#and fanservice isn't cutting it

[datamodel-of-disaster]

One of the worst things about growing older in fandom is that sometimes you go back to an old, once upon a time much-reread favorite fanfic, hoping to enjoy yourself as much as you did years prior...

and then as you start reading, you realize the fic is... not good? Or just, not as good as you recall. And you keep hoping it'll get better as it goes on, but the superficial plot and contrived encounters and unrealistic dialogue just take you out of it again and again until you can only give up?

Anyway. Urgh.

[mini-uzzy]

RAAAAHHH RAAAAHHHHHH!!!

[drenched-in-sunlight]

Your genuinely one of my favorite elden ring artists, what would you say is your favorite aspect of elden ring just in general

this might be a big revelation but i think my favourite part about Elden Ring is i... actually don't really like it until the DLC.

the way the base game presented a kinda basic and fragmented story, one i'd even say i were underwhelmed about. because i went in expecting Sekiro-level of character driven writing (they did promise that in an interview) and what i got... ehhhh. that's why my fanarts for the base game is literally just fluff pieces and shipping Malenia with another character altogether that isn't even in the game. meanwhile my AC6, Sekiro and Bloodborne art... i think you can tell i have a very deep emotional connection to those games from the kind of work im putting out for them. (hell, before the DLC i actually was thinking "well i'll probably only draw some general fanarts after the DLC then go back to draw more JJK stuffs lol" famous last words)

but holy mother of God the way the DLC completely blew everything tf up.

sorry Fromsoftware, i were not aware the Sekiro character-driven part is actually about the DLC. im sorry im still not familiar with your game yet 😭

(this turns into a mini rant so imma put it under cut OTL)

before, i were pretty "...." about Elden Ring female cast. i think Melina appears too little, i think NPCs like Fia and Roderika... i can't figure out the significance of them within the narrative at all. and it kinda upset me because it feels like they regress back to the helpless / fanservice maiden trope that was usually seen in DS franchise for no reason. i don't like how Rennala ends up as and i don't like not knowing why Radagon did that to her (which turns to me not liking the way it became a popular fanon that he actually loved her he was just bound by duty etc etc...i mean what?), i actually don't even really like how Malenia's barely-there story turns out (but that's a rant for another day).

as standalone characters, sure, i'd say they all have their own merits, but if they don't play any role within the narrative... what's the point then?

but all of that is because back then, we literally did not know what's Marika's deal either.

and so she became this cardboard that everyone pins all the crimes and bad things in the world on, which is... fine? makes sense. but the following line of reasoning that she did all that because she's just...like that drives me up the wall. if i want another "woman bad" story i'd just replay DS2 😭

and that line of thought also distance her from other characters in the game. those stories are not lining up, so we literally see no point in anything.

but by giving us Marika's story in the DLC they:

shine light on the possible division between two Numen factions (Anna & Jolan story + Sword of Light & Darkness // no one is left in Marika's home (those embraces Light/Gold/ Greater Will and its Stars children) vs the Numens in Eternal City (those embraces Dark/ Black Moon/ opposing GW and its children)

the discontent with the Moon and how there are those who will never accept it as being equal to the Stars

the other half situation

the Marika's eye colour possible reveal (link her to Roderika - Roderika as a reflection of the maiden Marika once was and probably still is deep down)

give Godwyn more agency in his ending (his personal knights are on a quest for Age of Duskborn) -> link Marika to Fia (Fia as a reflection of the mother Marika is)

draw direct parallel between Messmer - the child carrying Marika's vengeance for the past, to Melina - the child carrying Marika's hope for the future

Marika as a God full of human flaws >< Miquella as a God devoid of all human emotions. both are bad in different ways. but share a same gentle origin of a simple wish for a kinder world.

the DLC singlehandedly swipes clean every problem i have with the base game. like im actually in awe they managed to do that so efficiently 😭

all that is to say. my favourite aspect of all is truly how one's perspective of this one character could alter the entire story.

i still dislike the interpretation that Marika is cold and heartless or that's she's cruel for no reason, but at the same time, i can see how ppl viewing her that way affect how they see other events in the game. just like how my view of her changes my entire view of the story itself too. and i just love how the writers pull that off really skillfully. man. and i think that's sth so unique to videogame storytelling. it's amazing!

[roo-bastmoon]

Fanservice Couple Sucks at Fanservicing

Hmmm.

Jimin's Album: Here's a super secret hidden song "for the fans" with lyrics that mimic things Jimin said before specifically about Jungkook, with Jungkook providing background vocals that were never discussed when marketing the album, and listeners have to wait through dead air to get to hear the song and shine a light on the invisible lyrics engraved in the album and it's not uploaded onto Spotify or for digital sale because.... fanservice.

Jimin's Documentary: Here's less than two minutes of footage of Jungkook singing Letter; the film cuts away from Jikook's hug and doesn't interview Jungkook about it at all, and practically his entire face is covered when he's singing it; also, the paper he's holding is shaking like a leaf, unlike earlier in the day when he was recording for the World Cup, which was the biggest solo performance of his career at that time, because.... fanservice.

Jimin's Live Reaction: Here's Jimin lighting up like a Christmas tree when Jungkook quietly sneaks in the room to watch his live recording before going home; now watch as they awkwardly interact for two minutes--including a tiddy grab and butt smacking, on top of "I love you" and "have fun with ARMY!" but notice Jimin sends Jungkook away, instead of letting him mic up and sit on the chair and react with him, because... fanservice.

Jimin's Commentary: Here's Team Jimin reacting to every remote detail of the making of the documentary, except when it comes to Letter, in which case no one breathes the name Jungkook and he is never heard nor appears on screen, because... fanservice. gosh that sure is odd.

The fanservice isn't fanservicing.

It's almost how like, in their real lives when they aren't working, Jungkook watched all of Jimin's content, or Jungkook mumbled about how Jimin moved his lamp or mentioned Jimin kept coming up to him to say "periri," or how Jimin traveled to NYC and CT for Jungkook's debut and they filmed something but all Jungkook would say about it is "Yeah, he's in.... New York," and then Jimin posted a shirtless picture on Jungkook's birthday but never spoke on it, or how both Jimin and Jungkook just happened to find time to watch the same random anime, or how they went to Jeju together but we wouldn't have known if Tae hadn't posted photos, or how it is heavily implied that they spent Chuseok together based on the whale drawing that Jimin posted and the way Jungkook was quick to tell us that Jimin drew half of it.

Golly gosh, for a Fanservice Couple, it's almost like a bunch of stuff isn't being shared with us on purpose. But why?

Doxxed info? Tampered mail? Death threats? Press scandals? Global debut? Conservative homophobia? Military service?

Who knows, but "lack of genuine closeness" doesn't seem to be the driving reason.

I'm not gonna sit here and scream conspiracy theories about a "private couple." Jimin lives like a hermit much of the time and Jungkook is running around with his same-age friends quite a bit these days.

So as I always say--I cannot tell you that Jikook are dating. I can only tell you we have solid evidence of unique, charged chemistry between them--and tons of hints that they spend more time together than they let us in on. That's it. If there's more, we aren't getting to see it.

And I don't blame anyone who takes the stance "I'll believe it when I see it." I think a fair amount of skepticism and a dedication to the just the facts is a healthy mindset.

But it really makes my teeth itch when Jikook are accused of doing fanservice for the cameras, cause...

Where the hell is all my fanservice?? *grabby hands* WHERE?

Why is it that even TWO SECONDS of them interacting is so charged and fraught that it gets the entire fandom frothing at the mouth?

Jikook DO spend time together but they aren't running onto WeVerse to share it with us all the time, ya know? It leeks out little by little. And that makes it even MORE suspicious than just two bros hanging out in broville doing bro things.

