#and for those of you who can see parallel in the 'since when' section ...

[gwenivere]

CHARACTER INFORMATION.

legal name :  gwen amanda jones nickname(s) :  guinevere , king arthur’s queen / wife , queenie date of birth :  november 2nd , 1988 sex :  cisgender girl , she / her pronouns place of birth :  toronto , ontario , canada currently living :  griffinvale , victoria , australia spoken languages :  english ( first language , fluent ) and french ( conversational ). education :  is up to date in her schooling with a talent and interest in literature , but has spent a good majority of her life switching school constantly .  as of may 2002 , she has switched schools at least five times in the last five years .  she was also schooled in canada until 2002 , when she moved with her mother to australia and was enrolled in griffinvale secondary in grade eight or nine . hair colour :  blonde eye colour :  hazel height :  5'2"   (  157  cm.  )  barefoot. weight :  120  lbs   (  54,4 kg.  )

FAMILY INFORMATION.

sibling(s) :  n / a parents(s) :  karen jones  (  mother  )  and  “anthony jones”  (  legal father  ;  karen wrote down the name to fill the blank on her birth certificate  )  /  patrick o’ leary  (  biological father  ) children :  n / a pets(s) :  n / a

RELATIONSHIP INFORMATION.

sexual orientation :  bisexual relationship status :  single , but has a crush first on (  and ends up dating  )  josh meyers and later on michael medina. since when :  she started crushing on josh some times after the events of the first three episodes , helped by him helping out at the new sage shop and her proximity to his younger sister , tasha .  they eventually start dating , but trouble arises when michael arrives in town , with gwen realizing she is attracted to him during the events of episode 9  (  love hurts  ).  while she does break up with josh because of michael , the two stay friends and she never ends up dating michael due to the situation at hand with her mother …

tagged by :  stole it from @joyuex​ ! tagging :  whoever wants to do this !

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - The Industry is Having Issues But the Spice Spicy Must Flow

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

March 2024 Wk 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Two Worlds (Thurs IQIYI) eps 1-2 of 10 - One of those "he's dead Jim so time travel" thingames starring MaxNat. I'm over this concept but I do enjoy MaxNat. Phupha (Gun) and Khram (Nat) love each other but Phupha is murdered. Then Khram is pulled to a parallel world where, years ago, Khram and Tai (Max) were in love. However, Khram was killed by Tai’s dad. Now Tai finds alter-Khram. But then there is ALSO an alter-Phupha to deal with. (Phupha is played by Gun Thanawat who was Khom, the repressed butler bodyguard from Unforgotten Night. We like this, but we scared of the love triangle aspect.) Did that make sense? Yeah, okay, see what I mean?

Initial thoughts?

The subs are troubling but I’m enjoying this show a lot. It’s nice to see MaxNat get something meaty to sink their teeth into - that’s not just each other. Also it’s so smart of them to give us a fully fleshed out entire episode developing the alter romance rather than just a separation + death. It makes Khram’s grief and motivation that much more believable. Also it’s really nice to see Nat have good chemistry with other actors. 

Deep Night (Thurs iQiyi) ep 3 of 8 (10?) - I'm still enjoying it. But Two Worlds is objectively better. So this one has lost ranking. Also, unexpectedly chili (the name of my heavy metal Thai cover band).

Lovey switchy and verse main couple too.

This is all quite pleasing.

The bit where the hosts pretend to be a BL couple actor ship was epic on so many levels.

Also unsettling.

All sex work is performative, and in a way there is something more honest about this depiction, in this setting, than what BL actors are made to do on the promo circuit. Which then begs the question, how different is BL from sex work? That's the unsettling bit, for me anyway. Not to slam on sex work AT ALL, we pro-the-true-pros on this damn blog, but actors have been shaded by association with True Professionals for a very long time and BL has already had one epic shut down in this regard. (See the PerthSaint scandal around Love By Chance, no I will not explain.) Where was I? Oh yes, so anyway, see the Gossip section for the part where they better be paid either way!

Also, since I'm a warped fucker, I found this scene funny.

And then hilarious when all of those BL tropes were just trotted out. Like a greatest hits reel.

Truly beyond meta. (How Absolute BL of them.)

Note he’s even standing in yaoi's patented "hands in pocket with the shoulders back"? 

Meanwhile, the gayest bridge in Thailand made its quarterly appearance:

And lip serviced was paid to the most touristy romantic things you can do in Bangkok.

And I mean lip service literally. 

To Be Continued (Thai C3 Thailand grey) ep 5 of 8 - I’m still enjoying it but getting more and more nervous. We getting too close to Promise territory for comfort. EXPLAIN Ji’s reticence well and do it now or risk audience mistrust. We have to be given a GOOD reason for Ji's behavior, or he'll be irredeemable.

City of Stars (Fri iQIYI) ep 8 of 12 - NO SINGING. Yes smiley kisses and good communication and a nice healthy relationship. But no singing!

1000 Years Old ep 6 of 12 - Dropping in the ranks. I’m sorry it’s just gotten boring. It has, however, inspired me to invest in my own ridiculous cream fuzzy sweater. Which I plan to wear with leather trousers and huge stumpy boots, like the Kpop queer I truly am. Or do I mean vampire? 

Kiseki Chapter 2 (Sun iQIYI) ep 1 of 6 - Seems to be an excuse for a small posse of Thai actors to wander around Tokyo playing tourist and sing in public . Someone stop them?

“Most people think this kind of thing is bad manners .”

Anyway, it’s v boring. I’ll give it one more ep but I suspect I’ll DNF.

Close Friend Season 3: Soju Bomb! (Weds iQIYI) eps 1-2 of 6 - Meh. This is also looking suspiciously DNF-a-licious.  

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Unknown (Taiwan Tues Youku YouTube & Viki) ep 5 of 11 - It's brilliant. I love it. I'm ready to hurt. Let’s do this thing. 

Distribution note: This one has been picked up and is also airing on Viki now, so it may lose YT distribution in soem territories. I like Youku's hard subs better than Viki's subs, but that's a matter of preference not information since I don't speak Mandarin.

Love is Better the Second Time Around AKA Koi wo Suru nara Nidome ga Joto (Japan Weds Gaga) ep 3 of 6 - It is good. Every week I like this show a little more. I'm enjoying a reunion romance explored in Japan's quintessentially contemplative yet slightly surreal way. The juxtaposition of the tenderness of the sex scene with this Japanese brand of authenticity was oddly elegant - for lack of a better way of putting it. All in all, this is a good show. Thought provoking. Stylish.

AntiReset (Taiwan Fri Viki/Gaga) ep 9 of 10 - It remains lovely but they sure are reusing a lot of footage. Also, this was a classic penultimate doom episode. I do wonder how they are going to resolve this show ethically.

My Strawberry Film (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 6 of 8 - It is what it is, and it isn’t my style of show no matter what country of origin. Oddly that's one of the reasons I don't like it. Anyone could have made this, it's not as Japanese as I want it to be, it's just indie film club high school angst. Yawn.

I watched it, finally

The Servant and the Young Master (Vietnam YouTube) 7 eps - I dislike vertical filming, but I kind of enjoyed this show as a BL. I like class conflict romances. For me the rich kid is a bit too dictatorial (edges into bulling), but it’s kinda works. It’s sparse and underdeveloped and a bit plotless, but mildly entertaining. If you're missing Vietnamese BL you might give it a try. 6/10 

Began Beginning (Myanmar YouTube) 8eps - A Burmese BL that I had thoughts about but actually ended up recommending. Read the saga here:

It's done, ready to binge, but I suck

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps

It's airing but...

Graduation Countdown (Taiwan YouTube) ep 1 of ? - on one hand it's micro-installment vertical, on the other it's adorable and from Taiwan. I blame @heretherebedork entirely for my conundrum. As indeed, I did for My Type back in the day. (That was Nat Chen's first BL, yes of Kiseki: Dear To Me fame.) So I think I will also simply lean on Here to let me know when it's done and binge all at once. It's just too much to ask me to keep up with 2 minute pieces, I don't have that kind of endurance training, not even for BL.

Time the series (Tue Gaga/YT) 10 eps - it's finished now, I dropped it at ep 4. Should I bother?

A Secretly Love (Thai Sat WeTV grey) 10 eps - I watched the first ep but grey is too much work for this inferior of a show. I may pick up and binge if it gets distribution but for now, it gets a DNF from me. KimCop might have held this crap together but Kim without Cop? No thank you.

Lady Boy Friends (Thai WeTV grey) 16 eps - reminds me a bit too much of Diary of Tootsies only high school. Not my thing. DNF unless it turns a corner and is truly amazing for some reason.

Man Suang that MileApo vehicle from last year is coming to Netflix in the USA. I haven't heard much about it and since the KP stans would have lost their tiny minds if it was any good at all, I'm assuming it's not good at all.

Gossip

Thai BL actor Yoon breaks with his former company and talks about some very very VERY shady goings on in the Thai BL industry. Including not being paid.

And whacha know, same thing happening in Korean BL.

Have I mentioned recently how much I hate the film industry?

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting Soon

3/31 Only Boo! (Thai GMMTV YouTube) 12 eps - New main couple for GMMTV in an idol romance about a boy who dances good and a food stand vendor. Other side of the tracks grumpy/sunshine pair who fall deeply in love but, of course, baby boy idol can't date. Boyband but from GMMTV? Control your singing and I'm game.

4/1 Love is like a Cat (Korea ????) 12 eps - This completed filming Aug 2022(!) which means there have been serious problems with post-production. This is another of Silkwood's Korean+Thai colab projects. Mew Suppasit plays a rookie film star, called the Cat Prince (for his cold arrogance) who goes up against a charismatic puppyish animal daycare director (JM of JUST B). There is also a side romance (love triangle?) with a veterinarian. Geonu of JUST B is also in the cast.

I wonder if this was part of the hold up, with Geonu on Build Up right now, they might have tried to muffle this one. Or maybe it's just that bad...

4/3 We Are (Thai GMMTV YouTube) 12 eps - University ensemble BL featuring PondPhuwin, WinnySatang, AouBoom, MarcPawinPoon - basically the good kind of messy gay friendship group (so more My Engineer and less Only Friends). Looks a bit like the Kiss series but everyone is queer. I'm IN!

Knock-Knock Boys (Thai WeTV?) - 4 college friends conspire to help their friend lose his virginity. Familiar faces like Seng (yes, Billy's previous partner), Best and frest face, news here.

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

NOTE: It looks like one of my personal favorites of last year Unintentional Love Story is getting a spin off!

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Without ghost girl.

With ghost girl.

I think she may be my favorite part of 1000 Years.

CLASSIC tsundere seme description of a sunshine uke. Like classic'est of classic. (Two Worlds)

Is there such a thing as a tired trope in a BL? Since it is a genre that is made up entirely of tropes quilted together? Your philosophical question for today brought to you by Deep Night's kabedon (Japanese trope) + punishment threat (Thai trope).

Love me a lap sit moment. (City of Stars)

(Last week)

Streaming services are listed by how I (usually) watch, which is with a USA based IP, and often offset by a day because time zones are too much work.

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone

If ya wanna be tagged each week leave a comment and I will add you to the template. Easy peesy.

[nicks-den]

My subs for episode 9 of Hidamari ga Kikoeru are now up! You can find both the hardsubs and softsubs on my site! Only 3 episodes to go :(

Some translation notes are below the cut as usual.

Kohei mentioned getting a qualification for sharoushi (In Japanese: 社労士, abbreviated from 社会保険労務士 - shakaihokenroumushi) - officially translated as labor and social security attorneys. Sharoushi are unique experts on social insurance and labor who mostly support smaller and medium-sized enterprises and serve many roles in Japanese society. The examination to become one is conducted by the government and it's one of the most difficult certification examinations in Japan, so Kohei's definitely aiming high with that one. If you want to learn more about them, feel free to visit the site of the official site of the association or this one.

Braille blocks (or tenji blocks, in Japanese: 点字ブロック) are mentioned in this episode for which Japan is famous for. They're usually yellow in color, so they really stand out. They were first developed in Japan in 1965 and then later implemented in 1967. These structures allow easier navigation for visually impaired as a form of tactile paving. There are two types - guidance blocks and warning blocks. Guidance are the blocks with 4 parallel lines that provide information about the direction you should be moving. The warning blocks are grids of dots and indicate certain danger.

Throughout the episode you can see Taichi being confused by all those difficult words. I wasn't sure how to do sub some sections because of it since the translation isn't really particularly difficult, but the words can be unusual for Taichi. I'll have to revisit it when I prepare the final version after the drama ends.

