#The main characters and their dynamic was great! I liked the friendships (though they fell off a bit…) and some of the family dynamics too.

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

This Ravenous Fate

start of a sapphic YA duology set in 1920s Harlem, in a world where reapers (vampires) are the result of horrific human experimentation

follows a reluctant heir to a powerful reaper-hunting family, who has just returned from paris

and her childhood best friend who she hasn’t seen since she was turned and almost killed her five years ago

in the wake of a string of murders, they’re forced to work together to find out how they’re linked, and investigate rumours of a cure

[karaspal]

here is a reading guide for post-age up jon, including the good parts only so you guys could appreciate him more.

THE UNITY SAGA

superman (2018) #7 - 10 this is the story that started it all. jon goes on a space journey with his grandpa and comes back seven years older with enough trauma to last him for the rest of his life and more.

THE ONE WHO FELL

superman #29, action comics #1029, superman #30 - 32 during his time in the future, jon discovers his father might not have much time left in the present. worried about his dad, jon tries to warn him and prevent the inevitable. this story is cute and shows clark's love for his son and how proud he is of the man jon has become.

WARWORLD RISING

action comics #1030 - 1035 follows up the pervious story. clark and jon find refugees who escaped warworld. while clark is ready to help 100%, jon thinks it's a trap to lure his father and is vocal about his suspicions. this story lets jon have flaws, and they make complete sense for his character. while he isn't the main main character, it's a great read to help you understand his character.

SON OF KAL-EL

superman: son of kal-el #1 - 6, annual 2021, #7 - 8, nightwing (2016) #89, superman: soke #9 - 18, action comics #1050 after clark leaves for warworld to help the people there, jon is left in charge as the main superman on earth. with his dad gone, his identity being public and the weight of the world on his shoulders, jon tries to figure out the kind of hero he wants to be. this series also introduces jay nakamura, a journalist and a freedom fighter jon falls in love with. the final three issues is jon's reunion with his dad.

DARK CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS

dark crisis #1 - 7 with the whole justice leauge dead, jon tires his best to keep the world spinning and the people in it hopeful. he goes around, trying to form a new justice league. this story shows how jon truly is his father's son and that he deserves the title "superman", as well as his strengths, and his undying spirit.

RISE OF METALLO

action comics #1051 - 1056 clark comes back from warworld with twins, whom he and lois later adopt. jon struggles seeing his parents raise the kids in a way they couldn't raise him because of the time they lost. still though, jon tries his best to be there for his new siblings.

this is jon's main timeline since he came back from his space trip. those are the required stories. bellow, i'll list some comics that aren't necessary to understand him, but are nonetheless good.

THE SUPERMAN OF METROPOLIS

future state: superman of metropolis #1 - 2 this is a future state story that isn't canon. jon bottles the city of metropolis in hopes of saving it. the story follows the consequences of his choice.

OUT THERE

dark crisis: worlds without a justice league - superman #1 do you wonder what would've happened had jon grown up with his folks? do you wonder what he would've been like had he not spent his formative years in a volcano prison? well, this is a story for you. this is clark's perfect world, and in a perfect world, he gets to see his boy grow into a man.

NIGHT AT THE CIRCUS

nightwing (2016) #101 - 104 (back up story) nightwing investigates a mystery in the circus and calls jon for help. the story is a cute team-up between the two.

A HEART IN METROPOLIS

action comics #1059 - "a heart in metropolis" (back up story) jon and jay struggle to find time to spend together, with life getting in the way. finally, the boys find the time to go on a date.

MAGICAL MYSTERY CUBE

superman & robin special #1 cute jon and damian team-up. if you like the super sons, this is a story for you. it shows that their friendship can still work, even with jon being older now.

ELECTRIC

lazarus planet: assult on krypton #1 - “electric” during the lazarus planet event, a common criminal gets powers and decides to join jon in helping people. their dynamic is fun: a righteous hero and a flirty villain. even though i don't particularly ship them, i still enjoyed their interaction.

this is it, guys. this is the list. happy reading! :)

[electronickingdomfox]

"The Prometheus Design" review

Novel from 1982, by Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath. I didn't like any novel by these authors, and this one is just as bad. The writing seems less messy though, except at the very end, when they start with the philosophical, unintelligible discourses. But otherwise, it's pretty much in line with the old Bantam books. There are also continous references and throwbacks to the old episodes, despite the novel being set post-TMP, which gives the impression of a lack of fresh ideas. The previous Pocket novel ("The Covenant of the Crown") captured much better the feel of the older, more mature characters from the movies.

The plot involves aliens that are experimenting with humans to prove the point of "The Enemy Within": that the strive for greatness in humans comes hand in hand with their most violent impulses. This is what the novel calls "the Prometheus Design". And even if I can see the theme of reaching for greatness and surpassing the gods in the Prometheus myth, I fail to see what it has to do with "aggression" (after all, it's not Prometheus or the humans who are aggressive in the myth; it was the gods who punished the titan). Whatever, guess the authors liked the ring of it.

The main problem is the characterization. Kirk is again this submissive wimp, while Spock is this over-powered, authoritarian (and pretty obnoxious) character. And the plot device by which Kirk is stripped of command, so it's transferred to Spock, is just ludicrous. It's obvious the authors wanted so bad to push a dom/sub dynamic into their relationship, which is, in my opinion, completely antithetical to Kirk and Spock's friendship. Vulcans are again the coolest in the galaxy; humans suck again. In fact, the way Vulcans are portrayed as supremacists that look with such contempt at humans, I don't understand why they joined the Federation in the first place... What happened with IDIC, and Spock's gentle, understanding nature? I don't know. As for McCoy? Well, I guess he trails behind Kirk and Spock...

Spoilers under the cut:

The Enterprise is investigating a series of riots and disappearances in the planet Helvan, when the landing party (Kirk, McCoy and a few others) are approached by a different kind of aliens (named the no-mouths because... they have no mouths). The no-mouths extend their finger-tentacles and probe their victims all over (WHAT!!?). And afterwards, the victims fall unconscious and have lapses of memory, associated with feelings of rage and shame.

Back in the ship, Kirk has a couple of nightmares after the encounter (though in general, he's not any worse than other times when the ship fell under alien influences). Nonetheless, a Vulcan Admiral called Sevaj (who is like the most badass, awesome Vulcan ever) comes onboard and seizes command of the Enterprise and the mission, just like that. Sevaj determines that Kirk is unfit for command, and that all humans who were approached by the aliens are also unfit. But not Vulcans, of course: they're immune to the effect (proof? he gives none, might as well have pulled this out his ass). So the only choice for Kirk is relinquish command to Spock, which he does immediately, since he lacks any backbone in this novel. You may wonder what kind of Captain is Spock. After his encounter with V'Ger, and his understanding of "this simple feeling", and the importance of emotions, and all that, he should have mellowed a little, right? Wrong! As soon as Spock seizes power, he becomes a complete fascist, falls into full "Vulcan command-mode" (WHAT!!?), and starts treating Kirk like crap, suddenly addressing him just as "Mr. Kirk". Okay, let me make an aside: this is NOT how things work. For starters, it should have been McCoy the one who can determine whether the Captain is fit or not for command, not some random dude, awesome Admiral or not. And if unfit, Kirk could have been confined to sickbay, or his quarters, or if truly problematic, to the brig. But that doesn't mean he's suddenly stripped of rank, and can be ordered around, and even punished!, by someone with a lower rank, like Spock.

Nonsense aside, Sevaj explains that the sudden riots, disappearances and accelerated development, that are observed in Helvan and other planets, are all related with some mysterious aliens that are experimenting with aggression in living beings (the so-called "Prometheus Design"). And these experiments will soon destroy the galaxy if they're not stopped. Thus, the Enterprise has to return to Helvan. At this point, the novel spends a good while describing Kirk playing chess with Spock and Sevaj (but he sucks at chess because he's dumb human, and we learn that Spock let him win all those past times). And then Kirk engages in some sort of homoerotic combat/dance with Sevaj (and he also sucks at it, because he's weak human). I don't know, there are lots of invented Vulcan shenanigans and mumbo-jumbo in this part. After one of these training sessions, Spock is changing clothes inside a replicator machine, that creates and destroys clothes around one's body (WHAT!!?), when the machine malfunctions and almost kills him. And Spock is left naked, just so you know. There are several more murder attempts on Spock and Sevaj, and Kirk is the principal suspect, because of the alien influence. Though to be honest, the two Vulcans are so obnoxious, that I'd suspect anyone in the crew as the murderer...

Back in Helvan, Sevaj and Spock beam down alone to learn more about the no-mouths. Despite their superiority, they're captured immediately and strapped to experimental tables to be dissected (and Spock is naked again). So Kirk, McCoy, Uhura and Chekov go to the rescue, and manage to capture one of the no-mouths to interrogate him. Needless to say, Kirk gets zero gratitude from the Vulcans, and instead is threatened with more punishment for not following orders blindly (sigh).

Kirk must be addicted to punishment, though, because he disobeys again when he interrogates the no-mouth. From him, he learns that these creatures are simply following orders from other, higher beings: the true designers of the experiment. Kirk is also shown the path to these new aliens' lair.

In the last part, Kirk, Spock, McCoy and Sevaj go find the designers to make them see reason. They're captured, Kirk has sex with one of the female designers because reasons, and kisses other female designer for reasons too. Also, the designers turn Spock and Sevaj into giants, and force them to fight to the death... while half naked. The aliens explain why their experiment is so important to avoid the destruction of their own race. Well, I say "explain", but in the end I didn't understand much of their reasons. Finally, the heroes convince them to stop their experiments through some "power of friendship" speech, so the aliens leave. The End.

And I'm sorry if this review seems disjointed, but this novel left my brain pretty disjointed too.

