#I have found a worse character design than the adults and it is the children

[madame-mortician]

Analysing the Family Dynamic of Saw

A very obvious theme in the Saw franchise is the found-family aspects for the main antagonists. It’s not subtle at all with Amanda and John’s relationship but I wanted to delve more into it.

John Kramer is a man with no family. His only true loved-one is Jill Tuck, who he divorced after becoming emotionally detached from everybody. He was going to have a son with Jill but tragically she suffered a miscarriage which started John’s downward spiral into the monster he becomes. He created a puppet character for his unborn son, which he named Billy. The interesting thing here is that he later reused his unborn son’s doll for his Jigsaw games, updating the design from a cute little doll into a terrifying looking dummy. John uses Billy as a mascot of sorts, speaking through him to his victims. I think it’s interesting to note that he’s using the representation of his unborn child as his mascot. I also think it’s worth noting that he updated the design from a cute children’s puppet to the more adult, bigger dummy version, almost like a grown-up version. A major part of Saw is the theme of “legacy” and the kind of legacy John will leave after he dies. It ends up being a big one but at the start he had no kin. He shut Jill out of his life and never had children, so all he had was his work. Yet even then he uses the representation of his unborn son to speak through.

Then there’s Mark Hoffman. We don’t know much about his home life but we see he has a great emotional attachment to his sister, and she’s the only one in his life. It’s clear he has no romantic partners and if his parents are still alive he isn’t close with them. Like John, his whole life spirals after he loses a loved one, with his bitter hatred towards people like Seth Baxter fuelling him into the murderer he becomes later. When John finds out he pinned a Jigsaw trap on him he decides to test him with a rigged trap. The trap isn’t rigged so that Hoffman will die, but so that he will survive. He “proves” his ideology for Hoffman who is then coerced into helping Jigsaw. One could argue John only enlisted Hoffman’s help to both punish him, and because his inside u of the police department would be helpful and whilst I agree, I also believe John took the opportunity to make himself somebodies mentor. You gotta remember by this point he’d pushed everybody else away, he must’ve been extremely lonely and considering he was so excited to be having a child it’s clear he wanted nothing more than to take somebody under his wing and teach them things only he could. It was likely not a conscious decision, I doubt John recruit Hoffman with the intention of becoming a father figure towards him, but subconsciously he desired that. It’s why he treats him like a student, but doesn’t give a crap about anybody else he recruits (Obi for example.) At first Hoffman seems reluctant to accept the help. He joins John mostly because he’s forced to. Eventually he becomes a devoted disciple but it took him a while to get comfortable. I also think a major turning point was Amanda.

Now obviously after Amanda survives her test, John comes to her and recruits her and we all know she has major abandonment issues, specifically with John. She states multiple times that she sees John as a father figure, who she becomes obsessed with because her own father was a horrible abusive person. Whilst Amanda becomes unhealthy devoted to John, he becomes more forgiving of her. He definitely sees Amanda as a daughter, likely more than he sees Hoffman as a son, and he gives Amanda multiple second chances because he doesn’t want her to fail. John is a huge hypocrite throughout the entire series and his relationship with Amanda is no different. He punishes people for things when Amanda has done way worse, and he knows but chooses not to call her out unless he wants to teach her a quick lesson.

Here Hoffman’s relationship with John becomes a game of trying to one-up Amanda. It’s obvious to Hoffman that Amanda is John’s favourite and he sees her as a daughter. Even though it’s not likely Hoffman desires to be seen as a son, he still becomes jealous and starts a rivalry with Amanda, which is mostly one-sided. Amanda isn’t shown to be jealous of Hoffman, but it’s also clear she doesn’t particularly like him. Hoffman however, despises her, and gets her killed. I don’t just think he disliked Amanda because she was close with John though, I also think a major part of his relationship with her is that Amanda reminds him of his deceased sister. He doesn’t want to feel that heartbreak again, so he shuts Amanda out deciding he doesn’t like her and then getting rid of her when he can’t stand seeing her around. His entire motivation has been for his sister and now he sees a woman who reminds him of her, working for Jigsaw just like he is and it disgusts him.

Jill Tuck‘s relationships are interesting. She isn’t a part of the whole Jigsaw thing, so she hardly interacts with John or his apprentices however she does reunite with Amanda after her “rehabilitation.” Amanda was one of her patients who she gave up on, and seeing her “fine” shocks her even though she subconsciously knows Amanda is not just cured like that. It’s clear she cares about her and seeing her after being tested BY HER HUSBAND would’ve been upsetting for her. Her relationship with Hoffman is worse, because she meets up with him multiple times, mostly just to get him to fulfil John’s will. Her scenes kind of read to me like a tired mother and her son that she’s distant from. Unlike Hoffman and John, her relationship isn’t really motherly. It’s almost a step-mother dynamic. Like she lives with you and your father loves her but you just kinda tolerate her. They’re only working together because she’s telling him to do whatever John told her. He only does it because she’s John’s ex-wife. Of course then she tries to kill him, and he is utterly betrayed before he goes on a long hunt to kill Jill. Again, I don’t really see Hoffman and Jill’s relationship as a surrogate mother situation but he kills her and it almost feels like matricide.

Admittedly Lawrence Gordon doesn’t really for into the found family aspects of Saw. He definitely becomes a loyal and devoted follower of John’s and kills Hoffman as vengeance for him killing Jill, but his relationship with John doesn’t feel like a father-son dynamic at all. At a stretch it kinda feels like a distant cousin who comes to help with fixing a car but you wouldn’t spend Christmas with you know? Weird allegory but it’s the vibes. He has no relationship with Amanda, none with Hoffman, his only relationship with John is seemingly more like a job than a family and he barely knows Jill.

Logan Nelson.

[marvelsfavoriteuncle]

We never go out of style ✨ / Marvel Fanfic

Aka JJ & Peggy have a little chat over the phone in a hospital room

Timeline: From Age Of Ultron to Civil War

Warning: Old Lady Peggy Carter coming to swoon a few hearts ♥️ She is in her 60s-early 70s

@gcthvile - Elizabeth Stark mentioned ✨

Characters mentioned: Howard, Tony, Jarvis and etc

++—++—-

The hospital has not been a favorable place to be in. Even a nursing home wasn’t sure of the difference between both anymore. But either way they both brought back daring memories and darling one.

Like when Tony was born

Or Hank’s only kid was brought into the world

And for better or worse, seeing Miss Margaret Carter in and out of hospital for different occasions. Some were good like the birth of her children and others were odder cases like an injury or two.

Today, it was a hospital but other people like to called a nursing home.

The nursing home has been brighter more days than not, having new paint jobs done and welcoming decorations put up during special events. Especially a simple well designed holiday.

Plus it helped that the people working there were kind young folk like himself, aside from the adults in their 30s and 40s.

He made his way holding up a beauty of a bouquet filled with daisies and a small little teddy bear holding a heart. He knew it was cheesy but anything to put a smile on the lady he was going to see.

His lady.

The founder of the very organization he sweetly applied to help protect.

The women who drive him nuts and who he loves to annoy just to see her crack a smile.

Mrs. Margaret Carter. Peggy. His Peg.

He knocked on the door, opening it with a soft smile saying, “Where’s my favorite lady? I sorta owe her a date night.”

“Aww my knight in shining armor.” She chuckled in her bed, her curls loosen and smile lines more promptly found, “Your a sap darling.”

“I know but you love me for it.”

“Sadly I do.”

“Sadly?!”

That caused Peggy to laugh at his reaction, patting the bed to sit down next to her. And he happily followed suit, lazily wrap an arm around her, smiling.

“How you doing, doll?” He asked with a soft grin, “Hit anyone lately?”

She playfully slapped his chest and grins, “No. I’m an angel here, they treat me right. I got chicken and white rice today. Yesterday it was Ham.”

“Oh lucky girl you can treated like royalty. Can I stay with you? Technically I should be here with you.”

“No, you wouldn’t like it. You will get bored and impatient here, my darling. You’re time will come, I promised.”

“Nah babe, I kinda stopped looking to see what happened and how I can fix everything.”

“You know, our very own godson suggested you drive off a bridge and see what happened for science purposes once.”

“He’s trying to kill his old man with that scientific idea.”

The two of them laughed out loud at that. He handed her a glass of water, just in case she ended up with a coughing fit but he was lucky, she didn’t.

“How are your kids?” Jason asked with a smile.

“Oh Thomas is good, working on his degree and Lilly is working at the children’s hospital downtown today with her sister.” Peggy explained, “They called and talked for hours.”

“Aww.”

“I wish Tony called or visited me. I’ll pull him by the damn ear one of theses days, i don’t care if he’s grown!”

“Go ahead I ain’t stopping you! You’re his godmother.”

“…I miss this. I miss you, why do you come and see my more often? Like twice a month.”

He sighed, “I’m sorry, I will make it a habit to do so, I promise.”

“Good, because if it was the other way around..” She started but didn’t have to finish her sentence cause he knew.

“I know you would and I love you for it.”

“You Muppet…You know I was always fond of your sister.”

Over the years the older she got, Peggy developed this small habit to ending up randomly blurting out a comment which lead to a different perspective on things or a completely new conversation in general.

He never minded it. He loved it actually, since it showed her mind was still fired up with things to say and she would say her mind no matter what. Especially if it was a witty one hand comment or clever wording on a subject.

It was a good thing as well considering her Alzheimer’s made her forget things, faces and relive memories in her head. So seeing her ramble on a topic, made him smile, because it showed that she’s doing fine.

And due to him spending so much time around her and their friend group, he developed the odd but silly little habit too.

“Oh how so?” He questioned with a smile, surprised that she remembered Dottie that well but then again, she was a chancing point for the brunette.

“She had a special spunkiest to her that I adored.” She exclaimed, with a grin as if she’s looking into a memory, “Gorgeous, honestly a brilliant blonde and she was crazy about me.”

“Ohh really now?”

“Oh please as if you didn’t know. Dottie kept me on my toes and I would say there was a certain amount of chemistry there. She kissed me and it was unexpected but..I sorta liked it.”

He mocked gasped, “Margaret Carter! You shady lady. How long have you had theses thoughts about my sister?”

Peggy smirked, “She only ever asked to be interrogated by me and it made me feel impressed that she respected me.”

“You hated her!”

“But it was rather refreshing chance of cat and mouse between us!”

“She was obsessed with you.”

“And with good reason.”

“Margaret!”

“Hey! You like my friends. Angie was your favorite.”

“She’s was a peach, stubborn, playful and a little snappy. I liked it. But it’s my sister we’re taking about!”

“Oh hush! Let me have my fun memories.”

“Yes ma’am. Go ahead and keep those memories.”

~~~

That’s when Peggy went into another memory that was sweet but stung a little for Jason.

Elizabeth Stark.

Howard’s sister and a love in his life.

Yes, he loved Angie and then Violet for plenty of years. But with her, it was different. Cozy even.

The one that got away from him, that he never got a chance to see if those feeling could actually take full force due to respect he had for brother.

Yes, him and Elizabeth over the years have sneaked off to test out a few short lived dates but it didn’t last long. Even a couple of shared kisses underneath the mistletoe during Christmas were made.

But he always assumed she liked other people in the end and he respected her too much to string her along. So he let her do her own thing and he went along to do his own.

Even though he lived together, raised their nephew under the same roof and saved one another life a plenty of times. They never actually got together, where marriage could’ve been involved one day.

But he did have a promise ring in which he gave her the day before they lost her. She died with that diamond wrapped around her finger and he was left with the tiny box.

And here was Peggy talking about her, as if she was still alive in front of them. It made him smile brightly that her spirt lived on forever.

“You love her?” She asked, resting her head on a pillow watching him pace the room for another glass of water.

He handed her a glass and nodded, “Of course i do. We both love her.”

“It hurts she went down that day…”

“I know Peg, but she still lives on in spirt.”

“..would you have married her?”

“I..”

“Grey.”

She used the nicknamed on him. His middle name is Grey, which is one of many nicknames people refer to him as such but Peggy used it catch his attention at times and she prefer it a lot more.

“Grey.” She repeated with a soft smile, sipping her water.

“I think so.” He replied with a smile.

“Good. I want to be there as the maid of honor when it happens.”

“Maid of honor?”

“Well, I most definitely won’t be standing on your side of the alter, now would I?”

“You sounded so British right now, you know that?”

“I’ll take that as a compliment my darling.”

He grinned and shook his head, “You’re like the sister I never had.”

“You do have a sister.” She added with a grin.

“Did I stutter, Ms. Carter?”

“Oh. Well aren’t you cheeky today? I like it!”

“But I’m serious, you’re like a big sister to me.”

She smiled as she blushed, “Aw darling stop. No please go on, I didn’t think you thought of me that way. I assumed you did but never actually thought it would be confirmed.”

“Oh of course I have. Dottie never treated me like she should have, nor loved me a way a big sister should, leaving me in the dust to pick up the pieces but you didn’t.” He added with a smile.

“You know, after Micheal I never thought I would have anyone else.”

“Hmm.”

“But then you and Howard came along, I felt almost whole. You’re like the little brother, my mother never gave me because she thought two nutty children were enough!”

“Oh really?”

He couldn’t contain his laughter at her sudden choice of words at the end as she smiled laughing around, feeling sportful. She toss a pillow across his face to shut him up as she laughed smirking at the sight of spilled water all over his shirt.

~~~

Yup they were like siblings, despite never actually saying the word out loud before until now. They didn’t have to say they acted like brother and sister, they just did. Every fight, every save, every argument they had and even the small moments between the built a united bond between the pair. Each hug, hand hold and even looks they shared meant more than words combined.

They lost many people over the years, either by death or losing touch due to some kind of issue. They have faced a lot together, she couldn’t imagine a world without Jason in it. After the war, Peggy felt lost and undersign by others, reduced to a lousy sectary or told she wasn’t much less than Captain America’s little lady.

A part of her almost believed it for some time until Howard, Elizabeth and Jason stepped in. 3 of the only people who believed in her at the time.

Yes she knew the three of them for a while but it was Jason who was working at the SSR alongside her with Mr. Jarvis, who fought to keep her on payroll. Encouraging her to keep going, fighting in restaurants together, saving each other’s skin and just having another person to talk to. She didn’t know she needed that at the time. Hell, when Jarvis wasn’t around, he cleaned up her wounds.

But Peggy wouldn’t lie about the times she wanted to punch the blonde for doing something stupid or saying something he shouldn’t have admitted in the first place. She even slapped him a couple of times over the years with a glare.

