#and stop comparing the stories

[lgbtlunaverse]

There's a version of the "don't go grocery shopping while hungry" rule specifically for writers where you should never under any circumstances be allowed to touch your draft within 3 hours of reading a really good story. Because sometimes when you read something great your head goes "fuck this is so much better than my stuff I should make that more like THIS instead!" Look at me. That's the devil talking and you should close the document NOW.

[baifengxis]

I don’t know what you’re going through, but problems are like rain. Some days it pours hard. But trust me, there will always be a day when it stops.

WHALE STORE XOXO EPISODE 1

[sunnythanalan]

One of the best

I have been thinking about Erenville a lot and how the narrative allows us to really get to know him through the quiet moments. Through action rather than spoken words.

His mother calls him a fussy little bunbun, which is funny to begin with as we know him so far to be a taciturn and practical man. But while we travel with him we discover that he has suffered abandonment all throughout his life; first by his mother leaving him in care of others as she traveled herself, then by sending him away on his own travels, then further upon his return when there is a literal screen between them. The symbolism here is unmistakable. 

Then, as we progress, it becomes quite clear that Erenville suspects that there’s something wrong with his mother. Instantly he’s on the defensive, citing that her whimsy and overwhelming personality always overshadow his own wishes, and that he struggles to understand her, also to trust her. His quiet stoicism isn’t that funny anymore. 

In an ironic twist we discover that she has left him one last time, to the land of Living Memory. Even if it was never her intention to leave him in such a way, it must be hard to overcome that sense of continuous abandonment - and this time he has to say goodbye forever. That he draws away from everyone else to grieve and come to terms with this in solitude speaks volumes. It really indicates that he dealt with difficult emotions alone a lot while growing up, and in such a way he never learned how to rely on others. In the end, when finally pressed to the breaking point, Erenville lashes out in anger as the tools he made for himself fails him in processing all of his grief and fear alone. He has to find the courage to trust his mother with his emotions and that just as she's leaving him one last time.

Wuk Lamat is always right there in your face going through her emotions and leaning upon others for support, on the other side is Erenville, who draws back with his pain. We learn to know him just as deeply as Wuk Lamat, but through everything that isn’t said, rather than what is said. In fear of sounding effusive, even their appearance symbolises this: they're golden dawn and darkening dusk. Two sides of the same coin.

Honestly, personally to me, Erenville is one of the best written characters in this story so far. I love him deeply. I cried so hard for him.

PS. His love for his mother becomes so clear in the love he pours into the fauna that she mentored him in. While working as a gleaner, he's probably as close to her as he can be when she's physically not there. In the moments we see him care for animals his entire countenance changes, he becomes soft and caring, even exuberant and joyful.

[yepthatsacowalright]

I am once again dabbling in spoilers for Sinners territory, BUT I did not consciously register until watching Sinners a second time that Remmick attacked Bert in their nursery. Told Joan, "Shhhh, don't cry." while rocking in their nursing chair, next to their crib. Yet there is no actual baby to be heard or seen anywhere. Someone read A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift (probably the year it came out) like it was a recipe book, and it shows.

[wow-an-unfunny-joke]

Aaaaaaagh I wanna write mechanisms fanfiction so bad!!!! I don’t know the character thoooo it’ll be so bad

[ichabodcranemills]

this is about Griddlehark but it’s also about Hellylena

[kaeyachi]

Kaeyappreciation post!

Kaeya is wonderful in a sense that he:

Has a penmanship described as "Beautiful Handwriting". He for sure worked on that.

Willingly spends his time making sure his outfit looks perfect

Is well-loved by Mondstadt and the Dawn Winery staff

Is described to like a prince, both in looks and in actions

Is shown to be gentle and caring to children and elderly, most seen with Klee and the staff from Dawn Winery

Is a great listener and, therefore, also knows what gifts to buy based off of something someone said in passing

Is predominantly kind- unafraid to help out and defend someone in need. His first reaction is always kindness, and worry about covering up that kindness later on

But Kaeya also has his moments where he:

Says things out of pocket with enough alcohol in his system. Things that usually lead to shame and regret.

Would rather give others the credit for his hard work if he could help it

Intentionally makes himself look suspicious by withholding information and only throwing tidbits that are not of substance

Has sadist tendencies, which affects how he treats both his (cavalry) company and his enemies

Can and will use underhanded tactics to gain the upper hand

Rarely ever says what he truly wants to say

Has a fake smile. Usually lies or only deals with half truths.

