#but the only difference there is that I was a little older so I coukd draw and write better and I can remember better what it was like

[seimsisk]

pretty sure my first fandom was whatever was on TV when I was 2

what was your original fandom. like not the one you first started with on tumblr. the first bit of media that you made content for

[lurkingshan]

hi! i hope you don't mind me bothering you but coukd you perhaps rec me some good japanese bls? possibly something less known and not from this year? no pressure ofc!! love your blog <3

Hi anon! I love to rec Japanese bls and am happy to oblige. First, a few rec posts I have already made:

Japanese BL Starter Pack

Additional Japanese BL Gems

Japanese BLs with Good Romance + Physical Intimacy

You can start with those if you don't already have them covered. But you asked for lesser known and older works, as well, and I definitely have some to recommend. Keep in mind that some of these are going to look older or lower budget and may not be up to the production standards of more recent and better funded shows, but they all have great stories with reasonably good execution. You will have to watch some grey (I'll note where available on GagaOOLala or where I have links). Running down the list in alpha order:

Ai no kotodama (2007, YouTube) A short and sweet little college-age friends to lovers movie. It's not complex but it's very cute.

Ameiro Paradox (2022, Gaga) A gossip reporter and photographer who don't get along are put on a stakeout team together. Kind of an enemies to lovers deal, but the initial grudge is not that serious.

Can I Buy Your Love From A Vending Machine? (2023, fansub) This is a very sweet romcom about an office worker with a massive crush on the vending machine loader who services his office.

Dangerous Drugs of Sex (2020, Gaga) I don't know your tastes or comfort level with dark and explicit works, so let me say upfront that this movie is not for everyone. It's an exploration of grief and depression through a very extreme psychosexual lens. If you're into that kind of thing, go for it, but mind the content warnings 'cause they are no joke.

Grand Guignol (2022, Gaga) Another one that is not for everyone, this is straight up horror and it's quite violent as well as sexually explicit. I had a whale of a time watching this with @bengiyo and seeing a bunch of our favorite BL boys getting into Spooky and Sexy Situations, but I know los espookys are not for everyone.

I Became the Main Role of a BL Drama (2023, Gaga). And for something completely different, this is a comedy that will have you laughing out loud. It pulls off the neat trick of being both a hilarious and incisive commentary on bl and a sweet romance.

I Want to See Only You (2022) Another short and very sweet friends to lovers drama, this one set in high school.

Let's Eat Together, Aki and Haru (2023, Gaga) An adorable food bl movie, very much in the light and sweet and chaste lane.

No Touching At All (2014, YouTube) A workplace romance that is surprisingly great and has a really solid romance arc. I loved it so much I watched it twice in a row.

I hope you enjoy some of these!

[gaykey]

I'm glad someone is finally talking about age differences between bl characters/actors... I feel like if it was het pairings people would protest. idk who the people you mentioned are but I'm watching kp and the kimchay parts make me v uncomfortable! I was hoping they would fix the original plot, say by making Kim wait until Porschay is older. It'd still be grooming-adjacent but in their case it was the younger person pursuing the older one so it's not as gross, even tho Kim is a manipulative creep ("detective").

It feels unnecessary, especially since it's so unrealistic. While Chay's crush on his idol is 1000% plausible, Kim's feelings are not. I'm the age that Kim is supposed to be and while I can imagine thinking Chay is adorable, it is only in the way that a puppy can be adorable. He's a child, there's nothing in him that someone my age would want in a partner. He's popular, he could have anyone, so why would he choose a highschooler? I think this is made even worse by the fact that the actor's age gap is even bigger while the younger one is still underage 😐

(Sorry for such a long ranty ask 😅 i hope you have a good day today!!)

i'd say it's something that actually gets brought up quite a lot? i mean, not enough but still

yes, i see people shipping actors that have way too big of an age gap for it to be appropriate but, there are definitely people that aren't ok with it

i wouldn't say it happens too much? most companies have their actors in age appropriate couples, from what i've seen. but zeenunew, maxnat...........yikes.

yeah, about kimchay...iiiiii ah, i'm not a fan. they're cute i guess, but i watched their little part in last ep through my hands because i was so worried they were gonna have them kiss.

but, they have kept it pretty pg thankfully, and i think they'll continue to keep it that way.

also, originally the part of porchay was meant to be played by gameplay, who's worked with jeff and is the same age as him (well a year younger but).

but, after all the production company drama, he couldn't be on the show anymore, so they recast the role, and barcode got it.

the entire crew & cast are so good with making him comfortable, and safe, and everything age appropriate for him though. they really do well by him, which should be the standard, but unfortunately isn't always.

in terms if the actual story though yeeeeeah it's? i too don't get what kim could see in chay beyond being a sweet younger friend.

but?????

that's just the plot - and kimchay is a loved couple from the novel so it's not like they coukd just get rid of it.

[sleepysnails]

hi! coukd you tell me about your purpled AUs? :D

Oh yes yes!!! Thank you for the frog btw.

Hmm let’s see... I have a bookstore au centered around him and Techno!

Techno “probably fights god at the back of a 7/11” blade owns a bookstore in the name of retirement. Said bookstore is one Purpled “lonely” Bedwars ends up frequenting quite often.

Purpled finds the bookstore while looking for one of those older books, the kind that’s published multiple times over the years. Purpled likes collecting the different ones from different publishing years, and Techno’s bookstore has a bunch of older books. Purpled ends up coming back a whole bunch because Techno’s shop has more of the books he’s looking for than most other places. On one of his visits he decides to look around for a new series or something to read. There’s really only so many times you can read the same book.  He finds a funky series on one of the shelves. There were stickynotes stuck to each shelf saying “ending 1″ “ending 2″ and so on. They were all the same book though? As far as Purpled could tell anyway. He grabs one on the “ending 5″ shelf and brings to the front counter to ask about it.

You know that one tumblr post that goes something like “if I were an author I’d write 11 different endings and publish them all”? That’s these books Purpled’s found, and the author? Well... it’s Techno, not that anyone really knows that.

When he asks Techno, the author is a bit shocked. He’s never really had to explain his own series(?) before. He does though, and Purpled’s interest is caught by the curious books. He buys the one he’s grabbed and goes home to read.

