#it’d be one thing if it was all subtext

[harbingerofsoup]

people who claim nbc hannibal was “queerbaiting” or “not explicitly queer” lack basic media literacy

[forestleavescat]

Moominvalley: Or Not at All

A long post about Moominvalley through the different seasons. Planning, potential, promises, and outcomes.

This won’t go super far into detail about season 4 but it will talk about a certain outcome as well as handling of characters and relationships. If you don’t want any spoilers or info on the fourth season steer clear

(I’m not the best with titles)

I watched season 4 of moominvalley last night and I was pretty dang disappointed in how certain things were handled. Don’t get me wrong. There was some nice stuff. But it still felt like it was largely missing what made me love the show so much from the start. As well as things I had been looking forward to from the books. Above all else, I feel like their handling of the fandom’s favorite pairing was bad. I can’t even begin to put into words how upset I am since gutsy and by extension moominvalley felt like a company that wouldn’t do this. I want to put my thoughts on paper so to speak. 

It’s insanely disappointing to know that this company has been queerbaiting since day one. This show is a huge comfort to me and it was nice to watch since it helped me feel more at ease with my own sexuality. But now that feeling has been largely reversed because I know that those moments were manufactured to sell the show only for them to drop them by the end. So let’s look at things

Queer coding has existed for a long time. It’s helped creators give hints and nods to a character’s identity or hints of a relationship when times and places don’t exactly allow for it. There are many stories that have queer coding and give this beautiful subtext that those in the community can enjoy. Even though it would remain ambiguous whether a character was gay or two men or women were dating, the coding allowed it to be suggested even when it wasn’t allowed given the time period. 

Queerbaiting is almost the opposite of this. Queerbaiting comes about more from existing in a time or place where it is accepted but instead of giving genuine representation, a person uses the desire to see that representation to sell a product. Moments between characters that are clearly more than friendship only to disappear - often replaced by a hetero pairing. (Tbf the character who was implied to have feelings for someone of the same gender would still be bi or pan but it stings when the idea of something between two people of the same gender was suggested but removed) Queerbaiting has been an extremely frustrating thing to experience in fandom spaces. Series like voltron, sherlock, supernatural, etc. You get invested in these characters. There’s a possibility and every moment that suggests it could be more gets you hooked. Similar to how miraculous viewers became invested in the romance that’s hinted since day one. If you put the time and effort into using that for a story and draw people in with it only to take it away it’s bordering false advertising. It sucks because you spent time caring about it and waiting to see how it would play out. 

I mean just look at this. The moominvalley team did this deliberately. I mean, they included that one scene in the teaser which made it seem like more snufmin. It felt like a taste of what the season would offer but in reality it was one of few crumbs. And I mean crumbs. Because compared to the other seasons there was hardly anything. Their moments didn’t have this underlying feeling that they usually did. Every other season felt like it had underlying feelings to be explored. But here it became hollow. And snufkin took a backseat to a lot of the action this season

 But they definitely knew that the fans were interested in this pairing. It’d be tough to get into the moomins without knowing about this part of the story and community. And they acknowledged this idea of moomin and snufkin multiple times in interviews and qnas. 

And voice actors aren’t the ones who decide but there were more than just vas discussing this.

This series started off with their relationship. Episode one ended with the first mention of snufkin who’d be returning to the valley in the very next episode. That entire second episode gave a clear look into how their relationship would develop throughout the series. Moomin waiting for snufkin longingly while snufkin took his time until showing up felt right all while missing moomintroll. This episode has a sort of sense that there could be something more to them. Especially seeing as moomin is more focused on snufkin than snorkmaiden, his love interest. The following episode gives us this:

And while moomin wants the dragon to be his loyal pet, we know that “And just promise me this, that you'll give me all your kisses Every winter, every summer, every fall”

is referring to somebody other than that. This leaned much heavier into the potential for something beyond friendship between them.

There are the usual moments that could go either way, with focus between them and close contact.

This is more similar to other adaptations where they have a clear, close relationship. But in most of those you could come to love the pairing but you generally know they won’t do something unambiguous. Just the occasional scene that could be read as potentially romantic.

Moominvalley doesn’t strictly stick to this though. It feels similar to the original works where there is something ambiguously there. Then it further implies that there will be something important between them storywise. You get Tooticky saying that there are other lost souls waiting to be heard before the camera cuts to Snufkin leaving the valley alone.

And this didn’t really get fulfilled in any real way. Yet it implies that the future of the series will go in a direction where moomin is the one to help snufkin in some way. That part isn’t even romantic, but it goes to show that they stopped focusing on this important connection between them.

Their relationship in season 2 continues very beautifully. Moomin immediately wants to go make sure snufkin is okay when the volcano’s gonna erupt. There’s an entire conversation that highlights their difference of perspective with loving vs possessing in regards to the ruby and the hobgoblin. Something that is linked to their relationship and things they need to figure out. Then when they have to leave the valley, moomin wonders if he’ll ever see snufkin again. On top of that, he and snorkmaiden have their break up.

Which I want to talk about their relationship a bit. A majority of the episodes that feature them as leads do it with a wedge between them. Their relationships is honestly not great going both ways. They clash and are generally unhappy. And usually moomin has to apologize for something that doesn’t exactly feel is entirely on him. Little My I get. I mean he didn’t think the note would get to mymble but this was still a genuine mess up on his part. But he ended up on a rock in the middle of the sea over the ghost episode. And snorkmaiden spends much of their time making a home together getting angry because he misses his family and hasn’t come to terms with saying goodbye to them. There are times they’re together where he’s selfish and she’s just angry at him. They don’t feel like a happy couple to cheer for. Back in 90s moomins I actually did like them. They were cute. I was a bit divided between that and snufmin because there were these moments that really did count for a lot and had such a wholesome feeling. But moominvalley honestly made me cheer for a break up. Meanwhile, he and snufkin have this relationship that they’re navigating in moominvalley. They don’t argue much even when they have different perspectives. Moomin admires snufkin and in some ways tries to emulate him. But all while still being his own moomin and figuring himself out.

The two are still given parallels in little moments such as zooming in when they take each other’s hands.

So back to season 2 and how it handled snufmin. When moomin leaves the valley we see snufkin dealing with that absence for a change. He begins to understand how moomin feels when he’s gone. While he’s at the moomin house he seems pretty in his element for the most part. He seems happy to play along and give toffle an idea of what the moomin family was like. But in that there are scenes where he’s looking for a note. We see bits of how much he misses moomin and wants to know where his friend has gone and when he’ll be back. This is the beginning of a shift in their relationship. Because snufkin gets to feel what moomin feels like. And when he hears that the moomins are coming his face lights up the way moomintroll’s would.

They’re often portrayed in a way that shows that they’re the most important person to the other. There’s this sort of soft undertone that seems to suggest feelings. And all while their relationships grows and changes and they become all the better for it.

Also there’s this

Season 3!

Season 3 felt like there was a change in direction. I feel at this point that there was deliberate queerbaiting but I also know that there was a shift somewhere around season 3. We got the music cut. The voice actor for moomin changed. There were some adjustments with the writing team. But they still deliberately put in scenes with this duo. And with romantic framing. I could be convinced that season 1 and 2 were made with the idea of them as endgame in some capacity. That the queerbaiting wasn’t from day 1 and that it began here. There were really great moments with them. But it feels like they shoehorn snorkmaiden in as a romantic interest again. A lot of episodes with her here don’t exactly make it explicit but there are some that nail it in. They reunite and it almost feels like they’re back together again without a full conversation. Especially with the final episode. I feel like the narrative would’ve been richer if they hadn’t done that considering the way they’ve been building snufmin up.

