#That's me in my element where I can EXIST and I have just enough confidence to stop hating myself and get lost in things that make ME happy

[lyaswriting]

A Second Chance

Childe x Female!God!reader Reincarnation AU

Trigger Warnings: Blood, death, no beta we die like Rex Lapis

„I will return to you. Pinky promise.“

The whispered promise still lingered in her mind, where it had been for centuries, as Y/N walked through the park outside of a changed Mondstadt, quickly looking before crossing the street so she wouldn‘t be hit by a car, while taking a sip from her coffee. So she entered the park, that looked like it was a bit of a window into a past she sometimes barely remembered for how long it had been. Yet here she could still sometimes sit down and remember, occasionally still having to defend from a few slimes or other elemental beings, but to Y/N it was worth it, if only for the memories. Y/N had watched, as the times had changed after the fall of Celestia, after visions were no longer necessary to control elemental powers and after humanity decided to take matters into their own hands. She had watched as civilizations had risen and fallen, as people had embarked on journeys greater than they could imagine, as lovers had found their way back to each other, proving themselves that true love does exist.

And yet, Y/N thought, mine is the exception. As her lover had never returned, even though he promised. But he had tried, oh how he had fought to come back to her, but in the end it hadn‘t been enough.

And so, to make peace with the past or to not forget it, she didn‘t really know, she began writing down the stories, and adventures she had seen and lived. And she had written many about her once friends, as she felt each of their stories deserved to be told. And yet, as if to mock her once more, none sold better than the Story about the True Love between the Harbinger and the Goddess of Dreams. Although people often complained about the story having such a grim ending. But that was the harsh truth, that some stories did not have a happy ending.

If she listened into herself she could still remember their first meeting as if it had been merely days ago. She had just awoken from a slumber the Sustainer of Heavenly Principles had put her under, so she had decided to join Aether, the brave outlander, in his cause and traveled the world. That was when she had met the ginger haired Harbinger in Liyue, before the Rite of Descension.

In the Guili Plains she had fought some vishaps that had attacked her, she remembered, and was close to winning the fight, growing confident in her powers, as someone jumped into the middle of the fight, flashing two identical hydro blades, and before she knew it, the vishaps lay dead before them.

„Excuse me, but I had that under control!“, Y/N told the young man a bit rudely, who in return only put away the blades, and turned around slowly, grinning.

„Is that so?“, he said, looking her over before looking at her mildly enraged face.

„Yes. I was testing my fighting abilities, not to mention cutting in, jumping in without asking if I need help is rude.“

„I‘m sorry then. I can see now that you are perfectly capable of handling yourself. Maybe I can take you out to dinner, as an apology?“, he offered, while trying to look guilty, and failing.

„Do you always ask out women this way? Try to charm them after saving their lives?“

„So you do admit I saved your life?“, and he‘d smirked, oh that smirk.

„I did not mean it that way.“

„Of course you didn‘t“

„You didn‘t even tell me your name yet“, she bit back then, which he countered„And you didn‘t give me an answer“

„Fine, if you insist.“

„Perfect, I‘m Ajax by the way.“, he said, a dashing smile on his face, and equally smiling she answered,„Y/N“.

A little smile snuck onto her face, before it faded and she remembered how the whole story had ended. It had been centuries, and yet her heart had not healed. Some people you love so much that they leave a mark behind when they go, Zhongli had once said after the Battle against Celestia, familiar of the pain Y/N felt. And sometimes, he had said, they refuse to leave either, returning one way or another. But that was only wishful thinking, she knew, as she looked down at her hands, still almost seeing the blood that had stained them so long ago.

She‘d found the Harbinger after the battle, but instead of being fine like he promised, there was a gaping wound in his stomach, leaking blood just like the dozens of cuts on his body. His eyes had lighted up at seeing her, even if his smile was more melancholic as she kneeled next to him.

„Hey girlie.“

„What… you‘ll be fine. We‘ll get you to Barbara or Baizhu. You‘ll be fine.“

At that, he raised a hand to cup her cheek, making her look at him.

„Girlie, it‘s too late. Even if you…“, he coughed at this moment, she remembered, and he‘d coughed up blood, „even if they come… I used Foul Legacy for too long… my life is spent.“

„No, no, no… This cannot be. There has to be a way, I‘m a goddess, that has to count for something… I can figure something out, I just need time…“, Tears streamed down her face at this point violently shaking her, as she felt his breathing slow down, his voice raspy, „I wish we‘d have that time. But you, Y/N, were the best thing I could have hoped for. You were my dream.“

„Please don‘t leave me, I can‘t… I can‘t…“

„I will return to you. Pinky promise.“

Those had been the last words the Harbinger had ever said. And since then, every year she had returned to the park, to the same tree he had leaned against in his final moments, as if it could somehow make her feel closer to him.

That was when she heard it in the distance by the lake, fighting noices near the lake.

„If it is those damn hydro slimes again, I swear…“, she muttered under her breath, as she ran to the lake, already summoning her powers in her hand, throwing it at the slimes as soon as she saw them, apparently much to the dismay of their opponent.

„And here I thought I‘d get a little practice, but I guess not…“, the guy muttered.

That voice, that voice she had heard in her own dreams for a few hundred years now. It couldn‘t be, could it?

Y/N turned around, her heart beating so fast she would be scared if she weren‘t a goddess. And there he stood, as if he had never been gone, ginger hair tousled from the fight, hydro blades still in his hands.

„Anything particular you are staring at? Wanna spar perhaps after you destroyed my guinea pigs?“

He still had a playful tone, she noticed, but one look told her, that he didn‘t know who she was. Her heart sank a bit, before she caught herself, nearly laughing at the irony of their meeting.

„I… I‘m sorry, that was rude. I just thought someone might need help again and then I jumped in, completely disregarding your apparent dislike for help… I‘m sorry.“

„Apology accepted.“

„Even though, with those blades you wouldn‘t have gotten far against them, you know that right? Hydro vs Hydro and all.“

„Opinion noted.“

She laughed at that, an idea forming in her head.

„Opinion? You‘re welcome. But if you insist, may I take you out on dinner, to make it up?“

He studied her then, something seemingly pulling him in.

„I‘m sorry, I didn‘t get your name, did I? I‘m Ajax.“, and with that he stretched out his hand to her, which she shook, and smiled.

„I‘m Y/N“.

Ajax paused for a second, a feeling gnawing at him, as if he should remember something he doesn‘t, it was easy to read for Y/N, after all she had known him once before.

„Have we met once before?“, he asked, staring at her curiously.

„We kind of did. But I think you wouldn‘t believe me if I told you, it‘s apparently kind of a neverending story…“, she answered truthfully, looking into his blue eyes, full of life this time, and more mesmerizing than ever.

„Try me“, he said then, „maybe at that dinner you offered?“

And he smirked, oh that smirk.

And Y/N smiled too.

Maybe Zhongli had been right, that some people are bound to each other, and maybe Ajax had kept his promise too, he had found a way to return to Y/N.

#genshin fanfic #genshin fanfiction #genshin impact #fanfiction #genshin fluff #genshin childe #genshin angst #tartaglia x reader #genshin tartaglia #childe tartagalia #ajax #ajax x reader #ajax x y/n #reincarnation #reincarnation au #modern times #childe x reader

[dwtdog]

sorry! lol i meant your mindset about dteam i guess you posted on twitter saying we could ask you here

OH that makes sense i'll do my best to explain :DD

my most basic summary: all of this should have been handled in private. george and caiti had a misunderstanding that was based on them having two very different perceptions of the situation:

george saw it as a party among friends, among equals. he didn't know caiti was only 18, he didn't know she thought of herself as a smaller creator, he didn't know she was too afraid to distance herself

caiti saw it as a chance to get close to bigger creators, to make friends, and she felt out of her element and scared. she never should have ended up there, and for that i mostly blame her friends.

but the situation happened, and george messed up. in my perception, his biggest mistake was not being aware of her fear- but i wholly believe that he genuinly was just unaware, not malicious. power dynamics exist in every relationship, and are not inherently bad- they become dangerous when they are being leveraged, and based on everything we know of the situation, george was not leveraging the power dynamic against her.

this doesn't mean it didn't exist, because in caiti's mind, it did. and this led to her being deeply affected by the situation, because she perceived it as george taking advantage of her, and she felt used because of that- an important note is the difference in experience that george mentioned, where they both perceive a touch under the shirt very, very differently.

so what would have been the ideal fix to this situation? literally pretty much anything but bringing it before the court of public opinion. because of the extreme reaction to caiti's statement, george felt the need to go on the defensive, when, had it been kept private, it could have been a conversation where he explained that he truly had no idea, and he could give her a personal apology. instead, we're in a situation where everything has been massively overblown, from a miscommunication to malicious intent.

so, in the end, i think two things are true:

caiti felt hurt by the situation, and she deserves to find closure

george made a mistake, and he should take measures to ensure it doesn't happen again

for caiti, she hasn't given her final statement yet, so i can't say if she feels that going public with everything has brought her closure, or if she accepts george's apology. no matter what, she is allowed to to feel hurt

for george, he acknowledged his lack of awareness of the power dynamic or of her discomfort, and said he would be extra cautious of situations like this in the future. for the short term, there's not much more we can ask of him to verify that he is taking something important away from the situation. and for me, that is enough to feel confident in staying in the fandom, and continuing to support him.

#cq.asks #there are a few things i didnt address here because it feels weird to bring them up in a general statement but- #i believe that her friends did influence her perception of that night. #and i think that the rampant lack of communication behind the scenes is only going to cause worse problems if it continues #and tbh i sincerely hope dteam just distance themselves from english speaking mcyt until it gets its shit together #george situation

[gendrie]

Realistically, what note do you think or hope the books will end in regard to Arya and Gendry? I don’t expect fanfic wish fulfillment but Grrm seems to have a soft spot for them so maybe a vague romantic suggestion that leaves their future open to interpretation? Which I realize is not much different to where we’re already at lol but I just can’t imagine how their relationship would develop.

when i consider what arya/gendry will look like in the end, or just the future in general, i think about whats already in the text. the elements of romance and even sexuality within their interactions are more than a lil suggestive. ie: the two of them rolling around together is not subtle lol. the phrase "between his legs" is used twice in that paragraph. grrm wrote an exclusive to a/g love song and had the singer wink as he sang it. he introduced not one, but 2 characters mostly just to fan the flames here. gendry explicitly threatens to have sex with a girl to try to make arya jealous and he visibly dislikes a perceived rival for her attention. ect! this isn't some obscure aspect of the story. its a legitimate side plot.

so i wouldn't even describe their existing canon interactions as "vague" therefore i don't assume their future ones, endgame included, would be left entirely up to interpretation either. are they going to get married on page? and consummate the union? no. but i do expect their future interactions to continue to be obviously romantic in nature. esp now that arya is older (and gendry seems to be younger)

with all that in mind here are my realistic thoughts:

when arya returns from braavos she will rekindle her friendship with gendry and realize she's attracted to him. gendry, having endured the loss of arya, will be willing to commit to her regardless of the issues that forced them apart previously. its all going to be pg-13 and tame by asoiaf standards but they will be crushing and it's not going to be a secret. not to the readers nor anyone who happens to witness the two of them together.