The next day Purpled’s back and buying another book from the series. Techno’s curious. Did this kid like his book? What did he think of it? So he asks.

Like I said before, Purpled “Lonely” Bedwars. Dude has no friends, so getting the chance to explain why he loved the funky book he found that apparently has different versions with different endings? He just starts rambling about it.

Techno’s mentally noting what Purpled says as future reference for his books. It’s nice to hear someone likes his work if a bit embarrassing.

Purpled notices how he’s rambled to a stranger about this book for a good 5 minutes now and kinda cuts himself off because even if Techno is in fact very interested in Purpled’s ramble, he’s bad at showing it. As it is when you don’t think someone’s all that interested in what you’re talking about, Purpled just kinda stops.

He pays for his book and goes home. Takes him about a week to come back for the next one and Techno asks again what he thought of the book.

Purpled, not wanting to repeat last time since he figured the bookstore owner was just asking to be polite just says “it was good.”

And Techno’s waiting to get another ramble like last time. When he didn’t he asks in surprise “that’s it?” That shocks Purpled, what does he mean “that’s it?” There was so much more he could talk about, but he didn’t want to both this dude with it. “Did you not like it as much?”

That was very far from the truth, Purpled loved the book just as much, if not more than the last one. Now feeling the need to correct Techno, Purpled goes on another ramble about the other book. He explains the differences in the books, how this one felt slower than the other, but in a good way. He spoke of little details that caught his attention and more. When he’s done all Techno says is “glad you liked it,” but the little smile Techno’s got let’s Purpled know the guy means it and isn’t just saying it to be polite.

There’s more to this au but I feel like I’ve already taken too long to answer this so I’ll leave you with that and you can tell me if you wanna hear more,,,

oh also @wetsocksandcryingshoes and @psynom helped me make this one :D

[shiny-parsnips]

In a fit of rage I have decided I am going to do the unthinkable: my hot takes on all the Animal Crossing NPCs I’ve met. Buckle up cause I have some shit to say 🤞

Blanca

OKAY SO I met Blanca in New Leaf where did she go btw havent heard from her in like ten billion years but ANYWAY she was kind of a weirdo bozo kinda person (🤨) like how do you like........ JUST CHANGE THE WAY YOUR ENTIRE BODY LOOKS JUST TO PULL A PRANK OM SOME VILLAGER YOU WOMT SEE UNTIL LIKE NEXT YEAR TO DO THE SAME SHIT AGAIN......? That’s really silly and I only found out recently you cna just use the wiki as a cheat sheet to get the photos of your villagers so Blanca 11 me 3 or something idk but DID YOU KNOW YOU COUKD DRAW FACES ON HER I didn’t know you could do that you probably couldn’t in New Leaf but in the older games I‘m sure you could AND PEOPLE WOULD DRAW THE WEIRDEST SHIT ehhe LIKE

Too silly anyway

Blathers

BLATHERS IS MY MAAAAAAAN I LOVE HIM!!!!!! (Not romantically, bozo) HES LIKE........ when I grow up I wanna be a fuckin.... owl with an argyle pattern on his stomach and a bow tie and sleep all day and be up all night... IS THAT TOO MUCH TO ASK? Like I’m asking nicely!!! Hello!! Anyway IS IT TOO MUCH TO ASK TO BE A MUSEUM CURATOR AND TELL THE PLAYER ABOUT FUCKIN... BUGS AND FISH AND FOSSILS AND STUFF... that‘s my dream job like I’ll be like “OMG A.... A SPOTTED GARDEN EEL? Eheh... I know some things about it it’s whatever.... do yo wanna hear about it?? YES?? OMFG......... where do I begin” LITERALLY ME!!!!!! That’s actually me I am an owl it’s real IM REAL!!!! Loved him in New Leaf still love him in New Horizons AND CONGRATS ON SEEING YOUR BOYFRIEND FIREND BREWSTER AGAIN!!!!

This post is getting kinda long might have to separate it into like a billiom postss perhaps

CJ

Wow.... okay.... you really walked on my island and was like “Ayo!!!! You wanna catch some fish so I can fucking take pictures of them #influencer #twitchstreamer?? Youll win....... my appreciation AND IF YOU REALLY WANT a replica of a fish!!!” And I was like okay slay........ yasss

I LOVE MY GAY LITTLE MAN he is so gay. You literally cannot tell me otherwise. DO WE ALL AGREE HE IS GAY FOR FLICK? I DO I ABSOLUTELY AGREE... that statue I have of the two of them smiling and being happy with each other proudly stands in the front of my Pocket Camp campsite. If this does not prove anything, then idk what does. You’re done.

IM GONNA LIKE..... split this into different posts so this isn’t a mile long cause I have A LOT of experiences with the Animal Crossing franchise so expect a lot and if you wanna hear about anything else about animal crossing or my opinions on animal crossing feel free to ask or something whatever you want 🤞

[booklovingturtle]

Cardan and Balekin talk about Jude

I really don’t know where this came from. It’s 4am. I was going to sleep. Ended up writing this. It’s set sometime before TCP.

If there were two things that Cardan was completely sure about in his life it was this:

1. Eldred’s taste in wine was horrendous.

2. He wanted to jump out of window and into the deepest, nixie-infested lake he could find.

Some rational thinking part of his brain realized how ridiculous both thoughts were. Well, the first one wasn’t too far off. Eldred always served vinegar-tasting wine at his parties. The fact that this one cause Cardan’s face to scrunch in disgust was no surprise. The latter was the one he was more concerned about.

Nicasia was off at Sea with her mother. Balekin had made it clear Cardan was not allowed to bring Locke or Valerian. That left him with nothing more than a terrible goblet of wine and his own imagination to keep him company.

Cardan coukd have easily take this time to charm one of the women lounging about the party. He wasn’t really in the charming mood, though. He chose to stand near the pitchers of dark liquid until it took his ability to stand at all. As he sipped the soured wine, however, the Prince couldn’t keep his eyes off of the mirrored girls who stood in one of the deep corners of the ballroom.