But I’ll focus on moomin and snufkin for now. When snufkin sees moomin again moomin goes for the greeting he’s been used to but snufkin gives him a hug. That description alone won’t do it justice though. The music rises as it zooms in on their eyes as they make their way to each other. When snufkin hugs moomin you can see the joy from both of them. It shows how their greetings and by extension their relationship has evolved over the seasons.

And then it cuts to snorkmaiden.

This becomes a notable pattern in season 3. It’ll give a really meaningful scene that pushes snufkin and moomin in a more romantic light only to undercut it by reminding you that snorkmaiden is here. It’s at this point where it feels like they know a ton of fans are here for snufmin. They include the pairing. But they also seem to be reminding us that snorkmaiden is here to stay and in a more romantic way. But there’s still this hope, especially if you recall everything from seasons 1 and 2 and the way that they felt. Especially if you rewatch them right before watching season 3. And the show very clearly uses that and makes it feel like there’s a chance. Makes the viewers hope and stick around to find out.

So let’s go through season 2. Moomin and snufkin make some progress on their relationship. They’ve switched positions now and have more of an idea of how the other feels when one of them leaves. And from there they communicate that. Especially moomin. This is shown to a degree in the episode with the fairgrounds. Again in lonely mountain. There are also little nods here and there about their relationship. But again. Lonely mountain is the big one. It starts with little my getting on moomin’s case for worrying over his ‘precious snufkin’

As usual moominmama also seems to act like she knows there’s something more to his relationship with snufkin. Papa remains oblivious though. There’s a parallel between the parents and snufmin too. But the most well known part is this

look. there’s nothing remotely platonic about this. This is one of those things that someone straight and homophobic could detect. The point where they’d stop arguing ‘they’re just friends’ because there’s no way that’s all. I mean just listen to moomin’s “yes” when snufkin goes to add something. There’s so much hope and feeling in that word that I would love to get my hands on the script to find the voice direction for that. I mean come on

And better yet it ends with an interruption so we know they’ll have a whole heart to heart later. A conversation where they lay out their feelings. The feelings that were clearly present here.

Except they don’t

Anyway the season goes on. Moomin, snufkin, and obligatory third wheel sniff go on a journey to take the sun back after it was stolen. They get it back and the season ends with a beautifully queer scene that promises more to come from these two.

Except that a few minutes prior snorkmaiden calls moomin her soulmate and they have their usual thing. And even after snorkmyden really did get some good content this season.

Look, I know that snorkmyden was probably not on their minds throughout production. There’s a difference between the way they handle snufmin and the way they handle snorkmyden. Both duos get great development in their relationships but while there are a ton of cute moments between snorkmaiden and little my, it never feels like there’s a focus on making that endgame. It feels more like snufmin did in some of the other adaptations - something with cute moments and a genuine bond that could be seen as romantic but it’s highly unlikely it won’t be. I want to say this since this series didn’t feel that way for snufmin. It felt like the first chance of it working out fully. I put a lot of scenes in here showing it but the first two season really show it in a way clips and gifs can’t. There’s just so much there and it’s beautiful and sweet. It feels hopeful for them.

Until season 4. Season 4 feels like the team shrugged off all of it. They step even further away. It’s like season 3 but without any of the scenes between them. Suddenly, you’re looking at scenes between them where they talk and have physical contact but the deeper feelings are completely gone. It’s like the anime. Where you can smile about it and think ‘aw them’ but you know it won’t happen. They heavily lean to snorkmaiden and moomin instead. This is the final season. They know people will watch to see if moomin and snufkin go anywhere romantically. And even if people don’t finish it, they’ve got people paying for memberships just to see if it happens. So it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t happen. Because they’ve secured the views and the money.

I do want to say that when I refer to it as becoming canon I don’t know if they’d call each other boyfriends or even kiss. But I would expect them to acknowledge it as there being something more. Like the series ending with them having a discussion about how much they mean to each other. Something that shows they’ll go into the future and continue to get close. Physical closeness like a hug or one putting his hand on the others or even just leaning against each other. Whatever it would be I’d expect more than this. Because they very clearly built these two to be inseparable in that one required the other to undergo their full arc. The show starts with a promise that their relationship will be close to the story. But then season 4 hardly shows snufkin at all

This is what queerbaiting is. And I never expected it to happen with this series. Not after the team talked about it with care. It’s such a gut punch after waiting for five years to see how it’d turn out. I don’t know if they always intended it to be a way to bring in customers. Maybe it was initially going to work out but they changed it between season 2 and 3. I don’t know. But this. This really is queerbaiting. We live in a time where gay relationships are more accepted. They show up in the media more. We’re finally at a time where this relationship could be made more explicit instead of having this ambiguously romantic subtext. And if someone made a new adaptation of moomins and didn’t do that, that would be perfectly and completely fair and okay. If they didn’t consistently imply that there could and even would be something more. But here they used a very old and well loved pairing to gather fans and make money only to never have it come to fruition. Season 4 of moominvalley felt like companies on july 1st. I literally can’t think of a better comparison for how it feels. The first video starts with the quote “The Spring Tune is where we say that this series is going to be different. That you’re going to have to wait and give it time and just be patient. And wait for the story to unfold.”

And so many people did. But then it turned out like this. And I don’t know if that was always the intention. Because it feels like that interview was suggesting that it would go in that direction. But heck. The whole series up until season 3 felt like it would go in that direction. And then it didn’t.

Gay representation is something that has a huge positive impact on the lgbtq community. Even more so on the world overall since it allows people to see these relationships and shows that it’s okay for people to be gay. And it would be even nicer for a series that started off with that subtext got the full representation now that we’re in more accepting times. And it felt like it would be even more meaningful with recent treatment of gay stories.

Our flag means death was cancelled, shadow and bone, the owl house had its final season drastically shortened, good omens is only getting a single episode for their finale

Many are just getting dropped and in a time where this community needs them more than ever. These are shows that make people feel seen. Shows that bring a feeling of joy and comfort and acceptance. And it’s even worse to see that there’s still queerbaiting now. This could’ve had such a beautiful ending and likely would’ve been loved for many years to come if they committed to what they’d built up all this time. How could someone take a series created by a woman who not only added subtext in her original stories but was bi, and use it to build up a romantic story just to bring in money and then toss all that development away. I don’t know what else to say other than this is queerbaiting. And the gay community deserves better. I really did believe that moominvalley would do better by us.

[fangsforiris]

hello can you do this but with the sakamaki brothers please and thank you so much if you do 💙https://www.tumblr.com/fangsforiris/754832768603750400/mukami-jealousy-hcs?source=share

Sakamaki Brothers Jealousy HC’s

— — — — — — — — —

Shū:

• He wouldn’t be as outward with his jealousy, if anything it’d be subdued.

• But if he is jealous, you wouldn’t know it.

• If there’s one thing he’s good at, it’s feigning ignorance and placing a wall.

• Canonically in the HDB and MB Anthropology Manga, Shū gets jealous by stupid things, and is in a sense, comical with it.

• He wouldn’t get fussy like Kanato or Ayato.

• More so annoyed that he’s finding himself attached to someone at this level again.

• All of the boys have a certain level of possessiveness, so it’s not shocking if Shū displays his in lethargic and apathetic fashion.

• He values those close to him, so he wouldn’t want to give away what’s his so quickly. That’s where a lot of the motivation towards being jealous can come from.

Reiji:

• Definitely stern and set with it.

• He takes his jealousy seriously, and wouldn’t want to find himself jealous over anything ‘stupid’ or ‘over the top.’

• Reiji will 100% pull his S/O aside and confront them head on about what bothers him.

• Although, at times he can choose to let it linger, waiting for his S/O to figure out what’s bothering him themselves.

• Almost like a game if anything, all at his S/O’s expense.

• He has no problem with punishing his S/O and blaming them for any unwanted advances or attention being made at them.

• His jealousy is more so triggered by Shū and anything to do with him.

