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yurimother · 7 months

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'I'm in Love with the Villainess' Anime - Episode 1 Review

An astounding and hilarious first outing for the series with the power to revolutionize Yuri

We are finally here, the long-awaited and much anticipated first episode of Platinum Vision’s I’m in Love with the Villainess anime aired on Tokyo MX and is streaming everywhere outside of Asia with a plethora of dubbing options, including English, on day one on Crunchyroll.

The first outing covers most of the events of the light novel’s first chapter, or the first three chapters of the manga, at a rapid but steady and not overwhelming pace. At this rate, the anime should be able to cover much of the series’ first arc, or the first two out of five books, in a single cour. Perhaps a bit less, depending on which of the story’s various adventures it elects to include. This is an exciting possibility, to be sure, as the story is a character-driven, socially mindful, and expertly written and, despite its fantasy setting, an exceptionally relevant tale of romance, socio-economic inequality, and of course, queerness.

While the first arc of Villainess is a triumph, it would be a shame not to see at least some of the developments from the extra chapters that lead into the second story, like (spoilers for the end of volume 2) Rae and Claire’s wedding and their adopted twin daughters May and Aleah. If we are lucky, perhaps they will appear in the final episode or, dare to dream, a second season (end of spoilers).

Now, onto the show itself. For those who, for whatever reason, have not read Inori’s masterpiece, I’m in Love with the Villainess follows Rae Taylor. A salary worker who dies and is reincarnated as the protagonist of her favorite otome game, Revolution. However, Rae has no interest in any of the game world’s three eligible royal bachelors and has eyes only for the game villainess Claire François. Armed with exceptionally magical ability, Rae sets out determined to secure a happy ending for her beloved Claire against the coming revolution and perhaps win her heart in the process.

Now, the opening of I’m in Love with the Villainess is the series' weakest moment in all mediums, which, considering episode one’s outstanding quality, only highlights just how superb the Yuri masterpiece is as a whole. Even with its need to establish the setting, characters, and premise of the series, the premiere managed to be an excellent introduction and set the bar high with lots of laughs, entertainment, and service between our two leads.

I watched the Japanese audio, and Yu Serizawa and Karin Nanami are fantastic in these roles, with Serizawa playing up Rae’s teasing adoration and borderline masochism at full blast, and Nanami explicitly giving voice to Claire’s arrogance and frustration. She even manages to deliver a perfect Ojou-style laugh to seal the character’s elite status and lean into the show’s use of otome tropes. And having the leads sing the excellent opening and ending themes is just icing on the cake.

Speaking of tropes, while Ironi’s original work is a genre-defying masterpiece that broke the Yuri mold, it is never afraid to play with the genre’s iconography and its otome game setting. Every other scene had another allusion, including to the book’s cover. As always, I am likely overeager to see connections, however intentional they may be, but the academy’s halls harken to otome staples, the bells and strings of the first scene's soundtrack conjured blistering memories of Strawberry Panic (perhaps a sacrilegious comparison to make but I digress), and even an areal shot of the campus was another check mark on my “Scenic Yuri” theory.

Now, as mentioned, I’m in Love with the Villainess has to establish the groundwork here, and narratively, these are the weakest moments, often direct exposition, with a few exceptions like Rae’s conversation with her roommate Mash about maintaining Claire’s attention. The narration is at least accompanied by relevant and creative, if perhaps limited, animation. But to their credit, these moments are succinct, existing only as long as they have to in order to provide the necessary information and get out of the way for what matters most: the characters.

Rae and Claire are front and center from the very get-go, and there is little time wasted in showcasing Rae’s intense bottom energy or establishing Claire’s elitism and bewildered anger towards Rae’s excitement in the face of Claire’s carefully calculated cruelty. It is a montage of silly and fun competitions between the two that had me laughing and smiling all the way through, as the Yuri was present in full force, and gives glimpses at the mutual obsession the women have for each other that will soon blossom into a wonderful romance.

These early story beats have a light tone and focus on the bullying, teasing, and rivalry between Rae and Claire, a dynamic that previously and understandably made a subset of readers somewhat uncomfortable. However, assuming the anime unfolds in a similar manner to the manga and light novels, the narrative will explore meatier, heavier subject matter and a far deeper lesbian romance, all without losing its sense of fun and adventure. The next episode or two will be incredibly telling - as the source material is perhaps the most profound and forthright depictions of LGBTQ identity in Yuri, and that all starts with a pivotal conversation that, if it is included, will be coming up shortly.

Overall, I am incredibly excited for this series. The first episode is everything I had hoped for out of an adaptation of one of my favorite works of all time, save the animation, which is average at best. While there is a lot more to see, and we will have to wait to know if I’m in Love with the Villainess lives up to its incredible potential and source material, I am extremely hopeful. We have one of the funniest, most thoughtful, and queerest works of Yuri transformed into a stunning anime project unlike anything that has come before and offers the chance at not just a new Yuri “gateway” but to continue the work of its source material in revolutionizing the genre.

Ratings: Story – 8 Characters – 10 Art – 5 LGBTQ – We shall see… Sexual Content – 3 Final – 8

I'm in Love with the Villainess is streaming on Crunchyroll with English sub/dub.

Review made possible by Avery Riehl and the rest of the YuriMother Patrons. Support YuriMother on Patreon for early access, exclusive article, and more: patreon.com/yurimother

#yuri #Reviews #girls love #lgbt #anime #i'm in love with the villainess #ILTV #lgbtq #gay #gl #queer #lesbian #manga #yuri anime #gl anime

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princeasimdiya12 · 2 months

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Bucchigiri Utena Parallel-The Greek Chorus

In many plays and stories, the Greek Chorus refers to a group of characters that either commentate on the main storyline or have their own subplot that parallels or foreshadows the main story that appears. It's rare when they actually interact with the main characters but their role is meant to emphasize the meanings and plot events that occur.

In Bucchigiri, we have Nyan Nyaight Love which is their version of the Shadow Play Girls from Revolutionary Girl Utena.

For those who aren't familiar with the Shadow Play Girls, they serve as an actual Greek Chorus in the Utena anime. Every episode, the girls put on a cryptic and bizarre play with a message that correlates to the ongoing events or conflicts that Utena, Anthy and the Student Council deal with throughout the series. Some are straight forward and easy to understand, others are straight up wackadoodle and have layers of meaning to comprehend. But each skit contains a hidden but vital message that relates to the main storyline in Utena.

While Nyan Nyaight Love may not be as complicated or bizarre as the Shadow Play Girls, they still do their part in paralleling the Bucchigiri storyline.

Episode 1: Introductions

The first episode features the customer contemplating whether he should go into NNL or if he should leave. It isn't until he sees Arajin being chased down the street by the NG Boys that he enters out of fear of being spotted.

The customer serves as a parallel to Arajin. He too is a wimpy, unappealing, jittery, hopeless, mopey, delusional everyman. And just like how the customer was unsure as to whether he should enter a shady, controversial place like NNL, Arajin also struggles with entering the dangerous and colorful world of the Ichizu Gangs. And his involvement in their lifestyle has mainly been a forced reaction, as in he jumps into the fray while fearful for his safety. The NNL Receptionist can also be seen as a parallel for the colorful banchos and bad boys that Arajin, and the audience, meet in their upcoming encounters.

In the world of Revolutionary Girl Utena, one of the ongoing themes was fairy tales and stories that are told from one person to another. The Shadow Girls fit that theme by putting on plays for the audience about their own stories. So there are clear parallels of the main storyline.

And then we "meet" Jasmine.

Just like it's the customer's first time in a place like NNL, it's also Arajin's first time in the world of Ichizu's gangs. And his meeting with Jasmine is a clear parallel to him meeting Mahoro for the first time. This is more apparent when you take in the Disney movie with Arajin (Aladdin) meeting his beloved Mahoro (Jasmine).

It's also worth noting that the customer asks if he can use the honorific "chan" which is mainly used for people/girls that someone has a close relationship with. And despite meeting her for only one day, Arajin is the one who proposes that it is "fate" that brought him and Mahoro together and how they're destined to be lovers. Clearly he's skipping multiple steps in the relationship making process expecting Mahoro to feel the same way.

Episode 2: I Couldn't Stay Away

The second time, the customer returns and is scared into entering the building after Senya drags along Arajin. Despite some hesitance, he asks the Receptionist for Jasmine again.

So it's pretty obvious, the customer is in "love" with Jasmine and is hooked onto her. Even when she starts to "cling" to him.

At this point, Arajin has fallen head over heels for Mahoro and can't get her out of her head. His new motivations begin and end with conquering Mahoro's heart so he can use her to lose his virginity. And to conquer her heart and be as close to her as possible, he's more than willing to go through a shady and morally ambiguous place like the gang life.

Though the clingy part comes off as self-delusion since Mahoro absolutely hates him and wants nothing to do with him. Even making it clear constantly from this episode onward. Yet Arajin isn't bothered and is eager to make her his.

However, this does set up as it's first example of foreshadowing for the following episode.

Even though Mahoro hates him, she decides to play along with his infatuation with her when he's recruited into Siguma Squad. She's "clinging" to him in order to sway and manipulate him so he'll be able to take over Siguma Squad as it's new leader, forcing her brother to graduate so she can have him all to himself. Or so Arajin will get beat up badly, she's down for whatever. And because Arajin is stuck in his self-delusion about Mahoro and their destined love life, he doesn't see the red flags and falls for her claws. Eager to continue hanging out with the violent happy SS regardless of the peril he may face.

Episode 3: This episode did not feature a NNL segment.

Episode 4: Please Forgive Me

The customer is once again contemplating whether he should go in or not, even saying that he should just quit. Alas, a chubby Arajin scares him inside where he once again asks for Jasmine. Only now he's in hot water for having left her for so long.

While normally this would be a stand in for Arajin and his hopeless love for Mahoro and how he's failing her, this time, the customer represents another character.

In this case, it's Matakara.

Earlier in the episode, he gets into another conversation with Arajin over the upcoming Gang War and how they should stop it. But it soon turns into another plea for him to rebuild their friendship and how he wants to become Honki people with him like before. Despite his efforts, Arajin tells him to get over it and orders him to leave him alone. Just like a cat turning her back on the customer after their absence.

And just like the customer blames himself for her anger, Matakara believes he's at fault for their friendship failing. Because he was too weak to fight the thugs who beat him up which is why Arajin abandoned him. And much like how the customer never viewed at any other "cat", Matakara has his eyes and heart only for Arajin. Even after making new friends in the Minato Kai club, his idol has always been his childhood friend who inspired him when he was just a weak boy so many years ago.

And he'll make that fact known to Arajin everytime they meet; reminding him that he's someone of great importance in his life and that he just has to believe him. No matter how many times he's turned away, Matakara still holds him dearly in his heart.

Episode 5: The Next Level

The customer returns and declares that it's a big day for him. This time he gets scared in by Kenichirou and the Minato Kai Gang making their way to the upcoming warzone.

Hoping to patch things up with Jasmine, the customer presents a gift.

The way I interpret this scene, it comes off as taking his relationship with Jasmine to the next level by giving her a choker. For pets, giving them a choker can be considered the same as giving them a collar. Usually to signify your bond as master and pet. Or in this case, it comes off as the customer treating his precious Jasmine to a gift in the hopes of raising her mood.

For this scene, I see it as a parallel to everyone's relationships and how they're moving on to the next level.

This takes place during the Gang War two parter with both gangs going at each other only for the NG Boys to stage their attack. The fighting persists until Arajin steps in to protect Mahoro from being killed by Akutaro. And while fighting, he gains a major power boost from Senya as his merge rate increases as a result.

And once he defeats the NG Emperor, everyone's mood cheers up for the better and their relationships improve as a result. The rival gangs are more friendly with each other and are able to get along in spite of their rivalry that's lasted for years. Matakara gets to have a bonding moment with Arajin which is a huge step compared to how coldly he's been treated in the past. And Senya is super excited that the merge rate between him and Arajin has increased.

Everything and everyone is in better spirits now.

To bad it won't last for very long.

Episode 6: This episode does not feature an NNL segment.

Episode 7: A New Cat???

The customer is once again worried about whether he should enter NNL and is scared into coming in when Arajin rushes by due to being late for the Group Date.