He would tease her about something like a crush saying she blushed and she would raise an eyebrow yelling, ‘I beg your pardon! I did not do such a thing.’ Or when they would mock each other’s accents in annoyance of the other person.

She didn’t even realized she had a goofy little grin on her face until Jason pointed it out. She rolled her eyes and smiled replying, “I was thinking about all the times you mocked me.”

“I never mocked you. Okay, maybe? Or twice..” He admitted chuckling knowing the truth to that query.

“You would mock me behind my back and I’ll always walk in and catch you.”

“It’s because you always had to make a point or worse run into danger.”

He mocked her English accent stupidly as she gasped, “Good lord man! I don’t sound like that.”

“Oh really? ‘Mr. Jarvis was with me. We’re completely fine!’, ‘I was merely getting the job done.’ Oh and my all time favorite, ‘I made a horrible decision. When’s lunch?’.”

“I hate you. I don’t sound like that and I never treated Jarvis like that!”

“You once came home and Jarvis was hit in the back with a dart, that knocked him out cold.”

“He was fine!”

“He was hilariously asleep and thought he was hallucinating ponies for the rest of the afternoon.”

“To be fair, for being my right hand he wasn’t the best for escaping targets..”

“He said and I quote, ‘Oh mummy it's the biggest horsey ever!’”

That got a real laugh out of Peggy as she remembered it so clearly, Jarvis was laying down on the couch with his eyes closed after saying, ‘Jarvelous!’ Then he fell right on the thick ground outside of the house, afterward they brought him inside to see if he was aright. Which he wasn’t.

Jason and Daniel questioned the situation saying she should’ve called for backup as she told them, ‘I did have back up. Mr. Jarvis was with me!’

Cue in, Jarvis lazily laying down on the couch pointing his finger muttering ever so clearly, ‘Oh mummy, it’s the biggest horsey ever!’

Jason couldn’t help but snorted as he got flashbacks of the memories in his head. Him and Peggy also remember the time Jarvis knocked over a two time Oscar nominee, Whitney Frost, with one of Howard’s precious car.

Elizabeth was just in shock as Howard looked out the window and yelled, ‘Jarvis, you just hit a woman with my car!’

‘I know, sir’ Edwin Jarvis said with a simple tone.

‘She’s a two-time Oscar nominee.’

‘Miss Frost is quite resilient. She’s fine. Trust me.’

He laughed remembering the look that Elizabeth and Peggy shared conveying shock but with a mix of pride towards the accident. They were all almost sued for it though but then again the women caused them so many issues and she basically killed her husband. With was also deemed as Jarvis’ revenge on the same women who came to their home and shoot his wife—Ana Jarvis lived of course, with a few minor yet sad complications to her surgery—but still!

Everything was fine after that, she was put always for good for her insane behavior and things slowly went back to normal for a while.

~~

Jason and Peggy spent the rest of the day together in her hospital room chatting, drinking gentle coffees and snacking on the fruits that were served to her room. On occasion, a call from friends or relatives would appear to be made, but it wasn’t immediately apparent what was being said over the phone.

The two of them even stayed in peaceful silence as they watched whatever was available on the tv screen.

All in all, it was nice.

They may be old enough and oddly fit for this position in the universe but they wouldn’t have it any other way.

—

Thank you for reading this! Pretty please let me know what you think 💭

Tags: @ask-starrk @missstrawbs2001 @purpleprincessonfyre @wizzzardofoz z @thechoooooosenone @rickb-chaos @luna-d-marsh h @marvelsfavoriteuncle @elzabeth-stark @sci-fi-lexcon @jackiequick @blueboirick @gcthvile @cherrysft @meiramel @trulysummersprivate @savemewattpad @yetanotherwells and etc

[garden-bug]

I’m sure many people who are bigger fans of Avatar than me with disagree with me on this BUUUT:

I don’t think Avatar needs a live action.

Consider this.

Avatars strengths lie closely entwined with its medium: animation. The animated style allowed for a stark blend of goofiness and seriousness, the hyperrealistic, and tailored perfectly to the target audience (kids) with its vibrant colours and style. There is so much charm in animation and sometimes I feel things are made into live action just for the sake of it and, worse, for a cash grab. Take much of Disney’s work in the past decade for example.

Now, let’s compare Avatar to another recent live action remake that was so incredibly successful it broke the curse of anime remakes: One Piece. Because their situations differ vastly.

One Piece is an anime of which I have watched nearly 300 episodes. Fucking help me, because the pacing is abysmal and my finger hovers over the +10 seconds button at all times. The story of One Piece is as mature and thematically driven as Avatar, and just as creative and ingenious. However, there are certain shōnen (like the ‘genre’ of anime) tropes that ‘tailor’ to its target audience (boys/men) such as the design of the female characters being identical. Small waist, massive boobs. Essentially, you couldn’t show One Piece to your grandma. There are other things but these are the most egregious. Sexualising women pisses me off full stop and this is a thing in anime just like the weird fucking incest trope is. It just… doesn’t land with a western audience (and maybe with some of the Japanese audience? I’m honestly not sure I do not know and could not tell you, this is purely my own impression). One Piece an incredible story, there’s no doubt it’s the or one of the best anime/manga of all times, but in terms of accessibility its medium (anime and manga) restricted its viewer base alongside these anime tropes.

One Piece live action is not a shōnen anime. It is a live action anime remake. Sanji is a flirt in a way that my mum found gentlemanly when she watched the live action rather than perverted or annoying as I found him at times watching the anime (sorry Sanji I do love you really). The women’s bodies are realistic because it’s. Real. Fucking. Life. And the pacing has been hailed as a huge step up from the original. It’s essentially an upgrade. It’s better, more accessible, just as fun and goofy, and just as much the incredible story we all love. The casting is insane. Oda legit christened Inaki with the straw hat I’m- AVATAR DOESN’T HAVE THAT- ok I’m getting off topic. It’s good, alright? It drew more people into the amazing story that is One Piece.

Back to Avatar. Avatar… is for kids. Yes, it can be enjoyed by adults, but its target audience is children. I wouldn’t have watched it if my younger sister hadn’t been born. It probably wouldn’t have interested me past the age of 13, whereas I still enjoy One Piece as an adult, maybe because anime/manga is also targeted at adults. There’s gore? Sort of? Essentially I don’t see the translation onto live action changing the viewer demographic for Avatar purely based on the story. Yes, more people might watch live action because ‘eww animation is for kids!’ but that just isn’t reason enough. Take the Ahsoka series, for example. Why was it live action? Because Disney is scrambling for ways to rescue the franchise its currently dragging though the mud. Did a live action help? No, the story suffered beyond belief for it (would require another massive post to get into it). Some of you will have different opinions on this because you love Avatar a lot and or grew up with it. I get that. It’s like me with Ninjago. But if Ninjago got a live action they would need to alter the story a lot, ok? Avatar is for kids, about kids, and I think it still appeals to those same kids (grown up) today. It’s going to be the same story but it looks different and my prediction is that people will still enjoy the animated version more and the live action will never come close to topping it or complementing it in the way that the One Piece live action does.

My point is that I don’t see what a live action is going to do for Avatar as a story. It’s perfect. It’s already held up as one of the greatest stories of all time by all of the writing tips YouTube channels, what more can it achieve? What will live action bring to Avatar other than ‘oooh it’s real life now!’? I fully believe the comedy can be transferred, but because if One Piece can do it so can Avatar, but I still can’t see the live action Avatar being as much of a game changer for the story or viewership as the One Piece live action is.

It’s still… a cool idea, I guess. But I mean… is the stormlight archive by Brandon Sanderson ever gonna get an adaptation? Can we like… take risks with newer stories?

Happy for the cast and everything and I hope it goes well, but yeah, I just can’t get hyped about this one guys.

Feel free to add your thoughts as I’m interested in hearing them and I’m sure I’ve missed stuff out but as always keep it friendly please.

[moosethren]

I saw your notes on this post https://www.tumblr.com/moosethren/717347673558155264?source=share you reblogged and I fully agree with what you said in the notes. Firstly, I am very tired of the Star Wars trope of "man adopts child" (we see this in TCW with Ahsoka, Rebels with Ezra, Mando with Grogu, TBB with Omega, Kenobi with Leia, etc) and seeing how the TBB series' narrative is specifically made for the man adopt child trope hurts the series overall, in my opinion.

As you mentioned in your tags, Hunter has practically no personality aside from, literally, "Omega". People will say that his personality has changed due to the changing times and stress, but how he's shown and displayed in the show canon directly is having a personality designed for the main child character and nothing else. He had zero development and has changed absolutely none at all since TBB season one. His decisions are still made solely for the narrative (going back to Cid's for AZI solely because the writers needed to find a way to have them captured, even though they could have contacted Rex or found a medic literally anywhere else) and for Omega. I am doubtful we will see much development for Hunter that isn't revolving constantly around Omega in season three, let alone with the other men. All of the men are developed for her, rather than for themselves or for the sake of them being expanded upon, which completely shortens their purpose to just existing for the narrative and Omega - which none of them deserve.

I want more from the show than we will ever get, and seeing the TCW Bad Batch turning into "men who adopt children" and losing the joking, brotherly love they displayed in TCW. But that's just my thoughts on it, since I saw your tags and became intrigued to see someone else feeling a similar way as myself.

Oh, man, I couldn't agree more.

I still don't even know why AZI is with Cid in the first place, when they could have handed him over to Rex where he'd be useful. They went through all that trouble to save him in S1 (Omega nearly died, Crosshair had a huge thing of saving him and her) and then he ends up a frigging waiter droid at Cid's...

There's so many weird decisions/mistakes that TBB does just because of the honestly poor writing at this rate, cause they seem determined to yeah, have the narrative involve purely her. I don't know why the show isn't just called "Omega". And I get it, she's the person the audience/kids sees stuff through but come on... I expected to watch stuff about the Bad Batch and their relationships with each other, in a show called The Bad Batch. Now it's just a few men following this kid around and letting her decide everything and get them into trouble with no consequences.

(spoilers but I guess you've seen it all) Also because this is getting LONG.

Ever since the end of S2 my interest has plummeted because my fave character was offed after having had a 'full character arc with OMEGA' (since that's clearly all that matters), Hunter's only personality trait is being a 'dad' and I'm not interested in that either. Poor Wrecker has so much potential but it's squandered per usual and Echo's just kinda there, when he seems much happier being with Rex. Crosshair is my second fave but he's gonna be trapped with Omega which means his writing is going to go from really good to well, not that great.

What's worse, there's yet another media that is going towards the same trope atm and I'm frankly losing it. It seems like it's just me and one other who really dislike the trope (and you, which, yay, we're not alone 😂) I could go on about this for ages but I know it's a very unpopular opinion. But it's honestly ruining the show for me. And the trope, which I used to kinda like.

Imagine a show based on an adult sibling dynamic, which we're sorely lacking.

But again I'm the wrong audience for this and shouldn't have expected anything else, and at the moment I don't trust these writers anymore. (plus them killing off the autism rep sits really wrong with me.)

I want to like Omega (even if I'm not a big fan of child characters in the first place) but her writing and the show's direction makes it very difficult.

At the moment I'm re-writing the entire show without her in it and I'm honestly having much more fun making the Batch work together through this ordeal. Sure, I have a few OCs involved but they're not removing the Batch's claws as it were. But since the canon show is kinda just eh to me atm, that's my solution to it, so if anyone's upset about that well... they have a whole show out there to enjoy.

I'm glad for those who do like where the show is going and who love the trope 'cause they're being fed well, but the rest of us, well, some of us are getting salty and that's okay too.

[morlock-holmes]

I saw James Cameron's Avatar The Last Airbender: The Shape of Water.

It's… Fine, I'd say. I can't tell if it's actually better than the original or if it just seems that way because action spectacle movies these days have gotten so much worse.

Despite being a "big" movie, both in terms of length and scale of spectacle, it distinguishes itself from most other such movies by the fact that I didn't feel like I had been beaten up by the movie after I left the theater.

I think my verdict would be that it's an okay movie with ideas that could have been part of a really good movie.

Also I legit wonder if James Cameron saw that post about how there's no Avatar fan fiction because there's a lot more hooks to hang fanfic on in this one. Spoilers and discussion beneath the cut.

On the other hand, even though I didn't feel beat up by the movie, it's a very macho world these people live in. The human world is run by a bunch of macho marine types, who "Don't die, [they] just regroup in hell" and our main character, uh… what's his name, raises his kids the way he was clearly raised and inducted into the Marines; at one point his wife tells him, "Those aren't your squad, they're your children."

But Na'avi culture is also characterized by a gender-neutral machismo, there's a lot of teeth baring and metaphorical chest bumping, an emphasis on proving your adult-hood through fighting and feats of bravery, of defying authoritarian fathers through macho displays of courage.

Interestingly, there is a whole society of characters who are completely pacifistic, to the point where they exile a member for attempting to lead a war party against the humans. The humans defeat him, kill most of the people he brought along, which, to his pacifistic kin, makes him as responsible for their deaths as the humans.

They're kind of pushed to the side and the moral implications aren't dwelt on.

As someone who is not really very macho himself I found this to be a bit exhausting. Scientists and pacifists exist in this world, but, they, like the young protagonists, find themselves caught in a world where authority figures don't really value those tendencies, and their peers pick up on this and police them to make sure that they're as macho as they should be.

In general the movie kind of reminds me of Star Wars; The Last Jedi in that there's a lot of interesting ideas that kind of can't be paid off quite as well as they ought to be because of the Hollywood spectacle that they're forced into.

There's a character named Spider, a human who is the son of the bad guy from the first movie. Said bad guy had his memories cloned and uploaded to an Avatar body, and is now being used as part of the human assault on Pandora. Apparently Earth is a huge crap hole now so the humans are planning to just colonize Pandora.

Anyway, this clone of Spider's dad captures him and holds him hostage for most of the movie, leading to some bonding between them. At one point, the clone is going to tranquilize a bird to see if he can link up and control it; Spider laughs at him and says that kids younger than him do it with their bare hands. So of course clone dad has to prove that he can do it that way too; the machismo of the human military is broadly compatible with the machismo of the Na'avi.

At the very end of the movie, clone dad has one of the main character's kids hostage and is threatening to kill them. So the main Na'avi woman, who has been Spider's surrogate mother figure, grabs spider and says, "You kill my son and I'll kill yours."

Which does work, although the movie's in such a hurry to end by this point that it kind of glosses over the psychological impact that this would probably have on the poor kid. At the end of the day it doesn't matter that he's grown up with the Na'avi his whole life, he's still an outsider.

