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#tbh he's like half self insert
magentagalaxies · 1 month
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having a moment about my gender rn and i'm just like ugggggh @ my brain do we have to. like can we just not
#i need to go to bed soon bc i have a 10am class tomorrow but shoutout to the identity crisis i've been having since at least feb 6th#idk if identity crisis is even the right word. bc like one thing about me is that i have a very solid sense of self#like i know who i am and what i want and how i move through the world and what it feels like to be me#but in terms of how i label and explain that to others? that's where the identity crisis comes in#but no one else gets to experience me in first person POV so the descriptors i use and they ways i present myself are reality to them#and tbh? as i think about how some of the descriptors i use for myself don't accurately describe me some people are getting mad???#which is so fucking bizarre bc like. what the fuck it's my gender why are YOU being offended???#but it's also making me low key be like ''wait am i a bad person now????''#even tho i don't believe morality works like that. idk it's just been an exhausting month and a half#if anyone wants to hear more in depth thoughts on all this i would love to vent about it#(but not rn bc i will be going to bed as soon as i get this all out)#but like what i will say now is even tho this past month and a half has been ROUGH (for several reasons especially gender)#and people might expect that me spending so much time with scott in february made it more exhausting#which is understandable we love scott but touring in general is tiring and also i am the most opinionated person i've ever met but so is he#and also like. if you've heard scott talk about gender it's very obvious we disagree on a lot of things and he doesn't shy away from that#but the thing is. i'd actually say spending so much time with scott (even when we talk about gender. even when we *argue* about gender)#was actually such a good thing for me throughout all of this bc even when we disagree on semantics of labels#scott actually sees me beyond that rather than reducing my identity to what i call myself#which is how a lot of well-meaning allys tend to treat me. like i'm just one thing.#so when i'm with scott i never really have to think about my gender#bc he doesn't treat me like i'm (insert whatever gender people treat me like). he just treats me like i'm jessamine#and i'm tired of having to explain myself into smaller pieces so people can pretend to get it#but i feel like there's no way not to do that in our society rn especially at my ''progressive'' liberal arts college
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p0rchc0ll4ps3 · 2 years
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23 matches for Ryf
It is a pleasure to burn. Cathartic, isn't it? To watch the wanton destruction, to feel the heat, to smell the heavy heavy chemical scent of it, to be soaked in it, to wear that ash on your skin like a cologne. Good, god, yes is it a pleasure to burn. It's something that you can control... something you have in your hands... something you can do, a way to overcome your feelings of weakness, of inferiority... a way to stick it to the man, to put up a signal fire, a beacon to tell the world I AM RIGHT FUCKING HERE... and to be known by no one at all at the same time. Burn, burn, burn, take your mind off the world collapsing around you. Burn, burn, burn, and your loneliness means nothing, your inadequacy means nothing, push the darkness away with the burning light of day, you know? Gasoline, matches. Lighter, lighter fluid. Kindling, a spark, and oh... the whole world goes up in flame... Get back at it, take out your frustrations on it, and maybe, just maybe, there's a hope inside of you that you will burn down with it, isn't there? You stand there, watching it burn, smile on your face, flames dancing in your too green eyes. Words from a song come to you as you snap the burned match in your hand in half. I never was a part of you. Burn. I never was a part of you. Burn. I never was a part of you. BURN. I'm gonna' burn this WHOLE. WORLD. DOWN. Your smile widens. Someday, the world will FUCKING PAY.
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percy-puppy · 4 months
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Headcanon: Dick Piercings
About: CoD Men || Gaz, König, Keegan, Soap
A/N: Bestie and I talked about the CoD men and if any of them have a piercing in their special area. It ended with me researching for an hour and coming to these conclusions. @mothymunson caused it with this! ↓
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TW: 18+ Blog/Post | MDNI, Piercings (duh.), DICK DIAGRAMS (plural), Me thirsting, talk about dicks/masochism/lil sex talk focused on vagina owners since I wrote this to self-indulge.
Kyle ‘Gaz’ Gerrick
Ampallang Piercing.
✿ It's pretty subtle compared to the others, but still some bling (his piercing is made from gold), and I think it suits Gaz's personality, too. Also, it doesn't just feel good for you, cause many men report increased sexual pleasure with this piercing. He definitely got it for this reason.
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Keegan P. Russ
Reverse Prince Albert.
✿ “Just the tip,” has such a nice drag with that piercing. He also has a tongue piercing. He isn't even half in, and he doesn't need to, tbh. That piercing is the g-spot magic wand.
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König
Prince Albert. (classic)
✿ This had me drooling, and I didn't even know what got me so hard at first, but here is why: It's quite a thick ring and just gives bull vibes, which matches him wholeheartedly. He is a massive man and cannonically couldn't be a sniper because of it. He was later assigned as an insertion specialist and served as a battering ram. So, he is a breeding bull — breeding kink, size kink, mating press… It’s once again a piercing both sides get increased pleasure from.
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John ‘Soap’ MacTavish
TOP: 3 Top Ladders. Dydoe/King’s Crown. (Pierced through the ridge vertically at the penis's head base.)
BOTTOM: 3 Bottom Ladders. Hafada/Scrotal. (He is pierced there 1x (ring piercing). It sits right in the middle. During doggy, it smacks your clit.)
✿ Listen… he likes some pain, he is a little nuts—the chaotic middle-child energy just manifested like that. He has multiple dick piercings. He enjoys the modification of his cock, and getting them was fun for him, too. He definitely makes jokes that sound like condom sale slogans, like, “✨Ribbed for her Pleasure✨”. He got them for your pleasure, but he gets off on getting you off, so it's a double-win.
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genericpuff · 28 days
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Seeing how there only 10 episodes left do you think Rachel will rush the ending?
The way I see she needs to somehow resign Apollo reign, reawaken the God's, have Persophone defeat Kronos, have Persophone create Elysian, stop the entered winner/killing of nymphs and humans, hell we don't even know what is Leto end goal and what is her whole role in this series other than manipulating Apollo to be king. We don't even know what exactly she did with Zeus (but knowing Rachel she made Leto the other woman despite the fact she was another respectable goddess)
Imo I think Rachel is officially done done with her series and know her viewers are fed up with her constant milking of the series. You can even see it in some of her work where you know she just gave up (unless it's her self insert scenes)
On a side note another thing I should point out is the anti climax of Leuce and Thetis. Besides the fact she made Leuce another other woman the way she made Leuce expression during Persophone home Invasion made it look like she wasn't going to back down. Only for her to make be forgotten 3/4 of the final arc and is never mention again. Persophone didnt even ask Hades how does he even know Leuce. So unless Rachel has plans for her again that was the last time we saw her making that whole plot unless.
While Thetis plot.........
I'll be honest she just got a slap on a wrist and Rachel just insert Achilles as a way to bait her audience/trying to make a cultural reference. Tbh I thought Thetis would have a bigger story like fast-forward she believes she gotten everything she wanted and is now Queen only for the Trojan war occur and she only lost her status bur her son. Thus making the scene a poetic justic/tragedy.
I'll finish this off since I don't want to run my mouth about this series so here's my 2 cent. Rachel is putting to many Greek mythologies in her series that a) she has forgotten about characters b) everyone is now expecting her to have this series be all wrapped up in a nice bow when it actually be worse c) and because she has so many subplots they are left unresolved or unsatisfied
Oh, Persephone created Elysium already. It was literally just this LMAO
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Okay in all honesty I don't know if that was actually meant to be Elysium, but I remember seeing people comment on the S2 finale when she was bee-burping at Kronos that she was creating Elysium at the same time as fighting Kronos and I just... yeah okay? But they literally haven't even name-dropped it since the trial. This is what I mean when I criticize Rachel's writing for depending WAY too much on reader headcanon, because not only will she just roll with whatever her fans theorize, she'll do so without actually writing it into the comic so unless you're in the FB groups and Discord, you're probably not gonna pick up on every little decision Rachel made because she's making them with half a thought and a quarter of the effort needed to express it. It means people can say whatever and she'll just take credit for it like "yeah! that was Elysium! totally! you get it! okay moving on-"
As for the Leuce thing, Hades deadass met Leuce when Zeus offered her up as a bride, which Zeus explained to Persephone during the S2 finale arc-
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-but again it suffers from a lot of the same issues of Rachel not expanding on her ideas and just resolving them with some other random plot convenience. Why would Leuce be so obsessed with getting with Hades that she'd make up fake text messages? Rachel just really didn't want Hades to be interacting with other women in the 10 years that Persephone was gone, so she had to make Leuce delusional for it to work ?? Why would she go so far as to tell Hades about the text messages if they weren't real the whole time?
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-but then of course before Hades can respond to this, Persephone interrupts, meaning the plotline can be put on the backburner until Rachel comes up with a solution to it-
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-and then we got to see Persephone 'resolve' the issue by harassing Leuce in her home, and it was only until after THEN that Rachel finally went "no it's fine that Persephone vandalized her home, the text messages weren't real!!! see??? Leuce is just a delusional nimwit! She deserves it!"
And yeah the Thetis and Achilles thing is yet another 'plotline' that Rachel only introduced to try and legitimize her comic as a Greek myth retelling. Just about every myth she tries to portray is done vaguely and without any thought for the world they're inhabiting, it's all just lip service.
At the end of the day, a lot of the writing in LO is 1.) trying to make up for the lack of plot development in the first two seasons (hence why we're now getting sudden lore dumping about how the seasons work) and 2.) trying to make up for its lack of Greek myth set pieces because Rachel has now been openly called out for being arrogant in her 'knowledge' of Greek myth and it has people analyzing just how little Greek there is in this Greek myth "retelling". It's especially apparent in the second season when the whole thing is just self-insert fantasies about Hades and Persephone living together until the plot finally has to get moving again. Every now and then Rachel remembers that this is supposed to be a retelling, so she'll throw in some random Greek myth reference like the Colchian dragon or Aphrodite marrying Hephaestus or Thetis and Achilles.
It's very evident that Rachel never learned how to write a longform story or planned to make LO as long as it is and the story has suffered all the more for it. And it sucks because that's not the story I got onboard with back in 2019-2020, but that's where we are. Ironically, as much as I criticize LO for not having enough Greek myth influence in it, I do think the story would have been far better off if it just stayed as a cheesy office romance fluff fic. It's clearly what Rachel wanted to write but either she or WT (or both) got ahead of themselves and took on more than what LO - and Rachel - were equipped to follow through on.