The receptionist welcomes him into the establishment and asks if he wants his usual. But to his surprise, the customer has someone else in mind.

It's hard to say why exactly the customer decided to go for a new cat instead of Jasmine. Perhaps it's because he's become used to the NNL environment and is bold enough to try someone different.

But what strikes me fancy about this part is not so much the change in cat but the receptionist's reaction. All this time, we've seen him as a silly catboy who loves to tease the customer and rolls with him coming to see his precious Jasmine. But it's the change in cat that causes him to react this way. He loses his silly front and shows actual shock and maybe concern over such a drastic change. He doesn't even revert back to his playful self as it cuts straight to the customer meeting Pu'er-chan (Fun fact: Pu'er is a type of tea that's specially grown in China. And taking Jasmine into account, the cats at NNL are all named after Chinese tea flavors).

So he goes on with meeting the new cat even though he still has feelings for Jasmine. And he's greatly surprised to see Pu'er accept him with relative ease based on his elated reaction.

So to start, this segment is ripe with foreshadowing as it features the customer deciding to take a break from his old cat of interest and goes for a new cat. The customer changes his old cat for a new one. And who do we know who's interested in choosing someone new at the end of Episode 7?

"Do you know? Do you know? Do you know who he chooses?"

And mixed with the receptionist's reaction of shock and concern, the series itself has underwent a change in tone based on everything that happened in Episode 8. The comedy and jokes are significantly toned down in order focus on the more serious and heartbreaking elements of Matakara's brother being suddenly hospitalized and Arajin confessing that he was a coward all along which all leads up to Matakara falling into the palms of Ichiya, our presumed villain of the show.

Another things I want to mention/theorize is that when the customer brings up how he couldn't get Jasmine out of his head, that was a parallel to Ichiya being unable to get Senya out of his head. The two genies have a long, hidden but deep history with each other and it's implied that Senya did something to warrant his wrath. And given that Ichiya has a grudge in his heart that he intends to resolve, his goals in using Matakara are all but stated to be part of his masterplan of taking revenge against Senya.

And the last part with Pu'er fully embracing the customer will be foreshadowing of Matakara accepting Ichiya's proposal and power with minimal hesitation. With him at the brink of despair and with no one to turn to for emotional support (sorry Minato Kai boys), he'll be desperate and eager to follow Ichiya's will no matter how questionable or corrupt it may be. It isn't clear as to what type of wish Mataraka will make or what Ichiya will offer him to go along with his revenge, but the boy is clearly at his most vulnerable and weakest. He'll accept anything and fall into Ichiya's hands just to make the pain more bearable.

Conclusion

The Nyan Nyaight Love segments are meant to serve as a Greek Chorus for the Bucchigiri series. Paralleling the dynamics and conflicts between the main characters (Arajin, Matakara and Mahoro) while also providing foreshadowing for events to come. Much like the Shadow Play Girls and how they would parallel and foreshadow the main events in Utena. And under the assumption that we'll get more NNL segments, then the scenes with the customer and the receptionist will foretell more of what will happen throughout the show and the relationships between the characters.

And those are my thoughts on this nonsensical skit. What do you guys think? If you have your own interpretations for these segments or if there was something that you agreed or disagreed with, please feel free to reblog this and share your comments. It's worth mentioning that the plays that the Shadow Girls held had various ways of being interpreted so there's really no wrong way to go about this.

#bucchigiri?!#bucchigiri #revolutionary girl utena #nyan nyaight love #arajin tomoshibi #matakara asamine #mahoro jin #the customer #the receptionist #the shadow girls #analysis #themes #eddy's posts #anime #Ichiya #greek chorus

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noneorother · 6 months

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All the music you didn’t hear in Good Omens. (And I found a new P&P reference) *Part4*

Part 1 l Part 2 l Part 3 l Part 4

The Bonkers Meta Series 2: Electric Boogaloo. It never ends.

So if you've been paying attention, you know that the number 2 is an incredibly important idea in season 2 of Good Omens. Well, I think it might be more than just the number two. I think it might actually be the concept of Double Meanings. Here's the first one I found.

When you google P&P Book you get : Pride & Prejudice, by our favourite Brandy smuggler: Jane Austen.

But when you google P&P Film, you get the life's work of ... Powell & Pressburger! Both prominent nods in the series that Neil and the gang seem pretty happy to talk about. This seemed like maybe it could be a coincidence to me, so I started looking up other nods in the series to see if my theory scans. Check this out :

P&P (1948) The Red Shoes Kate Bush (1993) P&P (1945) I know where I'm going Scottish traditional - Burl Ives (1941) P&P (1946) A matter of life & death / Stairway to Heaven Led Zepplin (1971) P&P (1949) The (Small) Back Room Van Morrison

P&P (1950)

Wild at Heart/Gone to Earth

David Sylvian

and here’s the P&P reference I think no one caught yet! Remember who Aziraphale learned the sleight of hand magic trick from in 1941? Prof Hoff.

P&P (1951) - musical The Tales of Hoffman Opera by Offenbach (1881) I linked everything so you can go listen or read about the the movies/music in question. However, be warned the opera is over two hours. Clearly I’m missing one, because I’m a series of six episodes there’s now way they put five references in, but I’m having a hard time finding it. If you know what it is, please let me know!

My point - my point here, is that I think rather than trying to find the “right” interpretation of the story of season 2 with confusing facts and confounding dialogue, these double entendres serve as a guide to show us how “both stories are going on at the same time” can be analyzed separately AND together, and that they live right on top of one another.

Want to hear my analysis of both the movie playlist and the music playlist? It’s on the way!

#good omens 2 #go season 2 #go meta #art director talks good omens #good omens season 2 #good omens meta #good omens season two #crowley x aziraphale #good omens prime #good omens #good omens s2 #good omens spoilers

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david-talks-sw · 1 year

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For a lot of fans, the "Jedi lost their way" take really comes down to:

"I never saw the Jedi Council genuinely be kind to Anakin in any meaningful way, so I just filled in the gaps and assumed they were dicks to him".

From there you get the myths that the Jedi manipulated him, only cared for him because of his power, forbid him from seeing his Mom, Mace in particular hated him, etc etc.

Well, quick reminder: in George Lucas' script, Anakin refers to the Jedi as his family.

But hey, if "not enough evidence" is a factor, how would we fix that?

PITCH: A five-issue comic book miniseries, featuring self-contained tales of young Anakin's interactions with various Jedi - seen from their POVs - about how they all come around to liking him, only to epilogue each issue with events from Episode III.

Not all of these are fully developed, but just to give you an idea...

Issue #1: Yoda.

Lesson: "letting to of what you fear to lose"

Set only months after Episode I, Obi-Wan is off on a mission, and Anakin is shadowing Yoda, for the day. Both are reluctant...

Yoda is still grappling with Anakin's uncertain future, maybe reeling from Qui-Gon's death and Yaddle's disappearance.

Anakin misses his Mom, and the last conversation he had with Yoda was the elf telling him he shouldn't be scared for his mother (or so Anakin thinks).

Throughout the day, shenanigans ensue.

Yoda takes Ani to a Council meeting and he keeps interrupting by asking Yarael Poof why his neck is so long, or asking Oppo Rancisis if he ever trims his hair. Giggles from all but Yoda.

Yoda mediates a negotiation between Senators and the subject of Malastare podracing comes up, so Anakin hijacks the meeting.

Yoda goes to Thustra to fight off mercenaries for the King and Anakin tags along, seemingly becoming a burden for Yoda.

However, despite their bumpy start (Anakin being a brat and Yoda being a grump) Anakin and Yoda bond and Anakin's input seemingly becomes the key to the mission's success.

Yoda discovers he admires Anakin's outside-the-box thinking and finds kindness deep in his heart. The issue's narrative voice is Yoda talking to Qui-Gon, noting how similar Anakin and Qui-Gon are.

Anakin realizes that Yoda trained the master who trained the master who trained his master... so that makes him his sort of grandpa! That's so wizard!

Once the task at hand is over, Yoda and Anakin have a moment and talk about the idea that Anakin misses his mother.

Yoda comforts Anakin, explaining that his mother let him leave the nest, and in life things come and go, things which they may grow to care for. But as Jedi, they must be able to let go of these attachments, when the time comes.

Anakin asks if Yoda ever lost someone he cared about. Yoda answers that he's almost 900, by now. A lot of loved ones of his came and went. Qui-Gon was one of them. Yaddle, too. Another one (thinking of Dooku)... still hurts to this day.

One day, it'll be up to him to be as strong as his mother, who Yoda adds might've made a wonderful Jedi. And who knows, maybe he'll see her again, once Anakin becomes a Jedi himself.

Anakin smiles.

Epilogue:

Anakin scowls.

We're seeing Yoda's scene with Anakin in Episode III through Yoda's POV. As he did years ago, Anakin still has problems with attachment... but in this case, he doesn't even tell Yoda anything. So Yoda can only give a general answer.

As Anakin refuses to elaborate on his premonitions and leaves, Yoda feels powerless, and can only hope he was able to help this troubled young man who, day after day, reminds him less of Qui-Gon and more of Dooku. Dooku who died yesterday.

Issue #2: Kit Fisto

Lesson: "don't try to be some 'Chosen One', just be yourself"

Anakin undergoes a trial that involves swimming. And he grew up on a desert planet. So of course, he fails. At night, he steals Obi-Wan's breather and sneaks out of their quarters to go to the pool and train.

He puts the breather on wrong and is about to drown but fear not! Jedi Knight Kit Fisto and his dashing smile are here to help!

He shows Anakin how to put his breather on right and shows him how to swim and fight underwater.

Now, this isn't just a pool. It's a pool in the Jedi Temple! So it's filled with a whole lot of marvelous fluorescent flora and fauna, I'm taking Avatar-style stuff.

So the swimming lesson becomes a lesson about the Living Force (who said it should just be Qui-Gon's thing? Lucas certainly didn't), using water as a metaphor.

The overall idea of the issue is that Anakin is concerned... he left his Mom behind, hoping to make her proud, make Qui-Gon proud, make Obi-Wan proud and live up to this expectation of being the Chosen One... but he's struggling at basic stuff like swimming! How's he gonna be this big time Jedi, one day?

Kit reassures Anakin: he shouldn't aspire to be a "Chosen One". All any Jedi should aspire to be is the best version of themselves.

Next day: Anakin passes the trial, Obi-Wan congratulates him, and Anakin completely misinterprets what Kit was telling him in a hilarious way by saying something silly and cocky like: "I just had to remind the water that I'm the best me there is so it better let me float or else."

Which gets an eye roll from Obi and a giggle from Kit.

(BTW, maybe we can have Nadar Vebb help Anakin swim too! Maybe even set him up as passing that trial the first time round with flying colors to contrast with Anakin, maybe he's an antagonist that comes around by the end, I dunno)

Epilogue:

As Mace battles Sidious in the other room, Kit Fisto, still breathing, rises to his feet and takes a few steps, intent on helping his friend despite his wound, but collapses... he's not gonna make it.

He turns around, stares at the ceiling. Is this how it ends?

Anakin appears in his line of sight, looking around at the dead Jedi, shocked. Kit smiles (ROTS novelization reference) as Anakin rushes into the adjacent corridor.

His last thought is the knowledge that everything's going to turn out alright, now that the Chosen One is here.

Issue #3: Mace Windu

Lesson: Control your feelings, don't let them control you.

Simple story. Obi-Wan was captured by a bunch of IG-11 assassins, allowing Anakin to escape and rescue a Senator's daughter. Now, Anakin and Mace are on a mission to get him back.

They make their way through a jungle filled with traps. Anakin is rushing, he's angry at the droids and afraid for Obi-Wan and it's making him do dumb stuff. After it happens a second time, Mace scolds him.

Around a campfire, Anakin apologizes for his impulsive behavior.

Mace comments that it's understandable. He only started being a Jedi, like, 5 years ago. Mastering your emotions isn't an easy thing to do, and in Anakin's case it's twice as hard. Anakin pries: is that why Mace didn't want him to become a Jedi?

Mace hesitates. Then says it, point blank: "yes".

And while he's sorry for being blunt, the fact remains that last week he threatened two of his fellow initiates with a lightsaber to the face.

