#idk if i’ve ever canonized that but its true

[deadlyeyez]

antonym in that act 5 drawing with status having one of his eyes covered, the same eye that mutation and stasis are blind in ...

Oouuuuughhghh

always has been /ref

[magpod-confessions]

(look at me go, not asking anonymously for once lol)

“the web is underrated” “the buried is underrated” “the dark is the most underrated” 

yes. you are right, i agree. but they are all underrated. none of the fears get the attention they deserve.

-the dark and the end are almost completely forgotten about due to their perceived simplicity.

-the buried, the flesh, the hunt, etc are so unexplored, no one bothers to look any deeper into them.

-the desolation is not just fire, but no one ever tries to represent it some other way.

-don’t get me started on the whole spiral-distortion thing (perhaps i will make this a future confession bc oh boy do i have a lot to say).

with all of them people seem to be scared of diverging from the explicit canon representations.

no one seems to care about the fears anymore. THE fears. you know, the one thing that makes tma so special? i’ve lost count of the number of times i’ve seen someone say “after listening to tma i can never look at things the same. i always categorise them by the entities”

that’s all they are treated as, categories. perhaps this is an odd way to describe horrific manifestations of our deepest fears, but i think they are beautiful concepts. i could spend hours thinking about each one and the ways they bleed into one another, i probably have. 

yeah, at this point smirke’s 14 are old news, but there are always new angles to explore. we saw that in season 5 of tma, and we are seeing it now in tmagp (though the fears are of course different). why did we stop talking about that? (i wasn’t actually on tumblr when tma was happening so idk. maybe no one ever cared) 

talk about the fears, put your ideas for unconventional statements or avatar or whatever out there, there’s an audience (me at least). say stuff about how different fears crossover, or some new aspect of one. “but surely people would have already said this at some point” respectfully, i don’t give a shit. if i come across mutliple posts analysing a similar aspect of the vast, i’m going to be fucking overjoyed. because much of the fears is up to intepretation, they have slightly different meanings to different people, so every single person’s interpretation adds value and adds something unique. i see a little of this, but not enough.

we should keep discussing the fears. i don’t know why we ever stopped.

(sorry this is so long and rambling, i hope you can see the points i’m trying to make.)

🗣️ i’d love to hear your thoughts on this

Literally this. Agree with all of it

Some things:

The Desolation can be natural disasters, including floods, storms and earthquakes. Water is just as destructive as fire

The Dark can be not knowing something. It overlaps with the eye yes, but it still counts

The Corruption is shown to be a response to loneliness, not the opposite of it. Its being so lonely you seek out community, no matter how dangerous it may be. Every single corruption statement has references to loneliness

The Spiral says its a liar, but its never done that, only changing your perception of reality to make what it says true. It is delusion not manipulation

The Slaughter is never portrayed outside of war, which is strange because sheer unhinged violence has so much variety

[elainsgirl]

"He hasn't gotten that far with his planning, certainly not beyond the fantasies he pleasured him to."

That has got to be one of the most misunderstood thing that has ever been written.

It's not that Azriel doesn't want a future, it's that he feels like he can't have it, thats why he doesn't see it! People are so stupid to see the real reason behind it and uses it as an argument just so they think their ship is better. Its ridiculous.

Its just another example of antis twisting canon/context to fit their narratives,

Rhys doesn’t ask Azriel about his future plans w Elain. He asks about Lucien specifically, “what about Lucien?” And to THAT he replied how he hadn’t gone that far with his planning. Which we know its true, Azriel has done nothing to Lucien or even affect elucien hence no plan to remove Lucien out of the equation has been made -> he hasn’t gone that far into actually doing anything. He’s just minding his business, staying away from Elain despite how down bad he is for her.

and here’s the thing, another example of antis x inconsistency-> They call Azriel entitled for questioning the cauldron yet criticise him for not planning an entite future with Elain…when that would literally be the definition of entitlement especially as he did not know for sure how she felt about him.

If elriel wanted to get together, the next step could be a bloodduel which Az was ready for. What else did they want him to say or do bcs im afraid anything else would’ve come across as arrogance & again, entitlement. Could you imagine the riot that he would have caused if he had said, “yes I’ve planned an entire future with Elain. She will obviously break the bond for me, we will have x many children and live in this place and she’ll do that and I’ll do this” THAT is what you call toxic and controlling especially as there is no imput from Elain.

The thing is - I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, antis hold elriel to a higher standard then every other ship bcs they hate the idea of two consenting, interested individuals getting together. Idk what they expected. A love confession!? A proposal!? Az to march up & wake Lucien and demand a blood duel? Their expectations are lowkey ridiculous whichever way you look at it.

And yh. This man did not know the full extent of elains feelings for him. He did not know if his feelings were returned or one sided, the man whose crush chose his brother over him with 0 explanation, the man who still hides his scars - is not going to think he is worthy of someone he is interested in. Azriel would feel the same about any Love interest. Mor, Elain, Eris or Gwyn - his insecurities and low self worth would remain. Difference is? Elain chose him over her mate. Showed him how much she wanted him. Took his scarred hands without hesitation. Never showed fear at him or his shadows.

Gwynriels in their HCs have this same dynamic. Az has a moment where he feels unworthy and Gwyn makes him feel better. Guess what? That WILL happen with elriel, it already has as I pointed out above. Its also a common trope/issue within romance books so idk why antis are acting as though its something so bad. They’re always yapping about how much they’ve read romance books yet can’t recognise this simple, common trope?

Thing is - when your ship is so undeveloped that it has no issues, yh it’ll be perfect. But thats now how romance is written, especially not how Mass writes her romances. Every single couple has issues, insecurities and fears they overcome. That’s what makes them special. Unique. Complex.

[fumifooms]

Did you notice that in the anime chilchuck blushes when he sees marcille in the red dress? I skimmed through the marchil crumbs master post and from what I saw you didn't mention it

Also its not from the ale since he wasn't blushing right before that

Ah yeah, don’t worry it’s because part 8 of the crumbs masterpost isn’t out yet, I’ve been lazy with it but it’s been overdue ever since the second half of season 2 started, and it does have a buncha stuff don’t you even worry lol my god… I just need to get out some stuff for it first. Ahh good times

On this though: I personally don’t give it much weight but it’s valid to read into it.

What we know:

Against: - Kui does make characters blush both when they’re drunk AND when they laugh. - Chil is confirmed drunk/tipsy in that scene because in the picture above his little mood chibi is drunk lol. - The point of the scene is that he laughs at her, the joke is that he laughs at her. If there’s subtext it’s still very much secondary and easy to miss and ‘besides the point’ anyways, buut does this subtext exist? Well…

For: - In the dating sim cover, the other option was "tell her she looks pretty". None of the choices seem outrageous for his character so it’s not random throwaway lines, though of course the reasoning behind it may be as simple as ‘it’s formality’. In the chapter cover, Marcille’s section is the one on top of every other one at center stage, which makes sense since it’s for bicorn chapter and bicorn chapter is THE Marcille & Chil chapter. In all of the choice dialogue bubbles on the cover, out of the 7 ones the hand is always over the choice he picks except for Marcille’s and Falin’s, indicating he might have hesitated. - Short of being a half-foot with a sultry face, Marcille is Chilchuck’s type. - The face he’s making in his little mood emoji in the dating sim picture lol? You may be drunk but pull yourself together omg - Chilchuck does deflect his more compromising feelings so this would be in character. Marcille is the only character he teases so much so often and it’s implied to be because he finds her reaction fun, full with shojo filter and sparkles all around her with his mind. Do with this what you will… Schoolboy pulling on the pigtails of the girl he like’s pigtails.

Neutral: - we don’t see the milisecond of realization on Chil’s face in the manga. - we don’t see his face after spitting out all his ale in the anime lol. - what could be "canon" in the manga may not be in the anime and vice versa.