In summary: This Fanservice Couple *sucks* at fanservice in solo era for sure.

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

i like the fact that adora gets to confront shadow weaver in s5 and tell her that she will never forgive her. that was nice, it's what shadow weaver deserved and adora also deserved that closure and freedom from her abusive mother's control.

but if the crew really cared about catra so much, wouldn't they give her some closure too? shouldn't they give her a chance to talk to shadow weaver and establish the fact that she is cutting herself away from her abuser and choosing to start anew? but no, all she gets to tell shadow weaver is “this isn't about you, help me save adora”. that's it.

for a show that focuses so much on catra and her trauma, you would think that there would a satisfactory resolution to her relationship with her abuser. but at the end of the day, catra's codependent relationship with her sister matters more than healing or closure from her trauma. at the end of the day, even catra was done dirty by the show writers, all for the sake of some fanservice.

[dreamwreaver]

Yeesh, I cringed at the mention of the Chaggie sexy song. Not that I'm homophobic, I don't hate the fact Chaggie is getting a song, Lord knows those two need something else other than the father-daughter copycat song, but like... Why? Why specifically a sexy song? Does this song serve a purpose in driving the plot forward or does it express the character's goals? Doesn't feel like it. From the way Viv talks about it, it seems that it's just a "fun" song to put in, just extra horny fuel for those shippers and that's why I'm not looking forward to it. Cuz Viv is planning Alastor's backstory, the Vee's plans, Vox and Alastor's "sad and complicated relationship" and the whole thing with Sir Pentious, Emily and Sera Heaven in Season 2 and she's gonna cram in a Chaggie song that is SPECIFICALLY stated to be sexy. With all the plot points Viv has stuffed inside, not to mention the additional songs, this shippy segment seems pointless and out of place. To me, it feels like Viv is just trying to make up for how boring Chaggie is but this idea to "fix it" isn't really gonna cut it.

I don't know honestly. Like here's the thing; I knew going into hazbin even before the pilot dropped two things; 1. Charlie and Vaggie were a couple and 2. Viv was not going to do much fanservice for it. Where I started to worry was in the period between pilot and show, when Shark Robot was still in charge of hazbin and helluva merch. Because it very much went from having individual character merch of Charlie and Vaggie on top of Chaggie merch to just Chaggie merch. All of it. Not a single piece of Charlie merch or Vaggie merch was being produced.

(Petty side note we had two shirts of Charlie and Alastor together before we ever got chaggie shirts)

Here's the thing about a well written relationship; I should not need merch to tell me they're a couple. I should not need a whole ass character being invited into the plot just to introduce someone as a romantic partner so the audience is up to speed. You can throw as many sexy drawings of chaggie at me as you want but the show's own treatment of them speaks volumes to me. And I think what people are calling out is how by and large the mlm couples in Viv's shows get a ton of development and attention, wlw? Not so much. And hey, part of me is glad we are at a stage where a character is in a queer relationship and it's not news, it's not shocking. The part of me that has studied story telling in various forms for well over a decade however, says that two main characters ("main" on the part of vaggie but still) being in a long term relationship should have it be obvious.

Let's look at Helluva; no one needs Moxxie to introduce Millie as his wife or vice versa for the audience to know they're a couple. From their pet names to their interactions you know they're together. Or, for a more long term couple; Fizz and Ozzie. For all they've kept it on the dl everyone knows, and it's obvious. Ozzie keeps a damn portrait of the two of them in his office. He calls Fizz "Fizzy Frog" and constantly worried over it. He denied stolas a request solely because he knew Fizz before that adventure his boyfriend wouldn't have wanted to help Blitz.

But I think Viv has to a certain extent noticed some of the critique about how Chaggie has been portrayed over season 1 and is now trying desperately to correct it so she's over correcting now. What is the point of focusing on Charlie and Vaggie's relationship now when there is so many moving parts? It's not like they're gonna break up (imagine the backlash for that decision because bisexual women are only valid when they're dating other women *insert eyeroll here*) and clearly she doesn't care to give them any conflicts that help their relationship progress and grow as they do.

And here's the other thing right, I'm getting progressively more annoyed how many fans bitch and moan about "Alastor is asexual" when it comes to Charlastor but proceed to make him the twink bottom bitch for literally every other male character in the series. Which, even disregarding the notion of how out of character is is for him and how it's not ace or bi-phobic so long as the ship is visibly queer, is just hypocrisy at its finest. I'm not saying everyone needs to ship as I ship, but the fact that people are still taking Alastor's remarks literally when the voice actor and the creator for the show said he was lying about having any fatherly feelings for Charlie and infantilizing Charlie to a frankly misogynistic degree only to be placated about a "sexy" song from the wlw that will have nothing to do with the major plot threads at hand is really going to get my goat.

[l-in-the-light]

Chapter 1131 commentary

Finally the long break is over!! And no break next week :3 Let's start from the survey again, they're honestly quite fun to come up with :D

Now, let's move on to the chapter itself :D

Luffy's so excited! And why? Because finally it's confirmed they're in Elbaf! Which means I was right, his excitement from before wasn't because he saw Elbaf (this is the reaction right here instead), it was because of the snow! :D

Luffy is so excited and he's not even listening to Loki anymore, lol. Loki at first follows through, but soon he can't even sneak in a word anymore, haha. The manipulator having a hard time getting Luffy's attention. A moment later he snaps and scolds Luffy, I mean... for a master manipulator he's not overly patient or good at steering those conversations in direction he wants them to go...

Hm, interesting how Loki treats humans. He clearly takes care of them, but thinks of himself as their master and requires they call and treat him this way. Reminds me of those thoughts I had in previous chapter commentaries, that for giant people normal humans will seem like toys, puppets or slaves. Though it is worth noting Loki seems to indeed take care of them properly, so maybe more puppets or underlings. I wonder why they wear gas masks... because of the putrid smell?

Treasure Tree Adam confirmed!!! So it's actually not Yggdrasil!

Seems Loki has the same issue as Luffy with remembering people's names, lolol. Loppy, can you imagine...

The Realm of the Dead, lowest layer of Elbaf or also "the first world", where criminals and condemned are kept, a prison and execution ground. Where humans wander around as "walking corpses" (in clothes covered in "putrid smell", in blood from the deceased perhaps?), to disguise their presence to survive, otherwise they will get devoured by the beasts. They seem to be also servants (of the sun god?), they end up here by "defying Elbaf" or by trying to challenge it. It's indeed a lot like Rodo's detention centre roleplay model. Seems Luffy doesn't like the sound of it. Later in Hajrudin's scene we learn that it's also a hunting ground for the brave warriors (but who isn't brave in Elbaf, the land of war?).

It's worth noting that the accursed prince Loki apparently was held in this lowest layer since he was born (or soon after he was born). He says it himself: he friended the beasts because he knows them ever since he was a child. So the conclusion here is that he must have been kept in this underworld realm for most of his life? After all only those "who defy Elbaf, criminals and condemned" are living here. My hypothesis that he is called accursed because of some prophecy or mark he was born with, seems to line up with those pieces of information we got so far.

I admit I'm impressed with Luffy. He actually did not attempt to free Loki, despite the fact he was so shocked that Loki was kept here for 6 years. He listens to him and stays with him, but doesn't agree to his ideas and doesn't even comment much. I'm proud of Luffy, Law would be proud too, Luffy is no longer causing random chaos without knowing more about the situation. Is Luffy finally growing up? 💔

More lore. The World of the Dead belongs to the Sun, hm? Is that why Loki is kept here or is he calling himself a sun god as the result of becoming a master of this realm (by making everyone his underlings so now he is their god)? Interesting.

