#I normally am not a fan of the trope where like. everyone in a group like that is in a relationship w someone else in the group

[justmybookthots]

Legendborn

Um??????????

I put this book off for so long because a) I heard the next book in the series only comes out in 2025 and I didn't want to be left hanging, and b) I wasn't the biggest fan when I heard there was a (sigh) love triangle in there. And yet here I am, having finished it at long last.

Confession: I was/am in the middle of something like a reading slump. February has not been kind to me with my reads. When the Ann Liang book I was anticipating for months let me down horrifically, ALL the books that followed either fell flat too or were just… middling. I went through book after book feeling empty, and then I told myself: you know what. Legendborn has been on EVERYONE and their mother's radar, and their responses are the same—near unanimous acclaim. It's honestly quite insane.

So I took a gamble. I got the book and started reading it. 

You can TELL. You can just TELL when a book hits right for you, unlike the ones I read before it. I was hooked. Engaged. Totally captivated. I'd read and DNFed another fantasy book just weeks ago, which also utilised King Arthur lore (titled Silver in the Bone), but somehow Legendborn succeeded where that story failed (for me). Maybe I'm just a basic bitch who's a sucker for the typical storyline of a normal girl finding herself entangled with a group of monster slayers and doing tournaments to become one of them. (Is this why… I was instantly enthralled with the Infernal Devices??? Or why I love Demon Slayer—the anime—so much????? I am finding out new things about myself.)

But sure… the beginning isn't anything too different from traditional YA structures. But as you get going, and you continue down the road, you start to see new grounds being tread, and it deviates from anything I've personally read as a teen.

As usual, even though I loved this book, I'm going to do what I almost always do and explore the dichotomy of what I liked and didn't.

Spoilers abound. 

Didn't like:

It was predictable… up to a point (and then I was GOBSMACKED but we'll get to that later). Like, I knew pretty quickly which characters were going to make it to Squires and which weren't. You could just tell from how the author treated certain Pages (the folks trying to be Squires) in a more favourable light. The nice ones win, the not-nice ones don't. I'd have liked more nuance in their characterisation, TBH.

Speaking of which, however, Bree's characterisation at the start was rough. Like, she'd do stupid shit and get in trouble and continue being irresponsible. I wasn't surprised Alice was mad at her, and I don't think that the trouble she faced stemmed solely from her race but rather her irresponsible behaviour (going off-campus when she already knows that's grounds for expulsion and she STILL gets mad when the dean, who decides to let her off, is churlish with her. Seriously?). That said, I am NOT Black, and I can't speak for the quotidian prejudices they face, so take my perception of it with a grain of salt. In any case, Bree changed and this was no longer an issue for me later on.

Nick. And his whole romance with Bree. Like, I really did NOT care. And Nick was pretty much a white boy-damsel in distress the entire story. Every time screen time was devoted to their romance, my eyes would glaze over and I'd start skimming all the kissing and stuff. 

There were a lot of characters. Like, a lot. Too many. My brain was scrambling trying to remember and place everyone in their different roles. And aside from a few (bless William), they didn't have very distinct voices. Greer had, like, ZERO distinctive voice other than being non-binary, which should not be the only thing to define a character. Whitty was… nice, is all? Everyone kinda just melded in my brain, which is probably why none of the character deaths really hit me. 

I'm not a huge fan of Chosen One tropes. But this does play on the trope in a VERY interesting way. 

WHAT I LIKED (!!!!!!!!!!!):

The whole concept of Root and Bloodcraft. I LOVED how the author used magic to convey the colonisation of white men. The idea that Legendborns forcefully TAKE their power, while non-Bloodcraft users only borrow their power, speaks volumes to me. It was such a good way to portray real life.

Also??? The ending twist about Bree????? All along, I was convinced she was secretly the Scion of Lancelot, but I wasn't sure HOW, because all the knights are obviously white. And then the author pulls a fast one on me and she's actually fucking Arthur. The reasoning is so good. I loved how the White Man's own cruelty and their disgusting ownership of Black people led them to this predicament. I think THIS was the part that truly sold me on how terrific and unique this book was.

Characters-wise… William. Like, I adore the fuck out of him. In another world, in an even less conventional book, William would have been the hero for me. He's exactly my type with how calm and confident he was without needing to be overbearing about it. In fact, he was so gentle. (Makes me think of Jem Carstairs, but obviously Jem is THE published blueprint for types like this.)

Sel. Yes, I know I just talked about how I didn't like overbearing characters, and I initially went into this book expecting to hate him, but… :) I thought he was quite justified in his hatred / distrust towards Bree at first, knowing what he knew about how the mesmer and Oaths didn't take. I'll see if my opinion of him changes in the sequel. 

I  really, really liked how for once, King Arthur wasn't depicted as just some hero. He actually seemed almost villainous in this book, especially in the moments when Bree was possessed by him. What happened to her supposedly getting wisdom when she Awakened, though? This man does not sound wise at all. I am intrigued.

I am so glad I read this book. SO GLAD. I was down in the dumps for a bit and finally reading a good fantasy made me feel a thousand times better. I'm a bit nervous reading the sequel because some things often don't live up to their predecessor, so I shall see.

- 28 Feb 2024

#book review #legendborn #booktok #bree matthews #tracey deonn #bloodmarked #selwyn kane

[paradoxcase]

@turtletotem:

I actually don't think the exact nature of The Whole Alfred-and-Cristabel Thing is ever spelled out in the book. Smarter fans than me pieced it together, and once you know, a lot of things become a lot more clear. But don't feel bad if you need to have it spelled out to you in the end, because I sure did.

Well, I certainly don't have much of an idea right now, so I'll look forward to an explanation later if the actual books don't fill me in well enough

@wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess:

My favorite part in this chapter is the slowly growing horror on the part of Harrow and disgust on the part of Ianthe. Harrow ‘briefly contemplating atheism’ made me laugh way more than it should have…

Oh, yeah, I probably should have read that with a bit more weight to it than I did considering how strongly religious she is

Well, to be fair, Ianthe is only 22, and seems to be the type to think that anyone over 30 is too old to be worth anything.

That's fair, I could see her having that opinion

When it comes to Gideon the First, he IS using necromantic power. It’s how he drains all the thanergy from Harrow’s constructs. He just prefers to be a hands on type, and he seems to be the most physical of the Lyctors. And he and Pyrrha she establish the Second House. But good and interesting thinking on that duo!

That's true, the founders of the Second House would naturally be more physical/martial than the others, even the necromancers, but it's still pretty funny to me how little Mercy seems to align with the current focus of her House, so I'm not necessarily expecting all of the founding Lyctors to play to trope. But I think there is something going on with him

@eye-lantern:

I am very much not aroace but I gotta admit God fucking his Lyctors still took me by surprise. I knew they were being sexual between Lyctors but John had a responsibility and status that could have prevented this, but considering who he is, as soon as the shock passed I felt like of course he would.

I'm glad it's not just me! Honestly, I have very little idea of what is considered a normal/expected amount of sexuality, I think, I do actually add romantic and sexual drama to my sims neighborhood, but when I do that it winds up being wild chaos with everyone dating everyone else and/or large groups of people winding up in complicated poly relationships and I know that's not realistic but I don't know where the line is, really

@wandering-minx:

Small note that doesn't really matter, it was Cytherea that suggested the weeny construct as a way to bypass the siphoning challange.

Oh, you're right! I must have misremembered because of Harrow's line about not having worked with something as small as the key Palamedes got her to make during that other scene

#the locked tomb #harrow the ninth #turtletotem #wellhappybirthdaytomeiguess #eye-lantern #wandering-minx

[theawkwardterrier]

The Real Heroes

Steggy Week 2k22, day 4 Prompt: Trope or genre

Summary: Cass has a favorite comic book hero. A companion to my fic Out of the Frying Pan from Steggy Week 2018.

AO3 link here. Thanks to @steggyfanevents for organizing!

Cass watches Dad’s hands very carefully, holding out her own finger and closing one eye, trying to make sure he is matching the top of the poster to the straight line of the ceiling.

“Okay,” she finally says. “Right there.”

He steps back after he’s taped it and comes to rest a hand on her shoulder. “Does it look like you wanted?”

Cass beams. “It looks perfect. Everyone at the meeting is going to be very jealous.”

“That’s—Wait, the meeting?”

“Yes.” She lifts her chin. “The meeting of the Girl Fridays. We’re going to schedule one every other week after school: first when the new issue comes out so we can read it together and give our reactions, and then another two weeks after, when it’ll have had time to sink in so we can have a better discussion. I had the idea first, so I am the president.”

Her father looks down at her. He puts his hands in his pockets and pretends not to smile, but Cass can see. “And this is a…fan club?”

Cass pushes up her glasses. She crosses her arms. “Dad,” she says, very seriously, “this is a lifestyle.”

She saw other kids reading comics long before she tried them out herself. There was always a group that went to the newsstand together for the latest issue of Mr. Mysterious or Captain America, taking them out at recess or sitting with them on the street corners, even hiding them under the desk during class. (She’d had to keep herself from clearing her throat loudly to remind them that they were meant to be listening to the teacher.)

It wasn’t that she thought it was a thing only boys were allowed. She knows that there aren’t rules about what she’s supposed to like or do or be and what she isn’t; if she hadn't already realized that for herself, she’d be reminded by the memory of Mom raising her eyebrow mildly when Cassie had mentioned that her teacher only ever chose boys to be the line leader or to present when they did group work and when Cass asked why, the answer she got was that that there were certain students who were “better suited” to those jobs, and how that had changed after Mom was the one to bring her to her classroom the next day. Comics just never seemed that interesting to her - they all went to the library with Dad whenever they wanted so she always had as many books as she could read, and there wasn’t anything much special about the flimsy, brightly colored pamphlets with their silly storylines and dramatically written-out sound effects.

But then Karen Carlton came over to babysit while Mom and Dad had a date night, and when she was wrestling Annie and Ben into bed - well, wrestling Annie; Ben usually just got himself into his PJs, brushed his teeth, and read for fifteen minutes before turning out his light - Cass might have done a very tiny little bit of snooping. And in her bag, behind two kind of school-looking notebooks, there was Girl Friday issue #14.

She only got a chance to read the first few pages, where it goes from a normal day at school for average teenager Francie Day to Francie having to put on her mystical disguising deerstalker so she could investigate the latest mysterious happenings in Springville as Girl Friday. By the time Karen got down the stairs and exhaustedly told her that her extra half hour was up and it was bedtime for her too, Cass was sitting innocently on the other side of the room with a copy of Five Children and It - carefully turned right side up, of course, because Cass knows how not to get caught - and issue #14 was back just where it had been before.

The next day, she’d started searching through the newsstands and drugstores in the neighborhood until she had every issue. She never missed another one.

“—And that's how Francie realizes that her new neighbor, the friendly Dr. Crayshur, is actually the Creature Catcher, who's been luring all the animals in town into her basement to do experiments on them!"

Mom looks down at Cass and raises a soft eyebrow as they cross the street. It had been a little surprise when she turned up at the door instead of Dad when it was time to come home from playing with Nancy Freeman, but a nice surprise. She'd been able to tell Mom all about how the teacher hadn't done anything when Harry Grady was pulling on Nancy's braids, so Cass had checked out a library book under his name and then made sure not to return it on time; everyone know that Miss Weathers in the library was the nicest person in the school until you didn't treat her books right. Even after debating with Mom about whether that had been the right choice for how to do things - Mom would probably call it a lecture, but Cass is actually an expert on Mom's real lectures - there was still plenty of time to fill her in on the plot of issue #20, which had just been released two days ago.

"Well," Mom says thoughtfully, "I suppose one can't fault her investigative skills. But I do wonder, darling, if you might turn your devotion to someone else - someone real, perhaps?"

The idea almost stops Cass's feet. "Like who?" she demands.

"Oh, there's Mrs. Roosevelt, for example, or the poet Gwendolyn Brooks, or Lucille Ball, or Althea Gibson, or even your aunt Angie - it's taken quite a lot of hard work for her to get to the place that she is today."

While she's thinking, Cass squints at Mom's hand where it's wrapped around hers, her deep pink polish shiny, her grip firm enough to hold on tight and safe without hurting. Then she says slowly, "Well, I guess I can be interested in them too. But it isn't as if they have comic books written about them, you know."

"True enough, although I'm certain your father could draw some for you if you wanted. But then how about Captain America? After all, he was a real hero during the war, and there are certainly enough comic books about him.

This time, Cassie doesn't even need to think. "Mom. Captain America is boring. And everyone knows that none of his best stuff could ever be real."

There was never a day when Mom's office building was really empty, but Saturday was probably the closest it came. They'd gone over and had dinner at their usual table in the kitchen because Mom couldn't get home, Cass mostly talking about what might happen in issue #23 coming out soon, and then Mom wanted Dad's help with some work, so Cass and Ben and Annie got to have some fun, running around in the downstairs gym and coloring on a million sheets of paper while Mom's secretary Maria watched them.

Even when it got late and Annie and Ben started falling asleep, Cass had been sure she could stay awake, reading by herself until it was time to go home. She was sure she was awake - really! - except that she did get a little startled and made a "huh?!" sound when Dad lifted her out of the chair. Her head dropped back against his neck as he carried her in one arm, Annie in the other, out of the office while Mom, holding Ben, said good night to Maria and locked up.

No one talks most of the way back to the car, and Cass would probably have actually fallen asleep, except that suddenly Mom says, so quiet that Cass almost doesn’t hear it through her drowsy, muffled brain, "Do you ever regret that none of the children know who you were and what you did, and that perhaps they never will?"

"What I did which time?" Cass can feel the even rise and fall of Dad's breathing, the rumble of his voice in her own body.

"Oh, either, I suppose. But certainly your slightly more believable - or at least verifiable - exploits to begin with.”

“I guess I hadn’t really thought about it,” Dad says after a minute. “Maybe I will talk about it someday, but I didn’t do any of it to be recognized or admired, even by them. Did you?”

Slowly Mom replies, “No, there was a need and I had the skills, and that’s been the story ever since. But it’s…I appreciate, sometimes, the way that the things I’ve done show them what they can do, that they see my work and even if they don’t understand it now, they get some sense of what it could mean for them, how open the possibilities of their own futures can be. It isn't the reason, precisely, but my life and choices have cleared a path for them, or at least let them see that the path is there. ”

Dad makes an understanding sort of sound. His footsteps pause for a moment, and Cass knows that he’s letting Mom go first through the door. “For my part, I guess I think about how I’ve made the world better for them. And maybe they won't know exactly how or that I was the one doing it, maybe they won't realize for a second that things might have been different otherwise, but it’s enough for me to have that, just to remember that for myself.”

“Even if they never know about any of it - Azzano, or New York, or, of course, your most daring starring role?” Cass can hear the smile in Mom’s voice now, just before she begins to hum that song she sometimes sings when she’s teasing Dad - Cass remembers that the words are something about “strong and brave” and “carry the flag shore to shore,” but mostly she remembers that it makes Dad roll his eyes and smile too.

“Not sure you exactly have a place to talk with that, Betty,” Dad says, and the matching smile is in his voice already. Cass must be sleepier than she thought if her ears aren't working - Betty isn’t Mom’s name, after all.