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twit-ter-pa-ted · 6 months
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Apple of My Eye
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pairings: vinsmoke sanji x gn!Reader, straw hat crew x gn!Reader
warnings: can be romantic or platonic, can be opla/animanga (but more on animanga), everyone finding out in one fell swoop (thanks to reader), honestly a self-insert, includes the whooolee crew!!
overview: a headcanon wherein sanji has heterochromia, an optic condition where a person has two different colored eyes. moreover, you can't seem to get over those eyes.
a/n: this was inspired by and dedicated to a tiktok (@/drayiskewl) i saw tbh. got love at first sight w the idea. enjoy!
Sanji was cooking while you watched, feet swinging as your seat was too tall for them to be able to reach the floor.
He seemed to have been quite engrossed in his cooking, as he only noticed your staring once he was finished.
"Hm? Anything I can do for you, lovely?" He wiped his hands on the 'I like big buns and I cannot lie' apron the crew had gotten for him on his birthday (partly as a joke, though Luffy gifted it wholeheartedly).
You curiously tilted your head to the left. Wordlessly, he mimicked your action.
Your hand then lifted reluctantly, getting closer and closer to his face. Sanji never had a problem with people getting touchy with him, much less you getting touchy, so he decided to let things play out to see what you would do.
Though, being on the same boat as you for god knows how long surely didn't help him in predicting what you would do next.
You brushed your fingers through his hair, specifically brushing aside his fringe adorned over his eye.
"H-Hey, wait a minute – " His cheeks turned pink while you stared in adoration at his mocha-iceberg eyes.
He tried to take your hand's gentle grasp off his hair. His fumbling came to a stop as he looked at the smile on your face as you looked at his eyes.
He chuckled, almost nervously as if easing himself into the fact that you were seeing his blue eye.
He initially didn't intend to hide it, attempting to casually slip it into conversation if it ever came up as a topic, but it never did. So he figured it didn't matter whether the crew knew or not.
"What, you like them, sweets?"
You grinned. "Yeah-huh. They're pretty." You leaned back onto your seat.
"Well, if I'd known, I'd have constantly pulled back my hair." He humorously pushed his hair back.
"Sanji! Give me food!" Luffy came marching into the kitchen with the demand, then his eyes widened as he saw Sanji's. "Woah! Sanji, is that really your eye?"
He practically jumped on the chef as he kept Sanji's usually hidden eye open to examine it.
"Do you really have to ask that – ?"
"It looks so cool! Can you teach me how to do that? Ooh, food!" He spotted the recently cooked food while Sanji was speaking. His attention quickly averted from the cook's eyes to his dishes.
" – Hold on, Luffy!" Sanji stepped back to bring his foot down onto the captain's head.
"Ow!"
Usopp and Chopper barged into the kitchen in a panicked manner. "Sorry, Sanji! We looked away for one second – woah!"
It was almost as if there were stars in their eyes. "They're so mesmerizing…!"
You chuckled, looking at Sanji's eyes again. "Aren't they?"
Chopper opted to jumping on the counter, though quickly changed his mind as he thought what Sanji's reaction could be to that, so he changed into his human-hybrid form and quickly took out a flashlight and a magnifying glass to examine his eyes.
"I've never seen anyone with this before!" He seemed to be the most fascinated so far. Or perhaps it was just in his nature as a doctor to be curious about it.
Sanji's eyes widened as they darted between you, Usopp, and Chopper. "S-Stop staring, would you?!"
Usopp let out an exclamation. Chopper suddenly recognized that he had jumped into Doctor Mode before thinking and snapped out, returning to his normal, smaller form.
He and Usopp then each grabbed a hold of Luffy's shoulders. It was their turn to keep Luffy out of the kitchen, after all. "S-Sorry!"
The other half of Luffy's body stretched and lagged behind, considering the Straw Hat didn't want to leave, yet soon came hurling out the door and towards the pair that pulled him.
A whack soon sounded as Luffy inevitably collided with the top half of his body, and Usopp and Chopper.
While Sanji started to bake a dessert for the ladies, Franky entered the kitchen. "Hey, curly cook, is the food ready? The ladies and the skeleton are hungry."
"It's almost done, give me a second."
Franky nodded in understanding, then sat on the seat next to you.
"Hey, could you give me some cola?" He requested from the cook.
"Yeah, as long as you promise to leave my kitchen after." Franky let out a small laugh and raised his hands in surrender.
"Hey, wanna see something cool?" You smirked towards Sanji who sighed just as he had reached for the cola bottles in the fridge, already knowing what you were scheming.
"Yeah? What is it?" He prevailed curiously. You reached to push Sanji's hair back again when he approached the counter to set the cola bottles down.
Your smile widened as you looked at Franky's fascinated stare. "Don't they look cool?"
"Oh! I never knew your eyes looked like that. Super!"
Sanji couldn't help but chuckle, never getting used to the crewmate's silliness. "Thanks, Franky. I'm afraid I'm still gonna have to ask you to leave."
"Aw, but why can they stay?" Franky whined, pointing at you.
"Because it's them. I don't really have a choice," he jested before leaning back to smoothly avoid your swinging hand.
Franky laughed as he left the kitchen with the cola bottles.
Sanji quickly finished making the desserts. While settling the plates on the tray, you tugged on his sleeve to catch his attention.
He hummed to acknowledge your attempt. "What is it, darling?"
You held your hands up. "Hear me out – "
One of his curled brows rose with curiosity, then your hands went up to his hair.
You tied his hair up, it currently being long enough to barely settle into a man bun.
Sanji chuckled at your antics, yet went along with it. You searched around and found Nami's mirror, facing it to Sanji. "What do you think? Good?"
Zoro, seemingly recently done with his workout session (though his sweat seemed to have dried) with his towel over his shoulder, passed by and lightly chuckled through his nostrils before Sanji could reply.
"Hmm? I'm in the kitchen?" He asked himself, seemingly unaware of you and the cook being there.
"Yeah-huh," you replied. Zoro only seemed to notice your presence then.
"Nice eyes, idiot cook."
Sanji rolled his eyes and set the mirror down. "Quiet, moss head."
"You look like a broom." Zoro cocked his chin towards Sanji's hair, then smirked. "Broom head."
You couldn't help but chuckle.
Nami entered as if searching for something, or someone.
Her brows shot up when she saw Zoro. "Zoro, I thought you were going for a shower? Luffy was looking for you and I told him you headed to the bathroom. He got there and talked to no one for a solid ten minutes."
"I was gonna go take a shower," he clarified. The room was silent for a moment, waiting for his explanation as to why he was here.
Everyone should have expected his answer – "I got lost."
Your eyes widened, "How do you get lost on your own ship?!"
"Idiot!"
"I can't believe you!"
Still, Zoro waved dismissively before heading back the way he came from.
"That's still not the way to the bathroom…!" Nami shouted after him, but the swordsman had left through the doors. Nami's palm met with her face. "Oh, he is hopeless."
Sanji brushed the situation off and went back to arranging the food.
"Oh, Miss Nami, I'll have the food out in a minute." Nami finally looked at the cook, who was now looking at you to see if it was alright if he were to untie his hair. He did once you gave a reassuring gaze.
Nami's mouth slightly went agape as he approached the cook, pushing his hair back to see if she had seen it correctly. "Hey. Sanji, I never knew your eyes looked like that. They look…!"
He was holding one of the desserts as Nami started complimenting him. You quickly lunged to grab the dessert off his hands when he suddenly collapsed.
You and Nami looked over the counter to check if Sanji was alright. He was, he just became struck by the sudden compliment.
"…I didn't even finish complimenting him."
Food had been served by you by the time Sanji woke up again.
He was surprised to see that you had gotten him to sit at the table and waited for him to wake while the crew ate. You had tied his hair up again.
"Oh! You have such pretty eyes, mine almost flew out of my skull!" Brook exclaimed once everyone had realized he had regained consciousness. "But then again, I actually don't have eyes anymore. I'm all bones! Yo-ho-ho-ho-ho!"
Luffy, Chopper, and you were the only ones to chuckle at the skeleton's joke. Robin let out a small chuckle as well, "But how come you've been crewmates for so long, yet you didn't know Sanji had different-colored eyes?"
Luffy somehow grinned while stuffing his mouth full of food. "I didn't ask."
Nami sighed and shook her head. "In case you hadn't noticed, our captain just has a tendency of inviting anyone into the crew."
Zoro nodded in agreement. "It's true. Just look at the cook."
Sanji's brows almost uncurled in fury. "What does that say about you, First Mate?!"
"I must admit," Robin crossed her forearms and prompted an arm to sprout from the top of Sanji's head, its hand brushing his hair out of the way. "they do look…"
Luffy nabbed the cook's food from his plate before Sanji's face planted onto them as he once again fell unconscious.
"…Pretty."
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saeist · 1 year
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helloo i just read ur itoshi brothers hc and I LOVE LOVE LOVE ITTTT the concept is so cute istg I NEED A PART 2 🫀
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i decided to merge both of these asks into one since they're kinda the same premise anyway so this will be a self insert of your own blue lock boy! so that'll mean (bl/p) = blue lock player! also pretty much rin centered 😘
honestly speaking, the only one who'll ever have a problem with you dating is rin tbh. i mean, sae would also bitch about you dating at your age but it's not the same kind of bitching like rin's (💀)
rin would 100% pop a vein vessel when he finds out you're dating one of his peers from blue lock. there's no debate to it. he will quite literally lose his shit.
because first of all, those little blue lock boys that are on rin's palm literally made a scouts honor (rin basically forced them tbh) that they will not be interact with you even if it meant life or death. second of all, i've said this multiple times but it's true, they're gonna get it from rin. he does not give a single fuck if they were teammates, on the same team, literally even if they were roommates with him. rin will absolutely "devour" and "kill" them on and off the field.
so the u-20 vs blue lock match comes rolling in. it currently halftime and all players (including rin) were taking a short break and drinking water while discussing with ego about their plan for the next half of the match.
on the corner of rin's eye, he notices a player walk up to the stands, near where the VIP's were seated. he was about to call them out for not listening to the upcoming game plan but instead he was met with you, his sister, his own blood relative, wiping the sweat off the player's face with a ridiculous smile on your face.
"y/n, what the fuck!" you hear someone complain. you looked up and look who's stomping on the way to you? that's right! it's rin! with his infamous scowl.
"rin-nii~ hi!" you chirped, waving your hand at him. rin stops and whips his head towards (bl/p), glaring at them with the nastiest look on rin's face you've ever seen
"what the fuck is this about, (bl/p)? do you have a deathwish or something?" rin starts to nag. a little too loud for your liking tbh. because all the other players (including u20 btw) are now looking at the commotion.
seeing you looking all lost and confused in between rin and a blue lock player sae has never even heard of, he decides to intervene.
