#i like knowing a lot of facts and stories and characters in a world
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Obligatory “I don’t have a problem with CaitVi” but I think, for me, their story (separate from their own personal character arcs) would/will be more compelling if it ends up being irreparable between them.
I think Arcane is good at subverting expectations and tropes; the most memorable example I can think of is in S1E3 where Powder follows after Vi and the boys to save Vander. We’ve all seen the “friends are in trouble, but the plucky young hero comes in at the nick of time to save them against all odds” plot twist—but Arcane subverts that. In fact, Powder’s involvement and her monkey bomb finally working is the thing that, tragically, leads to Claggor and Mylo’s death, Vi’s injury, Vander’s death(?), so on and so forth. It worked, but it didn’t work. And to me, that's the tragedy of it. That good intentions weren't enough.
So, personally, I see a setup between Caitlyn and Vi: the Romeo and Juliet archetype, two initially-begrudging people working together amongst classism and prejudice, and finding companionship against all odds. Class, wealth, opportunity separates them; Caitlyn is a scion of one of Piltover’s most influential and powerful families, and Vi is… a nobody from the Undercity, wrongfully imprisoned, when they first meet. It’s a way for them to both see that the “other side” isn’t as bad as they’ve always been told. That there are Good People on either side of the bridge. That, hell, love can be found, too.
But oftentimes, I believe this trope in particular ignores a lot of the real-world factors that could come into play with a friendship or relationship that “defies” station. The fact is, Caitlyn does come from a world of privilege, and Vi is treated differently by Caitlyn’s peers. The whole of Season two, Vi has been referred to as one of the “good ones”. Maddie explicitly says that it's good to know that there are still "good ones" around. The implication that you’re not like them. Time and time again, Vi is treated like an Other. A “good” other, but an other all the same. She's welcome in Piltover, but only just - and only when Caitlyn vouches for her. And at the climax of their story thus far, Caitlyn outright says to her, “I keep telling myself that you're different. but you're not. It's [Jinx's] blood in your veins”. I'm sure grief and anger are a part of why she says this, but that's becoming a catalyst for the discrimination she seems to be steadily believing in more and more. Whether or not she ends up meaning this, it's a ghastly thing to say.
And with the way things are developing with Caitlyn, who is actively weaponizing her privilege and power, and who is very quickly going down a very dangerous and fascist path, I don’t know if their relationship could — or should! — be rectified. She's a cop, and a very privileged one at that. I don’t know if this is a love that could “defy all odds”, and in my opinion, I think it would be more interesting, and more compelling, if it didn’t.
#arcane#caitlyn kiramman#vi#vi arcane#arcane meta#arcane season 2 spoilers#arcane spoilers#arcane s2#arcane s2 spoilers#please feel free to chat with me about this! love love love hearing peoples' thoughts and ideas#complete disclaimer: i'm not a writer and i'm sure someone else could articulate these thoughts better than i could#long time lurker first time poster etc etc#but i've been thinking about this since i watched act 1 and figured i'd offer my two cents! idk.#i don't intend for this to come off as character nor ship hate. just an exploration of what arcane has shown us thus far#they've never shied away from the ugly details and i think cait - at this point in time - is a very ugly and yet very plausible character#i wish when cait had that guy arrested vi had called her out on it a little more. esp as someone who had been wrongfully imprisoned#i don't think it would've changed anything. but the principle was there
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Why Silent Hill 3 is my big favorite- a terrifying horror game about woman's experiences and the fears that come from existing as a woman in a patriarchal society
Silent Hill 3 is probably my favorite Silent Hill game and one of my favorite games of all time, and it has a story and themes that I've always really vibed with. It tells a remarkably progressive story for it's time that handles some intense themes that are still relevant even today, about experiences that a lot of woman go through and the fears that come from existing as a woman in a patriarchal society, what it's like having your own agency and bodily autonomy taken away from you, forced pregnancy and sexual assault, how harmful patriarchal societies are and this game really getting into the religious flavor of patriarchy in particular.
It's an incredibly scary game that uses a feminine sort of horror to great effect, with the design of the other world being as bloody as it is and the monster designs being representative of this. I mean there is a type of creature that are literally supposed to look like fetuses that start getting bigger throughout the game as the birth of God draws near and the giant worm boss for lack of a better way of putting, literally being a giant penis. I think the main complaint that I hear from people about this game is how slow the story is in the first half of the game, but I think the whole getting home late at night as a young woman contributes a lot to what this game is saying. And I absolutely love how this game ends with Heather literally aborting God and fighting it as the final boss, symbolizing her fully taking control of her life and rejecting all of the harmful expectations that were forced onto her. Main antagonist Claudia is such a tragic character though, someone who was so brainwashed by town's religion into think that someone HAS to give birth to God so hard that she did it herself and she suffered for it.
Also while not as intentional considering when it was written and they probably couldn't even write about this stuff if they wanted to, something that I think is worth noting is that I've heard from a lot of trans people who relate to this game as well and I can really see it. Considering it's about people who Heather knows from a past life, coming back to remind her of that past life and forcing it onto her, and Claudia referring to Heather as Alessa could be interpreted as deadnaming Heather. But yeah I've always really loved and connected with this game for how well it handles it's themes about woman's experiences and I think it's really cool how many trans people have been able to relate to it with those specific experiences as well.
Another of my favorite things about Silent Hill 3 is the main character Heather, because she really is one of the coolest characters that I've always really related to. Her struggles are incredibly relatable, but she's also inspiring in how she overcomes them and is always so confident. In fact I appreciate how her and her father subvert societal gender roles in opposite directions, with Heather being as confident and extroverted as she is, probably more then any other Silent Hill protagonist and willing to stand up to all of the men in the story like Douglas in the beginning, Vincent and Leonard, along with all of the monsters she has to fight. And Harry being a single parent who is as gentle and caring as he is, with his one track mind of looking as his daughter, he's kind of both a father and a mother in that way, and also being as physically weak as he is and the opposite of a action hero. She also easily has the most personality of any Silent Hill protagonist, like this girl is overflowing with charisma and is even a little jokey. In fact another detail that I like is how much personality comes through in her examine dialogue, where you actually get to hear her thoughts on everything instead of just basic observation "this is a thing" that the other games in the series do. Heather has opinions on everything, but how she's feeling throughout the game is also conveyed. The dialogue of her observations in the first half of the game has a much more playful and hopeful tone to it, but after Harry dies she becomes much more pessimistic, can only see the negatives in everything and just doesn't seem to care anymore.
Heather is an incredibly well written and nuanced character, and I'll be honest that this is the game I least want to see be remade because I know that they would find a way to fuck up the writing of her character and handling of the themes of this game. Even after the Silent Hill 2 remake being as good as it is, one of Blooperteams biggest flaws is being incapable of handling anything to do with woman's experiences or perspective. SH2 used to be my fav, but I came to realize that it was mostly just because it was the popular one and that I vibe a lot more with SH3 and 4. Especially because SH2 tells a story about misogyny but makes it all about the perpetrator rather then the victim, unlike Silent Hill 3 which does actually tell the story of someone on the receiving end of that type of violence and objectification. SH3 and 4 are my personal favorites, 3 because Heather is best protagonist and I really appreciate it's themes which are handled perfectly, and SH4 because it has a really cool narrative and horror concepts. I know opinions on SH4 are really split, and while I think there are some gameplay things that are jank, I love it's story and premise so much.
#Silent Hill 3#Silent Hill 4#Silent Hill 2#Silent Hill#Heather Mason#Henry Townsend#James Sunderland#Harry Mason#Konami
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Hi, what do you think Yang's future arc might be, besides the whole Team STRQ background?
Since as of now, there is something that I still feel that Yang lacks compared to the other three heroines. I mean, all three of them have a much bigger role to play in the story compared to Yang, who is just Ruby's sister and being a child related to Team STRQ. And I know that it's probably because of the Citrinitas and Rubedo dynamic in alchemy. But isn't acquiring gold one of the results desired from the Magnum Opus?