[lizzybeth1986]

Liam and Olivia: When You Prefer The Side Character To The Main

Series - TRR's Alternative LIs: The Romances that Didn't Happen

Previous: A Brief History of Alternative Romances in Choices

A/N1: My apologies for the length of this one! There was a LOT to explore, and even more that I had cut out from my initial draft.

A/N2: This essay operates on the premise that Liam is not the "favoured LI"/"golden boy" of the team - an argument I have made in detail in other Liam-centric essays. I am not interested in arguing those same points in my comment box/reblogs. Visit the Liam section of my meta masterlist if you want to learn more about that.

CW: Mentions of non-consensual kissing. Mentions of the plot against the MC in TRR1. Very fleeting mention of the "infertility subplot" TRH pushed onto Hana.

(Screenshot from HIMEME's YouTube channel)

As I mentioned in the previous essay, TRR (along with ES, to a far smaller extent) was the only series that seemed to make an attempt to pair even their popular LIs with another character. It also was (along with TCaTF) one of the very few books that hinted at an alternative romance in the first book itself.

This section of the essay series will perhaps be the longest, since Liam x Olivia got the earliest hints, and was built up first. While the other three pairings were introduced or hinted at in Books 2 and 3, the reader got to see glimpses of a possible Liam x Olivia pairing from the finale of Book 1 onwards.

Why An Alternative LI?

TRR is, essentially, a story that hinges on the likelihood of an arranged marriage. The character that makes this entire story possible, Liam, is expected to pick a bride by the end of his social season, whether he is ready for marriage or not. The ending of Book 1 itself ties his ascension as a king to marriage.

(Screenshot from Skylia's YouTube channel)

To prove Madeleine's point, the finale actually shows us that until he picks a fiancèe, he literally won't be addressed as king, but still as Prince Liam. So while this point does get heavily retconned later on in the series, the original story itself required Liam to be married sooner than any of the other LIs.

But Liam's story doesn't just hinge on needing a good Queen for his kingdom. His arc - at least in Book 1 - involved learning that being a good king doesn't mean he needs to sacrifice his own desires or romantic sensibilities. If that were the case, he could have just been stuck with Madeleine. No - the story was supposed to be about Liam learning to validate his personal aspirations without hurting his political position. It was essential then that the woman he picked was someone he either was already in love with (the MC), or someone he grew to love over the course of the series.

When you take this context into account, having an alternative romance becomes not only convenient, but essential.

And if the MC doesn't choose Liam as her endgame...who better for this "romance" than an old friend who has always held a torch for him?

A Romantic Rival

(Screenshots from Skylia's YouTube channel)

As most of the fandom remembers the first book and the trajectory of the Liam and Olivia relationship in it pretty well, I'll try not to go into too much detail. The Olivia of Book 1 has two parallel storylines: the one with the MC, where they first start out hating and then learn to like each other...and the one with Liam, which begins with Olivia assuming she will win the social season, but becoming more and more resigned to the MC's chances of winning as her position in the competition declines.

There is obviously a lot more focus on her dynamic with the MC, for two reasons:

1. Until the MC chooses an endgame, an LI will never show more interest in another person. It will always be the alternative LI whose interest initially drives that side-story. Making an LI reciprocate that interest can result in a negative impression of them, as fans could potentially believe that their love for the MC is not genuine or special. This is the case for all LIs in the series, not just Liam.

2. Narratively, the first book wants to make Olivia's love for Liam their big character reveal. It is the first time Olivia actively opens up to the MC, and is canonically the beginning of their "friendship". So very little emphasis is placed on her emotional attachment to Liam until the Coronation (with her cactus gift and her confession to the MC before leaving), and even less on how Liam feels about her.

Whatever little we do get of Liam and Olivia's dynamic before the finale is focused on their childhood friendship. We learn from Liam that she was a sad, lonely child when they met, heartbroken by her parents' death and the negligence of the aunt who was supposed to raise her. Her attachment to Liam emerges from his support of her when they were children, and we later learn in TRH that he not only supported her, but often empathized with young Olivia and comforted her in ways that didn't give away her vulnerabilities.

Olivia claims at the beginning of TRR1 that "everyone just assumed Liam and [Olivia] would get married one day". Given what we learn later about Constantine and the Nevrakis family (and the fact that no one backs Olivia's claim at any point in the book), it is possible she was exaggerating. But it is also true that until the MC gains more popularity and Madeleine makes her entrance, Olivia is assumed to win the social season quite easily. In the same way that Madeleine is positioned as the "political" rival in Book 1's story, Olivia is viewed as the "romantic" counterpoint to the MC.

From Liam's end, there is actually very little shown about his thoughts on Olivia. It is clear that he cares for her, wants the MC to think well of her and understand her circumstances. While as a child, he comforted her when she was called a cactus by reminding her that they were tough plants that no one messed with; as an adult he is pained by her vindictiveness towards people who haven't even harmed her. There is plenty of grounds here for some sort of relationship, but enough there that shows why the MC who will marry him would be a slightly better fit.

The second half of TRR1 focuses on softening Olivia to an extent - having her and the MC optionally bond over their dislike for Madeleine (who is viewed as the "bigger bad" at this point) and having her only occasionally approach Liam for his company. Her feelings for him come to the forefront only during his Coronation, around the time she withdraws due to the blackmail exposing her parents' attempts to assassinate King Constantine.

This moment in the series completes Olivia's transition from antagonist to a possible friend. The reveal that Olivia loved Liam all along ensures that the MC can sympathize with her for not getting the man she loves, and allows the reader to envision her as a future ally.

To some who already vouched for a Liam-Olivia endgame before the finale, this moment was a confirmation. To others who didn't exactly see Olivia's actions towards Liam as rooted in affection, this moment was a revelation. Whatever it was, this moment made her extremely popular in the fandom.

But this scene also had a more important purpose - it provided players not interested in Liam, a possible out from the situation. The ending of TRR1 hinged on Liam choosing the MC as his future bride, then being forced to accept someone else when the scandal broke out. Book 2 allows the MC to explore what she wants without the expectations of a social season. The prospect of a titled lady who genuinely loved Liam being his potential endgame would make it easier for fans of other LIs. It sounded like a perfect ending for everyone.

The (Unwanted) Kiss, and What It Says About the Fandom

(Screenshots from Danni Stone's YouTube channel)

A scene that often gets ignored (or conveniently forgotten) when discussing Liam x Olivia in TRR1, is the kiss in Lythikos.

The Lythikos Ball in Ch 8 is already a social battleground of sorts for Olivia. She wields her power as hostess here - monopolising Prince Liam's company, and humiliating the MC and her friends with the worst seating and ice-cold food. Things come to a head when - while dancing the Cordonian Waltz with Liam - she forces a kiss on him, completely disregarding his ability to consent.

I use these precise words to describe this incident for two reasons. First, because canon refused to do so. Second, because most of the fandom refused to do so.

Different characters in the story respond to this incident in different ways. A shocked "what a bold play!", a sarcastic "Olivia's growing up, how sweet", and an enraged "she's gone mad with power here!" emerge from the ladies of the court - all focused on Olivia's intentions and actions. None of these responses ever address Liam's end of this situation.

Even more interesting are the options the MC is given to address the situation when Liam speaks to her later.

(Screenshots from Danni Stone's YouTube channel. This is the second dialogue option)

She either speaks to Liam like nothing happened, or engages in victim blaming. Personally I think both options are as bad as each other. Neither of these options include "are you okay?" or "were you comfortable with that?".

Liam's answer to the MC's (optional) accusations is perhaps the only time the issue of consent is even barely addressed (and even here Liam is duty-bound to think of Olivia's welfare over his own comfort). It is appalling that it takes the MC practically victim blaming this man for that to happen. And it is equally disturbing that Liam's response is so apologetic, so contrite, as if this entire situation was his fault.

The kiss is viewed as a number of things in the book: an affront to the suitors who have no power in Olivia's estate, or a political blunder. But what does it mean to the man who had this kiss forced upon him? Would he really feel comfortable or safe around her again after that? The writers clearly didn't know, nor did they care. And most of the fandom was only too happy to follow suit.

The few times this kiss was spoken about amongst the fandom, the question of consent was barely ever addressed. The kiss was either brushed aside as unimportant, seen as an indication of the "love and passion" Olivia had for Liam, or viewed as a manifestation of her jealousy towards the MC. Liam is sometimes seen as "clueless" for not "noticing Olivia's feelings...I mean, she literally kissed him!!" All of which could be true, but it doesn't erase the fact that his consent was never given, nor his comfort with the situation ever considered.

It is doubly ironic given the fandom reaction to the MC's plight in Applewood, after Tariq attempts to kiss her without her consent (though this situation involves significant privacy violations and dark conspiracies, and Liam's does not). The MC's situation was (rightfully) viewed as horrible and potentially traumatising, and many were upset that the emotional impact of it wasn't adequately addressed in the story. It wouldn't be surprising if Liam's situation wasn't viewed on the same level - given the difference in contexts - but the fandom and canon rarely saw this as something that happened to him, without his consent.

Ironically, the fandom never really considered Olivia planting a whole smacker on Liam's mouth as possible "proof" that she could engage in creepy, entitled behaviour...but they did often view Liam as "creepy" for...complimenting diamond-option outfits, or saying romantic-coded dialogues that the MC would reciprocate by default (again - I don't deny this is a problem and those lines should have been coded properly. However one cannot deny the doubt standards here). Olivia was the one who forced a kiss on the object of her affection in canon, but Liam was the one who got so many "abuser" and "harrasser" (and worse!) depictions in fanfic when TRR2 and 3 were out.

I will be addressing this particular scene again in another context, in a later essay in the series. I would like my readers here to not forget this scene, or the (lack of) outrage around it. It would be helpful to ponder over why Olivia's behaviour here is largely viewed as no big deal, especially when other side characters (and at least one main character) could be villainized for far, far less.

Olivia and Liam in TRR2 and 3

(Screenshots from Skylia's YouTube channel)

TRR1's finale and TRR2 show a small shift in Liam and Olivia's dynamic. Now that he is engaged, and in love with a woman who isn't Olivia, their interactions become sporadic and awkward. To ensure that Liam won't be viewed as a cassanova, the narrative keeps their interactions to a minimum. Group scenes that involve Liam often leave Olivia out, and group scenes that involve Olivia exclude Liam.

However, to address the "romantic potential" from TRR1's finale, the book shows Liam and Olivia interact in at least one scene in Ch 10. Here, they have a short, stilted conversation that leaves Liam concerned about Olivia's well-being, and that makes Olivia grieve over her unrequited love for him to an equally concerned MC.

Olivia's story in TRR2 largely centers around establishing her character (snarky, prickly, warriorlike. Much of this is actually a deviation from her writing in TRR1), strengthening her relationship with the MC, and integrating her into the core group.

Olivia's feelings for Liam get addressed again after the MC makes her final choice of LI. The MC's acceptance or rejection of Liam's proposal results in a bit of tension between the two women. If Liam is the MC's choice, Olivia admits to her heartbreak despite being truly happy that Liam has found love. If not, she reveals a slight resentment that the MC could so easily throw away the love that Olivia so badly wanted. The narrative allows Olivia her complicated, ambivalent feelings towards the Liam x MC match, and expects the MC to understand and sympathize. By default.

If you don't choose Liam in TRR3, his romance with Olivia does start here. And by this I mean that Liam is now allowed to reciprocate her affections.

(Screenshots from the Skylia YouTube channel (Drake playthrough). The screenshots aren't in order. 1st Liam x Olivia scene is the handholding at Applewood (5), 2nd is dancing at Vegas (1st two), 3rd is Liam asking Olivia for a dance at the finale ball (middle two), and the last is Liam asking Olivia out (6))

Even in the playthrough where Liam is marrying the MC, his default is to trust Olivia, show her kindness and staunchly defend her to people who suspect her motives. Liam advocates for her innocence in TRR3 Ch 2, even as her family becomes one of the prime suspects. The MC may vouch for her by choice...but if she does choose to suspect Olivia, it is Liam who pushes back against the idea.

By this point, the MC and Olivia can cement their friendship if the former has worked on gaining her trust. If not - the book has already created an inbuilt mechanism to ensure Olivia's loyalty anyway. It is tied to her gratitude and affection for Liam, the one person who consistently believed in her from childhood. Whether the MC makes an effort to win her approval or not, Olivia respects her. Her emotional attachment to Liam as an old friend, and loyalty to her king, ensures that her support is gained by default throughout.

