#I haven't read the manga yet so this is based purely off the anime

[hoodiedoodles]

i disagree with the notion that "Demons are only evil and can only be evil" that Frieren brings up as a show, especially when it contradicts itself

we're told that Demons are functionally similar to mimics-- being an advanced evolution that mimics humans to eventually achieve their goals. they are naturally immoral and incapable of feeling true emotions; they only copy those emotions. the Young Demon that Himmel kills admits that the only reasons she cries out for a mother is because "it makes [humans] stop hurting them". they have no concept of remorse or mercy, except where it makes them better at their jobs of killing humans.

but like... they are sentient creatures. any creature that can replicate intelligent behavior to the degree of being able to lie must be aware that there is more to them than "their nature".

hell, the way Demon Society is structured seems to confirm this anyway. they function in a "might makes right" society, where the more mana you have, the more power you have, thus emphasizing longevity and crushing the weak. but by this same logic, the self-serving and cruel nature of the Demons is a purely societal influence-- they think they can't escape their nature because they were NURTURED to believe that.

there's no such thing as objective, pure evil. if a creature is capable of intelligent thought then it's also capable of going against the status quo. and given how miserable Demons seem to be I don't believe that there just AREN'T any "good demons" out there. Maybe they can't feel empathy, but neither can some real people, and we don't treat low-empathy people as monsters just for their nature. they learn how to be kind and work within society even without being able to feel empathy

Frieren is a very well put-together and well thought-out story so I feel like Frieren's commentary on Demons is meant to be intentionally cruel and incorrect to make a point about the dangers of absolutism, but i also wouldn't be surprised if the author just made a group of "objectively evil monsters" to showcase Frieren, Fern and Stark being badasses without worrying about the moral consequences

[gildedmuse]

So, most the One Piece fans in my life have been discussing the live action series, and, surprisingly, most with a hopeful tone. Which is great because, seriously, I'm too old and close to death to deal with either of the following preemptive attitudes:

"Look, I know trailer footage is not only often unfinished but not even always what gets included in the final project but based purely off the smallest of moments contained in this purely commercialized content, I can definitely state with absolutely no doubt that due to minor detail, the whole thing sucks"

"This will be just like I imagined it including all the changes I would make to canon that have never once been hinged at by those in charge, I just know it's going to be not just as awesome as I have created in my mind but even betyeyr and there is absolutely no way they'd ever make the slightest change that would somehow immediately ruin the entire property retroactively for me!"

The fact that most the people I interactive with are taking a positive but grounded attitude instead of determinedly antagonist or unhinged optimism is just... Nice. Really, really nice.

Most our discussions regard general aesthetic and what we think these creative choices indicate for the show, but there has been one area where 95% of all feedback has been glowly positive, and that is the actors. Seriously, every sneak peak trailer reveal brings about more fan-gushing from the bleachers (related note, this means that any characters we haven't seen gets more and more nails bitten short. Like, why haven't I seen the Benn Beckman? This is actually really important to me.)

This has lead to a lot of excitement for potential future cast members, including from the boys at my work. Which.... They are definitely fans, there is no denying that, but like... I don't think of as "those kinds of fans" .

But I'm always happy to be proven wrong.

AnimeDub Fan Coworker: I've never seen a more perfect live action adaptation than Mihawk in the trailer. The word. The eyes. The facial hair. Like damn.

Manga/Anime Fan Coworker: The cast looks so fucking on. I know this will never get a season 2, but if it did, the absolute dream would be for Jamie Lee Curtis to play Kureha.

Me: Yes, please. She's on my list of Characters I Have To See In Live Action. It's Law (obviously), Kid & Killer but particularly Killer, Ace of course, Robin because ROBIN, and Kureha who, yeah, is on the list cuz I want JLC or equivalent.

AD Fan: You just went off about how Garp was too hot but are cool with Jamie Lee Curtis as Kureha?

Me: Yeah, because unlike Garp, Kureha is canonically smoking.

AD Fan: Agree to disagree.

M/A Fan: They'll probably go for no names again like they did for this cast, but dream casting would be Alexandra Daddario as Robin. Boom.

M/A Fan: *With absolutely no further promoting from me* Ooooooh I got another fake casting. This one's for Kid. Cameron Monaghan.

M/A Fan: He's played crazy before too. And he's really good at it. He was pretty much "the Joker" in the show Gotham. AND he was the gay brother on Shameless. So he can totally be pirate married to Killer!

Me: *Desperately trying to remember when I mentioned in my work chat - that includes a few non-geeks, like not just not OP fans but just straight up not up with geek culture - that Kid and Killer were Pirate Married, a phrase which is very much so mine.*

Me: *Decides it doesn't matter and just gives self a point to converting yet another normal fan straight boy around to the correct view of Kid and Killer's relationship.* Now we just need someone who can pull off the perfect 80 glam rock star AND NHL defense player and we have two more Supernoves cast and ready to go.