"what's this about, y/n?" you hear sae ask, walking over to you, rin and your boyfriend.
"sae-nii! hi! rin is scaring my boyfriend" you pout, motioning your hands to your boyfriend and rin bickering. sae was about to open his mouth to say something before he whips your head at the speed of light the moment the word 'boyfriend' escaped your lips
you. had. a. boyfriend?
"what did you just say?" sae repeats, putting a hand on his ear as if that would change the shit you just said. sae immediately diverts his attention to your boyfriend and rin. your eyes widened at the realization the both of your brothers were (if not) about to team up for once in their life and quite literally devour your poor boyfriend.
but it seems like luck was with your boyfriend that day. the referees just blew their whistle, indicating it was time for the other half of the match just right before sae opened his mouth.
your boyfriend sighs in relief and jogs over to the rest of the blue lock team with rin in tow. but before rin and sae go back to their respective teams, they both turn around to face you and motioned the "i'm watching you" sign. rolling your eyes, you waved both of them off.
it’s gonna be one hell of an earful at your shared itoshi gc later
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scoobydoodean · 20 days
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fic writing is extremely hard and I love and appreciate everyone who does it but tbh I think this fandom plays it too safe with characterization. we need more fic where cas enjoys like, taxidermy and base jumping. more fic where sam engages in pagan rituals and blood sacrifices. more fic where those two are the absolute Chaos Gremlins they are in CANON and where dean is the long-suffering exhausted normal one. too many people laboring under the delusion that cas is the moronsexual one in the relationship when it's obviously dean 😭
You are sooo right. Cas is so normal core in so many fics and like endlessly patient when the Cas on my screen I think would sooner set an entire basket of yarn on fire than knit or crochet anything in his life. He is also NOT staying home while Dean does something extremely dangerous to protect HIM unless he literally cannot move an inch of his body like WHAT.
And Sam honestly in most Dean or Cas/Dean oriented fics lbr is an afterthought who only appears as the writer's self-insert to say things like "It's okay to be bisexual" as if Sam hasn't tried to kill half of Dean's boyfriends in canon. Like people should do whatever tf they want at all times in their own fanfiction and fuck me I don't matter but also 🤭🤭🤭🤭
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Man. How did I forget that an entire subplot of Dazai's main story was just. Trying to trap him into having a single conversation with MC like a normal person I'm so akhdjgfkljshgskjd
I just love watching her, Arthur, and Isaac deadass plot with glee to get one over on Dazai it's killing me, this is some Hamlet level shit (no Charles do not stand behind the curtain to kill Dazai coming in the window!!! yamero!!!!!)
Also because I felt personally attacked (/j) when Isaac said this:
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I love you Isaac but pls have mercy on creatives we only have one brain cell and we're trying s o hard oTL
Although, and I'll leave it under the cut since I'm back on my Comte-posting, but the way Comte talks about Dazai fascinates me. Also just as fair warning, I do broach a lot of the topics that come up in Dazai rt so trigger warnings for self-harm, suicide, CPTSD and PTSD, trauma, etc. I don't go too too in-depth, but they are there.
Comte: "Dazai is quite skilled at concealing what he's really feeling, even from himself, perhaps."
The way he instantly remarks on how Dazai is not only working to conceal what he feels from others, but also from himself. Tbh I think that's enormously perceptive, because at first glance most people tend to think Dazai is lazy, troublesome, flippant, or erratic (and sometimes, a combination of all of these).
I love that he sees to the core of who Dazai is and what he's feeling; fear. Dazai is afraid of hurting someone again, but I also think on some level he's made it an ontological problem; he's afraid of himself. He thinks his very existence is a negative entity, something that exists only to hurt and/or estrange other people, something wrong/different. I'd argue that's why he's so adamant about mood-making and keeping to himself. If you never express how you truly feel or live true to yourself, on some level you can't entirely reach others. Because fundamentally, being close to other people does require some level of lowered defenses and sharing. Ergo, never dwell too long or give too much of yourself away, never make a mark on anyone--good or bad.
As a side note, Theo calls him "a half-strewn dandelion puff" and I agree that's rather blunt, but on some level Theo operates on a level of utility. His entire operating precept is that life and work must serve a discrete purpose. And Dazai, in choosing to opt out of living with meaning/intent out of fear, makes this description entirely consistent with Theo's perspective of the world. Though his phrasing is harsh and perhaps one-dimensional, I do find it interesting that he comes to a similar conclusion as Comte as to what Dazai is doing.
Comte talks about it with such clarity and calm, he really does feel so parental in this moment. He's not necessarily minimizing the reality of how Dazai is experiencing the world, but he also clearly doesn't agree with Dazai's self-perception. Perhaps most striking to me is how Comte seems to understand that the only threat Dazai poses is to himself...Sometimes it feels like, in the case of conditions like mental illness/depression/etc. people are so eager to assume ill will of a person. This is only exponentially compounded if they prove to have striking intelligence and strategic capacity, the same way Dazai does. I guess I can't help but appreciate that Comte knows the difference between strong and scared, and even how the lines between the two can and often do blur (perhaps best exemplified in his relationships with Jeanne and Dazai).
(Side note: I forgot which event it was but, one time when Dazai was homesick for cherry blossom watching, Comte had the entire house filled with flowers to cheer him up [insert ugly sobbing]).
For someone so enigmatic, evasive, and distant, Comte still notices instantly that Dazai is much, much happier with MC. I suppose it makes me wonder if Comte knew all along that Dazai's real wish was to be accepted and loved as he was, but kept quiet out of respect for his privacy. I would offer too that sometimes people need to realize these things on their own for the information to have value.
But what really gets my ass is what Comte says right after:
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This is my bread and butter (so is he but that's not the point of this particular TED talk). In the last few years I've done a lot of exploratory work on how trauma is mapped both internally but also visibly on the body. What I think is engaging here is that, while it could be read on a surface level as "body language gives people's true intentions away" I don't think that's quite what he's getting at. Or perhaps better phrased, it's an oversimplification. I don't think it's that body language can't communicate real and important information about people's lives. Rather, that people associate rigid and absolutist interpretations to singular mannerisms, which does a disservice to both parties. Nobody can know a person at a glance; to say that you do reduces the lived reality of the opposite party.
Comte gives simple examples and couches his words for the context of the moment, but I think that first line is incredibly telling. "But the body is remarkably truthful." It makes me think of how, in moments where Comte is overcome with anxiety as a result of traumatic recurrence, he has acute panic attacks (i.e. shortened breath, racing heart, trembling). How Leonardo's lethargy (i.e. napping on the floor everywhere like the hobo he is) belies the reality of his very real exhaustion, the emotional turmoil that comes with a fraught immortal life.
Dazai's endless struggle with dissociation and self-harm, the way he stood in the rain unmoving at the thought of MC returning home to the modern era. Whether to numb himself from the pain of that grief/loneliness, or perhaps more likely the self-immolation of subjecting himself to the re-enactment of the most harrowing moment of his life. To relive that anguish as a reminder; to abstain from making the same mistake ever again. Jeanne's endless bodily tension, struggles with basic self-care (appears to be interoception-based; reduced signalling of the need to eat/rest/etc.), and self-isolation to cope in a world where only the strong survive. Never safe, always alone, always defensive.
I think, for many people in general but especially people who have been through intense PTSD/CPTSD/etc., it can be hard to express these feelings directly. Whether they are forcibly silenced, ridiculed into self-derision/self-concealment, or are overwhelmed by emotions that are difficult to process--each manifests itself in unconventional ways. It means a lot to me when those phenomena are portrayed so sensitively in written works/media, that they're explored with real intention and narrative subtlety to communicate how hard it is for people who are wounded or simply different (or both, as often is the case).
Addendum:
Even more than that, and this is an observation at the end of Dazai's route, is Comte's open belief that life is something to be cherished. Of course, like any other person he has behaviors he won't abide and people he doesn't feel partial to, but by and large he doesn't take life lightly. Perhaps that's why he doesn't expect Dazai to resort to such measures again, in conjunction with the circumstances of his transition. From an outsider perspective, I could see how Comte might assume Dazai no longer wishes for that if he seemed to regret his initial course of action by seeking resurrection. There is also the implication that Dazai is always at war with himself, and therefore might give contradictory impressions; one moment he wants to live, the next he doesn't. This is precisely what led him to ask Charles for help to subdue his own 'cowardice.' (His terms, not mine. [bonks him]) There is a sizeable subset of s-word survivors who, after recovery, feel that their problems were actually solvable despite their despair in the moment.
Of course, that doesn't apply to everyone, but I think there's something to be said of Comte feeling such real affection for the mansion boys that he is stricken to find out what Dazai attempted. And perhaps unsurprisingly, very adamant to keep him from ever pursuing such a course of action again. He's incredibly vulnerable about his horror that he might have inflicted something on Dazai that he never wanted in bringing him back, though Dazai comfortably refutes any lack of agency in the situation.
I guess I feel very compelled by the duality inherent in Comte's glass heart, precisely because of how realistic it feels. His greatest strength is his sensitivity, but it's also his greatest weakness in tandem. His genuine care for Dazai--the unwavering belief that his life is valuable and worthy--ends up being the reason he doesn't anticipate Dazai's rather deeply entrenched self-loathing. And to be honest, I'm a bit inclined to agree; looking back on a third reading Dazai feels way too hard on himself. It feels like the young girl's death was more a catalyst for what Dazai was already feeling, than anything. Dazai wanted so badly to have a reason to despise himself (as he already disliked how different and out of place he naturally felt) and with this, his self-reproach could have a viable, rational explanation. A locus outside of his body by which to rationalize his self-hatred. Accident or not becomes irrelevant; he was involved, and thus he is guilty.
He reminds me a lot of that post that was circulating once about how cultish behavior inculcates intelligent people with more devastating pull than one might expect, because intelligent people can more easily and more insistently find ways to desperately rationalize their situation to function in that whirlpool of abuse. Dazai feels like he's in this same such Catch-22, so busy believing he deserves to be scorned (because of how well he hides his perceived abnormalities) that he takes steps to ensure and reinforce it. He wants and needs to see his reality make sense, and if it won't answer his designs he will find a way to make it so.
It fascinates me because Dazai is an incredibly complex example of someone who desires control, but instead of inflicting it with external rapacity, he targets his own internal state. I once heard a Buddhist explain: yes, it is a sign of disturbance to engage with others aggressively and without grace. However, it is also a sign of disturbance when the mind seeks to harm one's own body. Although Dazai's disturbance is not as apparent, it is there. And that's part of what makes him so excruciatingly compelling to me, in a lot of ways he is the manifestation of the Sisyphean suffering of being ill in a quiet way. In enduring and smiling and laughing because you don't want to burden others--or know you're not allowed to--all while you slowly bleed from the inside out.