• It sends him into a bit of a frenzy, since it’s all linked to his underlying inferiority complex. Which results in his own diminution of his own talents, which can come off as borderline masochistic.

Ayato:

• You’d know right off the bat if this man was jealous.

• He makes no attempt at concealing his true feelings when it comes to his S/O.

• If he’s upset, don’t be shocked when he does take certain things into his own hands.

• That being, if his S/O is being flirted with in front of him, he has no problem with exhibiting violence to show he possesses someone.

• Ayato is all about possession, and is easily one of the most possessive characters.

• So if he thinks his placement is being threatened, he will react in earnest.

• His jealousy can border the lines of unhealthy and obsessive.

• He’d try his best to resist the urge of marking his prey to showcase his property, but at the end of the day, what good would it do if not even his prey can see the faults?

Kanato:

• Easily one of the most explosive individuals to come into contact with.

• You’re threatening his place in his S/O’s life? It’s like alarms and warning bells going off in his mind.

• Due to his extreme mental instability and heavily implied bipolar disorder, he will switch up instantly if Kanato feels attacked or under heavy scrutiny.

• He has no problem with playing pouty and creating a fuss to appeal towards the ‘lolita’ and ‘cutesy’ side he likes to portray to the outside world.

• But in private? He’s a blamer or victim blamer 100%

• He will pin it all on his S/O, even if the circumstances were unavoidable towards his S/O. Kanato does not care.

• He will get physical. As seen within his routes, he does have temperament issues.

• So even if he does subdue himself from having any physical reactions, his S/O is in no way getting out of the heavy verbal abuse coming their way.

Laito:

• Laito is known to put up a wall, almost like Shū, in terms of concealing his true feelings.

• If he’s jealous, it’ll be in the subtext that one would have to take out to fully understand him.

• Laito is someone who, when jealous, wouldn’t want to admit it.

• With his horrible track record with others, he has a slight fear towards true love and the feelings that come with it.

• So for him being jealous, it would subconsciously tear him apart more than his S/O, if anything. That is, if he was to pursue punishment.

• He’d be sure to make his usual perverse remarks, doing anything to not seek out of the ordinary.

• As seen within his routes, he can switch whenever, keeping the Player and Yui on their toes. Expect that for his S/O.

• He’d keep more of an eye on his S/O, lest he becomes left in the past of his own ghosts and worries. It’ll all come in a full circle with Laito, with whatever he does, he knows to expect it to come back at him. Almost like karma.

Subaru:

• Subaru is quite aggressive. Just as an individual and how he can come off at times with his reactions and over the top emotional moments.

• So he wouldn’t take to it kindly with being placed in a position where he’s to be the jealous one.

• There’s two ways it can go. Either he’s flustered and embarrassed about feeling this type of way for his S/O, or he’s viscerally upset at the notion.

• As an individual, it depends on the situation and if he were to get physical with the person/object that is creating this feeling of jealousy within him.

• He’d subconsciously resent himself for feeling these emotions.

• As if someone like him didn’t have the right to even love, much less feel the need to have ownership over someone who didn’t feel the same way back.

• If he’s questioned about it by his S/O, he’d either respond with anger directed towards them for allowing it, or simply shut off and ignore their complaints/queries.

• Subaru tries to be complicit, but with his internal inferiority complex and hatred towards himself, it acts as a conduit for his conflicting feelings.

[bicheetopuff]

Tbh I am a multishipper but I think the only reason Hori didn't make Izu//Ocha canon was bc he likes 'open endings' kinda, and it worked in his favor by just letting things implied. He gave Izu//Ocha specific romantic-coded materials to go with anyway. He made Izuku call her his hero, acknowledge her as his savior and acknowledge her help throughout the story. That's pretty much romantic subtext in the story. And this happened in the penultimate moment. There is no scene like that between BKDK at the climax. If Hori really wanted to shut the ship down, why did he include such a scene anyway? Now people are criticizing it and are angry because it seems like Hori chickened out.

Out of context, I’d agree with you that the MC calling the main girl his hero would be considered a romantic sentiment in a shonen manga. However, I honestly don’t think that’s the case here.

I don’t think they were implied and I don’t think their relationship had an open ending either, because that would imply that they had something mutually romantic going on when they really didn’t. The only romantic implications, are the fact that other characters poke fun at Ochako and just assume she likes Deku because they’re close friends. She has a crush projected onto her that she never really admits to outside of referring to it in past tense. Everything else about their relationship, feels like it could’ve been interchangeable with him and Iida, and it still would’ve had the same effect.

I actually believe that narrowing down Izuku’s admission of Ochako being his hero to romantic subtext makes the scene less impactful, almost like he’s only saying that to her because he wants her to like him, instead of saying it because he genuinely believes it and feels like she deserves to know.

Ochako was in an emotional state where she was mourning the loss of Himiko and questioned her heroism because she couldn’t save her, when the girl who was supposed to be the villain, was the one to save her life. Izuku reassuring her that she’s still a hero—still his hero—is something he would’ve done for anyone and I’m genuinely happy he was the one to do it for Ochako.

It’s implied that he considers a lot of people to be his hero. All Might, Katsuki, Iida, Todoroki, are all people who have continuously helped him through out the story too. And he has his internal thoughts praising all of them and thanks all of them as well. He doesn’t have to voice it because those characters weren’t in a situation where they needed to hear those words from him. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t think it, and I think it’s silly to assume that he doesn’t. It’s in character for Izuku to not say such things unless he feels like it’s necessary.

Horikoshi didn’t have to shut the ship down, because the ship was never implied to be mutual. He included such a scene, because Ochako needed someone to understand her, and Izuku was the only one who would’ve. They both sought out to save their villains and neither of them succeeded, so yes they’re the only ones who understand each other in that light even if their motives and the way they felt about their villains were different.

It’d be different if they had made this decision together and were trying to save their villains for the sake of each other, but they had both made their decisions individually before even speaking to each other about it. So they’re not relating because they actively tried to, they’re able to relate cuz they both had the same goal by coincidence. The way I see it, I think it’s meant to show that once Ochako stopped actively trying to be like Deku, is when she realized she was already like him in a way, even though she knew being exactly like him wouldn’t be good for her.

Also bkdk didn’t have a scene like that in the climax? In the climax of what? The story as a whole? The war? The epilogue?

Chapter 1? Deku vs Kacchan? Their final exam? Deku vs Kacchan part 2? The beginning of the Paranormal Liberation War Front arc? Katsuki’s apology? Katsuki’s confession in the hospital room after the war?

Ochako and Deku’s conversation was probably the first time they talked about each other to each other and explained what the other meant to them (even if it was mostly Izuku doing the talking). That kind of conversation had happened with not only bkdk countless times (yes it still counts even if it’s in the form of them screaming their feelings at each other), but also with Iida and Todoroki to a certain extent too. Not mention, literally every villain minus AFO.

To me, while their conversation is important and I appreciated it a lot and thought it was really sweet, it didn’t really feel different or more special than other conversations Izuku had with his other friends before that.

I think the reason Horikoshi didn’t make izcha canon, is because he genuinely never planned to…

[skywalkr-nberrie]

One of the biggest arguments I’ve seen used by the Ob*d*l*s against Anidala, is that scene in the ROTS novel where Padmé says she could trust OW with the secret of the rebellion and was hesitant to tell Anakin and I just wanna say:

Padmé wasn't an idiot. She was an extremely intelligent and competent woman, perfectly able to understand that loving Anakin and thinking that he could be trusted with a certain politic-related matter were two very different things and reducing her choice regarding who to trust with an important political matter only on the basis of her feelings of romantic love diminishes her professionalism, and this is why I say y'all could never understand her.

Padmé didn’t have to "love" OW or even like him at all to know he was the perfect Jedi to ask for help in a secret political matter.

