#it’s not often an older character is popular enough to be noticed like this

[timethehobo]

Just a tiny lil guy who got nominated for best new character. 🤭

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Hidden Treasure 1

No tag lists. Do not send asks or DMs about updates. Review my pinned post for guidelines, masterlist, etc.

Warnings: this fic will include dark content such as dubcon/noncon, obsession, and other possible triggers. My warnings are not exhaustive, enter at your own risk.

This is a dark!fic and explicit. 18+ only. Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Summary: your quiet life is interrupted by a tempestuous man. (reader is Blair from Follow You Anywhere)

Characters: Thor

Note: I just did it, okay?

As per usual, I humbly request your thoughts! Reblogs are always appreciated and welcomed, not only do I see them easier but it lets other people see my work. I will do my best to answer all I can. I’m trying to get better at keeping up so thanks everyone for staying with me <3

Your feedback will help in this and future works (and WiPs, I haven’t forgotten those!) Asking for more or putting ‘part 2?’ is not feedback.

Love you all. You are appreciated and your are worthy. Treat yourself with care. 💖

You lay out the hand-sewn coin purses along the left side of the table, completing the array of your hand-made and repurposed goods. It’s a good day to sell, sunny but not too hot, the early days of spring when people are eager to get out. At least it should be. Despite your selection, you’re not the most personable vendor along the square. 

The last detail is the hand-painted wood sign. You did it yourself; an antique frame you added a gold hue to and filled with a thin sheet of board. It isn’t much but it tells people what they’re looking at; handmade and renewed goods. 

You fold your hands and hover behind your table. You’re a one-person operation. It’s your own table, your own money, your own everything. It brings in enough for you to live. Just you and your cluttered apartment. 

The coin purses and the sleepers you sew by hand are the more popular sellers. Anything for children goes first, you notice. Everyone seems to be having them. The older crowd radiate towards the old candlesticks you polished to a shine or the glass-shaded lamps you tediously re-wired. Most try to haggle but your prices are fair enough. 

You peer around at the produce stands, the soap and candle makers, and the crocheted stuffies of your fellow sellers. You do a bit of window shopping but never follow through on your wandering eyes. You don’t need to waste the money on the pretty new things, you have lots of lovely old things. 

The traffic picks up and you busy yourself with the browsers. A woman with a stroller buys several of the infant dresses and headband, a group of older ladies peruse the aged hardcovers and pick out a few, while a couple comments on the brass-based lamp with the dangling chain. You do your best to smile through the transactions. 

The rises higher in the sky towards its apex. The steady flow keeps you busy, with some time in-between to work on fixing the binding of one of the old editions. You like to keep yourself distracted, thinking can be dangerous. With how much time you spend alone, it’s hard to avoid. 

As you lock up the cash box and tuck it back under the table, a shadow passes over, large than any other. For a moment, you think a cloud’s passing over the sun. You look up at the sky as a broad figure stands across from you.  

You don’t know how you didn’t see the man’s approach. He’s huge. Tall and wide. He doesn’t seem the type to be interested in your selection. Still, he leans in to eye the embroidered coin purses and gives a rumbling hum that sounds like distant thunder. 

He picks up one with primroses sewn into it. His thick thumb brushes the threaded design and his large hand makes the coin purse look even smaller. You tap your fingers on the table as his eyes flick up and meet yours. 

“Hi, uh, how can I help you?” You whittle out of your tight throat. It’s not often a lone man finds interest in your things. You cater to a more femme audience. 

“This is nice,” he remarks, “do you make these?” 

“Uh, yes, I do,” you give a tight-lipped smile, “I just embroider old used purses.” 

“Just? That’s splendid work,” he brings it closer to his face and looks down his nose at the little flowers and leaves, “my mother would love this... mother’s day is coming, eh?” 

“Oh, um, yes, I suppose,” you agree. “It’s five dollars. Cash only.” 

“Mm,” he traces his thumb over the metal clasp as he taps his back pocket with his other hand, “don’t think I’ve any on me. Could you hold this for me?” He offers the coin purse, “I’ll find the ATM.” 

“Sure, I could do that.” 

