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m-s-justice · 10 months

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Warning for Unpopular Opinion:

I kinda hate Primis Richtofen

As a character, he's fantastic. But if I were to ever cross paths with him, he would be on the receiving end of at least 28 stab wounds.

Strap in for another Long Fucking Textpost.

I have three main gripes with the guy.

1. How he treats Victis/The Rest of Primis

Richtofen manipulates Victis into doing his dirty work, actively putting their lives in danger by siccing Undead Ultimis Richtofen on them, and then puts them on ice in a parallel to his Ultimis self doing the same thing to his teammates. Not to mention Victis is frozen in a HELL POCKET DIMENSION. And EVEN THEN, he’s not even the one to wake them up; it’s Ultimis Richtofen, likely prompted by Primis Nikolai.

As for how he treats his team, holy shit. He deceives them the entire cycle. Sure, he didn’t technically lie to them, but omission of information is just as bad. The other three had no idea what they were walking into. They didn’t expect to have to kill themselves. And that’s the fucking thing. They didn’t sign up for this. Richtofen clearly never asked if the other three wanted to live in Agartha with him. Richtofen never considered that they have lives of their own, outside of the cycle. Richtofen considered his own goals above the lives of his team. In ZnS one of his opening lines is “Do you trust me, [whichever of the three he is talking to]?”, to which both Dempsey and Takeo respond that they feel like they have no choice but to and Nikolai who basically says no. And yet, RIchtofen keeps charging ahead, doing “what he has to”. Sure, he ensured that they didn’t get wiped from existence, nevermind the fact that they wouldn’t have even been in danger of that without Richtofen leading them there. Instead, Richtofen leads them in a fucking circle. They’re going to do the same song and dance, forever. Now, no matter how much personal beef I have with BO4’s writing, it’s implied that the only way peace could ever be achieved is through the Motherfuckers’ deaths. Accepting his own death is something Richtofen could never do, we even see it happen. When he dies in Blood, it’s not graceful. Rather than subject himself to death, he instead has everyone go through something arguably worse, a never-ending loop of suicide by proxy. What the actual fuck.

2. Dimensional collapse

Richtofen lets Dimension 63 (Morg City [SoE]) get eaten by Apothicons. To give him some credit, there’s probably not a lot he could’ve done by himself. Apothicons are known for gobbling down dimensions like rednecks at a pie eating contest. But also. There was Keeper intervention. Maybe let the Keeper use the Incredibly Powerful, yet Loosely Defined MacGuffin #52 to save the dimension before swooping in, stealing the Key, and then dipping? I don’t know man, the general lack of remorse in his actions, the whole “I have a universe to set right” line before dooming the entire place just rubs me the wrong way.

3. General Assholery

Richtofen is a bit of an arrogant prick. The apparent reason the others can’t peek at the Big Book of Plot Convenience is because they’re too stupid. He also refuses to answer any of their questions. No wonder the other three don’t trust him, what with his complete and utter lack of transparency and his compulsive need to beat around every goddamn bush in the Forest of Equivocation.

On a slightly different note, there’s one quote of his that stood out to me. It’s a start of session conversation with Takeo.

Takeo: “I fear that denying Dempsey the chance to better understand himself may have… consequences.”

Richtofen: “Even had he been conscious before his death, I do not believe that Dempsey had any… great knowledge to impart.”

What the hell. My Brother in CoD, you made him that way. An alternate you literally experimented on and tortured him and then froze him taking away all autonomy from him. Not only that, you selected that dimension. You chose that specific Dempsey. If you wanted a "smart” Dempsey, then literally go anywhere else and murder him instead. Holy fucking shit. And Primis Dempsey is also there. Mourning himself. And you’re out here insulting a dead man that you murdered behind his back. Richtofen did murder him; Dempsey was coerced into doing it. Even fucking worse, is that Dempsey confesses to Nikolai that he’s starting to trust Richtofen. The one thing Richtofen wants most and he doesn’t deserve it.

However, the actual worst part is that nothing comes from Dempsey not being able to properly meet with his other self. Dempsey pulls himself together by himself, which is very admirable, but does have the unfortunate outcome of confirming Richtofen’s position. There were no ramifications. That Dempsey was simply an idiot who had nothing of worth to contribute, other than his death.

PART 4: END OF POST WHERE I SAY MORE RANDOM BULLSHIT IN A SLIGHTLY INCREASED INCOHERENT WAY AS A MOCKERY OF A CONCLUSION

Ok now to preface this I’m not attacking anybody who interprets Primis Richtofen differently. He's a fictional character and other people viewing art in a different way than me will not cramp my style.

I do think that he genuinely loved his friends and wanted the best for all of them. The way he goes about it is just one of the worst ways possible. Comedically terrible, falling on his face, fucking Looney Tunes-ing it up.

Simultaneously, however, I think at his core, Richtofen is a selfish character. And that’s shown in both version’s actions. Ultimis is pretty blatant in his egoistic pursuits. I spent the entire post pretty much draggin Primis in the mud, so I’m not going to repeat myself.

To end this: I hate him so much I want to rip him to pieces. But I also really like him as a character, so I would sitch him back together. And then his insufferable face would send me into an irrepressible rage and I’d shred him again. Rinse and repeat.

#cod zombies #codz #call of duty zombies #edward richtofen #should probably specify #primis richtofen #tank dempsey #takeo masaki #nikolai belinski #1027 words baby #Anyways Primis Richtofen is such an interesting guy #He loves his friends but he's a horrible person and a total loser #loses at every possible turn #*makes it to Agartha* *gets punted to medieval France*#*finally breaks the cycle* *has to die in order to do it*#*gets to have a party with his friends :)* *dies again lmao*#Also half of this was written at Late o'clock and it probably shows

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lillie98 · 14 days

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How to Save the World—Stranger Things 5

I’ve had some time to sleep on the episode titles and think about them, read theories, etc. and I now believe they might be real.

Hear me out: Stranger Things is all about cycles, parallels, tropes happening over and over again. The Duffers love taking a moment and repeating it in slightly different ways to prove a point. The story started with “The Vanishing of Will Byers” because we needed to place a small, innocent child in the center of our story, something to bring our character together and drive them to action. Well, that child is no longer in danger and our team is ripping apart at the seams. It’s almost like we need something similar to reunite everyone and drive them to action again.

Remember: The Duffers love parallels. Will’s disappearance brought his deeply fractured family together, uniting them for a common cause. It also brought Nancy and Jon together when their families needed them most. Now, the Byers are a united front, ready to tackle any monster that comes their way. They are the glorification of the avant-gard family. Now which family is struggling? The Wheelers. The perfect, All-America Nuclear Family: Mom, Dad, 3 kids, and a picket fence. They look perfect to the outside world, but behind closed doors, they are deeply struggling. They don’t communicate, the parents have idea what’s happening in their children’s lives, and if they’re not careful, if they don’t come together and form a united front—they’re going to lose everything, potentially causing the end of the world. (Why? I haven’t gotten that far yet!)

Now, how do we inspire them to action? Maybe by taking the child who was born to save their crumbling marriage—the one has seen everything but, up until this point, been too young to contribute. Now, she’ll be the same age Will was when he disappeared and Mike and Will are the same age as Jon and Nancy. The Duffers are trying to illustrate the idea of “The Next Generation.” This evil, this Upside Down dimension is NEVER going to stop until someone from the Wheeler and Byers families breaks the cycle. Children will continue to vanish, the world will continue to crumble, until someone steps up and says ENOUGH. The Wheelers and Byers (parents and children) must step up and face their pasts in order to move forward.

The “Stranger Things” are not only LGBTQ+ matters, they are the skeletons we hide in the closet that literally eat us alive. They are the dark, festering parts of ourselves we don’t let anyone else see. The invisible cancers that slowly and silently kill us. Until we face them head on, until we bring them to the light, they will NEVER die. Stranger Things is about owning your past, facing your fears, and finding the light again.

So yes, Stranger Things will end with Will Byers making it home from Mike Wheeler’s house on November 6, 1983, but not in a time traveling way, in a finally letting go of that scared, pained little boy who thought the world was better off without him. It’s Mike accepting his sexuality and place in his family. His role as a leader. It’s Joyce accepting love from Hopper, who must accept that he is not actually cursed, but that sometimes, bad things happen to good people, even when they think they’re doing the right thing (Vietnam). it’s Karen and Ted falling in love again and fighting to save their family. It’s Eleven discovering that love, not anger, should fuel her powers. It’s mourning your stolen childhood while stepping into the version of yourself that child never got to be. It’s stopping the cycle and creating a better world for the Will Byers and Mike Wheelers and Jane Hoppers of tomorrow. THAT’S how you become a Hero.

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super-paper · 10 months

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Do you think Hawks will die to save Toga?

Personally, I wouldn't like it if either of them died. Like, the potential narrative payoff here would be strongest if both of them lived, imo. I would rather see a situation where Keigo donates just enough blood to stabilize them both, rather than a situation where one person completely exsanguinates themselves and leaves behind a rash of trauma and unresolved feelings in the person they "saved."

I'm definitely not the best when it comes to Hawks meta, but I'll try my best to break down my personal feelings on why I feel both Keigo and Himiko need to live in order to "break the cycle":

1. You Can Start Over. I'll Help You.

This one's the biggest, most obvious point in favor of them both living imo. Hawks made an offer to help Jin start over, but rescinded that offer and immediately went for the kill the moment Jin showed signs of resistance. This was Keigo's biggest failure as both a hero and as an individual, and something he has yet to atone for.

In turn, Himiko believes there are no second chances-- that her only options are death or being locked away forever. So, she chooses death. She needs someone to offer her a third option.

