#for those who don't know who ida is

[zazzander]

I realised that Ida is probably named after Mt Ida and now I'm annoyed she has literally one line ever because that's an awesome name. I need her entire family history! I need to know if she's got a cousin called Olympia or something, you know??? This is important!! (if only to me). Like, can you imagine if the legacies all just had themed names? Octavian's family goes with emperors (Octavian, Julia, Claudia etc.) and Ida's family? Mythological locations (mostly mountains). That would just be so fun.

[mlmshipbracket]

ROUND 6: POLL #1 - Semifinals

ROUND 6 POLLS [HERE]

PROPAGANDA BELOW

Siffrin/Isabeau:

I've put mid paragraph spoilers in || brackets || and paragraphs of spoilers make "spoilers ->"

I should mention that them having romantic feelings for each other is a partial spoiler?

What if. A silly little he/they guy. But! He's really messed up emotionally and mentally. Like. Constantly puts others first to his own detriment and calls himself manipulative kind of messed up. Also he's in a time loop. NOT a fun one. But! There's this jock in his party that he can joke with. And they looove making him smile! And! That jock is head over heels for our tiny hero. But! Neither of them can admit their feelings! ||Even if they know the feelings are mutual!!|| AND THE JOCK DOESN'T KNOW HE'S IN A TIME LOOP!!! AND LITTLE GUY WON'T TELL HIM! CAUSE THEY DON'T WANT HIM TO WORRY!!

I love them sooo much! They are my favorite he/they x ||trans masc|| couple <3

Siffrin is soooo insecure and I'm 100% sure Isa could fix him if he wanted to. They love telling each other just the worst puns and jokes imaginable.

[SPOILERS] -> Isa was a big nerd before he decided he wanted to be a huge jock and now he wants to design clothes now that he saved his county (along side his other friends)

Siff is just a little guy (literally)(he is short) who loves the stars abs doesn't remember a lot about his past. He constantly worries if he's being enough for the rest of his companions and always tries his best to make sure they're happy. He has soooo much trouble seeing value in himself and prioritizing his own needs and it makes me soooo sad :( he deserves to have someone like Isa.

[SPOILERS] -> Siff knows that Isa wants to confess after thier battle w the bbeg, but siff can't get Ida to say it no matter what they try :(

Eustass Kid/Killer:

Propaganda by @chronoirrai [HERE]

Friends/lovers since childhood, would kill and die for each other. [SPOILERS for those who have not watched/read the Wano arc yet] Killer ate a defective SMILE fruit to safe Kid, making him unable to swim and show any other emotion than laughing (and gains him nothing), and he also knew exactly where to cut off Hawkins' arm so he wouldn't harm Kid (because he knows his body so well). Kid promises to kill whoever makes fun of his partner, and lets himself be recaptured after escaping prison because Killer had gotten himself captured.

If this ain't love idk what is.

The captain/right-hand man dynamic. They call each other aibou (partner). If your partner doesn't tell you that he will send whoever laughs at you to hell then he is not worth it. Killer hates his own laugh to the point that he stopped laughing out loud and started wearing a mask. But then he was forced to eat a defective devil fruit (because they promised he could see Kidd if he did) so he's been cursed to only laugh no matter what emotion he's trying to express. That's why Kidd said that, it's so full of weight for someone like Killer. And when Kidd was imprisoned and he worked so hard to escape, but as soon as he saw Killer being pulled into the same prison he just broke out from mans did not hesitate for even a second to go right back in.

[7-wonders]

whenever the fates called morpheus love or dear it just gives me this image of morpheus coming to meet reader at their volunteer job at an old peoples home and all the elderly ladies giggling and calling him such a handsome man and why if they were a few decades younger they'd have him for themselves you're standing in the background not knowing how to reply to any of that

(This was like pulling teeth. When will my ability to write return from war?)

There are many little quirks when it comes to being in a relationship with a primordial, all-powerful being such as Dream of the Endless. One such instance is that time does not run the same for an Endless as it does for a human. Morpheus can lose minutes, hours, days to his duties between one blink and the next.

The Dreaming, that fantastical kingdom that your lover rules over, runs on the same logic. You can spend what feels like an hour in the Dreaming, only for it to be an entire day later in the Waking. Likewise, weeks in the Dreaming can be merely an hour in the Waking. It's disconcerting to creatures that have lived far longer than you.

All of this is to say that your meetings often don't have a specific date or time when they're in the Waking, simply because Morpheus doesn't know. He tries, though it's difficult: clocks do not work in the Dreaming, and Matthew is too important a raven to be constantly flying to the Waking to check the time so that Morpheus can "run off" (Matthew's words) with you. You've actually started to look forward to the spontaneity—it helps that he usually gets lucky and catches you when you're home or alone and don't have to worry about explaining how he just randomly appeared out of thin air.

Though it's rare, him coming to the Waking to see you and you being in public has happened before. This time, he shows up when you're just finishing up at the retirement home you volunteer at a couple times a month—you're in charge of what's supposed to be a crossword puzzles group, but what is mainly just a gossip group.

Most mortals aren't able to see Morpheus when he doesn't want to be seen. You're not most mortals, however, and you've gotten pretty damn good at sensing when he's around, which is why you're the only one that notices him lurking in the corner closest to the door.

"Hi," you mouth, trying and failing to hide your grin as you give him a discreet wave.

Your excitement must be palpable, because the women quickly pick up on it and thus catch sight of a tall, dark, and handsome stranger across the room. Ethel, the boldest of the group by far, grabs your arm and yanks you down to her level. "Is that the boyfriend?"

"Yes, that's the boyfriend."

They all know about the boyfriend because you've gushed about your beloved to this little group more than a few times. How can you not, though? Especially when you're surrounded by those who enjoy living vicariously through you and thus cajole you into sharing such stories about your love life.

"She thought he was fake, y'know," Ida informs you.

"Did not!" Ethel retorts. "I was just curious because you never showed us any pictures!"

"I've told you before that Morpheus is a little camera-shy." You don't actually know if that's the case or not; you just haven't yet figured out how to ask the anthropomorphic personification of dreams and nightmares if he wants to take a cute couple's selfie.

"Morpheus! Oh, how exotic." The little group titters, thrilled at having learned his name.

The man (-shaped being) of the hour has moved, placing a hand on your lower back so as to not frighten you when he suddenly stands next to you. You smile up at him and are greeted with the smallest of smiles in return while the sounds of your seniors oohing and aahing fade into mere background noise. Surroundings tend to become meaningless when you see Morpheus; all that matters then is you and he.

Morpheus is the one to remind you that you have an audience when he turns his attention upon said audience. He bows his head politely and says, "I greet you, ladies."

As you expected, they go absolutely nuts when they hear his voice.

"Oh my!" Ida blushes.

Ethel beams. "Aren't you a handsome one!"

"Why, if I were a few decades younger..." Shirley, who has absolutely no filter whatsoever, winks at Morpheus.

You sputter, your eyes wide and blood rushing to your cheeks. "Shirley!"

"What? I have eyes!"

While you're ready to hide your face in your hands and die (maybe you should see if Death has a cell phone), Morpheus simply hums in amusement. "You are very kind."

"And you are a sweetheart."

"Okay, that does it for me today," you interrupt. It's not a lie; you were literally saying your goodbyes and on your way out before Morpheus arrived! "I'll see you guys in a couple of weeks."

"You bring Morpheus around any time, alright?"

You can't get out of there fast enough, and Morpheus lets you practically drag him towards the parking lot. Once you're out in the fresh air (and away from any of the windows that your favorite gals could be spying from), you bury your head in Morpheus's shoulder and groan.

"I'm sorry. That was so embarrassing," you lament.

"Why? They were...sweet, if not a little overt in their affections."

You lift your head up to meet his eyes. "That's why it was embarrassing, my love."

"You are very clearly dear to them. They simply want to see you happy."

"I'm assuming you know that with your super special dream magic?"

"Daydreams and hopes are quite loud, starlight." He smirks because you know damn well just how loud some daydreams can be (specifically yours when you're thinking about Morpheus) before pressing his lips to your forehead.

"Well, you're certainly in their good graces now. They've been so nosy since they found out I'm seeing someone."

"So I lived up to their expectations, then?"