Also it's kinda rare to associate sun with underworld, not counting some indigenous beliefs of people from Amazon rainforest. I remember reading in anthropology books that sun can be linked with the realm of the dead, because everyday it makes a journey on the sky and finishes it in the underworld (then the night falls on the world). If you hop in on the sun god's carriage (it's actually a canoe swimming on the sky carried by two big birds), you can actually travel between the world of the living and the world of the dead. The god can be nice enough to transport back a lost human that ended up in the underworld because of grief and falling through one of the pekari pig's holes in the ground. But the human that is dead but returns back to the world of living will appear to humans like a regular pekari pig. Apparently after humans die they turn into pekari pigs and are kept in pens by the god of the underworld, who takes care of them. It's actually not clear which god it was. The myths refer to them as "master of the pigs". It might have been the sun god, or god of the underworld, or maybe it's one and the same being.

Amazonian myths are very interesting, but rarely ever referenced in modern fiction. I don't know if Oda is referencing it here, but the moment they called Sun the God of the Underworld, I instantly thought of that. I will be surprised if anyone in OP fandom even considered the possiblity that sun can be linked with the realm of the dead! Oh, it makes me have so many interesting thoughts and observations about the world of One Piece in general...

Also, nice worldbuilding intro to Elbaf. Seems Elbaf has "multiple" worlds, each located on it's own level of the tree Adam; it's very similar to the norse mythology realms that you can travel into by descending or ascending Yggdrasil :D

Luffy already tamed those beasts, huh XD five beasts, a bear, a gorilla, a wolf (I think it's a wolf at least?), an elephant/mammoth and a snake. Snakes and gorillas often appear in important worldbuilding arcs of One Piece, somehow. I know the zoology of OP is often overlooked, but I feel like it will bite us in the ass before the end of the series.

Because look at people's reactions every time Luffy tames the beasts easily. It's a really uncommon talent! It seems very important, maybe it's some special trait only passed down in Luffy's lineage? The picture Oda drew of child Garp taming some wild beast also comes to my mind... it might be a D. clan trait, or maybe it's just Luffy's lineage trait. Was Joyboy good with animals? :P I mean, that question just begs to be finally asked... at least minks and Zunesha have an important connection to Joyboy...

I solemnly swear I'm up to no good, signed by Loki, lol. He said all this shit on purpose to provoke Luffy, but I dunno what his plan here actually was. If he realized that Luffy was so happy at the mention of Shanks, then calling Shanks names is not gonna get him what he wants from Luffy, quite the opposite really. And again, the triple dot of doom... We shall remember this moment, I guess.

TCB is kinda failing with their translation a bit in this chapter. The last line is definitely spoken by Loki again, because it's another pissed off bubble, but they translated it like it was something said by a third party instead... The alternative translation also makes more sense: "if you can't move, then don't piss me off" as in "should you even provoke me if you can't fight back?" instead of the "whatever, I don't care" attitude. Makes more sense for Luffy's personality, he's not a "whatever" type of person. It was also a while since we last saw Luffy defending his friends like this :D

Loki doesn't seem to like Luffy very much, there goes the good first impression, haha. Already plans to kill him off in anger lol. (that will definitely not happen btw, he will 100% change his opinion on Luffy) Curiously enough Luffy seems to like him a bit, as long as he doesn't trashtalk Shanks.

See? Now here it makes more sense. "I will tell you more about Shanks if you do something for me". The earlier "coward" approach was such a nonsense in comparison. Did Loki seriously just expect Luffy to sit there and listen to him trashtalking Shanks? For a master manipulator, Loki kinda falls a bit flat, ngl. People have already pointed it out that he seems more like Usopp-type, selling some lies to appear more important/respected than he actually is. That attitude might have the root in similar childhood: always staying on his own so telling talltales is his coping mechanism, just like it was for Usopp.

At this point we might question whether Loki will indeed bring any sort of end to the world or is it yet another lie (or perhaps he got banned to this underworld realm as the result of a prophecy told at his birth?). And he most definitely isn't a sun god, he just thinks he is because he considers himself the ruler of this lowest realm of Elbaf, which according to the beliefs is the realm of Sun God. So it's a natural conclusion: if he's on top of it then he is the sun god himself, right. But despite his name, he's not really a trickster or anything like that, Doflamingo would easily outclass him.

Also a moment of appreciation for cute blushy Luffy :D last time we saw his blushy cheeks from the cold was in Punk Hazard!

Sunny spotted! It looks like a toy when Giants are carrying it, haha. Like a cool boat toy for kids. I can't with Zoro, always trying to cut up their problems, lol. Glad Usopp is the brain of the group.

I bet the Giants actually want to catch up to Strawhats to get them to safety, not to kidnap them again lol. Well, maybe except Rodo, he might want some payback 😂 though would he openly oppose Hajrudin, even if he refused to work under Strawhats? I'm not sure Rodo has it in him tbh, now that it's been exposed that he kept them hostage, lol. I wonder if he's now in trouble or what haha. Or maybe he lied and said he wanted to deliver them to the feast once they wake up but they escaped him instead lol.

Random appreciation for Usopp the brave warrior getting over his fear of heights thanks to his fear of being chased by their captor :D

Appreciation for their cute little song :D

I wonder what's that all about? Sun stone? I guess I will have to wait for Japanese youtubers to address this, they might have something interesting to share.

I like how Hajrudin is still full of gratitude towards the Strawhats! Even preparing a feast for them. I have a feeling Giants really like to drink and have feasts all the time XD

Woah, what a fun snake-like creature there in the sea!

Brook is cute with how anxious he is. I'm glad that finally he's around new people who are laughing at his skull jokes, because Strawhats are so used to it already that they just ignore Brook by now, heh.

Bonney's excitement :D Franky is suddenly becoming very nostalgic, no wonder, he met Robin at Water 7, his home, and they had that "adventure" at Enies Lobby together. (he really looks great in those clothes btw. Some people speculate his cowboy hat actually belongs to Robin and she borrowed it to him, I actually love that idea!)

Yet another triple dot of doom, this time coming from Robin hmmm.

She looks cute indeed. Oda really highlighted this scene though, hm. her blush is adorable :D

And another triple dot of doom. Third one already this chapter, and two from Robin alone. I wonder, is it time for callback to Water 7 finally? They even mentioned the events of that arc in this chapter, it feels like a build-up honestly. Are we finally getting the payoff from that arc?? Is it finally the time to share my Robin conspiracy theory with the world?! (yes, I do have one. I have it ever since I reread Water 7 for the third time. There are loose ends there and I think I know where Robin's story is going towards from now on. Hence why I'm so hmmmm over all those triple dots bubbles lol)

Hm, TCB translated this as "he fell and can't get up" while other translation went with "he fell and he's not moving". Honestly the second one sounds waaay more dramatic. I mean, he might be just drunk, we saw Saul drinking while he was listening to Vegapunk's broadcast. But that would make this cliffhanger really lame, ngl XD

But IT IS very curious that we get this cliffhanger teaser here just before Robin and Saul can finally reunite, right?? I kinda want it to lead to some serious development, not a gag.

Time to share the results of the previous survey! Technically, everything listed up there can *still* happen in the future, so I will keep it in mind to return to those results later as far, just to see how correct we all were, for the laughs and potential self-satisfaction gloating moment!

But as for this chapter alone, the second option seems to be the winner. "It's not Luffy's business" lol. So far in my surveys only the minority choices win and we all thought we know Luffy so well already! Hey, I was also completely off, I really thought Luffy would attempt to free Loki immediately :D

This break was way too long, I already need the next chapter please, it was hardly enough!

[bonzos-number-1-fan]

TMAGP 26 Thoughts: Sam is awkward. Celia is hot.