I don't know how I keep convincing these straight boys who have probably never read a fanfic in their lives to get behind Kid/Killer as canonical Pirate Husbands, but when one of the major considerations for fan-casting is, "would Mina find him suitable gay with Killer?" you know you've won. I'm not sure what exactly, but it's definitely a win.

[crackinthecup]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Tagged by @elevenelvenswords - thank you so much, friend <3 (and apologies for taking forever to get round to this!)

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

49 in total.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

456,188 words.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Mainly Silmarillion. I have dabbled in Star Wars and Dark Souls too, plus a D.Gray-man fic I wrote for a friend purely based on what she told me about the characters as I've never read the manga or watched the anime.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

My top one is Yield to the Moment, which is completely fair enough as it's a beast of a fic and by far the longest multi-chapter I've ever written. The next two are Strange New World and A bond once called fealty, part of my Swords series looking at Melkor and Mairon post-Dagor Dagorath. Then we've got The Metal Cage which is pure PWP (chastity play/CBT) and I am very glad people are having fun with it. And fifth is A quiet sort of introspection, a Melkor-centric character study also set in the Swords 'verse.

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

Yep! I think it's only fair to reply to people if they've taken the time to share their thoughts about something I've written. Plus it can turn into a really fun thinking space to play around with ideas about characters!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Ohhh I have to think about this one. I don't know if I tend to write particularly angsty endings? Maybe High and Higher? Which is a Fallen Banners ficlet set in Gondolin after Maeglin's return from Angband where he feels like he doesn't quite fit into his life anymore.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Yield to the Moment, probably! The wedding felt like a happy culmination of all the work they'd been putting into themselves and each other.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

It's happened a few times, yeah. But generally people seem to take a "ship and let ship" stance to fandom.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

Quite a lot of smut haha. Honestly I'd describe my particular brand of smut as a thinly veiled excuse for a psychological study of the characters.

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?

Haven't written any crossovers yet.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not to my knowledge, thankfully.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

A couple, yeah, back in 2015-ish when I first started writing for the Silm fandom. Sadly I took down all those old fics at a time when my mental health wasn't amazing (wish I hadn't), and I'm not sure if the translations still exist anywhere.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

YTTM started out as a co-written project.

14. What’s your all time favourite ship?

Will have to go with Angbang here. They just seem to speak to a deep deep part of my psyche.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

I've got a very rough WIP about Mairon bonding with Tar-Míriel in Númenor that I don't feel super engaged with anymore.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Characterisation, I hope! I've always been drawn to writing as a way to explore what makes characters tick, why they do the things they do. I also really enjoy coming up with fun ways to describe things.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Everything can always be improved, I suppose! At the moment I think I'm mindful that I find it difficult sometimes to end fics in ways that feel punchy or memorable.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Totally on board with it when used thoughtfully as a plot device or a way to add depth to characters.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Oh goodness, I think it was Harry Potter back when I was 13 or 14. Those fics will not be seeing the light of day haha.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written?

Hmm I don't actually like reading my own stuff very much. It's a bit of a struggle to switch off the perfectionism. That said, YTTM has a special place in my heart. It took a lot of time, a lot of thought, and sometimes a lot of effort, and while I'm not 100% happy with it, I am glad that I got it over the finish line and that I had a chance to tell a story I really wanted to tell.

[conanmythbusting]

Criteria for Chapters to be "Essential to the Timeline"

It comes to mind that I haven't shared my criteria here for a case being essential, so here we go, partway through volume three:

Something important happens! - this one is pretty obvious, yeah, but importance has been defined in different ways by different essential lists. I don't want to include every Hattori episode or every Kid episode, by this rule I'm talking about really significant character development (like Moonlight Sonata, London arc) or actual long-term plot significance (Black Org cases), ect. - this may be a little difficult to determine when we don't know where exactly the series is going to end up, but this is about the minimum possible timeline which means that interesting things might get thrown out too. I can always go back and change a judgement if I notice references back to previous cases later.

Someone or something important is introduced. - This one is also pretty obvious, we can't just skip over the first Heiji episode and pretend they've known each other the whole time when suddenly he's involved in the plot. We can't just skip over the introduction of the stun-gun wristwatch and proceed like Agasa gave it to him offscreen, ect. - That said, while I'm still a few years pre-anime, I can't promise I won't gloss over the introduction of anime-original characters if the manga does. Not sure if we're going to be keeping a case solely for being Shiratori's first case, because there is the possibility that Gosho just treats him like he's been there all along and we're supposed to be familiar with him. I legitimately can't remember. - Plus, like I said, I won't be counting every time someone fun appears just because they're worth reading, if nothing happens to put it on this list based on other criteria. Given, the character development of those characters is a fair enough reason to put the chapters on the list, assuming those characters are significant.

Something important is learned/revealed (to a character). - I'm defining this separately from "something important happens" because this includes any essential clues that are dropped for important things. - The "to Conan" here is important. I might throw away cases that include, say, clues about Subaru because those are purely for the audience's sake and Conan is already aware that Okiya Subaru is Akai, but I won't be throwing away cases where there are clues to Amuro's true allegiances because Conan figures that out along the way.