Also neither I nor my two companions have any idea which brother died at the end which I feel is a failure on the part of the character design team.

[inniezinnie]

Middle Aged and Retired Haikavehtham 👴💚💛👴

In which they reach the golden age of 60 and coexist. Because yes.

True to his character, Alhaitham will be the first to retire (right on the day of his 60th birthday of course, going out with golden grace). He'd then be spending his time at home reading more books and newspapers, taking care of plants, and feeding the neighborhood cats.

Kaveh retires at 64 years old from both being an architect and guest lecturer, deciding to finally take a break after seeing how Alhaitham enjoyed his. He has finally found peace with himself by then, and feels accomplished enough to "let go" (hurray!!!).

Also he settled all his debts by 40, if you're wondering. They're still living together though - with the biggest savings accounts each imaginable (of Sumeru). This is a secret, of course.

Now at the great ages of 64 and 62, they're always at home and have nothing to do.

Uh oh.

Sure, they do not bicker as much as they did before, and are living with each other with undisturbed peace, but it does get boring most of the time. They don't find each other boring, no. They're just bothered by not doing anything productive enough to stimulate their brains.

Things only get worse when they find out that Puspa Cafe has closed down!!! The manager has retired and no youngsters wanted to take over. NOOOOO.

Which is why one day, Kaveh proposes the wonderful idea--

"Hayi, why don't we purchase Puspa Cafe and run it as its owners?"

"Hm, that'd be.. interesting," said Alhaitham, taking it into consideration.

"We can also turn it into a book cafe!" Kaveh exclaimed, clapping his hands together with zeal. Despite his age, the wrinkles on his face has only made him more beautiful and endearing in Alhaitham's eyes. How they crease up sheer joy sends shockwaves through his heart. He'd never refuse his sweetest beloved. And how could he turn down the idea of books?

"I don't see a reason why we shouldn't, dearest."

And with that, there's a revived cafe in Sumeru, drawing in crowds of bookworms and caffeine nerds. Tea jammers hang out too, don't worry.

And not to mention -- Kaveh has thoughtfully incorporated the cafe's old design with a new, trendy style to pay tribute to the cafe they once frequented, and also to attract the youth (hype culture ammirite) simultaneously. Alhaitham contributes to the creation by naming it "Puspa Book Cafe" (good try, Alhaitham. Very... creative). They both also sell one of the best brews in town and sometimes create new recipes. It's no wonder why the crowd only grows.

The children love the hot cocoa.

The scholars love the coffee and academic advice.

The adults love a drink while they relax, escaping from the enslavement of their work-lives.

The elderly love the tea. (Mmhm)

As much as their interests remains in winding down and warm drinks, one thing they share in common is their interest in Alhaitham and Kaveh's relationship.

Here's how a generic conversation would go:

"Say, how long have you two been together?" Someone would ask, as curious ears perk up, feeding on the gossip (and baklavas).

"About 40 years or more!" Kaveh would reply gleefully.

"40 years? That's a strong marriage!" Someone would comment, pressing on the topic further.

"We're not married," they would both state in sync as a matter-of-factly.

"But we do have a relationship," Kaveh would add, in a vain attempt to lessen the doubtful stares.

It's true though, they're not married - don't be fooled by the rings.

According to them, being with each other is better than marriage - why do you need a contract if you have established mutual love and trust? That's what they both agreed on in their thirties after settling their differences. And also settling down, duh.

They announced their union over a family dinner with Tighnari, Cyno, Collei and Faranak one day, showing the rings they made each other.

"What a joyous union. How marry!" Cyno joked, only to be left with a deafening silence. "Get i-"

"So, when's the wedding?" Tighnari interjected, eyebrows raised.

"There's no wedding," they both said, words synchronised. There was another silence, but it was more comfortable and understanding.

Faranak, Kaveh's dear mother, was confused back then, but respected their decision. She passed on, never attending their wedding (which they'll never have), but knowing that her dearest son has found someone to spend his life with, just as she had once upon a time.

Now, back to the present, business is running great, and nearly everyone and their cats have heard of the revived cafe. And it finally occurs to them that they should commemorate their 30th union anniversary by giving out free food and beverages.

They have all the time and money, so why not?

That anniversary event will soon find its way to become an annual tradition.

Bonus: they also donate to charities and projects anonymously. They still argue on the message boards, but Alhaitham often leaves love poems. In return, Kaveh gifts him with all the affection he needs at home (they love cuddling). Do you think Kaveh would pick up knitting and Alhaitham will write a book?

[fullscoreshenanigans]

#gosh how I hate the whole *Norman becomes a CEO so everything turns out fine AGAIN because he can just snap with his fingers #making money appear* #bothers me way more than if he had to work with the Ratris to gain money for their search for Emma and their living expenses #made this a point in my fic. with Norman hating every second smiling for the cameras for the Ratris and telling people how great they are #and how nice it is from the family to take care of the cattle children #everything just for Emma #so everyone else tries to soften the blow. work as hard as they can and Emma - as soon as she's found - working for their sake too (via @officersnickers)

While lamenting how easily this solution arises after the multiple points the potential hurdles of traveling to the human world are brought up here, I also understand it within the constraints Shirai was working. Wanting to salvage his health under WSJ's debilitating schedule while also wanting to provide closure and a happier ending to his audience, it is the quickest way to streamline them acquiring exorbitant amounts of money in under three chapters, and after the cruelty they suffered in the demon world there is some comfort in them having the reach to alleviate as much suffering as possible.

(Chapter 181.4)

Depending on how that rise comes about and if that profitability is sustained via exploitation at various levels in the global supply chain. It's kind of hard to ascertain with the shift the world took after WWIII and the elimination of borders, but the Ratri family is still treated as being among the elite, so sadly it seems like there's still some social stratification they play into, even if there's only so much they can do in two years when the convenience afforded by murdering the ruling nobility of another species is off the table.

All of that said, if the human world arc was given the same length as other arcs, I think this would be one of the easiest sources of conflict one could dip into, with or without Norman being related to them.

#I still can't let go of my theory of yes Norman having Ratri blood running through his veins #by some former Ratri head having an affair with a Sister in Grace Field Headquarters #so it's no direct lineage to James (sad) and Peter (glad) #but more of a very very distant cousin #could they bother Matilda with this too which I love to headcanon as Norman's mother? yes #do I want to see both of them thrive without any Ratris meddling with them? YES (via @officersnickers)

Over the course of a thousand years, I could see both a dalliance in more recent generations playing out as well as him being a descendant of the female ancestor who's related to Julius in some familial capacity. Lots of possibilities for how the relationship could come about, though being directly related to James or Peter is probably my least favorite since we already have the Isabella-Ray parent-child conflict among the main trio.

#I've never particularly considered Ratris and Norman have a striking resemblance past the fact that they all have blonde adult faces #drawn by the same artist #Norman's facial features are soft and round - cloudy hair and thicker hair/brows #Ratris have thinner hair and leaf shaped eyes - their facial features are somewhat sharp (seems soft on James due to his demeanor) #they have that rich aristocrat vibe but not the 'angelic' 'knight's white horse' allegories that were behind Norman's design #when it comes to parallels - tbh you can create parallels between most characters #I think the only one possibly intended was Geelan and Norman (white theme - initially pure but corrupted after abuse) as hinted in fanbook (via @1000sunnygo)

This is true, along with Emma & Isabella and Emma & Yuugo.

(Mystic Code Book Chapter 2)

#also the possibilities of Norman (already hates himself and sees himself deserving death) realizes he has ratri blood?? I.. #usually I don't gatekeep characters from HCs but he's a little boy I can't wish his worse 😔 #well I'm not gonna gatekeep him this time either but just sharing my two cents! (via @1000sunnygo)

But the delicious angst that I crave and the triumph of when he rises above it. Chef's kisses. 🤌💞

(Chapter 127 | Chapter 141 | x)

[theveryworstthing]

So over on patreon Trevor asked for my take on the Addams Family and I grew up LOVING the Addams family movies so here we are. Instead of doing a straight up style interpretation, I decided to do a full on design challenge, using the characters as bases to make a black southern gothic Addams au. I actually drew the kids first, using the character bases of Wednesday and Pugsley to create some delightful kiddos I'm calling Sunday and Blanche. I of course then redesigned Gomez and Morticia into Carlisle and Mortesha.

The Addams have a very specific high aristocratic goth aesthetic (they've got a butler and nobody really works among other things) so in this re-imagining I wanted to go with vibes that run a little more middle class/upper middle class.  I thought it would be interesting to think about what would be considered weird and off-putting in an entirely different culture, and how being a big ol' goth is way less controversial than it used to be.

I tried to keep this short (HAHAHAHAHAHA) so I didn't spin off into an essay about villain coded families, black people in the horror genre, and normalcy as it pertains to social survival, but just...bits of that are in these designs and lore. Keep that in mind.

Also I made the kids twins because they've flip flopped in age so much in different media and also twins run in my family (i'm the daughter of one). And let's face it, I'm pulling a lot of their southern gothic traits from living as a southern goth so *shrug*.

10 thousand pounds of lore incoming loooooooooool.

The Parents

From the moment he saw her he knew that there was a 50/50 chance of him either never making it out of that swamp alive or marrying the figure that was creeping out from under the distant willow tree in a black cocktail dress. The third time she found him trussed up in one of her traps, he complimented her rope work and asked if she'd like to go out sometime after his head wound stopped bleeding.

Or while it was still bleeding.

If she was into that.

Some kids and a mysteriously burnt down Piggly Wiggly later, their love is still as strong and inescapable as a bear trap in a sink hole.

Carlisle Guillermo (now Addams through marriage but I wanted to give him two first names for a name since Gomez has two last names) makes a vaguely described living practicing ‘law’ around town. A loophole king, people come to him from miles around with contracts signed in blood, fights over chunks of hair buried in their rivals’ yard, dehydrated primate hands, memories that seemed like dreams until the evidence of their happenings became too real, and other regular Legal Items asking for counsel which he is all too happy to give. For a price. Sometimes that price is a homemade pie and sometimes it’s a million dollars, depends on who you are. Whatever you’re asked to pay it’s worth that price, and if you try to scam him out of work or he just plain doesn’t like you? Well. He knows how to twist a contract better than anything at the crossroads.

And he always gets his due.

He doesn’t just serve the local (living)humans though, there are many things that need proper legal representation in this day and age. You wouldn’t believe how many city councils try to build on sacred burial grounds even after he lets them know that his ghostly clients are totally gonna haunt the FUCK out of the ensuing shitty condos and curse their families for all eternity. At least 50% of his energy goes towards dealing with real estate bullshit.

Carl is an excitable and good natured(?) man who loves his family, cigars, dancing, and his many knife-based hobbies. People find him very charming once they get past the feeling that they’re talking to a sultry gator badly disguising itself as a human. I didn’t put a ton of deep thought into designing him, mostly I wanted to make a middle aged dude who looked like he would have been voted ‘most likely to smooch the literal devil’ in high school. Tbh he probably has, but no demonic ex’s can compare to his lovely wife~

Mortesha Addams(her name was already perfect so I just tweaked it)is a woman of many talents. A self proclaimed homemaker, she prides herself on a greenhouse full of Concerning Foliage, a beautiful wasp apiary, and a coop full of what are probably chickens that she keeps for what are probably eggs. She’s also an avid creator of the outsider art that can be seen around the estate. She has taken on the family business of selling her homemade goods in a little stall by the road just outside the swamp with her mom, and makes pretty good money doing so. A surprising amount of poison gets bought in quaint southern towns.

Speaking of poison, people who come out to the edge of the swamp to buy it are usually carrying a lot of secrets around, and Mortesha knows most of them. It’s not like she pries the truth out of people, it just so happens that many nervous hellos eventually turn into the tragic backstory power hour if she’s alone with a client for long enough. She supposes that’s just how people are. Despite the fact that the Addams are very active in the community (whether the community likes it or not) she especially, as a direct descendant of the first Addams matriarch, is seen as…Well not an outsider because the community feels A Certain Way about outsiders and despite it all the Addams are their people, but maybe something like an exception. They feel like whatever weirdness they’re hiding can’t be weirder than any given Addams, so they get a little loose with their words.

This is amusing to her, since Addams’ don’t naturally keep the kind dramatic secrets that their surface level prim and proper neighbors do. It’s much more fun to openly talk about those things.

Do they have a sadly decrepit yet terrifying grandma up in the attic? Yeah, like three. They got a tv, all the creepy porcelain dolls they could want, and they’re close to family. Where do you keep your gram-grams?

Any bodies buried on the property? Yeah some, but most are thrown to the gators.

Any creeping through the balmy summer night with ill intentions? Yeah dude, everyone loves a nice family stroll.

What about dangerous forbidden love? If an adult Addams isn’t incorporeal then they’re either queer or in a torrid romance with some person/thing mysteriously drawn to that awful swamp. Sometimes both at the same time. Most times actually.

Mortesha would know.

The current head of the Addams family is just as outgoing as her husband but a lot quieter and harder to read. She never really seems to get mad about much and always has a genteel smile for everyone whether they deserve it or not. A seven foot tall human shaped “Oh, bless your heart”. A perfectly composed Lady even when she’s, oh I dunno, burning down a Piggly Wiggly. You know. A regular southern mom. Chat her up at the hair salon for 50% off a jar of wasp honey with your next purchase of a mysterious but foreboding packet of herbs.

Designing her was pretty easy because I just drew a lankier Grace Jones and called it a day. I had some problems with her outfit simply because if we were going HARD southern gothic then she’d probably be wearing a white/cream dress with a fuller skirt but I thought keeping the silhouette and the black was more important. She’s supposed to be an anti southern gothic southern gothic character anyway. A woman who looks like she has a million secrets who is actually the most open person you could meet. For better or worse. The red hair came from a coloring error that I really ended up liking (my mom had red hair her whole childhood that only darkened up in high school so I can buy that an Addams can be naturally fire engine red) and the veil was to get more of that classic Morticia silhouette in there.

The Children

Sunday and Blanche are the twin children of Carlisle and Mortesha Addams. Some say the Addams clan got their cursed homestead when a wealthy local businessman made a deal with the devil and lost, leaving his grand mansion to his least favorite maid and cutting his losses once he realized that the swamp would do everything it could to drag the house into the water and take what was owed with its horrible curse. Others say that the family has just always squatted there and no one really cares because man, fuck that particular swamp. Have you been in there? Absolute horror show.

Anyway.