Spirk Meter: 9/10*. Kirk and Spock share a permanent mind-bond. At one point, Spock refers to Kirk as t'hy'la (and the novel clarifies that he's using the term with multiple meanings). There are constant comments about how strong and special is Kirk and Spock's "friendship", even suggesting that the aliens chose them as experiment subjects because of their unique link... And I'm probably forgetting some examples; it's more like a continous obsession with each other. I'm not giving it a 10, though, because other novels are more sincere and open, just plainly call love "love", and are not afraid to show it. Here instead, I get an impression of "denying the obvious". Like, there's an effort to hide the homoerotic intent behind Kirk and Spock's strained relationship, and Kirk's sudden womanizer tendencies towards the end.

There's a bit of Spones too, when Spock treats McCoy's wounds while caged, and eases his pain with a mind-link. But let's be honest, McCoy is more like a pet here.

*A 10 in this scale is the most obvious spirk moments in TOS. Think of the back massage, "You make me believe in miracles", or "Amok Time" for example.

[fruit-sy]

Finished watching the Soul Eater anime

AND I LOVE MAKA AND SOUL HOLY SHIT, YOUR HONOR THEY ARE A DUO . NEVER SEPARATE THEM AHSJBXKZHSB

After watching jjk, Nobara was my 2nd favourite character because of how she's both badass and girly, but I was bummed that she didn't appear as much as I wanted her to in the anime, so I looked to other animes where a girl was the main character and saw Soul Eater had a female main protagonist.

The first episode and I was HOOKED. LOVED IT AAA MAKA KNOWS HOW TO KICK ASS AND SHE'S SO COOL AGSJWWJCOQLFJWK

At first I was kinda on the fence about the art style, but after getting into the first episode I positively ADORE IT. So much charm and style and exaggerated poses which kinda reminds me of ROTTMNT in a way. I see people mentioning it was Tim Burton-esque, and I see it too. A lot of halloween vibes which was very fitting at the time.

Anyways, the fight animation was great, I loved Maka (and Soul) and I was very invested,, until the fanservice came out. I felt like bashing my skull against the wall and just dying inside because of how much I couldn't handle the cringe. But I held out because Maka was my light in the darkness.

Super glad I did because Maka is so fun to watch as a character huehehe. Her dynamic with other characters is really fun, she's a capable fighter and knows how to get around in a fight. She even goes off the hinge and if you know me that makes me giggle excitedly ehhehehehehe (poor crona tho ;_;)

My brother told me "It's an oldie but it's a goodie" and (for the most part) I very much agree. I was late to this anime by 14 years but better late than never amirite?

Anyways, Soul and Maka are everything to me and they should NOT be separated. Though Maka looks like the reasonable one, they're both equally dumbasses. They bicker a lot and sometimes have serious arguments which cause them to split apart, but their friendship runs very deep. I love how I feel like they stand equal with eachother, both pull their weight and one's presence completes the other's, whether literally through the weapon-meister relationship, or figuratively through their friendship and uplifiting eachother when they're down in the dumps.

Soul genuinely really cares for her. Like, he shields Maka in the fight with Stein, Crona, and when she fell, he's there to pull her out the deep end when she's gone into Madness or when her knees buckle under the pressure of a battle or when she's furious beyond belief, and he's loyal as hell and will go through hell and back for her

And the feeling is very mutual! Maka is devastated when he took a hit for her and is determined to get stronger. The scene where she picks up Soul although her hands were burnt by him was hype as hell.

Their whole schtick of like "staying cool" is also so adorable i cant my heart-

ANIME SPOILERS

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The first half of the anime was fantastic. Though it pains me to say the second half was rather lackluster and the ending was disappointing imo. I've heard whispers of spoilers that they fumbled with the ending but I wanted to make that judgement by myself.

It baffles me why these studios don't just put the series on hiatus until more chapters from the manga releases.

Anyways, I'm currently picking up from the manga and I'm hoping for a better ending and story there ;u;

[weirdlizard26]

ok hello hi in honour of me finishing season 6 of dr who i will write out my impression of it before starting s7! that there WILL be spoilers so im putting it under the cut!

first things first, it was definitely a HUGE improvement from s5 in my opinion. like it was in general just a lot more enjoyable for me, though still not quite satisfactory. i think matt smith finally got properly into the role too which is nice.

still. this season was deeply unsatisfying. there were so many interesting threads that i feel just didnt go anywhere or didnt get nearly enough development.

1) i thought the "youre my best friend" scene btwn amy and the doctor was very very sweet but i felt it just came out of nowhere? she spent the entire s5 having to "choose" between him and rory and i do appreciate their friendship but i wish they had more time to really develop that kind of relationship

2) i was honestly so happy to see 2 companions throughout this whole season! i think it makes up for a really fun dynamic :]

3) i love rory with all my heart hes such a sweetheart but i feel a little weird about his character development? it definitely makes a lot of sense seeing as how hes 2k years old at this point but it just feels to me like that was done at amy's expense? it feels like shes denied the same development time and time again and i dont like that. i will be honest i don't like her as a person and that in part is due to her behaviour in s5 (i will never fucking forgive them for that scene where she confessed to the doctor it was so dumb and so deeply unpleasant but i digress) BUT i think shes an interesting character and wasnt done justice. like!!! the way i see it, she is contrasted with all the previous companions by the fact that shes not that great of a person. which isnt a bad thing! she had such a huge potential for growth but it felt like every time she learned a lesson she forgot it the very next episode or it just felt like it just didnt matter in the grand scheme of things. which i blame on the writing, in case that wasnt clear. great potential, terrible performance

4) and now for the loose threads.

4a) madame kovarian was such an intriguing villain and the sneak peaks we got of her only hyped it up but then i feel that just went nowhere? she served cunt for one whole episode where she wasnt even the main focus and then died. and im assuming she didnt REALLY die given this is doctor who after all but her participation in this season specifically was deeply disappointing to me.

4b) in the same vein, i really wish we could see more of melody and more specifically her upbringing and training. all that teasing of "the woman who murders the doctor" only for her to try to kill him for half an episode and suddenly become "one of the good guys" as soon as he makes sad wet puppy eyes at her?

4c) in the same vein (again) all the teasing of how river and the doctor meet and fall in love and then when she meets him for the first time they dont even get to spend any time together to bond and actually develop any real feeling for each other? and then they just get married for no reason other than it was teased? "i love you more than any living being in the universe" bold statement for a girl who met him ~twice~! it was all so intriguing but it just fell flat in the end.

4d) now dont get me wrong. i fucking hated the ending scene of mid season finale. "um actually all of this horror is your fault because you did too good of a job saving people so now people who want to do fucked up shit are scared of you and want to kill you. if only you didnt save all those people so good we wouldnt be in this situation!" like do you realize how ridiculous that is. even so! that literally didnt fucking go anywhere. was it just supposed to be a one-off guilt trip that never gets addressed again and doesnt change anything other than anger me? what was the purpose of that. it was said as if it was leading up to some huge character discovery moment for the doctor but then it just. didnt. he just left to look for melody.

4e) "i didnt want you to die without making you see how much people love you" yeah and. yeah? go on? oh? we're just leaving it at that? no old friends coming together to save his ass and yell at him abt how much they care about him? other than the justice whatever that we saw in ONE episode and who didnt even get any help from the doctor lending him their robot suit? ok.

4f) all that build-up to accepting your fate and being at peace with death (which like. we've already done all that with ten and i loved that arc but whatever ok lets do it again i guess) only for him to not die was. a little disappointing? i mean dont get me wrong im glad hes ok but it just felt empty bc it didnt lead to anything. and like again i LOVED the solution to that particular puzzle! of course the doctor lies and of course he'll find a way to cheat death again thats what he DOES but its just upsetting that that whole build-up was virtually for nothing

ok thats all for now. in conclusion, s6 was much better than s5 for me but still disappointing. hoping s7 will pick up!

as always i welcome any and all comments and discussion just be niceys to me

[visionaxry]

TOP 10 TV SHOWS I WATCHED IN 2022

1. PANIC on amazon prime

i watched ‘panic’ at the very beginning of 2022, and have since rewatched it twice. i’m still surprised how it stuck with me and became one of my favorite shows, because typically i prefer more light-hearted stories. 

the idea of teenagers playing this high stakes life-threatening game is so intriguing. the mystery behind who started and runs this tradition adds so much suspense. there’s also the additional layer of poverty and family issues that’s pushing the main character. it’s so interesting to explore the characters’ motivations, their reactions to pressure. it makes for a colorful complex story. and, of course, what sells it is the main romance. the chemistry between the characters is off the charts!! (not me thinking i wouldn’t ship them before seeing the show phaha). 

even though ‘panic’ was cancelled after season 1 (which, sadly, is true for most of my favorite tv shows), i believe there’s a satisfying finality to the season that makes it work as a stand alone story.

2. QUEER AS FOLK on peacock

pure queer joy is what this show is. i’ve only experienced this level of happiness while watching “genera+ion” (which is my favorite show ever). and yes, “queer as folk” is more adult because - duh - it’s about adults, and one teen character. in a lot of ways it’s about forming your community and keeping it safe. it takes on serious issues, the characters are messy and make mistakes, yet it feels so warm and comfortable, like a home.

i’ve never seen the original show so i’m judging this show from a non-reboot perspective (which i’m pretty sure it is anyway, even though you can make parallels between some characters, it’s a new different story).  

trigger warning: there’s a mass sh**ting scene in the first episode (it’s not very graphic).

3. HEARTBREAK HIGH on netflix

the new aussie it show, move over h2o just add water! okay i’m joking, but heartbreak high really took over the world as it should have! it’s a diverse well-written gen z teen drama with amazing fashion. 

what you can expect: a lot of dramaaa, secrets & unexpected twists, sex scenes that don’t sexualize teenagers, actual ace representation (i’ve only seen it done this well in “genera+ion”), probably the best autistic representation i’ve ever seen, exploration of some dark themes (assault, police brutality) that are unfortunately a part of reality for a lot of teenagers, beautiful friendships and romantic relationships, teen angst and rebellion.

i fell in love with these characters and their dynamics, i can’t wait for season 2! plus, it turns out there was a lot of australian things i didn’t know about, so it was very cool to see australian culture represented in this fun bright series. 