Anyways, I also want to ask if you think that there should be more Chinese elements through Yang's story besides her name. I mean, why name her after a Chinese Dragon (who is the most revered mythical creature in China) if they aren't gonna apply it to her story? If Yang's focus is her main fairytale Goldilocks, then why not just name her that is reminiscent of the hot-cold-just right dynamics present in her story? The three other heroines has other fairytales associated with them and I wish that Yang has that too (instead of being just a part of their tales i.e. Red Riding Hood, Beauty and the Beast, Wizard of Oz).
I guess that I wanted the writers to explore more of Yang's ptsd arc, like maybe have Yang practice shui-mo or water and ink painting as a coping mechanism; to essentially help her control her emotions or anger. Instead of Taiyang seemingly looking at Yang through other people's lenses instead of through his own (which might be even worse, like hello mini Raven lookalike).
Anyways, thank you for entertaining this ask of mine. Hope you have a great day.
Hi!
Thank you for this rwby ask :D
So, tbh I don't feel Yang's arc is lacking compared to the others. I would say so far she and Weiss have my favorite arcs among the protagonists tbh (and they are 3rd overall).
Anyway, to address your different questions...
YANG'S ROLE
I think Yang's arc will focus on Ruby and Blake, other than Raven and Summer:
She needs to overcome her contradictive feelings towards Ruby
She needs Blake's help to reconcile her feelings for Raven and Summer
If Weiss and Blake's subplots are linked to the world, as they used to represent two extremes of an ongoing conflict (the Schnee Family and the White Feng), then Ruby and Yang are tied to the conflict through their mothers. So, Ruby will have to overcome Summer, as Yang will have to aknowledge she is projecting part of her feelings towards Summer on Raven. You say Yang has no other role, than to be Raven's child, but if so, then Ruby's own subplot ties to Summer. I don't think there is much difference between the two sisters. It's just that Ruby is also the titular character to an extent and the main hero. That's why she is set up to save Cinder together with Jaune. Anyway, I am expecting the STRQ's subplot to actually be pivotal in volume 10 (and hopefully 11 :P - let's dream big). So, I am not worried about Yang's screentime. I actually think there is more of her arc left than Blake, who just needs a wrap up. As a result, I am expecting Blake this time to be the one that ties into Yang's arc.
In short, I would like a repetition/inversion of their Beauty and Beast motif. Throughout the Mistral Arc Blake is the beast having to deal with a corrupting Rose:
I wonder if this time Yang will be the one having to face her "roses":
After all, it is clear Yang has still to fully deal with her conditional idea of love:
Jinxy: The bidding starts at- Yang: No! I was the first one to- Jinxy: …knowing… what it is to feel loved.
Which can only be resolved through Blake, Ruby and her two mothers. In particular, the fact Jinxy asks for Yang's "knowledge about what it is to feel loved" in exchange of her arms says a lot:
Firstly, Yang lost her arm to protect Blake, so it is like her arm in exchange of love. Secondly, in that moment Yang is slowly figuring out her romantic feelings for Blake, so in a sense she is still figuring romantic love out. Finally, Jinxy's items are metaphorical representations of what they ask:
The mouse is exchanged in exchange of a hug, as a reference to the fact Little is Ruby's inner child and needs to be protected
Ruby is asked hope in exchange of Penny's sword because Penny gives her hope
Finally, Yang is asked for the knowledge of being loved in exchange of a part of herself because unconsciously she thinks she has to give up parts of herself to be loved. That is what conditional love is. You can be loved only if you are good, not if you are bad. It is clearly something Yang believes unconsciously and that stems from her abandonment issues. In short, in Mistral she thinks Blake leaves because she doesn't care. I am expecting Vacuo to be about Yang thinking she has to be perfect for Blake to stay, in a sense.
I think realizing she does not have to be would tie nicely with her Goldilock's allusion:
Vale is the TOO HOT: The Yellow trailer has Yang meeting up with Ruby (red=hot) and asking for a beverage with no ice:
Yang: Strawberry Sunrise. No ice. Oh, and one of those little umbrellas.
(Let's highlight Strawberry Sunrise alludes to both the Citrinitas and the Rubedo phase (yellow + red), which ties into the two sisters, as Ruby loves strawberries and Yang is associated with sun)
Throughout the arc Yang shows her strength (body) and her refusal to tame her own feelings, which end with her losing an arm surrounded by fire:
Mistral is the TOO COLD: Yang's search for Raven leads her to Weiss (blue=cold) and into a bar where she asks for some water to cool herself down:
Yang: A water. It's hot out.
It ends with Yang and Blake together and safe, while surrounded by water:
Atlas can be seen as Yang having found an inner equilibrium towards the JUST RIGHT. After all, the arc ends with Yang and Blake (purple= just right) at balance, surrounded by both earth and air (opposing elements)
However, Yang's equilibrium is suddenly disturbed by Ruby's spiral and I am expecting this to have some kind of lasting impact on Yang. So, I am expecting Yang to quickly go over the three stages again, so that she can realize she is in fact just right, without having to always be right at everything :''')
As for the major plot, it will mostly depend by how Raven and Summer tie to it tbh. It is possible that whatever Summer's plan is, it gave Salem's the idea to use Cinder as a vessel for the Maiden's powers (hence linking Ruby and Cinder together even more). Still, there are still questions related to Raven's past, which will probably find an answer and tie to the main conflict. In short, I really see Yang involved with Ruby in the main conflict concerning Raven/Summer and Salem, which will be pretty relevant plot-wise.
After that, Ruby will probably have the peak of her arc, where she saves Cinder. This fits, as Ruby has had less development than Yang, as her arc has been saved up for the end, so that it resonates more, as she is the main heroine.
YANG'S CHINESE INFLUENCE
Yours is a great question! I am not sure tbh! I have wondered myself if there is some kind of allusion hidden behind Yang's chinese influence, but I could not find it. Maybe someone else did or will! Or it will become clear later on.
In general, I think martial arts are a strong inspiration for Yang's character, so she might have been given Bruce Lee's name. After all, another inspiration for Yang is dragon ball's super sayan:
And someone suggested she might allude to Yang Guo from the return of the Condor Heroes, but I have not read the novel, so I am not sure this is true.
I also don't think it's a problem she isn't called after her fairy tale. After all, only Weiss is directly called after it (Weiss Schnee as Snowhite literally). Blake's name means both black and white and it alludes to Blake being both Beast (black) and Beauty (White). However, it does so indirectly. The same goes for Ruby, whose name and surname are much more tied with alchemy, then her fairy tail. She is the philosophical stone (a ruby) and she is tied with rubedo, whose main flower is a red rose.
Yang's name alludes to:
Her being linked to Citrinitas and to gold
Her being the sky-woman (a sunny dragon), so the Wise Woman in juxtaposition to Raven's Bad Mother
Her being the yang to Blake's yin
It ties indirectly to her allusion in how it alludes to the too hot (sunny dragon), which Yang definately is
Probably something else I am missing :P
YANG'S ALLUSIONS
Yang has actually many allusions:
Goldilocks
LRRH
Beauty and Beast
She isn't only a part of her loved ones' allusions, but she shares them, which meta-narratively might tie with her Goldilock's inspiration. As a matter of fact Goldilock has no beginning nor end. We do not know from where Goldilock is from and we have no idea where she goes after she escapes. RWBY gives Yang a beginning and an end in other fairy tales:
She starts as Little Red Riding Hood (Summer's daughter, who loses herself in the wood, while looking for her mother and meets a big bad beast with ferocious eyes)
She will end as Beauty and Beast (the Yellow Beauty, who burns gold in Blake's happy ending)
In general, all the protagonists have secondary allusions, which tie into their loved ones, not only Yang:
Weiss's secondary allusion is the Snow Queen, which is really Winter's primary allusion. That is because her bond with Winter ans her family is key in Weiss's arc.
