#i would feel much differently if the genders or roles were switched | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

pinkyjulien · 5 months

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I really, really hate the "Female V is canon" vs "Male V is canon" debate that been popping here and here in the tags those past weeks

Cyberpunk 2077 is a Role Playing Game, there is no "canon" protagonist, that's the whole point. We all have a different playstyles, different stories and headcanons, our custom V is The Canon V of Our Own playthroughs!

After Phantom Liberty dropped, I've seen a lot of players, on Tumblr or Twitter, voicing their concerne and disappointment in how much more Female V focused the official promo, videos and even in-game credits became

I was one of them too, expressing my feelings multiple times, sometimes awkwardly, frustrated that Male V players were once again brushed to the side, because that's how it feels like, right?

Well, it might feels like it, but this isn't the case AT ALL, far from it. This is only what I would call a "Fandom Phenomenon" and I want to talk more about it a bit

I had a great conversation with a friend of mine who works in the game industry and it opened my eyes on the matter, and I've since been really interested in seeing RPGs statistics!

Because it's really, really important to make the difference between the Casual Player Base (majority of players) and the Fans / Fandom Base (minority of players)

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I always been lurking in fandoms here on Tumblr, since Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and now with Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur's Gate 3

First I want to drop some stats- might be completly wrong, but I'm only sharing my point of view here, in an attempt to explain why some people are frustrated with Female V being the focus (and why we shouldn't be!)

I think it's not wrong to say that fandoms are mostly occupied by women and fem-identifying individuals; fandoms are a safe place for players and fans to share their passions. Women are STILL HEAVILY harassed and hated in the gaming industry as a whole, it doesn't take a lot of digging to catch a vile comment on Twitter or on Twitch for example, you cannot go far without seeing someone either attacking or sexualizing them

This is a huge problem in the industry still, every games that release with a female protagonist get trashed- just look at the bullshit surrounding GTA 6 just because players will be able to play as a woman as an option

Fandoms are also safe for non-gender conforming people, non-binaries, trans people and queer men, but I think fem individuals and women are a clear majority, at least on Tumblr (only talking about genders identity here and not about being queer or not, not talking about sexualities or attraction) (not an official stat at all and only my point of view and experience from being on Tumblr since ~2012)

Now let's talk about Cyberpunk 2077- because this is my main fandom since 2020, and what prompted me to write this post in the first place

CDPR didn't share any stats recently, but it's REALLY SAFE to assume the MAJORITY of players are playing a straight Male V romancing Panam, followed by a lesbian Female V romancing Judy, but the player pools for both options are still majoritarly cis hetero men (and they are still the focus for AAA studios to sell their games, this is sadly just how it is)

However on the fandom side, Fem V was always the focus; virtual photography, mods, ships, OCs... She was always more popular than Male V, getting more interactions and notes and why trends like "Male V monday" were created and why there is still a lack of male V focused mods (non-binaries and trans fem folks and characters are also sadly under-represented in all type of content and art)

So, being yourself as a non-fem player, playing as a Masc V, seeing CDPR officially make the switch from Male V to Female V, when the space you've been in for the past 3 years has been overwhelmingly Female V focused on all front, was a bit of a punch in the guts; like I said earlier, I was reaaally frustrated with this too!

And I'd say it's "normal"? or at least "ok" to feel this way, it makes sense considering how little attention Male V in general get in the fans community

BUT. BUT... It's REALLY important here to realize how we sound and how we look like when we voice our frustrations on the matter; we sound and look just like all the misogynistic people over on Twitter who screams about "woke games" everytime there is a female protagonist in their "non political games". We have to remember that fandoms are suuuch a small part of the game industry

Baldur's Gate 3 recently shared their stats and this interesting tweet got into my dash

▶ tweet

Astarion is nowhere to be seen in the official most romanced companions statistic, but I'm sure a lot of people will agree that he's probably the most popular one in the fandom side!

Another stat here from Mass Effect and really interesting info coming from David Gaider about how the hardcore fanbase aka fandom's choices were WILDLY different from the casual / main player pool

▶ tweet

Getting my head out of the fandom bubbles and seeing the bigger picture, how much under-represented women still are in official medias (not talking about fan content) and how insanly misoginistic the game industry still is, both on the player and devs sides, helped me handle my own frustration on the matter, accept and even celebrate Female V being the focus for the Phantom Liberty campaign

With all that said tho, we all should be able to vent about the lack of Male, Masc and Non-Binary content in the fandom side, while still being aware of the industry state, it CAN co-exist! It doesn't make anyone a bad or misogynist person!

We are all humans and can be awkward and make mistakes, especially when voicing frustration or talking while in a negative mood. Let's educate one another in good-faithed manners when we slip instead of jumping to conclusion and throw accusations

Not gonna lie I kind of lost my train of thoughts and not sure how to finish this post, but I hope this can enlight some people on why CDPR made this choice!

Repeating this as a finale note; this doesn't mean that Female V is the "main" V or "canon" V . It's simply her time to shine, and it's well deserved! The industry needs it

#cyberpunk 2077 #phantom liberty #text #long post #like- LONG LONG post hgfhgf #hope my rambling makes sense #I legit been really interested in reading these statistics #hope CDPR will drop a similar sheet since the Ultimate edition is out :O #pinky hot take

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da-birb-writes-sometimes · 11 months

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The Song We Are Drawn Towards; Jade Leech

A song rests in the heart, calling out to the one who completes the harmony. Their match pulls at them, as the moon does the tide.

Main Character: Jade Leech

Supporting Roles: Floyd Leech, Mr Leech, Azul Ashengrotto

Content: Soulmate AU (I use the term soul match instead), gender-neutral reader, hurt/comfort, enemies to friends to ???, can be read as familial, platonic, or romantic and that was done on purpose, exploring different parts of Jade so he may seem OOC

Content Warning: self-doubt (Jade), injury & blood (Jade), some swearing, just general tweel things

Word Count: 5K

Author’s Note: Please do not repost my works to other websites or into AI software. I may or may not write parts for other characters; if you want to be tagged for those please let me know. I switch between third and second-person point of view, if that bothers you, sorry. Spell check done by Grammarly. Much like Azul's, this too was written in two or three days.

Azul's Story & Prologue | Floyd's Story

As a young mer, Jade would often listen in to what people had to say about soul matches. He would humour Floyd, and listen to him ramble about what his song and pull was like. For his twin, it felt like someone tugging at his tail playfully, and his song was like that of fireworks and twinkling stars in the night sky. It suited him; playful, full of wonder. And if Jade were to be honest with himself, he would admit that he was jealous of Floyd. That he knew, but didn’t want to admit, since then those jealous feelings would only continue to grow until he snapped out, and he didn’t want that to happen.

“What about yours, Jade,” Floyd drawled out the question, peeking up from behind the bed. “Ya never share what it feels like for you. I wanna know about the lil siren song stuck in your head!~”

Jade put down the book he was reading and looked at his brother, pursing his lips into a slight frown. “You wouldn’t find it interesting, there isn’t anything to really say about it,” he sighed.

Floyd didn’t like this answer, and tugged at his brother’s tail fin rather harshly, threatening to tear at the caudal fin. “That’s not fair! I told you mine,” he whined. “It’s only fair if you share yours! We could even help each other out and hunt them down together!”

For as much as he enjoyed his company, Floyd could be as persistent about a topic he deemed as interesting as he was flippantly annoying at times. “Well,” he smacked Floyd’s hand away, smoothing over his caudal fin, “if yours is like a starlit sky, then mine would feel like a moonless, and starless one.” Void of any light. Void of any sound. Nothing but a gaping darkness where there should have been light. “Happy?”

“Hmmmm,” Floyd shrugged his shoulders and sank to the floor, busying himself with whatever had caught his eye. “Not really, but you’re being boring. Eh, whatever! When we find ‘em it’ll get twice as interesting.~ OH! Maybe one of them is a surface dweller! I wonder what their reaction would be to us!” He threw the toy he was playing with at his moping brother. “But you don’t need to worry, Jade, I won’t leave the sea!”

Jade sighed. He had only spoken about the lack of any sign that he had a soul match with his father. Not that he didn’t want to tell his mother, but he knew that she would take it harder than his father would. And saying that it was like the darkness of night without any light source was technically accurate, but Floyd didn’t have to know about this quite yet. He would tell him eventually, just… not right now.

. . .

The Leechs’ father could tell when something was off with Jade. He may have been good at hiding it from his brother, and masking from his mother, but the older eel-mer recognized that look well enough.

“Thinking about it again,” he asked, putting down some paperwork that could always wait. “You know, you can always talk to me, Jade.”

The younger eel-mer looked up towards his father, debating whether or not he wanted to reveal everything that has been weighing so heavily on his mind. “Is,” he paused, worrying over his lip with his teeth, “is there something wrong with me?”

Mr Leech got to his son’s level, and put a hand on his shoulder. “Nothing is wrong with you,” his voice was stern, but he knew that what Jade needed was reassurance, a steady anchor in the churning sea lest he be lost in it forever. “Some merfolk don’t have soul matches, and that is perfectly fine and normal.”

Jade opened his mouth and then closed it, eyebrows pinched.

“You have yourself, and you are enough as is. There is nothing wrong with you, even though at times you may feel that there must be.” He looked into his eyes, placing a hand on his cheek. “Also, you are in control of your life, Jade. You will form all kinds of different relationships, and you don’t need a soul match to determine that for you or determine your happiness or success in life.”

Jade rubbed at his nose and placed his hand over his father’s. “Thank you, dad,” he whispered, as if he was any louder than that, all of those emotions inside would burst.

His dad pulled him in for a gentle hug, “And whenever you have a bad day, just remember that. And that you’ll always have me, your mother, and your brother.”

“I will.”

. . .

Jade was busy doing his morning routine. Taming down his hair, fixing up his uniform, and making sure everything was in order; that his courteous and carefully crafted mask was on. Since it was better to keep the less… appealing parts of himself away from the public eye. But the most difficult part of the morning has had yet to pass, waking up and dragging Floyd out of bed. Both of the mers were not morning people, but it was all a part of the experience of living on land and attending one of the best mage schools that Twisted Wonderland had to offer.

He opened up the blinds, letting in the weak sunlight. “Time to get up, Floyd,” he hummed, poking the mass of tangled bedsheets with one of his brother’s shoes that had managed to get on his side of the dorm.

A golden eye glared out from beneath the sheets before turning back over. “Jus’ five more minutes,” Floyd groaned, pulling the sheets over his head to block out the light and his brother’s smug face. “Too earlyyyyy!”

“Tsk, tsk,” Jade tutted, grabbing the blankets and pulling them off, earning a loud groan and a tired yet irked look from his sleepy twin. “We both know that’s a lie. Now,” he grabbed a wayward lanky leg, yanking him out of bed, “up we get.” When did he get so heavy?

Floyd fell on the ground with an oomph, and shot his twin a venomous look. “Ugh! Fine,” he grumbled, rubbing his backside and making his way to the bathroom to freshen up. “Do ya think there’ll be any interesting guppies?~” He poked his head out, fighting with his uniform since over the break he had a growth spurt.