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brandycranby · 9 months
Text
ce characters + whether your asian parents would like them and how to win them over 🥺😣🫶🏻💕🍵
based on unfortunately realistic intrusive thoughts i have while reading self-insert fics
steve: military? hm. desi peeps leave ur comments bc idk how desi parents feel but i know ALL the east asian and southeast asian parents and grandparents might have something to say about that. the US army has left its mark.. just saying... better highlight his better features such as his sensitive artistic nature!! wait. wait. not that either, no need for them to call him a bum at the dinner table.
just... have him win your mom over with his stunning future son-in-law adorableness and charming smile 😀
andy: lawyer. that's it- no, no it doesn't matter if your EA mom prefers flower boys and he's a little too bearded. lawyer. the desi parents are messaging the Whatsapp group chat, they're calling the fam back in the motherland. look at that beard. lawyer.
tall ✅ upper middle-class ✅ drives an audi ✅ divorced? he has you now.
ari: handsome... ok.. but also. military. hmm. non-religious/non-abrahamic religious peeps, your asian parents might give him a better reception. but um, "divorced?" "has a daughter??" "soldier la??" "he have steady income???" 👁️👄👁️
my super religious background peeps, im so sorry. maybe the part where he's Jewish will get lost in translation. um. that's a fight and a half at the dinner table, good luck 🥲 maybe just elope.
curtis: ... I MEAN IS IT THE APOCALYPSE?? if not, your dad would probably like him. a man's man. strong, silent, built like a brick wall and does whatever DIY project he points him towards when you visit. your mom will call him scary. i don't think that would change whether you're E/S/SEA, your mom is pulling you aside in the kitchen and asking if you're really sure about him.
let Curtis show his gentle side. yeah, he's tall and intimidating but he has a soft heart. tell your lil cousins and niblings to use him as a jungle gym
jake: see Andy above- no, EVEN MORE POWERFUL THAN ANDY. yeah, military veteran, yeah, he's a lil awkward. but. computer science. information technology. wifi. tvs, laptops, phones. your parents are going to turn him into their personal help line and you might have to put a stop to it but goddamn if they don't call him son the minute this convo happens:
"he's in cybersecurity"
"what is cyba-"
"... IT"
"OH EYE-TEE. EYE-TEE VERY GOOD"
ransom: he's rich. he wears L.L. Bean and probably has the Louis Vuitton travel duffle bag. ransom is the nicest dressed, actually fashionable, sleek, and nicest smelling compared to the rest of these bozos. your mom loves him already. your dad is on the fence but also, he's well off enough to take care of you.
don't... say that he writes. yes, he does write. but focus on the fact that he's connected to a big big publishing house. yes yes. if this is an au and he's in charge of Blood Like Wine. BUSINESS OWNER, TAKE THAT.
---
disclaimer, all asian parents different. my dad is a graphic designer/artsy (though idk if he'd want me to date an artist tbh...) if ur parents aren't represented feel free to reblog w ur thoughts 😌
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amyreads · 5 months
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I personally love how much variation you gave mc and flavour text. I am a newbie to writing if and I was wondering if you had any tips on making such an interesting mc player character. I love how your mc character player had some stuff set in stone that was canon, but there was still so much room for customisation without making the mc feel like a blank slate. Infamous is one of the few IFs that has given me brainrot. ❤️❤️
And I loved orion in thee patreon update he was great. August has my heart too, they were just really great on this update and my girlie victoria as well. 👀👌🏼
Thank you! Infamous is my first IF as well so tbh I approached it as I would a regular story which is both harmful and beneficial.
I think things that are set in stone about MC are things that reflect their past. People call MC a doormat or whatever and they say that MC doesn't stand up for themselves as much as they should (though I do add choices for that cough....) but it makes sense when you think about it? MC has abandonment issues and has a history of losing people. Obviously they'd be fearful of losing their friends/the people that are close to them, especially after Seven. So yeah, MC isn't stomping over everyone's toes and telling everyone to fuck off but the people-pleasing part of their personality feels a little on brand for them haha Or maybe I'm speaking as someone who knows too much, so it skews my perspective IDK !
I am aware there are people that don't like that so I add choices for that anyway, which is also something you need to think about! How to balance narrative vs fan satisfaction. Some things are canon with no ifs ands or buts about it but there are others that im flexible on because it doesn't harm what I have for the story.
Basically, you should look at the bigger picture when it comes to MC. what are things that make sense to be canon when you think about their past/relationships and their current and previous circumstances? and what are things you can be flexible on?
I've gotten a lot of people coming to me upset because they say "my mc wouldn't do that" which is understandable but! we are not omnipresent writers and we have very limited resources so you just have to decide what choices are important and what are really just filler yk yk
Not everyone is going to like your MC. A lot of it comes from people playing as self-inserts/creating fully formed characters vs people approaching the MC as another character in the story. It really comes down to what kind of MC that is, and what type of MC you need for your story :)
I would say the INFAMOUS MC is half and half in that regard! <3
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otaku553 · 8 months
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How goes the fma x albedo fic? I hope that doesn't sound pushy, I'm genuinely curious. And in that vein, do you have any little drabbles you may have written or want to write? Especially with your recent kny ocs/yourself and your siblings. That'd be super fun to read about! Your art AND your writing is so freaking good, the moment I see you've posted something new on your blog I'm clicking it so fast. Same with your ao3 account ❤️
Thank you for the kind words!!! Currently not working on any fics, since I just came out of 10 weeks of summer research where my days began at 8 am and ended at 9 pm for probably less than minimum wage hahaha (doing research is a Bit Sad but I get a whole month to relax before classes start again so thank goodness for that)
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I do however!!! Have a lot of plans!!! If you’re interested you can read more below!
Plans include but are not limited to:
Finally working on Homuncular Nature again!! I definitely do have a lot of plans and cool scenes playing out in my head for the next chapter, it’ll just come down to when I actually put pen to paper (or stylus to iPad) to actually organize and write them all. The road block I think is that I have seen neither Albedo nor fmab very recently and all my concrete ideas are for around the 30 episode mark for fmab, the turning point with the first actual confrontation against father and the subsequent Briggs arc.
Rewriting Ten Thousand Maple Leaves! A lot of people have been very kind but I think I missed the mark with my first chapter to be honest. My writing has gotten a lot wordier and less succinct, which feels like I’m filling a chapter more with fluff and unnecessary description than actual content. I think I also dislike how I characterized Sanemi and how quickly Kazuha was willing to agree with things. Writing both of them is kind of a difficult challenge tbh! I think in rewriting it I want to give back to Kazuha more of his vagrant role in the games, where he is avoiding the law for reasons somewhat out of his control.
Ebisu siblings content! I think it might be fun to try having them interact with more of the canon characters in kny but I also think there’s some value in a complete sort of outsider point of view when inserting characters into a piece of media. I feel like whenever I see self inserts I see a lot of ocs making themselves indispensable and making meaningful relationships with existing characters that way and that’s totally valid! That’s a lot of what I do for crossovers as well. I think when it comes to my own ocs though, I want them to feel grounded in some form and the reality of it is that none of the characters I make based on myself or real people are that impressive or remarkable. But I also think there’s a lot of value in showing smaller scale things outside of the main interactions and plot to show that even though we aren’t remarkable, we still have our own meaningful connections and ideologies and stories :) in the end the Ebisu siblings are a lot more visual though so I may just continue making doodles and art without writing anything haha
Kirby & Meta Knight ageswap AU: I was mostly doing this on my ask-gikabi sideblog in short form comics, but I lost sight of what I wanted to do after making the discord and starting to interact with some of the people who followed it. I think a lot of people are inspired and have their own very cool ideas that I wanted to take into account but then eventually it was no longer my story or the story I wanted to tell, which is why I’m thinking of restarting it as a fic. This one is still in very rough idea stage though, I have honestly no clue how I’m even going to begin organizing it
Yanfei ace attorney crossover: this one’s just pure crack lmao I would definitely write it as crack taken seriously but I think this is fun to explore just for small ideas that pop up every now and then, i.e. yanfei is semi-immortal because she’s half adeptus so it would be Really Funny to me if she showed up in dgs era, got her attorney’s license, went into hiding after it became obvious that she wasn’t aging, and then re-emerged after rebranding herself as her own daughter or granddaughter. That, and I have a lot of fun imagining someone as pragmatic as yanfei trying to get through the sheer chaos of aa despite being otherworldly
Continuing winter weather advisory: I got to a really good point in that fic and was rereading it today like,,, damn I wrote that? And it would be fun to see where I planned on going with it so I do want to also try working on that a bit if I can
Kazuha & Kunikuzushi role swap au: this is something I posted about a Long While ago but it’s an idea I continue to be fascinated with :) I especially enjoy how these two characters could have had completely different roles and personalities depending on how their pasts happened (with wanderer being so nice and turning so bitter and kazuha growing up so spoiled (for lack of a better word) and turning out so weary and yet kind
Link click and mha crossover: this one is honestly just a very recent idea but I think it would be fun to make a drabble on how lightime photo studio would be able to continue operating even in another world and the trouble they might get into for illegal quirk usage and what using cheng xiaoshi’s powers in a world where being able to tell the future is canonically possible would entail
I have!! So many ideas!! And not enough time or motivation to actually write any of them most of the time :’)
But I’m very glad to hear that you enjoy them and look forward to my posts!! :D I really hope I can work on some of these over the last month of summer vacation that I have :)
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thoughtspresso · 9 months
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Hello, sorry I just need someone to voice my op to since none of my circles read or watch OnK :'(
It's so weird to me how Akane's fans interpret that scene when the girls are filming an MV as Akane only having good intention and care for Kana, 'cuz imo even if there is, what she said was still one of her attemps to get Aqua to stay with her. Look at how things played out to her: her business bf wanted to break up, he even straight up refused sex when she offered, and now she found out that right after that he took Kana on to a proper date, Akane's chances were close to zero. She was grasping at straws when she said that and played it under the guise of being considerate about Kana's safety, just like how she said she's okay with breaking up with him yet cried - showing that she wanted the opposite. Because if she only cared about Kana's safety, then what's with the side comment about how actors have it easier? It's like she was saying "Choose me, I'm the safer choice!". I'm not saying Akane didn't have good intention, but it's more like a two bird one stone typa thing where she wanted Kana to be safe and Aqua to continue with dating her (her own selfish want). It was kinda a dirty move from Akane, consider how she knows very well what happened to Ai and how much that'll affects Aqua. Akane always strike me as a good in nature yet also self-absorbed character: She decided what's best for both Kana and Aqua that also benefits her selfish wants regardless of how the other two would feel (& we all know how miserable both Aqua and Kana was during that ghosting period); She decided what to do to Aqua's father without thinking about how he might feel (again); The signs were as early as the LoveNow arc where she tweeted the apology thinking it was the right solution without consulting with her manager first because she thought she knew what was best for her to do in that situation. Even her acting method also kinda reflect this, where if the character's portrayal clashes between her and the director/scriptwriter, she already has a concrete image of the character from her own interpretation and thus has difficulty compromising and adjusting with the production team.
