#me + writing too much about media: this too is yuri

[musical-chick-13]

Thoughts on subtextual yuri?

See, a lot of people write off subtext as "cowardly" or like...a way to claim plausible deniability so creators can still...cater to the homophobes or avoid controversy or avoid Getting Gay In Their Serious Heterosexual Show? Which, I'm sure there's plenty of that, because there's plenty of homophobia in the world. If that's the only reason, I do genuinely hate it. But I think subtext can be very valuable, and I think it can even be more in line with the established story/characters than stating their relationship outright. I'm going to use "yuri" broadly here, in the sense of "media of all kinds about women being romantically/sexually involved" as opposed to a specific genre of manga/anime.

Sometimes, creators (especially of children's/family media) have to rely on subtext to get any type of depiction of women in love/dating/etc. to be shown at all. (This is due to the continued view of queer relationships as Inherently Adult™/inappropriate for children, and/or the higher-ups wanting to avoid members of their audience who don't want to see queer people in stories kicking up a fuss.)

If a work qualifies as a period drama or something similar and seeks to represent what it might have been like for some queer women during that time, subtext can be useful. Obviously there WERE some wlw couples who spent their lives together as lovers/girlfriends/wives/etc. (we have!! always been here!!!!!). But I'm sure for some of them, the most they could express their attraction to women (or the most they felt comfortable expressing their attraction to women) was through subtlety. Comments or gestures of physical affection that could, through plausible deniability, be interpreted as non-romantic/non-sexual. That would go over the heads of people who weren't interested in acknowledging gay people or who actively shunned them. Even simply passing under the radar of hostile outsiders while still being able to have some sort of connection with another woman. I think the stories of these women are still valuable to tell, as they are still authentic queer experiences. We need a wide breadth of queer stories.

And if you have a character who is extremely repressed or not in a position (for whatever reason) to understand her attraction to women, or even a character who doesn't outwardly express emotion very much, it might make more sense from a characterization standpoint to keep her relationship(s) with other women grounded in subtext. Again, there are as many queer experiences as there are queer people, and I think they all deserve to be represented.

Lastly...I think subtext is still resonant in the present, even with modern-day characters. I'm speaking from both my own experience and from testimonials from other sapphics, but a lot of trying to navigate finding other queer women (as partners of any kind and as friends, actually) is evaluating conversations/interactions to determine the state of your relationship. Testing the waters through innocuous comments with queer undertones. Being careful about how you approach various subjects or physical affection or any one of a myriad of interactions until you're reasonably sure the other woman will respond positively. Plenty of us do still rely on subtextual conversations/interactions in real life, as a way to keep ourselves safe, preserve existing relationships, or even simply to make the idea of potential rejection less painful. (And this is especially true for teenagers--and other groups--who are still dependent on other people for basic needs and financial support. You want to be able to express your identity, but you also don't want to risk getting cut off by people who are providing you with food/shelter/transportation/money for emergencies/etc.) "Subtext" in (potential) sapphic relationships is a real thing people experience. And as such, I think representing it in fiction is worthwhile, too.

Tldr: Go yuri. Even subtext. Sometimes especially subtext.

#on subtext #multi t(ASK)ing #mel screams about fictional ladies again #me + writing too much about media: this too is yuri

[thalfbloodloser]

i wish we had alloaro representation in media. a charming character who fucks - both literally AND aesthetically. one that makes other characters go "wow! they're so cool and good in bed, but ultimately un-datable, because as soon as they sense any romantic intention on you, they flee" (kinda like lucifer morningstar from "lucifer". he's aroallo in my heart)

a character who's funny and has a horrifyingly 80's sense of fashion (they have a curly combed-out mullet and mismatched earrings. you'll find them at pride wearing a corn costume because it "matches the aroallo flag" and they're "being subtle") or one who's the embodiment of a 60's greaser (their motorcycle helmet is themed after the aro flag and the back of their leather jacket says "LOVELESS / LOVE LOSES") or one who's a girly fanfiction writer that has more ships than a star wars movie (their fics are muntifandom-ly famous and most their stuff is covered in yaoi/yuri patches and stickers. everyone thinks they're a hopeless romantic because of it, but that's exactly why they're so big on the fiction ≠ reality discourse) or...

anyone else, really. just ultimately a HUMAN who's casually aromantic. one who doesn't make it a parade but isn't subtle about it, either. will they hold other character's hands? maybe. kiss their cheek? perhaps. hang out with them, on picnics and walks along the river? can't see why not! but platonically. or maybe have them be genuinely romance-repulsed & not so eager to participate in anything socially perceived as romantic. that would also be amazing.

let them express themselves sexually! let them fuck. give them a..."fuckbuddy", if you must. or a best friend who's sexually involved with them - classic romcom material, i know - but without it being "complicated"; because there's no romance involved to complicate it.

give them funny scenes. another character tries to kiss their lips or ask them on a date? they laugh nervously, the scene cuts and we get a hilarious shot of them escaping through the bathroom window. or audibly saying "ew" and then regretting it. another character is struggling to write a romcom/romance book without it being corny? we get a scene where our character casually describes the most romantical (and, to them, unappealing) plot ever - because, much like aces acing the smut department, they're far from misunderstanding what is or isn't heartstopping for alloromantics - only to have the other character stare at them like "?????????? HELLO????". give us a scene of them being confused as to why their hookup is yelling at them for acting "so casual" and responding with a quotable shitty line ("just because we had sex last night i can't call you "bro"? / "what? expected me to marry you or something? get off my bed, it's 9AM" / "would you rather have me mad? sad? what's happening here. give me a hint")

but give them complicated scenes too. scenes portraying the loneliness that comes with being aromantic but not asexual, the lack of community. them talking about how hard it is to maintain sexual relationships just sexual. the painful "breakups" because one of their friends declared their undying love for them but they cannot possibly match that energy, even if they wanted to. have them weep because somehow that keeps happening. the unfairness in being accused of heartlessness and selfishness by other queers. the shame on being told they're fetishistic and the reason why queer men/women/people are seen as sex-crazed or impure.

