#i don't have strong opinions about other animals at present though i do have some dog breed suggestions

[originalaccountname]

What are all the animals you could see Dazai as? With explanations c:

(Besides the creature cat and goblin goose)

Dog. 100% dog. That man is a puppy in need of a forever home. He finds people he likes and wags his tail while biting their ankles and following them everywhere. Got fluffy bangs ears. Loves yapping. Yearns for a pack. Naps all day. Begs for food. If you start giving him attention he will not let you stop. Loves being validated and called a good boy huh who said that

the main point is that he should be a social animal. Betray his need for companionship from the get-go. Being alone makes him sad and weak and lonely and worse. Show his true colours despite him.

[iliveforyouilongforyouvesuvia]

ok since you mentioned stardew valley i have to ask: who do you think the m6’s favorite sdv characters would be?

-🍄

The Arcana HCs: M6 playing Stardew Valley

~ dear anon, there is a reason for why I am known as brainrot. you have somehow combined two of my greatest obsessions and for that you have my thanks. please enjoy! - brainrot ~

(spoilers for SDV content)

Julian

He's got a special soft spot for George and Evelyn. He just wants to be their grandson (not by marriage though, Alex isn't really his type)

Lowkey freaked out by the wizard at first, learns to get along with him anyways because he made it possible to talk to the Junimos

Enjoys most of the game play besides the farming and crafting. He doesn't have the attention span for all of that

Initially falls for Leah, ends up marrying Shane because he told the farmer to leave him alone and Julian takes that as a challenge

It's also strangely cathartic for him to be on the other side of the "I can help him heal" trope

He likes Leo but learning about the shipwreck is mildly triggering for him, he's very happy once it's resolved and he can forget about it

Completely forgets about the Community Center at first because he's too busy romancing all the marriageables. Gets back to it after he's had two kids and befriended all the villagers

Convinced that Mr Qi is secretly evil

Gossips to MC about all of the lore between the villagers

Asra

Gets into it for the aesthetic, stays for the Junimos

Their farm is a jumbled hodgepodge of all the weirdest plants they could find, with random plots of crops needed for different quests

Spends so much time in the mines, there's just so many interesting creatures down there (and he likes all the gems and minerals)

Dislikes Clint so strongly that they end up dating Emily for the vibes and spite

Ends up having Krobus move in as his roommate, but his ideal is playing with MC so he can marry them

Doesn't put any effort into befriending most of the villagers until it becomes a requirement to achieve perfection, ends up stopping by Pierre's every Tuesday to hang out with all the moms

Likes Mr Qi for his aesthetic, gets a little hung up on the Wizard because that's not how magic works

Obsesses over finding all the artifacts, becomes friends with Penny and the kids from their frequent Library visits

Takes full advantage of using Lewis's shorts to mess with him in every possible way

Robin reminds them of their mom and they don't know how to feel about that

Nadia

She has some very strong opinions about Lewis as a mayor and the more she plays and finds out about him the stronger those opinions become

Dedicates herself to the Community Center as soon as it's unlocked

Has a hard time deciding who to court at first. She likes to know her goal before she starts her journey, but it's hard to get a read on everyone right off the bat

Chooses Leah and knows she's the right one when she gets to help her spite her ex by living well and thriving

Perfection is her end goal as soon as she learns about it

Has a soft spot for Linus and Harvey

Her farm is impeccable. Perfectly planned out, greenhouse at max capacity, crops always timed to yield the most harvest per season

Takes a grim satisfaction in Haley and Emily's sisterly disputes

Always has the perfect present prepared for someone's birthday. Except Lewis. She hates that she has to befriend Lewis

Lowkey judgemental of Marnie for sticking with him

Maxes out crafting first and uses everything she makes

Thinks that Robin should be mayor instead

Muriel

He loves Linus. He wants to live in a tent like Linus too

Does not like the mines at all. Too much animal killing

Avoids Shane at first because he clearly wants to be left alone, ends up befriending him for the blue chickens, is grateful he did once Shane gets his act together

Marries Penny to get her out of the trailer and because her interactions stress him out the least

Terrified of Emily, Alex, and Haley, doesn't go near that house

Hates Joja Co with a passion. It's what got him to complete the Community Center, because he wanted to see Morris's empire crumble at his feet. And to make the Junimos happy

Avoids all community events as much as he can

Loves fishing, foraging, and crafting. The first villagers he got ten hearts with were the Wizard and Willy

Fiercely protective of Leo, adores the parrots, tolerates Mr Qi

Prefers to play with MC and Asra, especially because he really wants the Golden Chicken from achieving perfection but he doesn't like talking to the villagers or going in the mines

Half of his farm is chicken coops

Portia

She starting playing it for the fun of a "build a new life" game and kept playing it for the mines and the villager drama

She's got the entire Friendship and Gifts page on the Stardew Valley Wiki memorized

Thinks the wizard is awesome because he teaches her magic

Has so many opinions on who should be with who that it makes it hard for her to settle down with someone. She ended up with Abigail for the swordfights and adventure

Hardcore ships Gus with Willy, waxes poetic about their shared scenes with the crab invasion and giant omelet

Wants Marnie and Marlon to date so badly, she writes tons of fanfiction about Lewis being brutally dumped and the two of them getting together and adopting Leo

Has a personal grudge against Sebastian because people keep rooting for him over his little sister and no she's not projecting at all

She'll reach perfection eventually because she's that good at managing her tasks, but it's not her main objective

Attends every single community event and comes up with so many headcanons about why this villager always stands there and what's going on with that dialogue

Lucio

Accidentally went the Joja route at first and got ticked off when it meant he was the "bad guy" just because he has FOMO

He's all about the adventuring, his farm is mostly wild

Gets annoyed by Marlon's cautious advice, thinks the wizard is cool for giving him magic but wishes he could do more with it

Married Haley and subsequently lost all his hearts with her because he was too busy getting out the door each morning

Couldn't be bothered with the Community Center until he reached the bottom of the mines and heard that there were more levels elsewhere

Divorces Haley to marry Sandy, throws a fit when he finds out she isn't marriageable. Marries Elliot instead because he wrote a book for him

Hates fishing with a passion, especially the legendary fish

Really starts getting into the game once Calico Desert and Ginger Island are open

Obsessed with raising slimes

Doesn't meet Krobus for a long time because he couldn't be bothered with artifacts, brings him diamonds every week once he does

Also wants to be friends with Kent but can't remember his likes

Desperately craves Mr Qi's approval

[mrnightingale]

Edwin and Charles are literally coded with red and blue “hero colors” in the series. This is why people draw them like that. They are also written to be the brain (Edwin) and the brawn (Charles). It is fine to be creative and write works that reverse the roles in order to be transformative, but knocking other people for writing them the way they are presented in series is not the take you think it is. P.S.- there isn’t any turquoise on that image of George’s eyes. Turquoise is far more vivid.

Dear anon,

I'm pretty sure both posts you're referring to start with the "unpopular opinion" caption. That's because I don't intend any of them to have the same strength as canon content or generally accepted headcanons, but as a funny thing I thought and I wanted to post it here, because I can, because this is my little corner of internet and I can share it here. I don't have much irl people to talk to about the show, so I post it here.

I think I was very respectful when doing so, but if not, I'm sorry. Language has this thing that leads to miscommunication. Unfortunately I don't know how to avoid language, I can't share the half-formed though from my head to yours. When I'm non-verbal I usually use my hands or head to indicate things, I can't do that online. I'm not blaming anyone who writes/draws them as fitting in those categories, because actually most people do so. Because these are the tropes they fit in. They're written to fit in categories so is marketable, that's how it works. I don't intend to ignore that.

My point wasn't against fandoms, but against the very clear tendency that media has been having the last few years. I think fandoms have the enough power to make, if little, a change in the course of action of things, but not only bc it's the fanbase that consumes this media, but because it's composed by artists. Talented people that actively put effort in perfect their skills to make something beautiful and worthy, for the sake of doing art about the things we love. That's why I love fandoms. It's people creating art about art, sharing it with other people that appreciate it. I think it's beautiful.

The other half of my point is because came from anime/manga fandoms who's majority were conformed by teens who don't give the characters the profundity they have, labeling them based on stereotypes, and basically don't see the complexities of the character. That's why I like the term "fictional people", it has more personality, in my opinion.

My little disagreement with this relies on the headcanons who reinforce said stereotypes, mainly in terms of romantic and sexual relationships between the characters, ignoring some important aspects of their canon relationship or personalities, only to make them fit in stiff roles of, let's said, dominance and submission, and that has to apply in every other aspect of the character life. Of course, not everyone does this, but it's something that I, personally, usually have in mind, so it's obviously reflected in my art. Bc irl people don't fit in labels. You might be smart in some things and don't know others, you might don't be physically strong but have agility or flexibility, you might be bad with people but have really strong connections once you get to know them, you might seem oblivious with some things but be sharp and clever with others. It's about contrasts. Ofc we don't know absolutely everything about a character, bc probably more of those things aren't even defined canonically, bc they aren't important for the canon story. But they're important to the fans, that's why headcanons exist.

That's why I like to give my versions of Edwin and Charles some attributes that defy said stereotypes (and also, most of them are based on the actors, historical fun facts or symbology I like to give them). For example, strong Edwin is bc George is stronger than Jayden, as you can see in some interviews... I think it was with Teen Vogue. I don't say Edwin is the brawn, bc as I said earlier, even if he might be physically strong he has a very strong reaction to trauma and he freezes, that's why Charles is the brawn. Even if I headcanon Charles being a geeky nerd, that doesn't mean he isn't the one who fights, and that Edwin has more of the academic knowledge they need to solve cases. It's just something I like to think about them to give them profundity and complexity in my mind, it makes them more realistic, at least to me. You don't have to like my headcanons, as well I don't have to like yours. And that's fine, we're a community, but we can think for ourselves.