He is such a complex character. I really do want people to appreciate him and his intricacies more. The fact that his entire personality and story is done so well and continues to actually grow and expand as the story progresses is something that genuinely makes me want to keep watch of him. I have never, in all my fandoms, stuck to a character as long as I did with Kaeya, and honestly? I know I'm not alone with this.

Look at how well they made our boy!

[sun-marie]

pivoting a little off of that Neve post to say real quick that if you haven't played the Templar route of DAI i highly recommend it. Some highlights:

Calpernia vs Leliana > Samson vs Cullen. Samson, as an antagonist, honestly feels pulled out of thin air, and having an extremely weird rivalry between him and Cullen shines a spotlight on the very strange role Cullen plays in DAI and makes the player wonder why they aren't switched. Calpernia, on the other hand, is a nuanced and complex character with somewhat sympathetic motivations, and watching Leliana get to put her spymaster skills to use to find out more about her is a lot more satisfying imo. Additionally, Samson's maguffin of his Red Lyrium armor being weakened for the unavoidable fight pales in comparison to convincing Calpernia to stand down by telling her the truth about how Corypheus is using her.

DAI's infamous issue with Corypheus's lack of presence in the story? Somewhat alleviated in this route. It's still not great, but we actively see him manipulate Calpernia, multiple times iirc, and at one point we hear his thoughts throughout one of the dungeons. I sincerely believe the reasons Corypheus gained such a reputation for being absent in the story are because most players have only played the mage route

Everything involving Therinfal Redoubt. The Envy demon, the mind prison, Cole's introduction (a far improvement over his intro in the mage route), the slow and natural revelation of the Venatori's ultimate goals (as a opposed to "i accidentally got chucked into the future but some time goo and here's everything i was able to learn for the whole Hour I was there"), Ser Barris my beloved <3

Depending on how you play it obviously, but there's an argument to be made that dissolving the Templars may do more good and result in more lasting change than freeing the Circles, seeing as the idea of the circles, as an academic space for mages to learn to control their powers, was never really the issue and oppression and abuse of the Templars is the true root of the problem. YMMV here though

As mentioned in a previous point, no time magic! this streamlines a lot of the storytelling imo, and makes for an INCREDIBLY CRUNCHY introduction to Dorian, who shows up at Haven and, since he's allowed to talk like a normal person and not a Spirit of Compassion, brings a very intense energy to the scene. Imo this works best if this is your very first time meeting him, as in you never went to Redcliffe and never had to deal with the Headache that is Alexius, the character assassination of Fiona, and the illogic inherent to Time Magic

The Templar route is just better integrated into the rest of the story. Cassandra's personal quest where they mention the Lord Seeker's been replaced by a demon? That no longer feels like it came out of left field, we literally saw that and so this quest feels like payoff. Leliana gets more time to shine doing Spymaster Things so her personal quest about being More Than A Tool feels more impactful. The Inquisition being an organization that scares the Chantry makes more sense because we stole the Chantry's army. The Red Templars no longer feel like a "bad thing made worse for some reason" and instead feel like sad endings for good (or well, i should say "good") people, who could've found a better way with the Inquisition and instead chose to be This. Emprise Du Lion and the Emerald Graves are now completely skippable areas, aside from whatever sidequests you'd like to do there.

Unfortunately, the greatest barrier to entry is justifying the In-Character reasons for your Inquisitor to get help from the Fucking Templars, which is. not ideal. BUT if you can do that, I really truly believe it's the superior route

[struggling-jpg]

Not to be that person but

The Wardance event really had Luka and Yanqing reflect each other. I feel like we got a speedrun of vaguely similar events that happen to Yanqing occur to Luka here. Like while being really good, he gets hit with obstacle after obstacle that shakes his confidence and willpower. Yet, when it comes down to it, Luka boxes because he loves it and it makes him feel happy and free.

"The most important thing is to always throw the next punch."

To work towards self-improvement, to love what you do, they both share that sentiment.