Jade quirked a brow, looked over at Floyd and motioned for him to get back in the bathroom and fix his appearance. “The probability is high,” a sharp smirk graced his face, “especially since it means that we should have the chance to… manage those who fail their end of Azul’s little contracts.” He noticed in the reflection of one of his terrariums that his tie was crooked, leaning in, he fixed it. “That should be entertaining enough.”

“Eh heh heh!~ Squirming like a worm on a hook,” Floyd sang. He continued to busy himself with looking at least ‘halfway presentable’ by Azul’s standards, humming his and his soul match’s song under his breath, a dopey smile on his face.

Jade could feel his mood sour a tad, but reminded himself that he shouldn’t be jealous of Floyd. Besides, he has fared well enough thus far without a soul match. He had his interests, his brother, an Azul to annoy and pester, and an entire world to explore still. New discoveries to be made. Plus, he had recently made a new terrarium and he could see the beginnings of new growth about to burst forth. He was content. Not happy, but content with what things were currently. He gently picked up one of the smaller terrariums, noticing it was looking a bit dry and in need of some extra water. As he was putting it back in its proper spot though, he froze, hand clenching the little glass in a vice grip.

He could hear singing. It was quiet, but it was still singing. And now it felt like the time that a foolish fisherman had gotten one of his lures in his fin, being pulled towards someone. The glass shattered, sending small flecks of blood and glass on his glove and the floor. But he ignored the stinging of his fingers and palm, all he could focus on was the song and the insistent tugging at his heart.

. . .

Jade had made it his personal mission since recovering from the shock of the sudden soul match, to make the singing in their head as loud as possible. To annoy them as much as possible. They had kept him believing for all these years that he was alone, so now they could deal with the consequences of their actions. Was it petty? Extremely, but Jade did it for another reason; if he was loud enough, eventually they would either seek him out to make the internal assault stop, or he would see them wince and he could make their life a personal hell in person. And he knew they were nearby, as the pulling at his soul felt the strongest when he made his way through the halls of the school. He could just follow the tugging, but he didn’t want to chase them down. He wanted them to seek him out.

Something irked him about this whole situation. And it was the fact that even though the singing in his match’s head was intolerable, thanks to him, the song in his head has yet to retaliate, still the pleasant background hum that it was on the first day. He has only heard it go up in volume a handful of times, but never to the volume of his. The tugging during those short outbursts, feeling like he was caught in the strongest gyre of his life, even though he was still on land.

“Jade, are you paying any attention?” Azul quipped at him, snapping his fingers to bring the plotting eel out of his thoughts.

Jade shook his head, centering his thoughts to the present. “Ah, my apologies, Azul, my mind must have drifted elsewhere. Could you repeat what you just said?” He got caught up thinking about them again, and he bristled. Why should he afford them the luxury of even thinking about him?

Azul sighed and pushed up his glasses. “I said that due to the full moon next week, I won’t be able to look after the Lounge or dorm affairs. And we can’t just go about and hand over these duties to just anyone. So in short, the Lounge will be closed during the day and open all night.”

Ah, so that was what he wanted. “Is that your long winded way of saying that we will all be working midnight shifts,” he looked down at Azul, eyes searing.

“Azul is so meannnn,” Floyd appeared from seemingly nowhere, and tossed his arm onto Jade’s shoulder. “He doesn’t want to even find his cuttlefish! So mean, even to your soul match,” he bemoaned.

Azul flushed blue at the pet name that Floyd had apparently dubbed his soul match, embarrassed. “I told you not to call them that,” he hissed, quiet enough so that no passerby was able to easily overhear. “Besides, only those who have found there’s or,” he glanced at Jade, “well nevermind the or. Those who still haven’t found their soul match won’t have to work the night. So stop your whining!”

Floyd rolled his eyes and got off of Jade. “Eh, still mean. Maybe finding your cuttlefish will change that?~” He leaned into Jade’s ear, making sure that Azul couldn’t overhear him. “Maybe his soul match will put him in his place.~”

Azul’s eye twitched, “Do you want me to put you on dish duty?” Whatever he was whispering was sure to give him a migraine.

“Do you want to buy new plates,” Floyd’s joking aura turned into something more menacing. He and Azul stared at each other for a few moments before Floyd apparently got bored. “Tch, whatever.” And he was off, as suddenly as he had appeared, slinking into the crowd of students that quickly got out of his way, lest they wanted his sudden mood swing to be directed at them.

Azul pinched the bridge of his nose, “So, technically you will be in charge of the Lounge this week.” Since you don’t have a soul match you have nothing better to do. He didn’t need to say it, but Jade could feel and infer the implication, and his left eye twitched slightly.

He mentally smoothed himself down, hiding the momentary glimpse of weakness, of the mask slipping off. “Of course,” he voice was clipped, “you can rest assured that the Lounge will be properly kept to your standards.”

Azul gave him a look, but just summed up Jade’s odd behaviour as just a Jade thing. The eel-mer was never the easiest to read, even on the best of days. “Just no funny business, and do not turn the entire menu into mushroom dishes,” he huffed. He didn’t want to hear that revenue had been impacted by Jade’s hyperfixation on fungi.

“Half of the menu,” Jade bargained, sending a mocking polite smile towards Azul. Seeing him send him back a glare, he continued. “Afterall, Azul, you’re leaving me in charge. Part of that position includes overseeing the menu for the week. Besides, it would only be half. That should be a fair enough trade; you get to look for your match, I get a say in the menu.”

Why did the twins insist on giving him a headache at least once a day? “Fine, but only for this week,” he gave in. Jade pulled his weight in both his Lounge and vice-house warden duties, so he would give in to the eel’s demands this once. Besides, he wanted the same as Floyd; to find his soul match this year.

Jade chuckled, “Pleasure doing business with you, Azul. Please do keep me updated with how looking for your… What did Floyd call them? Ah, your cuttlefish, goes.” And he walked off before Azul could give him an earful of whatever it was that he was going to tell him. Perhaps staying at the Lounge should keep him occupied from thinking too much about his match.

. . .

Ever since arriving in Twisted Wonderland, a song has played in your head. The first hour wasn’t horrible, just faintly playing in the corners of your mind. Sure it was annoying, but it was tolerable. But the faint humming soon turned into an assault, and you felt like you were standing next to the speaker in a concert. So, needless to say you were willing to do almost anything to make it stop. You’ve had a damn headache for weeks and no amount of this world’s version of Advil, Tylenol, or ibuprofen worked. How you haven’t snapped yet still eludes you, and you wanted answers. Now.

Ace and Deuce were of little help, just giving you weird (Ace) and concerned (Deuce) looks. So you took it on yourself to get to the bottom of why this infernal song is playing on repeat while on full blast. This, naturally, led you to the library to hunt down some answers. Any students that rounded the corner you were in were quick to walk in the opposite direction, noticing the quickly building mountain of books, and increasingly irritated muttering.

“AHA!” You shouted, finally finding something that looked halfway promising. A series of hissed hushing came your way but you shrugged it off, happy to finally find some answers.

“Humans may come down with peculiar symptoms should their soul match be of a different clan.”

Soul match?

“The most distressing of these symptoms can be found with those whose match belongs to the merfolk clan. As, until they find each other, they will feel like someone is pulling at them when there is in actuality, no one there. Some humans have also complained about the song that plays in their head, as some soul matches will purposely cause their song to be loud, as to remind their soul match that they are still out there. Waiting to meet them.

A song rests in the heart, calling out to the one who completes the harmony. Their match pulls at them, as the moon does the tide.”

So this song that’s been driving you mad for weeks is due to your soul match? Someone who was picked by the spirit of one of the Seven; someone who makes you happy through a familial, platonic, and/or romantic relationship. Well two can play at that game. They messed with you for weeks, gave you headaches and migraines for weeks. The least you could do was to return the favour in full force. Bring it on, motherfucker.

. . .

Jade woke up, hissing. The faint humming in his head had exploded into loud screaming, but not out of pain or fear. No, it was spite and pettiness. Looks like his soul match finally had enough of the onslaught in their head, or finally figured out that they could control the song in his head. He would have been amused, finally feeling his match break their composure and disturb the harmony, but not in the middle of the night. Not the day before he would be forced back into the water during daylight hours and only being able to come out during the night.

He glared up at the ceiling, gritting his teeth in annoyance. He really should have seen this coming, after all, he had been doing this to them for weeks, never once letting up on the deafening song. It was no use going back to sleep now, even if he tried. His soul match was too loud and angry to be ignored. Sighing, he pulled himself out of his sheets, spared a look at Floyd to make sure he was asleep, and went to the Octavinelle pools to try and cool off.

Slipping into the water, he shifted into his merform. The song was still loud as ever, but the coolness of the water helped take some of the pain away. He could always apologize through the song in their head, but he wasn’t going to back down from this battle. So he fired back, louder than them. It’s only fair.

The scream of the song halted for a second, and Jade smiled to himself, letting himself sink to the bottom of the pool. But that feeling of victory was short-lived, as the singing returned, this time hitting him like the sonar of a sperm whale, loud enough to make his eardrums rupture. He hissed in pain, letting his singing in their head cease, falling into something not as loud, but still noticeable. And as soon as it had started, the singing in his head changed to match the volume it was for them. What you do to me, I’ll do to you. Is the message he guessed they were sending.

Still in pain, he decided to lessen the volume in his soul match’s head to a pleasant humming, and they soon did the same for him. And so, he sat at the bottom of the pool, looking up into the faint blue filtered light from above, and let his soul sing for him. It conveyed loneliness, jealousy, hurt, confusion. Everything that has plagued his mind, all of the things he kept bottled up, was sung and put out into the open.

The singing in his head changed too, they were also confused, lost, and unsure what any of this meant. Nothing was said, but the emotion carried through. Both of them were like that for a while, humming their emotions and thoughts to each other. This continued until the slivers of sunlight filtered through, and cast their golden beams into the water.

Another set of mismatched eyes peered down from above, noticing that his brother was singing, finally singing for the first time. Floyd memorized the lyrics, and he swam silently to the other side of the pool, letting his brother be, and coming up with a plan.

. . .

Someone was knocking insistently at your door. You grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. Whoever it was might want to have a good reason to wake you up from the dead of sleep. The song in your head hummed, like it was chuckling at you. You sent a sharp note through their head in return. The knocking persisted, threatening to take the door off its hinges if you didn’t hurry up and open it already.

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” you yawned, cracking the door open so you could at least put a face to the intruder before letting them in. “Floyd?”

The person knocking at your door at this ungodly hour was none other than Floyd Leech, looking way too chipper for this time of night. “Heyya, Shrimpy!~” How could he still have all this energy at this hour? “Come on,” he grabbed you by the arm and dragged you behind him without explaining any further in typical Floyd manner.

You dug your heels in, but it didn’t stop him. “Where? It’s night time, I wanna go back to sleep,” you protested, sending him a groggy glare. Either you could walk with him, or he would get tired of pulling you along and throw you over his shoulder.

Floyd decided to actually answer your questions for once. “We’re going to the Lounge, silly Shrimp!~ Silly, silly Shrimpy,” he said, still tugging you along behind him.

“Why? And why couldn’t you let me change into something else,” you pointed down to your sleepwear. “Also, I thought the Lounge wasn’t open this late?”