Outside of his own playthrough, though, the narrative does slip in a few extra scenes where Liam shows an obvious romantic interest in Olivia. It's small - he isn't exactly yelling from the rooftops that he loves her - but it is definite progress where he seeks her out for support, dances with her and eventually asks her out to dinner at the finale. The scenes are few but prominent, and leave no doubt to the reader that Liam fully intends to court her.

So...why is Liam still single in the Drake, Hana and Maxwell playthroughs of TRH?

Writer Bias

When you read enough interviews and watch enough livestreams from the TRR team, one thing becomes very, very clear. They love their TCaTF callbacks. And no callback is more beloved to the writers than the repurposing of Zenobia Nevrakis' sprite to create her descendant, Olivia.

In this section, I will focus in particular on Kara Loo, COO of Pixelberry and one of the head writers of the TRR/H/F series. Going by several interviews and social media posts, Kara wrote most of Olivia and Drake's scenes and dialogues (along with "some of the Prince's speeches"), and was in fact the driving force behind how Olivia's character came to be, in the original series.

"...when we were creating Book 1, we wanted an evil redhead to be your antagonist, and Kara said, "Oh, what if we used Zenobia, but the twist is she's a Nevrakis descendant?"" - Jennifer Young, Looking Back on The Royal Romance (Sept 2018)

Kara has openly admitted before to having a fondness for Olivia's particular character type. In an interview with Daily Dahlia, she spoke of Val, one of the TCaTF LIs, in glowing terms that perfectly fit the way Olivia has been written as well:

"I love writing Val Greaves in The Crown & The Flame. I love writing for characters that are a little meaner and will really just say what they’re thinking, even if it isn’t exactly tactful." - Daily Dahlia's Interview with the Pixelberry Crew (Sept 2016).

The love for mean (and white! Don't forget white) women among the team, is pretty clear when you look at the kind of reception TRR's mean white women get.

Notably, Kara does have the occasional nice thing to say about Liam too. In an interview before the release of TRR2, she spoke of how "considerate and loving he is", how "there is nothing mean or selfish about him". As a Liam fan who kept seeing him bashed left and right after the TRR1 finale, those words initially felt like a massive relief.

But now, seeing the way the team treats nicer and more diplomacy-oriented characters in the series, this fulsome praise for Liam's selflessness gives me pause. It reminds me too much of how most of the team swore up and down that Hana would be their choice of LI to marry in a livestream, at the same time that they were slamming an infertility subplot on her in the books. Looking back with the knowledge of how the writers would treat Liam later, praise like this seemed less focused on finding him lovable, and more on ensuring that he gave constantly to the MC without ever getting much in return.

While Liam's treatment is not as bad as Hana or Kiara's, one must take note that the team - esp the head writers - have never really hesitated to throw Liam under the bus or retcon entire chapters and backstories to make characters like Drake seem better than him (eg. The narrative choice to have Drake claim Liam was leading the MC on when they first met in TRR3, which has led to more than one attempt to rewrite the bachelor party).

Part of this could be attributed to just the fondness for a specific character type. But I do think that with Kara in particular, ideology also plays a role in her preferences. There are at least two interviews from the team where her liking for darker, more violent storylines has been mentioned. In TRR3 the team affectionately called some of their brainstorming sessions with Kara as "Kara's trail of bodies" (one idea was to kill off Madeleine in Lythikos), and in the TRF livestream they mention that she initially wanted a war storyline.

This leaning towards a more militaristic mindset shows...in the care that Kara takes for Olivia's dialogues and especially her spy scenes (tho such scenes actually don't contribute much to the plot). In contrast there is a subtle disdain for the more diplomacy-minded characters shown in scenes where Olivia's ideologies are measured up against theirs (eg. Any scene where Hana and Olivia are supposed to work together, or the vast difference between the "valiant" Lythikos tournament and the "ridiculous" Castelserraillan flower competition in TRH3).

Even though it is often the diplomacy that saves the day at the end, the framing always highlights the militaristic way of thinking more positively. Given that Kara writes a lot of Olivia, and a fair amount of Liam, it's pretty obvious now where her (and the team's) particular bias may lie.

Because of this bias, it became far easier for TRR's writers to lean into popular fandom myths when it suited them, or pander to a particular section of the fandom. Which is the subject of my next section.

Fandom Entitlement

Olivia often has two types of fans - the ones who wanted to ship her with their MCs in canon (and couldn't), and the ones who wanted to be "bestieeeees!" with her. The frustration of the former was rooted in the fact that wlw had only one romantic option, but I will not be talking about them.

The latter were found in plenty among the Liam, Drake and Maxwell stans - all of whom either viewed her as an ally to win over (Liam), or as someone to push onto Liam, so they could romance the men they preferred in peace (mostly Drake and Maxwell. Some Hana stans but not as many).

As I'd mentioned in an earlier section, Olivia's final scene in TRR1 allowed people who didn't want to romance Liam, to envision a narrative 'out' for themselves. By the time Olivia reappeared in TRR2 Ch 5, she'd gained a cult following among many, many fans. A lot of them were actively rooting for the start of a romance between Liam and Olivia, and very few resented her for her feelings or begrudged her past actions.

But there was one downside. The intent among the majority who rooted for this pairing, was more about "getting Liam out of the way", than any actual romantic potential. Because of this, certain Liam x Olivia stans (ironically, the Drake romancers were the loudest voices in this group) felt a ridiculous level of entitlement towards this pairing.

A number of readers insisted on having Liam fall for Olivia immediately, wanted him to show feelings for her instantly, and complained when he didn't do so while his (optional) romance with the MC was still on.

Olivia's sad, longing gazes in TRR2 propelled many a reader to complain about what an awful situation poor Olivia was in and how insensitive and uncaring Liam was (even in the face of screenshots that clearly showed him worrying about her desolate mood). One of many examples comes from a post in Feb 2018 - a Drake stan's written walkthrough of TRR2 Ch 10, and ironically the following lines were made above a screenshot set that clearly showed Liam noticing how sad she was and worriedly asking the MC about that:

Liam finds you and as always, can’t help fawning over you. This time Olivia is right there and he is like, Oh yeah, Olivia, you are too here, hi. She definitely notices, gets upset, and leaves because she really does love him and she is third choice at best.

This was not the only one. There were multiple posts like these, and they often positioned Olivia as a figure of sympathy, yearning for a love that would never be hers. Liam in these readings was always positioned as someone who "didn't care" and later, "didn't deserve Olivia".

When he did start showing an interest in Olivia in Book 3, it went largely unnoticed by most of the fandom, even though he was romancing her in at least 3 out of 4 playthroughs. There were very, very few posts made about any of these romantic moments. Instead, from Chapters 3 to 10 of TRR3 - where Liam didn't show any indications of heartbreak re: the MC - certain Drake/Maxwell fans made posts complaining over his not pining over the MC, or theorizing that some of his friendly attempts to educate the MC about the country had to have been done with more than friendship in mind.

This section of the fandom often got insane amounts of pandering from the writers themselves. When TRR3 returned from a hiatus post Ch 9, we were suddenly hit with more scenes involving Liam's "heartbreak" (it featured sporadically in all three of the other playthroughs, but you could tell it was tailor-made for the Drake one because it got referenced there waaaay more) before the big battle with Anton. Fandom spoke far more on these scenes than on the ones they got for Liam x Olivia.

What was completely missed was that such "heartbreak" scenes happened because there was a demand from readers who weren't even Liam stans in the first place, and the same stans didn't hesitate to flip and label him "desparate" or "pining" or write fanfic where he was an absolute creep in response to a thing they asked for!

As for talk of the Liam x Olivia ship post TRR3, the phrase "sloppy seconds" started to be used often to address the pair after the series ended, and there were quite a few posts claiming that Liam didn't deserve such an incredible woman like Olivia.

(Edit Source: the playchoicesconfessions Tumblr blog)

Using the pining subplot that nonLiam stans had asked for, some of the same people would insist that Olivia "deserved better than to be sloppy seconds" (at some point after TRR3, I noticed that even some Liam stans would say the same!). This argument often came hand-in-hand with the lie that Liam never cared for Olivia enough (as one can see in the edit above). It also often hinged on the premise that the MC was Liam's first love, that he wouldn't (and shouldn't!) ever get over her, and that anyone else would rank as second best to him. And while I agree that Olivia deserves a partner who would wholeheartedly love her, this argument seemed to come from people who were eerily reluctant to imagine Liam leading a happy life without the MC.

Tbh, the fandom at large has always had a very confusing relationship with Liam as a character. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that from TRR2 onwards, making Liam a scapegoat was a very popular reading from the fandom. He was often expected to live up to impossible standards - way more than the other male LIs - and criticized incessantly for dialogues and action that the other two could easily get away with.

Many fans were (rightfully) frustrated by how Liam could have romantic lines by default (which the MC would by default reciprocate, to their chagrin) all through TRR1 - while ignoring romantic default dialogues from Drake - but also complained when Liam responded more calmly than expected to her rejection of his proposal. They also didn't like that he could be largely neutral/merely friendly towards the MC for most of TRR3. Damned if he didn't, damned if he did.

I'm not saying that this was the viewpoint of the entire fandom. There were people - yours truly included - who pushed back against such a biased view of this pairing. Against a view that insisted on centering only Olivia's feelings, while either badmouthing Liam for not returning her love, or ignoring the times when he did. There were people who pointed to canon for proof that he cared.

But enough voices vouched for this other, more unsavoury reading that "Olivia deserves better than to be Liam's sloppy seconds", that it became quite popular. That it became the accepted view in canon too, when the writers began work on TRH.

Olivia x Liam (not), TRH and Beyond

As we all know by now, Liam x Olivia did not happen in TRH. After a dance and an invitation to a date in the finale, Liam was back to being single and uninterested in any romantic relationships (like all the other LIs). It went to the point where he was ready to appoint the MC's future child as his heir (heir apparent, not presumptive. The fandom mockingly dubbed him "Rumpelstiltskin" for this). At the time, I imagined that perhaps the narrative was trying to erase the pair altogether, since no other LI got paired up either. It would be fair.

This wasn't exactly the case. In fact, in my opinion, what they managed to do was much worse.

(Screenshots from the HR Gameplay YouTube channel. Liam is renamed "Rayden" here)

Savannah's bachelorette (TRH1 Ch 7) has the MC and the ladies "address" certain pairings that were hinted at in TRR3. One doesn't get addressed at all, one addresses the LI by name only if the playthrough isn't the one where the MC is married to him.

Olivia's is the only one that got addressed regardless of whether the MC was married to the man she had wanted or not. And looking at the scene now, I really, really wish they didn't write it at all.

If the MC encourages Olivia to talk about her feelings for Liam, the latter shows anger and resentment over Liam not choosing her twice over. This, despite the fact that he did attempt to date her the previous book. This, despite the fact that he never indicated interest until he actually felt it. This... despite the fact that not returning the feelings of someone who likes you romantically is a normal, natural thing that said someone should accept without judging other person!

In fact, the fandom was more than willing to view other LIs "not returning feelings" as normal, natural and blameless...so why did only Olivia get sympathy and praise for her unrequited love, and why did only Liam have to be criticised for the same?? Even in THIS scene??

Liam x Olivia would not be referenced for 3-and-a-half books after this, until the very end of TRF. Over the course of the series, the team tested her compatibility and possible chemistry with at least two side characters. One was Jin, the Auvernese spy that Olivia fights with in TRH1 Ch 19. While they did seem to have some banter in the first book and a smattering of scenes in the second, interest quickly died down and Jin was written out of the story once the Auvernese royals' scandals were exposed.

TRH3 then hinted at Amalas x Olivia as a pair, peppering hints as early as the introductory chapters. There had been a few murmurings among the fandom for the same, since a number of wlw were fond of Olivia, and people liked headcanoning her as bi or lesbian (in fact, when the team claimed in a TRH1 livestream that having Olivia as an LI would "soften her" too much, the fandom protested). Amalas x Olivia was met with more approval than Jin x Olivia, and in TRF you could encourage Olivia to ask either Liam or Amalas for a dance.

Liam himself never got any other options for romance (understandable, none of the LIs did), and in fact had several aspects of his story chipped away, chunk by chunk, to benefit other characters. In the end, Liam is treated like Olivia's "alternative LI" than the other way around.

It was a pretty ironic ending for a pairing that people felt so entitled over in the beginning. After years of protests against Olivia being Liam's "sloppy seconds" just because he chose her after being rejected by their MCs... the narrative didn't mind treating him like some sort of "consolation prize" (one of two) for Olivia. And as expected, nor did the fandom.

Conclusion: Could This Pairing Have Worked?