The set up is there.

There's also the matter of Keigo and Himiko both stating that they want an "easier world" as their core motivation, and both of them state that they want to be the ones who help make that world.

Their goals only sound simplistic on the surface and serve as a mask for their respective traumas, but... ultimately, a world that's easier for Himiko to live in (where she is consensually given blood by someone who loves her and she is allowed to give her blood back to the world in return) is a world where heroes can finally take it easy-- because it's a world that nips the endless creation of its own "villains" in the bud, through unified acts of compassion and understanding.

Both characters have caused others intense pain and hurt others in their attempts to take shortcuts to the creation of an "easier world"-- Hawks is the hero that's "too fast," and Himiko is also associated with her near-supernatural speed. They're both too impatient and want the quickest possible results. Having both Himiko and Keigo living and learning the "right way" to create their ideal world-- and then, getting to be a part of that world as they both continue to atone-- feels much more meaningful than having one or both of them die before they can see that future reach fruition.

2. The Big, Suicidal Elephant in the Room

The majority of the LOV members all struggle with suicidal ideation-- Touya wants to set everything Endeavor ever chose over him ablaze, and he wants that inferno to also serve as his funeral pyre. Tomura has got a dissertation's worth of issues regarding his own mortality and self-perception/identity, and his whole "let's-just-destroy-it-all/we-don't-need-a-future-actually-lol" schtick has always been a symptom rather than a legit proposal for a cure. Himiko wants to disappear into the identities of the people she loves, because the world treats her a little more kindly when she isn't "Toga Himiko." The LOV trio's arcs all revolve around "death of the self" to some degree. (That said... resurrection and rebirth are also heavy themes within Tenko, Touya, and Himiko's arcs, soooo....)

Keigo also struggles with suicidal ideation and places the worth of his own life far, far, faaaaar below that of everyone else.

This has already been said, and shouldn't really need to be said in the first place, but-- people have every right to feel uncomfortable and criticize a story that attempts to validate suicidal characters by portraying their suicide in a noble/redemptive light.

Next!

3. It's All About All Mi-- Err..... Tomie?

"I was fine with that-- not saving her, turning my back on her. Me, who claims he wants to help people." - Hawks, about Tomie.

"I tried to go about things the right way" is a good line that touches on one of the core conflicts of Keigo's character: He suppresses so much of his natural instinct to do good so he can do "right."

Keigo knows in his heart of hearts that "the right way" doesn't save people like his mother, it didn't save Jin, and it's not going to save Himiko. He's been groomed into upholding the society and status quo that caused him and Tomie to nearly fall through the cracks in the first place-- and I've always found it both fascinating and sad that Keigo seems to equate choosing "the right way" (i.e. becoming a hero) to abandoning his mother. Keigo effectively being *sold* to the HPSC is what took Tomie off of the streets and gave her a roof over her head-- it gave her "a chance to start over." But Keigo doesn't seem to view this as true saving. With that in mind, his attempt to "save" Jin by essentially giving him the same offer the HPSC gave Tomie was always doomed end in failure.

Keigo: "My mother feared punishment for harboring a criminal, so she took me and ran."

Tomie first ran out of fear of being arrested after Takami Thief was captured-- which led to both her and Keigo being homeless for an extended period of time. She ran again after Dabi/Touya threatened her for information on Keigo, this time out of fear of her son-- a son who had became synonymous with "the law" she feared so much in her eyes. She can't bear facing him after her betrayal and implicitly fears punishment/condemnation from him (even though Keigo had *no* intention of punishing her)-- Tomie readily leaves behind the "normal" home and "normal" life that Hawks obtained for her through "doing things the right way," bc the imaginary threat of punishment and condemnation is something that comes across as worse for her. This only further convinces Keigo that he failed to save his mother, even though he's the one who's being betrayed and hurt by her.

I can't help seeing similarities between Tomie & Himiko's decisions to run out of an intense fear of punishment/imprisonment, and how this inevitably ties to Keigo. Keigo subconsciously realizes that he can't truly save people like Tomie, Jin, or Himiko as "Hawks" because "Hawks" is part of the problem. He longs to save others as himself-- as "Takami Keigo" (which is why the loss of his quirk kind of has me like "👀 👀 👀 whatcha gonna do next, turkey boy...,,..👀 👀 👀" )

As an aside, I seem to recall that transhawks made a few meta post where they talk about how there are traces of Jin's design in Tomie (esp her eyes, which have the same dead-eyed thousand yard stare) and that their resemblance is likely intentional (edit: link to one post pointing the resemblance out)-- It's not as overt, but imo, Himiko also resembles Tomie (just a little!) when she has her hair down.

Anyway! Both Jin and Himiko dying after Keigo A) has spent his whole life agonizing about how his own mother wasn't able to survive in their current society, B) has expressed guilt about how he didn't even try to save her and didn't make attempts to involve himself in her life, C) has talked at length about he wanted to be "more like Bubaigawara" and then proceeded to roleplay him, badly, for a good third of Act 3 (ohhhh boy ☠️☠️☠️), and D) had demanded that Toga be killed immediately after she arrives in Gunga, only for Ochako and Tsuyu to explicitly challenge and reject the idea that killing was the only option available.... idk, Himiko dying while Keigo does nothing would just feel massively incoherent at this point??

TL;DR The resolution to Keigo's arc currently hinges on addressing his origin, his identity, his guilt, and his ties to these three characters. Keigo feels that he failed with Tomie, and he explicitly failed with Jin-- and I personally don't think his arc can have a satisfactory ending without addressing those failures through Himiko, or without him trying to right where he went wrong by helping her in some capacity. This is a chance for him to finally follow his innate drive to do good over doing what their society dictates as "right."

----

All that being said, if Hori did decide to have Hawks sacrifice himself: Hawks choosing to sacrifice himself because he wants to believe in the future that the hero kids are creating and wants to believe that children like Himiko have a place in that future feels WAAAY more tonally consistent with mha's themes than Himiko choosing to sacrifice herself because she doesn't think she has a future

One message is about healing and hope and belief, the other is about failing to truly save someone who was already suicidal from their inevitable self destruction.

MHA has been defining true saving as "going above and beyond" for hundreds of chapters now-- true saving means saving a person's heart, body, and soul. It means giving them a future. By mha's own definitions, Himiko choosing to kill herself means she wasn't saved. Pure and simple-- You can't save the heart but not the body/soul (Himiko), you can't save the soul but not the body/heart (Touya), and you can't save the body but not the heart/soul (Tomura). There's a lot more work to be done here-- but that's fine, bc MHA has never depicted true saving or true healing as some magical, instantaneous thing. (#recoverygirldni)

#mha spoilers #mha 395 #thank you for the ask!#sophie.txt #suicide tw #mha.txt

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caelivir · 10 months

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the fault of love | orter madl

— synopsis. orter doesn’t make mistakes, but what does that make you?

— pairing. revolution leader!orter x gov. spy!reader (gn)

— genre. angst

— warnings. major character death, description of death using a gun, mention of specific crimes (kidnapping, robbery, blackmail, etc.) none are explicitly described, lmk if i miss any

— word count. ~1.7k

— notes. i stayed up until 5am to finish this i’m so dead; i tried lowercase.. let’s see how i like it. this was fun to write ngl. i hope you enjoy <3

orter madl is a bad person. he was born to be. his entire life was a cycle of left hooks, knife throwing, and gunshots. from an early age he was bound by orders and loyalty. he was raised to lead, raised to be the top in the game. show no mercy to your enemies. be the best.

everything orter does is for the suffering innocents, his family, the organization. he has to do it, even if it goes against all morals. he can’t afford to make mistakes. they’ll hinder him and ruin everything he’s worked hard for. that’s why he shouldn’t get close to anyone. attachments and emotions weaken. they mess with logical judgment, and orter would rather die before letting his emotions make decisions.

yet orter couldn’t stop himself when he got to know you, the clumsy person who spilled coffee all over his suit. he hadn’t meant to, but it was like being a moth to a flame. he sought for you, and you invaded his thoughts at every waking moment. orter wanted nothing more than to see your face, to grasp your hand into his, and to press his adoration for you onto your lips.

and that in itself–that love–would be his downfall. your entrance into orter’s life sparked a long chain of events that brought complications onto the organization that never existed before. he should’ve seen it sooner. he could’ve ended it sooner. but that’s what emotions do. they blind. they’ve blinded him for far too long, and tonight, he’ll finally put an end to it.

hours into the night, orter arrives at the empty warehouse where you’re being kept. he wears a mask over his feelings as he passes by underlings who offer their respects to him. he’s ushered inside. orter spots your figure seated in the center of the wide space. a flurry of emotions surges through him, causing him to order everyone out despite their protests.

orter sighs, taking steps closer to you, becoming more aware of your current state. your hands and legs are tied down to the chair. bruises dot along your skin, and cuts bleed from your lips and forehead. the light in your eyes has gone dead. you stare into nothing.

it pains orter more than any beating he’s ever received. he wants nothing more than to untie you, find a med kit, and clean your wounds just as you always did for him. but he knows he can’t, so he has to tighten his fists, make his knuckles turn a blinding white to hold himself back from caring for you.

he takes the seat across from you, saying nothing despite the mess of sentences bouncing across his mind. you finally pick up your gaze, keeping quiet. no words are exchanged for what feels like hours.

orter’s mask is slipping, cracking ever so slightly as you catch glimpses of confusion, anger, sadness, and nothing all at once. you manage to not betray a single emotion.

orter caves, breaking the silence with a simple question. “why?”

you bite the tip of your tongue, deciding on an answer before you speak incorrectly. “because I had to.”