Jude and Taryn sometimes unnerved him in their likeness. Faeries had long lives cursed without the same ability to reproduce as humans could. That meant having six children, as Eldred did, was unlikely but the pair of sisters were an even greater anomaly. He tried to hide his intrigue but Cardan wasn’t the only member of the court who enjoyed watching them. They all shared a fascination with trying to desipher one sister from the other.

Picking the two apart was always easy for him. Jude, he had long ago noticed, was always eager to prove herself. Taryn searched for the eyes of a suitor but Jude searched for trouble. She walked into every room surveying her surroundings. He could never tell what she was looking for but it was always clear that she was disappointed whenever she found him.

The way her shoulders squared and jaw tightened every time she saw him was always like a blow to the chest. The effect she had on him was maddening. He wanted to make her beg for mercy all while wishing he could hear her beg him in other ways. Tonight was no different.

She and Taryn stayed close together, assessing food spreads and carefully picking options from the feasts. At one point he saw Oriana walk towards them and scold their choice to risk a bite of food. Taryn bowed her head and looked apologetic. Jude rolled her eyes and threw a pastry back on to the plate. She waited until her foster mother stalked off to take a large, vengeful bite of the cream puff.

A smile rugged at his lips that he tried to hide with his own goblet. There was so much spite hidden between those rounded ears. He wondered what went threw her head in those moments of small rebellions.

Cardan envied her for that. The way she could go against the world that she had been thrusted in so young. She was never safe and yet he has never seen her waver. Cardan’s own cowardice made him bow beneath Balekin’s fist then later drink himself into the warm embrace of nothingness. She didn’t seem like kind of person who cowered beneath anyone or hid herself anywhere.

“Disgusting, is it not?” Speaking of Balekin, Cardan’s beloved bother chose to make an appearance behind him. He too was watching the twins from afar except he looked much less entertained by them than Cardan was.

“What?” Cardan felt his jaw lock and the stone mask of indifference slide into place.

“Everything about Madoc’s little wards. The way that they’re dressed up and paraded in court as if they belong here. They way they’re rotting fingers poke at our food. Look at them, sprinkling salt on everything as if it will help stave the inevitable.”

The Prince felt his stomach turn at Balekin’s words. Hate completely unfiltered spewed out of his older brother as if it were nothing more than comments about the chilly weather.

Cardan tried and failed to think of a clever way to voice how he felt. There was no way for him to pretend to agree with Balekin so he stayed silent.

Clearly that was the wrong answer. “What’s wrong, little Prince? Have I upset you by offending your school friends?” Balekin’s tone dripped with sarcasm.

Words stacked themselves higher and higher in his gut until they are falling out his lips before they could stopped.

“I just don’t find your bigotry amusing, dear brother.” Cardan wished he could grab the words midair and shove them back into the deepest parts of his brain.

It was too late, the damage was done. And Balekin was furious.

“Oh? Is that so?” His bloodthirsty eyes went back to Jude and Taryn. “Have you grown fond of the worm food?”

Blood pounded in his ears. Not for the first time, Cardan wished he could use his clenched fist to beat the smirk off of Balekin’s face. “Of course I’m not fond of them. I have Nicasia. I just find your opinions uninspired. If you are going to hate something, at least be creative about it.”

Balekin’s dark chuckle ran a chill down Cardan’s spine. A terrifying look crossed over his face. He was now watching the sisters like they were round eyed does unaware of the sharped toothed beast looming behind them.

“All that may be true but I sense that you aren’t being entirely honest with yourself. You may have Nicasia but I suspect she is not the one that truly want.”

Cardan glared at Balekin. He wasn’t sure what game his older brother was playing. He didn’t need to know what his plan was, Cardan already knew he wouldn’t like it. Balekin took a step towards them. Cardan’s hand reached out to snatch him back.

His brother jerked back in surprise. “What do you think-“

“Leave them alone, Balekin.” A steel note rung in the young Prince’s voice, one that he didn’t recognize.

“Or what?”

“Or you would be risking Madoc’s wrath. You may think of them as nothing more than vermin in your household but they are treasured guests in his. If you so much as breath in their direction, I don’t doubt that Madoc will be washing his red cap in your blood.”

Balekin hated being told what to do but Cardan knew he couldn’t deny him about that. A painful hand closed around Cardan’s wrist. His brother’s attention was now completely off of Jude and her sister. It was now turned viciously on Cardan.

“What makes you think you have the right to touch me that way?” He was avoiding the truth of Cardan’s statement by hiding behind anger.

He recognized that look. Cardan could already feel the hot blood soaking the ripped skin of his back.

“I’m sorry,” His voice came out weak.

Balekin’s chest inflated as he yanked Cardan towards him. “Madoc may be protecting those little girls from harm but no one is protecting you. I suggest that you take a long look at them, Prince and ask yourself if they were worth the pain you’re about to feel.”

Hot tears burned in Cardan’s throat. He tried to stop himself from looking at Jude and Taryn. His eyes were still stuck in a glare, pushing back tears when they locked with Jude’s. He knew all she would see was a spoiled prince, glaring indescribably hate at her. Her walnut eyes filled with a coldness that made his bones chill. Part of him wanted to cry out to her and the other part blamed her for what was about to happen. She didn’t know. Couldn’t have know her very existence had been the result of his incoming pain.

She turned toward Taryn, sneering something in her ear. Taryn glance toward him and looked bashful as she slapped Jude’s arm. Whatever she has said about the Prince, it was clearly not pleasant.

Cardan’s eyes tore away from her and met Balekin’s again. “Noting is ever worth your lessons.”

He has read once about a girl who could escape down a rabbit hole to run from numbing boredom of real life. The rabbit hole led her to a world full of adventures and magic. As Cardan was dragged away from the room and into the quiet of his quarters, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like to be able to really disappear down a hole from the horrors of his lonely life.

[shadowdianne]

Sorry are you open to prompts if not sorry. You know the double sided caanadle that snow used to kill cora what if she brought leopold back or queen Eva. I just thought if you hadn't did it coukd be interesting. Sorry to disturb you o' great writer I will hide in the shadows once again

No, don’t hide! Come back from them! Thank youso much for the prompt; I’m afraid I changed it a little bit majorly because thereare very few times in where the series was consistent and the candle could,theoretically work in the way it did because, according to Regina, a séance canonly happen when you have both weapon and murderer in the same room.