I might even take a wild guess that she was in love (obsessed) with the idea of saving prince charming rather than Aqua himself because to her, their story literally went/was gonna go like the old classic story of prince charming saving the girl -> the girl learns about the prince's past, decides to help him to repay him saving her -> prince charming defeats the bad guy (his dad in this story) with the girl's help -> happily ever after. Akane being a teen + Aqua saved her + it's her first dating experience caused her to have an idealistic view of dating and probably why she tolerated Aqua dating her despite having his eyes on Kana for he did act like the perfect bf on the surface, and that to her was enough to fulfil her prince charming fantasy. Akane is, actually, not that mature in her relationship with Aqua like how her fan keep praising her for, tbh imo it's more akin to what teens think "being mature" is. I know this is one of the appeal of her ship with Aqua, even though some might deny it. As oppose to Kana who might be a potential obstacle to Aqua's revenge whether good or bad, Akane is narratively there as a bonus reward for Aqua after finishing the main quest of avenging his mom if the ship ever be canon again. Akane and Aqua have unfortunately became perfect self-inserts for those who are into revenge and/or trophy girl fantasy (nothing bad about this itself tho). But perhaps because of looking into those fantasy fulfilment rather than the actual context of the manga/anime, they accuse Kana of not understanding the "real" Aqua (I have alot to say about this, maybe 3 paragraphs at least lol) or how she's useless for not helping him kill a person and ignore the entire other half chunk of the story about showbiz problems, where Kana's own story entangle more.
If you've read this far, thank you so so much.
P/s: My wild guess no.2, rather than being a damsel in distress (being Kamiki's target) for Aqua to come rescue, Kana already has a close relationship with Kamiki prior to reuniting with the twins (maybe a mentor-student relationship?). I've always find it weird how Aka just glossed over Kana's past, like he's holding back important info regarding her past that he can't show the readers too soon. So that's why I have this guess. This explains why Aka's been keeping her out of the revenge plot for so long + better than Kana just being a damsel in distress + raises the stakes for Kana (will she choses the mentor who helped her through her dark days being abused by her mom or the twins who she can see the light and bright future in?) + makes Kana a key player in the revenge plot.
Hey Anon! I'm happy to talk to you about some OnK Character Analyses anytime. Sorry to have taken so long to respond, I really wanted to sit down with your question. I've been thinking about this a lot. And I'm afraid my response might be even longer than your ask hahaha!
I want to summarize your main points for everybody else, so that we're all on the same page:
Akane was manipulative when she reminded Aqua that Kana was an idol, and pushed him to choosing her.
Akane wants to reverse the damsel-in-distress and Prince Charming trope, and decides on behalf of others.
Akane fans accuse Kana for not knowing the "real" Aqua
(Bonus) There's a possibility that Kana already knew Hikaru Kamiki.
So, my responses:
#1 Was Akane being manipulative in Ch. 76?
Well, yes. And no.
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I actually had a short discussion (argument?) with Skania (who I will not tag for the sake of their mental health, but mentioning here to credit them.) about this very topic. (And I want to thank them for their time and also apologize to have annoyed them!) We have really different interpretations and disagree each other on this part.
To get the fast answer out of the way: Yes, I believe Akane was wholly aware of what she was saying.
She already knew from the Tokyo Blade arc how badly Aqua can get triggered on the topic of Ai's death.
Put it this way: imagine being a teenage girl who was depressed or bullied, and the boy who saved your life started dating you but admits that it isn't because he likes you that way. You start offering him sex if that would fulfill his wants in a relationship, but he tells you that your relationship is about to end soon. You find out from another girl that they went on a date--shopping for suitcases and Brazilian barbecue--a kind of date he never did for you. Then when he invited you to go on a trip, most of what he did was walk you around his hometown to look for something else, and then watch this other girl be really cute in a dress he was stunned by.
Akane is allowed to be a teenager who would want to nudge her boyfriend to stay with her and away from his other crush.
Akane fans like to argue that she was being completely selfless, and was just looking out for Kana's safety too.
I really dislike this reading of Akane's character, because it strips her of agency. Of course she has personal goals, wants, and flaws. She's allowed to be a teenage girl who wanted her love to be reciprocated. She's allowed to be a teenage girl who gets a little jealous, and try as she might to be professional and civil because all of these people are her work colleagues too, she still does things that fulfill her goals. She is allowed to be self-interested, and act on opportunities that align with those self interests.
I also think that if Akane's fans want to believe in her intellect and her masterful ability in understanding people's psychology and detective work, then it stands to reason that they should also believe that Akane was deliberately aware of the effect of what she said to Aqua. She doesn't always make 100% correct bets, but it's reasonable to conclude she made this bet hoping that it could get him to stay.
Akane and everyone else is already aware that Kana is actually not a person who needs scolding on the dangers of being under public scrutiny:
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Under any normal circumstance, if Akane simply cared for Kana's safety, she would have simply responded to Kana when she was bragging about the date. Like, "hey be careful about dating in public spaces okay? I dont want you getting in trouble." Or, if she would talk to Aqua about it, she might say, "Please remember to book a private room next time you eat in a restaurant."
But no. If Akane would remind them of safety tips of dating as public figures, it would just lead them to the advice to do Home Dates:
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And she doesn't want that now, does she?
She didn't say something as straightforward as that, and neither did the author write it in a more neutral tone. It was deliberately written with Akane implying that if he didn't want Kana killed, he should just date a fellow actor. (Preferably one that the public is actually cheering on to be together, because they were already in a Love Team due to the show.)
I just don't like ignoring what the Author and the Illustrator clearly put on the page for me to absorb the way that it was. I think pretending she was being wholly selfless is an insult to the writers.
#2 Is Akane motivated by the want to Save Prince Charming?
This is the "and no" part of my answer.
When I think of Akane, I don't think of an outright evil person who manipulated Aqua into doing things, wanting to be a hero for that reason. And just like how Tokyo Blade serves as a parallel for the show, it in turn informs us that it is an incorrect interpretation of Saya-hime (or Akane) to think that she outright wants the violence herself.
This part I agree with Skania on: Akane's main flaw is her low self-esteem.
Akane doesn't personally believe that she is inherently worth any value, and any value that she holds is attributed to her hard work.
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People have taken notice to the fact that, unlike Kana's experience of abuse and abandonment, Akane had a really good support system behind her when her suicide attempt happened during the LoveNow arc. She had a loving mother and a really kind-hearted manager that believed in her. Yet she clung onto the validation from the agency President more. She ascribes her personal value to the approval of other people, especially positive feedback from her superiors in the industry, her theater troupe calling her a genius, her fans applauding her.
And, on the opposite side of the same coin, she has immense Rejection Sensitivity that makes her extremely defensive when she received cyberbullying, leading her to want to make a public apology right away and appease people.
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This leads Akane to be an extremely hardworking person, but also seeking validation and direction from other people (like the LoveNow crew), unable to voice out her views unless it is supported by an authority figure (like when she wanted something changed in Tokyo Blade), and also why when meeting her personal hero and idol Arima Kana in person, when Kana lashed out at her, instead of simply thinking, "okay she's a terrible person, I'm done with being her fan forever", she rejected that idea and went on to study Psychology in the hopes of understanding people like Kana.
All of this manifests in her relationship with Aqua being okay with receiving bare minimum from him, not complaining when she realizes he has feelings for someone else, and also doing anything and everything for him, whatever he needs whether he asks for it or not.
I'll go a little further into my interpretation of her (which I know Akane fans might be resistant to or disagree with, but I hope you stick with me here.)
I also think Akane has a co-dependency on Aqua, and herself has Inverted Narcissism, with Covert and Cerebral Subtypes.
I agree! I sound nuts! This interpretation is crazytown.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) has several subtypes, including Inverted Narcissism, which is a subtype where the person craves the co-dependency on another narcissist. They are self-sacrificing to their primary narcissist, feel they are not entitled to anything, but seem emotionally level-headed and highly attuned to the primary narcissist's needs but not much empathy for anybody else.
Because of how little they think of themselves, it gives them a feeling of power and control to be with a person who believes himself to be so special, to have a crucial mission whose victory she can partake in. In a sense, Aqua was someone Akane looked up to so much for having saved her from her suicide attempt, and for turning the public's view of her from negative to overwhelmingly popular.
Akane definitely thought, "I want to be useful to him! I want to make him happy!"
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And this man had his own amazing detective mission going on in his mind and trauma to solve. And so Akane thinks, "Let me solve that for you! Let me be useful to you even if it kills me! Use me as you need!"
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They say true love is unconditional and self-giving so I will aide my enabler in patricide to prove my worth to him!
According to Professor of Psychology Sam Vaknin, the DSM gives us 9 criteria to diagnose an Inverted Narcissist, and you need to have at least 5 to qualify. Here are some that he mentioned that I think fit Akane:
The inverted narcissist is emotionally stable, but her self-esteem is very low. The inverted narcissist devalues herself as an offering, as a sacrifice to the narcissist in her life. The inverted narcissist is compelled to filter all her narcissistic needs through the primary narcissist in her life. The inverted narcissist feels amplified by the primary narcissist's own accomplishments. The inverted narcissist is pre-occupied with fantasies [...] of an ideal love to be accomplished through the narcissistic partner.
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The inverted narcissist feels like she is undeserving and not entitled to anything.
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The inverted narcissist is indistinguishably selfless. She is sacrificial. She is anxious in her interpersonal relationships. She avoids assistance of others at all cost. She can only interact with others when she can be seen to be giving, supporting and expending an unusual effort to assist. So she is sacrificial, she sacrifices herself, but ostentatiously, in full view.
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The inverted narcissist lacks empathy like a classic narcissist. She is intensely attuned to others needs, but only insofar as it relates to her own need to perform the required self sacrifice. She needs to self sacrifice in order to obtain her narcissistic supply from her primary narcissist. But to do so, she must be attuned to his needs. So this is her restricted use or leverage of empathy.