“had to-” orter cuts himself off with an inhale, rubbing a hand over his face as he abruptly stands. frustration sprouts across every vein in his body. he scoffs. “do you even know what you’ve done? do you know what you’ve cost me?!”

you glare, nose flaring, finally conceding an ounce of emotion. “people are dying because of you! it is my job to stop you.”

“you just don’t understand.”

“understand? understand what?!” you cry, voice ringing through the empty room. “what else is there to understand, orter?!”

orter flinches, unsettled by the abhorrent you carry towards him. it’s unlike you. no. that was never you. it was yet another lie you had fabricated. there’s no point in making you try to see his point of view. there was no way for you two to see eye to eye. it just couldn’t happen with your backgrounds. that doesn’t stop him from trying anyway.

“do they brainwash you over there?”

“don’t be ridiculous.” you scoff.

“the people i’ve killed,” he begins. “do you even know what they did?”

your teeth clench.

“kidnapping, blackmailing, murder, robbery, trafficking, and the list goes on and on and on. they are making people suffer, and it is my job to stop them.” orter echoes your words as a spit to your face. “i know you know it too. deep down you’ve always known.”

“you’re lying.” you deny ferociously.

“the government is enabling them by turning a blind eye. you’re enabling them.” orter declares, pointing a finger at you.

“stop fucking talking!” you scream, voice cracking. you let your head fall, chest rising and falling.

orter doesn’t know what to do. it’s eating him alive, tearing his heart layer by layer. is it possible to get you on his side? but who would trust you? can he still trust you after everything?

“just what are you waiting for?” you eye him, speaking in a quiet voice that’s laced in defeat after minutes of tense silence.

“what?”

“you know why you’re here, orter. finish the job. stop wasting time.” you tilt your head back, daring him.

“y/n-”

“finish the fucking job.” you repeat, seething through pauses, enunciating each word so orter can comprehend the message.

the provocation causes orter to pull his gun on you before his brain can think otherwise. it’s aimed square at your face, yet you remain unafraid, having already accepted your doom.

orter hesitates to pull the trigger. the weapon shakes in his hand no matter how much he tries to steady himself. he has to end this. he has to. orter needs to let your relationship end like this—in rage and hate. but he can’t bring himself too, because there’s a part of him that hopes.

“was any of it real?” he asks, gripping tightly on his gun.

you know exactly what he’s referring to. maybe that’s why you answer quickly with a confident “no.”

that should’ve been enough to make orter finally squeeze the trigger, to finally put a finish to your life, but he stalls longer, taking you in, memorizing each and every line on your face. he sees your beauty even in moments before demise. he takes a step forward, pressing the tip of his firearm to your head, using it as a chance to be near you.

the trigger tightens and tightens to the point where orter thinks he’ll follow through, but the sound of your voice makes it loosen. he drops his aim to his side.

“i can’t tell you that it was real,” you state, and orter begins to see your eyes glaze. each syllable of your following words break. “because if i did, then that would mean you would be right.”

you finally break down, your facade shatters. fat streaks of tears stream down the skin on your cheeks, and you lower your head, letting them fall onto the floor.

“if i told you it was real, then i would have to admit that my year with you has been the happiest i have ever been.” you continue between chokes. “and i can’t let it be real because that would mean that i hurt you again and again and again for no reason at all.”

orter hates your anguished cries. he would give everything to the heavens to make them stop. he can only tighten his strength onto his gun.

“i have to tell myself that it isn’t real… because doing so makes it easier to deny the fact that i love you. and i love you so much, orter.”

orter reacts in what seems to be record time, pressing his lips onto yours with a passion that could set the world on fire. every unspoken word of his is poured into your mind as you move in sync with him. for this one moment, you both forget who you are. the government’s top agent. the leader of a revolution. those are mere titles squashed beneath your foot as you kiss orter with all the love you have yet to return to him.

orter’s hand finds the familiar skin of your face, stained with blood. he commits that warmth into memory, and when you finally pull away to breathe, he loses himself in your irises, examining the details that he grew fond of.

neither of you dare to go for seconds because you knew that if you did, then you would both abandon everything, your responsibilities.

so orter straightens himself up, bringing his trembling hand to hover his weapon centimeters from your forehead.

“do you have any final words?” orter forces out, bringing himself back into the cold, ruthless leader he’s supposed to be.

you grin softly. tears still soak your cheeks. “i’m so sorry. i wish things didn’t have to be this way. maybe, just maybe if we get another chance, we can live the way we wanted, and i could keep bringing you those stupid cream puffs from that bakery we love.

you inhale. “thank you for bringing my heart joy, orter madl.”

a single wet tear drops from his eyes as a familiar string of words escape his throat. “i adore you infinitely, my love.”

orter can feel the next words that bubble on your tongue, and you break out into an even brighter, toothy smile. “is that so?”

he seals his eyes shut. the trigger pulls. a shot echoes through the warehouse. the chair falls back with a clatter. orter doesn’t dare to look. if he did, then there would be nothing stopping him from letting your blood soak the threads of his clothes, screaming your name so loudly that it could reach the heavens.

orter storms out of the warehouse, allowing his subordinates to take care of the rest. and when he's finally alone, orter breaks down. his cries ring through the night. his hands bleed from countless punches he slams onto the floor.

orter madl doesn’t make mistakes, but he made the mistake of loving you.

yet he would do it again.

every single time.

#anime #manga #mashle #mashle magic and muscles #orter madl #mashle x reader #orter madl x reader #orter x reader #from kor ; ♆

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aethon-recs · 1 year

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Hi! Do you take asks? I really like the idea of a tomarry fanfic with a crazy harry like Bellatrix crazy, maybe even being a follower of Voldemort. If you don't have any recs on this just ignore it. <3

Oh hi, yes, I absolutely love this theme/trope. Give me Harry with the crazy eyes, give me Harry with a vicious grin and blood dripping out from between his teeth, give me a feral little gremlin boy who’s been pushed to his limits — and who then decides to push back.

And then paired with Voldemort? A match made in heaven ♡

Tomarrymort Recs with Unhinged/Dark Harry

Again and Again by Athy (M, 335k, WIP)

Harry is on his 12th reincarnation of his same old life, and he can’t figure out a way to break the cycle. By now, he’s become a jaded, bitter, and tired wizard who just wants to die. But in this life, he befriends Voldemort and is given a chance to learn how to live.

As Portioned from a Whole by @cannibalinc (E, 24k, WIP)

In which Lord Voldemort undermines the Prophecy and raises the infant Harry Potter as His; in all aspects.

Bitumen by @crowcrowcrowthing (E, 32k, WIP)

Harry finds out the hard way that dementors can’t digest horcruxes. Now separated from his body, his best option is to seek out a similar soul for help, who just so happens to be the Dark Lord Voldemort.

Damaged by @duplicitywrites (E, 26k, WIP)

All his life, Harry has been beaten and bullied—both at home and at school. New student Tom Riddle is handsome, charming, and dangerous. Harry has all the reasons in the world to stay far, far away from him. But he doesn’t.

Descent into Darkness (part 1) / Breeding Darkness (part 2) by Athy (E, 496k, WIP)

Everyone has abandoned Harry when his name comes out of the Goblet of Fire, and he feels utterly alone. Through an accident, Harry and the piece of Voldemort's soul that resides inside him begin to interact, and Harry slowly begins to change. (Note: this fic and its sequel are no longer available on AO3, but it is possible to still find it via Google.)

From Every Ruin by @officialsporkintheroad (M, 5k, complete)

Harry dies during the final battle with Voldemort, but instead of going back to the battle, he wakes up back in the graveyard in his 4th year. Confused with everything, Harry dies, only to wake up at the graveyard again. And again. And again.

Hell is Your Son from Another Dimension by @wynnefic (T, 28k, complete)

A desperate Order of the Phoenix turns to an alternate dimension to summon a hero who has the power to defeat Voldemort. They do get Harry Potter from another dimension, but it’s not entirely who they expect.

nothing left to lose by @cindle-writes (E, 11k, complete)

After the war, what Harry wants more than anything is Tom’s soul piece back inside of him. He goes to desperate measures to attain it.

Painted in Grey by @louveclaviere (M, 34k, WIP)

In a world where Harry Potter is born a few years after Tom Riddle, he becomes Lord Voldemort's most trusted general.

The Foul (part 1) / The Great (part 2) by @meles-merrivale (M, 24k, complete)

Harry travels back in time — very far back in time — and ends up in the Dark Ages. He confronts the worst combination of immortality, fate, and time travel paradoxes.

The Left Words by authoresswithoutwords (M, 235k, complete)

When Harry starts Hogwarts, he finds out that the “Avada Kedavra” on his left wrist means the Dark Lord Voldemort is his soulmate. He hides the words so that no one can see, but he doesn’t become any less of an outcast.

Uncrowned by OatMilkLatte (M, 104k, WIP)

A war between magic and muggles destroys everything that Harry had ever known and loved. He travels back in time to prevent the war, stopping at nothing to carry out his vengeance.

we who walk in shadows black by @evandarandahalf (M, 4k, complete)

In which Harry Potter is a vicious little gremlin who mysteriously knows too much, and Lord Voldemort adores him for it.

#tomarrymort #tomarry #harrymort #aethon recs #tomarry recs #tomarrymort recs #harrymort recs #hp fic recs #ao3 recs #fanfic recs #dark harry potter

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viperwhispered · 21 days

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Ngl I'm a sucker for postive characters development. So here's technically a bonus hcs for this ask: Jamil picks up skills that make it impossible for him to overwork.