“Eh, Azul wanted to still ‘make some revenue’ and ‘benefit from matches finding each other and wanting to share some food together’ so the Lounge is open at night this week. Come on, hurry up! I wanna go bug Jadeeee!~” And up you went, there was no use in protesting or fighting him, so you accepted your fate as the eel’s human tote bag.

You sighed, and hummed the little tune of you and your soul match under your breath. The song in your head hummed along, harmonizing the melody. You couldn’t see Floyd’s face, since you were currently getting a great view of the ground passing by, but he wore a large and smug smile on his face as he quickly made his way to the Mostro Lounge.

. . .

The Mostro Lounge was quiet, a few new soul matches occupying some tables and chatting, and the small waitstaff team going around and seeing if they wanted anything from this week’s limited menu; The Moon’s Harmony. Jade stood behind the counter, making sure that everything was going smoothly while Azul was out. And so far it was, although it was the first night, but so far so good. During moments when there were no customers, Jade would test the waters with his match, letting the song go up in volume until they retaliated. He would shake his head and silently chuckle to himself, ears still ringing from the other night from when they had enough with his petty shouting in their head. They had some spunk, he’d give them that. It was quiet tonight in his head too, his match most likely asleep at this hour, so he was surprised to hear the annoyed grumbling in his head.

He decided to get cheeky, since things were pretty boring on his end, and he received a sharp note in return, making him wince. Even when half-awake they could still tell him off. He went into the back and busied himself with cleaning up a few dishes, letting his mind wander about. The pulling at his soul was the strongest this week, and he wanted to follow it, but he still wanted them to find him. For them to make the first move. For them to choose him. Sighing, he put the plate he was working on to soak in the sink.

The line pulling at him went taut. The singing in his head getting louder, but not from his match willing it to. They were close, closer than ever before. He exited the back, and came to stand behind the counter, looking out for any familiar or new faces. Still the same customers as before. Strange, he could have sworn that-

“Jadeeeeee,” a flurry of teal hair burst through the door. “I missed youuuu!~” Floyd sang, but Jade just cocked a brow at his brother’s entrance. “Also,” he tossed you onto a sofa, “I brought Shrimpy with me!”

Jade glanced at you, noticing that you were still in your pyjamas. “Ah, hello, Prefect,” he said in his usual polite and proper way. But his mind was elsewhere, the pulling and singing at the forefront of his mind. “Strange for you to be up at this hour, no?”

You straighten yourself out, and suppress a yawn. “Hi, Jade. Wasn’t really my choice,” you shot a look at Floyd, “I was just dragged along for the ride.” The singing in your head was also getting louder, and you felt like you were being drawn towards a magnet. Where are you?

Floyd’s eyes kept on going between you and Jade, and a frown formed on his face, apparently not happy with the results that he got. “I could’ve been out searching for my match, but Shrimpy is just so much fun when they get mad,” he flung himself across your lap, effectively trapping you there. His eyes shone, and he sent a wink at you. “Say, what’s that song you’ve been humming, huh, Shrimpy?”

“It’s nothing,” you state, knowing that once Floyd found out you had a soul match, a mer no less, that he would make your life a living hell… Well, more so than he already did. And you didn’t want both Floyd and Jade on your case or interfering with you or your match’s lives.

This interested Jade, who was still watching from the counter. The song in his head sounded annoyed, and tired. “Nothing you say,” he stayed where he was, watching your reactions carefully. “Do you know of soul matches, Prefect?”

You kept a neutral expression, “Just some of the basics.” The song in your head was curious, something must have caught their attention.

“But Shrimpy, you have a song in here, don’t cha?~” Floyd pointed to his head, and pointed to your’s. A shit-eating smile took over his face, “You have a soul match!!!~ Shrimpy and a mer, sitting in a tree-”

You pushed Floyd off of your lap unceremoniously, hoping he wouldn’t finish the rest of that lyric. He shot you a look, but rolled his eyes and got up from off the ground. “Well maybe if you leave me alone for a minute I can go find them,” you muttered. “And no,” you spat, “you aren’t invited.”

Jade seemed satisfied with this, and went back to see if anything needed to be looked after. Come find me, he sang in their head.

But what about choosing? You sang back.

He looked back out, noticing that both you and Floyd were gone. Choosing? That can come later, we haven’t even met yet. Or at least I don’t believe we have.

You were being dragged again by Floyd, this time to the pools. Where can I find you?

Jade sighed, loosening his bowtie. Just follow the song. Follow your soul. Then you will find me.

. . .

You were floating in the Octavinelle pool, trying to relax. Tring being the main word, as Floyd was hell bent on spending time with you tonight. Not to mention, through the exchange of your song, your soul match has been loud, not to the extent of the first weeks, but still loud enough where they couldn’t be ignored.

Find me.

Floyd splashed you, trying to get your attention, masking the extra ripples from someone else entering the pool, and hiding your form from them. “Shrimpyyyy,” he whined, “come on! Sing your song! I won’t tell anyone! I’ll even sing you mine!” He swam up next to you, “Maybe that will help you find them.”

Find me. “I need to find them on my own, Floyd,” you sigh, knowing it was true. Find me.

“Eh, you’re boring,” he sighed, and dived down into the depths, disappearing.

You swam over to the side of the pool, feeling like you were being drawn down, your song the loudest it has ever been. Find me. Taking a deep breath, you centred yourself and dived down, following the pull and the song, only coming back up for quick gasps of air.

Meanwhile Jade was stretching out his tail, and humming his song. He felt something tugging at him from above. Looking up he saw a figure breaking the surface. Find me. The pulling was from them. They had actually come looking for him. But he stayed where he was, watching from below.

You took in a few short fast breaths before taking in one last large one before diving down again. Find me. The singing was loud, the pull guiding you to the bottom of the pool. There, you could see a figure. Find me. You feel your lungs start to burn, but you had to reach them. As you continued down you finally saw each other. Two oh-so familiar mismatched eyes glowed from the depths, and Jade’s skin was glowing faintly from his own bioluminescence.

Jade looked back at you, despite being out of your element, and in your pyjamas, he looked at you in wonder. He snapped himself out of his own thoughts though and hauled you up towards the surface, where you promptly gasped for air, and coughed out a bit of water. He waited for you to catch your breath, patting your back gently. Not saying a word, waiting for you to make the first move.

“I found out,” you coughed, looking at him, finally feeling like your soul had found home.

Jade wiped some water from your face, “I’m glad you finally did.”

. . .

Bonus!

Floyd watched from below, “Heh, took them long enough. Welcome to the family, Shrimpy.”

Fin!

Link to Masterlist

#twst #twisted wonderland #jade leech #twst jade #jade leech x reader #jade leech x gn reader #twst x reader #twst x gn reader #floyd leech #twst floyd #azul ashengrotto #twst azul #octavinelle #twst soulmate au #wow i actually gave you a sincere ending and didn't hit you with a fucking meme *pats myself on the back*#i had a lot of fun picking apart jade though and making him a menace #it's what he deserves; to go bonkers; to be a menace #azul had his turn in the paper bag so it was time for jade #also i wanted to build a papa leech that was considerate of his sons' feelings cuz that makes me happy #floyd gets his turn at trying to get jade and reader together; you can be the judge of whether or not he was successful #side note; when i was writing this my brain was playing 'Waka Waka (This Is Africa)' and going 'sHaKiRa ShAkIrA' and i don't know why #twst fic #also had a tension headache the entire time so that was fun #floyd is being difficult; help me catch him pls

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doomsdaydicecascader · 2 months

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my problem with postcanon jade was that it said she was a cis girl before fusing with bec. i took it as the same "true in a transmisogynist way" troll as transmasc roxy

like, truly, i miss transfeminine roxy every day, and my house is fairly glass when it comes to things here considering i'm writing The Butch Lesbian Jane Comic, but like. the way homestuck fans exert ownership over the text of homestuck is fundamentally what the homestuck epilogues and post-canon are about. act 7 is about the dead calliope saying "fuck canon" and making her own, and she does not know how to care for the characters in question. i genuinely believe reconciling these facts, that what homestuck wants to be and what fans want homestuck to be are tangibly, ideologically opposed, is what post-canon is about

"fans read this character as X identity" is fine and good but that's paratext at best, and making demands of a text that has no obligation to respect them at worst. the epilogues are cashing in that desire to not respect them. homestuck has always been shaking off its readers who exert too much ownership, feel too comfortable with it. this goes way back as far as act 5 act 2 - the author commentary describes switching between walkaround sprites and hussnasty mode in such close proximity as a means of saying "if you always get what you expect, you will become complacent and that's no way for a reader to be", the "come in, go away" routine of homestuck is so repetitive now that i'm surprised basically nobody's caught on - homestuck is always doing insane flips to try and shake people off of it.

and now homestuck is doing that with your headcanons. like, this is a thing i see genuinely, all the fucking time in fandom over the past 15 years or so, people hype themselves up on paratexts and pretend the paratext is the source. the worst i ever saw of it was people having full blown self-harm threatening panic attacks because klance was not endgame in voltron legendary defenders. genuinely, i remember this so well - i think there were still two more seasons of the show after that event too, but i didn't watch it.

i only looked on from afar because what i saw of season 1 wasn't especially novel. castiel was never gay, no matter how many times he was caught leaking omegamusk in walmart or whatever, i'm stealing valor with this joke i was never a superwholock omegaverse girlie. there's so many fandoms i'm not a part of, it's unreal.

anyway, my point is people get really invested in their reads on characters and pretend it's real for the same reason a normie's sports team is gonna go the distance this season. and when they don't, they riot. this is literally just sports fandom 101. we may as well be talking about fucking inflategate here. i also don't go to sports. it's basically just homestuck for me these days.

i imagine this is what it's like to run my little pony before bronies came along: the show was negligible in relevance beyond its capacity to show off the new toys to play with. but the difference is that my little pony is about the toys, it's about encouraging that kind of play, it's fundamentally a set of toys they made a show about, as opposed to homestuck, which was always niche art for webcomics weirdos that caught on, quite literally, with the brony audience. i remember the first time i ever saw dave strider was on fucking ponychan, chronologically it would have been mid-act 5 act 2. it was an image of dave ransacking the lohac stock exchange, which is an a5a2 thing, it was before season 2 started, etc etc.

this is one hell of a tangent to say as far as the text of mspaintadventures is concerned, problem sleuth characters have gender signifiers that are more similar in nature to drag and performance of gender roles than any actual sexual dimorphism. homestuck characters are built atop the gender expression of problem sleuth. jade was a 13/16-year old girl, and that's the only information there was. over time, this changed.

this was an explicit change, too - it's in the change to act 6, passing through the fourth wall, that these characters, who fundamentally are game pieces, that homestuck starts to contend with the fact that people are emotionally invested in them as people. people don't like dave or vriska in the same way that people care about problem sleuth or nervous broad, and this comes out in the text. we get a lot of the best stuff in homestuck out of that change, too, like. the retcon only works because of that emotional investment, and i go so hard for the retcon. the retcon is the coolest thing ever.

and with that change, now, in 2024, she is explicitly a 39 (? i think she's 39.) year old woman with a penis. she didn't go from "cis woman" to "trans woman", she went from game piece to human person. there is no "cis jade" to be overwritten. you're assuming a "cis is default" worldview of a team of transgender and/or nonbinary people and thats just like. its not ideal, really

#really letting these posts get away from me here.#i write really nonlinearly and got distracted to go post resources on the mspfa discord so if theres a sentence fragment in there: idgaf

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derekscorner · 3 months

Text

Fated Rantings: Heaven's Felt

I have finished Heaven's Feel (all three films)

And hot damn what a story that was. As early as the first movie I found myself enjoying the route more than I did with Unlimited Blade Works.