...anyways, i'm rambling- do y'all have any aroallo ocs? or ideas for alloaro characters? maybe aroallo headcanons? i'd love to know what you think! :)

(don't tag as #ace / #asexual / #asexuality)

#aromantic #aro #aroallo #arospec #aro representation #long post

[sephstones]

Hazbin Hotel is still a new fandom for me, and I've only been here a few short weeks, but ooh, I feel very fed from a femslash/yuri and multishipper standpoint. Between Charlie, Vaggie, Emily, Lute, Sera, Lilith, Rosie, Carmilla, Velvette, Niffty, Mimzy, Cherri Bomb, potentially Eve -- they've given us a playground of interesting characters that are interconnected enough that they're fun to mix and match and explore. I'm loving Chaggie, of course, but also really love seeing Emilute on my dash, I'm obsessed with the Lute/Vaggie backstory potential, I love the Carmilla/Rosie and Carmilla/Velvette posts I've seen, and that's not even touching on Lute/Lilith, Lilith/Eve, Vaggie/Carmilla, Charlie/Emily, Charlie/Vaggie/Emily, etc, etc. It's pretty much exactly what I'm always looking for in creative fandom: Not so much that they're giving me exactly everything that I could want all at once--that might be the perfect piece of media for me, but it doesn't leave me as much time/space to get really feral and creatively fannish about it--and just enough that I can have fun writing and exploring with other fans.

Basically, all of this to say, I haven't ventured too too far into the fandom as a whole yet, but I'm really loving the femslash corner of the fandom so far. I have a huge list of fic ideas to tackle and I can't wait to see what everyone else continues to create, and then down the road, what S2 brings.

🖤❤️💛🤍

#hazbin hotel #chaggie #emilute #charlie morningstar #vaggie #hazbin hotel lute #hazbin hotel emily #hazbin hotel sera #hazbin hotel lilith #carmilla carmine #velvette #niffty #cherri bomb #hazbin hotel eve #hazbin hotel rosie #sephstones text post #transformative works #fandom

[gotouhitori]

Okay, so. I'm in Love with the Villainess. Watashi no Oshi wa Akuyaku Reijou. WataOshi. Whichever title you want to refer to it by.

Before reading or watching it, I wondered why the hell people were holding up this random villainess isekai light novel with an over-the-top masochist main character as a landmark yuri title. Okay sure I don't doubt there's yuri going on, but how can it be so special?

Then I watched the anime. "Huh. The series and its main character are clearly and unambiguously lesbian in a way that so many other series can't bring themselves to be. And it has the most frank discussion of queer issues I think I've ever seen in anime or related media. Yeah, I think I see now, it is a cut above." And both because I've heard the novels get into a few things a little more and because the series now has its hooks in me enough for me to want to read the novels anyway, I read the first novel. And yeah, that does add a bit.

And then I read the second novel. The latter bit of the anime does cover the first bit of the second novel, but it's mostly new territory for an anime-only or anime-first such as myself. And holy fucking shit. Spoilers under the cut.

For one thing, the anime/first novel dropped some trans hints about Yu, and that turns out to be a whole transfem allegory - which isn't unheard of by any means, but it's not especially common in a work where that isn't the main focus. And not only that, but there's an actually explicitly textual transmasc in Rae's past life, who forms part of Rae's motivation to make considerable effort and take considerable risk (up to and including treason) to make sure Yu can live as a girl - once Yu states that is what she wants, it is important to note. Random yuri villainess isekai light novel says trans rights, and will absolutely stand by it.

And then all of the stuff about class and inequality comes to a head, and remember how the game that Rae's in the world of is titled "Revolution"? Yeah. One of those happens. Various hints have been dropped about what happens, largely centred on Rae making efforts to save Claire's neck in the most literal way possible when things really go down. But holy shit does that turn out to be more effort and a much more complex endeavour than it appears at first... or for most of the time while it's going on, for that matter. Ultimately she arranges things so that while the revolution still happens (it is basically inevitable), overall loss of life and suffering is minimised, and the general situation is as good as it possibly could be. By the time the proverbial smoke clears, Rae and Claire are openly living as a couple, which is a lot more than you usually see - one of the things Rae comments on is how in per previous life, too much of the yuri she read ended with at least one of the girls either dead or winding up with a man, which annoyed her enough to write fanfic based on series she likes with unsatisfying endings to fix that. And though the game did have a yuri spinoff, the original - the events of which she was living through and manipulating - was het. The character she winds up with was never supposed to be a romanceable character to begin with.

And that's just the first two of the five novels. Living through and changing the course of an actual revolution and settling down with her partner is just 40% of the whole story. (And less if more novels get published.) I've just started the third novel, and it's certainly looking like the rest is going to be at least as much of a ride as the first two were.

This really is an outstanding series. It's Dungeon Meshi levels of "I cannot stop thinking about it" to me, which if you've seen how much I post about that, says a lot. And I haven't read even half of it yet.

#i'm in love with the villainess #watashi no oshi wa akuyaku reijou #wataoshi #yuri #trans rights #lesbianism #lgbtqia

[w4nderingdreamer]

Welcome to the Dreamer System :3

https://cohost.org/w4ndering-dreamer

https://bsky.app/profile/wandering-dreamer.bsky.social we all use she/her :3

profile/banner picture in progress (soon-ish) we're drawing something that encompasses all of us :3

PINNED POST VER 2.1 tumblr sucks, added some other social media links

Gabi: Hi! It's me! You probably know me lmao, resident nerd, rambler and trying to maybe be an artist and writer :3

Sophia: Hello! I'm the protector, who has been here for all of us and our loved ones for a long time <3

Shion: hey. i probably won't talk to much here, but yeah. part of the art/writing aspirations, and full time cat :3

Astra: hiiiiiii! bundle of energy, stims way too much, adhd central, probably screams more than i shoulddd aosidjaosd but yeahh hi :3

we might update this with more info on everyone soon but yeahh

this blog is mostly us reblogging silly things or whatever our current hyperfixations are (our main tag is #dreamerposting combined with whoever made the post (#gabiposting, #sophiaposting, #shionposting or #astraposting (most things are in #gabiposting since that's what we used before)))

we're 20 years old, transfem (hrt since 11/12/2023)

gabi and shion are asexual, while sophia and astra are demisexual, and we're all aromantic :3

we're in a queerplatonic relationship with @apples9 and @theaviaryavians, the cutest dorks in the world~

Our main hobbies are:

Games: jrpgs like Persona and Trails, metroidvanias like Hollow Knight and sandbox games like Stardew Valley and Minecraft

Anime: with my favorites being Steins;Gate, Re:zero and Mob Psycho 100 (and yuri stuff in general)

Drawing: i've been practicing on and off for about a year but now i finally have a tablet :3 so expect bad drawings eventually (and probably bad writing too if i ever get into making comics or similar)

and making friends who we love a lot :3 so feel free to message or ask anything! we've always up for talking about literally anything

#dreamerposting #hi look it's a pinned post those are cool right #we really do like making friends so please talk to me #plural update let's go #gabiposting #since this was overall written by gabi :3

[correctproseka]

Ok but- and I am saying this with respect for your point of view bc I think you are correct on a wider societal level- I keep seeing this argument of 'There is more m/m fanfic therefore this fandom is lesbiphobic and misogynistic' and it has bothered me for a long time. As a queer girl myself, asexual and somwehere on the aro spectrum, who has many wlw ships and enjoys looking at art for them... I don't enjoy reading wlw or straight fics bc I subconsciously project myself into the relationships too much (this is also why i generally avoid reading straight romance books lol). When I read mlm fic, there's a degree of separation from me that means I can enjoy it without getting anxious about imagining myself in that position.

I'm not trying to be like 'oh woe is me i cant read yuri', im just explaining my own reasons, and trying to get across that other people have their own reasons for what they enjoy- ranging from long winded explanations like mine to 'idk I'm attracted to guys and I like writing about them'. People have preferences, and that comes across in most fandoms, even in heavily female casts like prsk. Like I mentioned, lack of wlw content IS an issue.... when it comes to mainstream media. But when it comes to fanfic... the majority of writers are queer, many are women, hell, some of the most prolific writers of mlm fic I know are lesbians. People have their own reasons for writing what they like, and they do it for FREE. I think it's silly to say a fandom is misogynistic when most of these fandoms are full of queer female writers writing what they want to write.

And again I say this with respect because I do see where you're coming from- instead of saying 'write less mlm', because absolutely one will listen to that.... say 'write more wlw'. Write what you want to see in the world! More fics are always a good thing!! And if you don't want to read about guys, that's what the ao3 filters are for lol.

If you actually read all this, thank you, I really appreciate it. Sorry for yapping in your ask box LOL I just wanted to express my opinion on this topic bc it's something that I care about a lot. Also, like I said, while I don't read fic for it I still love wlw ships so..... ANHANE YURI FOREVER 🌈🌈🌈🌈

See, the thing is, i agree with you, but is that really the only reason for A LOT of people?

What im advocating is not for people to write less mlm, is for they to look at themselves and wonder why they like it more, i know a lot of people who claim to like the boys more for this reason or that, then turn around and act completely misogynistic 5 seconds later, some of them in this fandom, even.

Im just saying that in a fandom with way more girls than boys, it makes not much sense how much more content of the boys there is.

The ao3 filters exist, yes, but they dont stop me from having barely any content even on bigger wlw shipps, from rereading the same fics over and over again because that's all I have for days/weeks, months even on the leoni/mmj side of fandom.

Sincerely, I have myself over 50 prsk fics, only one includes mlm and that one is a multi, focused mainly on platonic ships, and is still somehow my most famous fic.

I see your point, really, and I agree with it, but it only comes so far in a fandom like prsk where there's way more girls, or Alien Stage, that my friend got me into and the girls have been canon for so long but the boys have nearly always been more famous, even before they became "canon". As a wlw enjoyer its tiring to see this over and over again in every fandom im in, you know?

Plus, its not just not writing girls, its how the fandom ACTS with them. Saki as just a fodder for Tsukasa angst, Honami might as well not even exist, Mizuki themselves exist only to be a friend to Rui to a lot of people, An and Kohane? They're only backgrounds on Akitouya, that is when An doesn't get in between the ship, of course. Emu can't even be shipped with one of the boys, because she's a child obviously, but she can be shipped with Nene, just leave her to the side its alright.

Its a lot of double standards, and not only "not writing fics", the fics are just a quick way of showing what I mean.

#ask #anon

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Spoiler for Jujutsu Kaisen

I'm sorry it's so long and looks like a vent post. I'm sorry for those of you who had great luck in avoiding Jujutsu Kaisen until now. With that, let me give some context before the assholery.

Jujutsu Kaisen has a breakout character, Gojo, he is unique, flawed, well written, well loved, overpowered, and the most misunderstood character in this series. He recently met his end in the most infuriating way possible. It was an unceremonious death, off screened, after the biggest most violent battle in the series. Before he was brutally offed with just meaningless exposition detailing how he was killed and him uncharacteristically justifying the death in an afterlife scene that's written to appease a large part of the fandom (shippers- he's gay coded, no waifu here). His death completely destroyed his legacy and the future of this manga.

Problem: This is a popular series with disproportionate numbers of haters, casual fans, fans who get their information from tiktok or fanworks instead of the manga, fans who did a surface level reading of it, opinionated fans who didn't read after a certain point but discuss every new chapter like they're experts, people who hate it because they compared it to their favorite series and Jujutsu Kaisen didn't go that way, people who harass the readers and wish bodily harm on the author for not conforming to FANON, the works.

Gojo was MIA for almost 3 years which made fanon takeover the fandom, when he came back the author was accused of mischaracterization and bad writing because he didn't match 3 years of fanon. Reiterating, I mean fanon not headcanon, the headcanons here are almost all fanon based too and you will get nasty anons if you say you dislike FANON or praise CANON but I believe in people's right to headcanon.

My relationship with this: I've been a fan since 2019, this character of Gojo resonated with me like no one did in my 20+ years in fandom, he is my specialest blorbo, his relationship with his best friend has moved me etc. I'm autistic and this is my special interest as well. Needless to say depression has hit me like a freight train.

MY problem: My friend of 7 years who's currently deeply into yuri and danmei, who shared many fandoms with me, has been through the thick and thins with me, has decided to make me an enemy. When the chapter came out he chatted with me sent his condolences. Then he in his own social medias started talking about how he knew it was going to be a bad series, how he's glad he quit after struggling through 50 chapters, made all the jokes in the world about this death, discussed every little thing he hated and mocked this with his other weeb friends who are like the people I mentioned in the Problem section, validated all their complaints based on their reading of the FANON. He has had many discussions with me about this manga and very rarely did he express any of this negativity.