4. REBELDE on netflix

look at all these pretty faces and tell me you don’t want to know more about them. this show is one hell of a fun ride. it’s like elite mixed with violetta. there’s so much colorful potential in almost (looking at you esteban) all of these characters. they fight, they perform, they’re friends, rivals and lovers, and for the big moments they’re each other’s family. they’re rebelde. i want to steal their wardrobe and be their groupie.

5. WEDNESDAY on netflix

not suprised this show became such a hit, but i’m glad i watched it when it came out without any preconceived expectations. the style of this show is amazing and it’s an entertaining watch. there can’t be enough praise for jenna ortega’s performance. she’s outstanding in everything she does, and she carried this show.

6. HEARTSTOPPER on netflix

this is a fluffy warm ball of sunshine. comfort at its finest. i’m so happy this show exists and people talk about it. i just want to give every character a hug. oh, and i want those cute doodles in my life. 

7. THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY on amazon prime

such a cute summer show. i think the creators did a great job of adapting the book for the modern young audience. it could’ve easily turned into another kissing booth with a “not like other girls” protagonist. even though you can see the original outline of the characters, they feel more evoled in the show. and that’s what i hope will happen to the story later on as well. i like when adaptations improve on given material and find their own identity. 

i did’t really like nor understood the ending so i’m kinda tense about season 2. if it’s gonna turn into a belly x conrad love show, i’m gonna have to head out, and demand a jeremiah spin off (#teamjeremiah). 

8. SINGLE DRUNK FEMALE on freeform

so this is one of the more underrated shows on this list. it’s a dramedy that follows a young woman battling her addiction in a town full of people who are right there to remind her why she drinks. sam makes quite an appealing lead character. she’s messy, she’s selfish, she’s confrontational, but she longs for real meaningful connections, even though she’s afraid of them. there’s a diverse array of characters who go on this journey with her, and i love every single one of them. i think this show has a very good trailer actually, helps get the feel of the show and what it’s about.

9. DOLLFACE on hulu

such a beautiful entertaining show about female friendship and finding yourself outside of a relationship. the cast is incredible, including kat dennings as the jilted ex, brenda song and shay mitchell as her estranged besties, matthew gray goobler as a love interest, and brianne howey and lilly singh as a nice bonus on the side. 

the part that makes this show so unique is the daydream sequences that follow the main character. it shifts the rules of the world, makes it more fantastic and unpredictable. makes me wish i could get on a bus with the cat lady that would take me to my friends.

10. HEATHERS on amazon prime

no matter how much you like the original movie, THIS heather squad is way more memorable and charismatic. who wouldn’t want to watch an edgy dark comedy about teen phychopaths whose whole identity is “i’m not like the other people, i’m weird, i’m a weirdo”, toxic friendships, murderous romance & tumblr fashion circa 2016? maybe i’m just build different if it’s my jam and not yours. 

seriously though, i unapologetically loved it. kinda reminds me of “the scream queens” (which is outstanding) and “insatiable” (which i couldn’t get into). 

thanks for giving this a read <3 hopefully i convinced you to watch some of these!  

[theheightofdishonor]

Even though it took me a couple tries to get into it, I really liked 1988 and the way it built you this whole community of likable, realistic characters. It was both times heartwarming and heart-wrenching and I loved all the dynamics we got to see whether it was the moms gossiping together or Sun Yong and Moo Sung slowly developing feelings for each other or the main 5's friendship. At heart this show was about youth and reminiscence in the best possible way and I fell in love with it. The only minor qualm I have is with the love triangle. Somewhere around halfway through the show, you see this flash-forward that spoils who Hyeri ends up with it (even though they don't say his name) and I think that was both unnecessary and takes away a bit of the fun from the moment because in the past narrative, the decision of who she'll choose is still delightfully uncertain. Also while I objectively appreciate that the love triangle is less a love triangle and more about the way all these characters love and care for each other, especially Jung Hwan and Taek, I also personally don't like how it shifts the focus and decision away from Hyeri. It was well done and all, like objectively I think it was great. But I was watching the show mostly for Hyeri so.

[kiara66]

I watched half of Delicious in Dungeon

And here's my honest review and when I say review I mean rambling about stuff

Will have spoilers ofc

So I just stop watching it like even 10 minutes ago probably from writing this. Along with that I have a terrible memory and I've been doing this since 1/2 something AM to 6 AM so tiredness might be getting me a bit, but doesn't matter

The show was pretty good in my opinion. I love the characters, the silly dynamics, the animation but here's something I don't really take the time to appreciate often world building! And I don't just mean lower because I always appreciate lore I mean like little stuff like explaining the dungeon ecosystem, and giving little facts about certain creatures or explain how they work by using other animals as references. Even something simple like saying people used to mine in the dungeons for gold goes with the lore, and world building! Feels very thought out, and its own world which is great!

Yet let's back to the characters real quick. Laios he sure an interesting one. I know a lot of people really like this guy but I didn't get it at first. I didn't dislike him. I was very neutral on him. Tho when he said stuff like it's lucky his sister got eaten because they can have sherbet. That was something... but during the last few episodes I watched his character was becoming more interesting and likable to me so I started to like him a bit more. Honestly I feel like his character is going to become more interesting from now on which is a very good sign and maybe I'll finally fully get the hype.

Shenshi it's also an interesting one, but I definitely did like him more than Laios. I thought he was very interesting especially with his genuine interest in the dungeon, and all the monsters inhabiting it. Also something I haven't really mentioned the show is unlike a lot of other anime it doesn't really have many fanservice moments so far and the only panty shots we ever get is from this guy. He's all doing us a service. I want to say more but words are not with me right now and I'm not sure how to describe him so we move on.

Chilpchuck which is a very stupid name but probably a species thing. He's a fun guy and has his cool moments. Honestly out of all the main characters I saw him the least. The most exposure I got was an edit to Short King, and honestly he lives up to it. That sword to the dragon's eye was very epic but I'm still wondering how Laios knew about it since he was running away when it happened but hey continuity am I right? He just got a spunk to him and I really like the character when I actually got more of it. I'm still not sure what species he is though he's very small but he's definitely not a dwarf. I'm certain it's been at least mentioned once but I don't remember.

Macille I can see her being very annoying to some people but for me I loved her. I get it she will complained, she was very squeamish, blah blah, but I did find her fun especially with other characters also the reveal of ancient blood magic was great but we'll get into. The moments of showing her struggle of worring about being a burden being showed a few times was very nice I liked it. Besides that her friendship in the past with Falin was very nice and they're absolutely cuties! Also her just dedication to try to get Falin back even when she was not in the great state said a lot about her character and it was great.

Falin I basically fell in love with her (/p) when I saw her in those flashbacks. She's just such a cutie yet a bit reckless it seemed. I will be honest I was technically spoiled that she was alive, but when I saw that skeleton I thought I gaslighted myself. It hurt more since I had so much hope that she would be there and she wasn't! Yet it's all good because forbidden blood magic, tho at first I didn't realize she was red because of all the blood so I thought she wasn't formed which honestly I kind of wish she just stayed like that but eh. The best way I can describe her is "this character is so cute. Oh she a little fuck up actually" Also along with that I knew Macille was gay, but I wasn't expecting Falin for some reason. Oh yes let me just have a bath with my girl best friend as I tried to hold her hand to give her magic, and we so happen to be forced to sleep in the same bed. If they're not dating by the end of the season I'm rioting.

Honestly I wasn't sure what was next at first since they were at the red dragon, and that seemed like it would be the end of at least the first season, but no we got like 11 so episodes to go. If I had to guess it's definitely something to do with those gnome guys or whatever and our little traumatized party probably trying to get some money since Chilpchuck mentioned something about that. Of course with exploring more characters like that guy that apparently wanted to marry Falin. He's going to have the rudest awakening of his life.

Anyway good show good intro, good outro. Hopefully I will watch the rest before I can't anymore since I have a very bad time at not doing things even if I want to. Like I watched the first episode almost a month ago so I remember nothing of the first episode really.

[floralcyanide]

The Extra || Austin Butler x OC

Chapter Eight

Pairing: Austin Butler x OC

Warnings: mentions of past innuendo, mentions of sex, nightmares.

Word Count: 2824

>> hellooo welcome to chapter eight! I know I keep leaving you all with cliffhangers but this chapter is pretty tame. please let me know if you enjoy it! (:

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Add yourself to the taglist HERE

March 2020

I have been holed up in an apartment for weeks without being able to leave. I’ve been stuck in a relationship where I wasn’t held to an acceptable standard. I have been through the wringer with my ex, trying to figure out how to get out of the tense situation without ruining our new friendship, if you’d call it that. I got through all of those things. But I had never felt so stuck before in my entire life until Austin told me that an entire movie, a person’s life story, and the hope of fans worldwide now fell on me. And I don’t know if that’s something I can get to the other side of. Apparently, I look enough like Priscilla to be her character and have enough acting experience. Besides, desperate times call for desperate measures, and if an extra has to be used in the main cast, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. But it felt like it was the end to me.

Baz decided that everything we have filmed so far will be refilmed after the six months are up. Not just because I was recast, but because he felt it would be better that way. I have to stay with Austin during these six months because I have to gain chemistry with him or instead gain chemistry back. Whatever we have going on right now isn’t a good kind of chemistry to work with, so we have to fix that. Also, I can’t really go home anyway. Everyone has been told that wherever you are right now, you should probably stay if possible. The virus has become too dangerous. I broke the lease to my apartment and had everything I brought with me here transferred to Austin’s condo, thanks to Tyler. He’s slightly upset that we can’t have movie nights anymore in each other’s apartments, but he understands completely. Jess is feeling better. Luckily, their coronavirus case wasn’t extreme, and they don’t have any long-term side effects.

