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weeb-polls-with-pip · 4 months

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Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Group 2

Propaganda:

Kyouya -

"what's there to say? you know him. you love him. vote kyoya."

Rinnosuke -

"Rinnosuke Morichika lives in an overly-cluttered curio shop, and has a special interest in making magical inventions. Since he doesn’t live in a modern setting— but a pocket dimension slightly disconnected to the outside world— whenever a modern item shows up in his shop via spiriting away, he can obsess over it for extended periods of time. He is quite blunt without realizing it, even to people he cares for. He also has a special ability to generally understand the name and use of any item he touches (though this backfires sometimes, he thought a Gameboy was a doomsday device once)."

Fuuta -

"okay look theres so many fucking signs hes autistic. he cannot tell tone and often doesn't know how to react to stuff which is a major point in his character id say. he was asked if he remembered his victim's name (hes a murderer. oops!) and his response was something along the lines of "Of course I do. I saw it everywhere." because he did not understand that they wanted to know what it was since it wasnt directly stated. im convinced that hoodies are a comfort object of his because i genuinely have not seen him without one except for one time. also hes canonically a chronically online twitter user. also he gets really passionate about his interests. also not really related but everyone in the fandom agrees hes transgender but no one can agree on what way. ive seen every single gender hc for this dude. vote kajiyama fuuta for this sopping wet poor little meow meow of a man."

Hansum -

"He's just a very odd and strange lad, can't remember names well, is an alien (mild spoiler), he's very popular, obsessed with Doritos and becomes their mascot, just refers to everyone as humans which is a mood, and is completely socially oblivious."

Miyuki -

"Relatable neurodivergent-Gifted Child syndromeTM case with all the superiority-inferiority complex that results. A chronic show-off and scheming strategist with a lowkey hopeless romantic dramatic aspect to him, silly cool and pathetic in a very hilarious way. Shirogane has a trademark glare purely thanks to his eyebags as he runs on coffee everyday having to support his family with multiple jobs in addition to class, on top of student council president duties. He's kind and an obsessive perfectionist who fills his entire wall with the weirdest motivational posters. Shirogane is very devoted to his love. He likes penguins (Kaguya and him is peak asd4asd and bi4bi btw)."

Kirito -

"He's autistic and bisexual as hell, and there's a good bit of trans coding in him 🥺

Autism coding: Bro's literally got a sword and swordfighting hyperfixation where, despite playing a game that focuses around guns, he still chooses to use a sword!! We also see him completely missing Asuna's flirting at first (he tells her she could have just checked her friendlist to make sure he was alive, in response to her tracking him down to see him)

Bi coding: Dual wielding swords is literally a euphemism in Japan for bisexuality; and Kirito initially tries to hide the fact he can dual wield out of fear of how the people he's close to will view him (and once he reveals it to them and they accept it, he begins to be more open about it.) Also in the Underworld arc he becomes very close with Eugeo to the point of living with him (and sharing a bed on occasion), and there are several parallels between Eugeo and Asuna, and they're so gay for each other that despite the anime having only a toned down version of it, they're still very affectionate (Also of note is that Eugeo is the only guy in SAO canon to consistently have a 'laying in bed with Kirito' talk CG in the spinoff games) (There's more but it's spoilers and this is a shortened version)

Trans coding: Kirito is very trans coded in the light novel (which shows Kirito's thoughts in much greater detail than the anime) Aincrad arc reveals that Kirito explicitly Does Not Like his real face, and dislikes how feminine it looks (he mentions that its led to him and his cousin being mistaken for sisters) And in Phantom Bullet arc, he's visibly uncomfortable at being mistaken for a girl due to his avatar's appearance, and in response to being misgendered he briefly panics and checks to make sure his chest flat (at least in the anime adaptation) 🏳️‍⚧️"

Shirou -

"Has one goal in life and ignores almost everything in favor of trying to fulfil that goal."

Keith -

"Speaks in a way that is seen as weird and has mannerisms others think is funny. He struggles with not being taken seriously by others because of this and many of the things others say goes over his head. He struggles to connect with other people because of these things. His entire arc in the second film is about him deciding that the people who don't accept him for who he is aren't worth it and that he's going to continue being himself."

Junpei -

"for other fans of this series, I know the more obvious representation here may be Luou, Junpei is So Good. his special interest is ballet and he has so many hangups involving how his family sees him and how other boys his age interpret him to the point that his idea of masculinity is extremely narrow and he enforces social rules on himself to mask and keep people from realizing that he loves something that Isn't Manly. he misinterprets social cues and takes things literally, like assuming that when Miyako asked him to dance with her she meant Right This Minute rather than as a pair in the studio. for some reason the point where he cuts his hair super short to prove his devotion to ballet is also sticking with me, I think maybe it's the combination of the way it's normal for boys/men in Japan to do that, yet Junpei didn't realize that kind of attitude/action didn't suit ballet at all? he wasn't aware that the context was completely different. Junpei also doesn't act or pretend very well, he's gotta put his whole entire ass into his roles, which he then proceeds to get TOO into and cause a lot of trouble, without giving too much away! he's really relatable to me as someone who's socially anxious but very skilled at masking, and seeing him become more comfortable with himself and start to show how he really feels is so inspiring to me."

Kazuma -

"He may be (wildly) misguided but his intentions are good kinda! He’s just the Guy of all time idk how to explain it."

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finickyfelix · 4 days

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Nine Some People to Get to Know

Thanks for the tag @theink-stainedfolk !

Last song I listened to: Party Poison by My Chemical Romance

Favorite color: Yellow, by far. I am extremely attached to the color yellow.

Currently watching: Not currently watching anything, but I very recently finished watching the anime Kaguya-sama: Love Is War. It was extremely good.

Sweet/savory/spicy: It depends on my mood, but I'm going to go with sweet.

Current obsession: Kaguya-sama: Love Is War and a dating game I'm not going to state the name of because it is so targeted at women that anyone knowing I play it would make me dysphoric, (yes apparently I am in a romance obsession phase, leave me alone.)

Last thing I googled: google translate (I needed to find out what some Japanese text meant)

Favorite season: Either late fall or early spring.

Skills I'd like to learn: How to drive, how to become a productive member of society, how to actually concentrate on anything. Origami would also be nice to learn I think. I want to fold a paper dragon.

Best advice: I have no idea. Be kind??? Is that advice???

I believe I'm supposed to tag nine people to get to know better now, but that's a lot and I am very socially anxious, so I'll just tag a few (with absolutely no pressure at all) @wintherlywords @melpomene-grey @autism-purgatory @goldencomet69

Four people already seems like too many to me. I am always scared of tagging anyone. I can't imagine tagging nine. I am already overthinking tagging anyone.

#nine people to get to know tag #get to know me #not writing

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heyiwrotesomethings · 2 years

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Hello ! 🤗

First of all thank you so much for your Shinobu's stories, it's always the best time of my day when I see you have new updates about her, I honestly think you write the best and most accurate Shinobu from all the fics I've read.

I was wondering if I could ask you a modern rivals academic to lovers Shinobu x f!reader (whatever pronouns you want) ? They are in competition for almost everything, becoming the presidents of student councils, being the best in sport, in class, model student... until they realize that they keep challenging each other to gain the attention of the other because they have a long time crush.

Have a nice day. ☺️

Valedictorian Speech

Shinobu Kochou x She/Her Reader Modern AU

A/N: Please forgive the pace jumping, this is like a year’s worth of events condensed downs to something more manageable for me. Also takes place in a American school system to make my life easier too. I was feeling inspired by Kaguya-sama Love is War as I wrote this so it was a lot of fun : ) Hope you enjoy! Word Count: 4,070

(Y/n) couldn’t quite articulate what it was about Shinobu Kochou that made her so angry as a five year old. She had been praised all year by teachers and peers alike for how advanced she was. The most talented and beloved of all the students… until she arrived. Cute as a button and smart as a whip, Shinobu Kochou moved in all the way from Japan and turned (Y/n)’s world upside down.

Suddenly everyone was fawning over her instead. So impressed by her advanced math and science prowess and how she was to be able to switch between Japanese and English without a second thought.

She was athletic too, the fastest kindergartener in the grade, even leaving (Y/n) in the dust by several seconds. It was humiliating!

So (Y/n) decided she had to work harder to prove that she was just as good as Shinobu, if not better. When she got home, she demanded to learn multiplication and division, no amount of languages were enough to conquer. She ran laps around the block several times while she waited for the bus in the morning. She was going to show Shinobu she was just as good as her, she had to be!

***

Shinobu had been so nervous to move so far away from home. She wanted to cry, to pretend she was sick, anything to not go to her new school. She’d be joining in so late, everyone would have their friends already and no one would want to talk to her. They’d all just stare at her from afar, whispering about her.

However, when she casually answered the super special math problem on the board with the teacher’s promises of a class reward tied to it, she had been showered with praise and affection. At lunch, her classmates marveled over the lunch her father had made for her and offered to play all manner of games during recess.

It was perfect. Better than anything she had dared hoped for, except for one thing. One of her classmates, the one she had been assigned to sit right next to in fact, never gave her the same praise and attention that the others did.

That shouldn’t have mattered to her. Her mother had told her she couldn’t win over everyone every time, but she wanted to be recognized by her too. (Y/n) was smart and cute and funny when she was playing with her friends. Shinobu wanted her attention too.

So she did what had been working out for her thus far and kept achieving, hoping to impress (Y/n) as she had the others.

But that only seemed to make (Y/n) shun her more. Still Shinobu was stubborn. She would get that recognition! They would be equals, friends!

Too bad (Y/n) was just as stubborn, if not more so. Their competitive nature towards each other was noticed by those around them. Soon their attempts to vie for the others attention and validation, became a true rivalry as students began pitting them against each other.

“Shinobu did the best on the math test! I knew she would!”

“Yeah, well (Y/n) got the highest score on the spelling test!”

Eventually Shinobu and (Y/n) had forgotten what all of their efforts to outdo the other were even for. They filled up on the misinterpretations of their peers and grew to detest the each other over the years and that was how they got to where they were now.