as i see it theres two potential outcomes: the class difference is still insurmountable and they remain apart or they end up together in some capacity. this will probably be a controversial claim, but a/g have less barriers to being together long term than any other ship imo. consistently, throughout their relationship, gendry being "too bloody lowborn" for arya is THE issue. its the source of all the conflict between them and its the thing keeping them apart. other than that? they clearly like and admire each other. arya trusts gendry, values his perspective, and confides in him things she tells no other character. she wanted him to come home with her, to be a part of her pack.

and i want to emphasis that arya values gendry's counsel specifically because thats one aspect of their dynamic that feels very relevant within the context of their potential as a grown up couple. they make a good team and work well together. they've already endured the bleakest possible scenarios by working together. gendry is presented as a really fitting partner for arya which i think is intentional tbh.

but ultimately, can the class difference be overcome? i think it can. and not only that but i think arya and gendry ending up together can be reflective of the changes we're going to see across the board with westeros' political system. they're not going to abolish the monarchy, but there will be major changes with how the kingdom is run.

the end i envision for them is fairly understated despite all my arguing that their relationship isnt all that subtle. arya asking gendry to come home with her to winterfell (again) would be enough, but thats not vague to me either. the meaning will be clear.

all that being said HEAs are not going to plentiful in asoiaf. grrm likes "we'll always have paris" type romances where two people meet and change each other, but go their separate ways. it could be that is what happens with arya and gendry. im realistic, if not bordering on pessimistic, so i want to embrace that possibility! but everything on paper is telling me they're supposed to end up together. not least of all bc in order for this romantic build up to actually come to full fruition they have to be grown which won't be until post series.

i try to keep my expectations low too but is it wish fulfillment to expect substantial pay off? idk.......grrm has been teasing love, sex and even marriage with arya and gendry for like the entire series actually. since that "arya has the hands of a blacksmith" comment in the first paragraph of her first chapter. he better do something!!!

#ask #gendrya #this got long lol #hopefully its coherent i got a lotta thoughts #i felt like i couldnt address the end without getting into a few other points

[meimi-haneoka]

Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Chapter 75: Comments + JP-ENG translation differences

Hellooooo everyone! Welcome back to my post with the commentary and translation differences for Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card! We finally reached chapter 75!!! I'm glad to inform you all that even this month we didn't have any major (or even little) discrepancy between the ENG and JP versions, there's just some nuance here and there but nothing really impacting the correct understanding of this chapter.

Moreover, we still don't have any announcement for the last chapter of Clear Card, neither on the color spread nor in the editorial text at the end of the chapter (where usually the place for them to advertise stuff related to the next release is). We didn't even get an announcement on the twitter account...

Therefore, I'm confident enough to say that Cardcaptor Sakura Clear Card Arc won't be over in chapter 76, and they might really keep going till chapter 77 (double 7, lucky CLAMP number!). I know that this month we don't have translation mistakes, but if you still want to read my ramblings about some very important themes in Clear Card, then look at the gif of the month and follow me under the cut!! 😂

(my friends of a certain Discord server will be happy to see this gif, hahah)

The Color Page

The color spread this time is very special, not only because it gives us the opportunity to see the color scheme of ✨The Outfits✨ of the finale for both Sakura and Syaoran, but because there's an additional surprise too! Let's start with the color scheme, which as I strongly anticipated is the same of the costumes for the Alice in Clockland play (white - black - golden). Not only that, but also the poses and elements of the color spread are basically rehashing the color spread of chapter 64!

I absolutely loved this parallel. Especially because you can clearly see some kind of "the situation is very different now" message behind it. If Sakura looked somehow "lost" in the color page of chapter 64, she now looks confident, resolute, she gives off the aura of "leave it to me, I'll make things right!" and I really love it. I love this Sakura who's in charge because she finally found herself and what she wants to do with her powers: helping a beloved one finding her true smile again by bringing back the most important person to her! Syaoran is still looking cool, determined and serious (as opposed to 'snobby' before, but are we really sure that the one in ch. 64 was Syaoran? and not Kaito? 😂the absence of the body -which now is fully visible in the color spread of ch. 75- kinda suggests that that one wasn't the real Syaoran). The clock and clock gears of ch. 64 are now replaced, still in the very same position, by cool metallic elements, Kaito's pocket watch and a big Moon. Precisely the protagonists of this chapter! Now that I listed all the things I liked about this color page, I have also to point out that their expressions kinda look "weird" or "off-model" to me. I can't pinpoint exactly what's wrong, but it's something about the eyes: the irises are probably bigger or darker than usual. Not a big deal, anyway.

Off we go!

We start the chapter immediately explaining the big question that arised at the end of chapter 74: if this is a rewritten world and the Clear Cards have disappeared (and Sakura didn't have any recollection of them), what is the Dream Wand doing there? Kero asks about it and Sakura explains that when she went to open the jewelry box (remember it? It appeared in the very first chapter of Clear Card, and Sakura placed both the hairpin she received from Yukito as a present and the Star Key in there) before going to Yukito's house, she found another key together with the Star one. Sakura thinks that this key is the one that existed in their world before it was rewritten, and Kero can distinctly feel Sakura's power coming from it. Sakura agrees and says that for this reason, this time she'll be going with this wand.

So the Dream Key also survived the rewriting. Makes sense, it either survived on its own (and somehow ended up in the box) or Sakura must have left it at home in the box before the play, probably sensing something and listening to her magic intuition (that got even more refined in the latest period).

Tomoyo intervenes saying that the earcuffs of their outfits are actually transmitters: Sakura and Syaoran can communicate among eachother of course, but also send back audio and video to her device. Nakuru can't help but marvel at the hi-tec device and Tomoyo proudly announces that this is one of the hottest items of Daidouji Toys!! It made me smile to read that company's name again here in the finale, it really feels like tugging at our nostalgic heartstrings (because honestly Daidouji Toy's devices were the coolest thing in the old series!). Sakura can't really help but agree that this is a very special outfit, just like Tomoyo told her! Sakura does something that left me a bit speechless for a second: she summons the Fly Card using the Dream Wand! How cool is that? After all, the Dream Wand is still made of Sakura's power, so it really doesn't change much and she can use the Sakura Cards (also reborn under her power) with that magic tool too! Back with the Clow Cards there was a problem because the wand was made out of Sakura's power, but the Cards were still under Clow's, so that's why she had to make them be reborn under her name. Here we don't have this kind of problem anymore! Sakura supplies Syaoran with a cool pair of wings, and here I really have to say it: fandom, you complained so much about Kaito rewinding time and "erasing" cool winged Syaoran, and CLAMP heard you! Now you can have him back! 😂😂😂Honestly this one made me smile so much because I wondered if they felt guilty about that scene, or they simply had planned to revive it anyway since the beginning 😂I clearly remember Ohkawa said in one of their Spaces that they received quite a number of complaints about that particular scene 😆 Kero asks Sakura why she gave the Fly Card to Syaoran, and what she's going to do for herself: Sakura answers that Momo (how cute, she calls her Momo-san, just like that one time they met back in chapter 49 ❤️) told her that there are still Cards around that didn't disappear, and they used to help her before the world was rewritten (little difference in the ENG version: they made her say "they were by my side").

That said, she confidently calls for the FLIGHT CARD and the cute bow that we learned to love along the series appears on her back, all excited and affectionate like usual! Sakura thanks her for waiting for her and I found that so sweet....this is another one of those scenes that I feel like are catering to the fandom's wishes and preferences, since I've seen countless of disappointed/worried comments during the past months about Flight disappearing along with the other Clear Cards, and this is something that even CLAMP talked about (again in one of their Spaces) so they definitely were aware of it. Eriol and Kaho comment from England, impressed but nonetheless confirming that the Card definitely is made out of Sakura's power, just like the magic circle that appeared under Sakura when she used it (of course it's different from the one that appeared when she used Fly). Sakura walks to Akiho and as I imagined from what she said last chapter, she asks her to let her borrow the precious pocket watch for a while.

Akiho of course agrees. I loved the emphasis they gave to the "handover" of the watch, because it enhances the perception of how important that item is. Akiho is entrusting to Sakura literally the one and last thing she's got left of her most important person, whom she's missing terribly, and the fact that she's willing to separate from it and entrust it to Sakura just goes to show how much she believes in her. And the "handover" is watched carefully by everyone with a smile on their faces.

It's time. Sakura and Syaoran are all ready to go, not before saying "We'll be going, then (See you later)". A word I always loved from Japanese language is 行ってきます, ittekimasu, a word used to announce that you're leaving, but in the same word is also hidden the promise that you'll be back. And I think there's no other word that her loved ones, particularly Akiho, need to hear from her right now. I also love to bits the expression she's having while she says it. Confidence in the shape of a young girl ❤️

Convey your feelings

So off they go, high in the sky, with the big moon in the background and Kaito's pocket watch held tightly in Sakura's hand. Sakura takes the chance to thank Syaoran for coming with her. Her unwavering, loyal beloved boyfriend. He'd never leave her alone, facing something unknown and possibly dangerous like this one. And he takes the chance of their current privacy to thank her too: slightly embarrassed, with a sweet smile, he's grateful to her for saying that he's her most important person, shortly ago. ❤️ This is another thing that I've heard many people being slightly disappointed about last month, the fact they hadn't shown Syaoran's reaction after Sakura said that, and in one of the answers to my asks I said that I would've found it rather inappropriate if Syaoran and Sakura had that kind of conversation and started to be a lovey-dovey mess in front of a person who had just found out that the pain she's been feeling all along was because she was missing her own most important person, but not only that, also that her memories, family and all of her world had been rewritten, it was all a lie. Someone's world is literally crumbling under their feet and I didn't think it was the right moment to show a romantic scene between those two right in front of her. Thankfully CLAMP had already in mind to move that kind of conversation to later on. And since they work on 1/2 chapters ahead of what's been published, they were probably already drawing that scene before chapter 74 was even out.

Sakura, unrestrainable by now in her self-confidence, says something really precious that I'd say is my favorite line of the entire chapter:

JP: "When I've found out that this world had been rewritten, I've thought about it. If there's something I want to say, I have to spell it out. Even if the important words we say were to be rewritten, it's not like they'd be erased, because they'd be staying in our hearts"

Sakura understands that if she wants to make sure that her "important words", her feelings will STAY even after a major rewriting like that, she needs to spell them out. Remember Tomoyo, in the old series? "No feeling will come across if you don't say it aloud". And so in this way Sakura is making sure that the person who hears it will remember it even against the strongest of magic, because those words will never disappear totally. The brain might forget, but the heart doesn't. Syaoran of course agrees with that sentiment. And I really want to say that I think this same concept will be of utmost importance in reuniting Kaito and Akiho too. Their bond, their shared memories, the time spent together, the words that were said (Akiho worked so hard towards the end of the 'old world' to convey her feelings to Kaito in a way that wouldn't scare him), all of that surely stayed inside their hearts and it's only waiting for the trigger to make them remember and reunite.