Blake's secondary allusion is the Jungle Book, which ties to Menagerie as a whole.That is because Blake's arc is about her whole community.
Ruby' secondary allusion is the Wizard of Oz, which ties to the main conflict with Salem, but is also Oscar's main allusion. So, Ruby too ties into someone else's inspiration.
As you can see, RWB too are parts of their loved ones' allusion. Still, since they are protagonists these allusions end up being just as important for them, as they are for the other characters. Yang is the same, but in her case her loved ones are Ruby and Blake, two of the main heroines, hence she ends up sharing the spotlight with them. Again, it is not really different from Ruby sharing the spotlight with Oscar in the Oz's allusion (Oscar too is a main character, after all).
All in all, each protagonist has their own set of motifs and chosen imagery, which is similar, but also different. It is interesting to understand why. I mean, to this day I keep seeing people getting annoyed Blake shares her trailers with another character (Adam and Ilia)... whereas Blake sharing the trailer ties with her shadow motif and with her beauty and beast allusion. Hers is an allusion, which needs to be shared. Just like Yang's allusion needs to be completed by other stories.
YANG'S PTSD ARC
I love your headcanon and it would have been a great idea! That said, I don't dislike what we got. I also disagree about Yang and Taiyang's confrontation tbh.
First of all, Yang's recover does not start with her father, but it starts with Ruby. She feels responsible for Ruby and decides to get herself back together, so she can go find her sister and protect her. It ties with Yang's big sis complex, which still needs to be addressed. That said, it is a good example of Ruby being Yang's too hot. After Adam's attack, Yang is left depressed and symbolically her hair is tied (her flames are not burning). Thanks to Ruby, she finds new drive and starts her journey of recovery.
Taiyang's advice is thematic in nature rather than psychologic (like RWBY as a series puts more focus on themes, rather than psychology). It tells her she needs to control her feelings better and it is an invitation to find inner balance. This sets up Yang's objective really, more than anything. Finally, Taiyang actually discussing Raven with Yang is necessary and healing. Up until that point Yang's attempts to discuss her mother were always shut down by her father, which clearly made her suffer. Taiyang's inability to address Raven (together with his shutting down) is what leads Yang to put herself and Ruby in danger in a misguided attempt to locate her mother. Not only that, but it is also what leads Yang to repress herself to an extent. She forces herself to be the good daughter and strong big sister, but deep down she too is a child, who wants to know why her mothers both left her. Taiyang could help her to come to terms with it, but he stubbornly avoids the topic. That is why him finally addressing it with Yang helps her. It is also a sign Tai is aknwoledging her growing up. I also think Tai's line about Raven is actually telling:
Taiyang: Your mother was... a complicated woman. Like everybody, she had her faults, but those faults are what tore our team apart. And, it did a real number on our family. You both act like the easiest way to tackle an obstacle is through it. That strength is all that matters in a fight. But if you just take a second look, then maybe you see... there's a way around as well. Come on - one more before dinner.
Does this description fit Raven in your opinion, because imo it does only to an extent. The Raven we meet surely does believe in strength, yes, but she also invites Yang to question things and to look at things from a different perspective. Actually, this description not fitting Raven is also brought up by Yang herself:
Yang: You're right. I don't know you. I only know the Raven dad told me about. She was troubled, and complicated, but she fought for what she believed in, whether it was her team or her tribe! Did you kill her too?
Raven might have learnt knowledge to an extent, but she lacks the wisdom of truly understanding herself. She gives up what she believes in out of fear aka she lacks to take her feelings in check. Not only that, but she needs Yang's perspective to truly see the truth of things and to better understand what strenght and wisdom truly are.
Thank you for the ask, it was fun! Even if I am not sure I gave you the answer you wanted :)
Have a great day as well!
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I think that the 2010's media landscape of Buzzfeed articles about plotholes in disney movies, Cinemasins critiques, and Watchmojo Top Ten scenes in movies that make no sense has truely ruined a lot of media. People are afraid that their work will be torn down if they dare leave a single thing up in the air, if they dare ask their audience to suspend their disbelief.
All too often nowadays I see stories (especially fantasy), take the time to explain how every small aspect of the world works and how it all logically makes sense. The constant time stopped to explain why an event happened, how this object works, or why this is important to the characters. It's just really not needed and it honestly makes a lot of stories worse.
I am of the opinion that the best stories truly just drop you into their world and explain nothing. They just take you through the story of this world and you just have to accept it and continue on. "When he became king, the land became barren." I don't want the story to stop and explain why this is, or how it happened, I want us to move on so we can just assume that the king has such rancid vibes that everything died.
#simon says#i watched the Last Unicorn again recently and it fucking slaps#and I noticed a huge part of why it slapped is because it doesn't explain shit#same with a lot of other fantasy things from the 70's and 80's I've noticed#and even older stories all the way back to fairy tales and fables#they just tell you something and move on#and it works!#a lot of the time it feels far too hand-holdy or immersion breaking for the characters to stop and explain something for the audience#like these characters would not take the time to explain the aspects of their world in detail to other people who live in this world#this is clearly for the audience only and so that they can feel more satisfied with an answer#but it fucking sucks!!#it is bad writing!!#to presume your audience has no suspension of disbelief so you stop everything to explain how the world works for them alone is bad!#it makes the story feel awkward because it feels out of character for the people of the world to talk like that and it feels insulting tbh#like you really think the audience's ability to pick up details of the world from dialog and onscreen (or page) information is that poor??#and to some extent it is#lord knows we are having a serious media literacy and general literacy issue in the United States#but it's honestly just bad writing and it bugs me so much. my number 1 pet peeve in fantasy is overexplaining especially when it doesn't fit#like just fucking tell me that there's a magical world on the other side of this wall in a village and move on#i can just accept this fact#imagine if the Dark Crystal took the time to explain every aspect of the world#that movie is already jam packed with random story and world bits that you just have to accept and move on from#now imagine if they took a solid 2 minutes to explain what the fuck Fizzgig is.#i think leaving it at 'he's a friendly monster and Kira's friend!' is the perfect place to leave it at#we do not need a full explanation on Fizzgig's species and behavior and why he's friendly unlike other monsters#he's a friendly monster and he's Kira's friend! that's all we need to know! we got a dark crystal to put back together!!!
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Sadly, I'm too afraid of getting abandoned by everyone I've ever known over this, but I suppose that's what the hornyblog's been for from the beginning.
I wholeheartedly agree, to start things off. Gushing is a series that truly, well, gushes with love for Magical Girls as a genre and a concept and wants to explore it. To deepen what a Magical Girl is without actually subverting it beyond the obvious of Utena as a protagonist.
I am someone who can and will wax poetically about the themes and characters of Madoka Magica and while I'm generally too afraid of consequences to give Gushing the honour it deserves I very much want to do the same.
Now, a lot of the backlash against Gushing is over the ages of the characters, with everyone so far appearing in the anime being 14 other than Lord Enorme at 20 and Korisu-chan at 9. (The Shio-chans don't really change this, though they're 17.) People are getting up in arms over this.
Now, beyond presenting them with the obvious issue of writing a story about 'coming of age' and self exploration as a teenager (When most people start getting interested in such things) without having the main characters, you know, early teenagers, as it would not at all work as well with them above 18 due to various factors...
There's also the fact that Gushing is far from the only series presenting young girls in such a way? It's just actually open about it, and does it in a far kinder way than typical as well.
Gratuitous butt and boob shots, random slips and upskirts, hells even Magical Girl transformation sequences typically depict characters cloaked only in an unnatural light. It's a staple of comedy, slice of life, school and more action oriented genres (Look at BnHA, the average Isekai, the entirety of the Gacha Game scene, even many well recieved Magical Girl series).
(Also where are they finding these 18+ not secretly ancient anime girls? Grab ten of them and six will be 14-17, three 100-10000, and if you're lucky the last is 22 at the very oldest.)