Dacre and I are still friends; we’ve actually grown closer since quarantine. Sometimes it makes Austin feel weird, but he isn’t as jealous as he used to be. Luke and Dacre forgave Austin for his unhinged comment. But they made sure to tell him that even though they were cool, they would physically harm him if he hurt me again. Tom checked up on us every other day until he and his wife got the virus. His case is really bad, and everyone is very worried about him. On the bright side, Olivia has gotten a little better and has been really supportive of me replacing her part. I still feel like I’m betraying her in a way, but she has assured me that I could absolutely do this- that I’m capable of playing Priscilla. Even Priscilla herself has reached out to me to tell me that based on what everyone has been telling her, she was pleased to “have a great woman” like me to play her. That alone was enough to wake me up. I need to play this part whether I like it or not. Whether I want to be famous or not.

It’s been a struggle for the last two weeks. I had to make sure to tell Austin that I wasn’t mad at him and I didn’t hate him. And that if I was distant, I just had a lot to think about. I had to think about how I would play a serious, life-changing role as an actress with little prior experience. I really, really had to think about how to go about living with Austin again now that we had to forcefully. I also had to think about our relationship, whether it was romantic or platonic. Our characters are romantically involved, so we have to work on our dynamic. We can’t fight anymore or let anything come between us while filming, or else it would be challenging to maintain chemistry. Apparently, there’s an on-screen kiss that we have to prepare for, too. I don’t know how ready for that Austin or I will be, but I guess we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.

I have decided to wait until Austin and I get out of this weird patch before thinking any harder about pursuing our relationship again. I don’t want the foundation of our rekindled relationship to be built on any hesitance or negative emotion. I told him I’d think about it, and I have, but I won’t think on it more than I have to until it’s necessary. Luckily, I think we’re beginning to move out of the awkward phase anyway. It shouldn’t be long before we’re entirely out of it.

It’s a Friday night, not that the day of the week matters anymore at this point, and Austin and I are on the couch. We’re watching our favorite show we used to binge when we were together, and for a moment, it almost seems like old times. Today was our last chill day before we needed to start working on our lines and execution. I plan on starting Priscilla’s book soon to gain more insight into her as a person. I’m not able to call her at any given time, much less see her in person, so at least I have some primary sources to gain perspective from. Austin has a plethora of sources for information on Elvis, so he has a lot to take from. I’ve been helping Austin practice maintaining his voice and accent when he wasn’t Zooming with a coach. My thoughts are interrupted when I notice what’s happening on the TV.

“I still can’t believe they killed him off like that,” I frown at one of my characters dying a painful death, even if it’s the tenth time I’ve watched the scene.

“Remember the first time we watched it happen? There’s nothing more painful than seeing it for the first time,” Austin shakes his head at the memory. We were both in hysterics the first time we watched this particular scene, to put it lightly.

“God, I know. It still hurts but not quite as bad,” I shrug, digging into the bag of hot chips I had on my side of the couch.

Austin eyeballs the bag for a moment before turning his eyes back to the TV screen, “You still eat those?” he asks.

“Yep. Sure do,” I say, popping a chip into my mouth.

“I don’t see how you have a stomach lining left,” Austin snorts as he chews on a Sour Patch Kid.

“I don’t see how you don’t have sores in your mouth,” I chide, motioning to the yellow bag of sour candy.

“Good point,” Austin shrugs. 

His previously black-dyed hair is starting to fade into a weird shade of brown. He hasn’t bothered redying it since no one will see it. I thought the dark hair was a good look on him, in all honesty, but I’m partial to blonde-haired Austin. Especially when his hair was long and blonde. I would braid it sometimes when he’d let me. 

“What are you thinking about?” Austin pipes up from next to me.

I shake my head, readjusting to real life after being deep in thought, “Nothing. Just thinking of old times.”

“Old times, huh?” Austin nods in acknowledgment, “How old?”

“As old as your long hair,” I giggle, almost wanting to reach out and touch the fading hair.

“I miss it sometimes,” Austin says, glancing over at me, “Especially when you’d braid it.”

“You only let me do that a few times, though. But I loved doing it,” I say with a smile.

“I never told you, but it felt really nice. I liked when you played with my hair,” Austin says, toying nervously with a Sour Patch Kid between his fingers.

“Trust me, I know. I know a lot of stuff you didn’t tell me,” I scoff, “Like when you’d secretly use some of my conditioner.”

Austin turns to me and looks a tad shocked, “How’d you know?”

“Austin, I could smell it on you. Did you think I wouldn’t know what my conditioner smells like?” I laugh, no longer paying full attention to the TV.

“Good point,” he sighs, and he looks as if he’s going to say something else but brushes it off.

“What?” I ask curiously.

“It’s nothing,” Austin swats his hand, “Just a silly question.”

“I love silly questions,” I narrow my eyes suspiciously at him.

“It’s kind of embarrassing,” he mumbles.

“Just tell me,” I roll my eyes, “You’re not one to keep something in if it’s bothering you.”

Austin looks at me and sighs because he knows I’m right. His face starts blushing a little as he figures out how to say whatever he’s going to say.

“I was gonna ask if you’d play with my hair. I know that’s weird,” he says defensively, “But it grounds me. And I’m too wired to sleep.”

My heart flutters a little at his sheepishness, “You could’ve just straight up asked me, Aus. I’m not gonna bite your head off.”

“I wouldn’t put it past you anymore,” Austin jokes.

“Whatever,” I shove his shoulder, patting my lap, “Lay down.”

He readjusts his sitting position to lay down properly before resting his head on my thighs. I almost instinctively reach my hand out to run it through his hair as if it hasn’t been a long time since I’ve done it. I guess it’s true that old habits die hard. Playing with Austin’s hair was the second thing he liked to do with me, the first being kissing. I see him letting me play with his hair as a step forward out of the fog we’ve been in. The kissing is obviously something he struggles with, but I’m not pushy. I took the hint when he didn’t kiss me when we had sex. Austin thought of kissing as being the most intimate thing a couple could share besides sex. He would do it any chance he got, even if it was in public. Austin couldn't get enough. Even if it’s such a sacred action for him, he didn’t waste time worrying about his surroundings or how PDA looked to others. It was as simple as holding hands and as intimate as sex. So, for now, running my fingers through his hair was enough for both of us.

Tonight would be the first night I would have a nightmare. In the nightmare, I’m plastered on every magazine and website, being labeled and scrutinized. It’s something I always made sure to stay away from in consciousness, but now I no longer could. The feeling of anxiety that I’ve been pushing down was beginning to present itself in my dreams. I make a lot of noise when I have nightmares and thrash around a lot, so when I’m awoken by a very concerned Austin, I’m not surprised. I’m more or so relieved that the nightmare is over than worried that he’s in my room.

“Are you okay?” Austin asks, out of breath from running in here to make sure I didn’t hurt myself by accident.

“Yeah,” I sit up, pressing my palm to my clammy forehead, “Just a bad dream is all.”

“You were yelling for a second, and I got worried,” Austin says quietly as he sits on the edge of the bed.

“Was I?” I furrow my eyebrows, trying to recall when I could’ve shouted, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. Do you wanna talk about it?” Austin asks.

I shake my head, “No, it’s fine. Do you mind…” I trail off, wrapping my arms around myself. I try to figure out how to carefully word what I’m about to ask.

Austin misunderstands what I’m saying and gets up from the bed and heads to the door, but I blurt out my question before he can get one foot through the opening.

“Do you mind staying?” I blurt out, my face burning at my vulnerability. 

It was hell the first time I had a nightmare after Austin and I split up. I couldn’t go back to sleep that night since I was so used to someone holding me until I relaxed. I had several nightmares about leaving Austin after we broke up, and every time was a struggle. I never really learned how to come down from the adrenaline by myself. I would stay awake until I had to be up the following day.

“Oh,” Austin mutters, “I don’t mind.”

I move over in the bed so he has enough room to slide in next to me. This is the first time Austin has held me since I left him. I wouldn’t consider his very brief period of having me on his chest after we had sex to be cuddling of any form. I’m a little nervous about having him so close to me without the sexual tension. It’s so intimate to have someone hold you and sleep next to you, but I think I’m ready for that. Austin lays down behind me before cautiously draping an arm over my side. I pushed my back against his chest, letting him know it was okay to touch me. He then wraps both arms around my waist protectively.

“Is this okay?” Austin whispers in my ear.

“This is okay,” I whisper back. 

He relaxes into the embrace, tucking my head under his chin as I let my eyes close. I finally go back to sleep. The next morning, I wake up still in Austin’s arms. While I’m sure he’s still asleep, I take his right hand and play with his fingers absentmindedly. After a few minutes, I hear a scoff in my ear. Austin buries his nose into my neck before he speaks.

“Still in love with my hands, I see?” he chuckles against my skin.

I don’t respond but instead flatten my hand against his, holding it up to show the difference in size. Austin slips his fingers through mine, grasping my hand in his tightly before pulling it to him. He pulls his face from my neck and kisses my hand softly before laying our intertwined fingers back down on the mattress. I realized that I no longer had anything to think about now; we were out of whatever phase we were in upon meeting again. 

“I think I’m ready,” I say out loud without a shred of context.

“For what?” Austin asks, his voice still deep from sleep.

“I’ve had enough time to think about things,” I say, pulling his arm off of me so I can turn over to face him.

Now that it’s not dark in here, I can see Austin came in here straight from bed because he has on no shirt. His hair is slightly disheveled, and his eyes are still hooded from sleep. But Austin still has his full attention on me now that I’m turned in his direction. A look of realization comes across his face, but he waits for me to continue.

“I want to be with you again,” I say, looking into Austin’s eye carefully, trying to gauge his reaction, “But you have to promise me something.”

“What is that?” the corners of Austin’s lips twitch like he wants to smile.

“If you are ever bothered by something, tell me about it before letting it bother you too much or letting it eat you alive. You’ve never had a problem with that until now,” I say.

“I think I keep things in because the last time I said what was on my mind, you left,” Austin says, “It’s not your fault about how I feel, of course. But it’s just something I have to get over. Especially since you aren’t gone anymore.”