We switch back to Yukito's home, where everyone goes back inside to spy to check on the flying couple from Tomoyo's tablet (while still in a videocall with Eriol and Kaho), but while Touya is going back in himself, he sees that Akiho keeps standing by the door, eyes fixed on the moon. Out of all of them, she's obviously the most stressed up one. She can't relax and wait like everyone else. Her heart must be in the grips of anxiety, hurt and probably fear too. So Touya, our big brother with a heart just as big as him, tries to comfort her and calm her down, telling her that Sakura might be a tad too impertinent and with a tendency to kick, basically a "monster" (I know in ENG they translated 足癖が悪い with "she got two left feet" and technically it might not be wrong but I've seen the same term used to indicate any kind of bad behavior that makes use of the legs/feet incorrectly, so included kicking - like, using this expression with a horse it would mean that horse kicks a lot. So when I saw that, I was reminded of how Sakura used to kick Touya precisely when he called her "monster" 😂), but she keeps true to what she says. "If she said she'll look (for that person), she'll do so. So let's wait for when she'll call you...together". And while he says so, he pats her head affectionately. Gosh, the way he behaves with Akiho is so different than what he does with Sakura, right? 😂 But that's just an indication of how special the bond with his true sister is...Touya gets tsundere and a bully only with her. 😂 I remember he patted Mirror's head too (while she was disguised as Sakura), back in chapter 38. He's really a kind onii-chan but he only gets stubborn with his little sister 😂 I found so moving the little detail of Akiho wincing for a moment when Touya patted her head....a sign that she isn't used to that kind of display of affection? Definitely. And the more I thought about this, the more the words from the chapter of her backstory came back to my mind, "there was no one who would pat her head".... And then, of course, I just couldn't avoid thinking about all the times Kaito tried istinctively to reach for that head too, to console her, or even to just hold her, and always stopped that hand hurriedly. Seeing Touya managing to do what Kaito always wanted to do on instinct, and sabotaged himself, hurt quite a lot. But it's also a proof of how different their situations are. How different their circumstances are. How different their feelings for Akiho are. No matter how kind Touya can be with basically a stranger that was somehow entrusted to them by another stranger, and how much he can empathize with her situation, he can never be the guy who literally gave all of himself for Akiho.

Still, I think this scene reinforced my idea that when they'll bring Kaito back, Touya will be waiting for him with his fist ready to land on his head 😂because he really just can't stand that he hurt his adopted sister this much. No matter if he did it for her. He'll really be merciless with the most important people of his sisters, if they make them cry! 😅

Akiho is finally reassured by Touya's sweet gesture (there's a lot of love in this rewritten world, my gosh! Everyone is so affectionate or displays affection in a more evident way!). But while here we have a poignant scene of brotherly affection, nearby the group of nosy people just witnessed the scene between the two lovebirds Sakura and Syaoran about the "most important person", so Nakuru sighs at the missed opportunity to see Touya's HP and MP go straight to zero, because he wasn't there with them to watch it! 😂😂Yukito of course doesn't skip a chance to join in making fun of his boyfriend, saying that he would've surely made a scary face. 😆The way the little group makes fun of Touya behind his back moves to compassion even Kero and Suppy, who say that they feel bad for him! 😂😂😂 I think all these little comedy skits of this chapter are probably here to defuse the tension a little bit, probably also because of what's about to come. Remember that sensei is balancing the narrative weight on the total volume, so adding more fun scenes now might make up for later, when it won't (of course) be possible or appropriate to insert any (yea, it'll only be time for tears later, right, sensei?).

Back to our flying couple, Syaoran asks Sakura more clarifications about what she said earlier regarding the pocket watch, that it'll "show them the way". Sakura says that she can feel magic power coming from that watch, and it doesn't belong to anyone she knows. The kids, in unison, say that if they trace the magic back to its owner, and they follow it, they'll be able to meet "the person who's missing". Syaoran got the perfect magic tool for that.

He summons his famous compass, and asks Sakura to place the watch over it. In a very cool scene worthy of the next head of the Li clan, chanting the long and famous activation spell for his compass (which includes Chinese characters but spelled with the Japanese "on" reading), Syaoran traces the owner of the pocket watch....back to the moon. The poor guy is confused and thinks the pursuit failed, because he can feel the watch carrying moon power inside of it (yep, reminder that its owner's magic is Moon type, just like Syaoran! And the ENG said there are "traces of it", but the JP doesn't say it's only "traces", the whole watch might be imbued of Kaito's moon power), so probably that's why the compass is pointing at the moon.... But Sakura suddenly figured it out: the compass is correctly pointing at the moon, because that moon....IS NOT THE REAL ONE!

With a swift movement worthy of the coolest ikemen on earth, which startles even her boyfriend (😂 it's already full of comments about how Sakura is particularly handsome - yes, handsome - in this chapter 😂), Sakura summons Sword! Loooong time no see! So long, in fact, that I've been notified that the Sword Sakura is holding a few pages later is the wrong one! Yes, because when Sword was reborn under Sakura's name as a Sakura Card, its appearance changed slightly! 😅The one Sakura holds in this scene is the "Clow Card" version!

This is how Sword was supposed to look...will CLAMP notice the mistake and fix it in the tankobon? Anyway, Sakura jumps towards the giant moon (that at some point we can see it's literally flat, like a cover for something else), and splits it open!!! I mean!!! What did this girl eat for breakfast, today? 😂😂😂She's absolutely cool and keeps showing how much she's grown both magically and in her capacity to listen to her intuition. Eriol and Kaho immediately comment on that fake moon, and Eriol in particular said something that alarmed me at once: "It's something that was created by a considerable amount of magicians. And they used even an ancient magic ritual, at that." There's no trace of doubt in his speech, so my mind immediately runs to them, the real disgrace of this arc: the Association + Squids (Akiho's Clan). When you talk about lots of magicians, and ancient rituals, you can't just avoid thinking about them right away. But why, and how did they create that fake moon? Too soon to have clear answers right now, but our watchers from England point out that for Sakura to see through that deception as soon as her attention was brought onto it means that her powers really became considerably strong! But here comes the comment that sets this situation apart from what we have seen till now in Clear Card: this growth in power is totally intentional! Because Sakura now has something she wants to do.

You see, this task Sakura gave herself isn't only to Akiho's benefit. This situation also probably gave Sakura the key to not cause her powers to go haywire anymore. Because, as I always suspected (and this conversation gave me more elements to make me think I was right), her power previously went out of control because she didn't know what she wanted to do with it. She didn't find a purpose for it. She didn't figure out yet (nor probably even thought about) what she wanted to do with her natural gift... (and here we go back again to the thematic I talked about in my post of last month, the "what can I do with my innate capabilities?" and Sakura right now decided "I want to use it to make the people I love happy"). She used to look at it as some thing "remote" from her, something that she'd rather not use (remember when she had put her Star Key away in the box saying "it's better if I don't use it anymore"?) but magic is literally part of her, so rejecting it would only hurt her more and cause the mess that we have all seen in these 7 years of serialization. And so probably, no matter what training she might have gone through, the problem wouldn't have been solved anyway, unless she'd set her mind straight on what purpose give to her magic, stabilizing it once for all. I think this is a very important part of this story because it all goes back to the search of her identity, which is such a crucial thematic in this arc.

And you can really see it in how beautiful Sakura looks in this panel. This is the beauty radiating from a person who's confident and knows what she's doing, knows what she wants.

Sakura and Syaoran finally go inside the "door", let's call it like that, which originated from the split of the fake moon. They do not know what awaits them on the other side nor what will happen, but they both bravely proceed ahead.

And what they find in front of their eyes is some kind of very weird environment. Eerie, even. The space is completely white, and they're fluctuating among warped clockworks and what looks like disassembled clocks: I found that very fascinating and I can't wait to see how this space will look like once it'll be animated.... The compass' beam keeps indicating where the owner of the pocket watch is, and Sakura and Syaoran follow it diligently, till they finally reach their goal.

*Sigh*

And then they see it. Trapped inside what looks like a circular cage, sleeping peacefully, a black dragon. Yes. That dragon. The one we've seen in Sakura's dreams ever since chapter 2, the one that appeared on the cover of the book they used the day they engraved the artifact in Akiho, the one that appeared as a decoration on the last outfit Kaito wore till he disappeared, and the one that looked like the symbol that appeared when the Seal of D. manifested to engulf Kaito in chapter 70. And this is also how this chapter ends (of course!!! with the worst cliffhanger!). The editorial text in Japanese present on the left of the very last page says "Guided by the pocket watch, what is it that they found...? Next issue, Sakura will appear with a super luxurious furoku!!"

Now, I'd wait before giving for granted that that thing is really Kaito. CLAMP are absolutely no strangers to lead their readers to think something (especially at the end of a chapter) but then revealing in the following one that it was something else.... Moreover, this dragon appeared in such different situations, that it's really hard to pinpoint (and predict) exactly what it represents. So I'm not gonna go out on a limb and say that Dragon-chan is Kaito. We'll know soon what CLAMP have in store for us.

Sure, I keep missing Kaito like crazy, but I think one way or another in next chapter we'll finally see him. Especially cause it's almost certainly the second-to-last one 😅 On that regard, I enjoyed the content of this chapter and even though it might be normal to think "what are they even doing, wasting time and pages like this? get to the point!", I want to trust Ohkawa and let her lead me where she wants to bring me to. I want to appreciate the journey for how she created it, with the pace she thought for it. Once it'll be over, it'll be hopefully easier to see if this relaxed pace ended up producing a series that is easy and interesting to read, or if it caused things to be rushed at the very end. Moreover, I know everyone is somehow expecting a battle ahead, but I'd be actually surprised if it happens at all. If it does, I don't think it'll be against the Association (because they're simply too many and too powerful for Sakura to fight against them). It might be against the dragon or....it might just be that this will be about finding a way to free Kaito, and then putting him in the condition to choose to go back to Akiho's side. And at that moment, Akiho's turn will finally arrive. I think this finale will be mainly based on emotivity and important talks. If anything, the main "battle" they'll have to win will be convincing Kaito that he deserves to live a happy life too.

Chapter 76 will be published on CLAMP’s Youtube channel on August 1st, while the relative Nakayoshi magazine will be released on August 3rd!

Soooo it's time for me to wrap this post up (where I mainly talked about my thoughts and impressions on the chapter, how lovely 😆) and I'll surely be waiting for you all here once again at the beginning of August!! In the meantime, my inbox is open for your asks! 👍 See you!

#cardcaptor sakura #card captor sakura #clear card arc #ccsakura #ccs spoilers #translation differences #chapter 75 #sakura kinomoto #syaoran li

[kalinara]

Oh for fuck's sake. Please don't tell me "warning" discourse is coming back.

Look guys, I don't fucking care if you decide to use warnings or not. If you're an author who chooses not to use warnings, I may or may not read your fic, depending on my mood at any given time, but that's not a value judgment.

But can you not be a pretentious asshole about it?

"Books and movies don't have warnings!"

Really? Movies don't have warnings? What do you think that big "R" is on the advertisement there (if you're American, anyway, but as far as I know, most other countries use rating systems.) It might not be an explicit, spell-it-all out warning, but you're generally not going to see a graphic rape scene in a fucking PG movie.