“I neither participated in that, nor authorized it, as you well know,” Mom says in her boss voice, nudging Dad with her elbow. He laughs, readjusts Cass so she’s held tighter. Cass can hear Mom doing the same for Ben so she can find the keys which means that they must be getting close to the car. She’s glad. The car is new, and nice as these things go, but she just wants it to bring them home soon. She wants to be in her bed now, snuggled underneath her favorite blanket, with the door closed but the hall light on, feeling so cozy and safe…

“I suppose it’s a good thing that it doesn’t bother you,” Mom says from somewhere in the front seat. “Because I don’t know that even the truth would allow you to unseat a certain comic book detective in Cassandra’s mind.”

Dad laughs again. Even his voice seems to make a sort of shrug. “If I was going to be shown up by someone, Girl Friday is at least one I don’t mind losing to.”

In the back, her cheek against the window and Ben warm beside her, Cassie smiles. Finally starting to understand, she thinks. I’ll work on them more tomorrow.

She’ll figure out the exact details of that plan when she wakes up.

#SteggyWeek22 #Steggy fic #Steggy #Steve Rogers #Peggy Carter #this is tropes x2 - both kidfic and outsider POV

[lobotomycas]

YOURE A SOC FAN OMFGFKH

YEAH AS OF LIKE. A WEEK AND A HALF AGO? I watched the show and was like oh that was neat :) I like the three heist guys :) ik there's a series about them :) and then I read the books and they rewrote my brain I think! like I am not the same person I was before that! holy shit!

#a large part of the reason is that I wanted to know what that grisha was talking about when he was abt to say something #abt jesper and then jesper knockdc him out. I didn't make the connection which in hindsight was very obv skdhfkfnkf and was very intrigued #but I was also pspspsps'ed in by disabled cane user kaz and ALSO show kanej was extremely compelling #then book kanej is specifically what changed me as a person. I am SO obsessed with them. deeply in love. #I think if I had to choose a character from the 6 that I straight up have a massive crush on its nina. I'm a little in love with her I thin #she likes matthias so he can stay. I'm fond of him but he's not my fave #AND WYLAN MY DEARLY BELOVED..... AND WESPER. MY DEARLY BELOVED. HE'S SO GOOD THEY'RE SO GOOD #I'm just infodumping in the tags here skndkfnfkfnfn #I normally am not a fan of the trope where like. everyone in a group like that is in a relationship w someone else in the group #I just find it unnecessary yknow. we all know I'm not a romantic jdkfnfkfj but I liked how that was written! diff types of relationships ig #kanej my beloved. they are so fucked in the head and they love each other so much. It's About The Healing Process #they ARE each others endgame and like rlly we know that barely into the first book. neither of them are as impartial as they think they are #but. because of The Atrocities and The Tragedies. they can't manage a relationship. and is their relationship ever going to look normal? #when it stabilizes? I doubt it tbh I think it'll make sense but they kinda want different things and are gonna end up in different places. #kaz will stay in ketterdam while inej will go out to sea. but. they're it for each other anyways. and that's So Much. To Me #it's abt what makes sense To Them... finding comfort in each other finding a home in each other. learning to live and love without fear #inej adores kaz and kaz practically worships her it's sooooo they're soooooo. the show was insane for placing her up on that balcony #so that kaz would look up at her above him after she saved his life. insanity inducing scene. #none of these tags have a point I'm just rambling immmmgmgmgmhnn lomnve them #poetsocieties #ask #also omg hello haven't talked to u in a while :^) #just followed ur soc blog! #also also also I love jesper so so much it's unreal. in the show he's a cutie and clearly has hidden depths tm but in the books. I LOVE him #he's more?? simple?? than kaz or inej?? as in no atrocities happened to him and the tragedy was admittedly. basic. but it still affects #him every day he still made some major life choices bc of it to protect himself bc colm asked and he's trying and look where it got him. #but he's still trying. he wants to be enough and he doesn't want to endanger himself even tho he'd be HEALTHIER if he did. #matthias voice there are many kinds of illness #but! he doesn't! and it's his choice and okay he's not where he thought he'd be by now but he's okay! #holy shit he has a bf and a lil found family and his dad still loves him etc etc he's happy! he's zowa he's blessed!

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL

March 2021 Part 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. 

This is a LONG ONE, it’s been A WEEK everyone. 

Ongoing Series - Thai

Lovely Writer Ep 5 - a little slow this week, but at least Gene finally flirted back, and very cute flirting it was, too. Also we got Aey’s motivation, background, and love interest. Thank goodness for that. 

Brothers Ep 8 - still pants, what can I say? Clearly I am a BL masochist. Very embarrassing for everyone concerned. 

1000 Stars Ep 9 - the conflict over Tian’s father was REALLY well done. The plot of this drama is excellent, the leads are great together, and yes I totally cried. What, you didn’t? 

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Word of Honor (China) Ep 16-18 - big battle fighty fighty stabby stabby. Ep 17 switches to “this drama isn’t big enough for two chaotic-neutral godlings!” So what do they do? Drink together and bicker... A LOT. Then in Ep 18 we all get the dubious joy of really freaky puppets. (I HATE puppets.) Also how is China letting this be so SO VERY VERY GAY?  Also, I wanna walk through the forest wearing a smanshy purple robe and waving a big fuck-off white fan around simply because I’m a pretentious fuss monger. And frankly, I feel like this is an achievable life goal for me. 

We Best Love 2 (Taiwan) Ep 4 - not gonna lie, this is looking to be one of my top 3 BLs of 2021. It’s SO GOOD. Big bonus to this ep for treating stalker behavior like the mental illness it is and not as some dumb representation of enduring love. 

The Most Peaceful Place is My Place (Vietnam) Ep 1 - finally dropped (find it under NƠI BÌNH YÊN NHẤT LÀ VỀ BÊN EM on O2′s channel). It’s got actors already comfortable with BL and looks pretty good so far. An angry tsundere uke reunited with his ex, a stoic chef, giving us lots of snap, crackle, and pop out the gate. 

Dear Uranus (Taiwan GL) Ep 2 - I want to love it, but it is just moving too fast. There’s not enough character dev and then they’re throwing flashbacks in? It feels like a treatment rather than a show, and a rushed treatment at that. Bummer. 

HIStory 4: Close To You (Taiwan) Ep 2 (AKA Ep 3-4) - let the cheesy popcorn continue! Idiot remains an idiot; ingenue remains an ice queen; nice gay guy remains nice and gay; obsessive stalker brother is getting ever more whackadoddle. Of course these last two have the best chemistry. (It’s caregiver codependency and the salvation trope. We got us a Leo/Fiat situation going on.​) Plus lots of classic BL tropes because OF COURSE there are lots of tropes. 

Occasionally, I am tempted to argue that shows like H4 or Cherry Magic or Ossan’s Love aren’t technically BL because of the office setting and age of the protags - but then they all behave like high school students anyway, so *shrug* 

Stand Alones

Cute little Taiwanese micro BL Friend or Lover dropped, about bisexual realization within a friendship group. Normally these are too short for me, but this one did pretty good with its 15 minutes of charm, plus it’s abad boy + shy softy pairing. 

Breaking News - Thai BL

Fish Upon the Sky released its actual trailer. The upside-down kiss is gone, which makes everyone sad, and it seems far less rivals to lovers than the first iteration, which makes ME sad. But it still looks good and a more classic BL than GMMTV has given us in a while. New trailer focused more on the makeover trope and they’ve upped Mix’s role (the object of everyone’s affection) now that he’s proved himself. (Or they are using him more to carry the trailer since he has a fan base form 1k*). Starts April 9 on GMMTV in 1K*’s time slot, probably with a 10 ep run. 

2gether the movie is apparently coming April 22 to Thai theaters. F4 Thailand must be having issues or GMMTV just wants to milk the BrightWin cash cow. It’s rumored to be a combination of 2gehter + Still 2gether with some extra scenes and ending. Also, one assumes a lot will be cut out, if it’s movie length.

Call It What You Want released its updated trailer. If anything, it looks more scary than before. What are we in for? April 9th. 

Nitiman got a release date, May 7 on One31. 

I Told Sunset About You 2 got an updated release date of May 27 on LineTV. 

Second Chance the series is coming to LineTV on March 29. I don’t know much about this one. Tons of familiar faces (mostly TharnType side dishes) and some nice looking new talent but a dearth of eng subs. I think it may take on Brothers’ time slot. Line did eng subs for Brothers so maybe they will do 2nd Chance too? 

Close Friend the series is coming April 22. This is a combination of 6 couples with 6 story arcs as music videos (maybe)? It’s an epic fan service with familiar faces like OhmFluke (UWMA), MaxNat (LBC also in Y-Destiny), YoonLay (YYY also in Y-Destiny), KimCop (GenY), and JaFirst (TT2).

Y-Destiny starts March 30, and has starting dropping couple’s trailers. I’m still suspicious given the director but it seems like there is plot (or plots) and a theme. Looks to be a series of 7 single ep vignettes (amended, see comments, might be 2 eps each for 14 eps total), different couple each time, some with supernatural elements, all with decent chemistry and acting chops. 

Sun MaxNat’s tutor/student arc

Mon jaded rich kid meets poor innocent  

Tues sports romance enemies to lovers 

Weds the messy realistic actual dating one 

Thurs hot ghost boyfriend (sad) 

Fri YoonLayPerth coping with loss and finding new love (sad). This one will all rest on Lay's acting so we know it’s in safe hands. Our boy is going to KILL it. 

Sat time-slip memory loss reunion romance 

I’m thinking we can’t expect any of these to end happy or be classic BL. They’re gonna be more slice of life-ish. 

Gossip - BL Outside of Thailand 

Scholar Ryu’s Wedding Ceremony AKA Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding (Korean historical BL) got a legit teaser (eng sub here). @curriculumvtae​ reports that it’s releasing April 15th on WeTV (Philippines & Thailand) and Idol Romance (South Korea), while Will of Thai Bl says it’ll be on Viki too. It’s a short run of 8 ep built on a fake relationship trope (arranged marriage variant):

Ryu Ho Seon’s (Kang In Soo from You Wish) arranged marriage turns out to be with his expected bride’s brother, Choi Ki Wan (Lee Se Jin from Mr Heart). Ryu tries to undo the marriage, but his ill mother opposes this saying the scandal would be too much. Meanwhile, Kim Tae Hyeong (Jang Eui Soo from Where Your Eyes Linger), a senior at Ryu’s school, comes to congratulate him and falls in love with Choi. Then one day, the original bride disappears.

Okay it seems a bit twisty turny for ONLY 8 EPS, but oh my goodness how excited are we? Our first intentional historical BL out of Korea!

We already knew Hong Kong was doing a remake of Japan’s Ossan’s Love under the same name (not my favorite Japanese BL but so very popular) but it’s now reported to be coming to Viu in June. Who knows how the CFA will take it. Depends on whether Hong Kong bows before the NO GAY KISSES regs or if they are going to use this as a political nose thumb... things could get cray with this puppy (the original has several kisses and s shower scene). Are we back in Addicted territory only with added comedy and civil unrest?

Speaking of Japan, Absolute BL (AKA Zettai BL ni Naru Sekai vs Zettai BL ni Naritakunai Otoko) dropped sooner than anyone thought, March 27. But being Japanese who knows how/when/if we get subs. Protag finds himself trapped in a world of BL, but being straight he fights against any hot guy that draws near, but the whole world (literally) is conspiring against him. It’s a parody adapted from a yoai.

What with Absolute BL from Japan plus Lovely Writer and Call it What You Want from Thailand, is 2021 the year of BL being ultra self referential? Sure feels like it.

In Case You Missed It

Faded a gay micro film from Taiwan from 2017 deals with parental acceptance and serves up a ton of BL tropes (piggyback, forehead kiss, etc). I’m pretty sure this was a propaganda piece for legalization of gay marriage, and it’s an interesting nugget of BL history as a result. Yes, it ends happy. It’s cute. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Some shows may be listed a day later than actual air date for accessibility reasons.

Upcoming 2021 BL master post here.

Links to watch are provided when possible, ask in a comment if I missed something.

Man there’s a lot going on right now! Spring has sprung... I suppose. 

P.S. I cannot believe I missed Absolute BL as a blog name. Numbnuts = me. 

#asian bl #asianbl #thai bl #thaibl #brothers the series #lovely writer #1000 stars #a tale of thousand stars #We Best Love: Fighting Mr.2nd #taiwanese bl #taiwan drama #history 4: close to you #dear uranus #taiwanese GL #asian gl #second chance the series #2gether the movie #y-destiny #friend or lover #Fish Upon The Sky #Call It What You Want #close friend the series #i told the sunset about you 2 #faded short #oassan's love #japanese bl #absolute bl #Nobleman Ryu’s Wedding #korean bl #nitiman

[retrievablememories]

whip appeal | lucas (m)

title: whip appeal pairing: lucas x black!reader genre: smut request: “In honor of Lucas' bday, can we get a fic in which Lucas and his Black gf go out to celebrate his bday with friends? They can't keep their hands off each other the whole dinner and things end up getting super spicy 🤭 once they get back home. They both liked to be praised? 🧐” and “Can I request a Lucas and black gf riding please? I know we talked about this before so here it is glasses😎! Thank you!” word count: 4.1k warnings: riding, unprotected sex, creampie, face fucking, face riding, oral (female and male receiving), praise kink, a little exhibitionism, dirty talk, maybe sub!lucas?, overstimulation a/n: this is pure filth, heaven help me. 💀 decided to combine two requests for this one. i was never really a big fan of the “getting down at the dinner table” smut trope, but well…it seemed fitting here lol

In celebration of Lucas’s birthday, you and him had decided to go out to dinner with the WayV members and some of your own friends. You’d even made sure everyone’s schedules would be clear for it, which mostly meant nicely asking (or maybe jokingly threatening) your friends to shuffle some of their plans around so they could attend.

As soon as you all sit down in the restaurant, the WayV members sing Lucas a birthday song embarrassingly loud, which makes him blush a little but he’s also pretty pleased by it.

And if there’s anything else he’s pleased by, it’s your outfit choice for the night.

You have decided to wear one of Lucas’s favorite dresses on you, one he got you a year ago for your first anniversary. It’s a form-fitting black dress with a slit on the side—a fairly high one, which you were a little bashful about at first. You quickly ended up loving the dress, though, due to Lucas’s enthusiastic reaction to you in it. 

Yes, it’s definitely hard to forget how he’d peeled your panties off and bent you over the couch with the dress still on, bunching the fabric up in his hands so he could tug you back onto his—

Anyway, it’s a great dress.

That still holds true now, of course. He’s barely left you alone since you got in the car with him, though you could also say the same for yourself; he manages to look even finer than usual in his leather jacket and all-black fit, which is quite a feat. You had half a mind to persuade him into a quickie before you left, but that would only make you late; it’s always hard to stop once you both start.

You’d both agreed you’d make it through the dinner without incident, though now that you’re sitting in the restaurant, you’re not entirely sure if either of you can keep to that.

It’s hard to pay attention to what anyone else is saying with Lucas sitting so close to you, his arm and his thigh brushing yours every so often, sending his cologne wafting past your nose—more often than it probably should, and you know he’s doing it on purpose. He’d even placed your napkin on your lap at the beginning of the meal, his hands lingering on either side of your thighs for a little longer than they should have, and you gave him a cautious look in return.

As you all wait for the entrees to get to your table, Lucas’s hand goes to your thigh under the table, his fingers pressing heatedly into your skin. You give him a sideways glance as his fingers linger where the slit in your dress is, as if they’re about to go up under the fabric and head where they’re not supposed to.