Yet another guest writer episodes and this time it's Muna Hussen. She' co-creator and producer on The Silt Verses, and produced and acted in I Am In Eskew. The Silt Verses is a show I can wholeheartedly suggest giving a listen. It's great in just about every way a thing can be. I might leave a pitch for it as an addendum. I Am In Eskew is in the forever pile of things I may one day get to. It's a really well written episode too, I liked this one a lot. It is, unfortunately, another pretty explicit one so I don't expect to have a load to say, but that's not the same as it being bad.

Spoilers for episode 26 below the cut.

Celia and Sam's conversation doesn't have a load of note in it. Yes, they're going to meet Helen but that's for later. The important detail here is how Celia categorises her incidents. Which she does with the least effort imaginable. She's not had any misfiles yet which tells me that either those no longer happen or you just need to get it in the right Section. But more importantly than that it's also a good look at just how little she cares about the job. We've all known she's had ulterior motives from her introduction but it's nice to see ways that is reflected.

Much like the last incident there isn't too too much to rip into for what I talk about. I'm not sure the themes of this one speak to any greater connection and the characters are all new as far as I know. Which only really leaves one detail to talk about. The Archivist or, rather, *an *Archivist as that's the more interesting detail. The Archivist here didn't really do much we've not seen before. The forced running isn't to dissimilar to the forced drowning and Jarrod did seem to be mumbling in classic fashion. No statement to be heard as such but that might just be because of the framing. However, unlike previous run ins with an Archivist they're very much aware that they're not the only one. Whether this leads to something more grand or not is hard to say but it's an interesting detail.

Alice is finally up to episode 11 with the plot. More seriously it's nice to see her piecing things together now. I do wonder if that was Chester's point or not. Gwen was a little weird in this interaction IMO. Alice and Gwen shared a fairly major revelation together, that this ties into, but she seems to have distanced herself a lot from that emotionally already. Which isn't out of character but does come a little fast.

Helen is *very *Helen here. I think of all the returning characters she might have changed the least. At least from where she started. It's lovely to see her back, although I do wonder if maybe they're leaning on these characters a little too much at this stage. It's hard to know if this is one-off fanservice or the way of things going forward. I hope it's the latter because the less of the old cast we get the more of the new cast we'll see. There isn't a huge amount to say here but its good to see them getting more information about the Institute. Also, unfortunately Helen is still a tory. Categorically disproving the "these characters are now living their best life" theory. It's all still hell. I'd also include the transcripts note for the laugh but that's a TMA spoiler and probably one person hasn't seen that show. Besides if you know, you know.

Sam and Celia finally fucked. Good for them. Well, bad for them if TMA is anything to go off for couples in this setting. But, y'know.

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Incident/CAT#R#DPHW Master Sheet and Terminology Sheet

DPHW Theory: 4463 is pretty normal for this, I think. No major surprises.

CAT# Theory: 1 is a 1. I'll maybe try to write an essay on this before the season ends. No prommies tho.

R# Theory: BC seems about right.

Header talk: Exhaustion (Athletic) -/- Compulsion (Tape). Also very very normal.

I guess I will write that addendum then.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Addendum: Go listen to The Silt Verses.

It's a horror audio drama that's more or less a world where the modern religious landscape is a polytheistic one, with fabricated corporate gods putting pressure on local ones, outlawed religions, and all sorts of fun stuff. But it's a world where religions, fabricated or otherwise, are also powerful and gods do exist and perform miracles. It follows two worshippers of the Trawler Man, and outlawed god, on their pilgrimage up its great black river. As you might expect things don't go smoothly and soon enough there's a man hunt, run ins with cults stranger than theirs, and all sorts of revelations.

The world building is a real high light too. It's just the right level of "this world is horrific yet treated as mundane". It's worth listening just to see how that's all built on.

I rate it a strong prisoners-buried-alive-in-the-foundations-of-new-construction-projects-to-bless-them/10.

[bjlightningbeast]

Why do some folks constantly keep denying that SonAmy is canon (Semi-Canon at least)?

I mean, yeah they're not actually a couple (at least not traditionally), I know that, but it has been confirmed multiple times that Sonic shares his feelings for Amy just as much as she does, only difference is that he keeps his to himself as he's shy about it and doesn't understand the concept of romance. Not to mention, she was literally created to be the love interest, whether you like it or not. This has been a fact for a long time now, especially nowadays where it's much more specific, and yet people are still in denial of this. Sonic is obviously not interested in a relationship, but that won't prevent him from catching feelings for someone. You can like someone while still not having an interest in something more, at least for the moment.

In the trial of love mission in Sonic 06, Amy was literally referred to as Sonic's "Long-time love," meaning Sonic has loved Amy for a long time up til that point and still today. You can try and cover it up as fanservice or the host of the mission just assuming things all you want, but just to remind you, Sonic Team could have just taken this out and it wouldn't matter, but yet chose to leave it in, which is obviously saying something.

In Sonic Frontiers, we get two dialogue that heavily imply how Sonic feels about Amy. One of them have him saying, "He wishes to share an umbrella with Amy," and "How he should've made up my mind sooner." The "umbrella" one is the most obvious one, as sharing an umbrella is a usual romantic gesture. You can try to cover up with him, meaning it as a friendly gesture or whatever, but then in that case, why not say the same for Tails or Knuckles? in fact, why say it at all if he just sees her as a friend, hmm (btw these are in the games, they're not cut content)? It's kind of an odd thing to think or say about a friend who you see nothing more than just a friend, isn't it?

I know many are going to bring the moments where Amy has chased Sonic, and it always ends with Sonic running away. Ok, but there's something that a LOT of them have failed to notice... why isn't he going supersonic? No, for real, how come he never speeds up whenever he's been chased. Cause everytime, the chase happens, he is not running at full speed, and Amy can't run as fast as he can. If he's really bothered by Amy at all, he would be running at the other side of the planet at the speed of light with no chance of Amy catching him. He can easily do that, but yet chooses to slow down for her, which again is obviously saying something.

I can go on about this, but I think I made my point across. It honestly baffles me how some people still refuse to believe there is anything going on between Sonic and Amy, and sometimes it's usually the people who prefer to ship them with other characters. It just seems like ya'll are coping, at this point.

Just needed to get this off my chest. Look, you don't have to like them or anything. You're free to ship whatever, but trying to dismiss it as one-sided or a fan ship when it's has been long confirmed to be official is just plain denial.

[lullabyalikpoptarot]

TXT Thoughts on Being an Idol Part 2

Disclaimer: No facts here, just my interpretation. This one was a bit harder for me, as this group is much more protected, but I was able to break through and get some tea, especially from Beomgyu and Kai, they had no problem talking. The two eldest are definitely the most guarded, they were so hard to get through but got some stuff there too. Taehyun wasn't hard to read, but he is very to the point, doesn't elaborate much. So, hope you enjoy this one as well.

Yeonjun

Thoughts on the company? (5 of Pentacles/Queen of Swords/5 of Wands) He continuously gives me there is a lack of resources he does have, pretty left out in the cold, abandoned. He tries to make the best out of what he has. I don't see them making a lot of money with the company. I am kind of getting he is removed from the drama. He is trying to logically figure out how to come to a resolution of what is going on. He is a little more rational and smarter to kind of get involved in it. He seems pretty detached from it all. It is like he rises above that and tries to use his mind.

Thoughts on Industry? (3 of Cups/The Magician/8 of Wands) Both of these cards are giving me ritualistic vibes, there is some sort of rituals they do to reach farther advancement. There are certain things they do that get them ahead. I just keep hearing magic spells. Ugh, this group isn't as open, so I have to sit with them longer to break through. They are definitely a lot more protected then Enhypen, or the members are not as willing to communicate as much as Enhypen.