That's the point being made in the novel, she’s hit with the realization that Anakin in this particular moment could not be told this piece of info because of his relationship with Palpatine, and Padmé specifically mentions in the Junior ROTS novel that she didn't want to make Anakin “keep a secret” if he didn’t agree with their stance because it’d be “unfair.” So this also played a part in why Padmé didn’t think it best to inform Anakin about the Rebellion. It honestly had little to do with her actually lacking trust in him, and more to do with the circumstances she was in not allowing her to be open with her husband and her not wanting to make him choose between his wife and his “father figure.”

However, Padmé knows OW’s political ideas aren't tied to ONE particular person but to a philosophy, one which is closer to her own, at that point. None of this was ever meant to be hinted as “romantic” or even remotely insinuated as romantic. It’s strictly professional and even the tone of the scene makes that so abundantly clear.

All I’m saying is that, some of these proshippers are doing the most out here to try and prove their ship, like my loves? You forgot a very important thing called ✨ context ✨ and regardless of her rational thinking, Padmé still went out of her way to try and talk out all of this Rebellion secrecy stuff with Anakin when she confronted him in the scene where she asks if he ever thought they were “fighting on the wrong side.” Padmé didn’t trust OW in the same way she trusted Anakin (with her entire self and being) she had the level of trust and love for Anakin that was only meant for him.

Mixing up her unwavering faith in Anakin as her husband with her trust in OW’s devotion to duty as her comrade/ally is purposely deluding yourself, because the two aren’t the same and therefore can’t be compared. An example of this is: Padmé constantly putting more value to Anakin’s words over OW’s in the end of ROTS when he came to tell her of Anakin’s “crimes”. She completely disregarded what OW had claimed about her husband and instead made her way to where Anakin was herself, to ask him directly. Despite what the truth was, this is proof of her trusting Anakin unconditionally, and I didn’t even think I had to spell that out because it’s as clear as day.

In conclusion, Padmé didn’t trust OW more than Anakin, she just knew the circumstances she was in didn’t exactly make it easy for her to openly talk with her husband about these matters and that’s part of what played into the issues they had in ROTS, it’s exactly what Sidious wanted. This scene in the novel doesn’t exist to imply some hidden romantic undertone that George was intending all along. No, far from that. George was always an “open, , clear and easy to understand” type of storyteller, so if the former was the case, this scene wouldn’t be any different if there was some hidden message or subtext the reader should be made aware of, George would make it obvious. Fact of the matter is, the one and only reason for this scene in the novel to exist is only to show to us as the “reader” that the narrative is tearing apart the Star-Crossed-lovers (Anakin and Padmé.) and visibly putting the two of them on different sides in the story because the consequences of this narrative choice is what will foreshadow and play into the inevitable and great fall of the couple and character in the future. Even the novel makes a very purposeful and clear distinction between “love and trust” in this chapter where all this occurs. Padmé loves Anakin, but knew she had to trust OW with the situation at hand. And if you want to talk “narratively” Padmé needed a reason to keep the Rebellion a secret from Anakin, thus leading to Palpatine to sense “betrayal” in Padmé later on, and using that to his advantage to manipulate Anakin even more into getting him to “suspect” her. It’s all spelt out for us and it’s not hard to miss. All it takes is a little media literacy and understanding context.

(Mind you, hypothetically, if this scene existed for literally any other reason, it would’ve been brought up again, but it wasn’t. It’s only mentioned once and exists for only one moment which was meant to serve a certain narrative and then it was done. There’s not much to make of it since the context of the scene is so clear.)

[eddiediazismyhusband]

(Please don't apologize. You may call it pessimism but I see it as realism and I truly appreciate it. I've seen people SO excited to see the cast back this week and all the excitement about the new season, optimism for canon buddie, what hair/tattoos/wardrobe might look like. And I feel bad because I don't want to rain on anyone's parade. But I cannot be bothered about whether Oliver will keep his fluffy hair or have any new tattoos or Ryan's mustache because I don't want another season of boring, repetitious storylines that don't do anything to the characters, especially those of color (thinking of the cartel and Mara right now)

I'm hopeful that because season 8 will be a full 18 episodes things won't have to be as rushed or thrown together at the last minute as season 7. But yeah, please don't apologize for your opinions because you're not the only one thinking similar thoughts <3)

im moreso apologetic because i dont WANT to be a debbie downer but its like…. ive been burned by shows (this one included) far too many times to be super optimistic and excited over things that could very potentially not be good for us… like i’ve said, most of the people i know with that mustache are awful human beings and when you add in the fact that gerrard also has a mustache like that AND that tim has been showing so little care for eddie as a character/care for poc characters as a whole it doesn’t seem far fetched to me that tim could very easily commit one of the most egregious acts of character death by veering eddie so far off the natural path simply to create cheap drama

like im so glad we seem to be getting fluffy hair buck… unfortunately fluffy hair buck doesn’t negate the fact that he’s currently in a relationship with a racist and that they’re ignoring 6 years of subtext built between he and eddie to try and further reiterate their “totally platonic dude bro” relationship, on top of giving eddie a look that exudes macho straight republican man…

(and don’t get me started on the fucking cartel plot or the mara plot bc what the actual fuck is wrong with tim minear 💀💀)

i just want them to stop dragging their feet on buddie while seemingly writing everything else as this whirlwind of convoluted messy nonsense drama plots and actually decided if they’re gonna commit to just ship/queerbaiting or to the subtext and plot theyve infused into the story since eddie’s literal first episode.

like personal feelings aside for the mustache, i think we’re giving the writers too much faith in portrayal of queer characters to actually say that it’s eddie “embracing queer culture” simply bc it looks like eddie mercury… we’re talking about the same writers who gave the main wlw couple a cheating plotline, have boiled down buck’s sexuality to just sex, and have relied on playing into stereotypes of mlm/wlw side characters rather thsn actually putting time and thought into it… like it’d be one thing to say “it’s a nod to freddie mercury” if the show has actually shown any kind of care beyond using sexuality plotlines for cheap drama (henren) but the reality is that they haven’t shown us that we can trust them in that way yet.

and who knows maybe it IS a nod to freddie mercury, but we don’t know for sure and im not going to set myself uo to be disappointed yet again when its just as likely to be s nod to them making eddie an antagonistic character with gerrard… yeah, that plot wouldn’t make sense for eddie as a character but neither did the vertigo plot so who’s to say tim wouldn’t go for it?

at the end of the day, i am just not looking forward to s8. nothing yet has given me any inclination to actually watch it until we are shown that they are making strides to actually tell a meaningful story that doesn’t rely on minorities for tokenism plots or putting them through needless pain again. yes this show is a drama, but there are other ways you can create drama (hell it’s a show about first responders) than putting poc characters through the fucking wringer time and time again, profiting off their pain, while simultaneously telling lowkey racist stories that involve the fucking cartel coming out of nowhere to burn down a LA fire captain’s house???

so yeah, i’m just not feeling great about it. i also don’t wanna rain on anyone’s parade but i don’t wanna get my own hopes up when i would just be setting myself up to be let down yet again by these writers

[joanyio]

TOP 9 DRAMAS I WATCHED IN 2023

inspector koo (2021) - everyone here is a different flavor of fruit, crime show exclusively made for girls and gays and it’s the best thing that ever happened to me

when i fly towards you (2023) - this is what happiness is all about

doom at your service (2021) - “love me to the point that you want to destroy the world for me” that’s it that’s the line

love all play (2022) - wfkbj for people who aren’t annoying

little women (2022) - second half felt like a makjang damn the writers were spiraling and i couldn’t stop watching (gay little women i love you)

twinkling watermelon (2023) - worth the hype

bloodhounds (2023) - i remember my letterboxd post for this saying you can almost smell the testosterones through the screen but it was absolutely binge worthy, kinda homo if you ask me!

daily dose of sunshine (2023) - park boyoung is the loveliest human being

law school (2021) - is it insane to beg for a season 2 the chance is low but nonzero… right?