And the turquoise bit, I don't know every word to describe every shade of colour between blue and green. I know some in Spanish, but not in English, and I didn't want to search the Pantone colour palette bc I'd be hours lost in Pinterest, and that's... Not ideal. I don't even know what specific shade of colour "turquoise" even is, that's why I used cyan, but cyan is too vivid so that's not the word either. I don't know what's the word to describe George Rexstrew's eyes, that's why exist a whole thread discussing it XD. But I don't like blue or green either, that's why I said turquoise. It's not all that serious, really.

[babacontainsmultitudes]

As some of you already know, I am disheartened- though certainly not surprised- by the recent backlash against one Sparrow Oak Garcia for his recent transgression of *checks notes* having a mixed-to-negative opinion on zoos.

Part of me honestly feels a bit silly responding to any of this, but what are any of us here to do if not have opinions on fictional podcast characters. Anyways, I will get to the more important stuff, as obviously (if you've seen any of the criticisms I'm talking about) this ties back to Hero at the end of the day, but seeing as the first wave of hate I saw after the episode was largely to the effect of: "what the fuck does Sparrow have against zoos?", I would like to start by addressing that point briefly (and only briefly, as it's really not the sort of topic I care to discuss online), by saying that zoos and animal captivity more generally have a long history of being contested and criticized by animal rights activists, and that instances of animal abuse and neglect within zoos and other animal-based theme parks are anything but obscure. Furthermore, it feels worth noting that as of present less than 10% of zoos in the US are AZA-accredited. I say absolutely none of this with the intention of making any definitive statements on the nature of zoos, nor to judge people who do enjoy zoos, nor even to provide my own feelings on the matter. Rather, I offer this information only to explain that someone like Sparrow taking issue with something like zoos really isn't strange at all? And whether you agree with such a stance or not, it undoubtedly comes from a place of empathy. Moreover, I don't think we can honestly divorce Sparrow's take and compulsion to voice it from the metacontext that Sparrow is a character being played by Anthony Burch, you know, a vegan, who probably has his own views on the matter that may or may not differ from yours and mine.

Okay, on to more important matters. At the forefront of things I suppose is the assertion that Sparrow's behavior regarding Normal and the zoo and all that is hypocritical and perhaps even nonsensical in light of what Hero was going through at the time with her training. "He wouldn't take Normal to the zoo but he forced Hero to kill a deer with her bare hands?" Certainly the sort of statement that will elicit a strong emotive reaction from the fandom, but one that ultimately relies on a pretty major assumption, namely, that Sparrow acted as the primary organizer and perpetrator of Hero's training, one who supposedly felt no internal conflict towards the situation whatsoever, rather than instead serving as an enabler of it, who ultimately intervened but only after far too much damage was already done. Neither is a great thing to be, but there is absolutely a difference between both of these roles, and I think that Lark and Sparrow's respective behaviors over the course of the season point almost unanimously towards Sparrow being the latter and Lark the former.

(The above being a non-exhaustive list, of course)

The funny part about the whole zoo thing is that it only further corroborates the notion that Sparrow is someone who is sensitive to the suffering of others, and by extension only serves as more evidence that he most likely was not the one actively making Hero undergo the worst of what she had to do. Does this make him guiltless in the matter? Absolutely not, but it does point to Sparrow having issues that are fundamentally different from Lark's, and means that the instance with the zoo is not only consistent with Sparrow's characterization, but frankly not actually all that hypocritical if you look at it for more than a second. That is, there is a very important but simple difference between the situation with Normal and the zoo and that of Hero and the deer that accounts for the variances in Sparrow's behavior between both cases: Lark. Sparrow isn't okay with either situation, based on all the evidence we have so far of who he is as a person there is absolutely no reason to think that Hero's training is not something that deeply upset him- I mean for fuck's sake everything about how Sparrow raised Normal down to his name stems from not wanting his kids to have to live that kind of life. So why doesn't he put a stop to things sooner? Why does he let any of Hero's training happen at all? Again, very simply, because Sparrow cannot say no to his brother. I mean, he does eventually, given Hero's current status, and that change is an important and still ongoing facet of Sparrow's growth and his arc, but at the start of things it is something he struggles with even more than he does now, to his own suffering and detriment and of course even more so to Hero's. But did Sparrow himself "force Hero to kill a deer with her bare hands"? Almost certainly not, and I have to admit that I find it quite frustrating how quickly Lark vanishes from the collective conscious of the fandom when the time comes to assign accountability for matters concerning Hero. But then, who is Sparrow if not someone who takes the fall for his brother, apparently even in the fandom-space.

[Not that there isn't any nuance to Lark's utilitarianism, either. In general I feel as though discussion of the twins' biggest mistakes too often omits the acknowledgement of the fact that all of it has been to stop an eldritch horror responsible for the death and torture of millions of people, but anyways. Not what this post is about.]

I think that's mostly it lol. Got some thoughts on the family's policy on pets (and how it relates to the Hero thing but also to Beanie actually), as well as some remarks on Rebecca and how we really shouldn't be leaving her out of this discussion (I say, leaving her out of this discussion) but eeehhhhhhh y'all I'm especially low energy as of late eheh and mostly just wanted to speak my peace on a couple major things so let's cut it here for now I think :b

[nausicaaandhermouth]

some thoughts on act 1 so far. huge long ramble. spoilers obv. do share your own, would love to hear other perspectives or additions!

didn't really come in with much expectations, was just gonna receive openly whatever the writers had planned, so that's why i don't have much strong opinions for the most part 😭but on a story perspective, i do have some thoughts.

story-wise

considering act 1 was obviously going to be a huge shift from a first season and something that's meant to set up 6 other episodes, i'm still definitely feeling that the pacing could've been better, slower. the show's always had such tight pacing which has served it for the most part but it can also cut off moments where perhaps the moment could've been served better had it been a bit more drawn out.

s2's act 1 feels much faster-paced but my hope for the season overall isn't entirely tanked. could go several ways. on it's own, it feels a bit jarring, lots of information is being given in such short time. but also we don't know how that will stand once act 2 and act 3 are out. the latter acts could be more drawn out, justifying act 1's pacing, it could be even more squished, which would suck.

love how the characters given have only grown more important, the spotlight on them becoming more emphasised, even side-characters like salo seeming to have more presence this time around. also really like how already present characters were utilised to aid more prominent characters (elora, amara, huck, smeech). so i'm on the fence about officer nolen. it could've been an opportunity to develop a character that was already present in s1, so it's not all these new things compiling (which can further that sense of things going to fast) but more so building on what was already there.

there's also smth about how the dialogues were written that... idk, something about it isn't quite hitting. especially with jinx's. can't quite point out what. also "affection" holding jayce and viktor in the past???? kill me, my heart gave up after that point. the writers can definitely hurt you if they want 😭

animation, it's amazing, show-stopping, bound to be. never doubted fortiche. i always expect them to deliver, and they always delivers. quintuplets this time even. i particularly love smeech's design, how he moves, makes my skin crawl and i love watching it.

characters

the character arcs... also on the fence about that. same thought about it as the act's pacing. it's certainly quite quick, i wonder how it would've gone had they slowed it down. but i'd want to see act 2 and 3 in order to shape a better opinion on that, since act 1 obv stands to serve the latter acts, as well as carrying the story over from s1. that's a lot of weight, so that's my benefit of the doubt.

looking forward to how ambessa will affect the story. she's already such an intriguing character to begin with, and a good call too to introduce her in s1, so the audience gets that time to acclimate (what they should've done to other characters that may be of greater impact on s2, whoever those will be, but that's neither here nor there).

with caitlyn, i was never as invested in her story on s1, but act 1's changing my mind on that. it lowkey feels like a madness arc but in a... facism direction, as opposed to jinx's psychological madness. does make them interesting oppositions. curious to see how the writers will handle that, if they handle it at all.

jinx's change feels a little bit out of nowhere, i wish the writers would have explored the in between stage of this s2 jinx and s1's ep9 jinx. it was foreshadowed briefly in that apathetic look she had after silco died and the scenes after that, but how it was reintroduced in s2's act 1 feels like it developed further but we weren't shown. she's far softer in this s2 too, as far as act 1 shows, still deranged but far less, and it would've been nice if that progression was shown more rather than just the skip.

kinda liking how jinx and sevika buddied up, though also a bit rushed. they were so antagonistic towards each other in s1 that i feel they deserved something a bit more than what was given in this act. i can understand it from sev's pov, her loyalties lie with zaun - anything that fucks that up will be on her hitlist, and we know jinx can definitely fuck things up, and if jinx stops doing that, i can see sev acquiescing and being more open to allieship. but from jinx's side, she kind of just relented? the whole "something i could fix" thing has an interesting idea, maybe she just wants to stop fucking things up and sevika is a start? but it wasn't exactly explored all that much either. no idea. would love to hear other perspectives on this

as for the little girl, it’s definitely setting up that found family trope. i do worry that they’ll just jump to, like, ‘and now they have a deep bond and care a lot about each other because they spent time together!’ but then not show us. if they do, and it’s done well, that would be an interesting analysis. but more often than not it doesn’t go that well. another worry is that she'll be treated like sky - introduced just to die shortly after. however it is appearing like the kid will have more importance while she's alive, so that's great, but also,, don't tell me you envision her making it out alive 😭 i just hope it won't be rushed

jayce, my guy was struggling fr. he's remained consistent with his late s1 self which feels like a nice anchor, familiar, and i think they handled him better. though i suspect that that may be because he may not have as much of a larger arc ahead of him, he's got the divorce lined up for him, fighting for piltover, qualms with the arcane, not much else. it would be fun to see if they do add something else. looove how it really built upon who he was in s1 while introducing hints of who he might become later on, really love. one thing jayce does well and ik u can count in him for is his huge heart, so im glad that has maintained. i'm interested in how the writer's will go about crafting his conflict against the arcane or hexthing, whatever vik's wielding, since during act 1 he's still very much up for it.

viktor's change feels a bit more sudden, slightly jarring for me, but i'm not entirely opposed and i do kinda like it. to be fair it's untreaded ground he's headed towards, and we're not entirely sure what exactly the fuck the hexcore/arcane is affecting him. currently it feels a bit too quick, that jesus arc came outta nowhere (which isn't to say i don't like it, i absolutely love vik's jesus arc, but that's not as unbiased, i'm up for anything with this man), but it could be explained in the latter acts which will put his act 1 arc into better perspective. i'm hoping for that. love this seemingly overpowered man arc he's on, and i wonder how that'll be tackled later on, and jayce's reaction to it.