Anakin points out that they were bullying him because they were jealous of his skill.

Against all expectation Mace smiles and reveals that he can relate to that. His own classmates would bully him for the same reason. You know who'd step in, in that situation? Qui-Gon. Qui-Gon was like a big brother to Mace, always had his back.

After sighing, with a calmer tone, Mace says he'll have a chat with those students. But Anakin needs to double his efforts to keep his feelings under control, lest he become enslaved by them.

The way he went about it was by developing Vaapad. He demonstrates it to Anakin, whose eyes are filled with stars.

Mace concludes that while he did have misgivings, he has faith that Anakin can find the way to do it.

In the morning, Anakin and Mace storm the castle filled with assassin droids. One of the droids sees they're losing and electrocutes Obi-Wan, hoping to unbalance them. Mace orders Anakin to stay focused, Kenobi can take it! And Anakin does!

Once the courtyard is cleared, Mace lifts the remaining droid torturing Obi-Wan with the Force and crushes it into a ball of metal.

As they walk away, Mace lets out a "good work, Skywalker."

Anakin asks Mace if he can teach him Vaapad-- Mace cuts him off with a "Nope".

"C'mooon!"

"Don't push it, Skywalker."

Epilogue:

In the Chancellor's office, Mace reflects the lightning back onto Palpatine's face.

The Sith seems out of commission.

And Mace is scared shitless. He almost died, a few seconds ago. His instinct is to run. He uses shatterpoint, tries to sense the future because Force knows he's got no idea what the hell he should do next. And that's when he sees it:

The various ways Sidious can kill him and Anakin.

Stop Mace's blade mid-air and Force Push them out of a window,

snap their necks with the Force,

crush the crystal in his lightsaber and let it blow up in his face.

Palpatine is faking and there are barely any scenarios in which Mace and Anakin are walking out of this room alive. And even if they do capture him, then

Sidious can bribe judges and Senate officials and supposing that doesn't work either, he can

escape any prison, kill thousands of clones in one night and

set up a new power base, starting from scratch.

This either ends now or the galaxy is doomed.

For a full second, the gravity of it all terrorizes Mace... then he chases his fear and musters his courage.

Anakin argues but Mace knows what he must do. He prepares to end the conflict once and for all, like a true Jedi would.

Anakin argues again, and Mace detects something else. Wait, why is Skywalker scared?

As he falls, Mace realizes the very thing that he feared would happen, a long time ago, has finally come true:

Anakin let his emotions rule him... and it doomed them all.

Issue #4: Shaak Ti

I was thinking for this one, we can have Obi-Wan bring her in as a sparring partner so she can demonstrate Jar'Kai to Anakin.

I haven't thought of a deeper lesson for this one, I just like Shaak Ti, folks, she's awesome :D

If anyone has suggestions, put 'em in the replies.

Epilogue:

(This one will definitely age poorly when The Mandalorian Season 3 comes out tomorrow!)

Order 66 rages as Shaak Ti protects a group of elderly Jedi in charge of the babies. She takes clone after clone down as she escorts them to an escape room the notices one baby left in the infirmary: Grogu.

Suddenly, she senses an overwhelming darkness approaching this wing of the temple. She thinks fast, she takes Grogu, crosses a corridor where 2-3 Jedi are killed (which is what Grogu remembers in the flashbacks)...

... and goes to a meditation room nearby. The shadow closes in and Shaak Ti realizes who it is: Skywalker.

We catch her moments later as she finished recording a message in her Holocron (the one from Star Wars #9)...

"It's up to you now. Don't let our deaths have been in vain. Don't let this be the end of the Jedi."

... then places it in Grogu's pod and hides him in an air vent. She sits on the chair, pretending to meditate.

The door slides open. Anakin enters the room, senses something in the air vent. Shaak Ti realizes he's about to find Grogu and distracts him: "what is it Skywalker?"

He stabs her. She falls.

He picks up her saber as he prepares to engage Cin Drallig and his apprentice with two lightsabers, just as she showed him.

A tear rolls down Shaak Ti's eye.

She looks at the air vent, sees Grogu's wet eyes peer through the grate. At least he's safe.

Issue #5: Obi-Wan

Lesson: Be less cocky, beware of Palpatine, ffs

Obi-Wan and Anakin are on a mission, maybe they're being chased by monsters, maybe it's in the middle of a firefight, maybe Anakin is trying to stop a train.

Bottom line: Anakin gets cocky and tries to do something incredibly stupid, thinking he can pull it off... and almost dies.

Obi-Wan manages to save him, but that hits him like a ton of bricks.

"I almost lost him."

Anakin's justification? Something along the lines of: he told the Chancellor he'd manage to do a triple flip next time he's on a mission, and that he'd try to catch it on a holovid.

So Obi-Wan loses his shit on Anakin, takes his saber and grounds him for a friggin' month.

Privately, he feels guilty. He almost lost Anakin and it would've been on him. His promise to Qui-Gon would be broken, Shmi's sacrifice, wherever she is, would be rendered pointless... and Anakin would be dead.

He talks to Mace and Yoda, who tell him not to blame himself. Obi-Wan takes this to heart and realizes who's to blame.

He goes to see the Chancellor.

And it's awkward af.

Put yourself in Obi-Wan's shoes. How do you tell your boss, the leader of the free world, to back off because he's a bad influence on your kid, in the most diplomatic way possible?

But he somehow manages. He puts his foot down and asks Palps if he wouldn't mind being a bit more hands-off.

Note: for one page, we're on Palpatine as he remembered every time he undermined everybody else's lessons. "Don't listen to Windu, your emotions are what make you human." "Still, a bit heartless of Yoda to not even send someone to free your mother. I'm sure they had their reasons." "Trust me, you're definitely a Chosen One, even if Jedi like Master Fisto don't see it."

Then Palpatine smiles. "Of course!" He even apologizes and agrees to step back for a bit, he understands that he may have inadvertently undermined Obi-Wan's authority. My bad, Master Kenobi. My bad.

Back in Anakin's quarters, Obi-Wan enters and sits next to Anakin on his bed. Silence.

What follows is a scene like this one in The Lion King:

Obi-Wan admits that Anakin really scared him today.

Anakin is sorry, but at the same time, he knew Obi-Wan would be there to save him in case he failed.

Obi-Wan explains that he won't always be able to be there to have Anakin's back. Anakin dismisses that, saying he trusts him.

"As long as we're together, it'll always turn out alright."

Epilogue:

As their dialog from the previous scene continues, Obi-Wan watches as his Padawan, his ward, his brother, his everything for the past 13 years, kneels in front of the Chancellor on a hologram recording.

So yeah, that was my attempt at writing Star Wars ^^' Thank you for making it this far!

Why only 5 issues? Well, it could be 6 issues. Could be 12, released monthly. I focused on 5 because I didn't wanna spend too much time photoshopping collages. Other scenarios could feature:

Saesee Tiin teaches Anakin flying maneuvers and finds he also has much to learn.

Quinlan Vos and Aayla Secura partner up with Obi-Wan and Anakin. Anakin initially finds a kindred spirit in Quin, even wonders if it would be possible for two knights to do a "Padawan swap", but eventually he sees that - as cool and laid back as Master Vos is - maybe he needs a Master who'll give him a bit more structure than the guy who'll let him stay up late.

Anakin and A'Sharad Hett going through a trial together. #Tatooineboys #arooo #kraytdragonsounds

Here's why I wrote these story ideas down:

There'll always be fans who see the Prequel Jedi as corrupt and arrogant, regardless of how much evidence from Canon or Lucas you provide to dispel the notion.

But sometimes, Star Wars transmedia content is used to fix inconsistencies or bolster ideas that were only alluded to in the films, or show a different point of view.

We got this recently with Shadows of the Sith, for example, which helped smooth some plot-holes from the Sequel Trilogy.

Sometimes, the material around the movies manages to re-contextualize and make the characters or the film itself more endearing, to fans. I mean, that's what The Clone Wars did for a lot of Prequel haters.

And I'm just disappointed this approach wasn't used to help the Prequel Jedi's perception among the fandom.

'Cause these are characters that have slowly been reframed as "the corrupt/complacent establishment" by authors who didn't find them likeable when they watched the films, when they were originally supposed to be "the underdogs who're doing their best".

An approach that was being taken during TCW was "let's question whether the Jedi are really all that good and moral and pure".

Nobody ever said they were, it's just that they tried to be their best selves, but whatever, let's play "devil's advocate", sure. Let's get some new points of view.

But skip to almost two decades later, and Star Wars has played "devil's advocate" with the Prequel Jedi so much that seeing them in a negative light is now mainstream.

So, now... how about we explore:

The trauma Mace Windu felt when he was actively seeing people he grew up with get shot to shreds by battle droids on the daily.

The ex-Jedi Knights who come back to the Order to help their former family, instead of focusing on the ones who left.

Rael or Sifo-Dyas calling Dooku out on his ideological bullshit and forcing him to face the fact that he's just a crook who talked himself into betraying his brethren.

The young Padawans whose masters went to Geonosis and never came back.

Plo Koon being attacked by a mob because he "looks evil" and both the Republic and the Separatist's war propaganda reflects badly on the Jedi, framed as “baby-snatching warmongers in their ivory tower”.

How about - instead of focusing on a series set 200 years prior, y'know, Back When The Jedi Were Great™ - we roll up our sleeves and question whether or not the Prequel Jedi were all that bad?

Just a thought.

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s-aint-elmo · 1 year

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digging out the eah content i created in a frenzy during last year’s summer of obsession part 1: my personal sapphic multishipping guide (created to explain to my friends which of these dolls i think should hold hands)

(more in-depth discussion of the ships below the cut)

the polycule that will take over ever after

kitty/lizzie; kitty/maddie; maddie/lizzie

self-explanatory. frequently purchased together do not separate. bonus shoutout to maddie canonically giving kitty a little kissie on the cheek and getting off scot-free in the books though. a wonderlandiful world was a banquet to me

cedar protection squad

once again a wonderlandiful world and once upon a time i owe you my life. kitty ESP being so adamant abt not giving a shit then turning around and fucking up those boys who were mean to cedar...... i love friendship

kitty/cerise

also self-explanatory. she was a catgirl she was a wolfgirl can i make it anymore obvious. also doribuki’s phenomenal fake dating fanfic....... transformative foundational transcendental

cerise/raven

YOU MUST UNDERSTAND. i entered eah a rapple shipper and exited the book series ready to burn at the stake for cerise/raven. book two was SO MUCH. it had everything. raven befriending cerise despite her attempts to isolate herself. texting in class. winking at each other. raven meeting the parents and hearing embarrassing baby cerise stories. cerise putting it all on the line to save raven. i’m ambivalent about shadow high but cerise gets literally one (1) mention and it’s in raven’s internal monologue wherein she equates cerise’s hood w feelings of warmth and safety. like how was that in any way necessary. i rest my case

raven & maddie

self-explanatory as well. dabesties. the ride or dies. it means so much to me that raven always has a friend in maddie no matter how many clowns and jokers (derogatory) treat her like the antichrist. maddie the character ever

raven/apple

WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN. the gelphie dynamic is a classic and i am EXTREMELY vulnerable to it. they are THE ship and i will pay my respects to the end of time. i am a big fan of how they trade their roles throughout the franchise and how rich the drama and history are between them. it’s pure fucking poetry.