But I truly hope you like my take on this oneanon

Set on: Season 3, Episode 18 [I’ve made this SQ-of course- because I really want to explore the dynamics of these particulartwo at that point in time]

“My magic gets morepowerful every day. By the time this all goes down, I'll be ready.”

“Make sure you are.”

Emma eyed Regina as the brunette womanapproached her, worry glowing on her eyes. She had been ready to bolt from thehouse, nerves still present in the pit of her stomach ever since she had seen thecandle being lighted. It wasn’t the flickering flames what had set her off perse but the heavy air that had grown around the table; the twitching yet calmingtouch of Regina’s hand on her as she had tried to talk only to be interrupted bythe brunette the only thing that had kept her there. And now she used thatstrength again as she recalled what she had wanted to ask; her voice coming toher in a distant echo.

“Is it okay for us todo this? For you?”

The question, still trapped within her, crawledits way up her throat once more, breaking against her vocal cords as sheswallowed it back down while she kept on staring at Regina, at the way she keptone hand away from her body, at the perfect posture her back presented even ifher lips were parted in silent worry.

Humming, the blonde glanced at Hook only toshake her head twice, knowing already she couldn’t simply leave the formerqueen. Not like this.

“How about I stay and we go over the basics?”

Her words were ended in a filigree close to asmile. One she hoped was convincing enough for the brunette or Hook whosepresence was almost stifling with how close he stood; eyes not as piercing butdefinitely following her every move.  Shewas so focused on him, on her, on both, that she almost missed her mother’shalf-hearted comment about how she had wanted to help Regina clean whatever wasleft from the misfired séance. Rising her chin, she kept on staring at theolder woman; smile faltering slightly but her magic crackling within her; abarely-there murmur that she was still unsure on how to read.

The radiating warmth from the wood of the stairsleading to the main door felt far too much all of a sudden as Regina let out aslow breath; eyes flashing to purple as she did so. It was enough of a call, ofa nod to her own, that Emma felt some of the smile returning, its message muchmore clear, more honest, than the previous one.

“Go to Belle.” Looking at her parents, Emmanodded as Regina kept on talking, voice breathy as she pointed to the generaldirection of where the pawnshop was. “She may have a second option, but weneed to be prepared.”

“Swan.”

Hook’s urgent call did nothing for the blondeas she looked back at him, at the way he kept standing: too close, tooimpatient.

“Go with them.” Her voice lacked the confidenceRegina seemed able to switch on with just the aid of a glare but she remainedunyielding as Hook’s hand moved towards her forearm, the creaking sound ofleather momentarily muting everything away. The pirate seemed about to arguebut one look at her seemed to tell him she wasn’t planning on agreeing. Notwhen there was so much reaching inside Regina’s magic: a constant pricklingthat made her want to cross her arms close to her chest, palms tightly pressedagainst her sides.

She glanced away as soon as her parents and thepirate brushed past her, not truly knowing where else to look but at the wallsthat now seemed to glow in a brighter shade of white.

It was Regina’s throat as the brunette womancleared it what made her blink and glance away; lips tensed in a fine line asshe did so; as she read on Regina’s doubts as the two of them stood in the foyerwith Emma’s left foot still on the top stair, the other firmly planted on the floorbeneath them both. She could feel Regina’s eyes on her as she swayed from footto foot, gravity changing as the silence stretched.

She had told Regina she always knew when shewas lying but she had -perhaps- forgotten that Regina could read her just aswell; the tellings she had worked so hard to suppress roaring red lights thatnow she felt as if illuminating her eyes with a very distinct hue.

“I'm not in the mood for a heart-to-heart.”

It was caustic, closed off, and Emma almostwanted to smile at it as she took a step onwards, boots scraping against thefloor.

“Do I look like my mother?”

Her voice felt scratchy from a misuse that hadn’thappened, but the answer seemed to be enough for Regina as the brunette let outan almost chuckle before pointing towards the kitchen, back already turning,hands falling to the sides while sparkles made out of lilac fell down from herwrists like ichor.

“I’m not in the mood for magic classes either.”This time the words were softer; an almost gentle plead that Emma hummed at asshe followed the older woman down the hall; their shoulders touching as theyboth walked in the kitchen, a hum of electricity coming from the lights asRegina switched them on.

“I wasn’t planning on asking you for some.”

It blurted out of her before Emma couldproperly edit her answer and, for a moment, she cursed her lips as she watched Reginamove away; back towards her and arms close to her torso; blouse shimmeringunder the slightly colder lights from the room. Acutely aware of where the twoof them stood, Emma approached the stool next to the kitchen island, fingersnervously drumming against the surface while she watched as Regina worked for anew set of tea. An edible one she hoped.

“You could have…”

“It didn’t seem like you wanted to be alone.”

She felt the tension rising on Regina’sshoulders even before she finished the words; the heavy silence that wasunavoidable from any other part of the house settling on her lungs as shelurched forward, hand sliding against the counter as she twisted it upwards.

“Regina…”

There were things she wanted to apologize for:she could feel the word battling among many others against her teeth, cracklingher resolve in the same way she felt her magic hissing deep within her; trappedstill at the other side of a thick barrier she could only get tired glimpsesfrom whenever she focused hard enough. Still not enough; still far too weak.

“We all need to do things we don’t want to do.”

Regina’s eyes were dark as she turned towardsher and Emma felt her throat constrict as she swallowed; the words dying as theyfelt as fragile, as brittle, as glass. There were many things she felt likeasking; many different doubts that had felt like a distant dream as she andHenry had lived in New York. Images and glimpses that tended to appear to heramong dreams she would later on never remember.

“What would you have wanted to say to her?”

It wasn’t the one she had wanted to ask but itfelt right as Regina lowered her head, shoulders losing the stiffness as she shrugged,magic rising around them both in waves.

“I told you…”

“You don’t need to answer.”