“Morning, Shinobu. How did you do at the cross country meet yesterday?” (Y/n) asked as she opened her locker, or course next to Shinobu as it was every year since middle school.

“Good morning, (Y/n). It went well. Two personal bests.” Shinobu answered casually, flicking a swatch of hair behind her ear.

(Y/n) hummed in acknowledgment, waiting for Shinobu to ask her how her swim meet went. Then she could casually drop that she had achieved three personal bests. One more than Shinobu! (Y/n) had only asked her how she had done because she already knew! She had looked up the results late last night, comparing them with Shinobu’s previous records. It had been awhile since she had the upper hand like this!

(Y/n) contained her evil laughter, meanwhile Shinobu had finished retrieving what she needed for her first and second hour classes and closed her locker.

“See you later then.” She said, her signature smile warping into something more sinister the second she turned her back on (Y/n). She had her now.

Of course Shinobu knew all about the swim meet results, she had listened to them live on the radio during the bus ride back to school. So (Y/n) got three personal bests, brava… Shinobu knew a trap when she saw one. (Y/n) was hoping she’d ask how her event went as well so she could gloat, but Shinobu wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. If (Y/n) brought it up without being prompted, she would look like a desperate and insecure little girl.

“Yes, see you in calculus.” (Y/n) answered as cheerfully as she could, meanwhile her hand was griping her locker door so tightly she could have warped the metal.

She knew damn well Shinobu was avoiding the topic on purpose. She was trying to make her look like a toddler seeking out praise!

An image of Shinobu cooing at her, patting her on the head and congratulating her and telling her how cute she was filled her mind and she wanted to scream.

No matter. There were plenty of other situations where Shinobu could slip up today. Cold calling teachers, pop quizzes, tests, extra curriculars, Shinobu could spill tea on her blouse during lunch for all (Y/n) knew!

“Ah yes, I believe we have a test in calculus today. No calculators or notes either if I recall correctly.” Shinobu hummed. “Did you study?”

“Not a bit!” (Y/n) laughed, making a show of looking sheepish. “I’ve been so busy with that model for anatomy that it must have skipped my mind.”

“Oh I’m sure you’ll do just fine.” Shinobu smiled, cupping a hand over her mouth, “Between you and me, I haven’t had much time to study either.”

A lie on both ends!

(Y/n) and Shinobu had both been studying like crazy to memorize all of the formulas. They were only playing it off like they hadn’t studied to lull the other into thinking they didn’t need to try as hard, making it a double whammy when they did better than the other.

“You’ll do great! You always do.”

“Oh, and were you able to get that paperwork for the council done? My ever so diligent VP?”

Damn her!

Shinobu had been hanging that over her head all Junior year!

When they were freshman, they had both ran for student council president. Neither of them had won, but for freshman they did rather well in the polls.

Sophomore year (Y/n) had managed an upset and beat out the senior candidate. Shinobu had gotten the second most amount of votes, earning her the Vice President position. (Y/n) could not have been happier, she had bested Shinobu!

Until elections rolled in again Junior year and Shinobu had sniped three more measly votes than her and took the role of President right out from under her, leaving (Y/n) as the Vice President.

However now in their Senior year, the preparations for their final election were almost underway. One point each, this was the tie breaker and much more important than any battle they had thus far because there would not be another chance. Besides who would claim the title of valedictorian, this would be either the highlight or shame of their highschool careers.

“All ready, Pres.” (Y/n) gave a mock salute, “Think you’ll defend your title?”

“I wonder.” Shinobu smiled, then she went on her way.

(Y/n) dug into her locker for her books with a scowl. That position would be hers once more, come hell or high water!

***

And… done!

Both girls stood from their seats simultaneously, subtly glaring at each other from across the room. They both maneuvered to the front of the room, handing their tests in to the teacher at the same time.

The teacher chuckled quietly, familiar with the antics of his two brightest pupils and got to work grading their papers right away as the girls stood by anxiously.

“Good work girls, perfect scores as always. Got the extra credit too.”

“That’s great.” (Y/n) quietly cheered.

“Yes, thank you.” Shinobu smiled.

God damn it!

They went back to their respective seats, silently stewing. That bad mood carried on to their after school activities with the student council.

But it did not affect the seamless way they worked together while sorting the paperwork. They didn’t even need to speak to coordinate, they just knew how the other liked things done and did it. It was for efficiency’s sake! Not because they were absolutely obsessed with each other and thought about each other every waking moment of the day.

“I can’t believe re-elections are just around the corner!” Mitsuri wailed as she came into the room.

“Don’t worry, Mitsuri. I’m sure the secretary position will be yours again. You always do a good job.” Shinobu assured, handing another signed paper to (Y/n) for her signature as well.

“Mhm, it would be stupid for no one to vote for you.” (Y/n) agreed.

“You guys are too nice! I’m so glad we got to know each other over the years. I’m going to miss you guys when we graduate!” Mitsuri sniffled, “Where are you guys going to college again?”

Ah yes, thank you Mitsuri! This day was saved. They already knew they had applied to the same college. When they were in middle school, they had to do a, ‘where do I see myself after high school project’, and share it with the class. They knew exactly where the other would be going so they would apply there too. Who would remember something from so long ago? They would play it off as a coincidence.

After all, why end a years long rivalry in high school? College was the big leagues, if they could beat the other there, that would leave everything else moot.

Shinobu and (Y/n) laughed internally, gearing up for the big reveal, they opened their mouths,

“Tokyo University.”

“Havard University.”

Both turned to each other with thinly veiled surprise.

Nice going idiots! Maybe you should have considered that since you two are always playing mind games with each other that the other would have had the same idea! Now (Y/n) was set to leave the country while Shinobu would be left behind! Could you think of anything more tragic?!

“Wow, that’s so crazy!” Mitsuri marveled, “For some reason I thought you two would go to the same college since you seem so close. Hard to separate the dream team!”

You took the words right out of their mouths, Mitsuri.

“Well, you know,” (Y/n) cleared her throat, “time to move on to greener pastures.”

“Yes, I’m in need of a new challenge. It’ll be good for us to spread out.” Shinobu answered tightly.

On the inside they were screaming at each other. ‘Greener pastures’, ‘new challenge’? Were they really still not good enough?

Maybe if they took even a second to re-evaluate their feelings for each other, to be genuine with each other, they would realize that this wasn’t a simple model student rivalry, they were constantly vying for each other’s attention because they were in looooooove.

“Oh! Are the election guidelines done? I’ll take those to the office right away.” Mitsuri snatched the papers from (Y/n)’s hands and went skipping out of the room, leaving Shinobu and (Y/n) alone with the can of worms she had unknowingly opened.

“So, Tokyo.” Shinobu prompted, unnecessarily straightening a stack of papers.

So, Harvard.” (Y/n) countered, not giving an inch.

“Scholarship?”

“Full ride, obviously. You?”

“No question.”

There was a pregnant pause.

“I better get to practice then now that this is taken care of.” (Y/n) said, standing from her seat.

“Me too.”

Oh come on you guys, talk! You are both so obviously depressed about this! Stop being so prideful!

***

This was it. The principal was counting the votes. It had been a grueling campaign trail, but it was sure to pay off for one of the dearly beloved girls.

“Good race,” Shinobu murmured, tone overly sweet, from where she sat next to (Y/n) in the auditorium. “I could tell you put a lot of work into your campaign this year.”

A dig at (Y/n)’s humiliating loss last year.

“Nervous perhaps? I could tell that you’ve been working very hard as well.” (Y/n) replied.

“The results have been tallied!” The principal announced, a bit of feedback coming off of the microphone making many of the students groan.

(Y/n) and Shinobu sat straighter, going over their acceptance speeches in their minds, imagining the customary handshake between the President and Vice Persident to show no hard feelings…

God, just ask to hold hands. They would look a million times less desperate than they did pinning over a handshake of all things.

“This year’s student council president is…”

Come on, come on, who is it?!

“Mitsuri Kanroji!”

“Really?!” Mitsuri stood from her seat, thanking everyone she passed.

Meanwhile, if one stray gust of wind would magically whip through the auditorium, (Y/n) and Shinobu would have surely crumbled to dust on the breeze.

“Good for her.” (Y/n) spoke monotonously.

“Yeah, she’s often underestimated. It’s nice to see her get some recognition.” Shinobu agreed, matching her tone.

“Mhm, a lot smarter than people give her credit for. Not too mention so charismatic.”

“Extremely.”

Okay, well, that was unexpected, but there was always the VP position…

“And as is customary, second place and our new Vice President is… Obanai Iguro!”

What?! And they thought Mitsuri was the dark horse. Their little known treasurer, Obanai, was an actual snake! They didn’t even know he was campaigning!

That’s what happens when you only have your eyes and thoughts on each other twenty-four seven…

Although, it probably would have made them feel better to know that Obanai definitely cheated just so he could shake Mitsuri’s hand. Again, just ask them out instead of looking for a weird round about way to hold your crushes’ hand.

“What are we going to do with all of this free time?” (Y/n) asked aloud.

“I wonder.” Shinobu sighed tiredly.

***

They did find something to do with that spare time.

All year they had been cramming, taking every opportunity they could to eek out a higher GPA, but it was still neck and neck. Their AP psychology final was the last grade that had yet to be entered.

They really wasted that whole year studying instead of acknowledging their feelings and the fact that they would be thousands of miles away from each other, huh?

But they would be forced to confront those feelings soon enough when they were called down to the office.

“Congratulations ladies, it may come to no surprise to you, but you both have achieved the best grades of your senior class. We have two valedictorians this year!” The principal chortled delightedly. “Would you two mind terribly to write your speech together? I think it would be more impactful that way.”

“I see no problem with it.” Shinobu answered casually.

“We can figure something out.” (Y/n) shrugged.

“Great! Two weeks until graduation. Try not to let it get to you, I’m sure you girls will do just fine.”

“Thank you.” They answered together.

They had thought this outcome would depress them after the election debacle, but both felt rather neutral about it. They hadn’t had much time together with all the work they had been doing so having to write a speech together seemed like a good out.

Or, you know, could have just chilled and asked to hang out instead.