Books? Generally no. Though there are exceptions. And many bloggers or goodreads reviewers will happily warn for readers who are concerned. That said, you can draw some conclusions based on genre, publisher and imprint. A romance reader generally knows where to find the really hard shit. You're not generally going to find a lot of strap ons or ball gags in Harlequin.

"Warnings didn't exist/weren't common practice before AO3!"

That's a fucking lie. I started reading fanfic on the internet in 1997, when I was young enough that I had to lie about my age to get onto the good mailing lists. And you know why they were the good mailing lists? Because they had explicit stuff. Because they had passwords to the best archives.

And those archives generally did have warnings! At least for the really big shit. Rape? Torture? The phrase "non-con" existed long before fanfiction.net, let alone AO3 was a twinkling in anyone's eye.

Because here's the thing, it's common courtesy. Fandom is a community experience. Isn't that what everyone always says when the topic of negative reviews come up? We can't make the author feel bad! Traumatizing a reader though with something that they don't know to avoid though, that's perfectly fine.

What AO3 DID invent, as far as I know, is the brilliant "Author chooses not to warn" tag. That's a great idea. It means that a concerned reader can go through the no warnings needed tag with reasonable confidence that they won't be hit with the most common triggering subjects. And if they go into a "chooses not to warn" fic, then that's their risk to take.

(Personally, I've never read a "choose not to warn" fic and thought "god, I'm so glad the author didn't spoil this rape scene in the warnings, losing the element of surprise would have ruined the story!" but that's just me. There might well be one out there, and even if not, it's the author's call.)

I don't really have a point to this rant. I just really dislike people who decide to raise their lack of consideration for others into some sort of intellectual high ground while touting blatant misinformation to support it. I also never get tired of ranting about fandom hypocrisy, so there we go.

TLDR: do what you want, but don't be a self-congratulatory dick about it.

#fandom woes #this was admittedly mostly inspired by that “warnings didn't exist before AO3” line #someone seriously said that #can you please ask a fandom old when you're going to say nonsense like that? #we do still exist

[orcboxer]

having painstakingly looked through every palworld creature design, I can confidently say I ain't interested. I wanted my negative first impression to be wrong but lord amighty it does not look better up close.

I was an absolute pokemon kid growin up and I love seeing people's fakemon and fangames and the idea of a poke-like game appeals to me, so I have a lot of thoughts. if you feel defensive of palworld then uhhhh don't read this because tldr I think it looks awful

I thought it looked bad when it was announced so I wasn't paying close attention, but lookin through the pals quickly killed what little interest might have been lurking in me. like I don't wanna be unfair to anybody tryna make pokemon-like games, but these things weren't made with love I can tell you that for sure. there's maybe like 5 that look pretty good and original but the rest.... where do I begin

So first thing, the ripoff pokemon designs. I thought people were exaggerating but oh my god, they weren't. I would be disappointed to see one knockoff pokemon model, but there are dozens of them holy shit. Like at least half the dex is badly-tweaked pokemon models. This alone is enough to completely turn me off to the game because creature design is the heart and soul of this genre so if you ain't even gonna bother making your own damn creatures, what's the fuckin point? Even on some of the more "original" designs, I can point to at least one element that was straight up copy/pasted from an existing pokemon.

Second thing, recycled models within the game. Why do so many bird pals use the same (ripped off) body model? Why do so many pals suffer from same-face syndrome? The first pal I saw was Chillet, I thought it was cute. When I looked through the pals, I kept thinking "oh that face looks like Chillet. oh hey that face looks like Chillet. that one too." The overall effect of this is that a majority of the designs are forgettable, they blur together and feel indistinct from one another. the dex feels increasingly hollow with each reused asset. if you got 10 bird designs and 6 of them look the same, you really only got 5 bird designs.

Third thing (sort of. it's related to the other two), I noticed that there are no object-mon designs in palworld, which I would guess is intentional. I get the feeling that the devs were like, "object-mon are stupid, everything has to look like a creature," which is a common discourse topic in poke-like fan communities, and I think that maybe this played a part in the reusing of assets, because making animalistic creatures that look both natural and distinct from each other is hard! Trying to fill a whole dex with no inorganic-ish creatures is a daunting task, and at a certain point you either need a lot of time, or a lot of artists, otherwise you get same-face syndrome and heavy asset recycling. (I personally enjoy object-mons, as they're reminiscent of yokai, it's like hey here's a mundane object that has been inhabited by a little spirit! I think it's cute.)

Fourth thing, the silhouettes are too busy. Chillet works because it's simple and distinct. Most pals, though, have too many features going on at once, and you couldn't really play "who's that pokemon" with them. Again, this is a consequence of trying to mix-and-match the same pool of assets instead of designing from scratch. In order to make them look more distinct from each other you have to just add a bunch of unnecessary frills and appendages that makes for a cluttered visual impression.

Fifth thing, varying degrees of detail? Some of those pals have smooth, almost textureless skin/fur, but then others like jormuntide have super detailed texture? (also I know I've seen jormuntide's face before, it's from a different game on the tip of my tongue but I can't place it right now, but that's beside the point) You generally want to keep your creatures relatively consistent in terms of like, level of texture detail. It's like some of them are just higher resolution. Which if I'm being honest makes me think they stole assets from more than just Pokemon.

Finally, edginess. Maybe this is just me being too cynical but it feels like this game hates Pokemon. It feels like middle schoolers making jokes about hurhur what if somebody killed Barney the Dinosaur with a gun. The whole making them work in factories and butchering them? Who is the target audience here? There's a pal called Hangyu which vaguely resembles a noose and its dex entry says it was used to execute people by hanging them and also ripping their skin off....Come on man.

in terms of pal design, I give palworld 2/10 because Chillet is cute

#orcspeak

[sereinegemini]

Two Dark Princes ₊⋆ ☾

— Chapter VII

Pairing: Draco Malfoy x Fem!Reader x Theodore Nott

Word Count: 879

Summary: Two years after Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord during the Triwizard Tournament, Hogwarts and most of the Wizarding World has returned to normal. But, F/n’s mundane life is flipped upside down after she learns that two of her best friends, Draco and Theo, are secretly in love with her. When this knowledge begins to affect her relationships, she is faced with difficult decisions, each one laced with promised heartache and the potential to awaken an unexpected darkness

Warnings: hostility, blood, a wee bit spooky

Hogwarts

Sunday, May 4, 1997

True darkness engulfed you. You could feel it shifting and swirling on some unknown wind. No light penetrated the empty space, but when you held out your hand you were able to see it. The black air slithered around your fingers like water. As far as you could tell nothing but you existed in this space.

“F/n?” a voice asked from all around you. It had a dreamlike element to it, almost like all at once it was there and not. And it was warm, reminding you of–

“Cedric?” you called back, frantically spinning and searching the void for any sign of another being. Your head was swimming. What was this place?

“I’ve missed you so much, my sunshine. You have no idea how lost I am without you.” Knuckles grazed your cheek gingerly, and you flinched at the phantom touch. No one was there.

“Ced, where…where are we? Where are you?” You couldn’t settle the rising panic in your voice.

“I’m right here, F/n.” Frustrated, hot breath washed over your face. You should have been able to see him. He was right there, dammit. But your vision remained blank, and if you hadn’t just seen your own hand you’d be positive your eyes were closed. He gripped your shoulders, nails biting into your skin enough for a whimper to escape you. “I’m tired of these games, F/n.”

“You’re hurting me. Ced, that hurts!” you cried. You moved to rip his arms away from you, but your hands met nothing but empty air.

He only clenched harder, roughly shaking you back and forth. “Why did you do it? Why did you throw away our love—our future—for them? They’re nothing. They’re filthy Slytherin snobs. We were going to have a future together, F/n. A family. Why did you ruin it? Why did you ruin it? Why did you–” Suddenly, an intense wind billowed past, gone as quick as it came. Cedric gone with it.

Left shaken and panting, you ran your fingertips along the pain burning in your shoulders. They came back wet. Confident you knew what the substance was, you licked it. Copper. Blood.

“Like what you taste?” a smug voice asked from behind you. Whirling around, you were met with exactly what you expected: nothing.

“Not particularly,” you whispered, your skin prickling alongside his presence as he circled you.

Stopping behind you, Theo roved his mouth over your ear. “That’s a shame, I’ve always sort of enjoyed it. It can be...comforting.” He pushed a finger against the small cuts, making you wince. You felt him lift it to his own mouth, a pleasured groan following. Then, his hand on your jaw, he forced your face towards him and brought his lips to yours. His tongue slithered between your teeth and spread the metallic taste into your mouth. Grimacing, you tripped over your feet as you broke away.

���What’s the matter, F/n? I thought that’s what drew you to us. The wickedness dwelling underneath. The Death Eaters our fathers raised us to be.”

“Isn’t that why you destroyed your perfect life for us? You know deep down a part of you is just like those little boys we’re trying desperately not to be,” Draco whispered against your hair, pulling your back against his chest.

Your chin was gripped with dreadful strength. “But you can only love one of us, L/n. So go on, who is it? Hm? It sure as hell isn’t that dumb Hufflepuff.” Theo’s dark chuckle made your veins run cold. “You destroyed that boy’s heart in the most admirable way. It would have been more merciful for you to rip it clean out and wear it on a chain around your neck.”

“Shut up.” You willed the tears in your eyes not to spill.

“Oh? Are you not proud of the way you wrecked poor Cedric Diggory? I hear he’s been awfully careless with his wand lately. Poor bloke is bound to blow himself up.”

“I said shut up!” you shrieked. 

The words continued to echo seconds after you sensed Draco disappear into thin air. You were left standing face to face with a red-eyed creature. It resembled a man and had its boney fingers pressed bruisingly into your jaw. He had replaced Theo, and in your sinking gut you knew exactly who this was despite never having seen him.

Lord Voldemort gave you a rotten-toothed grin. “I’ve been looking a long time for you, girl.”

Gasping awake, you laid completely still out of fear while you took in your surroundings. You were in the Astronomy Tower, rain from a storm pelting the floor mere feet from where you lay. Beside you, Theo was snoring softly, completely unaware of you or the nightmare previously tormenting you. Quills, parchments, and textbooks littered the floor where you’d spent most of the night studying. Final exams would begin next month and now was the time Professors encouraged students to start revisiting the material.

Lightning flashed across the moody sky, and the last thing on your mind was passing your finals. Because there was no doubt in your bones that nightmare wasn’t just some bad dream. Voldemort had been in your mind. And he wanted you for something.

« Chapter Six || Masterlist || Chapter Eight »

Be notified of future chapters!

#harry potter fanfiction #harry potter story #draco malfoy #draco malfoy fanfiction #draco malfoy x reader #draco x reader #theo nott x reader #theo nott fanfiction #theodore nott #theo x reader #draco x reader x theo

[inventors-fair]

The Best of the Rest: NPC Winners ~

Our winners this week are @helloijustreadyourpost, @izzet-always-r-versus-u, and @sparkyyoungupstart!