“Yukhei. Keep it low,” you whisper to him, and place your own hand on his thigh higher than it probably should be in public. It was initially meant as a warning gesture, but your intentions change as soon as you feel the hard muscle of his leg under your palm. Because you just can’t resist now that he’s opened the door.

“I am, you just have to not make it obvious.” He grins, brushing his fingers along your exposed skin. This makes a shiver go up your spine, and you shift in your seat a little abruptly, your own fingers edging ever closer to his groin. Your sudden movement catches Kun’s eye and he gives you both a look that’s a little more on the suspicious side than neutral. You try to give him your best innocent smile, and he nods in reply, though the slight wariness doesn’t totally leave his gaze.

Lucas’s hand refuses to move from your leg. Instead he brushes his thumb repeatedly over the sliver of your thigh revealed by the dress, knowing how distracting it’ll be for you. Whenever you or he isn’t talking to one of the others at the table, he takes those short moments to lean over slightly and whisper obscenities in your ear as if he’s just casually talking, well aware of how it’ll affect you.

“If you can be a good girl and keep our little game secret, I’ll give you a reward when we get home.” This makes you sit up straighter in the chair, fully alert as if you weren’t intrigued already.

“A reward? It’s your birthday, shouldn’t I be giving you one?” you whisper back, still trying to keep your eyes forward like everything’s normal.

Lucas chuckles, and his warm breath hitting your ear and the side of your neck makes your heart beat a little faster. “The only reward I need is your p—”

“Oh, here comes the food!” one of your friends exclaims. Her voice makes you jump, mostly because you almost felt like you were about to be found out. You look up, and just as she says, the waiter has come back with the first round of plates.

You sigh a little in relief when Lucas’s hand finally departs from your leg, and then you’re slightly embarrassed that you were already this wound up just from a few touches. You bring your own hand back to your lap and mess with the napkin, trying to calm yourself down.

You do such a good job of it that you almost forget about your game with Lucas as you all start eating and talking more enthusiastically. You and your friends enjoy listening to the men’s banter and silly jokes, even if their wordplay is a little lost on you at times.

However, your mind is brought right back to the matter at hand after the entrees are taken away and it’s time for dessert.

Lucas leans over to you as you take a drink from your water and mumbles, just low enough for only you to hear, “You’re not wearing any underwear, are you?”

You snort and almost cough but manage to catch yourself before you draw everyone’s attention. “Hmm...you’re just now noticing?”

Lucas sucks his teeth and shakes his head as if he’s about to reprimand you, but he only grins slyly. Like clockwork, his hand slides back underneath the table, only this time he takes the initiative to push his hand through the slit in your dress and grip your inner thigh.

His fingertips are dangerously close to your heat. You stiffen up instead of trying to deter him, because if you were to grab his hand now, there’s a major chance you might just push it further where you want it to be instead of pulling it away.

Hendery says something that makes everyone else laugh, and Lucas takes this moment of distraction to shove his fingers between your legs, the pads of them sliding over your clit. You can’t control your response as well this time, and you make a little yelp, kicking your leg up and hitting your knee against the underside of the table. Lucas withdraws his hand from you as soon as it happens, though he can’t stop the laugh that comes bellowing out.

Everyone’s heads whip towards the two of you at the sudden disturbance, varying expressions of confusion and suspicion on their faces.

“Are we disturbing you? Should we all leave so you two can have a moment?” Ten suggests, a knowing expression written all over his face. He even seems a bit bored, as if he’s already used to walking in on you two in compromising positions at the dorm—which he is.

“No, that’s not necessary.” Lucas is still laughing, which makes you want to roll your eyes because he’s making it even more obvious although he was the one who wanted to be discreet about it in the first place. “We’re fine, it’s nothing.”

“Damn, Y/N, y’all couldn’t wait until the last course?” Another one of your friends giggles behind her napkin like she’s utterly scandalized, and you sigh.

“Don’t worry about me! Like you haven’t been flirting with Yangyang all night.”

Yangyang lets out a nervous chuckle, and your friend gives you a look that says we will talk about this later.

You try to focus on your dessert when it comes, plus the conversations the others are having, but Lucas’s touch has gotten you all riled up and your mind keeps drifting. You’re beyond the point of pretending like you can handle this anymore. By the time dinner is over, you’re clinging to Lucas’s arm as you all leave the restaurant, and you barely want to let him go so he can say goodbye to the WayV members—which they find lowkey hilarious.

One of your friends joins you as you wait for Lucas to finish his conversation with the others, and she rests her arm on your shoulder, shaking her head.

“Okay, not to sound totally greedy, but that dessert wasn’t enough for me…” she comments. “I know it’s one of those fancy-pants restaurants and all, but they don’t gotta downsize everything. What about you and your man? What’d you think of it?

“Well, I got Lucas a birthday cake at home, so I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

“Is that right? I wonder what kind of cake it is,” your friend says this innocently, but the look on her face tells you she means something else entirely. “What flavor? Vanilla? Strawberry? Chocolate?” 

“Oh, girl...look at the time. Time for you to go home!” You laugh with your friends for a few moments more before you and Lucas finally depart from the rest of the group and head back to your place.

The atmosphere is tense once you and Lucas get in the car, though not in a bad way—quite the opposite. “You’ve been messing with me all night. You should be more than ready for what’s going to happen once we get home,” you tell him.

“Is that a threat? You already know I’ll take whatever you give me.”

“Take, you will,” you say with a scheming smile on your face, and you slide lower in your seat to get comfortable as you run your hands up your legs, tugging your dress a bit higher as you do. Lucas’s eyes dart to your hands and exposed skin, and his own palms tighten around the steering wheel.

You laugh at his reaction and return your hands to your sides just as quick as you placed them in your lap. “Now, keep your eyes on the road so we can get home in one piece.”

Lucas is already tugging you into the side of his body as he unlocks the front door to your place, and his lips are against yours only seconds after the door closes. His body is hot and firm against your own, and he still tastes like the dessert he ate back at the restaurant. It makes you want to push your tongue into his mouth—which you do.

“You know,” you murmur when you both separate for a moment, “I don’t think either of us won that reward, since we got caught.”

“Doesn’t matter. You’re still my good girl.” As if emphasizing his point, Lucas tilts your chin up and kisses you again.

Eventually—maybe a few years later, with how long it feels like you’ve been making out against the wall—you both make it to your bedroom, Lucas’s leather jacket stripped off somewhere along the way. You push him to sit on your bed, though you still keep your hands on him as you unbutton his shirt, exposing his tan skin to you.

His pants are next as you bring your hands to his lap so you can unzip them, already feeling a bulge underneath your palm. You rub your hand over it, finding the tip of his cock through the material and circling your thumb across it. Lucas drops his head back as a deep sigh comes from his chest, and he lifts his hips slightly to meet your hand.

When you have his pants fully undone, you kick your shoes off and drop to the soft carpeted floor in front of him, pulling his pants and underwear down enough so you can pull his dick out. It’s long and hard and leaking precum as you wrap your hand around it, and it twitches at your tight grasp.

You’ve barely done anything yet, but Lucas says under his breath, “Fuck, I love it when you suck my dick, baby…so pretty for me.”

You smirk as you stroke your hand along his length, feeling the precum sticking to your palm. You press forward to place your lips on his shaft, sliding your tongue out of your mouth to drag up the length of his member. When you get to the tip, you carefully take it into your mouth and suck it firmly. A noise between a groan and a growl rises from Lucas’s chest, which hits you straight between your legs.

Lucas breathes heavily as he sits up on his elbows and watches you suck him into your mouth, your lips and hand fitting around his member like you were perfectly made for each other. He’s bigger than you were used to in previous relationships, but that doesn’t mean you don’t make it work every single time.

“Y/N...Y/N. God. You feel so good.” He especially likes when you take his balls into your mouth, which you do now, and he has to give a concentrated effort not to move his hips further up.

“You can feel even better if you fuck my face.”

“Really?” You don’t do this very often, but you figure it’s a special occasion, so why not. Lucas’s stomach tenses, as if he’s about to explode at the very mention of it. “Want my cock in your throat?”

“Do it, Yukhei.” And then you open your mouth and slide his shaft against your tongue, pushing him inside, inviting him to do just as you’ve offered. He lays a hand on the back of your head and pushes his cock further into your mouth, experimentally at first, to prepare you for it.

Soon, he lets a little of his control slip and thrusts more fully into the back of your throat, his fingers digging a little firmer into your hair. The sounds of it are so filthy, but he loves it and it makes his stomach flood with desire—makes his dick throb in your mouth. It creates an inevitable mess, with your spit dripping down his length and his balls, but the uninhibited nature of it makes you even wetter.

Lucas finds himself dangerously close to the edge quicker than he expected, and he pulls himself from your mouth with a lewd, wet noise.

“I don’t wanna come just yet,” he groans, and before you know it he’s pulling you up onto the bed with him, guiding you to kneel over his face. You don’t question the sudden switch-up or complain; you just hike your dress up higher so you can watch his face as you lower your hips down, rubbing your pussy over his waiting tongue. He moans when you make contact, like he’s been wanting to do this all night, and he wastes no time with bringing his hands to your hips and rocking you against his mouth.

“Yukhei, please,” you moan. It feels like every neuron in your body wants to fire all at once with how his tongue works over your clit and his plush lips wrap around it and suck hard. He can’t say anything in this position, but he answers you with a deep moan that makes your nerve endings vibrate and your walls clench around nothing.

You want him in you, want him to stuff you full with his dick and bust inside of you, but you’re not done riding his face just yet. His chin and lips are all wet from it. He wraps his arms around your thighs and holds you tight against his mouth as you thrust down onto him, and you have to place your hands on the mattress above his head to maintain your stability as he forces an intense orgasm out of you.

Lucas continues lapping into you as you drip onto his mouth and chin. He’s almost embarrassingly loud with how hard he’s sucking your pussy, like drawing all the juice out of a piece of fruit, and you double over and howl as he works you over. Your neighbors have probably had it with you by now, but you can’t think about that as you cum fast and hard again, your clit throbbing as he swirls his tongue around it repeatedly.

“God, I can’t take anymore, your mouth—oh fuck—” He still hasn’t let up yet, and you bang your fist against the bed, your agreed-upon sign to stop for whenever it gets to be too much. At that, Lucas finally releases your thighs from his iron hold and backs off of you.

You feel like you could probably sleep for a day straight from the head alone, but Lucas is still hard and leaking precum and there’s no way you’re letting that go unanswered for. You shimmy down his body so you’re sitting in his lap now, and you shiver when his shaft slides against your still-sensitive clit.

Lucas watches intently as you grasp his length and bring your hips up so you can push it into you, and his Adam’s apple bobs as he swallows hard. A groan rumbles in his chest as your pussy squeezes around him. “Are you real? You look like a fucking angel on my dick, baby.”

You giggle, an almost drunken sound—even though you are quite sober at the moment—as you seat yourself fully on his dick and begin rolling your hips. You grasp his shirt where it still hangs off his body, bringing him up so he’s sitting straight with you in his lap. You catch his lips and taste yourself on his mouth.

You both continue kissing as your bodies fall into a natural rhythm, one of Lucas’s arms going around your waist to gain a better grip so he can thrust up into you a little harder. He angles himself so he can hit your g-spot with every motion, and you scratch at his neck and his back when he does.

“I don’t know how long I’m gonna last,” Lucas admits, though his hips never stop moving against yours. He tugs his bottom lip between his teeth, a line of exertion creasing between his brows. A trail of sweat drips from his neck to his jawline, and you follow it with your tongue.

“I don’t care, just come. Give it to me, Yukhei.” Your hand tangles in his hair and you bring his head closer, tucking your face into the side of his and taking his earlobe between your teeth.

“Goddamn, Y/N…” Lucas can’t do much more but moan and gasp as you push your hips into his more forcefully, pulling him ever closer to his climax, and whatever else he’d planned to say comes out choked as his balls draw up and a vein pops out against the skin of his neck. 

Lucas slumps back to his elbows as if the strength has been sapped from his body as he lets you ride him as if you’ll never get to do it again, throwing him headfirst into an explosive orgasm as sticky cum bursts inside you. A string of nonsense leaves his mouth, mostly curses and groans and some syllables that sound like your name.

“Y-Yukhei…” You can barely gasp his name as your own climax crashes into you, making you clench almost painfully around him as you come. You have to pause for a moment to simply ride through the sensation, too encompassed with the feeling to be able to do anything but cry out and let your body slump against his.

You both lie like that for some long moments, breathing hard against each other and trickling with sweat. When you feel steady enough to sit up again, you do so.

Even as the tension in Lucas’s body unravels itself, you move your hips again, a dizzying winding motion. Your pace is a little slower after you’ve come, but you don’t stop rocking your body on his. You feel Lucas’s cum shifting in you and leaking back out, but that doesn’t bother you. He’s still rock hard inside you, and you are going to milk this for all it’s worth.

Lucas’s eyes pop open, and he looks at you with an expression of surprise. There's something else in his gaze that’s a little new to you—something like submission. “Y/N…”

“Can you take another, Yukhei?” You reach behind yourself to find his balls and fondle them momentarily, and he twitches inside you. His thighs flex underneath you, and you sigh and marvel at the beauty of his perfectly formed body in action.

“You’re gonna kill me,” he moans, but he lies flat on his back again to offer himself up to you, letting you fuck yourself on his oversensitive member. The sounds of your lovemaking are wetter and nastier because of his cum dripping from you, and it makes lust swirl in your stomach.

Groans and grunts spill from Lucas continuously now as you increase the pace again and push your knees into bed to ride him more feverishly. One of his hands comes to fist in the fabric of your dress like he wants to rip it clean off—or maybe bring you down harder on his cock—and his face colors red from the pleasure racking his body.

Though you never stop in your motions, you lower yourself so you can bring your mouth to his neck and kiss the heated skin of it. You swear you can almost feel the blood rushing in his veins. Lucas gives you a few hard thrusts from beneath, though his hips stutter and he ends up letting you do most of the work again. 

There’s little warning when he comes this time. He shouts, a cut-off sound like he’s been silenced before he could fully vocalize it, and shoots more hot ropes of cum into you. He seems to release even more of his seed than before as his cock pulses repeatedly inside of you, and you wonder how much you could coax out of him if you went at it like this all night.

“Yes baby, fill me up...so good for me, so sexy…” You mumble this against his neck as you grind on his abdomen, needing that extra stimulation to your clit to meet your own end. He’s trembling now from the aftershocks of his climax, and in a few more moments, the overstimulation might really overload him.

“Fuck Y/N, come on—” He shoves his hand between your bodies, and although the angle is a bit awkward, he rubs his fingers against your clit in a way that finally pushes you into your final orgasm. You writhe against him and clutch onto his shoulders for support as you lose yourself again in that burning thrill racing through your body.

You’re both a sticky and tired mess by the end of it all, and you don’t even know if you’ll be able to stand up to get in the damn shower. Still, you are more than satisfied. Lucas himself must be on cloud 9, judging by the blissed-out expression on his face, his hair a complete mess from how it was originally styled earlier in the night.

Grinning, you cup his cheek and kiss his lips again. “Happy birthday, Yukhei.”