Also whatever the hell this is. We all know not to give too much weight to VA’s takes but also what!! I always thought in the manga that Chilchuck wasn’t the one calling frogsuit Marcille cute so that was already a steel chair to me but lol the point of him saying that in the scene was still very much to follow through on the bait she took lmaoo. I don’t thiiink Chilchuck would think the frog suit genuinely makes Marcille look cute idk. Kigurumi enjoyer Chilchuck confirmed… And I feel like if this is true then Chilchuck wouldn’t have much problem giving her a casual compliment over her looks in the golden kingdom scene either. But also?!! 👁👁

Chil’s jp VA has also said that Marcille is cute (Marcille’s jp va said Chilchuck is cute too but that’s besides the point. 16:05 here). And got into some trouble for acting overly familiar with Marcille’s VA, somewhere in this haven’t looked myself yet. So there might be a whole unrelated thing there?? I’ll cover it more fully in the crumbs masterpost hopefully, after some more investigation. Gdbdg so yeah several layers of putting crumbs under magnifiers like they could be fake gemstones to appraise their authenticity and thus value

Stare. Play it cool.

I love it when he does this it’s so cute. Cheers, raising my cup to you

[mazzystar24]

idk how tim is keeping her around… like its so clear the fandom hates her and wants her gone- just read the comments on the stills. i understand that her contract probably requires her to be in a certain number of episodes, but tim has really fucked with her storyline this season and made her a bigger character than she ever needed to be and i genuinely don’t understand his choice to do so… if it were to somehow play into eddie’s sexuality, there are a myriad of other ways that could be introduced without givinf a transphobe screentime and along with some of tim’s other choices this season really makes me doubt if he knows what he’s doing at times…. i was so excited for him to come back as showrunner because i thought yk maybe they would stop dragging their feet on buddie but every day it feels more and more like baiting and that we’re simultaneously closer yet further away than we’ve ever been and it’s making me not trust time anymore. and with the jlh live making the joke about buddie not happening it’s making it so hard to remain optimistic… like i will forever be a buddie shipper first and foremost, but i also know how network tv shows use shit like this to their advantage when it comes to baiting and pulling in audiences to watch- it’s been done over and over and over and as much as i want to believe tim wouldn’t do that to us, it’s getting harder and harder to trust him every day. i’ve never considered folding in a series i’ve so vehemently loved before but this season has really messed with my head and i don’t know if i can continue putting myself through the torture if there won’t be any payoff.

Hi anon! Totally meant to reply to this before the episode so obviously my answer is a bit different (but not overtly so)

This episode confirmed Marisol is on her way out so small victories of the transphobe getting kicked to the curb

Totally understand where you’re coming from with being disheartened and like obviously look out for yourself first and foremost but if you’re looking for reassurance I think that like

1. Jlh will only have limited knowledge like Devon was saying even her, edy and Ryan were trying to get info from eachother on who’s staying and stuff and also jlh did clarify it’s a joke and also if buddie were going to have some confirmation this season they would be telling all the actors to keep it hush hush and throw people off guessing it

2. It’s true tv networks do like using that stuff to promote shows but also abc very much seems to recognise that fans make or break a show that’s why you see a lot of shows on it like greys or the rookie do tend to keep an eye on fan reactions and respond accordingly and by that logic if the tv network is aware enough of the fact they can promote a show by even hinting at buddie undertones then they know that full canon would do favours for their ratings, and Tim did say one of the main obstacles to bi buck canon was the network back when they were on fox

3. Things are constantly in progress and we still have s8 so there is never cause to be like there is no hope, like if they didn’t want buddie canon on the table they would have said so but they constantly establish that it’s on the table and if the story progresses that way then they’d all be on board

I gotta pulls a Serena and say I gotta go but thanks anon for the ask and hope it’s somehow reassuring

Remember bestie delulu is the solulu🥰❤️🫶🤡🤩✨

(yes I had to make a joke somewhere cos I’m extremely awkward)

[klanceficatalogue]

hi!! do you have any rec of a fic that is based on albums or songs or playlists??? oneshots or chapteres fics idk

also i need to add scrolling through your favs i found “Like the Night Falling” by iybms and i think its one of my fav fics now 😭 i absolutely loved ittt

thanks!! have a good day!! <3

totally!! Like the Night Falling is a fantastic fic sooo true - k

Will They Won't They by goddessemily (15/15 | 89,679 | Explicit)

“There's something about you that just…” He struggled to articulate it. “I can’t figure it out. I don’t know what your deal is,” “My deal?” Lance’s eyebrows shot up to his forehead. He jabbed a finger into Keith’s chest, voice angry as he spoke. “Alright, here’s my deal. A few weeks ago, one of the hottest guys I’ve ever seen walked into my life, and then I punched him in the face. I keep bending over backwards trying to impress him, but I just keep fucking things up. It doesn’t help, though, that he’s aloof and mysterious and acts like a dick, but I know there’s more to him than that, and for some god-forsaken reason, I’m dying to figure it out,” — Or, Keith has never heard of Voltron or any of its band members. That is, until he’s hired to work with them and catches the eye of Lance, the lead singer/guitarist. Their relationship is complicated and filled with obstacles, and they both try to figure out the best way to navigate it. Or, well, Keith tries. But it’s hard to figure out your emotions when someone is releasing a song clearly written about you every 5 seconds.

//internalised homophobia

(minor james/keith)

high hopes (are getting low) by metamizol (1/1 | 1,420 | Teen and Up)

Lance is the elder prince of Altea, yet he has no rights to inheir the throne. Making out with servants and living like a rebellious royal kid, breaking hearts and being whispered about all around the galaxy - that's what he's like. Love is unnecessary and marriage is overrated. Until he meets some half galra guy.

Past the Mourning Sun by crapoftheworld (14/14 | 67,705 | General)

His vision blurred from tears and sweat running together and making his eyes sting, and he heard his team screaming his name. They felt far away and he wanted to tell them not to worry, his eyes sluggishly attempting to convey what his clenched jaw couldn’t, but before he could do much of anything, Lance’s view of the desolation Voltron had wrought, of the new Galra fleet, of his fellow Voltron lions, of the giant druid ship with its offensively shaped canon, all faded to darkest black. *** Voltron is falling apart. Keith has left, Shiro’s acting weird, and Red is shunning Lance. Just when he thought things couldn’t get worse, they did. Lance gets zapped far away to an alternate reality where he struggles to find his footing. He needs to find his way back to the team, fast, and maybe he’ll find himself along the way. Despite his aversion to cliches, he just can't seem to steer clear of them.

//graphic violence //ptsd //substance abuse //panic attacks

[texasbama]

Hiya I know you're a safe space and I need to get this out, so sorry in advance 🙃.

I see how amazing canon bi buck is for the queer community and I don't mind how it happened in canon. But while I should be happy, I actually kind of feel like I'm mourning? I'm so attached to eddie, maybe unhealthily so, and the ensemble found family dynamic is what first brought me to the show. For a while it's been a struggle having the fandom basically shove buck into every spec or storyline and act like he is a perfect angel and the centre of the universe. But there was always the eddiezers and it was more balanced. But now literally EVERYBODY is all about buck and tommy. It feels like the rest of the show doesn't even exist. I know its only been a couple of days but going on social media now just makes me anxious and idk why really. I'm worried about future eddie storylines, I'm desperate for marisol to disappear, but the vibe is that now buck is bi nothing else matters, we've won apparently, who even cares about eddie or the other characters because buck kissed a man.

Also I'm sex-repulsed ace and people saying how if you don't like it you're a purist and an evangelical and homophobic and biphobic actually makes me feel like shit. I never really understood wanting two characters to have sex 'because why not', because I don't understand why anyone wants to ever lol. I can only read buddie smut in very specific scenarios and most of the time i skip even that. And the rhetoric in a lot of tumblr space recently makes me feel like a bad person for not being all for it 100%. I don't think I've explained myself well here but I tried. You don't have to reply or post this either, I just wanted to reach out to someone in fandom who won't jump down my throat for it 😅. 911 is kind of a hyperfixation of mine so even though I'm trying to stay away as much as possible so as to not make myself more upset but I have no idea what to do with myself otherwise 🫠. Thanks for reading and sorry for unloading on you

Please don’t apologize, im happy you felt like I was a safe space. Im gonna break this into two parts and I hope I can articulate myself correctly lol

1) the first few days after an episode, any episode but especially one like this, isn’t indicative of fandom as a whole. Emotions are heightened due to what happened in the episode. Everyone is screaming about something and it’s in your face ya know? This week something HUGE happened, so yes people are talking about it. It was to be expected. We must make space for people to be happy about it. It’s a beautiful thing and queer joy MUST be celebrated.