It wasn't that strong a notion at first due to the first movie having to set up the story which means it had to retrace some moments from Fate or UBW. I was even disappointed that it just skimmed over Shirou meeting Saber for the first time.

I did expect it to skim some moments due to the nature of Fate/Stay Night. I said it previously but Fate/Stay Night was originally a visual novel (one that is getting a remaster for Steam/Switch as of me writing this) with multiple routes and endings. A staple of the visual novel format.

As a result each route has the same starting point. Some may feel it wear on them if they watch these back to back like I've done since last year.

Even so, I can't say it bothered me that much. Yes, Skimming over the summoning of Saber let me down a tad but the rest of the first movies opening act was decent. I liked seeing the different perspectives of the scenes I had saw in Unlimited Blade Works just a week ago.

It is also fair to mention that movies of a series typically expect you to have seen the thing it's based on to begin with.

Then the second half of the movie kicks in. The changes began rather quickly which I was thankful for. As soon as Kirei mentioned Kiritsugu's previous occupation and the 4th war I realized the story would shift- THEN BAM!

That Berserker battle. It was brief but that movie budget made it so good. It was then that I also noticed another change, the movies are more graphic than Zero or UBW.

In this movie, when Shirou takes a hit for Saber from Berseker, you see his guts fly out as he rolls around like a busted toy. It doesn't escalate to high but you do see inside of large cuts or severed limbs. And I am only praising it because it actually added to the horror-like atmosphere Heaven's Feel has.

All three movies feel like they were drawn to be a horror film in many scenes. The way the shadows bend or literally come alive, the way servants are mercilessly hunted by Angra Mainyu, or even the Sakura dream sequence only to learn she's eating people.

The gore just makes it hit harder how terrifying the situation is in Heaven's Feel.

Down 'n Dirty

The gore and horror presentation aside there was another factor I was curious about, the romance. Now some reading this may wonder why and others will think they know why and that has to do with Fate's reputation of hentai.

The original visual novel had hentai scenes in it, that is an objective truth. So did its canonical sequel Ataraxia. This was done because Nasu thought it would help sell the story and...well they were right.

The whole initial reason King Arthur was gender bent into a woman was also for this logic. He knew his native Japanese market and appealed to it.

Once Type-Moon got going those hentai scenes were removed. Later stories lacked it at all. Yes, the artwork and designs for characters is definitely made with sex appeal in mind but it's a far cry from where it started.

To be honest I find the whole thing fascinating because the series tendency for gender bending and "coomer" art is based in a writer just trying to appeal to the broadest audience.

They even use this for in-lore jokes quite often. For instance, the original draft of Fate/Stay Night, the world in which King Arthur is still a man, was reworked into Fate/Prototype years later.

They even do this fun thing where the voice actors for Merlin and female Artoria swap roles in Fate/Prototype. Female Arthur voices the female Merlin and the male Merlin now voices the male Arthur.

Some gender bends are literal jokes such as the female Nero Claudius (seen in the gif above^) who was gender swapped just to trick Fate fans into thinking Saber (Artoria) was in Fate Extra.

And others are that way because that historical figure was believed to be a woman or it was left ambiguous such as Nagao Kagetora.

Aka Nasu is very self aware of the Fate gender bending and porn jokes and plays into it.

Back to Romance

I went a bit off tangent there but I needed to explain that bit to focus on why the romance between Shirou & Sakura was a curiosity for me. In my desire to learn Fate lore I saw more than one video or fan comment quoting Nasu and others at Type-Moon.

One thing that stuck in my mind was that the initial Saber and Rin scenes were added just to balance it all but the scenes with Sakura were considered crucial to her plot.

I now understand why. No, before you ask, you do not get a hentai scene in Heaven's Feel. However, Heaven's Feel does fully commit to the physical nature that Sakura & Shirous relationship grows too.

Yes dear reader, Shirou gets laid. Get your middle school snickering out of your system, I'll wait.

The whole film just hammers home just how much Shirou existing means to Sakura. For them to go that far only seems natural, for her to hold on despite her horrible life makes sense.

This poor girl was violated years on end by crest worms as Zouken warped her into a fake grail. Her adoptive brother raped her for years on end just because he's a little shit with inferiority complexes.

Hell, Sakura is still traumatized by her father giving her to the Matou's in Fate/Zero.

Despite all that, even though she believes Shirou wouldn't want her for being so...um "damaged", he sticks by her side anyway. All together it makes that bond very genuine.

There's no forced melodrama or silly misunderstandings, just two kids trapped in a mess with no idea what to do.

A more complete Continuation

Even now I sit here in awe of it. I have sit through Fate 2006 and Unlimited Blade Works, two works in which Sakura is barely a passing note. Hell, even in Fate/Zero she's barely there but Heaven's Feel made me care.

It goes beyond that though. I found Heaven's Feel to be a better or more complete resolution to the mess left behind by the 4th Grail war depicted in Fate/Zero.

There are some questions I had throughout such as;

Why did Zouken summon Assassin in this route but not others?

Did a fragment of the grail survive in every route or is that a Heaven's Feel thing only?

Why didn't Rin have Shirou make the jeweled sword in UBW?

Why did Gilgamesh attack Sakura? Is he not for Kirei's plans in HF?

Small things like that. They don't break anything at all but I felt that I should mention them because I still think Heaven's Feel is a better continuation of Fate/Zero than Unlimited Blade Works despite such questions.

There is no grand reasoning for my feelings. I just liked that Heaven's Feel addressed things left behind in Fate/Zero more than Unlimited Blade Works did.

Such as Illya. She got so little time in UBW that I was a bit shocked. Even Fate 2006 gave her some attention. I mean, know each Fate work is a timeline of it's own but UBW and Heaven's Feel both heavily reference Zero.

All three were made by ufotable after all so it makes sense. Anime only fans may even see ufotable's adaptions as their own pocket in the Type-Moon multiverse.

I was sad her happy ending was to die but I can't help but feel slightly happy for her since she was shown running to Irisviel who's soul has been in the grail since Fate/Zero ended.

They even went out of their way to animate a scene that I can only assume was a minor one in the visual novel. It's a scene in which Illya over hears Fujimura talk about Kiritsugu's many trips to Europe. He failed her in many ways but he never stopped trying to see his daughter.

Then there was Rin. The story gave her less attention as I'd expect but I feel that it compliments how she's portrayed in UBW or even Fate 2006.

It was a nice touch that the one who made it possible to save Sakura was Rin. She has her own baggage about Sakura's life and while blunt and unable to relate to her trauma (by her own admission) she still got through to Sakura and all it took was letting her know that she loved her.

That's fucking beautiful man. Shirou even mumbles that they won due to Rin's actions.

There's also the aforementioned Kiritsugu. Shirou gets more insight into his fathers life and previous actions than other routes. It played into Kirei's obsession with him and Shirou's.

Shirou himself has a much more compelling arc in Heaven's Feel than UBW or even the Fate Route. Thanks to what he learns about his father he focuses on being a hero of justice but this time for Sakura.

His ideals aren't as foolish, they're focused. When he is focused on being one person's hero over everyone's he becomes a much more interesting character to me.

Hell, Zouken tries to convince him to kill Sakura at one point thinking that he'll do it because Kiritsugu would but no. Shirou acknowledges that he would betray his ideals for her .

That not only helps Sakura later but grows him way further than his fight with Archer in UBW did.

Seeing this I can understand why the "Miyuverse" Shirou is so loved.

I know I'm comparing routes but I can't help it. I'm sitting here conflicted because I liked this more than Saber's route. I am a Saber shill/simp at this point but I can't help but feel that Heaven's Feel is a better narrative conclusion.

Shirou is more compelling, I was made to like an ignored character, the story tackles some remnants of the 4th Grail such as Angra Mainyu whom we only saw hints of at the end of Fate/Zero, the grail system being destroyed at the end, etc.

It just feels tighter as a narrative to me. Although the reasons listed aren't the only explanations as to why.

No, the biggest contributing factor by far was Kirei himself.

Opposites

This man, this fucking monster, once again became far more interesting than he should be. I talked about him when I finished Fate/Zero which I'll link here: https://derekscorner.tumblr.com/post/737296248042815488/fated-rantings-ground-zero#notes

This man's obsession with Kiritsugu persisted for ten fucking years. Even now he can't accept him nor can he seem to accept the fact that they weren't as parallel as he believes.

All Kirei really gained from the 4th Grail War was realizing that he enjoys making others suffer. He's known from the start that he was broken inside but was cursed with the common sense to know it.

That contradiction is shown in his occupation. His whole tussle with Zouken and Assassin is badass to be sure. A 500yr old mage and a heroic spirit are fended off by this man, this fucked up preacher.

A badass to be sure but what caught my eye was him using scripture to harm Zouken. As far as I know, you can't just throw around scripture in Fate, you have to fundamentally believe in it to some degree.

Kirei is shown often genuinely reading his bible or kissing his cross. Actions that seem stupid when he makes it a hobby to ruin lives.

He goes on about how Angra Mainyu deserves to be born or about how something is neither good nor bad until it's gained knowledge. A solid argument but only when normal life is concerned.

Angra Mainyu is a man-made god, a devil, a focus of humanities evils into a spirit. All at the sacrifice of some unnamed boy centuries ago.

It was active during the 3rd Grail War, it's been very self aware within the Grail since then, and it's shown tormenting Kiritsugu and Illya.

Angra Mainyu is very much aware. It has knowledge, it is evil.

No, what Shirou calls him out on here saying "that's bullshit" is Kirei just wanting to see Angra Mainyu cause as much harm as possible...or so he thinks.

Personally I think that's half of it. The other half is Kirei's question. Although he should logically see that Angra Mainyu is evil by it's nature alone he still wants to know it's thoughts.

How does it feel to be born this way, how will it feel once it's fulfilled it's purpose, does it consider itself evil when humanity made it evil.

He feels compelled to know these things because he himself was born broken. Kirei knows deep down that nature is very much as real as nurture. No matter what he's done he's been broken.

He tried to love a woman but only cried because he felt that he should've killed her if she was meant to die. He had a loving father for whom no tear was shed when he was murdered.

He killed his mentor and aided Kairya just to see their torment. He told Shirou about Kiritsugu to see his reaction because he, like Zouken, thought Shirou was the same.

He fully believes that witnessing Angra Mainyu be born will answer his own burning questions about his nature when there is nothing to answer.

Angra Mainyu is man-made, nothing it can say can truly rectify Kirei's broken soul.

His Parallel was a Boy

The point, as I understood it, was that Kirei couldn't get his answers from Kiritsugu. His obsession, how he talks about him to Shirou, he never got over that.

Then he saw the grail. It even revived him from death but that won't give him the answer either. Even if he had witnessed its birth.

It is only at the end when he fighting a child that Kirei finds his true opposite. Shirou has nothing due to the 4th war, he considers his survival a sin.