Regina’s lips curved into a smirk; an almostsad one that didn’t quite illuminate the purple on her eyes as they sparkled;the power bringing Emma’s white one in dizzying force. Silence growing, Emmapushed herself until her sternum protested; the edge of the counter digging on thebone as she struggled to breathe. She had felt the way Regina had reachedforward while not wanting to break the connection their hands had made; in needof moving ahead, of calling her mother forth as the portal had opened andswirled; a promise of certain death reeking out of it in far too much clarity.She had felt her own need of simply channeling everything she had, everythingshe got, in order to get the spell to work; the call one that had felt like anecho of the time the older woman had eyed her with tears clouding her eyes anda curse about to strike.

“I don’t know.”

Thoughts being interrupted by Regina’s answer,Emma blinked as she watched as Regina sighed and walked closer to where shesat, heels clicking against the floor and presence crumbling.

It felt strange, Emma thought, to be in frontof the brunette like this. She had the connection they had shared repair itselfas memories had flooded her brain but that on itself was made of tenuousnon-said words. The ones they both knew but had never voiced. Sighing, she turnedher hand once more, palm facing down, over the formica surface.

“What would have happened if someone else hadcrossed?”

The question was stupid, she knew it, but deathsat heavy against her collarbones and so she refused to look away until Regina’sown hand came into view, knuckles white.

“Who?”

Emma swallowed; names and titles mixingtogether; history and details far too convoluted and not completely clear toher yet. She could guess names, of course, Daniel, Leopold, Neal.

“No one.”

It was curt but she refused to glance away asshe rose her eyes and found Regina staring at her; understanding reaching fromher in a whirlwind that made Emma feel weak.

And there it was; the possible real reason whyshe had stayed. No one else would truly get, would truly fill in the blankslike the woman that sat across from her; beautiful in a sense that Emma wasn’tentirely ready to give voice to. She felt the need to assuage Regina’s ownworries like flames licking her skin, burning everything else away and so shestayed, eyes searching as Regina tilted her head; hair cascading and reactingto the light as Emma felt the need to touch the strayed hairs that stuck to theolder woman’s cheek.

The howling sound from a room above interruptedthe impulse, though, leaving behind a vague sense of dread, the almostconversation dropped as they both glanced up, at where squeaking could still beheard.

“What was that?”

“I have no idea.”

Next time, Emma promised herself as shefollowed Regina while the woman circled the island, steps long but careful, shewould talk to Regina next time.

[alexandra-scribbles]

On Being A Girl.

So we’re in the twenty first century and this is the time to find ourselves. After much soul searching I can honestly say that I’m on the way of getting there, and even though its not been easy I’m here to impart my own experience and maybe you guys can make something out of it.

Let me begin by saying that I am (on my father’s side, which is the side of the family that we associate the most) an only girl, I have three male cousins and a younger brother. Growing up in such environment, while it had its benefits, was very damaging to my psyche.

I was the fourth grandkid to be born, my youngest cousin is four years older than me and I’ve always been a reclusive person, even as a child. My cousins were a raunchy bunch, always playing rough and stealing my hairbows and just damaging my girly stuff in general. Boys will be boys, amirite?

By the time I was five I had stopped playing with my Barbies, my cousins had once caught me engaged in a make pretend game and started bullying me and making voices, my self-esteem has never been the best, I had been an only child for four years and recently my parents had introduced my baby brother to the world, I had been cast aside (or at least I felt like that) in favor of the new baby, a boy, the ‘prince’ of the family, the one who would continue the family name, I stopped playing with my barbies then, I stopped playing, period, and began focusing on my music lessons. By the time I was six whatever girly traces I had on me had vanished, my only pride and joy was my long hair, but I refused to wear skirts, blouses, flowers or anything pink and girly for a more edgier flaunt. My parents we’re still hung up on my brother, he was the boy after all, the one my dad had been waiting for, his namesake. I was running around after my cousins, getting my knees scrapped trying to become one of the boys.

Starting school was another experience, all the girls walked around with perfectly made piggytails and everything done in pink, and then there was me, unruly hair and my black backpack, or a dark blue backpack, or a dark red backpack, never pink, no matter how much I liked the color, it was never something I chose on my own.

My dad was happy, his girl was easy to have, she was not complicated like other little girls, she was silent, she liked boys stuff, remote control cars, the playstation, car races. The only feminine thing about me was my mom or my aunt ocasionally taking me to the hairsalon and the fact that my room has been painted pink at my mom’s request.

During my childhood I always strived to be better, I was going up against three older cousins, one who had gone into the military (although he dropped out later), one who could play the drums, and the younger one (still older than me) that was perfect in every sense of the world, could play piano, violin, the flute, straight A’s. He became my bane.

“Aly, why can’t you be more like Marcus?”

“Marcus is taking a new instrument, Aly, you could play the piano too.”

I hated Marcus for a while, I couldn’t be him, how? I was a girl, I was weak, besides I was probably going to be married off one day, what use was it?

Then middle school and High School did a stint on me, I started seeing that I was not weak, still I was being reclusive but I found solace in books, far off places, heroes, everything I wanted and more. But there was a thing, all the heroes were men, all the people I looked up to, men, I was not them, I was a girl and I despised it.

I wanted my dad to speak about me the way he spoke about my brother, I wanted to be able to continue my family name, to make my parents proud. But I became detached. I stopped caring, my grades began dropping, I was depressed and by the time I got into High School, while the color pink was around me a little more, I had just stopped caring.

“Aly, why are you not more like your brother?”

“Look at your brother, Aly, he got into [whatevet it was that a sixth grader could get into]”

And so, I hated my brother too (still kind of do, but for another completely different set of reasons).

I knew that my parents were proud of me, I knew it and yet a part of me felt like it wasn’t enough. My High School peers were convinced that I was never going to be anything other than a trophy wife, I was the little princess, the girl who had everything and yet nothing at all.

Sometimes I look back to myself and I wonder how I ever made it through, I guess I’ve always been stronger than I give myself credit for.

Then I joined the internet, more books, fandoms and I heard the word Feminist for the first time, I asked my aunt and mom about it, my aunt was scandalized, she was a housewife, she was perfect in every sense of the world. My mom had just shrugged and told me that she sort of was one, or at least the definition of.