Now it's your turn to smirk. "Baby, you were beyond their wildest dreams."

[eobe]

Oh, you wanna see my tattoo? ✨🪶 And yes, there is more downwards 👀 (under the cut)

Body tattoo heavily inspired by this gorgeous version of @lonewolflupe 🫶 Thank you, vod 🥰 Enjoy full crosshatched tattoo force hehehe ����

Can you imagine how distracting it is to be stared down by your own artwork and am I the only one with this issue? 🙈

So I also bandana'd his eyes hehehe 😁...

... and yup... that made it worse 👀

Can you see the smirk twich upwards? I thought it was eye magic, but it also works with the bandana 🤷🏽‍♀️ For those who don’t know it from some of my other artworks – You might see it if you stare at the mouth some seconds… I don’t know how this works, but I won’t complain 😁

@clonethirstingisreal I don't know if you've seen my birthday message to you, dear 🫶 And here the final version – Enjoy, my friend 🥰

Taglist: @eclec-tech @lonewolflupe @bixlasagna @returnofthepineapple @sunshinesdaydream @covert1ntrovert @general-ida-raven @vrycurious @dystopicjumpsuit @chaicilatte @groguandthebadbatch @justanotherdikutsimp @ladylucksrogue @spaceyjessa

[katakaluptastrophy]

What do Captain Deuteros, the Princesses of Ida, the Baron of Tisis, the Lady of Koniortos Court, the Duchess of Rhodes, the Master Templar, and the Reverend Daughter all have in common? They almost certainly own slaves.

Ok, not "slaves". As I'm sure Housers would be the first to tell you, they do not have slaves. Gideon herself explicitly establishes this in chapter one:

I’m indentured, not a slave.

But functionally, what does that mean?

We don't get a definition of what Gideon means by a slave, or how this word is used in House (do the Houses also have slaves? Are slaves something other, uncivilised people have in the benighted darkness beyond the light of Dominicus and the empire?). Gideon is an unfree person who is subject to violence and exploited for the financial gain of her masters, but it means something to her that she is not, in some economic or legal sense, a slave. So what is an indentured servant?

Gideon's status is referred to using several other terms over the course of GTN, primarily by Silas Octakiseron. While Silas is not an unbiased commentator, it's interesting that his objection to Gideon is not just because she's Ninth, but because she has usurped her social position:

“Thrall,” said Silas. “Serf. Servant... Villein,” continued the necromancer of the house of the Eighth, warming to his thesaurus. Colum was staring at Gideon, almost cross-eyed with disbelief. “Foundling. I am not insulting you, I am naming you for what you are. The replacement for Ortus Nigenad, himself a poor representative of a foetid House of betrayers and mystics.”

We don't know the exact connotations of these words in House. But a "serf" historically was a sort of feudal peasant tied to the land of a manor. Unlike a slave, a serf usually couldn't be bought or sold as an individual, but could be transferred wholesale with the land. Generically speaking, serfdom involves a tie to the land, an obligation to generate income/goods for the feudal lord of the land through labour and/or rents, and a lack of freedom of movement. It could be from birth or a voluntary indenture.

The contextual information that we get about Gideon's status backs up this very feudal image:

Gideon is, as Crux repeatedly reminds her, in some way the property of the Ninth. She wears a security cuff, and her attempt to run away is described as theft and misuse of House goods. In a typically House way, it is not just that she owes them her labour - she owes them her body once she dies. (What's interesting is that this part isn't specifically tied to her status as an indentured servant, but it fundamentally colours how it is understood in world.)

"You talk so loudly for chattle, Nav... You chatter so much for a debt. I hate you, and yet you are my wares and inventory."

Crux is Harrow's seneschal. And it would seem that at least on the Ninth, this role is very much the same as its medieval feudal equivalent: the official in charge of the management of the estate's goods and labourers.

Gideon is a legitimate subject of violence in House law: Harrow talks about how it would be "master's sin" if she "employed unwarranted violence" against her. Which means that some degree of violent punishment of indentured servants is legally permissable.

She is meant to be a financially useful asset: regulations exist governing indentured people joining the military, where they can generate revenue for their House. However, Harrow warns Gideon that "the Cohort won’t enlist an unreleased serf" - because the movement of a serf is at the discretion of her Lady, not something over which she has free choice.

The description of how Gideon came to be of the Ninth is particularly interesting in shedding some light on the institution of indenture in the Houses:

The Ninth had historically filled its halls with penitents from other houses, mystics and pilgrims who found the call of this dreary order more attractive than their own birthrights. In the antiquated rules of those supplicants who moved between the eight great households, she was taken as a very small bondswoman, not of the Ninth but beholden to it: What greater debt could be accrued than that of being brought up?

Medieval serfs too had no freedom of movement; they required a license from their lord to spend extended time away from the manor.

It's easy to forget, when the Houses themselves likely range in scale from the size of Los Angeles to Aotearoa New Zealand, that legally they seem to understand themselves to constitute feudal households. Those born in each House are part of - or in some cases it would seem, property of - the House. We see discussion in the Sermon on Necromancers and Cavaliers of the heirs of cavalier lines being traded between Houses for political capital. Necromancers, meanwhile, are apparently such a political or reproductive asset that they are usually not allowed to marry outside their House. Obviously, these are examples of people at the top of House society, whose movement brings with it political power, or financial assets, or reproductive capacity. Where does that leave a more ordinary person who lacks those desirable assets? It would seem that they can be their own asset, granted access to another House on a debtor's bond - it's not clear in the House context whether this is typically an exchange of people already debt bonded to their House, free people entering into such bondage to secure a right of passage to another House, a combination, or something else entirely.

But it speaks to a much more ancient understanding of how people are tied to lands and lords, alongside the Houses' very different attitude to the value of human lives:

“You’re no slave, but you’ll serve the House of the Ninth until the day you die and then thereafter"

One could infer, since we've encountered nobles and serfs, that the Houses have something akin to a three-tier system like many historical European feudal systems, with nobles, freedmen, and serfs.

The medieval European feudal system was primarily a function of the management of land - serfs and freedmen's statuses were a result of their relationship to obligations to the land - requirements of work, or rents to their lord, who ultimately controlled and profited from that land. This is where the tricky difference between serfdom and slavery tends to arise.

But the Houses are not a European medieval feudal kingdom. They are not, presumably, a primarily agrarian economy. So what use might such bondspeople be? What does that society look like, outside of its highest nobles investigating each others' murders and its strangely incestuous demigods?

There must be some agriculture and industry. Given the trying conditions of living in inhospitable space environments, that there might be some class of labourers fundamentally tied to their Houses, perhaps initially stemming from the order or situation of their ancestors' resurrection, isn't impossible to imagine (after all, ruling families and cavalier lines also trace their status from the Resurrection). From the information about the rules governing movement between Houses, perhaps there are also people living in dire conditions on remote moons willing to sell their freedom for a chance at slightly better conditions, or a new start in a different House. Most Houses do not have the necromantic capacity to create skeleton constructs on a scale to manage most of their labour - in The Mysterious Study of Dr Sex, it's clear that the Sixth has a finite supply of skeleton constructs that they would require Ninth input to overhaul. We have to assume most labour on most Houses in human, and some portion of it at least in some way unfree.

But the Houses are a spacefaring society with a large, centralised military and an economically complex empire. It does not function entirely like a medieval kingdom, however much it may sometimes look like one. Much of its imperial structure seems to be on a much more 19th or 20th century model.

And the Cohort is one area where we can see some non-medieval, but awful implications to the Houses' practice of serfdom. Consider the commission that Harrow offers Gideon:

It purchased Gideon Nav’s commission to second lieutenant, not privy to resale, but relinquishing capital if she honourably retired. It would grant her full officer training. The usual huge percentage of prizes and territory would be tithed to her House if they were won, but her inflated Ninth serfdom would be paid for in five years on good conditions, rather than thirty.

Gideon is not being promised as canon fodder - this is a promise of officer training. And yet, Gideon is a serf - and that officer training would be an investment in financial returns from her involvement in the bloody machinery of empire.