raven/darling

TBH. a serve. the only thing juicier than evil queen/damsel in distress is evil queen/princess charming. big big fan of darling giving raven the five star princess treatment after a lifetime of being feared and shunned and vilified. equally big fan of raven’s momentous act of rebellion giving darling the courage to be true to herself. ALSO. the absolute archetype-subversion slay of the Pure-Hearted Hero(TM) confronting the Mistress of Evil(TM) and dropping their sword. looking through the smoke and mirrors and the will of Fate itself to see the girl who has wanted nothing but to be kind beneath. swearing their heart and soul and sword to the one true good they have found. picture it. i can almost see the 100-word drabble

raven/apple/darling

now THIS is just THE fairytale couple. the evil queen, the damsel in distress and the princess charming ALL holding hands and riding off into the sunset together. dappling on its own doesn’t do it for me but raven in the mix just makes everything gel perfectly. she’s the tomato in the ratatouille the cornstarch in the spring roll water, etc etc

darling/holly

this is one of those ships where i read a really convincing fic and the more i thought of it the more it just made sense. like they'd read swashbucklers and tales of courtly love together. holly would 100% write a darling placeholder in her self-insert romance fanfic pre-relationship as a way to express her feelings. darling would 100% find out and gently pull her out of the pit of sheer mortification she drilled into the ground to escape. also the height difference is a thing of beauty

safe from the polycule

duchess/poppy

they have one singular episode to their name and it was enough. it was Everything. the dynamic you can extrapolate from that one single interaction is so incredibly appealing to me. duchess’s bitchiness belied by her palpable air of vulnerability coming up against poppy’s spine of steel tempered by her skill in gaining perspective. poppy can challenge duchess into being a better person and duchess can be poppy’s character flaw like idk she just has shit taste in women that was the price she had to pay to be moisturized and unbothered by destiny. i just think they have the potential to be the unexpected, inexplicable power couple of eah

briar/faybelle

do i even need to say anything they had a whole movie to make their case. they’re rapple if rapple got their shit together before armageddon, with the bonus of a potential curse-breaking true love’s kiss for the fanfic authors to thrash between their teeth. truly unlimited. also unlike rapple where raven is 100% against being a villain and therefore it’s apple who has to do the mental gymnastics to open herself to the possibility of a relationship w raven, faybelle is just chomping at the bit to make her momma proud and presents a compelling perspective for the whole “falling in love w your fated nemesis” thing

blondie/cupid

they are icons, they are legends, and they ARE the moment. these two are so chaotic individually, what with blondie’s criminal skillset and habit of menacing innocent woodland creatures and cupid’s matchmaking powers combined w her shitty aim, that putting them together can only mean good things. there’s this whole element of their shared passion as public figures who at their best seek the truth and guide others through matters of the heart respectively that’s always interesting as a point of irony/obstacle when they start catching feelings and have to decide what to do with them. their joint youtuber/podcaster slay can level nations

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satocidal · 8 months

Text

𖥔 ִ ་ ، ˖ ࣪ ་ ˖ ʿ𖥔 ִ ་ ، ˖ ࣪ ་ ˖ Unfortunately, Yours

↳ Gojo Satoru x Fem!Reader

Episode 1:-

↳ ||Masterlist||Taglist Form||next chapter(two)||

Synopsis: It is when the birth right is snatched from your hands that your eyes truly ever open—especially when it’s always been there, right in your grasp. The Throne was yours, that was the truth promised and yet- yet your fate lay sealed with a certain Gojo. With an arranged marriage set in plan, alongs sets the plan of murder—within a wife who wants the throne and a husband who wants nothing but power, but suffers with them the present and the future of other two—especially when the lies of the past start surfacing.

— Word count: 3.9k

— A/n: ahhhh I have so many nerves lmao because this is the first chapter and I don’t wanna ruin it at all lol. And I wanna keep everything so subtle yk? But hope you guys like this!

— Warnings: Asshole Satoru; Asshole reader; mentions of adultery; slight objectification(?); Fem Bodied! Reader; usage of feminine terms; author thinks she can write💀 ps: I’ve never seen Christian weddings (or whatever I’ve written idk lol) so bare with me; typos

Hands that were trained, calloused once with bruises, prepared to be painted with blood now sat idle—a diamond ring in the finger.

Fate- the red string- two ends.

About 8 billion people walked the surface of earth—it was said, heard, stated, passed—The Greek god Zeus split each one of us into halves, punished to roam the earth and find our other half—the soulmate. Fatalism stated that everything was predestined- so it must be true, the concept of it.

Marriage—sacred, pure.

The day was clear as ever in your eyes—your father had entered the room, a solemn look on his face, a ring in hand; the entire month you had watched as the Gojos became a usual Tomorrow; you had watched as your sisters giggled at the premonition of your marriage; you had watched as the tables shifted and you had watched, and watched and watched.

Eyes numb, heart aching and mind a mess, you watched for that was all you could do now.

It was rushed, the whole process of it—a month ago your wedding planned and a month later you were gone. You didn’t want the wedding, you were sure Satoru Gojo didn’t either—“He’s so in love with you,” from your cousins deluded you—“I’m so lucky to have you,” from his mother.

Mind filled with thoughts of a man you’d only meet at the night of your wedding.

No amount of convincing could’ve been for you to utter a yes—but a definitive “You will do it,” from your father did wonders.

“You’ll be alright,” a whisper—your mother’s, soft, harsh.

“You have to be alright,” a demand—your father’s, careful, adamant.

“Promise me you’ll be alright,” a thought—your sister’s, empty, or so you dared to think.

And that was true, in a lonesome bind, you thought a lot.

You thought when your sister braided your hair, pretty, elegant—nothing you’d ever found yourself to be defined as.

You thought while your mother and grandmother, aunts and maids—they giggled, old wives’ tales falling off chastised lips like honey.

You thought when you found your father’s eyes hiding—nervous, you’d noted but you only thought.

And you thought still when the morning arrived, you sister kneeling beside you—eyes focused, narrowed, fingers working fast to smoothen the white.

Perfect the white.

Perfect your impure white—the dirty kind.

And finally, alone with your sister, you spoke.

“You must be glad,”

A silence met you, heavy.

“Don’t be shy about it, not anymore,”

A sigh�� she got up slow, eyes focused still on your white gown—“you look gorgeous,” a mumble you heard.

You found yourself staring at her curls—when did she curl those you wondered, but then she’d answer that you didn’t care and perhaps, you didn’t.

Not usually.

“We’re sisters Aki,” you pestered, “you can tell me ya know?” You winked—a smirk, a tease—all to prove your point.

“The wedding is to begin in an hour now then, be prepared,”

“Don’t change topics. Tell me you’re happy about it, about all this,”

Another sigh—a glare and a huff, “Has father stuffed lies so deep your throat that you’re begging to hear them now?”

Again, silence.

Father—

Your eye twitched—nose puffed and eyes flared at your form in the mirror—you did you look gorgeous, or at least, different. A good different, arguably.

“Alright,” she mumbled quietly then, “c’mere—” her hands beckoned you close, her own navy blue contrasting to your pure white—ironic, you mused.

“What,” face scrunched, you let out—causing your sister to chuckle, “At least smile at your own wedding y/n,”

A scoff—“I’ll cry if I damn want to—and no, not for the dramatics,” a chuckle, this time, mutual.

“I’ll miss you,” you heard her whisper against you, entrapped in an embrace you stood, stiff—your eyes lay blank.

“Was it…my—”

“It’s not to chastise you,”

“It’s no less than that,”

“Endure it,”

A tear, quick, rolled down your cheek—wiped off all too quickly by your own sister—for you were to look perfect tonight.

Perfect for your perfect husband.

“Find your happiness there,” she whispered against your shoulder—you sobbed, “Why is he sending me away?”

Cruel. Cruel. Cruel.

“He sent us all away- even mother,” her hands patted your back- the touch felt foreign—“Not me,” your voice rasped, “I was different, I was better, I was the best he had,” her hands tensed around you—“I don’t know,” she confessed, “but promise me, you’ll be happy there,”

You nodded- empty.

“He’s going to be a fool in love,” her voice adorned, his mother- sharp- “So fortunate to get someone like you in my house, such a sweet pretty thing you are,” you smiled in accordance- hands clenched.

It was for her sake, you believed, the Gojo family worked in her shadow— a finger lifted meant everyone had to stand, a finger pressed and silence—in some way or the other, she stood to be your admiration. To hold power was to be nothing however to call power, now that, you admired.

It was in the way she was subtle but oh so glorified—Kana Gojo, perhaps the only woman or human you’d dared to look upto.

You smiled as she’d walked you around—parading shops through shops, looking for what she deemed the perfect dress—perfect, she wanted it to be—perfect not for her son but perfect in every sense of it.

A gift placed in your hand- bribe—“Aren’t you the sweetest Hm?” A smile, vaunted- his father, a careful spendthrift in every sense of the word.

You smiled, nodded and chuckled—“only learned from the best,” your eyes zoom over to your mother—never learned anything from her, you didn’t, and yet—formalities and a certain charm, you graced them evidently.

The head of the house, at least on paper—he didn’t hold much prowess with the profits but then, Gojos barely needed any more profit for the empire was built well and well enough to not crash. He did, however, hold his hands high and wide—welcoming, warm; everything his wife was not.

Not yin to her yang but the epitomised silver to her gold — Ginji Gojo, perhaps the only man to accustom himself to his wife, the only man you never truly could understand, along his son, of course.

You grinned as he lead you, hand held in his own—eyes searching for the perfect diamond to adorn not your finger but your marriage.

Shy glances and shyer hello-s he muttered, it was cute—you supposed, in the way a letter found is way in your hands—“Read it when you’re alone please,”—his cousin brother, innocent.

‘Hello,’ it began—cut off—‘Dear Y/n,’—cut off—‘assume I said something cool,’ you chuckled, the rest, a memory nestled deep in your mind.

He was young, 9–someone you hoped to inspire—Megumi—he didn’t know much, or anything at all, a subtle age of nine after all. But he knew enough.

Not enough to strike competition but smart enough to be called his successor; he was a smart kid you’d mused, a polite greet everytime you two met, a sweeter letter handed everytime.

Twice he cut off the beginning every time and deliberate you’d found it be—cuter still. And he lead you still, hand holding onto yours as he helped you decide on the flavour of the cake.

The girl, you watched from the corner of your eyes, chuckled, a hand reaching out to slap her father’s hand away—he chuckled, smiled, conversed—something and everything you never had.

A tear rolled down your cheek, salty—“Crying already?” The voice was gruff, your father’s.

“Father,” you muttered, hands reaching upto wipe the tear away quick—“Don’t,” he muttered, “Tears are useful.”

You could only nod.

The man stood beside you, taller by a decent inch or two—hands stuffed in his pocket and a bow tie tight around his neck; the man was slender— a ghost of the figure he used to be, could’ve been. A potential wasted, he called himself—a potential wasted, you too.

You watched him as he moved around you, hefty eyes felt heavy, scanning your form—“You look fine,” a compliment he’d deem it—perhaps it was, “Didn’t know white was your colour.”

It wasn’t.

Did he know anything about you? At all? No.

“Suppose it is, today onwards,” he smiled, you frowned, “That’s my girl.”

Another tear rolled quick, then another and they kept rolling, you stood blank.

“No,” you scowled defiantly—his hands working quick—scowl, mirroring yours as he wiped the tears—“When I said tears, I didn’t mean these many. You cannot possibly be this dramatic.”

An empty grin.

“Dramatic?” Voice pitched, brows raised, heart shattering you stared at him—“I am being dramatic?” Loud enough you were to have people raise the awareness that the bride was moody- or so they’d gossip and so you’d let them.

His eyes narrowed—a sign, quite usually telling you to quieten down—not today, “Why are you doing this?” You finally asked, shoulders relieved, heart heavier still—afraid the answer might me the truth you’ve fed yourself.

“Is this some- some-” you paused, a breath caught, eyes cast down—“punishment? Did I do something wrong?”

And in that moment, perhaps you were nothing more than a little girl—perhaps in that moment you wanted nothing more than your father’s reassurance—perhaps things could’ve been better.

But they weren’t—glory of fate itself.

“Don’t create a fucking scene,”

Had hearts really been made of glass, your father would’ve heard yours break—not once but a million times in that second. Again and again and again.

A noise—static.

“Yes sir,” you muttered, eyes dancing along his hands—you shuddered—he twisted his own.

His hands were soft as they held yours, he lead you slow, your father did.

The white veil that you’d spent hours to decide upon, the one you would never care about—it swept beside you, gasps escaping the lips of many as you walked out.

And there, there your eyes met his.

Poised he stood, white hair slicked back—nothing like those superficial memories his mother had told about, nothing like the tabloids you’d seen. This man, the one on your altar—that was Satoru Gojo.

Not the Toru’ you’d heard of, not the Heir of Gojos you’d kept your eyes upon, not the stubborn and hardheaded Satoru-san his maids had warned you about, not anything you’d known.

This was Satoru Gojo, your husband to be.