Anyways, back towards topic, it comes down to this perception that to make or watch something that at all depicts younger characters in a more overtly sexual light is some unforgivable sin. That anyone who does is a pedophile biding their time (Which is a whole other matter they probably need to introspect on) who'll act at any moment to bring their depraved tastes into the real world. I could talk more about that in particular but not now.
The thing is it's not. It's not something morally wrong to watch or write something like Gushing or Prisma Illya. These are, in our world, fictional characters. They do not have an age, they do not have an observable will, they are not real on our dimensional plane, to watch or draw or write about them does not harm them in any way.
It's this... Christian puritanical obsession with everything needing to be Clean, to be Acceptable and Uncontroversial. It demands that nothing is explored, that nothing is considered, that nothing is made without first being judged Pure by the twelve most Racist, Homophobic and Misoginistic people on the planet.
I feel like I have more to say but I'm running out of steam so I suppose I'll call this here for now.
So, Gushing Over Magical Girls Is The Best Thing To Happen to Magical Girls
Gushing Over Magical Girls get this bad rep. For all the wrong reasons. I’ve seen it be called an insult to Magical Girls, I’ve seen it be called “gooner bait” a term I absolutely despise but that’s a thing for another day. I’ve seen it insulted for everything and anything under the sun.
I first got acquainted with it when I was scrolling through Twitter and I saw someone complain about the PV. However, as an avid Magical Girl Fan, I wasn’t disgusted. I was intrigued.
I decided to read the manga, and oh god.
This is one of the best things I’ve read.
The story follows Utena, a shy girl that loves Magical Girls, tricked to become the evil general that will defeat the Magical Girl team “Tres Magia”.
And it’s a delight.
I binged all the episodes available to me in the manga, and had fun in each and every chapter.
The same, however, couldn’t be said by half the people who watched the anime. And I was extremely baffled. As a queer woman, this was the first time in my life, in which I had seen something so deliberately catered towards me. I saw tell-tale signs of someone who genuinely admires the genre, and is simply using it as an outlet for exploring deeper and more interesting topics that a SFW version of it would not be able to.
Yet, I turn around and I see people calling it the most horrendous stuff, and accusing everyone who likes it of being monsters or men.
Genuinely, I’ve had enough.
Gushing Over Magical Girl is not the Devil. In fact, I think it’s the best thing to come don’t even like Magical Girls AND IT SHOWS.
PART 1: “Magical girls are for little girls!”.
The first criticism you’ll see aimed at “Gushing over Magical girl” is the amount of sexually charged content it has. And it is true. It borders on straight up porn in many instances and it just gets wilder as you go on. By chapter 30, we’re way past PantyShots. Like, I’ve seen some of these girls’ vaginas, and I’m not joking.
Personally, I don’t see anything wrong with it, but there’s people who might disagree.
“Magical Girls are for little girls” some people say “and you’re corrupting it!”
Which genuinely makes me laugh.
This is because this type of argument could only be done by someone with no real concept of Magical Girls aside from maybe Sailor Moon and Sakura Card Captor.
out of the Magical Girl genre in a WHILE (Ignoring Precure, because they just gave us a magical boy and that’s my win of the decade).
People are just, you know, stupid. And reactionary. Enough that they see a boob and lose their minds like a Karen at a Christmas Eve Mall.
My point is, I love this manga. And I’m willing to risk my reputation to defend it. Cause genuinely, half the people who are clutching their pearls over this show - Magical Girl Anime haven’t always been PG, or aimed at girls.
Cutie Honey is a great example. It’s one of the most famous Magical Girl Anime you will find - and it’s a shonen. With the protagonist, Honey, being constantly naked, groped, put in suggestive situations and have outfits that show her cleavage.
And it’s one of the most famous, most popular takes on Magical Girl there is. Yet, I never see any amount of outrage towards it. (Part of me wonders if it’s because the fan service is aimed at men, rather than involving yuri).
There’s also Lyrical Nanoha, one of the most popular serial franchises there is. It spans several seasons and spinoffs, and it’s beloved by many.
And it’s aimed at older men. Yes, it’s a Seinen.
In fact, its origins are far from PG. It’s actually a Spin-off of an erotic game named “Triangle Heart”. It was most definitely not created with little girls in mind, and themes it tackles reflect as much.
There’s Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya too, a spinoff of the Fate/Stay Night VN, very obviously aimed at older men, it’s a Seinen. It has a lot of fanservice and scenes where the characters are half naked.
Day Break Illusion is also a Shonen.
And as much as I adora Madoka - I’ve been stating for years now that it isn’t a show meant for little girls. You could argue it’s for everyone, regardless of gender, who’s a little older. But it most definitely wasn’t for little girls.
So, no. This was never an “only girls” club. Trying to paint it as such, is not only wrong but ignorant.
Magical Girl shows can be for anyone. Men, boys, girls, women and I find it infantilizing to consider it “only for little girls”.
No one says “super heroes are ONLY for little boys”
Well, some do. But they’re, you know, bigots. Who don’t want girls playing or adults o have fun.
So no, Gushing Over Magical Girls being a sexually charged anime in the Seinen category isn’t “corrupting the genre”. In fact, I would argue it’s doing exactly what the genre has done in the OVA shadows for a while.
Not to mention, many people have screamed from the rooftop how they want “more mature Magical Girl shows” referring to the success of Madoka. But as soon as an actually mature take on Magical Girls shows up, tackling issues of sexuality and love, you all don’t want it anymore.
(We all know why, though. Americans, and western culture in general, considers mature themes, only that which involves violence. Anything close to discussing issues of sex is no longer “mature” but “Pornographic” and deserving of being shoved into a corner. With all queer themes, gender studies, and any nuance that could be had regarding these issues).
And speaking of sexually charged, have you watched so called “wholesome” magical girls? They’re still very much sexy. Not in the “on the nose” ecchi way Seinen and Shonen are - but they still are.
You’ll find transformations were the girls are naked, zoom in to their breasts, you’ll have panty shots every now and then. Even themes of growing up, having crushes, and innuendos about sex. Inappropriate relationships, taboo romance, and the likes.
Sakura had Rita and a professor’s relationship (mutual in the manga), Sailor Moon had Chibiusa and Elliot’s romance, Sugar Sugar Rune even having an element for ‘lust’ and other different types of love, and let’s not forget Mermaid Melody which has several instances of the girls naked, in compromising positions with other men. And I’m pretty sure Tokyo Mew Mew likely opened a whole bunch of doors for girls to be into CNC.
This is, by the way, normal.
Completely so.
These stories often talk about the girlhood experience. And girls and teenage girls are interested in all of these things. They’re interested in sex, romance, their bodies growing up, their own sexuality and the likes. It’s no wonder same-sex relationships and romance get included, they’re part of what experiencing the world through the eyes of a young girl is like.
And subsequently, it stands to reason that as people who engaged with MG grow up - they find comfort in exploring their sexuality through Magical Girl themselves. There’s a reason why there’s a growing section of “Magical Girl” in your local hentai site.
“Men get off on corrupting this wholesome girl targeted genre” is actually TERF rhetoric sneaking through the mainstream. It ignores AFAB ppl and gender nonconforming people, who grew up with Magical Girls, simply using a medium that originally started their journey of sexual identity, to explore more “grown up” aspects of that same identity.
In particular, I’m a Cis AroAce Woman. I wrote a lot of Magical Girl NSFW when I first started writing NSFW Twitter threads. They’re bad and they’re cringey. But it was something I needed.
Magical Girls were a huge part of my childhood and early teens. When I was mentally in the space to want to engage with NSFW content: it was obvious I would turn to what first sparked excitement.
So this idea that “men are corrupting Magical Girls with their sick fantasies” is nothing more than TERF-lite propaganda. People, including women and men, have been doing this for ages; for a variety of reasons. And doing so, doesn’t rob children of their spaces - but the gentrification of the internet is a story of another day.
The other argument I have heard is that GOMG is a mockery of the genre. Which is even more laughable in my opinion.
PART 2: Parodies and why I hate Earth Defender’s Club.