definitely feel like the arcane is manipulating him through guilt and grief, that’s how i’m perceiving sky’s part in his jesus arc anyway. vik’s whole aim for the most part of s1 was to help people, and so the guilt he would feel if he opposed those aims would be great. enough to be manipulated by it? we’ll see in the coming weeks.

the whole thing with the arcane being defiant because they keep testing/prodding it, i’m not entirely sure about. i don’t recall any seeds of that idea planted in s1 (though correct me if im wrong) so it feels like it sprung out of nothing, but we’ll see how that holds up after the next acts come out. i do like how the arcane's being treated like a character, that's interesting. even in s1 there were hints of that, and it seems like they're only building up on that, especially so if in fact vik's being controlled by the arcane in some manner.

mmmm that's all for my thoughts on, will definitely revisited after act 2 and 3 are out. no thoughts yet on mel, her real arc seems to only have started, but i'm intrigueeed. if it's anything arcane/magic related at all, im all up for it.

also i fucking screamed when silco sank 😭 look me in the eye and tell me they didn't show us that exact framing in s1 😭 THEY WERE TELLING US HOW HE'D BE BURIED SHUT UP

[xinimartsy]

Yes there are mangas, animes and etc. with strong female MCs but as I said, mobile otome games are specifically targeted towards helpless women. I’m half Japanese, been living here half my life and all of my Japanese friends are like that in terms of personality, they prefer more dominant boyfriends (also why the most popular suitors are those types). They mostly prefer to have a gentle and “pure” image. Ikemen Sengoku might have that MC because of the setting

First of all, hi ❤️ good to see you here again, anon. Second of all, very interesting, I do enjoy hearing your first hand experience with the subject and I do resonate with it. As a Brazilian, someone who can be considered a latina, I'm no stranger to the cultural aspect of it: that our women are fiery and seductive, which.... Fair.

And while I don't deny that many pieces of media, otome games included, might present these characteristics for this reason (I'm looking at you, Shoujo heroines), I don't think it's the case for the subject of our debate: Ikemen Prince and Belle's autonomy in it. And I stand by my opinion that, in this game in particular, it stems from lousy writing.

I don't know how familiar you are with writing, if you partake or take interest in the craft, but there are a few rules to writing a consistent story. The two rules I'll be referring to are Chekhov's Gun and the Consistent Characterization.

"Chekhov's Gun" is a writing principle that says a writer mustn't add anything in that doesn't serve the narrative. If the narrator mentions a gun on the wall in the first act, said gun must be useful in a later act, otherwise it'd have been an useless information which Chekhov describes as "false promises" to the audience.

While Consistent Characterization means that the actions the characters perform throughout the story must be reasonable within their prior characterization. A character can't simply possess a convenient skill that was not priorly foreshadowed, the same you can't ignore something you've established without good reason. A character with no knowledge of street smarts can't suddenly know how to lockpick just because, while if a character had a known past as a thief and was suddenly faced with a lock to pick, you can't simply ignore that they would know how to pick it, instead giving a good explanation as to why in that moment, they weren't able to lockpick this specific door.

Why do I raise these two aspects of writing? Because that's exactly what I complain about Emma in Ikemen prince.

In Ikemen Sengoku's prologue, we get some insight on Mai: she loves fashion and is on her way to her dream job, finally. This little piece of information established that Mai was passionate and driven enough to chase what she wants. Characteristics that remain throughout the game in every route. Mai checks out both Chekhov's Gun, by making use of her skills throughout the narrative, as well as Consistent Characterization, by acting accordingly to how she was established to be in the beginning of the game: driven, passionate, and modern.

Mutsuki (ikemen vampire) and Alice (ikemen revolution) are other two main characters from cybird that, despite being very much the pure, gentle and innocent archetype and mostly lacking agency, they work because they act accordingly to how they were established to be: Mutsuki a simple woman with a love for writing and Alice a cheerful and friendly patisserie who's content with life. They both are thrown headfirst in situations in which they find themselves helpless, much like Mai, but while Mai faces it headfirst like the headstrong girl she is, Mitsuki and Alice are more mellow, which doesn't make them bad characters since that's how they've been made to be.

And that's exactly the problem with Emma. The prologue tells us that Emma is optimistic towards the world, has a strong sense of justice, as well as courage to do what she thinks is right. Though Chevalier is known as the "Brutal Beast" and strikes fear in the hearts of people due to his ruthlessness, Emma still jumped in and slapped the drunk man to make sure the prince wouldn't cut him down, even though she likely knew that his sword could just as easily have turned towards her. She wasn't so innocent as not to know that prince Chevalier WOULD cut the man down, and that's why she stepped in. And although it was said for giggles, Sariel did comment on Emma's slap when explaining his reasoning towards his choice for Belle. This prologue tells us Emma has a most fiery personality and won't hesitate to do something she judges correct, regardless of the possible consequences.

However, many routes strip her of the qualities given to her by the writers themselves, which makes Emma fail in both Consistent Characterization and Chekhov's Gun, seeing as she's both not acting accordingly to her previously established traits as well not using her previously established skills to advance or assist the plot.

That happens because they change Emma's personality depending on her suitor as to enhance him, which is why it's most noticeable in the suitors considered more "dominant" (really the most popular ones), because instead of doing the hard and difficult work of writing someone dominant and astounding enough for someone as fiery but kind as Emma to rely on and fall for, they do what? They make her act uncharacteristically in order to emphasize those traits on him, much too pure to enphisize how they're tainted or much too kind to enphisize their darker side, much too innocent to enphisize how they're mature/dominant, much too clueless to enphisize how they're smart, that's why sometimes it seems that the Emma we read in the prologue and the Emma we read within a route are completely different characters.

That's what bothers me, not her passiveness in itself, but the fact that it seems misplaced in someone like Emma given how she was originally characterized. Emma should not be a character only reacting to what the other characters do to her. Within the world of the game, she's a PERSON. Her experiences and personality should not fluctuate depending on the suitor she's pursuing.

And given that she was priorly written as a more fiery gal, we can somewhat discard the excuse of "cultural difference" because Cybird themselves wrote the prologue and cybird themselves gave Emma those characteristics. They're just failing at upholding it.

Thus.... Lousy writing

[uhhhitsme]

(i haven't slept in a few days so im so sorry if stuff here doesn't make sense) Ok!! Well first it’s a hybrid au so umm there’s that :] and it’s really really fun because there’s a lot to play with it (also it ends up backing up a lot of the themes in saf which is nice) anyway time to be insane about it :DDDDDDDDD (also i’m copy and pasting some of this because i phrased it well there :P)

BARB!!!!!!! So barb’s a beetle, (what kind? Im not sure yet) she has wings, antenna, and other features of the sort. so she’ll fly around her lab while working,(it's very cute to watch her flutter around her lab) but only when she’s alone. see, being a hybrid doesn't exactly bode well, especially not in government (i haven't flushed it out yet but think of it as being very similar to being gay at the time, laws and public opinion would shift in a pretty similar way though they years as well) so while she's able to still work there, she is advised not to let any of her hybrid atrabutes visible, as well as being not as respected by others in her department (at least by those who know, it's only knowledge that people like cynthia and the others involved in. her joining of the a.s.s are privy to, but rumors spread i guess) however it's not all bad for her. in this au her and curt end up forming a tentative friendship(no where close to barb and owen's friendship though, they're besties) being some of the only known hybrids at the a.s.s, curt found out about barb being a beetle hybrid when he barged into her lab (without knocking too, y'know, something she asked him to do and put a sign on the door saying to knock as well?) in her panic of possibility, no, definitely losing her job she ends up colliding with curt. knocking him onto his back and directly on his wings. he, of course, lets out an unceremonious squawk; they end up just staring at each other before coming to the unspoken agreement that they wouldn't tell anyone about each other.

barb ends up not pinning down her wings and antenna when just in the company of curt, and curt un binds his own wings while just him barb's presence (the reason why barb pins her’s down while curt binds his to his back is because big wings are very fragile, meaning that you have to be delicate when you go around hiding them, normally a mesh material is used. avian wings however are much stronger and sturdier, meaning that to hide them successfully and not have them breaking though what is used (because they are very expressive when it comes to showing emotion) they need to bed bound to the back with an equally strong material) they use it as an escape from the usual aches and soreness that comes with physical pinning hybrid features down (depending on what animal a person is a hybrid of that can mean anything from muscle atrophy to permanent nerve damage) but barb, poor barb. one ay or another she ends up mixing up romantic and platonic feelings. where she develops the huge 'crush’ on curt we see in the show

also! side note but when i say someone is a hybrid of an animal that doesn't mean one of their parents is an animal or something, but instead that at least one of their parents has hybrid genes(weird magic science don't question it) however, while it's not common hybrids can be born from completely human parents, later on it would be discovered that this is not in fact possible, and is instead a result of a parent simply having hybrid genes but not presenting them in any physical manor. which is fun!

speaking of which, owen got his hybrid features from his mom, being a deer hybrid. while curt got his from his dad,(but not really because he didn't have any physical manifestations of it) and both if barbs parents are hybrids, on being a beetle like herself and one being a gecko.

ughhhh curt’s childhood in thissssss. we actually know why his dad left in this au, and curt knows it too. curt's dad left when his wings started growing in. it was never out right said but it's pretty obvious to both curt and his mom that that's why. which predicabley affected curt a lot. his wings actually end up being rather stunted in growth because he binds them down so aggressively and from such a young age as a kid.

and then fuckkkkkk curtwen in this au because they have this extra extra layer of trust because they can't show their hybrid features to anyone. they'll get fired or killed or maybe even worse. but they show each other. owen doesn't feel pressured to file his antlers down and curt doesn't pin his wings down around owen. AND CURT LETS OWEN TOUCH HIS WINGS which is a huge deal because, at least in this au, they're maybe the most sensitive part of an anvian/bird hybrid's body. they only let flock members touch, let alone preen their wings. also owen is insecure as shit about his antlers, they grow crooked because of head trauma gained from missions.