How many people in the Cohort are not free? Are serfs released from their usual obligations in the House to which they are debt bonded to instead generate income for their House on the battlefield or die trying? What proportion of the Cohort are functionality enslaved children, sold a dream of glory by smutty comics and released by their Houses because their eventual deaths will be more profitable to their Houses than their labouring lives?

And fundamentally, if the Houses are in some way substantially reproducing aspects of medieval feudalism, there's only one person who can be responsible for that...

[quitealotofsodapop]

Todos saben que el rey mono suele ser visto como alguien perezoso, que siempre esta durmiendo en su cabaña (Muchas personas sobretodo Pigsy ven a Wukong de esta forma) pero... ¿Como alguien tan holgazan puede tener una nacion tan prospera como Alolai?

Porque eso es lo que es Alolai paso hace mucho tiempo ser un territorio terrateniente que los demonios suelen tener alrededor de China a ser pais por su propio derecho con economia, cultura y politica.

Algo que muchos demonios desearian en sus propios sueños; si hablamos de Alolai posiblemente no sea un pais reconocido por China, al menos por los humanos, pero en las sociedades demoniacas/celestiales/miticas de todo el mundo es un pais reconocido y posiblemente la potencia no. 1 de esas sociedades.

La economia del archipielago esta conformada en la agricultura de sus frutos, el ganado se basa en las granjas de saltamontes, larvas, escorpiones y entre otros insectos; podrian tener mineria pero no conozco mucho de eso (¿pero podria tener obsidiana? o algun metal que no posea China) y su amyor fuente de ingreso sera la pesca ¿porque no? si es un pais insular estan rodeado del mar; todo eso es exportado al continente.

Ahora el dia a dia de Wukong consiste en la adnimistracion de todo con su consejo (Que consiste en los incondicionales) hablando de como van las cosas, el manejo de leyes y de festivales importantes en la antigua capital (Huagoushan) la seguridad de los subditos en sus travesia de ida y vuelta a sus hogares.

Y tambien administra lo militar suele ver a sus tripas, supervisarlas y ver los reclutamientos, pero esto se encargan principalmente sus generales.

Dime que sus monos no estan entrenados... (Posiblemente tengan entrenamiento obligatorio)

Wukong se asegura de planificar los festivales con mucho cuidado para que todos puedan llegar y salir de las diferentes islas de manera segura. Casi como Hawaii

Esos 37 correos del abogado tratan de economia, festividades o cosas internacionales.

Me imagino una pequeña trama en donde Mkrew esten haciendo una actividad grupal e invitaron al rey mono (Mac no aparece por el bien de la trama, esta en el teatro trabajando y no pudo ir) y practicamente wukong brilla por su ausencia; MK y Mei van con el rey mono a la isla a pedir una explicacion y ven a Wukong muy ocupado con un joven escriba (Tiene una tablet en lamano) revisando las cosas del dia.

Practicamente es la trama de ''Reina por un día'' luego de que hablamos de esto me acorde XD

Pero resumento esto, le piden ser ''rey por un dia'' y el escriba le llega la memoria el celular de Mei con las lista de cosas por hacer, piden refuersos con el resto de MKrew... digamos que tiene un nuevo cambio de pespectiva del rey mono...

Por eso nuestro mono favorito aprecia sus siestas XD

translation via google:

"Everyone knows that the monkey king is usually seen as someone lazy, who is always sleeping in his hut (Many people, especially Pigsy, see Wukong this way) but… How can someone so lazy have a nation as prosperous as Alolai? Because that is what Alolai is. A long time ago, it went from being a landowner territory that demons usually have around China to being a country in its own right with economy, culture and politics.

Something that many demons would wish for in their own dreams; if we talk about Alolai, it may not be a country recognized by China, at least by humans, but in demonic/celestial/mythical societies around the world it is a recognized country and possibly the no. 1 power of those societies. The economy of the archipelago is based on the agriculture of its fruits, livestock is based on farms of grasshoppers, larvae, scorpions and other insects; They could have mining but I don't know much about that (but could they have obsidian? or some metal that China doesn't have) and their main source of income would be fishing, why not? If it's an island country they are surrounded by the sea; all of that is exported to the continent.

Now Wukong's day to day life consists of the administration of everything with his council (which consists of the unconditional ones) talking about how things are going, the management of laws and important festivals in the old capital (Huagoushan) the safety of the subjects on their journey to and from their homes. And he also manages the military, he usually looks after its entrails, supervises them and sees the recruitments, but this is mainly taken care of by his generals." [(screenshot of little monkeys in armor :3)] Tell me his monkeys aren't trained… (They probably have mandatory training) Wukong makes sure to plan the festivals very carefully so that everyone can get to and from the different islands safely. Almost like Hawaii. [(screeenshot of Wukong with his laptop, with many unread emails)] Those 37 emails from the lawyer are about economics, holidays or international things.

I imagine a little plot where Mkrew is doing a group activity and they invited the monkey king (Mac doesn't appear for the sake of the plot, he's at the theater working and couldn't go) and practically Wukong is conspicuous by his absence; MK and Mei go with the monkey king to the island to ask for an explanation and they see Wukong very busy with a young scribe (He has a tablet in his hand) checking the things of the day. [(screenshot from G5 My Little Pony where the princesses take over for their Queen mother for the day)]

It's basically the plot of "Queen for a day" after we talked about this I remembered XD But to summarize this, they ask him to be "king for a day" and the scribe gets the memory of Mei's cell phone with the list of things to do, they ask for reinforcements with the rest of MKrew… let's say that he has a new change of perspective of the monkey king… That's why our favorite monkey appreciates his naps XD"

I loved this conversation we had - basically the only reason Wukong has any time to hinself is because he has the Stalwarts and his lawyer hammering out the details of running the kingdom.

In terms of rare ore; the most expensive is Jadeite/Jade which is found throughout China (perhaps the kind found on Alolai has a distinct pattern?). And since Flower Fruit Mountain is meant to be an extinct or dormant volcano, its likely rich in obsidian and diamonds.

And ofc fishing is a great part of their culture - hard not to when you're surrounded by a super-fertile tropical sea! I can see a few islands in the chain being dedicated fisheries who periodically restock the local area.

Wukong is likely the only demon king with a recognised country, rather than a measly compound or an in-name-only kingdom.

And he knows it! He's a demon with big shoes to fill. So many permits and documents require his signature just to keep things running smoothly.

So when Wukong accidentally skips a group activity with his heir, MK and Mei stomp/fly over a little annoyed, only to see the King surrounded by his Marshals and Generals, all with different administration tasks to fufill.

Wukong: "MK, I am so sorry I flaked out today. I have a festival coming up in a months time, and we need to hammer out all the details before we can move forward. I also have a bunch of emails I need to answer from my lawyer. Need to approve the opening of a new bug farm. Quality control the latest durian harvest. I am swamped.' MK: "Can't you use your hair clones?" Wukong: "Nope. They have really poor sense of judgement. One nearly poisoned the whole archipelago by approving an untested pesticide. I sleep better knowing I read things over myself."

Mei and MK are genuinely curious! Who knew that the Monkey King was in charge of so many details of his kingdom? And he looks... pretty tired to be honest.

MK and Mei share a look.

Mei: "Hey, Monkey King. What say after you finish up these festival details - you take the rest of the day off? MK and I can deal with the other stuff!" Wukong: "You think you're able for it?" MK: "Uh yeah! I'm the Monkie Kid! If I'm your successor, I need to figure out how to do King stuff!" Wukong: (*shares sly smile with the Stalwarts*) Wukong: "Ok. Let me just message Fire Star to send Mei today's agenda. Don't be scared to call me if you need help with anything, ok?" Mei: "We'll be fine! I've seen my parents do legal stuff lots of times! I bet just one day-" (*phone starts blowing up with messages*) Mei, trying to save face: "Oh. Thats a... lot of things to do for one day." Wukong: "Are you sure you can handle it?' MK: "Absolutely! You finish up here, and we'll see to it that you get an uninterrupted afternoon of snoozing!" Wukong, knowing grin: "Okie-dokey!"

Of course things don't go according to plan.

MK and Mei vastly underestimated how much work is involved in running a country.

Namely the fact that everyone seems to want something from you! MK has to turn down multiple requests for photos, autographs, and interviews since nearly every other monkey is excited to meet their Prince in person.