You take the coin purse, fingers brushing his rough skin, and you set it aside. 

“Thank you,” he smiles broadly, blue eyes twinkling as lines creases around them and across his forehead. 

He reluctantly trails away and you watch him go. His golden hair is longer than most, twisted into a low bun behind his hand as a few strands dangle freely around his face. He wears a denim jacket over dark red tee and grey jeans, along with a pair of scuffed brown boots. He stands out even in his casual attire. 

You shrug off the encounter and turn to your next customers. More baby clothes. The women chat about a baby show and you point them to the newborn sizes, telling them about the fabrics you use for each. They buy a few bibs along with the sleepers and diaper covers. 

You back up and sit in the folding chair, drinking deeply from your bottle of water. You don’t know if it’s the interactions or the sun making you dizzy. It’s close to noon. You always start to feel it around this time.  

The hours surrounded by strange faces and buzzing voices are clustering in your head and chest. Only a little longer; the market only runs until two. If the world didn’t require money to survive, you might never leave your apartment. Yet your table is the only means you have to keep walls around you. 

You sit a bit longer and get up again. You’re okay. You should’ve eaten before you left the apartment. How silly of you to forget the overnight oats you had put in the fridge just the night before. You do forget quite a few things. 

The market thrums with the late morning rush and you brace yourself for the final stretch. If you can clear off half the table, you might not have to come back next weekend. You’d be all too content to stay in your own little world, the one beyond is too loud and too bright. 

🕰️

You fold your table up and push the hook around the peg to keep it shut. You fold up the chair as well and lean both with your boxes. As the market clears out, you pull up your small two-door and load your wares into the back hatch. 

You peer over at the other vendors and their vans and trucks. Crews of half a dozen or more pack away goods and chatter just as loud as the previous crowds. It’s an isolating moment. You don’t mind going unnoticed but sometimes you feel so small. 

As you put a box in the back of the car, your keys slip off your finger. You bend and feel around the tire to retrieve them and sense a shadow above you. You clasp your hand around the keyring and stand-up suddenly, turning to face the figure behind you. There’s no one there. 

You peer around but find nothing out of the ordinary. You return to your task and pause. You don’t remember putting that box away yet... 

You shake your head. You’re just tired and forgetful. Your cardinal vices. Your mind wanders too much to rest, too much to keep order. 

You put the last box away and close the hatch. You get in the driver’s seat and turn the engine. It putters softly but it runs well enough. The old car has gotten you through the years just fine. There was a time that tiny thing was your home. 

You pull away down the lane parallel to the edge of the market square and pull out into traffic. You drive without seeing, led by habit as you stop at signs along the way, turning around corners mindlessly. You stop and wait to pull into your building’s lot and notice the large storm grey jeep behind you. It strikes you as peculiar; you enter from a back street to avoid the rush. 

You steer into the lot and the jeep continues down the street past the building. You forget it as quickly as it rolls beyond the faded brick. You find your spot, parking pass dangling from the mirror, and shut off the engine. You linger and take a breath. You're hungry and tired. 

You leave your things in the car and go upstairs. You slow as you pass your neighbour’s door. You saw her yesterday, she was in trouble about something. The police came as she hid from her boyfriend in your apartment. You didn’t even know she had one. You tried not to be nosy but she seemed real upset. 

Your cheeks tinge as you stare at the numbers on her door. She’s the only person who’s ever been inside your apartment. You don’t welcome people in, not into your home or your life. You hadn’t meant to let her in but you were so tired and confused, you couldn’t stop her. 

You cringe and continue down to your door with one last glance over your shoulder. You put the key in the slot and turn with a grind. You scurry inside and quickly lock the door, afraid she might once more emerge and follow you inside. Or that man, the big one with the beard. 

You twist the latch back into place and put your keys in the tray on the cramped shelf. The apartment is dark, the windows shrouded in black fabric, and you flip on the overhead light to guide you down the hallway. The walls are made tighter as their lined with endless shelves and tables, all filled with your collection of curiosities. 

You go to the fridge and take out the mason jar of steeped oats. You sit and eat the soft, pasty oats and the berries. You didn’t add enough cinnamon. It doesn’t matter, your stomach greedily mulches it. You put the kettle on and wait for it to steam. 