What effects has it had on him? (2 of Cups/King of Pentacles/6 of Wands) You know what he gives me, he is that person that will just go along with anything to achieve the success he wants. He wants money and fame, so whatever he needs to do to get he will do it. He's giving me he'll play the game, whatever that is, so I don't see him being distraught about things, because he understands the game of being an idol/famous. He doesn't seem bothered by it all, now that first question is starting to make sense to me. It is like he'll make nice with whomever gets him where he needs to be. I usually see the KOP's as the higher ups, but I feel it is both his energy and them. He wants that type of level of success. How he gets that with that shady company who knows.

Thoughts on fanservice/shipping? (9 of Pentacles/The Devil/The Emperor) Now, he gives me these weird ass cards, these cards should have popped out in the other questions, what is this! This dude is legit about money, that is what this is about. If any of this brings him attention and money he is down for it. This dude will sell himself for the money, fame and accolades. But why this is popping up now for this question who knows. I guess it ties into it. There is something about him being solo and standing in his own power. I feel he may prefer to go solo, but is tied to a group. Ya'll, I don't understand why this is coming up here. This shows me if shipping and fanservice benefits him, he is down for it. I also see they are obligated to do these things as well.

Well, I see this boy in another light now. I am very interested in doing his perspective reading now, which will get done soon.

Soobin

Thoughts on company? (King of Wands/The Sun/5 of Swords) This KOW's could be his energy. They seem to let him shine. They allow him to be himself, to stand out in a way. He's gotten a lot of success from them. With this 5 of Swords, it seems they give and take away things, they can make you or break you. They can take things from you. They fuel some sort of fire in him. They may also take away that fire and passion he had. They can be very sneaky, cold and callus. I am kind of getting they make you feel great and then cut you down. Okay, starting to get something. I just have to sit with this group longer, because they have more of a guard and shield on them. But I will have to be patient to gather information here, which sucks, because I have no patience lol It is like they hype them up and then tear them down. It is like they take whatever creative energy or passion they have. The Sun card also gives me stolen youth. It is like they start off energetic and passionate, but they drain they hell out of that. They are very cut-throat.

Thoughts on industry? (3 of Wands rv/The Emperor/Death) There are people that hold a lot of power. He may be constrained and restricted from moving ahead or advancing. They steal your energy, suck your soul dry. I am having difficulty understanding why he is being held back from advancing. Like there is a strong authoritative figure holding him back, he may legit be scared of this person. This Death card is not giving me great vibes, it is like you got to appease this people, if not, they can end you, be it career or something else. I just keep thinking of those death clauses that celebrities supposedly have. Moving on.

What effects has it had on him? (3 of Cups/8 of Pentacles/2 of Pentacles/Wheel of Fortune) It is like they have to come together to do some sort of casting spell or ritual to further their career. It is like he learned to go through the motions. Doing these rituals gives him opportunities, progress, money and advancement. This could also be parties and people they have to entertain to get some sort of payback and success.

Thoughts on fanservice/shipping? (Knight of Wands rv/9 of Wands/9 of Pentacles) Not sure he likes either one of them. He does it because he has to, he is a product that has to put himself out there is what these cards are giving me. On a personal level, he doesn't care too much. There is also some hesitation to fuel the fire of fanservice and shipping on his part as well.

That was one rough, on to my bias.

Beomgyu

Thoughts on Company? (The Fool/10 of Pentacle rv/Strength) He may feel the squander money, make foolish investments, step into things they aren't sure of, they take a lot of risk. They don't really invest in them too much or put much money in them, as I mentioned don't see them making lots of money with them. There is a desire to fight against them, but he tries to hold himself back. He seems to have the power of divine feminine around him, the power of intuition and his psychic abilities to help him move through the faults of the company. There is this need or desire for him to take care of things. Not sure what that is though. I wanted more cards, since he seems more open, got the KOP's and the KOW's. I feel the KOP's represent their company head/CEO, or someone of power and Beomgyu represents this KOW's, he seems frustrated with this person, this need to stand against this person. I keep getting from Beomgyu that he needs to lead the charge somehow, KOW's is a leader, someone who inspire change, I feel that is what he needs to do, will he do it, who knows.

Thoughts on Industry? (King of Wands/10 of Wands/The Tower) This boy is so interesting to me, so he wants some sort of change, he may want less of a burden on them, he may feel they should not have this much burden on them. I am struggling to understand why he has the tower rv, if he wants change than it should be upright, but maybe he doesn't want the system to break, or things to get catastrophic. But the KOW's is a leader of revolution and inspired change, so he may be conflicted here. So, needed more cards from him, got the high priestess and 2 of pentacles, this goes along with doing some rituals, or there is some hidden knowledge to how they are able to get opportunities. He may not like this aspect of the job. I just feel this burning desire to change things from him. He wants the industry to be more creative or highlight the creative aspect of the music. He may be that type of person who is like let's bring art and creativity to the industry.

What effects it has had on him? (7 of Wands/Knight of Swords/Queen of Cups) He wants to fight against it, this is crazy. This dude is such a loving soul, caring and compassionate. He doesn't like what the industry does to idols. There is this need to defend himself and the idols. He wants to fight for what is right. Man, if he could speak on what is going on, he would. Because I have no problem getting information from him, unlike the other two above. I swear he and Jungwon should join forces, like Jungwon has the knowledge, but he has the passion and creativity to make change. I feel they could be a good team lol I always get this fighter spirit from him, a need to defend and speak his mind. He may have even defending his members and other idols before.

Thoughts on fanservice/shipping? (Queen of Swords/5 of Wands/3 of Cups) He feels it creates unnecessary drama, conflict and arguments. He seems pretty matter of fact and logical when it comes to this. He feels a sense of love and community with the fans and members and other idols. He does feel people highlight it a bit too much, but companies or idols also feed off of that as well. I am getting there is a loving community here. If he shows love it is because he means it, he doesn't do it for show.

Taehyun

Thoughts on company? (5 of Pentacles/7 of Wands/9 of Wands) They be beating these boys down, once again lack of resources and money I keep getting for them, they give these boys no support financially, or lack of resources. Like Beomgyu, there is a desire to stand against them and maybe he has, along with Beomgyu. He feels worn down by them and their tactics, he has his guard up with them.

Thoughts on Industry? (Queen of Swords/Wheel of Fortune rv/8 of Wands) They will cut any opportunity for you if how they see fit. They stall their growth. They keep you very active, but there isn't much progress or money that comes his way. It is a brutal and cutthroat industry, also lots of cold and detached people.

What effects it has had on him? (5 of Swords/The Star/The Magician) People can be backstabbing, cruel and betray others to rise to fame, now is these other idols, not sure. You have to pour a lot of soul and energy into this industry, can be draining. To rise to fame you have to cut people down. You win or lose, someone has to rise to the top. He has learned his star power and potential through this process. He recognizes his gifts and talents. It is like he knows you got to be a special type of person to rise above this industry with many skills and talents.

Thoughts on fanservice/shipping? (Ace of Pentacles rv/Page of Wands/The Magician rv) He is a little uncomfortable with them both. But there is a slight desire to go with it. He is curious as to why these are important to entertain. He doesn't really see the opportunity in it, like why it matters. He isn't really here for either of them.