Gushing Over Magical Girls loves Magical Girls. It’s a parody, in a way, but it knows very well what it parodies. It’s not surface level in the slightest. And it absolutely is not mean spirited about it.
A lot of the time, shows that reference and parody the Magical Girl genre, do so in ways that feel like they view it as a lesser genre. They take generic images of cute girls in frilly outfits, swap the colors around, and have them chant over-the-top spells. You’re meant to laugh, not only at how silly they look, but people who would love it. Especially if they’re grown ups.
I do not like “Cute High Earth Defense Club LOVE!” For this exact reason - even tho many people praise it to all heavens.
Because
1) It feels surface level in its commentary and depiction of Magical Girls and
2) More mocking towards the genre than paying homage or doing anything with it.
The continuous use of the word “Love” is a very obvious jab at Magical Girls using these words, which feels mean spirited just for the sake of it. Their outfits are almost exactly the same, save for the colors. And they all use the same sticks as weapon, with no thematic link for the shapes of the scepters. The mascot too (a wombat for god knows what reason), I think it’s meant to be a joke of some sort for how ridiculous some of the mascots for the girls get, which rubs me the wrong way.
In general, it feels shallow and mean spirited. But no one calls this an insult to Magical Girls. Because people who like it don't actually care about Magical Girls. They see cute boys doing silly things and love it. Which is kinda sad.
Now, Gushing Over Magical girls has sort of that same problem on the Tres Magias…But they’re not the protagonists. And even then, in later chapters, they get power ups that are different in design, and thematically linked.
The protagonist, and the ones we follow, are Utena and the girls. And they all have very distinct outfits, all with motifs that are tangentially thematically linked, and speak of each character’s personalities in interesting ways.
Utena in particular has THIS outfit. Which a lot of people don’t like, but I actually do.
It’s very obvious it’s taking inspo from other iconic Bad Girls in the genre. Namely, Utau, Kraehe and Devil Homura. All “Enemy characters” that have unhealthy obsessions with other characters. In particular, I think the wings and the feathers resemble Homura - THE character known to have a massive obsession with a Magical Girl (Madoka), to the point of insanity.
There’s also Magia Azure. Who’s a clear reference to the Mean Tsundere girl that is iconic to the genre. She’s also a Miko. Which is a callback to Sailor Mars, arguably THE girl who popularized this archetype.
I also love what they do with the mascots. Unlike Earth Defenders, where the mascot is you know, a mockery of the archetype of a mascot - useless, only there to give power ups, and obsessed with food - the mascots of GOMG is taking a book from Madoka.
It considers the mascots both all-too-powerful and yet limited in their reach. Which is exactly what the mascots have always been in Magical Girls. Beings so powerful they can give mythical powers to girls, yet helpless to do anything on their own. So, they use magical girls as a vehicle to achieve their goals. Most Magical girls try to paint this as a good thing, but newer genres shine light on how dangerous that can be too.
Madoka tackles it with Kyubey as the main initial mascot, only later to turn out to be the villain of the series.
And in a Post-Madoka world, trusting the mascots is just the slightest bit more difficult. That’s why, from the get go, GOMG portrays their mascots as morally corrupt. He’s not a good character, he’s malicious and doing more harm than good. But for the majority of the series, he’s painted more as a useless harmless evil than anything genuinely terrifying or worthy of concern. The attention is focused on other things.
But I love the way that it’s heavily implied that they’re not good. It’s a very interesting take on the mascot and it helps with the themes of the series. Which yes, by the way. Gushing Over Magical Girls has themes.
Which lead me to-
Part 3: Yeah, uhm, Gushing Over Magical Girl has themes.
There’s this idea that Sex is an inherently violent act. In which a man humiliates and sodomizes a woman, and therefore the woman is exploited in some way. And 10x worse is any act that involves BDSM. It’s violence; born out of hatred.
This is TERF rhetoric. I’m not joking. This line of thought leads directly to TERF ideas.
Many on the internet have pointed out as much, and BDSM members have gone to be very vocal about it. In particular, people on the role of the submissive (or the bottoms) are loudly trying to explain the contrary. How they like the act of sex, like the idea of being vulnerable, or being humiliated. There’s also plenty of LGBT+ stories that talk about it, both in western and eastern spaces. Just jump into the section of dom/sub verse at your local manga browsing website, and you’ll find something.
That said, the same is not as common for people who like to “dominate”.
I can only think of two pieces of media that argue that, whoever is the dominant or the sadist, is also a human being. That whatever they’re doing is done, not out of hatred for the submissive or an act of violence, but love.
One, is the husky and the white cat. In which Mo Ran, among other things, has to come to terms that his love isn’t “pure”. That he cannot love someone without the want to have sex, and to completely dominate that someone.
The second one is Gushing Over Magical Girls.
It’s very clear to me that Utena’s sadism isn’t a violent act. It’s an act born out of love. She genuinely loves the Magical Girls, and most girls for that matter, and whenever she is inflicting pain and fighting with them - what she wants is to ultimately help them in some way.
She wants them to “be the cutest version they can be” and wants them to shine brighter than ever.
There’s this one scene I love, around chapter 20, in which Baiser (Utena) is fighting Magia Azura. And due to Baiser going a bit too far, Azura ends up being Mind-broken. She crawls towards her, calls her “mistress” and begs to become her servant.
In any normal Hentai you’ll find, this is a good thing. This would be the ideal outcome. A character being turned into nothing but a sex slave for the enjoyment of the dominant.
Which is why I found it breathtaking when that didn’t happen.
Baiser is horrified by this. She does not want to break the girls, she wants them to be powerful. She wants them to win. With her, the evil one, being nothing more than a vehicle for them to be even stronger than before.
This is the first time I’ve ever seen dominant or sadist characters being presented both sexually, and in such a positive light. Much less a queer woman in the same position.
It doesn’t treat BDSM sex as a disgusting taboo act, but something born out of genuine love - and a want to see the other person be or feel better.
This is reinforced around chapter 25 where Leberblume and Loco Mùsica are fighting Baiser. For context, Loco Musica wanted to be an Idol, but had terrible singing. She uses her evil power to basically force everyone to listen to her sing (which is so reminiscent of Mermaid Melody btw). When they fight, Baiser wins, and is then set to use her new found power to “punish” Loco Musica.
Originally, Loco Musica points out how Baiser’s sadistic tendencies are “the same” as Lord Enorme, who we’ve seen uses sadism as a genuine form of punishment. Something to avoid. You behave well, because you don’t want to get hurt or humiliated by her.
However, when Baiser uses her own unique type of sadism on Loco Musica, something happens. Instead of causing her physical pain by beating her or using violence, she forces her to get naked and perform her idol song like that. This causes her to get extremely embarrassed. And in the process, she actually starts to sing really well.
This is important for two reasons
1) Baiser is actually taking into account who Musica is. It’s later revealed that Musica wanted a more frilly idol-like outfit but Lord Enorme shut it down, for the sake of a more ‘unified’ aesthetic. Baiser is not just throwing around the same treatment and punishment for all girls - what one might like, the other might hate.
2) At the end of the day, while she did the punishment, it was both embarrassing, but ultimately something that helped Musica and made her feel better.
And that’s really the key here, and why I love the series.
Sadism, sex and kinks in general are not tools of degeneracy. They’re treated as part of our experience.
Also, it’s just fun?
Part 4: Gushing Over Magical Girls is just extremely fun when you don’t have a dumb bitch yapping abt how unholy it is to see tiddies on a screen
Yeah, GOMG just has one of the most creative depictions of the most insane of kinks you’ll see - I could spent hour gushing over Nero Alice.
Seeing all these different kinks being depicted as powers and abilities that these characters have - and seeing how they interact with other people is just interesting.
The sex scenes are both hilarious and kinda sexy. Specially if you do like to see women all hot and bothered. Personally I’m not into girls (or anyone for that matter) but I have to admit the scenes were pretty hot. And there is no shame in admitting as much. No matter what the puritanical Christian on Twitter crying abt “god honoring lesbian sex” Will tell you.