HONORABLE MENTIONS

hidden love (2023) - im tired of people saying the word chemistry about the main couple but it’s true they invented it

designated survivor: 60 days (2019) - maybe political dramas aren’t always badly written, also han nakyung please give me a chance

celebrity (2023) - user joanyio stop finding invisible gay subtext in every show you watch challenge failed

the good bad mother (2023) - such a gem *continues to ignore mommy issues*

time and him are just right (2022) - cute and perfect for mindless watching in the background while you do other work

the worst of evil (2023) - instead of forcing the love triangle turned love square the writers should have made all four hot main characters make out with each other it would have been perfect

and because of love all play (2022), see also:

castaway diva (2023), witch’s diner (2021), and unlock my boss (2022) (although i haven’t finished this one yet) chae jonghyeop is my new lee dohyun (read: male actor i enjoy watching multiple projects of simply because he doesn’t give me the ick). i also rewatched hot stove league (2020) for park eunbin and jonghyeop after castaway diva, still one of the all time best dramas i remember it used to be my twitter handle years ago baseball is so cool i wish it was real

DRAMAS I STARTED LATE DECEMBER 2023 AND FINISHED EARLY JANUARY 2024

shining for one thing (2022) - please don’t watch this show it was made only for me and i’d like to gatekeep it forever

reset (2022) - never watched a drama execute time loop plot device as perfectly as this did

UNFINISHED BUT PLANNING TO CONTINUE SOON

derailment (2023) - i was baited by a tiktok i thought it’d be a cute silly little high school drama but boy was i surprised

one day off (2023) - she’s living the dream

[stuairi675]

Entry 3: 19/10/24 - God I Hate Elves

God, I fucking hate elves.

Sorry. I know that’s a hell of a thing to come out the gates with, but Jesus have they ever earned my eternal disdain, the eternal aspect being pertinent in particular. Due to the famous immortality of elves, they’ll be able to fully appreciate all its intricate nuances.

And, of course, when I say elves, what I am really saying in whispered subtext is Legolas. 

Sorry Gimli. Whilst I have a great reverence and love for you, your dumbass princeling boyfriend deserves a slandering - made no less worthy of it by him then going out with someone so much younger (perhaps he should be called LEO-las). 

I mean he arrested the guy’s Dad and then proceeded to mock his own future boyfriend’s baby pics (bet that made for an interesting couples therapy session on their honeymoon revisiting Fangorn Forest [treebeard was definitely the therapist, making for a slow session]).

All I’m saying is it looks a bit sus. In my book, Legolas belongs in the same camp as Padme and either one of the two boyfriend options in Twilight, maybe more the werewolf one because of that uncomfortable imprinting business.

It’s just the modern consensus. Every time I show somebody new the Lord of the Rings, without fail Legolas is their favourite character (me and my Mum were arguing about this the entire time) and like… I get it. He does cool shit and he looks beautiful (at least among hobbits and humans - though he’s edged out by Aragorn, [phew Daddy!], and is nothing compared to the sexual powerhouse that is Gimli, son of Gloin). 

But he’s as talkative and actually charismatic as a wet rice cake, I’m certain of this. And I’m certain that the writers of those movies knew this too, because they give all the general chatter scenes to Gimli, the better and more inspirational character. I can’t help but think to that one scene in the second film where Aragorn and Legolas reunite after Aragorn has a “little tumble off the cliff” and instead of having a deep and meaningful conversation illustrative of the full capacity of their intricate and powerful friendship, they cut to a longshot and mute the guys, presumably because the writers attempted to think of a conversation sustained by the loquacious wit of our favourite socially maladjusted wood elf before coming to the realisation that one could never exist. 

Being trapped in a lift with Legolas sounds like it’d be worse than hell.

And yeah, he goes through an arc (allegedly) but so does Gimli – the exact same one - and Gimli has the boon of actually also having a personality, so there.

It’s funny, because otherwise I don’t actually mind the elves in Lord of the Rings. In the Hobbit they’re antagonists (book continuity – always the book continuity with the Hobbit), and in Lord of the Rings they’re far removed from the central plot and act more like other worldly beings bestowing gifts and boons Athena style onto our mortal protagonists. They’re like mini-Gandalfs, who incidentally does cool stuff as well like Legolas but I’m more inclined to favour him because he has occasions where he gets his ass beat and has to regenerate Doctor Who style, and he’s just a sweet old man type dude that visits his little friends, throws cool ass parties, smokes weed and fells balrogs. He just has a more developed and wholesome vibe.

So, elves in middle-earth are implemented quite well in my opinion, but outside of that I just generally hate them and people’s obsession with them. A predominantly Aryan race, extremely self-possessed and arrogant, without hesitation or exception believing themselves to be naturally superior to every other filthier, uglier and lesser species. Gees, what’s not to like? But it’s made up for by the fact that they know how to do their hair.

Now, boys and girls, given the history (and to be honest present) of our own world, what tends to happen when you have a meeting between two groups, one of which believes them to be (and, depending on the narrative, actually is) superior to the other? That’s right. A bad thing, mostly for the group that can’t live to a billion and do backflips from the age of three.

I just don’t like people extolling mindless beauty and idolising an idealised fantasy creature that would a hundred percent bully those people in real life if they existed. Best case scenario is they’re the vegans of fantasy land, worse case is they’re the Nazis.  At least vampires just eat you, not try and give you unwanted life advice. 

And they gave us goths, to which I say: phew Mummy!

Tangent over:

Ruairi

[aemiron-main]

They Don’t Remember Him- How Could They? He Never Existed.

So, I talked in this post previously about how there’s frequent references to people not remembering Eddie Munson and how that connects to the subtext that Eddie Munson is delivering about Edward Creel.

And now that I’ve been watching Fringe, I noticed something else:

And

(Those screenshots of the bald dudes in fedoras are from Fringe, and they’re called Observers.)

We have all of these references to Eddie “Edward” Munson, who constantly delivers Edward Creel subtexts, being forgotten/not remembered by people (which then gives us the subtext that Edward Creel has been forgotten/people don’t remember him) versus the Observers talking about how Peter Bishop was forgotten/people don’t remember him.

And then we also have the reason why Peter Bishop was forgotten- it’s because he never existed, because he’s been wiped from existence/from both timelines. And we also have one of the Henwards (likely Henry) talking during NINA about how 001 supposedly never existed/Brenner claimed 001 didn’t exist, but he did.

There’s some sort of connection here!!!!

Peter Bishop was erased from existence- he was originally from an alternate timeline but was kidnapped as a young boy and brought over to another timeline/the main timeline and raised there. Long story short, this caused major issues/holes between the two timelines and the two timelines were trying to destroy eachother, but Peter combined them so that they could work together with eachother- and then, Peter immediately disappeared from existence.

And so, I’m wondering what the hell happened with Edward Creel, and why nobody seems to remember him, and why there’s a.) so many references to people not remembering Eddie Munson and b.) Henward’s line about 001 not existing.

And to top it all off, we have this line regarding Peter Bishop:

And yknow who else has traces of him bleeding through into the timeline?

Edward Creel.

(and it’s also worth noting that California Dreaming, which plays in S4 EP1 of ST, is also playing during rhat Fringe scene about traces of Peter.

And also, going back to that that line about Eddie saying that he wouldn’t even remember himself, it’s haunting me because of what I’ve talked about before with the idea of Edward believing that he’s Henry (and therefore not remembering himself/not remembering Edward Creel).

But yknow who likely would remember Edward Creel/who remembered 001 during that plinko scene with El?

Henry Creel.