#lucas smut #lucas scenarios #lucas imagines #lucas fic #nct smut #nct scenarios #nct fic #nct imagines #nct #wayv #wayv scenarios #wayv smut #wayv imagines #wayv fic #ambw #ambw kpop #ambw scenarios #ambw smut #ambw fic #ambw imagines #wong yukhei

[gottawriteanegoortwo]

The One Where Wilford asks Dark about a Fanfic Trope

Wilford’s been reading too many fan fictions. Then he told me this very silly idea about asking questions about a common trope in said fics and wouldn’t leave me alone until I wrote it. 

(Sorry.)

Word count: 1,010

-

As the resident ‘fourth wall breaker’, one of Wilford’s hobbies was to sneakily check the fandom and their works inspired by the egos and their world. On days when technology worked in his favour without causing major disruption for everyone else (who could forget the time that he skipped a Youtube ad and broke the coffee machine?), he would snoop around the various websites. He would coo over fan art, get immersed in fan theories, and lose track of time reading fan fiction. All in all, it was great to see what the fans were doing when there was nothing new in ‘canon’ to work with.

(Oh, the ships! The fluff! The angst! The crack! It all made his little heart flutter. How creative their fans were!!)

One such day had Wilford spending a free day catching up on the fandom works. He was supposed to be in the studio, but all the Jims were called away for a ‘family emergency’; while Bim worked on his podcast. Not that Wilford minded. It was good they all knew work wasn’t the most important thing! Instead, he lounged on the sofa, flipping from drabbles to headcanons to stories. What a great way to spend the day… Until something caught his attention.

-

“Hey, Dark?” 

“Yes?” The entity didn’t look up from his laptop, nor did he stop typing.

“Why are ya workin’ in an office?”

“It’s a rented office space. Cheaper and more efficient than renting a giant house like you originally wanted. This is more beneficial given that a large majority of this ‘company’ is dedicated to matters in the entertainment industry and they require a large space to rehearse and perform.”

“Ah. Okay.” Wilford dropped the topic for several seconds until… “Hey, Dark?”

“What?”

“Whaddya mean th’ ‘majority’ is fer th’ entertainment industry?”

“The eclectic group that the ‘egos’ consist of have a variety of careers. Since a lot of them focus on the production of entertainment features - such as news, chat shows and game shows - it was the most reasonable solution to focus efforts there so that there is a sense of productivity amongst the entire group, even if the target audience is small.”

“Huh… But ya hate bein’ involved with shows.”

“I know that, Will.”

“Like, ta th’ point where ya accept people will call ya ‘Dark’ instead of ‘Damien’.”

“Where are you going with this?”

“Well,” Wilford wriggled from his position on the sofa to peer at Dark. True to many of the stories he had been reading, Dark sat in a plush office chair behind a large desk, with a laptop in front of him and various folders and paper surrounding that. “Yer here. All th’ fans know that, an’ everyone punishes ya fer bein’ here by makin’ ya do borin’ paperwork. Why’s that?”

“You do realise that there are timeline variants of all of us, and what I do isn’t a staple for what others do, correct?” Wilford nodded in response. “So why does it matter?”

“Because yer my friend. I don’t want ya sufferin’ with paperwork if ya don’t wanna be here.”  Dark rolled his eyes, but it appeared the sentiment was appreciated. His eyes dropped to the laptop screen so he could save his work and shut the lid. Then, at last, Wilford had his full attention.

“I’m normally cast in the role of ‘working in an office’ because fans normally don’t know what to do with me in a work-related setting. They saw our scene in Markiplier TV where I sat at the head of the boardroom table, noticed that my appearances had no direct involvement with any actual productions and were instead me directly interacting with them with no interference; and thus concluded that I must while away my hours behind a desk with generic paperwork. For all they know, these are pages with endless lorem ipsum blurbs pasted on them. But since most fans don’t know much about office work beyond what they’ve seen on TV, it passes with little complaint.”

“That… Really sucks. I’m sorry that’s yer fate. But, uh… What are ya doin’?” Wilford tumbled off the sofa to approach the desk and lift one of the pages. Compared to the glorious fanfics, it was written in a tiny typeface with big words that scrambled his head.

“Again, what I do career-wise as a ‘Darkiplier’ doesn’t match what others may do, but I am a qualified lawyer by trade. I’ve had to shift my focus to working in the world of a business rather than helping individual clients. In brief, I’m the main reason that the studio hasn’t been sued out of existence by making sure every project is legally sensible. I also write up and maintain the contracts of those that work here who aren’t egos, as well as offer legal advice beyond what Google or Bing might suggest from their search systems. I’ve had to also take a side-step into accounting and finance to make sure that people get paid.”

“... That sounds like a lotta work.”

“Which is precisely why I deal with the brunt of it and call you in when I know how best to explain it. We’re both in charge as two of the ‘mascots’ of Mark’s channel. The ‘heart and soul’, if you will.” To Wilford’s surprise, a coy smirk appeared on Dark’s lips. “Our studio isn’t as disastrous as you think. I actually have quite a large amount of free time. I mainly stay here to keep away from the chaos. Did you know I paint?”

“Ya what?” Curiosity piqued, Wiford planted his hands on the table and stretched forward. “Ya paint? What do ya do?”

Dark opened his laptop again and resumed typing.

“Hey. Damien. I wanna know ‘bout yer paintin’!”

No answer.

“C’moooonnnn, pleeaaaase?” 

Dark looked up with a sigh.

“I’m afraid my hands are tied. There simply aren’t enough fan fictions and headcanons to allow me to elaborate.” There was a glint of mischief in his eyes as he went back to work, ignoring Wilford’s pleas to hear more.

#writersofmark #Wilford Warfstache #Darkiplier #markiplier fanfiction #breaking the fourth wall #(he literally wouldn't leave me alone until I did this) #Rose Petals (Wilford) #Cracked Mirror (Dark) #(read-more is for tidiness! :D )

[petra-realsnk]

The Logics of Sessr*n: why is it successful within women?

Hi guys! Here’s the post that I promised. I will try to present some thoughts I’ve been having around the infamous ship, and some of the dynamics I think have contributed to its success. The most logical reaction would be to think that most shippers are men, since the dynamics represented do favour them, but that’s not exactly the case. Some of you have also proposed that this could be explained through self-inserting, but I would like to expand this observation a little further. 

This post will be divided in sections so you guys can read the parts you find more interesting if you don’t feel like going through it all. I thought this would make it more enjoyable since it’s going to be quite long. 

DISCLAIMER: I am not claiming that this is the psychological profile of the average shipper, nor do I think that this is representative of the ideology of all of them. These are just some personal thoughts and facts around some aspects that I think have contributed to its appeal. Also I apologize in advance for the quality of my expression since English is not my first language. 

TW: Mentions of p*dophilia and rape. 

Finally, I would like to thank @doombull​ for facilitating me one of the articles that I’ve used to elaborate this thoughts, and which also served as inspiration for this post. 

Grab something to drink and let’s chat...

About the thrive of “Lolicon” 

We are all aware that Japan does have a problem with the permissive sexualization of children.

 “Lolita complex, the sexual attraction to young, pubescent girls, is woven into the fabric of everyday life in Japan. Turn on the TV and you’ll see group after group of scantily-clad teenage and preteen girls singing or dancing to music. Peek in any bookstore and you’ll find a section of photo books featuring children in swimwear. (...) During the six months from January 2016, police turned over 1,023 cases to prosecutors, compared to 637 cases for the same period in 2011 and 831 cases for the period in 2015, according to National Police Agency statistics.”

These portrayals do have impact on reality, and have been used by real life predators. Contrary to what some shippers say, there are experts in Japan speaking against this matter: 

“Masahiro Morioka, a professor of philosophy and ethics at Waseda University, has delved deep into the psychology of men with Lolita complex, widely known as lolicon in Japan. (...) He says the nation’s obsession with puberty-age girls has justified sexual exploitation and crimes against them — though, of course, not everyone with Lolita complex acts on their desires and commits sex crimes. Like many people, Morioka finds the culture that tolerates lolicon problematic and wants to change it.“

Lolicon didn’t become a recognized genre until the 1970’s when fan artists depicted their favorite female characters of the time as underage girls. The reasons behind the success of this type of content is something that’s still being discussed, but some of it probably has to do with the unhealthy relationship with sexuality that some men seem to develop due to the taboo component of sex within the japanese society. Some of it might also be derived from a mismanagement of loneliness, something some of these consumers seem to struggle with. All of this is combined by some misogynistic takes on the ideal of a woman. These men find the interactions with the opposite sex to be difficult, and even menancing to their masculinity, being easier for them to project their fantasies into young girls whom are esier to shape into their needs.

Anyway, it’s not the intention of this post to really argue the reasons behind lolicon, but there’s something important to have in mind, and it’s the fact that its accessibility has made it so that there are children consuming it. Simultaneously, popularizing Lolicon is a message to girls that they are objects for consumer consumption, and that their youth (and innocence) is especially desirable in a sexual setting. This last element has definitely gotten into the way some women want to project themselves. For that matter, it’s not a surprise that some female shippers project themselves into Rin, since she’s an ideal of femininity to them. 

Sources: 

https://bit.ly/39QA18d 

https://bit.ly/3ixPIFn 

Non-offending Pedophiles | SpringerLink

Internalized misogyny: 

Following the last thread, we can conclude that some girls might desire to appeal to this ideal of woman, which is absolutely normal. Gender roles are being pushed on us ever since we are kids, and it’s natural that some of them try to appeal to the male gaze in one way or another, most times even in a subconscious way. This would also explain why some shippers seem to adhere to some beliefs that have been used to justify the control over women’s sexuality. 

For example, we all have seen them argue about how teenagers are more fertile and prone to survive labor. They also tend to use the “historical accuracy” argument to justify these types of portrayals. However, the imaginary of the middle ages as a place where rape and child brides where totally justified is completely modern. Sadly, these types of tropes are perpetuated by almost every historical drama, fantasy series like Game of Thrones or books like The Pillars of The Earth. It is striking how shows whose action is located in the present are reluctant to show this type of things, while when they are located in the past, they represent them in an almost sexualized way and without any scruples. Male directors do use other cultures and past times to justify this portrayals, and is something that has to be called out.  How interesting is that some far right men identify themselves as vikings right? Wonder where that came from...

But why women? 

After all of what I’ve said, you may think that the majority of the shippers might be men, since all of these dynamics seem to favour them. Even so, despite being a shonen manga Inuyasha had a mostly female based audience. Romance played an important part in the story, and the way it was written seemed to cater better to the preferences of girls. This is also why Sessrin is so potentially harmful… It romanticizes a relationship between a teenager and an adult in a way that’s particularly attractive to girls. We can’t lose sight of the fact that a lot of shippers probably were fans of the og series when they were young, and probably  started to ship it as underage kids themselves. When they grew old, some of them left the idea of it behind but for some others it’s already deeply rooted in them. 

Next I’ll explain how Sessrin it’s appealing to girls. 

The polarization of masculinity and femininity: beauty and the beast

In the anime culture (and outside it) girls are represented as passive, while the male incarnates the active. Boys are the heroes, while girls are mostly portrayed as the object of desire through whatever traits the author finds the most appealing. 

In the case of Sessrin we have a typical example of a contrapposition of the hyperfemenine to the hypermasculine. I have talked about this in some other posts, but in the Inuyasha lore the masculine seems to be greatly associated with the “youkai”, that tends to fall in love with a vulnerable woman. It’s also interesting to point out that female demons tend to represent traditionally negative aspects of female sexuality; they tend to lure men to their demise by their attractiveness, and also do usually have a flirty personality. 

Sessrin does adjust to this type of trope that we can define as the classical beauty and the beast, not in a sense of physical attractiveness, but in the sense that it represents an aggressive masculinity that is soothed by the passive femenine.  The evil spirit is incarnated by the male, while the pure girl has the role of being accepting of this nature, often changing it. This type of trope is insanely popular within women, after all, stories like Twilight and basically every other book where a normal girl falls in love with a supernatural creature seem to adjust to this dynamic to some extent. It’s the idealization of a relationship where the man is a protective figure that holds an unbelievable amount of power over their vulnerable, and often infaltilazed, female counterpart. But on the other hand, women have the ability to tame this ferocity...

What’s the appeal of the monster? 

“I think with the monsters, it’s about power and danger and exoticness amped up to the Nth degree,” says Xavier. “One of the big themes in monster erotica truly is the power dynamic. The monster is big, scary, dangerous, dominating, and uses his monsterly qualities to overpower and seduce the maiden. And I think the idea of being seduced by something so wild and animal and dangerous…it’s kind of like being forced to play with fire and finding out that you enjoy it. It’s kind of this warm, fuzzy corrupted feeling.”

Interestingly enough, there have been studies on why the monster boyfriend trope is so successful. This can be somehow linked to “Teratophilia”, a term which describes the sexual attraction towards monsters or deformed people, though in this case we’ll go with the first meaning. 

Among other things, it has been suggested that monsters can function as an escapist fantasy for some women, since the monster is able to embody masculine attributes without presenting itself as a man, which may embody trauma and terror in extreme cases, or aggravating patriarchal arrangements in the least. 

The monster man represents masculinity through the eyes of women: it’s aggressive, unpredictable, and dominant. These stories allow them to give in into a feeling of vulnerability, they’re in control of the beast, they can even change them… It might not be a type of relationship they would desire in real life, but through these fantasies, they can experience some aspects of their sexuality and transgress the fear of man. This is very significant from a sociological point of view, these women might have been raised to desire this type of masculinity, but are aware of the threat it signifies to them. The monster guardian does protect them from the outside world, where they feel endangered, but they also are the incarnation of an “untamed masculinity” which they don’t need to fear. 

All in all, Sess*in allows shippers access to this type of relationship through self inserting into Rin. However, I hope this post has managed to bring something new to the conversation. There are in my opinion more reasons why girls want to be with Sesshomaru that go beyond his attractiveness, and that may have to do with these factors… 

Feel free to comment and add your opinions :) 

Sources:

https://bit.ly/3o6dERh 

https://tgam.ca/39ZADIS 

https://bit.ly/35YH4dO 

#anti sessrin #anti rinsess #anti hanyo no yashahime #anti lolicon #personal #anti-sessrin #antisessrin #anti sesshrin #yashahime

[lilydalexf]

Old School X is a project interviewing X-Files fanfic authors who were posting fic during the original run of the show. New interviews are posted every Tuesday.

Interview with MustangSally

MustangSally has 33 stories at Gossamer. Even if you haven’t read it, you’ve probably heard of at least one of them, Iolokus, since it’s an X-Files fanfic classic. All her fics hit big and are well worth your time. I’ve recced some of my favorites here before, including And Dance by the Light of the Moon, All the Children are Insane, and Iolokus. Big thanks to MustangSally for doing this interview.

What's the story behind your pen name?

I could tell you but then I would have to kill you.

Does it surprise you that people are still interested in reading your X-Files fanfics and others that were posted during the original run of the show (1993-2002)?

Yes and no. Yes, because life has moved on since the early nineties and the characters and the fans are in vastly different places now. Our current tech would make the premise of the X-Files impossible. No, because of the longevity of some of the Star Trek TOS work (there’s an archive of hard copy fanzines at the University of Iowa). Top-drawer authors started out in TOS fandom.

I’m just greatly saddened that my physical body is showing wear and tear while the fic doesn’t. Fic gets to stay smooth-skinned and muscular, captured at the peak of perfection.