My assholery: I got frustrated, it was like he wanted me to see how much he could hurt me. I messaged him saying, "Hey what are you saying here, that's not how this character is written. The chapter is bad but this criticism is baseless and in bad faith" He laughed it off, "It's not that deep, this is fiction." I argued that's a shallow thing to say, he said it should have been like FANON since that makes more sense. I said that's conventional writing I thought we wanted different things than the same old nice characters in found family and such.

Then I said something about his favorites and hypocrisy, he said he's not so into it that he couldn't take criticism. I said that was a lie he's always writing essays about those characters. I also said criticize it for the right reasons damn it. He kept denying his own love for his fave so he could keep criticizing mine, because he at least had the sense to not fall for a shounen series. I asked if he was enjoying hurting me. He said are you for real, get a grip and stop justifying your behavior for fiction, they won't giving you cookies for defending them, if you can't bear to see negativity then feel free to mute or block. I snapped and said this is why no one likes casual fans, you can't keep your mouth shut about things you don't know. Have fun with being a two faced friend to everyone. Then I blocked him everywhere.

Some of my friends said I should have muted him long ago, I said this was inevitable if he was just going to validate everyone in vicinity, he had to pick a side. Others said I was right to tell him off. I regret some of the comments I made now.

AITA for the way I handled it? He is right, I could have muted him, I could have not spent my time doomscrolling and seeing all the bad takes he agreed with. I could have waited it out and not dropped an old friend over fiction. I could have done many things.

Please don't comment about touching grass, that's the least helpful thing anyone can say on blorbo the website. It's not a real advice we all know that. Therapy is also there for the depression and it will take years for me to get over the death, you don't need to remind me.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

[leafyycereal]

Yuri on ice will never leave my mind even when I’m not thinking about it Yuri and viktor are always ice skating in the back of my brain and i am SO UPSEY that mappa took on so many fucking projects that Yuri on Ice and Ice Adolescence are on the back burner and will be an after thought for a while. It makes me sick knowing i will never know if i get to see yuri and viktors story again and see their relationship progress 😭😭like they genuinely had such an impact on me and was one of the first openly queer media i ever watched and it CJANHED ME. NO LOVE will ever match to viktor and yuri they are so special and they care about each other so much. I just want them to be happy and skate together and win gold medals and get married is that too much to ask ..

Genuinely every thing about YOI is so special to me like from the soundtrack to the writing to the animation it all means so much to me and it breaks my heart wondering if I’ll ever get to see life breathed into it again

ANYTHING WILL MAKE ME HAPPY LIKE.. new official art, an art book, a fucking ANIMATIC… just SAY SOMETHING about ice adolescence please it’s been 3 years since there has been any news on it and it’s horrible and it makes me so sad i love yuri on ice i just want to know if there is any more left to it please

#yuri on ice #viktuuri #vikturi #victuri #viktor nikiforov #yuri katsuki #where did they go #i miss you yuri on ice #queer media #queer representation #jj style

[spitinsideme]

do you remember what/when was your first exposure to lesbianism (women loving women in case u dont know what that means) (its like gay men but instead of being men theyre women, its pretty fun and cool)

LESBIANISM ???? WOMEN ??? owha ..... might havw to resesrch girls kissing later ...

i think my first exposure to lesbianism (like girls actually kissing) was this story on the game episode, and i clearly remeber that i was playing a story about love and it.had options to date men and women, or the bsecual option, "i dont knkw man, i jst like pizza" whoch mesnt bkth men and women, and i remeber thinkinv WOMEN ?????????? and i wnaed to press it ... i was so tempted to .. i was lime .. 10 ? 11 ? 9 ?? i dont remeber, 9-11 and i had mever in my lofe jesrd of lesbianism before (i did get callrd a lesbian beflre this because i was dsting my friend fri3nd on roblox by pretending to be a guy) but i was lime WOAH ??? 2OMEN KISSING WOMEN ?? but i was also like not going to pick women because to me thqt was new and odd, but i ddint want to pick men because i dodnt like men (shocker !!!) and so i picked the bisexual option (secretly i wantrd the women option but i woukd have felt too ashamed)

AND THE THERE WAS THE SCEBE WHERE THE GIRL CAME IN AND WE (ALSO.A.GIRL) BUMPED INTO HER !!! and she was pretty hot, badass girl qnd i woukd get teally excoted to talk to hrr everytime my character rejected her i was so angry i was begging for my characyer to plese just kiss her already, but the giy wlukd also show up wnd i hated him so much because he was a guy and i didnr want him, so id just skip it as fast as possible until the girl was there

after i had learned of this besutoful thing callrd lesbianism, i wljkd search up lesbian on episode to read more girl on girl stories. then i saw that fifty shades of gret pussy eating scene, and id sesrch up lesbian sex on episode

but lik3 my first .. like actual media of lesbianism woukd be yuri manga ? i remever the first one i watched and read was citrus, so that kind of has a special place in my hesrt even if its kind of weird because it was the firsr lesbian thing i had rver read or seen. i wpukd like go on some sketchy manga websotes and loom theoifh every single yuri manga and read them all like id write every simgke one down in a book ( i still have that book with all the yuri manga titles, its really filled up ! and i r3mebe4 all of them)

basically, my first exposre to lesbian media was when i was lime 9 or 10 from episode lesbian ! but i have always been a lesbian in my actions without even knlwing it ... i was literqlly like watching videos of women dancing on youtibe AND working out when i was 12 for quite a while because i woukd look st thr women and go "god, theyre so pretty, i need to be strong so that womej will love me and want me" and that was normal to me and i didnt think of mys3lf as lesbian

#i have probably told this stoey several times #but every time im probbaly messing th4 ages up #because i have terrible memory #everything t4om.th3 ages of 0-13 is a blur to me likr i knlw things happenedbut no idea when

[piracytheorist]

Hello will be a kiss Twiyor at some point in history ?

Hi! Honestly, I'm 50/50 on this.

On one hand, I believe twiyor will be canon, in one way or another we will be shown that they've become an actual, real couple. Ideally post-reveal, so they can learn to love each other without any big secrets and lies between them.