Wouldn’t it be perfect if the only person who remembers Edward Creel is Henry Creel, and the only way for Henry to prove that he is, in fact, Henry (especially in the context of Edward believing that he’s Henry) would be for him to remember Edward?

It’d be perfect/ironic because you’d think that if there were two identical boys, one Henry, one Edward, but both claiming to be Henry, and one of them remembered Edward, the initial conclusion would be that the boy who remembers the name Edward must himself be Edward, right?

But because Edward’s forgotten himself/because that initial conclusion is wrong, the only way for Henry to prove who he is would be for him to remember somebody else’s name/identity/prove that the other boy is Edward. Like. Wouldnt it be ironic/right in line with the way ST enjoys subverting things if the only way for somebody to prove who they are was to remember who somebody else is? If proving their identity, the one thing that should be solely tied to them, was inextricably tied up with somebody else’s identity?

I think it would be perfect, especially considering the details of MKultra brainwashing/the way they tried to strip victims of their identity and individuality vs Henry being a MKultra victim who has his identity inextricably tied to somebody else’s identity.

[shcmook]

I think the story and worldbuilding of TOTK would be overall much better if more of the champion successors had NOT been Sages. As it is, 3 of the main characters of the game end up with this problem where it feels like they’re the only useful person in their entire respective races, and the game seems to be implying they HAVE to perform their multiple roles within their cultures due to their bloodlines.

Tulin stands out as the GOAT of the four main sages for several reasons. One is just that his ability is so constantly useful that I dread going back to BOTW bc I’ll miss those gusts. But also his story is the only one that feels unique to this game. It’s not a sequel to a story in BOTW it’s focusing on a minor character from that game who doesn’t have to now juggle multiple roles in his society. The older members of his tribe are struggling just to get food and take care of the village. Teba can’t take time away from his duties as chief to be the sage. Tulin stepping up and going through his arc feels SO natural and works so well both as a story on its own and as a follow up to the Revali / Teba storyline.

Sidon may be an exception to bc my thesis. It’d seem incredibly out of character and ruin a good arc if this guy didn’t feel in his heart that his place is joining the fight alongside link. It would probably eliminate the queer subtext of sidons inner conflict as well but we’d still headcanon it no matter how it was written. But as is it’s still weird that he feels so torn between being king and being Sage and being with Yona and purifying the water for the domain and helping Link and part of him still mourning Mipha when like. Why can’t Yona do some of those things for him? The idea that he’s worried about losing Yona like he lost Mipha would be much stronger if she was the one going to the temple with Link and Sidon wasn’t ok with it. Yona being the Sage would also still have the three of them had to work through this complicated relationship, and probably just add more layers to a poly reading of that dynamic. Idk. I just think it’s weird that they went to the trouble of creating Yona so that she could be the wife of a guy who is a sage and a king and the Hero’s best friend instead of her having an actual identity or a role of her own. I lied when I said Sidon was an exception, Yona should have been the Sage.

The Gerudo having a weird heirarchy and multiple leader figures within their culture is part of why I love the Gerudo so much in other games. In OOT, Twinrova, the leader you fight in the Fortress, Nabooru, and Ganondorf all fill leadership roles in their society. So why is Riju chief AND sage? Why not make Buliara the sage? Rijus main thing in the other games was her sandseal, she didn’t have thunder powers before this game. Buliara is literally a Guard so it’d give failing the town defense missions more emotional stakes if you losing means she fails her duty. I love Riju but. It’s make more sense for her, as Chief, to be busy managing her tribe’s underground affairs while Buliara feels ashamed at not being able to defend her Chief from the Gibdo threat and then *she* gains lightning abilities while training in the ruins.

I’ll be honest I haven’t actually played the Goron quest yet. But was anyone really hoping for more yunobo after the first game? I like the idea of him getting corrupted by Ganon I like the whole marbled rock roast concept. But why not introduce a new Goron who helps us free Yunobo from Ganon’s influence? And then that bro becomes the Sage instead? Doing this relieves us of having the bit in the story where the Sage of fire kind of ruins the lives of a bunch of his own people, and then still gets to be their Hero. It’s waved away too easily and I don’t like it and also I just don’t like Yunobo. If any of the Champions’ successors should’ve been replaced it’s him.

In conclusion: Tulin’s story I s the BEST, and more of the Sage quests should have been based and Tulin pilled.

[nightmarist]

Decided not to leave it in the tags so:

Flemeth and or Morrigan being part of or connected to the Elvhen pantheon while being visibly human / round eared is a little ridiculous tbh

The context of romance locked lore w Solas you find out the Vallaslin are actually slave brandings and there are brandings dedicated to Mythal, and Flemeth being (carrying?) Mythal makes it particularly worse. Let alone Morrigan’s dalish knowledge is really patronizing.

Like. A really quick fix would be to just make them elves. ESPECIALLY as Witches of the Wild. People already think both elves and the witches are evil baby killing demon summoning monsters. It’d also make sense for them to be Separate from other elves the way Solas is, neither city nor dalish but a literally secret third thing (Gods / Gods Possessing Mortal Form).

Like. There wouldn’t need to be any overhaul change to their design or personalities maybe just one or two dialogue like “are you elves? Why aren’t you in the alienage or w the dalish?” And they can very easily dodge the question or make up a lie and that’s that.

Itd help set up the god reveal. Especially when the first game is setting up the lore for all of dragon age as a series AND it could help foreshadow Solas without revealing his nature too soon. It’d make Morrigan less patronizing. It’d make Flemeth’s worship and tie in less weird. Just. Little pointy elf ears could fix so much weird subtext…..

[sleeplessinunova]

Sleepless Movie Reviews!! I’m a bit of a sucker for horror movies, and with so many coming out this month, it’d be a disservice not to do a review of the most popular!

#1 - Venom Drench - 3/10

We follow 29 year old Amy Sash, a rookie detective investigating several disappearing people in the kanto region. And the posters give away the culprit. For the most part, do not watch. The writing is lazy, schlocky, and contrived all at once, creating some horrible amalgam of Pokestars Studio’s worst habits. I’m a big fan of practical effects and the cgi in this film just does not do it for me. Theres almost nothing in this film to like, but its not so heinously insulting for me to give it anything other than a 3/10.

#2 - Shadow Sneak - 8/10

Scare-tourists Brad, David, Lila, and Mary decide to camp out in an abandoned amusement park. But in the middle of their stay, the entire park whirs back to life and the tourists are picked off one by one by the ghost of a dead magician and his ghost type pokemon. I didn’t think I’d like this movie nearly as much as I did. But the characters aren’t just meat bags to hunt, they’re real, fleshed out people and you feel a sense of dread whenever one breaks from the group. Shadow Sneak ends up being surprisingly emotional for a horror movie, but the ending and ugly cgi effects drop the ball enough to keep it from 9 or 10.

#3 - Howl - 6.5/10

In a small fictional Kantonian town of Canvasville, a young boy’s rockruff begins acting strangely. But by the time the townsfolk learn whats wrong with it, its far too late. A reboot of the FANTASTIC classic 1989 film “Growl”, Howl fails to live up to its predecessor in almost every way. Not to call the film bad, its alright. But you will have a significantly worse time with this movie if you HAVE seen the original Growl. The only thing it improves on is dated terminology and practical effects. But the director misses almost all the subtext and meaning the original Growl gave us. And for that, I can’t give it anymore than a 6.5

[johnandrasjaqobis]

woe more random out of context durgetash be upon ye, will I ever write anything that's not Joseph suffering through the Subtext who's to say (this one immediately after killing Orin/rejecting Bhaal)

Joseph ran both hands up over his face and through his hair with a low sigh – and gods, there was still a lot of blood in his hair, that was going to be a pain in the ass to scrub out.