What do you think of when you think about your X-Files fandom experience? What did you take away from it?

At the risk of sounding atrociously trite, I think of the friends I made.  I met some very remarkable women that I’ve been able to stay friends with online for over twenty-five years.  We may have moved to Facebook and post entirely too much about our pets and which of our body parts has sagged this week, but we’re friends.  It’s a furiously funny, feminist, and well-educated group of women with jobs in the highest levels of academia, finance, communications, and media.  I’m amused by the fact that if I have a question about how a virus replicates, I can ask a PhD I’ve been drunk with in Las Vegas.

Back in the day, I had a job that sent me traveling around major cities in the US and UK. I could post on a message board and within ten minutes there were people I could go out for dinner and drinks with. We already knew we had something we could talk about for at least a couple of hours. Additionally, most of these people were women so there was an added level of security. Social media didn't really exist during the show's original run. How were you most involved with the X-Files online (atxc, message board, email mailing list, etc.)?

Well, it was mostly atxc and the Yahoo! groups mailing lists that spiraled out into Geocities sites and, eventually, LiveJournal. The amusing thing is that getting in on the ground floor of social media and the Internet has helped me get jobs!  When I look at a new piece of software, I think, ‘this is hella easier than uploading to Geocities.’  We had to walk uphill both ways, in the snow, on dial-up, fighting off dinosaurs with our AOL CDs while writing HTML code. What did you take away from your experience with X-Files fic or with the fandom in general?

DO NOT FEED THE TROLLS.

The past four years in politics have basically been the ugliest online kerfuffle the world has ever seen. I survived the Shipper Wars of ’96 and I thought those were brutal, but that was NOTHING. The only way to win an argument online is to not have the argument at all. Arguing with a troll is like mudwrestling a pig: You both get filthy and only the pig is happy.

Also, READ THE FUCKING TERMS OF SERVICE.

What was it that got you hooked on the X-Files as a show?

I had the most terrible straight-girl crush on Scully. I wanted to be her best friend, I wanted to BE her.  I wanted to order Chinese food and paint each other’s nails and talk about bones.  Scully and Princess Leia and I could all just hang out poolside with hot and cold running waiters and poolboys, drink margaritas, and bitch about how unfair it all was – if the stupid men would just get OUT OF THE WAY AND LET US DO OUR JOBS, the world would be so much better. What got you involved with X-Files fanfic?

This question is really about Iolokus, isn’t it?  You can’t fool me. [Lilydale note: I can neither confirm nor deny the motivation for this question, but I cannot complain about the answer.]

Simply put, I was enraged. The moment it was revealed that Scully’s ova had been used in experimentation, I lost my feminist mind. It was the most obscene defilement imaginable.  Scully wasn’t nearly as angry as I was.  What I thought needed to happen was for Scully to become a fiery force of vengeance against the MEN who had done this to her.  Clearly, I was not going to get that level of satisfaction from the show, as I was imagining Kali-like carnage on a global scale. I emailed RivkaT (whom I did not know well at that point) with a proposition that we work together. Strangely enough, we didn’t meet face to face until we were well into the project, but we did talk on the phone quite a bit. The rules were simple – everyone had to be punished in truly horrific ways, and at some point, we had to see if we could write a car chase (only because that seemed impossible).  Then it basically turned into a very twisted game of chicken to see who could be the most outrageous in terms of killing people off or writing really horrific things that fit within the structure of the narrative.  I did, in the end, write the car chase, but RivkaT one-upped me by throwing in a helicopter (a FOX News helicopter, at that).  

Really, RivkaT?  A helicopter? What is your relationship like now to X-Files fandom? I am terribly proud of what I wrote, pleased that it brought pain and pleasure in equal amount to people, and, again, thrilled by the people I became friends with. I admit that I stopped watching the show when Scully announced her pregnancy.  I could only see a long jump over a shark tank for the rest of the series. I haven’t watched the new episodes, either.  It is complete in my mind and doesn’t need to be continued.  I wouldn’t say no to having a reunion with some of my fic friends, although we’re still chatting online like everyone does.   Were you involved with any fandoms after the X-Files? If so, what was it like compared to X-Files?

Rivka and I wrote in the Buffy fandom for a few years, but then we moved on to real adult jobs that left absolutely no time for me to write. I’m in education, and I regularly sweat blood for fear that someone is going to find my old fic. The Buffy people were fun; there was a certain *shininess* to them that I really enjoyed. The X-men authors were just batshit and delightful, and some amazing stuff came out of Marvel fandom, particularly in the Thor/Loki and Steve/Bucky subgenres. I’ve learned to appreciate a good coffee shop AU and one famous Erik/Charles fic where all the main characters are crabs. Seriously, crabs—it’s hysterical. [Lilydale note: Other Crabs Cannot Be Trusted by groovyphilia currently has almost 2,500 kudos at AO3.]

Every few years, I’ll have a student try to explain to me what fandom is and I just smirk. Do you ever still watch The X-Files or think about Mulder and Scully? No. Not really. Do you ever still read X-Files fic? Fic in another fandom? I fell into an X-Men hole a few years back and had a great old time wallowing in the Cherik muck, and there was a flirtation with BBC Sherlock as well. Strangely enough, I became interested in A/B/O fics only because of what they were saying about the role of women in our society. The limitations on the male omegas seem absurd and then you realize those are the same limitations put on women all. the. time.

Is there a place online (tumblr, twitter, AO3, etc.) where people can find you and/or your stories now?

RivkaT very nicely formatted everything and put it up on AO3. What is your favorite of your own fics, X-Files and/or otherwise?

I will always be stupidly proud of how shocked and horrified people were by Iolokus. The truth of the matter is that Iolokus has Greek drama at its core. Scully is Medea, and the entire story is lousy with “blood on the threshing floor” and Dionysian rites. The everyday is subverted into horror, and wives and daughters will tear men limb from limb like the Maenads. Since I was ultimately disappointed with what Chris Carter did with the entire show, that approach seemed appropriate.

At a certain level, all fic is corrective fic.  Like critic Anne Jamison said, “Irritated fans produce fanfic like irritated oysters produce pearls.”  And because fic has fallen so much into women’s sphere, a pure form of correction is not just the death of the author but the MURDER, a new creation springing up from the spilled blood like Cadmus sowing dragon’s teeth.

Okay, that’s a bit much. Maybe I should just take myself back to the isle of Goth Amazons or something. Do you still write fic now? Or other creative work?

I had to write a self-evaluation and a reflection on pedagogy today. If that’s not fiction, I don’t know what the fuck is.

All my creativity is caught up in trying to pretend to be a normal middle-aged white woman so no one knows I am really a lizard.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with fans of X-Files fic?

Keep writing, keep reading, keep fighting the commercialization of narratives. As things grow more and more commodified, all our dreams and desires reduced to tchotchkes made in China, it’s a revolutionary act to separate your work from the marketplace. Be bold, take chances, turn the trope on its ear and kick it in the ass. Take everything the creators have done to make a work palatable to the unwashed masses and set it on fire.

Be subversive.

Be mean.

Have a great fucking time.

(Posted by Lilydale on March 2, 2021)

#old school x #xfiles fanfic #xf fanfic #xf fanfic author interviews #mustangsally

[kanohivolitakk]

Since its 3Hs anniversary some really cool things I like about the game that aren’t talked about enough because the fandom is too busy arguing who is right and who is wrong

The worldbuilding just. 3H has honestly one of my favorite fictional settings. Its just both expansive but also genuinely interesting. I have spent HOURS thinking about the world and made so many ocs its not even funny. I love thinking about the setting of the game so much.

I LOVE the puzzle like way the game explains its world and story. Like I know some people don’t like it because it makes the game a bit too convoluted but personally? I LOVE 3Hs way of not telling everything but rather giving hints and clues the player has to piece themselves. It makes the games world feel more interactive and feels so satisfying. Then again I enjoy that kind of approach to worldbuilding

In general I love 3hs fragmented story and the way how the story is placed in many different fragments. It is geniunely rewarding to replay the game from another storypath and notice the foreshadowing Would’ve the story been probably better had it been just one storypath? Honestly yes. But 3h is ambitious and one of the ways it is is with its fragmented story structure.

The structure of White Clouds is criminally underrated honestly and gets way more hate than it deserves. I love how the first few chapters set up the world of Fodlan and show injustices/conflicts of the world with chapters like the chapter where you face off Lonato for instance. Then the next few chapters are spend in deepening the mysteries such as the conspiracy against the church and the mystery regarding TWSITD. Then Jeralt dies and the last few chapters are spent as “beginning of the End” so to speak, as things clears to the intense climax.

On related note I LOVE how the game handles perspective and how the lords are the respective ways we view the story. I know so many people say “WHite Clouds is same on all paths” but I do feel that’s kinda the point. The story is the same but there are differences that come from the way each of the lords is strongly characterized and has different values, worldviews. The subtle changes on what are focused on in each route also foreshadow what will be focused on each route, which I think is super cool.

Even beyond the lords and routes the game does explore the idea of perspective well. I do think 3h has this very “everyone is the hero of their own story” type of approach to perspective and it shows it well. Each character believes they’re in the right and you can get this view that they view themselves as right. Even Agarthans who are the designated villains have this sense they think they’re in right and that the Nabateans were evil.

The way how games routes being divided into having a different focus is very cool. I love how AM is a smaller scale personal tragedy, how CF is a battle of ideals and how VW explores the world and reveals deeper mysteries. I also love how all of these are related to the lords ideals and worldviews: Dimitri is the most conflicted of the lords so he gets the most characterfocused story focused on . Edelgard is the most ideologically driven so her path focuses on her ideals and battle of wills against Rhea. Claude is the one who is the most freespirited and wants to know the truth so his route focuses on revealing the mysteries.

Also the way the houses characters reflect their respective routes storyline and central themes: Black Eagles are nobles that have conflicting relationships with nobility reflecting Edelgards goal, Blue Lions are all united with the trauma of Tragedy of Duscur, and Golden Deer are a house of misfits who give this “ragtag group who will save the universe with POWER OF FRIENDSHIP and this cool gun I found” vibes which fit the route PERFECTLY

I LOVE how the game plays with and subverts a lot of Fire Emblem tropes. While it does play some tropes straight (dad death and evil cult manipulating behind the scenes) it does do a lot to break from series conventions and playing with ideas to make a more ambitious story. The way it either subverts expectations (The evil emperor being female well intended extremist, Rhea being the Gharnef/Medeus instead of the Nyna archetype she’s presented as), twists familiar tropes to their natural extreme (Dimitris arc is basically the natural extreme end of stereotypical FE lord) and other similar things make the game feeling so planned out, like the writers understood FE stories and wanted to make something that challenges FE while still feeling like it.

The way how every major player acts as foil/pararell to another player is so GOOD. Every faction leader can be compared to the other somehow and that just makes the game SOOOO fun to analyze, trying to find all the similarities and differences and pararells is so rewarding.

A more specific example on this is how i love how the game plays with the idea of holy/sacred weapons. While normally these weapons are artifacts from goddess that defeat dragons, here the holy weapons are bones made from dragons and just???? HOW METAL IS THAT????????? It’s just such a neat way to subvert the idea of sacred weapons. Rather than being blessed creations of the goddess, they are weapons of destruction made by the villains.

I ADORE THE GAMES science fiction elements. I know people say they feel out of place but personally, they make the game memorable for me. I still remember the first time I saw that scene with nukes. I especially love the heavy implication that Sothis isn’t a goddess but rather a powerful alien. It makes her character much more interesting

I know a lot of people don’t like Agarthans but can I just say their backstory being “forced to hide after their land got conquered and desiring it back” making them a dark mirror not just 3h lords/Rhea but FE lords as whole is SO FUCKING METAL. This is what I mean with 3H writers knowing their tropes like back of their hand.

I love how in Part 1 sometimes you’d talk to two characters in Monastery at once instead of just one. It’s something I miss in part 2 honestly.

I love the small sidequests such as the fishing tourney and White Heron cup and wish Part 1 had more of them, it would’ve made the school part feel more alive.

I LOVE how some missions (esp paralogues) have subgoals that you can clear to get better rewards. I wish the game had been more clear with them or even made them main goals of maps sometimes.

I LOVE THE WAY Paralogues act as small gaiden stories that show more of the games world and characters. Its a neat way to let the sidecharacters shine and reveal some neat secrets of the games world and story.

The gameplay loop is honetly fun and satisfying. It is rewarding and while it gets tiring towards the end overall its a good gameplay loop.

I ADORE the aesthetic of Shambhala. Its just so sleek and sinister. The cyrillic letters spelling different words is so cool. Shambhala is my favorite map in the game and the aesthetic is a big reason why.

The games soundtrack is so good!!!!!!!!!!  But not only that I LOVE the way its electro elements subtly hint of Agarthans being in control behind the scenes. This is especially cool in Road to Dominion where the electro parts are barely noticeable yet present. but other tracks have subtle electro vibes as well.  The other way the games music tells the story (such as use of leitmotifs or how the monastery music changes once Jeralt dies) is great as well.

I love how 3h can be read as an allegory for reformation era and reneissance. Its such an interesting way to read the games events and compare it to a real historical periods there’s quite a bit of f

In general I ADORE the cultural references of the game. There’s surprisingly lot of way the games world is based on real life and the details are just *chefs kiss*

THE GAME IS DENSE WITH THEMATIC IDEAS. Besides the perspective the game tackles ideas of how trauma can affect a persons psyche and worldview  (as well how a persons trauma affects the way they interact with the world which in turn can affect the world as well), grief, societal values, historical revisiniosm and so much more. The game tackles SO MANY topics in an interesting manner, it is thematically just as dense as it is storywise as well.

I also love how the games thematic parts work in harmony with the story rather than one overshadowing with the other. Its super refreshing honestly where a games themes and story are both rich and I don’t have to pick one over the other.

Lastly I ADORE the games central message (or at least what I see as the central message anyway): The world’s fucked up and most people want to fix it, but what they deem fixing differs and because of that they go into conflict or outright war rather than trying to find a common ground. Everyone wants a better world but no one can agree what a better world truly means  so they fight over it. It was a theme that not only resonates with my personal values but also hit me REALLY hard when I first played it as it’s a theme that I found incredibly relevant and reflective of our own world during the time I played the game for the first time.

So yeah. I made this post since there’s SO MUCH neat things about the game, its gameplay and story that sadly get swept under the rug in favor of either arguing  which lord was right/wrong or complaining how the game is an unfinished, rushed and overambitious mess. Is 3h perfect? Hell no. But it’s a game that I hold near and dear to my heart and does genuinely SO MANY THINGS RIGHT, I’m sad no one talks about the genuine strengths the game has anymore, instead just complaining.

I’m not even joking when I say that 3h should be up there as heralded as one of the best, most ambitious and complex JRPGs alongside Xenogears, the first Xenoblade game, Suikoden and Trails series as whole along other such games. Its a shame the games reputation is less like those games and more like Persona 5s where everyone focuses more on its flaws and the fans being annoying than the fact the game does geniunely A LOT right. It’s just that good, ambitious game I love so much.

#Kirika Talks #Fire Emblem #FE3h #Fire Emblem Three Houses #Fire Emblem Meta

[eds-art-factory]

What are some other supernatural romances that you like and recommend? They can be any media; books, films, tv-shows, anime and manga.