While my relationship with my mom was bumpy at best, when she told me her story, I gained a new sense of respect for her and then thought, if my mom had done it, maybe, maybe I coukd too, I didn’t need to become my aunt.

So High School came and went, and I faced a new challenge of going to university, my mom and dad pitched their support.

“Whatever you want as long as it is a noble career Aly.”

While my aunt told me that men didn’t like women who were smart.

I tried medicine first, a total bust, depression again and then I found myself, sort of, in the eyes of the Law.

Law School opened my eyes to many things, feminism wasn’t a bad word and I met girls who had been empowered by knowledge, I started doing great again, my grades were really good and I was having a great time, I was happy with being a girl and for the first time in my life, I felt like I belonged.

Then my brother started raging.

“How can Aly be a lawyer? I wanted to be the lawyer of the family, she’s a stupid girl, she’s going to take away my opportunities”

And you bet I did. I was, first and foremost, not a stupid girl, a girl, yes, but not stupid.

I had suddenly found my value and I was not going to let my brother ruin my happiness again. I got a job that I defended with my life and then quitted because I denounced that I was being sexually harassed and my boss told me to keep it down.

I then got a calm for a better job, the one I currently have, and in all of the years I’ve been alive, I’ve never felt prouder of what I am.

A Girl.

A Woman.

And If anyone wants to come and take my chances away, my hopes and my dreams, I tell them.

Come over, I dare you.

Because I’m not a lost child feeling sorry for herself anymore. I am a storm, and I will destroy anyone who thinks that I’m not enough.

Higher, Further, Faster 🌟

[llycaons]

ep14: HELLO yiling laozu

bad cgi crows here :/

I wish they used "sunshot campaign" it's much less clumsy than "shooting sun campaign"

I love getting actual numbers for the scale of the war. 8000 cultivators fighting against the wens!

I remember nmj hanging wen xu's head! it was kind of a disturbing scene in cql esp since yanli showed up and there were dead people everywhere but here it's triumphant

donghua war storyline stays strong, if a bit...bland

I forgot to mention earlier but I really don't like donghua wen qing. she made a bad first impression on me, I think her aggression and harshness towards her brother was over the line. and she's not a very well-developed character in any of the adaptations anyway but very clearly occupies the stereotypical "mean older sister who is also a caretaker" and will die for the mc. but maybe she'll grow on me idk

cql wq was very different from her but I liked how clearly she struggled with doing the right thing, you coukd see her internal struggles, and how she connected to wwx because of his older sister...they had a strong relationship early on I loved that

wait, aren't the wens dark-skinned? I remember that wen qing specifically was. the donghua is colorist

also why are her boobs drawn like that. is she wearing a push-up bra

wen qing being wrh's personal doctor was cql-only ig. I kept waiting for it to come up and I guess it just isn't a thing

also the drugged wine lmao I loved that scene *blows a kiss to cql lotus pier massacre afterparty scene for somehow being funny as hell*

in cql all the wen cultivaters died "in different ways" and here it's they were "scared to death"

"childe" JUST SAY YOUNG MASTER

here's jc rebuilding the jiang sect during a war and wow that's pretty impressive! also amazing that he could get all those bright purple robes ordered while co-leading a secret rebel army against the wens

tho all the bg characters look exactly the same/sob

lwj and jc don't really look like they're working together here so much as co-leading the rebels and exchanging information when it's mutually beneficial

the jyl and jc reunion would have been less awkward if jyl hadn't been standing in the middle of nowhere with her back to jc when he came in...also the animation was very jerky. the VAs did a nice job, especially jyl's, but the animation for character emotion and physical interaction was still pretty flat

it's a little ironic how jyl praises jc for maturing when he swears vengance on the people who murdered his parents, because I don't think jc at any point in time was not ready to murder people who crossed him. if anything, growing out of that at the end of the show is his actual growth. I don't think it was a sign of maturity? eh, she was being nice. what else was she going to say

but her awareness of her brother's issues and her own relationship to each of them and her feelings about being in the middle of a WAR is SO lacking like there's nothing here scream

like this is literally like her third scene in the ENTIRE show so there's this huge emotional disconnect between her and the events of the massacre and even her own family and other characters!

as soon as wwx left lwj became like 80% more expressive...was this intentional? it was unsuccessful I still think he's boring as fuck and super predictable

it is so jarring how visually gorgeous some of these scenes are - the action sequence with the water demon, the removal of the tortoise's head, the guqin fights, ALL the backgrounds and landscapes - and then a relatively simple thing like realistic-looking water pouring into a cup, or a hug that looks natural, is a complete miss. fascinating

oh fuck I can recognize "what are you doing?" in Mandarin. nice

wlj realizing the truth abt wwx far before jc does lmao

I wish this series was not so goddamn misogynistic

subs translated "get in formation" as "get information" lol I was sitting there struggling to understand why he'd be ordering recon when the wens are RIGHT there and about to attack

oh my god I do remember this scene it was a fucked-up baby wasn't it. incredibly macabre

wwx made wen chao eat his own dick in the book didn't he. jesus. if there's a metaphor in there I don't want to see it

WAIT NOOO I LOOKED IT UP. SHE bit off his dick and then killed herself by shoving a stool leg down her throat. that's not what I remember but it's cited on the wiki and everything. damn?

looks like wlj gets eaten by corpses here instead due to censorship. I mean, I'm not surprised. that's incredibly graphic

mxtx should just do a horror next time I'm sure she'll do great. no romance

the atmosphere for this scene is phenomenal you have the eerie dizi and the battle music ramping up the tension too

the jc fight scenes are pretty fun and I love the detail that lwj played until the strings broke and his fingers bled, but there's something missing from these fight scenes that don't bring them quite to the quality of a good anime fight scene

like a sense of weight? I saw jc punch someone and didn't feel it at all. no wind-up, unsatisfactory payoff. the rule of stretch and squish or whatever