Hs was short and sweet, he revealed some things, but he comes off as pretty straightforward and to the point most of the time lol

Hueningkai

Thoughts on company? (Strength/5 of Wands/10 of Wands/King of Pentacles) I feel there is a strong woman who may direct them, I felt this feminine energy throughout the reading but decided to point it out now. This could also be his energy, his ability to stand strong regardless of the bullshit the company throws at him. There is a lot of conflict and competition. I feel the company may put these boys in competition or make them feel they are in one against the other. There is a lot of heavy burden and exhaustion for them at the helm of their CEO/ Company head, it is like he gets to collect all the money while they bust their asses. Damn, he isn't holding back lol Like this KOP's is just chilling and you got the 10 of wands, which feels represents him, the man seems so tired with all the wands he is carrying, that is all the weight he has to carry. I just heard while this dude sits on his fat ass, yup, I am just repeating the message. I am also getting, we break our backs, but what do they do, damn this sounds like me at my job about the higher ups, so I relate. They take all the money, but the people lower on the pyramid do most of the grunt work. Anyway, he went off here, loving it.

Thoughts on the industry? (The Chariot/Ace of Cups/The High Priestess) Why should we be surprised the ritualistic card pops up, also a card of hidden knowledge, hidden secrets, book of spells, etc. This gives me to move ahead, you got to drink the potion, not sure what that means, but the ace of cups gives me drinking something, do they have to drink something, a concoction, there is some drink they offer you, does that create the spell block they do? It is like once you are in, drink this and let's do some spell work on you, this is wild wtf is this. I wanted more cards and got the 6 of wands, it is like once you do this, you get the success, attention and accolades, yo this is wild, do they really do this shit!? What the hell did I step into.

What effects it has on him? ( 6 of Wands/The Chariot/Ace of Cups) It is like he learned to have this competitive, win at all cost spirit. This strength and courage to move forward and face these challenges. And once again, this ace of cups gives me drinking something, does this gives him some sort of ability, does this open something up for him, not sure what it is, so I got the message psyche, now I kind of know what that means, but when I googled it, I got the Psychology of money, wild that popped up, I go with what I get, so this may mean, that this may have opened him up to trying to understand or being aware of why people do things for money, this may have made him aware of maybe how far they, he, or others will go to obtain money. I can't really articulate this too well, sorry. I needed another card, he gave me the Queen of Cups, he may have been able to tap into some psychic abilities, or some new insight to things he hasn't had access to before. There is something about a cup of something. It is like something he drinks opens him up to something. Okay, so I asked what it opens himself to. I got the mystical realm, so he is able to tap into that to get a better understanding of the world around him, so they can access that with this drink, well I just got potion. Hmm, I am thinking it may be a psychedelic. Okay, now I am being pulled back to Heeseung's idol reading, maybe this was the drink I was talking about in his reading, he may be drinking whatever this is as well. Yo, that is wild. I was not expecting him to show me this and be this revealing. This isn't actually bad, this could be used for good, but it depends how they use it.

Thoughts on fanservice/shipping? (The Emperor/Queen of Swords/10 of Pentacles) He is pretty nonchalant about it. He likes to appear powerful and strong, not sure why that is coming up. I feel like the company does want them to feed off of it, so he does. But he is kind of removed from it on an emotional level. He doesn't care for it. But if it helps them financially, he will do, honestly, he doesn't do it for the money factor, he does it because he is told to do it. I just see someone enforcing it on them.

Okay, so glad they opened up for me, this was harder, but I got some information. I will get to BTS next but need a bit of break from this series. It can be rough. Surely, they are even more protected, so that one may take more time than this one.

[itsclydebitches]

Cinder is a lot more sexualized then the male parts of Salem's inner circle

Like tyrian is shirtless sometimes but that does not feel as...drawn attention to, as say, the lingering shots of Cinder's butt or thighs. Or her wearing short shorts and high boots you know what I mean?

I do, anon. RWBY got a lot of attention back in the day for its anti-upskirt technology, but that doesn't give it a free pass for all the other ways you might (and it does) sexualize the cast. I've never been inclined to give RWBY too much shit in this regard because it is pulling from media with a LONG history of such designs and cinematography - it feels unfair of me to act like RWBY is uniquely responsible for such problems when I'm simultaneously willing to overlook, say, the 90's "gag" of Yusuke flipping up Keiko's skirt - but there's nevertheless a voice in the back of my mind constantly asking things like, "Why are so many of the girls fighting in heels?" and "Why are they dressed like they're going to the club and not the literal TUNDRA??" I'd kill for the whole cast, but the girls in particular, to get a re-design that focuses on fashionably compelling practicality, rather than sexy fanservice. (Though Ice Kingdom did a good job overall, particularly for Ruby.) Sure, RWBY didn't give us panty-shots, but one of the first characters we're introduced to is literally designed like a dominatrix.

If we're talking about outfits though... I'd say Emerald gets hit the worst out of Salem's minions. Yeah, Cinder is definitely sexualized in a more general sense as the tall, white (that's not a coincidence), long-legged beauty who sensually conjures fire as she prowls towards the heroes, camera focused on her hips swaying. But Emerald?

She suffers from the same problem Yang has. AKA, if your woman isn't classically beautiful (like Wiess and to a different extent Blake), or cute / child-like (Ruby, Penny), but is instead going for a sporty, comparatively masculine-esque vibe... then they've got to show a LOT of skin. RWBY makes it sexy by just denying them clothes. You're entering dangerous battles on the daily? You want to protect yourself? Too bad. The audience needs a midriff and cleavage and your whole arms to stare at. Shorten the skin-tight pants so we can see some leg too. Oh, Yang has to have long pants because she's heading into the coldest Kingdom in Remnant? Never mind that, cut a strip out to show her thigh.

"But Clyde, the girls don't need to wear armor because of aura--" then why the hell does Jaune bother wearing that heavy-ass suit? Is it weight training? Does he just think it makes him look cool? ...or does it exist in case his aura breaks and he's allowed to wear more protective gear because there are different gender expectations attached to his design? The aura argument is just a modern rehashing of the Supergirl sun argument: using made up lore to "justify" getting your women characters into skimpy outfits, despite the men rarely being held to the same standards.

Tyrian is actually an interesting exception here and if I were less tired I'd think through this argument more, but something something as the "crazy" character he's allowed more leeway in breaking those expectations. Also the open shirt shows off his scars, which likewise help sell how dangerous he is. With the exception of characters like Cinder and Nora - whose injuries are Important Character Moments the audience gets to see play out - scars are surprisingly uncommon in Remanent. Or, again, they're severely downplayed so as not to interfere with that classic beauty design (like Weiss', or even Yang who gets a perfect cut when losing her arm). So when you see a character with giant scars spanning the length of his chest, an open shirt drawing deliberate attention to them... that makes you go, "Oh shit. What's he been through to scar like that in a world where most people make it out of fights with no permanent damage?"

[diabolikpersonals]

I would like to hear your thoughts on the DF diaboys routes you have played at this point.

yessir!! under the cut:

Shu: Shu's DF route is an exercise in meeting him where he is. We know Shu loves his family, but we have to understand it isn't easy for him to show it. We're right at the precipice of a big change in Shu and Reiji's relationship, but we have to accept that acting the way Reiji wants him to just isn't what's best for Shu. Yui wants confirmation of Shu's affection for her, but she has to learn that he shows his affection in other ways. It's kind of like this route is showcasing Shu's flaws and you're going, "That's okay! I like Shu because he's Shu!" so I think it's sweet. Take your time, Shu! ...If I had to complain about this route, I'd say that we spend so long away from the other characters that it gets lonely. I guess that's the point, though...I just don't really find all the "hiding from everyone else" scenes very exciting after a while. We could've spoken to Reiji more, and I honestly feel like Shu and Reiji have bigger breakthroughs in other routes, so this one feels like it's missing a big scene with the Beatrix bros.