As they walked back to their study hall, they tried to deligate a time to meet. Easier said than done. These two were so busy with all of their extra curriculars that finding an decent time would be impossible!

“I guess we might have to plan something overnight over the weekend so we can work on this.” Shinobu suggested.

Yes! That’s how you do it Kochou! How will (L/n) respond?

“Over the weekend…” (Y/n) pretended to mull it over, “Yeah, that should work. No one will be home except for me, so we should be able to get it done without any distractions.”

Oh my god, an unsupervised sleepover?!

“Sounds good.��

It’s happening! It’s happening!

“Cool.”

“Great.”

…

“See you then.”

“Yeah.”

Awww, so awkward! But we already knew their social skills were a little out of wack.

***

They had been anticipating this meet up all week. Of course neither brought it up at all because they couldn’t afford to sound excited by the prospect, but when their track and softball practices let out, there they were walking side by side to (Y/n)’s house! Something they hadn’t dared dreamed about in their wildest fantasies.

Shy glances, brushing hands on the narrow sidewalk! They could die happy!

Wow guys, dial it in a little bit.

Shinobu wasted no time committing (Y/n)’s home to memory. Every cute picture, every smell, every little knickknack on (Y/n)’s shelves— she was in (Y/n)’s room! Ah! How exciting!

“What do you want for dinner?” (Y/n) asked.

Shinobu nearly swooned at the domesticity of it all.

“Anything is fine.” She somehow managed to sound casual as she plopped down on the edge of (Y/n)’s bed.

***

They were taking a break from typing out their seamless speech to have the takeout that had been dropped off and Shinobu was searching for a talking point. They had never talked about anything that wasn’t school related.

“Wow, isn’t this a blast from the past.” Shinobu chuckled, seeing the row of yearbooks on (Y/n)’s self.

Still school related, but it was something.

“Oh yeah,” (Y/n)’s lips twitched curiously.

“Let’s revisit, maybe—“

“No need for that. I could put something on the tv.”

“I guess some background noise would be nice.” Shinobu smiled, still reaching for the most recent year book since she hadn’t had the time to look at it yet.

“We should finish typing out the speech so we can send it in for evaluation.” (Y/n) tried to deter her again, reaching for the book.

Why was she being so weird about a silly yearbook?

Shinobu pulled the book towards her chest, away from (Y/n)’s hands. She sensed the discontent too, and she wanted to make (Y/n) squirm.

“What don’t you want me to see? Is your picture embarrassing? Did you blink again like in third grade?”

“Ha ha, yeah, you don’t need to see it. Or if you do, look in your own yearbook when you go home.” (Y/n) tried to snatch the yearbook away again, notably more uneasy.

Again, Shinobu held it out of reach, standing up and running away with an evil grin and book secured under her arm.

“Shinobu!” (Y/n) ran after her, but Shinobu was always faster, that’s why she gave up on cross and track in seventh grade.

“Come on now,” Shinobu laughed, cracking open the book as she slid behind the living room table, “What could be so bad that you wouldn’t want me to see…”

(Y/n)’s picture was totally fine. It was Shinobu’s picture that held something interesting. Below her picture, by her name, was a little heart in what appeared to be purple highlighter. Damning evidence. Shinobu’s own heart picked up in tempo.

(Y/n) snatched the yearbook out of Shinobu’s hands, though it was already too late. Without a word she walked stiffly back to her room, shoving to book back in place while Shinobu stood awkwardly in the doorway.

“I’ll finish typing out the speech and I’ll email it in. You can go home.” (Y/n) told her without looking back at her. Her voice wavered ever so slightly, but Shinobu noticed.

(Y/n) sat on the bed, back to Shinobu, and opened her laptop again. Any teasing and gloating Shinobu had on the tip of her tongue died.

Good job reading the room for once, Shinobu. You’ve earned a cookie.

“(Y/n), I’m sorry I looked, but this is a good thing I think, because I actually—“

“I don’t want to hear it!” (Y/n) snapped. “I don’t care what you think because it won’t matter anyway! I’ll be almost seven thousand miles away so who cares!”

Shinobu’s throat tightened and she tried to swallow the awful feeling down, but it almost made her feel worse. She should have swallowed her pride and said something sooner, because (Y/n) was right, what good would it do them now? They’d only have the summer… maybe less if (Y/n) needed time to get used to Tokyo.

“Alright then. See you Monday I guess.” Shinobu said solemnly.

(Y/n) didn’t reply and Shinobu gathered her things and left. As soon as she got home, she stalked passed Kanae who was surprised to see her.

“I thought you were having a sleepover tonight.” She called.

“Cancelled. Not feeling well.”

“Oh, well you have mail on the counter—“

“Later.” Shinobu grunted, stomping up the stairs.

“Okay, grumpy. Feel better soon.” Kanae could tell this was an emotional, ‘I don’t feel good’ and not a physical, ‘I don’t feel good.’, so she decided to give Shinobu some space.

As soon as Shinobu was alone in her room, she buried her face in her pillow to soak up the frustrated and hopeless tears. Then she wallowed in her sadness the rest of the night and most of the next morning.

She turned her head, glaring at Kanae when she entered without so much as a knock and turned on the lights. In her hands she carried a plate of food and a letter.

“I’m not hungry.” Shinobu grumbled, turning away and burying herself under her blankets.

“At least read your mail first,” Kanae sighed, “I don’t know what your attitude is all about, but I think it might help.” She poked at Shinobu beneath the covers until an exasperated hand pushed out from underneath and snatched the letter from Kanae’s hand.

When Kanae left, Shinobu sat up and looked at the letter, finally registering who it was from. Quickly, she tore it open and read it.

Maybe things weren’t as hopeless as she had originally thought.

***

“It’s no secret that Shinobu and I, for as civil as we seem to be with each other, fought like crazy to be the one to give this speech.”

“As you can see, I couldn’t manage to shake (Y/n) free from my coattails, so here we both are.” Shinobu teased, earning a quiet rumble of laughter through the crowd.

They hit all the right beats in their speech, but Shinobu could tell as the closing words got closer, (Y/n) was trying harder not to get choked up.

“And so, to finally break free from the devil woman next to me, I’ve decided to attend Tokyo University because it was the furthest I could physically get from her.” (Y/n)’s voice broke at the end, but it was covered by the polite laughter of the crowd.

Shinobu caught her hand in her own, causing (Y/n) to meet her eyes questioningly, tears threatening to fall.

“Which is why I am happy to announce that I too, will be attending Tokyo University.” Shinobu declared, going off script, dabbing the tears from (Y/n)’s cheeks with the sleeve of her gown.

“What?” (Y/n) sobbed. Surely she had misheard.

In a surprising turn of events Shinobu had actually applied to both schools just in case (Y/n) had the same idea, but her application to Tokyo had been lost in the mail for weeks and then her acceptance letter decided to get lost too, for quiet a few months, actually!

“You can’t get rid of me that easily.” Shinobu grinned.

That grin was quickly swiped off of her face, when (Y/n)’s lips overzealously met hers, but she was all too happy with the interruption to mind.

“Oh my god! It’s finally happening! My ship!” Mitsuri stood from her seat and cheered, prompting everyone else to do the same.

It was sure to be a valedictorian speech that would not be soon forgotten. Breathless, the couple delivers their final lines before they could be shooed off of the stage for their overt display of affection.

#demon slayer oneshots #kny oneshots #demon slayer x reader #kny x reader #shinobu kocho x reader #shinobu kochou x reader #shinobu x reader #shinobu kocho #shinobu kochou #requests #anonymous

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lorekeeper-backset · 4 months

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PKMN IRL Master Post

This post is a list of every single one of my Pokemon IRL blogs. It will lengthen or shorten as I create or delete blogs. Mostly lengthen, probably.

@fox-poke-fanatic: A blog run by Caleb, average college student who wants to become the ultimate expert on fox pokemon.

@aura-acolyte: My take on the protagonist of ORAS, here named Mare Birch. She has Aura Powers and is also the Chosen of Rayquaza, a role that is both poorly defined and well defined. She gets involved in a lot of high stakes stuff. She's also the protagonist of that fanfic I linked.

@the-looker-bureau: A blog focusing on Looker and Emma. In this universe, Looker continued being a private detective and father figure for Emma.

@last-lorekeeper: A blog run by Zinnia, the Lorekeeper of the Draconid people. She's taken up teaching in her spare time.

@twinchampionsofkalos: A blog run by Calem and Serena, who in this universe both take the role of Champion of the Kalos region. Calem's the responsible one while Serena's the more reckless one. Calem is an Acearo malewife and Serena is a Lesbian girlboss and certified disaster gay.

@appeallove: A blog run by Lisia, contest spectacular idol. She's always peppy, never dropping her cheerful demeanor even when mad. She may be one of the scariest people on the planet.

@rocket-cast-official: Prepare for Trouble and Make it Double. The Team Rocket Trio hosts a podcast. Hopefully they won't be blasting off again.

@glitchskulls: A blog co-run with @newworldenderdragon. It focuses on the newly established branch of Team Skull in Glitch City, a region where space is weird and Glitch Pokemon are the norm. Due to the nature of Glitch Pokemon there is a general unreality tw on this one.

@guardian-ofthe-sky: Rayquaza runs a blog where it tries to play the responsible parent. It's very proud of it's Chosen.

@aqua-magma-official: The account of the reformed Teams Aqua and Magma, run by their twin PR heads Magma Grunt Kai and Aqua Grunt Nicky. Yes, they are genuinely reformed this is not a secret evil plot. Blog is usually low stakes and will not become high stakes of its own accord.

@hoenn-tv-official: After one too many hospital trips and legal snafus, Gabby and Ty have been demoted to Social Media Rep. However shall they cope.

@phantom-flower: A blog for Phoebe, Ghost Type Hoenn Elite Four Member.

@the-new-eon-duo: A pair of Superheroes backed by the Devon Corporation. If your first reaction was "ew corporation" you have the right idea.

@themostspecialestlegendaryever: A blog for Latias, the world's best, most specialest legendary ever.

@pokestar-rosa: A blog for Rosa who decided bring Champion wasn't for her and became an actor instead. It's also an excuse for me to give screenwriting and movie nerd rants.