Much as I dislike it now, I did think Liam x Olivia had some potential back then. Politically and emotionally, Liam and Olivia were opposites in many ways. There was a lot you could explore. Their background history and the sweetness of their childhood story had the potential to add layers to their dynamic.

But for a pair like Liam x Olivia to work, romantically, some things would need to change:

1. Respect in the writing room for both their ideologies, not just Olivia's. If you view one with adulation and the other with disdain, that will eventually show in the writing. These two could have been a solid power couple if the team could just set aside their boners for violence and knives once in a fucking while.

2. THE KISS. If you're going to have that kind of a scene around, especially in the context of TRR1's larger story, it needs to be addressed. From Liam's point of view. With Olivia openly regretting it and atoning for it, and Liam getting to choose how to handle that. It isn't just enough to assume they spoke offscreen, and then pretend the forced kiss never happened or that that violation meant nothing.

Olivia was wrong. Olivia crossed boundaries. Olivia disregarded Liam's consent. Liam was the victim here, not the person the MC should be shouting at - even by option.

If a romance should proceed between the two, that kiss deserves to be addressed with a lot of sensitivity and respect to Liam's own experience.

3. BALANCE! Between their perspectives, their viewpoints, their beliefs. Which would only be possible if you equally valued both characters.

4. Respect for Liam's feelings and his romantic choices, whatever they may be. Liam knows what he likes best. Him not returning Olivia's feelings is not a crime, nor does it make him any less of a caring person. Him falling in love a second time, seeing an old friend in a new light, should have been embraced as a concept.

Loving someone else deeply in the past shouldn't make his feelings for his second love any less genuine. But most of the fandom adopted such a way of viewing the Liam x Olivia relationship because it allowed them to pity Olivia and blame Liam (again) - and the team validated those sentiments out of excessive care for one character, and a lack of it for another.

Changes like these four would have definitely made for a better-written alternative romance. But given the kind of team and the fanbase TRR had, none of the changes I mention here would ever have a hope of becoming a reality. Olivia is too popular, too beloved to her writers and fandom, (and too white!) to be viewed with even this much of a critical eye. And tbh, once the fandom has marked a character (esp a character of colour - customizable or not) as a scapegoat, they would enjoy bashing them too much to stop. From then on, it would only be a matter of which excuse, which nitpick, which set of double standards, would work best.

Liam and Olivia had potential. And the narrative was able to get that story to the point where the two could at least have a first date. But team TRR squandered all its future possibilities in the mad rush to pander to a portion of their fandom, with a clear bias for the side character...and so we will never know how a more balanced portrayal would've looked like.

A/N3: I have quoted posts that have actually appeared on Tumblr, but without any identification marks. All of them are one among many such posts - either lost to digital decay or hard to find. I do not want to call out any of the individual posters - I want to make it clear that many of these posts are indicative of a fandom-wide problem. Do not try to find out, or harrass, these posters.

Next - Maxwell and Penelope: When You Like the Side Character So Much, You Gift Her A Shiny New LI

[tastylemonbread]

At long last, Library's bio is here! A plain text version is available under the cut.

The next god to receive a bio is being voted on now here!

Image 1:

[This one is divided into sections, kinda like a newspaper. The specific formatting isn't really relevant, and it's pretty plain anyway.

Library, #17

Domain over data, memory, and organization.

AKA The Librarian, The Archivist, The Cryptkeeper

[Next to this first section of text is a neat black and white drawing of Library's sigil, a simple symbol comprised of a 2x4 grid of eight rectangles forming a square. The borderlines of the square extend a little past the corners, and an extra line lays horizontal at the bottom of the symbol.]

(next section of text)

PRIMARY:

As old as written word, Library has sought to archive all written works, but expands their purview to include new technologies as they are invented. Though many may assume Library to be meek and nerdy, They can be quite a powerful force if they want to be, possessing abilities such as teleportation, mind reading, and spatial manipulation. It's rare to see these powers used outside of the Grand Library. Being arguably the god of information, they have quite a good understanding of the human mind, and can effortlessly transmit and receive thoughts as long as they have physical contact with the person. Even gazing into Library's odd shelf face is enough to get the mind racing, overclocked with too much miscellaneous information to process. Despite all this, Library is pretty incompetent when it comes to social interaction.

(next section of text)

DOMAIN:

Library holds domain over every written word, work of art, video, audio recording, line of code, punch card, receipt, label, stone carving, and anything else that may be used to store precious precious data. Though Library considers each of these (and more) to be fall under the umbrella of their domain, they do not have control over these. Rather, Library can simply feel when something like that is created, and a copy is set into Library's mind.

(next section of text)

REALM:

Like many other realms, the Grand Library is located on a plane of existence  parallel from standard Earth. The Grand Library does not appear to have a floor, walls, or a ceiling, instead contained within a hazy white void filled with neat rows of bookshelves. Despite there being no visible floor, one can walk around as if on solid ground. The rows of shelves go on past what the eye can see, and the place is so large that finding another visitor is incredibly rare. The only entrance and exit to the Grand Library is a set of very large fine oak double doors which connect to the lobby of the Bureau of Divine Intervention, which is the realm of another god that I won't elaborate on here. There are other ways to access the Grand Library, but those doors are the only permanent fixtures. A reception desk is by the entrance inside the Grand Library, at which Library is typically stationed. Since the Grand Library is so inconceivably large, a guide is always needed to find a specific book, and that guide is Library. They can take your hand and instantly zip you to where you need to be. The process is very disorienting, especially for mortals and those who don't regularly visit. Library can always sense where you are, and can always hear you ask for help so long as you are in the Grand Library.

(next section of text)

Relations with other gods:

good: monument, arts, drama, machine, health, hive

bad: flame, sea, war, death, rot, fear

(end of the first image)

Image 2:

[Standing in the center of the image is a tall, slim figure with one hand behind their back and the other raised to wave awkwardly. They are wearing a plain yellow raincoat that conceals most of their body, and brown gloves and boots. Their neck is long, curved, and round, made up of a thick tube of wires with a metal zip-tie keeping them in place. Their head is a cubic bookshelf, with the open side of the bookshelf acting as their face. The multicolored books within the shelf head are arranged in a way that resembles the static color bars of an old CRT TV. There are two more doodles of their head from two different angles, which are described in upcoming text so I'll leave it out here. Around the figure are bits of text that kinda correspond to various physical features of the god.]

(these are the bits of text:)

When walking, their head bobs like a bird.

head is actually a bookshelf, with four little shelves at the bottom. Library's sigil in burned into either side. On the back of their head is a little computer with some wires connected running seamlessly into the shelf.

Big weird hands. Also wires?

Seemingly normal raincoat with a reflective stripe. Nobody's ever actually seen what's under it.

in comparison to other humanoid gods, library is very lanky, standing at 7'3" (222 cm).

Leaves no footprints?

(end of the second image)

Image 3:

[This one has sentences and paragraphs placed around without much purpose. There was some empty space, so I copy + pasted the same doodle of Library laying on their stomach with their feet in the air, but I stretched out the doodles to make em look sillier.]

MISCELLANEOUS BITS:

Prayers, summons, and ceremonies are often answered with very verbose personal letters expressing gratitude, and rarely result in actual face-to-face communication.

Library has been spotted reorganizing human libraries and archives on Earth. They admit that this is a guilty pleasure of theirs, as they usually try not to get involved in mortal affairs otherwise.

All publicly available books in the grand library have been translated into a "universal script" which can be understood by absolutely anybody who is able to read in at least one language. Library is eager to teach people how to write universal script, but lessons are so long and dry that Library is still the only one who knows how to write that way.

Though Library's life is known to be well documented, they have taken efforts to seize all record of their past and politely refuses to share these records publicly.

The largest book in Library's head is actually a binder filled with articles, notes, photos, and other information about each of the gods. Library doesn't actually need to consult the binder, but they like to update it often.

Like many other gods, Library's voice is heard from a listener's POV as if it's just a voice in their own head. Library's "voice" varies depending on who hears it, but consensus seems to be that they speak gently, eloquently, and with a vaguely African accent.

Pulling on their wires isn't a good idea.

Though they appreciate Order's efforts to document and regulate godly affairs, Library finds it too much of a headache to navigate the Bureau of Divine Intervention, and tries to stay away from anything to do with it.

Miscellaneous books and scraps are always seen floating around the Grand Library, sliding into and out of shelves.

(end of third image)

This is the most I've had to describe, but lucky me, most of the images are just comprised of text. If there's any unexpected issues with this plain text version, please let me know. Even if it's just nitpicks, I'd love to hear it.

Thank you for reading/listening to my silly thing :^)

[genericpuff]

i know you said if you never mentioned a webtoon you either don't read it or don't have a strong opinion so sorry beforehand if this ask might be annoying, but im just curious if you have any opinion on remarried empress, specifically the whole uhhh extremely villified woman who happens to be a slave. its not the exact same as minthe but i do always see the parallels between them since both are oppressed and 'lower-class' women in opposition to the mary sue protagonist and the fans are just very classist when insulting them ('she doesn't know her place' etc etc) i kinda see RE as the korean version of LO coz they're both so popular and annoyingly everywhere/overhyped (tho i have to admit RE has better consistency with art and story). But i have a greater distaste for RE mostly coz the fans keep showing up in other webtoons comment sections lol

yeeeah the remarried empress is literally one of those exact webtoons that fits that category of "stuff I know is shit so I'm not gonna bother" LMAO I'm not a huge fan of royal family type dramas anyways, the genre just ain't for me (or I haven't found one that's connected with me yet) but I'm definitely not interested in reading a royal family drama that I know from the start I won't enjoy due to its writing LOL (I can appreciate why people like the ones that are written well though, again, a lot of them just aren't for me)

that said, there's a lot to support the theory that Rachel is trying to do some "royal family drama" thing with LO (especially with some of the language in the comic, like how Ares and Apollo will go off about Persephone's "pedigree"??? which is just such royal family "pure bloodline" eugenics crap tbh), but she's failing at it immensely because 1.) she's not good at writing drama, let alone royal family drama, and 2.) a lot of royal family dramas on Webtoons these days are also garbage so whatever she's taking inspiration from probably isn't high quality to begin with ( ；｀ヘ´) Hades and Persephone definitely reek of "rich and powerful white couple who use their power to abuse the lower class" and they don't even have the benefit of having interesting character arcs, they're just boring and mean.

[aotopmha]

Out of all of the elements of Ultima Thule, I feel like the tribes are the least talked about.

I think with fairly good reason – at its core Ultima Thule is about the journeys our main cast has been on.

But I love them just as much because they bring together some very long-standing threads.

In essence all three tribes had their reasons for succumbing to despair:

The dragons were broken by the suffering brought upon them and their planet by the Omicrons. Their despair came from war and oppression.

The singular purpose of the Ea was to seek more knowledge, but they learned time is finite, so to them, what they pursued became meaningless. Their despair came from their work not being eternal.

The Omicrons pursued their wish to become powerful because they were weak once. Their despair came from becoming so powerful, they had no equal.

The Ea are the new group here, serving as parallels to Y'Shtola and Urianger, and they're actually the odd one out here, having no prior history to Ultima Thule, so I'm going to mostly focus on the dragons and the Omicrons.

But to sum it up, Y'Shtola's answer to the Ea is simple: despite time being finite, any truths learned can be seen from different angles and people can reach their own conclusions about them.

For example, even if everything disappears one day, and new knowledge is finite just as the universe, as long as we exist, the knowledge we have has meaning and value to those who come after us.

It's the time we do have left that matters.

Or perhaps even if knowledge and time are finite, a pursuit to extend the life of the universe could be possible.

Or perhaps, if knowledge is finite, we could find happiness in some other pursuit.

The Ea, along with all of the other tribes and Meteion herself, see their perspective as absolute. And in a neat way, this also extends to Hermes.

Along with having very specific beliefs, they've been effected by what they've gone through so strongly, they can't see any other way of looking at their situation and thus no new purpose to find.

In that sense, Y'Shtola's answer leans on what I think is probably the best part of her character: getting straight to the point when it matters.

But the Omicrons and the dragons are the true cool part to me.

Midgardsomr's connection with Hydaelyn and his respect for her has been established since he was introduced, we just never went into detail with it.

And this explains it all: so much of the universe is dead and Midgardsomr saw that emptiness during his journey to Etheirys.

We will probably find life in the cosmic exploration content in Dawntrail, but Etheirys will remain special because of the strength and concentration of it.

Life is a miracle, so it must be protected.

So, Estinien's answer comes down to self-pity not saving anyone. There will always be conflict and more often than not peace will be won with fighting.