You hadn’t assumed your wedding to be a fairytale—in all honesty, you hadn’t assumed anything at all.

A prison you’d deemed it on the first day and perhaps that was all it was—but something, just something in you cried all too much when Satoru didn’t slip so much as a smile towards you.

Don’t get me wrong, he’d grinned and smirked all night- teased by his friends—congratulated by everyone—he did show joy, in some meaning of the word.

Not to you- but I suppose a win that was too—after all, a marriage is built on the truths right?

Eyes moist, a tear he did let go off—superficial it was, you knew it, but a hero Satoru Gojo would be deemed the next day in the magazines his family would pay good money to.

Yours was never meant to be that perfect wedding, not at the core of it—you knew that from day one of the sequenced wedding but then—just something, someone in you cried a little too. Just someone broke inside when you realised it wouldn’t be your husband who cried the moment he set his eyes on his bride—it wouldn’t be you telling those cute stories about your wedding day.

It wouldn’t be you—it was normal you’d heard, for grooms to be overwhelmed in there weddings- the thought of spending a forever with his bride, the supposed memories flooding their mind—but it wouldn’t be for you. He stood there with hands behind him, eyes awaiting you presence still.

A smile he held—empty as you joined him—eyes were very telling you r father had preached, never once had you found him to be wrong.

His hands felt cold as you held them—cold like your father’s, colder still somehow was his presence. And your realised, heart — to what you had thought to be a void — breaking as you realised that the marriage was a cage to him as much as you. Neither happy—he wasn’t happy with your presence.

Pathetic. But again, did it truly matter?

The wedding had begun— officiated, soon your “I do”s would slip, the wedding couldn’t be stopped now, not ever.

And in that moment your eyes flickered to your own mother—she stood regal.

Embroidery she’d fought into you, cooking and baking, sewing a skill she’d made you own too—pity she couldn’t teach you controlling your emotions—pity your father was your influence.

Your eyes managed to flicker onto him—saintly, your brain mused—your heart couldn’t help but agree. And those saintly features held an ugly heart you told yourself, solace to a lonesome mind.

“Satoru, do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect Y/N, forsaking all others, and holding only unto her forevermore?”

When he took a moment to answer with a blank gaze, you could feel tiny pricks being sent straight to your heart. Just a mere glance at his stolid mien was enough for you to believe that he was going to call off the wedding and run away—mayhaps you wanted that, mayhaps, you didn’t.

What else could you expect?

He clearly didn’t want this, understandable was the fact. It wouldn’t surprise you if he took a step back and announced that he couldn’t go on in making an oath to offer the rest of his life with you. That he would rather get out of this hell hole and be somewhere else than to proclaim a love that was being forced out of him.

“I do,” he professed, despite the inner turmoil that plagued his head.

You sighed—soft.

“Y/n, do you promise to love, honour and cherish and protect Satoru, forsaking all others, and holding only unto her forevermore?”

Your eyes were quick—a glance here and there and everywhere—the pause was heavy; you watched your father’s nod of encouragement—your mother’s sharp eyes—his mother’s smile, fake- his father’s sip of champagne—your sister’s eyes’ were hazy; his best friend tipsy.

You couldn’t say no—“I do,”

“Bride and Groom, you have heard the words of love and marriage, have exchanged your vows and made your promises, and celebrated your union with the giving and receiving of rings. It is at this time that I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the officiant declared, “you may now kiss the bride.”

Your eyes widened behind your veil- your first- the breath hitched as Satoru removed your veil—crystal seemed his eyes, crystal clear was his distaste. He was tall—comical in fact—you tip toed slight, he leaned in a bit—the kiss was warm, chill, foreign. His hand rested upon your cheek, a stroke—a pull, brief.

Your eyes watched as he pulled away, a new smile on his lips—an actor he could’ve proven to be.

A million thoughts clouded you and him—known to only the two of you—marriage worked quick in that sense you supposed, mother and you sister weer perhaps right. But when all was said and done—the marriage was officiated.

And your eyes met then—a thought passed between you and your husband—stuck together—Unfortunately, Yours.

Hair slicked, ivory, elegant.

For a man who was yours even when he wasn’t—you supposed he was good.

Gojo Satoru swept across the room—a smile on his face, gentle; gentler was the rhythm he walked at. Here and there, he conversed, after all, a man of his charm he was- taking after none but his father.

Idle gossip danced along his ears while he giggled with women—politics fell off his lips as he sipped on the champagne—he teased and played with children too, laughing and joking with them—Gojo Satoru smiled to all but his wife-to-be. She sat there, quiet, unmoving, unrelenting—she lay still.

“It’s the fifth time you’ve stared at her in the last 3 minutes,” a glass in hand—a black suit adorned, Suguru waltzed beside him—a sly grin on his face, “I know you’re married but that’s really desperate, even for you,”

“Shut up,” Satoru muttered, grinning wide at the new set of guests—hand motioning the waiters to attended to it.

Suguru chuckled again, “Your dad really didn’t help out today either huh?”

“Old geezer’s getting drunk,” voice, plain—monotonous, hands clenched at his sides —begging to run through his hair—to ruin it all.

“How was she?”

“Boring,”

Suguru’s eyes zoomed on to the specific waitress—limping—he sighed, “Your mother was worried sick and you’re having affairs already?,” he began, hands reaching up to fix the shirt, “And today is your wedding today—have some etiquette,”

Eyes rolled—the same dialogue slipped off his mouth—“You’re becoming my mother—and she isn’t random; as is I’ll get her fired now,” he grinned this time around, “but not anymore, I’ve already got another woman to fuck around with,” a hand—sharp—landed on his head.

“Respect her,” the raven haired boy muttered, eyes focused and cast down, “She’s your wife today onwards—not just some woman you can fuck whenever you want,”

Satoru scowled, hands rubbing the back of his head, the spot where Suguru struck, “That’s all she means,”

“Don’t tempt me to make her a widow before she’s even married Satoru,” a grin, a huge one Suguru masked—words deadly balanced.

“Treat her well Satoru,”

“You marry her then,”

“Suck it up and smile,”

“Fuck you,”

“I will,”—a grin, a chuckle and that was that. A hand patted Satoru on the back—“Treat her well,” Suguru muttered again, both their eyes cast onto you—where a smile rested on both their lips, only one was genuine. Your eyes found tracing their oath to their spot too, black and white—they seemed a beautiful set—your eyes cast to your own gown and your sister’s. White and navy blue—all the same.

A couple and another, a pair of four.

Suguru let his eyes cast down to his watch—about time for the dance—“Satoru,” his voice was smooth, “it’s time for your dance,”

He hummed—“Her father, or I suppose mine too now—he wanted her first dance,” Suguru raised his brows, “and you let him? What happened ‘I don’t share’” A small smirk played on the younger male’s lips.

“I don’t share what’s mine—not all that-” another strike, harder.

Inhale, exhale- again.

You hands shook, and ears ringed—you were married. The statement related in your mind for the 5th time since.

Married. Tied down.

“Entertain me with the first dance m’lady?” Your eyes narrowed—sharp—“Father?”

Beside you stood you father indeed, an aura different—an aura that had become his past.

He smiled, kind—your confusion only grew—“It’s time sweetheart,” Your teeth clenched; sweetheart?

You nodded still—be his good girl—his hand held yours; yours, his.

The music was slow- none that you recognised, you needn’t, you’d want to forget the moment already. The applause for you was blurry, everything around you was too. Eyes didn’t bother running off to your mother, nor your husband—they never did around your father.

And in the moment, you could’ve sworn to the vain memory you held—your father seemed like the man you once knew; seemed like the one who had abandoned you. Rage seized a decent part of your mind—desperation to hold onto him took charge of the other.

He held you close- an embrace not felt in forever, “You’ll be fine baby,” he mumbled into your ear—“don’t say that,” you were quick to add.

“Don’t be like this,” you added next, his heart broke, yours already was.

He knew however, what you meant- not a single objection he raised, guilt all too evident on the face that held its own wisdom. Evident however, only to those who knew him and pity lay such, he never let you.

“Just entertain me here,” you finally spoke—a minute left of your song—“why did you agree to this? We’re not- we’re not in need of money, we’ve the perfect military- you’ve raised me enough for me to take over at any given instance then why—why them?”

His gaze should’ve hardened—you expected it; it softened.

“I apologise.”

You nodded yet again- an answer unkempt.

Satoru’s hand felt the same it had the altar, soft, scented- something you perhaps wanted to hated.

He spun you around—a man of honour your mother would call him, you beckoned yourself to him—a lady of grace his mother would call you.

People danced all around you, your eyes found their way onto your sister, smiling and giggling—suitors all around her, you smiled.

Eyes couldn’t help but falter at Suguru Geto- Satoru’s best friend, you’d learned—his presence too. In a shy corner he stood- girls around him, you wouldn’t blame them—he sought that attention after all, evident.

“You like this song?” Your eyes snapped onto Satoru—“Pardon?”

“This song, do you like it?” Your eyes gazed everyone—all the while, his, you.

“I’ve…never heard it before—”

“—well I particularly hate it,” your brows raised—“Oh alright,” you nodded, “I’ll make sure to not add it to the playlist ‘Wedding 2.0’,”

Smiles you both held- not for each other, formal entirely—“Hilarious,” he muttered, “Makes two of us,” you snapped back.

A momentary silence fell and you couldn’t yourself—“Don’t try to play the husband here, you don’t accept me and I don’t accept you which is all but fine by me but I don’t need you to make idle conversations.” Voice sharp- eyes more so.

He grinned—“Feisty Hm?” Your nose flared—“alright I’ll entertain you with the non-idle kind,” eyes looked down at you condescension, was it?

“Daddy raised you as his war general yeah?” Your jaw clenched, “what did they call you? His right arm? His best gem?”

“Domestic abuse,” you began slow, “is a very real concept Satoru,” you smiled dangerously sweet—“Pray tell, the way you speak may make you victim soon,”

He chuckled quietly, nothing humorous, “Daddy also taught you weaponry?”

“Don’t speak of him like that-respect him,” you warned, teeth gritted—both of yours eyes zooming onto him—Satoru smiled.

“Of course, nothing against my father-in-law,” another grin, “But I can say whatever to you right baby?”

You hated him.

Your eyes scanned his, his- yours.

A frown, a grin.

A cough sounded beside you just then—the man just as tall as your husband, just as, if not more so, elegant.

Your eyes met his—a pit, yours and his.

“M’lady,” he smiled smoothly- bending just enough to kiss your hand—eyes cast quick onto Satoru, “One dance with the lady of the night please?”

Never a question, only a statement.

“Yes please,” Satoru muttered all too quick- a sharp glance, yours and Suguru’s.

Before you knew it you were swept right away, Suguru danced faster—a style which complimented yours, Satoru? Quiet the very same as yours, clashing.

You smiled as he picked the momentum with you, a chuckle his too—“You look stunning tonight,”

A nervous smile you passed-“All the very same to you sir,” his eyes crept onto your skin quick—“Why, seems like it’s just the two War Generals appreciating each other,” he laughed.

You laughed along- your eyes pausing to scan the hilt of his dagger in the suit—“Talent sees talent, eh?”

Another laugh- empty. What had swept you off was pleasant, what danced with you was hollow.

“The wedding,” Suguru added—your ears perked.

“Yes?” You reflected instantly—“You helped in the management right?” He smiled—your eyes narrowed.

Bastard, you both mused.

You nodded politely, “Well a good wife has to take care of things yeah?”

He grinned, “Oh you’re all too good m’lady,” voice a whisper, “Seems to me you’ll give me a run for my life,”

You grinned back, “Bless my heart Suguru—never to my family.”

Eyes hollow, minds ran fast—‘Interesting’ you both wondered as Suguru handed you back to his best friend and your husband.

‘Interesting indeed’.

Reblogs and likes highly appreciated!

All of this work is original and entirely my own, please refrain from copying or reposting.