Kirei considers his entire existence a sin yet he says it himself. They're opposite extremes of that same emptiness. I was frequently reminded of Fate/Zero because Kirei was.

Kirei died in that last war and was stuck in time in more ways than one. There is no way to answer or fix him.

It's damn poetic that both Kirei and Shirou realize something by admitting how unlike Kiritsugu Shirou has become. A fitting finale to a compelling monster.

This whole time Kirei's true opposite was a boy.

Finale

I'm sure I had more to say but I don't think this can get much longer. Plus some things weren't worth whole paragraphs. Such as my love for the battles and animation.

The small things like Shirou calling Archer a dick when he chucks him down like a sack of potatoes. Hell, Archer's entire arc this film is neat to see due to how passive he is. When Shirou is willing to be Sakura's hero or save Illya Archer's attitude changes on a dime. To the point that he'd even give up a literal arm.

I loved seeing Rider get more lines and screen time. She has a decent character that I now wish I got more of in other Fate works.

Then there's the whole Saber Alter and her battle....I can't. The fight is fucking amazing but just picturing Shirou ending her hurts me. TuT

Oh well, I'm ranted out now. Bye~

=======================

For my other experiences with Fate go here: https://derekscorner.tumblr.com/tagged/fated-rantings

#fated rantings #fate series #fate/stay night #fate heavens feel #sakura matou #shirou emiya #kotomine kirei

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the-ninja-legacy-whip · 15 days

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Was there anyone that you considered for different choices of tarot cards before ultimately choosing one?

The Fool was always Lloyd; it could be no one else *-*)/

The Magician would have been Jay if Jesse didn’t exist snksnk

I was trying desperately to make The High Priestess a girl, but none of the ‘main’ girls fit the themes—but then I realized how much Zane fit, and screw gender. I couldn’t really come up with a comp that suited him, but—oh hey! I gave him a mom I can use! :’3

Empress, Emperor, and Hierophant were always locked in, though I think I played around with Wu as The Hermit for a time

Of course I initially wanted to do a pairing for The Lovers, but again, none of the ~main~ ships really fits, so I shifted to a more character-focused approach. There was a point in time where it would’ve been Skylor and Pixal on the card, but I felt they both deserved their own spotlight, so Skylor got shuffled to The Star, and I had to get a little creative with Pixal (and it turned out so well, it’s one of my favorites!)

Took forever to decide between Chariot/Strength for Cole/Kai, since they’re both veeeery close to one another in meaning. But upon realizing Chariot is more about outer strength and Strength is more about inner strength, I knew what had to be done. Plus, The Strength card (usually) has a lion on it, that was just begging for Kai :V

Making Dareth The Hermit was a teeny bit of a stretch, but given how his role will be in Legacyverse, I do feel it suits him (also his card went super under appreciated, I put a lot of detail into those shelves!!!! But I digress.)

Wheel of Fortune kind of happened as a process of elimination. I did try to put Jesse there, but he is more about probability than luck itself, and I couldn’t NOT make him The Magician snksnk. However once I started playing around with Jay there everything start to click soooo beautifully

Justice was always Miranda, and the Hanged Man was always Ronin (though I could make a case for Wu or even Zane for the latter, though)

Originally, Olivia was gonna be The Death and Harleigh was gonna be The Moon—switched them at, quite literally, the last second, and ooooh what a good choice that was

Nya and Harumi were some of the first cards I did, and in Harumi’s case especially I couldn’t see them anywhere else xD

The Tower was the last card I nailed down, because I just absolutely blanked on a character for it and almost didn’t put in a character at all—and then I was like OH WAIT MYSTAKE (and then it became another of my favorites!)

Star, Moon, and Sun were the hardest to nail down despite having the most ideas for them. Though I dunno who The Star was gonna be before Skylor (I may have considered Pixal here too) and I already mentioned my dilemma of the Moon and Sun

The Judgement was originally gonna be The Overlord. But I didn’t wanna draw him lol…but, The Golden Master certainly made for a suitable replacement :3 (and I tried to invoke the vibes of The Overlord with the background still!!)

And, of course, The World was always going to be The FSM to bring everything full circle, like an Ouroboros~

#ninjago #legacyverse tarot #info tag #legacyverse

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mermaidsirennikita · 5 months

Text

One reason why I think Mila Finelli's mafia books do work for me better than most other (Italian--I did really love Kresley's series) mafia romance novels I've read is that the characters do feel DISTINCT and so do the relationship dynamics.

In a lot of these somewhat darker, more erotic reads, you do get the sense that any of the characters could be switched out for one another. The heroes are always the same types of alphas, the heroines are always the same types of a) virgins or b) defiant rebels who may also still be virgins, and what really sets the books apart are a few bananas scenes here and there, and some distinct sex scenes.

And while I definitely think there are distinct sexual dynamics and kinks at play with each couple (Fausto/Frankie are obviously daddy kink-central, Enzo and Gia are.... generalized freaks with some heavier BDSM by way of CNC vibes, Giulio and Alessio also have some D/s vibes but with a more competitive edge and are very into each other's violence, and Giacomo/Emma are obviously a breeding kink/softer touch vibe) they're also just super different people.

I guess the closest couples would be Fausto and Frankie and Enzo and Gia, but even then... Fausto is a dick, but he's more rational, more doting (see: daddy), and though Frankie is absolutely defiant and strong, I actually think that though she and Fausto have more of a traditional partnership in terms of gender than Enzo and Gia (which also could be because Frankie wants a billion kids and yes she has her MBA but she's very much a wife and mom first, whereas Gia is more about her career, which keeps them from being too similar). Enzo and Gia are more into the defined D/s shit sexually, but you get the sense that she has more control in the relationship and that, at the end of the day, he is very much... her bitch. Enzo and Gia have a very similar age gap to Fausto and Frankie, but Fausto and Frankie have more of a care-focused DD/lg relationship, whereas Enzo and Gia thrive on the friction of her giving as good as she gets.

And Alessio and Giulio, aside from the obvious of being the only queer relationship in the series, are very much coded as D/s as well... But not as inflexibly as the previous two couples. Aside from them switching it up in the bedroom a little, there's also a lot of space for Alessio to take care of Giulio. Like, Giulio kinda doesn't know shit about what he's doing lol, whereas Alessio is hypercompetent (which also makes sense, as Fausto for sure spoiled Giulio and Alessio has been in essentially a different class his entire life). So while Giulio is more sexually dominant, Alessio is really the stronger, steadier, and more threatening partner otherwise. And again, they both really get off on watching each other do what they do best, which is: crime.

I do think Giacomo and Emma have the softest relationship in the series--but it's not so much because she's this kind of babe in the woods virgin (and I will say, I did love that Frankie and Gia were NOT lol) but because Giacomo is just a much more tender guy. Like, yes, Fausto and Enzo both also had loved ones, but I think that because they'd both been running their shit longer than Giacomo had before he met Emma, they had these very set roles. Fausto and Enzo come off as more brutal, and honestly more crazy (like, Enzo is THE CRAZIEST for sure, but Fausto is a fucking nutball). Giacomo seems like a dude who's good at killing people and doing mafia stuff, but it's really like? His day job. It's not his life and it doesn't feel like his culture, even, which makes sense because he was on the fringes of the types of levels Fausto and Enzo have always been in, because his father and brother kept him separate from it. Even Giulio is more connected to that space than Giacomo, because he was groomed to take over for years.

I think it would be very easy to rely on these great sex scenes and wacky plots she writes, but the thing that does make it clear that Mila has the chops (.... and it also makes it clear that she's very experienced, lol, and someone who has had to write series with very individualized characters for professional editors in the past........) is that the characters are very DIFFERENT. Like, Frankie and Gia may both have their partners' balls in their pockets, but you see Frankie do a wheedling kind of little girl pouting thing to get her way with Fausto because she knows he looooves it, whereas Gia is like LISTEN UP ASSHOLE with Enzo (and it makes the relationship the best because nobody else can do that with him, Enzo and Gia are the greatest, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk). Giacomo is willing to let Emma go in a way that Fausto, Enzo, and honestly I would say Giulio too after working out some things, really aren't okay with. He's probably the best guy out of the series, on a moral level, while also being a scary murder man.

(Except for maybe Alessio? Because Alessio is also a scary murder man, but he literally just does it for the cash or to protect Giulio. It's PURE BUSINESS.)

I find the distinctiveness of the characters really cool, especially when I reread the books, and that is probably why I've had a hard time finding a series that really clicks for me in the same way within the sort of Italian mafia genre.

(That, and: so much of the other books center on Italian-American mafia stuff and that shit DOES NOT HAVE THE SAUCE the way Mila's Italy-set books do. Like, be real here, the Italian-American mafia has not been raking in this kind of cash for DECADES.)

#romance novel blogging #anyway my musings on the mafia fuckbooks continue #i really do need to read annika martin's books #bc she's another author i have been pleased by with other books #and similarly to mila did a hard left into mafia novels #but yes #i do think that giacomo being sort of fringe-level with the mobster CEO shenanigans did deprive us of some of the funniest shit in the book #which would be like #enzo and fausto sending each other severed heads and getting on the phone like #'is that-' 'the severed head of your employee? yeah. :)'#or giulio bopping over to be like 'LISTEN UP THE ONLY COKE DEALER IN SPAIN IS ME NOW!!!!'#like i do remember her saying she hadn't originally been planning to write a book for emma #which seemed wild to me at the time #but you can tell this story was conceived of separately from the others #bc there's a pretty clear pipeline from fausto and frankie -> the villain enzo getting a book w gia ->#tying up the arc with fausto's son falling for the guy enzo paid to kill fausto lmao #(the comedy of this series will never top enzo fully forgetting he put a hit on giulio bc of all the bomb sex he was having on his yacht)#anyway that doesn't make mafia virgin a lesser book in any way it just reads as the most oN ITS OWN

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juniperhillpatient · 1 year

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🔥Azula and makeup

Oooh what an interesting topic! I switched to my laptop for this one I was like "I have too much to say I can't be on my phone" LOL

I have two categories of thought here & I do think there's value in separating those categories

Canon & character design

Let's start with the obvious. Azula is an anime - I'm sorry, it's western media someone will yell at me for saying that - a cartoon villain. It's just part of her trope/design that she's conventionally attractive / has red lipstick/eyeliner sharp enough to kill a man etc. If you've ever seen any piece of media ever, you HAVE to get that. So, to an extent, the conventionally attractive design is just kinda...there for obvious reasons.

However, because Azula is a PRINCESS & we do see how choices like hair & clothing are symbolically important - this doesn't mean it's entirely a waste of time to analyze the importance of makeup for Azula's character.

Azula has to look presentable at all times as part of her political role. We see her with lipstick & makeup even at a very young age in flashbacks (& YES the flashbacks are canon please don't start that discourse on my posts again omg) & that's sad in a way but it makes perfect sense considering her important role in the court.

In fact, the only time (IIRC) that we see Azula without makeup is when Zuko interrupts her at night when she is trying to sleep! Oh, & maybe in the scene where she is visiting the spa (& Zuko interrupts her! - lol damn, Zuzu leave her alone (jk). These are domestic scenes when she is alone / sleeping / getting ready to become more presentable. In general, Azula treats appearance with the utmost importance.