I think it's because these characters are too stiff, not malleable enough to convey that sense of impact in the most effective way in animated media. that's the core issue from which a lot of my problems with the animation stem. despite great music and backgrounds, the characters still move unnaturally and they don't really change to suit their environment or to add emphasis to an action. they're stuck in their models of attempted realism and the animation suffers as a result because the medium isn't being utilized to its fullest potential

this is less important for inanimate objects and landscapes and nature than for people, which is why there's such a difference in quality imo

not that the anime (and disney) techniques are the only techniques or even neccesarily the best ones, but there's definitely a lot of work to be done in that field, in whatever way works best for the animators

also please PLEASE find a better design for rabbits that is not what rabbits look like

I saw a really interesting video from accentedcinema about the Chinese animation industry and how it's a relatively new field with (iirc) bascially its first generation of decently funded and passionate artists and so I understand why it wouldn't be as polished as longstanding studios with experienced staff, and I do enjoy the unfamiliar style of other Chinese animation, but there are definitely plenty of improvements to be made. nezha reborn is my favorite Chinese animated movie to date; it's on netflix and it's gorgeous. I liked legend of hei as well (not as stiff!), the tgcf donghua was so-so, and this one is at the bottom

wen chao's taunt to lwj sounds weirdly knowing? "wei ying has been waiting for you, you can join him in hell." does that not sound like he knows about lwj's feelings? if so, umm...how???

anyway I like how beaten up and battered lwj gets here

so umm...crows? oh shit, lots of crows

GREEN FLAMES??? HELLO??? FOR REAL??

oh and the red eyes YES HE'S HERE HELLO

let's see some blood

[tumblunni]

BUNNI WATCHES RANDOM OUT OF ORDER SINNOH EPISODES THAT WERE LEFT ON THIS HARD DRIVE I GUESS

Today is diamond and pearl season one episode 28 "Drifloon On The Wind!"

Huh this one had a cold open showing the climactic moment from the end of the episode before it actually happened. Thats the first time i recall the anime doing that? I thougjt initially it was a flashback and i missed the first of a two parter.

Such a cool neat weird premise! A traditional pokemon centre out in the countryside! That adds so much worldbuilding to the setting! They never state it in the english dub but it seems to be a joke on a japanese onsen? (An inn built around hot springs) the archetecture just seems to be very similar, and from what i've seen in anime the "my mum and my mum's mum and my mum's mum's mum worked here" thing is a common trope. The nurse joy family is probably a joke to exaggerate it? Also i loved the scene where Brock is like "wait what the fuck this identical nurse joy is actually old enough to have a daughter ash's age and also OH NO A WEDDING RIIIIIING" And then he thankfully,blissfully GAVE UP and we had one nurse joy centric episode without him being a fuckboi. Seriously, the older you get the less funny you find brock, it sucks that the stuff that's meant to be over the top jokes is now barely more exaggerated than how some dudes act in real life. All you real life brocks, nobody finds you as charming as a fictional goofball! You're just rude! AND REAL BROCKS DONT HAVE A CROAGUNK TO STOP THEM

Anyway i LOVE the cute cottagey aesthetic pokemon center/hotel place! It seems the family mostly treats wild pokemon in the forest and they were actually so surprised to see customers that they thought they were burglars at first! And then daww ash and co help out doing chores to pay them back for the meal and bed even though the family is like 'no dude thats the duty of a pokemon centre'. I think that was a really mature moment for ash? He realized that this pokemon center gets less business than usual ones and figured he should give them a hand. And its so nice to see him being so super excited and wowed by the chores?? Like i mean its CHORES but for him its all so new cos its learning how to work in a pokemon center. Ash's best characrer trait is how his enthusiasm really has no limits, he'll go 100% be the best choremon master ever! Or maybe he was intentionalky being all THIS IS SO FUN because the joy daughters were fighting and he wanted to help cheer them up? In a lot of ways i prefer season 1's bratty egotistical sarcasm ash just cos he had more of a visible personality and you didnt have to sorta sleuth it out like this and always be left wondering whether they really meant to write nice-Ash this way or you're just imagining it. But when nice-Ash has monents like this he's way better and i just wish it hapoened more often and was 100% confirmed, yknow? Most of the time in sinnoh he feels less like nice-ash and more like nothing-ash or changes-every-day-into-whatever-the-plot-requires-him-to-be-ash. But in sun and moon season they have all those more slice of lifey and emltional plots and he's the more nicer ash that i always wanted, and i love it!

Anyway lol im going wildly off topic. Also fun fact i spell "the" wrong so much that "tge" is the first result in my autocorrect now...

Another thing i like is that these Joys seem to be a ghost type specialist family? The kids have a big pile of drifloon cuties and when the gang first arrived they saw a bunch of happy gastlys enjoying their stay at the inn. I like to think maybe all the ghosts they have are "drifty" types like that? I feel that the writers ppicked gastly cos the pokedex entry saying they blow away on the wind like drifloon. Cos this is actually the valley windworks adaptation episode! That was such a nice surprise when it turned out momma joy's husband was the windmill electrician guy!! He looks SO cute in the anime too! He's really chubby and has such a nice round face with a button nose and big anime eyes and a cute turquoise jacket electrician uniforn thing. And he's funny and goofy with his kids and very caribg and cautious about letting them ride home alone in the bad weather, and also he's a GIANT BADASS with an ampharos that thunderpunches the shit out of team rocket and defeats them before ash can even get there lol! Actually they never show what momma joy's main pokemon is? I like to think maybe its a gengar cos thats the most chansey-ish ghost type. And also itd mean the chubby guy has a tall and thin pokemon and his tall and thin wife has a chubby pokemon. Theyre such a cute couple so itd be even cuter!