This show (for the most part) has done a beautiful job of giving each character their time to shine(some more so than others but thats a conversation for a different day). Coming off 7x04, yes the headline is Bi Buck. And it will continue to be for a while, but it’s important to remember that YOU curate your fandom experience. I don’t blame you at all for what you’re feeling, ESPECIALLY as an Eddie girlie(gn), like I get it! Trust me! I’ve had to carefully maneuver through some emotions this week myself. I’m human! But filtering and being able to step away is everything.

Being excited about the storyline and also hoping and wanting more from other storylines are two things that can be true at the same time. It’s not one or the other. Remember that.

2) im going to say this and just know the caps is because I am just passionate. I promise you, its yelling at you with love okay?

I know it is easier said than done, but don’t you EVER allow ANYONE on this fucking hellsite make you feel less than or that your asexuality is anything but 100% valid. YOU are valid, you hear me?

Okay. I had to make sure to say that first. Whew. Now. As for the fandom piece of it all, we have to remember that there levels to it. You are allowed to feel the way you feel about sex, BUT it’s also important to remember that sex positivity (and those who express it) is also a good and valid. If you feel like there are blogs that talk down to you, imply that YOU are homophobic or biphobic simply because YOU are not doing cartwheels about different sex acts, then block. Unfollow. Do whatever you need to. Those people are scum.

Listen to me *pulls you close*, this is always a safe space. You are a valid, your existence and experiences are valid. And anyone who makes you question that can fuck right off. And lastly, HAPPY ASEXUALITY DAY TO YOU SPECIFICALLY! MUAH! 💜🤍🩶🖤

[m1ckeyb3rry]

Finally back to my chronically online era for the time being hoping it stays that way for while LOL

LMAOOO nooo this unfortunately is the grind type of grass so not particularly enjoyable shskdhs and trust me no amount of good influence could make me stop being online HAHAHA also you’ve probably already noticed but idk why sometimes there’ll just be a random a at the top of my reply idk why maybe im accidentally hitting a key when I paste into the ask box but um yeah just ignore that LMAO

So true I rarely ever see people striking the sweet spot that balances the on field asshole off field sweetheart!! Atp everything in the miraverse will slowly become canon oaeu so true I love the chigiri and nagi bff dynamic even them first talking in the 4v4 dorm was so cute!!!

NO BECAUSE ME TOO??? Heavy on the otoya and also I see so many CLICKBAIT KARASU EDITS BUT ITS ACTUALLY RIN UGH like it’ll show karasus intro or him from the additional time and flip to Rin like no stay where you are and edit my man please…..wait if the Barou editors started editing Karasu….wait…..no because they’ve got TASTE the music choice is always on point they make him look so scrumptious

UAHAHSHDHS REAL if Mira goes down I do too I’m crying but yeah why did he kinda kinda good there…..the power of an edit….,

We’re fr just on the same page LMAOOA because same I thought he was just being goofy and saying something like his “bakyuun” (???) hearing it side by side with the air horn has me cackling

HAHAHAHA Aiku would SO make Niko do tiktok trends with him wait imagine he drags him along to do those stupid street interviews like either the ones asking about opinions or like the “call your bffs bf to see if he’s cheating” or the “I’ll buy you anything if you don’t speak”

Always serving and saving my fyp fr thank you for your service o7 idk why but my fyp fr never floods with bllk actually what’s funny is I actually get more haikyuu content than bllk but I don’t even interact with or watch haikyuu content so??? And FR T-10 hours until ep2 im so hyped especially because the ep title is “assassin and ninja” so we KNOW karasus gonna be all over the episode

LMAOOO perhaps the next few episodes will persuade you….perchance….im crying it’s like nagi and Karasu shared custody battle over your theme or something LOL

HAHAHSH classic Mira activities /j it’s ok extra time just means more time to marinate and cook!!! Very excited to read the final product though!!

- Karasu anon

AHAHA YAYY WELCOME BACK!! and yeah ikwym like sometimes the grind takes over and you have to just lock in for a bit but then once it’s over the feeling of being chronically online once more is so refreshing!! and dw hehe i usually mentally filter it out and figure it’s smth funky going on w tumblr like usual

LONG LIVE OAEU it’s basically canon to ME like everything in it actually happened…omg only tangentially related but i missed having you to make silly jokes with because i’ve been forced to post them raw to the world and some people take them WAY too seriously and start yapping about how i’m being dramatic or interpreting characters incorrectly or whatever 😭 like uhhhh well. yes i AM exaggerating that’s how jokes work obviously i don’t view the characters that way irl 😓 sometimes the analysis grind takes over and people forget that you can just be lighthearted and silly about characters sometimes too but anyways…very happy to have you back…

BRO OMG THERE’S SO MANY EDITS WHERE IT STARTS OFF W KARASU AND SWITCHES TO RIN UGH FLIP THE CAMERA BACK GIRL I WANT THE CROW BOY!!!! i feel like barou fans need to like karasu he’s basically barou but slightly skinnier and with shorter hair KSDJFHSLKD like come on guys he’s made for you all to like him…edit him…please edit him…i’m on my knees PLEASEEEE at least otoya is getting love though??? but i’m actually so shocked that otoya has more fans than karasu HELP

WE ARE INSEPARABLE if i ever convert i will literally bring you with me i can’t convert on my own…no because that edit lowkey did him too well i was like huh ig i see it now 😩 not enough to like actually change my opinions though because the itoshi bro fanbase is a little too annoying for my liking so i could never join willingly but i do see the vision yk

YES it’s like an established thing for him to just make random noises so i thought this was some weird ninja bs he was on but no he’s actually just chill like that ig 😭 ugh i need to work on pursuit more so i can finally write him and karasu in that verse they are truly my goats and pursuit otoya especially has exactly that kind of humor where he just references dumb stuff constantly LKSJDF

HELP OH MY GOD HE WOULD he makes niko film him stopping random girls on the street or like niko’s holding the camera and the ring light while aiku does his little thirst traps or smth…aikuniko duo forever famous i will always love them

wait that is weird that you don’t get as much bllk 🤨 i will do my best to provide and serve…anyways animation on this ep wasn’t STELLAR however karasu looked so good and his voiceeeee oh my god and that one scene of his hands LKSJDF I HOPE YOU KNOW THE ONE it literally redeemed everything for me idgaf that abt the animation or wtvr i’m just happy we got to seem him 😩 i think karasu does look more majestic in the manga art style (maybe because the smirk doesn’t translate quite as well to movement and talking??) but he still looked rlly good!! and that one scene of him in the bambi osaka kit hehehe he’s so muscular omg i was fr giggling and kicking my feet every time he came on the screen (also we got the iconic “he’s…a villain 😱” line i’m sorry that will never not crack me up)

PLSSS KARASU AND NAGI CUSTODY BATTLE i wish they had majestic panels together so i could do a joint nagi and karasu theme…they have a lot of silly ones from the shibuya chapters but idk if it’s theme worthy…lowkey what i could do is have my header be one of the silly panels and then do one nagi panel and one karasu panel in my theme so that it’s still both of them?? idk i’ll have to think on it

HELP DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG IT IS ATM??? 15K AND I’M NOT EVEN DONE i never want to hear someone saying i don’t write as much for my opps EVER again it literally just depends on the way the request is formatted SLKDJFD like as long as you give me something i can work with i WILL cook it’s literally just people giving me the most specific scenarios with little plot that gets me to write shorter…not that there’s anything wrong with that those are fun to!! but it’s proof that it’s not the character as much as it is the scenario which gets me to do more or less ☝🏻 but anyways i’m kind of in the final section of it so hopefully that means it’ll be out before i go to bed tonight