OWEN, DEER OWEN!!!! i need to talk about him!!! because after the fall he gets fucked up a lot. the explosion does what it normally does, but basically no doctors at either the russian base he was brought to before chimera or any chimera doctors know how to actually deal with the difference bone structure deer hybrids have, being digagrades. so while they do get there eventually the solution end up leaving owen's baseline of pain so much higher than it had to be. his balance is fucked up too because of his crooked antlers. BUT it's not all bad because he gradually gets more comfortable showing his hybrid features and by the time we see him as the dma he has let his antlers grow out and his hoofs are on display. (also he decorates his antlers!! for fancy events he has things like chains, charms, flowers, etc in them. he ends up getting more comfortable at chimera than can be assumed he does in the show, seeing as quite a few of the recruits were previous agents that were fired from their agencies due to factors that owen himself understands. during his time with mi6 and by proxy most of his life, he could never comfortably do anything that involved his hybrid-ness (due to a number of factors including, his own family did not have the best view on hybrids, he could very well be killed, or by the time he was an agent should mi6 have found out he most likely would have been put through testing) owen in canon but especially this au was always fit to be a spy considering how much of his life he spent hiding anyway. durning his time at chimera, after getting his body back to a condition where he could work for them, he actually started letting his antlers grow out. while he would tell you he just felt like it, it was actually because it was too painful for him to file them why he was still healing and adjusting to all of what chimera had done.

also tatiana!!! she goes through so much <\3 she might have been a hybrid at one point. but i doubt that even she remembers well enough. because back during her time with the kgb her hybrid aspects were forcibly, and quite painfully removed. as they were claimed to be a liability in the field. despite being that of an assassin who isn't seen until the target is dead anyway. she has rough, jagged scars in her head and ears, as well as mess scar covered legs from when they were messily turned into ones resemblaning plantagrade legs. (all of this, on top of what happened in canon goes on) but it's not all bad, because post canon barb ends up turning her attention to figuring out a way someone to could regain lost hybrid limbs.

also torture tango in this is so devastating painful for curt </3

also the fall still happens,and owen is even more mad, hurt, and betrayed about it than in canon. because curt could've saved him, he just got scared and ran. maybe he wanted owen to fall? but….could he have saved him? his wings were tied to his back and even if he could get out of it would he even be able to save him? no..no that's crazy he definitely just didn't want to go back, yeah, that's why he didn't save you…

also side not but tati and ms. mega end up being friends btw,,,,,,,

owen's ears and curt’s wings are so expressive by the way (tati used to be the same but….) they ended up mostly training it out of themselves but at least for curt after he gets back on the field and no longer can keep them at bay has them moving a lot

also wing preeningggggg the first time owen preened curt's wings makes me physically sick because owen's scared out of his mind because he's never done this before, he's not an avian. he doesn't know how to do this, what if he messes it up? curt's looking up at him from the floor of their safe house, nestled in a mess of pillows and blankets. with pure admiration and trust in his eyes so he bites his tongue and tries he best to do this right for curt. compared to the way owen is sat ridged to the side of him, curt's practically liquid in his hands. letting out soft chirps and coos as owen meticulously straightens his feathers. by the end owen's draped himself on top of curt's sleeping body, any lingering tension from the mission flushed out of his muscles as owen finishes curt's wings, before letting himself succumb to sleep himself. they wake to a mess of limbs and feathers, but neither of them care to get up. and just,,,,,, augghhhhh it only makes what happenes later hurt moreeeeeee

while it's not cannibalism, many hybrids choose not to eat whatever animal they are a hybrid of (owen and barb friendship for the win here btw bc barb also doesn't eat venison because of owen)

that's what i have for you right now but this isn't even all of it lol but ummm,,, hope you enjoyed reading all of this?

WOAHWHOAHWAOWHWHSHHFHF THIS IS SO COOL. THIS IS SO FUCKING COOL.

first of all, BEETLE BARB?? BEETLE BARB!! BEETLE!! BARB!! I ACTUALLY STARTED GRINNNG THE MOMENY I READ THST OH NY FUVKING GOD BEETLE BARB!! THE BARB IS A BEETLE GUYS!! IM ACTUALLY SO HAPPY ABOUT THIS THE MENTAL IMAGE OF HER FLUTTERING AROUNF IN A LAB OH MY GOD HER <333333333333333

the but about curt and him aggressively binding is so cleverly thought out i love that do much it aligns SO well with his character!! the bit about him letting owen preen his wings ohgh arugh aurhrvab rhrgshdbr RUGAGAGUEHECHA IYS SO ADORABLE OH MY GOD GAY PEOPLE

although. Haha. the bit about the fall and the aftermath for owen. that makes me fine. and normal. and i am not thinking about any implications.

AND TATIANA :((( TATIANA :((( I HAVE NO WORDS GOD TATIANA :(( I NEED BARB TO GIVE THAT WOMAN A HUG.

the way youve crafted this au is so freaking clever and fits perfectly with these characters in canon i love it so so so so much oh my god!! the detail and sheer just. Correctness. is so cool im insane about this now holy shit.

[elkian]

Since I'm talking about Suspension of Disbelief today apparently, here's a problem that took me a long time to articulate correctly that I have with worldbuilding.

Example A (D?) is Vampire Hunter D. I liked the movies, enjoyed much of the manga, so I picked up the books, hoping for more information. However, I finally gave up on the books (after the volume that the Bloodlust film is based on). Part of this is because the story, which I'd really enjoyed the movie of but had some problems with, wasn't better in book form. It was actually worse in some ways - particularly how I found out that Charlotte's name was either added by the movie staff or not translated in book form. She was just called "the girl" for the entire volume.

But while that was the main reason I gave up on reading the series, it wasn't the only one. Vampire Hunter D has a setting that I'm interested in, a bleak post-apoc fantasy future that intrigues me, and a certain level of angst that I generally enjoy.

But it also had a major, ongoing worldbuilding problem (for me), and that was that the story didn't merely follow the protagonist, it only followed the protagonist. All worldbuilding elements tended to be about how bleak and unbearable the future was, with a handful of technological advancements. The world itself was only interesting when D was present and interacting with it, even though it had a lot of elements that would make for a world I would usually enjoy! From a fan creation standpoint, it was very difficult for me to workshop fic for the series, because the world was only really 'real' when D was Being The Protagonist at it.

He was the only one allowed to solve problems, to fix issues, to kill vampires most of the time. And while I liked him well enough, his personality and motivations are vague enough that he really cannot carry the series on force of personality alone, in my own opinion. VHD isn't a bad series, necessarily, but it was one I couldn't engage with past a certain point.

And to be clear, this post is not about me slamming this series. It had a lot of interesting things I enjoyed, and the Bloodlust movie in particular is still appealing to me, even with its weird moments. This is just about how narrative and worldbuilding work, and VHD is an example that I can articulate my problems with. It's especially frustrating to me because the series has so much potential appeal, but I just can't get any further into it.

Now, my counterpoints. For some reason anime is on the brain, so let's bring up Helck, Fullmetal Alchemist, and Frieren: At Journey's End.

All three of these series, in some respect, avoid the problem I had with VHD. Helck is especially interesting as a comparison, because it also has a Specialest Boy In The World protagonist... but the thrust of the series is partly about how just being obscenely strong and competent doesn't mean he's undeserving of help, and that help changes the trajectory of his story in a very positive way.

But one of the fun things about Helck is the side stories and side characters. There's a gag a few times involving a series of characters that are experiencing their Hot-Blooded Shonen Cooking Manga storyline, completely divorced from the dramatic stakes of Helck's core story. Helck and Vamirio even butt into their story for a cooking competition chapter, which is hilarious. And we sometimes see characters like this interacting with side characters from other arcs, in ways that don't refer to Helck or Vamirio or Piwi at all. Further, we see side characters like the Demon King Tourney participants doing things like making new friends, fighting against the antagonists and getting stronger, and writing the empire-famous manga that Asuta loves. Over and over, Helck as a story acknowledges a very wide world that isn't directly involved in much of the core story, yet when the protagonists interact with it, doing so affects them, changing their ideals and widening their viewpoints.

FMA does hinge a little more on Ed's journey, but many of the characters doing things he precipitated had never actually met him. And what's important to that story in particular is stuff like the epilogue with Al traveling with the chimeras, and things of that nature - of Ed and Al over and over displaying compassion to the point that it changed people's lives. The protagonists are important, yes, but the world is repeatedly shown to go on without them, even during core story moments, because the world is full of strong (even, at times, stronger than the protags) characters with complex personalities and motivations.

Frieren is a little less so, probably since her journey with Himmel was extremely important on a social level even now, but characters, trends, and locations are typically fleshed out to the point where it doesn't feel like the Special Protagonists have to Exist At Them for things to happen. Soul Track being broken down and integrated into basic offense magic could have been something Frieren did, so I like that it's something humans did on their own, completely divorced from her interference past the initial binding point. Actually, a theme of the series as a whole is Frieren being ancient and knowledgeable and yet, willingly and willfully, learning from humans and the world around her more and more.

Lastly, a non-anime example, is how Sir Terry deliberately wrote Ankh-Morpork in a way that it could feasibly exist outside of the immediate tracks of a story. He succeeded to the point that virtually every location and character in the Disc could be transplanted alone into a completely new story and still be recognizable. I could, and would, read a story that takes place in Ankh-Morpork that namedrops not one known character and still feel like it fits, like it's vibrant, like it's alive. You could tell me that Granny Weatherwax dismantled a cult of people who thought the Disc rested atop the backs of pigs as an aside in a book not at all about her, and I could go "yeah that sounds like her" and move on.