On the other hand, manga and anime usually aren't super explicit on kisses, especially if they're targeted towards younger audiences. The Spy x Family manga is rated 16+, while the anime is rated TV-14, and it's shounen, so I wouldn't be surprised if they never even exchange "I love you"s, honestly, considering how rarely those words are said out loud in Japanese culture. Spy x Family is shounen, and those have even fewer kisses than shoujo and josei manga.

I'm guessing that Endo writes from his own experience, and mostly with a Japanese audience in mind. And that audience is used to couples going only as far as holding hands or maybe hugging. Kissing isn't a big thing, especially in shounen manga.

That said, the setting is in a fictional European country, and as a European myself I feel that Endo has done a great job making the characters and the setting feel European. And in European media, for the most part, kisses are a big part of romance. That too said, SxF isn't a romance, and even when twiyor becomes canon I doubt it will shadow the relationship of Anya with her parents, and the family in general. So it's quite possible that there won't be an actual kiss between Yor and Loid in the story, because their relationship won't get that much focus to warrant the need of an on-screen kiss. If there is one, it might be the kind of Big Damn Kiss that tv tropes talks about, and just the one, to "solidify" the relationship to the audience.

I think it could be used in the story to show character development. Twilight started relationships with women only for the needs of his missions, never investing emotionally in them. With Yor, how will it feel that he actually feels things when they kiss, and how will it feel that he wants and desires to kiss her, after he'd spent all his years as a spy denying himself any human connections? And for Yor, it would be a big step in letting someone close, in feeling safe and secure in someone approaching her enough for that. Her job has poisoned her view of close proximity, since the only people that get so close to her are Yuri (whom she basically raised) and her victims (who attack her, and she has to defend herself before she kills them - proximity with them means danger). She's already being affectionate with Anya, but that is similar to how Yuri was like with her when they were young. How will it feel like to have Twilight, a man who lied and cheated and coated his hands with blood, approach her to kiss her and for her to feel safe, to know that whatever happens, he will actually protect her and fight alongside her and not against her?

So maybe yes, maybe not. I honestly hope we do get at least one kiss, but I wouldn't be surprised (though I would be a little sad, due to my own expectations) if we never got one.

(Anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga)

#ask and ye shall receive #Anonymous #sxf #twiyor

[olderthannetfic]

I’m kind of surprised that the whole heteronormativity BL discourse turned into me hating femme men and wanting every man to be masc. It’s doubly nuts because the story I described that got the brunt of this was one I made because of a certain masculine gay character trope that I really hated, to the point where my idea of fixing it was to basically make him sensitive and soft and a yuri on ice fan, and bullied for his lack of masculinity. If I find myself hating or feeling negatively about any part of a BL story it’s usually because of the actions of the top/seme character.

If a BL is bad, or I don’t know if it’s good or not, or I think there’s any bad writing moments at all, the top is usually the problem. This rule applies even if I think the top is a great character. This applies even if the bottom is a fucking terrorist who crippled an innocent young woman and tortured her for hours and never once grows as a person the whole story. (to be clear I really like the story i’m talking about and would recommend it, halfway across by dracze, but it’s still insane how the top basically NEEDS to be at the more toxic one in the relationship if the story has any flavor whatsoever). I know there are obviously exceptions, I can’t name a single one at the moment.

None of what i’m saying is a criticism of BL or of masc gay characters, i’m just saying that way too many people jumped to one specific conclusion about me based on my words. I really hope this doesn’t turn into discourse about me hating masc gay men and wanting everyone to be femme or some shit. I’d probably rage quit the internet for a week if that happened.

--

You are the only one who can't let this go. Everyone else forgot about it five minutes after it happened... or would have if your ongoing behavior didn't remind them.

--

As I've explained numerous times, people respond to the subtext and vibe of what a person writes as much as to their literal words. You said a bunch of shit that was laden with buzzwords and dogwhistles from communities with bad attitudes. People picked up on that.

You send lots of lengthy posts that are hard to parse and that come out of nowhere. And no, "you don't have to answer this but..." is not the ass-covering you think it is. I have to at least look at the posts in my inbox to evaluate them before they go in the queue. Normally, I don't mind if the same person sends me lots, and I don't care if they're all super interesting, but yours are particularly self-absorbed, boring, and horribly-written.

They're always phrased like "I think X about media Y". They don't invite discussion. They aren't tied to past conversations on here. They don't show the slightest spark of interest in what others think.

You apparently want eyeballs on your writing, both creative and nonfiction asks, but you're incapable of showing genuine interest in others. If these posts are an attempt to interact rather than to just say words in front of an audience, it sure doesn't show in the final product.

The posts people respond better to are just written better, but they are also more obviously part of a dialogue that treats other readers of my blog as peers, not a spigot dispensing free attention.

--

Why should anyone care why you dislike one BL or another? I get that you're trying to prove something about yourself, but why should anyone care about that either?

You are not the main character in other people's lives.

You're treating this like some need to clear your name, but fundamentally, that's assuming any of this matters to other people. It doesn't outside of refuting a given comment on a given post and then, like I said, forgetting about it five minutes later.

--

Every time you ask a new question, it just demonstrates the same lack of clue as before. For example, you recently asked (in part):

"What would changing my behavior look like? I have full plans to write […]"

It does not matter what comes in place of that ellipsis because no one cares what you do in your own art.

No one ever had an issue with your art because nobody has consumed it. And, to be honest, plenty of people have perfectly fine values for things they do. The fact that you do or don't include problematic thing X or proship stance Y in your own art is not proof of anything.

The issue is in how people talk to others about other people's art.

Endlessly trying to bring up your own work just looks like pointless grandstanding. Meanwhile, the vibe when you chat with others here has not really changed. There's still a strong subtext of unexamined assumptions and desire to make everything about yourself.

It's not about swapping out word X or Y. It's about your overall writing ability and command of subtext, which is poor. Really, really poor.

It's also about moronic statements like:

Like would it have made you mad that I said what I said if I removed those words? Because I didn't even mean them I just didn't think long enough to cut them from the post.

"Ooh, I didn't think".

Then don't fucking speak.