[sanjiceo]

hi ! i answered these questions about lemonberry :3 hope whoever reads the whole thing has a lovely week 💌🍀

♥️ - his kindness !! absolutely unmatched in every way: he’s proven his selflessness in many aspects throughout the entire one piece storyline. he’s the type of person you would never want to lose, love everything about him though :3

🐍 - considering we’re both pirates on sea constantly, i don’t think owning a pet would be our biggest priority unfortunately :( but we’re both definitely animal lovers ! in a modern au we would own a few kittens and a big dog together :P

🕷️ - oh we’re both deadly terrified of insects. sanji would not get near them, under any circumstances, so i would have to step in, (although i wouldn’t technically have to deal with it head on, since my body is mechanical and i can just use that to my advantage) and i don’t think we’re letting them out of the house, rather just killing them…

⭐️ - we both think astrology is fun and find it interesting, but we don’t take it too seriously! and of course samelo is compatible, we r inseperable 🩷

🌹 - i know sanji’s canon assigned flower is a delphinium, but i can’t help but associate him with the edelweiss flower. it represents freedom and purity, which in a way represents how he cut ties from judge, and managed to stay true to himself all throughout his childhood, following the same path onto his adulthood.

🌲 - we sneak away on every new island to different places and just to get away for a bit, bring crew mates of the future pirate king can get draining ;; so we take every chance we get to get a breath of fresh air before the next big adventure. on the ship our favorite place to hang out together would be the aquarium :’D

🐦‍⬛ - we’d be lovebirds because we’re glued to each other always <3

🌙 - we both love the night time :> staying up together when the ship gets quiet to enjoy each others presence, and to make most of all the time we get together. we end up falling asleep on each other anyways though

🍒 - of course we bake together ! although its usually sanji baking little treats for me because he loves keeping me spoiled ^3^ ~ we bake together too though of course ! our favorites include chocolate chip cookies ( they have to be soft ) and tiramisu !

🐸 - i associate him with ducks and puppies, they suit him :P

🐈‍⬛ - i’ve always been a cat lover, so they’re my favorite. but dogs are lovely too ( looks at sanji )

⚜️ - we’re always on the go since we’re constantly traveling with the straw hats on the ship ! there’ll soon be nowhere we haven’t gone together >_o

🎀 - i love when he wears his many tinted glasses… a very cute accessory for him :3 clothes wise, he’s gorgeous in anything but i’ve especially enjoyed his maroon suit… the gloves really tie in the whole look :P

🥬 - probably something weird like dipping fries into ice-cream, he’d think i’m crazy but still steal bites from my plate lol

🖤 - not a time where he hasn’t complimented an outfit i wore, so its hard to pinpoint a specific one ! i’d say he likes when i switch it up and wear dresses alot since i don’t typically go for that :3c

🐤 - farmer melo and housewife sanji ? :9 idk if it’s something we’d be interested in but it sounds like a fun idea 😭

🎈 - the biggest surprise ever and only the best for him ! i’d get all the straw hats in on it too of course, get him many gifts and make treats, preferably while he’s distracted on an island getting groceries or something >_o

🌱- neither of us are gardeners so not sure if we would get up to that in the op world, but maybe we’d help nami with her tangerines every now and then :3

♣️ - i don’t think we would get up to playing card games if its just the two of us, but maybe we would with all of the crew !

🐠 - sanji’s a pro swimmer and he’s infatuated with the ocean, gets very excited whenever he talks about it. and i love the ocean because i associate it with sanji 🌊 he loves many sea creatures, but my favorite would be turtles ;P they’re too cute

🖍️ - hell yeah omg we do competitive swimming if we find a pool or even a body of water at any island we go to we will absolutely find a way to race eachother, nami and usopp often times joining us ! i do many silly crafty things so he’ll often watch me or give a try at it as well, but his crafts often end up looking funny ( in an endearing way )

🍵 - i’m a big fan of all three ! sanji is more of a tea lover. every morning he’ll get up a few minutes earlier than me to make me whatever i’m craving that day, he’ll wake me up softly just to ask. :>

✒️ - we live together, so there would technically be no point in writing letters for each other, but we’re both losers in love so when the day is special ( like an anniversary or a birthday ) we’ll write up something full of love for eachother 💌

💛 - probably blue or black since he wore those colors alot when we first met !

💄 - he gets up first of course, showers and cleans up, then goes to the kitchen to make everyone breakfast and whatnot. after he’s done preparing, he’ll come back to our room to silently wake me up by peppering me with soft kisses, number one reason why i never wake up in a bad mood. after i’m done with my shower, we both get dressed together for the day. he’ll also do my hair for me while i do my makeup in the mirror, ( he’s really good at this ? weirdo ) it takes a while since i have a lot of hair. he’ll style it depending on whether i wanted something specific, or i’ll just let him get creative 🌻

☘️ - not that we can think of :’)

🎧 - he’s not big on modern music so the most he’ll do is play a few classical tunes in the kitchen while he’s cooking. but i’m a big music girl so ever since we’ve been together he’ll hear some of the songs i make / listen to and play them while he’s cooking or getting ready in the morning

🌼 - whenever i see flowers i pick one out for him and place it in his hair / his hand :3 he’s made a collection out of them without me knowing, i thought he’d just lose it the next day but he’s kept them all in his closet :’c

🍎 - neither of us are picky ! but cucumbers gross me out on the occasion, so i’ll take those out and put them on his plate while giving him a side eye. he laughs it off and eats it for me because he knows i don’t like wasting food either :3

📗 - we both journal ! we don’t have things we hide from each other, while i write forms of songs and poetry, he’ll write short paragraphs about how his week went. we both use it as a way to relax and detach. we would never invade each other’s privacy or anything like that, so we don’t really bother asking to read each others journals unless we show it to each other willingly :)

☀️ - summer is lovely ! we get to go to the beach more often and take breaks from pirating for a bit. its a nice getaway from the stress & we love to use that time to bond with the straw hats and catch up on things we don’t get to talk about while on adventure :’)

thanks if you made it all the way here ! i just filled this out for myself because i’m extremely sanjipilled #❤️‍🩹🕒

f/ovember ask game ~

♥️ - what's your absolute most favorite thing about s/i, if you had to narrow it down to one thing.

🐍 - if you two could own any pet, which pet would you own? is there any mythological pets or pets that are illegal to own where you live that you would like?

🕷️ - are either of you afraid of insects? who kills the spiders when one of you is scared? otherwise, who lets them out of the house?

⭐ - do either of you believe in zodiac signs? do you think your and s/is are compatible?

🌹 - what flower do you associate with s/i? if they were a field of flowers, what flowers would they be?

🌲 - do you have a favorite place to go with s/i? why Is it your favorite?

🐦‍⬛ - if you and s/i were birds, what kind of birds do you think you would be?

🌙 - do you like the nighttime? would you consider yourself a night owl? how about s/i?

🍒 - do you bake? do you and s/i bake together? do you have a go-to treat to make?

🐸 - ignoring s/is favorite animal, whats an animal that you associate with them?

🐈‍⬛ - do you prefer cats or dogs? is there any reason why?

⚜️ - have you and s/i ever traveled together before? is there anywhere you would like to take s/i?

🎀 - do you have a favorite outfit that s/i wears? what does it look like? do you ever help them pick out outfits?

🥬 - what's a meal, snack, or drink you introduced to s/i that they like? whats one that they introduced to you?

🖤 - has s/i ever told you a specific style of clothing that would look nice on you? what kind?

🐤 - would you and s/i ever live on a farm? what animals would you have? if you already do, what animals do you have currently?

🎈 - how do you like to celebrate s/i's birthday?

🌱 - do you like gardening? if so, what do you plant? and if you don't garden, whats something you would like to plant?

♣️ - do you ever play card games with s/i? do you have a favorite?

🐠 - do you like the ocean? do you have a favorite sea creature?