Blanche is the more outgoing sibling and quite the engineer/mad scientist in the making. He started going grey at 2 weeks old but considering he was also rocking some extra fingers, toes, and a tiny tail (he takes after his dad), his parents just put it on the 'not life threatening' pile and decided not to worry about it. He's the kind of smart that teachers find utterly infuriating, less a dog eagerly learning and obeying commands and more a hyena who keeps teaching itself how to pick locks. He has a few friends in his school's robotics club (which they honestly allowed him to make so the school could contain his... creations) but mostly hangs out with his sister exploring the swamp. They find all sorts of neat things in there! wedding rings, suspiciously lumpy garbage bags, cloaked cultists who can't read private property signs, it's an adventure every day!

Blanche is all about experimentation with his creations, his look, and his tether to this mortal coil. Is lipstick a cool thing to try? Let's find out. Can he get out of a strait jacket fast enough after being pushed into the depths of the swamp by his sister? let's find out. He's not dead yet and confused local doctors can attest to the fact that he's rarely attained more than a bad bruise so he's pretty set on continuing to kiss rattlesnakes on their cute little heads and have his sister practice her knife throwing at him until that fact changes.

Blanche is very much a country goth. Cowboy boots (customized by his mom), knife, and lighter are daily accessories. He likes to wear the crusty swamp jewelry they find (the rust adds a splash of color!) and despite appearances he does try to keep himself neat. He's just got  natural Grunge Colors and a tendency to wear clothes he likes until they fall apart. Pugsley always seemed the most modernly styled to me (which might just be because little boys clothes have been the same for a long time) so I wanted Blanche to be the most purposely fashionable Addams. Everyone else is goth by nature, but he's the only one truly familiar with goth as an alternative fashion.

I got really into designing Blanche because honestly, I find Pugsley to be the most boring member of the family. And he was hard to design! I had to mess with his vibe a lot to get him looking how I wanted. I know he's supposed to evoke an " 'evil' little boy next door who's parents never reign him in", but that's just goth Dennis The Menace.  I's 2020. We can at least go queer goth Calvin.

Sunday was much easier to design. Wednesday was my favorite as a child (of course) and I really wanted to keep the spirit of her look while adding things like billowy sleeves (it gets HOT down here), big poofy twists instead of braids, and a nice tie. She's a professional after all, been running the local pet cemetery since she was 6 and the previous groundskeeper met with an unfortunate accident after telling her that tarantulas don't have souls. Her specialty is creating beautiful naturalistic animal funerals similar to those that Maquenda (https://linktr.ee/artofmaquenda) makes, and she takes pride in creating miniature dioramas of her subjects after each burial which she uses as a kind of 3D catalog for future clients.

She really wants to try out her skills on humans one day. Well. Publicly try out her skills. Lotta random bodies float into the swamp. None of them have turned down her requests for diorama models so far. Most seem downright flattered. Plus, she usually figures out which graveyard/crime scene they floated over from and gets her parents to give them a lift back. She'll even help enact terrifying revenge from beyond the grave on whoever put them there if she's not, y'know, busy.

Besides arts, crafts, and pet based funerary arrangements, Sunday is an avid lover of archery (any ranged weapon really), books where little fantasy adventure animals die dramatic deaths, and history. She is That Kid who eagerly raises her hand when asked who Christopher Columbus was and ends up being sent out of class after 15 minutes for making 'a scene'. Her favorite party trick is just picking an item in the room and talking about how it relates to either some obscure historical figure with a buck wild life or a horrible disaster. At least one charity pancake breakfast ended with children in tears after her vivid description of the Great Molasses Flood of 1919.

Social-wise, while Wednesday is the girl that people ask to smile because they think she'd, "look so pretty", Sunday is rarely asked anything at all. People just kind of assume from her quiet nature (in between horrible history facts) that she's angry all the time and that she hates everyone. This is untrue. She hates some people but she's ambivalent to most everyone else and even downright friendly if you bother to talk to her like a person instead of a terrifying cryptid. Like, she IS a terrifying cryptid but she's also a little girl.  

That’s about it for now. One day I might do the other family members but for now I’m happy with the four I’ve redesigned. Making an au! Lurch in a family that doesn’t do butlers could be interesting. Over on patreon I put forth that he could just be Motesha’s mute little brother (similar bone structure) but Amy Crook had the nice idea of quote: “ a mysterious "cousin" that "helps around the house" whose origins are both long in the past and faintly unsettling. He's good for lifting heavy things, like that tank of propane you're about to throw into the burning Piggly Wiggly... “ which i now consider canon. Who's kid is he? How old is he? Not important. Anyone willing to commit arson with you is family.

Annnnyway.  This challenge was a lot of fun! I love indulging in AU’s.

[riding-with-the-wild-hunt]

Thank you sm! I love ur view of the Silm characters. As that is the case, any Maedhros headcanons?

no thank-yous necessary, it's really my pleasure! i'm just flattered that you feel so positively towards my interpretations :)

same format approach as before: tamer headcanons are above the cut and the grimmer/more graphic stuff is underneath.

he has pretty large age differences with most of his brothers, so his role tended much more towards the parental than the sibling-y.

at Valinor-era family functions, he was always designated caretaker for the younger crowd.

as a result, he found it a lot harder to make friends with his younger cousins because they tended to not really see him as a peer (he and Fingon originally got close because they both got the i-love-my-younger-siblings-but-sometimes-i-wish-i-were-an-only-child thing).

in fact, other than Fingon, most of his cousins don't really like him (authority figure, no fun, blah blah blah), which was kind of rough for Mae to deal with as a teenager.

he's the most into traditional scholarship out of all his siblings! pre-Beleriand, he was the kind of person who would write a dissertation for fun.

he originally wanted to go into academia or medicine, not politics.

he loves animals, though he's pretty quiet about it because it's kind of Celegorm's thing and Celegorm a. doesn't like sharing and b. it feels like intruding

he isn't charismatic or charming in a typical way. i think he's actually pretty shy and awkward! Maglor tries to coach him into being suave, but it never sticks. but he's funny (once you can get him past monosyllables,) and he's kind, and he's good-looking, which makes up for a lot in the eyes of Valinorean society

he starts putting a lot more effort into appearing "nice" and "approachable" post-Thangorodrim, because he has to counteract fear rather than extra attention based on how he looks.

he loves music and singing but isn't especially talented at it. he mostly just listens.

he adores children and wanted to have a family growing up

Nerdanel is his go-to parent for advice. he keeps consulting her in his head up to the end of his life.

post-Angband, he's almost completely blind in one eye and can't see in the dark from either one, due to parts of his eyes being removed as experiments and resulting infections. glasses don't help very much, but he wears them anyways in social situations to seem less intimidating.

he hoards food in secret for most of his adult life. he got so used to never having enough that he can never relax, even when resources are plentiful.

he feels responsible for his brothers swearing the Oath, as well as for their actions in pursuit of it, even the ones he had no part in. he's a relentless self-flagellator over almost anything bad that ever happens and will willingly take blame any time it's offered.

he makes health sacrifices in favor of trying to look "stronger" and provide more reassurance to his follower. he's always pushing past his physical limits (i.e. he almost never walks with a cane, he goes out on patrol more times than his soldiers, he purposely stays in rooms on upper floors so he has to climb stairs, etc.)

he honestly hopes he's going to the Void when he dies. he thinks he deserves it and it's what's best for the world, because he's obviously a cowardly, destructive, weak person and shouldn't be able to hurt anyone else.

the only promise he ever broke to Fingon was to not blame himself if Fingon died.

over the years in Beleriand, his relationships with his brothers gradually get worse and worse--they resent that he's kind of a broken record about everything being their fault, and he's afraid of hurting them by being too close.

anyways, i hope you liked these! feel free to share any of your own too! :)

[narniangirl1994]

I, like many other fans, was disappointed with several aspects of Lucifer's final season. Although it could have been much worse, I feel like certain decisions ruined several aspects of the show. For example:

They didn't show nearly enough of Trixie this season and didn't give her a satisfying ending. Not only did it make no sense for Chloe to ignore her child so often after Trixie just lost her dad, but she never officially found out about the celestials in her life and never got to say goodbye to Lucifer.

It was tough to care much about a new daughter from the future who was introduced at the last minute, yet had such a huge impact on her parents' stories. Especially seeing how sidelined Trixie was this season for a biological daughter (with Rory even saying Lucifer wasn't Trixie's real dad 😡).

I disliked the reasoning behind Lucifer abandoning his family at the request of a daughter who shouldn't have been that invested in Lucifer's calling. Yes it was important, but why was she willing to put them all through so much suffering for a calling that had nothing to do with her?

It was especially tragic to see Lucifer's choice essentially taken away from him because of Rory's insistence/coercion that he keep everything the same, after how much the show emphasized personal choice and responsibility. Not to mention his separation from his family for most of their lives is just needlessly tragic after everything they've been through.

Here's how I think the final season could have been made 100x better while still keeping the overall plot and taking into account the scheduling/COVID safety issues with Trixie's actress:

Instead of introducing Rory, have Trixie be the one who time travels back from the future to see Lucifer (therefore keeping her character relevant while using a different actress). This could be explained by her having asked Charlie to send her back in time. Not only would it make sense for Charlie to be the one to develop time traveling powers (since Amenadiel's powers were also time-based), but his powers could even be teased briefly with baby Charlie earlier in the season.

Her anger would be due to two reasons - Lucifer abandoning her so shortly after her father died, and Chloe telling Trixie that Lucifer was the only one who could have freed Dan from Hell, but that he didn't do it before leaving. Perhaps Chloe waited until Trixie was in her 20s/30s before telling her this, and that was the breaking point that made Trixie ask Charlie to send her back in time.

In the past, she somehow conceals her identity and uses tricks Maze taught her over the years to (pretend to) threaten Chloe in order to force Lucifer to bring Dan to Heaven. Lucifer knows he can't do that and it would likely make Dan a ghost, but Dan agrees to it anyway to save Chloe.

Once he's back on Earth, Trixie demands to know why Dan isn't in Heaven and gives up when both Lucifer and Dan convince her it's impossible. Realizing she failed her father, Trixie frees Chloe and leaves (obviously never intending to harm her in the first place). She later comes back, revealing her identity and explaining why she did what she did, why she's so angry at Lucifer, and how things go down in the future.

All the same shenanigans ensue, with Lucifer asserting he would never leave Chloe and Trixie, and trying to prove that he does actually love Trixie as his own daughter. He could do the same goodbye tour just in case, but this time spend a day at the beach with Chloe and adult Trixie.

Meanwhile, child Trixie can be off at a camp designed for children who lost a parent(s) and want to spend time with counselors and other grieving kids to help them recover. This would be a much better explanation than Trixie being off at a science camp and never seeing her mother so shortly after the trauma of losing her father.

All the other plots could still happen with Dan trying not to be a ghost, possessing Le Merc, talking to Lucifer and realizing he needed to speak to (child) Trixie, etc. Lucifer would still realize he didn't want to be God while Amenadiel would realize he did want to be God, yet more emphasis would be placed on Lucifer wanting to find his true calling.

Le Merc could kidnap adult Trixie, and she could similarly need to be talked down by Lucifer so that she didn't kill Le Merc in revenge. They could still figure out that Lucifer ultimately helped Dan get into heaven, and that he has helped other people (like Lee and Trixie) move past their own mistakes/flaws.

Rather than pressuring Lucifer to keep the time loop the same like Rory did, Trixie could explain how important it is to her that Dan was able to get into heaven because of Lucifer (and the time loop). And how important it is to her that other people who made mistakes, like her father, can get into heaven with Lucifer's help too.

Chloe's acceptance would be due to several things: wanting Dan to get into Heaven, being happy Lucifer found his calling, and - tying into the background plot of police brutality/inequality- realizing that many 'criminals' are a product of our broken system and deserve the chance to better themselves in this life or the afterlife.

Perhaps if they changed the focus of the Hell episode (where Lucifer helped the guy he hated confront his deepest insecurity), to his brother Michael instead, Lucifer would have a deeper connection to his calling. If he could learn to care about and understand Michael, he could care about/understand anyone. Perhaps Michael's issues aren't fully resolved by the end of that episode, but some sort of progress was made. This would enhance Lucifer's motivation to follow his calling/keep the time loop and give the ongoing Lucifer and Michael plot a real conclusion.

To emphasize that this really is Lucifer (and his loved one's choice) - rather than Rory or fate itself - perhaps they could even include a conversation with Ella, theorizing the possibility of creating an alternate universe if he chooses to break the loop, rather than making it seem like the loop is inevitable.

As such, he willingly chooses to 'abandon' his family (with their consent) for the next decade or two so that Trixie time travels and all of this comes to pass.

But unlike the finale, he can become a part of their lives again after Trixie has completed the time loop. That way, he isn't apart from Chloe and Trixie for the rest of their lives, but they all had a chance to learn and grow on their own before coming back together and understanding one another.

All of this would have provided a much more satisfying conclusion to the show. It would respect the relationships already formed (and affirm the validity of non-biological family), respect Lucifer's newfound ability to make his own choices, keep character motivations realistic, and more.

What do you think? What would be your preferred finale of Lucifer?

[llycaons]

ep18: put that thing back where it came from or so help me

I tried to go back to my novel lbs and see how faithful these past few episodes have been, but those posts are a goddamn mess. I don't know what's going on since they don't summarize what's actually happening and I still can't remember how the plot went

the donghua left out a lot of really funny details from the book's early chapters, but I still think the humor and tone was mostly preserved

also in the book there were even more rape jokes than I remembered in the 'trapping wwx in CR' section of the story ugh I do not want to go back to that for any reason ever again

the novel making a point of talking about how lwj went wherever he was needed was a fairly significant part of his (good-guy) character and something he needed badly because he was fairly flat in most other ways. and they don't have even that in the donghua so I think that's a shame. sure, it was tell and not show, but the donghua is not really showing it either

anyway. 18. jc is like 25% more unhinged here. he laughs humorlessly and loudly and it's kind of creepy. but he seems a lot less brimming with bitterness and anger all the time than in cql and he interacts with his disciples normally and in a controlled way. he's like a human disaster fire in cql

here he's like "lan zhan...I'll be watching you..." and lwj just stares after him like I do not give a shit

FUCK I never added trytophobia to the cql tw list

pacing is an issue in all versions of this story...the donghua's been best about it so far but this conversation that was literally just a monotone shot - reverse shot discussing some schemes or whatever was so hard to sit through. spice it UP

and who the fuck are THESE people in the veils and with white and purple robes. jgy??? jgy and su she?? some demonic cultivator group?? nhs in different robes??? I swear my patience for this story is going down the drain...just stick to the og plot wyd

they literally showed his face and I have no idea if I'm supposed to recognize him he looks like every other goddamn character in this show

oh so frostwork is a literal title

I'm pretty sure, based on my reading the other day, that by this point in the novel lwj knows who wwx is. how long are they going to keep this charade going? I can't think of any good reason that reveal would be delayed. are they expecting the audience to believe lwj still doesn't know?