Or, if you do run your mouth without thinking, like most of us do sometimes, expect to suffer the consequences and don't cry like a cowardly little weasel when you do.

--

To be perfectly frank, I spend less time trying to promote my own work on here than you do. On my blog.

And I can actually write.

This constant me, me, me, me bullshit is what makes you seem selfish, self-absorbed, and like you're wasting everyone's time on purpose.

[shoko-komi]

The Komi Report - Communication 455

This week in Komi Can't Communicate:

A little crime...

...and a little date.

Read It: Mangareader Mangakakalot Viz Media (Now open to the UK, Ireland, New Zealand, and Australia!) Mangadex

Lily Sukida was here only a moment ago, how could she miss the yuri date?

We're already on the last day of the culture festival... U_U it's not over yet so there may be more to come, but it seems to be a very short and quiet one for Year 3. Even the traditional Tadano force-fem had to be slipped in quickly without much fanfare... still, if the Sukida emoi surprise attack is the climax of the fun, then that's a damn good high to hit.

This chapter is cute! Some Najimi mischief is always welcome. And the TadaKomi date is sweet. It's more of the same from them, but I don't mind that. I like more of the same, if it's something I like. I've already talked a bunch of times about how much Komi has grown, so I'll skim over that even though I love to see it. I'll also skim over the date since all I have to say is "cute!!!". I'm also ignoring the appearance of a certain individual. I am the ignorer.

In my mind palace, Tadano goes girlmode permanently. I think it would improve the manga (the bias opinion of a himejoshi). I daydream of a fanfic about Tadano coming out as a trans girl - he helped Komi break out of her shell and become the person she wanted to be, so it would be narratively beautiful for her to turn around and help Tadano do the same. That would be the major arc of the third year if I was writing this

Komi is with me on this. She'd love it

Dastardly creature...

Isagi hype!!! And I forget the name of Isagi's student council subordinate but I'm glad to see her too. Actually, Isagi's term as President ended, right? I guess she moved on to organising paramilitaries. Good for her.

Tadano always cops it when Najimi causes trouble asjkldbnaljsdnalsdjasdnalskd

Anytime Komi talks with a different font than her usual soft cursive I go crazy for it.

Komi should kill. I want her to kill. The girls are out for blood (I'm girls)

Michita hype!!!!!! You and me both, Michita.

---------------------------------------

Some good news!! You may have noticed up above in the links section, but Viz Media has made their manga available to a handful of countries outside North America. No longer will I have to connect my VPN to servers in Miami to read new Komi as quickly as possible. Weh heh heh (satisfied laugh)

They also uploaded a few chapters to Mangadex. I don't know what's going on there or if it will continue.

--------------------------------------------------

A nice chapter (～￣▽￣)～

It looks like next week is a rest week for Oda, so I'll see you in a fortnight! Until then, stay safe 💞

#komi #komi can't communicate #komi san wa komyushou desu #komi report #the komi report

[cosmic-muses]

Cosmic Muses

Pinned Post

☆————————————————————☆

18+ ‐ Transfemme - Pronouns Below

Novella: Novella, or Nova for short, is my new choice of name to go by! I use She/Her, It/Its, and I'm okay with They/Them and just about any Neopronouns!

Aphelion: Aph or Aphi is generally what you might hear me referred to as, I use They/Them/Their or Ae/Aem/Aer.

Aria: Aria. Aria. I am Aria. Nice to meet you. La. I like noise. I am she/her. She. Please and thank you. Girl noises.

Petra: My name is Petra M. Lorelei, I like reading and art, and analyzing it. I use It/Its and She/Her.

☆————————————————————☆

Easy: I have a loooooooot of names but Easy or Raincloud tend to be the two main ones!!! My gender is yes and each name I have is a new one, :p any pronouns too!

Sombre: Our newest headmate, she goes by Sombre or Shades primarily. She/Her. She's not super social, so you might not see much about her.

Rules & Additional Info:

Rules:

DMs and Asks are welcome and open! Be kind, courteous, and respectful! Keep NSFW to a minimum or not at all. Patience is a virtue.

DNI List:

TERFs, Bigots, The Usual. If you are being hateful or otherwise disrespectful, please take it elsewhere.

Alt. Blogs:

Alt/NSFW/Other: @puppygirl-of-tindalos

Nova's Writing Blog: @cozy-cosmic-horror

Aph's Wizardblr: @biblically-inaccurate-witch

Media LiveBlog: @muses-on-air

Tags:

This Is Poetry: A Gimmick Tag about Poetic Things/Organic Poetry. A play on "this is yuri" and Nova's collection.

My Mortal Flesh: Selfie Tag.

☆————————————————————☆

That's all, Folks

[444lpblue]

The Witch and the Beast #1 - The Witch and the City of Blazing Red

Screenplay: Yuuichirou Momose Storyboard/Episode Direction: Takayuki Hamana Chief Animation Direction: Hiroya Iijima Animation Direction: Kei Tsushima, Yuri Hashimoto, Guonian Wang, Kazuharu Tada, Miyoko Shikibu, Asuna Imahashi, Shinya Segawa (Monster AD: Shouya Gotou) Key Animation: Mana Azumaya, Noa Kawamura, Shigenori Taniguchi, Yoshihito Narimatsu, Yuki Uejou, Hiroyuki Kamura, Mitsuyo Tsuno, Kouichi Hayamizu, Kazunori Ozawa, Shouya Gotou, Yoshiko Nakamura, Studio Maf, Yuka Hayashi, Takuya Nemoto, Maru Animation, Yeong-Nam Ko, Su-Jin Oh

A bit late on this, aren't I? But no matter what, I was going to write about this, and I will write about every episode too – don't worry about it!

If you were in the know how of Yokohama Animation Lab's recent animes, much like me, you were probably very nervous about The Witch and the Beast adaptation. I mean, I made a whole write-up on the outlook, which mostly hinges on director Hamana's consistency in terms of quality and his tendency to bring in specific animators. Well, now that the episode is out, how do I actually feel?

It's… surprisingly very well done. Of course, I'm not saying it's perfect; the biggest issues are likely the limited animation and a bit of off-modelness. But I'm not going to lie, guys. Maybe I am biased because The Witch and the Beast is one of my favorite mangas, but I genuinely had a lot of fun with this debut, and I kind of loved it. It felt like it had the soul of the manga I love despite some production hiccups.