@helloijustreadyourpost — Vicious Headcrab from the Half-Life series

Immediately, this has got to be one of the cleanest transitions from other media to a magic card, full stop. Or, it's the cleanest that I recognize enough to confidently state as such. Still, this is at its core a very simple and intuitive card that does something extremely unusual, which always catches my eye. It's a tricky proposition to have a 1/3 defeat anything in combat without tossing in an extra card, but given how much of an upgrade the token is combined with the occasional upside of exiling a key creature, I'd say that this number of hoops to jump through is perfectly warranted. The necessity of sacrificing the headcrab also helps enforce a sense of fairness, as you can't simply slap deathtouch on it and trade up with something far larger. At this very least, though, this creepy critter preys on tokens all day long.

@izzet-always-r-versus-u — Lycan Blood Hunter from Critical Role

The first thing that immediately interest me about this one is just how distinct it is from every other werewolf we've seen so far. Nowadays more than ever, Magic's werewolves are pretty set in their ways, and barring a thematic shakeup from an as-yet unexplored plane, that's not liable to change. Leave it to Universes Beyond to pick up the slack, and offer glimpses into other fantasy worlds where familiar types appear in unfamiliar places. The "transformation" being tied to being under half your life is a great move, I must say, and the idea of literally bleeding yourself to produce blood tokens is so clever that I was shocked to learn that no such card already existed. Part of me wishes this also lost its Human type when it's "transformed" like fellow D&D-related card Werewolf Pack Leader, but that's a minor blemish on an otherwise sterling card.

@sparkyyoungupstart — Hiss Distorted from Control

I mean this in the best way possible, but: what? Having no knowledge whatsoever of the source material, I can really only guess as to what's going on here, but what I do understand has me absolutely fascinated. The creature type alone is a standout, but that's hardly enough to get it to the winner's circle. No, it's here because of that effect, and oh, what an effect! Reconfiguring foretell into a bizarre mirror-universe version of dash is quite the move, to be sure. Utilizing the inherent turn delay of foretell to justify the absurd power by forcing the card to be foretold even more so. It does somewhat lose the element of surprise that characterizes foretell after the first time, but it hardly needs it (and it wouldn't even be the first. Looking at you, Foretold Soldier). There is one slight concern that I can't rightly ignore, though. I'm not entirely sure if this was your intention or not, but due to the underlying mechanics of foretell, you can foretell it during your end phase after it returns to hand, meaning that every cast of it past the first is every turn rather than every other one. If that's not intentional, it necessitates moving the self-bounce later into the turn cycle, such as during your upkeep. If it is, I would recommend maybe moving it earlier in the turn instead, such as after combat. It wouldn't change the functionality, but it would make the card easier to understand, as that interaction is something a lot of players are liable to miss their first time playing with the card.

~

Runners will be up before too long, with commentary later today. @spooky-bard

#mtg #magic the gathering #custom magic card #inventor's fair #commentary #winners #npc contest

[stierhai]

Thoughts on: The One Within the Villainess

Manga: The One Within the Villainess

Amount read: Up to chapter 12

Impression: Middling positive.

On genre:

I'm not an Isekai person. I don't find wish fulfillment to be compelling in media. I don't care about game mechanics. I don't like characters going into the narrative with all the answers already and just needing to wait to put them into effect. Isekai may run the gamut of tones, with there being as much seinen edgelord bullshit as there is cute reincarnator sidesteps the plot of the in-fiction original work, so I won't say there's never conflict in isekai but... none of that does anything for me. With rare exceptions, the conflict almost always feels extremely shallow to me even when the stakes are high.

This is because they don't typically feel like they're about the characters, so much as they feel like lore infodumps and following a road map. Then top that off with a main character that has either a narratively convenient power that typically is powerful enough to overcome all conflict by default whilst requiring a lot of info-dumping— or the power is skipped in favor of short-cutting straight to the power being a lore and plot dump... they feel less like stories in and of themselves and more like reading a tabletop corebook. Lore is, in my mind, meant to be the stage upon which we tell stories, not the story itself— and I just don't think the stage can stand all its own and pretend to be a competent story.

And that is even assuming the stage was competent to begin with. A lot of Isekai also are very tropey and reference not just the broad strokes of other fantasy settings writ large but other isekai.

And there is no place this is more exemplary than the Villainess subgenre of isekai works.

They've all got this same basic framework: girl dies somehow and wakes up in an otome game she either played or knew about in her old life! However, she isn't the protagonist of the otome game, she's the villainess: an odious character who existed just to obstruct the heroine's chosen route in the game!

But here's the thing. I play otome games. I'm maybe not an expert, but I do have a casual acquaintanceship with the genre. The villainess rival plot that's endemic to this whole-ass genre? It stems from one of the earliest otome games ever, Angelique. However: it's not a trope that actually stuck around in otome games. To the point that Angelique's own sequels and spin-offs also didn't have the villainess rival. Similarly, the idea of the grindy items or whatever-- most modern otome games are not "dating sims", they're visual novels. You can think of them as choose your own adventure books, way more than a grindy dating sim where you have to raise stats, repeatedly talk to the dating options in certain areas on certain days, or give them items. The last set of actual popular otome games that had those elements is probably the [Heart/Spade/Diamond/etc] no Kuni no Alice series, I'm pretty sure? Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. But either way, I can say pretty confidently that Persona 5 is more of a dating sim than most otome games.

The fact is, these manga and light novels are all cribbing notes off each other, not otome games. So I have a grudge against them for that, first and foremost. It's like, okay you're talking shit about the problems and how terrible it is for the villainess to have to suffer just because she also liked the guy and her life is ALSO BAD and it's like. This is just not a thing. These works exist as critiques of a phenomenon that just isn't widespread and barely exists at all. You are all still just mad at Angelique-- or rather, because they don't know their "source material" at all, they're just empty shells of someone else's subversion of an extremely old game. And the subversion of ACTUALLY THE VILLAINESS IS FINE is also eroded even further by the fact a lot of them just decide to have the plot be actually the heroine is the real bad guy. Look at that hussy, chatting up these dudes above her station and stealing someone else's fiance. The issue isn't that the original plot of the game set up these girls as having their own happiness achievable only as mutually exclusive, implying women are all enemies competing for men, the real issue with the initial story is... genki girl bad, elegant girl good. I'm hating on a few specific manga here, but I'm sure there's more than that out there that have pulled that particular twist.

They have nothing to say. But when the framework of the story is we're going to fix the shit that went wrong in the original... it reads like they're trying to be commentary on the original genre. Which just falls so, so flat. Thanks for the commentary on a thing that isn't even a problem with the genre and also your commentary sucked.

So, enough generalities. Onto The One Within the Villainess.

The Plot:

The basic rundown: The villainess, Remilia, was replaced out as a child by Emi, a Japanese girl who was familar with the game Remilia is from. Emi did all the usual villainess isekai protagonist things-- rescued the male love interests from problems in their lives and came to occupy the same space as the protagnist did within the original game's story. Remilia, from within Emi, watched this and was satisfied because she had lived a loveless life with terrible parents but with Emi's memories of her own family in Japan and the second-hand experience of Emi's new life, she was able to finally experience happiness and became protective of Emi.

However, a fellow isekai'd girl has taken over the role of the game's protagonist. Pissed off that the villainess has changed the plot, she plots Remilia/Emi's downfall. Emi suffers the same fate as the villainess in the game, and retreats within herself. Remilia, back in control of her own body, swears vengeance and to make herself happy to fulfill Emi's wishes for her. To these ends, she does some bog-standard villainess things. She takes control of the land she's exiled to, begins doing damage control to her reputation, saves some poor people who were neglected by fate in the "original" timeline, teams up with a demon lord, and kills god.

I won't say the plot is anything special. A lot of the plot points I have read beat for beat in other manga. It also has the issue of not being very familiar with otome games— aside from my usual otome games almost never have a villainess issue, the whole subplot about the shop shows that the writer is thinking of the mechanics of a mobile game. And granted, I've never played a mobile game otoge, maybe they really are like that. But with the genre as a whole taking cues from a very old otome game, it is weird to see the very modern cash shop mechanics thrown in there. It feels like indiscriminate cribbing off the notes of other isekai that just accidentally took something from the wrong source material-- that any one isekai is as good as any other to crib from, overlooking the thing that's supposed to make the subgenre distinct. Which makes sense-- if you don't play otoge, you wouldn't know what the mechanics were like so you probably wouldn't see an issue with a cash shop existing as a plot point and as a major part of a subplot.

Thus far, this review has mostly been negative. But that's because I've focused on what it has in common with most other villainess isekai— a genre I started with saying I don't like. So, next: what sets it apart and what it does well within its trappings.

The Art:

The art fucks /pos.

Manga is a visual medium, and having good art isn't a must persay, but it does a lot to influence audience perception of characters, setting a mood, and just the overall enjoyment of a series. Characters in this manga make great fucking faces. The otoge heroine just runs around making the shittiest faces, the clearest faux-cutesy but complete scumbag expressions ever. They're great. Emi and Remilia technically have the same face but they're very well distinguished by light shines and make-up, sure, but also the kind of expressions they make— Remilia playing at Emi is also distinguishable from what we saw of Emi. Things are telegraphed really well-- you can see the people around Emi being affected by the heroine because they also begin making shitty smug faces (though not to the same degree).

Also, about selling a mood: killing God isn't an exceptional plot point in a JP fantasy series. It's every JRPG I played growing up, it's my beloved Angel Sanctuary, etc. So how do you sell the audience on the gravity of killing this God that was only recently introduced? Radical art style shift from villainess isekai to surreal high contrast Madoka witch labyrinth was the answer this manga landed upon and damn if I can't say it doesn't work. That sequence was great. Excellent choice by the artist.

The character designs are also pretty good. Remilia and Pino Blanchet definitely pass for the villainess and heroine isekai tropes. The demon shopkeep also looks like a minor NPC that for some reason has been taken out of a minor role and been given a more major one, whilst also making sense with the larger world set-up as we get that. The demon king looks like a boy you might romance on an otome route. The gods have weird inhuman forms. The dwarf girls both look like dwarves, in a western fantasy sense whilst still fitting into an otome game! I'm not sure any of them really stand out to me as like damn good job, but I think as a whole they do help get across the setting-- both as a fantasy in its own right outside the "game's plot", and as an isekai into an "otome game".

Emi and Remilia:

Okay. Listen. Listen. I grew up in YGO fandom, alright? Bodyshare romance is peak. And I've got a thing for unrequited love, tragic loves, dead girl haunts the narrative she can no longer directly touch but everyone around her is still impacted by the hole she left. And, to clarify, that isn't what this manga is— I do not think this was written with the intention of being read as hot girl doppleganger ghost romance— but it's got the vibes. That even if that is not the intended reading of the text, it has an appeal that people into that could appreciate.

So, Emi is not textually dead, aside from the whole reincarnation thing. But she is functionally a ghost in the story. After she fell into despair, she retreated within herself and Remilia retook control. In-character, Remilia believes that Emi is as she was— alive, and now merely watching from behind the scenes. With this belief, she seeks to make Emi's ideal world so she can emerge and live happily again, just as she did before. There is no sign of Emi stirring, but Remilia is motivated by her memories and ideals, by what she gave her and honoring her memory. The Remilia the audience knows is a person changed, but not by someone who is in the story any longer. In this way, Emi "reads" as a ghost, haunting the narrative through her effect on Remilia. Dead girlfriend vibes, is what I'm saying.