— Taglist: @rizzmin @4sat0ruu @lavendervogh @yooiimiya @gojoismybitch

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chuplayswithfire · 8 months

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Edward Teach and his relationship to violence and power and the cycle of abuse is so fascinating, because Ed grew up in a household where he was intensely, constantly vulnerable, where he and his mother were at the whim of his incredibly abusive father, and so he escapes by committing the most understandable and well justified murder in the entire show, and it traumatizes him -

Not just because it was murder

Not just because it was his dad

But because he was able to plan it out and make it happen at all. Killing his dad is this moment of terrifying strength and courage at the heart of him and it's the birthplace of the Edward that does what needs to be done to survive, no matter the emotional consequences. Ed thinks he is a bad person specifically because as a child he killed own father so he and his mother could survive, and then had to keep committing acts of violence to survive long into adulthood.

I don't think Ed worries about becoming his father. I think he sees himself as someone much worse - because he was able to kill that man, to plan out and complete his murder, even though that was his dad.

The show never once treats Ed's anger in the show as unreasonable or problematic - his flashes of temper throughout the show are always in very understandable moments and they're played for drama (french captain), furthering the romance (wanting to shoot the rich people party vs stede offering to handle it), or comedy (snake snack/punching izzy in ep 9).

Even Kraken is deliberately not particularly shown to be an expression of Ed's anger, which is hot, but that deliberate ruthless problem solving spirit that comes after the anger passes and the knowledge of exactly what to do washes over him; following his father to the dock and strangling him; skin him, and fang? use the snail fork; toe scene and sitting exactly at Izzy's bed side for it and telling him what will happen if he threatens him again. Even marooning the crew is not an act committed with anger, but a muted sorrow.

Piracy is a culture of abuse, mistrust, and backstabbery, this is established in episode one, further emphasized in episode 8 with both Spanish Jackie and Calico Jack and the tales of Hornigold, and demonstrated yet further with Captain Hands in episode 9.

Ed escaped the abuse at home, but found his place in the world in the abusive professional and interpersonal relationships of piracy, which is one reason he's so drawn to Stede - because he's doing it differently, he's trying to build a form of piracy that doesn't rely on the traditional forms of abuse that manage piracy - and because his people positive management style works, as demonstrated throughout the length of the show. Not everything Stede does works out or is ideal, but his people positive management style is.

When Stede leaves and breaks Ed's heart, and Ed starts to recover from that heartbreak only for Izzy to kick him back down with another threat to his life and for him to hear the crew calling for another song and wonder if it's mockery instead of friendship -

Yeah, Ed turns back to the familiar culture of abuse, mistrust, and backstabbery that piracy has. Shoving Lucius, the one most likely to see through him, overboard. Using Izzy's preferred language, violence, to get him to back the fuck off and fall in line. Violence against Jim and threats against violence against Frenchie, to get them to comply. Abandoning over half the crew.

Ed tried something new and at the end he feels like it fucked him over, made him weak, and vulnerable again, and he reacted exactly as his childhood self did - by creating and executing a plan to remove the threat and position himself out of harm.

That's what Ed's journey is likely to be about, in season 2, by my estimation - understanding what he actually wants in and from life, and having to recognize that he 1) deserves that life 2) can't get it by retreating of self-destruction and abuse that he's grown familiar with. Not a fear of being like his father (he's really not imo, and I could go on about how throwing a knife past your subordinate who has betrayed you and threatened to kill you is vastly different from throwing plates at your cowering wife because you're mad about dinner are not the same, but I'd hope it's unnecessary), or anger issues in general, but recognizing that his retreat from his authentic self into the mask of Blackbeard we see at the end was wrong and doomed to fail.

#ofmd #edward teach #stede bonnet #izzy hands #they're all in there so they can get tagged #ofmd meta

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ozzo-the-wozzo · 9 months

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More thoughts/reasonings on a theoretical Truman Show like reality in season 6 because I can’t stop pondering over it:

1. Gabriel’s exact words when using the wish was to read his heart to figure out what he wanted, and to read his souls to figure out what to sacrifice. I don’t know ab y’all, but if this entire new universe is made up of Gabriel’s heart and soul, I don’t trust it 💀💀

2. We see Adrien FINALLY beat Gabriel’s ass and tell him he’s a terrible father right before the finale, and after all the stuff Gabriel pulled with Marinette, it’s hard to believe Adrien would just… suddenly look up to him right? Something tells me Gabriel wouldn’t want Adrien remembering all of that in a universe where everyone suddenly looks up to him and Adrien has free will… so is it possible Adrien’s memories of his father are muddled? I mean why not right: after all, it IS a universe of Gabriel’s creation.

3. Now leaning more into the Truman Show-ness of it all, everything seemed TOO perfect at the end. Every second of the ending was all hazy and strange. The first shot we get is Adrien being awoken with a kiss, like in a fairy tale, and we know there’s been hella set up with Adrien as a story book protagonist locked in a tower. What if this new world is his new tower created by Gabriel? Adrien is trapped in a perfect bubble with nothing but people to care about him and weirdly pleasant memories of his father, but it’s FAKE. And what about the outside world? Something tells me Gabriel wouldn’t care too much about that. Also, the last two episodes focused on nightmares… hmmm…

4. If Emile is really back, ADRIEN HAS TO QUESTION IT RIGHT? WHY WOULD HAWKMOTH IF HE WAS JUST SOME DUDE MAKE A UNIVERSE WHERE HIS MOM IS BACK??? ADRIEN WOULD HAVE TO CONNECT SOME DOTS RIGHT??? Again: MUDDLED MEMORY! THAT HE MUST BREAK FREE FROM! Not to mention, Adrien seemed strangely… really chill? And overly happy in the finale? Considering his dad just died and his mom is randomly back from the dead? Again, I know there’s a time skip, but STILL.

5. Like Truman, I imagine everyone will lie to him/gaslight him, either due to Gabriel’s wish or to “protect” him. And we know how Adrien feels about that.

I already hear ml salters going “you really think the show enough is smart enough for that? 🤓☝️”, and even though every time I’ve gotten a comment on a theory like this in past seasons I’ve ended up being RIGHT, this time I must concede a little bit and say it would be a lot to juggle. But all I’m saying is if we spent the last 5 SEASONS hearing about how this wish couldn’t be made and how we had to stop Gabriel from making it, I better see some pretty messed up consequences, and this just feels so right! Adrien thinking he’s free, but really he’s trapped in another prison of his father’s creation…. cinema.

#ml Truman show theory #is what I’m calling this now #sorry this was long but GUYS HEAR ME OUT OKAY #if I’m even the slightest bit right I refuse to let it go #miraculous ladybug #ml spoilers #mlb #ml #ml the last day #miraculous ladybug spoilers #mlb spoilers #ml season 5 spoilers #ml season 5 finale #adrien agreste #ml theory #ml season 5 #mine #ml recreation #gabriel agreste

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morally-grey-girlbosses · 7 months

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Propaganda under the cut.

Mabel Pines:

There's an entire episode where Mabel's arc is about how being pure of heart is actually a social construct and it ends with her declaring "Today I learned that morality is relative."

Raphaella la Cognizi:

She’s a scientist! She’s a little unethical times, but it’s all in the name of science, so certainly it must be okay. She sails on a spaceship called the Aurora with a crew of space pirates who sing about tales that they’ve both witnessed and potentially played a part in. She also has an absolutely gorgeous singing voice.

she does all of the science. all of it. yeah some of the stuff she's done is unethical but sometimes that's what's needed for information! also she has wings and can sing really well (listen to the mechanisms im begging). and then she jumped into a black hole when she died which is just a cool as hell way to die honestly. also she's an immortal space pirate and plays the keyboard. or uh. past tense because canonically she's dead. but also canonically the crew exists outside of chronological time which means she's alive in my heart forever <3

#poll #tournament poll #round 1 #mabel pines #gravity falls #raphaella la cognizi #raphaella mechanisms #the mechanisms #doctor carmilla and the mechanisms

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absolutebl · 2 months

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Hello, hi.

Next week is Cherry Magic's last episode and I'd like a suggestion as to what to watch next. Since last year I've watched some shows that I've enjoyed to different degrees. So far I've vibed more with the Japanese ones and only have watched two Thai shows: step by step and cherry magic.

I definitely like cherry magic more but I'd like to watch some more Thai bl, as I can see they're very popular, but honestly I don't know where to begin. I don't know if mentioning my favorite shows would help?

Old fashion cupcake

Cherry magic (JP)

I cannot reach you

Semantic error

Thank you so much in advance 🙌🏽

This is a perfect question for me!

I think you're vibbing more with Cherry Magic Th because it's following the original yaoi so closely, so it's def more JBL feeling story than it is ThBL.

Okay so your favorites are:

Old Fashion Cupcake

Cherry Magic original

I Cannot Reach You*

Semantic Error*

You've named some of my all time favorites, and 2 of my VERY few top 10s*. (For more of my top 10 JBLs, try here (pre 2023). For my top 10 KBLs, those are here. And my top BLs of all time are here.)

But you want Thai recommendations?

Before I start, off script, seek ye Seven Days. It's my favorite JBL of all time and it's absolutely amazing and very special. It's in two parts and worth every effor to try to find. Here's me talking about it.

First, let me triage some connective tissue.

It seems like you like soft and gentle BL. (Try this cozy list.)

You like JBL so that means higher filming standards and certain aura of authenticity.

Also a lower heat level.

Okay, here are 10 Thai BLs I think you should try, in order...

10 Thai BLs to try if you prefer soft Japanese BL

1 Until We Meet Again (YouTube)

UWMA is, without question, a work of narrative genius with a powerful and cohesive romantic backbone and stellar performances. It is (to date) the only Thai BL that I’ve rated a 10/10 predominantly on the basis of story structure. That said it is also very well cast (and it’s a BIG cast), with solid production values, and enduring pair branding and a softness and complexity that should appeal for a JBL stan. More of my feels on this on here.

trigger warning on the original trigger

2 I Feel You Linger in the Air (iQIYI or grey)

I truly loved this time travel romance. IFYLITA is an exquisite BL, from filming techniques to narrative framework (much like Until We Meet Again). Steeped in history and family drama it edges into lakorn AKA soap opera. This is an elegant and classy BL… from Thailand which normally doesn't even try for classy. The main couple (both as a pair and individuals) were excellent, particularly Bright (Yai) whose eye-work acting style is a personal favorite of mine. Pity about the ending. Oh it wasn’t that sad but it wasn’t great either. However, JBL isn't noted for sticking the landings either. Full review and discussion here.

3 My Ride (Gaga)

Thai BL grew up with this little pulp (the first ever to make my end of year top 10). It’s a truly lovely and special little show featuring the extremely rare pairing of sunshine/sunshine (AKA a cinnamon roll couple) plus mature explorations of relationships using one of the softest, sweetest and most innocent friends to lovers vehicles. Kindly, overworked doctor meets broken-hearted motorcycle taxi driver in an “other side of the tracks” slow burn romance. The support cast is excellent, making for great friendship groups and family dynamics. With honest queer rep that adds to, but doesn’t impede, the story, and genuine conversation about the nature of class, wealth, and classism, not to mention communication, honesty, and respect for boundaries, you can’t go wrong with this show. Full review.

My caveat with this one is, like Step by Step, it is a Thai pulp which mean production values will not be up to Japan's standards. So if you bounce hard off the style of the first few 2 eps, it doesn't get better, so drop it and move on.

4 A Tale of Thousand Stars (YouTube)

With great casting and cinematography this drama nods at BL tropes but manages to elevate them (and itself) with a strong mature story concept about a spoiled rich kid who gets a heart transplant and becomes a rural teacher in order to pay out survivor’s guilt. On the way he falls in love with a local park ranger and contends with his own classism and escapist tendencies. Everyone seemed to perfectly suit their roles and GMMTV made the most out of its stable. Combined with excellent production (and post production) values, 1000 Stars is without question GMMTV’s most mature, charming, and smart BL series. I think it should go down as one of the top BLs of all time. I feel safe recommending this one to friends and non BL watchers.

5 He's Coming to Me (YouTube)

Boy and ghost boy fall in love, must solve ghost’s murder. Peak pining but also pretty tame, features my favorite sweet but important coming out sequence. The third in my precious triumvirate of unbeatable Thai BLs, that are only nominally BL because the story, acting, and production values are so good. (others are UWMA & 1k*)

You don't mention any PNR or high concept, but I still think it's worth giving this one a try.