Mei is forced to call up reinforcements via Pigsy, Tang, and Sandy to help lessen the weight on their shoulders. She also attempts to call Red Son, but he's busy at home, so all he can provide is context to certain legal documents they have to fill out.

Pigsy takes charge of evaluating the recent harvests - his shrewd opinion on fresh produce quickly proving him to be a drill sergeant of quality. Many monkey farmers come away from this day fearing Chef Pigsy. Though the pig does pass out when presented with the most recent yield of insect larva.

Tang thinks answering the emails is him getting away lightly. Until he nearly goes mad from the constant notifications from Wukong's Laywer, village leaders (or their more tech-literate family members), fishery owners, farmers, and the annoying requests from major companies asking for the King's endorsement.

Sandy is able to fulfil requests for transport and fishing pretty easily, but by the end of the day he's a little overstimulated.

Once the day is over, everyone is glad to see the Monkey King return to his throne.

Wukong, well rested: "Oh hey, guys! How did your day as Monkey King go?" MK, exhausted: "Never leave again!" Mei, crying from tiredness: "How do you do it!?" Tang, caffeinated and jittery: "Four different emails about ownership of a mango tree. Four!! And they all cited different legal sources!! It was the same tree!!" Sandy: (*downing chamomile tea like beer.*) Pigsy, ok but concerned for the others: "Maybe it's best we let the King do the king stuff from now on. Ok?" Wukong: (*fond chuckle*)

They are far more understanding if the King is too busy to attend group outings in the future.

[picturejasper20]

Let's talk about Sam's parents and their relationship with Sam because, just wow, it gives quite a lot of context to Sam's character. I'm going to analyse the episode ¨Control Freaks¨ since that is the episode we get to see the most of Sam's family and her relationship with them.

Okay, so, at the start of the episode we have Pam suggesting to Sam to wear a different type of dress- one that is pink with flowers- that resembles the way Pam and Jeremy usually look. They both have more colorful clothes and are more chirpy.

There doesn't seem to be any exactly harmful in this scene- it is Pam just suggesting to Sam to wear something different, she isn't exactly ordering her. However, based on other things they do later in the episode, it wouldn't surprise me that they ¨force¨ these things on Sam, from things she should like to her fashion. Meaning we are already seeing some... questionable aspects of the Mansons parenting.

Danny later shows up in the Manson's house bringing a ¨anti-social¨ music cassette/CD for Sam and Pam and Jeremy look at Danny this way.

Throughout the episode they show their clear disapproval of Danny hanging out with Sam. They see Danny as a ¨bad influence¨ to their own daughter even though is Sam the one who suggested to skip school to see the circus.

They clearly don't like the Fentons, something i can't fully blame them because Jack and Maddie can leave a mess wherever they go to and usually end up shooting the Mansons when they are nearby. But just because they dislike the Fentons, they don't want Sam to be meeting with Danny, not caring how that makes Sam feel.

Like i want to believe this part of the series humor but they go so far to filling a restraining order for Danny to not get near Sam. Just trying to impose certain fashion and likes on Sam wasn't enough, they want to control who she can and can't meet up with.

If they weren't giving wrong vibes already, then lets talk about that ¨anti-goth protest¨ they organized in front of the circus to ¨protect the children¨ that shows up during most of the episode.

I don't know, but they give me the impression of those parents that would try to censor certain type of music or videogames because they are ¨ruining¨ the children. And from what it is implied, this isn't the first time they have organized these type of protests, so it could be assumed they could have done more extreme things in the past.

Honestly, i'm not sure how Pam and Jeremy turned out like this, because Ida is a lot nicer and open minded than they are. In fact, at some point of the episode she shows Sam that she was like her when she was around her age and lets her sneak out to look for Danny.

On last point, one thing i found quite messed up is how at the end of the episode they force Sam to wear that pink dress that Pam suggested her at the start with the condition that she could see Danny again if she did.

Things like these makes me wonder if they usually impose Sam to act and be feminine since she acts differently in contrast to how other girls of her age usually do. There isn't much indication of this, but based on what i have seen so far, i wouldn't rule it out.

Now, look, in spite of everything i'm not sure if i would call Sam's parents downright abusive- they were right about getting mad at Sam for skipping school among other things- but they still come off as controlling and they take things to the extreme. It isn't right for them to forbid Sam for meeting with some of the few friends she has nor force on her how identity and likes should be.

Sam has a lot of issues as character for not changing and having a proper arc, but i can't fully blame her for the way she often acts in the show because, with her parents being like this, i can understand why she would hate authority or show a dislike ¨girl stuff¨. Honestly, i'm surprised that she is okay as a person, since she could turned out a lot worse.

[therealslimshakespeare]

The Passion of Johnny 🥀

Summary: Bucky Egan takes it upon himself to give some wedding night advice to his dearest and most cunty, capable and very Catholic captain. Did it have to be five minutes before the aisle walk? Did it have to be by the stale communion wafers? Did it have to have include practice fingering? Brady has so many objections but better to get this over with than have it bleed into Egan’s best man’s toast…

Requested? OH YES ✔️

Circa: late summer 1945

Warnings: so much innuendo and dirty talk, this is sex Ed, after all. Catholicism but it’s not really impacting shit beyond vibes, and a decent amount of homoeroticism…it’s war buddies in a church y’all. That’s a staple. Brief illusion to past male SA.

Full credit to my babe Ashely who more than co-wrote this, she was possessed by the spirit of Bucky Egan in our chat and out came this, I have merley sprinkled verbs and adjectives and cohesion throughout her masterpiece. And to Christi who added copious devastating one liners throughout and held my damn hand while I choked on this hotness

They’re in the back of the church, in the vestry room, attending to all those last minute wedding details -the ring checks, the tie-fixing, the last minute dizzy spells. And once left alone with him, Bucky spots the lump in the groom’s pressed slacks from across the room. He snickers. Ah this'll be fun. “C'mere kid...come talk to me.” he cajoles, “Ya fast? Ya loose? Feel like throwing up?”

Bucky claps him on the back extra hard and Jack coughs dryly, hands falling from his tie.

“Listen,” Bucky goes on without being answered, “good ole Father Peter Paul Frank whoever is gonna get up there and try and tell you all about marriage and devotion and all that jazz...and he means well. sure... but I wanna make sure this marriage starts off right...so let's have a little chat. I ever steered ya wrong, huh?”

“Bucky, I uh...kinda wanted a minute alone.”

Bucky racks his eyes over the pristine and quite filled out uniform. “Yeah trust me I got eyes kid, we can get you all settled so ya don't make a complete fool of yourself in front of the entire church.” Bucky for his part is smoking in church, after having lit a cigarette off the candles, and Brady supposes this talk is necessary. Not he thinks, for the education Bucky so benficently seeks to relay, but rather to stave off the likelihood of all these tips and tricks of the trade coming out in a groomsman’s toast.

Bucky’s rowdy, handsy behavior normally never bothered him. Until now. Every back slap and chest shove and cheek pinch has him feeling funny, tingly, oddly eager and terribly alive. Johnny shouldn’t have spent all night trying to tug one out in vain, now he’s a goddamn confused mess. But he knows he wants to please Bucky, unfortunately always has and in lieu of a father in his life today -though god knows this dangerous, grinning man is no replacement- he acquiesces. Jack takes a seat in this same room he did as a child to review his catechism and Ten Commandments, and marvels how despite all the partying of last evening and the week before, with booze and anecdotes and bawdy jokes flying like flack, Bucky would wait until they’re beside the stale, surplus communion wafers to discuss conjugal functions.

He's absolutely sweating and that makes sense, it’s August. But Bucky is clapping him on the back again, beginning the talk like they didn’t already do this routine, “Ya look great kid.” He compliments. “Almost as handsome as Ida.”

It’s a very sincere compliment, Jack knows this, and it makes him roll his eyes all the harder although his cheeks burn.

“Ya nervous? Yeah? Good. You should be.” —this is followed by a signature cheek slap. “-you’ve got maneuvers to learn.”

Jack’s eyes grow a little panicked. More than nervous then. He wasn't this hard before. But the more Bucky talks about ‘maneuvers’ he's getting almost fully so. Frantically smashing the front of his pants down, groaning, “Bucky, stop. I beg you, stop. I'm about to walk down the aisle!”