@landandseaunited: Archie and Maxie are reformed and dating. Good for them.

@kalos-news-network-official: The official blog for the Kalos News Network, run by Malva, Chief Bitch.

@leavesofbattle: A blog for Leaf as an adult.

@naranja-uva-student-council: An AU where all four protags of ScarVio are on the Student Council instead of just Nemona. Inspired by Kaguya-Sama: Love is War.

@shiftingbetweenrealities: As a result of the final showdown at Spear Pillar, Cynthia has found herself cast out into the multiverse, constantly changing universes. Unfortunately, her physical body was not cast into the multiverse, only her mind, so she inhabits the body of whatever Cynthia is native to that universe.

@hoenn-battle-frontier-official: Blog for the Hoenn Battle Frontier, located in LaRousse City, run by Anabel.

@xxcodeveeveexx: Cassiopeia | Any Pronouns | Likes: Veevees, Coding, Anime, Video Games | Dislikes: Social Interactions, Bullies

@lea-hi: "Faller" (not really cause no Ultra Wormholes but I'm the only one who seems to care about the actual definition) blog for Lea from CrossCode.

@friendly-neighborhood-calem: You can call her Callie. Or Cal on boy days. Yes, I made a second Calem blog shut up. This one's the rival, not the protag, so it's different. And also she's gender-fluid.

@its-gonna-be-may: It's May but something's kinda off about her. Is she even who she says she is? (read the pinned, its important)

#backset blabbers #pkmn irl #pokemon irl #irl pkmn #pokeblogging #master post

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x-soapbox-x · 23 days

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Sigh. Once again random posting about an anime that I binged on my day off but. I just want to talk about it!!! This is about Kaguya-sama Love is War. Anyways.

Aside from how much the humor of this show really got to me when the slapstick-esque humor typical in anime isn’t usually my favorite, and how the romance itself is so!! Sweet!! Like it’s obvious from the beginning that they’re perfect for each other just by the fact that they’re playing these mind games with each other knowing the other is also playing, and it’s so much fun watching these two characters have insane mental chess games about following each other on social media and misunderstand each other while also being the only other person that really gets each other. The drama and tension doesn’t come from wondering if one will succeed in winning the others heart bc from the beginning you know they’re already head over heels for each other. The drama all comes from dramatic irony and the narrator himself is in one the joke with the audience and it’s GREAT. But I just want to talk about two specific really small moments I really loved.

The first one is when our lady lead, Kaguya, paints her nails. She worries all day about it-will he like them? Does it go against her identity to cave to girly things just for this stupid boy? She wants him specifically to notice that she painted her nails. It’s such a big deal to her. And of course, because we are privy to both of their internal monologues we know that he notices right away and spends the whole time she’s wishing he’d say something, wondering if it would make him a creep to say something, calculating the likelihood she’d accept a compliment, wondering if it’s a big deal. And at the end of the day he says nothing and she’s walking home staring at her hands disappointed, just a tiny heart break. But then he rides up next to her on his bike and points at her and yells. “Your Nails!”. He doesn’t even compliment them. He rides off before he can get the whole compliment out. But it shows he noticed, and then she’s floating around on cloud nine. It’s so cute and it just feels so…true. Like that’s what it’s like to have a crush for the first time-all this fragile hope, all this heavy anxiety. I love what it says for these specific characters! Like he’s so attentive to her and puts so much work into pretending that he’s not but it becomes so important that he lets her know that he thinks she’s pretty in all these little changeable ways and it’s pretty much the first time in the series that either one of them attempts to be earnest in their interactions instead of straight up doing psychological warfare.

The second little moment I really like is when Miyuki, our fella, has stepped down from being the student class president and as a result has gotten enough rest for multiple nights for the first time in the show, and it changes him. Like physically, he’s suddenly much more youthful looking and approachable and handsome. Everyone is into the well rested former president- except Kaguya. She LOVED his tired eyes, his exhausted and kind of mean glare. He gets all this confidence from being more handsome now and attempts to flirt and it’s completely ineffective. She was so attracted to his ‘death glare’ partly bc of the actual appearance, but also bc it represented his dedication and his work ethic. And then she has this spiral bc she’s not as attracted to him (most people who were young girls attracted to boys might recognize this exact spiral in their history if the object of their affections ever got a haircut) and she wonders if this means she doesn’t actually love him the way she thought. Luckily it’s resolved pretty quickly, but what I loved about this was that her favorite thing about the way he looked was a physical aspect that manifested bc of something intrinsic to who he is as a person, and it was a thing a lot of people actively thought made him look worse. I might be biased bc I also like tired looking eyes on a person (and kind of sport them as well-I am writing this at 2am). But this just seemed so sweet and loving and once again indicates just how much they pay attention to each other.

I guess what I love about this show is that it’s the slowest burn to ever slow burn but they use all that space to explore the hundred little ways to notice and care for another. Love is stored in the attention to detail!! I love how they agonize over every little thing!! I love how much courage it takes them to get over that, I love the hypervigilance of self. I can’t wait to see where it goes next, now that I’ve gotten to the end of season 3 and OOF what an end!!!!

Also it’s just very funny but maybe we can discuss using comedy as a bait and switch for earnestness in some other post. ❤️

#kaguya sama: love is war #yap yap yap #text post #sigh I will never escape from red blue pairings #they are just always perfect to me #anime #love is war #kaguya shinomiya #miyuki shirogane #I am once again seriously discussing anime #long post

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tsukuyomii45 · 7 months

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ObiKonan ask! Canon AU. Post war. Obito and Konan live. They fought to the death, basically. How would they overcome that and get together? Is it even possible?

I hope you know how much I love your ObiKonan asks!

I'd like to tackle a few things before I can get to the ObiKonan part - just to set the foundation of this AU. :)

Alright, so this is definitely a slowburn Enemies to Lovers type of trope.

-Konan would have survived Obito's chokehold and genjutsu after some time, and while she's recovering, she would realize that something is incredibly off about him. The memories of his broken mask that resulted from her ultimate jutsu would make her put 2 and 2 together: Tobi is not the real Madara.

-So we fast-forward to the declaration of war, and then to the Fourth Shinobi World War. Konan makes a very surprising appearance before the mask reveal, and she confirms that he is not the real Madara.

-Konan aids Naruto, Kakashi, and Gai in battling Tobi, who is very surprised to see that Konan survived. Anyways, they fight and fight - then mask reveal happens: Konan is then very shocked to see that the masked man this whole time was someone else - someone who simply roamed with the identity of Madara - and this person bears the name Obito Uchiha.

-Konan would feel enraged by the fact that this man who has scars on his face has fiddled and manipulated her along with Nagato, and potentially catalyzed the death of her love, Yahiko. It turns out that Yahiko's intuition about the masked man they met years ago was correct. Feeling broken by the fact that she played into Obito's game, she falls on her knees in despair. Naturally, Naruto would wake her up with his yelling and talk-no-jutsu, and this sparks Konan's conviction of wanting to fight by Naruto's side.

-As the battle continues, Konan gets to understand more and more of who this Obito Uchiha is, and what his motivations are, and how he is involved with the real Madara Uchiha, the ancestor of the Uchiha Clan, and how he is involved with Kakashi Hatake and Naruto's father.

-That doesn't erase her initial resentment towards him, and after all the scenes that we see in the war, Konan fights against him until he is defeated by Naruto and the alliance, and she is now facing our white-haired DILF who is all broken and paralyzed. She learns more about him, and how Rin's death had broken him, etc.

-Fastforward to the battle with Kaguya, and then the defeat of Kaguya, but this time, Obito also survives. Naruto and Sasuke release the Infinite Tsukuyomi, and everyone is alive, etc. etc. (Note that Konan was captured by the branches of the God Tree and was stuck in her own eternal dream). She witnesses Naruto saying goodbye to his father, Minato, and her heart starts to ache for the boy.

-We move onto their trial, where Konan, Sasuke and Obito are defended by Kakashi and Naruto along with Tsunade. Konan is under house arrest and surveillance, and will not be returning to Amegakure until further notice. Sasuke and Obito would set out together for their journey of redemption.

-Their whole exchange the entire time after the war was cold and silent, with Obito unsure of how to act around Konan, and Konan bearing resentment towards them. So, weeks before Obito and Sasuke would set out for their journey, Obito takes the first step in approaching her - somewhere by a cliff where Konan would be standing, taking in the scenery of the vast forests of The Land of Fire, with little paper cranes gently flying around her.

-Her back would be facing him, while Obito stands a few paces away. Obito breaks the silence, telling her that they can't just keep avoiding each other. Konan scoffs and tells him that it's easier said than done, because thanks to him, her whole life has been nothing but a lie and that he's been laughing at her face for decades.

-Obito tells her that he never forced her to do anything. He never forced her to join him, and that it was her own choice to follow Nagato, who in turn followed him. Konan's paper crane shifts into a kunai, and she immediately fires multiplie paper kunai towards Obito, but it hits the trunk of a tree. Konan is seething with rage as she glares at Obito with unshed tears in her eyes, and she tells him to never speak Nagato's name.

-Obito, unfazed, coldly tells her that she knows it's true. Here, he watches Konan shift and summon her paper wings, and she floats above him. She tells him that she should finish him once and for all, and she could care less what would happen to her because she no longer has anything left to lose, since she's all alone. Obito turns to walk away from her, and he tells her something shocking over his shoulder - "You're not."

-During the absence of Obito and Sasuke, Naruto would usually keep Konan company. Konan doesn't really give face and keeps to herself the entire time she's in Konoha, but she would crack a smile and let loose around Naruto only.

-Eventually, Obito and Sasuke return. Obito seeks out to find Konan once more, and sees her brooding by that cliff. He sits next to her, much to her surprise. Konan doesn't say a word though, and they just spend time like that, in silence. They go on like this for days, where Obito finds Konan, sits with her, and it's just silent, and then he would leave.