6 Moonlight Chicken (YouTube)

I enjoyed this complicated little show, even though it’s spectacularly messy gay with lots of shrapnel and authentic pain. I thought the leads (EarthMix from 1k*) turned in their most compelling performance to date. But it was GeminiFourth (My School President) who stole my heart. That said, the most interesting central relationship was that of Jim & Li Ming, their father-son angst mixed with evident affection made me tear up. This was more slice of life than it was BL, but it ended happily so I’m not mad at it. Full review here.

It's not as soft as you like, but you might try it anyway, because it is Very Good.

A note if you watch this and enjoy GeminiFourth, you could try their BL, My School President. I chose not to explicitly rec it to you because it's VERY Thai Bl with lots of comedy and slapstick, and you named prestige JBL and KBL (which are the anthesis of this). Taht said, MSP has no more or less than Japan's Cherry Magic, so you might enjoy it.

7 Make a Wish (grey)

An odd pull but I'm going with it. This PNR (from noted Y-novelist Sammon - Manner of Death & Triage) about a doctor who can see the dead and strikes a bargain with a wish-granting irreverent tree angel - naturally they fall in love. The Thai afterlife is incredibly bureaucratic but I enjoyed the premise and the unfolding of the story (it’s not predictable but still satisfying and with nice little twist). I like that the doctor is just gay af and has a fag hag bestie and everything. The cast is excellent but the comedic stylings could feel too overblown and tonally off. (But again no more than something like Japan's Cherry Magic.) It had sad parts and did make me cry but is ultimately happy with a great sex scene, good smiley kisses, and all the agency.

8 Bed Friend (YouTube -cut version, iQIYI - v high heat)

You didn't name My Personal Weatherman (a great high heat JBL from last year) but if you want to try some Thai-style high heat, this is your best bet. Office frienamies transition a flaming hot one night stand into a f-buddy relationship that is built on a puppy/cat dynamic (and kinks into it at one point). Our puppy is loyal, smitten, and protective with endlessly longing eyes, while our cat is snarky, prickly, and deeply damaged (ALL THE TRIGGERS). NetJames give lovely high-heat with excellent chemistry and tuned-in performances of surprising depth, the story ultimately fails them at little as it waffles and went off the rails. But that's a Thai BL thing. Full review here.

Triggers include: child abuse, attempted rape, family abuse

9 The Eclipse (YouTube)

This is a good show but the cast is excellent and the leads are absolutely flawless, which elevates it beyond just good. We got a nuanced and multifaceted burgeoning relationship: philosophical (and socio-political) conflict contrasted to moments of empathy; flirtation contrasted to moments of genuine affection, plus plenty of angst. This narrative is less about love than it is about courage and tenderness. However, near the end the pacing was off and the plot frustrating. Still, this is an enjoyable watch, with a finale that features verbal consent and a fun blooper reel.

10 Love By Chance (YouTube)

Okay I dithered a lot over this last one and finally chose this. Because in an intro to Thai BL you should have at least one trail by fire and that's bound to be a MAME offering.

AePete’s meet cute is one of the best ever put on screen. They are just so genuine and soft with each other, it’s hard not to love them from the first moment. All the best Thai BL tropes deployed (and there are a lot of them) are earned honestly by the narrative, including the seme/uke dynamic (such as it is). The characters are unique as this is a poor/rich pairing, where Ae is tough & scrappy, caring & protective, and probably demisexual, while Pete is timid, shy, lonely, and out gay (with his peers). The language is also glorious with Pete using formal (even old fashioned) register, while Ae is entirely rude. You can train your ear for Thai high & low registers with this show (in fact, it's why I started learning them). As surrounding characters point out, they shouldn't work together, and yet they're very much wonderful when they are together.

HOWEVER: You watch LBC for the mains, ignore the sides (trigger warnings), and don't bother with any of the follow ups and you'll be fine. AePete will remain in your heart for a really long time. They are still one of my all time favorite couples. Also (still) two of the Thai BL industry's most famous actors.

For those who are wondering, yes the last contender was, indeed, Bad Buddy. But I chose LBC purely on the basis of softness.

There it is.

I hope I have picked some winners for you and please loop back around and let me know how it goes?

I really want to know if any of these worked for you, this was such a fun challenge.

(source)

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hoolay-boobs · 2 months

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Girlies I got you 🎀 🎬

Ever After High- Legacy Day 💜🪄 full episode

Ever After High- Thronecoming 👑 full episode

Ever After High- True Hearts Day 👼💘 full ep

Winx Club Full Seasons 1-7 ✨🧚‍♀️ full episodes

Barbie- Princess Charm School 💖 full movie

Barbie- A Fashion Fairytale 👚👛 full movie

Barbie and the Diamond Castle 💎 full movie

Barbie- the Princess and the Pauper full movie

Barbie as The Island Princess 👸 🌴 full movie

Barbie in a Mermaid Tale 🧜‍♀️🐬 full movie

Barbie Fairytopia 💓🧚‍♀️ full movie

Cinderella (Disney) 👠🐭 full movie

Easy A 💕 🅰️ full movie

Mean Girls 💅💋💄 full movie

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes 👩🏼💃 full movie

Bratz Rock Angelz 🎸😇 full movie

My Little Pony- Seasons 1-9🐴🦄 full series

Mlp Equestrian Girls ⭐️👩‍🎤 full movie

Hello Kitty- Seasons 1-6 😽💝 full minisodes

all of these are FREE on YouTube, no need to purchase, no need to rent <3

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princeasimdiya12 · 1 month

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Bucchigiri Utena Parallel-Wannabe Heroes and the Illusion of Fairy Tales

Apart from the NNL segments, I've also had some thoughts on the Bucchigiri storyline and it's parallels to the themes of Revolutionary Girl Utena. And this time my focus as been on Matakara, who has often been hailed as being the true protagonist and hero of the story because of his honorable, kind-hearted and proactive qualities. Much like Utena herself.

And like Utena, the two share a somber backstory where they held on to fairy tale beliefs to help them overcome their hardships and grow into the heroic figures they wish to be. But what they don't know is that they naively followed these tales without realizing the misinterpretations of those beliefs that have been passed down for generations and would soon become victims of the fairy tale figures that once inspired them.

But before I can delve into that story, we need to talk about this story.

Note: This post will contain MAJOR SPOILERS from the Revolutionary Girl Utena anime. If you still haven't watched it and want to be unspoiled, then please refrain from reading this until you've seen it. If that doesn't bother you, then go on ahead. Also, I would strongly recommend speaking with a friend or a reliable user about the dark and trigger-worthy content featured in Utena before watching. It's a great show but it does get DARK.

Also, there's another user who's planning on making an analysis post comparing Matakara and Anthy Himemiya so keep an eye out for that if you're interested in more Bucchigiri-Utena parallels.

Part 1: Origins of an Orphan

To start, Matakara's backstory and his idolization of Arajin has multiple similarities to Utena's backstory. For the purpose of this section, I'll be using the version that was shown to us in Episode 1 and not the true version.

"Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a little princess and she was very sad. For her mother and father have died."

The first piece of info that Utena gives us is that she was an orphan and was in despair because of her parents' deaths. Though Matakara's own parents haven't been brought up nor has it been explained what became of them, it's clear that he lost them at an early age. And while he did have his older brother and his presumed relatives to watch over him, this did very little in helping Matakara overcome his grief or escape the shadows that haunted him since he was little.

"Before the princess appeared a traveling prince riding upon a white horse. He had a regal bearing and a kind smile. The prince wrapped the princess in a rose-scented embrace and gently wiped the tears from her eyes."

While lacking the regal bearing and white horse, Arajin was the traveling prince who came into Matakara's life and inspired hope and light within him. As shown in their flashbacks, he was always a friendly and cheerful boy who radiated confidence and spirit. A true hero that Matakara could look up to and help him overcome his sorrow.

"Little one, he said, growing up alone in such deep sorrow, never lose that strength and nobility. Even when you are a young lady. I give you this to remember this day, we will meet again. This ring will lead you to me one day."

The crux of Matakara and Arajin's friendship was their desire to train and grow into becoming true Honki people. Warriors with strong hearts and did not flee from battle. Arajin genuinely saw that Matakara had that potential and encouraged him to train alongside him.

And what's more noteworthy is that the two are given a token to immortalize the moment. Utena is given a rose ring to remember the prince and her own nobility while Matakara is given a friendship stone to remember their bond as future Honki People. Even as their fated princes leave, the two heroes carry those precious tokens well into their adolescence years, never forgetting their mission of becoming the people they want to be.

It could also be argued that Mitsukuni, his older brother, could qualify as the prince in this scenario as he inspired him to stay strong in the face of adversity. Such as in Episode 8 where he explained the creed of the Honki and how he inspired his little brother to be brave like them. He even brings up their creed to Matakara just before he's hauled away to the big house.

"Perhaps the ring the prince gave her was an engagement ring. This was all well and good but so impressed was she by him that that the princess vowed to become a prince herself one day."

So the cherished prince rides off into the world leaving Utena alone, much like Arajin and even Mitsukuni would leave Matakara alone because of their respective issues. But rather then succumbing to despair, the two heroes resolved to maintain the noble spirit that those heroic figures saw in them. Utena went on to become a prince herself while Matakara would become someone worthy of being a Honki person. Though Matakara struggled more on his journey given how he threw himself into bloody battles while being alone, he would eventually be adopted into the Minato Kai Gang and become closer on his path to becoming a Honki person.

And just before we can go straight to Utena's story in the present, the fairy tale closes with a question to the viewer.

"But was that really such a good idea?"

For first time viewers, it's easy to interpret this question about Utena, a girl, becoming a prince since it defies traditional gender roles and what is expected in classic fairy tales. But as the RGU story progresses, we see that the concern comes not from a girl becoming a prince but more on the problems that come with being one.

Two in particular stand out. The first is that men who become princes usually use those roles for the sake of superiority and having control over women. They lack the nobility a true prince should have and relish in the title because of it's power and privileges. The second problem, and the one that this analysis post will focus on, is how princes who live up to those roles are exploited by the people they try to protect.

Part 2: The Truth That is Twisted by Time

All fairy tales, legends, myths and stories which have been passed from one generation to the next. And as the years go by, those stories are often subject to adaptations based on the preferences of the storyteller or how society uses those tales to explain their respective beliefs. A common criticism is how most fairy tales have more imaginative elements in play and avoid the grittier elements that the tale originally used (Ex. Cinderella got her dresses from a tree instead of a fairy godmother and her stepsisters chopped off parts of their feet to get the slipper to fit, Aladdin used African slaves as part of his prince con).

And we see those changes in adaptations in the fairy tales Utena showcased that omit or warp the truth to the ones who hear of them.

Such as in Utena's origins, we're told that it was only a prince who inspired her to become one so she can reunite with him one day. But the truth was that her decision was because she met Anthy who was suffering from the hatred of humanity. And the only way to rescue her was to turn into a prince whom she could believe in.

We also see a new adaptation in the backstory of Anthy and Akio which is now known to the world as The Tale of the Rose. The world remembers their story involving a powerful and perfect prince who was stolen from them by his sister who turned into a wicked witch out of jealousy. But the truth was that Anthy sealed him away not out of spite but out of love and concern as her brother was being exploited and over exhausted by a massive, unsatisfied world who overly-depended on him.

So as Utena demonstrates, the fairy tales we start out learning about aren't exactly as true as their origins demonstrate. They often omit or do away with the more tragic and gray aspects of the characters in those stories. This is all well and good, but what does that say about the Honki People?

Right in Episode 1, we're told that they're courageous and valiant fighters who train nonstop and pour their heart and soul into battle. Despite being brushed off as a simple old story in the present day, their legends and battles prove worthy enough of recognition. They have a temple in their honor, Arajin and Mataraka trained to become like them, and even the city is named after them. The narrative does a decent job in explaining the concept of the Honki People, but what about the people that inspired those legends?

As we see in Episode 9, we learn that Senya and Ichiya actually started out as ordinary humans who dedicated their lives to training and fighting one another, hoping to become a true Honki Person. It's stated that Ichiya was training himself to be a Honki Person so the legend was already around when the two of them were only boys growing up in a Middle Eastern town. And fitting the Aladdin parallels, Senya started out as a simple street rat with no family or home to call his own. And after meeting someone as cool, powerful and inspiring as Ichiya, he decided to spend his life alongside someone he could call his friend.

