Louis spoke, starting to flit around the shop and gather things together. “Is that all?” he asked when Louis finished. “No muffins this week?”

That was it! “Oh yes, a half-dozen of the pumpkin and blueberry,” Louis said. “Almost forgot, thanks.”

“Of course,” Harry said, packing the muffins into a box. “I remember all my regular customers’ favorites. Your mother has good taste.”

Louis smiled. “She usually does,” he says. “I look forward to trying your goods myself, and finding my own favorites.”

~~~

Or, a story based on Hans Traxler’s fictional non-fictional text, The Truth About Hansel and Gretel, which is based on the Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel.”

young hearts on the chase by @polaroidlouis / daffodilsforlou

“Before he can question him any further, Harry’s holding out a drink to him, ‘Louis’ written on the side of it with messy, pink letters. Warmth spreads all throughout Louis’ body when he takes it, starting from the tip of his fingers where they brush Harry’s to curl around the cup and settling in his chest.

“I also got us– um,” the omega starts, nervous fingers fumbling to get the paper bag open. “Got you an egg muffin. Or– or a normal muffin if you don’t like egg ones.”

“Who doesn’t like egg muffins?”

The smile that breaks across Harry’s face in response is as bright as the one yesterday. Louis almost expects it to be kissed into his cheek as well. It looks like Harry’s considering it for a moment, too, dreamy gaze gliding all over Louis’ expectant face. He seems to decide against it with a sigh though, and Louis’ not disappointed when they start walking side by side instead (he’s not).

harry’s a hopeless romantic, louis’ oblivious, and it’s going to be Valentine’s Day.”

if you read any of these fics, please don’t forget to leave kudos & a comment!! 

#larry fics #larry fic rec #larry masterlist #hershelsue #thedevilinmybrain #kingsofeverything #harrystinyshorts #polaroidlouis #2tiedships2 #lululawrence #londonfoginacup #jaerie #sadaveniren #loveislarryislove #disgruntledkittenface #brightgolden #indiaalphawhiskey #zanniscaramouche #larrydoinglaundry #my fic recs

[ciriwrites]

watched the first episode of chong zi and i wasn’t impressed: the questionable editing choices aside, it felt like a candied version of the plot that i was expecting and the setup felt really generic (less so because of the tropes themselves and more because the execution felt lackluster). it’s only the first episode, so i may check in for a few more to see if anything changes, but so far i can’t say i’m mustering up any interest even though i was really looking forward to this one.

i did also check out a league of nobleman, which i put on pause a couple episodes in. while the show is absolutely gorgeous and i like both song weilong and jing boran (the latter’s voice!), my inexplicable love for mowen isn’t enough to stop me from nitpicking the pacing and writing of the show, which generally feels less interesting and compelling (partially because of said pacing) than similar sleuth of the ming dynasty or under the microscope, where all three dramas can be said to be of a kind: super-genius male lead dedicated to solving mysteries with his male sidekick(s) in a historical setting. it still looks decently interesting and my friends love it, though, so: into the show i go once again once i work up the interest.

and speaking of under the microscope, i love this show a couple episodes in and am dying to see more of it right as we speak: the show is utterly stunning and the writing is captivating and compelling, and the actors do so much to bring life into the story. the editing and pacing is very good (i only remember being thrown off once or twice), and the story, while elaborate, is very linear: excellent for anyone who wants to dabble in a political-legal-mystery drama in a digestible format. just really great overall.

i did also check out wulin heroes and wasn’t generally interested but may go back to give it a second look; i had the same general complaints as i did with chong zi in that it felt like a very stereotypical wuxia and though the focus on the romance was less apparent to me, i tend to prefer dramas that feel more character-driven than plot driven, which i think is what slightly dampened my enjoyment of the still-enjoyable blood of youth and made me obsess over accusedly ‘slow as a glacier’ the rise of phoenixes. atmosphere is everything!

#chong zi #ciri watches #league of nobleman #under the microscope #wulin heroes

[juneviews]

You asked for unpopular opinions, so: 1. I don't understand why Bright is so popular because imo he's not that great of an actor, sorry. 2. I do understand why 1000 Stars is beloved by many in the bl fandom but I am not one of those people. It's an ok show, but it's just average to me. 3. Just to name a recent one, Never Let Me Go is kind of disappointing to me so far. The concept and the trailer were so good so I had high hopes for it but it's not living up to them imo. I see a lot of people here on tumblr love the show but I don't get it, as it's very lackluster to me.

the tea is burning hot today lmaoooo!

honestly I feel like it's a popular opinion outside of the bw fandom? I would tend to agree bc I think he's an okay actor, good at times, but definitely doesn't deserve to be the number one most popular thai actor imo.

tbh I loved 1000 stars but there was always something that kept me from considering it one of my ultimate favorites, and it took me 2 years but I've realized it's bc it doesn't take any risk? like it's a great show bc everything is well executed, but it's also a bit... bland? imo I much prefer a show that is less polished but takes more risks, try new things & captures my attention more. but it's still a very good show in my eyes though.

it's sad that you think that but I can also kinda see it? honestly for me I'm really enjoying it but can't help but be a little thrown off by the similarities with 3 will be free, as both shows are about criminal stuff, getting hunted down & running away, and social inequalities. even though I love the show a fair bit I gotta say none of it surprises me or seems innovative to me bc I just feel like p'jojo just made a bl version of 3 will be free. I don't really think the show is lackluster, though.

xxx

#answers #1000 stars #never let me go

[bellamysgriffin]

It’s funny, what you said about GG condoning bad behavior, I always felt that way when it comes to Logan. I mean, I personally think he lacks layers and I tried to make sense of what ASP wanted to tell the audience through his character/his romance with Rory. Am I supposed to root for them even though it seems like he’s just this guy who allows Rory to act recklessly? Are we supposed to hope for development or to get used to the way he is because that’s all we’re going to get? I know there’s more to it but just the way you put it reminded me of how I felt. And I think that once you get to AYitL this thing she does with Rory’s character gets even more evident (worse). And I sympathize with what Rory is going through then, but ASP doesn’t seem to be very into making a “the moral of the story is that THIS wasn’t okay at all” or a “she learned from that, she isn’t supposed to get away with that just because we love her” and that bothers me. And so does the way Dean’s behavior is romanticized and never treated seriously. (I don’t know how you feel about his behavior and all, but yeah.) Sorry if my ask doesn’t make any sense, I just wanted to share a few confusing thoughts! 🫠🫶🏻

okay i'm gonna break this up since there's a lot of moving pieces here! also, let's preface this by saying that i've only watched through 6.13 so i might not have all the info yet.

first off, i am (unfortunately) gonna have to disagree on the whole logan thing. i don't think it's entirely fair to say that logan allows rory to act recklessly. i think we should acknowledge rory's agency in these decisions. she was the one who talked logan into the boat thing, he wasn't sold on the idea until she basically insisted. and it was her choice to drop out of yale. we might be able to admire jess/lorelai for calling her on it, but i don't think logan should be condemned for "allowing" rory to make her own choice about her life.

i might agree that he feels like he lacks layers, but that's mostly because has no ties to characters outside of rory. i actually see a very clear point for their relationship, and i think it's to give rory a bit of a reversal when it comes to romance. with dean and jess, she was always the pursued, golden child. but logan is not really impressed by that side of her and she's the one who pursues him, she's the one who is criticized by his family as not being good enough, and she's the one who says i love you first. and so we get to see rory in a very different romantic position.

if i'm being honest, i think it's pretty clear that logan treats rory better than jess or dean did. i think it's her most functional relationship yet. that said, i'm not necessarily super emotionally invested in him as a character or their relationship. i liked them a lot at the beginning of s5, but they're relatively static/lackluster to me right now. logan is pretty smarmy/smug/spoiled rich kid, but to be fair, that seems to be what rory is interested in right now. this storyline is clearly partly about her exploring the emily/richard side of herself, and logan represents that life which is why (yeah, i know the spoiler) i think it will be interesting to see her reject his proposal partly as a rejection of that life (or at least thats what i assume the context is, at least partly). i was definitely more emotionally invested in both jess as a character and his relationship with rory, but that's because jess was a lot more well-rounded and had a very clear, well-executed arc outside of rory. the storyline it represented for rory at the time was an interesting one too.

moving on to the other part of the ask, i will have to see how a year in the life goes but i don't even mind if ASP doesn't outright condemn rory's actions, it's more that the show honestly seems to be promoting them. we're supposed to support rory's betrayal of paris with the paper wholeheartedly. we're supposed to see her side when she's icing out her grandparents. and i don't think either of those actions are great, and we shouldn't be rooting for them.

and finally, the dean point is SUCH a good one. for the record, i hate him, i think he sucks, and i cannot believe the show continues to frame him as the best boyfriend in the world. he was a piece of utter trash and treated rory worse than any of her other love interests, was persistently angry and treated people badly, but the show seems wholly oblivious to this fact. so yeah, maybe it's consistent with ASP lmao

#dana answers stuff #that was A Lot but yeah ajsklflksda #to be clear the rory ship i like the most is obvs paris/rory #even though rory is a massive dick to paris now lmao :( #and they've bastardized paris completely for another thing #but the non-crackship i like is literati but more in an #oh this dynamic is really cool and interesting and sad and moving #and less in an actually rooting for them to be together #i mean i was somewhat relieved when they broke up for a lot of reasons #but i liked what it brought out in both of them as characters #i just thought jess/rory was a better story than rory/logan

[wondereads]

Personal Review (08/07/22)

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell

Why am I reviewing this book?

This book has been on my shelf for a while (I bought back when it was a B&N pick of the month around a year ago), and I decided to read it for Pride. I did like it, and there were a couple things I really wanted to talk about.

Plot 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

The Iskat Empire has always kept power through political marriages, so when one of those unions falls apart right before treaties are set to be resigned, action must be taken. Jainan, representative of Thea, is hastily engaged to the irresponsible Prince Kiem after the death of his husband, Prince Taam. However, although Taam died in an accident, there might be more to the incident than meets the eye.