I've heard it mentioned in DnD terms, the idea that one should account for players not doing as expected and ignoring a major plot point, and what should happen if they do. In BG3, if you take too many Rests, an inn fire will burn down and kill everyone trapped in the building that you could have saved, which will have some effects on the quest(s) you get at that location. FNV had "hunting ghosts in Baja" that I really respect, the idea that not only is there a wider world out there, but that it understandably doesn't really care what one person, no matter how Special, is doing in a distant place, because they have their own problems to attend to.

I don't know if there's a particular phrase for this idea that I'm missing, and to be fair, there are plenty of times where it is okay for the story to revolve around the protagonist! it's often plenty fine and enjoyable to watch the Specialest Person In The World fix everything! But sometimes, worldbuilding that doesn't account for the protagonist not existing can fall so flat that it makes it hard, even impossible, to continue enjoying the rest of the work.

I guess that's it - whether creators consider how to answer the question of "if so-and-so didn't exist, what impact would it have on the world?" and how they choose to answer that.

[sketch-guardian]

HELLO! I hope you've been doing well, I certainly missed reading your writing! I have come with another question after a while! What are the classmates' biggest insecurities? Thank you! - Isa

Hello to you too Isa!✨I'm sorry for not posting much in this period,but I was quite busy and a bit tired🙈still,I'm doing okay,thank you for asking☺I hope you're doing alright as well! Also thanks, that's very sweet of you to say😳💕regarding your ask, I think by writing about their insecurities, I'll end up including some of their biggest fears as well, so I apologize in advance if these insecurities don't seem to be valid enough or count as such, so if the answer isn't satisfaying enough, please feel free to send me another ask so that I can change/fix things🙈

WHAT ARE THE RAD CLASSMATES BIGGEST INSECURITIES?

DEMYA

Her low intelligence/loss of control

Demya started her education late compared to other demons and it was Azul who taught her to read and write after her return to civilization, however this doesn't mean that she doesn't still have troubles and although this doesn't normally bother her, she fears deep down not to be taken seriously or to be treated like an idiot or an animal due to her general culture. Another one of her insecurity concerns the self-control she has during her hunger, Demya fears that one day she will end up hurting her friends and MC without wanting to/noticing it and she would hardly be able to forgive herself if something like that happened.

DOMNRA(MOBIM)

His character/not counting anything

Domnra knows that he doesn't have a pleasant attitude and that he has anger issues and even if he doesn't show it, he fears that sooner or later his friends and MC will get tired of him and that they'll abandon him, leaving him alone and unable to confess really how he feels, because of his stupid pride. He has also always had self-esteem issues since his days as an angel, where he wasn't particularly considered, unlike other special angels, so he fears that even as a demon, his person won't have that much importance and he doubts that anyone would miss him.

To be destroyed/its height

Even though its bond with Domnra is rather strong,close and secure, Mobim is still afraid that one day Domnra will decide that he wants to get rid of it, because it's useless. Mobim knows it is a curse, that it shouldn't exist and that if Domnra had found a cure long ago, it would no longer be there, but having lived for so long…now Mobim has developed a fear of dying. It's also quite insecure of its size, because it knows that despite being a curse, it's not threatening at all.

AZUL

Being alone for too long,especially with his thoughts/not being able to protect his loved ones

Azul loves the company of people not only because he's a social butterfly by nature, but also because it helps him not to override his intrusive thoughts that have taken up residence in his head since his fall from the Celestial Realm, he tends to be scary when he loses control and is afraid that sooner or later this will make others leave him behind. Though he doesn't seem insecure given his power and behavior, Azul doesn't think he would be able to grieve,due to his mental instability,and fears that one day his arrogance will cost his friends and MC a heavy price.

ZURI

Not being good enough according to her perfectionistic standards

Zuri has always been under observation and pressure since her days as an angel, where her every move was judged and analyzed and although she is free now, as a demon she still has the habit of always aiming for perfection, not so much for the opinion of others, but for herself, not believing she could afford anything less. She's never confessed it to anyone, but she's afraid that if she acts or presents herself in a different, less refined way, people close to her won't recognize/care for her. She thinks many people want to get to know her only due to her status or beauty.

ODON

Not being accepted because of their past

Odon remembers the atrocious acts they committed centuries ago and a part of them doesn't regret their choices, because they knew they were acting according to their demon nature and therefore they don't feel particular remorse, however now they're trying to change,aware that many are still afraid of them. Odon fears that despite their best efforts, no one will be able to see beyond their monstrous eldritch horror nature.

[animecreator3000]

Every time I rewatch some episode of Boueibu HK I wonder again how the staff even planned this season. Like. Almost nothing meaningful happens with the characters

TLDR the characters with the most developement in HK are the monsters

Kyoutarou is there as a complete contrast to Yumoto while keeping the battle speeches so his characterization doesn't make much sense. Nanao is mere fujoshi bait. Taiju and Taishi have random bits of dialogue that hint at possible arcs for s2 but not enough to tell us what it really is. Maasa has an unfinished arc in his episode, where supposedly he's putting fatty butter in his cookies to make everyone else overweight because he resents Ichiro not defending him when they were little, but then his friends tell him it's fine and then he can move on??? This would work with Ichiro's theme of not wanting to be immature or dense anymore, except they only ever used this theme as a gag (misunderstanding the meaning of whatever the others have said) or to straight up humilliate him (ep4) and continue treating him like a stupid baby. At the end of the season Maasa and him have made peace somehow and that's it. Ata gets in my opinion the closest thing to a complete arc, even if it's just staring angrily at Kyoutarou for ten episodes, then explaining his problem while fighting him and finally getting his apology and reconcilliation. At least it's something. And poor Ryouma is just there to be the butt of a few jokes about how he lets Nanao and Kyoutarou use him, be in a couple of cute shippy scenes, and also for Ata to completely dismiss him from the flashbacks to the point where if they had first met in high school nothing would've changed.

The relationships barely have developement either. Love had anime episodes and manga chapters dedicated to the different close friendships solving their conflicts and becoming closer. There were also many instances of seeing how close the Hakone brothers-defense club and Beppu brothers' relationships were, and even though they didn't have any conflict between themselves, they made them strong sides for the final fight. Yumoto didn't get a character arc but through the entire anime he was revealed to be strong, considerate, forgiving and mature, willing to kindly befriend the Beppu twins for his brother but not let them walk all over him; contrary to how he was presented in the first episodes, like a stereotypical magical girl protagonist. Anyway in HK there's no meaningful conflict between any of them besides Kyoutarou and Ata. Taishi and Ichiro argue constantly but don't show to genuinely like each other after all like IoRyuu or EnAtsu did. Ichiro and Maasa never make any progress to be together again, Maasa hints once at liking Taishi and nothing comes from it, and Nanao and Taiju have the most artificial friendship in the cast that I just do not understand. They just ran an ice cream shop once with again unexplained success and make sassy remarks at each other ever since. And I guess Karurusu and Furanui had a bit of developement thanks to Kyou and Ata in ep12. Idk about the aliens, this time it's like they didn't do it completely well but also not as bad as with the rest of the cast. Maybe bc they didn't appear as much as the humans in most of the episodes

I'm realizing now that a few of these complaints are related to Nanao acting weird

Idk where to put this but I'd like to point out Kinshiro's principles of halting the fight with the Battle Lovers as soon as he finds out that the s1 conflict was set up for a reality show and actively defending them from an attack because they're Binan students, despite still not having received his apology from Atsushi. Ata might've done the same if the HK finale's events had gone in the same order (travelling to Honyalaland to fight Wao, then Kyoutarou apologizing to Ata), but he doesn't feel as a character as deep as Kinshiro in that sense bc they didn't really show him to be in other ways.

Love feels more like an actual group of people while HK feels like they were filling in friendship group roles or something

[humanmorph]

C/W (01-05) thoughts

Finished the first C/W arc + first faction game (which really took me a while. I'm blaming PALISADE and also the bad weather and ALSO getting obsessed with finishing a bigass drawing in 2 weeks)!

I've said this in a different post already when I had just started listening, but I had like, way lower expectations on this, which seems silly in hindsight. I think I just have a tougher time relistening to podcasts (it's not an issue with rereading books or rewatching movies, really), and often stop about halfway... But it's just really fun to look at C/W again having listened to the rest of the Divine Cycle (and also the other seasons, because it's fun to look at the different player characters throughout). And like. They've gotten better at this over the years so by comparison C/W is 'worse' but it's still fucking good. When it hits it hits, and it honestly hasn't even really started hitting yet (though there's some good moments already for sure. Mako buying a bunch of robots was exactly as funny as I remembered it being)! I'm pretty much just excited for everything, but the Kingdom Game expecially. Something else I'm enjoying (and he'll always continue to do this, but it's so Present in C/W) is how Austin describes scenes. He uses film making language SO much (Counter/WEIGHT is an anime, right)! It's good stuff. I'm trying to not get too used to the system because I know they'll switch. I know WHY they switched and stuff & agree with that decision but I still think it's a cool system & am enjoying the time with it, even if some scenes do drag on quite a bit (which isn't only because of the system, but it also isn't helping).

Some character stuff, I guess: AuDy: They were my favourite at the start last time I listened and I think that pretty much holds up. They're just good. They don't even do that much in this first arc (although dropping from the ceiling as a distraction is pretty fucking great), & I think most of the really good AuDy moments are still coming up, so it speaks to the fact that it's just a good concept for a character that I immediately enjoy. I'm pretty sure they continued to be my favourite pretty much until September? I guess l'll can talk more on it when I get there, though.

Mako: I'm gonna be honest I remembered Mako as way more annoying than he is. At least in this beginning arc. He's literally fine. His whole fogging robots deal is kind of weird to listen to now, since it's something they'd either not do now or actively adress in the story since it's a kind of way to take away agency that's pretty uncomfortable when you look at it longer. I wonder if there's a way that'll come up in the first Chime mission mini-arc? Their hands are a bit tied there since it's a prequel I guess, but there's probably a way to do it. Anyways, Mako ends up as my favourite by the end of the season, and I actually don't quite remember how he got there? But same with AuDy, I'll talk more on it when I get to September (it's possible it was the clone reveal. I love those).