During his 3rd year, he became the housewarden and FINALLY learned to delegate tasks. Because he's a paranoid king he still prefers do things himself, but now he can identify capable people and put them to work in accordance to their skills. He'll die before admitting, but its something he picked up from Azul.

With Vil he learned how to keep up appearences without letting his boundaries get stomped all over. No, he won't let show how much he despises someone but at least now he can at least properly maintain his own demands without officially offending anyone.

With Riddle he learned the noble art of letting someone know exactly what you think of them with just a look and certain way of sipping tea.

During his travels post-grad and post-freedem, he stops by Briar Valley. Malleus, always happy for the chance to play host, invites him to stay at the castle. While in Malleus' court, he learns how to properly organize all responsibilities within a reasonable time frame of 9 to 6 with a 1 hour lunch break. Any overtime is reserved strictly for emergencies (based on this).

At the end of his travels, Jamil gets convinced to join Leona on his campaign to reform the slums. Because Leona is still one lazy son of a bitch he somehow manages to develop a work/organization system that is so effective that all Leona has to do is occasionally wake up for paperwork and meetings. Said system also includes enough personnel for every type of situation, benefits + good pay for everybody, a 24-hour work schedule with constant rotations to prevent exhaustion, etc. Jamil is in the background taking notes on every little detail of this system.

Skip ahead, Jamil is now working as Kalim's vizier after grueling negotiations of his work contract so that he isn't treated like corporate slave (Kalim is fine with it, its the rest of the nobles who need shutting up).

Jamil proceeds to reorganize the staff according to a modified version of Leona's system and productivity goes up. Helps that he modified their employment contracts so that the staff are treated like staff and not slaves. He also bans child labor and any poison testers are experienced in identification, treatment, and have practiced mithridism. Jamil's absolute refusal to do overtime unless absolutely necessary along with being the only one to bluntly keep Kalim from doing whatever he wants pisses off a lot of higher ups but they can't argue because he's by far the best vizier they could ask for.

Cut to Kalim, who the nobles believe will punish Jamil for daring to "act above his station". Instead Kalim adopts the 9 to 6 schedule himself and orders a mass reorganization of work policies. Why? Because Kalim loves his bestie, wants to help people, and also likes having time to spend with his family. Previous Asim heads would just pass on their extra work to advisors and viziers which caused them to be constantly stressed andoverworked. Kalim is determined to break this cycle.

Ironically, this causes an unintentional employment rights movement all over the country. Staff are demanding contract modifications, better employment benefits, legal reforms to protect their workers rights & their children, etc. Workers unions are popping up all over and the nobles are getting their asses kicked. There are so many protests that the government has no choice but to accept in order to prevent a full-on revolution. Again this was all unintentional, but that doesn't stop Kalim from jumping in as a major supporter with a fondly exhasperated Jamil following behind.

A quibble at first: now I'm far from a Leona expert, but I'm inclined to believe the folks who talk about his supposed laziness as being more of a defense mechanism or a depression symptom. Because why put in the effort it doesn't pay off, anyway?

On the other hand, I love it how I pretty much knew which post you were gonna link for Malleus before even clicking it.

This makes me wonder tho. Jamil is indeed the sort to pay attention to others and what they do. I do wonder if we’ve seen any in-game examples of him picking up “tips” or habits from others in a manner similar to this. 🤔 Can’t think of anything off the top of my head, at least, but it doesn't seem like it would be out of the question.

“He'll die before admitting, but it's something he picked up from Azul.” Yeah definitely. What, the shady man who ruined his plans in book 4 might actually have the right idea for once, to the extent that Jamil would adopt it? Yeah definitely not something he’s gonna broadcast, at the very least.

I mean Azul and Jamil can be such a well-oiled machine when they want to be, and Jamil’s practical enough to recognize that when their plans align (as we’ve seen in events I believe), but… yeah.

Considering this rant of mine, tho… Yes, I'm all in for the workers’ revolution.

(Tho now I'm also thinking of Jamil going all “chaos is a ladder” about it. Definitely not as a public face or anything, but attempting to capitalize on the situation nonetheless.)

#twisted wonderland #jamil viper #kalim al-asim #azul ashengrotto #vil schoenheit #malleus draconia #leona kingscholar #riddle rosehearts #ner talks #chatting with folks #lex752

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yanderes-galore · 4 months

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I don’t know if someone already requested it, but can you do a concept with Dust Sans where the darling are trying to survive against him?

Yeah, I can try. I'm not used to Undertale AUs but I'll try. I only really know DustTale from a fangame I saw so if anything is off, that's why. I tried to do my research and keep the personality still both Sans and Murder! Sans. I don't wish to offend the creator so I tried my best here. I hope you all like it nonetheless. I doubt the original author will see this but if they want me to take this down I can, just ask, I wish to respect them. This is just for fun.

Yandere! Murder Sans with Darling trying survive against him

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Hunting, Guilt, Death/Murder, Delusional behavior, Horror themes, Actually is a bit sad, Angst, Dubious relationship (as in, it's not even focused half the time).

As I wish to respect the author, I will try to keep Dust/Murder Sans as in character as possible.

Those who know the AU, even if I don't know all of it, know that this version of Sans is insane due to all the murder he had to do.

Sans’ goal is to kill all the monsters before Chara/The Human does.

Even his own brother, who he then hallucinates.

The most in character way to write something like this to me is this;

You are someone close to Sans before all the genocide routes.

He cared about you once… before all of this.

Then he saw you die… so many times.

It hurt… it all hurt.

I feel even if you were close he'd still end up chasing you down.

After all, DustTale appears to be a race to see who's stronger; The Human or Sans.

He wants to break this cycle.

Do the others even matter if they don't remember the resets?

I feel with this version of Sans there's a good chance you'd die.

By his hands… maybe as some sort of mercy killing.

Sans probably doesn't want to kill you, similar to how he felt when having to kill his own brother.

Yet as he falls into insanity… he feels it doesn't matter.

In reality, isn't he making sure you don't suffer?

You'll either die by the human once again… or him.

He'll make it quick for you.

In Sans' mind he feels this is for your own good.

You no doubt don't agree due to the fact you don't remember resets.

All you know is the skeleton you used to care about looks and acts different… and wants to kill you.

So now you're running through an abandoned Underground, trying to hide and/or escape from your old friend.

Sans' main goal is to defeat The Human.

However, I HC that he hesitates at some points right up until he loses his sanity.

Even during his insanity there may be moments of clarity where Sans recalls memories of you two together.

Maybe friends in one route, something closer another, but never really enemies…

Until now.

Some monsters have evacuated, some have been killed.

While running you may have even seen Sans kill some monsters.

The sight chills you.

Many know of Sans' killing spree, plus you fear you may not last through it.

Your fate, as it is in every route, is already sealed.

You can try your best to survive but you can only go on for so long.

You can try to hide, you can try to run…

Sans may just find you if The Human doesn't.

Part of him feels bad, part of him wishes there was a chance to spare you.

There isn't… not until he has The Human dead.

After resetting the timeline you two can be happy.

He's given up everything to defeat The Human, he's seen you and his loved ones die too many times.

You may not understand it… but he's doing this for the both of you.

Once he wins, you can be happy in a new reset.

Hopefully… the last one.

But in order to have that happen… he needs to have your power.

Surely you won't blame him in the end.

Perhaps you both know that deep down it's inevitable.

At some point, through Snowdin, Waterfall, Hotland, and that dreaded corridor… one of those places will be your final resting place.

If only you knew how much this hurt him.

If only you remembered all those memories you once had together.

Unfortunately, you don't, which makes things somewhat easier.

He keeps telling himself that this is for the better.

You can help him take down The Human.

He pushes that thought in his head when he corners you.

You plead to him, he tries to ignore it.

It feels horrible… But there's no chance for mercy.

He promises to you that he'll make everything better… that he'll fix things…

Right as he summons a bone through you.

While you wither away into dust, he promises himself he'll fix things for you.

After all, he already feels stronger!

He'll just… make it count.

If this doesn't work… he'll try again.

He promises he does this because he cares…

He's just lucky you won't remember this, you'll just see him as Sans in another route.

He hopes that's true for you.

He hopes this fixes things

He wants to be happy with you…

Which means he'll keep doing this, even if it means killing you, to obtain that happy ending.

Even if it's futile in the end….

#yandere undertale au #yandere dusttale #yandere murder sans #yandere dust sans #not your traditional yandere if that was what you were thinking #mostly just horror

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plznomonkeys · 3 months

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I cannot add the screenshot but saw your comment about the process of making OCs. please share yours cuz I'm so curious!

I had literally 5k words written out explaining the process and thought 'nobody needs to read that' and just shortened it to point form. It was a lot of rambling......

Anywho

OC's, in my mind, fill a void that I feel a story is missing. I mean, no whole story is necessarily missing something, but it is in my perspective. Usually OC's are born from something I disliked with the original work or felt could've been handled differently.

So the tip of inspiration is a 'What If?' moment.

"What if L had someone on task force -with more than 2 brain cells- on his side?"- Death Note

"What if Naruto had a friend growing up who loved him?" - Naruto

"What if Truth was an even bigger dick and tortured someone's soul through reincarnation until they finally learned to break the cycle?"- FullMetal Alchemist

"What if a main character didn't have a damsel in distress as a love interest?" - Bleach

The what if is the first point to creation. It gives me an anchor of reference, of purpose, to this character. It's not to make them a plot device, but it helps me shape around what the reason for building them is. Everyone needs a purpose to have fulfillment in their lives, even if it's just to feed your cat and water your plants. You have a purpose, so what is my OC's? There's usually a moment in the story that inspires this specific purpose and each one is different.