“I need to get back,” he said. “Gonna sleep for a tenday now that those fucking dreams are done, I swear…”

The trek back to the inn wasn’t a particularly long one, but it felt incredibly daunting given how literally every muscle ached. He decided firmly that the toll of being yanked back from the dead was the entire reason for the hesitation to stand, and also decided not to notice what might have been a very brief flash of disappointment across Gortash’s face.

(Politicians, Banites, didn’t let anything so inconsequential as emotions slip without a purpose.)

“Of course.” Gortash glanced over his shoulder toward what was likely some kind of timekeeping device. Joseph didn’t want to know how long he had been awake at this point. “I imagine killing Bhaal’s own Slayer warrants at least a partial day off.”

“Don’t forget being killed by a god not even a minute later.”

Gortash actually laughed – hells, what a thing to be able to laugh at – and Joseph blamed his own grin on the exhaustion.

“Absolutely, I would be remiss to forget that.”

There was a brief flare of paranoia when Gortash picked up the blade that had sat on his desk for the entire conversation; it looked no less menacing without the stone slotted into its pommel, a shine to the edge like the blood hadn’t fully dried even hours later. After a moment’s consideration it was flipped around and held out hilt first.

Still a familiar feeling, Joseph noted as he took it. At least now he knew why.

“I have a good deal of loose threads to tie up myself,” Gortash said. “Without their general, the army moves slowly, and having all of the stones accounted for grants us at least a modicum of leeway. For now. Get as prepared as you can, and then we will be right back on plan.”

Joseph gave a weary scoff. “Minus one chosen. And two gods.”

Gortash just shook his head and held out a hand. It didn’t seem worth looking into why it was instinctive to take it – you know why, you know exactly why – even as it was more of a firm grip on his forearm than a handshake. Joseph let himself be pulled a step closer as the other hand went to his shoulder.

“We don’t need Myrkul,” Gortash said firmly, dark eyes sharp and steady. “We don’t need Bhaal. They needed us, because we are brilliant. Don’t forget that we were the ones to come up with all of this at the start.”

Joseph felt his breath catch for a split second. It would’ve been nice to blame that on the exhaustion as well, but even he couldn’t lie to himself that well.

It’d be so easy, was the problem, it was such a small gap to cross, and just as infuriatingly instinctive.

Instead he managed to nod sharply and step back, arms folding across his chest the moment they were free.

“I’ll be in touch,” Joseph muttered as he turned to the door.

He’d managed to get rid of the urges Bhaal had pushed on him.

Now it was just a question of how the fuck he got rid of these.

[ankhlesbian]

sentai yuri be upon thee

Fandom: Super Sentai

Pairing: Umika/Shiho (lightly)

Rating/Length: G, ~1k words

AO3 Link: here

Three small scenes to expand Episode 17 to give Umika bit more focus (and to add a bit more gay subtext).

Umika becomes friends with a girl who is infatuated with Keiichiro and agrees to help with her crush, but first, they must face a Gangler with the power of trapping people within their dreams. Umika is reminded of better times, and of why she fights in the first place. (The timestamps are for where in the ep it’d go)

(8:40)

Umika checked her phone. 4:21. She slid it back into her apron pocket. She scrubbed at a table aggressively. She dried the table aggressively. She checked her phone. 4:22. Umika groaned, collapsing onto the table and pressing her forehead to the cool surface.

“What’s taking them so long?”

Kairi snickered at her plight, as unhelpful as always.

“There’s still plenty of time,” Touma reminded her coolly, unruffled even as he worked diligently to make the romantic meal Umika had begged him to cook. Mana would confess as planned, and then the two of them could have at least one short date together before Mana had to dash off to the airport.

“Don’t you guys even care what happens? You’re as heartless as Keiichiro is!”

“I think you just care too much,” drawled Kairi. “They barely know each other, and she still has to leave whether she confesses or not. It won’t change anything.”

“It could! Mana deserves the chance to see where her feelings could lead her.”

Mana’s empty house, with the garden tended to so carefully, with that record-player to fill the silence, with that piano she sat at all alone… Mana was lonely, she could tell. Umika had been lonely too, until by random chance she had been assigned to sit behind a girl named Shiho in elementary school. If they hadn’t started talking, Umika didn’t know where she’d be today. Well, Shiho might be somewhere better, but Umika certainly wouldn’t be.

Kairi pursed his lips. “Just don’t get your hopes up, okay? I really don’t think Kei-chan is the right kind of man for this sort of thing.”

She turned to face him, cheek plopping onto the table. “He could have hidden depths.”

“Anything is possible.” agreed Touma.

Kairi squinted at him. “Say, aren’t you agreeing to all this a little too easily?”

Umika perked up. Yeah, it was a little strange. Especially since she had made him shoo all the other customers out of Jurer early for this.

“Ah, you were engaged weren’t you, Touma? So there must be a romantic bone in your body somewhere.”

Touma turned away to stir something on the stove.

“I’m simply doing Umika a favor.”

Kairi clearly smelled weakness. “So, Touma, who proposed to who? Did you do something cheesy for her? Something embarrassing? Something like-”

Touma was freed from interrogation by the door clanging open, an eager Sakuya shoving at a confused Keiichiro’s shoulders. Right, she had a mission here!

(13:00)

Umika looked around, confused. Grassy green hills, trees, and… her uniform. 

“Why am I in this uniform?” 

That wasn’t right, was it? She had been doing something important, but she couldn’t remember what…

“Umika!” Umika blinked. Shiho was waving a hand in front of her face. “Don’t space out! The restaurant’s gonna fill up if we don’t get going. It’s not every day you get a free meal.” Shiho grabbed her hand and pulled her forward into a run, pigtails bobbing behind her.

Right, they were going to celebrate Shiho’s manga debuting. Except… “Hey! I’m the one who’s paying, got it?” She puffed out her cheeks. Shiho turned back to look at her and smiled, pink lips barely visible behind her rainbow colored scarf.

“Alright, but I’m covering it next time. I’m gonna have an income, after all.” Shiho tugged them onwards, winding through the woods along some sort of path known only to her. They passed by a man eating ramen, a woman hugging stuffed animals… it sure was a strange place. She almost wanted to stop and see what was happening, but they had something important to do, and Shiho’s hand was just so warm.

But that… wasn’t right, was it? It had been winter when she had won her award. Shiho even had her scarf on. Umika stopped.

“Eh? Umika? What’s wrong?” Shiho turned around and leaned in, pressing the back of her free hand to Umika’s forehead. “Are you sick?”

Shiho’s hands shouldn’t be so warm. An image flashed in Umika’s head. A block of ice, encasing Shiho. Shiho, in the ice, frozen, shattering into a million pieces. Umika jerked away, sucking in a breath of air.

“Shiho-chin. It’s not really you, is it?” Her voice cracked. She knew deep down that it was true, even without a reply. She had watched it happen. It had been all her fault, after all. The fake Shiho tried to speak, but Umika remembered now. The Gangler, the dream world.

Shiho faded away into a wave of yellow energy. Umika wiped at her face and slapped her cheeks with both palms.

“Wake up! This is no time to be dreaming!” The pain didn’t wake her up, unfortunately. That’d be too simple. She’d probably need to break her way out. She checked her pockets, but there was no VS Changer on her in this realm. All she had on her was her wallet and other equally useless odds and ends; a pen, a charm, a ribbon. She would have to hope one of the Patrangers had a dream that included a weapon. Relying on others to save her once again…

Well, she couldn’t help it this time. It wasn’t her fault this Gangler had such an inconvenient ability. She gathered her thoughts and scanned the horizon. The people they had passed… that had definitely been Tsukasa, right? The others couldn’t be far off. She took off running.

(21:00)

Umika couldn’t believe him. And after all that work she had done to end things as quickly as possible, too!

She shoved the flowers and the bag with the record at his chest.

“Why didn’t you go to the airport? Mana was waiting for you.”