-One day, Konan was unable to sleep, and she would roam around Konoha and she would find herself in the cemetery, and she would unexpectedly find Obito kneeling by Rin's grave, silently crying for her. She would conceal herself and watch him, and she would hear the words he's uttering... such as how he wishes she was here, and that he should've just been dead... and he still doesn't understand why he's still alive. This makes Konan's heart tingle in sadness, and she would re-evaluate everything that she's done and thought after she leaves him alone.

-The next time Obito visits and sits next to her, Konan makes a paper crane fly over to his hand, indicating that she means peace. Konan tells him that she will need to take some time to forgive him for everything, but she is not opposed to starting somewhere. She doesn't miss the gentle smile on Obito's face.

-They meet up a few times, and they just start talking. They talk about their regrets, their feelings, their views, and even their hopes. This time, Konan tells him that she wants to know about Obito. Slowly and with a lot of time, Obito tells her about Rin, his lost dream, and how things changed for him. One day, Konan does something that shocks Obito - she vists Rin's grave and offers her silent prayers. This sparks something in Obito's heart, and he finds himself seeking her out even more.

-They start bonding further; Obito takes her around. They go out to quiet restaurants and teahouses. Konan sometimes would visit his humble home, and they'd sit in his balcony and have some tea as they talk about random things, usually about Naruto, where they share light jokes together, etc. Konan starts to slowly open up to him too, and she would smile at him more often, and think about him, and even does things that he likes - such as buying dango to share with him the next time he visits her.

-She talks to him about Yahiko one night, and Obito listens intently. After listening to her describe Yahiko and her love for him, Obito does something bold, which is place his hand over hers, and he'd tell her that he's sorry for everything that went down and that he's gone. He tells her he'd do anything to change everything. Konan then surprises Obito and squeezes his hand, and for the first time ever, she tells him that she forgives him.

I could go on with this, and yes, they do eventually end up together, but a Postwar AU would make it a rather slow development. :)

(Long story short, they'd technically get together after going on missions and after a few sessions of sparring together, their sexual tension would be released XDD)

I hope you enjoyed this take, though! <3

#naruto shippuden #obito uchiha #rin nohara #konan akatsuki #under the influence #post war au #uchiha obito #konan #`

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davidmariottecomics · 8 months

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Week 86 - 8/28/23 - A BLUE BEETLE MOVIE???

Hi there,

It probably isn't news as it's a pretty popular film in theaters right now, but there's a Blue Beetle movie out! And it's a lot of fun!

If you didn't know, Ted Kord, the second Blue Beetle, is my favorite superhero. There's a pretty good joke in the new movie about the difference between Ted and Batman, and not to step on the punchline, but it boils down to Ted knows how to laugh. He's a character frequently written to have a sense of humor, to know a good joke, and to be the dramatic superheroic straightman when it counts. He is not exactly an everyman--he's a genius, he dresses up in a silly costume, and he's rich--but in a lot of ways, he's just a guy trying to do the right thing because he can.

And he casts a long shadow over the new movie, which is about Jaime Reyes--fantastically played by the dreamy Xolo Maridueña--who I don't love quite as much as Ted, but who I think is himself a great and important character. He's a very different hero. He's got a sense of humor, he's got a good heart, but his relationship with his family, with his friends, with the scarab, and with the Blue Beetle legacy allows him to be something totally apart from Ted. The movie takes a lot of liberties--it's part Spider-Man, part Ant-Man, part Green Lantern (though... honestly probably better than the past few recent film adaptations of those characters)--but it doesn't run from the truth of who Jaime is as a character, which I think makes it all the better. The best superhero movie projects don't try to be just an adaptation, but to take what makes the hero great, understand it, and share it in a way that makes them more accessible and loom larger as a hero.

I don't want to spoil anything, but there was one extremely stupid part that made me tear up (out of just finally getting to see a thing on-screen and knowing there's some practical version of it out there and honestly, a little bit jealousy). If you see me, or want to reach out and ask about it, I'll gladly tell you.

But there's a Blue Beetle movie. And even though I saw it and really quite liked it... I kinda still can't believe it.

Next week: No blog on the website/newsletter! There is a Patreon post scheduled if you need your fix, going out to all backers at $5 or more a month! But I'm outta town and will see you when I return.

What I enjoyed this week: Blank Check (Podcast), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video Game), Craig of the Creek (Cartoon), Honkai Star Rail (Video game), My Adventures with Superman (Cartoon), The Broken Room by Peter Clines (Book), Dumbing of Age (Webcomic), Solve This Murder (Podcast), The Venture Bros: Radiant is the Blood of the Baboon Heart (Movie--which my pal Phil Murphy worked on!), Kaiju No. 8 (Manga), Kaguya-Sama: Love is War (Manga), Blue Beetle (Movie--duh), Oldboy (Movie), Witch Watch (Manga), Becca playing a little more Persona 5, Tangled (Movie), Jurassic Park (Movie), D.E.B.S. (Movie)

New Releases this week (8/23/2023): Godzilla Monsters & Protectors: All Hail the King TPB (Editor--on the latter half)

Final Order Cut-Off next week (8/28/2023--last day to get your preorders in): Sonic the Hedgehog #65

New Releases next week (8/30/2023): Godzilla Rivals: Vs. SpaceGodzilla (Supervising Editor) Sonic the Hedgehog: Endless Summer (A very silly credit) Sonic the Hedgehog: Scrapnik Island TPB (Editor)

Announcements: Becca is at Cartoon-a Palooza in Temecula on 9/15 & 9/16. It's a cool free all-ages little con, so come on out and see them!

Wanna support me? Consider joining my Patreon! I've got a bunch of cool stuff coming up and already on there. As well as some silly stuff like a tour of my desk, so you can see where the comics magic happens! I've got a bunch of stuff scheduled for September already and there'll always be more!

I have a webstore! It does look like I'm going to get a small supplement to my Beast Wars Vol. 3 stock, which is nice, but most everything else, I am not going to have more of anytime soon! Maybe give it a look!

I've still got a few things on my eBay, if you're looking for stuff! But obviously, anything that would get shipped out won't until I'm back! Pic of the Week: It was National Cinema Day yesterday, which is why Becca and I went to Blue Beetle ($4 tickets to the movies!). But they had to work, so I went and saw a second film, the 20th anniversary screening of Park Chan-wook's Oldboy. And the theater that was showing Oldboy had a special Cinema Day deal on the Blue Beetle backback popcorn bucket, so I did pick it up because that with a popcorn and a drink was still significantly cheaper than the bucket usually is by itself. So here's a photo of Becca modeling it.

#comics #sonic idw #godzilla idw #blue beetle #national cinema day #popcorn bucket #popculturepunk #Ted Kord is my no. 1 guy

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characterswithcolorsnamesfight · 25 days

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Propaganda for General Prelim Poll 6

(Vote here)

Red (Mega Man X) :

"I put him in the second I saw the name of the tournament just gonna be honest dy9vdoyvdigvdigvugvd

It also would be funny to see him die again

He's (supposed to be) the main villain/antagonist of what is considered the worst game in the Mega Man X series (X7) due to a multitude of issues, and because the devs were still clinging to the whole "sigma is the final boss!!" Thing, Red and the rest of Red Alert got yanked into this whole "sigma was puppeteering them the whole time!" Twist reveal which could have worked if it was executed correctly buuut this was X7 so it wasn't :)"

Violet (Watership Down) :

"She wanted to go with other rabbits to their new home, the place where they wanted to make a new home. On the journey she went out to eat and then a hawk got her 😭"

Lord Golden a.k.a White Prophet a.k.a Amber a.k.a The Fool (Realm of the Elderlings) :

"basically his skin gets darker over time. atm (lord golden) its (you guessed it) 'golden'. it used to be really pale white (hence 'white' prophet) when he was known widely the fool. he also identifies as Amber with others from another place, and her name is also a colour name i guess. hes a triple whammy little freak. i think thats it."

Amber (DNA Says Love You) :

"Canonically intersex, in love with his childhood best friend who he didn't see for like over 10 years, sees his childhood best friend's cringey ghost hunting youtube channel and still finds him charming, deserves the world, his childhood best friend falls in love with him twice (first as kids when Amber was still presenting as female and then again when he met Amber as adults after Amber transitioned)"

Shirogane Miyuki (Kaguya Sama wa Kokurasetai/"Kaguya Sama Love is War"/"Kaguya Sama") :

"Shirogane means silver"

Sam Black (Dimension 20 : Misfits and Magic) :

No propaganda yet

Sengoku Subaru a.k.a Mr. Black (Tiger & Bunny) :

No propaganda yet

Gu Xiang/Heartless Amethyst Fiend (Word of Honor) :

"in the place where Gu Xiang's from, it is very common to have titles that people use for you more often than your real name. She doesn't get called Amethyst Fiend a lot in the show, but that's mainly because she's hiding her identity and the main characters are on close terms with her. Characters from where she's from (with the exceptions of those close to her) call her Amethyst Fiend almost exclusively. The "Amethyst" part of her name is also tied to the fact that she almost exclusively wears purple. There are two outfits she wears that are not purple: one is more pink with purple accents and the other is her wedding outfit. Like she clearly got her name of Amethyst Fiend due to how much purple she wears."

Douglas Redfield a.k.a Douglas Redfield/Goddard E. Filleus/Mr Red (It Lives in the Woods)

"He's the CREEPIEST monster ever!! (then it's the only horror game i ever played so...) he tried to trick a cult into giving him demonic power but became a ghost/demon himself and then didn't retain much of his humanity. However he became "friends" with a bunch of kids a century later or so, and when they didn't want to come play anymore he killed one of them. Years later, he's tormenting them as high schoolers (well that's the short version, the long one would be waaay to spoilers-heavy) to force them to come back in the woods and play again. Playing being lethal with him obviously."

#propaganda #not polls #spoilers #prelim 6 #general prelim

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adjit · 9 months

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tag nine (9) people you’d like to know better

Tagged by @misspickman thank you!!

Last song: When I first saw the tag post it was “I wanna know what love is” by Foreigner (shoutout to my baby boy Nova <3 it was on his playlist), but between seeing the tag and actually making this post I did watch that Bad Apple r/place video so technically it’s Bad Apple. I just felt that was too obvious.