Another cheek smack. “Don’t fuckin' roll your eyes at me kid, where else ya gonna learn this? The goddamn Padre? Now listen up, those two fingers, raise your fingers, those two- what the hell is that one even doing? -not like that, c'mon take this seriously.” Bucky presumptuously adjusts Jack’s long, elegant fingers, “You ever felt a cat's tongue? You know how it's sorta rough, like sandpaper? Well there's this spot inside her, it's gonna feel sorta like that, only softer. And that's the magic spot, kid. I'm telling ya, aim for that spot and you'll be golden.”

Brady, he was pleased to see, was no longer rolling his eyes. The pupils, however, had taken over the blue. "Can I- can i get to it with my tongue, Bucky?"

“Uh, no, my dear young novice, but that shouldn’t stop ya from trying. Never stop trying to get at it with whatever, anything God or your job gives ya. Christ kid, you even seen a pussy before?"

Brady manages nothing more than a big swallow, "She showed me hers."

"She showed you- when?"

"Last Wednesday."

"She showed you her Tussy Muzzy last Wednesday? Holy hell, Miss Tilly!" Egan whoops loudly before Brady shushes him with a few scowling smacks to his chest. "Well, tell me, wha'd she say when she showed you her pussy?"

Brady begins to retract, "Sir I can't

-I can't say,"

"Oh listen up, listen up good and hard, right now. What a lady says? She means, and you should always listen to her, but she never says it when she means it. So you gotta remember it and file it away. To use against her later. Nicely, of course. Jack? Wha'd she say?"

Brady, with eyes heavenward and looking like all he was missing were the drops of blood, "She said she wanted me to take her and that it -it-it was throbbing and -fuck uh, that- that it would be mine Saturday, uh that’s today, that it’d be mine anyway? Oh Fuck."

Bucky, he sees, is eating this shit up. Bucky practically whoops again, right here in church. “Miss Tilly.” he murmurs in the most salacious voice ever. “Goddamn.” he utters, “GODDAMN!” a second time much louder.

Brady stares at the embroidery on the chapel cloth. Green and gold stitching interweaving to make leaves. Eternal life and shit.

“Well,” Bucky is rallying, “since ya seen one -fucking idiot not touchin' it when you could’ve…First rule of marriage: don't go turnin' down offered pussy. And you heard her, none of that timid chivalry shit, you take her, you hear me?”

“I’m hearing you sir.”

“Didn't think she was the type.” he whistles, still stuck on the fact that Miss Tilly Macon with her straw hats and white gloves begged Jack Brady to take her in a car seat just days before, “Right, well, tell me, did ya get a good look? Was she shiny?”

“It... glittered.” Brady spaces out recalling the petals of it in the red glow of the stop light.

“Well that’s good, we’ve got something to work from kid. Alright, that cat tongue I told ya about? Can’t get to it with your tongue, gonna need your fingers. Now c’mere, closer, come here dammit. Yeah ok, so,” Bucky holds up his palm, like he’s gonna swear an oath, “you're gonna find the spot and when ya do, you’re gonna rub and rub and keep rubbing -go on, try, try it against my hand, c'mon Jack don't be a prude"

Egan watches as Brady shamefacedly begins rubbing between Bucky's thumb and forefinger with surprising skill. The kid’s a natural. “Damn, fixing my headache, ok yeah like that uhuh.”

“It’s just the C major cord.” Brady rebuts with a small eye roll that morphs into a cringe in expectation of another loving slap.

But Bucky holds his peace and bites his lips, and Brady wants to please him so, he lets Bucky ramble on and do his odd little puppet show with his fingers.

When that is over, Bucky turns and casts about for his next prop before grabbing a stack of charity bibles, cigarette still hanging out of his mouth. He begins stacking the Bibles and pretending his fingers are now Tilly and Jack and the Bibles are a makeshift bed. Like Johnny doesn’t know what human limbs look like. And Brady, he knows he’s lost a great deal of mental capacity since seeing Tilly’s scared parts, -running into doorframes and spacing out during planning, to the point where Ida and Eugene think he needs to be shrinked- but this feels more than a little silly.

“Well that’s that part. But, back to the beginning.” Bucky straightens from his demonstration, puts one leg up on the desk and despite the absence of his animated fingers, the Bibles look terribly suggestive stacked there on the mahogany edge, “First thing,” he is pointing at Jack, “when you get upstairs, ya ask her...if she's ever had an ice cream cone in July.” Bucky is nodding with a big smirk that Brady feels like he should answer, “Know what I mean huh?”

Brady shakes his head and rubs his neck bashfully, to be perfectly honest he has suspicions but this is Bucky, and it’s safer to admit he hasn’t a goddamn clue. "I'm gettin' that the ice cream cone ain't literal.” He ventures.

“Trust me,” Bucky insists, “all this boring church business... the dancing, the punch, I'll make a nice little speech that won't make your ma keel over...soon you'll be the god damn ice cream cone right there in those nicely pressed pants.” Bucky saunters over to where Jack is sitting on the table top part of the desk, takes the back of his hand and whacks Jack's noticeable bulge. “There's your ice cream cone kid.”

Jack jumps back startled on the desktop, and Bucky cackles, muttering something about Goddamn Prudes and Jack has to keep shushing him.

“Anyway...so she gets a couple licks... and then..” Bucky is pacing and wagging his finger, “…you get a little taste of your own... real important now... work the tongue in that pretty little hole and get her started…”

Jack is about to hyperventilate at this point as Bucky starts throwing out more ice cream analogies. Lots about cream. And licking. Something about cherries. Then somehow baseball works it's way in. Predictably. So many bases, first and second and bats and stroking and more cream. There is a fly on the rim of the gold chalice, at least it’s stopped it’s buzzing little circles.

“Ya got stamina buddy boy?” -Jack has got no idea how to answer that. “Ya don't wanna be the husband who blows the second ya slide into home.”

“Trust me...after last night…” Jack grouches, letting the details slip through in his angry belligerence at his own stubborn erection.

“That sucker is from last night?” Bucky howls. “You friggin Catholics don't even wear rubber socks either do ya?” Bucky is rubbing his hands together, Brady feels half sick, half close to coming untouched from all this talk about condoms and such, “I'll be uncle Bucky before the year is out and the first one better be named after me!” Bucky crows, then softens as he sees Johnny’s overwhelmed face, “It's gonna be great kid, I'm telling ya.. worth all that Nazi camp bullshit.” He sniffs roughly, “Plus..uh, ya know Tilly seems like a swell girl...makes a decent meatloaf I heard...sickness and health all that jazz…” He comes closer and claps Jack on the shoulder a few times.

Brady feels the overwhelming and embarrassing need to assure him he’s always welcome to the meatloaf.

Bucky acknowledges this with a soft, saddened smile before his beautiful, capable hands slide up Brady’s stiff shoulders and come up to cradle Jack's sweaty, rosy face, “Damn proud of ya kid.” he swears gruffly, “Think of me when ya slide in tonight... Lord knows I'll be wishing I was there…” Bucky whistles but it doesn’t feel crass, not the way it did even ten minutes ago. Brady has a lump in his throat and a stupid desire to say ‘same’ but he doesn’t because it must be some sorta fucked for him to long after a man he fought for, a man he got ready to die with, a man he’d gone to hell for, a man who he’ll still be obeying. Even tonight of all nights. Maybe the camp fucked him up worse than he knew. Or maybe it’s just Bucky and how Bucky’s always been, how he’s always been around Bucky -always his aggravated fool.

Whatever Tilley will prove to be for Jack, she’s not that. And that’s as it should be. Still, he feels like meatloaf is a small thing to offer as those hands finally slide away.

💋 Hope you enjoyed! Feedback is a writer’s lifeblood, please feel free to scream in comments or the inbox, I love it and wanna hear it all. Trust me, nothing is “too dumb”. Your thoughts mean the world to me.

MOTA taglist, I only have one so ignore if this is not the universe you signed up for:

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[ameriko-steelie]

DaisySims 3 / DS3 Archive

I have collected what I could from DaisySims3, with the help of @sideshowsnob!