In terms of science fiction, my favorite subgenre is space opera, which this definitely falls into. This story could actually work in any genre because it is very character rather than plot-focused. On one hand that means the plot is engaging and versatile, on the other it means the worldbuilding is a little lackluster and doesn't really add anything. While I was never confused, this universe outside of what was immediately important to the plot is a mystery to me.

The plot itself was good enough to keep me reading if very conventional for this genre. Luckily, that's not why I was reading this book. The romance also functioned as a significant part of the plot, which I thoroughly enjoyed and will discuss in the next section.

Characters 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

To say that I picked up this book for anything other than a gay, arranged-marriage trope romance would be a lie. Long story short, it delivered.

Looking at this book and the basic set-up of the characters, it would normally be pretty easy to guess how their relationship would play out. A happy-go-lucky, cheerful prince and a serious, no-nonsense ambassador? It seems too easy, but I really liked the twist put on their relationship. Neither Kiem nor Jainan fell into a completely stereotypical character archetype, and I loved the way their relationship developed. It was slow and felt genuine. The issue I run into with a lot of romance is the fast progression, but this took its time for a proper slowburn. Even in a standalone, I was never under the impression that this story could benefit from an extra book or anything like that; it was perfectly contained and all the romantic and character development was complete by the end.

I will mention that the side characters were rather one-dimensional. This is a result of Jainan and Kiem being rather isolated except for each other for the most part. I'm willing to look past the neglect of the side characters because it was a lack of opportunity rather than missed opportunities.

Writing Style 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

As is the case most of the time when I give writing style a 7, the writing was good but nothing particularly stood out. I liked how emotions were described, though I wish there had been more detail with locations and people, especially how they fit into the imperial hierarchy.

The pacing was nice like I mentioned with the romance. This was a very well-contained standalone. I wasn't left with the feeling that there were loose threads, and it fit the length of the book nicely.

Meaning 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

One thing I really appreciated about this book was how it dealt with abuse and trauma from that. I'm going to be deliberately vague about this because the way it is slowly but surely revealed in the book is done very well. A major character has a past of domestic abuse, and the way their struggle with it is written and the way the other characters help them towards recovery is well-executed.

Overall 1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10

While I don't think this book is anything new, I just had fun reading it. The plot was enough to keep things from slowing down too much, and the romance was very sweet and honestly had me grinning at points. The writing wasn't anything special, but it was well-paced. The story also dealt with some heavy topics in a way that was both tasteful and didn't drag down the more lighthearted style of this book. Overall, a very enjoyable read.

The Author

Everina Maxwell: British, Winter's Orbit is her debut but the companion, Ocean's Echo, comes out later this year

The Reviewer

My name is Wonderose; I try to post a review every week, and I do themed recommendations every once in a while. I take suggestions! Check out my about me post for more!

#books #reviews #winter’s orbit #everina maxwell #na #science fiction #sci fi #romance #lgbtq+ #lgbt

[talkingbl]

Actually Unpopular BL Opinions pt. 2

So, people are doing this again.

If you haven't seen my first Actually Unpopular BL Opinions, click here!

Since folks wanna do this again, I'll bite. Remember, these are just my opinion--opinions which are fluid and open to change as circumstances change. Anyway, here they are:

Jaechan acting in Semantic Error doesn't = queerbaiting.

I actually agree with folks that Bad Buddy got boring in the latter half of the story. Looking back at the second part of my post on Bad Buddy, I'm realizing that the latter half of the season was a subpar, lackluster, overly contrived, terribly paced mess. Stuff seemed to just happen for no reason and the chemistry started to waver a bit because of it I think. Now, I'm not one of those people who thinks Ohm and Nanon never had chemistry just because Nanon came out as straight (which, lmao to the idea of coming out as straight and also to those who thought he was anything but despite him constantly telling y'all he was only into women). But, I do think that at certain points their chemistry felt more platonic than romantic (but honestly this just added to the overall chemistry for me as I think most good couples have a friendly chemistry in addition to the romantic chemistry). I also want to be clear that I never really felt sexual chemistry between the two and I think that's why some people believe they lack chemistry.

Currently, the only 2 popular BL actors I ever want to hear sing again are Billkin and Jeff. Nunew might get a pass every now and again. Everyone else, kindly stop.

Most Japanese live-action BLs are not interesting in the slightest. Actually, I'll take this a step further and say most Japanese BL manga I've read aren't particularly interesting either. It's so strange too because I like certain anime (AOT, JoJo) but I just can't get into the BLs.

Even though I liked it, KinnPorsche is overrated. There, I said it. Now that I said it, let's be clear about something: KinnPorsche didn't 'fall off' like Bad Buddy the way people are claiming, nor is the acting, production, etc. egregiously bad. It is the plot that was extremely convoluted, had no real goal, and relied mainly on cheap/nonsensical plot twists, BL tropes, and sex in lieu of a coherent story. The story is somewhat like Check Out if Check Out was actually entertaining and well executed. But I don't wanna get into this one too deeply as I haven't done a write up on it yet.

Never Let Me Go looks like the best BL of 2022 (I don't consider Not Me 2022).

We Best Love is so incredibly difficult to get into. I don't feel the chemistry between the leads, I'm not sure what the storyline is, the acting isn't great, and the production isn't the crispy high quality I'm used to. Idk, I just don't get the hype.

Fish Upon The Sky is GMM's most all-around entertaining BL after Not Me and Theory of Love.

I don't know if I'm just letting his performance in Bad Buddy affect me, but I can't bring myself to watch anything with Jimmy in it. I am literally not watching Vice Versa because his acting style really bothers me.

Story-wise, Young Royals is better than any BL I've watched thus far ,with the exception of Not Me. I know this is the hottest take on planet earth, especially because I loved ITSAY, but understand I'm not saying overall it's the best, I'm saying the story/plot is the best combination of interesting and well executed.

Don't Say No wasn't good or interesting and the only thing that saved it was LeonPob. Actually, I have to do a write up on this one because I have much more than can reasonably fit here.

Heartstopper is for them kids. I tried episode 1 and just could not get into it. That doesn't mean it's bad, just that it's for them kids.

#park jaechan semantic error korean bl boys love kbl bad buddy ohmnanon patpran thai bl boys love #billkin putthipong jeff satur nunew chawarin japanese bl kinnporsche check out #never let me go pondphuwin we best love taiwanese bl fish upon the sky not me theory of love offgun jimmy potiwihok #young royals itsay don't say no leonpob heartstopper uk bl western bl #jimmysea vice versa

[starlight-mp4]

American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift takes us back to her early-2000s era in her eleventh studio album, Blondie, released April 4th, 2024. The album, in Swift’s own words, is unlike anything fans have heard before from her: “In a way, it’s a sort of love letter to who I was, years ago, and who I am today, and all the things I tried to be in-between. It’s more me than anything I’ve ever put out for the world before.”

The album is reminiscent of Swift’s signature country music, but also mixes in elements of bluegrass. Swift explains in her latest interview what Blondie is all about: “There’s this German word — it's on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t remember it — that’s all about feeling like you’re at the end of something. I think I’ve felt that feeling for as long as I can remember. I felt it when I was 18 and I feel it now, like people are going to get tired of me and I won’t be able to write the sort of music I could when I was in my 20s. Women are so often boxed in by this industry, and told what they can and cannot make, and I feel it already starting to happen to me. The world says, ‘Hey, Taylor, you’re 35 and you’re ancient!’ Blondie is my answer to this. It’s fun and flirtatious and also a little angry. It’s my way of telling the world that I’ll write and sing whatever I want.”

#taylor swift #tswiftedit #networkthirteen #usercellphonehippie #tswiftgraphic #usermist #graphic #my edits #album concept #baby's first album concept edit! #i had fun of this but. i am aware it looks like shit #please show it a little love though :') if you like it even a little #even though the execution is lackluster !! i will say that i am in love with this concept :') #usercossette #userjamie #i hope it's ok to tag everyone i tagged! if not just lmk :) #i just tagged my favorite blogs sjfhsjhf #newrcmantics #userlookwhatyoumademedo

[sortasirius]

“Carry On” and...Yikes.

Well clowns, looks like the clown calls were coming from inside the house this entire time.

I so desperately wish I wasn’t writing this right now.  I so wish that I could be writing something better, something joyful, something happy about this fifteen year journey with these characters.  It seems as though the show had other ideas, so in we go.

So...the dog was cool.  Also interesting that Dean was back to his breakup/grieving coping mechanisms: not making his bed, messy room, beer all over the place, Sam making breakfast, etc.

So I guess I better just start off with how...off this episode felt in regards to Dean specifically. Idk why he suddenly wanted a dog and Sam had no real interest in one, since the opposite has been true for, idk, fifteen years, but whatever, I was willing to let it go.

I thought the pie thing was a sweet scene, it was funny and nice and a good button on Dean’s pie thing.

Weird to, you know, bring up Cas and not mention his tragic ass deal and why he got got, but whatever.

I cannot physically believe that this MOTW aspect was, quite literally, so much of the plot.  Like...we figured that it was going to be an aspect, but for it to be SO MUCH?  Bruh.  I am such a fucking fool lmfao.

Again, cool to see Cas’ coat in the back.  Too bad it wasn’t addressed.

Jenny.  Bitch.  Come on.  Of ALL the villains in the FIFTEEN YEARS of Supernatural.  Jenny.  Who was in....one....episode.  Ok.

I mean that line about the high school thing was funny, I did laugh at that moment.  Fuck I love Dean Winchester.

I cannot believe I specced so much about the barn scene.  Are y’all telling me that “The Night We Met” is being claimed by......Sam and Dean.  Fuck off.

I mean, I thought Dean was going to die, and the scene actually did play out pretty similarly to how I thought.  It was probably the most powerful moment in the episode.  I am very glad that it was Dean’s choice, his choice and his peace to let go. 

“Let me look at you.  There he is.  I am so proud of you, Sam.”