First, let's talk about what you probably felt but haven't been able to confirm. The episode was indeed better than the PV. I got a sense of this as I was watching, and I was really kind of confused about why I didn't feel like the PV looked this good. When I looked back, it was very interesting to see how many differences there were and the improvements that made the shots so much better.

The obvious improvement in the shading of Guideau and Ashaf is apparent, but I also love the addition of the impact gust that they added to Guideau's stomp. Personally, it was something I noticed in the PV as feeling a bit too still. The only effects in the PV were just simple camera shakes, which didn't really sell the impact of her stomp that much at all. Seeing improvements like these from the trailer to the actual episode fills me with a lot of hope for the production. I feel like it shows that, unlike more recent Yokohama productions, they are trying a significant amount more.

If you couldn't already tell from some of the close-ups I've provided in this post, while the on-modelness of some farther away shots can be questioned, the close-ups in this show are absolutely gorgeous. I wasn't super sold on Iijima's character designs initially, but after seeing the improved shading and the various shots they kind of hid from us in the PV, the designs are freaking gorgeous up close. The Witch and the Beast, the manga, has always been a visual spectacle that relied a lot on its art direction, aesthetics, and of course, character designs. While it's nearly impossible for the anime to match it, I think they came very close. The characters' eyes are so pretty; I love the compositing effects they applied to them. It feels like it gives them a lot of depth and kind of like an otherworldly blur, which I think looks great. The features are sharp; they're so pretty. Everyone has their premium eyelash extensions on, and it's just about as aesthetically pleasing to me as the manga. To be honest, it might be my favorite character design for the season.

And since I also briefly mentioned the compositing, I have to apologize to Natsumi Uchida. I specifically pointed her out in my social media rambles as someone who was making me worry a bit. And that mostly stems from her recent effort in The Iceblade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World, which, to be frank, I thought was terrible. The effects looked cheap, just due to how bright and almost neon at times they are. They don't fit in with their environments; it just wasn't pleasant to look at. However, her work in The Witch and the Beast is so much better. While some effects are somewhat questionable, like the smoke and Ashaf's crow appearing when he was saving Guideau, I would definitely say the compositing was a highlight in this episode. It really puts a stamp on the character designs with the beautiful compositing over them. It makes every scene paired with the art direction feel so dense, like everything is just so in-depth.

The art direction in this show is probably its best visual element. It absolutely shines. I mean, if you had to pick something out from this production as a major highlight, it has to be one of the undeniable biggest pros of the show so far. The series is a dark fantasy, but it's not a dull one. A lot of adaptations, I feel, confuse this with each other a bit. A dark fantasy doesn't have to mean dull colors or a realistic design; after all, The Witch and the Beast is all about its aesthetically gothic yet fantasy appearance that is quite grandiose and beautiful in nature, and the art direction covers that perfectly. So huge credit to the art director, Hirotsugu Kakoi and his crew at Kagoshima Ramecahirim.

One of my biggest worries for the anime adaptation, when I first saw the trailer, was actually, believe it or not, kind of its color palette. I genuinely thought they didn't get a full sense of Satake's style. It felt a bit too plain to me when I always imagined the colors in the world in this series to be very solid and strong, while not bright. I think the series functions on its boldness, and the backgrounds are a perfect example of it. The opening, I think, is a great example of this too, just them surrounded by those buildings in the midst of the night feels almost overwhelmingly dense. It really serves as the main appeal in many of the show's shots and ties everything (the compositing, the character designs, and the aesthetic) all together. The buildings and architectures, a mix of 2D and 3D, blend in so perfectly. You can take so many of those shots and make them your wallpaper; honestly, it's so pretty. It's also not just the buildings; the flowers in the room where Guideau and Ione fight were stunning. I also love the visual of the flowers always fluttering up due to impact; it just created such a magical experience for me. It's such a simple addition, but it was great. That, paired with the great soundtrack which goes from almost Persona-like music to soft notes of somberness that build up to the release of a monster, just all goes together so well.

At the beginning of this write-up, I already noted its production issues in terms of sometimes limited animation and a good bit of off-modelness in farther away shots (which I hope they'll fix in the Blu-Ray). There are many instances of very solid animation, which you can just look up on Sakugabooru if you want an example. I'm very impressed by Hamana's ability to manage this level of quality and a very strong self-identity of the show's visuals.

His direction in this episode, while some people might not like it due to its reminiscent of older styles, is noteworthy. Many of his shots rely on simple zoom-ins and zoom-outs, which I would say was a more common technique around 2008 or so. His way of transitioning is also a lot less focused on smooth transitions than most styles nowadays. For example, in Ghost Hunt, Gungrave, or Library of Bantorra, the flow of the storyboard is much less smooth and flowing than modern ones. Hamana's boards feel much more jumpy, I suppose? There's a larger gap that isn't covered by anything, which seems to have given many reviewers the impression of a slideshow. Personally, I don't mind it too much, as I think he still has some pretty interesting ideas. The transitions to Guideau getting stabbed and then grabbing Ione, I thought were really well done and mesmerizing. All the choices for the fluttering flowers were probably directly from him.

And hey, normally I don't like his openings, but the opening for The Witch and the Beast is badass, and I might write an individual write-up for it this week. However, I would also love to see other storyboarders and episode directors on some episodes to compare, especially for future episodes like for Johan and Phanora. I would love to see somebody like Shinj Itadaki give it a try, who I really hope to see in this series at some point. I think it's very possible due to the fact he's worked with Hamana before, and he's worked with Yokohama Animation Lab before. Much like a lot of the key animators here, he was also on Ancient Magus Bride S2, which, if you guys didn't know for some reason, contains an oddly large amount of staff that Hamana worked with before across the years, and they're also appearing in The Witch and the Beast now.

As you can tell, I really enjoyed the debut, despite its issues. I could ramble about it all day; there are so many things I want to talk about. However, I think it would be best to save that for when we get to future episodes. In this write-up, I've already spent a lot of time discussing more of what I like about the general direction and visual appeal of the series. Hopefully, in future episodes, I will be able to go more in-depth on specific storyboards, direction, and visuals that the upcoming episodes will showcase. I'll see you guys next week for the next episode of The Witch and the Beast.