She wasn’t sure what answer she wanted. She wasn’t sure there was one that she could accept. To his credit, Keiichiro didn’t flinch. He looked directly at her.

“I can’t pursue two things at once.” He declared. “I’m too awkward.”

Kairi had been right, in the end. Umika looked away first, frowning.

It didn’t make sense. Fighting for something as intangible as public safety and world peace… Umika didn’t think she was a bad person. It’s not like she wanted others to get hurt. But she wanted to be safe. She wanted her friends to be safe. She had wanted to go to dinner with Shiho, to read the next chapter of her manga over her shoulder as she drew it, to attend graduation together, maybe even to go to college. If that was selfish of her, so be it.

Not wanting to pursue two things at once, she could understand. She was really only after one thing herself, just like the other Lupinrangers. But to choose the path where you had to stand alone, to choose a path where you pushed others away, didn’t even give them a chance to reach out to you… it was so unbearably lonely, so unfair to Mana.

“I don't understand! You’re terrible!”

She turned away. This was just another thing that separated them from the Patrangers, no matter how well they all got along out of uniform.

[breezeinmonochromenight]

My apologies for the stupid question: What if Capcom left who Nero’s father was ambiguous? How do you think this would have affected the game/story? (My apologies I’m not good at writing sentences)

You’re fine! And tbh it’d have probably had no major effect on the story (save for the obvious reveal in 5) aside from making it a lot less juicy/dramatic and causing Dante’s character to take a bit of a hit.

Like. There’s little breadcrumbs here and there that make you think Nero already suspects he’s related to Dante and is curious about him, but he doesn’t bring it up for fear of rejection/wants Dante’s approval/etc. Plus, Dante all but spells it out for Nero in DMC4, so Nero would have to be an idiot not to put 2 + 2 together. So it’s way more of a one-two punch to have the guy you consider a father figure (and probably want to be your actual father) call you dead weight only to turn around and reveal that your suspicions are confirmed — you’re related but he’s just your uncle… and the asshole you that ripped your arm off is your dear old dad. It’d also probably be a lot easier for Nero to disregard/want nothing to do with Vergil if he doesn’t have some kind of confirmation — it’s easier to emotionally detach from a relative (especially a shitty relative) you may or may not even be actually related to.

You could totally have fun with that kind of ambiguousness with the right writers, though, ngl. But like… I personally don’t think DMC is the a series that’s deep enough/coherent enough for that lol. No point it muddying the waters even more, imo.

The only thing I can think of being affected isn’t even in the game tbh. Because there was a period of time from DMC4’s release in 2008 to 2015 (when the 3142 artbook released that confirmed Vergil and Nero’s relationship for the first time) where some fans loudly refused to acknowledge any blood relationship between Nero and V or D despite it being spelled out for them and it was just… a super fucking annoying experience when you’d run into them, to put it mildly. It was kind of the equivalent of running into one of those people from the ‘Vincent Valentine is Sephiroth’s REAL dad’ crowd that are convinced they’re correct because they straight up can’t fucking read subtext is hard, I guess. Leaving V&D’s relationship to Nero ambiguous would have just let the DMC version of that crowd chug right along.

[sanguinarysanguinity]

2022 Fanworks in Review

In 2022, I published:

1. With Surprising Quickness (Bush/Hornblower, Hornblower TV, 3.7K, pwp) Two impoverished lieutenants share a berth.

2. A Peaceful and Beautiful Spot (Ewen & Francis, The Flight of the Heron, 1.4K, gen) Ewen brings Francis, Lord Aveling, to visit Keith's grave.

3. Heron Feathers (various pairings, The Flight of the Heron, ficlet collection)

4. [vid] Some Things are Meant to Be (Keith/Ewen, The Flight of the Heron 1968, major character death) Take my hand / Take my whole life too

5. Hornblower's Lost Honour (Bush/Hornblower, Hornblower novels, 107K) #no one leaves this island until I see some kissing

6. Seaweed and Apple Blossoms (Laurent/Aymar/Avoye, The Wounded Name, 4.3K) Four missing scenes in which the subtext is made text.

~

Total number of completed works: Four stories (one with a prologue), one ficlet collection, and one vid.

Total word count: 117K, which is roughly twice my usual annual published word count. A lot of that is a result of Hornblower's Lost Honour having been written over the course of three years, thus pulling a significant chunk of previous years' unpublished words into this year's published wordcount. (But even if I didn't write all those words this year, I sure did edit them all! Getting that sucker published was a significant chunk of work.)

Fandoms created for: Hornblower, The Flight of the Heron, The Wounded Name.

Looking back, did you create more than you thought you would this year, less, or about what you’d expected? All of the above. My dad's death back in January knocked me out of my usual run of spring exchanges, and for a long while there I was writing nothing more than alibi sentences. Consequently, in terms of total works, this seems like a very short list for the year, even given the behemoth of Lost Honour. Flipside, my big goal was to publish Lost Honour during 2022, and I successfully pulled that off, even bringing me to a record high wordcount, which I was very much not expecting given the way the year started.

What’s your own favorite creation of the year? Maybe "A Peaceful and Beautiful Spot" -- I like the energy and some of the prose is very well. I'm not claiming it's my best work of the year -- it was written in a day and shows a consequent lack of polish -- but my feelings about it are uncomplicated, and it has a pleasing accomplishment-to-effort ratio.

Did you take any creative risks this year? I typed this sentence --

His passion could no longer be restrained; it must find expression, or he must die.

-- and had a moment of extreme self-consciousness about what I had just written. I ultimately decided not only to leave it in, but to let it guide the tone of the piece. Happily, several commenters said they liked the OTT emotionalism of that story, so I'm gonna say it worked out.

Do you have any goals for the new year? To finish Langstroth on Bees, my ACD Holmes retirement longfic that I started in 2014, and which currently sits at 70K. Also, very tentatively: now that I'm doing a Holmes canon re-read with Letters from Watson, I've picked up "Sixty for Sixty" again: a collection of sixty-word ficlets for the sixty canon stories, which I first started during my last readthrough of Holmes canon as a part of sherlock60 on LJ. I'm not gonna commit to doing ficlets for all the stories (that way lies madness!), but it'd be cool to knock out another chunk of them. Beyond that, just the usual: to keep making things for as long as I'm getting pleasure from making them.

Most popular creation of the year? "With Surprising Quickness". Yes, it's probably one of my stronger PWPs, but more significantly, 1) I wrote it at the beginning of the year, giving it more time to accumulate kudos, and 2) I wrote it for a large exchange, bringing it before more eyes. It might also help that it's in the TV tag and not the novels tag; I sometimes get the impression there are more readers in the TV tag.

Creation of mine most under-appreciated by the universe, in my opinion: No. Within this question lies madness.

Most fun thing to make: The vid. It came together very quickly, and making it was hella iddy and immersive, in that way that vidding often is.

Most unintentionally telling thing: Hornblower's Lost Honour. I came out in the early 90s into a society more comprehensively and reflexively homophobic than the one I live in today, and Lost Honour draws on those experiences. Most especially how society's hatred gets deep down inside your head and you can unpack it and unpack it and fucking unpack it and then you turn around and discover that no, society has still got you unwittingly doing their dirty work for them, punishing yourself on their behalf. Like a rat proactively giving yourself electroshocks because you can't imagine any other way to live, ugh. That experience (plus how it shapes and stunts you and damages your relationships) is threaded all through that story.

Biggest disappointment: Again, madness.

Biggest surprise: FANART. Three people made fanart for Lost Honour! Plus another art for one of my Heron Feathers ficlets! Behold:

@chiropteracupola for HLH chapter 1

@cedarboots for HLH chapter 7

ljm for the AU where Horatio bakes Bush and Brown an apology cake

@chiropteracupola Heron OT3

I am flat aback with astonishment and pleasure.