……. So maybe it’s because of my preferences but the romance aspect of a lot of these are subjective or minimal (They’re more plot focused and people just kind of fall in love along the way)

It is impossible to like, do a search on this because a million like YA novels pop up, and like, I’m not even looking for NOTHING BUT ROMANCE, I want a sick plot and ALSO romance

but off the top of my head this is the best I can do

Manga/Anime

Fruits basket: slaps obviously, I should not even have to mention it, textbook pure love and acceptance by the heroine ends up saving the monster boy from despair. Tohru is an incredible protagonist.

Noragami: Suffering heavy, all gods are real, read the manga, the art is beautiful and the anime has a tone problem where they try to make it more comedic like……………….Noragami is not a comedy, it has comedic moments and is very funny, but the story really dark in places. (Also it’s written by a woman so, even the like, token sexy character isn’t that bad fan service wise and also is a character outside of that)

BEASTARS: Uses animal nature as a metaphor for society, we’ve all seen zootopia and Robin Hood, we know how this goes. If you’re a sucker for size difference (and I am, note Sidon and 9 foot tall Vampire lady) you’ll probably get it. Zootopia’s success managed to normalize furries enough that Beastars was able to be made and honesty I’m proud. Season one is on Netflix, but you’re not going to want to watch it in any communal areas because there will be questions and scenes that you will not want to have to explain to your parents or housemates because….it’s spicy.

Frau Faust: like the Ancient Magus Bride but less problematic, can enjoy mostly guilt free

Mugen Spiral: It’s like a two volume manga, I’ll admit I have not read it since I was a teen, so maybe it has not aged gracefully shrugs

(Honorary mention but it’s not a romance)

Girl from the other side: I AM PRAYING THAT THIS WILL NOT BE A ROMANCE AND TURN INTO GROOMING, I JUST WANT THE MONSTER TO BE HER DAD, WHY IS THAT SO HARD FOR PEOPLE TO UNDERSTAND SHE IS A CHILD. IT DOESN’T EVEN HAVE ROMANCE AS A GENRE SO MY FEARS MAY BE UNWARRANTED I’VE JUST BEEN HURT TOO MANY TIMES BEFORE

Movies

Shape of Water: It’s literally a supernatural romance but also…textbook using the “falling in love with a monster“ as a metaphor for marginalized groups like, it’s set in the 60’s and the villain is a white guy trying to ruin the lives of the good guys; a mute woman, a gay man and a woman of color

:I

It’s very on the nose, and that can be…..a little upsetting, but the film is like……a masterpiece so I would recommend it anyway.

Beauty and the Beast: ………everyone agrees the beast becoming human was a downgrade and I’m not going to say any more on that.

….Venom: ….should not count but I feel like spiritually it SHOULD count……….Venom is so queer coded and yet not queer enough?? I think they are actually in love in one version but not in a lot of adaptations which bites.

Good Omens: I’ve always loved the book, but the miniseries adaptation is SO GOOD. Aziraphale and Crowley are like….queer coded but they are….IN LOVE AND YOU CANNOT CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE and the miniseries LEANS into that interpretation

Books

Naomi Novik’s novels: Uprooted and Spinning Silver were great although Uprooted didn’t really win me over in the romance department and I prefer Spinning Silver. I love fairytales so I’m always a sucker for fairytale retellings that….are not modernized in the wrong way.

Video games:

Undertale: …….. :I I’m not wrong.

Liar princess and the blind prince: …..I have not played this, so I can’t actually verify if it’s good or add any input…….but it seems like my aesthetic.

Podcasts are so gay:

Magnus Archives: Eldritch horror is scary, but also it’s canonically gay and kind of about how those two things kind of intermingle. Passes the “I listened to a lot of it, but I was still able to sleep peacefully afterward” test. The first….ten episodes rely too heavily on scary music, but they tone it down after a while thank god.

Welcome to night vale: Also gay and surreal horror, same deal but less scary.

The Adventure zone: DnD game by the three Mcleroy brothers and their dad. Started out as just a one off adventure but everyone accidentally got way too invested and it became AMAZING.

There’s this thing that happens in the princess Bride with the line “Hello my name is Anigo Montoya, you killed my father, prepare to die” and it is set up in a way that is funny and a joke…………………….

And then 3/4 of the way through the film…it is not a joke anymore, and it HURTS YOU. That is one of my FAVORITE TROPES IN ANY MEDIA EVER and they fucking DID THAT AND IT HURTS.

If you’re not an artist and your job doesn’t mean that you need to listen to a constant stream of audio media while you work, you can read the graphic novel adaptation, but it won’t hit you the same way I think.

#supernatural romance #sapphicgeeking #reccomendations #asks

[dappersheep]

Food Fantasy: An Analysis on what killed a Golden Goose (3/3)

Ladies and gentlemen, we've arrived at our final destination.

Again before we start, we have our obligatory disclaimers. I do not own the game or its characters, nor do I claim to know the true history and likely fate of this game. I am entitled to the thoughts and opinions written within this post. Feel free to agree or disagree with the points being made.

This post also remains untagged from the main foofan tag. Only my followers will see this.

We are in the third and final stretch, and the checkpoint is past the cut.

Community

So... here we are, fellow Master Attendants.

As consumers of this piece of entertainment media, we are free to enjoy it however we wish. Appreciating what is there, creating something new from what exists, playing the game by the meta or however you want to play it (within your means and at your own risk of course). There's no one true and absolute way to experience the game.

However, just as you can enjoy something, doesn't mean you can't also point out flaws or shortcomings of the media in question. As an active veteran player, I've already pointed out the many gameplay design flaws  already. And I'd be pretty dumb to say that Food Fantasy's writing is perfect. Hell, it has a lot of holes from a worldbuilding consistency standpoint. 

And what of things from the community side? Yes, there will be times you'd see content you consider cringe, or something in fanon you don't agree with. Or there happens to be fan theories and fangirling posts you don't like the take of because of X or Y.

And that's fine. If we all happen to play the same way, like the same thing, agree on the same thing and produce the same thing, well, this would be one helluva boring community, wouldn't it?

But what if someone decides the way you're playing the game is wrong and harasses you over it? What happens if someone decides that their interpretation of the game's flavor text and lore is more important than what anyone else thought about it? What happens if someone decides that they're absolutely right, and you and everyone else who disagrees deserves to be bullied out of the fandom?

As much as I want to say we aren't part of the problem why the game is deteriorating, we are unfortunately, part of the reason why the game is as such even if most of the blame is directed towards Funtoy and Elex themselves.

⦁ Whale Authority. Whales will always be part of a gacha game's ecosystem. Without them, the game won't be able to maintain its upkeep costs, moreso  for one that services global regions instead of just one. But when a game decides to cater its decisions of what features should be prioritized and when it should be launched around only its most elite paying players' voices  -even if that influence has since tapered off-, you know there is something wrong with the publisher's management team and priorities.

⦁ Interguild drama. While I did not personally follow any of this, this has certainly been the peak of in-game tension back in the day. Poaching good players from both competitive and smaller guilds, guild mergers that often ended up making the annexed guild/s the equivalent of UK colonized India or Australia, suck-ups chummying up to guild leaders to keep a spot in an active, high ranking guild (for bragging rights!) despite never contributing much to overall damage, and just general dislike of certain players' attitudes. Actions like this have disillusioned many players about their playing experience and the reason why many eventually just lost the motivation to log into FooFan.

⦁ Cheaters. You know very well about the Hacker-teme I've mentioned before, but that was in context of Elex being incompetent with dealing with them. Here, I would like  to point out the players who are desperate to dominate  the playing field for whatever reason to the point that they would resort to cheating the ranks with forceful modifications of the APK. Whether it is to rank high in catacombs weekly, get a top spot in daily disaster damage, or weasel their way into the competitive whale ranks of a major ranking event, these are the people who have no qualms messing with the code to give themselves an easier time with the game. And if they're caught? Some pretend that they've made a mistake, some quickly sell the account to escape the blame, some others just scamper away into the dark and hide in the lower ranks where they can't be found. Others simply don't care and keep cheating until Elex decides to finally ban them... if Elex ever decides their rebates score isn't worth saving the account.

⦁ Ship wars. Ah yes, a staple of drama in any fandom. There doesn't need much explanation to this as we've all had our fair share of running into a battleground in whatever fandom we visit. Someone ships BB52 wholeheartedly? Nope, problematic 'age gaps'. Someone likes Napoleon with Pastel? Someone's bound to misinterpret their bios in order to justify that Napoleon was being abusive. Spaghetti and Borscht? Borscht is minor coded, ship her with Vodka instead. Whiskey and Pizza or Cassata? Cancelled! And I've never heard of the Foe Yay trope or pretend I don't know about it! Rarepairs? Disgusting! No fanon in my canon playground! Turkey and Eggnog? Gasp! How dare you, you pedo-shipper-even-though-you-never-said-you-shipped-them-romantically-but-that-isn't-my-point!

⦁ Character Obsession: Bias. On one hand, you love a character so much. Relate to a character so much. You have thus pulled this character into the folds of your bosom and coo at them like a mother dove and get so minutely triggered if someone so much as makes one disagreeable or joking comment about the character that you fly into an overreactive ballistic rage that would make a Canadian goose honk in fear. You don't care what they are in canon. You don't care about the possibility of mistranslation. What matters is the fanon space you carved out for them to exist in and that's all that matters. The problem with this is when this obsession takes over common sense and social etiquette and it steps into harassment territory. You begin to think: I'm the only one who 'understands' the character. I'm the only one who wishes better for the character, everyone else is out to defame them! Oh wait, you like them too? Do you like them the way *I* like them? No? Maybe if you're my 'friend', I'd let it slide. But to everyone else? No one else has the right to like them as much as I do. No one! Never mind that they're completely fictional- No one hurts my bias because in turn, they're hurting *me*!

⦁ Character Obsession: Anti. On the other hand, you hate a character so much. This character just makes you see so much red. Their smug little smirk just makes your blood boil. Their fictional backstory makes you recoil in disgust. You hate that someone else loves a character you hate so much.  You cannot *believe* that someone could be so daringly stupid to like a problematic character. They must be problematic too then. They must be hiding real life secrets that are problematic! Yes, yes. That's right. That person's a supporter of abuse. That person's into pedophilia. That person is into military lolita fashion that Japan started the trend of but clearly Japan was part of the Axis Powers! And that... that person... that person... is a roleplayer and a yaoi fangirl properly interacting with minors and adults. How dare they...!

⦁ Fan Translations.  Normally it wouldn't be a problem that a group or two or several are translating pieces of the game's lore ahead of the official. But with Elex's very delayed translations and extreme allergic reactions to translating Food Soul bios, people have become dependent on fan-translation groups to get their fix. The problem herein lies... is when the translators get drunk off the power that they are one of a handful in a small community who can magically transcribe the oriental moonrunes into English. The problem starts when the translator starts to have an inclination. The problem starts when the translator loses their professional detachment and start adding in details here and there into the fan translated product that ultimately changes the meaning and direction of the entire story. The problem is also escalated when that translator's embellished product is touted as the truth by their followers. If there was an upcoming character whose backstory is connected to a character they hated (either because of someone or they just don't like the character) and you were hoping to read the fan translation? How would you know that what you get isn't something doctored to the point it's basically fanfiction?

⦁ Social Justice Vigilantism. Sometimes someone does not have a character obsession or need it to be annoying. Sometimes, someone just wants to ring the alarm over something they find 'problematic' in order to police and sanitize the enjoyment of the media for 'everyone'. They no longer really take enjoyment out of a new Food Soul design being leaked, they no longer read the lore just to enjoy what it has to offer. Instead, they nitpick bits and pieces of the design and point it out repeatedly as a reason why the whole thing is bad. They point out bits of the story and inject their interpretations of it without really comprehending what they've read in full and react badly to it. What's worse is that they have no qualms publicly posting their reactions and eagerly and hungrily await those likes and echoes of agreement that they were right.

⦁ Circles of Influence. Everyone has a group they eventually gravitate to in a fandom. It comes with its own pros and cons. Sometimes you join a group because someone you admire is in there, sometimes you join a group because you just want to mingle and see more content. All valid reasons. Arguments can't be avoided in a group, it has to happen... But you have to take care. You have to take care to feel the change in the air of the group. When someone starts pushing people to agree with them. When your most admired people start to feel overly sensitive about certain characters or issues. When you start to feel obligated to spy on other groups outside of this one for 'nonbelievers', 'traitors' and 'heretics' who do not think the way this group does, and that bringing back bits and pieces of gossip as offerings would somehow make you more favored in the eyes of the inner clique or remain inside it. There is a gripping sense of annoyance when that person comes in to complain but you can't do anything about it but nod and agree. There is a pervading sense of fear and apprehension of overstepping an invisible boundary. There is fear that you might be next on the chopping block, after witnessing one of the others being ganged up on and thrown out without a second thought, their name spat upon like they're worth less than dirt. And so reluctant you are to give up what you have with them that when they push you to do something you are reluctant to do, all in the name of 'harmony and justice'... You do it. Even though it would mean offering yourself up to the mob with no salvation, and the stark realization that... [they] never cared about you as a friend.

And we've come to the end of this analysis trilogy. The writing got a little bit strange in this post, but honestly this is the best way I could put it. I'm aware things can and will be more complicated than the bullet points I've written but I'm just one person and I tried very hard to keep details of all the drama that happened in this fandom as vague as possible. Of course, that wouldn't work if you know what I am talking about.

The community is quiet now for the most part, the game is somewhere between limbo and the living plane. Things could be better for us, but I don't really count on it.

I wish I could leave a bit of a moral warning or something. But rather than do that, I just hope this was an entertaining read into one individual's eyes into Food Fantasy and everything that makes it up.

#ravings of a madman #food fantasy but not tagged right

[greenhappyseed]

We need to talk about All Might.

After Chapter 309, everyone seems to be screaming DEATH FLAG (more than normal), and I wouldn’t ordinarily agree given the fakeouts we’ve seen before. However, AM isn’t given much to do yet (except look cute in his sunnies) and doesn’t seem to be in a good position to grow as a person. It makes me sad bc there is a lot of potential with AM, and it all seems pushed aside in favor of Endeavor’s narrative, which I don’t love. As a ::cough cough:: older BnHA fan in a workaholic profession, I want to see the larger hero society narrative use AM to ask if you can be a hero (and therefore of any value to society) when you’re old and/or have less strength/power/endurance than you used to have. What happens when you WERE an equal, and then you lose a step along the way (note there may be a parallel to Bakugo’s/Aizawa’s post-war condition on this theme)? Or, given the focus on teenagers and the role of the “new generation” in rebuilding society, let’s ask whether AM made the right choice in sticking with his teenage ideals through adulthood. Was he right to give up EVERYTHING for his dream, only to crash land into a nightmare? I mean, the dude destroyed himself for years and then watched his life’s work crumble in a matter of weeks. Can he pick himself up, powerless, and still find a new way to help? In BHNA, all of the top heroes have major flaws (a meta for another time!) and a chance at redemption, so I really want to see AM do the same thing.