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The inverted narcissist displays extreme shyness, lack of any real relational connections, is publicly self-effacing, is highly moralistic and critical of others, is a perfectionist, engages in lengthy ritualistic behaviors that can never be perfected.
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I also mentioned that Akane has Cerebral subtype, in that she believes she has superior intellect, and the Covert subtype, where she seems altruistic and selfless on the outside but internally she is driven by a self-serving need to be useful, to be wanted, because she chases after this external validation to fill in the gaps of her own self-esteem and call to perfectionism.
There is room to argue that Aqua is actually the inverted narcissist and she's codependent on Akane who is the altruistic/communal narcissist subtype. I reviewed it, but it seems she's the codependent one in this scenario.
I think this answer entails that Aqua himself also has NPD, and I think he does have Vulnerable Narcissism with Cerebral subtype. Kana actually picked up on it pretty well:
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He does tend to think that he is the sole person who can accomplish this mission of revenge, even though it took him 4 years to crack a passcode and he actually didn't solve anything himself. Like, ever.
He thinks that he has some superior ability to read people and manipulate them (and it's not necessarily true, he just believes so).
And he likes bringing it up out loud a lot, like I used you, or haha she's so easy to manipulate, regardless if he actually did anything.
When Ruby points out he hasn't made any friends, Aqua deflects and becomes defensive.
He also initially thought that he was going to make it big as an actor after the one time he did well as a child, and entreated Gotanda to take him in, but when his PTSD was getting in the way of his acting, he just chalked it up to saying no actually I was never talented in that, because he doesn't want to admit to others that he doesn't have the supernatural inhumane acting skills he thought he did. (Note: He's not comfortable showing those old acting videos to Kana, but is okay with showing it to Akane for this reason.)
He truly believes he's everybody's savior. Unprompted he just thinks he's some main character that caused everybody's suffering. His Behavioral Self-Blame (BSB) about the death of both of his mothers is a manifestation of his wish for control over the situation, which is a known coping mechanism for those with PTSD or Major Depression Disorder (MDD)
Vulnerable NPD subtypes also feel uncomfortable being praised, which is why he reacts that way with Kana.
Vulnerable NPD subtypes also hate being asked to compete, which is why during both LoveNow and Tokyo Blade arcs, he keeps out of the way.
Vulnerable NPD subtypes really really hate rejection, and that's why Aqua says that he can't confront Kana without a Pieyon mask because he's too weak to be shot down by her again.
Vulnerable NPD subtypes are quite anti-social, but again if you confront them about it, they'll just deflect you and say things like they had no intentions to make friends or they're busy observing or something like this.
I mean, look at this dumbass intellectualize having feelings for girls his age like Akane and Kana:
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Kana gets it though:
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ONLY A NARCISSIST WOULD (half-joke)
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This is of course a reminder that people with NPD aren't inherently bad people, they also don't come in one shape or form as there are many subtypes, and they can swing in severity. Most of them are a by-product of either a traumatic childhood or an overly doting one. Akane and Aqua just simply happened to be both of these.
I just came to this interpretation when I kept thinking of why was it that it felt like both Akane and Aqua were using each other. They both felt miserable and yet felt necessary and dependent on each other's emotional comfort. They both lie to each other too. I think a lot of people have picked up on the "feeling" that the two are using, manipulating, abusing each other, there's something dysfunctional about them together, and yet they also genuinely care about each other a lot. And people couldn't pick the right words to describe that. Co-dependents and their primary narcissists can heal together into a healthy relationship, they don't have to stay that way forever. But for the most part, nobody really recognizes that that's what was happening, because the dance they do together looks completely synchronized as a relationship. Who ever says no to a sweet and completely self-giving girlfriend? Who would leave their boyfriend to die alone in a revenge plot?
ONLY A NARCISSIST WOULD (not joking)
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#3 Does Kana know the real Aqua:
I think a lot of Akane fans love to cite that Akane knew about the revenge, the trauma, the using, the manipulation etc. She also knows what he's like when he's being silly and playful.
And I don't deny that Aqua and Akane cared for each other.
But I also think that Kana knew Aqua even when he was being unpleasant, making crude jokes about her when they were kids. Kana observes Aqua's acting meticulously and understands the fine details of his style. Kana also has actual conversations with him about his interests too. They read the same books and they jog together, and they're very comfortable arguing with each other about anything.
Most of all, of anybody, only Kana has pointed out that Aqua has chuunibyou/grandiose thinking, narcissistic tendencies, and that Ruby has a co-dependent relationship with him (even when she didn't know about their past as Sarina and Gorou, she just picked it up as the core reason for their clinginess).
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#4 [Bonus] Does Kana know Kamiki?
I don't think so.
When Kamiki opened his production company/agency, Kana would have been about 11yo. It was around this time that she had been recording Full Moon and her other songs, and her career had been on a decline. Then her company left her and she started freelancing instead.
Kana's acting style is also diametrically opposed to Kamiki's acting. Which as Akane has pointed out is similar to Ai's acting style. Kana's acting is very emotionally honest and is rooted in her personal understanding of her own emotions, whereas Kamiki and Ai act to deceive others based on the calculated perception they know the audience wants of them. Given this, it's unlikely that Kamiki mentored her in any form.
Lastly, I think Kana would have been the first person to point out that Kamiki looks like Aqua if they knew each other, even if he was acting as the Miki-san persona.
But I did joke before that I think if Kana and Kamiki met each other, they'd just traumabond and be friends until the cops haul Kamiki away. And that'd be the funniest thing ever.
That's it! That was a very long rant. Thanks for the question.
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toaster-trash · 6 months
Note
do you think Victor is a self insert for Mary because that would explain a lot actually but also... Mary are you okay do you need any help blink twice if Byron is sleeping with your husband and half sister
LMAOOO REAL and tbh probably honestly, I see the “Creature was a self-insert for Shelley” take a lot but it’s kind of wild low little I see the “Victor was a self-insert for Shelley” one. (Especially with stuff with Clerval caring for him while her own husband was a dickhead and neglected her emotionally when she needed support COUGH COUGH sounds like a cheeky wee bit of projection to me)
I guess a lot of Victor’s personality traits were kind of similar to records of Percy Shelley so a lot of people point to him as the inspiration, and I guess he might’ve been, it’s possible, but also like, come on. Where are all the other theories yk??
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Text
ANOTHER BLURB ASK GAME
Send me a number and a character (Rafa, Alejandro, Namor, and Tenoch) and I will write a little blurb. 500words or less tbh.
Please keep it one prompt and one character per ask. But you can request multiple times.
“Want a massage? I've been told that I’m very good with my hands” *gets a pillow thrown at them*
“YOU ASSHOLE” “HEY what did I do” “WHAT DIDNT YOU DO?? I WAS HALF WAY THROUGH AN EXTREMELY IMPORTANT PRESENTATION and I took my jacket off and the CEO of the company is asking me if I got hurt because I have a bruise on my neck.”
”would it kill you to be gentle?” “if you didn’t want it to hurt, you PROBABLY SHOULDN’T HAVE GOTTEN STABBED IN THE FIRST PLACE”
“I think all the bottles in this bar must be jealous, cause your beauty is the most intoxicating thing in this place.”
"Look, I was just innocently trying to mind my own business and have a drink when an angel walked by and took my breath away. That's you. You're the angel."
I made a promise to protect you. That doesn't change now that I hate you.
What would you have preferred? Drowning or burning? That was all you had left if I hadn't saved you.
You are safe here. I know that you think you have to be the one protecting everyone else. But here, I protect you.
If you turn away, if you walk out of this room, you sign your death sentence. Do not make me kill one who I dreamt of a whole future with.
Did you just moan? He literally just walked in and your first response is to moan?
Why do you still have that? *nervously tries to hide object*
Beg me. Beg me to make you mine.
You have no idea what you do to me? You could have me at your beck and call. Just ask.
I know this isn't what you had planned. But I am happy that it happened.
I would die for you. I would kill for you. Is that not enough?
Look at me. Don't think about any of them. Look at me, my love. Breathe. I am here, I will always be here. No one will hurt you.
Horrific. Honestly, it's just disgusting. I'm not wearing that.
God has favorites and so do I. And guess what you're neither of ours.
I'm really going to need you to stop glowering so loudly. It's giving me a migraine.
You have no sense of self preservation if you have come here to yell at me!
A lot has changed. But one thing that won't is how much I love you.
"Who did this?!" "It's none of your business!" "YOU are my business. Now tell me."
I imagined our reunion being a bit warmer than this.
Did you get a tattoo? Oh God.
Will you hurry up? I haven't got all day to lay here.
If you break my heart I will make your life a living hell. So Don't. :)
Nothing, I was not distracted by your (insert body part here), not at all. You're being weird.
"Is that?" "Yes" "Wait here." "Don't-"
"I know I'm not your first love but let me be your last."
"You can't win against someone who has nothing to lose."
"I'm gonna kiss you, just go with it okay."
"I intend to live forever. So far, so good."
"Obviously you've mistaken me for somebody who gives a shit"
"I'm gonna pack up and go straight to hell now, I guess."
"She knows all my secrets, except one: that I'm in love with her."
"Don't do it, don't lie to me again."
"You aren't cold?" "Why would I be cold?" "Nevermind."
"Fuck you." "if you insist."
"So is this a costume or do you normally look like this?"
"I know every inch of your body and I know for a fact that scar wasn't there before."
"You're more dangerous than you look."
"Scoot over, you're hogging the bed."
"Run, don't look back. Promise me you won't look back."
"I can't believe you just did that. You actually hit me."
"Blood looks good on you."
"What have you done to me? How did you make me care so much about you?"
"I'm angry, I'm livid, I'm absolutely fucking furious with you. But there's no point to it. You'll never change and I'll still love you."
"You deserved better than what you had, so I gave you better."
"Say that again."
"I admire you. You're stronger than I am."
"Keep your eyes closed and don't make a sound."
"The man who wins your heart will be so lucky."
"My family thinks we are dating."
"Let me go! I swear to god if you don't let me go I'll kill every last one of you!"
"Marry me." "Well that wasn't very romantic." "I didn't think we had the luxury."
"Can I love you?"
"I'm not going to leave you."
"I gave up on you a long time ago."
"I don't want to know."
"But I want to hear you sing."
Person A finds out Person B loves them after eaves dropping on a conversation.
"will i see you again?" "i can't make any promises..."
"i can't take this.." "i want you to have it. think of me."
"I didn't think I would ever feel like this about anyone."
“You do this thing with your hands when you get nervous.  Why?”