I do love this, I love this because Dean is able to look at his work, the man that he raised, and tell him these things.  He was Sam’s parent, he raised Sam into the man he is today, and he should be damn proud of that.

I do love this most of scene, I really do, I love my boys, these brothers so damn much, and at least, at the very least, I have this scene of them.

Forehead touch was weird, I’m just gonna say it.

I feel like most of this episode was montages lol.  I mean I always hate sad Sam but at this point I still fully felt like we were going to get closure and we just...didn’t.

The Austin number was a cool detail, I liked that bc I picked up on it right away (since, you know, my phone is a 512 number lmao).

What a lackluster goodbye to the Bunker.  I had no clue that was going to be the last time we saw it ever.

FUCK AT LEAST I GOT MY DAMN HEAVEN BAR.

The scene with Bobby was nice, it was good to see him.  We did get our remade Heaven, that’s also nice to know.

“It ain’t just Heaven, Dean.  It’s the Heaven you deserve.”

He does deserve this.  An open Heaven, the people he loves, finally some peace, he deserves that, and I am glad that he got it.

Our second Cas mention.  Great.  Thanks guys.

I mean thanks Jim and Jensen for the microexpressions I guess lmao.

So I am supposed to believe.  That Dean.  Whose entire arc has been speaking his truth, specifically speaking his truth to Cas.  Where he has been stopped twice before this season.  Is going to just drive around in circles for forty years until Sam gets there?  Yeah, that’s gonna be a no from me, dawg.

And Sam gets married and has a kid that he names Dean, and the unspecified dark haired woman in the back of the ten minute montage is supposed to be enough for me to buy that it’s Eileen?  Bruh.

Also it’s BACK TO BACK MONTAGES???  WITH TWO VERSIONS OF CARRY ON WAYWARD SON?

Sam’s age makeup????  Hello????  AT FIRST THEY DIDN’T EVEN AGE HIM THEY JUST PUT HIM IN A WIG?????

That cover of Wayward Son did slap but was it enough?  No.

Even that bridge moment didn’t hit right because Sam didn’t cross it?  He was just suddenly there.

It just fucking sucks.  It sucks that their reunion doesn’t land right because they...didn’t do anything when they were apart.  Sam had his kid sure but Dean literally just drove around.  No mention of Cas or of Eileen.  Nothing.  So the last moment of this show I love feels tainted and hollow and just wrong.

It sucks.  I’m not going to lie.  But the worst thing about it?  Is that it doesn’t make any sense.  I have not spent two years of my life picking apart the writing rooms in Supernatural, lauding this current team for what they’ve accomplished for it to end like this.  I know many of you will regard me as a complete tinhat freak right now, but this, to me, does not feel like an episode that Andrew Dabb wrote.  Hell, it doesn’t feel like an episode of Supernatural.

None of the arcs were completed: Dean didn’t get to speak his truth to Cas, Sam never got to become the leader, the legacy hunter he was meant to.  We don’t see them with Cas or Eileen, we don’t even hear about them.

Listen, there’s a lot that...simply doesn’t add up to me.  First of all, the episode was SHORT, and most of it was montages. They had four montages AND the episode was only 38 minutes.  The series finale of the show was shorter than any other episode and had four multiple minute montages.  Okay.  Make it make sense.  Newsflash: it doesn’t, there is simply no way I can believe that there weren’t massive cuts and reworks done to this episode on an executive level.

I know there are people who will tell me that the writers are just bad and I need to accept that they gave me a shitty ending, but after all this time with this story, especially with Dabb’s arc, he just...doesn’t do shit like this.  His arcs are always complete, always tied up well, always have a button.  But this mess?  This confusing episode that left everything hanging with a cover of Wayward Son hanging in the air?  It just doesn’t add up to me.

This wasn’t the story they were telling, this hasn’t been the story they were telling all season, and I stand by that.

So, I sure do wish I could give you a better post. I wish that we had gotten something better.  I still, after everything, love this show, and will still be here in the morning.

Thanks guys.  Love y’all.

#my meta #supernatural #spn writers #spoilers #spn 15x20 #spn #this was upsetting to write but hey i knew i had to

[snailsgoingdowntown]

Controversial thought: Genshin's overall story, including side stories or character stories, aren't continuously good. What I mean is that the stories, even the main story, are hit or miss. Like the Inazuma quest wasn't that well executed, but the Shadows amidst Storms event was one of the best that Genshin made so far. And I'm not sure if it's just me but I fee like lot of the female character's stories feel a bit lackluster compared to the male characters. Mihoyo probably doesn't care as they know they're players will be happy with good looking waifus and husbandos.

Genshin is a really well made game but, in my opinion, it's been kinda lacking since Liyue, though it has only been out for a little over a year so we'll see how it goes. Since Genshin is Mihoyo's biggest money maker, it might fall into the "Disney-syndrome", where the company gets so much wealth and attention that they start making content that usually isn't as good because of their large following. (Though seeing the continuing success with Honkai it's probably unlikely, but at most, in the future, there will be a decrease in attention).

I agree with everything you said anon.

Also this post might have typos because I suck at spelling and autocorrect is not always my best friend.

Mihoyo has good ideas, really good ideas - but they *suck* at excuting them. Like... Wow. Horrible honestly. The general story and idea that is genshin is a *good idea* but the way they write it, the way they execute said story is just plain awful. There are loop holes throughout the story and while I know many stories have loop holes, it's a problem when it just... Doesn't make any sense.

For example, the entire vision thing with Kazuha and his friend - how did he activate the vision? Why did the vision come back to life? Why did that vision light up at that moment when he saved the traveler? Why did it go back to being blank after he pushed the Raiden back???

Because he went against Raiden? Is that why the vision came back to life??

Not only that, but the way they wrote the Raiden Shogun (the puppet) and the way they wrote Ei was just so fucking awful. Kokomi was shit too - these women had so much hype surrounding them. We were told ei was this strong warrior - which she is and I loved that cut scene in her story where she fights Kamaji - but in the end all we got was... UwU waifu.

That's the extent of the personality mihoyo *chose* to show us on screen. Obviously there is more to her character but mihoyo isn't showing or making much reference towards her other characteristics aside from "bad ass samurai" and "uwu waifu"

Kokomi, unfortunately fell into the classical "overworked maiden" category. In her story she literally falls asleep due to exhaustion. And her 'amazing' strategy skills aren't really... That... Amazing... We just ended up fighting the fauti in the end despite her giving us like 3 options of how to carry the plan out. We are *told* she's a good, no an amazing strategist but we are never *shown* that she is one.

don't tell us how amazing her skills are mihoyo, *show us*.

And not to mention her voice is so fucking annoying. As someone with a high pitched voice I am allowed to say this-

But on a more serious note, they're going for the innocent looking girl who's actually a bad ass route with Kokomi. And they failed. Horribly. Her design is very nice don't get me wrong, I love it, but I don't like Kokomi as a character.

And going back to Ei... Is no one gonna point out how her actions were simply... Brushed under the rug??? And by that, I mean the characters in game, not counting the soldiers from Kokomi's force. Now that's what I want to see. SOMEWHAT.

They didn't want to continue the war because of what the Raiden Shogun/Ei did to them. They wanted to continue the war because they wanted to fight.

And honestly, one of the best written female characters that are not the 3 smol ones is Sara. My beautiful Sara.

She's one of the most realistic ones imo. She doesn't fall into "overworked waifu" that we've been getting so far - or I could be wrong, I haven't read her character story yet. But I like what they show us about on her on screen.

AND YES ABOUT MIHOYO NOT GIVING DEPT TO THEIR FEMALE CHARACTERS DEPTH.

I had an entire conversation with a friend about how... Bleak the female characters' stories are. How bleak their personalities can be. They don't have the same depth as the male characters do. They're not as unique as their male counterparts. They're either overworked or uwu waifu.

Now, the female characters can and do have good lore. But it's never explored much if at all.

And going back to Ei for the 100th time... How and why did the traveler forgive her that easily??? They saw what she done to her Nation, be it directly or indirectly. They saw the suffering. The deaths. They saw how broken it was as a nation... And then suddenly they're besties in her character story????

No.

Give me the Rage, the hatred, the grudge the traveler would feel after finding out how she actually views her people - she doesn't have her people's future in mind, but rather just the land. Idk if that makes sense. But while playing her story and obviously the main storyline, That's the vibe I got.

I wanted the citizens to hold it against Her. I wanted the citizens to bring it up while she was walking - "why did you hold the vision hunt degree? " "why did you take away my vision/my friends vision", etc. I wanted THAT, not "omg it's the Raiden omg I'm about to jizz in my pants at the mere sight of her"

I wanted a fucking riot okay. I wanted to hear, to see the citizens frustration once they saw her.

Also, about the newest event with albedo... It was amazing. But I think it was only amazing because it was *Albedo* and not some female character who was the lead. Because whenever the female character is the lead of some story, it either feels like a date or some "uwu take a break" kinda thing.

Now I can't talk for the moon chase event because I couldn't do it. I didn't finish a side quest that involved some character for the event and I am still stuck on said quest. It's uh the one where you need to look for geo shards or something. I will watch a video of the moon chase soon tho. All ik is that gouba was a god once and gave up everything to save his people.

The bear was written better than Ei and Kokomi from what I've heard.

One more thing before I finish off in the the next sentence: not all the female characters are written poorly but the majority of them are.

I probably went off track a lot and I have so many more things to say, but I'll just end it with this: yes anon, I completely agree with everything you said.

#genshin impact #✉️. marie #anon answered #genshin impact raiden #genshin impact sara #genshin impact albedo #genshin impact kokomi

[torturedpoetemotions]

@mybrainproblems Ohhhh friend I am so sorry but I am PHYSICALLY INCAPABLE of not giving you The Pitch. Feel free to ignore obviously, I will say it once and never be annoying about it again I PROMISE.

You know those prestige subscription channel shows where the opening song slaps and then the show is disappointingly bleh by comparison?