As you pace around, you hear a loud rumble. An engine. You don’t think much of it but you go to the window to peek out around the dark fabric. A woman walks a large dog past a grey jeep parked along the curb. Is it the same one you saw before? 

The question doesn’t pique your mind much. That’s the way of the world, you find. It’s a lot smaller than it seems, yet to you, it’s inexorably vast. It’s too fast, too unpredictable. You retreat as the kettle whistles. 

Your apartment is small and warm and safe. The world can’t follow you back here. Not if you don’t let it in and you won’t be doing that again. 

-🕰️

You decide, against your better instincts, to go to market. The weather is nice and it wouldn’t be so bad add a few extra bucks to your nest egg. You never know what might come up, or what you might find! Too many times you stumbled upon an antique you just couldn’t afford. 

You go through your usual ritual. You set up the table and the chair, and arrange your things in the same way around the wooden sign. As you put your boxes to the side, you hear a rattle at the bottom of one. You look into the crate and notice the silver ring. How’d that get in there? You didn’t bring any jewelry. 

You put down the box and reach inside. You take out the ring and turn it. You’ve never seen it before. There’s a strange stick symbol on the flat face. Maybe another language or a run of some type. You turn it in your hand and tuck it in your pocket. You’ll have to give a closer look at home. 

It’s early and a few stragglers trickle in, but they all walk by your table without pause. 

You sit and take out the jar of oats. You remembered today. You’d woken up with a hunger so deep, you almost ate before you left. You know better than to eat too early. Instead, you had your tea and got yourself moving. 

You stir the blueberries in and eat slowly, trying to measure your bites so you don’t feel sick after. You watch the other vendors, some still setting up, and lazily swallow down the thick oatmeal. It feels like it might rain after all, there’s a touch of damp in the air. 

You finish up and put the jar away. As you wipe your mouth with your sleeve, a woman’s voice trills and pricks your ears. Silver hair with a few wisps of gold peak out from her silk headscarf. The teal fabric matches the pattern of her blouse, tucking into a finely pressed skirt. She’s not alone, she has her arm hooked through another. 

Her companion is younger than her. His golden hair is pulled half up at the crown of his head as he towers over her lithe frame. You squint, they might be related. As they approach, you get a whiff of deja vu. 

“Yes, it was this one, mother,” the man’s voice is deep. 

“How lovely, look at all these treasures,” she slips her arm free as she approaches, “hello, dear, is this all yours?” 

“Mhmm, yes,” you stand up, “are you looking for something in particular?” 

“I think we’re just browsing,” she smiles brightly, her lips painted a gentle shade of rose. 

“A coin purse,” the man says, “with prim rose? Do you recall?” 

You look at him. Faces aren’t easy for you but his voice strikes something in your mind, and his size. You haven’t seen a lot of men that big, only the one in your neighbour’s apartment. You think you remember holding something but the customer never came back. 

“This one,” you point to the coin purse, set back in the row. 

“Yes, that was me,” he chimes, “mother,” he pulls the primrose purse to the top. She takes it and he looks back to you, “I apologise that I didn’t return, there was an emergency and I had to be off.” 

“It’s okay,” you shrug, folding your hands together. 

The woman is looking at you. There’s something in her gaze that makes you squirm. Her eyes linger just a bit longer before she aims them at the purse, admiring the embroidery as she feels it beneath her thumb. 

“Yes, I do like this one,” she says. 

“I brought cash this time,” the man booms and reaches into his pocket, “five, I believe you said.” 

“Yes,” you accept the bill from him, his skin rough as his fingertips touch yours, “thanks. Erm, did you need a bag?” 

“For this? No,” she wiggles the purse playfully and reaches for the man, her son, with other hand. She caresses his knuckles as she faces him, “you were right. Very beautiful.” 

He smiles broadly, proudly almost. It’s just a purse. You hide your discomfort as you grip your arm at your elbow. 

“Thank you,” the woman chirps back at you, sending another grin in your direction, “you might see us again.” 