“You’re right.  I don’t understand.  I may never fully understand what you’re going through.  But please let me help you get through this.”
"This is all your fault. If only you weren’t so fucking beautiful and smart and funny and perfect, I might not have fallen for you.
"You have a pretty smile, you should really do it more often."
"Admit it! You've liked me all along!"
"I thought you died!"
"You've been smiling an awful lot lately."
"Why do you do that? You always do shit like this and confuse me."
"You're in my personal space." "You say that like it's a bad thing."
"Don't leave me, I'm scared."
He just screams internally about being touched but tries to act cool on the outside.
“I don’t know, maybe you should hop off my dick for a second. Just a thought.” “That’s not what you said last night.”
“…Why are you staying the night?” “Because it’s late and I’m feeling too tired to drive/walk home. Now scoot the fuck over, someone needs to get their sleep.”
“You’re going to fucking break me one day.” “That’s my goal, sweetheart.”
“do you ever think about what life would be like for us if things were different?”
"Take my hand." "Why?" "Would you just trust me for one?"
“not that i’m not enjoying this, but could you move your hands?”
“your heart’s beating really fast, i can hear it.”
 “you’ve been staring at me for like thirty seconds, what are you thinking about?”
“So I hear you’re into pain?”
“What the fuck?  Do that again.  I liked it.”
“Don’t say that, you know I can’t say no to you when you’re like this.” 
“How am I supposed to not read into things if you keep treating me like this?”
“i wish we’d have more time.”
“Your flirt game is so bad, no wonder you’re still single.” “My flirt game isn’t bad, and the person I like is a fucking idiot. That’s why I’m still single.” “…Okay, but why are you looking at me like that?”
“…You’re staring.” “I was not.” “I could feel the intensity of it, even with my eyes closed.” 
"If you think that's going to work on me, you're wrong."
"I hope you know that I did this all for you."
"Regret you? How could I ever regret one of the best decisions of my life?"
"Of course I'm jealous!"
"my hands are freezing, just let me warm them on you for a second."
"Come here, baby. I want to try something."
"Just relax. It's my turn to pamper you."
"You really have this whole gruff exterior going but deep down, you're a softie."
"You're like a cinnamon roll full of poison."
“Do you have to leave? Can’t you stay?”
It's a long list friends, happy requesting.
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loelett · 22 days
Note
sorry if this seems random but a little rant in response to what u reblogged about the new tv show.
TBH IT MAKES ME SO MAD THAT THEY ADDED *FORCED* RACISM (and by that I mean Louis taking lestat calling him his fledgling as "slave" like stop thats not what vc is about at ALL?????) AND HAD TO MAKE ANTOINE INTO ANTOINETTE TO SHOW HES BI 💀 I feel like the writers missed a lot of important points about the book and WHY Louis stuck with Lestat and was infatuated with him but hated him at the same time. they really changed character dynamics in it tbh. dont get me wrong, its a decent show, but I just can't see it as the same Louis and Lestat compared to the 1994 movie which I think did a good job in recreating what Anne wrote.
anyway hi 😍🥰😇...
I'm not really sure what forced racism means in the context of the iwtv show ngl. I mean I've really only seen the show through one and a half times but I do know that even Louis himself in the books labels himself as a slave to Lestat's whim (Claudia does as well; she also calls him a slave to Armand) (Lestat also does this in respects to Himself so even he agrees hrejgh) so even in the context of the books I don't really think it's forced or ooc for this connection to be made. Obviously the intention is different considering Louis' blackness in the show, but since this is a theme the show goes with (meaning the racism that Louis experiences in his time period) I don't really have a problem with that wording. I'm not black myself so this is just my opinion by the way, but I've always been pretty interested in the way they decided to change show Louis' race and backstory. It's probably the most interesting change they made imo.
Um yeah the Antoinette thing still sucks, I really don't know why they decided to go with that ?? Idk i always forget abt her so I guess I'm a hater. Agree 👍. We never needed to prove Lestat was bi esp in the first book so wharever? go off showrunners i Guess?? idk bout all that
Loustat's dynamic is completely different in the show and it's one I've rlly never been interested in. I know a lot of people enjoy it and I don't wanna take away from that, so no hate there idk do what you love. I'm just not an enjoyer of the abuser/abusee thing they kinda have going on. Um and the cheating stuff it's all just really exhausting to me. I just really like Louis' reaction to Lestat's actions in the book ! They aren't canon BECAUSE Lestat is abusive and controlling and manipulative and they don't even kiss until book 2, let alone express emotional/physical affection. Show Louis goes back to Lestat even after everything that goes on in ep 5 and. As a self proclaimed Louis self insert I just can't ever see him doing that in the books, at least not with Claudia still in the picture. IDK!
I'm really not a hater of the show, and I want all the Louis fans out there to really think about the way they react to the changes in his character from book to show. There are personality changes that I don't agree with either, but this is a different story and the original one has already been told. I don't have to like the show to respect it and its fans, and the whole pick a side thing between book and show is exhausting to me :/ there r things I like and things i don't like about both versions !
Sorry I know this goes really off topic HGFSHg.. love love
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randomnameless · 3 months
Note
Localization discourse has started to rear its head again because of some Funimation localizer defending a line from Dragon Maid but it really got me thinking, I feel like so many people are so quick on demonizing anyone who doesn't like localization changes as pro-GG when it's much more simpler. People don't hate localization changes because of the message itself but rather because it's not what the character is saying 9/10 and it comes off as calculated and cynical. I feel like it's kind of a direct consequence of transformative fandom, with the whole "I'm going to write the story the way I want it to be and fill up the spaces" but instead of a fanfic it's with the original source material.
Pro GG?
What is GG? AI?
I remember this argument of the "it's not what the character is saying" and people being pissed because they couldn't get the "right" script - and tbh, after reading some arguments here and there, localisation always comes with necessary changes/adaptation to the text, let it be grammatically or to convey ideas from a language to another, so if you want a 100% faithful script then... better start to learn the language lol
With Funimation though...
The Shinchan earlier post was telling enough of my opinion about drastic changes that aren't used to transcribe a meaning or convey an idea to a foreign audience, it's just... erasing the source material and swapping your own ideas on them.
Like, uhhh
Funimation acquired the Shin-chan US license in 2005. Funimation's dub takes many liberties with the source material and was heavily Americanized. Many sexual references, dark humor, and references to then-current popular American culture were added, including many jokes about subjects such as Jews, terrorism, and Viagra. Characters were given significantly different personalities and new, previously non-existent backstories. For instance, Shin is refused an allowance, on he basis that he could use it to buy drugs (crystal meth), his schoolmate Kazama ('Georgie Herbert Walker Prescott III' in this dub) was an absurdly hawkish ultra-conservative Republican, the unseen father of Nene (known in the dub as "Penny") was suggested to be physically abusive towards both his wife and daughter, Principal Enchou was rewritten as a half Romani, half Peruvian man with a complicated, checkered backstory that includes a stint as an accident-prone magician, The kids' teacher: Yoshinaga-sensei (known in the dub as "Miss Polly"), was rewritten as a kinky and often domineering nymphomaniac,
The earlier Vitello and Phuuz dub also edited some jokes and/or what was considered indecent exposure like shin's buttocks and tried to "occidentalise" a few references, but it wasn't like straight up changing what a character is or their personality!
No doubts funimation was "authorised" by whoever had the rights of the franchise to lolcalise and edit it as they did but it just comes out as a "why did they rewrite that stuff like they did", to make more money, to make another "mature cartoon" like Family Guy expy, idk.
And to be honest... I don't really care, because I grew up with the Vitello Dub and read some manga chapters of Shin-chan, so I know what the manga/anime (sure, the dog wasn't named lucky but shiro!) is supposed to say and/or be about.
I don't agree when you say those "lololcalisations" are a consequence of the transformative fandom in general, transformative works have existed since... forever lol (some dude wrote in the early middle ages (grégoire de Tours?) how Franks are descendans of Achilles or something to explain how kickass his king and his people are like, at this point, he's writing a self-insert OC story, right?)
But in modern times, there used to be a clear (?) divide between what was transformative work and what was canon - 50 Shades of Grey sort of started as a Twilight fanfic, but it became its own thing and no calls it a Twilight adaptation or "Twilight" anymore.
The Aeneid? Despite what devoted fans wants the world to believe, is "just" a fanfiction, aka someone writing about the characters he """loves""" no matter how OOC they are. It's a Fodlan fanfic and treated as such. Or should lol.
Still, if in a fanfic, Flayn can apologise for being born as a lizard because having lizard blood means she's automatically evil and oppresses humanity due to the fact she exists, it's only a fanfic. It's not something I like, OOC as fuck, but okay, moving on. Rhea eating ketchup is my own hc, also OOC since we don't see her eating any in the games, same thing - but fanfics are OOC by essence because they're a transformative work !
As I said, okay, moving on.
But when what is supposed to be as close as "canon", albeit translated, dips in the same "OOC" territory?
Sure, Eng!Raphael will say "I" instead of "ore" to refer to himself - and yet, imo, if professional localisers (at least the people picked by the company to bring games to an international audience!) have some sort of leeway with canon, their work is inherently transformative - since they're localising -they are still bound by some rules, unlike a fanfic author, because the aim of their work is not the same.
When you write a fanfic, you write it for yourself, to tell the story you want.
Of course it depends, like the funi shin chan dub showed, but usually, I think, when you are a professional localising something (a manga, anime, book, tv series, myth, story, anything!) you are supposed to only bring "necessary" changes to the source material to bring this source material to the "targeted audience".
And it's kind of hard to determine at what point is a "change" necessary or not - back in the 2000, "Jonouchi" had to be changed in "Joey" because, supposedly, non japanese children wouldn't be able to understand/connect/watch/idk a show with a foreign name (even here in France, we got "Petit Coeur" aka Small/Little Heart for... Piccolo in the early 90s!) - but now in the 2020s Midorima isn't dubbed "Mike".
(even if 2013 saw a localised Fates edit "Suzukaze" to "Kaze" for reasons as foggy as Fodlan's 10k years of lore)
And we of course have the notion of "targeted audience" - here in France, in the 90s, basically any "animated cartoon" was supposed to be targeted for children, like 3 to 10 years old. Which is the reason why we got lunar dubs for Hokuto no Ken and City Hunter (no "brothels", but instead, "vegetarian restaurants"!).
Yugioh was dubbed for a younger audience than, I guess, what was the targeted audience for the manga (even the original anime, regardless of the dub or not, feels like it was made for younger "children" than the ones who would read the manga!).