I cannot begin to explain just how hype and relatable it was to see Magia Baiser defeat Lord Enorme with the power of straight up delusion, we STAN.
So, yeah.
It’s been a while since I last saw a Magical Girl Show so unashamed of being a Magical Girl Show. Unashamed of being weird, of praising the genre and just enjoying it.
My essay is titled, in part, as a joking reference to my much more popular series “MLB is the worst thing to happen to the magical girl series”. Which I still think is true.
And while, yeah, maybe GOMG isn’t the best thing to come out of the genre…I still think it’s good that it came out.
A lot of people say they want a more “mature” take on Magical Girls but - this proved to me that just isn’t the case.
Gushing over magical girls proves that the Magical Girl Genre Can Be so much more than what people think. More than glitter and sparkles, more than vapid action scenes, or what little girls want.
Much like any other genre, it can be raunchy, it can be messy, it can explore things outside of the status quo. But it can still deeply respect the source material, and the origins of it.
GOMG proves Magical Girls can be fun. Just. Straight up fun. Regardless of your age. They can serve and connect you to parts of yourself you didn’t realize you could connect to.
I hope it proves to more people that the genre can be so much more than “just for little girls” that parodies can be more than pointing and laughing, and that it can have themes beyond just, “friendship”.
Magical Girls can be so much more. You just, have to have an open mind about it.
#gushing over magical girls#looking up to magical girls#mahou shoujo ni akogarete#magical girl#magical girls#puella magi madoka magica#fate kaleid liner prisma illya#I'm too scared of abandonment to post this on Main but I do WANT to.
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ive just rediscovered an old wip of mine and im having so much fun right now. like i havent opened the document since early 2020 and genuinely forgot it existed yet there's 90k words and so much lore and elements of basic concepts that made it to my present writing in far cooler and more complex ways and the writing isn't great but there's potential to it and idk. it's been a while since i wrote something privately and while i hugely prefer the way i do it now where i actually have a community with it and dont hole myself away and act like it's a huge shame thing, there's still something hugely reasuring about knowing this is something ive always done and that actually i was always drawn to it and had potential and that's something to remember for when my writing block gets bad or i convince myself Everything Ive Ever Done Is Awful
#like this story is one where if i tackled it with my writing abilities now it would genuinely be really good#that's how sound the basic premise is. and i have SO many wips like that with tens of thousands of words to them#and i was doing this for ZERO reward ZERO attention i wouldnt tell a SOUL not even my family#i truly just have always loved and NEEDED to write. that is such a cool thing to be able to say#anyway yeah this wip lowkey fucks. like there's lots of aspects to it that are cringe and telling of the fact i was writing it at age 16#but the fact i came up with something so fleshed out at SIXTEEN??? insane#and this isnt even one of my big older wips. i have three that immediately come to mind that were sooo much bigger than this#like on the shorter end being 100k words and larger end easily being near 300k words#and they were JUST FOR ME like i didnt even know what ao3 WAS and i never spoke to anyone about my writing#and they WERENT FANDOM BASED. i was just casually coming up with super original detailed and COMEPLLING worlds#and characters and plots with complex twists and tropes and i was just doing it for shits#that's so fucking cool. did you ever think you'd see the day i gave past hella a pat on the back bc i didn't
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I'll never be over the fact that being batman it GYAHHHH! so when bruce becomes batman and makes his vow to get justice for gotham, to make it so that no one else has to experience the devastation and loss he did the night he lost his parents- being batman means well his job, his mission requires overexposure to death crime and tragedy in order for him to prevent it, and like yeah he never truly ever left crime alley, but that wound is constantly being ripped open. Every person, every ally, every one of HIS KIDS especially that he loses in pursuit of this mission makes the injury new and fresh and red.
this isn't news of course but everytime it hits me that because batman is built on grief he's destined to do it forever I just ☹️☹️
#had the very unoriginal experience of listening to i bet on losing dogs while thinking abt batman and his kids#bruce you are the embodiment of that quote abt not loving wisely#batman#bruce wayne#thought bubbles#the haunted house#batman is such an old concept such an old idea#hes been doing this going through this for so long and not stopping anytime soon#batman functions the same way gods do in a lot of media where as above so below like the people and what they believe shape the entity#dc comics can do whatever they want change in any possible way they can make his character unrecognizable#it doesn't change the fact that when bruce is eight years old he watchs his parents get shot in an alley way and Something Else is born#bcs thats the story everyone literally almost everybody in the world knows one way or another#and thats the way batman will always exist in the global consciousness#haaaa#dc comics
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everyone on earth probably has a hypothetical farming sim in their mind's eye that they daydream about on occasion because of the unfortunate situation that despite there being like a thousand farming games released every minute only like 4 of them are any good. and i think this is fun, i think its good to keep the imagination alive. if i made a farming sim i would bring back rival marriages from the old friends of mineral town. i want to steal someones wife.
#jk jk you dont steal anyones wife or husband. but it wasnt a popular feature because people felt like they were stealing someones spouse#plus the fact that characters married eachother after a certain amount of time made them unavailable for player marriage adding a timelimit#if the player wants to get married. but thats why i want it BACK i think its 1) hilarious and 2) interesting and makes the world feel alive#NOW part of the reason (outside of it being an unpopular feature to begin with) its not in like any modern games is probably because#devs don't know how to deal with non-gender-locked marriage candidates with this#i think its easy. everyone is bisexual. not just playersexual. textually bisexual#it'll be interesting if they always have a set pairup regardless of player gender but it could also be interesting if there was like#a little algorithm to give a couple non-player pairups as options. maybe make it random#or if a dev was tooooo ambitious they could add a matchmaking system that the player could be involved with if they wanted to play cupid LO#but that seems too much for a farming game. thats usually a whole other game in itself#but yeah i think its easy. its not like farming sim marriage candidates are all that deep characters to begin with#i think itd be fine if you had a couple randomized rival marriages...... i think itd be neat#my other farming sim daydream is NO fucking combat for the love of god FREE ME from combat#that is why i like story of seasons just a bit more than stardew#stardew has so much good farming mechanics but god i hate the mines. i think its so soso sososososososo boring#i also dont really like the turn based battles in atelier games and most atelierlikes either#(well i liked it in mana khemia but that was more turn based focused than alchemy focused)#i came here to farm. i came here to make potions. i came here to micromanage numbers. do not make me battle#but that is purely a personal preference thing LOL a lot of people really love farming game combat. i dont tho <3#MY DAYDREAM FARMING SIM HAS NO COMBAT... AND YES CUCKHOLDRY#(jk jk thats not what rival marriages are. but thats how people talk about them. which is fascinating)#(unfortunately it makes me laugh so thats why i keep making jokes about it. sowwy <3 )
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i like how barton went from being like... a hippie in terms of how he viewed sex in his early twenties, then kind of abstained from it for a few years / became sexually repressed, which... definitely isn't such a good thing. BUT then he became even more of a freak (and i do mean that in the good way this time LOL) around the time he started residency because WOW is that shit stressful. though that was also unfortunately around the time when he really started to spiral as well 😬 but we don't need to talk about that ahahhh
like the way this man learned how to express his sexuality REALLY came full circle in the end considering he was like 'yeah, back in the early days that i was in college, i was a freak. but now i'm not anymore... though do you want to see me do it again anyway?' like 💀 JSJSJ if he weren't so demented, i'd almost be inclined to say good for him, y'all LMAO feeling comfortable with your sexuality and perhaps even having a bit of fun with it (though maybe too much in barton's case, because he literally weaponizes it in order to lure in his victims. BUT once again, we don't need to talk about that right now psshhh. i actually fully intend on talking about that in the tags NGL) is more often than not a good thing after all