Currently watching: Ummm… things I’m in the middle of… My Adventures With Superman. Gotham, technically (we dropped off somewhere in season 2 like a year ago), and also CW Supergirl, technically (I’m only about 4 episodes in and it’s been months).

And then my anime Tuesday watch party rotates through a whole list of them so I am in the middle of uh… Komi Can’t Communicate, To Your Eternity, Bocchi the Rock, Kaguya-sama Love Is War, Natsume Yuujinchou, Witch From Mercury, and Blood Blockade Battlefront.

Also Miraculous Ladybug. Back to watching that just bc I was too happy I guess and needed something to scream about.

Currently reading: I just finished both This Is How You Lose The Time War and The House in the Cerulean Sea (I liked both, would recommend) but haven’t picked up anything new on the novel front, though next up is These Are Not The Trinity Papers. Because it's sitting on my desk now so I guess it's next.

Comics front I’m still working my way through Young Justice ‘98 and Tim’s Robin run, plus currently keeping up with Poison Ivy, City Boy, Spirit World, Green Arrow, and Batman and Detective Comics. And SMOT. And actually haven't read the last TDR, which I was keeping up with (do not recommend, unless you're like me and just want to look at pretty pictures of Tim; it's not bad per se just so deeply middling). I’ve gotten a couple months behind because I’ve been busy with new job and travel and friends… OH ALSO I did just pick up Batman/Superman World's Finest Vol 1. from the library, so that's also On The List (the list is so god damn long).

Current obsession: DC for sure, for better or for worse. I’m sure you couldn’t tell from my other answers on this. (I didn’t even mention the DC video games I’ve been playing...)

Tagging… @milfkon @loisinherlane @domokunrainbowkinz @lesbitchin if y’all wanna do it

#ramblings tag #tag game #did I forget anything. almost certainly.#I do not know 9 people so I will not be tagging 9 people. god bless #I don’t talk to enough people on tumblr I always fret about who I’m allowed to tag and who will think I’m annoying for doing so #sometimes I think to myself why does it take you so long to finish reading things and then I remember that I am always in the middle of lik #7 million different things at once and rotating through them #and then it's like oh yeah that's why #and I didn't even mention all the random chinese danmei that I pick up and drop to just fill the time when I don't wanna pay attention #these are of course separate from the chinese damnei I read serious bc some of them are good #I like reading the trash tho <3

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mdhwrites · 2 months

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Kaguya-Sama: Love is War's Summer Break Sadness

I have started watching what might be the best romance THING I have ever watched and it's actually fascinating to see them touch on a subject that is done in one of two extremes usually: Time away from your partner.

So for context since this is my first blog on the show: The premise is that two people are truly, genuinely, madly in love with each other. Both are overachievers who work hard for their status, though one is poor while the other is rich. Both see Love as a zero/sum game. Whoever confesses first loses and for neither of them is that an option. So the battle begins.

It is also one of the funniest, realest shows I think I've seen. It's over the top but never forgets to let the girl be a girl or the guy be a guy. It also never forgets their teenagers so even something as simple as exchanging phone numbers or asking to share an umbrella is something they can dramatize as the end all be all moment that will show the other weakness and ruin everything! And for ten episodes, it had mostly not had any segments (it does 3-4 skits/segments per episode) that were genuinely just serious.

That changed with segment 3 of episode 11: Miyuki Shirogane (the poor boy) Wants to See You (Spoilers, obviously).

It starts with him dying from the heat in his house, annoyed at how the Summer Break has gone so far. Three weeks and nothing has happened. All he has done is study, sleep, eat and go to work. He only made plans with Kaguya (the girl) for a festival at the end of the break after all and until then, he can't text or call her to see if she wants to meet up. That's simply out of the question. So, eventually, he leaves.

It then goes to Kaguya who is in a similar boat. Miserable and denying to her maid that she wants to see Shirogane. She gets teased about it until the frustration finally makes her leave too.

Where are they going?

The school.

For the last six months, they have worked as the president and vice president of their student council. While there have been breaks from each other, nothing has lasted this long. After three weeks, it finally bursts and they rush to the school. To the student council room. To their sanctuary where they have always been safe to be with the other.

And neither catches the other.

It is heartbreaking. It is also incredibly different from how I ever see it played, let alone in a comedy setting. Most people only do one of two options: The first is that once their partner is gone, even a crush, they are MISERABLE. They cannot live without their partner and would rather be dead than even take a vacation without them! Woe be to the man who doesn't have his heart filled with the joy of their beloved every second of his life!

The other is the far more common: Thank god the bitch is gone. Finally slipped the old ball and chain for a couple of days and boys, I cannot tell you how good it feels. How much I needed a break from their nagging and whining and being under their heel. I get to be a free man until the day they come back!

But it did neither. It went for the idea that it took three weeks before they needed a reminder. A moment of that same joy they gain from their partner to be back. I've actually heard plenty of people talk about this sort of thing where they'll be married, have their partner gone and sure, it's kind of nice to get a day or two to breathe but you are with them for a reason. Their presence is something you miss. It doesn't destroy them or anything like that, they're still people, but especially if you can't reach out for some reason to one another, that time can go from a nice, novel reprieve to a cold absence with time. It's much like how you might be excited to go vacation somewhere beautiful but close to the end, the thing you miss the most is your own bed because the comfort, solidity and warmth of the familiar is something you still desire.

It honestly just reinforces one of the absolutely most shocking elements about the show: The fact that it's healthy. Shirogane and Kaguya in most writers' hands (and by no means am I confident I'd never screw up) would be incredibly toxic. The literal concept of the show is that they fear showing any sign of weakness to their partner or compromising in any way after all. Trust, communication and openness are essentially impossible in that sort of environment and it does have fun with the fact that their schemes and anxieties aren't necessarily good for them. However, each segment also ends with stating a winner or a loser because they aren't entirely stuck. They have a push and pull and neither are genuinely bad people. Sometimes someone wins, sometimes someone loses but it's all in the pokes and prods of them figuring out each other and growing closer.

It's genuinely incredibly and I'm only eleven episodes into the first season of a 4 season anime (though the last season is supposedly like five episodes). I am very excited to see where things go.

That and to keep laughing because while this was played shockingly seriously, it was predated by, and I am not kidding: A side character proving that she is a supreme ramen officianado with drama on par with the twists and pomp of a card game anime and a segment where Kaguya keeps interrupting her maid's attempts to take a bath as the tech illiterate girl tries to figure out Twitter.

This show is hilarious and wild and a LOT. And right now, I absolutely think worth your time.

(OP 1. The only one I could find on Youtube for it with an English title was in 4k 60fps which I just genuinely think looks worse.)

youtube

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Happy Valentines Day! Which wasn't intentional but hey, at least I posted something kind of related. ^^; I do actually hope to post something writing wise today but between therapy and some family stuff going on, I suspect I won't get the second chapter to the project I've been poking at done so I feel more confident about posting it. Hope you all liked the change of pace from me though to be so positive though!

I will also admit that while this is looking at a trope, it's mostly me gushing about a thing I really like. I want this show to infect all teen romances, including mine, because of how good it is.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#kaguya sama: love is war #Positive #Romance Writing #Youtube

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vanilla-blessing · 1 year

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qb's top 10 seasonal anime of 2022

2022 in anime was a year of many known quantities, but what really ended up sticking out were the shows few saw coming before they took the world by storm, and before we knew it, everyone was watching a guitar-playing pink blob with severe anxiety while drawing her band on every album cover ever made. 2022 was the year I watched a new Gundam for the first time, I experienced unforgettable trash gems like Pride of Orange, ESTAB-LIFE, and Extreme Hearts, and I was let down more by the wasted potential of the Biscuit Hammer anime than any anime I've ever watched, easily. All considered, this year was unusually good on average for the shows I finished, so I ended up with a glut of series I wanted to put on this list that I had to cut down for time. I would make this list longer, but you know, then it might come out in 2024.

Top 10 in order:

Cyberpunk Edgerunners - Studio TRIGGER's take on the world of Cyberpunk 2077 was an unexpected contender - it was announced so long ago I sort of forgot about it, I wasn't expecting much from the batch release of a Netflix-Trigger anime after BNA's messy release, I underestimated the potential of Cyberpunk 2077 as a setting after the very public trash fire of the video game, and it should have been overshadowed by the next thing after a quick Netflix dump in the middle of a season. Should have had its lunch eaten by the similarly edgy violent action of Chainsawman, should have been yet another failed videogame anime, but none of this stopped Cyberpunk Edgerunners from being the anime I enjoyed the most from 2022.

Bocchi the Rock - the breakout hit school band anime of 2022 was also relatively unexpected, although I at least knew it was stacked with talented animators going in, I didn't predict the sheer memetic power of the result. This series shatters the fourth wall over its knee and livens up an already pretty funny manga with demented, free-flowing gags in a particular way that wouldn't work at all without detailed and well planned sequences which come off so naturally it's hard to believe this was originally a (lightly subversive but still) 4 panel strip. The album cover redraws were the best thing to come out of Bocchi and I hope they never end.

Pop Team Epic 2 - some kind of fucked up comic strip but aoi shouta is there? I thought they promised they wouldn't make this

Mob Psycho 100 III - everything I said about the second season of the popular shonen manga adaptation but moreso, it finishes out the series in exactly the way I hoped it would. Third OP is just mad flexing. look how many hands we can draw. Episode 8 changed my life forever. knowing they nailed the landing retroactively improves the whole series for me.

Do It Yourself - original anime by studio PINE JAM, DIY is pure aesthetic hobby-ani with a mildly entertaining cast of extremely animated characters. very enjoyable but may not have enough momentum or things happening for some. soundtrack is another standout by y0c1e but at a noticeably different speed from Gleipnir and Spyce.

Kaguya-sama Love is War: Ultra Romantic - everything I said about the second season of the popular romcom manga adaptation but moreso, it reaches the climactic peak of the series in exactly the way I hoped it would. I'm still reeling from the entire rap battle episode (sub and dub), and can't believe the Starship Troopers ED was real.