Cass & Aria: They have to share a paragraph because I don't have an extremely strong opinion on them either from my last listen at this point in the story, nor do I now. I'm excited for Aria stuff expecially though. I've mentioned this before, but I'm definitly better at listening and actually processing information now, and it's extremely possible that I just missed things about both Aria and Cass that were just kind of mentioned in a sentence but are actually very important to their characters. (Looking back, I listened to C/W right after I had covid, so some sort of brainfog might also be at fault.) Expecially because Ali isn't very. I can't think of the right word now. But she's just quieter in play (not audio! that's Art.). It's nice seeing everyone get better at this, but for Ali expecially I'm super excited to see her go back to Aria for that mini-arc.

Re: the faction game - it's really good that I know that they cut back on factions later / consolidate them because it is. Not overwhelming necessarily but it's easy to get confused? I feel like I need to take notes on what factions do or like, also have a list of all of them to check to keep track. It's probably a good idea to check out the summaries on the wiki after I listen to these & see if I missed anything. (I keep zoning out because I'm thinking about different, later Counter/WEIGHT stuff, usually related to something they just mentioned.)

All that aside: with the scenes and also just ideas generally they are pretty much immediately crushing it. Like oh my god that first Snowtrak scene just rules so much. That's critical worldbuilding, smart characterization, and fun interaction between good friends right there.

I definitly didn't draw fanart when I was listening in 2020, and I don't know if I will now, but I'm at least in more of a mindset to even want to do it. (& actually, there is ONE scene I was extremely wanting to draw even back then, I just thought I couldn't do it. I do think I can do it now! And I will at the very least try.) But speaking of art, here's a Hudson Thorne for your troubles if you read to the end:

[talesofourworlds]

POSITIVES & NEGATIVES.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OCs still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

MUSE.

MY MUSE IS: canon / oc / au / slightly canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated. (headcanon heavy)

IS YOUR CHARACTER POPULAR IN THE FANDOM? YES / NO / IDK  / KINDA.

IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED HOT™ IN THE FANDOM? YES / NO / IDK / KINDA.

IS YOUR CHARACTER CONSIDERED STRONG IN THE FANDOM? YES / NO / IDK / KINDA.

ARE THEY UNDERRATED? YES / NO / IDK / KINDA.

WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN STORY? YES  / NO. 

WERE THEY RELEVANT FOR THE MAIN CHARACTER? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

ARE THEY WIDELY KNOWN IN THEIR WORLD? YES / NO.

HOW’S THEIR REPUTATION? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL (kinda?? people think he's annoying)

HOW STRICTLY DO YOU FOLLOW CANON? 

I try to stick to canon as much as I can, but my Ivar is also pretty headcanon driven at times because canon doesn't give us a ton to work with. He's just such an interesting character to me. Just as interesting as Jude, but even more so since they're like two sides of the same coin. I try to take his views on Jude into account but also try to focus on a bit more than that. Like... boy has a one track mind, but there's more to him than just being hyper focused on Milla or Jude. You know?

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.

My lovely mutuals, I present to you one good boy chosen to be the handmaid of Milla Maxwell!

He's devoted, he's loyal, and he's willing to drop everything in the name of doing his duties. He is a beastcrafter, meaning he can communicate with animals! He dual wields daggers! He's funny!

He's also good with kids and animals. Could be a good babysitter (maybe). Also, he has cool sunglasses! What's not to like?

Also he's (maybe??) near unkillable to some degree? Boy lodged a piece of his own dagger into his head and survived.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).

Okay so let's get this out of the way. Ivar is a dingus supreme. That willingness to drop everything to fulfill his duties? The downside to that is that if he thinks his duty to protect Milla is more important than say, protecting Nia Khera, he will drop the latter in favor of the former. Much to the annoyance of anyone involved.

Ivar can be pretty intense when it comes to how he decides who he doesn't like. Sorry, Jude, but you're the best example here. Boyo was going to try and kill Jude because how dare Milla have someone else that she puts a lot of trust in instead of him. Boyo got so focused on fighting Jude that he allowed Milla to start crawling away to get to her destination on her own.

So, yeah, he's got a short temper. That can lead to him doing dumb things, especially if he thinks it will lead to him one upping someone he doesn't like.

Also, don't let him anywhere near guns. The fact he accidentally fired one while trying to teach Ludger how to use one should be all you need to know.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO RP YOUR MUSE?

I've always really liked Ivar as a character. As stated above, I love the fact that he and Jude basically are two sides of the same coin. The fandom thinks he's annoying and while I can at least see where they're coming from, I think there's a lot more to him than what the fandom sees. He's fascinating to me. I feel like he could have made an interesting addition to the party.

Mostly, though? I just wanted to give him some love. So I grabbed him as one of my many muses. Because he's my silly little guy.

WHAT KEEPS YOUR INSPIRATION GOING?

Just thinking about this dingus is enough sometimes. But also like?? Plotting and chatting with my friends is also a big help. Just having other Tales writers to bounce off of, especially other Xillia muse enjoyers, is just the ticket.

MUN.

DO YOU THINK YOU GIVE YOUR CHARACTER JUSTICE? YES / NO / KINDA.

DO YOU FREQUENTLY WRITE HEADCANONS? YES / NO / KINDA. (I really should write more headcanons!)

DO YOU SOMETIMES WRITE DRABBLES? YES / NO. (not for Ivar specifically, but that might change!)

DO YOU THINK A LOT ABOUT YOUR MUSE DURING THE DAY? YES / NO / KINDA.

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR PORTRAYAL? YES / NO / KINDA.

ARE YOU CONFIDENT IN YOUR WRITING? YES / NO / KINDA.

ARE YOU A SENSITIVE PERSON? YES / NO / KINDA.

DO YOU ACCEPT CRITICISM WELL ABOUT YOUR PORTRAYAL? 

YES ABSOLUTELY. As long as it's not just 'Lol, your Ivar sucks' and doing nothing to elaborate on how I could improve, then by all means throw your critique at me!

DO YOU LIKE QUESTIONS, WHICH HELP YOU TO EXPLORE YOUR CHARACTER? 

YES, YES, YES!!

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES TO A HEADCANON OF YOURS, DO YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY? 

I mean, it depends on the headcanon. Like I headcanon Ivar is very distantly related to the Kresnik Clan based on tiny things I picked up on in my most recent playthrough of Xillia 2. Mostly just in relation to the Maxwell stuff. But I could see people seeing that headcanon and going 'Um?? No, that's dumb' and I would be fine with that. Different interpretations, it's all good.

Now if it was my headcanon that Ivar's got a forehead scar from the aforementioned dagger piece getting lodged in his head that people disagreed with, that would be something I'd like to hear about.

IF SOMEONE DISAGREES WITH YOUR PORTRAYAL, HOW WOULD YOU TAKE IT? 

I mean, honestly? There's always going to be people that don't like how people write canon characters. If someone disagrees with how I write Ivar? That's all good. So I wouldn't be too bothered.

It only would become an issue if someone disagreed with my portrayal and then like... proceeded to be nasty about it. You know?

IF SOMEONE REALLY HATES YOUR CHARACTER, HOW DO YOU TAKE IT?

So far I've not come across anyone who actively hates Ivar, which is good. But I know the fandom is pretty quick to call him annoying which, honestly, I could see as people just jumping to hating him because of how he's presented. Especially in Xillia 1. So if you hate Ivar? That's cool, man. Just let me enjoy my funny little dingus.

ARE YOU OKAY WITH PEOPLE POINTING OUT YOUR GRAMMATICAL ERRORS? 

YES. YES, PLEASE. That and spelling errors. I like to think I'm pretty thorough with checking my replies, but sometimes I'm not. Please feel free to point out errors. I'm not perfect.

DO YOU THINK YOU ARE EASY GOING AS A MUN?

I think so? For all I know, though, I could be wrong.

tagged by: Stolen from @mathcs tagging: Whoever wants to!

[epickiya722]

Sorry if this is a lot and annoying

1:Miruko(both like and dislike) 4: Midnight, 5: Present Mic, Shinsou, Oboro 8: Present Mic 9: Todoroki, Bakugo, Miruko 10: Present Mic 14: Present Mic, Oboro, Aizawa, Jirou 25: Present Mic, Bakugo, Miruko 26: What's your opinion about how people treat good characters in mha that they deem to be ugly/annoying/dumb/etc. For example Present Mic 26: Have you read Vigilantes, and if so what is your opinion about the flashback when Aizawa was in school

That is a lot!!! So get ready for a long reply!

1. Why do you like or dislike this character?

I know you asked for both, but I can't really find why I would dislike Miruko, even if she wasn't a favorite of mine honestly.

As to why I like her though, I just find her fun. And this past year or so, I find that even with little about her from canon, writing her in fics, rewatching the anime and rereading the manga, she gets my mind going.

With little about her, there's more of an open window. She's an empty canvas I can work with.

Sometimes I feel like with characters with more major characters, there's too much to consider, too much to rotate.

I can easily make up some a past for her with a fic, or theorize what her life could have been like growing up since we don't really have all the information.

Canon wise, there's the little details I like. The red eyes-white hair-dark skin combo, the moon bit (I love the moon), she speaks her mind and she can be a team player. Also, I tend to like rabbit themed characters. Especially if they're a little on the wild side.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

Oooh... you know what? For fun, I would love to see Midnight as an Amazonian, DC Comics, fighting alongside Wonder Woman and living her best life in Themyscira.

5. What's the first song that comes to mind when you think about them?

Present Mic - TroyBoi's "Baby", it's a song I think would be in his playlist. The song easily gets me in a groove.

Shinsou - I don't know why but Ashnikko's "Worms" just keep popping up. I'm not even saying it matches his vibes, but I can imagine someone suggesting this song to him and he listens to it and goes "Oh, neat".

Oboro - Oh my gosh, Oboro being Oboro, he gives me the vibes of someone who would listen to those dance remixes. Like, you know that song that plays in Spider-Man 3 (Tobey Maguire) when Peter steps out dressed in all black and he just dances? That song, but the remix by Remix Maniacs on YT. He would listen to that.