There's also something to be said for the dynamic necessitated by the bodyshare where despite being deeply invested in the other's happiness, they do and do not have any personal relationship at all. They both know intimately and have never met the other person— we see Emi playing Remilia's game and crying over her; we see Remilia watching Emi living her life on a flat-screen television window in their mindscape. Without direct interaction, they nontheless are invested in each other, their highs and lows, their success and happiness. They're the other's biggest fan, but not in the sense that we usually think of in the modern era when someone says Parasocial. They are aware of each other, and both is individually important to the other. Whilst the situation is fantastical, it comes out feeling like an early internet friendship with both girls lurking on the other's blog, more than it feels like the relationship between stan and oshi.

On Female Characters:

So, this manga is guilty of the whole villainess isekai trend of actually the game heroine is the bad one! twist.

I forgive it.

The most important relationship in the manga, the fulcrum upon which the whole manga's storyline sits, is the one between Emi and Remilia. They're both full characters in their own rights, even though Emi exists only in flashback. Meanwhile, of the major side characters the ratio of male to female characters actually favors women. There's two men, whilst all the other major side-characters with personalities are women. So, Pino being shitty is just like, oh okay she's just a shitty person, not that this author has kind of an unfortunate attitude about women. Also, Pino's character flaws of being incredibly selfish and focused on romantic feelings without caring about the target of her affections as a person-- it rather neatly echoes the evil god featured in the manga as well. The two of them echo each other, so considering we see the exact same flaws in evil incel god and the main female antagonist... Yeah, I don't see the way Pino is written as a problem here.

The Demon King:

So, speaking of side-characters. The Demon King Angel is supposed to have been a secret route from within the game. And while I think this manga gets a lot of shit wrong about otome games I will say this for it: Angel absolutely feels like a true/secret route character. Gorgeous character design, genuinely tragic backstory with a good reason for him to have been an absolute bastard within the story. . . nailed it. Good job. A++. More than anyone else here, I actually buy him as an otoge character.

It's a little bit unfortunate for him that Remilia is only interested in Emi and making Emi's ideals a reality! That just makes him feel like he's properly executed even moreso though, and really drives home that this manga is about the relationship between Emi and Remilia more than any thing else though.

post also available on dreamwidth

#manga review #the one within the villainess

[synergysilhouette]

An alternate take on "Frozen II" (2019)

I'm back! I wasn't expecting to do a rewrite for this, but considering how polarized the feedback for this film is, I wanted to give my own spin on it--but keep in mind, this takes into account my rewrite for "Frozen," so read that first! You have NO IDEA how hard this was to rewrite, especially since I had to alter a lot. Hope you enjoy this, and be sure to check out my rewrites for other revival-era films!

Again: make use of the concept art! Unlike part 1, it doesn't really look historically/culturally accurate to medieval Scandinavia, but at least it looks amazing! Maybe the silhouettes could be changed to make it more accurate. Keep the color schemes, though; I love the oranges and reds used for Anna rather than her black look used in the final product--and yes, I know the last picture is from her Arendelle festival dress at the beginning of the film; I'd like it to be formatted to her travel dress (I like the silvery-grey coat though), as well as using the blues and greens for Elsa.

2. Stay in Arendelle a little bit longer. If you recall my "Frozen" remake, it's a larger kingdom, and I'd like to see it a bit more during "Some Things Never Change" and before we relax in the castle. Considering my other changes, it works out fine; they could be perusing the town when Elsa hears the magical voice. And Liutenant Mattias and his group are never trapped in Northuldra; they remain in Arendelle and didn't have a large role in part 1 due to Agnarr's advice to the staff to keep an emotional distance from the royals.

3. Hans is Anna's main love interest, being a genuine good guy here, and joins the team on their adventure. Given the events of the first film, they actually have been engaged for a while, as Anna is working on her relationship with Elsa and Hans is trying to bond with (some of) his brothers. He's also earned bonus sister points from Elsa because he serves as a confidant to her. Despite being engaged, Kristoff hoped Anna's feelings would've changed, but despite caring for him, she chose Hans.

4. Explore Northuldra culture more, and make Arendelle ancestors (a separate culture from the Northuldra) Sami-inspired. I find it a waste that the Northuldra simply existed to give Elsa a hint to the voice and serve as the victims of a colonial story. In my opinion, they don't live THAT far from Arendelle; they just stay a little ways away, enough to keep their cultural distance while still keeping in touch with current events. Plus they're not stuck in one area. In my version, their mythology would have a BIG impact on the story.

5. Remove Iduna's Northuldra origins. Maybe it's just me, but I do think Iduna doesn't look Northuldran. In my version, she was from a tribal group, racially similar to the people of Arendelle and hidden thanks to the trolls (and I'd also make Kristoff related to them as well). Or if we wanna utilize more of the Nordic mythology, she can be descended from elves, who are said to live in Ahtohallan, where Elsa ventures to find out the origins of the voice.

8. What were different elements in the film now embody seasons: Bruni (summer), Nokk (spring), Gale (fall), and Elsa (winter), which can be spiritual or in corporeal form, usually the former. The nokk (as per mythology) can also shapeshift. I'm removing the rock giants, since they don't really serve a purpose in my rewrite.

9. "I Can't Lose You" is included. After finding out the REAL reason their parents died, Elsa feels awful for how she blamed their deaths on Anna, and Anna attempts to prevent Elsa from shutting her out again, but Elsa is realizing that she's now at a point where Anna may not be able to understand (or survive) Elsa's destiny.

10. After Elsa sends away Hans, Olaf, and Anna, a new trio forms: Elsa, Honeymaron (who joins the team to help uncover the secrets of the voice), and the spirit of a previous winter incarnation named Cajetan. Elsa is able to summon him thanks to her own abilities tied to memory (it's mentioned the nokk can do so as well). A Northuldran from decades ago, he silently guides Elsa throughout he journey to find the voice, with Honeymaron bridging certain gaps in unspoken communication that may be lost on someone not from Northuldra. Can't decide whether or not Cajetan is like a little brother to Elsa or a hinted-at love interest (like I'd make Honeymaron). Regardless, Elsa does have higher priorities here than romance, but the seeds can be sew. The other trios are Anna/Hans/Olaf and Kristoff/Ryder/Sven. It's also revealed the previous embodiment of winter killed Kristoff's parents, as well as many of the ethnic group that lived with the trolls. Elsa suffers a lot of guilt for this, and thus involves Kristoff less in their journey, not wanting to hurt him, especially given that he's still reeling about Anna and Hans' upcoming wedding.

11. "Lost in the Woods" is about Kristoff letting go of his feelings for Anna as she decides to marry Hans, with possible hinting at him being attracted to Ryder, as well as reeling from the reason his family was taken from him.

12. We get a physical, PRESENT, villain. Sound exciting right? Well, my idea for the villain might lose a few people. Diving into the world's religion a bit more, I do like the idea that the Northuldrans (as well as the Arendelle people's cousins) spoke of an embodiment of destruction and chaos, a being that made seasons violent and dangerous, and prevents them from coinciding. Their goal is chaos, hoping to rebirth the world and crafting the wretched mirror that Arendelle royalty eventually gained possession of. Failing to convince Elsa to freeze Arendelle (and eventually the world), they turned their attention to the other spirits, who, due to lacking a human form, were easier to manipulate and control, using them to corrupt Elsa, who could also be the most destructive force if they to control her. The nokk attempts to flood Arendelle, Bruni burns up the Northuldra forest (causing them to relocate to Arendelle for a period) and Gale killing off other forms of life by taking their breath away until there isn't even a breeze in the air. Perhaps I've played too many video games, but I love the idea that he oversees much of the heroes like a deity would, similar to Eris from "Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas."

13. Change Elsa's origins. When Runeard dies in a frost, Iduna prays for the spirit of winter to be born as someone to bring Arendelle out of it's dark age, resulting in Elsa. "Love," as to be expected, is an honorary 5th element, and it's revealed that humans can only embody the seasons if true love is involved. It also explains why Agnarr abhors magic and attempts to put on a tough front. All of this is shown at Ahtohollan thanks to the magical elves who imbue wisdom to her. She spends a bit more time there before leaving, with "Show Yourself" being sung once she's there, and they're able to show her other memories of her family and show how much her parents loved her. Perhaps the "You are the one you've been waiting for" line is sung by the benevolent primordial entity. And Elsa is able to let go of the past discretions of the frost that killed her grandfather and Kristoff's parents.

14. The ending is a bit more open-ended. The chaotic deity is defeated, though it's noted that such things cannot be defeated, simply diminished or banished, similar to what Elsa does by working with the other seasons to defeat the deity. Elsa realizes that unlocking her full potential has made her a target for the deity's wrath, but she believes as long as she has those she cares about, then she can get through anything (it's cheesy, but it's true!) However, she does decide that she wants to learn more about the seasons and the magical world, and asks Anna to be a regent in her stead. Anna (and Hans) accept, with a bittersweet goodbye. The film ends with Anna and Hans kissing (and Olaf watches) while Kristoff, Sven, Elsa, and her seasonal contemporaries make for Northuldra, where Ryder, Honeymaron, and Cajetan await them.

One again, I've got A LOT going on with this remake. Maybe it needs to be a 2 hour movie. PLEASE let me know your thoughts and if you have any questions! I may tweak this later.

Update: I've also made a post about my own take if I was in charge of a Disney movie about the Snow Queen. This adaptation is independent of my Frozen remakes.

#frozen #disney #disney animation #elsa #anna #frozen 2 #hans #olaf #jack frost #show yourself #into the unknown #kristoff

[ow-old-men]

Could I interest you in some info about these two idiots?

Kassem 'Kass' H. Malik and Vermont 'Jaime' James are my very own homemade blorbos and for the next week starting today (April 19th), you could help them advance in the @original-character-championship! Go HERE to vote

And why should you?

Well, idk, but I will use this as an excuse to just talk about them so I can for once stop spinning them in my mind. They are also the main characters of a ... thing I'm slowly trying to write. In the simplest terms possible:

Kass and Jaime lead normal, regular lives. And that's easy enough for them, since they don't remember. Don't remember that they're actually immortal, elemental beings of great power who - in order to get out of having to fight in the great war of good and evil - burned away all their memories and powers and rendered themselves mortal. They don't even know that the memories will eventually start to return and that they've done this same thing over and over again; choosing each time to abstain from their responsibility and live on, in safety and hiding and in ignorance, and together

It's about memory, and about devotion, about loving to the point of destruction. It's about the decisions we have neither the right nor the choice but to make and it's about their consequences. It's about the things we must do, the things we are asked to do and all the things that fall between them. About responsibility and fleeing and being scared to death and beyond

And it is about two men who love each other because what else is there to do?

and if you wanna indulge me and simply read, well, the (very rough) draft of the opening to their tale can be found here:

As for their individual characters, well, let’s take them one by one

Vermont, going mainly by the nickname Jaime, is the main instigator of their resets, the one who actually does it and yes, there is a lot of guilt built up there and then buried relentlessly. He’s connected to fire and especially the sun. He’s also kind of a lame guy?