#OF MONSTERS AND MEN: musings.#nah but although i haven't really mentioned this before... when i first developed barton he had ALWAYS been kind of sexually repressed-#because he was sort of brought up by wesley to believe that it was one of those 'taboo' topics to the point where he had to get the talk-#from winslow and i'm not gonna lie i kind of find that WILD now LMAO because i mean like i said here a big part of how barton lures-#people in to eventually become his victims is through flirting with them and going on dates with them.#so like whenever i think about it now it didn't really make sense for barton to view sex as this 'hush-hush' topic bc he quite literally-#uses his sexuality to his advantage as i said here / weaponizes it. though expressing your sexuality isn't bad in and of itself OFC#the way in which he goes about doing it personally is just. Wellll not so good for lack of better words JSJSJ because barton is-#a serial killer whom has actually been sensationalized in the news (bc y'all know how terrible the news is when it comes to this stuff)-#into being called the 'heartbreak killer' because barton manipulates people and basically says exactly what they want to hear as well-#as makes himself as physically attractive as possible to voluntarily get his victims to come with him which is. yeahhh YIKES#but i can imagine that as soon as the news found out for the first time that his victim had last been reported to be going on a date-#with someone that they latched onto that and made it into a story that lacks the seriousness that something like that should-#always be treated with TBH because although they are just characters whenever it comes to the scope of their world they aren't and-#are living people so??? it's TOTALLY wack to be exploiting people like that to get views especially in a place like gotham where-#there's already enough craziness as it is without giving a serial killer a name that basically equates the murders to 'heartbreaks'-#which are definitely not on the same level at ALL but anyhow. i'm rambling now SKSKS#this isn't to say that barton always uses his sexuality to fulfill bad objectives bc like i said it isn't bad in and of itself -#though the fact that he does says something about him as a person since it's a rather sensitive thing for a lot of people you know?#and making people feel like they're wanted? when in actuality you just?? want to kill them??? it is severely messed up so yeahhh#tw: manipulation#tw: sex mention#tw: barton just being an asshole tbh
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idk if this is an unpopular opinion i think its kind of in the middle. but i actually really like that almost every season of spn is like 20+ episodes and unapologetically takes random breaks inbetween huge chunks of plot to just go 'hey remember when these guys killed vampires and shit. heres them doing that again' not all of the motw episodes are hits as it gets further into the show and theyre a little bit more gimmicky and/or forced in but i do like them
#tired of every show nowadays having 7 episode seasons where the characters dont even take 5 minutes to just talk to each other#every show should have time for characters to just exist in their world without the weight of it crushing them#and not just the first 5 minutes of the pilot before the plot has started#i know that a lot of people feel that way which is why i dont think this opinion is unpoplar#but i also know that a lot of motw episodes of supernatural are rated lower than heavy hitting plot episodes#so maybe its just specific to this show#i feel like if the show had ended sooner (wasnt it supposed to end at 5?) people wouldnt hate them as much#it probably has to do with the fact that a ghost story can only be so unique and interesting 14 seasons into a Ghost Hunting Show#simon says
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Just realized I forgot to post these
#keese draws#oc art#oc#ocs#these guys are from the same story as the grape twins btw#root beer is their cousin and one of the four main characters#dragons beard is merlot's boyfriend and fellow antagonist#and lemon taffy is the older sibling of one of the other main characters who spends most of the story 'kidnapped'#and by kidnapped I mean the super villain polycule asked them if they could help them with some tests and they went 👍#important context! lemon taffy (and their two siblings) are the kids of three superheroes and merlot and fox grape are the kids of four#supervillains both of which are mostly absent for the main story (although the supervillains at least get to be more of side characters)#the heroes are off in space dealing with alien political drama that doesn't matter to the main plot#the two groups have a fairly casual rivalry but they still have genuine beef#merlot and fox grape were left home alone after their parents set out to work on some big project and merlot took the chance to go fuck#off and get a boyfriend to do crime with leaving fox grape desperately trying to find them and get them to come back home#and for the other side root beer was roped into helping rescue lemon taffy by their two younger siblings pop rock and jelly bean#he and pop rock are the main duo on that side with jelly bean being their guy in the chair#merlot and dragons beard are mostly antagonists to those three with fox grape and the other main guy cayenne pepper chasing after them#cayenne is dragon beards childhood friend and I have never drawn him before despite adoring him 😔#hes such a piece of shit I love him#in my old original concepts for him he was going to be an incel but then my brain went but what if. aro. and I instantly hard committed#hes a bitchy asshole who's made all the more annoying by the fact that his anxieties are low key completely justified#hes a sad wet cat abandoned in a cardboard box all alone 😔#oh yeah also worth noting that root beer is a vampire who has a strained relationship with his adoptive dads#oh and dragons beard's parents are a dragon and a royal fae so he has a lot of power that he doesnt know how to use lol#lemon taffy is like. sort of part dragon in a very distant way? their grandma was a failed revival of an old god who was a dragon who made#their dad out of her own magic which included that same magic from the dragon god who was basically made of magic#so he was also sort of part dragon but not really? idk its complicated#merlot and fox grape are miraculously not part dragon somehow despite my track record of making too many ppl dragons in this world#they are however vampires and also directly decend from a god so thats fun
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I hate getting into something that has a canon(ish) sapphic couple, but I only end up caring about one of the two women 😭😭😭
#warrior nun? only cared about beatrice couldn't really get behind ava much#the locked tomb? INSANE for gideon. harrow is like cool I guess (I feel like I should like her more than I do idk)#and now dungeon meshi. I knoowwwww I'm going to love falin. 10 episodes in and I already find her relatable and awesome and so cool and sexy#AND SHE BECOMES A DRAGON LIKE FUCK MAN (she's still dead atm but soon soooooon)#marcille on the other hand?? I mean she's fine... but I'm not really drawn to her (I like namari a lot more tbh)#and the thing is I know part of it is the feminization of all three of them#I am not attracted to femininity pretty much ever (outside of a super sexed up version in which case gugh)#and ava and marcielle both have a very bubbly personality type that has never really drawn me in ever#they can have cool stories and I can enjoy them in that. but I have no desire to seek them out outside of that#and harrow... honestly I think it might be the way fandom sees her that makes me not care much about her?#also my feelings about the series as a whole by the end of nona probably don't help#BUT I definitely think a big part for all three is the femininity. none of their counterparts that I DO love are overly fem#(and HONESTLY I don't think harrow should be either and the fact hardly no one actually makes her butch the way I see her pisses me off)#((she CANONICALLY hated her long hair!!!!!!!!! stop giving her anything more than a buzz cut I'm going to attack you!!!!!!))#also. marcielle has green eyes and I'm sorry but I just can't 😭#I need every single character ever in existence to only ever have brown/black or gold/yellow eyes#stop with the blue and the green 😭 please#ANYWAY POINT BEING: I hate that this happens to me because I end up not getting obsessed with the ship#and mostly only getting into the single character but then I don't want to read fic about just one person#so I try out the ship stuff and shocker no one writes the other character in a way I like so I don't read it#and then I feel bad cause all my ships and main characters I'm obsessed over are men#and then I complain all the fandom favs and mcs in stories are men#but like I'm contributing to the problem!!!! but like I'm not attracted to hannibal but I like his personality#I'm not attracted to optimus but I love how fucked up his whole deal with megatron is#I DO love both luffy and zoro even though I'm not really attracted to either of them#the lotr/hobbit ships.... eh I love the world and I love dwarves and I will do anything for them so the characters don't matter much lol#AND THATS THE ISSUE 😭 the worlds of warrior nun and tlt and most of what i've seen of dungeon meshi don't really entrance me much#so I don't get into the ships for that. and I'm not attracted to both people in the ship. and I can't relate/project on both in the ship#and sometimes I find one character type less likable/annoying so that makes me not want to engage
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ANYWHO goodnight tumblr i'll be back on the art grind tomorrow i think 🙏