For those who don't know, DS3 was a Chinese website like MTSims-Cakestore where Chinese creators could post links to their CC. Unfortunately, the original website went defunct some time ago, and while they had a Lofter site, many download pages were mysteriously missing and the rest were locked behind Baidu or VDisk. VDisk.. doesn't work and Baidu has been locked to anyone that isn't from Mainland China, unless you are able to obtain an account (attempting to sign up via the international site gives you the error that mentions not accepting accounts from Macau, Hong Kong, Taiwan, or other foreign countries; I don't remember the exact text, but it mentions those places specifically).

However, I have a Baidu account, so I have rounded up everything I could find, even if the creator included a backup Mediafire link. Many still had dead Baidu links, but for some items, I was able to find a reupload. I'm still missing a few items, though.

This contains CC from creators:

Barble

Beiqi / Becky

EverNever

Ginko

Hiros

Kaleido / Kiroro

Ida (1 item)

SamaeLee (1 item)

Sweetmint (1 item*)

Yami (1 item)

xxinnine

*Sweetmint has a separate archive here. But I don't think that reupload has the bulb vases, which are in this folder.

Download - MEGA Folder

@pis3update @sssvitlanz @gifappels-stuff @wanderingsimsfinds

[bibibbon]

I think even the "its realistic!" excuse doesnt work on its own terms - cause yeah, for everyone of the 20 people to allways meet up isnt real life, but to atleast have one good friend from school, especially after going through live and die situations?

like Deku and Kachan were astranged childhood friends, who after all that made up, and also Kachan felt a lot of guilt about being a piece of shit and that Deku lost his quirk - it seems atleast those two should meet up, even do to guilt/pity Kachan now feels.

Or Ida, who is charachterised as cartoonishly proper and robotic - even he would probably see it as his duty to not abandon a friend and check on him every few months.

And Tsuy was charachterised as super caring, so after all the bonding and the fact Deku saved her from death at the start at the series, would make it seem that she would want to stay in contact - especially when she was shown to connect quickly to people.

Guess the one realistic one could be Ochako, if they did kinda try dating in highschool and it didnt work out, so it could feel awkard to then try to stay friends and all - yet then the fairytale reunion of 20 top heroes all saving some minor landslide again looks awkard.

And also its unrealistc that everyone besides Deku stayed in the hero life - especially when Jiro had the whole conflict of maybe wanting to do music instead, or the fact nobody moved overseas or did change their outfits enough to not be recognizable, etc

The real truth is that Hori feels depressed about his life and projected it, hence why the awkward happy ending that framed everything came at the last pages - a power fantasy.

It just shows how Hori, like Deku, didnt ever evolve his mindset, and stayed at the childish level of "I wanna be cool like spiderman!!" - cause if he didnt he would show Deku fulfilled as a teacher, giving the next gen the skills to actually change shit, and not see it as "setteling", with a sad expression of "alas, my dream of wearing goofy spandex suits and screaming attack names is dead😔"

The "it's realistic" excuse can work depending on the context. However, there's nothing normal or realistic about 1A and what happend in 430 (surrounding Izuku and 1A that is). It's incredibly understandable that not all 20 members of 1A were going to keep in contact and be incredibly close to eachother. Heck even in UA some 1A members weren't close to eachother and it's even stated by denki that he was never close to izuku in the vigilante arc but that he wanted to help him.

However, I have mentioned this multiple times (and you even brought it up) it's annoying that we don't see izuku hanging out with his close friends outside of hero costumes or UA uniforms. Them not doing so literally paints a picture that they aren't close at all and the whole theme of WE are heroes and power of friendship ends up failing due to this.

Look I know Iam not a huge bakugo fan but taking this into the perspective that bakugo got a satisfactory redemption arc him and izuku should keep in contact from time to time. Something that's bugged me is that after Izuku loses his quirk it seems like his interactions with bakugo are non existent, almost like izuku being a hero and having a quirk is all that their relationship is: a rivalry between who would be the best hero (kind of contradicting bakugo supposed development).

Or take for example shoto todoroki who izuku was close to but they don't seem to interact at all. Or asui. Or iida who very much helped izuku and truly cared for him. Heck tokoyami has also voiced his care for izuku multiple times and so has yuuga but we don't see any of them hang out outside of UA or heroics. Heck this chapter doesn't even give us a glimpse of maybe Izuku texting his friends in a group chat or anything. To me this all seems too bleak. What do you mean the kids who went through trauma together and had an entire theme of helping eachother and sticking together (a theme that carried the final act and fight) somehow not even hang out with eachother outside of heroics or school?

Lastly, I have no intention of making any comment about horis life unless it was stated by a credible source but it does seem like hori might of just got burnt out and he went too far with the story to give it a good ending (a well written one).

Alas, the ending was horrible.

[g1deonthefirst]

cw for reproductive coercion and violence: i feel like we should talk more about the implications surrounding reproductive coercion re the heirs: in a no lyctor trials au, i feel like pal & ianthe & maybe harrow would really be pushed into having kids to keep those necromantic lines going

(i say ianthe and not coronabeth here b/c it's probably less likely that corona would have a necromantic child/she needs to run ida, which a pregnancy would make much harder) but we know that there are at least a few ppl on the sixth who pal is genetically compatible with

YES ANON!! ugh this is SUCH a good point. my thing is like, i don't understand how people can argue that the nine houses are post-sexism, post-homophobia, post-gender roles, etc. when you have seven of eight houses relying on a hereditary system of governance that by definition values heirs based on their reproductive capacity. the scene where harrow uses her father's corpse to shoot down the suggestion that she marry and have kids with ortus is honestly horrifying. regardless of whether she's even attracted to men (something nobody seems to care about), she's a child in that scene and already the adults around her are discussing her reproductive capacity. not to mention ortus is, what, eighteen? years older than her. in a world where harrow's parents killed 200 children for one necromantic heir, there is no way all the scions aren't being forced to reproduce whether they like it or not. considering how the themes of the horror of pregnancy/birth and reproductive violence come up again and again, i can't see this detail as anything but intentional, either.

[yonkokraven]

Am I the only one who thinks Ida does the "saving heroes" thing better than ochako?

Yes his role throughout the series lessened but it stayed consistent. After the stain arc we always see him helping his classmates . We don't see that with ochako tho. It doesn't feel like apart of her character but apart of her relationship with deku. I mean in the rooftop scene shoto was standing outside of ua and couldn't enter she didn't say anything then. She didn't say anything later when he said his presence would've caused problems, she didn't say anything abut ayoma she didn't even think about any of the heroes that got severely injured or died. She's never even had a thought about allmight (isn't it weird how little 1a interacted with AM) Nothing

Just deku thats it.

Which is why I prefer iida even if just in the background he's constantly checking up on his classmates and making sure their okay

(unrelated but hori def didn't make izuchako Canon to not displease bkdk shippers)

Well, honestly Uraraka works in this "saving heroes" thing because it more or less coincides with the core of her character which is essentially to make those around her happy, but that doesn't mean that yes, you're right and that Iida could have been part of that plot with Uraraka and Midoriya

Iida is the first Legacy Kid that is presented to us and he already has the concepts of heroism deeply rooted in his education, the main problem is that those concepts are completely aligned with the limits of the rules, that is, for a good part of the manga he is regal and incorruptible before the typical ideals of a hero in society, and on two occasions he deviates from this

-Selfishly: wanting to kill (not imprison or detain) Stain

-In a supportive way: Accompanying his classmates to save Bakugo.

After that Horikoshi could continue evolving Iida, but he doesn't, and we see him in action again in the Vigilant Deku arc and in the final war, where his job is to reach Midoriya, and then help Shoto reach his family.

I could start a rant here about how Horikoshi threw away the development of several characters just to give Gary Stu (Bakugo) of this manga his thousandth moment to shine.

But I can criticize him for other inconsistencies that you have pointed out:

-Shoto was able to enter the UA before and after the speech, people's biggest fear was that Midoriya would enter the academy

-Aoyama's scene and overall plot have no impact because we didn't have any focus prior to it (aside from the arc before the provisional exams). There's only an glimpse of an impact because it's revealed that he was quirkless, and we don't get a focus on class A in those types of plots and class A barely has any evolution outside of comic gags.