I cannot follow wwx's logic at ALL I always hated these surmises and guesses and manouvering here and in the novel and in cql AND in tgcf too they just seem way too complicated and wwx and xl making wild assertions I can barely follow that are always correct is not my idea of a fun mystery story

very little about what I love in cql is present in this story. it's so alien...I can't imagine donghua lovers enjoyed cql very much or vice versa, or if they did it must have been for different reasons or individual scenes

this is why the fanbase is so confusing we're all fans of different things and assuming things about one version that don't apply to the others lmao

my wifi keeps cutting out nooo please dont do this to me baby please dont prolong this experience by buffering

oh FUCK OFF CORNETTO. no more in-series ads I am SICK of it stop ruining my suspension of disbelief and trying to make me believe wei wuxian would be a corporate shill

so donghua lwj legitimately looks like a freak when surrounded by townspeople. something truly rotten in his design

why the fuck are his eyes purple in this shot I hate everything

oh wow scooby-doo jump that's so funny haha he's scared of dogs

I am losing my goddamn mind over this episode never has lwj looked more like a dollar-a-dozen bland stoic pretty boy bl love interest top I am incurring psychic damage he hasn't had a change in facial expression or voice tone in at least three episodes he is the worst he's NOTHING

ohh the nhs thing is pretty cool. the bird repeating his headshaker line

oh thank god they're having a conversation about his fear of dogs. can this please be a gateway to open communication I am dying here (spoiler alert it was not! the conversation consisted of one sentence from each of them!)

not to be rude that is the fucking ugliest child I have ever seen in my life

for once this flashback is way more dramatic than it was in cql (and than it was in the novel too). I couldn't get into the emotional journey wwx was going on since everything looks so hideous but I got the idea

but I think the food aspect was such a significant part of his welcome into the jiang family - in both cql and the novel jfm offers wwx food when he finds him - and it's a shame that was cut out to focus on the dogs

the connection to family and safety and love and belonging with food has always felt SO crucial to his character in both the source material and the drama

do they even show jfm confirming wwx's identity? that seems fairly important too

oh hey here's nhs

real tragedy of the drama is we never saw n.mj's tits :/

[adiabolikpastel]

Laito's Birthday Mun Musing

Hello Everyone!

So, this year for Laito's Birthday - I find myself ill-prepared, as I often am, and don't have a skit or art piece for your viewing pleasure. For that, I am deeply sorry!

In light of that, I thought it would be nice to muse with you a little about Laito. More specifically, how I envision Laito growing in the Tormented Reverie: Another Daydream story (for those who may not know, TR: AD is the sequel to TR, which is where future Yuuki, Kanato & the Kanuki kids are). Basically, what I am thinking of while I design adult Laito!

There will be quite a bit going into this, so continue reading under the cut and enjoy! Also, feel free to leave comments or send in ask about the design idea.

Status

In this cannon, Laito does not inherit Karlheniz power. While this universe does exist separate from Excruciating Duplicity - the idea of another boy taking the crown still stands. Honestly I always default to Shu - but for Tormented Reverie there isn't any one specifically. Since the stories are tied into a lot of other outside OC blogs I sway things to fit those narratives as well - so it would not be Ayato (due to @pureblood-prey's time line) nor would it be Subaru (due to @subaruxayano). Which leaves Shu or Reiji (who does have a plot in (@silencieux-aube).

So, as you can see it gets a little tunneled as we move to get a boy on the throne. Since I don't have another blog that has a Shu ship that my character are tied with - I tend to default to Shu. With Reiji being his personal hand to the King. This would leave all the others to be Lords of the land - since the cannon gave us no real understanding of what the sibling of the king does - I play around with the idea.

Much like his brother, Kanato, Laito holds power over lands - though he hardly ever does his job. Most of the time, he can be found in his private home - having parties and spending more money than his people can afford. I envision a future where whomever of his elder brothers that took the throne would never call on him for anything. Because of this, most of his duties and such are taken care of and seen to by this trusted lover - Yuki (I would go on into how Yuki is doing during this time bu~ut this is about Laito, so another time!).

Personality / Family

Laito has not changed much over the centuries. As indulgent as ever, he likes to delve into the finer things in life. Not just with sexual ventures, but in every aspect of his day to day. The man has no real responsibilities that are enforced so he kind of just does whatever he wants.

His relationship with his brothers has not improved but also has not gotten worse. While they grew up to have children, Laito did not. He does enjoy seeing his many nieces and nephews, but has no desire to have any of his own.

Looks

While I do not paly this game, I saw some fan art for the character Joseph from Identity V and literally saw Laito. The images below just captured every aspect that I envision when I think of a grown Laito - except with more mature facial features.

art by: 太阳神的茉莉花环

art credited to: 画师 猫目

His hair grown out, and finally we loose the fedora. While I think he would wear it out - it is not a staple clothing item of his anymore. I like to think that he grew his hair out to symbolize the royal blood in his veins - as by the time they are adults the truth behind their blood comes to light. Additionally, I like to think he is the only one who does grow out their hair. It feels like all the other boys would try to keep a more clean and mature look. Where as he is party mode.

[gch1995]

I just listened to ShadowStreak read part of the leaked live action CW PPG script, and while it sounds like they’ve fucked up every character worse than ever before, it sounds like they did Professor Utonium’s character the worst injustice again by turning him into a controlling, narcissistic, and shallow stage dad, which is just not who is character was at all in the classic cartoon. 

Professor Utonium had a few OOC of indifferent, neglectful, or ridiculously stupid bad parenting in the classic cartoon here and there in some episodes, such as “Daylight Savings,” “Moral Decay,” “Coupe’detat,” and “Keen on Keane.” He could be misguided and naive at times in episodes like “Mommy Fearest,” “Town ‘n’ Out,” and “Uh Oh, Dynamo,” though he meant well. However, those naive moments and/or OOC instances of bad parenting to fit certain plots were pretty far and few between ones that he would either snap out of at the end of the same episode, and/or they would never referenced or mentioned in following episodes of the series ever again when things went back to normal.

However, in the 2002 prequel movie and in most episodes of the classic cartoon, Professor Utonium was an attentive, caring, doting, kind, and selfless good dad, and a good person, who loved his three little girls dearly. He was proud of them for fact that they chose to risk their lives to save him and their city, and he encouraged them when they didn’t believe in themselves as heroes, but he never forced them to be heroes. That was Blossom’s, Bubbles’, and Buttercup’s choice, not his. Professor Utonium treated the girls as people, rather than products or experiments more than any other adult in the classic series.

In the classic cartoon, Professor Utonium accepted the fact that the girls accidentally got superpowers because he loved them, but he didn’t purposely set out to give them superpowers when he made them. He wasn’t trying to be a celebrity. He just wanted to be a dad, and spread some good in the world.

In the classic cartoon, Professor Utonium gave the girls emotional support when they needed it most of the time. He built a super suit to hang out with them when they kept getting busy saving the day because he wanted to spend more time with them, and because he wanted for them to be able to have their dad to protect them. He had a birthday party for them. He let them have a slumber party with their friends. He did everything to protect them, save them, or rescue them when he saw they were being hurt or in danger in episodes like “Uh Oh, Dynamo,” “Collect Her,” “PowerProf.,” “Knock It Off,” “Nano of the North,” and “Film Flam,” even if it meant he had to risk and/or sacrifice himself to do it at times.

In the classic cartoon, Professor Utonium stressed when the three cakes he was making to surprise his kids for a party had designs that were less than perfect in one episode “Little Miss Interprets.” He encouraged them take time off when they were stressed or wanted to play with their friends when the Mayor called for trivial things in “Superfriends.” He took them on trips and outings with him when he they were free, and he wanted them to be able relax at times in “Uh Oh, Dynamo,” “PowerProf.,” “Roughing it Up,” and “Sun Scream.” He even dressed up once as Bubbles in “The PowerPuff Girls: Best Rainy Day Adventure” for a little bit, even though he was busy with work all day, when she told him that Blossom and Buttercup didn’t want to be her when they were playing PPG on a rainy day inside because he saw how much it upset her. He doted on all three of those girls, and always saw them as his “little angels,” even though they were far from the “perfect little girls.” He generally was pretty reasonably strict when he disciplined them or gave them chores in episodes like “Helter Shelter,” “Beat Your Greens,” and “Twisted Sister.” He wanted for his kids to get a good education and do well in school. He wanted for the girls to be happy and healthy little girls with normal childhoods as much as possible, while also letting them use their superpowers to be heroes on the side.

In the classic cartoon, Professor Utonium was pretty much the antithesis of the stage parent. No episode proved how much he wasn’t really big into the idea of his girls being forced into the limelight than the classic episode “Film Flam.” Professor Utonium actually was pretty uneasy about signing up his little girls to be in a movie with the offer from Bernie Bernstein. He went along with it at first by signing the contract because he saw how much his three kids wanted to do it. However, as soon as he saw Bernie Bernstein yelling at Bubbles and grabbing her jaw harshly for pointing out a lie he was telling, Professor Utonium got pissed off, and went down to the set to save his three little angels. Then, when he found out that Bernie Bernstein was a fraud, trying to scam everyone to rob the bank by making a fake movie about the PPG, Professor Utonium warned his little girls about what was going on by disguising himself to get on the set, and punched the jerk in the face for fucking with his kids to steal money.

This version of Professor Utonium in the CW script seems to see Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup as products to market, to show off to the press, and make money off, rather than genuinely loving them as his children or even seeing them as people at all, which is like Professor Dick Hardy, who he hated for wanting to make artificial superhuman children to mass market to people for crime fighting in the classic episode “Knock It Off.”

I don’t have a huge problem with the girls calling Professor Utonium dad, but one thing about the OG cartoon that made it even more meaningful and sweet was that it was generally a pretty rare occurrence that came up in little moments here and there to remind the audience just how much the girls loved him. Bubbles called Professor Utonium “dad” the first time after he bought her her first gift after she and her sisters were born to thank him. Buttercup called him “Daddy-o” once in the movie when he came to talk to them for the first time as a parent in the movie about being careful not to use their superpowers in public. They all referred to him as “dad” when Major Glory asked them about who did everything around the house in “Members Only.” Bubbles called Professor Utonium “dad” when she, Blossom, and Buttercup were all convinced that he wanted to get rid of them in “Little Miss Interprets,” and wanted to change his mind.

Also, it really creeped me out that all three girls in the CW pilot script were discussing their dad’s sex life in detail in the classic

It’s just, why do we live in an age in which parents always have to be portrayed as bad, especially because, generally speaking, that’s not the kind of parent Professor Utonium was to Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup in the classic cartoon. In fact, no adult in the classic series wanted for the girls to have the chance to live full happy, healthy, and normal childhoods more than Professor Utonium, sometimes to the point of overdoing it a bit in his desperation to keep them safe by overprotecting them, though he did learn to ease up and give them the freedom to fight crime without trying to coddle them. He was not a controlling stage parent, who forced his three kids to be heroes and to be in the limelight at all.

[linxuelian]

I found a Chinese BL Warring States Game of Thrones, three years older than The Untamed

And I just had to write a review about it! It’s 60 episodes long so I haven’t finished it yet at the time I’m writing this - but I decided to just go ahead and recommend it anyway.

Why, you ask?

For one, it’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms with all the Hollywood action and adult HBO things. It’s got explosions:

Horses falling down:

People getting flogged:

Sweaty soldiers getting mauled to death:

Children used as hostages:

Dead bodies presented in court:

Stylish dye jobs:

Loving father figures:

A Jon Snow lookalike:

And very gay innuendo:

That’s right, unlike The Untamed, which was first written as a straight series featuring Wen Qing as the main female lead and then rewritten again after fans of the novel decided to boycott it, this series was written to be gay from the very beginning. It got taken down by the Chinese Censorship Board after twelve episodes and river-crabbed to death, but a good number of scenes survived censorship. Those that did not made it to BiliBili in the form of “hidden” videos and disguised as “music videos”.

That’s not all. For a warring period Wuxia series, it’s got very beautiful actors, backdrops and clothing. It’s dressed like a fairy tale, with different kingdoms sporting different colours and styles in fashion and tastes.

In terms of art direction, it’s pretty low-budget for a series but the team makes good use of existing props, locations and brighter-coloured fabric to make up for the quality. The costume design is more fantasy-based than period, and the vivid takes and angles in the first season add to its charm.

There’s also its complex story line, which brings us to...

Men with Swords is not a title for the faint-hearted. There is an acute absence of black-and-white morality depicted in it.

If you think a BL series with such beautiful backdrops and fairytale-like clothes is for the simple-minded, one-track-good-vs-evil sort, think again. The series is a tale about Murong Li, a vengeful prince disguised as a musician and his rise to power, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction in its wake.

Where The Untamed fails at delivering gray morality unlike the novel it’s adapted from, choosing to alter its script to fit a more general audience (a commercially-wise decision which got it into Netflix), Men with Swords succeeds in faithfully telling a tale where there is no good or evil, only humanity, jealousy, grudges, rebellion, loyalty, life, death, greed and love.

Everyone has both good and bad sides, just different camps and motives. Men with Swords tells the story from not just one person’s perspective, but from the perspective of many different people, all of whom become entangled in a battle for their figurative Iron Throne - to become the king of the world.

There are no “what ifs” in this story, only decisions, reactions and repercussions

A prevailing theme in this series is that there are no “what ifs” and no turning back in life, only things that have happened and will happen. Murong Li starts his journey as a prince who has lost everything and a victim of war, wandering around for three years while being put down and getting sexually harassed, eventually losing it, taking his chances and hardening his heart as he walks down his conniving, badass path of destruction towards the top.

Men with Swords is not a series for the faint-hearted. It’s a game of chess where the main character, Murong Li, is cunning and decisive, cold and ruthless and many recurring characters die horrible, sudden deaths, friend and foe alike, a la Attack on Titan.

The series is filled with political strife and warfare, peppered with some sweet, comedic and romantic undertones. There is a stark contrast between fluffy and dark in its narrative, which is pretty refreshing overall.

