#Isekai Complex

[firefromthegodspro]

I'm not late

Alright, just finished the chapters, now time to l-

What do you mean it's 2025

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57992563/chapters/157356184

God I cannot fucking tell you how hard it was to write these chapters. Yes they are technically late by about a month on their original post date and i'm even later on the post here but uhhhh

Shut up.

Anyways been busy, December was a wash thanks to work, but on the bright side I'm looking into potentially submitting works into lit journals!

Not Isekai Complex, though. I don't think any journal would want it hahaha

Anyways today's random topic is this because rn I cannot stop listening to Ado music to save my life.

Definitely give it a listen, it's the good shit.

Happy New Years All, and may something good be with you because 2025 already kinda looks like a crapshoot

Edit: Thank you AO3 link for not embedding, very cool

[meamiki]

some random reverse entry au [office + reverse isekai loop] drawings :thumbsup:

[mildly interested in this silly au? here is a link to scroll through for all the stuff i've made for it! i'll make a proper master post... someday.....]

[sweeteastylist]

Nikki adrenaline junkie

[ibelongtotheclassics]

Sharing some of my childhood + present anime & studio ghibli OTPs

*uwu* they’re so precious for meee 💖🎬🇯🇵

< PART 4 / on-going list >

[kokorolinkrun]

This scene from Re:Zero (which I'll put under the break for people who want to see it) gave me some serious Henry vibes, so I decided to redraw it with him and Ellie in honour of Fleeing the Complex's ninth anniversary today.

If anybody wants it, here's the original scene this is referencing:

[deus-ex-mona]

if the trope works, it ✨works✨ y’know~

[vermillioncrown]

hey so dbd really just resonated w/ me I used to live outside my native country when i was a kid and moved back when i was seven. the culture shock i got when i moved back, the general isolation, the rumors about the foriegn girl (kids just walked upto me and said 'do you speak hindi?' yes i've been living in this country for five years and hindi is a subject you need to know to pass the fucking exams, you think i don't?) the alienation in my own home and coping with the internet, dbd just sorta

continuation of last ask, i also just masked a lot and i see that is zyx too and just. this fic means a lot to me and i think about it weekly. thank you so much for writing it. like it always gets me how deeply human the characters are and how much i relate to zhu yunxun and the navigation of life in your country but it's alien to you almost and the feeling that your cheating almost because you had the luxury of knowing stuff (eng) beforehand and people who didn't are infinitly cooler.

hey! sorry for the late reply, i legit have just been barely 🤏 making it through all week. thank you for such a heartfelt ask! 🥰

your experience is different than what i've experienced as chinese diaspora (i was born outside of mainland china and only occasionally visit), but it still fits. dbd is exactly about that not-quite-fitting-in experience. isekai as an analog to the diaspora and cultural...mismatch? misalignment? something.

you know more bc you've been outside, but that comes at a cost of not fitting in. and "fitting in" isn't like one is trying to conform---it comes with social advantages in the (ahem) society that you live in! so obvious but there are so many stories about how one needs to break the mold to the extreme and that's obviously one type of story that has to be told.

dbd says that there is no cheat code for "doing it right." but at the end of the day, you need to do it because you live there, and you have to try your best.

hope you're doing well and getting through it. i wrote dbd kinda as my own thing, not trying to force it bc at the heyday of mdzs fandom there were some Very Loud Voices around and those voices were needed to fight against western biases and nonsense in fandom, but idk. it was super disorienting to feel both connected and alienated to my culture in one go. i didn't feel chinese enough. but at the same time, i didn't connect with a lot of my fellow abcs online, the ones that felt like they only wore being chinese for brownie points and were more likely to make fun of their culture than actually engage it. weird place, always in the middle, always feeling alone, but surely, i couldn't be? that would be the height of arrogance, almost like solipsism, to believe that.

writing si fic is the same way. it's a very niche way to engage with fandom, if you break down fandom works by percentage. and meta, too; an si writer makes hard asks of a reader to not only buy their version of canon, but buy into a whole bunch of original content. buy into them as a person without using fandom to hide behind. si writers all read other fics; mainstream fandom rarely seek si writing.

so like, you have the cultural aspect of feeling alienated, you have the subgenre (?) alienation, you have the premise of isekai also being one of alienation

which equals dbd as a tres leches cake about alienation lol

[twiishaa]

i will never shut up about the characters who didn’t get justice done in their anime adaptation because in the manga they look SAUR GOOD but then in the anime they look chopped 🥀

[firefromthegodspro]

Oh Dear Heavens, Look at the Time!

Hm, time to hop on Tumblr once again! It surely hasn't been that lo-

What do you mean its the 29th?

Well, anyways, I'll get the boring stuff out of the way now:

Links to Isekai Complex chapter 3 out now!!! FP and AO3 went up like 10 days ago actually, I just slacked off on the Wattpad mirror because it usually doesn't save my formatting when I post on my laptop.

...Anyways, this month's chapter was posted to Wattpad from my desktop where it does save formatting so needless to say I will be doing it this way for the foreseeable future (the end of time).

I have no other updates (for this post) besides this tbh. I recently got off a 6-day work week and have been really eepy. I have set myself up with a weekly task list, though. So hopefully productivity will increase!

Editing to say that said 6 day stint has led to me working on a Patreon/Ko-fi so I can hopefully earn some pocket change. Look forward to those links once I finish setting them up

Until next time, peace out my fellas

[robocops-a-christ-allegory]

PEACEMAKER IS IN SUICIDE SQUAD ISEKAI.

I AM GOING TO GET ANNOYING AGAIN SOON.