I nod understandingly, “Well, I’m not going anywhere. It’s not like I can either way,” I joke, “But I still wouldn’t want to.”

Austin puts a gentle hand on my cheek, almost testing my reaction to his touch. When I don’t pull away, he then places his other hand on my face, holding it still. His eyes flicker down to my lips and then back up to my eyes.

“Can I kiss you, Ro?” Austin asks just above a whisper, his tone uncertain.

“Only if you’re okay with that,” I say reassuringly, not looking away from him.

“I am,” Austin says, pressing his forehead against mine, “but are you?”

“Yes, I’m okay with it,” I hold back a nervous giggle, “You can kiss me.”

Slowly, Austin pulls my jaw forward and connects his lips to mine in a simple kiss. I grab onto his face, deepening it a little more as I turn my head to the side. It’s so familiar- the pressure of his stupidly soft lips against mine. It makes me almost want to kick myself for ever letting him go. But the past is past. And now I’m ready to move forward with Austin like time hasn’t been lost.

taglist: @cozacorner @onxlymnsn @anangelwhodidntfall @butlersluvbot @jolovesfandoms @austinbutler17 @slutforblueeyes @misspygmypie @mamaspresley @mirandastuckinthe80s @bobbykennedyfan @sodonebruh @lizzymizzy-blogg @defnotreadingfanfics12 @izzvoid @homebodybirkin2003 @kaycinema @thatonemoviefan @sarachacha @kittenlittle24 @alltheflowerstomav @tubble-wubble @annamarie16 @adoreyouusugar @csmt-m @apparently-sunshine @amiets2 @emchickynuggies @mrs-butler @mesbouquins @ari-nicole @xmusse @austin-butlers-gf @feral4austinbutler @inlovewithchrisevans @shynovelist @mommy-maia @popeheywardssecretgf @Venxfinn3 @westwoodcoast

[heretherebedork]

Hii. Fellow Pining boys lover here! Could you recommend some BL series with unrequited love and long term pining? Thank you so much, lovely.

Unrequited love I can't help much with, honestly, there's not a ton of it in BL? But there are a few. But pining, oh pining, my favorite babies. I will only be recommending ones I love.

I mean, the first is the obvious of MekBoss from My Engineer. One of my personal favorite pining dynamics of all time because I adore piners who pick friendship over love every time until there isn't a choice anymore. But yes. Definitely good pining.

2moons2 is good for a speedrun of pining alongside some very flirty pining and it works very, very well for both, though I suppose arguments could be made about whether or not actively flirting with someone can also be pining but, you know what, I'll make an exception.

Cherry Magic does Kurosawa's pining oh so well and it's darling. Different than Thai pining but definitely one to watching.

Lovely Writer has both pining and unrequited love by the end. Honestly, I have to recommend this one strongly because the pining is delicious, the relationship is great and the unrequited love is painful in a whole rang of ways and goes in so many directions.

About Youth just ended but I cannot help how much I recommend it for the gentleness and pining. Not the plot so much but there is very gentle pining and love and softness.

Bad Buddy is A+ in terms of how much pining truly hurts and how much it can change a person when they know they can't do anything about it and how much that love can change them too. Absolutely A+.

Cherry Blossoms After Winter is truly all about pining that turns to love without distraction. I also love it so much, it's truly traditional yaoi in every sense but done by Korea so it's super stylized.

Cutie Pie is the only show where it is entirely about pining despite them already being in a relationship. Absolutely must watch for pining fans, honestly, both main pairs are established relationship that are still pining for each other because they're in arranged marriages.

En of Love TOSSARA is more like the conclusion of a long pining arc we don't see but it absolutely has to be here because it is glorious.

My Beautiful Man is dual sided pining with agony mixed in and is my purest 11/10 BL so, yes, you should definitely watch this one.

La Cuisine is close to this so Imma stick on here because I have a super soft spot for this little pulp. Very soft, very filled with lots of gentle and soft loving that starts as pining and pining that has lasted a long time.

Minato Shouji Coin Laundry is definitely perfect for this, honestly. They do everything. You gotta watch it for

My one mediocre recommendation: My Gear and Your Gown. This one is longterm pining but it's done super mediocre and they flubbed the ending but ugh SO MUCH POTENTIAL. Enchante also falls here but the ending was even worse for me so I can't recommend that one at all.

Old Fashion Cupcake is the mature version of this, in a lot of ways, but also just an amazing show and you should definitely watch it regardless.

Plus & Minus had good pining but, again, kind of fell apart at the end. But the pining was very, very good.

Secret Crush on You is a cringefest of the deepest emotions that somehow blended longterm pining and stalking into a gorgeous love story that is also... cringe humor but with an amazing message? I love SCOY so much and I think you will too, just remember that they're taking the comedic side characters and giving them depth and heart so that's exactly what it is.

Star in My Mind is very good at the idea of longterm pining on both sides but also deep, deep communication struggles so... watch out for that? I liked it a lot but I know it went too long for a lot of people.

Tonhon Chonlatee is another comedy that I honestly really enjoyed and it's all longterm pining and an oblivious idiot and also Neo Trai in one of his best roles before The Eclipse!

We Best Love No 1 For You is exactly what anyone looking for longterm pining is looking for, honestly, it's fantastic. Fighting Mr Second is... not exactly the same thing but does have a lot of good notes and has a different longterm pining couple that is also a touch more unrequited so this might just be perfect for you?

You're My Sky also has longterm pining in the main couple and is gorgeous.

Anyway, yes there are others but most of the others are ones I wouldn't recommend because I didn't like them. So... enjoy these!

[kitkatopinions]

RWBY is one of the weirdest shows, because we’re eight seasons in and people are still actually wanting basic things that should’ve happened seasons ago to happen.

Ruby has had four - arguably five or six - different mentor set-ups during the course of the show, but her early humility and ability to listen to people with more experience than her petered out and fell apart. Ozpin was dismissed as a lying bastard who needs to now just shut up and let Ruby do what she wants. Oobleck just vanished from the story after a couple episodes (though admittedly, he was one of the least likely to be a consistent mentor figure and I don’t have much of a problem with how he was used.) Qrow was the uncle she’d clearly looked up to who had way more knowledge than her who the story seemed to be setting up as something of a group mentor/parental figure, and then volume six happened and Ruby told him to either shut up and let her do what she wants or leave, and now Qrow’s been written to do things like assure her she’s way better than Ozpin (for no real reason.) Maria also was set up to be a good mentor figure for Ruby, but outside of being like “lol guess magic exists and Qrow sucks” she basically just fulfilled her purpose of saying “this is how Silver Eyes work” - which is something that could’ve been supplied by Ozpin or Qrow - and then just... started going along with whatever Ruby wants and acts silly sometimes. James and even Harriet could’ve been set up as great mentors to Ruby, but she got training and special treatment and new weapons and a hunter license, and then the story narrative launched James and Harriet both into ‘bombing people’ levels of bad so Ruby can be self-righteous and now free to completely ignore them. So now people are wondering if Theodore the Vacuo Headmaster might become a mentor to Ruby, somehow.

Main characters still haven’t even developed friendships. Blake and Ruby talking in season eight felt so forced and out of character because they haven’t talked outside of a group setting since season one if even then, and they’ve definitely never had enough development for me to consider them close. Blake and Ren have barely talked, Oscar and Blake have barely if ever talked, Nora and Yang have barely if ever talked, etc. etc. Yang ‘calling out’ Ren felt like she was inserting herself into an acquaintance’s business when they have no connection, because... They’ve never had a connection of any sort. Qrow has never been given much of any sort of connection to anyone other than Ruby, Yang, Oscar, and somewhat Jaune, and none of those relationships but Ruby have been cultivated for seasons. So we’re still sitting here like “Omg do you guys think one of the main title characters will talk to the main protagonist in a way that organically makes them feel like they’re developing a real friendship in season nine?”

Our main antagonist, Salem, has only just entered the fray and has had only one conversation with our main protagonist that wasn’t even in person, and that conversation was basically just Salem giving her a zinger and then moving on like she considered Ruby nothing but an inconsequential and temporarily amusing nuisance. And we figure that Salem’s going to still be benched during this next season while the main group is over on some mystical island. So we’re sitting here being like “Do you guys think after a decade’s wait, the main antagonist is going to act like the main protagonist is a threat?”

The bad thing is, a lot of development and world building and character dynamics have been wholly or almost completely neglected, but doing the work now of establishing them in natural ways would feel... Actually unnatural, because of how the writers have just pretended that there were never any issues. Blake and Ruby can’t start reconnecting and developing a real friendship, when just this last season, Blake randomly announced that she looks up to Ruby as a heroic figure of hope and believes in her whole-heartedly. Ruby getting a mentor figure in Theodore feels like it would be both incredibly unlikely and incredibly frustrating with how hard she’s rejected the idea of needing adults or needing to listen to anyone other than herself with characters like Qrow and Ozpin, and it would be especially unnatural and frustrating if it came without Ruby acknowledging flaws, apologizing to people, and resolving to try to do better (which is something I would be shocked to see happen.) Emerald’s redemption arc, Qrow being sad about losing Ozpin’s inner circle one by one or dealing with any sort of withdrawal, Ruby actually reacting to some of the more violent things she’s either had to do or did without having to do it, Blake and Yang actually talking through any of their issues and starting a relationship, Ruby apologizing for literal anything, main characters who haven’t so much as spoken to each other before actually talking... Idk, there’s probably a lot more stuff that I feel like should be developed.

But because the writers have glossed over a lot of stuff and have just acted like it happened already, if they went back and corrected these things now, it’d all feel like backwards retcons. And leaving things as they are and just pretending that all this stuff happened already still feels freaing unnatural and forced and shallow as all get out. So the writers backed themselves into a corner on this, just like they do constantly.