These two really felt like protagonists from different yet similar genres lol

This event was just so peak TvT

[hannahssimblr]

🌸

[chuluoyi]

IM SO SICK of the manga at rhis point gege really NEEDS to bring gojo back and what does he mean he’s taking a break 😭 what is even the point of this story now

…look, if you’re dropping by my askbox just to rant negatively about the manga like this, i’d appreciate it if you don’t at all :’)

so now that you did, let me give you a guide and answers to a happier and stress-free life without hating:

if you’re sick of it then so be it. don’t read the manga. just do what you like to do best and that’s it

and why gege has to take a break? he’s a human too like us and he’s tired after thinking and writing and drawing. we should be grateful that he writes the manga in the first place and not rush him

what’s the point of this manga? yuji is the point of this manga. this is all about his growth. gojo is there to guide him and yes, he steals the show, but the final arc is going to be about the students he nurtured instead of him—it’s only right that it’s that way

hope this clears everything and have a good day :)

[firestorm09890]

Ienzo the Liar

[see-arcane]

Wow, you guys already regressed to bitching about Castlevania. Btw, they produced Castlevania: Awakening in the Moonlight stage musical by Takarazuka Revue in Japan, it also has Dracula and Lisa in it. Castlevania lives on and thriving!

Considered just leaving this alone, but I'll take it as a chance for clarification.

Rant Below the Cut

I do not hate Castlevania, Netflix version or game version or stage musical version or any other iteration in-between. What few clips I've skimmed of the show online have suggested that it's something that the animators and writers put real heart in, plus a healthy dose of gay vampires to garnish with. I will repeat myself in saying that I quite enjoy the bloodstained Beauty and the Beast/villainy born of love route as a trope. To my knowledge, Castled Vania Dracula x Lisa is a great example of the latter. Great. Cool.

My issue with Castlevania is the issue I have with an infinity of films and books and games going back nearly 130 years. And that is the use of the characters' names from Dracula like they're costumes. Call it a nitpick or a pet peeve or just something that hits the big literary bitch button, but I Do Not Like that even when creators have ostensibly made a story that I could enjoy for its own merit, they feel compelled to graft the Dracula cast's faces over entirely unrelated, antithetical characters and motivations, and spoil the overall experience for me, the Dracula the Novel enjoyer.

I don't begrudge other people for being chill about it or enjoying the stories that have come as a result. I can't talk shit and be the DON'T ENJOY THIS!!1! police when I openly enjoy the gratuitous hot mess that is Hellsing. I am not immune to bondage suit anime men or Crispin Freeman voice acting or nazis getting eaten. I am not throwing those stones in my glass house.

But I am standing on top of the glass house and hurling boulders at the creators who, whether they make something fantastic or mediocre or genuinely teeth-grindingly awful, keep passing the baton of 'If we add Dracula names to this it adds more legitimacy! No, I have not read the book and I never will, but I don't need to because I read a footnote in a wiki once, I saw a movie, I read a spinoff of a spinoff.' Over and over and over.

That is what upsets me. That is my bitching point. Not whether you or anyone else Likes a Thing. You are not Netflix. You are not Konami. You are not Hirano or Moore or Coppola or Newman or Besson or Moffat or Browning. What you enjoy does not matter to me and never will.

Go enjoy your musical and let me regress in peace.

[ririsasy]

Salaar is indeed a gay coming of age movie

Reading the reblog tag from this post lmao I can't help but think about how similar the goodbye scene between Elio and Oliver in Call me by your name with Varadeva first separation scene lmao

Especially Varadha lingering behind looking at Deva's moving vehicle as he left him in Khansaar, same with Elio who keeps staring at the train 😂 then we have the car scene with Baba sitting right beside Varadha just like Elio's mother turning his head once looking in sympathy that this pitiful kid just experience his first heartbreak, the dramatic lifting his head off the headrest akin to Elio rubbing his face in frustration about their goodbye, thennnnn we even have the focusing frame crying scene as tear rolling down the cheek of a brokenhearted boy.

Sir, Prashanth sir I need you to tell me that the inspiration for this sequence was cmbyn wasn't it even just a little bit? Stop playing with us, Salaar is a full queer romance isn't it??????

[fictionadventurer]

Author: This character was beautiful according to every beauty standard of her time, and also quiet and kind and good and feminine, but she was insipid and boring and stupid compared to the extroverted, wild bad girl with unconventional looks.

Me: Actually she's my favorite, I've adopted her, and I'm taking her away so you can't hurt her anymore.

[meadowsofmay]

it's such a wild contrast going into the mighty nein after vox machina — first of all the atmosphere and the feel is completely different, clear indication that you've entered a different story, of different people, on a completely different continent. and i can't say i do not enjoy it.

but what's getting me the most is a contrast between vax — jumping recklessly in front of everybody, less of his own person but an addition to someone's life, a secondary priority, — and caleb — bruised, beaten, a mess of pain and terror plaguing his mind, keeping to the outskirts of the battle like a coward. there's guilt and grief following both of them but so differently. liam o'brien... wow.