This is not one of those shows. This show EARNS this song. It is basically the story of marginalized people who were previously fighting each other for scraps finally coming together to rage against English rule at the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. So if you like any of the following:

Fighting the English

Character-driven storytelling and incredible character arcs with satisfying payoffs

Flawed, complex characters

Stories woven with well-crafted commentary on class, race, and social change

Queer love

Queer vengeance

Bisexual gingers

"This is my spouse and this is their boy/girlfriend" relationships

"Polite society" being the real evil

WLW/MLM solidarity

Complicated women rising to power by learning from others' mistakes

Stories about stories

Lines of dialogue that live in your brain rent-free for YEARS

Or are tired of the following:

Great characters being sacrificed to lackluster plots

Really cool ideas that are executed half-assedly

Inconsistent characterization

Huge gaping plot holes or dropped plot points

Great actors wasted on shoddy writing

Queerbaiting

Stories that are great but then fall apart at the end

Media that glorifies cops, the military, corporations, billionaires, mediocre nerdbros, the Life Script, etc.

I highly recommend you give Black Sails a try.

Warnings: there is violence, gore, period-typical sexism and racism at times, sex, and nudity, though much less of the last two after season one. There is a really awful instance of sexual violence in season one, which would normally be enough to keep me from even watching a show, much less recommending it. But the arc of that character (the survivor of the act) is a big part of why I still watch and recommend the show, so do with that what you will.

#black sails #and if you ever are interested but can't find it hmu

[figureskatingandrainbows]

This was so much better than the ladies’ free skate! Everyone in the last two groups did so well, and this event was honestly so much fun to watch! Anyway, here are my thoughts on the top ten.

Nathan Chen

Honestly, I’m not the biggest fan of his programs this year, but his free was way better than at Nationals. His jumps were excellent, his spins were good, and he seemed way more confident than in the short. His program was a little lackluster until after he landed his 3A, and then we got to see the best of Nathan. He literally exploded off of that landing into his choreo sequence. If he gave all of his program that much energy and fire, he would set a new world record. He’s made loads of improvements in his spins and skating skills, and while he’s still not the best at either, his improvements are all super positive.

Yuzuru Hanyu

After the event, Yuzuru commented on how he felt “off balance” and that’s why his jumps were so mediocre. There are theories that he was late to the rink, had an asthma attack, was working too hard on the 4A, bombarded by ISU-hired hitmen, threatened, and/or had a nightmare about giant Winnie the Poohs, but in reality, he just had a bad day. Everyone has a day where their jump axes are off and they just don’t feel nearly as confident. And Yuzuru is hindered by these new programs. His free has loads of potential, but programs like Seimei are incredible in part because Yuzuru has perfected the choreography. His Heaven and Earth program needs more practice to be incredible. His performance here was also not nearly as good as in the short. Again, bad day, new program, bad jumps, no audience. I’m not worried for him, and I would love to see his free skate again with even better choreography.

Yuma Kagiyama

I’ve been on the Yuma train since October, and he really didn’t disappoint here. His skating was really good. His quads were beautiful, his programs well-executed, his spins and step sequences all level-4. He has such good speed and flow across the ice, a beautiful knee bend, and excellent edges and basic skating skills. I think the only thing I can say his how impressed I am. Yuma had a really difficult program with three quads and two 3A, as well as a tricky 3Lz-3Lo combination. He made two errors at the end of his program, but they weren’t detracting at all. It was his Worlds debut, and he posted all personal bests.  He went into the free after Nathan Chen, who just skated a clean, incredible free skate, and had no nerves in his skating at all. And he attributes that to Yuzuru’s pep talk after Japanese Nationals. (: 

I know many people say Yuma is the future, but I will second what Nathan Chen said. He is the future and the now. He’s consistent, confident, and a tiny little ray of sunshine. 

Shoma Uno

I don’t care about the mistakes in the short or the free. He got all his quads off and skated beautifully. He made his return at the international scene and placed fourth. He’s bounced back so much, and it makes me so happy. There’s so much joy about him now, and I love watching him skate now. Shoma really needs a bit more fixing in his sloppiness, and he’s right back as an Olympic medal threat. As long as he keeps fighting for the triple toes, I think we’ll keep on seeing improvement. 

Mikhail Kolyada

Again, another brilliant comeback. He also got all of his quads off. His free skate is a masterpiece, and he skated really pretty well. It wasn’t as amazing as some of his other performances, but Mikhail has proved he can hold up under pressure. His bounce back from obscurity to another potential Olympic medal contender is fantastic. 

Keegan Messing

So proud of Keegan! He was under the most pressure here. He had to secure two spots for the men of Canada, and he did. He put out two clean skates, both of which were emotional and enjoyable. His quads were gorgeous, and his skating skills are always something to behold.

Jason Brown

Jason wasn’t at his 100% best here, but he’s still show-stopping no matter what. His jumps were a little bit rough, but he got the quad salchow landed only on the quarter. That’s a huge improvement for him. His short program is a masterpiece, and his free is really good as well. Watching him skate is a pleasure and he was as amazing as always. He should be sent to the Olympics. A fan favorite who usually finishes in the top ten? Where can you go wrong?  

Kevin Aymoz and Junhwan Cha

Kevin had several mistakes on his jumps, but he refused to fall. His choreography was as wonderful as always, and even though he had some problems, he was still a pleasure to watch.

Junhwan just needs a little more power in his jumps. Borser has instilled him with good technique at the expense of rotation, and once he fixes his UR problem, he’ll shoot up higher in the men’s ranks. He’s always very relaxing to watch, and another well-rounded skater with so much potential. 

Evgeni Semenenko

He didn’t fall apart! He wasn’t a bad choice at all from FSR. His skating isn’t that impressive to me, but his quads are solid. He needs a lot more time to develop as an individual skater and work on his PCS, but going to Worlds and doing so well will do wonders for his confidence and I think we will be seeing a lot more of him. 

Yikes, Boyang and Vincent

22 and 25, two of the most unexpected placements of the event. These were some seriously rough skates. Vincent didn’t make the free and Boyang cost his country two Olympic spots. As always, in figure skating, you will have the one person who splats, but no one expected a favorite for the bronze and a favorite for the top ten to both finish so near the bottom. 

#worlds 2021 #stockholm 2021 #figure skating #yuzuru hanyu #nathan chen #yuma kagiyama #shoma uno #mikhail kolyada #keegan messing #kevin aymoz #junhwan cha #vincent zhou #boyang jin #poor han yan #SEND JASON TO THE OLYMPICS #beijing 2022 #really a good event #much better than the ladies free #and evgeni wasn't a hot mess #evgeni semenenko

[prompt-master]

You're always up for discussion and debate right? So is it okay that I pose this to you and you give me your opinion on it? Danganronpa V3 was the worst game in the series because while it had interesting characters and very (visually and aesthetically) pleasing executions it ruined the immersion of the DR universe by playing the 'Oh it's all just a game and anime in this universe!!! Ha ha' card (gonna do a pt2 so I can continue giving my points hope that's okay)

(pt2) Because they played this card I feel like it was a cop out in a way, an excuse to make more content but without a way to fit the game into the existing canon without shoe horning it in, which the creators clearly didn't want to do given the details they put so much effort into. I just personally think, as I've said, it takes away from the immersion but also that it discredits the meaning behind the other games intertwining storylines and characters (2/3)

(pt 3/3) and to me that was what sold me on the series, the fact that in the games world these were real people, these were *kids* and their actions had effects on the world around them and V3 making it so that it was fake in universe and then trying to make it so that people willingly put themselves into a killing game to me just... didn't work. One of the key points of THH was how *disgusting* the killing games were, that it was morbid and sick that Junko aired them. Anyway, your thoughts pls?

-------------------------------------------------

Yes I am always up for discussion and debate! I find them to be some of my favorite things I have done on this blog and I thank you for taking the time to pose this topic to me because it’s one that I’m actually very interested in.

See,you are certainly not alone in your opinion! And I wholeheartedly understand why the games ending is disappointing! Because it is! By design the game was MADE to upset us as fans. But I actually have a very strong disagreement with the assertion that it is the worst game in the series. In fact I think ndrv3 was better than sdr2, which is often called the best game in the series by fans.

The reason why I feel so strongly that ndrv3 is not the worst game in the series..is because of udg. I don’t want to go into too much detail on this particular post, but udg has a lot of irredeemable content for grossly handling incredibly serious and sensitive topics. If a game makes me feel like the FBI should be coming to my house I would not consider that a good game. Not to mention that unlike ndrv3 which aside from the ending you can see a LOT of effort put into it, udg feels incredibly lackluster and uncared for. The models used look unpolished, giving the game a beta testing feel that does not feel professional whatsoever. The lighting has a lot of issues to the point where Komaeda’s hair looks grey, even in key scenes, but no one bothered to fix that glaring issue. The model movements are awkward. The story is repetitive and rather face value, I often find myself thinking about how in the end Komaru still was on the side of hope, she did not defy being like her brother that she so strongly wanted to defy. The gameplay is also too easy and boring, but thats my personal issue. and finally when I learned that they dropped the idea of the game being about capturing the remnants I just found myself disappointed..far more disappointed than ndrv3 made me. Especially since udg wasn’t attempting to be unsatisfying.