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

When it comes to Present Mic, I feel like some of the fandom undermines him too much for my liking. They just see this "goofy" character and a long-time friend of Eraserhead's and that's it.

He's got several jobs, he is intelligent, he's got this dangerous quirk he had to train to get under control. And don't get me wrong, I do like his relationship with Aizawa and it's one of my first favorite ones. But he was also a friend of Midnight and Oboro and I feel like people forget that about him.

The man got to be harboring a lot of feelings and I don't blame him for being angry whenever he gets angry.

Just in general, that's something that irritates me about any fandom. They just stay stuck on the character's surface traits and not look past that.

9. Could you be roommates with this character?

Todoroki - Hm, I think I could be. Todoroki comes off as someone who wouldn't cause trouble and pull his weight.

Bakugo - I was gonna say no, but I thought about it and it's a strong maybe. At best, our personalities would clash sometimes, but most of the time I think we can get along.

Miruko - Yes, just yes. I think we can get along and just by how she is, I know she does clean up after herself.

10. Could you be best friends with this character?

I would definitely be besties with Present Mic! Our personalities are almost alike and honestly, man needs a hug. I like to give hugs. I will be that best friend he needs.

14. Assign a fashion aesthetic to this character.

Present Mic - Definitely into wearing band shirts and jeans when he's casual or just around at home, but he's also stylish. Like... he would wear designer things and jewelry a lot. He would wear black, but also a lot of colors.

Oboro - I can see him being into streetwear, sporty. See him wear jackets, sweatshirts, baggy clothes. This dude wears sneakers and crocs, he would definitely wear crocs. Bright, soft colors, mostly blues and whites for him.

Eraserhead - Dude would have no fashion aesthetic, doesn't know how to dress, owns probably three good suits and ties and a lot of the clothes he has are really silly tees, sweatpants, with some bright colors thrown in there with dark grey and black.

Jiro - Punk rock girl into punk fashion. Would wear dark colors, but also light colors here and there like lavender. I can see her in loose clothing, would wear skirts, leggings, baggy jeans, cut-up tees and band shirts. Boots are definitely her thing. Chokers, wristbands, yep!

25. What was your first impression of this character? How about now?

Present Mic - My first impression was that he was loud, funny and I knew I was gonna like him. My impression now is still relatively the same, like that more of how he is, is shown and I want to give this man a hug.

Bakugou - My first impression was "Ooooh, you're gonna get hit with the character development bat so hard, you little shit." My impression now? My boom boom gremlin boy definitely got hit with that CD and I need him to open his eyes like yesterday.

Miruko - "Minor character I'm gonna like" that was my first impression. Now it's "QUEEN, GODDESS, ABSOLUTELY THE BEST, DESERVES A VACATION AND HAPPINESS"!! She is one of my #1s. (I have two anyone who knows me, knows who the other one is.)

26. FREEBIE QUESTION!!

To answer the first part, I hate it. As I said before, I like looking past a character's surface to truly understand them. It's more acknowledged that Yamada is probably a lot more responsible than he seems because he has multiple occupations. But going further into the story, it can be seen this man is holding in a lot of feelings while also being there for people he cares about. He's also intelligent, real open-minded as he figured there's a traitor at UA. (AND WAS RIGHT!!)

Another character is Kaminari. He is a ray of sunshine, he's a little silly, but he's not a total idiot and careless as some people like to portray him as. At best, he's just disinterested in school work, but when he works hard enough, he is capable. He was able to come up with a plan, that worked, when his team went against Class B during the JT Arc just by applying his experience against Ibara. He's musically and artistically talented. He was even able to help Midoriya make a website in an OVA.

Just overall, I dislike it.

To answer the second part, I did read Vigilantes, in fact have posts of my reactions and Aizawa's flashback part? I cry about it every time I think about it. 😭 It was nice seeing, not just him, but Yamada and Kayama as teens with Oboro.

Character Ask Game 💫

[pandp-author]

The biggest issue with Akechi for me is the lack of acknowledgement of the scope of the things he did.

Like I said before, Akechi is proto Edelgard for me, and there are more than a few reasons as to why.

They actually have a lot in common, now that I think about it: Very early on, the games present us with events that Edelgard and Akechi are revealed to behind of: The bandit attack in the prologue, which turned out to be an assassination attempt on Dimitri and Claude by Edelgard. And a train accident that killed and injured people, which turned out to be the result of Akechi forcing a mental breakdown on the innocent driver. From then on, we have these terribles events that are happening both in the foreground and background while we're befriending this person that have some strong opinions of their own while still being at least amicable enough to you.

But their amicability was ultimately just a farce to get the drop on the player with a surprise twist. These friendly people turned out to be the villain all along, behind nigh all bad things that have happened through the year and working in tandem with the greater scope villains, enabling them in all their fuckery with the excuse that they will deal with the "actual" bad guys themselves, and now they're going to remorselessly kill you and your real friends for no other reason other than you "being on their way".

But the similarities don't end there, they also share the one trait that ultimately made me hate them as characters: Everyone else is feeling sorry for them instead rightfully telling them off.

The games are very heavy-handedly trying to get us to feel bad for these awful people because they had the saddest backstories the writers could've come up with, completely glossing over their evil deeds in order to do so. And the games very deliberately chose the people that should be the angriest at these villains, besides the plank of wood protagonists, as THE ONES WHO FEEL SORRY FOR THEM THE MOST: Futaba and Seteth respectively. It has to be deliberate, there is no way this is coincidental. Insulting doesn't begin to describe it.

And this is just in the base game for Akechi. Royal comes up and it makes everything worse: The game is forcing you to play alongside this person who doesn't even bother to hide his contempt for you and your real friends. In fact, he fully embraces his psychotic personality and hijacks the story from then on. He basically contributes nothing but manpower for the new dungeon, as all he does in the story is catching up to where you are in regards as to who the antagonist is, and then being very vehemently against everything the antagonist does in the most visceral way possible, even though I don't care what this unwanted bastard thinks (side note, you know how people go at great lengths to say that Edelgard is an antagonist and not a villain? This idea very much applies, like actually applies, to Royal's new palace ruler) We're actually forced to deploy him for a sizeable part of the dungeon, and we spend a considerable amount of time on his thoughts and feeling on the matter, at the cost of spending time with the thoughts and feelings on the people we actually care about, Akechi is basically everything people accuse Yoshizawa, the new girl, of doing, even though Yoshizawa herself could've used some more time both in Royal and in the base game. And to top it all off, Royal further buys into the idea that Akechi was a victim and everything he's done was really Shido's fault and you should really feel bad for him.

Marketability has to play a factor in all of this. Just like how they needed to pull their punches with Edelgard's villainy because she's the game's main waifu, Atlus needed to ramp up the sympathy point for Akechi because he's a pretty anime boy.

This is just like what I've been talking about with @randomnameless a few weeks ago. Sympathy for the villains is a zero-sum game in which the writers and the audience need to ignore the suffering of the villains' victims in order to sell the sympathy. It's easier to do when the victims are ultimately background characters, so the story doesn't need to dwell on their pain like it does with main characters like Akechi or Edelgard. Even though this is all bad on its own, it gets worse for these two fuckers because among their victims are main named characters. Akechi killed Futaba's mom some time ago, which is the reason Futaba got a palace in the first place, and Akechi also kills Haru's dad on screen. Even though Kunikazu was ultimately a terrible person, I'd argue he was the least messed up of all palace rulers bar Futaba (yes, that includes Sae (does being a bitch run in the Niijima family?)) he didn't deserve such a horrible fate (none of Akechi's victims did) and that still doesn't change the fact that this must have scarred Haru, who despite having a bad relationship with her father, must have looked forward to patching thing up. Akechi robbed her of that.

Speaking of Haru, just like how the game has Futaba of all fucking people to try to feel bad for Akechi, the game also has Haru of all fucking people stay completely quiet during Akechi's little sad backstory moment (it's like Seteth and Flayn in Marianne's paralogue)

Really Haru was probably the most screwed over by the game, thank God Strikers came along and gave Haru the spotlight she deserves, which single handedly made her my most favorite character of all of Persona 5!

It ALL comes down to the fact that the game is deciding my feelings for these characters for me. Akechi and Edelgard are not good people, but they still could be great characters, but the games don't commit to the fact that they're bad people, for one reason or another. Some explanation may be that Joker and Byleth don't hate them despite everything they've done because of their past relationships, even if said relationships were built on lies, but this explanation isn't very satisfying because it's a well-known fact that Joker and Byleth try to be both silent protagonist for the players to self-insert into as well as their own character, resulting in them failing at both.

Maybe the games didn't want to promote hatred for these characters because of the themes and whatnot, but that doesn't mean going so far to the other direction. I understand the protagonists not letting themselves be consume by hatred, the problem is one of framing. Far too much focus goes into feeling uwu sad for Akechi and Edelgard and not enough (or any at all) goes into how Joker and Byleth need to not let themselves be too consumed by their hatred of this people who had hurt them so deeply, even as they try to stop them. I guess I should be fair to Three Houses and acknowledge they did do this with Dimitri in Azure Moon, but Persona 5 has no such thing for Futaba, and especially not Haru.

Trying to get me to feel bad for a character has consistently achieved the opposite.

I feel like Akechi is a poor-man's Adachi.

Like, the twist with Adachi was really well-handled. He was a character you always say, were on friendly terms with, but him not having a social link in the original game served to highlight that something was off about him. Him being revealed to be the killer, as well as his true emotions, came as a shock as well as highlighted P4's themes of how often we only see people on a surface level. I haven't played Golden but I know about giving Adachi a social link and an ending where the protag instead allows Adachi to go.

Akechi feels like they wanted to pull off the same twist, but tries to imporve upon it. They gave him a social link that automatically progresses as the story does, but unlike Teddy he doesn't become playable until very late in the game. So that should tip some people off. Likewise, he's the only theif who is not in the original opening, making his inclusions stand out more. And whereas Adachi served to highlight the themes, Akechi instead serves to highlight what the Phantom Thieves could become in the bad ending. He betrays, we find out the truth, kick his ass, and then attempts to redeem himself though self-sacrifice. I honestly don't like how wishy-washy the series is with his survival unlike P3's protagonist.