And Midgardsomr is proof that however difficult the path to it, resillience will lead to true survival and happiness.

It's bringing together the Midgardsomr plot thread, which has existed since A Realm Reborn, Heavensward and Endwalker itself in one swoop. I love it.

I think I love the Omicrons the most, though because their section gives so much more meaning to an entire raid series.

And I think this is one part of the story that absolutely was planned out.

What Omega says when Alpha is running across space is super specific. It's the mention of Ser that gets me every time because first time through the most you get from that section is that it's a log of Omega's own journey to Etheirys.

But when you add everything together, it gets layers.

To me Alpha has always represented Omega's own soul along with how he views feelings.

Something pointless to ultimately be discarded because it "serves no purpose", but because it is a source of strength, he wants to logic it out.

His testing, and the soul that Alpha represents became so cool to me – essentially Omega, for the first time, had his perspective as an omicron challenged when Alpha wasn't rejected by anyone else and valued for his participation.

The final boss of Omega having the WoL's theme in it was always super cool, but it is even cooler to realise how they're foils knowing what dynamis represents and how we can use it.

It's the most literal logic vs feelings fight ever thematically.

And in the Ultimate he finally stops disregarding Alpha, instead joining his strength with his.

And equally, G'raha's answer to Sir leans on this. If you have no purpose, you can always try look for a new one because you change every single moment you live and never stop.

So the Omicrons can look for purpose beyond war.

And the "waste of time" that is everything else, perhaps isn't a waste, but simply part of a more fulfilling life.

And to once again, bring it all together with Endwalker, I think they also represent a potential endpoint for the Garleans and a parallel to the Allagans.

All a source of pointless, wanton destruction because of a single-minded pursuit of power.

And ultimately left without purpose.

There is actually another strong perspective within UT.

Meteion's.

The key part with her is that by taking all of these negative feelings into herself, along with finding dead worlds by themselves, she also unintentionally doomed some of them.

So along with fearing to disappoint Hermes and facing all of those negative feelings from the different worlds, she also has massive amounts of guilt built up within, so her journey is a neverending cycle that keeps hurting her and the worlds around her.

And it all began with her basically having no choice on the matter because of her nature and Hermes pushing her into it all despite knowing and feeling how wrong it was.

I think she's probably the most tragic of the characters because she is in the most literal sense an empath child.

Ultima Thule is just so wonderfully thematically substantial to me. It ties together the general main cast and themes of all expansions with strongly-defined perspectives for all of them.

I say those who wanted everyone to die at the end of this can suck it.

Absolutely would be a betrayal considering the thematic focus of finding purpose and happiness after much pain.

[bilightningwhumper]

Happy New Year 2025!!!

Making this post over here rather than on my main blog since most of my goals/plans have to do with my whump writing, lol.

First off, thank you everyone who tagged me in the holiday community posts. I did my best to reply to all of them in the same energy, though I think I missed one or two? Either way, it means a lot that y'all like and appreciate me as much as I do all of you. <3

Gonna be a long post, so it's under the cut

Now, to the plans:

Most of these have to do with "Belonging to Nightmares" so here's the masterlist in case you've either not seen the updates or somehow missed me rambling about it, lol.

-For January, I'm mostly prepping for February writing, so I'll only be posting one or a few drabbles, no schedule planned for when. But they'd be for the Year of the OTP 2025 event. [Poll for February prompts here] for anyone interested! Delaying my previous plans to do the Living Weapon Year of Whump Tropes since I just didn't have enough figured out for it to do them justice.

-February, oh dear, I have so much planned, lol

As I've said in other posts, I'll be doing Feveruary 2025, evenly dividing the prompts between Minna and Kyrie. That's all set and planned, though I'm still fiddling with some of the prompts as I made a few accidental repeat plans. But they'll be fully sorted before I start writing!

Febuwhump 2025 releasing their list yesterday also inspired me, probably surprising no one with how much my audhd effects my writing brain, lol. I'll be doing the same as Feveruary in that the prompts are divided between Minna and Kyrie evenly. However, unlike Feveruary where I'm doing all the prompts and alts, Febuwhump will be just the main days and swapping a few of those prompts for alts. (ie, I just can't do "eaten alive" because I'm not one for cannibalism and it also made me think of something else not whump related but that's not relevant to the event, lol) As of last night, I've already finished dividing and sorting the prompts, plus written down relevant notes for them.

In one of my other updates, I mentioned doing some of FluffyFebruary 2025. For anyone that didn't see it buried in an update post, the parallel story for "Belonging to Nightmares" is getting some work. Basically, I'm filling the prompts like this: there will be a drabble a week where I look at prompts 1-7, picking which fit together for my idea, leave the rest out, post drabble on day 7, onto 8-14, pick and choose, and so on and so forth. Since I'm not inspired by 100% of the prompts and multiple can fit in one idea I have for the MCs, that's just how it works best. Still unsure what I'm going to call Sydney, Cyrus, and Dianna's story, but you know, I have a month to figure it out, so there is that.

Then of course there's the Year of the OTP 2025 prompts (poll linked in January section), so a lot to look forward to!

-March, planning on taking a break/taking it slow, similar to January. Mostly because there's an event that happens yearly where I work that gets insanely busy. Like, almost New Year's Eve busy, but less loud music and it lasts for nearly half the month. So, yeah, needless to say, I'm basically only planning on doing Year of the OTP 2025 for that month and that's it.

-After March, I've no idea what I'm doing other than getting chapters and planned drabbles up for "Belonging to Nightmares". I still want to get something up once a week, so I'm doing my best to plan ahead and write whatever notes or bits of scenes I can rather than saying "eh, I can do it later" and then forgetting to do it at all. There'll probably be more events and things I'll want to join in with, so I'll give updates as things go on.

Since there's no taglist for "Belonging to Nightmares" yet, I'm mostly just writing it for myself and sharing it into the void and just being happy at the few likes and reblogs I've gotten for my pieces so far. I'm sure there's some shy secret fans out there because I was one for others, so just saying right now, thank you and I appreciate you!

Other writing goals:

-Finishing some of those Bingos! I posted Bingo cards I got ages ago but during the October stuff I joined in, all those got put to the side. Luckily since several prompts match some ideas to "Belonging to Nightmares", I think I'll be changing my original plans for the Bingo cards.

-All my other stories are put on hold for now. I'm just not inspired or motivated for them at the moment. And forcing myself to write when I'm not inspired just burns me out and makes me frustrated, so I'm less inclined to even touch it again. Much apologies to anyone who enjoyed them so far. Chances are I'll put up new things for them throughout the year, but I'm not making promises if I'm not sure I can keep them. Though I do plan on at least finishing the Flufftober 2024 prompts I left hanging, hopefully before October comes around again.

-Properly sorting what has been finished, like the AI-less Whumptober 2024 Ao3 collection work and Angstober 2024 Tumblr and Ao3 stuff. A lot of what I have to do for that is staring at a computer screen and doing repetitive back and forth that just gets me tired and bored, but the work has to be done at some point.

Side goals:

-Commenting and sharing more of fellow writers. Sharing things myself and slowly getting to know more of the community has made me appreciate everyone here so much and I want to share the love! Even just a little bit means so much to me, I love making others day just by emoji spamming my emotions in their stories, especially because I genuinely enjoy what's been written and can't wait for them to make more

-Extended off that, making more friends? I have a genuinely hard time reaching out and opening up. Half because of "stranger danger internet" still so ingrained in my mind despite being close to 30. The other half because audhd and poor ability to keep contact since for me, no time passes, but for someone else it's been a month plus. Those things, plus I'm awkward as hell and don't want to intrude or bother anyone, lol. Easier in person because half the way I make friends irl is by sensing or seeing the fellow bookworm/neurodivergent in the room and just sitting next to them for parallel play/interaction. Bit hard to do that online. Gonna try though!

-Reading more of my books. Like, actually reading and finishing them. I used to read a book a day or within a couple days, depending on how big the book is. Now I get distracted, be it because of life or staring at a page for 10+ minutes because I got caught in a daydream of my own characters. But seriously, I set up a reading goal last year on Goodreads to finish 12 books, in theory 1 a month, and I finished 7. 4 of those being in the last half of December. So yeah, no more half finished books that I put to the side to start reading something else or whatever.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. So, Happy New Year, can't wait to see if it's better than the last!

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: Lucy Undying by Kiersten White

3/5. Releases 9/10/24.

vibes: Dracula but with a closer look at the sapphic parts, sometimes women just need to kill people, parallel narratives

Heat Index: 2/10

Lucy Westenra was famously a victim... But what if she actually did go on to "live" as a vampire throughout the centuries? She's been trying to evade her maker ever since her first death, which leads her to Iris in the twenty-first century. Iris has her own past she's trying to escape, and she and Lucy find a commonality in one another... and love. Yet neither of them are truly free, and without defeating those coming after them, they can never truly be together. A little easier said than done when one of those threats is... Dracula.

I was really excited about this one--that cover! Dracula! Sapphic vampire romance! And it's... a book I'd recommend to a certain audience, yes. Namely people who really enjoy retellings of gothic tales with a flipped lens, queer retellings especially. Yet, I don't think it reached as far as it could have.

There are several different primary narratives here (though they aren't quite the only perspectives you'll have). You have Lucy's diary from her human life, Lucy telling her story to a therapist, and Iris's much more straightforward twenty-first century point of view. Personally, I thought the diary entries were really interesting and indeed pretty tragic. Lucy's therapy sessions are both a cool tribute to Interview with the Vampire (or so they read to me) and like.. genuinely funny. I like her. I like Vanessa, the therapist. They're the kind of unhinged I believe Lucy, with everything she's been through, would be.

Then you have Iris.

So like--this book is in many ways a romance. Specifically the romance between Lucy and Iris. Obviously, I, as a romance reader, am so down for this. And I'm glad that White gave Iris a POV, as it can be so difficult to write a romance through only one POV.

The issue is that Iris isn't super interesting. In theory, her story should be--there's a lot of work done, and it's the kind of darkly comedic take with a decent amount of commentary on twenty-first century life that I would normally be down for. But Iris... just doesn't have a great voice? And her romance with Lucy is very instalove.

Instalove can be sold (controversial take, I know) but when you have the story splintered in so many different directions, you really can't settle into it. Because yeah--we get Lucy's POV, but much more so in the past, or in tellings of what she did in the past. Not so much when she's with Iris. Lucy is a compelling person, I just didn't really get why she was so into Iris.

Also, Iris really does seem to only exist in relation to Lucy, at points. In the sense that she's there to make sure we're interpreting everything else correctly. There's a whole section where she sort of summarizes reading Lucy's diary, and tells the audience everything we should take from them, basically? And I was like--cool, I did get all of those things when I read them. It was a bizarre moment, in a book that I would say is overall pretty well-written otherwise.

Some people won't like the humorous tone. I personally did. By and large, besides moments like the above in Iris's sections, I think the writing is pretty solid. There are some pretty turns of phrase, and a clear love for the gothic. I didn't agree with some of the takes on certain Dracula characters... both from a Dracula perspective, and a "sapphic retelling" perspective.

Like, this book is interesting, for the most part. And I don't think it's bad, per se. But it's definitely not everything it could've been.

The Sex:

The sex is by and large off the page or briefly summarized. Honestly, I kind of felt like the Kiersten White YA books I read way back in the day were... more explicit? I don't know. Kind of wanted more from a sapphic vampire romance, though of course that's all up to her and valid and so on. I just would've Liked To See It. Might've added some more bite (get it) to the story.

Overall--I'd say that this will be right for some readers. And I feel like I should've been among them? It just didn't quite work for me.

Thanks to NetGalley and Del Rey for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[dafukdidiwatch]

One Piece - Episode 2

It’s actually a lot easier to review one piece now that I’m at episode 2 to be honest. I mean I still have that ping of “oh this came from the anime/manga” or “oh this is pretty different”. But I feel like it’s less prevalent now. I’ve gotten over the shock of OMG LIVE ACTION ONE PIECE GAH and now can actually see it for what it is. Another story. Which is good because Hoo Boy, they do not drop the ball in the second episode

Overview: Luffy, Zoro, and Nami discuss the Grand Line Map. But before they get anywhere with it, Buggy the Pirate Clown has captured them and forced them into his Circus Tent of Terrors to get the map back. While this is happening, Commander Garp is investigating the theft of the map back at Morgan’s Marine Base, and meets a nervous wreck of a cadet Koby just trying to get through his first day. 