With that all aside, I know what you’re probably scrolling down for:

The main characters and their boyfriends

This is it. This is what you’re here for. Most “BL” series are actually bromances, but the real upside for a BL fan is that this show is not a bromance - it’s a BL title, and even with censorship, the love stories prevail.

I’m going to put this under a cut because it’s LONG AF, but what that means is that there is a LOT of BL content available, and not the type that you have to hunt for. They’re very open about it.

While the show itself has a lot of ships, there’s a larger focus on three main ones, namely the beautiful Murong Li and two powerful kings, the fairy-like Ling Guang and his servants, and King Jian Bin with his general.

Murong Li: Da Ji 2.0 and his rich and powerful kings

If you’re a Jin Guangyao fan, you’ll probably enjoy Murong Li and his elegant, charming viles and ruthless scheming. He’s a surprisingly good fighter too, and unlike most elegant and waif-like beauties in dramas and novels alike, he’s a beauty with brains who uses his physical weakness as his strength, bending and seducing his way up to power.

Murong Li only really goes after rich and powerful people, worming his way into the kingdom and taking them down from the inside. Two main love interests are King Zhi Ming, the childish but rich king of Tianquan:

And Yu Xiao, a powerful barbarian king with a soft heart:

Murong Li, while wandering around as a musician, picks up many tricks along the way to hone himself. He’s adept at dressing up, making himself look helpless and alluring to bewitch powerful men, for one:

See that small smile right there? Yes, our boy knows what he’s doing.

Aside from that, Murong Li’s also pretty good at manipulating people by using their jealousies and insecurities, getting them to fight with each other over him.

Murong Li, although modeled after the cruel and beautiful Murong Chong, the Emperor of Wei, is likened to Da Ji, the favorite consort of the King Zhou of Shang. Da Ji was said to be a malevolent fox spirit who started the art of foot-binding to hide her fox feet. Everyone else looking in can see it, but the King was blinded, just like Murong Li’s powerful love interests. In fact, the series draws a direct parallel to it:

The Guo Shi here uses the term “yao”, which alludes to a malevolent spirit.

It’s not that Murong Li doesn’t have a weakness, though. Just like every Jin Guangyao has a Lan Xichen around to cause him to slip now and then, Murong Li surprisingly is weak towards the most naive and childish character in the series, the truant King Zhi Ming, whose only qualities are having purple bangs and being rich and playful.

No matter how calculative and ruthless Murong Li is in the series, he does end up almost slipping up and giving everything away when it comes to this bumbling fellow:

He’s saved only at the nick of time by one of his followers. Murong Li tells a lot of lies, but the one thing he can’t lie about are his feelings towards King Zhi Ming, who is ultimately the one thing he can’t give up next to his kingdom.

There’s a lot more one can write about a complex character such as Murong Li, but the second ship is just as good. It features:

Ling Guang: The Ex-Arrogant Depressed Hamster hung up over a dead ex

Ling Guang, the mortal enemy and foil to Murong Li, is a baby-faced, very-much-older-than-he-looks character whose sole purpose in this series is to wear frilly magenta clothing, destroy the kingdom of Yaoguang, set Murong Li down a path of vengeful destruction and piss off eligible, probably younger bachelors by comparing them to his very handsome, very loyal and very dead boyfriend, his personal guard, Qiu Zhen, who died sometime over thirteen years ago.

The bachelors’ pissed off takes to this are particularly priceless:

Here’s another one from season 2:

That HMPH face is to die for.

Ling Guang’s delusions are met head-on by these eligible bachelors, his ministers and his allies alike:

Only to be met by a, “haha, NO.”

Frustrating, right? It only gets worse as the series progresses. Due to Wuxia’s fantastical existence of sword souls, he begins to actively test his subjects out to see if they’re his dead boyfriend, whose sword soul is still alive:

Gu Shi’an: WTF.

So why do these eligible, handsome bachelors, particularly this guy from season two, jump at his lap every chance they get?

First off, he’s very, very pretty. He’s arguably the prettiest and fanciest king in the series, with a cute rounded face, favoring fluffy organza, frills and feathers in his garb, and sporting fabulous curls like that of a swan princess on a good day.

Secondly, and more importantly, it’s likely because he’s the type loyal dogs adore.

He’s stupidly and openly attached to his bodyguards and servants, unable to hide his feelings or control them. Ling Guang’s relationships are technically the opposite of Murong Li’s. While Murong Li hides his feelings and goes after men of power and tends to use them before leaving them, Ling Guang’s willing to sacrifice everything, including his kingdom, his health and his own life for men who are merely servants.

He's a king who doesn’t know proper protocol. He’s the type who’ll demand to eat with you at the same table:

Creeps outside the palace to see you off:

Hugs your sword around like a pillow while he waddles around listlessly and sleeps with it by his side after you’re long dead (grand total: 13 years):

Coddles you when you’re sick:

Takes arrows for you:

Isn’t afraid to cry and tell you how it is:

Faints violently and won’t rest until he can get your stolen body back:

The results?

If he’s not what loyal bodyguards like, I don’t know what he is. If Murong Li’s love interests have to pit themselves against each other to show how useful they are for his sake, Ling Guang’s love interests need to wrestle with a dead man he can’t let go of... which is hopeless, because you can’t kill a guy who’s already dead.

As a foil to Murong Li, what’s also interesting to note is that it’s alluded to and foreshadowed that he’s exactly the sort the loyal Yu Xiao, the current barbarian king, would have loved to have as a lover - honest, loyal and doting - unlike Murong Li himself. Gongsun Qian, a deputy minister with great foresight, had wanted Ling Guang to go to see the new barbarian kingdom, but he had refused to go outside the palace, shutting himself inside like an otaku. This decision ultimately gave Murong Li a step forward with his plans, at the great cost of four kingdoms, including his own.

Jian Bin: My boyfriend can (REALLY) fight

Next up is Jian Bin and his general. Jian Bin’s the king of Tian Ji, a new kingdom founded by astrologers. The catch here is that Jian Bin and his boyfriend, Qi Zhi Kan, are both men of science, and this tank of a boyfriend is a genius on the battlefield who doesn’t give a single shit about star signs, astrology and superstitions.

A story between a serious, loving king and his handsome general who was once a simple sword-maker in the woods, King Jian Bin meets his handsome ex-lumberjack boyfriend when he’s attacked, falls down from his horse and is rescued by the man himself.

Jian Bin then brings the guy back to his palace and dresses him in armor:

This puts the king’s general on the war path of several ministers and the superstitious people in their kingdom. As lovers, the two go through various trials together in an attempt to run their kingdom their way.

Qi Zhi Kan may seem like a herbivore in front of the king, but he’s really not one at all. He’s terrifying to a degree when it comes to warfare, and very, very difficult to take down. Unlike the other ministers, Qi Zhi Kan knows that he can expand the kingdom quickly and solve problems by waging war.

Even his allies are scared of him:

Ultimately, it’s a ship meant for those who like watching the king teasing his loyal subject and caressing armor whenever he’s around AND not around. Jian Bin even admits to it on-scene:

This loving and devoted couple were originally blessed as the ones with the most piggyback scenes, tender bandaging-your-chest and armor fondling, but they got censored unfortunately.

Scenes like these made the cut, though:

And that’s it! There are actually other minor ships, but these are the main ones for now.

If you’re sold and interested in the show, the series is available online on Rakuten Viki. https://www.viki.com/tv/35524c?locale=zh

[rpbetter]

"writes dubcon therefore is a freak who should be bullied off the site" ho boy i'm fed up with people acting as if consenting adults writing [insert "problematic" fictional thing here] is the worst thing in the world. seen way too many people justifying harrassment of REAL PEOPLE by "they write thing that triggers me". ok, and? mute the tags or don't follow! "it triggers someone" is not a valid reason to ban a topic. piano music triggers me yet i don't go around demanding everyone stop playing the piano.

Anon, not only is everything you said absolutely valid, but also, thank you for demonstrating that triggers are incredibly varied and as such, we cannot predict everyone's triggers. Making the entire "point" of banning for possible triggers invalidated as hell.

We should be aware of things like the most commonly occurring phobias (things like arachnophobia and coulrophobia that are, additionally, easily triggered by imagery) and tag them. We should be aware of very obvious triggers, that are, again, easily set off by imagery, like blood, eye trauma, and depictions of domestic violence. And we should always read and be aware of our writing partners' stated triggers so that we can tag them appropriately or even decide that it isn't going to work because our muse, canon story, or interests are going to present an unfair situation in this partnership.

But triggers can be highly unusual, as well as activated differently (even at different times) for everyone. I'm not triggered by seeing hotel rooms in pictures or movies, I'm not triggered by writing scenes that take place in them, but I'm triggered to some degree by being in one. It's outrageous oversimplification to act like all triggers are the same, they all display the same way, they're all going to trigger someone on the same basis, everyone's going to react the same to their triggers. There is absolutely no way to prevent 100% of possible triggers for 100% of the population, 100% of the time.

Add to this that way too many people trivialize triggers by throwing around that term to justify the banning of something that makes them uncomfortable or that they take a personal, moral issue with. "I don't like this" and "I'm grossed out by this" and "this makes me feel uncomfortable" is not being triggered. It's just a good way to weaponize the better nature of other people so that they comply.

Most people legitimately do not want to trigger someone, especially if they have triggers and know what it's like. Just like no one wants to be accused of cruelty towards trauma survivors in general, or be designated a pedo, rape apologist, or fascist. They're all things to weaponize in order to isolate, shame, and control. And that's really fucking gross. These are serious, real things that have no business being trivialized to police content, win internet arguments, or garner popularity.

The potential for someone to be triggered isn't a reason to ban anything; we have tags, we have blacklist.

While I'll be the first to say that tumblr's blacklisting can be as shitty as everything else on the site, the primary issue with running into content you don't want to see comes down to two factors: no one tagging/tagging correctly and actively exposing yourself to that content. Going through people's properly done tags and blog warnings about their content in order to "call it out" is actively exposing yourself by choice. You actual walnuts.

Calling people on on their "problematic" content is bringing those topics to the attention of other people. That's the whole point of this gross behavior: look at the freak pedo abuse apologist I found, they write dubcon!! Don't look if you'll be triggered uwu

Buddy, pal, my guy...you just put that on blast for anyone to run across. Maybe their blacklist catches those words in your callout post, maybe it doesn't. Maybe they think you're a safe space because you promote yourself that way, so they click it anyway. Point is, you just willfully and irresponsibly exposed people because it's more important to you to demonize a rando on tumblr RPing something you take issue with. Good job!

Furthermore, dubcon itself is such a hilarious issue to take. Do they realize that isn't always sexual, or? Not? I'm thinking not. Funnily enough, one of the oldest posts I've been working on for this blog is about exactly this topic, the myriad situations that are dubious consent. That doesn't have to be sexual, and neither does it have to be intentionally predatory. You can come up with some amazing character development with a lot of muses in the RPC with dubcon because almost everyone's muse has some manner of trauma that might negate their perception of their own consent...and what do you do then? Is it removing more agency from that muse to shut them down, or is that always the better option? Can you separate your opinion as the mun from your muse's natural reactions? How does this impact the muses involved not just that moment but the next year?

Point is, dubcon isn't always some rapey situation. Even if it was, even if someone is writing it that way, it's literally not your business or your problem.

There's one mutual-in-law on my RP blog that really bothers me. They write things that I find fetishizing, incredibly rapey, all around shit that bothers me. I don't want to see it, some of the things they write makes my damn skin crawl. This person doesn't know it, we certainly don't speak and I don't think they like me very much, but I've repeatedly defended their right, specifically their right as a person with some long-term callouts on them, to write what they want to. I have them blocked and their urls blacklisted so I never have to see my mutual reblogging their threads. It's not a problem because I don't click "show anyway." Why would I, if it genuinely bothers me so much?

That's how you handle things that bother you; you use the tools available to not interact even by accident. Not by launching a morality crusade.

If any of us want to write what we enjoy, we have to allow others that same freedom. It's always a matter of time before this policing grows to include more and more topics, it's been used multiple times to get well-meaning people who don't fall into the general demographics to police queer, BIPOC, and other marginalized groups off of platforms. We've been fortunate in most of the RPC that it implodes on itself before it gets all the way there, but even so, you can see it.

It starts with things that produce a visceral reaction in the great majority of people, positions this with a repeatedly condemned idea presented as solid fact that fiction is reality, and you've got the start of something awful. Today it's something you don't like, maybe even something that triggers you, so you either support it or you quietly allow it to happen. Who needs to write that "freak shit" anyway, can't they just be gross privately? Six months from now, it's something "problematic" that you enjoy like violence that's canon-typical for your muse, or your OTP because they're gay and that's fetishizing, they're cis male and female but one or both is bi and that's bad representation, or they canonically have a rocky relationship so that's romanticizing toxic/abusive relationships.

If you can't care for any other reason, you really should care about how it is going to impact you sooner or later. In an environment like this, you can stay in your space, put warnings on your blog, and tag properly and you're still going to get a callout if the wrong person finds your blog. Just takes a single person with more time, energy, and skewed ideas of justice than they have reading comprehension or common sense.

Again, I cannot encourage people enough to give warnings, but it's difficult to ignore why those warnings are slipping; they're a way to be found, designated as a Problem, and called out. Look, it's another reason why callouts actually make things worse, not better! People put that shit in their rules so you can avoid content, they're being responsible and interested in promoting a safe RPC. Let them do it, damn.

You can't tag everything, and if you've never experienced what a giant series of repetitive tags is like on a screenreader you probably should before you tag seven paragraphs of possible issues. You can tag for visuals, you can tag for the obvious things, and you can tag for what's in the rules you agreed to when you followed/followed back. But you should also warn people that you write "dark topics" on the tin, and expand on that in your rules for specific things like graphic violence, toxic relationships, dubon, and addiction.

That's how responsible adults, not over-aged children, make better decisions about their mental health and general comfort. Not by appointing themselves the watchdogs of the damn RPC, here to protect you whether you want to be or not, find that incredibly insulting or not when you're in one of their categories of people who must be protected, by forcibly banning Problematic Everything. Problematic, of course, being entirely in the eye of the content police.

It's fiction. No one and nothing real was harmed. It's great that you are so invested in the fictional world and people that make you happy, but take a fucking big step back into reality. The real people you're harming with your bullshit had every right to peaceably exist. If what they're writing is triggering to you, stay. away. from. it.