AM starts the story as the singular, self-proclaimed Symbol of Peace, which was a mission he gave himself as a naive, idealistic middle school student(!!!) Through Nana Shimura, AM received the power to make his teenage ambition a reality and then ... kept at it for 40 years. Alone. Without critical reflection. In Vigilantes, we learn the cost of this relentless pursuit is that AM has no real friends and no social life. Even among other top heroes, he’s not an approachable peer, but the hired gun brought in to clean up the biggest, baddest disasters before he’s immediately called out to the next one. To the extent he socializes after a big win, it’s to talk to the media and sign autographs, not debrief or bond with fellow heroes. The guy has charisma and can do stage banter all day, but he has no idea how to have an actual functioning relationship with colleagues. At the beginning of BNHA, it’s been 20ish years since AM spoke to Torino, 10 years since he spoke to Endeavor, and 5 years since Nighteye. He does keep in touch with Tsukauchi, but he’s more like a “work husband” than a best friend.

When Deku meets him, AM is holding it together on the surface, but is really in mental distress. AM is the first hero in the story whose facade is ripped away (initially to us readers, then eventually to everyone in universe). Unable to do the hero work that defines him for more than 3 hours a day, he seems to spend the rest of his pre-UA time wandering around aimlessly. He’s lost his sense of purpose, has nobody to confide in (he may not “lie” but he definitely doesn’t tell anyone complete truths), and he is indifferent to his own survival. He is certain Nighteye’s prediction is coming true, and he’s looking for a successor because he HAS to before time runs out, not because he wants to. If he can pass on OFA then he can die, ideally in a blaze of glory. And, if not for Deku, he would have let the slime villain kill Bakugo and told himself he can’t save everyone. In Deku he sees his younger self’s ideals and decided his new purpose is to build the next Symbol of Peace, not just do a handoff. With a true successor secured, he can really go for one last big heroic act.

Except it doesn’t work out as planned. Deku — lonely and idealistic himself — desperately needs AM around for approval. And AM, with extra time on his hands, seems to enjoy being needed by his boy, like a parent with a toddler. As hard as they both aim to create the next AM, Deku is his own person (as all children are), which makes the process trickier than either one anticipated. At first AM tries imitating Torino and trains Deku through physical activity and battle, the same way Torino punched a grieving, teenage AM around. AM encourages Deku to sacrifice himself, just because AM also did it for 40 years. But these tactics just don’t work for Deku. AM gets (rightly) scolded by Recovery Girl. Then AM sends Deku to Torino, who teaches Deku Full Cowling and scolds AM for not telling Deku the truth about AFO — and for this one time, Torino is right. Slowly, fuller truths start coming out from AM, and in return Deku learns to protect himself and ask his mentor questions rather than merely imitate. Both begin to grow and change for the better.

After Kamino, Inko uses her leverage to convince AM to stop the blaze of glory nonsense. He wants to be her successor as parent to Deku, and she’s not going to allow it if AM is going to drive her son towards needless self-sacrifice. This seems to take root, and we later see AM openly defy Nighteye’s prediction because he wants to be with Deku. He starts jogging! We even see him confide in Aizawa he has decided to live. Even if he’s not always sure how to give his new life purpose, and he bristles at needing to be protected, he’s accepting his post-pro existence. Progress!

Finally, AM comes into his own as a teacher and member of the old guard with experience to share. He may be using “Teaching for Dummies” as a shortcut, but he’s recognizing his own failings and trying to improve. He tells Deku to quit imitating him, full stop, finally giving Deku permission to become his own hero with his own style. AM takes initiative to teach Deku Air Force, and really guides Deku through the use of the power until Deku becomes proficient. AM also gets actively involved in coaching other students (not as much as he should, but it’s something). AM will similarly counsel Endeavor later, saying Endeavor has to walk his own path and answer for himself why he has his power. AM is building new relationships, new skills, and forming an identity outside of punching things!

Of course, we still see signs AM is a work in progress. Staying up too late at night to do research on prior OFA users for Deku. Diving to protect a woman from a falling streetlight (saved only by a fast-acting Bakugo). At the same time, we see that Deku is coming into his own with his 1A friends. And Deku is no longer looking back to AM for approval (both literally when jumping away and figuratively as part of Deku’s decision-making processes). AM seems both proud and sad, as is natural when a parental figure watches their child become independent.

Fast forward to 309, and a powerless AM leaves all the growth behind to help Deku, Endeavor, Jeanist, and Hawks find the LOV. On the good side, AM isn’t keeping secrets anymore (arguably, telling Jeanist and Hawks about OFA should have involved a consultation with Deku, but okay). Moreover, AM isn’t useless in this fight; he can provide financing, emotional support, police connections, UA connections, and Oracle/guy-in-a-chair backup to the active heroes. But what will this change tell us about AM? Can he ever really get comfortable with this role or is he there just out of duty? Can he actually deliver some hard truths to Deku about AM’s own experience if/when Deku stretches himself too thin? Is this new role respected by the other heroes? If not, will he be tempted to return to battle to be “valuable”? To give his life for Deku so he can claim one last “win” by saving? Or give his life for Deku because he actually loves him and has something personal to fight for? All of these questions bear on where an older, powerless person — that is, an outcast — fits into society and how a lifelong loner can find their role within a group. (Boy, this sounds like a familiar BnHA theme!)

I feel like, if AM dies just to become a vestige, all of these deeper questions are unexplored and we’re just copying Star Wars plot points without any added meaning. I’m not satisfied AT ALL with AM living rent free in Deku’s head and robbing others of his wisdom/experience (which he was just starting to share!!!). Likewise, if AM dies as a plot device so Deku can stand as a hero on his own, or tap into his inner rage or whatever, well, that’s also copied from Star Wars — and it seems to counter what we’re starting to see with Deku calling his own shots and AM supporting. Unlike Torino and AM, who don’t talk for years, I want to see Deku be his own hero AND have his mentor in his life. I want BnHA to keep resisting the absent adult trope, because it’s entirely possible (and realistic!) for grownups to be their own people while having mentors and parental figures in their life. It’s an adjustment for a parental figure to watch their teen become an adult, but it doesn’t mean the parental figure just ghosts and ceases to matter as an influence.

Similarly, if AM turns to sacrifice, it will turn AM’s life story into a cautionary tale with no growth. How can a story about saving people who have done bad things have a good guy succumb to his worst instinct, with nobody to save him? How can AM’s life lesson be “make friends now and learn to give and take in a relationship, otherwise you’ll get too old and it’ll be too late and when you aren’t powerful you’ll have to take a hit to have value”? Even if his sacrifice ultimately allows Deku to win against AFO it feels hollow against the larger narrative. Unlike pre-war Bakugo, we already know AM will self-destruct for others. AM wanting to take on the world alone and die “heroically” is the PROBLEM that drives his pre-Kamino failures, not the solution. And if AM can’t escape this and become comfortable in society post-retirement, who can???

I’m worried we are going to see AM’s growth cut short while Endeavor, Hawks, and the LOV get a shot at redemption, which feels problematic. Of course life isn’t fair, and not everyone gets to have a second act, but it feels wrong for the BNHA narrative to punish someone who is trying (and who wants to help Deku save the villains). Maybe you can argue it’s AM’s fault that the hero society became corrupt, so it’s a cosmic balance for him to die watching it fall. Or maybe the other heroes will realize AM needs their help too (not just Deku) and keep him safe. (Maybe Endeavor will save him in a parallel to Bakugo and Deku.) Much is TBD, but chapters 306-309 make me worry.

#all might #yagi toshinori #mha 309 #mha spoilers #mha #my hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha all might #toshinori yagi #bnha meta #bnha all might

[revchainsaw]

Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Prayers and Salutations Cult Members! I am your mysterious minister Reverend Chainsaw and this is another nights revival service at the Cult Film Tent Revival. I bring you a special word tonight. Tonight's word is about a person who roamed the earth, in a time where people were backward and warlike. A leader emerged into a kingdom full of eschatological expectation. This leader came preaching peace, and was killed for the sins of the world, but was resurrected. In that resurrection a new hope was brought to the planet, and true healing through the power of love in the face of violence is made possible. I am talking of course about Princess Nausicaa from the Valley of the Wind.

The Message

Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind is the film that put studio Ghibli and Hayoa Miyazaki on the map. No animated feature this grandiose and epic had been achieved by 1984, as much as Disney may beg to differ. The tale may be simple, and it may feel super 80s to us today, but Nausicaa is a masterpiece, and the fact that Howl's Moving Castle is brought up alongside Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away more often than Nausicaa is a farce and a tragedy.

The film takes place on a fantastic planet that seems to have suffered the ravages of an apocalyptic war. A war that involved gigantic warriors with powers so devastating they about made the entire planet inhospitable if not uninhabitable; save for a few areas. The fall out of this ancient war has left the earth in a state of repair, where the natural processes of a planet healing has creating giant toxic jungles.

Beyond these jungles lie two imperialistic factions, they seem almost to be city-states but it's not terribly clear. The Kingdom of Tolmekia, a militaristic proto-fascist society of almost Spartan sensibilities. Tolmekia is governed by the ambitious and cynical Princess Kushana, But I like to call her Furiosa. Just like Furiosa, Kushana is physically missing parts of herself, a visual metaphor for her metaphysical lacking and the parts of her humanity she has cut away. Kushana's world view is one of fear, a fear that can only be quelled by waging a genocidal campaign against her enemies.

Speaking of enemies, the Athens to Tolmekias Sparta would be the Pejite Kingdom. The Pejites might like to view themselves as simply responding to Tolmekian aggression, but the narrative of the film, and the story told quite visibly on the body of Kushana, is quite different. The Pejites are just as bloodthirsty if not more palettable in their approach, but like the Tolmekians, they believe only their own lives have any value. And thus, in this theatre of war, a Giant Warrior from the ages before is unearthed by the Pejite Kingdom, Stolen by the Tolmekians, before the forces of nature themselves, seem to conspire to drop the Giant Warriors "egg" right into the Valley of the Wind.

The Valley of the Wind is populated like the world of Avatar the Last Airbender, that is mostly of children and the elderly. The people of the Valley have been able to remain untouched by the ravages of war and the toxic jungles of the damaged world primarily due to geographic luck that's explained in minor exposition in the film. They are ruled by a King, and they are all deeply enamored by their beloved Princess Nausicaa.

Nausicaa is a gentle soul. She is kind to animals, she is empathetic, unreasonably patient, and bears pain and grief inflicted on her out of cruelty with a saintly understanding. She really is a thinly veiled Christ figure, scratch that. There is no veil. But she's also my favorite Christ figure. She does not preach a message, as much as she tries to save everyone from their own short sighted goals. She is not perfect, she does lash out and do some fantasy sword fight murder, but she regrets her actions so deeply that it seems to have played a part in motivating her to become even more compassionate and patient with the evils of the world.

Nausicaa discovers yet another plot by the Pejites, who are afraid of the possibility of the Tolmekians awakening the Giant Warrior, to use animal cruelty to enrage a group of almost invincible giant insects known as the Ohm. By luring the Ohm into the Valley of the Wind where the Tolmekians have become an occupying force, they hope to completely wipe out everything that threatens them. The Tolmekians DO awaken the Giant Warrior and pure pandemonium ensues. Nausicaa manages to save the Baby Ohm and calm the rage of the bloodthirsty Ohm swarm, and to defeat the warlike tendencies of both the Pejites and the Tolmekians. All the while fulfilling a prophecy fortold about a messianic savior figure called the Man in Blue.

Now that you have heard the Gospel of Nausicaa, please stand to receive The Benediction.

Best Character: Half a Person

Now that I've spent the better part of this review gushing about our Lord and savior Nausicaa. I have to admit, she's at times a bit too perfect, a bit too saccharin. Even her flaw, or her one weakness and her failing to be perfect, just adds to the perfection. I can't even say she never makes mistakes cuz she made one, and that's infuriating. It's even more infuriating that I still think she's a great character. Normally this kind of thing really kills a hero. Most Chosen Ones are the most boring and least likeable characters in their narratives. I don't know how Nausicaa avoids this trap, but she does. I'll have to do some meditating on that.

However, just like in your typical Chosen One fantasy narrative, the hero is a lot less fun than the villain. I'm going to say the best character in Nausicaa is Kushana. I want to be like Nausicaa, but I don't understand her. She's almost alien, even though we learn all about her. Kushana is mysterious, secretive, and enigmatic, yet I understand her. She barely has an arc, she doesn't really change. She's cold and cynical to the bone, but I don't need to see much of her situation to completely understand why she is the way she is. I usually hate totalitarian bad guys, but Kushana I like. Sue Me.

Also fun fact, did you that Nausicaa means 'Sinker of Ships'. That's kinda fun.

Best Scene: Spoiled for Choice

I'm going to be lazy and say take your pick. There is really not a bad seen in this movie. If the action isn't going, then there's intriguing dialogue. If there's no dialogue then you may be about to get hit with a forceful burst of whimsy. There's horror, there's swordfights and aerial dogfights. The only thing in Nausicaa I don't like to see, is the bloody tortured Ohm Baby. It's like a god damned Sarah Mclachlan commercial.

Best Creature: Foxy Shazam!

The Ohm are so simplistic yet so detailed. The number of eyes is alien, but the way they are used is expertly expressive. Who'd think you could get me to love what basically amounts to a silverfish with the intensity that I love a kitten. How did Miyazaki pull an Okja with a creature that should be haunting our dreams? I don't know.

And what about the Giant Warrior! If you are an Evangelion fan then you probably already know that Hideaki Anno designed and animated the melting goopy biomechanical beast. Surely a sight that would make both H.R. Giger and Clive Barker giddy with excitement. Just the image of the silhouettes marching amidst the desolation of the old world is burned into my brain.

So which of these is the best creature from Ghibli's first outing? It's fucking Teto. It was always gonna be Teto you idiot. Just look at Teto, he's adorable. He's too cute to exist. I'm so alone. I need a pet.

Best Character Design: Tolmekian Regalia

I originally included this category to talk some about Kushana, however, at that time I also thought I was going to say Nausicaa was the best character. I thought hard about deleting it, but I think it's a different category and you can't accuse me of playing favorites because my favorite character is clearly Teto. Just to keep it simple. It's the two costume shift from full military regalia in white and gold, to the one metal arm, warrior princess get up. It's a great costume and a great look. Get on this shit cosplay nerds. It's great for Cons in Canada, you have to think about layers, and you can't keep going as Mr. Plow. It's lazy.

Best Excuse to Talk About Patrick Stewart's Character: Lord Yupa

I just realized that I was about to write this whole review without talking about Lord Yupa. Lord Yupa is a sword saint and all around badass I think a lot of entertainment, especially in the west is lacking bad ass old men. Lord Yupa particularly shines in the early half of the film as a warrior and as a wise council to Nausicaa. If she's Jesus then Yupa is John the Baptist. He is also voiced by the elegant and eloquent Patrick Stewart. He also comes with 2 chocobos!

Worst Character: For Whom Asbel Tolls

This might also be the worst actor category as well. Actual Cannibal (haha meme) and actual monster (haha real life) Shia Labeouf doesn't so much act in the role as he read the lines and it was recorded. The good news it doesn't effect the film too much because Asbel is completely forgettable. He is a catalyst to some of the action, but besides that I don't really care for him.

Worst Aspect: To Be Fair ...

It would be unfair to completely ignore anything negative about Nausicaa. I have already mentioned in many places that there are some pretty corny, or pretty predictable tropes to this movie. But what I can't capture in words is exactly why it feels fresh when it's done in this movie. I suppose that's what makes it good. It's just so good that it's weak points are lifted up by it's strengths. Some people may bored of Nausicaa's unyielding goodness, or that she very rarely chooses to take action as much as she chases and pleads with her surroundings, but I mean, she does pay for that eventually. It's a fantasy story and it hits a lot of timeless themes that have been hit in stories for as long as human beings have been telling stories. Some people may feel that it doesn't do enough to stand out.