So let’s start off with the obvious

Buggy is a nightmare

Holy Shit I mean I know people don’t like Clowns, but they went hard on his craziness. How everyone, even his own crew, is tip toeing on eggshells around this guy. He’s maniacal. Huge inflated sense of self worth and grandiose. Also a psychopath that let people keep their Hands so they can Applaud on cue To Him. Anime was all “ha ha giggles he’s clown wait uh oh he’s actually dangerous”. Naw they ain’t pulling that shit here. Buggy is a threat. Always a threat. 100% destroys everything and tortures everyone to get what he wants. He has some goofy moments like being a dumbass and punching glass like a moron, but he’s 100% Capital B Bad Guy for the entire thing. 

(Which got to say, I was lowkey waiting for Luffy to flip him off. No reason why, I just thought it would be funny at that moment.)

I have mixed feelings on the Buggy-Luffy “join me” type of deal. On the one hand, didn’t really like Buggy calling Luffy an outcast. He isn’t tho. Not like Buggy gave a shit since his whole goal is to mettle for the map. But Luffy wasn’t outcasted or a freak. He’s too happy-go-lucky to let insults like that impact him. And look there, Luffy never really gave into Buggy because yeah he knows who he is and is confident about that. So that felt a bit Meh to me. 

On the other hand, I liked how they handled the parallels between Child!Luffy and Shanks and Current!Luffy and Buggy. Shanks fought the bandits, defended his friends, literally lost an arm to help his kid. And Luffy took those lessons to heart, defends Shanks and his honor, says the same line about hurting his friends against Buggy with Known History to Shanks. The Antithesis if you will. For the live action episode, that felt well written and excellently handled, especially for an audience that might not have seen One Piece before. 

Also the Shanks Fight to get Luffy was super cool. Love seeing the crew in action and beating/killing all the bandits. A little lowkey sad that they didn’t keep the “guns aren’t for threats they’re for action” and the “Fair? What do you mean fair, we’re pirates” line. Those were great lines that really highlight that they are still hardened fighters/pirates that do still kill. But they kept the “Hurt me but not my friends” line so that’s acceptable. 

Sea King animation was terrifying and really cool. Love to see that in action, and we got to see basically Shanks using power of will against the monster to fuck off. Best, love it. Also laughed a bit when I saw Shanks arm just flying into the ocean after the Sea King’s first strike. It’s in the middle of the screen if you pay attention to it. I just thought it was a funny bit that the Sea King didn’t actually eat it, just tore it off. 

Keep rolling with the badguys here, Cabuji coming in with vengeance exposition backstory about how Zoro hunted down him and his brother and killed the brother for a bounty. Tells how badass Zoro is, shows how stoic, serious, and snarky Zoro is in the face of torture and death. Like they are locked in the circus prop section, this entire set up is really good. But I’m just sitting here thinking that Zoro didn’t track them for shit, he got his ass lost for 20 miles and kept running into those guys accidentally. I don’t know if or when the live action would ever touch on Zoro’s shitty sense of direction, but I hope they do. I’m just waiting for that reveal moment. 

I’m glad they are still keeping the mistrust and traitor vibes with Nami here. She never said she’s part of the crew, she tried to dip as soon as she could with outing Luffy’s powers. She hated the devastation that pirates made in the town, while also sneaky enough to have 4 different lockpicking sets. Love a girl bastard and thief. Especially the end hints of her having *le gasp* a secret corresponder snail working for someone! Oh That’s gonna be so good when we get to it. 

Another small thing about Luffy while I’m talking about the crew: Is it weird I find Luffy too smart? I mean, yeah his first instinct was to eat the map. But he’s rubber, his stomach can literally stretch. And the best place to hide something is on your person. Also he figured out the boxes and getting rid of body parts in reality that smart grab was Nami’s ploy. Though I guess the writers thought it would be best to make Luffy a bit more competent than just the original dumbass he was. Maybe the audience wouldn’t latch onto him as much or something. 

But I did love how Luffy states he’s “a different kind of pirate”. Still a pirate. 100% still a pirate. But not the pillaging or destroying kind. The “I can help my friends out just via violence” type. Not afraid to fight, won’t stand rules, just wants to do his own thing without hurting everyone. Given Nami’s stated mistrust on pirates, as well as the rest of the town, it’s nice that we have Luffy to be that distinction of a better pirate. 

Clown outfits and costumes were really on point. Like the design production went all out to make sure everyone is as wacky and crazy as One Piece is known to be. It’s a bit too bad that we don’t actually see all the clowns fight in one go. Like having Zoro kill/defeat them all offscreen felt like a waste. But the core of this episode was definitely focused on Buggy and Buggy v. Luffy. So it makes sense that they don’t want to…share the spotlight. (see I can make bad circus jokes too)

They’re also giving Garp and Koby a bigger spot in the series too. Anime/Manga we sort of forget about Koby until well after a lot of arcs. But now they are tying his story to Garp about Koby trying to be a Marine like how he wanted. He’s a lot more timid with being a marine though. And Garp, really threatening. In the “I’m a powerhouse and we all know this but I’m still polite” type of way. Still like him, and the live action has this as the parallel of “Luffy Pirates” v “Koby Marines” so two sides of the same coin. 

Too bad we didn’t see Morgan going down either. Or how Helmeppo spontaneously became a Cadet while Morgan was still in charge. But that goes under the “clowns killed offscreen” bit. 

Overall, really good horror circus vibes here. All the fight scenes were on point and clever. They are still blending in a lot of the original source material while making smart and fun changes to the story. And my sister wants to blast through the episodes because she just wants to get to the Sanji bits lol. So stay tuned!

[reputayswift]

what do you think Suburban Legends is about?

I think it’s about having a tumultuous and undefined relationship with someone and putting up with red flags because you want to believe you’re meant to end up together. Basically this quote about Style:

This song is about those relationships that are never really done. You always [have] that one person who you feel might interrupt your wedding and be like, “don’t do, it ‘cause we’re not over yet.” I think everybody has that one person who kind of floats in and out of their life and the narrative is never truly over.

But she’s reimagining this relationship as a high school romance—as she’s wont to do!

Here are a few section-by-section explanations and parallels just for fun:

Note. Sometimes I use “Taylor” to refer to Taylor, the songwriter, and sometimes to Taylor, the narrator of the song. I’m not saying Taylor, the songwriter, experienced all of this literally lol 🫶

you had people who called you on unmarked numbers / in my peripheral vision

She’s noticed that the person she’s with often gets mysterious phone calls when they’re together, the “unmarked” implying he’s hiding the contact names from her because he’s pursuing multiple romances at once. (“I heard that you’ve been out and about with some other girl / he said ‘what you heard is true but I can’t stop thinking about you and I’ / I said I’ve been there too a few times”)

I let it slide like a hose on a slippery plastic summer / all was quickly forgiven

Here she’s combining the phrase “let it slide” (allowing someone to get away with something) with the imagery of a Slip ‘N Slide (a flat, plastic water slide you wet with a hose—usually for children). It was meant to be a playful summer romance with looser expectations, so she ignored the calls and didn’t demand exclusivity. (“August slipped away into a moment in time / ‘cause it was never mine” / “it was just a summer thing” / “no rules in breakable heaven but / o, it’s a cruel summer”)

you were so magnetic it was almost obnoxious / flush with the currency of cool / I was always turning out my empty pockets

Someone who’s “flush with cash” has all the wealth they could ever need. Someone’s who’s “flush with the currency of cool,” then, has endless charm that makes relationships easy to obtain and gives them access to anything they desire. In contrast, Taylor is “turning out [her] empty pockets”; the same charm that drew her in makes her feel insecure and inadequate beside him. A “flush” can also refer to blushing with embarrassment or attraction, further showing the effects of his charisma.

I had the fantasy that maybe our mismatched star signs / would surprise the whole school / when I ended up back at our class reunion / walkin' in with you

This is far from the first time Taylor has used high school as a metaphor for the gossip, pressure, and claustrophobia that comes with the spotlight: (“they whisper in the hallway, ‘she’s a bad, bad girl’” / “honey, life is just a classroom” / “you had it figured out since you’re in school / everybody loves pretty everybody loves cool”). High school classmates may question the compatibility of two people based on social standing (“currency of cool”) or zodiac sign the same way tabloids theorize how and when her relationship might crash and burn from the outside. The high school reunion represents an opportunity to show everyone who’s ever doubted her that they were wrong, that their love was fated and they fell back together in the end.

you'd be more than a chapter in my old diaries / with the pages ripped out

With Taylor’s diaristic writing style, she’s often accused of discarding partners and keeping the songwriting material. Again, this fantasy reunion would allow her to silence these detractors.

I am standin' in a 1950s gymnasium / and I can still see you now

A few possibilities here:

Being, physically, in an old gymnasium reminds her of this fantasy and her dashed hopes for their relationship

Taylor’s fantasy takes place in her high school gym, which was built in the 50s

Taylor’s fantasy takes place in a gymnasium in the 1950s, echoing the James Dean x Good Girl dynamic seen throughout 1989

I didn't come here to make friends / we were born to be suburban legends

Despite “let[ting] it slide,” she actually desires a defined, committed relationship. “Suburban legends” is a play on “urban legends,” which could refer to becoming the talk-of-the-town and/or a renowned power couple out of ordinary circumstances (“you and me, we’d be a big conversation”). However, the veracity of “legends” is often disputed, hinting that whispered rumors may be all that’s left of their love in the end. The use of “suburban” also supports the image of a small-scale high school romance.

when you hold me, it holds me together / and you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

Their chemistry is so strong she knows she’s doomed to always wonder when and if he’ll reappear.

tick-tock on the clock, I pace down your block / I broke my own heart 'cause you were too polite to do it / waves crash to the shore, I dash to the door / you don't knock anymore and I always knew it / that my life would be ruined

Again, she is placing the relationship in a “world that was one block wide,” where impromptu visits are a short walk away. Time is running out to define the relationship, and Taylor has resigned to call it off altogether knowing he’s content to string her along indefinitely. The past tense “broke” versus the present tense “dash” could indicate she’s already called it off and is visiting despite herself. The fact he no longer “knocks” (approaches her independently) confirms her fears that he’s losing interest and she’ll be left to wonder about and pursue him, alone.

[narhinafan]

Remember seeing a meme where the poster posted that showed Kushina's words that find a girl like her fits Hinata more than Sakura but many are still against it, leading to an all out war in the comments section.

I did give my opinion but based it on the stuff I've read here, including the one who painstakingly made an analysis on why Kushina's words fit Hinata more than Sakura, how Kishi paralleled Minakushi and Naruhina, Kishi's preference for "opposites attract" in his couples and lastly the bonus artworks where a 12 year old Naruto leaving the window with an angry Kushina (her hair forming like the Kurama's tails) and a weakly laughing Minato reading a newspaper in the background to a similar one where Boruto is the one doing it but with an angry Naruto (paralleling his mother), a surprised Hinata and a smiling Himawari. Still, you can say that official artwork doesn't necessarily mean it makes things canon but Kishi took his time to make those parallel artworks mean something.

I got a reply in Spanish where the commenter said that its all bullcrap including "opposite attracts". I told him that I was just echoing what Kishi, the creator of Naruto, said and done. I got a reply from him that it's still nonsense so I stopped debating him since if I fail to control my emotions, I might curse him with more Spanish foul words (I live in the Philippines, a former Spanish colony, so we adapted their curse words in our vocabulary) and ended up getting reported and banned from FB.

Honestly, there is a way to reply with civility but it seems it also went out of the window.

Exactly the thing is Kushina's words apply to Hinata so much cause she parallels with both Kushina and Minato in different ways. Everyone assumes parallels mean they are a copy of another character and they can only parallel one, but that isn't the case. A character can parallel with many others as long as they have similarities between them.

Hinata is more subbed like Minato and also admires confident and brave people like Naruto/Kushina. While she is loving and caring like Kushina is towards her loved and strong when it comes to defending them. Even in the new gen when it comes to her family Hinata shows a bit of Kushina when angry. There are many similar that linker to Kushina or Minato and the same goes for Naruto the ship works from multiple angles.

Opposites attracting is true, more often then not they balance each other out. Not to say being similar can't work, but it depends on the personality type and even then it takes a bit more for it to work out in the end.