Without any coincidence whatsoever, that's how you get from the base-point of Problematic Material to Problematic Mun. Yeah, it's just fiction, it's just RP, but I also took something out of context OOC or was upset by their tone on their own blog or couldn't exercise the minimal adult logic to remove myself from their presence OOC as well. So, now, you've got OOC behavior being added to the callout, if it wasn't already. Everyone is now ableist, transphobic, racist, and a misogynist because it lends that visceral reaction to the callout and ups the game from just being "y'all so gross you aged up a cartoon character to ship" to "this is REAL and it won't be tolerated! OP is actually a pedophile, they told a sexual joke in a discord server with a minor present and I have the receipts!"

What are the most storied callouts in the entire RPC? I'm absolutely certain the same names came to mind no matter what fandoms you're in, and one of them was "Matt." Another was probably "Ares/Snow". They're all successful and keep being brought up out of the closet anytime people are bored enough because their primary punch is the mun themselves being a predatory threat to the community. The mun is verified to be a bad person. Well, of course, that's got to be repeated, it worked. (Even if it did not, at all, work and only made it harder for people to avoid any of these muns.)

Are there people in the RPC who are legitimately a problem? Absolutely, yes. We're all supposed to be adults, however. Part of being an adult is having and acting upon one's agency. If someone is coercing you into things you are not comfortable with, shut it down. If you have difficulties being certain of those situations, run it by a trusted, honest friend or available, impartial source in the RPC for a second opinion. If you can't handle any manner of confrontation, there really are situations in which it's perfectly alright to block someone without any discussion. It's just the internet, you're in control of your space. Own it.

Minors are a whole other can of fucked up worms I'm not even getting into right now except to say that because a minor exists in a space they were told to stay out of does not mean we ban all topics inappropriate for their consumption.

tl;dr: banning shit doesn't work anyway, the whole idea is predicated upon some incredibly problematic takes IRL, and no, there's no justification for it outside of intense personal problems with one's own importance. That energy would be infinitely better spent volunteering one's time to help real people in crisis or after surviving one, or even oneself in developing some healthier approaches and thought patterns.

[recentanimenews]

INTERVIEW: The Creators of The Ancient Magus' Bride and The Girl From the Other Side

  In coordination with the recent anime announcements of The Girl from the Other Side and The Ancient Magus' Bride, Comic Natalie recently held an interview with the manga authors of both series: Nagabe and Kore Yamazaki. Crunchyroll News was given the opportunity to officially translate the interview in English between the two, posted below. You can read the original Japanese interview here. 

  Tetsuko Kumase held and composed the interview.

    The Girl from the Other Side by Nagabe and The Ancient Magus’ Bride by Kore Yamazaki are the two stories that develop around the theme of "Beast x Girl," and probably have many fans in common. To celebrate the release of The Girl from the Other Side as a full-length anime OAD (news article embedded) and the development of a new OAD series for The Ancient Magus’ Bride (news article embedded), Comic Natalie has set up an interview with Nagabe and Yamazaki. In addition to discussing their commitment to their work and the concept of "Beast x Girl", they also shared their thoughts about the new anime productions. At the end of the interview, they asked questions to each other to learn more about one’s perspectives towards creating stories.

    Respect for each other and the appeal of "Beast x Girl"

── There have been several projects you collaborated on, such as a joint event for the two works (see: The Ancient Magus’ Bride and The Girl from the Other Side fair where visitors could get the “Beast x Girl” playing cards) and the book of The Ancient Magus’ Bride including a trivia manga booklet, The Ancient Magus’ Bride: Quiet Talk, written by Nagabe-san (see: The Ancient Magus’ Bride volume 10 includes an acrylic stand and a booklet written by Nagabe). I know that many readers are fans of both of your works, but could you tell us about your impressions of each other's creations and what you like about them?

     Nagabe: The Ancient Magus’ Bride initially grabbed my attention because of the obi (belt) on the book that said "Beast x Girl." But when I started reading it, I found it to be a fantasy manga that’s really well thought out. Dragons, mythical creatures, folklore, and mythology are well integrated into the modern world, and each magical being is given its own meaning. The non-human characters also have their own meanings, backgrounds, and cultures, and interact with the protagonists. It's not just a fantasy, but the way the characters are connected to the world and make it feel so real is exquisite! Of course, the non-humans in the story are also wonderful. I love Elias.

Kore Yamazaki: Thank you very much. I'm often amazed at the range of stories and pictures you create. I sometimes even question if there are any non-human characters you can’t draw. I don't know if it's appropriate to say, but there's a hint of darkness or something in your work. I think it's a little sexy or maybe there’s secret eros? I love that I can feel a little bit of naughtiness in your work.

Nagabe: Thank you!

Yamazaki: The other thing is that I feel like I can almost smell the lines and shadows you draw if I trace them. Also, your story can be either very sweet or disturbing. I know you've been working very hard to achieve this, but honestly, I envy you. I wish I could create pictures and stories like you.

── I can really tell that you respect each other deeply. Now, please tell us what you like about particular scenes, episodes, or expressions in each of your works.

Nagabe: Personally, I think that The Ancient Magus’ Bride is a human drama in which you see Chise’s growth and changes as she confronts the environment around her. So, of course, there are impressive episodes that correspond to that. However, if I get to choose one based on my own preferences, I like the story of magic in Episode 2 and the Christmas story of Elias and Chise. The former shows magical instruments in a fantasy world, and the latter shows the integration of the real world customs in manga. I love portraits that showcase slice-of-life stories, so I thought those were great!

Yamazaki: I really like the gradual development of the relationship between Shiva and Sensei in The Girl from the Other Side. I love the scenes where they are about to touch but hesitate and also the scene that portraits the cute fight that heats up through the door. There’s also a scene where they touch each other by accident, but that triggers them to touch each other intentionally after, and that made me go "Wow!” The distance between them is so... delicate and exquisite. The softness of the flesh and the temperature of Shiva and the lack of physical temperature of Sensei next to her, all give me the feeling of winter, which is amazing. I think it just fits my sense of winter perfectly. The coldness that mercilessly takes away life, the feel of the felt, floor, and walls chilled by snow and water, and the warmth of having someone by your side in front of the stove… they all exist together in the story.

Nagabe: I'm very happy to hear that.

Yamazaki: My favorite episode is episode 29 in volume 6. I really want them both to be happy! It made me feel the warm temperature of Shiva’s tears. The scene where they go see Mother gave me chills. The design of the children of darkness is also epic!

  ── Now, can you talk about what you both find to be attractive about the “Beast x Girl," which is a common concept in both of your works?

Nagabe: It’s not just about girls but more so about humans, but I think I’m into cross-culturalism. Different races have different cultures, languages, and maybe even different body structures. The two characters have great differences and that brings out interesting gaps and interactions which creates a good drama. It’s also nice when they see each other’s similarities and go “oh, that’s the part we have in common”.  I especially like it when there are differences that are incompatible. For example, whether cannibalism is acceptable or not. The fact that taboos in the human world are practiced without hesitation in the non-human world creates clear divisions. Seeing how they deal with these negative differences is the best part and what makes this theme attractive to me.

  Yamazaki: The concept of non-human exists because there are humans. I am personally attracted to things that are distant from humans in appearance and sensibility. I love non-humans who don’t speak human languages, but I also have to balance my work for consumer products. In The Ancient Magus’ Bride, I used fairytales from Britain and Ireland as references, so they all speak human languages fluently. Their sensibilities and appearance are quite human-like except for their rules. It’s probably because humans wouldn’t be able to understand them otherwise, and they can be very different from your ideas of non-humans. However, they are very rigid about certain rules they have, so I have to be careful drawing those concepts clearly. It’s quite difficult to decide how much of the original folktales and fairytales I include in my creation. If I put too much just because it’s interesting, the originality in my work will disappear. This is something I have to be careful not to overlook.

  ── You've taken special care to balance these concepts.

Yamazaki: The other topic to consider is the reason why a girl is matched with a beast. Personally, I think it’s because girls have the most flexibility and softness. For better or worse, children are soft, malleable, and flexible to their environment. But they also have their own answers to questions, toughness, weakness, rigidness, and acceptance to their worlds, questions, hesitation, tolerance, anger, joy… all sorts of ideas and emotions, which makes them very attractive and easy to draw. I understand that adult characters are interesting as well. Also, it’s just exciting to see humans and non-humans together like with animals, monsters, and so on. In reality, people often don’t understand each other, but in creation, we can hope differently. I guess I like seeing everyone getting along as a bystander. But from a business point of view, I can’t just leave it like that, so I give them lots of challenges!

Nagabe: In The Ancient Magus’ Bride, I think that emotions are portrayed as something specific to humans. The contrast between Chise, who is always changing based on her experiences, and Elias, who is certainly changing but lacking in some crucial way, is brilliant. It seems that this kind of dissonance is there because we see Elias’ emotions in the same way we see that of Chise’s or humans. In the story, Chise said to Elias “I can’t understand you”, and I think it’s great that you are taking this difference between the characters seriously and depicting it in your work.

Yamazaki: Thank you. I think The Girl from the Other Side provides the perfect sense in terms of closeness among characters. Other works of yours also showcase this as well. Sometimes characters are all over each other, and other times they are trying to figure out the right distance. There’s rejection, and there’s also adorable connection. I love it. I think the struggle between a being and another being is wonderful. Also, it’s simply cool to have two different concepts exist together like big and small.  

── What kind of works have influenced the two of you in terms of drawing fantasy and the theme of "Beast x Girl"?

Yamazaki: It’s not that I’m only looking for the “Beast x Girl” theme, but it just triggers my sensors! Some of the books that caught my attention are the Darren Shan series, Rachel series, Koteki no Kanata, Dendera Ryu ga Detekitayo, Sukkuto Kitsune, and Hellsing. In terms of animation, I’d say the Monster Farm, PoPoLoCrois series, Brigadoon: Marin & Melan, and Blood: The Last Vampire series. Rather than finding the exact theme of “Beast x Girl," I find the subtle essence of that in these works. Also, I often use myths and folktales as references. I’d say the ones that influenced me the most are Ashiarai Yashiki no Juunintachi, J&J series, and Blood+.

Nagabe: I think Beauty and the Beast was influential for me! These are not about a beast and a girl, but Alice in Wonderland and Moomin also had a strong influence on my current manga creation. They are certainly fantasy, but not shiny and glamorous, and gives you a sense of antiquity, 

── Are there any works that you would like to recommend to each other?

Nagabe: In my case, I am more interested in art books and picture books than novels, so my tastes are a little different. But I would like to recommend Arthur Rackham and Saint-Exupery! Arthur Rackham is famous for Alice in Wonderland, and Saint-Exupery for The Little Prince. I also recommend Jon Klassen's picture book series. I like the airy atmosphere and you can see his energetic watercolor touch. I hope you will read them if you have a chance.

Yamazaki: I'd like to check them out. It's hard to make recommendations to Nagabe-san, but I'd like you to read Ashiarai Yashiki no Juunintachi. The characters are more human-like in appearance, but there is also great diversity. There are lots of characters so I'm sure you'll be able to find one, three, or even ten that you like.

Nagabe: I see. I’ll check it out.

  What they want to portray through their work

── Could you tell us about your own work? In a previous interview with Comic Natalie, Yamazaki-san, you said you wanted to create a story in The Ancient Magus’ Bride where "everyone is bad and everyone is good."

  Yamazaki: Now that I think about it, “everyone is bad and everyone is good” is not exactly correct. If I could answer it again, I would say it’s about differences. It's like a sample of where various emotions and thoughts are. I hope that reading my manga will give the audience a chance to think about the differences in their lives. But they are free to dismiss it if they think it’s boring. I have my ideas of what I want to convey as a message in my work, but I try not to give clear answers so that people can think and feel what they want.

── Now, Nagabe-san, in a previous interview, you said that the most important theme for you was "gentleness."

  Nagabe: After finishing The Girl from the Other Side, I felt once again that ‘gentleness’ is a difficult thing to express. I wondered to whom that ‘gentleness’ was meant for, what it meant, and what would happen if that feeling resulted in a bad situation. Is ‘gentleness’ shown in words, actions, or something else in the first place? Any of these can express ‘gentleness’ depending on the perspectives of each protagonist, so I was reminded of the ambiguity of emotions, the frustration that comes with interaction, and how difficult it is to depict those things. I’m glad I got to learn the difficulty of this theme, and I felt that I need to look at it from different aspects.

── I see. It's been a few years since any of the interviews I mentioned before, but has there been anything new you would like to emphasize in your works?

Nagabe: Since I’ve been thinking about the theme of emotions through "gentleness," I want to focus more on personality. In other words, I want to focus more on human dramas. In addition to that, I would like to depict a strange everyday life in a mysterious world. Of course, I want to include non-humans.

Yamazaki: I haven't really changed my main ideas. But if I had to say, I’d like to go back to the basics and draw non-humans again as I’ve been drawing only humans in stories lately. 

  The world of The Girl from the Other Side and

The Ancient Magus’ Bride in animation

── Both The Girl from the Other Side and The Ancient Magus’ Bride have been developed into anime projects in the past. How do you feel about your works being made into animation again?

Nagabe: My honest impression (after watching the animation) was "It's moving!” The artwork, visuals, and atmosphere of the manga are very important to me, so I was very impressed that the production team was able to recreate those of my manga with such care. In the previous short animation, the audience was able to enjoy the blank space created by the lack of words. It left room for interpretation. I was simply thrilled that they created such mature animation.

Yamazaki: In my case, I was looking at a hypothetical future where the project was in progress, but in the middle of the project, people would say, "It's not going to sell," and it would discontinue. I was thinking that I should at least be able to do enough work to feed myself, but it actually came true. Can you believe it? Now I can't quit so easily. Oops...

── Oh, no (laughs).

Yamazaki: I was just kidding and was actually very happy, and even though it was a lot of hard work, I had great fun working with many creators!

── What kind of messages and reactions did you receive from the readers of your manga who watched the anime?

Nagabe: The readers were also excited that The Girl from the Other Side was moving! That's how much they have enjoyed the world of The Girl from the Other Side in manga, and we’ve succeeded to meet their expectation in the anime.

Yamazaki: I've received a lot of feedback as well, but it's generally been positive and I’m relieved. I want to thank everyone for that!

  ── I believe that there are qualities that people are drawn to and ways of expression that are each unique to manga and anime, but when you saw your own work turned into animation, was there anything that you felt was unique to animation?

Nagabe: I think that the subtle movements of people and objects are best expressed through animation. For example, in the scene at the dinner table with Sensei and Shiva, you can see both a movement of Shiva where she tries to climb up on a chair and a smooth movement of Sensei at the same time. This contrast allowed the audience to feel a sense of life in our daily routines, and I thought that was great. One more thing is that the scenes like Shiva’s dreams and the star scene, in the end, achieved a better sense of realism because of the colors, and I think the black-and-white representation of manga won’t be able to quite do the same.