Violently private to cover up a deep inability to connect with the people around him. Smart, but definitely not emotionally, kind but prone to defensiveness and isolation at the mere idea that he or the people he loves are being mildly inconvenienced threatened. He spends most of the time after their resets as a history professor but in a not insignificant amount of cycles he’s also been a carpenter or straight up a lumberjack

If Kass wasn’t around he’d probably be an unironic marvel fan and wear only beige polo shirts and fjällraven pants

Bonus info; on a meta level, he started his life as a spoof on Indiana Jones, that’s also why he’s named that!

Kassem is in turn connected to water and especially the moon. It’s him for asks for the first reset, though he does start out opposed to the idea . On a personal level, he’s plagued by an endless curiosity that has driven him into every new turn of his existence. Kind of restless, filling notebook after notebook with flighty notes about almost everything. He’s a bit of a social chameleon, slotting in everywhere, at least for a while. He wants to understand and he’s good at getting to a place where he can but bad at every staying put. His heart eventually starts aching for whatever else may be out there

On a day to day though, he’s mainly just incredibly smart, and funny in a very sly, downplayed kind of way. Lightning sharp but not about to use it for anything nefarious . He’s an extremely prolific children’s book author (under a ton of pseudonyms) and does have a handful of longer, adult and extremely loose and poetic manuscripts tucked away in a drawer somewhere,. He’s yet to gather the confidence to pursue publishing

—-

In short, They’re kissing on the mouth, they’re so unnormal about each other. They’ve got the world at their fingertips and they’ve never held anything that wasn’t each other. They’re the sun and the moon and they’re continually escaping heaven for a second more alone and together. Eventually they’ll have to turn and face the music, but love, what if we had time yet? There was never anything else they could have done.

#not overwatch #oc tag #Kass #Vermont #this is my propaganda yes #413 Kassem & Vermont #I am normal about them I am normal about them #thank you for hosting the oc poll it really made me sit down and write this at last hdhshaha #also I did write a song inspired by them (and by Jesus and Judas but whatever) #but couldn’t get a good recording in time #vote for them #long post

[childotkw]

i'd also like a top ten list but of your own characters :D I am still intrigued about your original stories and I'd like to know how you rank them and why

Oh god I don’t know if I can contain this to just ten, I’ve had a lot more OG stories crop up over the years that I haven’t spoken about on here 😂 why don’t I do top 3-5 for each?

Aasdfsdgfsdfklgjsd this is so long I'm so sorry 😂😂😂😂

Storm Son Series

Tristan - he is my boy! My son! So earnest, and he wants to be a good ruler to make his mother proud while protecting his friends. He can be reckless and headstrong, but is a natural leader and charismatic. Still young enough to believe in the good of others, a bit naïve and idealistic, but it's endearing. Comes up with crazy plans on the fly, and loves Alden and Sena so much he's ridiculous.

Alden - he’s just…so cool to me. Perpetually responsible, to the point of being obsessive when carrying out his duties. He seems reckless, but he knows his own capabilities so well that any risks he takes are actually calculated down to the finest detail. He is the one that enables Tristan’s crazy plans. He’s got ~hidden trauma~, but loves Tristan and Sena enough to let them in.

Sena - she's very Angry but she’s got Reasons for it. An outcast, she just wants to find her place in the world, and have a family with someone that genuinely loves and respects her. She’s not human, and is insanely strong, to the point where yeeting Alden at an enemy is a move they hone and use regularly. She loves Alden and Tristan and would die to protect them.

Lucas - the cool suave mentor figure. Massive DILF energy. Alden is his protege and thinks he is “all the best parts” of Lucas. Pseudo-father-son relationship on full blast. Lucas has done some bad shit in his past though, and it makes other, older characters very wary and distrusting of him.

Rosen - main villain. He’s clever and dangerous, and can come across as a madman but he’s actually fully in control at all times and that makes it way worse. Calculative and manipulative, he’s all-in in his plots and confident that he can win. Mildly obsessed with Alden because of his undisclosed past with Lucas.

Undertow

Cassius - if trauma had an associated image it would be his face. This man desperately needs a break. A child soldier, he struggles emotionally to connect with others whenever he tries, and has a lot of identity issues. He loves his twin brother, and though he does a lot of horrible stuff, he's equally messed up by it. He's my punching bag and is a water mage.

Darian - Cassius' twin and number one protector. Can, has and will throw hands to keep his brother safe. Darian is a lot more carefree and emotionally stable, but he also hides a very dark streak. He enjoys fighting, revels in violence and is borderline psychotic with only Cassius existing in his sphere of loved ones. He's a fire mage, and terrifyingly suited to his element.

Cenli - the head of the institute that trains the mages. She's cold and political, using others for her own gain without hesitation. She only wants to protect the institute. Does play a somewhat maternal role for Cassius and Darian but it's a very complex relationship.

Kalim (might be renamed) - high ranking bad dude that's obsessed with Cassius because he saw him do A Grisly Murder once and it tickled his fancy. He's playing 4D chess against everyone and is very hard to predict. Pretty much everyone hates when he's around because they all know he's up to something but they can never prove it.

Trials of Edos

Eli - probably the sweetest all-around character I’d ever write. He’s young, like fourteen, and very much a Classic Hero that wants to save everyone even at cost to himself. Selfless and kind to balance out the absolute magical power he’s packing. Kid could destroy the sun but he won’t because he’s a Good Boy. Needs supervision though because he attracts trouble.

Ariella - a thief with an honour code that means she can’t let Eli throw himself at the Big Bad alone. She gets caught up in the plot and just never leaves. Very confident, very switched-on, very competent. She finds Cayden adorable because he’s trying to be chivalrous and respectful. She enjoys pushing his buttons.

Cayden - a knight from an extinct order that swears loyalty to Eli after he saves him. He’s just a good guy, bit out of touch but genuine. Ariella both terrifies and fascinates him, and they work well together. He’s got a lot of guilt and trauma though, which springs up at the oddest times and makes his friends very protective of him.

Gods and monsters (not officially named)

Ira - disgruntled immortal wizard (think 5000+ years) that is forever in service of the royal family. He’s got Tired Dad energy when interacting with Elana but everyone else just gets a glare. He’s insanely powerful, has a long, long history and Knows A Lot Of Shit because he’s been around for it all. Very Angry at the Gods for Very Valid Reasons.

Elana - Princess-turned-Queen after her father’s death. She’s twelve/thirteen, very inexperienced and has been ‘given’ Ira as her key advisor, but she has no idea who or what he is. Very quickly bonds with him as a father-figure, and wants to uncover all of his secrets. She’s inquisitive and clever but painfully young, and still believes in goodness and fairness and daydreams.

Constance - Elana’s grandmother, former Queen. She’s old and not always aware of what’s happening around her, but she and Ira have a past because he was her key advisor when she was Queen. She’s very respected by her people, but had a vicious streak not many know about.

Ziris - the god of fortune / misfortune. Very young, only about 800 years old. He’s a troublemaker and fickle but if you catch his interest he’ll be ride-or-die for you. Very loyal to his goddess-mother, and is heavily involved in the politics of the Gods. He has a fondness for irritating Ira, and likes Elana.

Dystopian (not officially named)

Piers Erinson - my sad, wet, pathetic son. Someone needs to get this boy some therapy. Very self-destructive, way kinder than you would expect. A member of the DOVEs, which are the elite troops / spies of the Council. He was strong armed into service after a mishap with his old squad, and is the nephew of a hated former DOVE, and traitor. He’s forever trying to escape that shadow, and carries a lot of guilt over what happened to his squad. He would die for Etta, his DOVE partner - and tries to multiply times but she just won’t let him.

Etta Litman - my daughter! Badass lady, 10/10 want to be her friend. Etta was part of Piers’ squad when The Thing happened. She saw him spiralling and joined up with DOVE to keep an eye on him, essentially threw herself to the wolves to protect him from the system and all the corrupt people. She’s very patient, supportive and empathetic to Piers, seeing him as a surrogate younger brother. Anyone else can get fucked in her eyes. She’s super protective of him and will punch anyone who insults him at the drop of a hat.

Dacre Cygnet - rebel, wants to fight the Council and the system and probably God too. Very manipulative, often lies to even his friends if it’ll get him what he wants (and he might even feel bad about it). Blinded by his mission and fully willing to go through people if they stand in his way. Feels many things all at once towards Piers that he cannot compute because he’s a bit of an asshole, very much a “you are the only person I’d hesitate to shoot, please don’t use that against me” kinda deal. They’re on opposite sides technically but he pines.

Marie Fowlep - Piers and Etta’s mentor in DOVE. She had a history with Piers’ uncle, and you can’t tell if she wants to keep Piers safe or wants to use him until he breaks. Doesn’t have a maternal bone in her bone but would go to bat for her kids operatives. She’s a “the ends justify the means” kind of lady. Can be very mean.

Rust and Ruin

Mikol - youngest child of Emperor Bendek and Royal Consort Anilise. He’s aware from a young age of the shitty position his mother (and he) have in Otrar’s court and feels a deeper connection to her as both of them were considered ‘outsiders’ due to their features. After his mother died, Mikol spent the next nine years in his mother’s country as a ward, and grew to be a cunning, quick-witted and strong leader. He travelled all over, joined the army, learning as much as he could about how badly his family ruled, and eventually returned to Otrar. He’s an ambitious little fucker and doesn’t get along with his older siblings, especially his oldest half-brother Leonil.

Orryn - born in Troam Siana, the isle of the Ashri (those capable of different types of magic), he was quickly singled out as a new type of Ashri (called Okaeti - capable of energy manipulation). He grew lonely though as the only Okaeti, and made his way to Otrar. Decades later he’s still there, acting as an advisor to the royal family but growing increasingly frustrated with how they govern. He was close friends with Anilise and grows to care for Mikol.

Anilise - the daughter of the King of Evaria, she was forced to marry Emperor Bendek after their country was conquered. Anilise was fifteen, completely isolated in a foreign, hostile court, and essentially forced to breed over and over because the Empress could not carry more children herself. She’s quiet and subdued, treated more as an ornament than a person. Anilise birthed four children, all made to look like the Emperor and Empress in utero by an Ashri magic. Anilise had little to no contact with her children, who grew up thinking the Empress was their mother. Mikol is her only child that looks like her, so she was allowed to raise him. Unfortunately, her constant pregnancies deteriorated her health to the point where she was bedridden, and she died when Mikol was six.

Leonil - the oldest of Bendek’s children, he’s a cruel and cunning young man that wants the throne. He has a particular dislike for Mikol, who he acknowledges is the most dangerous of his half-siblings, and the two of them are each other’s main rival / enemy. Leonil is married with his own young son, and loves his wife and child fiercely. He is ruthless when it comes to defending his claim to the throne, and wants Mikol out of the way.

Delia - Leonil’s wife and a very charming, conniving woman. She’s a softer touch when it comes to manipulating others, and shares what information she gleans with her husband. She also thinks Mikol is dangerous but thinks he'd be more beneficial on their side than against them. She is an excellent politician, and people often underestimate her.

#anonymous #original works #guys #gUYS #IM SO SORRY ITS SO LONG #I just have so many ideas and so many characters and i get so excited talking about them!!!! #thank you for asking i greatly enjoyed rambling on about my babies!