My Dress Up Darling (Sono Bisque Doll wa Koi wo Suru) - excellent manga adaptation, effectively gets across the dangerously horny but strangely wholesome vibe of the series.

The Demon Girl Next Door Season 2 - everything I said about the first season of the popular magical girl romcom manga adaptation but moreso, it reaches an inflection point in the manga with exactly the same manic pacing and blatant disregard for breathing room I hoped it would. out of everything else on my list I hope the most this one gets another season, because it kind of needs it.

Mobile Suit Gundam: Witch from Mercury - original anime in the long-running GUNDAM series which is sort of like Robot Jox for kids. This is definitely the first time I've watched anything from Gundam before it was completed and I immediately regretted not having more to watch as a direct consequence. Half of my enjoyment right now is coming from experiencing it in tandem with the rest of the internet, but it's sure to hold up in retrospect as one of the best modern Gundam seasons. Look forward to a future very annoying post by me claiming g-witch ripped off Granbelm.

Call of the Night - another above and beyond manga adaptation, probably the anime OP of the year. It strongly intensified my longing for studio SHAFT to not be dead anymore.

Assorted Shoutouts

Going by rating number scale rules, Chainsawman and Spy X Family should be here, but I'm not going by rating, I'm going by what I feel deserves more attention. those anime already have too much recognition.

The Executioner and Her Way of Life (Shokei Shoujo no Virgin Road) - If you asked me what the most hidden gem is from 2022, this is what I would answer immediately. Irresponsibly complicated and unusual take on the hated isekai genre in the most disrespectful way possible, twisting anything familiar about that tired setting into an unrecognizable pretzel shape. Recommending this is a challenge, because the less I explain the better it is, but nobody would want to watch this on its face. Everyone should watch it though.

Ya Boy Kongming - banger soundtrack and some eye-popping color choice elevates this manga adaptation from average to a certified Cool Time.

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: STONE OCEAN - My favorite (not best) Jojo part, the anime greatly improves the readability of the last third from the manga. Tokyo Mew Mew New - It's almost comforting how little they tried to update the love triangle of incredibly shit boyfriends in this remarkably normal magical girl anime reboot. I pleaded for someone to make a normal regular magical girl anime reboot and they delivered something totally acceptable.

Reiwa Di Gi Charat - Dejiko drags society kicking and screaming into the Reiwa era. This is the anime of all time of 1999, 2022 and 2023.

qb - friend of the no show (@queuebae on twitter still, unfortunately)

#2022 anime list #vanilla blessing #puraore #reiwadigicharat #bocchi za rokku #mob psycho 100 #dejiko

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weeb-polls-with-pip · 4 months

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Autistic Anime Boys Prelims - Propaganda Division - Group 10

Propaganda:

Mycroft -

"We don't know as much about Mycroft canonically, except that he makes a club whose whole premise is parallel play with talking forbidden, and that he is more than willing to let someone he barely knows start MI6 with the promise to deal with the socializing. Also that he is THE organization behind the British Government. As in, he serves as a planner and God knows what else. He tracks more in his head than a spreadsheet. He's adorkable too, he shoots his brother in the head with a paint gun to get his attention and tell him to beware of women, and then starts infodumping about the origins of the gun and all the cool stuff it can do. And he is truly kind, sending letters to Albert in jail and generally being really good at supporting his team, even if he hates to talk."

Londrekia -

"When it comes to things that don't interest him at all, Londrekia acts aloof and uncaring, but if something or someone catches his attention, he will immediately gain an interest, often not taking personal space into consideration. He's very stubborn and will often disobey orders from his organization if they don't match his sense of justice. Also his special ability is cryomancy and he makes a lot of ice puns that counts for something right."

Hikaru -

"Hikaru is one of the main characters in a manga explicitly about autism, and because we get to see him from birth to a young age, we get a good sense of how autism manifests in young children, which is pretty rare in Japanese media. To be honest I kinda felt like I ought to submit him because I read this manga when I was young and quite liked it, even though he's not the type of character who will make it far in this kind of tournament."

Raidou -

"a lot of the comedy from the show comes from him completely misunderstanding the other lead (who is also very autistic coded) and doing absolutely insane wacky things because he thinks that's what she wants to do. there's also an entire episode where him and the other lead get obsessed with fidget spinners."

Takt -

"Has a special interest in music and does reckless things because of it."

Asuka -

"to actually play him (he's a character in a fighting game), you have to play a card game (the most autistic game genre) while avoiding confrontation (he will die). he talks about observing people and collecting data in a way that really just seems autistic too? idk i think he's wonderful."

Yuu -

"He’s like if an emo programmer boy was also completely unhinged and also had a tragic backstory."

Soujuurou -

"My man grew up in the woods, has never seen a telephone in his life. Does not understand a single thing that's going on around him at all times and just thinks "well this must be what the city is like". Doesn't understand how to talk to other people, doesn't understand when other people are trying to make fun of him. He's doing his best to make ends meet but he specifically has a hard time with the unspoken rules of society no one ever taught him."

Emerald -

"Look at him."

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illusioninteractions · 5 months

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Hey! So, I've done some thinking and I think I've decided I'm okay with taking requests! Though, before I go through my rules, let me introduce myself to those who read this or follow me who don't know who I am!

My author's name is Illusion Interactions, and I started writing fanfictions about 2 years ago, but I've been writing my whole life. I started posting on Wattpad, which went well for my first fanfiction book. My account is still up, and I will continue to post multiple chapter-filled stories there. I am the author of "Shifting Souls" on Wattpad, "Love Never Discussed" on Tumblr, and "A Spark That Grows Into A Flame" which is also on Tumblr. I do plan to keep long stories on Wattpad and One Shots here on Tumblr, so I'm posting on both depending on what you're interested in!

Now, here are my rules for requesting One Shots from me:

-Smut, lemon, etc, I will NOT do. I need more practice in the area before I'm completely comfortable writing such explicit stories, but the moment I am, I will make sure to update this post! I can do Lime, which is just mentioning's, yet not going in depth.

-Characters I don't know won't be written about, so here is everything I've watched/played/read: Genshin Impact, Obey Me, Attack on Titan, Black Butler, Banana Fish, Tokyo Ghoul, Fruits Basket, My Hero Academia, Backflip!!, Haikyuu!!, A Silent Voice, Fire Force, Kakegurui, Hunter x Hunter, Bungo Stray Dogs, Anohana: The Flower We Saw that Day, Charlotte, Horimiya, Komi Can't Communicate, Demon Slayer, Spy x Family, Kaguya-sama: Love is War, Ouran High School Host Club, High School Babysitters, Yuri! On Ice, Death Note, K, Kamisama Kiss, Erased, Stars Align, Devilman Crybaby, Howls Moving Castle, The Case Study of Vanitas, Claymore, Your Lie in April, Toilet Bound: Hanako-kun, Violet Evergarden, High Rise Invasion, Cheer Boys!!, A3!, Angels of Death, Skate the Infinity, March Comes in Like a Lion, Joker Game, All Out!!, Ikebukuro West Gate Park, Plunderer, I Want to Eat Your Pancreas, 5 Centimeters Per Second, A Whisker Away, Flavors of Youth, Mirai, Your Name, Weathering With You, Drifting Home, Bubble, Belle, Akira, A Lull in the Sea, Stranger by the Shore, The Garden of Words, Given, Helluva Boss, Hazbin Hotel, Digital Circus, Boyfriends, Heartstopper, Our Life: Beginnings and Always.

-I'm totally okay (and love) doing Y/n inserts, but pronouns will be automatically set as Gender Neutral unless spoken of otherwise. If it's between two characters, or more, that's also perfectly fine!

-I can also do music One Shots, so if you're interested in that I can comply.

Hope you guys will enjoy my writing! If anything happens to change any of this, the post WILL be updated!

#writing requests #one shots #requests open #taking requests #anime #video games #reading #author #genshinimpact #attack on titan #helluva boss #digital circus #Heartstopper #our life: beginnings & always

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cercasinomeworld · 1 year

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ANIME WINTER 2022

Attack on Titan season 4 part 2 🔥

Demon Slayer: Entertainment District Arc 🔥 (Tengen I love you!)

Karakai jozu no Takagi-san season 3 (it was so cute!!!)🥰

Love of Kill

My Dress-up Darling

Orient

Police in a Pod

Requiem of the Rose King

Sabikui Bisco 🔥

Shaman King

Tokyo 24th Ward

Vanitas no Carte season 2 🔥

ANIME SPRING 2022

Aharen-san wa Hakarenai 🔥

Deaimon: Recipe for Happiness

Heroines Run the Show

Kaguya-sama: Love Is War season 3 🔥

Komi Can't Communicate season 2

Love After World Domination

Requiem of the Rose King

Science Fell in Love, So I Tried to Prove It season 2

Spy x Family 🔥

Summer Time Rendering

The Rising of the Shield Hero season 2

Tomodachi Game

ANIME SUMMER 2022

Summer Time Rendering

Tokyo Mew Mew New

Orient season 2

ANIME FALL 2022

All Saints Street (so surprisingly cute!!!)

Bleach 🔥🔥🔥

Blue Lock

Chainsaw Man

Spy x Family season 2 🔥

My Hero Academia season 6 🔥

Play It Cool, Guys

Raven of the Inner Palace 🔥

To Your Eternity season 2

Uzaki-chan Wants to Hang Out! season 2

Bonus: anime watched during the year

Attack on Titan season 1 rewatch

Durarara!! 🔥

Haikyuu!! season 1-2 rewatch

Trigun 🔥

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soul-dwelling · 11 months

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I received a few asks related to the newest Zelda game, Tears of the Kingdom.

Seeing as I haven’t played the game, and I have only read spoilers and a plot synopsis, nothing I say can be a very educated response to criticisms of the game.

…Not that this will stop me from still saying something, but, you know, like I said, I haven’t played the game, so anything I say below will be uninformed, so, take this as you will.

Spoilers for the game, and I will just copy and paste the asks I got below.