Now as for the reasons that I actually quite like ndrv3...I understand that the last leg of chapter 5 and chapter 6 as a whole as a complete let down. But even right after playing I did enjoy how you could rework the ending to fit in the dr canon by having everything still be real. There’s a lot of evidence supporting Shirogane, and there’s a lot of evidence against her. As mystery game lovers it is our job to take these bits of evidence and try to work out what the truth is to the best of our ability. The ending is designed to be disappointing yes but the ending ALSO implies that they WILL find out about HPA, so that it may exist. And if HPA is real, so is everyone. (personally I believe that the first games are a long time ago due to 53 seasons being a lot. and that the outlandishness led to people forgetting that it was real and processing it as fiction)

I also feel as though I had a lot more fun in ndrv3 than I did sdr2. sdr2 I felt like had a lackluster start and a lot of missed opportunities from chapters 1 to 4. The redeeming quality of the game comes from chapters 5 and 6, where suddenly the game picks up incredible pace and goes out VERY strongly. In a way, ndrv3 is the exact opposite of sdr2. ndrv3 begins with THE strongest beginning in the series without a doubt (I partially blame HOW GOOD chapter 1 was for why chapter 6 was so disappointing, it’s hard to live up to such a good chapter), chapters 2-5 I felt held up pretty damn strong as well before Kiibo got his antenna knocked off. Because of this I had a lot more fun experiences in ndrv3 than I did in sdr2, making me consider ndrv3 as a whole the better game. I also really enjoy the characters and the depth to them. There is so much to analyze in ndrv3, and I really enjoy how every character is more affected by the themes of the game than the others, which felt rather concentrated around a select few individuals. The game is intense, although pessimistic, and if you look more into it the more intriguing the character relationships become. 

Of course, you’re entirely right about the ending shooting down the series. In fact i think it was fairly obvious that it was a direct message to us as fans. You say that the game was made to allow for an excuse to make more content but I argue it’s an excuse to NOT make more content. To add another game to the series after the way ndrv3 ended would quite simply feel WRONG. And you have every right to be upset and annoyed at this and the way the writers handled it! But again, the interpretation of reality that shirogane gave us...it almost feels like they WANT us to prove her wrong with all the contradictions. Now, this could absolutely be the writers not having a real ending and wanting US to write it, but as a mystery lover and a person who loves rewrites I don’t necessarily mind this. In fact I wish the ending didn’t ruin the game for a lot of people. There is a lot of really good things to discuss and analyze about the game but it doesn’t happen too often because of this disappointment. But I sincerely encourage you and others to look closer! There is a lot of gold to be found here, with or without the ending!

#ask #danganronpa #drv3 #ndrv3 #ndrv3 spoilers #drv3 spoilers #nsfb #sdr2 #udg #thank you for this ask! I hope this makes sense? #its hard to cover such expansive feelings in a consise and organized way #but in general i feel like the trials and the gampleay were so much better and that i got more fun experiences #and its hard for ANY ending to take those away from me tbh

[syrossa]

REVOLUTION | vkook

[Jungkook x cyborg!Taehyung]

— wordcount: 3.8k

— genre: sci-fi/ action/ oneshot/ angst

— summary: Jungkook is on the side of the Resistance, but his heart belongs to the wicked Emperor's right hand. In a world of war, he'll have to choose between saving his people or the cyborg he's fallen so tragically in love with.

— notes: previously posted on army amino as "trust me not"

Space year 3043.

After seizing the throne of Nypso 773T , its android emperor has decided to exterminate all individuals human - the last bearers of free will still standing. To execute his commands, the order of the New Inquisition has been launched. Its wicked ways continue to terrorize the planet, and many humans have gone rogue to avoid death in Nypso's compression pits. Jeon Jungkook - the latest recruit of the Resistance, has been extracted from an Inquisition's camp after a month of captivity. During his stay there, an unexpected fascination with the order's leader has emerged. Now they're torn between duty and attraction, survival and the dire need of love in the robotic arms of Nypso 773T.

Pulling on his hood, Jungkook walked into the subway station where the mass of the automated proletariat was finally retreating to its charging points. The route of line 248 resonated in a pre-recorded audio in several transgalactic languages; the outdated robots and refugees here couldn't afford infixed translation. The next train was in seven minutes. Working machines were being produced without a sense of smell, so the coolants and liquids of the entire quadrant could drain freely, channelled through the platform. Supreme androids and cyborgs could almost tell the difference between fume-saturated air and waste matter. Humans, however, were bound to sense it.

Jungkook travelled with the scraps of a filtering mask over his nose and mouth.

A heavy overcoat protected him from curious eyes. Down its lackluster length, a multitude of pockets were sewn with the purpose of convenience, but the inner one by his right hip weighed with the wired device of a hologram transmitter. The message encrypted on it was intended for the eyes of the Resistance only, and its safe transportation had been entrusted to him. Was it the shortage of confidants or Jungkook's short, yet exceptional devotion to the cause that had brought him here, he couldn't tell. One thing was certain — danger stalked him somewhere in this crowd and it moved with a bullet's speed, disguised in coy metal. All solitude amongst machines was extirpated.

He wasn't alone.

But the field of his vision allowed him to suspect and nothing more. Between the industrial smog and the firearm fume, the human eye was unable to discern too much. Few instruction panels hung low over the heads of the departees, providing the dimmest of illumination in venom-tinted yellow where the light of all other signs failed to stretch out to. Propaganda scrolled through interconnected displays in the skyscraping height.

As the train arrived in virid smoke, drunkenly quivering atop the rusted rails, the mob prepared for departure, loud and on the verge of an electric collapse. In the midst of it Jungkook joined the aggressive momentum and it hauled him to the doors. The informants from Quadrant-3 had warned him about identification scanners — each entrance had been installed two of those, in addition to a memory-extracting mechanism, so that all workers could be wiped clean of cache; Nypso liked its slaves productive.

Blazingly red, the scanning rays licked the identification numbers off all mechanic forearms. Each number consisted of uniquely stringed digits and Nypsoian letters, irreplicable and theft-proof, unless, of course, forcefully extracted. Yet such force was hardly ever applied reversibly.

So when Jungkook lifted his sleeve, baring the tattooed numerals on vulnerable display, he knew he had engraved himself with the ink and blood of another.

Collateral damage, they'd call it — the dismantled, maimed anthropomorphic remains of those who had been sacrificed for the camouflage of the Resistance. Through the scanners and the all-seeing surveillance apparatus Jungkook slithered like a ghost, a phantom of matter but never of face. He seated himself in the vacancy of a secluded section at the back of the train, and watched as the vehicle resurfaced overground.

The halved star of Nypso 337T had begun to roll out of sight. Space wind evaded the thin synthetic atmospheric layers, bringing forth what the code specifics referred to as frostnip. Nights here began with euphoria, beauty amid the blistered flesh of the universe, but escalated just as abruptly. Thousands of beings fell victims to the unforgiving cold. The corpses would be disposed of in the vast abyss of the Omicron Galaxy and left to the mercy of the antigravity and destructive cyclones. Sometimes parts of them would fall back on Nypso with the acid torrents.

The cadaverous rains.

Upon crossing the interquadrant border, the train entered a zone of electric anomaly, causing all working robots to cease operating. Jungkook rose from his uncomfortable seat immediately. He was quick on his feet; he headed to the emergency exit in the back. Moving across a high-up, scaffold-like railway with speed disproportionate to its poor technicity, the vehicle was to reach a rail intersection in a matter of minutes — the only window he'd be provided for a secure escape. The man clutched the transmitter through the fabric of the overcoat. A flicker of utter fright glistened in his eyes, the one a madman's irises would produce before he jumps off to death.

A madman, yes, but not alone in his madness.

Because when he threw himself forth in the open air, he knew he would land in the hands of his allies, the members of the Resistance. With a thump and several Nypsoian curses, Jungkook was caught by an aircraft of the forces from Quadrant-4. The second he regained balance, the pressure in his lungs and brain dispersed to free space for relief. General Kim dismissed the crew to greet him.

He grinned. "Lucky to see you here today. We barely managed to get the plane off the ground with the low temperatures."

"Thank you, sir. Captain Jung wasn't lying 'bout your piloting."

"Don't thank me. Min over there conducted the maneuvers today, the lucky bastard." And Jungkook glanced at the back of the pilot's disheveled head, hair chopped and jet black. "Do you have it?"

Derivative of the devices from before the last technological purge, the hologram transmitter was an antique of its own, coded in a long-lost language. It was technically unhackable. The greatest legacy of its predecessors, though, was the function of restricted access, touch-activated to be precise. When the device came into contact with General Kim's palm, trillions of holographic particles erected the glowing, mapped structure of a hollow sphere.

"The core powerhouse!" Jungkook gasped.

"A precise, high-resolution map of the planet's life source. After all these years of gathering data and risking the wellbeing of our entire kind, it's finally complete. We have the key to taking the emperor down, kid." The corner of the General's mouth quirked up. "We have it."

As if prompted by the glimpse of hope, the graspable salvation of mankind, intermittent flashes of red spread like rashes on the titanium insides of the plane while alarms were triggered in the cockpit. Jungkook tripped as the aircraft went into a sudden dive.

The co-pilot cried out, "Enemy crafts, sir. Attempters FM-14, annihilation mode engaged."

"Min, can you make it to the headquarters?" Kim shouted, tying himself to a seat by the plane wall.

Jungkook was still upright, shifting his weight as if hoverboarding. His eyes followed the attackers as the unmanned Attempters deployed their missiles. With a target on its silver hull, the plane of the Resistance forces looped and spiralled between the Quadrant-4 blockscape similarly to a turbulent projectile. But before even managing to be vocal about the pilot's nonpareil skills, he glimpsed the violent gush of blood from Min's shoulder.

Jungkook yelled, "Captain, you're fucking bleeding!"

"I am?," Min shrugged, reducing the throttle from the plane's inversion, motions still as steady as a surgeon's. "About time I showed these can-openers I can beat them single-handedly."

"The Resistance has evaded all attacks again, commander. I must say the human persistence is exhausting me already."

Left arm spasming from damage, Taehyung replied tremulously, "I dispatched two of our best Attempters their way. They must've anticipated an onrush."

Next to the mechanical grandness, the soul-breaking presence of the emperor, Taehyung appeared like a solitary speck of steel; a cyborg utterly defenseless against his superior. He was second to his leader; the right hand of the radically unique conqueror of Nypso 337T and scion of the mighty Omicron race — undoers of time and space. To support his position and survival, he had been recruited as commander of the New Inquisition.

Over the metal of his palms, there was overmuch human blood. The emperor, however, was still unsatisfied with its amount.