[peekintoeternity]

omg i think im so out of loop (never check any naruto blog aside from ones ive followed tbh for the past 2 years lmao) that i didnt know people have pointed out the similarities between vaderkin and tobito?? damn i thought i was all alone LOL 😭 (psss id be more than willing of course to listen to your take on their similarities and differences)

hi there! so i think others have done this extensively, i usually find such jokes / mini "thought pieces" on reddit (you can try r/naruto or r/dankruto and search relevant keywords) or youtube comment sections, and especially the YT vid from Death Battle, although other (smaller) creators have also posted (more serious) video essays about Obito, where Anakin / Darth Vader has been mentioned as a parallel to Obito's character :)

unfortunately i can't remember the exact video & all the information is a bit scattered, even in my brain lol, so the best i can do is point u to some sources 🥲

for instance, there are many YT video essays & even reddit posts on Obito's character & how misunderstood he is, like Swagkage's "Dissecting Obito Uchiha", "How Strong is Obito?", "Leave Obito Alone" (lol)

i'm not sure i can ever make a post listing all their similarities, esp when the Death Battle vid has already pretty much done that, and more comprehensively than any comment / reddit post at that, haha

you can also check their wiki for a detailed breakdown of the vid, but perhaps go straight to the Trivia section to see a list of their many similarities! :D

(of course as with all sources, there are some things i disagree with, for instance DB lists Obito as having "less combat experience" than Vader, but we actually don't know what Obito does during all those nigh 20 years that he was living as "Nobody" / "The Masked Man" / Tobi, i mean he could've been training and participating in duels, espionage, skirmishes, battles, etc., i mean he was the secret leader of the Akatsuki, the real Fourth Mizukage of Mist/Kiri, also basically the real leader of Land of Rain too ("Amekage" if you will?) since he is the reason Pain & Konan were able to overthrow Hanzō and the two take orders from him even if they are not loyal to him, so there could've been countless of combat / military and political missions he was involved in that happened "offscreen", and add to all that the fact he was a child soldier starting from around age 9 (when he became a genin and began taking on missions) and that, of course, he was a main player (war criminal! lol) as both fighter and strategist and military commander in Narutoverse's Fourth World War—but hey, the whole point of fandom & media is that there will also be multiple interpretations, so i see no point in "nitpicking" a fictional fight analysis lol)

maybe something new i can add is the meta parallel of how, in real life, vader's identity reveal was a plot twist that shook the whole of star wars fandom and beyond, shocking audiences & remaining iconic to this day

similarly, though i wasn't there (in the fandom or following the anime), at the time, when obito was revealed to be The Masked Man ("Tobi") in the anime, apparently sooo many streaming sites straight up broke down due to the sheer number of people immediately going to see the episode (guess there aren't that many manga readers compared to anime haha)

so yeah, vader broke cinema (insert martin scorsese meme), and obito broke the internet, quite literally 🤣

and these are just accounts from english speakers, who knows how much potentially crazier things got on chinese & japanese & other non-english sites lol

i might add some stuff if i have the energy to organize my thoughts more later on, sorry if this isn't the answer you were hoping for, but i hope the links & sources above can be helpful to you! :)

[cescalr]

Hey. psst. Playlists.

Preamble:

The only ones that preview even a little well are Slime's and Niki's, because they're roughly around the 100 mark (which is really only bc they're unfinished); most have over 200 songs in 'em, so following the link to the full list would be best practise. Fundy's is kind of... bad. Idk him very well yet. But, you know. This stuff takes time. Also, just as a casual, but firm reminder - no rpf, never rpf, fictional characters are not real and it's not immoral to treat improvised fiction as just as fandom-able as fully scripted fiction. Just because the media is gameplay and not television doesn't make it any less valid. Just because the actors aren't professionals doesn't mean they're doing these things in their real lives. Or do you think Tubbo set of actual nukes? C'mon guys. It's been a dacade; mcrp is here to stay. Treat it as you treat Red and Blue, or RWBY, or any other numerous other webseries. Shipping is fine. calm down about it.

(I stated all that because i have character dynamic playlists, some of which are romantically inclined, and a number of the songs within the playlists for individual characters reference canonical or canon-adjacent relations with others of that nature, alongside the platonic and familial. For a second note, no, not all ships are perfectly pure and upstanding. Fiction is fiction. I'm here for an interesting story, not a moral lesson. Make of all this what you will, but I'm not here for fandom bullshit we sorted out years ago in other places. I was there in the yogsmc trenches, and I've heard about what happened in 2019 for the hermitshipping crowd; i know it sucks. I know it's scary that people get really riled up about something that isn't even a problem - but i'm not going to stop doing it. It's fun. It's fiction. None of this relates to the ccs even a little. I am very clear about this. Any references to RPF will be swiftly dealt with. As for characters - do what you will with them. And I'm an angst gremlin who delights in making her blorbos suffer for your catharsis and my own entertainment, so. Keep that in mind. This was probably not explained very well, given it's 3:34 in the morning, but, you know. Not RPF. C != CC. Fictional character shipping is a part of fandom, and it's one i engage in - make of that what you will, but don't be a dick about it, that's unnecessary. This is all for fun and no profit other than my own enjoyment, and hopefully yours too.)

DSMP;

Remember please, to read the descriptions of the lists on Spotify. they don't show on previews embedded. Listener discretion is advised, though alas i couldn't put CWs on the spotify descs, so i'll have to do that here instead, there's still some stuff in those descs that will give context as to why the playlists contain what they do and are set out the way they are. (no, the repeated songs are not accidents - they're on purpose; i'm telling a story. It makes sense when you listen to it in sequence - think of these playlists like concept albums.)

Chars:

Ah, slime. The blorbo. He's got SCU as backstory here, ftr. This is not finished - the SCU section at the front is pretty lacklustre atm, and the ending is kind of abrupt, since im still sorting out the post-finale storyline route i want to go down, and how the hell to tell that through music alone. We'll see how that goes. (If i could make animatics, I damn sure would. I've got Thoughts about post-reset DSMP.)

[CW: Death, Murder, songs of religious trauma, a form of derealisation? i think?]

Oh boy. Schlatt, schlatt schlatt. Where to start with this guy? SCU. That's where to start. He's got SCU as backstory, ignores Tales/Earth for the most part. Need to gather my thoughts and post about them at some point, I suppose, but the long and short of it is minecraft worlds each run on different time scales in parallel, so you can spend a decade on one but bump into your friend a year after they last saw you, so you're 30 when they're 21 even if chronologically speaking they were actually older than you the last you spoke. Timey-wimey multiverse shennanigans - i've always thought this, but ever since Rendog posted his own video about the subject I no longer have to explain it myself, lol, so check out that guy's youtube channel for a much more coherent run-down than I'd ever give. (unless you want mine, feel free to ask in my inbox or ims - we do have different ideas, his are just more solid (mine's more magic, his is more science) and given he's a cc, more likely to spread.) Anyway point being; Schlatt went to university with Wil, but Wil fucked of to a fae world with Sally for a decade to raise Fundy, which makes him and Schlatt out-of-sync. Also, they were in uni in America, which is something Wil is very glad never got out, lol. Fishfucker from utah, goddamn...

adfalskfd anyway, jokes aside; Schlatt is 20-23, estimatable, during the run of the Election arc. I set him at 23 bc of Ghost Stories but it's really more like 21. I have him as SCU Schlatt completely unware of his own prior godhood (and continued godhood, if he'd just, you know, remember). He's an interdimensional demonic godly entity who thinks he's just some wolf/sheep/human hybrid with health problems and an alcohol addiction (not that he'd admit to the latter two, of course.) so, keep that in mind.

Also, the rest? Yeah. Probably not... a good idea to give Schlatt back all the memories he's lost... well. Hopefully he's changed enough, yeah? hehe. >:)

[CW: Some like, religious stuff again, a la slime, Cannibalism, Drugs, Abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Murder.]

Ah yes, Big Q. So. Admittedly, by the count of the playlist, you could very well argue this guy is solidly in blorbo territory. I would have to admit the truth of the matter is just that. This does not, however, mean i get this fucking guy even a little bit, so I'm hoping this is a good playlist but i'm not convinced it is. 400+ songs, though, so there's a lot to chew through here. Covers pre-dsmp headcanons and post-dsmp reset finale au. Tries to keep his canon relationships all referenced but my god is it hard to figure out which were and which weren't. Went for; elaboration on Eret, focus on Karlnapity, Schlackity, and TNTduo. Pretty sure BBQ happened at some point but it's ignored. DapDup is presented here as mostly-platonic, but can be imagined whatever way you would like other than fatherly. Q is 20. Schlatt is 7 million. Q is his mentor, not his dad. They're best friends, they're peers. it's the EmeraldDuo issue all over again (granted a little different, but still). Point being; Slime is older, wiser, and more knowledgable than Q, but his worldview is a lot kinder than Q's when they meet, and what Q is trying to teach him is cynicism. In that, Slime's a novice. So he's the protegee, because Q wants to teach him what he can to keep him safe, and to have a net to fall on for LN's leadership if he's to kick the bucket (which Q is trying to avoid but definitely expects to happen, inevitably.) Anyway, yeah. Quackicle if you like, DapDuo if you don't, basically. (I Intended legacyduo to be platonic or at most queerplatonic, though.)

Q's introduction to the DSMP is as Tommy's fellow drug operation... er, operation-er. So, that's how this playlist starts. My backstory is a bit complicated, so i've left most of it out; suffice to say Q isn't a duck, though he lets people assume that and doesn't correct them, because it's easier that way. I'd be happy to explain more, but it's a hell of a long ramble, so not here.

[CW: Cannibalism, Drugs, Abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Murder.]

Like i said, I don't know fundy as well as i'd like to be making a playlist about him. YMMV on this one.

[CW: Death, Murder.]

Ah, niki. Similar sitch to fundy, hence why their playlists are so much shorter than the others. YMMV, again. Feedback is appreciated, on these, if you'd like to give it. Keep in mind the list's description, as always.

[CW: Death, Murder, implications of depression?]

Wilbur's a funny one, I really don't know.... how to feel about his character. Either way, the playlist exists all the same.

I borrowed a lot of these songs, I'll admit, from animatics and pre-existing playlists based around him. YMMV; feedback appreciated, if you feel like it.

Note: I do not take 'SBI' as a canon thing in the way most do. Philza is his father, Technoblade is a kind of brother figure, but he's not Philza's son, he's his friend/ex-empire-running-partner-in-crimes-against-anarchy, the hypocrites. Tommy is not Philza's son in any respect; Wilbur is a kind of, older-brother-father-figure, while Technoblade is an older-brother-distant-uncle figure, and Philza is just 'Wil's dad' (And, well, Doomsday happens. After that, it's just Philza). I choose personally to ignore some of the canon backstory for Tubbo; he's Tommy's friend first and foremost. This saves some complications later for me with character dynamics - I like nuance and interconnectedness, but it was giving me a headache trying to sort it all out, lol. Tubbo was found in a box - by Tommy, when skiving school. He got folded into Wil and Tommy's little almost-family situation over a period of time, and was never technically adopted by anyone. (Neither, to be fair, was Tommy. I mean, what authority would you ask, anyway? This is the minecraft multiverse. Which England do you go to to sign the papers? How would it even work?). Either way; Wilbur is Philza and Lady Death's son, not the son of a literal smart fridge, because i can kind of sidestep the fishfucking but i can't bring myself to even acknowledge that as more than a joke.

Anyway, yeah. Stop the ramble there; have a listen, if you'd like to.

[CW: Drugs, Abuse, Manipulation, Death, Murder, Terrorism.]

Some notes: Tommy canonically ran some kind of drug operation with Q at the beginning; Wil and Q met through Tommy, not any other way around. I haven't quite reflected that in this, I don't think? it's sort of hard to. I mean, I need to figure out how Tommy and Q even met in the first place, as a point of contention. And, well... because it's just kind of not great to have to put reference to that sort of thing in a playlist for a kid, you know (since he was 16 at the start of all this, then, jeez. When did that all go down, exactly?). Honestly, this playlist isn't great in general. I tried my best, but I don't really know him that well.

I actually kind of like Dad!Schlatt but I'm bored by it being Tubbo, so. You know where I'm going with this one, right? Literal devil child. C'mon. You can't miss out on a pun (of circumstance, no less!) that good. Dad!Schlatt AU with Tommy as the literal devil child in question is taken as headcanon for my version of events. Like I said; i take what i'm given and i run with it, i mess around with it - I tend to ignore fanon and just do my own thing, even if it will inevitably on occasion contradict canon. What can I say? YogsMC was my first mcrp storyline, and that was a whole mess of mostly having to make up everything yourself. I got used to it, and the freedom is too nice a thing to let go of.