Summary

I have defined the S tier for myself as "near perfect and personal favorite" films. I like to think that Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind is near perfect. Some may say that it looks like it might just be a personal favorite. In the case of Nausicaa, I'm having a very hard time telling the difference. I think it would be overly simple to claim that Nausicaa is just an ancient archetypal heroes journey with an 80s anime coat of paint. I think it's doing quite a few new and interesting things with that formula, those things are just playing out all around that narrative as opposed to being at it's center. For a first full length outing by the studio, you can really see Miyazaki's heart and the values he holds close to. I'll repeat myself so that we are completely clear on the matter. I think Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind is a near perfect movie.

Overall Grade: S

#Nausicaa #Nausicaa and the Valley of the Wind #SciFi #retro scifi #Fantasy #post apocalyptic #hayao miyazaki #miyazaki #studio ghibli #ghibli #S #Grade S #Grade: S #1980s #1984 #anime #animation #japan #japanese #(S)

[arethereanyoriginalusernames]

Favourite Zoophobia Ships???

Hey... guess who decided to do some Zoophobia related posts bc I haven’t done any... in months? Ah well, might as well. This is going to be mostly just a fun post, just talking about what ZP ships I enjoy most, in no particular order.

However !

After this, I’m considering redoing some of the top five lists I made 2 years ago. So, feel free to let me know which I should do!

List is under cut bc I type a bunch

1. Kayla x Zill

I tend to just follow along with ships that are canon. Unless it’s particularly unhealthy or poorly written, my brain just goes “oh, they dating? Ok cool.”

And you know what? These two are adorable. I will say that I enjoyed these two together in Bad Luck Jack better than in the comic. In the comic, we get thrown into their relationship drama way too fast. We aren’t even given a proper introduction to Kayla before chapter 2! I get that maybe the intent was to show how much Kayla and Zill care about each other, and showing them having relationship troubles could show them in a vulnerable, emotional state. We could get some good character stuff from that! But, it really doesn’t give your power couple a good look when they’re already having issues by chapter 2.

Bad Luck Jack did a much better job at not only portraying their relationship, but their dynamic was much more interesting. We actually got to see Kay’s more badass side, and we got more than just them doing boring kissy kissy, omg I love you sooo much, which was a lot of what we got in the comic. I’m actually excited to see more of these two in the future.

2. Addi x Gustav

I have to admit, I’m not as big of a fan of this ship as other people are. The main reason is Gustav. I’m sure the story will provide more depth for him in the future, and I’m sure we’ll get a bunch of adora-gay moments with him and Addi. But as it stands, I’m not quite ready to hop on board.

I also found the way they hooked up in the comic to be a little boring? To sum up their first interaction, it’s more or less “hey bby boi, u be looking real fine across the room, tell me bout that sexy art piece” “oh damn, u be looking like a tall glass of grape juice, cute mode activated- holy fuck Kenzie why????”

Basically, they both find each other good looking, and decide to go to lunch after they establish that Addi is the soft boi that need protecc and that Gustav attaccc. It’s a cute ship, yeah. Not my favourite, tho, and I’m going to need more on purple’s end before I cannonball in

3. Jack x Zill and Jack x Jill

These two I’m grouping together bc I feel the same way about both. Like with the previous, I like these ships, would definitely read fan fiction, but I’m not super on board with... well, with a lot of ships with Jack?

It’s not that I think he shouldn’t be in the relationship, but I find that a lot of ships have Jack being really dependent on whoever he’s with, and since his situation will inevitably cause a good amount of drama, a lot of the time the other person in the relationship kinda disappears.

This is entirely something that’s my preference in stuff like this, but I prefer ships where it doesn’t just become all about one character, and that everyone in the relationship is given a chance to be supportive and emotionally invest. And again, I feel like ships with Jack don’t usually give him the chance to emotionally invest to the same extent as the other people in the relationship.

That being said, I don’t dislike these ships, and they’re still cute as fuck.

4. Autumn x Rusty

Firstly, I love how this is a ship where almost everyone in the fandom can look at each other, nod, and say “oh we know it’s gonna happen”

I mean, let’s not kid ourselves, we all love an enemies to lovers story, and I’m sure quite a few of us can project ourselves onto someone like Rusty who “totally isn’t gay/bi/pan/you get what I mean!” I’m normally a little iffy about the idea of “oh he’s bullying you bc he likes you!”, but fortunately it seems like Rusty and Autumn don’t entirely fit that trope. There’s not much to say here, tbh. I will say that my favourite thing with this ship is when they’re drawn/written in a situation where one or more other characters are like “omg, just fuck already!”

5. Ink x Mistletoe

Congrats to anyone who knows these characters

This is absolutely a crack ship for me. I just like the idea of someone who lives a sad life like Ink having someone as silly and wonky as Mistletoe around. That’s basically it XD sue me!

6. Damian x Addi and Damian x Ink

Again, I feel the same about these two ships. They’re cute, and I would absolutely read the fan fiction. My main draw back, however, is that these two ships are ones I have to be in the mood for. These two ships, especially Damian x Ink , can quickly become depressing. And while sometimes I’m all for that, most of the time I rather read something a bit lighter

7. Elijah x Damian

...

I guess these two have accidentally became my favourite??? I certainly enjoy stuff with this ship the most, and even though we admittedly haven’t seen much of Eli yet, I’m already on board.

Firstly, I just like the premise of the fucking Antichrist hooking up with a pink hipster snake who’s a waiter at a 50s diner. The idea alone is just amusing to me, and it’s weird enough that I already like it.

I also like the overall chaotic, mutual dumbass energy these two give off together. They’re both comic loving, unserious goofballs and I can absolutely see them sharing a total of one brain cell. Even the image of the two of them side by side is just amusing to me, bc we have tall, pink and Christmasy coloured Eli next to the smoller, edgier Dame. Even looking at sketches of them interacting, they both look just plain silly

Finally, however, what I think really got me on board was the irony of the situation. Damian, as we know, crushes super hard on Kayla and some other characters, and will go to unnecessary lengths to impress them. Meanwhile, as he’s desperately trying to get others to like him, there’s Eli. Someone who’s already attracted to him, and is right there. And who already seems to have a lot in common with him, and given how he’s apparently shy around people he likes, it must be obvious to someone what’s going on.

It’s like “omg, why are all the hot people taken???” “I AM RIGHT HERE!” “ Did u say something?”

So... yeah.

And there you go. I’ll probably update later with more ships, but this post is already long

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, and feel free to tell me what you think of these ships, and what your favourite ships are.

I apologize for wasting your time

- Spooky

#zoophobia

[obxwritings]

☆ Wouldn’t want it any other way ☆

requested by @im-blossoming​: “Can you write an imagine where the reader confesses her love to JJ” I hope I lived up to what you wanted! Thank you so much for requesting! :) enjoy! 

summary: just another friends to lovers story because that’s my favorite trope! (fem!reader x JJ) based off of one of these! 

word count: 1,841

note: I did write this from 11 pm to about 1:30 am, so that’s something. Sorry if it’s so long! I guess I was just in a writing mood. oh also, italics mean flashback/ y/n’s thoughts so hopefully that’s clear! if not, sorry! 

masterlist of other works by me! 

If someone asked you to pinpoint the exact moment in time you began to have feelings for your best friend, you could give them the exact date and time. It was back in February of freshman year of high school. 

February 13th

You were sitting on your bed trying not to cry. Tonight was supposed to be a fun night with your friends at the high school’s annual valentine’s day dance. While all of your friends had found someone to go with at least two weeks before the dance (well, except JJ. He was protesting the dance claiming it was just another way the school was taking money from students as well as the school condoning teenagers getting “nasty,” but no one had asked you until a few days before. You were ecstatic. It had been Tyler from your English class. And while he simply asked you after class one day, you couldn’t wait. You had the perfect dress, and you couldn’t wait to show it off.  

And just as you finished your hair, you received a text from your date that was clearly meant for someone else: 

Tyler: Look, I already asked her. That was the bet we made. Do I get my money now or do I still have to take her to the dance too? 

Tyler: oh sorry wrong person. 

You were heartbroken, to say the least. You didn’t even like Tyler like that, but his text just confirmed your original thoughts: no one wanted to go with you. So there you were, sitting on your bed with your hair done perfectly while you were still in sweats and your half-done makeup. You don’t remember when it was, but your mom had come into the room and seeing your current state, tried to console you. The two of you had spent the rest of the night watching old movies and doing anything to get your mind off of the stupid boy in your English class. 

It wasn’t until the next day, the 14th, that you saw your friends again. You heard some loud noises from downstairs and went to investigate. Creeping down the stairs, you had stopped in your tracks when you saw your friends in their nicest attire hanging a few decorations around your living room. You almost weren’t going to say something until you saw JJ almost fall trying to hand a tiny plastic disco ball from your ceiling fan. 

“Hey guys, what’s going on?” you asked, startling the group. 

“There she is! We heard about what happened yesterday and wanted to make up for it.” John B smiled. “Go back upstairs and put on your dress! We’ll be done by then.”

True to their word, the pogues had finished decorating the living room when you returned. You were stunned. Upon your return, your mom came back with a disposable camera and insisted on taking pictures. After a few goofy pictures, JJ decided to get the music started and insisted on everyone on dancing. 

Following your mom into the kitchen, you went to thank her for organizing all of this. You found out, however, she was not the mastermind behind this: JJ was. 

“Oh sweetheart, as soon as he found out what your date did, he insisted on throwing a party of your own. Seems like he didn’t want his best friend to miss her special day.” she smiled at you and sent you back into the living room to join your friends. 

After a while, the others went into the kitchen to get some drinks and snacks, you pulled JJ aside and gave him the biggest hug. 

“Thanks for doing all of this JJ. It means a lot to me,” you gave the blond a smile. 

“Hey, it’s no big deal. I know you were looking forward to it and showing off that dress, which you look beautiful in by the way, so it just seemed like the right thing to do. Besides, this is a dance with a cause I can get behind! Your mom supplied us with everything and I don’t have to socialize with people from school that I don’t want to. I get to spend it with my best friend.” JJ led you to the kitchen and showed you a small vase of flowers, “I also got these for you. I figured if we were going to do this, I had to go the whole nine yards to get you to smile.”

It was at that moment that you had fallen for your best friend. You were completely screwed. 

And while that was just the beginning of your feelings for JJ, it worsened from there. In between exchanged smiles, sunset boat rides consisting of just the two of you, and slight touches such as a quick hug or hands brushing, your feelings for the blond had only grown. You were in deep and didn’t know how to stop it. There were so many nights where you had made up different situations on how to tell JJ your true feelings. However, all your made-up conversations of how you would confess your feelings to JJ all went to waste when JJ announced he had a date for the party on Friday night. 

You were bummed. Of course he didn’t feel the same way you thought to yourself. Your posture deflated and you had a clear frown on your face.  And while you didn’t mean to bring the mood of the group down, JJ could tell you weren’t feeling too good while the others argued over what to do later that night. 

Pulling you aside, JJ tried to get you to talk, but you didn’t feel like it. Not when the rest of your friend group was no more than ten feet away. You had hidden your feelings for JJ for more than a year; you could certainly hide them for a while longer. 

… 

As the clock neared midnight, you figured it was time to go home. Your mom was probably still up waiting for you to come home, making sure you got back safely. As soon as you excused yourself from the group and said your goodbyes, JJ got up to go with you. 

“JJ, you don’t have to walk me home. I am perfectly capable of walking.” 

“I can’t let you walk home alone at night, y/n,” JJ stated, “it’s too dangerous. I can’t let my best friend get hurt.”

Best friend, that’s all I’ll ever be you thought. 

“What did you say?” JJ’s question pulled you out of your thoughts. 

“Uh, what do you mean? I didn’t say anything.” 

JJ gave you a weird look, “yes you did. You said something about being best friends I think.”

Oh, so you had accidentally spoken your thoughts out loud, that’s great. 

“It was nothing, okay JJ?” you sighed and began to pick up your pace, now being more desperate to go home and escape your best friend. 

JJ was quick, however, catching up to you and grabbing your hand to stop you, “Y/N, something is clearly bothering you tonight. What is it?

And while JJ was talking, all you could think of was your best friend’s hand in yours. The thought made you want to smile, but you quickly remembered the predicament you were in. Shrugging you hand out of his, you looked at the ground thinking about how to avoid this talk with JJ. 

“Look JJ, I can’t tell you.”

“Why not?”

“I just can’t, okay?” clearly frustrated, you took a deep breath. “I’m just really nervous. I’ve rehearsed this in my head hundreds of times, but I don’t really know how to tell you now. I don’t want to ruin anything, and I’m a little scared the more I talk and think about it. I think I just need to go home, okay JJ?” you turned from your friend and began walking again. It wasn’t until you heard JJ’s voice that you turned around. 

“Well, why don’t I do the talking then?” 

Not knowing where this was going, you just kept your gaze on the ground. 

“Y/N, I-- wow you’re right this is kinda nerve-racking,” JJ let out a nervous chuckle, “but, if I think I know what you were going to say, I just wanted to say that I really like you too. I have since you made some random comeback at Pope on the boat one day this past summer. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but maybe with the sunset making you glow and your smile, I started to like you as just more than friends. I started to notice all the small things like how you would play with your hair when you got nervous around me, how you would always ask for my sweatshirts for when we had bonfires, or even how you blush whenever I gave you a nickname. It was all those little signs that told me that you liked me back. Or at least I think. Am I reading this right still? If I am wrong, please stop me. I’m getting too sappy for my liking and --” 

You cut JJ off by rushing over to him and wrapping your arms around his neck, bringing him closer to you. You closed your eyes and closed the gap between you two with a kiss. After realizing what was happening, JJ closed his eyes too and wrapped his arms around you, embracing you in a hug and pulling you closer (if that was even possible). 

And while you didn’t want to break away, you did need to breathe. Your little high didn’t last too long though. You replayed JJ’s words in your head and moved back slightly. 

“Wait, you knew? All this time you watched me get nervous and flustered and embarrass myself in front of you and you knew? Do you know how many times I laid in bed regretting every embarrassing thing I had said? It was a lot by the way.” you huffed, looking slightly annoyed.

JJ laughed and shook his head, “Well I kind of knew. You were acting like how people normally do around those they like, but you’re my best friend; I didn’t want to risk messing that up if I was reading all your actions wrong.”

“Well,” you started, “you certainly were reading it right. I really like you too, in case you didn’t know.” 

“I think the kiss was a giveaway.”

“Oh be quiet, Maybank.” you laughed as you untangled yourself from the blond. “So, does this mean you still have that date for Friday?”

“Oh that? That was just to see your reaction to confirm my theory about your feelings for me. But, I would rather much have you as my real date for Friday instead of a fake one. What do you say?” JJ held out his hand for you and motioned to start walking back to your house. It was a little past midnight anyway. 

You accepted his hand with a smile,  “Of course. Wouldn’t want it any other way.” 

note: if you made it this far, thanks for reading! let me know how it was :) as always, requests are open! ☆

#jj maybank #jj imagine #jj x reader #jj maybank fanfiction #jj one shot #outer banks imagine #outer banks fanfiction #outer banks netflix