"Their defense cannot withstand our supremacy much longer. Can you perhaps figure out why, commander? Why is humankind bound to die out?"

Some deeply buried piece of Taehyung shattered, knowing that the battle he'd deliberately spared the humans was nothing but a hurdle in the long run of their eradication. All his efforts to decelerate the inevitable — governed not by the remains of his anthropoid body but by those of his human mind — were, ultimately, futile. He'd reset the coordinates of the Attempters, encrypted the outdated frequencies of the Resistance, screened the infiltration of their informant, but at what cost? He hadn't given them advantage but mere false hope.

"Because of its will, of course. The free will of humans will lead them to their ultimate end. But first, it will lead them to me." The android's speech was toneless through the holographic projection, yet his virtual presence diminished all strength of the commander's. "Our high-rank infiltrator in the Resistance has information that an assault on the powerhouse is being plotted. I want all units in position tomorrow. The rebellion must be eliminated instantly."

"Through a strengthened line of defense?"

"A lethal one. There must be no survivors. Obey your system, commander, and your emperor."

"Yes, Your Imperial Majesty."

Bowing to the conquerer of worlds might have felt elevating once; it may have propelled pride, safety and life, yet it only sparked misery in the metal now. Once the hologram had dispersed, Taehyung collapsed in a stroke of electric current. The fine components of his bionic system had experienced pressure unfit for his outdated build, which happened often when machines failed a designated mission. The scheme with the Attempters would cost him pain unlike any other. Pain of both flesh and robotics.

It took him twelve full minutes to regain consciousness. When he finally did, the back of his brain was burnt to charcoal black, as if he could only recall the excruciation of being electrocuted and nothing before it. He was a high-ranking Nypsoian soldier, a breed of hominid warrior blood and light steel tempered in the titanium core of the star of Adastreia, and he remembered his own pain only. Little by little, bits of data deteriorated within him and memories faded away like flashes of a time long-gone.

He was slowly being erased.

Everything he'd done to protect the man he loved on the other side of law backfired right at him. Instead of saving humanity, he slowly ceased to be human.

He needed to hear his voice more than ever.

Even if he couldn't quite retrieve the sound of it.

The jittery projection of Jungkook's face illuminated the entirety of the bunker, and his eyes bore into Taehyung's, expectant, laden with horror. Each of their rare conversations would begin with shared silence. Life was a variable — both had to be prepared for it to assume its last value at any given moment. The signal was horridly damaged as both sides had dialed from their underground hideaways, one right beneath the emperor's throne room, and the other from the fortified catacombs of Quadrant-4.

"I'm sorry I couldn't call earlier, I--"

Jungkook forced a lopsided smile, enough to hurt but not to discourage. "It's okay. You called."

"Are you alright? The Attempters went close and by the time I seized remote control, they'd fired at one of yours. The pilot."

"Min. He's fine. I guess he'd seen worse than your machine guns," The man chuckled softly. "Man, he even fired back, one hand on the panel, and the other holding a BL-544 out the perforated windshield."

Then Jungkook burst into laughter, lighthearted and paranormally unfit in the midst of the misery of all else. His eyes translated into blueish pixels, so Taehyung could barely visualize the mottle of dark-brown and grey they were in the light, or the dual glint of gravely seriousness and daredevilry inside them. At times like this, it was the eyes that made him feel entirely human. His eyes.

Elated for a brief second, Taehyung said, "I wish I could see you. I think my memory is being messed up with, and I'm starting to forget you."

"That's why we call, right? So we don't forget who the real enemy is."

Who was the real enemy?

"They're planning an attack on the core. The arsenal should be distributed by tomorrow at noon, but it'll be no surprise if you already knew that," said Jungkook, voice suddenly thicker. "What's been ordered to the defense forces?"

"A direct confrontation, fast and brutal. He wants all units charged and ready to dispatch anyone at sight. I'll try to talk him out of the melee but I don't know how much I can do about it."

"You've done more than enough already. Just...stay safe. Whole, preferably."

"Okay, I told you, what happened in Apus was an accident. It was a one-time thing. One. Time!"

Jungkook chortled, having Taehyung join him shortly after, both high on the feeling of detachment from everything and everyone. It was the two of them in this conversation, in this little world of theirs, free from barriers and pain and tyranny.

"You too," Taehyung said. "Stay safe."

"Will do. I'll see you at the end of the world, right?"

"See you then. Hey, Jungkook, I just wanted to tell yo--"

But the signal was cut off and the picture turned grainy with empty pixels all of a sudden. The muffled aggression of bangs and kicks brought down the door of Taehyung's secluded bunker and a horde of his own inquisitors rushed in, driven by electricity, bloodthirst and imperial will. The cyborg was taken hold of.

His heavy body writhed in the intruders' grip, but to no avail. In the distance he overheard his former inferiors repeat the protocol of his detainment. Only one kind of seizure required the full unrelenting force of the Inquisition androids.

The one coming directly from the emperor.

As the Resistance soldiers advanced farther into the outer Core, the grip on their assault rifles weakened, wet from the heat accumulated, bewildered by the void of the empty powerhouse. The pulsating, current-pumping heart of Nypso operated under a dome of steam and titanium systems. In its veins surged the lifeblood of an entire civilization, the supreme vigor of the Nypsoian predatory machine and the technology behind its expansive aggression.

Today its heartbeat would flatline once and for all.

Jungkook carried a Proxima L-90 — a relevantly ugly, simple ray weapon meant to inflict moderate damage — with the back of it braced against his underarm, holding the shadows at gunpoint. His face burned under a filtering mask, yet the odds of being violently poisoned were too great to succumb to convenience. Fire in his ribs and steel in his brain, he moved forward.

The promised confrontation of the emperor's forces never happened. General Kim signalled for all units to stand down.

"The motion sensors show movement in our perimeter. 100 meters ahead, 50 sources," he whispered. "Charge your weapons."

But in Jungkook that sparked suspicion so bothersome it twisted his insides, made him want to vomit. Fifty defenders appointed at the most significant structure on the planet — something didn't seem — didn't feel — right. Yet his trust in Taehyung lay unquestioned. He'd spoken to him about a frontal attack and a frontal attack was to be. Nothing but those words could force him forward.

Nothing but the belief that today could change the universe forever.

A swarm of androids emerged from the depths of the powerhouse, wearing imperial armour. They imitated human forms, carried themselves in a human manner, but didn't hesitate in their stride, unlike the Resistance whose fear pierced it through. These were machines without faces, painted in the colors of war and destruction, forged with no soul and no purpose but murder; the inquisitors. And when they charged onwards, every being of flesh shivered in frail mortality. The androids opened immediate fire.

However, the fifty of them were not alone. More crawled out of the corners, the corridors, and every spot dark became a black portal spitting inquisitors. In seconds the Resistance forces were severely outnumbered.

Back against General Kim's, Jungkook tore apart enemies with ray projectiles with insufficient speed. Like demons from neon and metal, like nightmares flooding the innocent mind, the androids burst forth and immobilized the formation of the rebellion. Soon enough, the man was fighting machines with electrocuting blades and bare hands.

"I'm almost out of ammo. We need to get to the main generator and place the bomb," the General shouted as he shot an inquisitor's head through, thus releasing Jungkook from his grip.

"We gotta make our way through."

"I'll help with that!" With one arm immobilized and the other on the trigger of a close-range blaster, Min approached the two. His stubbornness had earned him a spot in the field forces today, but his injury must've weighed him down.

The captain, though, was a survivor.

"Run!" Min cried. "I'll blast whatever follows you."

Jungkook and the General sprinted forward that instant, too overwhelmed with gunfire and smoke and adrenaline to take in the sight of the captain relentlessly throwing himself into the crossfire. As they cleaved the imperial horde, as they fired and slashed their way through — fruits of the flesh in the unhomogenous battle broth — he held back their pursuers for as long as he could. The shrill vox of Min's blaster quietened while they ran, and so did the remainder of the fight, distant but heavy on the brain.

At some point, Jungkook found himself utterly lost in the hypnosis of metal and screams.

Kim snapped him out when they reached a dead end at a corridor intersection. The map led to a hatch in the floor, then to an underground space where the generator was located. When Jungkook pulled the horizontal door open, the General jumped onto the grated platform it revealed. Nightmarish shivers creeped under the former's skin as if on the brim of something horrible and irreversible. Something of monumental grandness, yet something hellbound had been released with their appearance in the Core. Unaware of its specifics, Jungkook descended shortly after, shaken by the feeling of death pricking on his bare nape.

"We have to be quick," General Kim whispered. "The bomb will create an electromagnetic pulse that will disarm all electric systems on the planet. It must be as close to the core as we can get it, so be prepared to do whatever it takes for this to work. Promise me that, Jungkook."

The man wanted to stutter, to assure his comrade that the Resistance is once again in luck and prevailing. But empty promises had no place in his head anymore. Rather, they belonged in the ashes of the man he used to be once; of the world he once used to live in. His answer came pure of all boyish naiveness.

"I promise, sir."

"Good. This way."

Monochrome light, combat boots against the platform. They travelled in silence and dark anticipation. The generator came in sight several meters after, oblivious in its lifeless shell of titanium and wire. The two men entered the holy premises of the inner Core like only heartsick worshippers would — with their heads craving redemption above all.

The bomb was wrapped in cloth — a hastily packaged weapon of mass destruction. The General stripped it bare. His face twitched in untimely satisfaction as he carried it to the top of the generator, whose size extended kilometers under the ground, highest point peaking through a cavity in the grates.

But as the General was activating the mechanism, a splashed, abstract pattern of his blood printed itself onto Jungkook, who remained paralyzed steps away. The laser projectile went right through Kim, exiting his torso clean of guilt and hesitation.

The younger pointed his gun at the distance, at the wide, half-human frame of the attacker, tears in his eyes as he came in the luminescent light.

"Jungkook, put the gun down, please--"

Buy everything within him screamed. "Stand back! I'm warning you! Stand back or I'll fucking shoot you."