#haunted ecosystem#i'll take a burst of creativity in a different form than usual than the burnout slump i've been in for a few months#<- part of why my fandom stuff has taken a smidge of a backseat#dont get me wrong i am still very excited about my fandoms im just having fun off in oc hell (affectionate)#its nice to just be able to create and not really worry about perception. and also i feel Less bad about just throwing ocs into the wringer#((blame the fact i've been REALLY interested in whump recently and i have been. fixated. on one of my characters.))#and ALSO i've been! rekindling my flame for wtds. i've been putting off thinking about it since that fic got.#nothing bad happened? but it was still very devastating that somebody who i considered a friend from that fic just. evaporated.#but i'm gonna finish that fic for him :) even if it takes a year. even if it's the one thing i finish ever. it'll be wtds.#for where its gotten me and the fact its what got me out of my shell and is the reason i trust that my writing is good!#i used to really hate rereading my work. i catch flaws that are obvious to me. but that fic. i just think about how *good* the story is#that story means. a lot to me? as a person? like the main character is not a good person. but people care about him anyway.#and there are so many little things. so many sentiments. so much that is a love letter to people who've done bad but learnt to do better#because. god knows i wasnt a good person even just a few years ago. and maybe i see myself in him a bit.#he came from a place of paranoia and fear and pain. and maybe its a good thing that i've found it difficult to write him recently.#because god. i've been HAPPY. even with the rough moments and bad days. i've been happy. i mean fuck.#my birthday's what. ten days away? god damn man. i'm going to be 18. that's an achievement.#i want to look the kid who thought it was over at half my age and tell him we fucking made it. and there are more years to come.#there's a life ahead. even if it's going to be a bitch. even if it's going to be tough. there's love in your heart and people who care and#you're going to fucking live and you're going to feel better one day. you have people to meet properly and thank and cherish.#because for every day it feel like the world's ending there are a dozen more where the sun shines just the right way through the rain#and you can't help but smile because it's just so god damn beautiful.#and fuck it. you're sick. your hands hurt and your legs don't work right. and it's tough sometimes. but you have people who understand.#you have people who honest to god love you for who you are and appreciate your company. and 18 is the first step.#you've spent half your life unlearning things and you've spent half your life relearning how to be what YOU want to be#and if you're a mediocre artist and passionate writer then you'll be fucking great at that. taking the time to learn when it strikes you.#and maybe this is for me. but its also for anybody reading it too. please god if there's one thing you take from this let it be that#somebody out there cares. *I* care. god i care. even if we've never spoken proper i care about you.#i practically have a list of everybody i see in my inbox. i love seeing familiar names show up. i.#i dont know how to neatly wrap up this tag ramble. but. i am so damn full of love it hurts sometimes. its scary to be happy but thats ok!
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not to be anti feminist or anything but i rly was made to be like a nepo baby or a stay at home girlfriend or smth bc the idea of having an actual career is so ghastly and every day i woke up to go to my last job i wanted to quit… but also i made homemade hummus and mediterranean wraps today and i have a whole dresser of art supplies and started writing up plans to build a fantasy book themed hotel …. like there’s so many things i wanna do i just don’t wanna think about the money. and also sometimes i just want to make iced coffee and have a 7 hour long nighttime routine or like binge gilmore girls all day. as is our god given right. sooooo who’s gonna fund that for me huh
#like i know im very lucky and privileged the fact that i live at home and i AM taken care of rn. i am a stay at home daughter#but the pressure to get a job and build my own career rly takes away my lust for life ngl#my mom is like why don’t u try copyrighting? u can work from home and still do everything u want!#like mom u don’t understand i don’t want to write work emails for ppl i wanna write my silly little stories abt my silly little characters#i wanna go to the homeless shelter and bring care packages i lovingly crafted myself#i wanna randomly travel to thailand and then come back and take ski lessons and then open an animal sanctuary#i DO want to enjoy all the things the world has to offer. i do. and i think that’s good and normal and fine#but i also just want the freedom to help as many people as possible and make the world a better place#i want to have the energy and motivation to put all of my ideas into action#and i think there are lots of boring rich ppl in the world who could be making the world happier and they’re not#so i want a turn
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Istg I actually need to sit down and write a proper bio for Riku because even I get confused af as to what his personality is sometimes.
#oc tag#“but prince he's your oc how tf did this happen” he has a mind of his own trust me#i mean this is literally one of the parts of his character he is literally so good at adapting his personality#because he felt he needed to as a kid both in school and in the business world#that barely anyone knows what he's actually like#like one minute he's a suave overconfident guy who can take on anything#but hes also the quiet dude in class who never participates is probably asleep but somehow gets everything right and is top of the grade#he loves to flirt but will absolutely blue screen if anyone flirts back because despite the fact he flaunts himself-#he doesn't think hes attractive LMAO#his biggest motivation is spite and he doesn't know when to quit#this boy has so many fucking issues istg#def one of those characters who has so many masks that he hardly knows himself#i have a fear that he's nearly too complex to the point where he's a confusing character and i personally dont think thats a good thing#so i really hope that's not the case for you guys 😬#over my break ive really spent time trying to iron out his character and just make him into soemthing im even more proud of you know#the good thing is that at least his story now has a clear arc and theme which im really proud of#so im gonna use that to build off and iron him out even more#the way i put more work into this funky dude i came up with than like my entire uni work#i love him so much sorry to be mentally ill about a guy i made because i liked a ship too much (and crossover i was having fun with too)#one day i will have a proper post for him with references and everything for him his outfits his personas the lot#one of these days
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#I don't know anything about Vanitas no Carte other than by what I see from time to time on twitter or here by chance#but that character having a brooch of a broken mirror with wings reminded me a lot of Jack#Also apparently the new character is also an archiviste and is playing music on a music box and talking about the world/story again?#In a very Abysslooking place. That's interesting. I've seen she and the guy with the broken mirror#are talking as if they were watching the story of the world‚but as if they'd get different interpretation of the events as different people#I think to recall? Which is pretty interesting especially considering I think to recall the girl was an Archiviste#And doesn't the story start with Noé talking about Vanitas' death? I don't know. Very Crónicas de una muerte anunciada among others#But with the implication of‚ idk I don't read the story‚ but this Juror-like figures watching the story for amusement and interpreting it#differently‚ and then as archivists idk... writing it down? categorising it? is pretty interesting in its possible ramifications#and potential implications. The idea of the story/world becoming a story told‚ and the telling depending on interpretation#The idea of the story/world becoming a story/narration and becoming actually several different stories#A bit like that 1984 line but out of context. And there's something more... I don't think it's Kant or Wittgenstein#Perspectivism but I wasn't thinking of that. Oh maybe it was Unamuno#Which reminds me of that one line about Horatio remembering Hamlet so well it would as if he hadn't died at all#And idkif Noe is an archivist it could be very interesting if he ended up being one of those Juror-like beings telling the story of Vanitas#Which is again pretty interesting considering that he has killed him? I watched the first episode of the anime#and I think to recall he said that? And idk I think it is very interesting in the potential twisting of events that comes from relying#a story‚ even more so if Noe has lived alongside and killed Vanitas‚ and with how these characters in the new chapter have explicitly said#they'd have different interpretations of the story/world. Not to talk about the fact of how that worked in PH#with Jack‚ Arthur and the Glens among others. But yeah. The idea of a... god adjacent? being witnessing a story#and getting a personal interpretation of it and writing it down is very interesting in its own‚ but it is also very interesting#in an additional way the idea of that godlike being having feelings of any kind for the person at the center of the story they're relying#idk. Unrelated to this but it gives me a bit the vibes of Aphrodite making flowers out of Adonis#or everything happening with Turnus and Aeneas I guess. Also damnatio memoriae. It evokes me all those things among others#But what do I know. I know barely anything at all about VnC. But these concepts I've last seen seem really very interesting#I talk too much#I should probably delete this later#Hmm I hope this doesn't appear suggested to people following the tags of things I've mentioned here like the manga‚ Aeneas or Wittgenstein#It is so annoying when it happens. Maybe I should start 'censoring' words when I'm just making notes for myself to avoid that#I've seen some people do it. Really tumblr getting rid of the five tags things has ruined the way I posted a bit
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