Great, now that we have a purpose, let's move on.

Part 1: What's the start and ending?

It doesn't matter what the story is yet. To me, what's important is the end of this character's story. Where do they end up? Are they alive? Dead? Did they end up with love interest? Did they succeed in their goals? etc.

Despite how crucial this part might seem, I'm never dead set on it. I have a general idea most of the time.

The point of the ending is to have guidance as to where I'm going with the story line and remind myself that this character is moving in that direction. It can also change once you know your character more and once you have a fully fleshed plot, but again you'll change it likely because it works more with the OC you've created.

Now that you've got an ending, pick a starting point. It can be literally anywhere. It can be another character POV. Beginnings are really easy, just pick a place you want to begin and write a few words. Great, now figure out how this beginning meets that ending. Rough sketch it, when you write it out it'll change and grow, that's perfectly okay. No character is the same at the start and finish, so be aware that change is normal.

Part 2: What's the secret?

Every character that has any level of depth has a secret that is revealed in the story. L's successors was a big one. Naruto's parentage was theorized for years before being confirmed. Aizen's betrayal in Bleach was another. What big secret changes the reader's view on the character? What do the other characters think?

Part 3: How are they compatible with their pairings?

Legit this one comes up early in my mind. If I'm completely honest it has to, as you already have a character that is fully fleshed out and in order to keep them in character then your OC needs to adhere to the canon character's interests IMO. It's the reality of it. Which also means you have to know the canon character really well. Which is where character analysis comes in.

Let's take L for example. While I imagine he's the type to make his partner comfortable regardless of their wants/needs, I also see him as the guy who would legit rather die that admit those feelings at first? Like I subscribe to him being a little autistic and mildly self-degrading when it comes to 'why would they like me?' perspectives.

I say mildly because it's not so much he has no confidence as simply 'I literally have no internal clock, I likely have uncontrolled diabetes and broke my back on my own from sitting like this all day, I will ignore your very existence to finish a case and I literally haven't been home in god knows how long, so why would you ever have feelings for me?' It's illogical for L to entertain the idea of someone feeling that way about him because he simply doesn't fit the profile of a dating candidate. And so he disregards the idea that someone could ever be interested in him. Never mind he'd have to know everything about them down to their god damn SIN number before he'd ever see them in person.

So yeah, L's tough, but not impossible. I could see him with a character who really enamours him. I mean as in a character who thinks so radically different from him that at first he sees it as illogical, but progressively he begins to understand how they tick. I could see him being especially fascinated with someone who is very capable of lying convincingly, and yet wears their heart on their sleeve. I find this type of person to be so opposite and yet so similar at the same time.

Now that you have their OTP.... what other pairings are there? Contrary to the belief system, but there are multiple pairings in every story. Pairings don't have to be romantic, but they must be dynamic. What do other characters think of them? How would they interact with each other? I usually know intuitively who I want my OC to befriend and who they realistically could get along with.

This is, quite literally, the toughest part to flesh out, since I work pretty hard to try and stick to canon.

Part 4: Define your character in one scene?

As I said in the What If? section, each character is born from a specific scene or idea. So what is the scene in the story that defines the entirety of this character? For L I think his defining moment was his lil speech about 'do you really think I do this for justice?' in the manga. It brought into perspective that L was having fun on this case, and when he was 'wrong' about Light his temper tantrum made so much more sense honestly.

Characters need a scene in the story that really lets the reader understand the character on a deeper level and really drives home 'this is a person' even though they're not real it makes them feel raw and real.

Part 5: Motivations

Okay, great, we have so much covered, literally I could probably just go off this and wing the rest. But now we gotta ask why is OC even in the story? Why are they a moving puzzle piece? What made them get to their ending? What did they sacrifice? What's the most important thing to them? Why? Knowing why a person moves is far superior to simply wanting them to move. Why did Light swap the notebooks between shinigami? To keep Ryuk's big mouth away and Rem up close to L. Why did L confront Light at uni? Because he had enough sugar to kill a camel in his system and a gut feeling that Light was Kira and would eventually fold under pressure if he pushed him enough.

Part 6: The Plot

Okay so we've got literally everything necessary. So what's the plot? Is it AU? Partial AU? Canon compliant? Does it just follow canon to a certain point and then go off the rails? Personally I like canon divergent. It holds some points of interest with the original plot but diverges at points only to link up in some spots. I also am a huge fan of making events happen in different time frames.

And now.... where do the OC's affect the story? I mean there's no way that Death Note is a completely unchanged story despite another character being added? Something has changed, so what? Do certain events not occur? Does something better befall certain characters? Something worse?

I am also a stickler for universe rules. I do no bend rules for my characters unless I can come up with a universe compliant reason that it would work. I try to respect the original author's world...... but I will do whatever the hell I want with the characters as long as they're in character.

Part 7: The personal touch

Believe it or not, the appearance of the character is the literal last thing to even cross my mind. Like I legit started writing a Naruto fanfic and realized in 8 chapters I hadn't a clue what she looked like. I had to go to pinterest and make a board, along with a character bio in my notes app. I pic out the height, weight, hairstyle/hair colour, eye shape/eye colour, face, aesthetic, any scars/tattoos they may have and I put it on my notes/pinterest board. Now that I know their story is so I know why they'd have that scar or tattoo. I know why they have that kind of look in their eye. I know everything about them really.

The last bit is mostly spreading this personal touch through the above mentioned steps. It's fleshing it out further, making them more flowing in growth. When did they get the scar? Why that tattoo? Does it affect the story?

Attractiveness is something I debate a lot, and honestly it mostly comes down to plot. If a character needs to be pretty because of the plot I write them as attractive. If they need to be ugly that's what they are. Full disclosure, I see through my OC's eyes when I imagine scenes since I like to write in first person. Meaning I never remember their appearance and always have to review the notes to remind myself what they look like at all.

---

Ok, I think I got everything? So yeah, this is the fuck fest two brain cells can come up with. Keep in mind it is a cyclic mentality and I am perpetually editing and upgrading ideas in my brain. My newest OC to Death Note has literally changed so dramatically in 5 days just by doing this process 3 times that you'd think they were two different characters. It really helps me know my OC's honestly. Do I follow this to the T? Not always, but it is generally the process I subscribe to.

Hope this was a good read, cheers.

Also sorry if I did this wrong I've never posted on tumblr before this year god save my soul

#creative writing #original character #character design #character concept #originalcharacter #i have no idea how to use tags #oc #my ocs

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notsofriendlyfriendlyreminder · 1 month

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Just to pitch an avatar the last airbender: what if? style series:

Aang doesn't run away and in a match with a firenation soldier, he dies while protecting the other children. Cue a scene of the firelord Sozin burning the soldier who killed him, because the order was Capture the avatar, do not kill him.

In the southern watertribe Korra is born, and while the cycle wasn't cut, it was shorter and the energy causes Korra's mother to die.

When she turns 10 years old, she accidently burns her best friend, finding out she's the avatar, but instead of being confident and starting to train, she is kept just as a waterbender. The only people who know is her, her friend, her father, the tribe chief.

She gets excesive watertribe training, while the war is soaring outside. The plot of the series start when she is 15 and finishes her waterbending training. However, her father doesn't want her to leave because he saw the dangers of what war brings.

A big fight breaks out ending in Korra running away to start her training journey firstly accompanied by her friend who she burned.

First book - earth: Korra travels trough earth kingdom and it's very focused on war, Korra finding out how bad it is, feeling huge guilt because she didn't start doing anything yet. She ends up on the Kyoshi island, who took in a young girl who lost her arm because of the firebenders. She is a very skilled earthbender though, and in Korra kinda big first act of "avatarness", she gives her back hope to start bending again.

Second book - air: An issue she is facing now is that 1. it is believed that all airbenders were killed and 2. people from the fire nation are considered enemies. With her two friends she decides that the best course of action would be trying to talk with a previous avatar, but she doesn't know about Aang and so her best bets are the previous ones. After more aimless travelling and earth training, she hears a story about a sheltered village rumored to have a big old avatar temple. Unfortunately, they don't let outsiders in. Stuff goes down and eventually, Korra explains that she needs to go inside to try to contact the avatar about airbending. They send her away, but then during the night, a child sneaks out and tells them information- a way to sneak inside the temple, and the reason they are sheltered: A family of airbenders are hiding inside. Cue them sneaking in, getting caught, and Korra getting trained in airbending.

Third book - fire: From the airbender she also finds out that the firenation have been attacking northern watertribe, but they haven't been successfull yet. During the story, Korra also mirrors Aang in struggling to be stable in avatar state. She decides to go to the northern pole to fight firenation headon even with no firebending. During the midseason finale, she gets caught by none other but young Iroh. In the cell they end up talking and it's Korra to shake his beliefs. She manages to run away without his help though, but when sthe times gets rough, it's Iroh who helps in the last strech. During that fight Korra firebends again.

Finale: Korra is again in the northern southern tribe finding out the firelord himself wants to seize the island. In a state of panic, she goes to the water spirits. In there, saying outloud that she is scared, she ends up connecting with none other than Aang. He tells her about what went down and tells her that hope is never lost. Korra then decides to try waterbending techniques on firebending- WOWOWO it works, Korra wins, season one ends with Korra not being a trained firebender but being an waterbender, airbender and an earthbender. The war isn't over, but she defetaed the firelord once, she can do it again. And if she has to, she will do it again and again and again.