Haven't played Royal yet though, but I'm going to now considering I realized the hadou thing. Really, I feel like P5 didn't click with me partially because of the hadou element even if I didn't recognize it.

[bookwyrminspiration]

Hi Quill, I was curious if team Valient had to one vs one their councillor contacts as like a training exercise who do you think would win out of each trio?

Hi Nonsie!! I gotta hit up Shannon for extra council information with all the council related things I'm getting! So this would likely depend on what training they were doing (e.g., mental vs physical altercation with abilities), so I'll try to answer for both.

(I'm considering mental to be skills and physical to be abilities--with occasional thought to weapons--for this, just to make it easier)

Sophie, Bronte, and Oralie: Physically, Sophie has significantly more experience fighting (with weapons and abilities) than both of them and is immune to Bronte's inflicting, so she'd win that. Mentally, she's also got an unfair advantage, however ancient minds are more powerful so Bronte may stand a chance. But Sophie's still the likely victor, she's just too op

Biana, Darek, and Liora: Once again, Biana has a lot more experience in physical training and the advantage of vanishing, so even against two I'd be rooting for her, though Darek may present a challenge since he can phase through any attack. Mentally, depends on the skill. Darek won the splotching match between the councillors, so he may win again there. Liora's a toss up because I don't know what she's capable of, but I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't familiar with many skills. So I don't think she'd win, and instead it's either Biana or Darek.

Dex, Noland, and Clarette: Physically, I'm unsure. Since I'm including abilities, it could really go any way. Noland's voice could incapacitate the other two, Clarette's animals could overwhelm the others, or Dex's gadgets could overpower them. If Noland could be silenced he's out, but Clarette vs Dex is a match that comes down to the situation, I couldn't say who'd win. Mentally I'm going Dex all the way. All the skills he's practiced because of his family? He's gotta have more experience than his contact points.

Stina, Zarina, Alina: Physically, either Zarina or Alina. Stina may be persistent, but she can't stand against electricity and beguiling. I think it would come down to whether Zarina electrocuted Alina first or Alina beguiled Zarina first, just a matter of time. Mentally, I think that persistence is gonna come back in Stina's favor, and she has more recent experience with mental things like skills because she attends Foxfire.

Wylie, Ramira, Velia: Physically, Wylie or Velia. Wylie has the experience and Velia's a guster, which is powerful enough to give her an advantage even without experience. Ramira's vanishing won't do much good in that situation since it'll still catch her. Mentally, I'm unsure. I think it might also be either Wylie or Velia. Ramira doesn't seem opinionated enough to have the strong push needed to win, but Velia might have the kind of strength needed. And Wylie didn't go to Exillium, so he doesn't have the experience some of the other kids have. It seems like a toss up.

Of course, further information about many of them could change this, but I'm just going off what I have access to at the moment! But this is kinda what I've reasoned together, so I hope that answers your question!

[themousefromfantasyland]

Fairy Tale Laws: How Fairy Tales and their Worldbuilding work

Who follows me knows I'm mega into mythology and folklore. One of my favorite pieces of folklore and fantasy literature is the Fairy Tale. Since I was a child I was always draw to the magical world of Disney films and their darker literary counterparts.

I love fairy tales, yet in my opinion they continue to be one of the more misunderstood and neglected genres out there.

So, as a Disney fan and avid fairy tale reader, in this essay I show how the genre itself generally works and which principles rule their whimsical world

Fairy Tales, Myths and Fables

The thing that fairy tales, myths and fables have in common is that they all find their origins in the oral tradition.

They were fantastical tales, not told specifically for children but deeply enjoyed by them, that were transmitted through generations.

Both fairy tales and myths don't follow real world logic, instead following their own dream-like logic, in a sequence of weird and fantastical events, that are magical and intriguing to the listener, but essentially normal to the in-universe characters.

Often than not there aren't any explanations of why these events happen and their impact of those in-universe societies, they just happen. Animals talk, mythical creatures live along with human societies just fine, inanimated objects come to life, people seem to turn into animals all the time, etc, and nothing of that seem to ever change the status quo.

The thing that differentiate the fairy tale from the myth, is that the myth is supposed to have happened in our world, but in a far off past. They are supposed to explain how our world came to be, and they have a very strong religious importance. The fairy tale on the other hand is not supposed to be took seriously. It's a fun story that the older generation tell to the younger generation. It can pass deeply important life or religious values, but that's not their main point. They are fairy tales, not fables.

The point of the fable is to transmit a moral. The point of a fairy tale is to transport the listener into a fantastical journey.

Fairy Tales vs. Oral Stories

Although many folk stories became immortal fairy tales, not all fairy tales came from oral tradition. Actually, some can be traced back to specific authors.

The Little Mermaid, the Ugly Duckling and the Steadfast Tin Soldier are all considered immortal fairy tales, yet they were all created by famous danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. A lot of his stories are authoral, and all are considered true fairy tales.

The term "Fairy Tales" actually comes from the french "conte de fées" and was coined in the 17th century by Marie-Catherine Le Jumel de Barneville, Baroness d'Aulnoy, the Madame d'Aulnoy, a french writer who wrote about a world where love and happiness came to heroines after overcoming great obstacles.

These stories arise from the Préciosité, a French literary style in the 17th century, from "les précieuses", intellectual, witty and educated women who frequented the salon of Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet. Themes presented in these stories are the ideals of feminine elegance, etiquette and courtly Platonic love, all hugely popular with female audiences, but scorned by men.

Telling fairy tales was a popular préciosité parlor game, and they should be told as if spontaneously, even though they all were carefully prepared. This style served as influence for Charles Perrault and Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.

Villeneuve herself was the original author of Beauty and the Beast, and although the story is heavily inspired by older legends like Cupid and Psyche, it still is an authoral story.

Even the Brothers Grimm and Charles Perrault, who were famous for being collectors of tales from oral tradition, gave their own twists and embellishments to their tales. For example, in many Cinderella tellings it's her mother's ghost who helps her. The Fairy Godmother is Perrault's invention.

So more than been just stories from the oral tradition, fairy tales as a literary genre are the reinvention of the old tropes found in the folk stories under a more sophisticated polish, for a new public.

Fairy Tale as a literary genre

In a way I consider the Fairy Tale a sibling genre to Magical Realism. As TV Tropes puts:

"In Magic Realism, events just happen, as in dreams. [...] Magical realism is a story that takes place in a realistic setting that is recognizable as the historical past or present. It overlaps with Mundane Fantastic. It has a connection to surrealism, dream logic, and poetry."

Both use a surreal, almost poetic internal logic with little to no explanation. Magical Realism is the occurrence of a fantastical event in a realistic setting, in a fusion between the mundane and the magical world.

Fairy Tales are similar because they often deal with very domestic topics and subjects. The protagonists often are normal people with very mundane goals. They don't want to save the world, they want to save themselves and their loved ones.

Cinderella and Snow White for example, are more concerned with escaping from their abusive families than being cultural or legendary heroes like in the myths. Hansel and Gretel are trying not to die from starvation, and Red Riding Hood is trying to visit her sick grandmother. Regardless of class status, these are people with their own problems that find in the fantastical events a escape from them, or a even worse danger.

This is not a universal rule, as some characters are more heroic and there's more in stake, but generally the heroes are domestic heroes and it's only their lives that are in stake.

The difference between the Magic Realism and the Fairy Tale, is that while in the Magic Realism you can easily point where the realistic setting ends and the magical one begins, the fairy tale goes even further, and the lines between the worlds are way more muddled.

Worldbuilding in Fairy Tales

Now, that's the most important part. Fairy Tales are a sub-genre to Fantasy, but while in the other genres the magic world is described in the minimal details, often with rich details about the in-universe cultures and their rules, the Fairy Tale maintain the magic world as vague as possible. That's because it uses what I call "soft-worldbuilding".

Part of the appeal of the fairy tale is to transport the reader in a fantastical journey, but in order to do that they use as little details possible, allowing the reader to try to fill in the gaps. That's in order to avoid the magic world of feeling too real or too close to reality. The reader needs to have a sense of wonder and intrigue, and if you started to describe your world in all its details, it will become too grounded, and the wonder and the intrigue will be lost.

Said that, you need some basic rules, otherwise everything will be incredibly incoherent. You reader needs to understand how the magic world works and their rules, but they also need to be slightly lost, discovering all the details along the way and be amazed by them, lost in a mystery that they will never find all the answers.

To illustrate this, look at the differences between the Middle-earth and Narnia. One is a standard fantasy world, the other is a fairy tale world. J.R.R. Tolkien drew inspiration from the epics, C.S. Lewis drew inspiration from fairy tales and childhood stories.

The Middle-earth is grounded on its own rules, with their own races, cultures, languages and myths. Narnia is a playground were everything magical is allowed. Greek mythology creatures? Okay. Roman gods? Okay. Father Christmas? Okay. Jesus? Of course!

One is worried about all the small details, the other wants everything as vague and simple as possible, as to ensure the wonder and the intrigue will never be lost the reader.

When you're dealing with a fairy tale world you have way more freedom than the standard fantasy world. You don't need to think too deeply in the details. You can use the Rule of Funny and the Rule of Cool as much as you want, as long as it's minimal consistent and coherent

Fairy Tale Laws

This are some basic rules and principles that I believe rule over the fairy tale genre

Establish rules of how the world works. Keep it consistent and coherent. That's your base

Not every fantastical event needs a deep explanation, and magic is not allowed as an universal explanation

Keep it simple. Don't worry too much about the small details.

You don't want your world to be too grounded in reality. A little escapism is key

Poetic logic and surrealism reigns

Have fun with all the weird and magical things that crowded your world. "Rule of Cool" and "Rule of Funny" reign

Never reveal too much to your reader. They need to constantly feel as if there is something more happening off the limits of your story

Domestic heroes (As Narnia and the old dragon slayer stories show, this is not an universal rule)

The overall tone can be darker and edgier, softer and lighter, or somewhere in the middle