And this is where I wanted to come with the modern "transform the source material!" lolcalisations - are they "heavily" edited because they target a specific audience?
Like... the funimation Shinchan dub was obviously not aimed at children the manga, or even the original anime, hell even the Vitello dub, were targeting.
It's almost as if we're not talking about "bringing this definite thing to random people", but "finding/tweaking random things to definite people".
Take Fodlan's lolcalisation, especially Treehouse/Pat's.
NoA was the only regional branch to have, on the official website, something like "the Church controls Fodlan".
Through the 4 (already 4!) years of coverage, some people are still finding dub exclusive lines that portray the CoS as "BaD" or in a more negative light than the original text. Pat completely missed (or was it on purpose?) Rhea's character, so Leigh had to dub Rhage, when Supreme Leader was scrubbed off her most, uh, dubious personality traits (tfw no information campaign anymore :( or calling Rhea a Nabatean as an insult :()
Why? Why those changes? Is it because Pat/Treehouse didn't want to bring the game to the US, but wanted to bring this game to the "Dany revolution yas slay kween" crowd + the "organised religion especially catholicism BaD" crowd? Or because they thought bringing "a game" to this crowd would bring more money than to bring "Fire Emblem Three Houses" to the general US crowd? So they "reworked" FE16 to have messages that would attract this certain crowd ?
(and apparently it worked, iirc the US sales made up for 50% of FE16's sales, so it was very popular (and profitable!!))
The Pat/Treehouse changes weren't "necessary" to understand the source material, or try to find similar references (a trip to a hot spring in Shinchan was replaced with a trip to Paris, because children who might not be familiar with japan might not know what is a hot spring, or what a "trip to the hot spring" is supposed to be), so why were they made?
Is it like the Funimation dub? To reach specific people, even if the meaning and essence of the original material is lost?
In a nutshell, I don't think localisation companies (Treehouse or Funi) work in a vaccum, if they can lolcalise so much, it obviously means they got the authorisation of whoever has the rights to the original source material (maybe even the creator themselves!) to "edit" the content...
But that's what I came to regret the time where localisation, even if they had westernised names and more westernised refs, wasn't that "free", as in, Funi and Pat/Treehouse write their fanfic of Shinchan/FE16 ? Sure, why not, I mean, everyone can write a fanfic. Can I get a peak at the original source - edited as necessary because i'm not reading in the original language and I might not catch all references - please? No, because the only thing available is either something I cannot understand, or a fanfiction that takes liberties, as fanfic do, with canon.
Take Shinchan.
OG : Shin is a preschooler who has a dog named Shiro - meaning white - because his dog is white.
Vitello dub : Shin is a preschooler who has a dog named Lucky.
Funi dub : Shin wants an allowance but his parents are afraid he will buy meth and he has a dog named Lucky.
Remove the "old school" Vitello dub, and either Shin is a preschooler who named his dog "white" because the dog is white, or Shin is... a young child who receives money but lives in an area where he could buy drugs.
I can't understand the OG material, and I know the Funi one is a fanfiction, so what should I do? Treat this fanfic as canon, or, learn the language/try to understand the material by myself using dubious tools like translating apps? Or am I cursed to forever miss on Shinchan, even in the 2000s, aka an era where people can translate and localise movies from one language to another, but apparently for this one manga/anime, it's not possible unless it's lolcalised? Snowhite was turned into "Blanche-Neige" but the story is mostly the same than the one told in the US, but for Shinchan, I can only get the "Family Guy" version that isn't told in Japan?
I remember there was a controversy about localisation (when the thing that sparked that controversy wasn't even localisation related!) where some people, annoyed with the "liberties" they have with their dub version, became intense and rude and want to see localisers as "mere" translators...
And it escalated to have some localisers basically saying a game they localised is "their take" on a story - which is true, because each translation/localisation works with the bias of the translator/localiser, even if they try to be as neutral as possible, they can't completely remove themselves from their work -
Still, in FE16, Pat'n'Treehouse removed the "Supreme Leader uses propaganda" mention. Why? Is it their bias talking, they don't want her to "look bad"? But the script, the game wants the player to know she uses "information campaigns". Pat's "take" is she doesn't use it, but as a player, can't I be offered the choice to make my own take after seeing the script that mentions it, or not? Is Pat the one who directed the script, and wrote it as the "main thread" that links everything in the game (regardless of Fodlan's consistency lol), or was it Kusakihara/someone else?
If pat arbitrarly "removes" this part of the script, but I see it because I play in Japanese/Chinese/Korean/heck maybe other languages whose dub wasn't overseen by Pat, can it be said I played the same game as the players who played with the Pat dub/script?
Pat's CF!Felix calls Dimitri a monster, OG CF!Felix calls him a man -> thankfully we can count on fans to find stuff like this out but, again, why this bias against Dimitri in CF - that comes here from the lolcalisation, and not from the original text?
Why is it there? What if someone wants to play, and hopefully, understand, not Pat's "take" on their relationship in CF, but the writers/developer's? Is that someone fucked, or kindly asked to learn japanese (aka to do Pat'n'Treehouse's job?).
I don't really have The Perfect Solution (tm) anon to the general localisation discourse, at one point I was on the "just translate" fence, but when you understand a pun or a reference, and how it connects to something else, the game/book/anime/movie you're watching takes another level and it's much more enjoyable!
And yet, growing up with 4Kids and seeing shit like Treehouse butchering stuff, or hearing about Funimation Shinchan is... disheartening.
The only thing I can say is I'll always be rooting for dual audio, let it be for preferences but also to get at least what is easily understandable to everyone (I mean intonations, shocks, laughs, etc etc) and a glimpse at what the game/moving/anime is supposed to be enjoyed, especially with story heavy scripts like the FE series - while reading subs, because even the script is translated/localised, at least with the audio, it's easier to spot "lolcalisations".
And let's not forget the most important lol
The Fandom itself!
Let it be for FE, Tales or anything else, what I find fascinating (on Tumblr but even on redshit and SF once upon a time!) is how fans will be able to compare scripts, people familiar/fluent/who know a language will be able to spot the changes, and inform anyone who wants to be informed in the community that, say, Xander and Marx are pretty different characters, just like Jp!Effie and "I love to eat"!Effie.
Of course sometimes there will be misinformation (remember the Dimitri is rude because he uses the omae pronoun?), but I still find fascinating how, faced with ridiculous lolcalisations, fandom itself - aka part of the people who were supposed to be the targets of said lolcalisation - tries to "correct" and remove the unecessary edits. There are still people who dgaf about what was lolcalised from what wasn't, but even if it's just a consequence of the lolcalisation growing more and more unrestrained/unchained to the source material - it makes fandom engagment all the more precious and fascinating.
Like, you have real people basically combing the script and/or providing a translation - for free! - to help other fans, when some lolcalisers are paid to... edit and "lolcalise" the script some fans want to see.
And so, we're back to square 1 : who is the targeted audience of Funi's Shinchan or FE Treehouse?
The players/watchers?
FE Fates was, I suppose, ultimately lolcalised for a """western"" audience", aka an US one because no one gives a fuck about the rest of the world - and yet, assuming a majority of fans are from the US, said lolcalisation was mocked/ridiculed and ultimateld decried by part of that audience from who the game was lolcalised.
Some people (I've seen a redshit post about it today!) claim the lolcalised changed aren't made for the audience, but, much like a fanfiction, those changed weren't made to be more palatable to an audience, but were made for themselves - aka to push some agenda (see redshit's theory about funi pushing a "woke" agenda in their dubs and subs when it doesn't exist in the og scripts).
And to be fair, with FE16's US exclusive "Church BaD and controls the world!!!" + "Dimtri is not a man but a monster!", idk what Treehouse was trying to do, push their "organised religions BaD" agenda and "Supreme Leader is right so let's make her opponents BaD to highlight how right she is" bias? - but I can't help but wonder if it was indeed the case, and given how Pat sucked as a voice director, if the localised!version wasn't just some sort of trolley Treehouse used to convey their ideas, regardless of what the game wanted to say.
I mean, it's still fascinating, to this day, nearly 5 years after the release of the game, that we still find "Treehouse exclusive" lines, or how FEH who's still running, also has "Treehouse exclusive" lines for Fodlan characters that absolutely don't match the non global, aka, jp lines, let them be written or spoken - putting on the tinfoil hat, I wonder if Treehouse or whoever oversees the localisation isn't deadly afraid that if they don't pay extreme attention and/or rewrite anything related to Fodlan, global!players will realise that they were fed "Pat's Fire Emblem Treehouse", instead of FE16, thus takes extra care to comb and/or rewritte every line/dialogue that could make a global player think twice and note that this thing they're reading/hearing of in FEH (or even Engage!! See Dimitri's lolcalised line about people of different races living together!) is completely different from "Pat's Fire Emblem Treehouse".
Tl;Dr because I ranted and disgressed and idk where am I anymore with this post lol :
I think there's a difference between fandom's transformative works - done for fun, as a hobby! - and some lolcaliser's transformative works - they're paid for that and aren't supposed to bring a fanfiction to the audience, at least not as localisers ; so I wouldn't blame "fandom" for the fuckery that happened (Funi's shinchan is more than 17 years old!) and is sadly still happening.
On the contrary, given how fandom (at least some part of it) actively refuses to accept the lolcalised "fanfiction" - to the point of doing translation work! - I think fandom is the reason why this discourse is happening.
#anon#replies#sorry i ranted lol#and lost myself in localisation discussion lol#anyways that redshit thread had a meme about lolcalisation and using AI to push back against it#and I haven't changed my mind lol#AI sucks instead of letting Pat head Treehouse bring back human translators and people in general with a work ethic#who will localise what needs to be localised for an audience#but keep themselves and their messages/agenda out of their work#as much as possible of course#i wonder if at times all those lolcalised changes couldn't be sued for plagiarism#imagine if the french Snow White dub had her diss cream cheese to promote real cheese during the length of the movie#people would be pissed just like creators themselves#otoh if those ultra lolcalised changes passed the approval stage from the creator themselves...#then I'm just wondering what kind of idea they have of a 'western audience' or whoever the lolcaliser#said they were lolcalising for#Are we supposed to believe in 2015 IS really believed americans were too dumb to pronounce suzukaze so his name should be shortened to kaze#I say americans here because NoA exists when NoE doesn't and no one gives a fuck about us we're just eating scraps#idk#lolcalisation issues#real life issues#when you were saying calculated and cynical anon did you mean whedonspeak like the Supreme Replies#aka giving a witty one liner to sound cool?#I'm afraid I completely lost the message of your ask and replied with something compeltely unrelated :(
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