I’d take the retcons over everything feeling forced and fake, though, which is how it feels when any problems like ‘Blake and Ruby have barely talked since season one’ are smoothed over with solutions like “well now Blake adores Ruby unquestioningly.” It’d be a retcon now for Ruby to be like “I feel like we barely even know each other, did you ever even want to be my friend” and Blake to be like “yeah let’s have an actual conversation about my trauma manifesting in a desire to keep my distance and how my progress with Sun made it so that I’m now more open to being closer friends and our subsequent interactions after this heart to heart can lead to a blooming, natural friendship.” But it’d still be better than the writers’ attitude of ‘eh, it doesn’t even matter, don’t look behind the curtain, the fandom will fill in the blanks.’

[megacarapa]

So like... Shikimori san is adorable and overload cuteness inducing huh

it is😭!!! it's so cute, i had fallen off reading it for a few months because i just wasnt reading manga in general so when i randomly decided to pick it back up i had forgotten how wholesome it is😭 i was thinking of writing up some sort of post about it anyway but now this ask finally kicked me into action a bit THANKS AND SORRY NOT SORRY😉😉

THIS MANGA IS SUCH ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIP GOODNESS!!! it's really so great how izumi and shikimori are already a couple at the beginning and have been for some time, and they are honest to each other about their feelings and talk properly whenever a problem arises, AS WELL AS BEING ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE TOGETHER, i think my new favourite scene from the entire manga was this part where shikimori recognizes that she can tell izumi about anything because she knows he will still love her no matter what

it is primarily a romance manga, but when i binged the bulk of newer chapters it really struck me at how much i love it's portrayal of friendship, the group dynamic of the main group is really so great and only grows stronger as the story goes along, it really comes across that it's a group of people who enjoy each others presence and they all love and care for each other as people and they are goofy and adorable together

the scene that always struck out to me was when everyone was planning where they will hang out together for summer break, they choose the valley instead of the beach because they took into account that izumi has really bad heat resistance and they want to go to a place where every one of them will be able to have fun, and there won't be a person who's left behind for the sake of others, it's so 😭😭👍👍👍

i also really love everything about kamiya and her character, how she fell in love with izumi but tries to keep away from him because she doesn't want to get in the way of him and shikimori, but it still hurts her because she cares for him greatly and values her friendship with him, and shikimori recognizes her as a good self aware person who wouldn't try to come in between a functional relationship, and gives her her blessing to be friends with izumi😭

some more random stuff that is so wholesome and that i love - that part where izumi accidentally cuts his bangs too short so shikimori also cuts hers in solidarity

and then they both actually continue to have that haircut for the next few chapters!!

also, when shikimori messes up on valentines day by giving izumi sweets that are better eaten when they're fresh, so izumi promises that next time they can make and eat them together, and a few chapters later they do exactly that!!

tldr yes its really cute and wholesome and i love it o(-( thank you for giving me an excuse to rant about it 👍 it's one of those manga that starts off doing the same gag every single chapter (the gag is very cute though xD) but really evolves and comes into it's own as time goes by =')

[talesofafangirlwithadvr]

April 2021 Picks

And we’re back with the end to another month. April! Wow! Lots more great picks to talk about this time. Lots of new ones to the list too. So, let’s dive in!

Spoiler territory ahead!

THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER

or should I say Captain America and the Winter Soldier

I just finished the finale last night, so it felt right to start off with The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. I really enjoyed it and I feel the episodes got stronger as the series went on. Each one felt like a mini-movie and I was upset it was over and had to wait another week for another one. I think the finale was my favorite. Especially the reveal of Sam as Captain America. I love his suit, his speech and the montage of everyone watching him. The last part of the episode was definitely my favorite and one I can watch on repeat. I loved seeing happy Bucky and him goofing off with the kids in Louisiana. He deserves so much happiness as he has now accepted he’s no longer who he once was. Bucky and Sam’s relationship is fantastic and I can’t wait to see it more. I know there’s a possibility of a second season and they have to be in a future MCU movie. Regarding the villain, I feel I was confused for most of the show as to what their objective was. I’m curious if this is because they had to reshoot parts during the pandemic. I also am mad with Sharon. Like what happened with her? She is definitely the true villain of the show. I also don’t love that we haven’t seen the end of Walker (but Wyatt Russell did a fantastic job). I also loved Torres and I hope he becomes the next Falcon. Definitely so different vibes from Wandavision, but just as good!

THE IRREGULARS

This is a show that more people need to be talking about! It was SO GOOD! I feel like I heard some buzz about it when it first came out, but not much after. It follows the teens featured about who live on the streets during Victorian London. The leader of their group, Bea gets approached by Dr. John Watson (that’s right...as in Sherlock and Watson) to take on a case that has more supernatural qualities. The story takes off from there. I think the group dynamic was fantastic. There wasn’t a character I didn’t like and each one brought something else important to the group (which they even bring up towards the end of the show). [I’ve watched a few cast interviews since finishing the finale and they seem like they get along really well in real life too.] There is a kind of love triangle, but it didn’t bother me and was over fast. I did like both combinations though. Lots of twists and turns along the journey. I have no idea if there will be another season, but there should be. It didn’t end on a major cliffhanger, but definitely ended in a way where it could continue nicely. Come on Netflix. 

HBO’S THE NEVERS

From one show set in Victorian times to the next. The Nevers just premiered on HBO and HBO Max earlier this month. It follows an ensemble of characters, similar to other HBO shows, ranging from characters who are called “the touched” to men in government who are against them. Being “touched” means they have a special talent or power, which can range from healing to speaking other languages, being extremely tall, or being an expectational inventor (I seriously love Penance. I just don’t know how to explain her ability). Amalia True and Penance Adair are two of the main characters and they help bring in others who are touched to a remodeled orphanage that is a safe haven for people like them. Of course there are those who are against them existing. This seems to be at least two groups as someone is abducting and experimenting on some of the touched, but we don’t know who they are...yet. I love the fusion of a historical setting with a fantasy element. I am very excited to see where the show is headed. I also love seeing so many of my favorite British actors on the screen together.      

ONCE UPON A TIME IN WONDERLAND

Time for a throw back. Fans of ABC’s Once Upon a Time might remember the short lived spin off following Alice in Wonderland (and some of Aladdin). It only lasted for one season of 13 episodes, but I remember loving it and I am so happy I can rewatch it on Disney Plus. It reminds me of why I enjoyed OUAT so much and I think this show deserved another season or more crossover with the original show. (Luckily the Knave got that opportunity.) I think it should have aired as a summer show or when OUAT was on hiatus, this way more fans would have tuned in. It is something I’ll believe forever. 

Anyway, I’ll stop ranting now... I love Alice. I think she’s a badass and a fierce warrior. If you follow some of my posts on my other blog, Lydia-yougowith-Stiles, you’ll know that I love a warrior romance and Cyrus and Alice fit that perfectly (even if they are apart for much of the series). I also love Alice’s hair and outfits. Everything about her is cool. Her relationship with the Knave is one of my favorite friendships ever. I think they balance each other out so well and how they spend most of the journey together. Back in the day, I totally shipped them, but now I definitely don’t. (Even though I don’t love Anastasia.) This is definitely worth the watch if you’ve ever heard of Once Upon a Time or not. There is very cheesy CGI especially for 2013, but once you get pass that you’ll love it. 

ZOEY’S EXTRAORDINARY PLAYLIST

It was on a longer break than I expected, and I didn’t miss it as much as I thought I would (which I know doesn’t sound good for a show), but I am still loving all the episodes this season. It feels like there are more musical numbers, which I love. Mandy Moore is killing it with the choreography. There are so many amazing moments. I also was a big fan of the newest glitch episode. Everyone is so talented and I also like that we’ve started to hear from more like Jenna and Tobin. Leif has become one of my favorites. I don’t love the new neighbor next door, but I think we’re done with his storyline. I’m not loving the Zoey love triangle, but I do like her with either Simon or Max. She seems really happy with Simon now. (FYI: I haven’t watched the most recent episode yet. The glitch one was my latest.) Can’t wait for more!    

KUNG FU

CW’s newest show this month was Kung Fu, which I just learned was a reboot. It follows Nicky who returns after 3 years to her home in San Francisco. Her family has mixed feelings as she has had no contact with them for the last 3 years. She is now a Kung Fu master and warrior, out to avenge her mentor’s death and stop a villain from acquiring mythical weapons. The show gives me Arrow vibes every time I watch it. It has similar flashbacks each episode to an earlier time in Nicky’s life. While Nicky’s mission is different, the style just gives me early seasons of Arrow vibes, which I am not complaining about. It stars Legacies’ Alyssa Chen, who I didn’t love on Legacies, but instantly fell in love with Nicky. I think she’s a bad ass character and love how she’s fighting for the underdogs on the streets of San Fran, while also taking down a bigger evil. The love triangle is heating up and I’m definitely team Henry (even though there’s some mystery there). I think he’s great and once again we have an awesome warrior romance. They balance each other so well and it’s only been like 3 episodes. Now they’ve also been sleuthing together and it’s just amazing. 

NANCY DREW

Are you sick of hearing me talk about CW’s Nancy Drew? I hope not because I’m going to fangirl again. I LOVE THIS SHOW SO MUCH! I can’t wait till Wednesday comes and I tune in a little after it starts, so then I can fast forward on my DVR. Then when the episode is over I basically start it all over again and watch select scenes that were awesome. (More specifically, they tend to be Nancy and Ace scenes because I love them and we’re entering so much angst I don’t know if my heart will be able to handle it!!!) 

I’ll say it a thousand times: THIS CAST IS EVERYTHING! Their dynamic is amazing. You can have any match ups and it’ll be a great time. There is not one person I don’t like. I was so upset that there wasn’t a new episode last week (especially because it was my birthday). I loved the last one with the Hardy Boys and that Nace reveal! OMG! I’m so sad that Grant has left again because we barely had him, but I feel he’ll eventually come back. He has to. I loved the ending when he spoke to Thom by signing to him. (My heart!) I seriously can’t say enough great things about this show. It is not your typical CW show and deserves more love and views. So happy a third season has already been confirmed!! 