Yamazaki: I may have the same opinion. The manga is quite plain as I prefer low saturation, but I also knew that could be a hindrance for a consumer product. So I was impressed with the bright colors in the anime. Also, the animation complimented the lack of explanation in the manga and it made it more theatrical. I hope people will see both works!

Nagabe: That's right! I want people to see both, too.

── Both manga and anime have their own strong points, and I hope people will enjoy them both. And now, the development of a full-length anime of The Girl from the Other Side and a new OAD series for The Ancient Magus’ Bride has been announced. Please tell us your honest opinions about these developments.

Nagabe: YEEEESSS! I'm so happy. I personally gave the last short-length anime a perfect score, so I have…really...high expectations!

── I can feel your joy. (laugh)

Nagabe: This is all happening thanks to the hard work put in by WIT STUDIO, Yutaro Kubo (director), and Satomi Yoneya (director), and my expectations are very high and I have no worries at all! How about you, Yamazaki-san?

Yamazaki: I'm glad to be working with various creators again! I'm also going to be doing more work that I don't normally do, so in a way I'll be able to change up my routine. It's a lot of work, but also a lot of fun.

── What are you looking forward to and what are your expectations for the new animation?

Nagabe: I’m wondering how they will tell the story now that it’s longer. Of course, I’m interested in the visual expressions and the production of animation as I was for the previous short-length anime, but more than that, I’m looking forward to seeing how they will incorporate the world of The Girl from the Other Side into animation and how they will depict it. Also, Sensei and Shiva are going to talk… with voices. I’m pretty pumped about it and can't contain my excitement!

  ── As a fan, I'm really looking forward to it. What about you, Yamazaki-san?

Yamazaki: It's fun to have more opportunities to see the work of the animation staff. To tell the truth, I don't really have much expectation for my work. “New anime! Work is coming! I'll do my best!”, I don’t normally feel that way.  It almost feels like a collaboration between the supervising team and the animation team, so I have to do my best for our audience to enjoy it.

── How do you feel about the fact that both of your works are loved overseas as well?

Nagabe: Is that so? I'm glad to hear that! Since The Girl from the Other Side is more like a poem or a picture book than a manga, I’ve been wondering how it would be perceived even in Japan. But I'm frankly happy that it's been accepted so favorably. I'm also happy that TThe Girl from the Other Side has “flown” to a foreign country (the Other Side). That gave me a smile. Thank you very much.

Yamazaki: I'm really grateful that there are people overseas who are interested in my work since I basically published it for Japanese people. As the story is set in England, I tried to avoid using gestures and phrases that are unique to Japanese culture, but I guess you could say that worked in my favor. I've been getting a lot of positive feedback and art from fans!

  The influence of the pandemic

── I'd like to change the subject. In the past year, as I’ve had interactions with various manga artists, I've witnessed the impact of the pandemic in the writing process and the mental health of manga artists in general. Have there been any changes for you?

Nagabe: Due to the pandemic, of course, I thought about things like my daily life, how to go out, and how to enforce hygiene. But if I speak of The Girl from the Other Side, I feel that its world has gotten closer to our reality. In the story, there’s a curse, and one character would say “it’s safe to stay close to non-humans from the Outside as long as you take proper precautions” while another would say “we should eliminate the cause if nobody can take responsibility”, and they keep arguing. They are both right, and that is why there is friction. I think our feelings and societal reactions toward COVID-19 is very similar to that of The Girl from the Other Side.

Yamazaki: My assistant has been working from far away since before the pandemic, so our work itself hasn’t really been affected at all. But the fact that I can’t go out to gather information and materials for my work has put a damper on my mood. I can feel the significant influence on my work speed, physical condition, and mental health. I’ve always thought I was an indoor person, but in the situation where I am restricted to go out, it’s making me want to do so even more.

── I really understand. There are many people around me saying that they had thought they were indoor people but they got depressed when they couldn’t go outside for a long period of time. Along this topic, I have an impression that manga artists are more used to being at home than people with regular jobs, so you must have some useful tips on how to make it more enjoyable. Do you?

Nagabe: Leave it to me. After all, I am a professional at that.

── I’m counting on you (laughs).

Nagabe: In my case, I have three rooms: one is my workroom, one is my bedroom, and one is my living space, so I feel like I can make my home more comfortable just by not mixing up my personal and professional life. Also, it's exhausting to keep up 100% of my attention, so I think it's okay to cut corners where I can. I also wear pajamas except in my workspace. For me, it's important to keep my workspace clean and crisp and separate from my personal life. Otherwise, I think people should invest in hobbies. Yeah, I think so. Let's paint, everyone. Drawing is good. [To the reader] Why don't you draw pictures, too?

Yamazaki: Haha. I am an indoor person only when I have a lot of materials to read and work, so not being able to go out gives me a fair amount of stress. If I had to pick, I’d say looking at photo books, cooking, trying out musical instruments, or woodworking or something. Woodworking in particular is great because you can develop your concentration and you end up with a finished product in your hands. Just shaving the bark of a tree branch with a knife is fun, so I think it’s good to have a knife. It’s convenient.

  Questions to each other from their commitments to creation to the favorite features of non-humans

─ Since we are here to talk altogether, I would like to ask you to interview each other. First, Nagabe-san, could you please ask questions to Yamazaki-san?

Nagabe: I’d like to know your process of thinking out and what you are particular about in creating your stories. When I read The Ancient Magus’ Bride, the first thing that struck me was that Yamazaki-sensei uses motifs from Western mythology, fairies, and folklore, and then creates a human drama about how those characters confront each other and express their feelings. So I am wondering how you incorporate the elements that exist in fantasy into your own stories and characters.

Yamazaki: A human drama…… Can I call it a human drama? I'd be happy if I can!

Nagabe: I'm sure you can!

Yamazaki: To be honest, there are many parts where I’m not really sure how I’ve applied the concept of fantasy to the characters. When I'm thinking about a story, my brain starts going "This is it," "This person is that," or "That can be incorporated into this development,” and it often puts different pieces together like a puzzle.  On the other hand, when those things don't come out naturally, it's hard as hell to write a story (laughs). I usually read books on mythology and folklore, and I often have a stock of ideas that I can use in development. Perhaps it's because I don't think of fantasy as something that can't happen in reality, so I create a story where humans meet fantasy in an ordinary way. That's probably why I create the way I do. I feel that these things can happen right next to us, like the change of seasons.

Nagabe: Are there any techniques or theories that you consider in manga? For example, I'd like to know if there are any techniques that you use when drawing manga, such as creating a development every four pages or adjusting the number of frames.

Yamazaki: People have different opinions on this, but I try to include some funny parts here and there. I’ve had some people say they prefer for me to write seriously throughout weighty stories so that they won’t be distracted. But some say they enjoy those funny parts. Either way, I am enjoying drawing those scenes, so that’s the direction I’m going. Other than that, I only pay attention to the basics. Not too many frames, not too few, no more than three lines of dialogues because it’s hard to read, and wide horizontal lines for speech bubbles. When the bubbles are long in length, it's a problem when it’s translated into other languages.  

Nagabe: Oh, I see. I'm just curious, but you create manga, illustrations, and novels, and is there any new field you would like to work on?

Yamazaki: I'm mostly satisfied because I was able to get my hands on all three of those (laughs). I originally wanted to be a writer, but I found it overwhelmingly unsuitable, so I got serious about manga. If I don't have to think about what I’m suited for, writing picture books or game and anime scripts sound interesting.

Nagabe: Now, I'm going to assume that you like non-humans, but what are your favorite things about them? I want you to talk about it as much as you can.

Yamazaki: I don’t know if I’m qualified to talk about non-humans just because I like non-human characters, but personally, I think it’s their differences that attract me. Compared to humans, they look different, think differently, speak different languages, live in different ways, and have different cultures. But when you think about it, this all applies to humans, doesn’t it? If you are from different countries or even areas, all of the things I mentioned can be the differences among humans. I think I enjoy non-human characters because those differences are easier to see. The further away they are from humans and the more difficult it is to communicate with them, the more excited I get. But that also doesn’t mean that I like all non-humans just because. They need to have attractive inner qualities as well. I do love non-human characters, but the basic premise is that characters have to be attractive and stories have to be interesting!

  Nagabe: Yeah, I agree.

Yamazaki: Going back to the question, if I had to pick the best feature of non-humans, I would say that it's the fact that they seem to be able to understand humans, but can’t. Even when they are next to us and looking at the same things, what we see are different and we never understand each other’s point of view. I love the fact that we continue to be individuals who don’t intersect, don’t mix, and can’t be fixed into something. But even then, the human character and the non-human character stick around together! I love that concept!I love the fact that they seem to be attracted to each other but are not, and that they will forever remain different creatures. After all, the existence of humans is essential for non-humans because the premise of non-humans is that there are humans. Therefore, I don't get too excited when I don't know much about the non-human characters. If possible, I want to know their thoughts, tastes, words, and deeds of the being before liking them. Although, in some cases, I get really excited about characters based on their appearance only…. So, I guess it’s like an accident to find non-human characters I like.

Nagabe: Is that right? By the way, what do you think of cat ears? Do you like them or not? Is it a beast, a demi-human, or a non-human? Please tell me your opinion.

Yamazaki: There are many factors that I would personally consider, such as how the cat ears are attached, the facial structure, whether it has human ears in addition to cat ears, its lifestyle, and whether it seems to think like a beast rather than a human. Whether there are any features other than the cat ears that differ from humans is probably the main question. Personally, I don't think that a human with only cat ears can be considered a non-human, but in some cases, it can be, so it really depends on the character.

Nagabe: I see.

Yamazaki: For example, if the lifestyle is that of a feral cat or feline, it is a beast, if the lifestyle is culturally different from that of humans, it is a demi-human, and if the lifestyle is clearly different from that of humans, it is non-human. I think it’s important to keep in mind that people will judge cat ears, or rather animal ears, differently depending on who they are. I believe in freedom of what people think, each individual is wonderful, and you can step away from things you disagree with.

Nagabe: Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Lastly, I like non-humans so much that I draw them all the time, but I can’t find the appeal of human features. I don’t find it interesting to draw humans, so please help me.

Yamazaki: What? I'm not very good at drawing humans either! (laughs)

Nagabe: (laughs).

Yamazaki: To be honest, I feel that I’m not very good at drawing in general, but appeal… appeal…. I personally get motivated when I feel I’ve drawn something well, so I draw the features I like with my own fetishism in full swing. Eyes, hair, waistline, and facial expressions. That’s about it, I guess. So when I get into a slump, I am stuck there for a long time.  

── Now it’s time for Yamazaki-san to ask Nagabe-san questions.

Yamazaki: I've heard that you draw very quickly, but do you have any weaknesses or strengths in terms of creating a storyboard, plotting, drafting, or line drawing?

Nagabe: I don’t like creating a storyboard and plotting. I get bored easily so I don’t like to spend too much time creating one thing. If I think too much, I don’t make any progress, and as a result, my focus shifts to other things. Creating a storyboard requires an awareness of the direction and progression of the story as well as its intentions. I’m not accustomed to these very well and I can’t supplement these with just my drawing ability. 

Yamazaki: I also have a hard time with storyboards, so I understand. Are there any particular things that you can’t compromise in your work?

Nagabe: It's the composition of the picture. I like to deliberately draw blank spaces, and I think adding meaning to the empty spaces and adding emotion to the positions of the characters is an expression that is possible only in the framed world of manga, so I'm very particular about that.  

Yamazaki: Thank you very much. Now, do you have any activities or something that you do when you just can't bring yourself to work?

Nagabe: At first, I would draw the easy parts. For example, I start with tasks that I think will be easy, such as drawing only one frame, drawing only persons, or drawing only speech bubbles. I don't know if it makes sense, but I think motivation comes after I begin the work, so I try to start with easy tasks to get the engine going.

Yamazaki: I see. This is the same question you asked me earlier, but I would also like to know what Nagabe-san’s favorite features about non-humans are.

Nagabe:  Okay, you sure you have enough time to talk about it?

Yamazaki: (laughs).

Nagabe: First of all, I like the way they look. Sometimes they are human skeletons, sometimes they are four-legged, and they are just distorted and diverse. The visuals are beyond imagination, like a living creature or a sculpture, and I like the eeriness of it. Next is regarding common sense. For example, they may eat pet animals as food, and the pets just accept that they will be eaten. Is this similar to the Cambyses Lottery (Fujiko F. Fujio)? What is considered common sense in one country is considered heretical in another. I love the interaction created by these cultural differences.

Yamazaki: Yeah.

Nagabe: The other thing is their life expectancy. It doesn't matter if it's a long life or a short life. At the moment you are born, it’s decided that you will not live the same amount of time as others and I like the impermanence of it. I want to create a new feeling of discomfort that has never existed before through this concept. There's no end to what I want to say, but I think I put a lot of emphasis on appearance and external characteristics. It's like the characteristics of animal features, and I hope those shapes have meanings.

Yamazaki: I've always thought that you are so good at depicting the interaction between humans and non-humans who don't have control over human language.

Nagabe: Thank you!

Yamazaki: Regardless of whether you draw them or not, which do you prefer, the ones who can control human language or the ones who can't?

Nagabe: I think both are good. If they use words, they can at least communicate instantly, and if they don't, I can create drama through their trial and error process of interacting. But for a story, I think I like the ones that don't use words because it gives them a stronger sense of foreignness and makes it easier to depict the difference between humans and non-humans.

Yamazaki: So, do you have a favorite genre for a non-human with animal features?

Nagabe: All... of them?

Yamazaki: (laughs). Dogs, cats, birds, reptiles and amphibians, marine mammals, insects, etc. These are not animals, but robots and androids would be fine as well.

Nagabe: Anything is fine as long as it's not a human.

Yamazaki: (laughs).

── I can feel Nagabe-san’s love for non-humans (laughs). Lastly, please share a message to the readers who are supporting your work.

Nagabe: Thank you for reading. In my works, I try to eliminate or omit explanations and dialogues as much as possible, so there may be many places where you may wonder what's going on. I've tried to leave room for your imagination, so I hope you'll enjoy the intentional blanks!

Yamazaki: Thank you so much for your support. It's a story that has lots of twists, but there's always something beyond that. I hope you will enjoy it. Thank you for your continued support!

      By: Guest Author