#BRAIN TIME #avatar #atla #avatar the legend of aang #avatar the last airbender #avatar legend of korra

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wolves0nmars · 8 months

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american healthcare by penelope scott but make it leon s. kennedy.

verse 1, "when i was seven years old i saw a dead man in the road..." could relate to the early loss of his parents and leon's first experience with a police officer. plenty of children are exposed to violence at an early age, and leon is no exception. this experience desensitized him to violence and to cope with it he focused on the positive experience he had with that cop, and decided he wanted to be an officer in order to help people.

he helped claire, sherry, ashley, etc. there's actually kind of a pattern of him "saving" female characters and kind of affirming his own masculinity by doing so. this makes his interactions with ada and luis very interesting, the former of course being a woman that doesnt need his saving and the latter being a man that desperately needs his saving. but thats a conversation for another time.

and in the chorus of the song, "you corporate fucking prick, i did not become a doctor just to suck the devil's dick" relates to him a lot. because leon s kennedy sucks a lot of d---he has a lot of experiences with "corporate overlords", like simmons. but also this doesn't just apply to specific individuals. leon is in law enforcement because he wants to protect people. he was a police officer because he wanted to protect people, he is an agent because he wants to protect as many people around the world in the long run optimally in the most efficient way. but he consistently runs into the problem that his job as a police officer is not to protect people. its to protect private property. his job as an agent is not to protect people. its to protect corporate interests. he's in the wrong job.

i really hope we see leon be a firefighter or an emt some day. like, obviously hes a little old and definitely traumatized enough, but those are occupations where your job literally is just to help people, not keep corporate interests in mind.

and in verse 2 "I asked the right questions, i never even really got bored" relates to him really well too. leon quite easily slipped into his role as "right hand man", never wondering or asking just what exactly left hand was up to. because truthfully, he didn't want to know. he preferred the comfort that came with not knowing.

or in verse 3, "it trickled into both my ears, it got louder over the years, until all that i could hear were fuckin' flies" probably relates to leon the most out of any line from this song. it perfectly represents how incredibly corrupted leon has become. it's also worth mentioning how resident evil viruses do sometimes take the form of insects. you could kind of look at it like a direct parallel between government corruption and the viruses he's fighting. they're both equally parasitic, infectious, and harmful. i imagine sometimes leon just wishes he'd be infected finally, because it's better than this torturous process of corruption. in the pre chorus, she says "sometimes it's like they'd rather die" and i think sometimes it's like he'd rather die.

it's such a great song about american capitalism and how easily it can corrupt people's naive hopes and dreams of helping people. because leon s kennedy... has been corrupted. time and time again throughout the RE franchise we see commanding officers from private corporations, governments, law enforcement, etcetera being revealed as evil and every time... the main characters just kill the guy and get back to work. they never stop and consider... maybe it's not about just one guy. maybe its not about just this one individual that happened to be evil. maybe something made him evil... maybe something allowed him to be evil... and maybe its the exact same thing that i work for... or something like that idk lolllllll.

i really hope we see leon kind of "break the cycle" and have the kinds of realizations that are in this song because like... BITCH... that stupid little boy is lucky hes so pretty!!!

also im really sorry for derailing a song about a womans experience in academia and social services under capitalism and stuff to be about this white boy in the CIA... i hope this little analysis doesnt detract from the actual song. cause like... its a great song and we dont need to make it about leon stupid little bitch kennedy for it to be good.

#leon kennedy #leon s kennedy #leon scott kennedy #re #resident evil #re2 #re2r #resident evil 2 #resident evil 2 remake #re4 #re4r #resident evil 4 #resident evil 4 remake #re4make #re4 remake #sorry for making the dumb little zombie game about POLITICS #in MY VBIDEO GAME?#its more likely than you think

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raayllum · 2 years

Text

S4 and Tests of Love

Warning: spoilers for 4x01 of The Dragon Prince.

These two lines from Aaravos were ones that jumped out at me right away. Season two goes a long way to establish the thematic relevance of Love - History as a Narrative of Love as something that can break the cycle, juxtaposed with History as a Narrative of Strength that keeps perpetuating the cycle. Therefore our villain, Aaravos, commenting on Love, and beginning to sow seeds that the dichotomy between love and strength can be complicated, interested me greatly.

And now I think we’re going to finally see it come to fruition in season four, particularly with the characters of Callum and Claudia. For starters, they are paralleled in the poster and singled out specifically in having ‘fates’ that are beginning to unfold in Aaravos’ master plan.

Discover what different fates await two powerful young mages, Claudia and Callum, in the first official clip from SEASON 4 of #TheDragonPrince! (1)

And secondly, Aaravos has tethered Claudia’s tests of love to her father to his own plans for freedom. Claudia had to work tirelessly to bring Viren back from the dead after two years, not moving on or letting of this loss. Then, the plot is kicked off, as Aaravos tells her that she has one month to free him from his prison, or her father will die all over again. This is perfectly in line with Aaravos’ lines from S3.

Claudia has passed one test, and now she has to pass another, presumably by the end of S5 at the latest (so that S6 can have the heroes try and miserably fail to stop Aaravos, for ex). Aaravos knows how to use people’s emotions against them; he did it with Viren in S2, appealing to his loneliness, frustration, and sense of importance. He’s been quietly doing it, tugging on Claudia’s love for her father, and now putting that to the forefront in order to get himself out of his prison for good, because he knows she’ll do anything for Viren.

Aaravos doesn’t believe in just forcing people to do things; he believes in giving them tests to prove themselves - for better and rn, just for worse. (As he’s been given Lucifer comparisons, think the snake goading Eve to eat the apple as a Test of Faith, for ex, that she failed.)

As for Callum, I think it’s pretty clear where his Test of Love is going to be.

This is for a few reasons I’ve highlighted before, as Rayla is (unknowingly) charging right at Aaravos, and would be the perfect bait for the boy with his Key still in his possession. It would give Callum more agency in terms of choosing to go after her, help dismantle some of Rayla’s beliefs that led her to leave him in the first place, and be a choice the audience understands but also despairs at because we don’t want anything to happen to them, but we also know Aaravos getting out of his mirror is going to be terrible long term.

Additionally, this isn’t the only time Claudia and Callum’s Tests Of Love have been set up in contrast. Remember in 3x09, where they both commit powerful acts of magic, regardless of the cost to themselves, to save their loved one from the brink of death?

Callum and Claudia have always paralleled each other quite strongly, especially throughout seasons one through three. Although it seems like Callum will have even more parallels with Viren than he previously had, Callum and Claudia are currently two of the most vulnerable characters in the show, with something to lose and with something to protect.

I think it’s likely that just as Aaravos has laid out a Test of Love for Claudia to pass or fail, he’ll do the same for Callum in order to achieve his own ends - and although I think both characters will Pass those Tests, the consequences for the world will be disastrous.

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gizkasparadise · 1 year

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What are your favorite love stories from dramas? Chinese or Korean. The OTPs that slayed you?

yay! i love love!! SPOILERS below!

li zi wei / huang yu xuan, someday or one day. taiwanese drama.

boy meets girl. boy dies. girl time travels about 20 years into the past and meets boy's doppelganger, except he's older than he should be in 1998. turns out boy is ALSO a time traveler, and he waited years to be reunited with the girl in her original timeline after meeting her in 1998 😭. boy still dies. girl goes to correct the timeline again. in order for the boy and the girl's friends to survive, they have to erase the timeline where they meet, and all their memories together, and they choose to do so. it's implied the boy will still meet the girl someday, one day 😭😭😭. a follow up movie (with the same cast!) is going to be released soon, but the original drama is perfect on its own and their story hits all the best bittersweet notes.

also their theme song kills me/watch for a highlight reel:

youtube

dongfang qingcang and xiao lanhua, love between fairy and devil. chinese drama

this story is like someone took all my favorite fanfics from when i was 14 and injected it straight into my veins!! xiao lanhua is an unimportant orchid fairy who accidentally frees the leader of the moon tribe (the fairies' #1 enemy), certified big bad and girlboss dongfang qingcang, who has sealed away his emotions for a power boost. over time, the two of them grow closer and understand one another better and if you're someone who likes "i'll burn the world down for 1 person" with notes of devil/jesus or hades/persephone this is 100% absolutely your ship.

like, the way we all went absolutely feral during this scene:

youtube

do hyun soo/cha ji won, flower of evil. korean drama

idek where to begin with these two, but ugh. ugh!! ugh!!!! the way they killed me over 16 episodes! definitely an unconventional couple, do hyun soo is a suspected serial killer who's been on the run for over 15 years, and cha ji won is his wife and also a detective recently assigned to hunt him down. their story is just such a raw and lovely look at trauma's effects on people and they're so ride or die for one another and their daughter. it's wonderful to see a love story about a long-term couple, as well.

youtube

yu sifeng/chu xuanji, love and redemption. chinese drama

THE ship for you if you like inverted gender dynamics, masochism tangos, and 10 lifetimes' worth of pining and star-crossed lovers. thousands of years ago, there was a god of war who was punished to live 10 lifetimes on earth so she could unlearn her hatred at heaven. chu xuanji is her 10th and final mortal incarnation, a girl who can't understand the 6 senses and lives with her father's martial arts sect, although she can't practice martial arts or cultivation herself. sifeng is a member of a rival sect, a sect that forbids love, marriage, or children from its members. it's revealed that sifeng has loved and followed xuanji through 9 previous lifetimes that all ended violently for him, and this is their last chance to break the cycle/get their happily ever after /;3;/

what i love most about this one is that it flips the script on gender dynamics-- sifeng is a martyr for love and xuanji is the overpowered one who struggles to understand her feelings. here's one of my favorite scenes where xuanji reveals her hidden powers to save sifeng from being whipped to death

youtube

sung deok sun/choi taek, reply 1988. korean drama.