It's highly relevant that Azula's appearance begins to fall apart during her breakdown. Her lipstick is sloppy. She cuts her bangs. Her outward character design reflects her inner turmoil.

Okay that's all I have for now

PART TWO

2. My personal subjective headcanons & thoughts

It's been a while but I remember seeing a post about how Fire Nation military personnel were rare & Azula, Mai, & Ty Lee were going against FN gender roles. IDK the post was a whole meta but I couldn't find it now, so sorry. The point is - Azula is canonically a freaking military general/diplomatic mastermind AS WELL as a proper princess!

I personally love the idea that Azula has a masculine side - not trans per se, but I guess it could be if that's your HC but it's not mine - that enjoys boy clothes, suits, no makeup, etc. She likes to embrace that side of her gender. But, she's never felt comfortable or had the room to do so under Ozai's reign & expectations. I personally headcanon Azula as queer/sapphic whatever & I like the idea that as well as sexuality, once she gets away from Ozai she could start to explore gender a bit!

At the same time, I think that Azula does love her feminine side. In my stories, I tend to focus on her exploring different types of fashion. I feel as if in a modern AU she would have strong opinions on different high-end brands. I just know that she would have a huge collection of amazing dresses.

I feel that Azula going without makeup or with less makeup would be a huge step for her (in any universe) because she is SO used to everyone seeing her all put together. Azula starting to become more relaxed about her appearance would be - in my opinion - a HUGE step for her in healing & beginning to become more comfortable with herself.

ANYWAY

sorry, this literally went beyond "Azula & makeup." I REALLY started to ramble lmao sorry I am just sitting in bed drinking my lil glass of cabernet sauvignon watching How I Met Your Mother & getting way too passionate about Azula & gender -- I'm done rambling for now tho LOL xD

TYSM for asking <3

#azula #azula & gender is just such an interesting thing to discuss!!!!!#anon #ask games #my atla post #i got a lil passionate about this one sorry sdksjdkj

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ilynpilled · 1 year

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george did not write “if i were a woman id be cersei” and vice versa as correct statements imo. while i do believe that their respective trials that they faced as a result of their gender had grave effects on them as people and shaped them into much of what they are, i still think there are fundamental differences in nature. like this is demonstrated by how differently they acted as little children (treatment of tyrion, murder of melara, etc). i think they have some core distinctions. especially with what they personally desire the most above all else and their differing levels of empathy. this was no doubt influenced by their experiences and societal roles as well but i do still think it is part of their nature too. they have some very interesting and important similarities, but they are by no means the exact same only distinguished by experiences. i think it is always a mix of nature and nurturer, like your experiences can suppress or intensify certain qualities that you have, for better or worse. they have agency. they responded to their trauma in their own way. the twins not being the same person on a fundamental level is meant to be subversive. put in opposite positions i do not think we would have the exact same people just switched. like this feels like it is emphasized in the text to me

#like even when jaime says that line it feels ironic #he says hed make them kill him #but cersei did in fact go thru that #and she did not make them kill her #once again just random twitter thread was put on my feed #dont even disagree w some of it #just believe this part is not very correct #i always wondered if they were opposite genders they might have turned out to be more well adjusted #maybe yes maybe not we cant know for sure it depends on the circumstances #i do think it seems to allign w their core desires more and could end up being less devastating #u can argue how that core desire really developed in cersei to begin with #but still i think she is just an inherently more ambitious person than jaime in this regard #like maybe cers would have a healthier relationship w power if she had more access to it #but then again like both are constructs that could destroy them anyway #there is an inherent violence present in both that could destroy a person #like it did the both of them in canon #so that might happen again but just in different ways #and if we r gonna get into the biology of it (not that it matters its not like asoiaf canon is good at this shhshs) they are fraternal twins #same as regular siblings

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fierceawakening · 11 months

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@notthateither (I think that's your username) I keep meaning to come back to your post on what we agree with and what we don't, and I keep getting distracted by various shiny things. So I'll just say:

Starting off, if you're cool with people transitioning even though you don't understand it and maybe even find it weird or, hell, maybe even a bit scary, then I'm cooler with you than I am with a lot of people. I believe creating the least oppressive world possible involves giving people freedom to make decisions for what we think are bad reasons, so If you're doing that, we're broadly aligned in political terms even if I don't like some of what you believe. (An example for me here? I'm deeply troubled by "I wouldn't have an abortion if my fetus were "normal," but I would if there was evidence of disability." I think that's very, very often going to be influenced by growing up in an ableist society and is rarely going to be about realistic expectations. But a world in which women are forced to carry to term is a more oppressive one than one where they are not, so I cannot stop someone even if I'm 100% certain that is her only reason.)

But as for where our beliefs differ and why, I'd say the core of it is that radical feminism often asserts things about men and/or males (not defining these here although to me they are different; it's not relevant to the point I'm making) are particularly dangerous, threatening, or destructive. I worry that singling out a group of humans and calling them the source of destructiveness is wrongheaded, and in fact the first step on a very long yellow brick road to fascist thinking.

It's not just that I think trans women aren't men, that there's a relevant difference between sex characteristics and social role (though I do indeed think that.)

It's that even if I DID literally see trans women as "males who wish to be women," and this switch as something that people can only sort of do and never manage completely, I still don't see how that's something inherently wrong to want, or that there's something suspicious about people wanting it. It's maybe a little weirder than "I was a stamp collector, but now I want to be a skydiver," but it's that sort of thing. There's nothing inherently untoward about it.

Body modification should be undergone after a great deal of thought. But most humans fly by the seat of their pants a lot, much more than I generally do or generally understand. I used to think it was my job to warn them against this, but... now I don't. People who live high risk, high reward lives are allowed to do so. All that's necessary is that they acknowledge and own the risks they take, and not blame it on other people if those risks are presented to them truthfully and without spin.

(And hell, I'm one of the most cautious, risk averse humans I have ever met, and MY medical-reasons, justified-to-most modifications went wildly wrong. Sometimes stuff really is just life being fucked up and not making sense.)

Why do we have gender? I don't know. I suspect it's a mix of nature and nurture, social factors and vague, difficult to pin down biological ones too. I don't know that I'll ever know for sure.

What I do know is that the oppressive stuff I've seen seems to happen, and really mess people up, when they're demanded to fit into one box and not another. I'm not sure what abolishing gender would mean or would look like, or how we'd make sure we do it justly, but I do know that letting people be is something I can do right here and now, and something I can encourage others to do, and a thing that seems, from the evidence we have, to help most of the time.

Which is why I'm not... well, I'd say why I'm not "gender critical" but it feels very weird to think of myself as not critical of gender when what I mean is the much weaker not sure we should abolish it. So instead of saying why I'm not GC I'll phrase it as "why I'm not a radical feminist."

Fair?

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yumeasmrscript · 3 days

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[Part 2] [MM4F] [M4F] Mesmerized by the prince’s kiss [Love triangle] [Prince VA x Listener] [Knight VA x Listener] [Dark romance] [Fantasy] [Mentioning spicy things] [You can switch genders] [Works both as solo and collab!] [Main role in this part: Prince] [Yandere? Dom Prince]

Author's note: Hi everyone! Here is the second part of the story, with the Prince as the main role, and you’ll get to know something more about him. Towards the end there will be some hints to spicy things, but still SFW. Just like the previous part, you are allowed to switch genders of the characters from Knight and Prince to Dame and Princess, and you can change the gender of the listner too from F to M or A.

English is not my first language, so feel free to edit anything that might sound weird. You are also allowed to edit sfx and other action/mood as long as it doesn’t change the story or the characters too much.

Feel free to monetize with the script, as long as you give me credits and you let me know you filled it!

That’s all for now, see you in part 3! (That will be NSFW, but it won’t add much to the story itself, so if you are uncomfortable with that you can skip it and go straight to part 4!)

Enjoy!

Summary (for listener): The Prince has set his eyes on you, desiring to take you as you his wife: after dancing with you, he leads you to his chamber. Burying deep the feelings you felt for the Knight, you let yourself fall for the man who enchanted your heart, without knowing that you don’t really have a choice,... for the memories of the one you longed for, are confined in a place too deep to recall.

_________________

[Action/Things/Moods] Emphasis on a specific word/Thoughts

//---//Two roles intro

Prince: *Calm* You know, I actually can’t believe you were right.

Knight: *Confused* Huh? About what?

Prince: Well, I wasn’t exactly optimistic here. Now, if I have to be honest, I don’t regret that much having to deal with this ball. Sure, it’s a pain in the ass, but still… *Kind of dreamy* You were right, someone made my heart flutter. Isn’t she lovely? Her smile while she talks to her friend, how she laugh… Oh [chuckle] she just bumped into someone. Gosh, how adorable she is when she blushes, and how polite she is when she begs for forgiveness. *Still dreamy, but in a darker shade* Her flustered face… it’s so interesting. I wonder… how would she look at me when I’m close to her. Would she still avoid my gaze? Would she shyly try to look into my eyes? Would she smile, or would she bite her lips? *Talking normally again* ...Hey, Why are you so quiet, all of a sudden?

Knight: *Trying to hide how upset he is* It’s… nothing. I’m just glad you found someone, prince.

Prince: *Serious, but not too much accusatory* Were you lying to me?

Knight: What…?

Prince: You danced with her, and now you look like a child who got his toy stolen. Maybe you do like her after all, don’t you?

Knight: No, it’s just… *Sigh* *Resigned* Maybe try to not scare her with the stuff you like. I, too, can see how different she is from all of the other ladies that your father tried to make you marry. She’s so nice, kind… You won’t find another girl like her that easily, you know?

Prince: [Chukle] Well, what if she’s into that stuff too? Wouldn’t that be a shame to give up all of the pleasure lust can give? At this point… [Confident] I’m pretty sure she will enjoy that.

Knight: Huh? How can you be so sure?

Prince: Because, I’m playing seriously right now. If I wanted, all of those ladies who ran away would have stayed by my side. I just didn’t care enough about them to actually put an effort in the relationship. But with her, things are different. If this isn’t love at first sight, I don’t know how else to call it.

Knight: [Worried] You’re… not going to use that, prince, right?

Prince: I won’t, if there won’t be the need to do so. But why do you care so much? [More suspicious] What are you hiding from me?

Knight: ...Nothing, just like I told you. It’s just… I don’t think it’s a good way to act. It doesn’t feel right.

Prince: [Gentle] Oh, you don’t have to worry. I’m the prince, after all, I highly doubt that a lady would easily give up the chance to become a princess. Isn’t that every little girl’s dream? Plus… [charming, in a darker shade] I feel confident, she will enjoy it too. Call it sixth sense, but I’ll be able to confirm it shortly.

Knight: If that’s what you want… [Trying to hide sadness] I’ll be here, watching over you, prince.

Prince: [Gentle] Thank you, friend. I’m glad I can always count on you. After all… it’s thanks to you if I managed to find her. Now… it’s time for the honored guest to join the dances.

[Footsteps, music ends, chattering dissolves]

//Solo part (Prince/Princess)

[Footsteps growing closer, people whispering]

[Charming] Greetings, my lady.