Oh and i forgot to mention that everyone travels around via drifloon??? Thats so surreal when you consider their pokedex entries saying them carrying children is a bad thing that means theyre kidnapoing them. Like, they domesticated a very dangerous pokemon and now it uses its dangerousness for the powers of good instead! Maybe its just the anime censoring a scary thing or maybe it was intentional to show how badass this momma joy is that she could tame so many spoopy ghosts that everyone thinks are pure evil? Seriously i LOVE how they show this family working to protect and heal the local wild pokemon and them all being super friendly to humans because of it. And it makes sense theyd be ghost tyoe trainers cos if youre befriending all the pokemon in a forest youre bound to find a few lost souls. Mountains and forests are like the deadliest areas for travellers so mountain forests especially so! Everyone's lucky they have this badass family team watching over the area like guardian spirits~

OH SPEAKING OF WHICH

I forgot to mention that the main conflict of the episode is that the joy sisters have a fight because the older sister is a bit overprotective and dismissive of her little sister, causing her to be reckless and get lost trying to "be grown up and help mommy". And in the end the big sister rescues her with the help of the guardian spirit of the hot springs and they reconcile their differences and have big cute hugs! Its all very well written and dramatic actually.i really felt for the older sister's determination to save her, and i felt it was a good case of a conflict where both of them were wrong and both made mistakes and it was just like they coulda avoided those mistakes if they talked it out better. And both of them had a point at the same time, yknow? So it didnt end with either of them losing the argument or anything, it was more like the lesson is just to appreciate your siblings while theyre there and also talk about your problems in clear language with younger kids instead of using excuses like "you just cant, cos im older and i said so".

Oh also SUICUNE!

The super onsen spirit is suicune?? The little sister just casually mentions her biggest best friend in the forest is suicune and is surprised when ash says its a legendary! Wow thats actually a really cool idea? You wouldnt necessarily think of it cos you kinda think of hot springs for the hot part but theyre also a sort of super clean water like how suicune is meant to be able to purify polluted lakes. Maybe it came here to make its nest cos places that are already purified are comforting to someone who wanders the earth blasting stinky water with its powers every day. I like to think maybe this is the same suicune from Generations where they said the legendary beasts are roaming legendaries because humans treated them as demons when they first walked out of the ashes, and now theyre still scared of us even centuries later. Itd be sad if they literally kept running forever, so i like to think they all have a comforting spot to sleep in, somewhere. And for suicune its this little isolated lake in the sinnoh region which used to be super far away from human civilization. But then this family's ancestors built this hospital here and suicune was initially like "oh no my house is ruined" but then it saw that these humans were helping protect tge forest pokemon too. So its like "ah fellow coworkers" and theyre the only humans it trusts. And whenever theyre in trouble it sneakily helps them and dashes away before it can be seen, but one day it got unlucky and the kids saw it and now OH NO it is stuck havibg CUTE TINY FRIENDS! I bet the littlest joy just treats suicune like a big puppy, and this great noble beast of legend plays along because it loves her so much. But if anyone else sees it demeaning itself with a game of fetch, it would be Total Social Death In The Legendaries Club

Anyway there's some cute moments of Emotionally Wise Kind Ash The Best Of All Ashes where he finds the lost little-joy and he tries to cheer her up when she's scared by the storm and keep her dry from the rain. And he has absolute faith that his friends will come to save them both! The only thing i think coukd have maybe made it better is if the big sister joy didnt beleive in suicune? Cos it just ends with her going to ask suicune for help and then suicune helps. There's a lack of tension cos you know suicune could easily resolve all this and you already know suicune is real cos the lil sis says that big sis told her to keep it a secret cos its a Big Deal and Bad People Could Take Suicune Away and stuff. Like it might have worked better if the big sis thought that little sis was just making up rumours to be all boastful, or playing with an imaginary friend. Then her going to ask suicune for help would have symbolized something, yknow? And the audience might have been tense about whether it was real or not.

But even without that added suggestion it was still a great episode! Lots of cuteness, emotionalness, familyness and a few great jokes along the way! Also i just loved them giving unique character designs and a full backstory to these minor npcs from the game. Whenever i play it now i'm totally gonna headcanon this all as true! I mean all we know about the daughter character in the game is that she says "papa youre stinky but i still love you" and that feels very in character for the slightly mischievious little sis joy that we meet in this episode. Though you only see the one daughter and she acts like she hasnt caught a drifloon yet and dreams of seeing it if you can fix the windmill problems so it'll come back. So maybe the game version takes place a little before the anime? Like, that daughter is the engineer dad's daughter from a previous relationship and the older daughter is joy's daughter from a previous relationship. And i dunno maybe lil daughter's hair colour actually is the generic npc brown from the games but she begged her momma to dye it so she could match. Like she just loves her new momma and sister so much!! And now the struggling mountain poke-center is doing better because both parents work difderent jobs now and have enough money combined to be able to keep the family in a better quality of life. And maybe the team galactic incident at the valley windworks got it a bit of publicity as a tourist destination? and after the daughter caught that drifloon everyone who visited was like GOSH ITS SO CUTIE and the dad was like "yes our special windmill attracts these pokemon that are normally only found high up on the mountains, speaking of which my wife runs an inn up there and you can go on pokemon wildlife tours to see them in their natural habitat!" And just I LOVE THESE GUYS AND I WANT THEM TO HAVE ALL THE SUCCESS IN THEIR LIFE!! There is NOTHING better than "hey we're adapting this gane what should we do?" "Add MORE FAMBLY" Like oh my god whoever had that wonderful idea should be promoted!

Thus ends bunni's disjointed review of FAMBLY EPISODE

[grandmascottlang]

YOOO OMG okay so we gotta work with little kids rught? And the way he is with them kill me the cutest thing on earth (legit all the like 10 year old girls have a crush on him it’s hilarious but I also feel really bad cause they surround him and say things like ‘I like u’ or ‘I love u’) but on a completely different note he’s so freaking beautiful and sweet I don’t bajdbekwbdkbd when I was in the class that I think I maybe had with him I thought he was cute (I think he’s like a year older?) 1/?

but now I get to actually like see him for a full four weeks and :(( im so sad there is only one week left but wow 5 more days of me just dying cause he’s so cute!!! THE KIDS ARE CUTE TOO OMG THIS ONE 5 YEAR OLD WAS SITTINF ON MY LAP AND SHES ADORABLE SHE ASKED IF WE COUKD HAVE A PLAYDATE AND MY HEART MELTED 😭😭😭 I come out of these past few weeks wanting a kid cause they are so damn cute I’m *this* close to adopting a dog behind my parents back cause they are the best best thing 2/2? Maybe?

Also yes I do love you more

---

Awwww!!! He sounds sweet!! Are you guys friends or anything yet???

And no you don't!!! I love you!!!