the other love stories on this list are all fantasy-based or have extraordinary circumstances, so i figured for this last one i would pick a love story that's just so wonderfully normal and grounded. a lot of people got second-lead syndrome from this series, but i am empathetically not one of them!!

deok sun and taek are childhood friends and neighbors who grew up together. it's evident early on in the series that taek loves deok sun, and he's always honest about his feelings, but it takes deok sun a little longer to realize she's in love with taek. what i love about this ship is that it's really quiet-- we see them fall in love with small moments and through their actions/behaviors vs. large, grand confessions (although we get a great confessional moment near the end of the drama too!!). there's also such a great balance between birds of a feather and being complimentary toward one another.

youtube

some other favorites:

lan tian ye/su can can, wait my youth (chinese drama)

dan oh/haru, extraordinary you (korean drama)

lee jung in/yoo ji ho, one spring night (korean drama)

yoon sae boem/jung yi hyun, happiness (korean drama)

ha moon so/lee kang do, just between lovers (korean drama)

sung shi won/yoon yoon jae, reply 1997 (korean drama)

kang dong gu/han yoon nah ft. sol, welcome to waikiki (korean drama)

#someday or one day #love between fairy and devil #flower of evil #love and redemption #reply 1988 #asks!#cdrama #kdrama #twdrama

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nhstadler · 1 year

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A/N: So, I heard you guys and I thought I’d give you a bit of Seth/James fluff as an apology for the anguish I’m putting you through right now. Just a fair warning though, this turned out very soft and very fluffy… probably a little too much. But, what can I say… I’m at that point in my cycle when animal videos make me ugly-cry for a solid ten minutes, so it is what it is :) . I still hope you enjoy the snippet and, as always, I’d really love to hear from you ♥️

HOLY CIRCE

“Mate.” Freddie groans and shakes his head because, of course, he thinks I’m an irresponsible idiot. His attempts to talk me down, though, feel half-hearted.

“So, you’re saying I shouldn’t do it?” I arch an eyebrow at him as I tug my sweatshirt down and then grab my trainers which I carelessly tossed under the bed before. I’m not even pretending that I’m not a hundred percent going to do this.

“I’m saying I don’t want you to die a stupid death,” he says as he watches me tie my shoelaces, and I snort. “I definitely think you should talk to Seth, but does it have to be now?”

“Yes.”

“James.”

“Freddie.” I drag a hand through my hair, trying to get my frantic thoughts in order, but it’s useless. My head is a mess. It’s been a steady descent into chaos since I ran into Seth before. Since I held her hands and she let me. Since much longer than that, really. “I can’t sit around here and wait. If I don’t go to her now, it might be too late.”

Maybe it already is. I saw the way Henry Pennington was looking at her all night. Because I was looking at her all night, too.

She has to feel it, right?

She must know. It seems entirely impossible that she can do this to me - make my heart trip and my stomach twist and my thoughts tangle - and not know.

“Alright.” Freddie sighs. “Let’s assume you make it there and she lets you in and then what?”

“I don’t know,” I say because I really don’t. I have no plan, no strategy, nothing. I don’t know how to do this - how to tell a girl that I can’t stop thinking about her.

“You don’t know?” Freddie makes a weird noise that sounds like a strangled laugh that got tangled up in his throat. “You’re about to fly up to a girl’s window in the fucking doomsday rain and you don’t know? You’re mental.”

I shake my head as I grab my broom that is leaning against the wall next to the open window. By the looks of it, I won’t even have to bother with an Impervius charm. I know this is reckless and dumb and possibly futile; I know all of this and, yet, I don’t care. “I have to see her, mate.”

I have to know if I’m too late. If I fucked it up before it even started. If I still have a chance.

***

I knew she’d be there.

Thank fuck for my rule-breaking grandfather and his equally dodgy friends.

Even through the window, I can see the stunned expression on Seth’s face as she stares back at me, like she’s not entirely sure I’m real. I can feel my heartbeat spike, turning into something scattered and wild, and because I don’t know what else to do, I smile at her and raise my hand.

“What the bloody hell…” She mutters under her breath when she finally opens the window, and I’m starting to lose my nerve. Obviously, I didn’t think this through: that I’m truly shit at this. That I have no idea how to do this without making a complete git of myself.

“Can we discuss this inside?” I say, because I’m soaked and this seems like a reasonable request. “I mean, it’s not that I don’t enjoy hanging out in front of your window like a perv, but the rain is mildly uncomfortable.”

Seth crosses her arms and, even though I try not to, I can’t help but grin a little. She’s in an oversized Deadalus the Dog Detective sweatshirt and Ravenclaw joggers and her blonde hair is twisted into two slightly uneven, messy buns.

She’s absolutely gorgeous.

“No! Are you mental?” She whispers and swipes a hand across her forehead before glancing back over her shoulder as though to make sure that none of her roommates are awake. “This is against every school rule.”

“Come on, Woodley,” I plead, but she is shaking her head before I’ve even finished talking.

“Absolutely not.”

“You’re aware that it’s pissing down, yeah? Like, a lot?”

She sighs. Not like she finds me irresistibly charming and is about to give in but like she’s had enough of my nonsense. “What are you doing here?”

I don’t know what to say. Because she’s glaring at me like she wants to shut the window in my face and I’m so phenomenally off-kilter that I can hardly think straight. I wish I could tell her how nervous I am. That she makes me nervous. That I’m freaking out and I don’t know how to handle this because I’m scared I’ll mess it up.

Instead, I lean against the window frame and ask her how her date was, like the dumb fuckboy she thinks I am.

“No, that’s none of your business, Potter.” She has wrapped her arms around herself a little tighter, cheeks red, frowning at me like she thinks I’m taking the piss. “I don’t - I’m not asking you who you’re shagging either.”

“I’m not shagging anyone.” The words practically tumble out and my heart thuds like an echo in my chest.

Seth’s lips part just the slightest bit as she stares at me for a moment. Her grey eyes look darker in this light as they seem to trace the rain that is dripping from the tip of my nose and then, suddenly, they flicker to my mouth.

“Yeah.” She finally snorts quietly; breathy. “That’s why you spent the night in Athena Notte’s room last weekend.” She bites her bottom lip immediately, like she wants to take back the words, and I feel a small spark of hope. Because, maybe she does care after all.

“I didn’t.”

“Look, you don't owe me an explanation. You can shag whoever you want, so-”

“But I’m not!” I cut her off, digging my fingertips into the window frame a little harder as I unclench my teeth. “Shit, Woodley, I -”

I just want you.

I press my lips together, swallowing the words that are on the tip of my tongue. She wouldn’t believe me. Even if I poured my miserable heart out to her, she’d still think I’m playing some sort of game. Even when I’m standing in front of her window in the middle of the night in the pouring rain. Even when I ask her to dance and hold her hand and patch her up and tell her that everything’s going to be OK.

Even then, she still thinks that I don’t mean it.

“Seriously, Potter.” She is shaking her head again, breathing out a frustrated sigh. “Why do you even care?”

I lean in, half-ducking under the narrow window head that juts out from the stone. It’s perfunctory since I’m already drenched, but I’ve stopped kidding myself that I wouldn’t take any excuse to be close to her. “I just- I don’t want you to think that of me.”

“Think what?”

I swallow. “That I’m a soulless fuckboy.”

“James.” She sighs and shakes her head and I wonder if she knows what it does to me when she calls me by my name. When she calls me James, I’m hers and no one else’s.

“So, did you?” I ask and I hope she can’t hear that my voice is shaking. “Kiss him, I mean.”

I feel vaguely sick. The rain is still coming down hard but I barely notice anymore. All I can focus on is the ache in my stomach and the painful spasm behind my chest as she says, very quietly, “I - yes…”

“Right. OK.” I swallow and then take a step back, raking a hand through my hair. Of course, Henry Pennington kissed her. What the fuck am I even doing here? “I shouldn’t have come here. I don’t know what I was thinking.”

I’ve taken a couple more steps backwards and I’m not sure why I’m torturing myself like this. Seth is still standing at the window, looking a little confused and entirely perfect, and I think I’m going to be haunted by this forever: by the pitiful look on her face and fucking Daedalus giving me the thumbs-up.

“Sorry.” I shake my head and then force myself to turn away from her before this gets even worse. I doubt that it could, though. A bludger to the guts is nothing compared to this. I probably shouldn’t be flying right now. I used to laugh at Dad’s lectures on broomstick safety and flying under emotional distress but I get it now. I wish I didn’t.

“But it wasn’t like -” Her voice rings out behind me suddenly, barely louder than the rushing of the rain, and I stop dead in my tracks.

“What?” My heart is pulsing in my throat as I turn around to look at her. I can barely get the words out. “Not like what, Woodley?”

Her mouth opens, then closes again and she shakes her head.

“Shit.” I close the distance between us in two quick strides. When I reach her, I’m entirely out of breath, like I’ve been running laps on the Quidditch pitch. “Just… tell me to fuck off, Woodley.”

I brace my arm against the window frame, mostly to keep myself from kissing her. I want her to want this; to want me. “Two words,” I tell her, leaning closer. Close enough to see the bright spots in her eyes. Cloud Study. “I promise I won’t argue.” My lips brush against hers and it’s fucking electric. “Seth?”

I’m not sure I can not kiss her for another second. My nose nudges her cheek and she tilts her head up and, then, her lips are on mine - soft and fluttery and a bit shaky - echoing the feeling in my stomach. I can hardly pace myself - like I’m doing this for the first time. My breath is still too ragged and my heartbeat too fast and I’m too desperate.