🖍️ - do you have a fun/silly pastime you like to engage in with s/i? what is it?

🍵 - do you ever make s/i tea or coffee? what kind? if you don't make them tea or coffee, is there something else you make for them? like hot chocolate?

✒️ - do you write s/i letters? or does s/i write you letters? both?

💛 - if you didnt know s/i, what would you guess their favorite color is?

💄 - what does a morning with you and s/i look like? do you have a routine, anything you two do together to get ready?

☘️ - do you have any superstitions? and quirks you do to follow those superstitions? (i.e, ringing bells before you leave the house to ask the spirits to watch over your home, knocking on wood to bring good luck, not opening umbrellas indoors, things like that.)

🎧 - is there any music that s/i listens to that youve started to like?

🌼 - do you give s/i flowers? how often do you give them flowers? what kind?

🍎 - is s/i picky? are you picky? if you go out to eat with s/i, is there any food you or they put on the others plate that you wont eat? (giving someone the pickles off of their burger, croutons off of their salad)

📗 - do you journal? what do you journal about? does s/i journal? have they ever let you read what they write?

🕸️ - do you like horror movies? does s/i like them? do you watch them together?

☀️ - how do you feel about the summertime?

feel free to use however you would like!!! please practice reblog karma and send an ask to someone if you reblog!!! I'm sure they would love some asks! feel free to send me some, as well, if you so choose.

[iholdhandswithcosmicentities]

Mizuki and Ambiguity

i know first hand just how important queer rep is in media, especially in japanese media where its even more rare than it is in the west. transmasc rep is after all, virtually non-existent in almost any media... i know how desperate people can get for that rep as well, with how much shipping and headcanons have burrowed their home within the online queer community.

HOWEVER, the way people have been going about the representation that mizuki brings to project sekai is...incredibly questionable. it’s very clear that the whole thing is run by a bunch of teenagers on tiktok and twitter, and that’s quite the opposite of a compliment. They’re clawing at this rep with their bare, grubby little chronically-online fingers, and by doing so COMPLETELY dodging the whole point of mizuki as a character.

mizuki’s gender being unknown is 100% a marketing tactic, almost purely for the debate and excitement that comes with it. they want us to argue about it, they want us to think up ideas for what mizuki’s secret could be. and this is exactly why only gender-neutral language is used for mizuki, and while their only canon pronoun is ‘boku’, they/them is used to replace this neutral language, since the language structure wouldn’t make sense in english without pronouns (any translations of she/her in the english version are mistranslations, some people assume that certain characters misgender mizuki on accident or that mizuki uses they/she pronouns, but this isn’t true) because using he or she would completely ruin the secret from the start. this also causes people to assume mizuki is canonically non-binary, which is also not true. or well, we don’t know. mizuki uses they/them because their gender is unknown, not because they canonically use they/them pronouns.

japanese media has a knack for making accidentally (or sometimes purposely, idk) queer-coded characters without actually making them queer. this is seen most commonly with ‘trap’ characters, which are essentially biological boys, who identify as boys, but who look or appear to be a girl. sometimes a gender-related issue is hinted, but other times it’s just them choosing how they present themselves. this can cause a lot of confusion with exactly who is meant to be queer-coded and who isn’t, especially because some of these characters don’t exactly correct people when they misgender them (Ex. chihiro fujisaki and luka urushibara who are often headcanoned as transfem/MTF do this) and some people get REALLY MAD if you just stick with calling them boys. coding is super finicky in this sense, especially with how fluid and confusing gender tends to be even in real life. these characters could be transfem as much as they could be boys who don’t mind being called girls, an enby who uses all pronouns, or basically any form of individual outside of the stereotypical binary, whether they’re actually queer or not.

and now we come full circle back to mizuki akiyama from project sekai. a character who initially looks like a girl, but has no gendered language used on them, has multiple events focusing them dealing with a mysterious identity related issue that is never outright explained, and some ‘secret’ that they keep from the rest of their groupmates. from backstory cutscenes, which have them appearing more masculine in presentation, its pretty safe to assume that they’re biologically male. this is a widely agreed fact, but the issue arises with their gender identity. the most common headcanon is that mizuki is transfem, either non-binary or MTF, and canonically uses they/them pronouns. the existence of non-binary characters who aren’t some aliens or robots is already VERY rare in anime, even more so than gender-conforming trans characters are; it is highly unlikely that they’d have a transfem character who chooses to use they/them, as the concept of gender ≠ pronouns is fairly new to the public in general. In fact, I’ve only ever seen this ONCE in any form of media, in a manga called Love Me for Who I Am, which is an explicitly queer story surrounding multiple trans characters, including the main love interest, who is transfem, biologically male and presenting completely feminine, AND uses they/them pronouns, insisting multiple times that they don’t feel like they fit either side of the gender binary.

japanese media kind of dances around the idea of trans people, but dips into it just enough for there to be somewhat well-known trans characters in multiple mainstream anime, games or manga. grell from black butler, magne from my hero academia, arashi from ensemble stars, alluka from hunter x hunter etc. now this representation isn’t really good by any means, a lot of it played for a gag type thing or just not really developed, and all of them are misgendered at some point by other characters. so while its not very good representation, transfem rep does very well exist in anime. the common thing to happen with this characters is one of two things. 1. they or others close to them refer to them by their preferred pronouns from the beginning, and we only find out they’re trans because of separate characters misgendering them at some point. or 2. they start out pre-transition and we witness them do some form of ‘coming out’.

mizuki is a very special case, because they don’t actually fit into either of these categories. 1. mizuki isn’t referred to by any pronouns from the beginning (even in their backstory scenes, no gendered-language is used) and 2. if mizuki is trans, they would’ve started out post-transition and in the closet. i’m sure this has happened somewhere but i truthfully have never seen it.

while it is, again, definitely a marketing tactic, i do believe that mizuki does have a purpose. project sekai is a silly little rhythm game, but it goes over a lot of serious topics that surround teenage life. like any other character in project sekai, mizuki is supposed to be relatable. nightcord as a whole is a huuuge progressive step for representation of mental health, which is also a very taboo thing in japan, they even canonically use discord of all things. nightcord represents the mentally ill part of teenagehood, the rep for kids with anxiety, depression, or any other disorders. the part that mizuki plays is for people who are outcasted from society for being different in the way they present. mizuki is for the people who think matching is overrated, mizuki is for the people who can express who they are with the way they dress because they can’t do it with words, mizuki is for the transfems, the transmascs, the enbies, mizuki is for the boys who like dresses and the girls who like suits, mizuki is for the people that refuse to look how society insists they should look.

mizuki’s gender really doesn’t matter that much. whether they end up a girl or a boy or anything in between. like any piece of media, anything can have multiple interpretations from many different, funky little human brains. because that’s the thing with the unknown, is that people will always try to fill that space up with something. and if your conclusion is that mizuki is non-binary? awesome! you think mizuki is MTF? that’s lovely! you think they’re a boy who simply likes being cute? that’s great also! even if you think mizuki is transmasc, feeling masculine on the inside doesn’t always mean being masculine on the outside too! they, he, she? all fine!

mizuki is just mizuki, and i think that’s a wonderful sentiment on its own.

[olderthannetfic]

On the Clint/Coulson post, people commented that C/C was a common background ship circa 2012, and that’s why it’s so numerous.

While there’s no direct way to see how much something is a primary vs. secondary ship on AO3, there’s a workaround that can give you a sense of whether it tends to be: otp = true.

OTP = true finds you all the works with just 1 relationship tag. You can even use it on a whole fandom to find all fics with 1 ship tag, regardless of what that tag is. (If you use it while filtering for a ship tag, it will, of course, find you works with only that ship tag.)

It’s hard to say how extremely multi-shippy fandoms affect this. Perhaps, there are cases where a ship is constantly the main ship but nearly always tagged with other ships in the background. (BTS fandom, perhaps? IDK.) But while MCU has a lot of background ship tagging, it also has a lot of fic that isn’t tagged that way.