A rather somber element is that while the whole world grew up learning and embracing the Legend of the Honki, none of them actually knew who those Honki People were or what their past lives were like. Would it even matter to them how they started as humble street urchins with no family or home to call their own? They knew what they turned into, but they never stop to think about who these legends started out as or what their backstories or even their names are.

But what's more tragic is what became of Ichiya, the one who inspired Senya. Though we still don't know the exact details for what Senya did that tarnished their friendship, it ultimately impacted his best friend for the worst, corrupting his heart and letting him be filled with hatred and contempt. He no longer valued friendship like he did when he was human and views it as a weakness that must be purged. Perhaps becoming a true Honki Person wasn't all it's cracked up to be given how they're bound to pistols and made to serve whoever finds him for thousands of years.

It's akin to the Rose Prince who's powers were sealed away by Anthy in a desperate act of love leaving him unable to save the world like he used to. Only because of his powerless state did the Prince lose his heart and became a cruel, manipulative and spiteful monster who longed to reclaim what once belonged to him. He would even resort to inflicting every form of abuse imaginable onto his sister as "punishment" for what she did to him. (And yes I do mean every form so please keep that in mind if you haven't seen Utena yet!)

The hero who was glorified and admired in their respective tales loses their nobility in real life, allowing themselves to be corrupted and be filled with new desires of revenge and power. Transforming into the opposite of what they represented in the generations that told their stories. Simply put, they become a villain.

A villain who is...

Part 3: The Virtuous Victim Turned Vile Villain

Bucchigiri and Revolutionary Girl Utena are shows that share the themes of fairy tales while deconstructing and subverting tropes associated with them. One of which that the two share is playing on the idea of a heroic or fairy tale archetype (the genie and the prince) becoming the villain of their respective shows. It's even more ironic that the true heroes of those series would start out being inspired by adaptations of them that portrayed them in a positive light only for to fall prey to their schemes when they meet them in real life. Bucchigiri has Ichiya, a true Honki Person that Matakara heavily looked up to, and Utena has Akio, the Fallen Prince Dios who led the sad princess on the path to becoming a noble prince.

Each of them started out as the ideal fairy tale figure that helped the heroes when they were only children who confronted sadness and loneliness at a young age. But now that they're older and are meeting with them, they end up falling victims to the fairy tales they initially admired and tried to become. And neither of them realize that they're being used as it happens.

Ichiya's goal is ultimately to merge with Matakara to take over his body and exact his revenge on Senya. As to what Ichiya's motives are after taking his revenge aren't clear, but what is clear is that Matakara will lose himself after being completely possessed. And because Matakara is suffering through his feelings of loneliness and his childhood friend's true nature, he doesn't even notice how Ichiya is manipulating him to improve the merge rate.

Akio's goal has been to groom Utena into producing a noble heart that can help him reclaim his original powers, even leading her in an intimate relationship to further manipulate her. Should he succeed, then he'll discard Utena and move with his life as Prince Dios once again. If not, then he'll discard her and find another person to groom. And Utena doesn't realize this as she's led to believe that he's the prince who once saved her from despair and she'll get the happily ever after she believed will make her content.

The scary part about this, is that they're not the first victims to fall prey to their wicked schemes.

Though it hasn't been confirmed on Ichiya's side, it's heavily implied that he's bonded with other people who found his magic pistol before taking full possession of them. Given how he's lived for thousands of years and initially resided in a public Honki temple, there's no way he would have not been found by some unlucky sap. His common knowledge of possession would suggest he's done this before and has seen the unfortunate results of the person he takes control of, which he mentions to Akutaro.

As for Akio, he also has lived for thousands of years and organized constant Rose Duels in the vain hope of choosing one lucky winner to steal their heart so he can break. Using his sister as a prize to be one, there have been countless tournaments held with the hopes of finding the right target that can help him regain his powers from the Rose Gate.

Alas, neither villain was successful with their attempts given that they've turned their sights on the new generation of heroes to continue their cursed wishes that have lasted for centuries.

And speaking of wishes, remember how I brought up in Part 2 how fairy tales were much darker compared to the more enchanting stories we grew up with?

Well thanks to a peculiar finding by @mahoromouse, I came to realize something about Ichiya and possibly Honki people in general. They're not even genies, they're djinn.

Contrary to the Western media's adaptation of genies as whimsical, playful, wish granting spirits who are voiced by beloved comedians, djinn were actually neutral spirits who were born from fire and were able to wander the Earth like humans do. That said, there are some djinn who grow stronger when interacting with negative emotions found in a human being. It's even said that they can inspire greater levels of negative emotions in a human that they target. Much like how Ichiya is cultivating Mataraka's anger towards Arajin and his fears of the shadows that haunt him.

And how fitting it is that from the moment Senya was introduced to us, Arajin and the audience interpreted him as a genie. Especially given that Senya even offers him a wish while proclaiming that "Honki" can also be spelled to make "Majin" 魔ま人 which in Japanese means "demon person" or "magical person". But have we actually seen Senya grant Arajin's wish of losing his virginity? While he does help the boy in getting stronger and boosting his image as a man, that doesn't mean it's gotten him very close to losing his virginity (thank goodness). And it can be inferred that Ichiya never granted Akutaro's wish despite having stayed by his side during his reign as the NG Emperor.

Given how the Western's portrayal of genies have been popularized and glamorized for years, we have easily forgotten the true origins of genies or djinn and the grittier aspects associated with their backstories.

Conclusions

The theme that the two shows share is how a child who was in a dark moment in their life was inspired by a fairy tale to help them find the light. And so touched were they by the heroes in the stories that they decided to become just like them. But as their respective shows demonstrated, that wasn't a very good idea. The Prince and the Honki Person they once admired turned out to be monsters who resolved to exploit them and reclaim something that was lost to them many years ago. And because they grew up with the romanticized and ideal versions of their idols, they never realized the truth about them which was lost in time mixed with ongoing adaptations that omitted their pasts making them more acceptable to the world.

As for whether Matakara will be saved from Ichiya's corruption while still gaining a heart that does not flee, I cannot say. But as it stands, it looks like Arajin will need to be the one to come in and save the boy he once inspired and who still holds dearly in his heart. And just like I mentioned in my last NNL segment, maybe their friendship won't be the same anymore despite defeating Ichiya. Maybe Matakara will still harbor negative feelings to his friend for how he was mistreated and abandoned for so many years. But much like how Utena ended on a hopeful ending, I believe the same thing can happen in Bucchigiri.

And those are my thoughts on the matter. It's been a great while since I wrote an analysis post this big so thank you if you committed to reading all of this. So what do you think of these themes? If you agree or disagree with anything I've written, please feel free to reblog and/or comment with your own ideas. Thank you and may you have a great day/night!

#bucchigiri #bucchigiri?!#revolutionary girl utena #rgu spoilers #matakara asamine #utena tenjou #arajin tomoshibi #mitsukuni asamine #ichiya #senya #akio ohtori #anthy himemiya #fairy tales #analysis #eddy's post #loving these parallels #anime #long post

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the-martyrfication-of-the-matron · 10 months

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Hey new to the aphmau fandom, like days old, and i was wondering what order to watch her rps as its kinda confusing to me

This is going to be such a long post because there’s so much to say! (There is a TLDR at the end if you don’t care about specifics and just want a watch order)

The inclusion of side-series and stuff just convolutes things a tad. But I promise, you will get an answer.

First;

I suggest a side series to start. Which isn’t to say that they’re all short, they’re just not relevant to the Big Two.

But, yeah, just dip your toe in the pool first.

Dreams of Estorra- never watched it. But it’s popular. It should be on the Aphmau Stories channel instead of her main one, if you can’t find it there. If someone can offer me a summary for it I would love you.

A Royal Tale- a weird mishmash of Disney and the Aphverse. A lighthearted fantasy show with some adult humour, Lo (< an icon), and romance. It will introduce you to some of the characters from the other series without overwhelming you with references you won’t understand. Aarmau, but they’re exes who hate eachother. It’s only a roleplay

Mermaids Tale- similar thing to ART, a mermaid au for Aphverse. Very Aarmau centric, there’s lesbian mermaids. I cant actually remember the plot but it got me into my train (the singer) phase. It’s only a roleplay

Mod Mod world- never watched it, but it did get a sequel that I’ll bring up later. Again, would love a summary from someone.

My Inner Demons- it’s one of the only non-aphmau centric shows and doesn’t include ANY aphverse characters. The main character is Ava, and it’s set up like a Harem Anime with a bunch of male demon love interests for her. It has quite adult humour, but it’s pretty cute aesthetically and deserves a second season. It’s only a roleplay

HeartPoint- a girl sees how much people like her platonically and romantically by little stats that appear above their heads. I believe Aphmau is the only Aphverse character, and whilst the romance is pretty obvious to me, I’ll leave who she ends up with blank as that’s kind of a part of the series… iirc. It’s only a roleplay.

There may be more… I’ll have to look.

Anyways.

So.

Onto the behemoths.

Minecraft Diaries is the first of the Roleplays to really get her popularity. It’s a medieval fantasy, with both roleplay and let’s play elements in it. It ran for three seasons, seasons one and two being 100 episodes each, however season 3 ended short. It was never completed. Season three is regarded as the worst season, and most either don’t consider it canon or haven’t watched it at all, but I consider it canon solely because it introduces us Lo, who I love. The two main ships when it was popular were Laurmau and Garmau, and if it weren’t for MyS, they probably still would be treated as such.

If you want to watch the main series in chronological order, I would watch MCD first. It is my favourite tho so maybe I’m biased. The lore can be contradictory and the quality slowly improves over time. It started to get remade with Rebirth, which you can watch before hand to get a general gist of the show before you dive into it, though it isn’t incredibly accurate to how the original is. Seasons 1-2 are on Aphmau’s main channel (I think), but season 3 is on Aphmau Stories. You don’t need to watch MyStreet but, you will probably end up watching it anyways.

Brief intermission: Void Paradox. The Mod Mod world sequel, is also a side series for MCD s1, and was made years afterwards. Very high quality, probably one of the better side series in general, and deserved a continuation. MMW isn’t required to watch it, but for context on Laurence and what’s up with him, MCD s1 is.

The next is MyStreet. It started as a modern Au for Diaries with the side stories and The Big Move, however began to be made into its own series. It begins as a slice of life, and is very light hearted with an Aarmau emphasis. It faces a genre swap for Season 4, before reverting to a slightly more solemn version of what it once was, before it goes back to a darker vibe for s6. Until s6, it existed in a separate universe to MCD, and you don’t need to watch MCD to understand it (though it does provide some context for s6)

There are prequels and side series (and a three episode sequel, which is fun). PDH is the main one, and because MyS was made first, they can contradict, however you will need to watch PDH S2 for context for MyS S4. Otherwise you won’t know the villain or understand what the fuck he’s doing. After them, there is PDH: Graduation days, and FalconClaw University. Neither are particularly important, but again, FCU offers some context for s4, so… you could watch it. It’s just not mandatory. There’s Aphmau’s year after s4, which is just a recovery mini-season, and there’s Her Wish which was released before s6, but set after it. And I will give them credit, they did preplan when they wrote her wish and watching it after s6 and realising everything they did to retain continuity… oh it’s good. Her wish does require watching MCD S3/late s2 though, it won’t make sense without it.

TLDR;

If a series isn’t Void Paradox, Mystreet, MCD, Phoenix Drop High or FalconClaw Uni, you can just watch it whenever.

MCD / PDH / MYS is my personal favourite watch order, because it’s all chronological. But just go with whatever you vibe with!

MCD is the OG and fantasy Medieval, but is a mix of roleplay and let’s play, and doesn’t have entirely consistent lore. It has a partial remake and it’s final, incomplete season, sucked.

PDH is higher quality and a highschool drama with fantasy undertones but less relevant, and is a prequel for MyS

MYS is the most popular and is a slice of life with more fantasy undertones, as well as very high quality, but suffers through genre swaps, and requires some context from the other two in later seasons.

#aphmau #aphverse #aphblr #minecraft diaries #mcd #mystreet

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