[bumpscosity]

isekai is so fun like im in there now

[cosmik-homo]

blake is not REMOTELY a nothingburger protagonist he has a lot of interesting shit going on its just very tied- by the protagonism but not remotely just that, its an active part of who he is- to plot and setting and stuff. Its not really convenient for shortform ramble-posting. except maybe "I think he'd do honestly p good if

[des-shinta]

"Complex Complex" Shinta reviews Super Robot Wars X part 2

X Continues with more new mecha series introductions…which begs us to ask the question…"Why these series when we're in an Isekai plot?"

[dragimal]

once again thinking abt ORV as one of the most brilliant and self-aware genre commentaries ever, cus' isekai/transmigration is-- in my experience-- a deeply lonely genre. the yearning to be plucked from the stress and apparent dead spiral of real life and dropped into a setting where you matter somehow. the fact that this transmigration is often by way of death, completely abandoning the real world, is particularly telling and... bleak. but whether it's a recognition of being 'the most baddass dude', the narrative satisfaction of trying to 'fix' the plot of a doomed story, or even just befriending characters we've laughed and cried for, we want so badly to be a part of something more.

and the way ORV recognizes that and doesn't mock it, but gently reminds us that... real life isn't removed from that. it may not be as straightforward and 'narratively' satisfying as a constructed story, but we can enact change in the world around us, and we can find connection and solidarity in others. the things we want from escapism are things we often can achieve in real life, at least on a small scale. if only we recognize the inherent depth and complexity of others as, y'know, fully-realized human individuals. hell, if we recognize ourselves as more than simple characters with set paths and tropes.

ORV takes every opportunity to remind us that we are not alone, no matter how bleak and isolated we feel. our lives are constantly touching others and vis-versa, and we leaves marks on the world we can't possibly predict. we matter, we always always matter

[tsuutarr]

Yandere Otome Isekai Lawyer x Reader

Elliot Armstrong is the youngest child of the Armstrong Estate, which means that he’s often given scraps in favor of his older brothers. It also doesn’t help that Elliot has never been too fond of the physicality of combat despite being part of a family of military might.

Instead, the battle of wits is what enthralls Elliot. Chess, riddles, puzzles – all of it captivates him. Perhaps that is why it is no surprise that Elliot has found himself fascinated by the human psyche, too. Humans are interesting specimens – they’re simple but also quite complex.

Elliot’s interest in humans is what draws him to pursue law. The variety of cases that fall in his lap – some more intriguing than others – always make his daily life that much more interesting. He can observe a great variety of people, which excites him to no end. Besides that, due to his awareness of his own intellect, he likes winning against other humans, too.

After all, brain is better than brawn. He’s much better than his brothers, his parents, his ancestors. He is the most superior Armstrong – the superior human.

Others just cannot compare. They’re too easy to manipulate, too simple once you understand their inner workings.

Well, all humans except you, somehow. 

The Heir to the Arrington Estate – you hadn’t really caught his eye before, being the quiet but rather dry child of the infamous Duke Arrington. Yet somehow, one day, out of the blue, you began to stand out.

Elliot remembers the exact moment you had become a centerpiece of his thoughts, someone he spins and spins inside the crevices of his brain just so he can make sure he never forgets anything about you. 

It was a few moons ago, when his family had been tried for their involvement in embezzling the Royal Family’s fortune. With his silver tongue, Elliot had managed to come out unscathed, unlike his idiotic family who had all been put to jail – it was all karmic justice, really.

The family that had ostracized him now begged at his feet, imploring him to save them. Hilarious.

It was quite difficult holding back his laugh, but he managed just fine. Perhaps he managed too well, however, since so many nobles began to pity him. They pitied him – him!

He’s much greater than they are, to the point that he knows all their secrets and yet they had the gall to pity him. Disgusting worms, the lot of them. 

And yet you, the Heir to the Arrington Estate… you were the only one who showed him genuine compassion. It surprised him – most nobles are self serving (him included) and care very little for others. Yet you care. Perhaps a little too much, really. But it’s nice, he won’t deny that. Being acknowledged, praised, for his intellect. Being shown compassion for his “plight.” Being shown the kindness in those lovely eyes of yours. 

Oh, Elliot just adores it all. Your attention, your kindness, your praise – he desires it all.

So, of course Elliot offers to be your personal lawyer. You’re kind, but perhaps a little too kind for your own good when, really, you only need to show kindness to him. Besides, your… Father, is a piece of work. You’d be much better as the Head of the Arrington Estate, so of course Elliot needs to be there so that he can ensure your position and safeguard it from your greedy relatives.

Oh, yes, you need him. You definitely, most certainly do.

Just like he needs you.

[firefromthegodspro]

Not Dead, Just Dead

Hello! I return after 1 month as prophesied! Let's get the important bits out of the way first:

ISEKAI COMPLEX CHAPTER 2!!!

(FictionPress gets to go first in the link tree because it preserves my precious formatting the best)

This received less editing than Chapter 1, so apologies for that. Retail Grind sucks and interferes with writing time.

If you would be so kind, please review/comment/etc. on whatever website you read it on! I love feedback (even if it's just insults).

Now onto other things, Hibiki Symphonia!

In that I actually started working on it.

Thank the new Madoka Movie trailer for fully reactivating the brainworms like I'm some sort of Maho Shojo Manchurian Candidate or something.

It looked cool, by the way, really love Homura dancing with her crush and also having a mirror that insults her. Funniest shit I've seen.

Anyways, I'm returning to the goblin mines to continue writing. See you all in (hopefully) less than a month with more brainrot posts