I don’t think the number of otp=true fics is super meaningful aside from a gargantuan ship like stucky or stony, but the percentage as compared to other ships in the fandom does often track with how it feels to like a particular ship.

As you can see from the results above, some ships appear mostly in works that are about that ship. King of problematique ships Tony/Peter is like this. Very popular ships like stucky have a lot of otp=true fics, but are a bit more in the middle. Stony is particularly likely to show up in its not-so-MCU form and thus is less likely to have tons of popular MCU ships tagged on its fics. Platonic & ships and canon het are rarely otp=true.

(So, for example, I was into pepperony on LJ in the very early days of MCU, and there was a bunch of fic, but a Pepper/Tony fan on AO3 in 2022 is going to feel like their ship is “always” in the background and “never” the focus. It’s not literally true, but the charts above demonstrate why it’s going to feel that way to a lot of people.)

Clint/Coulson was annoyingly ever-present fanon in the background of other fics in 2012. I remember that. But the tagging does not really bear that out. There are still a hefty 6,933 otp=true works for C/C, representing 60.14% of works tagged with the ship, which is above the fandom average. (Yeah, okay, it’s nothing compared to stucky, but compared to most ships, 7k is no slouch.)

I’ve also included a chart showing absolute numbers because I think that too helps give a sense of how it feels.

My analysis is that while, anecdotally, C/C was often a background ship, the high work numbers reflect a lot of actual focus on the ship, not just background inclusion.

[weakspotwinchester]

What with the stupid anniversary I’m finally gonna put this into words and this is the only place I can do it, lol.  This is probably obvious to a lot of people but I’ve been thinking it for two years and wanted to get it out of my brain.

Misha spent ten years queerbaiting his fans. He dangled possibilities, nudged shippers along, and repeatedly did all but explicitly confirm something that was neither true nor in his control. I don’t entirely judge him for this, because it could very easily have been a ‘gay stuff doesn’t bother me so I have no problem interacting with fans about--oops they made me their ship god and there’s no going back’ kind of scenario that kept escalating. Idk, I’ve never followed him that closely.

But I would bet real, actual money that the general interpretation of ‘Cas’ outing was hilariously bad but at least our interpretation of him was right all along’ is deadass wrong. Like I said, Misha never had any control over how his character was written. This makes all of his hinting and veiled promises disingenuous. He knew that the showrunners and the network were never, ever going to make Destiel suddenly go canon, that Destiel was never intended in the first place, that he was leading all of these people on, etc.

Then the last season finally rolls around and Misha realizes he’s stuck. He’s been entertaining these shippers’ interpretation (and sometimes delusion) for so long that if the show ended and nothing came of it, they would turn on him. So he begged the showrunner to give these people something, anything, even a single scene as pathetic as ‘I love you ::dies::’ because his other alternative was to finish the show and throw the network/showrunners under the bus, which wouldn’t look great to future employers. Honestly, considering SPN’s strong aversion to queer content throughout its entire run, Misha’s begging must have been incredible. Not a single writer or showrunner in SPN’s long history knew the first thing about what to do with a queer character, and it showed. To get them on board with unrequited Destiel must have taken next level groveling...

...which is how you end up with a half-assed, clumsy, throw-them-a-bone-I-guess, bury-your-gays scene like that. 

[antiloreolympus]

10 Anti LO Asks

1. I cant remember which comic (maybe fic?) it was but it had Hades adopting Makaria as a single dad and I thought that was such a nice way to give him a child while sticking to the myth canon he's considered infertile as well as Makaria never having a named mother, but obvs Rachel only cares for biological kids considering LO Hades never adopted in all this time and neglected a literal child in his care so :/

2. Rachel really looked at the Goddess of Marriage who is noted for being fireceley loyal to Zeus and the Godess of Motherhood who protects children and thought why don't I make that Marriage Goddess a cheater who doessn't care for her husband and make the Motherhood Goddess abuse her children and randomly a sun goddess for ??? Rachel has the smoothest brain takes ever. It's almost impressive how bad he is at this.

3. idk how rachel read the myth of a pregnant leto being tortured and chased by hera to were she was in agonizing pain and though "yeah hera is the right one in this scenario" like??? what???

4. Guys, come on. Giving gifts and blessings to a baby is not something that exclusively happens in Sleeping Beauty. And Sleeping Beauty is not exclusively a Disney movie. It's a tale as old as time. You can't 'rip off' that. Be mad at Rachel for making shit up again, go ahead, but this is not a rip off.

5. I'm so pissed. What's up with Eris' design. The wings and eyes are, like, the only thing she has going on for her. What is that hair style. Why couldn't it just be a hot buzzcut like Heph has. This series is so doomed, they don't give a shit about character designs anymore, unLeSS thEy reLAte tO peRSEPhonE 

6. A huge waste of stylistic potential is how LO handles the whole modernism thing. My favorite anime, Gintama, mixes modern with the Edo period with the explanation of aliens, referencing what real Japan had to endure after Americans forced them to open their borders. Ignoring the fact that a good deal of it is used for comedy, they all have extremely Japanese aesthetic-90% of fashion have kimono tops, tvs have zukuri roofs etc. The LO gods seem to be nondescript richies going to sexy parties.

7. You trust me, if you took Minthe's name off and replaced it with say Rey or Captain Marvel everyone would assume these are violently misogynistic dude bros complaining about women existing, but no, it's actually WOMEN who think they're progressive for spewing such gendered hatred. I'm not saying Minthe doesn't have things about her to dislike, but the violent misogyny thrown at her by women who fully seem to think they're "feminists" is so disturbing. I've never seen a more hateful fandom.

8. LO fans and Rachel herself think because they are women that they can't be misogynistic which is just not true. LO itself is a misogynistic product, and the fans and its creator still uphold very deeply misogynistic ideals yet don't see issue in it, because it's against the "improper" woman they don't like (Minthe usually) while they mindlessly defend women they like (Persephone/Hera). They seem convinced misogyny only matters when it's against women they approve of, while the rest "deserve" it.

9. no one loves to hate and put down women more than the "empowering feminists" known as LO fans.

10. I jut love Rachel's claim she has a "flexible" style. Ma'am you've never drawn a different woman's face once in all the art we've seen from you, how is that "flexible"? We're jut making stuff up now?

[strandnreyes]

5, 4, 3, 2, 1

tagged by @rmd-writes 💙

Top 5 works I’m proudest of (in no particular order)

1. as if you were a mythical thing

2. to live for the hope of it all

3. time, curious time

4. haunted by the ghost of you

5. one single thread

Top 4 current wips I’m excited about

1. The post-war fic

2. There’s a sports au I’ve had rattling around in my brain for a better part of the year. I like the outline and plot points I’ve thought of but idk there’s something about it that’s keeping me on the fence

(I don’t actually have that many structured wips planned so these two are just vague ideas)

3. I want to write another big au but I honestly don’t know what about. I don’t know what I want other than a general feel for the fic, I don’t know what I don’t want ajdhakd if anyone has any ideas help me

4. Something canon that’s a little more lengthy. I had a lot of fun with call my bluff, call you babe and those two are so great in canon too. I should really spend more time there

Top 3 improvements in my writing

1. The length of some of my fics. Over the summer I wrote three 50k fics (almost) in a row. Working on something for months and not being able to share any of it is hard for me and posting chaptered wips is near impossible for me unless the whole fic is almost done.

2. Asking for help and/or bouncing ideas of off people

3. Having characters and plots that are more layered

Top 2 writing resolutions

1. I should really have a beta. I reread my stuff myself, but when I know what I wanted to say my eyes sometimes just make the correction naturally and I don’t see the actual mistakes (lips his licks, I’m looking at you)

2. Not constantly feeling like I need to be writing when I have free time. It’s a hobby not a job

Number 1 favorite line (aka the hardest question ever)

this is not one line but I couldn’t break it up without ruining its effect. Idk I just think it’s sweet

“Maybe there was a part of me that was worried,” he says as he stares at the wall in front of him. On it there’s an outline of the streets of Austin and Carlos’ clear love for the place he calls home makes TK want to see every inch of it when they eventually make it out of this bedroom.