This playlist is not kind to Dream, given Exile and murder and all that, but it also doesn't pretend Tommy was some innocent who did nothing wrong. His literal first action was to murder George. Kid's messed up a lot, and is kind of prone to homicide. Keep that in mind. Again, however, being a perpetrator does not stop someone from also being a victim, and Dream 100% victimised Tommy. That's just not a deniable thing. Gaslighting isn't cool, guys. (and, for once, the term actually applies to something it's used to describe. wonders never cease.)

[CW: probable derealisation somewhere in here idk, Abuse, Manipulation, Death, Murder, Terrorism, War, Suicidal Ideation/Attempt.]

Dynamics:

Swinging a bat right out the gate - this is romantically intended pumpkinduo, aka schlackity. You were warned. My dsmp-post-finale-reset AU stuff is very much my own, and veers rather far from given canon. In fact, these playlists do a lot of swerving around the ballasts of canon. I think what i like about stories and tend to damn everything else - fanon included. I make up my own stuff; mileage will vary. I "endgame" pumpkinhusbands, in that sort of way where they're both terrible and should never bring anyone else into this mess and kind of deserve each other, but they're also just fucked up guys trying to get through the shit life they've been saddled with, and end up leaning on each other - a sure thing, if not... the best thing. So. Yk. (And Schlatt is a god with amnesia, but that's a little tangential. Only a little. I take SCU as backstory, and ignore Tales/Earth stuff. YMMV, again.)

Oh, also, i consider their dynamic mutually abusive in the election arc. if that troubles you, then pass on the Q, Schlatt and PHduo playlists. They have an arc in them, but that content warning is required. (Q was physical; schlatt was mental - as in, what they perpetrated. To put it simply; Schlatt used his words. Q literally beat him up when he said no to marriage and then went through with it anyway, without S's consent. That's very much not of the good. Q was a victim, sure, I don't disagree, but he was also a perpetrator. Abuse can be mutual. It's not uncommon, in fact. So, yes. They treat each other like shit, Schlatt dies, Q spirals, etc etc, not exactly a redemption arc but something akin to it, and they try again. Different people. Not worse, not better - just different. Aged. Changed. And it'll work this time, because they want it to. They didn't before, and that's always the failure. Relationships are commitments. They take work. A 19 year old ex drug dealer and a 21 year old alcoholic running a country are really not in the right place for anything like that. Marriage was the worst thing they could've done, and Q forced it on them anyway. Problems, problems. Interesting problems, but I can see the squick. So. Here's all this word jumble for your fair warning.)

[CW: Cannibalism, Drugs, Abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Murder.]

This was not technically romantically intended TNTDuo, but they have at least a canonical history of having sex, so make of it what you will. (Canonically, wilbur is not in love with Q. Obsession is different from love, after all, and I agree with that sentiment if not the truth of the statement itself. Wil's fucked up and complicated, and so thus are his feelings for Q also. Q never quite fell in love with Wil, and quite distinctly fell out of whatever affection he'd managed to gain. They got lust though. they got that in spades. And, like i said - they're obsessive. Bad combo.)

(I don't really like the dapduo name, so sometimes i'll refer to them as legacyduo, interchangably. this is also interpretable as quackicle if you like, but wasn't necessarily intended as such - just as much as it wasn't not intended as such. Ambiguity. >:) )

And, of course, that's all the post will allow me to fit. I've got loads more, though, mostly set to public. Some aren't ready for that yet (less than 5 hours means less than a full arc smh) but, yeah. None of them are DSMP, anyway. There's Yogs, none of which are public yet, Teen Wolf, which are, Harry Potter, some are, Esoteric Fandoms, which all are, Hermitcraft/Empires/Traffic|Life Series, which are currently awaiting publication in their entirety (but i think a few of them, notably pearl, scott, grian - I'm prioritising winners atm - are close). So, yeah. Feel free to peruse at your leisure.

[the-devil-less-known]

His grin only grows at the sound, knowing that speaking childishly had a humorous reaction each time and not afraid to tease it out. He can see the hungry gleam in those eyes, and feels especially pleased for reasons he could not put a name to if pressed. Only once his hand is free, does he set about packing the bowl with his hands, his tail taking the bong to dip it into the water behind him. It's all roughly guesstimated, not really planning on having more than a light buzz to join in on the fun. He couldn't be sure how Alastor would feel, so he wanted to be close at hand and fairly sober, just in case.

Though, Alastor scooting closer does make him perk up like a kid being given a birthday present early, scooting further off the pillow himself and making his hands free to do grabby motions at the sinner's. "And hindsight its greatest curse," he countered, taking the three hands to rest lightly on his lap. "Left hand, eh? Perfect, since the non-dominant hand is said to tell what your natural demeanor and potential is, while your favored one shares what you do with all that potential... And we both know about what you get up too in your freetime~"

A little risky, hinting like that, but Lucifer feels confident enough with their time spent together, that it doesn't worry him to make brazen references that could be easily explained away all the same. Corner of his mouth quirking up as he takes the moment to thoroughly examine the hand he held captive for his own curiosity more than simply the provided excuse of reading palms.

Like the comparison in length of fingers and size of palm juxtaposed against his own dark hand, a square shape there, certainly. The claws are clean, finely filed and gleaming in the green light at the no-doubt sharp points that could easily pierce or slice skin like it was —

Woah there, old boy, focus.

Clearing his throat, he starts in his best mysterious tone, purred and low, dredging up memories of a party trick he hadn't had the opportunity to use in ages. "You have an earth shaped hand, while your claws certainly add length, your finger itself ends here, making them short. What this means is a pragmatic mindset. Overly perfectionist, certainly, but it's that detail oriented and analytical approach that drives you to deliver concrete results. Success is often found slowly but surely, with care and patience to achieve the best outcome accounted for. Wow, sounds juuust like a certain hotelier we all know and annoy~"

He flexes the hand in his grip with some amusement, eyes carefully watching where the dark velvety fur folded and rolled, trying to get a fix on where the lines on the palms would be located more or less. There's scarring hidden here and there, mudding the locations more, but the raised skin at least helped indicate which it was.

"Well, lucky, lucky you, seems like you also have a fate line along with the more expected three. Let's start with your heart line, and save the surprise for last, hm? Since you like them so much. Heart line expresses what one might think of when a person's heart comes to mind, emotions and romance, and how that might entwine with their life. Yours, starts just below the middle finger, and grazes your life line when it splits off here... Hard to make out with your fur, but the line appears broken in some sections while being more or less parallel to the curve of your palm."

Lucifer purses his lips, not sure how to phrase the interpretation to what fit his impression of Alastor, but there was always the excuse that this was the hand he had been dealt, not necessarily fitting to who the man became. Besides, it wasn't like the sinner believed in it, by his own admission. "Sooo, what that more or less translates to, is you being a selfish kind of lover with a firm handle on your feelings borne previous emotional trauma, and prone to have a heart easy to break when someone gets too close for comfort. Yeowch."

Snackies. Alastor snuffs, but he cannot turn down food of any kind, really, so long as it is not overtly sweet which gives him a foul taste in his mouth much of the time. Too cloying and sticky. But salty and savory will catch his interest every time, his eyes following the treats as they manifest before them and are set down within reach. It is hard to not immediately lurch forward to fill his belly, but he is patient.

First, he extends a hand to reach out and take the impromptu cigarette that he's been given, peering at it curiously. He has tried any number of drugs in years both living and dead, but never has he lingered on them for very long, many having proven to be relatively ineffective. Cannabis is not one such thing - it tends to have an adequate effect, just not one that frees him of his overarching issues. And so he does not count it.

But he is unafraid of the thing, a claw tapped to the end of it as he sticks the other between his teeth, lighting it with the flickering green flame that he is capable of conjuring and allowing it to burn for a bit before he finds it prudent to take a true drag. Interested too by the bong that makes him want to chortle at how strangely accurate its anatomy is. But the Lucifer is talking again and there goes his attention once more.

"Mm, I think we can avoid any true fortune telling," he says with a good-natured roll of his eyes, taking a moment to scoot himself close enough to be at the other's side as he chases the smallest inkling of curiosity. He cannot remember a time where he's ever had his palm read. "Having the future be a surprise is one of life's greatest joys.~" With the way he says it, it is likely that he is being sarcastic, but there is some truth in it.

Either way, he eventually offers his hand to the other, using his free one to finally take a decent pull of the smoke in his mouth. Adept at it. He is no novice. But he may or may not be just as woefully ignorant of its potency.

Already driven to use one of his tendrils - in lieu of yet another free hand - to reach over to the snacks being offered and snag a few small tidbits to pop in his mouth between exhalations of smoke.

"Tell me what you see, oh swami," Alastor teases, flexing his sharpened and shined red claws a little for Lucifer to take.

[metalgonemeta]

MAJORLY LONG POST IM SO SORRY

This whole post is a comparison of Isane-the-shiny, aka my older version of this blog, to its resurrection MetalGoneMeta

First things first, im sending development for this blog into motion. And although everyone who saw and i interacted with under the Isane-the-shiny/-and-muses usernames are now 2 years+ inactive and/or archived, i feel its best to put up the similarities and differences between then and now both for their sake should it be of interest as well as to give myself a blueprint for resurrecting under Metalgonemeta.

Isane-the-Shiny/-and-muses (2018?)

ItS was a Non-Selective, Independent, Pokémon/Metang OC Roleplaying blog

While I ran ItS (and later IaM) I was very VERY new to Tumblr RP and didnt know what anything meant besides a blog being Selective or not. And if you even had Semi-Selective in your bio, I posted the Same. Damn. CopyNPaste Ask of basically:

THIS GD ASK HAS PLAGUED MANY A USERS INBOX, and yknow how i said i didnt know the terminology of RPBlogs? That included those who had “Mutuals Only” as a rule of their blog.

To those whos blogs i did invade, I do apologize. I will say that i have improved since then.

(Also SHOUTOUT TO THOSE WHO ACTUALLY RESPONDED DESPITE THEIR OWN RULES /pos Istg i look back on this Invading copy and paste ask with HEAVY cringe, but I also remember feeling so ballistically happy seeing the “X answered your ask” notification. I hope all is well for you ^^)

Back to this list of how things were, pretty much said above but to put it shorter and more organized, Back when i ran IsT/IaM i was very Invasive and i was unaware of boundaries. And this was mostly due to it being back when i was about 14-15. (Im an Adult now dw ^^”)

Lastly and pretty much the only last changes and differences… Isane, the Metang OC of this blog, Is getting a name change and Overhaul. This is primarily for finding purposes ig? Basically, There is a character from a different fandom i follow, Bleach, with a character of the same name. (If anything i legit just stole the name cuz i liked Isane lmao). I do not have a new name decided *yet, but am actively searching so i can get it set in stone for the blog. And in terms of the actual overhaul, im going to look into updating, aka giving, her lore as well as (likely the only thing anyone i interacted with gave a shit about if at all) a redesign. Whether im going to turn her into a default blue and silver metang, or my Orrian Metang design is also still to be decided (you can find said design here )

Metalgonemeta (2023 onward)

Now all the big stuff i will admit is under the previous section by accident and ive noticed this post is getting pretty lengthy so ill try to keep this section short and to the point.

MGM is likely going to be identical to ItS in the fact it will still be an Indie NonSelective Blog. Though if i wanted to label every applicable term i found to give a better idea of what itll be: Indie, Pokemon/Metang OC, Based on Canon events that happened in both the mainline pokemon games as well as Pokemon Colosseum/GoD:XD, though will likely focus mainly on Unova B2W2* in writings.

Now i will say, factually in my stance, i should NOT go around peoples inboxes all wild andlikely childish. Even if i didnt make the other person uncomfortable, there were cases where i did make some uncomfortable… likely those who had stated mutuals only and yet here i was, a complete stranger banging on the ask box. Im probably going to just stick with those who interact with me first because of this and keep me going into inboxes at a minimal (i.e posted staters, prompts, etc.)

Kinda to keep parallel with the previous section, in terms of age rating im thinking ill have this blog be 18+. Not because of any mature material (if anything this blogs gonna be pretty sfw since its a gd METANG) but to avoid any uncomfortable complications regarding me, an 18y/o adult interacting with teens/minors of any age tumblr allows (I dont know what to even think of this cuz i just turned 18 not too long ago so from what ive heard i shouldnt have to worry about this type of stuff in the way say a 24y/o should), im just deciding in the hopes to just avoid any complications just keep the 18y/o me in the 18+ audience.

And that about wraps up all there is in terms of blog comparisons.. this was mostly focused on the blog technichalities and i will look into setting up a accessable Rules and About page when i get everything set up and can move onto a theme.

Im sorry this was so long but i felt it was best to post this now while everything i want to do is still fresh in my mind.

Thank you for reading through,

—Tamer