LAST NOTES

Just started Shadow and Bone on Netflix and am loving it! I’m sure I’ll have an entire post dedicated to it when I’m done. (Currently going to start episode 6.) I have no background on the universe or the books (just what my sister is filling me in with as we watch). I definitely plan on reading Six of Crows after this!

So what are you enjoying? Let me know. I’m always looking for more shows to add to the list! Can never have enough. 

[pencilofawesomeness]

003 natsu

My sooooonnnnn :D

How I feel about this character: I love Natsu dearly, and I fell in love with him pretty quickly. He’s a chaotic bean that manages to be a found-family-seeking cinnamon roll and a pugnacious gremlin at the same time, he loves his dragon dad and he has strong opinions about protecting friends, and I think that’s great. He’s straightforward but clever, and unlike most protagonists, he’s more concerned with the local stuff than he is global justice or whatever, and I’ve always found that more engaging than the cookie cutter Lawful Good Protag boi. (Well, technically, he’s the deuteragonist even if everyone including Mashima forgets. Boi got mad Monkey King syndrome.) 

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: Nobody :)

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: Gaaahhhh there’s so many. I’ll have to go with the classic answer of Igneel and Natsu though. Natsu wholeheartedly believes in Igneel, that he is both still out there and still loves him, and Igneel (even though he keeping the whole “half-dead inside of you, son” thing close to his chest) wants the best for Natsu and believes in him in turn. Also, the little snippets we get of them actually interacting in the past? They strike me as the parent-child relationship where the dad would beat his son up at video games, no mercy, but they’re both open and honest and having a great time. I wanted to see more of them ;-;

My unpopular opinion about this character: This is definitely just headcanon territory (though honestly Mashima seems to be inconsistent about this) but my straightforward family-adopting boy is totes aroace. He’s got no idea about this romance business but he’ll hug you and make sure you don’t die, because nakama is family and his family just be getting bigger. Dude doesn’t care about decency and he literally has no precept of what might be considered flirting; heck, in the first episode, the mad lad walks past a charm magic zone meant to make the love-button go stir crazy and literally nothing happens to him. (That, and the way he bestows the family sticker like a gold star of relationship status just reminds me of me, so I’m definitely projecting, but I’m having fun in my headcanon land and that’s okay. :D)

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Oh man there’s so many. I wish he was written consistently and didn’t suffer random airhead moments when two arcs ago he was strategic, albeit in a reckless way. I think the main thing I wanted to see happen, throughout the series, was just for him to look for Igneel dangit. The anime-only Daphne arc kind of did, and I appreciate it except it did Gray dirty so I’m still not thrilled with it; plus, the search was more of a segue way so I dunno. Even if it was just little nods that he was still asking around. On a similar note, more nods to his knowledge about dragons when everyone in the world seems to think dragons are a myth would have been fun. Like, someone makes an assumption that Natsu was just themed or whatever and goes “oh like those flying lizards from the stories?” and the team has to physically restrain Natsu from going ham. Just little things to remember that Natsu was introduced in the show as being strongly connected to his roots with Igneel. 

Favorite friendship for this character: Picking favorites is so hard. Grrrrrrr. I think one of my favorites and the one I want to see more of, though, is Natsu and Erza. (Natsu and Gray have a fun dynamic too, especially later on when they chill a bit, but they also stubborn af.) Both Natsu and Erza are pretty blunt, and they have such a small concept of shame, and they both tend to be the supportive type. However, being that they are normally the ones getting other people out of trouble, they can have that ability to encourage each other in the few moments they need a boost. Plus, their similarities sort of drive the honestly out of each other? They would both avoid their problems until kingdom come, but they can call each other out and not deny it if it’s the other saying it. For instance, that scene at the end of the Tower of Heaven arc when Natsu has his first breakdown in the series over Erza’s attempt at self-sacrifice, and he gets through to her that way? Beautiful. One of my favorites. I wish those two got more.

My crossover ship brotp: He and Arataki Itto (Genshin Impact) share the same brain cell and they absolutely would be the best of buds. They would get into a bunch of random competitions, but also they are the co-presidents of the “don’t you dare sacrifice yourself” club. On a broader note, I’d like to think that Natsu could sharpen up Itto a bit, as Natsu is more observant, and Itto would unabashedly support all of Natsu’s dragon and/or demon traits, no questions asked. (Plus they both have a species rep of going berserk despite being Soft okay and pugnacious Bois, and that’s something to bond over I guess.) And you couldn’t convince me that, given the event that Natsu does get demon horn rights, that Itto wouldn’t immediately be down to have a horn-painting party, because he would.) 

[n1kolaiz]

THE GREAT FITZGERALD

thank u @dazaistabletop for getting me so interested in Fitzgerald's character. ur my favourite Fitz kinnie ok mwah( ˘ ³˘)♥

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald's novel— The Great Gatsby— was a love story that involved Jay Gatsby, whose mannerisms and characteristics appear to be quite similar to Fitzgerald in the Bungou Stray Dogs adaptation. I just finished reading The Great Gatsby so I thought I'd just make a comparison between the main protagonist of the novel and the main antagonist in BSD's Guild Arc.

Other than the fact that both Jay and Fitzgerald share similar character traits (ambitious, arrogant, and optimistic) the relationships Jay had with the other characters of the novel and the interactions that Fitzgerald had with the other characters of BSD are quite similar, too. I'll focus on three specific associations that both Fitzgerald and Jay experienced in a parallel manner:

Zelda Fitzgerald and Daisy Buchanan

Tom Buchanan

Louisa May Alcott and Nick Carraway

SPOILERS FOR THE GREAT GATSBY!

in case anyone hasn't read it but wants to :)

To avoid confusion, every time I mention Fitzgerald from here on out, I mean the character from BSD; I will specify my references if it comes to the author.

The Great Gatsby had its plot set around the time of the Roaring Twenties: the aftermath of World War I, the peak of socialite culture, and the growth of a prosperous economy and general wealth altogether.

The Roaring Twenties was also a time of luxurious pleasure and liquor, where people indulged themselves and got addicted to hedonism— the pursuit of gratification.

The Great Gatsby was actually written on the basis to prove how corrupt this age was, and the existence of such corruption was vaguely hinted by various factors, one of which included Jay Gatsby's actual source of income: being involved in the affairs of the black market. This proves that illegal activities were not uncommon around that time, as people did anything they could to achieve materialistic gains.

This isn't a history lesson, I promise.

Both Jay Gatsby and Fitzgerald had grown up in poverty and disliked the concept of being anything short of wealthy. They both worked extremely hard to attain financial abundance.

I presume that not everything they did was actually legal when it came to gaining money. As mentioned before, Jay was involved in criminal activities which founded the basis of his wealth, while Fitz once mentioned that in order to own a gun, he had to kill 4 people. He goes on to tell us that he ended up owning that specific gun's manufacturer eventually.

Daisy Buchanan and Zelda Fitzgerald.

The Great Gatsby is actually centered around Jay Gatsby's rather obsessive infatuation with Daisy.

Daisy was a beautiful lady with a incredibly charming nature— she didn't have much trouble with attracting many men back then before she got married to Tom Buchanan, the antagonist of the story and the rival of Jay Gatsby.

"Her voice was full of money," he said suddenly.

That was it. I'd never understood before. It was full of money— that was the inexhaustible chair that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it. the cymbals' song of it... High in a white palace the King's daughter, the golden girl...

Daisy and Jay Gatsby fell in love right before he was sent off to war and a few years before she met Tom. Before they were separated, Jay's dream of gaining wealth and status was primarily flamed by his intention of reaching Daisy's social ranking in order to be worthy of her love.

Initially, because of how passionate he was about his love for her, Jay lied to Daisy about his wealth. It was only after the War did he actually gain the riches he aimed for. By the time he did achieve his monetary goals, Daisy had married Tom already. Consequently, Jay hosted a bunch of lavish parties in order to gain her attention, prove himself and his love for her, and ultimately, win her back.

Jay perceived Daisy as a literal angel, void of any flaw whatsoever. He even tells Nick, the main character, that the fact that numerous men got romantically involved with such a lady just increased her value altogether.

But what gave it an air of breathless intensity was that Daisy lived there— it was as casual a thing to her as his tent out at camp was to him. There was a ripe mystery about it, a hint of bedrooms, of gay and radiant activities taking place through its corridors, and of romances that were not musty and laid away already in lavender but fresh and breathing and redolent of this year's shining motor cars and of dances whose flowers were scarcely withered. It excited him too that many men had already loved Daisy— it increased her value in his eyes. He felt their presence all about the house, pervading the air with the shades and echoes of still vibrant emotions.

As the story unfolded, Daisy's character was torn apart for a proper, more brutally realistic perspective of her true character, revealing a shallow, selfish lady who solely placed her interest in money and luxury, the things which she often took refuge in when things went wrong. As the plot developed itself, the actuality that Jay fell in love with the idea of Daisy, instead of Daisy herself, was much more evident. And it took quite some time for him to discover and acknowledge the truth.

Fitzgerald's love for Zelda was very apparent, too, except that it seemed more genuine and pragmatic. Not much is speculated about Fitz and Zelda's relationship in the Guild Arc, but his love for her was very deep, as everything he did was for her and their deceased daughter.

Side note: Fitzgerald (the author) based Daisy's character partially on Zelda, as both women were brought up in wealthy families and took a general liking to lifestyles revolving around money and ease.

Fitzgerald was in love with Zelda, a woman plagued by a debilitating illness. In The Great Gatsby, Jay was in love with a woman who was plagued by the deceptive addiction of self-satisfaction gained by pleasure and whatnot. Zelda was impaired by an mental illness, while Daisy was intoxicated by the security of money and prestige. This is an abstract suggestion though. Personally, that's how I interpreted this correlation when it came to examining these dynamics in their respective universes.

Tom Buchanan

As mentioned before, Thomas Buchanan was Daisy's husband and Jay's rival who had similar characteristics in matters of personality. The Toms in both book and anime were arrogant and cunning, which pretty much vouches for their selfishness.