Jungkook glanced at the sprawled body of General, eyes then set on Taehyung again. He went feral, wild with betrayal and shock that his mortal stomach could feast on for days. They held each other at gunpoint, lovers in the grip of a war unfought.

"Sir, stay with me. Just hold on."

"Jungkook, listen to me. Put your gun down. Now!"

"No, you listen to me! What have you done?! We've been fighting for this for so long and now that we have a chance to change everything, you turn against your own. We are on the same side, you fool! Help me save him!"

"I'm afraid I can't," Taehyung replied, voice stern like never before. "I can't help you anymore. I've done so much for humans and I've never been one, never will be. I am who I am and I've picked a side already. I picked the one I belong to."

"I thought we belonged together."

The bomb lay semi activated next to Kim. All that stood between it and Jungkook was his unwavering machine of a lover, the leader of the Inquisition with only half flesh, half heart. And neither of the two were willing to surrender now.

Not when the love of each was at stake.

"We can't both leave this room, Jungkook. One of us will have to shoot. It's either me or you on the count of three."

"I would've died and killed for you!"

"One."

"I wanted a future with you, Taehyung!"

"Two."

"I loved you!"

"Three. I still do."

And Jungkook collapsed, trapped between the corpses of his friend and lover, finger on the trigger that had failed to protect the former and ended the latter. Tears welled in his black eyes as he enabled the electromagnetic explosive.

The faith of the universe rested in his unsteady hands. His whole world, however, had fallen cold in his feet.

In the very last seconds of Nypso, he wished to have never set foot on the goddamned planet of death and destruction.

#bts #vkook #taekook #bts fanfic #bts fanfiction #scifiandfantasy #oneshot #jungkook #taehyung #bts jungkook #bts taehyung #bts au fic #bts au fanfic #vkook au

[bnhxx]

Flowers

pairing: Byleth x gn reader

summary: “They're pretty enough but I'm scarred by the thorns on those flowers" 

I am once again asking for your forgivness as I repost all of my ao3 writing to tumblr bc I’ve finally organised a place where I can write for this fandom

"They love me, They love me not, They love me… "

You sighed, and tossed the plucked flower aside. You had hoped that, with the silly indulgence of flower divinations you would feel more satisfied with the state of your little crush.

Especially when the object of your affections was none other than the mysterious professor. The professor who deserved such a title, after all; in the short time they had been in Garrech Mach they had accomplished the respect of all esteemed staff at the church-even the archbishop, Rhea, seemed to placea great deal of trust in them. It seemed almost suspicious, but if Rhea was doing something she was doing it right in placing her faith in Byleth.

You, Anna's trusty assistant (she had tried to name you her trusty paid hand, but you assured her assistant was far fitting from the tricks you were learning off her) had joined Byleth's class quite early in the year. You weren't a student, but learning from the professor and sharing tips with the students you almost felt like one-minus the student debt, of course. It was a good life, and you were grateful for following your old friend through whatever scheme she had to bag a good deal; it lead you to a pretty good deal yourself.

For however nifty she was, Anna would always tease you on your stoic crush.

‘Wonder what lovely conversations you’ll be having with them in your golden years?’

But there was something about their calm confidence, and trust in their students and by extension battalion that had you charmed. The way they cared for every one of the students, and made friends where they could. It seemed right for them to be here, in the midst of all this brewing chaos. You could see why the professor was quickly becoming a faculty favourite in other ways, too. They certainly wasn’t lackluster in the looks department, either...

You suppose you shouldn't be pining for them. They were a professor, and you were a part of their battalion-the relationship should be purely professional, and you should find better things to be doing with your time then idly plucking the petals from pretty harmless flowers-

"-use me? " Oh, that's the last voice you needed to hear! Speak of the devil, you thought as the professor stood a ways off from your seated spot amongst the destroyed flowers and grass. You brushed the last of the petals off your tunic, and stood up to greet the professor.

“Sorry Professor, I was a bit lost in my own little world. Was there something I could help you with?” Their stare was blank, but you could make out a glimmer of curiosity in them. Maybe you were just imagining it, though.

“Sorry if I interrupted you,” You shook your head and offered them a warm smile.

“Not at all! All this brewing energy around here is just getting me a little reminiscent of simpler days. You had quite a difference experience to travelling than I did, but don’t you somedays wish to just...return to it?” You thought you had executed that change in pace well. Maybe you could talk about travelling, or just talk more with Byleth. You had seen them invite others to tea a number of times, perhaps they would like to treat you to more of their company if they knew you a little better?

“No, I don’t. I enjoy it here,” They shook their head, and the conversation halted to a stop. It felt like they wanted to say so much more...had you struck a nerve with them? Perhaps you really ought to have thought about what you said before saying it...

“Oh...well, I’m sorry if talking about those days bothers you, I won't bring it up anymore. Did you need something… ?” you trail off, enough has been said. You’ve already nailed your coffin, if you stay here any longer and Byleth starts questioning the flower’s striped bare of their petals and lying in the grass... You dusted your tunic off and hope to god they'll just leave you to mope in your awful execution of conversation, but Byleth stops you by clearing their throat. You look to them as they sort through one of their pockets. Did you lose something again? Your ears burned in shame at the thought of being so careless. Perhaps they really did just come here to give you a stern talking to, or-

Oh.

In Byleth’s hand was a single briar rose, outstretched for you to take. And just like that, your crestfallen face brightened up again as you laid your hands out and beamed.

“Oh, thank you Professor! You really shouldn’t have gone to all this trouble-still, I appreciate it,” Though the upturn in their lips was small, it managed to make your heart leap bounds.

"I'm glad you enjoy it," The idea of Byleth picking out the rose for you, and such a darling colour-you weren't one for flowers and meanings, but roses held an obvious romantic flair...you took a better look at the rose, thorns clipped off the long thin stem. The rose was carefully picked, as not to die out quickly. Yet the budding flower felt fitting to you. You felt as if your adventures with the professor had only just begun.

Without a second thought to it you snapped the stem down to a shorter length. You felt their eyes watch on as you slid the flower into your hair, just resting above your ear. You gave your head a little tilt for them; and as your eyes caught his, you could catch a faint blush on his surprised expression. What you'd give to see that face again! You tried to suppress the triumphant grin that was forming.

"How do I look?" Their expression softened, and your breath hitched as they brought their hand up to gently pull a stray hair back.

"You look nice," Nice. Well, your efforts had gotten you somewhere, you suppose. And had they learnt that hair trick off Sylvan? The way your cheeks are burning…

"Don't forget we have a seminar with one of the professors I'd like you to attend. You may find it useful," They turned their eyes down to the torn up flowers in the grass, and back to you with a nod as they departed. If your cheeks were burning before, they certainly were now.

You'd been caught, and now you wondered how effective you were in figuring out their heart. 

Or perhaps they were more effective in exposing your own.

"I'm for what you've got time for"

#fe:3h #byleth eisner #byleth eisner x reader #.repost #nora.writing #.fluff

[wichols]

Haruhi and Mori for the break up? Love your stories!

I am so sorry for anyone that reads this. It is gonna be a sad one. This was a tough one to write especially after reading such a sweet Mori x Haruhi fic. I hope that you are able to see the honor in his actions and his devotion to the one he loves the most. Thanks for the prompt!  

Unyielding Devotion (Mori x Haruhi)

Mixed flora scents swirled around her as she made her way through the Morinozuka family botanical gardens. Sounds of light foot faults joined nature’s rhythmic symphony displayed around her. Vibrant hues of flowers and greenery lined the path leading to the secluded gazebo.  

“Takashi? What’s wrong?” Her soften eyes searched his features, looking for any indication of his obvious discomfort.

Padding the open space of the bench beside him, “sit.” 

“Taka?” Pleading eyes were transfixed on his furrowed brow. Gentle sounds of the stream fill the quiet air between them.

Hesitantly, he reached over enveloping her small hand in his, concentrating on the physical connection to give him strength. “I have loved you since the moment you walked through those doors. However, cliche that seems. From that point, my heart has only yearned for you more and more as we spent time together. I know I am not as animated as Tamaki or as cunning as Kyoya or lighthearted like the twins or cutsie like Mitsukuni but I have appreciated the ways you have noticed my forms of affection.” Shifting his gaze to look into her eyes, he continued. “Besides Mitsukuni, you are the only other person I have allowed past my walls into the center of my world. You understand my intentions and the way I am called to live my life dedicated to representing my family with honor and loyalty. Each day since the first, you have chosen to see past my flaws and allow me to grow into an even better person within the space of your heart. Dating you the past two years has singlehandedly been the greatest years of my life thus far. My college experience would be lackluster without you learning beside me.”

“Oh, you do not have to thank me for that. Sharing life with you is not a chore or something painful, it is a gift I freely give to you and one that you reciprocate back to me. You are allowed to grow and growing is not always linear or easy. Why are you saying all these things?”

“I just-”

“Are you- are you proposing? You know you don’t have to do anything grand, right? I will gladly accept even though we kind of agreed we would wait till I finished next year.” Haruhi’s eyes flicked between their hands and his eyes waiting for him to get down on one knee.

“I- uh..um. Just, uh,  let me finish before you say anything else.” Giving her hand a small squeeze.

“Okay, continue.” Allowing herself a small smile, she was trying to tamper down her excited feelings.

“I want you to have the freedom to choose your destiny. To carve out your path and to explore everything this world has to offer you. There is nothing in this world that will stop you from accomplishing anything you put your mind too. Not money. Not a lack of connections. Not gender stereotypes. You are a strong and powerful person in your own right and it would be foolish of me to ask you to wait for me to return.” 

“Return? What do you mean return?”

The looming pit in his stomach grew as he watched confusion sweep across her face. Her joyful demeanor dimmed as the uncertainty grew between them.

“I will have to be away for a while before I am able to complete the transition as Morinozuka heir. As tradition dictates, my father has given me my final transition orders to be executed effective the day after graduation.” His voice tapered off to a whisper.