Something about this chapter is referenced in a later essential case. - If you're not sure what I mean, I haven't run into an example yet, but think of the way that Heiji has recently mentioned Conan told him about the Magic Lover's Murder Case recently-- if the chapter where Heiji brings up the case is essential, that inherently means the case must be essential.

Flashbacks - flashbacks are essential, obviously, but they won't be included in the day count

Things that could happen simultaneous to other things - mentioning this now, but I'm actually not sure how I'll handle it on the spreadsheet. But it comes to mind, suddenly, that some cases focusing on the adults where Conan has a minimum contribution could theoretically happen simultaneous to other cases. - we'll cross this bridge when we come to it,

I will reblog this post and add more criteria if I realize I missed something important, but that's pretty much what I'm basing it off. That does mean there will be some cases I do recommend watching because they're fun character cameos without the case being essential to the timeline. I'm trying to parse the timeline down to the bare absolutely minimum length it could possibly be, after all. If anyone can think of any other things that you think I should consider, or problems this criteria might cause, feel free to share.

[randowwriter]

Hello! I used to be really into anime until I got exposed to some scandalizing stuff. I would like to give it another shot, though. I was wondering if you have some wholesome suggestions? :)

I have two favorites right now, so I guess I'll start there? (I thought I saw a lot of anime until I realized my friends have seen way more than I have.) Akagami No Shirayukihime/Snow White With The Red Hair: the anime is super good! It's a Shoujo that definitely focuses on romance, but the romance is pure and genuine, which is amazing! (I feel like few series ever capture that in romance, but this one does!) I haven't gotten that far into the manga yet, but I highly recommend the anime. (The manga, I hear, gets a little more into politics and stuff like that, which I imagine will be quite fun!) I think forgiveness would count as a strong theme in it, because of an arc in Season Two. (They are short seasons; twelve episodes a piece.) Akatsuki No Yona/Yona Of The Dawn: It is a fantasy, technically a Shoujo too. But though it has a different religion has its base, that I'm guessing as something to do with Shinto Buddhism, based off of the fact that some of the translations for the priests in it, call them Shinto Priests, but I say it can be interpreted pretty easily through a Catholic and Christian lens. :) Also, it has a strong emphasis on relying on God as well as a strong emphasis on forgiveness. It has really strong family and friendship themes, and strong romance too, though since that's a slowburn type, it takes a while. Honestly, I'm a sucker for fantasy, and somehow within the deep, very unique characters that feel real and the fantasy themes, it didn't take long to fall in love with it. It does have wars/politics/other themes, so it does have some harder to read/watch stuff. I'm actually all caught up on the manga, and right now, we just hit two hundred and twenty five chapters! The anime though is only twenty four episodes with three awesome OVAs! :) Also, as someone reminded me of and had me think through, this a strong theme of not judging people before you know them? Some characters are definitely bad right from the get go, but other characters, we have to think about more, like get to know basically. Some of this comes through when villagers make hasty judgements on people that the main characters know or when we have to take our time to get to know a character that's a little tough to want to know at first. My Roommate Is A Cat would be a great anime to start off with. It is a slice of life focusing on a mystery writer who ends up adopting a cat, basically. He's never had pets before, let alone a cat, and is a little at a loss as to how to care for said cat. But it happens at a time when he really needs companionship. It's focused on family and friendship, though warning before the series starts, there is some tragedy, so it has sad parts, but it mostly focuses on the happy things. I watched it, because there's a writer and there's a cat, and found that I really liked it! It's only twelve episodes long and is pretty new. 2020 or perhaps 2019 was when the anime came out. I haven't finished even the first chapter of the manga, which is supposedly ongoing. So, can't answer for that yet. I do recommend that you start with My Roommate Is A Cat since it is shorter and also doesn't touch on near as many heavy themes as the other series do. Ooh, FullMetal Alchemist is great, but it's longer and is a Shounen so there is lots of action and hardships. But I recently heard that Brotherhood (especially) was a prolife anime, and when I thought about it that's definitely true. The value and miracle of human life is a common theme within it. Hopefully, I'll start watching some of the recommendations that people have given me for series. (Thinking back on anime, I grew up with, you've probably seen them, and some I wouldn't recommend now.) But I'm still watching the Fruits Basket reboot, and sometimes it makes me want to go back and reread the manga to verify that some of what I'm seeing is from there? But I learned a lot from Fruits Basket when I was younger, primarily from a mom and her daughter in it. :) So, it's a lovely series to me.

(Come to think of it, I think most of the series, I like, involve forgiveness as a prominent theme. Fruits Basket, FullMetal Alchemist, Yona Of The Dawn, Snow White With The Red Hair, etc...) (An argument could be made about self-forgiveness in My Roommate Is A Cat though, so even that one kind of fits.)

Heads up, there can be pretty emotional stuff in these too. So, there are sad moments and stuff like that in either all of these or most of them.