Ayato: If you had asked me when I had just played HDB and MB, I would have told you, "Never in a MILLION YEARS will I feel anything other than hatred for Cordelia," but well!!! Surprise!!! This one will make you feel things other than hatred for Cordelia, whether you like it or not. I truly understand how the triplets felt when they said they loved and hated her. The situation is too complicated for me to get into it very much here, but in short I'll say that I really liked the direction they took with the plot of this route, and I came out of it feeling like Ayato and Yui took a well-earned step forward. Absolutely loved this one. So proud of both of them. Whenever I play through the DF Sakamaki prologue, it makes me feel cruel if I don't pick Ayato's route lmao

Laito: If you are an angst lover like me then you will eat this shit up. It's an extremely bad time for every character involved. It hurt so good. I had to spend 70% of this route convincing Laito not to kill himself. In this route, Laito discovers a fact about his father that changes his outlook on his entire life, like every single thing about his life, and the performance that Daisuke Hirakawa gives is like.. It's pure art idk what to tell you. Reading this route is not good enough, you need the audio. I was scared, I wanted to cry, and as a triplet lover there were high points too, but my heart ached for the entire route, even through the good ending! I like that even the obligatory fanservice scenes don't let you forget how terrible the situation is! Strongly strongly strongly recommend

Yuma: Alas, I can only give you a super biased review of this one. It's my favorite route because it has so many good Shu/Yuma scenes. This route is our last bit of "Shu avoids Yuma and keeps secrets from him for his own good!" drama before Yuma finally gets the whole truth about his childhood. We get the cute flashback scenes, Yuma gets some awful nightmares and has some panic attacks, there's a little of everything! :D Even Zweig is there and he and Yuma are super cool, and if you know anything about Lost Eden then you know how hilarious that is. Anyway, this all culminates in THE YUMA BEST FRIEND MONOLOGUE which is one of my favorite dialovers scenes, period, because it makes me so happy. It feels soooo good to watch the arson recovery trio...recover from the arson. 10/10. Shuuma shippers, this one is required reading.

Carla: I'm definitely not shaming you if this route is to your taste, but it certainly wasn't to mine :') Most diaboys talk down to you, but Carla talks down to you to such a degree that I started getting offended over stuff I've never been offended about before. Like, "What do you mean you don't like the taste of my blood?! My blood is fucking delicious!" lol. I am not into all the forced pregnancy stuff, I am not into the demon racism stuff, I am not into how often Yui is reminded that she has no family and no one will come save her. I personally found Carla to be unbearable until he collapsed and started the process of dying. Then he got all sensitive and lonely and I was like "ok I can deal with him now." The ending isn't very satisfying either (What do you mean sucking Yui's blood will stop him from dying for now? He's been sucking her blood this whole time and his symptoms got way worse.) and Carla's blood sucking noises made me want to take my headphones off and throw them away (sorry toshiyuki morikawa I respect you so much toshiyuki morikawa) soooooooooo.........I didn't like it. I grew to like Carla around CL so don't be sad if you like him, ok? He's my friend now, but this route is still just unpleasant to me hgfghsdf

Shin: I know I said I hated the forced pregnancy talk and the demon racism plans and I did hate them, believe me, but Shin's route was successful in getting me to like him. I love that they put him in jail and beat the shit out of him, that was such a good scene and I really feel like my tastes are finally being represented lmao. Because it's his introductory route, he's pretty rough around the edges (true for every diaboy—everyone is a huge jerk in their introductory route) but there was still a lot to enjoy! The flashback scenes were fun (dare I say...he was...cute?!) and when put together with Carla's, the Tsukinamis have a super interesting story & dynamic together, and it fits the themes of dialovers really well. The differences with Carla's route, to me at least, are that Shin's scenes feel more like "playing with a diaboy" even when he gets mean, Shin has the added appeal of being teasable and of being a BIG FLUFFY DOG, and of course, Shin's blood sucking scenes didn't make me want to die. I'm clearly in the minority here, though, because Shin is at the bottom of every popularity poll I see lol...Anyway, it didn't make me LOSE MY SHIT like some other routes did, but I had fun playing this one!!

[eternalpassions]

Shame on Kaname for not telling her to get out of his house the first time she told him she liked zero. Instead, he validated her and made her feel like she's some goddess of love, the likes of venus or aphrodite and he is grateful for the suffering she causes him. He should have cut her off the first time her thoughtless actions hurt him but he's too much of an emotional fool to do that. I fail to see how he is a "king". He comes across as extremely co dependent himself. He is weak and not worthy of the "king" title. Yuki is not polyamorous whatever that shit is supposed to mean. She is entitled. She knows he's not going anywhere so she can do as she pleases. what is her biggest problem in life? That she can't have two men? She needs to learn how to be grateful. Always talks of herself as the victim and always blames Kaname.

Hino's turned Kaname into a total simp. He used to seem like a feared respected vampire. I guess I would have rather him be a villain than be this pathetic sap who talks about how ren is a memento of yucky and zero. Being needy desperate and pathetic isn't hot. He was hot before but this weak personality makes him unattractive.

There’s a lot to unpack here

Yea it sucked when that happened but at least she was being honest with him about where she was at. Yea if sucked, but to be fair she had a bunch times where she did those things to zero so… I mean he loves her too and it’s hard to let go of someone you’re that attached to so I understand why it was hard for him to let go

He’s a king bc he did the most in this manga and saved everyone basically. And within the story he basically established much of the vampire world and helped humans. The thing is the story is messed up bc Hino was too scared to have Yuuki choose so she made her polyamorous.

She can’t help it she’s indecisive. She’s a scatter brained girl who never grew up. Honestly I don’t really have much else to say bc I lost interest in this story.

I don’t think it’s that he’s needy it’s that Hino was a coward and took the hate to heart so she’s doing extreme damage control on Kaname bc of the hate she got and because of how she’ll probably wrap up vkm she has to make the zeki’s feel like they won for a little bit before we know what else she decides to pull. I thought that moment was stupid too but it just shows how stupid Hino is overall. Why does he have to mention a couple he knows nothing about and has nothing to do with him? It’s clearly fanservice cuz Hino loves to troll us 💀

[yanderefairyangel]

I know you love it, but I really don’t like the manga… all the women are drawn like objects (minus the kids aka veyle), like the bathing scene and the only person who’s body is covered is Alfred’s, or ivys suspenders squeezing her thighs in a way that would cut of circulation. I’m kind of glad the mangaka picked m!alear because their one drawing of f!Alear had an up skirt shot. I don’t know… do you have any opinions on this?

...bathing scene ? What ? There is no bathing scene at all, what are you talking about ?

"ivys suspenders squeezing her thighs in a way that would cut of circulation"

That's accurate, she doesn't wait gartbelt, so if they aren't tight, they would fall. Someone made a tweet about this hang on (damn I can't find it)

"the only person who’s body is covered is Alfred’s"

...he isn't covered...there is just a bubble in front of the drawing...that's not coverage...what ?