[maiji]

[images: Digital ink brush-style illustration of Hokushin tossing his coat behind him while whipping one arm out, creating a swirling vortex of leaves and ribbon like forms around him. The North Bound logo appears at the bottom right. Three images in the set show the finished black and white drawing with shading, then the lineart only, and finally a very rough sketch.] 

 The part in the manga where Hokushin throws off his coat before fighting Yusuke, with all the leaves fluttering around him in the dimly lit forest, impressed me so much as a kid. This is not that scene, but it is those elements with more immediate fun arm ribbony action ooh ahh!

I always lament that the anime missed the opportunity for more super cool ribbon physics battles for Hokushin, but it's hard to draw even just in static panels, haha. I couldn’t decide which version I preferred, with shading or without, so you get both plus the base rough sketch.

What got me on doodling this is that I recently took some time to make a full inventory of North Bound stories on AO3! You can check it out here!

North Bound: a chronological navigator https://archiveofourown.org/works/43430752

This closes the big listing gap in The Loyal Retainer collection, and, for the first time, presents all the stories in the order they actually happen! I make stuff all over the place based on what I feel like working on/have fleshed out enough to make a coherent narrative installment, so it was very satisfying to see this massive list of the Hokushin rabbit hole from 2014-2015 onwards finally organized (and linked) chronologically!

This series has brought me so much joy to work on over the years. It not only connected me to something I loved so much in my childhood, but also helped me to learn and grow creatively and develop my skills and confidence for other projects as well. I actually do have an “ending” for it, which is how it will finally link up with actual Yu Yu Hakusho series timeline, and hope to be able to see that through at some point…

There are currently three different North Bound stories in the works. OK, there are a lot more, but these three are the furthest along in terms of states of scripting, thumbnailing and actual page progress that I’ve been slowly inching forward on over the past couple of years. One is the actual meeting between Hokushin and Otake I touched on a few times previously; another is the actual “next” story in the Kamakura timeline which will (re)introduce another existing Yu Yu Hakusho character; and the third takes place in Yu Yu Hakusho timeline with a flashback and is, I think, actually the oldest scripted story in the set but I hemmed and hawwed a long time as to whether I wanted to develop it into a drawn story. It’ll be interesting to see which one finally makes it out of the gate first!

YYH North Bound

#yu yu hakusho #hokushin #fanart #yyh north bound #yyh the loyal retainer #art by maiji/mary huang

[titoist]

two things that i have awareness of simultaneously:

it would probably be greatly beneficial to my well-being to harbor a general distaste for (& distance from) the internet. & not in my way where i come on here & try to type cathartic paragraphs dissecting broad or narrow things that happen on the internet, but rather in a more direct firsthand way

longstanding personal circumstances of isolation drove me into a place where because of excess exposure to the internet it has become kind of difficult to precisely draw the line between it & myself, muddling all attempts to identify exactly what i should apply distaste & distance to. i have a povertous store of early memories that i actually feel able to point to & confidently say that this one or that one portrays the original, standard form of my life before i psychologically entangled with life as refracted through the whole online lens. is it in the decor of my room? is it in this or that hobby? & is it in this, & is it in that, & what is it not in…?

the sum of these two things is a kind of scared desperation, a sense of infestation of my being

the most strict & obvious answer as to where to draw the line would be at the actual devices & applications that enable access to the internet in the first place. but, when i take it that far, the aloneness with my thoughts & the interminable stillness of a room can become unbearable at times. maybe it doesn't have to be that way though, maybe it's just a weaning process

can't decide whether i have a life to replace the internet with

a more liberal place to draw the line might be cessation of anything that could be called social media. the internet can be something to sift through rather than talk into. sift through databases. spend an hour hitting this button that opens some random ancient web 1.0 website & see what i uncover. investigate. torrent books, find my interests (doesn't tumblr have journaling / introspection utility for me? can it really feel the same just writing everything out in a local document? doing it this way feels so decisive, the progression towards a singular decision that the writing at hand is finished & will be published. would a private blog work? can i find the drive to do this without the constant pull of inferring that i am being seen in some capacity, even if it is so distant? is it a necessary component that, for /someone/, for no one in particular, i put in real effort to be understood & know that it will succeed or fail on those terms?)

or i could limit myself to Discord, with its privacy & direct conversation? can just that be good for me? but it can become just vicarious intake of other people's less careful intake. is watching videos still okay? i don't know. maybe block every html element that serves to present false commonality. no more reviews, no more comments, no more scores, no more metrics, no more forum. no more of the total thing so bigger than me that i always feel crushed by & have to find some productive way to react to, writing paragraphs instead of poisoning the psychic well by sharing the disgusting advertisement or what-have-you to relate around hearing it

the right people are having stimulating empathetic thoughtful productive discussions right before my eyes, where i can see, or join, & i can't bring myself to keep up with it all through the channels interface & the backlogs & the calls & the everything, i can't rein in my attention. i have the great fortune of finding people & things that feel really real, & i squander that with my indefinitely postponed of really exploring it all. i think i might just be apathetic, i think i don't care enough, i'm not sure that i care enough to really want to /really/ exist - but if that's the case then why did i type this post?

[bernkastel-ao3]

Within the last month, I've had two sorta related writing challenges to face. One was handling the writing of a character that I have mixed feelings towards, positive enough to give them their due while coming at them from a pov that has significant issues with them. So, it was to convey respect to them, while not going overboard with either that or the opposing feeling from the POV's character, or to muddle those sentiments up in a way that made the POV character seem out of character.

It's definitely topped by working on a chapter where I had to acknowledge the presence of a character in an assembled group that I don't like or respect, but that I don't want to get beaten by via the urge to just poof this individual out of existence, completely change or have the characters turn into my authorial voice going "this guy sucks", rather than act as they normally do.

Writing characters where there's an element of wanting to dunk on them a bit, but not unfairly, can be stressful when you're completely uncertain about how your efforts come off to others and lack confidence in your own view. But it's so much easier when you can think "I do actually respect this guy a bit and can give that to the POV while thinking they deserve it, even if putting that with everything else is stressing", compared to "the part of my brain telling me what this character would most likely say or do makes me want to fill every character near them with so much hate and repulsion, but that would be off for them".

#writing

[ghenry]

2023 YouTube channel recap!

It is now the end of the year, so now I'm looking back at the videos I managed to release in 2023! There weren't too many, but they were all challenging in unique ways. So let's take a look!

Hi-Fi Rush | As Basic As Things Can Get

So, this video is pretty polarizing. And I knew it would be! Hi-Fi Rush received endless praise when it was released in January 2023. Being fairly dabbled in both action platformers and hack-n-slash games, I had to see how it was for myself. And the water of mediocrity splashing at my face was cold enough to convince me I needed to vent about it in video form. I took this video as a lesson on exercising absolute honesty. I feel like I have been holding myself back with a lot of video projects because I was afraid of coming off too strong. But this time I didn't care. I let out my most raw, uncouth feelings about this game because I want to be more comfortable with my voice and assertiveness. In that sense, I think I succeeded. The split ratio would say otherwise, though.

The point of the video: Hi-Fi Rush took advantage of having this specific art style that not a lot of high-end companies really tackle, and that carried it throughout waves of praise, despite having middling game design and lack of confidence in what it actually succeeds in. It underplays its own strength--the hack-n-slash combat-- and pads the game out to a high degree suing boxy platforming with only character dialogue attempting to make it drag less. Games like Devil May Cry and Bayonetta have similar structures where it showcases awkward platforming that isn't very fun to perform, but they both go elbow-deep with their pure combat (which takes up the majority of their campaigns) because the developers were confident in the hack-n-slash gameplay. Tango did not have that confidence, which is why the majority of the gameplay is boxy platforming that lacked any sense of urgency or challenge.

Also, the writing sucks complete ass and Chai is a terrible example of writing an unlikable protagonist. Nothing will ever convince me otherwise. I'm so sick of everyone trying to make their own Spider-Man.

I don't regret this video, even a little bit. I don't care how many people unsubscribed, if they're not here to take in my thoughts and feelings, what are they here for? Because that's all I'm doing and will continue to do with my channel.

Crime is Crime | The Silver Case Analysis

This was something I've wanted to do for years, but prioritized Travis Strikes Again as well as No More Heroes 3. Even so, The Silver Case was a daunting project. I'm not a professional writer, I never took any elective courses for it throughout my school career. I don't consider myself even remotely smart, never-mind 'an intellectual.' I'm not even that familiar with philosophy and such, so part of me was thinking "Do I even have the capacity to analyze this game?" literally every single second I was writing, capturing, and editing the video.

Regardless, in the end, I think I got a good grasp of the story and was able to dissect a lot of it in a satisfying manner.

The point of the video: Crime will always exist, but what's more interesting is the source of it. The motivation of an individual, a society, or even a corporation. The game also showcases a lot of elements and even narrative quirks that would be prevalent in Suda51's future directing gigs. I think he and his crew have some fine critiques on things like capitalism, police justice, and what it means to be a part of a controlled society. It doesn't give any answers in how you can change the worst parts of a society, but it isn't really meant to in any real way, it just isn't that simple.

Analyzing Henry Cooldown | The Devil In the Details

What started out as a little defense piece for Henry in No More Heroes 3 ended up much longer and more in-depth than I initially planned. While looking over his dialogue, appearance, and overall design, I realized there is so much more to this living plot-twist.

The point of the video: I think Henry represents the devil for Travis Touchdown. And this further accentuates what I've pontificated in my full analysis of NMH3, that Travis is stuck in this eternal form of hell. While Suda has never explained --and probably never will-- what he was trying to say with games like NMH, I like to think having Travis be cursed with eternal battle, eternal recognition, and eternal brand potency (like many video game icons) was something he was considering, at least by the time he was making NMH3.

And, sure, I've analyzed and described Henry to mean different things, but so what? He can be more than one thing. Nothing is certain, a lot of this will remain open for interpretation. That's art.

Grasshopper's Translator | James Mountain Interview

Earlier this year I got to have a nice, long chat with James Mountain, the main translator/interpreter of Grasshopper Manufacture! I wanted his input since he was the sole individual given the task to translate the entirety of The Silver Case from beginning to end. I ended up learning a lot about him as well as the process of such a dense job that is interpreting a visual novel completely by yourself. I also thought it'd make a good exercise if I ever want to release videos like this again. I had fun learning how to make audio visualizers as well as including visual context during our conversations.

The point of the video: There was a lot of debate (and bickering) in regards to the English interpretation of the game, and I figured who better to clarify their process of the whole thing than the interpreter himself? I had a lot of fun conducting this interview, and there were a lot of bits I didn't use for my analysis video, so I figured it would make a nice bonus for everyone!

That's everything from this year! I'm really proud of how all of these videos came out, and I'm itching to keep going, expressing myself to my best ability! But I think a little break is in order. Thank you so much if you have read up to here! Have a great rest of your holiday, and I'll catch you in 2024!

#no more heroes #no more heroes 3 #suda51 #grasshopper manufacture #nmh3 #the silver case #game analysis #youtube #James mountain #kill the past #hi fi rush