Yeah the new Zelda story is bad on every level - from the themes, to originality, surface appeal, charachters, consistency, nostalgia-baiting, to its mystery and execution and redundancy and missed potential. Like for example it shows Zelda reapearing and doing questionable things. One thinks that maybe she has some motives, maybe her experience twisted her worldview or maybe her actions get misinterprated - but no its the most generic "just a puppet that looks like her by evil guy lol" obvious

Also the new Zelda can't decide if it just wants to ignore all the "lore" and focus on a self contained world or if it wants to bait people with names, terms and events that have significance for super-fans. Like "oh its about the imprisoning war, you 'member that! But actually it has nothing to do with it just randomly the same event lol!"

Maybe the worse thing about totk is how it just repeats the same theme and arc of the previous game but worse. Botw dealt with lose and grief and how one has to sacrifice and prevail for the future generations to rebuild a better tommorow - so totk does the same just with a ridicoulous time span and plot devices while introducing unecessary timetravel that just confuses why thing happend in that way and doesnt say anything new or leads to any new charachter introspection.

Also sad with how much missed potential it had - it seemed like Ganondorf looked like the ancient hero from 10k in the past (even had the same pose) and the whole theme with circles and reversing things and fusing could have lead to a reaximination about these eternal roles of good and bad, about reconsiliation, breaking the circle, fusing into a synthesis that leads to a revolution - but nah its generic good guys vs bad guys

Also its just stupid on a surface level - things like Space bunny alien super-god races founding hyrule (like its Naruto again, the whole Kaguya myth is geting overplayed...), turning into goody dragons is a major plotpoint that you cant take serious because how stupid it looks, weird things like romance between quasi-humans and literal rabbits on two legs, timetravel, generic artifacts and energy beams and undercooked worlds

Too ad to the weird relationship to if it wants to ignore lore or not - Botw was original in atleast with the whole divine beasts and sheikah tech backstory, while this game kinda ignores it even if it is a direct sequel while going back to rehashing Oot and Lbw while also making an unecesary new origin for Hyrule even though Skyward sword got just recently rereleased. If they didnt care about story they should just have some random new country or aliens or demons invade.

In Botw atleast the calamity was the consequence of the failures of the past, of the arogance of the king, of the strife between people, their hubris and overconfidence. People suffered consequences and made sacrifices while in Botw the good guys are perfect and just "lose" because of out of charachter stupidity for a moment and then just dont do anything for thousands of years and dont prepare. Also zeldas sacrificed gets reversed and she doesnt even remember experiencing all the time she spent

The execution of the story is bad too, with the four sages dungeons repeating the same thing just with a different voice actor as opposed to botw which was connected with links experience in the past and moving on from their lose. Also the new little story arcs either get imediatly resolved or are just things like "he was greedy because of brainwashing and imediatly turns good after that with no consequences!" Also finding memories out of order spoil twistd and feels rushed and disconected

Also it just all feels generic and boring - wow evil "Demon King" (is that even a thing, seems more like something from anime that doesnt fit an western localization), magic stones, super secret furrie aliens and flawless generic goodguys - with the only theme of connection not even really being that deep and just basically turning into "yeah helping and trusting each other is good I guess?"

Also it makes weird plotholes like two masterswords existing at the same time, the whole calamity ganon not meshing with the newn Ganon, things disapearing without explanation making some people think it retconed botw while it actually seems like its a closed loop, how it fits with the other games, if its repeating events or a new continuity or the real new origin and things actually repeat after that, etc

There’s a lot here, so I’m going to tackle as much as I can.

The timeline stuff in this game doesn’t bother me--because I don’t understand anything about the timeline in Zelda anyway.

That’s a dickish comment on my part, but it’s also pretty much why I never got into the games, and it’s a bit of an insult on my part towards the entire Zelda franchise, but also why “the timeline doesn’t make sense in Tears” wouldn’t dissuade me from playing the game--because I’m already going in thinking, “The timeline shit never makes sense in this franchise, why should I start caring about it now?”

(I’m not asking for anyone to explain the timeline to me: I can go read explanations on my own.)

So, if the timeline right now doesn’t make sense, I take that either as, “Well, it never made sense to me anyway, so I don’t care,” or “Oh, shit, if Zelda fans and experts are poking holes in the time travel details, this may not be as well thought out.”

But as I said before, I don’t worry about story when it comes to video games--and on a related note, I don’t really care about whether the time travel rules make sense if the story is good enough. I appreciate that, the longer you enjoy something, the more you will criticize details in the lore that don’t make sense: that is valid, that is a sign of intense engagement with something you like, I would be a hypocrite to criticize someone doing that given what I’ve done with content I enjoy (I wouldn’t be writing about what works and doesn’t work in Soul Eater if I hadn’t engaged deeply with this work upon initial reading and watching).

But even as I get criticizing those details, as I just said, if the story is good enough, and has its characters progress, and has a beginning, middle, and end, and doesn’t screw up the message it was trying to tell, I can ignore the mechanics not working. It’s science fiction or fantasy fiction enough: the science is what allows the fiction to persist, the fantasy is what allows the fiction to persist, if the science or the fantasy is sound enough for me to keep reading the story, I don’t care, it’s about believability, not realism.

The twist about who this Zelda really is, from what I read of the plot summary, works for me on paper: it sounds cool to have an evil Zelda who is not real. Maybe the execution just doesn’t work--again, I haven’t played this game to see whether the payoff works. Granted, I do think, “And then the real Zelda turns into a dragon,” is a little too out-there.

The nostalgia-baiting: using names, events, people, etc, from other parts of the franchise is not a bad thing--that sounds really cool, if the story works. It’s like how I think MCU films used to be: “Here’s a decent story, we make sure that story works--then we’ll name characters, places, etc, after stuff from the comics.” More recent MCU stuff should be great because it finally gets to just bring in stuff from the comics…and yet that stuff right now feels like the real deep cuts-baiting the audience, where name-dropping someone is a substitution for story and plot progression.

(As an aside, this is probably why I soured so much on DuckTales 2017: that series felt much more like nostalgia-baiting that you’re describing, where I think parts of the story and characterization are not working--but, oh, look, here are references to the Disney Afternoon, that should shut up you 1980s/1990s kids and make you love this series. …No, it didn’t. Like, how do you fuck up Kit Cloudkicker that badly? How do you make Don Carnage so boring? Numerous references to original stuff from Darkwing Duck is where I start acting like I think you are about Zelda, where I just want to say, “That’s not what the original show was like,” or, at least with what they do with the two Darkwings in the show, how DuckTales 2017 really felt like it was positioning viewers who just didn’t like the show’s direction as being a hater and the equivalent of the homicidal Darkwing with the chainsaw--which, nah, that’s a pretty petty characterization of viewers who just aren’t a fan of how cynical and mean-spirited this iteration feels (when it comes to making Kit into somehow who just fails despite the talents already shown, that makes up a reason for him to be a sad adult, that makes Launchpad just the worst).)

You point out how you think Tears is repeating what Breath already did with themes, only it makes it worse by adding the time travel. Would Tears have been better if the time travel was held off until halfway through the game? If the big twist was that this was all time travel, would that work?

I ask in part because I remember a commercial for what I think was one of the Zelda games, that was just one of the most effective commercials I saw--because of how creepy it was. It’s a first-person POV video, as you are walking through the castle, but once you reach the destination in that castle, the commercial announcer says you’re going to go through this entire game--and then have to repeat it all over again to get it right this time. Would that have worked better for Tears, where you feel a bigger connection to this story--then have everything about it ripped away from you when you have to travel back in time to do it again?

I do think removing some great complexities about what Past!Ganondorf was up to feels like a missed opportunity. Then again, sometimes you just want your bad guys to be bad guys, not to keep giving them noble reasons or sympathetic back stories, just have them be cruel awful people that need to be stopped. This is probably also why I’m not too bothered by “yeah helping and trusting each other is good I guess”: yeah, sometimes you need a story that says it is good to help others, it is good to look for the good in others--but, as paradoxical as it may seem, there are just some bad people out there, and while obviously we can’t settle differences as you would in a game, or respond to evil as you would in a game, we do have an obligation to identify cruelty and do what we can to minimize its harm.

It’s not like I don’t have my fair share of complaints about origin stories that just do not hold up: see my complaints about Fire Force, or I can go on a rant about the weird choices the various Sonic the Hedgehog comics have made for origin stories that no one asked for.

I don’t want to criticize details about the origins or the romances of the aliens too much, if only because I find most designs in newer Zelda stuff to not be my taste. Zelda works best for me when the designs look like plants and animals from our world; some designs like the Zoras just don’t fit the setting for me.

The various conflicting origin stories: isn’t Zelda as a franchise all about how nothing makes sense? Again, this is a series where it feels like there are so many timelines that having different origins feels less troublesome. In fact, that was what a post I read recently said: this is the _Legend_ of Zelda, so with each iteration, we are getting a different spin on that legend, because it is so far removed from the truth that we are just making up new legends, telling new tales of the same characters and themes, hence why so much stuff conflicts across different games.

(Granted, just because this theory gives an explanation, and makes the title better suited, doesn’t negate the problem: just because you made up an excuse for inconsistencies doesn’t mean that the inconsistencies you created aren’t in themselves bad. At best, it is an opportunity for the game developers to say, “First, we are focused on gameplay and visuals, and we’ll alter the story to make those as effective as possible. And second, we are allowed to ignore continuity to fix what wasn’t working before.”)

(And, granted, I’m also a Star Trek fan--and I remain livid how much newer Trek is just fucking up continuity and canon because “we wanted to do this instead.”)

I do think the ending of Tears just undoing what went wrong, with little obvious ramifications, is frustrating. At least show something that indicates that this experience affected Link in some real emotional way--and if you have to add a physical reminder to him for how that real emotional change will persist, then do that, too, for visual storytelling.

“Demon King” is fine with me as phrasing: this is just the reality of trying to take the Japanese suffix -o and translating it as best as possible.

I don’t know enough about the lore of the Master Sword: is it really a big problem to have two existing at the same time, or is there lore that it can’t happen? I mean, again, there are so many timeline shenanigans and multiple Ganons and multiple Links and multiple Zeldas that I am ready to just throw up my hands and say, “Sure, Master Swords for everyone.”

#spoiler #spoilers #long post

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