I’m crushing her against me despite the architectural obstacle between us, bunching up her sweatshirt in my fists to keep myself from going too far too quickly. Her body softens, sinking into mine - into the kiss - and I slide one hand along her cheek, into her hair, kissing her and kissing her and kissing her as I feel the press of her fingertips against my chest. Against my frantic heart.

#hntbaw #hownottobeawoodley #james pov #jamessiriuspotter #harry potter fanfiction #fanfiction #aesthetics #aesthetic #nextgen #Spotify

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erridein · 6 months

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Finally back to the game after all this drawing. And finally go to Cazador's Palace.

This quest has made me really nervous for some time, maybe two weeks? I'm not really sure. What should I do about it? As a player, I know how much Astarion will change if he ascends, and how bad this ending will be for my Durge, Mikelle – to deny (or at least attempt to deny) Bhaal only to become a vampire spawn. But Mikelle doesn't know that. He only knows that Astarion was there for him when Mikelle lost control. Astarion stays even after Mikelle tried to kill him. He said, "You would do the same for me." And Mikelle would. He is so grateful. But he just can't figure out what "the same" means. Should he save Astarion from becoming a monster? Or should he do as Astarion asks, to help him ascend and share eternity together? Is Astarion becoming a monster at all? I just went down to Cazador's basement. Perhaps it will contain clues about what is to come. Signs of coming changes.

Don't get me wrong. I find the bad ending appealing. Beautiful in a decadent way.

I mean, at the start of Act One, Mikelle was reunited with nature as a druid. He built himself on two pillars: an inherent bloodthirstiness and a love for wildlife – a predator's startpack. Sometimes, the only thing that gave him strength (and reason) to resist his urges was the desire to maintain nature's order. Not that he doesn't have other virtues. But Mikelle's generosity and compassion won't prevent him from mayhem.

Later, he discovered within himself the need to be accepted, to evoke trust. Mikelle fell for Astarion the moment he realized that he didn't judge him for his murders. Isobel showed no fear when Mikelle told her that he wanted to kill her, so now he won't let anyone hurt her. But all of this came later, it was layered on the first two pillars. Even the memories (and some emotions) of Gortash returned later.

Becoming a vampire spawn, an undead, would mean that Mikelle cast off nature. I believe there are druidic vampires out there. Druids turned into vampires. Vampires who found their way to druidry. But in Mikelle's case, it would mean agreeing to die and breaking the cycle of life. Voluntarily. He would put his love for Astarion over nature, and one of the pillars would be knocked out from under his feet. Then, he will discover that Astarion has changed. Mikelle will reject Bhaal. He won't lose all his bloodthirstiness, but killing won't feel the same.

How much of him will remain?

I want a happy ending for Mikelle. I know he would be unhappy as a vampire. But I can vividly imagine the bad ending, so crisp and clear. And I can't help but admire it.

#bg3 #bg3 dark urge #bg3 durge #baldur's gate 3 #durge x astarion #astarion #bg3 oc thoughts #bg3 oc #my oc: mikelle

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savegalkissy · 1 year

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Imagine Lupin’s true death isn’t what anyone excepted it to be.

When you think of Lupin’s death, what’s the first thing that pops into your head? If your like me you’d expect fanfair, you’d expect badasserie, you’d expect explosions and fireworks and a high speed chase to be his final send off; after all it sounds like him doesn’t it? It sounds like how you’d expect Lupin to go out, the live fast die faster but harder and better way that seems all too Lupin, after all the man never has time for half measures, if he’s gonna go out, he’s gonna go out with a bang.

But imagine he doesn’t.

Imagine he dies so quietly it’s almost funny in a way.

Jigen is the one to find him of course.

Because the routine on that day is as natural as breathing is.

Another sleepless night of Lupin working into the wee hours of the dawn on some silly project or plan he had in his head. Maybe it was a heist planning or blueprints for some new device who know’s, all Jigen knows is Lupin once again is sleeping at his desk, his head on his folded arms with papers and pens and markers and other such gadgets and tools in disarray around his head.

And it annoys Jigen because he told Lupin to go to bed but Lupin of course had to be stubborn despite his promise that he would eventually go to sleep. But Jigen shouldn’t be surprised.

But when he goes up to Lupin, to shake him at the shoulder awake like he has done for years, to get him up and either order him to go get proper sleep in a bed or wake up for coffee, imagine his shock when Lupin doesn’t wake up at all. Lupin is a deep sleeper, so Jigen just thinks that’s it. He’s seen Lupin fall off a couch enough times to know that.

But as seconds turn to minutes, he begins to realize that no amount of yelling or shaking or pleading helps in rousing up his buddy. It takes him to long to finally realize what has happened but he can’t accept it cause it’s not natural.

But it makes sense when you think about it. For Lupin’s body to just. . give and buckle.

Over the years, Lupin has accumulated a substantial amount of injuries and trauma, maybe even more sothen his friends have over the years and that’s saying something when one is a hard-trained samurai with a killer sword and the others been a hit man for many years even before Lupin met him. Fuck even Fujiko and all the danger she’s gotten herself into, has gotten pretty lucky, she’s still scarred of course, they all are, but nothing like Lupin.

Lupin on the other hand hasn’t been so lucky over the years. He’s been lucky to make it out alive yes and he’s still relatively young, but the business he’s in is a dangerous one, all those cuts and shots and trauma and broken bones no matter how much they heal, builds up over the years and even while he’s still young, he’s old on the inside, his body constantly healing and breaking and healing and breaking all over again and again in a vicious cycle that leaves him vulnerable even though he feels like he can take on the world.

His other habits, his broken sleep schedule, his consistent worrying’s, and his lack of eating properly don’t help much either. The stress that leads to on the body itself can be devastating in and of itself.

So when Lupin does die, you would think it wouldn’t come as a shock to anyone when you think about it. He had been driving his body into the ground for years, just long enough that sooner or later something had to give . . .something had to finally say enough is enough and quit.

But it doesn’t come to a shock

Because he doesn’t die like they expect him too.

It’s almost kinda funny.

Because a coroner would label the death as natural.

After all, whats more natural then peacefully passing in one’s sleep.

But everyone else would probably disagree. No they would disagree. Cause Lupin was anything but natural. And a peaceful death is about as unnatural as they come for someone like him.

Especially for him.

~~~Snuffy

Bro

Why would you do this my soul

But also it’s somewhat realistic. Especially if it’s an older lupin we’re thinking of.

#my asks #lupin iii #lupin the third #uuuh ask to tag?#major character death #also naming yourself snuffy while writing a death snippet is a move

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thefudge · 1 year

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We obviously need your opinion on the Succession finale (please)

it was pretty damn great!

it got very close to my ideal ending. i wanted the siblings out, or at least not having control over the company anymore, and i sort of/kind of got that. i knew kendall would be haunted by the loss, but i was pretty sure he'd live. i know some ppl were afraid he would die, i mean he does say as much to his siblings, but i had a feeling that wouldn't be the case, because kendall has to live. he has to live with this failure and with the life he took. he has to atone. kendall has always been a kind of dostoevskian figure, and the last shot of him tells us exactly that, that he will have to walk with his demons from now on.

if i thought anyone would die, i might've guessed roman, but i'm glad he was "freed" from the cage he had been trapped in since childhood. i do think that his spiteful comment about kendall's kids not being legitimate shows that he hasn't and will never let go of his father. roman will always be his most loyal son. it's just that now he has to figure out who he is, too. the truest thing he said this episode is that all of it, all of that fuss for the succession, is nothing, nothing but bullshit.

and shiv....oy vey. ok so i agree with all the posts decrying the bleak misogyny of it all and how shiv can only have power as wife and mother and how fucked up that is. that being said, the waters are too murky here. shiv was also ready to become logan 2.0. sure, she wouldn't have been as bad as kendall maybe. but she was willing to forego many beliefs and many people in order to secure that CEO spot. i'm sure she thinks she was the best for the job morally too, but ehhh. like, yes, it IS fucked up that all her power means nothing, after all, in this patriarchal system, but she was willing to prop up that system further. even after acknowledging the fact that her father couldn't entirely see women as people.

so i feel bad for her, but i'm also glad she made that choice, to, as others have said, "break the cycle" and not allow kendall to become logan and for roman to be further victimized. was there a thought in the back of her mind that if she voted yes, her husband would be made CEO and she'd get to rule via him? maybe, but i think shiv knows she no longer has the upperhand. she's the one who reached out first this episode and basically asked tom for a second shot at their marriage, and tom doesn't trust her. we saw how he reacted to her pregnancy, thinking it was a "move" against him. tom was honest with matsson, he IS hypervigilant.

so shiv's best option here is to divorce (and maybe get a big chunk out of whatever settlement they'd agree on) and remove herself from the equation, but the very human tragedy here is that she probably won't, because she has been doing this all her life, trying to please the men in her vicinity and show them she's worth it. maybe if she keeps hanging around she'll get to have a piece of the pie. one benefit of all this is i think shiv will come to understand her mother a lot better and maybe end up sympathizing with her. that being said, the tom/shiv dynamic was left on a fascinating cliffhanger, imo. very much nightmarish, but compelling.

it would be fascinating to get a "10 years later" glimpse of these characters. remember the siblings buying Pierce? what will happen to that? remember The Hundred? will Shiv try to make her kid the next successor? how soon will Tom get ousted as CEO? will he drop dead from exhaustion? will Ebba finally leave Matsson (lol)? and most importantly, will willa's new play be successful??? i need my girl to get her pulitzer.

anyway, this was one hell of a ride and i'm glad i was on it!

#succession #succession finale #my thoughts #succession spoilers

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