Oh, you can stand up dear, no need to bow. Let me look into those… [pause] [darker, almost upset] eyes. [Throat clearing, charming again] I must say, you caught my interest. I hope you don’t mind if I’m borrowing you from your friend for a while, right?

[Finger snap, the music starts again]

Come on, darling, take my hand, and join me for a dance.

[Pause]

Hm? Why so hesitant? You don’t have to be shy. I saw you dancing from above, and trust me, you have nothing to be shy for. Just stay close to me, and let me take the lead.

[Whispering to listener’s ears] Good girl.

[Charming again] Relax, darling, it’s only a dance, why are you so nervous?

[Chuckle] Well, and so what? You don’t have to feel pressured while dancing with me, I want to make you feel comfortable. All of the ladies here must be so jealous of you, judging by the look on their face, you know? Of course, it shouldn’t be your problem what they think. Just… enjoy it. See? Look at your friend over there. She seems so happy for you. Isn’t this what you wanted?

[Laugh] Oh no, that’s ridiculous, darling, you’re definitely not “just a normal lady”. [Gentle] If only you could perceive yourself the way I do, you wouldn’t say such silly things. You know, it was just for a second, but when we looked into each other, I felt my heart stop for a moment. Your gaze just… had won over my heart. I couldn’t have asked anyone else to dance with me for tonight, you… are the only one. [Chuckle] You’re welcome, darling. Now… You can say that, with me being the prince, you must already know a few things about myself, while you’re still a completely stranger to me. So, why don’t you introduce yourself to me?

Ah, what a lovely name you have. Tell me more about yourself, I’m eager to know more about you.

Mh-mh.

Oh, is that so? You adore flowers and gardening? What... a coincidence. [Slightly darker] And, did you know by chance that one of my lovely knights loves gardening too? He’s the one who usually takes care of the royal garden. Sometimes directly, sometimes by giving instructions to servants. [Speaking closer to listener, almost an accusatory whisper] You know… the knight who danced with you just a few minutes ago.

[Speaking “normally” again] Isn’t that quite funny, my lady? [Chuckle] But, I must say, he does indeed a great job with the garden. Not that I’m that much interested in it, but I must admit that it’s a gem of the castle. I bet you would love to see it, don’t you? We have so many different and special flowers...

[Confused] Hm? Why that look? I thought you would have appreciated the idea. [Serious] Because, honestly, I don’t really care about this ball and I’d love to get away as soon as possible. I can’t stand all of these people here, and I’d like some privacy to talk to my future wife.

Yes, you heard correctly. I intend to make you my wife. Are you happy? Excited? Worried? [Chuckle] [Gentle] Oh, darling, you don’t need to worry. You’re perfect for that role, I assure you, you will be a graceful princess. I’ll personally make sure you’ll live a happy life in my castle, and that your family will be taken care of for the rest of their life too. They won’t have to worry about anything anymore. I’ll make sure everyone will make you feel loved and appreciated. And, of course, I will take care of you personally, too. How does that sound, my lady?

[Confused and slightly upset] Why would you be unsure? Isn’t this what you always dreamed? Otherwise, why would you have come here tonight? You knew you had a chance to be chosen. And one of the things that made me choose you, was your behavior. You didn’t look so desperate like all of the others, and it feels nice to talk to someone who doesn’t see you just like a pretty face. But, who knows, maybe behind those beautiful eyes, there’s someone who’s anxious of getting closer to me.

[Chuckle] You’re so cute when you blush. I’ll ask to you again: do you want to go see the royal garden with me? We can talk more over there, without being stared at by the crowd. [Whispering closer] So? What do you think?

[Pause]

You’d rather not? Well, I suppose, it’s not a problem at all. Since we’ll get married, you’ll be free to stroll through the garden whenever you’ll want. But, that means, we’ll have to go somewhere else. Oh, don’t be surprised, did your really think we would have spent here all night?

[Music ends]

[Gentle] Come with me, my lady, let’s leave this place. I’ll take you where you will be able to relax, and we’ll… get to know each other better.

[Footsteps]

//Two roles part

Prince: [Grateful] Hey, I’m really glad you danced with her, you know? It’s only thanks to you if she’s here now.

Knight: [Kind of sad] I’m… happy to hear that.

Prince: [Happy] This lady is the one I want to marry. I don’t want to attend this ball any further, there wouldn’t be a reason for, now that I’ve found her.

Knight: I understand. Milady, I hope… [Gentle, but in a sadder shade] you enjoyed tonight’s ball. [Serious] Prince, I’ll stay here and make sure everything goes smoothly until the event ends. As for you, I’ll take care of informing your father about your choice, so… [Slightly showing sadness] just go with her, and I’ll deal with the rest.

Prince: [Calm] This is why you’re my closest friend. I can always count on you. But don’t worry: the night is still long, and the other knights can deal with the boring stuff. You can go back there and have more fun if you want, you have my permission to do so.

Knights: I’ll… see. For now, have a nice evening, prince. And you too... [whispered] milady.

//Solo part (Prince/Princess)

[Footsteps]

[Door opening and closing]

[Charming] Here we are, my lady. Isn’t this better? No chaos, no intrusive eyes, just… us and a peaceful silence. Though we can still slightly hear the music in background, it doesn’t disturb that much. Instead, it creates a nice atmosphere, don’t you think?

[Gentle] Hey, no need to be so uptight… come, sit here on the bed right beside me. Good girl. Now, give me your left hand. [Small pause, sound of small box opening] And… here. Do you like it?

No buts, darling. The gem on this ring matches the color of your eyes, it looks perfect on you. With this, and… [Kiss] with this, I’m officially asking you to marry me.

[Heartbeats sound]

What do you say? Shall I call you… princess, from now on? [Darker] Do I really have to lift your chin to make you look at me? [Chuckle] Not that I mind. In fact, I quite like your shyness. Just like how you like being held like this. [Pause, another small chuckle] Oh, you think I wouldn’t have noticed? The rhythm of your breathing has changed again. It did whenever I praised you, and it did whenever I ordered you something. [Chuckle] Does that embarrass you, princess?

[Gentle] I thought so. But you don’t have to be, around me. I know we’re strangers, but… when you accepted the invitation to the ball, you should have expected this possibility too. I won’t change my mind about my choice: you are the one I want by my side, so… feel free to relax and be yourself with me. I want to know so much more about you, and I want to show to you who I really am too, behind that “prince mask” I’m always supposed to wear outside these walls. I want us to become so much more than just strangers, without secrets and without worrying about what sides of us we’re showing.

So…? Will you be my princess?

[Upset] Tsk, I understand. I had my suspects, after all.

Hah what do I mean? Listen, my lady, I don’t really believe in coincidences. It was fate that the ring I put on your finger matched your eye color perfectly, as if it was designed perfectly for you. It was fate that you enjoy being a prey as much as I enjoy being a predator. And it sure wasn’t a coincidence too that both you and the knight you danced with are madly in love with flowers and gardens and all of that stuff. That was not a coincidence, was it?

[Laugh, but in a more ironic and angry way] Then, tell me, how did you get that flower?

Yes: that rose you pinned in your hair. I noticed it right away in the moment you bowed to me Did you think I wouldn’t have realized that it comes from my garden? I may be disinterested in most of the flowers we have there, but I perfectly know that kind of flower. The rose that shall not perish. [Angry, but in a calm tone] He gave it to you, didn’t he? When was it?

Is that so? Well… [Gentle, in a darker shade] he’s lucky he is my closest friend. And you are forgiven, of course, for sneaking in. Listen, princess, be honest with him: do you have feelings for him?

You… don’t know? [Laugh, frustrated] This is hilarious. I’ll ask you another question, and I want you to think carefully before giving me your answer.

[Serious] Are you happy of being chosen as my wife? Did you come to the ball hoping to become a princess, or just to have the chance to meet with him again after so many years?

[Gentle] Of course. You didn’t even remember his face after all, did you? And now your heart is confused between who you dreamed for, and who you longed for. Between the prince that every girl dreams to marry, and that older kid from your past memories who was so kind to you and who you made such a special promise with. But you don’t have to worry, darling, because I’ll make sure that every uncertainty of yours will be scattered. There’s no space for the both of us in your heart, my lady.

So, choose me… [Whispered into listener’s ear] And trust me, you won’t regret it. Don’t linger in the past anymore, darling. Why would you choose just a flower… when I can give you so much more than that? With me by your side, trust me… you will forget about him.

[Heartbeats]

[Serious] I’ll ask you once again. Will you be my princess?

[Heartbeats]

[Sweet] That’s the answer I wanted to hear. [Kiss] Mmh, your lips are so wonderful to kiss. Now… [Gentle, but darker] be a good girl and close your eyes for me. Don’t open them up until I say so, and don’t as questions until I’m done.

[Footsteps] [Objects moving around] [Sound of glass bottle being opened]

Sssh, princess. I told you: no questions.

[Sound of glass bottle being closed] [Footsteps] [Long kiss] [Drinking/swallowing sound]

Aaah, what a good girl you are, princess. You drank every drop of it. Hm?

That? Let’s just say… that was something that will make you feel lighter. You won’t have to worry anymore about your uncertainties, and what your heart truly wants… will soon be clear to you.

[Heartbeats getting slightly faster]

[Calm] Do you know why the rose in your hair is called “The rose that shall not perish”? It’s a very special flower, which blooms thanks to the grafting of two red roses combined with a special restoring potion. You can say it holds some magic within, that allows it never to wither. But it’s not the only special flower we have in the garden. Lots of the flowers you find there, are only cultivated here. Some of those, are perfect ingredients for food. Others are perfect for decorations. And some others… [slightly darker] they have some particular effects when an infusion is prepared with their petals and is ingested. Or when it comes into direct contact with someone’s blood.

[Gentle] Do you feel slightly dizzy? [Chuckle] Lean on me, princess, it will soon pass. Say… do you know who is the one who takes care of the royal garden?

That’s right, one of my knights. And… do you feel anything for him?

Oh, is that so? [Chuckle] I’m so relieved, princess. I guess… you have no more doubts now, do you? Then I guess… [Still gentle, but more creepy] this flower in your hair, you don’t need it anymore, do you? You won’t mind if I take it from you and make it burn to ashes, right? After all… you can have all the flowers you want from the garden directly, now. You just need to ask, and I’ll make sure they are delivered to you.

[Gentle] Say, princess… are you happy now?

That’s what I wanted to hear. [Kiss] You know, I can make you even more happy. [Darker] I’d love to see the expression you’d make in that case… I’ll make sure my future wife will enjoy every moment of it.

[Sweet] Of course I’ll kiss you, my lady. That’s one of the many ways I can keep you quiet. We don’t want to make to much noise here, right? Otherwise, when the music stops, they might hear you. [Chuckle] [Long kiss] [Charming]The night is young, princess. And I hope you’re ready to dance again with me, you don’t have to worry about anything now. Just like before, you only need to follow my lead…

[This one spoken slowly, getting more darker and darker here] Oh, I can’t wait to see how beautiful my princess will look all tangled up in my cobweb.