"the women are drawn like objects" they aren't...really, they aren't. They are literaly just drawn having fun in swimsuit that aren't even that revealing. Also Anon, we are talking about fictional characters, not real women, I agree sometimes fanservice can be gross but there is no instance of that in the manga, the artist isn't straying away from the original designs, and i know we love to poke fun of how they draw Lumera and Chloé, but imo it's more proportions than anything

"I’m kind of glad the mangaka picked m!alear because their one drawing of f!Alear had an up skirt shot. "

They've drawn her many times, there was nothing objectifying about them

Like, I don't know why exactly you don't like the manga, but none of those claims are true, imo it's probably your discomfort speaking more than anything else

If I were you, I would just stop reading it

[woogiez]

nobody asked but here are my personal headcanons about Vorona

– Vorona eventually starts vaping, Shizuo is not happy about this (he knows better than anyone that smoking is bad) but who's he to judge? plus he likes the smell – eventually Vorona starts working in film industry as a stunt woman, this was Kasuka's idea

– this led to her and Shizuo barely seeing each other, until one day he offers her moving in together with him which makes it better, they still don't see each other every day, but it's much more often – Vorona is a very good stunt woman due to her physical abilities and combatant skills, but is a horrendous actor (got small role offering once) – Vorona isn't bothered by Shizuo's smoking, almost all men surrounding her from childhood were heavy smokers, including her dad, and it wasn't even good stuff – Vorona made Shizuo have a sparring with her, he barely attacked her directly at the beginning, but started to do so when she successfully dodged all his moves and managed to get him on the ground (using his lack of technique against him), both had fun – She doesn't like dresses or skirts due to them being too revealing during fighting. When she's wearing them, she's challenging herself to fight with her hands and torso only (not fighting is not an option obviously) – Celty eventually warms up to Vorona when she realizes she means no harm, just like Shizuo she's kinda flattered with admiration of her power and also she finds Vorona's way of talking similar to the one she once had – they're bonding over bikes – Tom tried to lure Vorona into manga, but got overwhelmed by her amount of questions about weird stuff from there (like the amount of fanservice and sus stuff). He's still recommending her some stuff from time to time, but now the quality bar is in the skies – Vorona has plenty of knowledge about cooking and even knowing some receipts by heart from books, but isn't this good on practice (mostly she gets frustrated every time recepy says like "50 mins in oven on 180" but it ends up being not enough or way too much) – Erica once dragged Vorona into cosplay and even got her wearing sexy outfit but got disappointed by her inability to smile for a camera – Vorona cuts all ties to her family and it's name, Shizuo was thinking about getting a blessing from her old man, but it never happened – Vorona never had an official name, she wasn't officially registered anywhere in her country, all her documents are fake. After she moved to Japan she decided to stick with her fake passport name for all legal actions – Shizuo never calls Vorona by fake name, even on their wedding, dude pretends he doesn't see it every time some docs need to be filled in

[basket-of-cats-and-witches]

Halloween Movie Night

Halloween isn't over until I say so. Or until Mariah Carrie comes out of the woodwork with a chainsaw like some sort of Christmas slasher film.

Speaking of which, I had a lot of fun with this one! It's pretty much just silliness, with a brief allusion to the fic I posted yesterday, Halloween Hunting.

This one features Zayne x my MC, Kiri. Xavier also makes a brief appearance, and Andromeda, my OC who's romancing him, is mentioned.

It's fun.

If you enjoyed this, please feel free to like or reblog! It lets me know people like what I'm doing, and encourages me to write more.

🎃🎃🎃🎃🎃

Halloween.

The time when children and adults alike dressed up in costumes, gathering candy and playing pranks on one another.

The time when the veil was the thinnest.

Otherwise known as the worst day of the year for Hunters.

Kiri sighed as she dialed Zayne's number, ignoring the distant sound of screeching Wanderers. Xavier could hold them off for a moment.

She had been so confident that she'd be able to get off early tonight, with metaflux readings being the lowest they'd been in nearly a decade.

Apparently, the Wanderers didn't get the message.

“This is Doctor Zayne,” came the curt voice from the other end.

She chuckled. It looked like he was still in work mode.

“Oh doctor,” Kiri said playfully. “I think there's something wrong with my heart. It seems to have made its way into your hands.”

In the distance, Xavier flew back and hit a tree, landing hard on his feet.

Kiri tilted her head at him. He gave her the thumbs up, and bolted off again. Something gave a dying scream.

Zayne chuckled. “I see. It sounds like it heard that there was danger and came running to me. Perhaps I should keep it safe for you until your return?”

“That sounds lovely,” she replied with a smile. “Unfortunately, you may have to hold onto it for quite a bit before I can pick it up.”

“Oh?” Zayne didn't sound surprised. “I take it Killer Rabbit 3: The Revengeing will have to wait? What a shame.”

Kiri snorted, stepping out of the way as Xavier's sword flew past. It speared a flying Wanderer, killing it instantly. “Don't knock it till you try it, darling. Killer Rabbit: Turbo Murder and Killer Rabbit 2: Dawn of Blood were both excellent films. Although the second one was a bit fanservice-y. They should have made Chad wear a bit more armor.”

“I feel like my ears are bleeding,” Zayne said dryly. “I agreed to watch it with you for Halloween, didn't I? We'll just do a raincheck.”

Kiri pouted. “But Halloween only comes once a year-”

A voice on the other end of the line cut her off. “Doctor Zayne, it's that patient, L-” the rest was muffled, presumably Zayne covering his phone mic to preserve the patient’s confidentiality.

Kiri glanced over at Xavier. He was sweating and focused, his uniform smeared in all sorts of viscera. She reached into her pack and tossed him her canteen.

Grateful, Xavier raised it in a ‘cheers’ before downing the whole thing.

Zayne returned. “I have to go. Be safe. Love you.” The call clicked off abruptly.

Sighing, Kiri texted him a “love you too, good luck” before putting her phone away. When Zayne lost his manners, it was usually because there was an emergency.

It looked like neither one of them would be available tonight.

“Everything good?” Xavier asked, taking the bottom of his uniform top and wiping his brow. His stomach was exposed for a moment, revealing a wealth of love marks.

She snorted. “Not as good as you, apparently. Congrats on finally sleeping with Andromeda.”

Xavier rolled his eyes, gracing her with a tiny smile. “Thanks. Shall we get back to it?”

“Sure thing. Thanks for covering for me.” She cocked her gun as the beating of wings sounded overhead, and prepared herself for a long night.

-

Kiri awoke to the smell of buttered popcorn.

She'd gotten home about an hour ago, stripping herself of her gear and struggling through a shower.

As soon as her head had hit the pillow, she had fallen asleep.

Now, she blinked blearily. A soft glow suddenly flickered on from the hallway, causing her to sit up and slip a robe on.

“Zayne?” She called out groggily.

“In here,” came the soft reply.

Padding out into the living room, it took her a moment to comprehend what she was seeing.

White sheets draped across the majority of their space, threaded through with lights. Blankets and pillows were neatly assembled into a bed of sorts, with little plastic pumpkins scattered around.

Zayne stood amongst it all, a popcorn bowl and a tray full of snacks in his hands. “Surprise.”

Kiri’s mouth hung open. “Z-Zayne, what? I thought you were busy! It's-” she glanced at a clock. “It's three in the morning!”

“Well, my appointment for tomorrow decided to be tonight,” he said wryly. “So the rest of my schedule got cleared.”

Setting the snacks down, he grabbed two glasses of cider - one alcoholic and the other not - handing one to her. “Halloween only happens once a year, after all.”

She took the glass, her nose stinging as the telltale prick of tears hit the corners of her eyes. “Zayne…this is so sweet.”

“Come on.” He pulled her to the blanket pile, draping a particularly soft one over her lap. It was still warm, as if it had come fresh out of the dryer. “Let's watch that movie.”

Kiri cuddled up with him, sipping her cider. She made a face. “Mm. Swap with me. This one is yours.”

He chuckled, murmuring an apology as he clicked ‘play’ on the remote.

Soon, the comforting sounds of over-exaggerated screams filled the air. Zayne’s eyes began to drift shut, and before she knew it, his head was leaning on her shoulder. His breaths came slow and even.

Kiri kissed the top of his head. “Happy Halloween,” she murmured. “Thank you for the treat.”

Bonus:

“So, what did you think of the movie?”

“For what I was awake for? Surprisingly accurate in terms of wound placement and their subsequent consequences. The arterial spray was impressively done. Someone did their research. Did you like it?”

“Mmh. Honestly, the CGI rabbits made it a bit underwhelming. I understand, though. After the live rabbit killed someone on set in the production of the second movie, they couldn't afford to make the same mistake twice.”

“...What?!”