“That I wouldn’t love you back?” Carlos asks with a hint of confusion, as if he can’t make sense of a world where that would be true.

“That you fell in love with a version of me that I couldn’t be here.”

Carlos hums, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. “I don’t need you to be TK for the whole world if that’s not something you’re ready for yet. I just need you to be him for me.”

tagging @reyesstrand @paper-storm @liminalmemories21 @iboatedhere if you want!

[asuka--langley--soryu]

Hey! I’ve watched all of the show, the nge movies (rebuilds included) and the nge manga and I was wondering if you know of anymore canon/offical nge stories or content. I’ve seen some light novel series at my local bookstore but in general idk if there’s more Eva stories and series out there and what’s actually worth reading. Thanks! I love your blog!

short answer: there is SO much (too much) nge spin-off content and for the most part all of it is both non-canonical and unnecessary. off the top of my head the only thing I wholeheartedly 100% rec is khara’s ‘until you come to me’ animation (amv?), which is really beautifully done and, also, free.

also ive drafted this post like uh......4 times now and kept accidentally losing it so VERY sorry for the wait!! if it seems a lil slapdash i was tired of writing the same stuff again and again lol

extremely long answer under the cut (and links will be in a rb). somehow this became a fully fledged field guide to nge spin off content bc i am physically incapable of brevity so w/o further ado or whatever:

ok so i’ll try to make this as comprehensive + comprehensible as possible but,as I said, there is a loooot of content and I, shockingly, have thoughts on most of it. let’s organize by categories

Manga:

Every single nge spin off manga is bad in shades and variations, ranging from ‘just kind of uninteresting’ to ‘genuine human atrocity’. Raising Project is probs the most well known and is one of my least favourite pieces of content that has ever been put onto this earth. it coalesces all of the worsts parts of both evangelion and evangelion fans and can’t even manage a decent art style on top of that. there is nothing redeemable about raising project.if you see a copy out in the world please do me a favour and tear it apart w your teeth <3

Aside from That, the other big ‘alternate universe’ manga are probably Angelic Days, Campus Apocalypse, and maybe Petit Eva. I do not care much for Angelic Days or Campus Apocalypse but they are definitely not as deeply repellent as sirp. Petit Eva is, as far as I’ve seen, kind of your usual chibi comedy stuff so if youre looking for something extremely lighthearted that might be for you? I havent interacted w Petit Eva pretty much at all frankly so I’m not exactly sure whats going on there.

Shinji Ikari Detective Diary is another AU manga which I have actually been meaning to read for like......ages but have never gotten around to. It’s (as you can probably guess) a mystery series, which I’m usually into, and I havent personally heard anything bad about it, so I’ll cautiously rec looking into it. if you do and find some good scans feel free to send me way <3

finally, there’s Tony Takezaki’s parody manga, which is just like...a bunch of parody/satire comics. I do actually own it (bc I loooovvveeeee genocyber) and the art is great and its genuinely funny (given you like takezaki’s weird, kind of raunchy humor). He has a comic making fun of fan service that ends w fuyutski beating the shit out of gendo as ‘real fan service’ so like. I do genuinely recommend this one.

Novels:

Not a true ‘novel’ but Eva 1 + Eva 2 is an anthology featuring some essays, as well as comics and illustrations. It is a lot of silly shitty fanservice though, so ymmv. I dont own it (yet) but its on my radar literally exclusively because of Obata’s fucking incredible cover art.

The actual ‘novel’ that youre probably talking about is ANIMA, which is a canon divergence exploring a future where Shinji managed to completely circumvent Instrumentality. I haven’t picked up the last volume since it came out last year, so I can’t speak on it as a whole, but I like ANIMA well enough to recommend it. It reads kind of like an extremely dedicated sci-fi/cyberpunk fanfic, frankly, with that same kind of wildly convoluted but entertaining plot and much more of a focus on idealised character interactions and the ‘wow cool robot’ of it all. Actually, its kind of entirely ‘wow cool robot’ tbh, or at least the best parts are, but Ikuto Yamashita (the writer) was nge’s mech designer so that’s no surprise.

the writing is nothing stellar and it can get fanservicey in a very eyeroll kind of way, but if you go in w reasonable expectations it’s pretty entertaining. like i said, it feels very fanfic but in a ‘200k wordcount crazy worldbuilding fix it fic’ kind of way.

ANIMA expands waaaaaAAYYY more on the evas, which can be cool but does definitely indulge in some ridiculous mecha shit and, i cannot stress this enough, a lot of deeply convoluted and absolutely fruit looped sci-fi plot shit. it does actually literally feature something called ‘Super Eva’ and iirc mari is a cat girl who pilots some kind of wolf robot so yknow... ymmv

theres a buuunch of illustrations included and all the concepts for the evas are very cool and the concepts for the kid are very bad. probably it should be illegal for him to draw asuka ever again

Video Games:

there are too many nge video games. way too many. did you know about the typing game??? what about the multiple STRIP mahjong games???? or the pokemon/tomogatchi game where you hand raise an angel from birth while playing as KAJI???? the detective game where kaworu straight up fucking human murders gendo???

they wrung nge for everything it was worth in the 90s, though ig having a million fucking titles was probs super useful for all that tax fraud

some highlights:

Battle Orchestra: this is the only one i’ve ever really played and it is very fun and very of its time. a pretty straightforward fighting game but ft a big combat polygon

Second Impression: this is the second nge game to be released and i am fucking obsessed with it. what i would not give for there to be a translation available. as far as I have ever been able to tell its sort of a vaguely canon ‘side story’ about joining a band and also befriending a new girl who eventually transforms into a giant fucking horrifying bug angel. its a kind of proto kaworu storyline but gross and i want it so SO bad.

rei ayanami raising project: this is I guess basically a pet raising game except the pet is pre-series rei ayanami. you get to choose what clubs and hobbies she has and the coordinating pictures are genuinely incredible and ill 100% be posting some later. nonsense but there IS a dress up portion so like. might be worth.

Girlfriend of Steel 1 & 2: GOS 1 has the rando brunette that you see all over the place and so like idk shout out to her i guess and if you want to know the context behind that feel free to check it out, but it frankly seems extremely fucking boring and also has GOD awful asuka characterisation so. pass.

GOS 2 is the one where you can kind of date kaworu and afaik thats the only notable thing about it

Angel Rising: this is the pokemon/tomogatchi kaji game and despite how baffling it is conceptually i do actually love the artstyle and am deeply considering playing it myself. also, it does apparently give some good insight into Kaji. a new english translation came out last march so its like actually one of the most accessible of all of these somehow.

Evangelion 2 has the ‘Classified Files’ which is a tenuously canon supplemental info dump, but god is in his heavens and thats all fully available + translated online so we do not have to bother playing Evangelion 2

Secret of Evangelion: I actually know almost nothing about this but ive heard it may have some interesting info on instrumentality? it is very VERY much On My Radar and may be worth checking out 

there are so, so many others but i am just so tired.

Animation:

There are a few Petit Eva OVAs which are all in the same silly slice-of-life style and seem mostly whatever except for an episode which is, as far as i can tell, entirely about up-skirting asuka so like. yknow what actually fuck petit eva

MORE IMPORTANTLY in like 2015ish Studio Khara had the ‘Japan Animator Expo’ where they released anime shorts made by a bunch of different people. it’s actually where me!me!me! came from, and plenty of other very very cool shorts were put out during the expo’s run. Another Impact and until you come to me were both part of the Expo and are extremely fucking good. Another Impact got a lot of hype, which was well-deserved but DID briefly spark a whole ‘live action nge’ thing which is, actually, my manchurian candidate sleeper cell trigger phrase. until you come to me is much less ‘flashy’ and didn’t get as much attention, but its so so beautiful and you should all go watch it immediately.

if you have managed to bear reading through this whole thing just know that you are my favourite and im giving you a lil kiss on the forehead

[dylanobrienisbatman]

The main problem with the whole mal vs the darkling thing in regards to being possessive (or really when it comes to any of their traits) is the fact that throughout, the darkling is clearly framed as the villain and his actions reflect that, whereas Mal as supposed to be the good guy and best romantic partner for Alina, and yet he has all these awful character traits and tendencies. So its less about how awful the Bad Guy is (since he's supposed to be), and more about how awful the person that we're supposed to believe is the best option for Alina is. I don't ship either, just my two cents.