-Something to note on the subject of injured or dead heroes, is that the only considerable reaction we get from the class to this, is when Midnight dies, and a couple of chapters later they're in uniforms again, it feels like I missed out on about 90 therapy sessions here, but there's no acknowledgement of the deaths surrounding them or adverse consequences like heroes or students quitting.

-Uraraka and All Might... I seem to remember that there was an interaction between her, Iida, Tsuyu and Mineta between the rounds of the sports festival tournament, but I don't know if it is added to the anime only or also in the manga. There is a huge problem with this and that is that All Might was in skeletal form, the same form with which he begins to teach after his fight against AFO, could a plot arise here of how Uraraka or Iida discover the OFA on their own? If so, Hori did not do it because, surprise! Bakugo.

And as for the ships, I have to say, I much prefer Izuocha even though I'm more of a rarepairs fan.

I could make a post later about both ships, but responding to what you said, Horikoshi moves according to who is at the top of popularity, and this doesn't happen in stories with a gram of narrative stability (for example, One Piece).

Although the lack of confirmation doesn't mean that it hasn't happened, Uraraka wearing the Deku mask and focusing on Midoriya's hands (except the ring finger of his left hand) already gives enough of a clue, although I think Hori will leave those important details for the sequel or when volume 42 comes out in December.

[respectthepetty]

Because when a color demon is summoned by @negrowhat and @mggsttn's post, I show up!

Top 5 - Color-Coded Storytelling in BLs

Y'all already know what number one is, but let's pretend you don't. Instead follow me on this journey into BLs that gave the best color-coded storytelling. In order to be considered for this list:

The story had to integrate the colors into multiple aspects of the series: wardrobe, lighting, accessories, setting, etc.

The colors had to be meaningful to the plot.

The narrative did not explicitly state what the colors meant.

The color coding had to be consistent and featured in each episode.

The series has to be finished.

So let's begin!

Honorable Mention: Oh No! Here Comes Trouble

This isn't a BL (yet it's queer, so anyone who says it isn't can argue with the ghosts), but that damn red thread of fate had me and Yiyong messed up all season! The appearance of the color red in the series was less of an alarm, and more of a signal that every single moment was connected. All those single red threads that Yiyong and his unlikely crime-solving buddies weaved each episode came together at the last minute not only to solve the crime, but to stitch Yiyong together and bring him back from the edge of death because the true message of the show about fate and dying was how connection is what makes life worth living.

#5 - Moonlight Chicken

Director Aof and Cinematographer Rath never miss, but this particular story being told in this series through the symbolism and lighting depicting moon vs. sun, coldness vs. warmth, dislike vs. love, and so much more was phenomenal. Watch the scene of Li Meng holding a crying Heart in Heart's cold, blue, dark room then witness the two kissing in Li Meng's warm, orange-ish, bright living room or watch the hatred and blue melting off of Alan as he begins to find love again and you'll understand that the color coding in this show wasn't just a simple red versus blue dynamic. This was the work of PROFESSIONALS. This color coding was like tiramisu made by the best Italian chef; it had layers and was effing delicious!

#4 - My Beautiful Man

This show did several visual devices oh-so-well. We got Hira always being lower than Kiyoi. We got the duck. We got Hira capturing Kiyoi with his camera instead of being present with him. We got traditional colors but with that Japanese twist. And all of the elements worked together to give us an elite visual story. Hira was blue. Kiyoi was white. Hira was the loyal and reserved servant. Kiyoi was a god. Yet this was the point of contention between the two. Kiyoi wasn't a heavenly being. He was a human boy devoid of love. He wanted Hira to love him, not worship him. He wanted Hira to stand with him, not lower himself. He wanted Hira to live with him, not through him. So we saw Kiyoi struggle with his color when he didn't feel stable in their relationship, but once Hira made it clear that he loved Kiyoi, Kiyoi never shined brighter.

#3 - My Love Mix-Up

Nobody does colors like Japan. It color codes its ties. It leans into the religious aspect of the light versus dark color scheme. It invents new ways to color-code and is always evolving . . . like Aoki's orange color did in this series. Our disaster bisexual started the series with a muted color and as he discovered he liked a boy and not the girl he originally was crushing on, his color started to emerge. At first it was a soft yellow, but by the end, it was a vibrant orange. Ida was a solid blue, so watching Aoki's feeling deepen for him was electric each time the blue lighting lingered on his face until it overwhelmed him. Oh, and that color exchange is the best that has ever been done!

#2 - Semantic Error

This show tricked us. Jae Young played us the way he played Sang Woo, yet Jae Young's true colors were revealed as the boys spent more time with each other because isn't that the entire point of color coding? Seeing people's true colors without having to be told? Jae Young started off as red solely because quiet and introverted Blue Boy Sang Woo HATED red. That was it! That was the entire reason Jae Young became red. He just wanted to piss off Sang Woo. But as the boys worked together and Jae Young's personality shown through, Sang Woo realized Jae Young wasn't the devil he made him out to be and was actually a pretty chill Green Guy who he wanted to hug longer than two weeks.

#1 - Big Dragon

The only reason 82% of the crowd decided to watch this show was because of the visual above. Let that sink in. This one visual piqued y'alls interest enough to watch a show about a guy drugging someone to have sex with him and blackmail him with the tape of it so he could *looks at notes* get the girl? A girl?! And the guy who was drugged, almost sexually assaulted, and blackmailed was *checks notes again* HE WAS IN TO IT?!

Y'all hated this show. I loved it. Y'all think it was ridiculous. I love it. Y'all are rolling your eyes right now. I will always love it because it understood the assignment! I can't keep repeating the same points over and over, but here I go again:

Everything was color coded!

And it all supported the story. It never distracted from the story. It never became its own story. It was laced into the story. It did exactly what visual rhetoric is supposed to - show don't tell.

And it showed me when Yai opened his heart to Mangkorn.

And how Mangkorn's love transformed Yai.

It showed me that Yai's sister was his only source of light living in that isolated house.

It showed me the warmth Yai felt from Mangkorn's mom.

And it showed me that no matter how much he protested, Yai was deep in love.

And to think it all started here.

And ended up here.

That's the power of color coding and remarkable visuals.

It makes you see the beauty is in the details.

[bengiyo]

Hey there!

I've seen a bunch of peeps echoing your thoughts on the KH adaptation, like how it's kinda "Japanese" and might be hard to transfer. Can you talk about what exactly gives KH that "Japanese" vibe? I've checked out some JBLs, but my memory of KH is lowkey foggy. Or if you've talked about this before elsewhere, can you drop the link pls? (btw, loving your stray thoughts posts – they're a life saver keeping up with all the BLs. Thanks!)

I'm trying to find a useful way to describe this. Japanese live-action media still hearkens back to a stage tradition, and as such you need to widen your eye to appreciate what's going on.

Close-Ups

I think Westerners watching Asian media rely heavily on close-ups of actors doing things to read their emotions in a scene, and that's not always where the most important stuff is happening in a Japanese drama.

I'm struggling with the gif search, but this shot above is a good example of that stage tradition. Hashimoto was feeling embarrassed at this moment and wanted to leave, so she literally exists stage right. The Japanese also love depth of frame. We see Aida as the barrier she has to cross to leave in the foreground, and we can see that life is still going on in the background.

I think a lot of us in the West rely on close ups like this to read characters from any given moment, and you see this reflected in what gets giffed and what doesn't. Michieda Shunsuke has incredibly large and expressive facial features, and he exaggerates them constantly to play up the hyperreal aspects of Aoki, which is another staple of these kinds of Japanese stories.

You got a lot of this in Mr. Unlucky Has No Choice But to Kiss! as well.

I'm struggling right now because I don't feel like fighting Viki and God Himself to get screenshots of the wider shots in the show, but the wider shots allow for us to get information about multiple characters and the dynamics between them quickly.

Thematic Focus

Another thing that Japanese dramas have that sticks out for me is focus. Because filming in Japan is expensive, most of their comedies of any sort are in a half-hour time slot, a lot like US comedies. You have to use your time wisely, and so there's far less mission creep to create an in-show ad for juice or to insert or expand side characters to try out other pitches that didn't make the cut for the whole show.