#the witch and the beast #majo to yajuu #winter 2024 #winter 2024 anime #魔女と野獣

[halfagone]

I seriously love your fic 'Social Media + Insomnia = Epic Fails'. It's honestly amazing that you managed to write an entire fic through just snapshots of different social media. If I may, can I ask how you did it? I can't imagine that it would be easy, considering that there's barely any conventional dialogue or real action scenes.

Oh my gosh, yay!! Ironically I just reread that one the other night. It was very self-indulgent, but I'm so happy to hear so many other people could enjoy it too! 🥰✨😊

There are definitely some parts that are easier than others. Interestingly enough, I probably have the hardest time with formatting and the overall structure of the fic when I publish than the writing itself. I love playing around with HTML, but Ao3's HTML is notoriously hard. (Also, tip: the Rich Text Editor doesn't always allow the same amount of versatility, hence the HTML.)

For me personally, it was important for me to have plot in the background. It doesn't have to be deep plot, but just some sort of guideline that I could follow so I know where it began and end.

In that fic, I'm sure you noticed, things went down in the background like Danny joining the Justice League and becoming Ghost King and Tim getting overshadowed by Pariah Dark. (Yes, I did try to heavily imply that Tim was overshadowed by Pariah for five days. That's a fun plot point lol.) But the overarching story that people really came for was Tim and Danny being lovesick idiots and trying to navigate being public personalities and getting together.

You are totally right about unconventional dialogue. There is a bit at the end where we get actual dialogue with quotation marks and dialogue tags, but otherwise we just get a lot of chatting sequences. For me it was very important to get the tones right. Little clues in the messages that shows how they're feeling or what they're implying. And for things like sarcasm, which don't translate through writing the same way, you can even have characters call each other out on it. I know I've done the same for "Insomniacs Anonymous". (Can you tell I love social media fics? lol)

One of the things I will say about this kind of fic format is that it's so much easier to write fight scenes. On one hand, you don't get really inspiration scenes where your characters are out there kicking ass and saving the day, but that's also a let less work on your part. In this case the details aren't as important, it's the results. So that's why we just see Breaking News alerts.

For this fic, it's kind of a mixture of present-action and reactions. There are parts where we watch as plot points unfold but we also learn about other plot points via the reactions from other people on social media.

There are also smaller things you can do. Whenever I showed Danny's Twitter profile or YouTube channel, I changed little details to show the passage of time. I showed him steadily gaining new followers or subscribers, or in the case with YouTube, I showed his number of videos slowly ticking up higher. It's very easy to miss, and maybe most people don't notice it at all, but it's also a good bookmark as an author.

If you're looking for inspiration or ideas, then I would definitely recommend looking into other social media AUs. There's a canonized tag for it on Ao3, but the social media fics I read that helped me with "Social Media + Insomnia = Epic Fails! (Not Clickbait)" were from Yuri! On Ice, Batman, and BNHA. If you're interested in more specific fics, let me know and I can make up a list of recs. Even if you're not into the fandom, they offer some good ideas for what it can look like.

All in all, I'm really glad you liked that one! I have a number of more ideas for social media fics going forward like a Model AU, my Actor AU, and then a AITA Reddit fic which I believe I did post a while ago as well. I can't promise it'll be soon, but the format is so fun and I hope you get to have some fun with it too. 😉

#halfagone replies #halfagone's fics

[voxofthevoid]

Hi! I've been a long time reader of your works and we have like 3 fandoms in common (jjk, yuri on ice, mcu) which is the Dream for an average fic reader like me. Thank you for putting all these out to see. I love the way you write, it really pulls me in no matter the genre. Your mind is amazing.

On to the questions:

1.I kind of want to start writing myself, do you any advice for a beginner?

2.On average, for how long are you into fandoms? How much time does it take for the brainrot to take root in your mind?

3.What kind of media do you usually enjoy?

I hope I didn't bother you. Please stay healthy and safe!

That's delightful on my end too! Love seeing cross-fandom readers. And thanks so much ❤️

1. The advice I have is mostly social and technical. In terms of the writing itself, all the reading you do is likely to give you an idea of what you want to write and how to go about it, and practice will refine the process.

Given the fandoms you've listed, you're likely already familiar with how rancid fandom spaces can get. This depends on your disposition, but being braced to deal with shitheads is important, whether that comes in the form of puriteens or entitled assholes without a brain-to-fingers filter. This is mostly a case of "do as I say, not as I do" because *gestures* you know what my online presence is like, but I'd recommend the following:

(a) Make an account just for writing that's entirely divorced from any and all IRL information or even previous fandom shenanigans. It reduces chances of people digging through your history and other such demented things.

(b) Block liberally and, failing that, be enough of a dick that people will think twice about picking a fight—the more accommodating you are, the more these fuckers will act like sharks scenting blood. There's a reason I stopped accepting tag requests, slapped CNTW on everything, and generally adopted a "my way or the highway" stance toward everything I post. The alternative isn't worth it. YMMV, of course.

(c) Write whatever you want however you want, and don't show an ounce of shame or guilt. Even if you feel it, don't show it. Fake it till you make it. Like above, it's safer than the alternative.

The technical advice is to get a copy of the Chicago Manual of Style; there's an online version, a paper version, and also good old pirating. It may look intimidating, but it's got a beautifully indexed list of damn near every grammar and punctuation element (and a lot of other stuff). I started using it for work, and while I'm way more lax with my own writing than I am with editing, the CMOS still did wonders for my general understanding of the technical side of creative writing.

2. It varies based on a bunch of factors, but my usual pattern is to spend several months just reading while the obsession grows stronger and stronger, to the point I start getting ideas. And we know what happens when I get ideas 🤣. I generally don't stay in a fandom for more than a year. But there are exceptions! I was in the MCU for some three years. I started writing for JJK less than a month after watching it (though this is mostly because I couldn't find much to read—not because fics were low in number but because I was and am extremely picky), and I'm rapidly approaching my 1.5-year mark.

3. A mix of things, but so far, fantasy is the most common theme across various media. I enjoy most subgenres of it too.

And absolutely no bother! I had fun answering, though I may have gone overboard with #1. I feel a little protective of new writers these days because I keep seeing so much vile shit happening online.

#i love my anons #anon