Okay well... two things. First, your comment about "its less about how awful the bad guy is, since he's supposed to be", takes every comment I've made about Darkles out of context, which seems fitting since everything Darklina's spout about Mal is out of context. Him being the Bad Guy is fine, and if you like him AS A VILLAIN, and acknowledge all the bad shit he does, then my posts aren't for you. I think he's a very interesting villain, and a lot of the terrible shit he does that I have to keep making posts about make him a good villain, the problem is when the terrible shit the "Bad Guy" does is romanticized and viewed as the reasons why Alina SHOULD have picked him. So, don't assume everyone gets that "hes supposed to be awful". The point my post was making is that Darklina's love to call Mal possessive, but then turn around and act like Darkles literally enslaving her in somehow sexy and romantic. It's fucking not, and it's transparent as hell that y'all romanticize and sexualize the actually possessive character, and then project false character traits onto Mal. It's so transparent, it's almost funny.

But, more importantly, to your second, very wrong point, I wonder how much of the narrative about Mal having "awful character traits and tendencies" is actually a commentary on Mal as a character, or is it just Darklina's lying about things Mal has done and everyone accepting that misinterpretation as canon. Because, if were making a list...

Fuck boy - False! Mal was not a fuck boy! He was an attractive teenager who hooked up with consenting girls his age when he could, and he was not in a relationship during that time. Alina had never told him how she felt, so he is not beholden to her. (Also, nobody seems to have an issue with the fact that Darkles hooked up with Zoya in the show, that doesn't make HIM a fuckboy... interesting) (also also, nobody seems to discuss Darkles literally sexually assaulting Alina, and lying and manipulating her to get her to be physically intimate with him so he can use her... double interesting).

Slut Shames Alina - FALSE! The ever favourite callout line from Darklina's "He's all over you" isn't him slut shaming her. First, he has no idea what their relationship is like at that point, but more importantly, he is making an observation of her status in the little palace and how she has become his tool. He has dressed her up in his colors, made her put on a show for his benefit, and has created a situation where Alina appears to be his. Mal is noting that after months of searching for her, believing she was being hurt, tortured, or worse, when he arrives to save her, she looks like the Darkling's pet. (and, even if he WAS angry because he perceived them to be romantically involved, boy just spent months fighting for his life, lost multiple friends, and almost died to find her, all while coming to the realisation that he was in love with her, and then he shows up, after not hearing from her for months... I'd be pissed as hell too.) Important Note: He even acknowledges that what he said was wrong and tries to apologise, before Alina tells him that he was right. (Shadow and Bone, pg. 286). He also then apologizes, completely unprompted, for what he said. (Shadow and Bone, pg. 297).

Fat Shames Alina - False! This one is particularly laughable to me, because its one of the Darklina arguments that falls apart the second you actually read the scene. They are running for their lives in the forest, and Mal has to hunt and gather to feed them. He is noting that Alina's appetite has increased since he last saw her, and he makes a joke (ya know, how you do with friends) about how it would be easier to keep her fed if she still had her more meager appetite from before. He makes no comment on her weight, or her size, and he is not actually commenting on her appetite in a negative way, he is just acknowledging that it's a lot more work for him now that she eats more. Right before he says the line, the quote even proves that he isn't shaming her or thinking badly of her: "With a bemused expression, he watched as I gobbled down my portion and then sighed, still hungry". He is noting a change in her, and complaining that its made more work for him. If you think thats the same as fat shaming, well... thats a you problem.

Hates Alina's Powers - FALSE!!!! How to begin... do we talk about it was Mal's idea to hunt the stag in S&B, because he knew she needed it to be more powerful so she could stop the darkling? Do we talk about how he vowed to find the firebird for her, even though he was terrified of what all that power would do to her? Do we talk about how he literally died so she could achieve the power she needed to save the world? Or maybe we could talk about how he believed in her power more than anyone else, like when everyone was making bets about her abilities with the Cut and he knew she'd go further and better than anyone else expected her too, or when he tells her that he was never afraid of her powers, only what seeking all that power would do to her (which is literally the theme of the books, that power corrupts and seeking unmatched power can destroy you)? Mal being afraid of what is going to happen to Alina, being protective of her and worrying over her, is not the same as him hating her powers. He exists to help remind Alina of the themes of the story, and to guide her into maintaining her humanity.

Abusive - ... Do I even need to explain this one? Must I deign an explanation as to why this favourite Darklina lie is so fucking stupid, and also totally hypocrisy? No? Because we all know Darkles is actually the abusive one and they're trying to project their own shit onto Mal to further their abuse apologist agenda? Cool. Moving on.

Possessive of Alina - False! Throughout the entire series, Mal is quite literally the opposite of possessive, but yall just cant read. Not only does he quite literally step out of the way and allow Nikolai to court Alina without argument, which is the most direct example of him not being possessive, he also spends two full books believing, and repeatedly saying over and over and over, that they can't be together because he is not good enough for her. Mal believes, fully, that Alina deserves more than him, better than him, because he's just a tracker and a soldier, just a regular man with nothing to offer her but his love and his protection, and she is a Saint and should be a Queen. Possessiveness is the wish to own and control someone, it is literally the opposite of Mal believing that he's not good enough and doing everything he can to ensure that Alina achieves everything and gets everything he believes she is owed. A possessive character would not tell her to tell him to leave because he has nothing he can offer her, no title or land or country or crown. A possessive character would not promise to be the blade in her hand, because he believed he had nothing but the blood he could spill to offer her.

Angry - True! Yeah, omg, you caught us, Mal is ANGRY! Heaven forbid a teenager who is traumatized beyond belief and has to give up everything in his life, his position in the military (he deserted for her), his friends and the job he loved (Mikhail and Dubrov died for him, and he can't be a tracker in the army... because he deserted... for Alina), and, most importantly, he has to give up Alina (she should be Queen, he believes, and he has to give up the future he imagined with the girl he loves, who he was pretty sure loved him back, because she's a saint and queen and he's just a man), and more, is ANGRY. He has to be the one to find the amplifiers that he knows will end up hurting her, because thats what she needs to save the world. He has to sit by while Nikolai treats him like the dirt on his shoe and tries to woo Alina for his own personal gain (because Nikoalai did not love Alina. Maybe he came to care for her, but he proposed and spent all of S&S trying to get her to marry him when it was obvious they were not in love. He straight up says its so that the next King of Ravka can be married to the Sun Summoner. It's a power grab.) and he can't do anything about it. So yeah, Mal is angry. And yeah, sometimes he's even angry at Alina, just like sometimes she's angry at him. But they always find their way back, always apologize and try to be better for each other, and if you think anger is a toxic trait, and not simply a natural human emotion, might I suggest touching some fucking grass?

Idk why you thought I'd stand for Mal slander on my blog, cuz I will not. So, I'm gonna stop there, because I have shit to do today, but I really do wonder how much of Mal's 'toxic' or 'terrible' traits, that make him such a 'bad' love interest for Alina, really comes from Darklina's who refuse to actually read the text critically at all, and instead take everything he does and says out of context to further their agenda that Alina should have ended up as the Darkling's fucking slave forever, because thats the "girl power feminist" ending somehow. Mal supports her, loves her, sacrifices for her at every turn, and does everything he can do, to the point of literally dying for her, to ensure that she can defeat Darkles and save the world. He protects her, and when they end up happy and safe together on the orphange that they've rebuilt to help the children that were victims of Darkles war and genocide, he spends his days bringing her tea and cakes and flowers, kissing her silly under the stairs in the view of all the teachers, and calling her names like beauty, beloved, cherished, my heart for the rest of their ordinary life together, if love can ever be called that.