The entire focus of Kieta Hatsukoi's TV Asahi adaptation focuses on the complications around the confused romances between Aoki, Hashimoto, Ida, and Aida. We spend time with Aoki's disaster bi revelation, his and Hashimoto's cowardice in romance, and Ida's demisexual discovery. We cover a lot of ground in 10 short episodes that Thailand media won't in 12 long episodes.

As a result, the pacing overall tends to be extremely consistent and you're rarely asking yourself why a narrative beat is happening. Because this show is about two characters having a queer awakening, we get interactions across age groups about what it means for these boys to be Known Queers in their community and see them deal with that.

Emotional Communication

One of the other things that feels distinctly Japanese is the ways characters will communicate their feelings to each other. Sometimes there's a stoic layer coming from male characters who won't express themselves because they think their actions are making it clear, and then another character will come through to challenge their presumptions about what has been done and what hasn't been said.

One of my favorite moments is in episode 9 when Aoki gets frustrated that Ida doesn't seem to be straining under hormonal urges the way he is, which lands well because the audience and Ida knows that Aoki is struggling with those urges.

Some of this could come down to translation issues and the things that are presumed in Thai that don't always make it specifically onto the screen, but oftentimes I find that Thai characters are having a big confrontation about the wrong issue that misses the core fight, and then that gets resolved as if it was the core disconnect.

Those are just some of my thoughts firing from the hip. The vibe felt off in the trailer we saw yesterday and it left me feeling deeply uninspired. I'm hoping that as they work on the script and preparations for the roles the Thai version will be solid, but adaptations don't always work.

[bookshelf-in-progress]

🎃

The nightingale, please?

The Nightingale Returns

Not a single star lamp lit the darkness of the cottage. Not a single star adorned the quiet young woman in the simple gray dress. In former days, Ida had dripped with stars--wore them in necklaces and bracelets, tiaras and earrings, shoes and gowns that came from dozens of admirers. She'd captivated crowds upon stages that blazed in the light of hundred of stars. In this candlelit cottage, Hans might never have known her for the same woman--but he'd heard her sing.

Ida stood before the window, lit by moonlight. "Why are you here?" she asked, her voice low, but musical as ever.

"I have come from Lord Felix. He wants to see you."

Her eyes blazed like falling stars. "He expects me to come at his call? After he cast me aside for that cheap imitation?" She stormed through the parlor, looking every inch the prima donna. "I will not be kept like a pet! I will not be bought with trinkets and flattery! Not for all the stars in the sky would I ever enter the same city as that man--"

"He's dying."

Ida froze.

#

In his illness, Lord Felix couldn't bear brightness. The only light came from stardust sprinkled on the bed curtains, and from the faraway moon shining through the uncovered window. Even that dim light showed Felix was pale as death, wasted by illness, and tormented by memories. The son of one of the wealthiest starfall families in the city, meeting the fate common to all men.

"Ida," he murmured, as he had for the past twelve hours. "My nightingale."

Ida saw and heard as she came in the room, and Hans watched all skepticism leave her face. She knelt at his bedside and took his feverish hand between hers.

Felix's gaze cleared at her touch. "Ida?" he rasped.

"I'm here."

"I was wrong. I chased you away. I betrayed you. I'm sorry."

He was working himself up. Ida placed a hand on his lips. "All is forgiven."

He relaxed into his pillow as he had not rested in days. "Death is with me," he said. "Stay with me. Sing. I would give anything--"

"Those days are past," she said. "I sing only for love."

The light in his eyes dimmed. "I understand. I don't deserve--"

But the Nightingale sang. A lullaby, low and sweet. A song of comfort. Of rest. Of peace. She had sung for kings and emperors, upon the greatest stages on the continent, but never had she sang like this. This song came from the depths her heart, her years of pain and brokenness turned golden with forgiveness. It filled that dark silence, chasing away shadows, keeping even death at bay.

Hans wept as he heard it--for the beauty of the song, for the dying man who laid back with more peace in his face than he'd known in weeks. Ida's tears flowed onto the deathbed, but still she sang, banishing the pain of the past and the fears of the future, keeping them all in a moment of timelessness.

One song led to another, another, another, until at last, the sun rose. Lord Felix slept like a child. There was color in his face.

Ida fell to the floor, fast asleep.

#

Hans brought Ida back into the sickroom. Felix was propped up on pillows, sitting upright for the first time in weeks.

"Stay with me, Ida," he said, as she knelt by his bed. "It won't be like last time. I'll marry you--"

"No," she said gently.

"I wronged you, I know, but I'll spend a lifetime making it up to you--"

"I am not made for this life," she said.

"You deserve every luxury--"

"A gilded cage is still a cage. I need the country. Fresh air. Open spaces. High society would be nothing but a prison to me."

"We could stay at the country places--"

"I escaped this life once. I won't go back."

Felix fell back against the pillows.

Ida rose to her feet. "You need a wife who fits into your world. Let me remain a friend."

"I am glad to call you one."

She stepped toward the door.

Felix reached toward her. "Can't you stay a bit longer?"

She smiled gently. "I'll come back. You need someone to give you news of the country."

"I would like that," Felix said.

With a smile, Ida stepped out the door. They heard her singing as she walked away.

[katakaluptastrophy]

So we all know how Ianthe became a Lyctor for “ultimate power—and posters of [her] face.”

And I'm sure someone made a nice icon.

But you know who would have definitely gotten a poster of their face? Coronabeth.

Think about it: every House but the Ninth has lost a scion. In a culture that thrives on melodrama and the conspicuous consumption of death, there is a wave of hysterical funerary fervour to mourn their lost leaders. And the Third - the House of glitz, trendsetting, and political intrigue - has lost its beloved Crown Princess.

We don't know a huge amount about funerals in the Nine Houses, but we do know a bit about Third House funerals:

The front coffin is distinguished from its fellows by its gorgeous arrangement of flowers and wreaths. The flowers are all in hues of gold or violet, and are fake. The coffin is hinged open at the front, with its contents hidden from view by the flowers. A tray of meat is rested on the closed bottom half of the coffin. A queue of gaudily masked mourners process past the coffin, slowly, each one taking a strip of meat, then stopping by the head to lean within—kissing or feeding; we can’t be sure. - TUG

Apparently, a Third House funeral - unsurprisingly for flesh magicians - focuses on the physical. The reverence of/fear of/(lust for?) the body. A wake on steroids. But they received no body for Coronabeth. So I can only imagine larger than life posters of Corona decked with flowers, the weeping crowds surging through the streets of Ida, etc etc... Poor Ianthe, second place once again to a 'corpse'.

Moving past Ianthe to House funerary customs in general, and to the awful aftermath of the Lyctor trials in particular, it seems especially unfair that neither of the flesh magic Houses got a body back to mourn. Obviously Corona wasn't actually dead, but for those who believed her to be, the lack of a body for such visceral funerary rights must have been traumatic.

We don't have as many details of Seventh funerals, but the House famous for it's "beguiling corpses" likely also focuses much of its post-mortem ritual around the body. Dulcie suggests that the deceased might even leave specific instructions in their will about the appearance of their corpse:

That drawing looked nothing like me. I loved it. You don’t know this so it doesn’t help, but I included it in my will and put down that I wanted to look like that after I died. I thought maybe it would give you a laugh at the funeral, you know? - TUG

Meanwhile, the Fourth, Fifth, and Eighth receive their perfect pairs of "statuesque and incorruptible" bodies, preserved beyond the wildest dreams of the Seventh. These Houses are all spirit magicians. The Fourth, for whom thanergetically detonating oneself on a battlefield far from the rays of Dominicus isn't unheard of, almost certainly have funerary rites that don't presuppose a body. And the Fifth, whose necromantic practice is far more concerned with the spirit than the body, likely centre their most significant funerary rites around the ghost.

Y'know, the bit they don't have? Just as the flesh magicians of the Third and Seventh would have been unable to mourn their lost scions with rites around the body, the Fifth would have been unable to call their ghosts, trapped in Harrow's River bubble.

So amidst all the grief and awfulness, and the Emperor refusing to answer any questions about what happened (why are they all dead? Why are so many bodies missing? Where are the ghosts? Why are the bodies so creepily perfect?), half the Houses can't even mourn their dead in the way they normally would.