[Heartbeats, kissing, fading out]

#asmr #asmr boy #asmr boyfriend #asmr roleplay #asmr scripts #roleplay #fantasy #prince #knight #asmr community #yandere #soft yandere #yandere boyfriend

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cto10121 · 1 year

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Me: [sprinting out of the insane asylum in a straitjacket] But seriously, guys, one of the weirdest song order choices across productions has to be placing Un Jour anywhere else other than after La Haine and before La Demande en Mariage. I just can’t fathom it. In its original placement as the third song of the show Un Jour was a palate cleanser, a lyrical reprieve from the rock and pop drama of Vérone and La Haine. We were introduced to our protagonists fairly early and shown why they are different from the other characters. Un Jour isn’t just about RetJ wanting love, it’s also about their feelings of loneliness and alienation from this culture of hate and division. Moving it to before Les Rois du Monde (Hungarian) or making it as a response to Tu Dois Te Marier (Revival) or, um, after La Demande En Marriage (Italian) kind of defeats the purpose. In the Hungarian placement we get RetJ telling their friends their desire to love…right smack in the middle of Verona’s hate-obsessed society that doesn’t have much tolerance for genuine love connection. It’s just not something RetJ would confess to, even to their intimates (because they know how they will react). Also, what with Romeo being a pussy-magnet homeboy who is not supposed to want love (emotional) and Juliette being a “good” girl who is not supposed to want love (sexual), that’s even more reason to have Un Jour be a sung private duet-monologue. Un Jour is also about RetJ’s dissatisfaction with their (gendered) social roles, so it makes sense for Un Jour to be a long distance duet with no one else around (save a couple of dancers idk) but themselves. The Revival placement puts it after new Tu Dois Te Marier as a response (more or less dramatically logical) but before Les Rois du Monde (dramatically and musically incoherent—right after RetJ sing about wanting love the scene closes and Romeo goes bro-ing with his friends 😑). The Italian seemed to have realized this and put it after La Demande to have some space between it and Les Rois du Monde. Makes sense, if a little random to interrupt the Capulets Capulet-ing and switch to the lovers all of a sudden. So yeah, I don’t know why Un Jour gets moved around so much. It should be a no-brainer to have it as the third song in the musical. I don’t know, does this make sense?

Guards: Grab her!

#romeo et juliette #retj #roméo et juliette #retj meta #i just have many thoughts #also the alternative order serve to de-center retj as the musical’s protagonists #orders i should say #me i’ve never felt even the slightest urge to listen to les rois du monde after listening to un jour #i’ve always gone straight to la demande #hungarian retj had to really abridge un jour to make that transition #hungarian retj #revival retj #italian retj

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rev3rb · 1 year

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Hey, I read the new chapter! And um, was The First… a good… dad?!?! Lol I am a bit surprised to see him care for Mika like that. Even with him talking about how naming someone is a curse, it seems like he does really love Mika, even if he thinks of it as a burden (which makes me wonder if it was rare for ppl/angels to have individual identities back then?). Even though it wouldn’t excuse his actions, it would be kinda wild if all this started just bc he wanted to save Mika, bc bitch same! I also want Mika to live lmao. Although this is just one memory so The First may still have ulterior motives.

I am a little confused about the emphasis of Angel Mika acting like both Yu/Mika. Like it could’ve been them just joking around, or it could be seriously hinting that something altered or maybe even split Mika’s personality?? Idk maybe I’m looking into things too much. We just get so little info at a time that I’m grasping for straws here a bit lol.

Also, I’m glad we got to see what Yu looked like. Plus the gender neutral pronouns to refer to Yu 👌

Honestly, I'm not that surprised that The First was a good dad. He's trying to bring Mika back, regardless of the costs, and if Owari no Seraph has taught us anything, it's that that kind of drive is borne out of love. Every single character that has been successful in any regard has had some sort of love driving them, and when they didn't, they were far less successful in their goals. There are only a few examples example I can think of where this isn't really the case. Kureto is one, and even then, Kureto does care. He just buries it because, while caring gives you strength, it also gives you a weakness, something that is a bit of a running theme in Catastrophe at 16. I guess there's also a case for Rigr, but again I'd argue that he cares for Urd in his own possibly backward way. The best case is probably Ferid? However, I digress. I think it makes perfect sense that The First's mission is one borne out of love. It's possible The First has ulterior motives, but I don't really think that's the case. I do think it's as simple as The First not being willing to let Mika go.

I'm glad you brought that up because I think that was the most interesting part of the chapter. There are so many reasons this could be the case, and I like your idea! It'd be an interesting path to take and I wonder what would have caused that.

I have a couple running ideas right now. First is that angel Mika did exactly what The First warned of and "cursed" that homunculus with a soul, and that IS Yu. This homunculus Yu then just proceeded to copy Mika's personality here as that's what they were familiar with. Plus, they say that you tend to copy the behaviors of those you like right? Another idea is that Yu and Mika actually somehow switched places/roles, but I'm less confident about that one. It doesn't make a lot of sense as we've seen Yu's memories of a time Mika shouldn't remember as he was dead at the time, but who knows. Wild stuff has already happened. The last idea is that when the first was trying to revive Mika, his failed experiments were Yu, which explains their similar personalities. What it fails to account for is why the Mika we know's personality is different then.

Yeah! It's interesting that Yu was just this "homunculus" that was apparently a companion/guardian for Mika. I guess it would make a sort of sense, and could tie back to the whole idea I had earlier about Yu being sort of manufactured to feel protective of Mika. However, I have a feeling that while Yu's role played into their proximity, Mika probably won over Yu on his own? I dunno. Hard to say without knowing how sentient these homunculi are.

Overall, I actually really enjoyed this chapter, and I get the feeling you did too. It's nice to finally get some notable forward progress and interactions here after so long.

#Owari no Seraph #OnS 125 #OnS 125 spoilers #Owari no Seraph spoilers #My posts #Asks #Anonysis Asks

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egipci · 7 months

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respectfully i think the other anon is smoking crack. theres no WAY john would lay a finger on deanna if she was both a girl AND the baby. i tend to agree with you that likelihood of consummation goes j/d as is > j/younger dean > j/oldest daughter deanna (although this and younger still-a-boy dean are maybe on relatively even footing actually...) > j/youngest child deanna. would be really interested hearing what you were thinking re "worse" sibling order making it easier to consummate though!

oh man, I think it might be you and I who are smoking crack, dear anon <3 I've seen the idea that it would be easier for John to fuck Deanna thrown around about a bunch of times, and every time I'm left scratching my head. Not to straw-man anyone's take, but the sense I get is "Deanna performs "wifely/feminine" emotional and domestic labor + John feels entitled to that labor + John is straight = John feels entitled to and expects sex from Deanna." Which is so intuitively false to me, in addition to being incredibly bleak (bleaker than the old son-fucking at least). To be clear, I'm not saying J/Deanna would never happen--- it's just not "easier" in any meaningful sense, and in fact the gender difference would make John much more cautious about crossing any lines (even, and maybe especially, if both of them really, really want to.) But I don't know! Maybe we're the minority here. "John/Deanna is easier" believers, call in and explain yourselves!

Re: why would John/younger!Deanna be easier to consummate? I agree with you that it would still be less likely than if it were just Dean but younger. But, on the whole, I think the world in which Dean is younger is an even more dangerous world, in the vulnerability-to-emotional-incest sense, in the same way that I think a Mary Lives AU would be more dangerous, or even an Only Child Dean AU, and the main difference between these worlds and canon would be the role Sam plays and how their obligations towards Sam play out. The ageswap world I'm interested in basically only switches around their birth order, while keeping to their personalities and their mytharc roles as closely as possible. Canon!John is remarkably lucky in that the brother entrusted with all the adult responsibilities takes it on the chin and doesn't complain. Switching Dean's and Sam's ages doesn't mean that John can simply raise a Dean who just happens to be called Sam and a rebellious younger son called Dean.

(Disclaimer due here, since you can't assume a good faith interpretation around these parts lol: Dean did the best he could being a pseudo-parental figure to Sam while being a child himself. His parentification is not his fault, he couldn't just try *harder* to make it stop. Sam resisting parentification also doesn't make him a worse brother/person. etc. etc.)

With that out of the way, let's say in this world Lucifer/Sam is the older child who is given the responsibility to care for his younger sibling(s), he's drafted into Dad's war (like Lucifer is entrusted with the key to the darkness's cage, etc. etc), he loves his dad and he loves his baby brother so very much, but he also vocally resents and resists his parentification. And let's say, like canon!Sam seems to (early on) victim-blame Dean/find him weak for his dogged loyalty to their dad, a small part of Sam's frustration regarding being forced into a parenting role is taken out on Dean. Again, Sam loves his brother, he still squarely blames their dad, but this is more of an unconscious frustration and a confusion that comes from feeling so different from your siblings in crucial ways (ahem... totally not speaking from personal experience here). You could imagine this Sam trying as best as he could to do well by his brother, but he's not the guy performing all the emotional labor for John. He's watching out for Dean, he's trying to do well in school because he's trying to get the fuck out (perhaps hoping to take Dean with him), he's going on the hunts, patching his dad up, but he's not the hand-on-the-shoulder-telling-Dad-it's-okay type. There's a lot of emotional distance there, and crucially, actual major obligations that Sam is not performing, or not performing as dutifully as John would like. This Sam is very different from canon!Sam in that canon!Sam's daddy issues stem in large part from exclusion from the John-Dean unit. Yes, he was expected to hunt, but it seems that he started significantly later than Dean did. Even when his misconception that John was disappointed in him is resolved, the real issue that remains is that he felt like an outsider, and not by choice. Older!Sam actually gives John reason to be disappointed because he has a responsibility towards Dean.

Now enter a very, very eager younger son who's 1. super infatuated with his dad (in the most innocent sense), 2. doesn't have the same breadth of responsibility as his older brother, but who still 3. gets the intimacy of being the emotional support system for his dad, in contrast to bad older brother Sam who's not doing enough (John's assessment, not mine). Dean really loves his brother, but I think the emotional distance that's between them pre-canon remains here in this world, and in part it's caused by Sam's rebelling. And while canon!Dean is (quietly) resentful about his parentification, younger!Dean doesn't have an equivalent concern.

And then Sam leaves! He must leave, and Dean must stay. If we're trying to keep it as close to canon as possible, Sam goes to college at 18, 19. Maybe 20. Dean is 14. 16 at most. Think back to 2x3 and Dean telling Gordon about his experience hunting with his dad alone at 16, the wonder and the secrecy and the weird intimate claustrophobia of their world-of-two, except Sam isn't waiting in the car. Sam left. His leaving is what basically shoves them into that world. Dean doesn't get the no-hunting/extra-protective Dad benefits (if you could call them benefits) of being the younger sibling. In that sense, he's pretty much still canon!Dean, way too involved with his dad's life from a super young age. He just gets to be the perfect obedient son in contrast to Sam. The betrayal of Sam leaving feels much worse because Dean and John actually relied on him to no small degree, and that in itself is the inverse of their canon bond as Sam's co-parents.

Do these conditions automatically mean J/Deanna would be easier? I'm not sure. There is always the (ooc) extreme grooming take. Old creepy man with a fourteen year old girl alone on the road takes advantage of her, no other witnesses etc etc. But of course that's not my take. But I think you can fiddle with their internal dials just enough to up all the canon-feeling emotions and anxieties that make J/D possible in the first place, blur protectiveness and control just enough to make John slightly less scrupulous. Maybe.

#asks

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