“So you have to leave for a couple of weeks?” She questioned.

“Months.”“A couple of months?”

“Twelve to be exact.”

“You have to leave for a year! Why? Where?” Her voice switched between panic and anger as she fired off question after question.

Mori winced at her sudden outburst. Feeling the sudden emptiness of his hand he watched as she paced before him. Immediately he felt the air shift around him. 

“I come out here and you say all these wonderful things about me. You fill my heart with love and then you drop that on me? What gives?!? Just a little bit ago I was under the impression that you were proposing not leaving for a year!” The usual tone of her voice was clipped with irritation.

“I was only told a week ago.”

“But you knew something like this was a possibility for a while now, correct?”

“Yes.”

“And you didn’t feel the need to tell me until right now? Hell Takashi! Graduation is three weeks away! That means between right now and graduation we only hand a handful of days left to share with each other.” Furry morphed into sadness as she took her seat back next to him.

Bringing his hand to her face he angled her chin upwards to press a kiss into her lips. “I will love you even when I am away. I do not expect you to feel the same way about me now as you might after I return. In my absence, I want you to continue to focus on those passions that ignite your soul. When I return, if your feelings have not changed then we can rekindle our relationship. But if I return and you do not reciprocate those feelings that you once had for me then I understand.” Cradling her head in his hands he wiped away the silently falling tears.  

“I don’t understand. Are you wanting to break up?” Tears now flowed freely between them speckling the concrete bench below them. 

His heart seized, pained from the brokenness of her voice. “While I am away I cannot have any contact from the outside world. No phone calls, no letters, no visits with the exception of preparations for my internship at the conclusion of the monastery stay. I cannot keep you for myself if I am not even here. There is no honor in holding the ones we love most back from their potential just because of our own selfish reasons. It is because I love you that I have to release you. This is part of my journey. To understand the burden it takes to live a life fully dedicated to honor and obedience I must subject myself fully to the traditions of the namesake I bear.”

“So you are breaking up with me because of your love towards me?”

“Yes.”

“So at best, after the year is completed and our feelings have not changed we pick up where we left off.”

“And at worst our feelings for one another have changed and we go our separate ways. I become the head of the Morinozuka family at the conclusion of my wedding and you complete your degree, pass the bar, and prepare for your internship.”

“Oh, Taka.” 

“I know. I’m so sorry Haru-love.” 

Quiet sobs were shared between them as the elder Morinozuka watch the scene play before him. Oh Takashi, the one to whom your heart has claimed will not stray away from you. For she too has a love that is an all-consuming flame that burns brightly within her heart. Time will not change her devotion towards you just as your mother’s love did not falter during my absence. Take heart, my son. He let his gaze linger a while longer as they held each other close, weeping into the arms of the other. 

#haruhi fujioka #mori x haru #Haruhi x Mori #takashi morinozuka #ouran host club #OHSHC #ohshc fanfiction #ouran high school host club #100 hits bingo

[tillidontneedfantasy]

‘Romance’ - Camila Cabello REVIEW: Shamelessly In Love

“You know it's been a long time coming,” Camila Cabello sings on the Grammy-nominated smash “Señorita” (which is the most-streamed song of 2019) featuring Shawn Mendes, their follow-up collaboration to “I Know What You Did Last Summer” from 2015. When she sings this line, it’s unclear who the ‘you’ is: Mendes or the audience. Shortly following the release of the track on June 21st, 2019, Cabello and Mendes were seen multiple times out together, displaying affection publicly that would suggest that they are not just friends...because, as she explains, “friends don’t know the way you taste.”

At the release of these stream of photos, many were quick to decide that this must be a stunt as a promotional ploy for the collaboration; but anyone even slightly invested in either one of the pop stars’ lives and music knew that it was, in fact, a long time coming. To any skeptics left, the timeline outlined (yet scattered) throughout Cabello’s second solo studio effort, Romance, should suffice as ample evidence that it’s the real deal, not that she needs to prove it, anyway.

Speaking of that timeline, the main takeaway from Romance’s story is this: men are idiots who don’t realize what they have until they can’t have it anymore. Unrequited love finally turned in favor just too little too late...until it’s not. As two sides of the same coin, “Should’ve Said It” and “Feel It Twice” showcase the two different internal reactions we women go through when someone we wanted for so long doesn’t want us until we’ve moved on with someone else: spite and sorrow. On one hand, she’s dismissive, and on the other, she’s remorseful. In the end, though, this tale has a happy ending, as she seizes the opportunity to finally be with the person she wanted “two years ago” despite the risk. The result? A full, shameless immersion into a world of unapologetic romance. 

STRONGEST TRACK(S): “Bad Kind of Butterflies,” “Living Proof”

Although unlike anything else Cabello has released thus far in her solo career, “Bad Kind of Butterflies” is a compelling and straightforward confessional to her partner that despite her love for him she wants another. “What do I lose if I don't choose and keep it to myself?” she ponders, before ultimately landing upon a decision: “Warning me it’s a mistake, I just know I gotta make it.” Camila deserves some credit here; few people possess this kind of bravery. Many times, people in this situation do keep it to themselves, and then either end up unhappy, live in regret, or make mistakes instead of making an honest choice that will hurt fewer people in the long run. The beautifully haunting production that builds as the song progresses literally gives you the type of bad butterflies she’s describing, as if you’re the one moments away from your possible doom, or maybe an exciting new beginning, or both. Making a choice to follow your heart might trigger an upheaval of your previously planned life-course, but it is never a mistake. Luckily for Cabello, it seemed to work out.

On “Living Proof,” the last pre-release and latest single, Camila indulges in the cliche of linking worship and sex; however, instead of playing as overdone and tired, it just works, mainly due to Cabello’s outstanding vocal arrangement throughout, especially the harmonies in the last chorus. The track is sonically soft and sweet, so hypnotizingly complemented by Cabello’s flawless execution of such a high register; aside from Ariana Grande, no other pop artist can make it seem so effortless. Although the omission of a choir for the bridge and/or outro might be seen by some as a wise choice to balance the cliches, I kind of wish she did it anyway, and her inclusion of one during her wonderful performance on the Ellen Degeneres Show makes a strong case for it too.

WEAKEST TRACK: “This Love”

Perhaps the waltz-like nature of "This Love” is supposed to mirror the dance that Cabello and the subject of this song are playing at, but it fails to do so. When hearing the instrumentals for this track, you are expecting a loving, romantic song. Instead, the listener hears yet again about the games being played by this man and the back and forth between them. The lyrics feel incongruent with the music, and though the track is not bad, it might leave the listener unsatisfied. 

THE IN-BETWEENS

There are plenty of other tracks to satiate the desire for pure romance, as promised. “Easy” and “Used To This” are two gorgeous tracks that perfectly encapsulate what it’s like to allow yourself to be loved when for so long you were unsure if it would ever happen the way you envisioned, making it very easy (no pun intended) to feel happy for Cabello (and Mendes), even so much so that you might find their love endearing enough to temporarily forget that Instagram video (you know the one) (sorry for making you remember it again). Cabello successfully experiments on the sultry “My Oh My” featuring DaBaby, which for some reason is a digital exclusive, and the dramatic and honest “Cry For Me,” which bluntly publicizes a sort of selfishness that most humans have felt but would deny, and gets better with each listen. Other tracks, however, such as “Liar” and “Feel It Twice” tire out quickly. 

BEST PROSPECTIVE SINGLE: “Should’ve Said It”

Cabello��sounds most authentic and commanding when she infuses her Latina roots with her pop inclinations. “Should’ve Said It” is effective, unique, and showcases all of Camila’s strengths in a catchy package to which many girls around the globe can easily relate. As Cabello chastises her muse for not knowing what he had until it was gone, you can’t help but vehemently agree while tapping your feet. Can’t you feel it turning into a power anthem already?

                                                            ***

Even in her Fifth Harmony days, Cabello exhibited an unprecedented stage presence. Her first solo album, Camila, proved her star and staying power. There are many ways in which she has leveled up since, as displayed throughout Romance: her vocal range and control are much stronger and cleaner, she has trialed new musical styles that surprisingly suit her, and the production on almost every song is intriguing enough to make you want to listen again. However, the album feels lyrically lackluster; maybe this is because Camila proved to be a great lyricist with her debut, and the quality of writing on this album seems to match its predecessor rather than exceed it. That is not to say that great lyricism implies Shakespearean prose; sometimes, simplicity works just as successfully, if not even more so, as it allows for accessibility. The closing track of Romance, “First Man,” is an example of Cabello’s moving utilization of such simplicity. On an album that can feel repetitive at times considering its subject matter, an ode to the love Cabello shares with her father comes a bit out of left field, a refreshing final pull at the heartstrings. Mentions of jackets for cold weather and making it home safe remind us all that love- whether it is romantic, platonic, or familial- is loudest through the little things. Camila is clearly full of love, and if she continues to build on her ability to tap into it and express it honestly, the sky will be her limit. Grade: 3.5/5

DISCLAIMER - REVIEWER’S BIAS: I never cared for Fifth Harmony much when they were together, so Camila was not really on my radar until she was suddenly on everyone’s with her hit “Havana.” I remember watching her perform it on some awards show and being absolutely blown away by her stage presence. I knew she would be opening for Taylor Swift’s reputation Stadium Tour, and since I of course was attending I decided to listen to Camila shortly after its release, and I was surprised at how much I liked it! Although I enjoy this album very much, I was expecting a bit more from Romance; none of the songs have felt as special as “Consequences” or “Something’s Gotta Give” or “Havana” from her debut, and although I don’t think an artist should ever try to replicate past success or follow formulas that they think might get them there, I feel like that extra punch I was expecting from this album is missing. I still think she did a great job though- I was completely blown away by her vocals and the production, and I am excited to see where her career takes her.

#camila cabello #romance #shawn mendes #shameless #living proof #should've said it #my oh my #dababy #senorita #liar #bad kind of butterflies #easy #feel it twice #dream of you #cry for me #this love #used to this #first man #music #music review #review #album #romance album #pop