In the book, Tom is supposedly the love of Daisy's life, except that she just married him for his money instead of waiting for Gatsby. Then again, Tom was involved in a love affair outside his marriage with a lady named Myrtle Wilson. Tom cheated on Daisy by getting involved with Myrtle. On the other hand, Daisy was unfaithful to Tom by keeping her love and relationship with Jay a secret from him.

The climax of the story partly revolves around Myrtle dying in a hit-and-run car accident. The grand twist was that Daisy was the one driving the car, and the car actually belonged to Gatsby. Because the car belonged to Gatsby, George Wilson, the husband of Myrtle, was bent on revenge and tracked down the car. He ended up killing Jay Gatsby, and soon after that, he killed himself.

It was quite a scandal, but Daisy estranged herself from such a tedious matter. In fact, when Jay died, she did not even attend his funeral. Tom was under the impression that Gatsby was the one who killed his mistress, not Daisy, his wife. Either ways, Nick described them in a way that sums up what became of them after Jay's death:

They were careless people, Tom and Daisy— they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made...

It's interesting to note that in chapter 45 of the BSD manga, Tom appears as the antagonist who was later found guilty of murdering his employee, but the blame was originally put on T.J Eckleburg, the inventor of the Eyes of God.

Side note: T.J. Eckleburg was actually an optician who appeared on a billboard advertisement in the novel. This billboard was used as a personification by Nick Carraway, which was meant to embody the representation of a displeased overseer who observed the events that unfolded before him. The Eyes of God has a similar concept: scrutinising everything with an accuracy of 97%. It's a personal speculation, but the Eyes of God was proven to be of utmost importance in the Cannibalism Arc when it came to capturing Fyodor Dostoevsky. Likewise, T.J. Eckleburg's eyes showed how corruption and misconduct never escaped his judgmental visage.

sorry about the quality of the manga panels ;-;

In the manga, Fitzgerald manages to triumph over Tom by betraying his trust altogether in order to obtain the ownership of the Eyes of God and Tom's company. This stands in contrast to what became of Jay in the novel, but the protagonist got what he wanted in this universe.

Keep in mind that Fitzgerald didn't act according to fulfil what justice required; it was purely business. Just like Jay Gatsby put on the facade of a plain, rich man who was really just bootlegging his way to opulence, Fitzgerald wasn't afraid to betray someone's trust to get what he wanted.

Nick Carraway and Louisa May Alcott

If I were to pick a character that represented Louisa May Alcott in BSD from the book, I'd pick the narrator himself: Nick Carraway. Again, this is my personal interpretation, so the association between these two characters is just my personal opinion.

Nick Carraway was known as the more reserved, cynical protagonist compared to Jay. The both of them developed a cordial friendship as the story progressed.

Nick initially took a liking to Gatsby, who was his neighbour. The enigmatic aura Gatsby emitted called for Nick's attention, and in the same way, Gatsby reciprocated his interest in Nick by making the effort to acquaint himself with him.

He had one of those rare smiles with a quality of eternal reassurance in it, that you may come across four or five times in life. It faced, or seemed to face, the whole external world for an instant and then concentrated on you with an irresistible prejudice in your favor. It understood you just as far as you wanted to be understood, believed in you as you would like to believe in yourself.

There were a few times which suggests that Nick didn't like the way Gatsby acted or spoke. Nevertheless, Nick was the only one who stuck with Gatsby until the end.

"They're a rotten crowd," I shouted across the lawn. "You're worth the whole damn bunch put together.

(This was the last thing Nick said to Jay before he died.)

At first, Nick was intrigued by Jay's mystical nature and peculiar idiosyncrasies, but found that Gatsby was a very strange, but 'morally bad' man. However, over time, Nick became one of the few who managed to recognise Gatsby's idealistic ambitions; he saw through all the fame and wealth and found a mere human being capable of being entrapped by love's snares. Basically, he understood Gatsby, despite disagreeing with his actions and even his behaviour at times.

As for Louisa, well, it is a known fact that she was loyal to Fitzgerald because of how much she respected and trusted him.

Both Nick and Louisa were intelligent, witty people with generally nice, honest, and reserved dispositions. Their self-contained demeanours make it very easy to get along with the more exurbent/dominant personas of Gatsby and Fitzgerald. So in the event where each pair was isolated from the rest of the world, they had each other to depend on.

Next morning I sent the butler to New York with a letter to Wolfsheim, which asked for information and urged him to come out on the next train. That request seemed superfluous when I wrote it. I was sure he’d start when he saw the newspapers, just as I was sure a there’d be a wire from Daisy before noon – but neither a wire nor Mr. Wolfsheim arrived; no one arrived except more police and photographers and newspaper men. When the butler brought back Wolfsheim’s answer I began to have a feeling of defiance, of scornful solidarity between Gatsby and me against them all.

Such a dynamic created a close bond of trust. Just as Nick was not hesitant to stick by Gatsby's side, Louisa went to great extents just to return Fitzgerald back to his former leading position and work together with him.

Side note: Nick Carraway is suggested to have the INTP personality type, while Louisa is most likely an INFP. Both these personalities are strikingly similar in many ways. They are individualistic in thinking and described as 'seekers' of their place in the world. If you're interested in a more detailed comparison, check this post out

Alright, that's about it for my speculations; I hope they weren't too messy. Thank you so much for reading!

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

- Nick Carraway, The Great Gatsby

[sophia-sol]

The Golden Enclaves, by Naomi Novik

Remember how I was unmoved by the first two books in the Scholmance series? Well joke's on me, this is the third and final book and I was moved! I nearly gave up on it multiple times ("why am I reading this book when I didn't like the last two in the series?" I thought to myself, as I rolled my eyes over the opening section that was basically nothing but extended nothing-happens-but-mourning-Orion scenes) and only persevered because a friend of mine really wanted to talk about it with me, and I'm glad I did!

The first two books in the series were, ultimately, a) school stories, and b) monster-fighting stories, and I was bored. This one is about what you do with yourself when you survive past a point you never thought you'd survive, how you figure out who you are and what you want to do with yourself, and making it happen. I was into it!

Also now that we're out of the school, we got to explore some of the worldbuilding in more detail, and some of it was genuinely interesting. And I got more into the female friendships that were portrayed. And the main character, El, turns out to be bisexual and had a very interesting thing going on with another girl who she had complicated feelings about, which I loved. And we got to see more of El's complicated family dynamics!

HOWEVER. I loved all this.......which means that I'm even more frustrated about the things that I feel the book fell down on. I was invested! You had me, Novik! And I was let down!

[significant spoilers follow]

Okay first of all......that was just directly Omelas. This is a The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas fanfiction. It was a little too on the nose, imo! The idea of the single eternally suffering child whose suffering allows for the happiness of everyone else works in the Le Guin story because it's like, a metaphor or whatever. But taken perfectly literally and turned into worldbuilding makes it feel kind of over the top! That was not interesting worldbuilding, that was "let's make an anvil-sized statement instead of doing something nuanced."

Speaking of lack of nuance, I was really disappointed to discover that maleficers are in fact just straightforwardly evil after all. I think Novik was <i>trying</i> for more nuance on this one? But it really fell flat, imo. And I like a little more complexity in my antagonists!

Orion continues to be extremely boring, because he doesn't feel like he's a person. He has no character traits. He's a construct put in the narrative to make the plot work. Which is particularly funny given what the book is trying to say about how his mother made him a thing, a tool, and El sees him for who he truly is and frees him of that constraint. The book could even have leaned into that, and been like, yeah Orion doesn't feel like a person, because he's never had the chance to be one, and now that he's no longer a maw-mouth it's actually really uncomfortable for him to have to learn what being a person means! That could have been interesting! But no, he continues to be personality-less, he's apparently happy like that, and it's apparently just fine. (And he has no trauma? He's trauma-free after the childhood he had and the school experiences he had, really?? More evidence that he's not a person, lol.)

Also Novik is doing her thing again where she romances a young woman with a powerful inhuman monster of a man. She's really into that, isn't she. It's different vibes every time, and sometimes it even works for me (Miryem/Staryk lord!!!) but like....*eyes the trend.*

Anyway all of the above is more or less livable, even though it annoys me, but what annoys me the MOST is the ending. You have to pay attention to your themes when you decide how to end a story! It's real important, actually! And I feel like this one has an ending that does not support the themes the series was trying to go for.

The story as a whole in this book did not have a great arc, it was just kind of going from thing to thing that El had to do, which means that the character arc/emotional arc for El was even more important because it was the only real structure that this book had going for it. As far as I can tell, the arc is one of El realizing that actually she's not doomed to be evil, her choices matter despite her nature, and she CAN actually do good things and deserve the love and care and support of the people around her. Which is great! But then....if that's the case, it feels so wrong that she's not allowed to live out her dream of building golden enclaves. That job, the one that feels so right and wonderful and exciting to her, is pushed off onto the people around her, and she's stuck going around striking fear into enclaves by killing maw-mouths and destroying the enclaves' stability. She's forced to live into the role that she JUST learned she doesn't have to fear becoming anymore! She has to live out the horrible prophecy about her after all, at least in the eyes of the rest of the magical world!

The ending kind of made me think of the ending of the classic DWJ novel Homeward Bounders, in that it is about one young person having to do the hard thing and give up their dream in order to allow everyone else to live and thrive, but the thing is, the ending WORKED thematically in Homeward Bounders. It has to be the right ending to the story you're telling, for it to be a meaningful and heart-tugging ending, and in the case of The Golden Enclaves, it's not right!

And like, the theme of fighting against fate/inevitability to be able to make better choices is one that has been in the Scholomance series all along, so it's especially disappointing to have the ending push back against it at the end of the whole series. It's so unsatisfying.

Anyway I spew all these words of complaint because I really did care, because there was enough that was GOOD about this book for me to want to see it be BETTER. Sigh.

In conclusion: Alfie/Liesel/El/Orion poly, in the shape of a square that's missing one of its sides.