She hooks her arm once more through her son’s and leads him to the next booth. You peer after them as her attention clings to the purse as she continues to feel it between her fingers. She leans into his arm as she speaks to him quietly. They seem close, it’s sweet. Your own mother had never been so affectionate. 

You look away before the scene can pluck in your chest. It doesn’t matter. You’re grown up now. That’s all behind you. 

[pruneunfair]

"My feelings on" part 5. How to get my husband on my side and how it properly tackles abuse, eating disorders, and relationships.

Another super popular manhwa that I can understand why it's so beloved. The Borgias were actual people in history that inspired characters like the protagonist Ruby, and the title itself already feels different since the world of OI is all about being a perfect badass woman, funnily enough, HTGMHOMS does this better than most.

Rudbeckia/Ruby starts off with the behavior of the og fls that a lot of OI make fun of. She is surrounded by what appears to be loving family members and is already being prepped to be married of to Izek, she looks excited and ready to do whatever her family wants until her inner monolog reveals how she really feels about them especially her older brother Cezar. She hates almost all of them and her real reason for being excited for marriage is so she can get away from her abusive household and avoid death which shouldn't be hard since the transmigrator doesn't plan on poisoning her sister in law like og Ruby did. She's a master of hiding her feelings already which is attributed to her past life in a similarly abusive adoptive household.

Right off bat, Ruby is shown to be strong in the mental sense. Not only is she walking on eggshells she also suffers from an ED (likely bulimia), there a quite a few scenes where she's throwing up, refusing to eat a lot, or in later chapters, eating a lot more out of stress. Her family too is whole new level of psychological horror. They aren't cartoonist evil, for example Pope Borgia is usually kind to his daughter and treats her with respect until he feels like she's defying him, all of a sudden that kind caring nature is gone, then he becomes threatening, or her older brother Cezar who has been abusing her for years both physically and sexually, he keeps her in place through fear, intimidation, and attacking her on occasion which is only enhanced after he kills Rubys bird and feeds it to his turtle which gives Ruby a phobia of turtles. It's actually heartbreaking with how eerily realistic it is when these types of people are easily placed like normal family members in certain scenes, because that's often how abusive family members blend in, almost no one knows what they are really like and if you looked at a first glance without context, you'd think "Ah yes, that's just a brother next to his siblings." They're never truly gone, they just know how to hide their true colors so well.

This is why Ruby is so much stronger than a lot of people give her credit for, she's dealing with all of this at the same time and her only hope of respite is being as far as possible from her home country. It's easy to jump to the conclusion that Ruby is just a weak stereotypical protagonist everytime you see her pretend to fawn over Izeks presence but if you read further, you'd know that Ruby doesn't like it any better but she thinks she's doing what's right to avoid Izeks Wrath since she's the only one who knows what he is the one who kills the og Ruby in the novel.

Speaking of which, while Izek isn't my favorite ML ever, I still was shocked to find that I liked the typical cold nobleman persona on him. Unlike a lot of ML's Izek is allowed to be flawed and his negative traits and moments aren't brushed aside, they cause some issues like Ruby going out of her way to appear dainty and sweet so Izek won't kill her. He acknowledges how he has hurt her and grows from it and doesn't push her boundaries. It's possible for the cold Duke archetype to work but a lot of the time, the whole war hero past gets thrown to the side for baseless fan service or they're just unapologetically abusive. Izek however is in the in between. His cold and dangerous persona stays consistent but that doesn't make him one note and he gets to have geninue moments of care for those in his life rendering Izek to still be likeable.

Ive noticed that the narrative also makes sense instead of twisting itself for a stupid chance at a fan service plot. An example is Ellen and Freya.

An unfortunate sideffects from the fandom was on and off hatred of Ellen for considering what Freya had to say, taking her side or not even choosing a side at all. The readers know that Freya tried to get Ruby killed by tricking her into going into a monster infested forest or when she tried to frame Ruby for poisoning her, but does Ellen know that? Realistically she's not going to immediately turn her back on Freya since they were childhood friends along eith Izek but that doesn't mean she screams at Ruby either. Ellen does care about Ruby but she knew Freya longer than she knew Ruby. From her perspective, it' makes sense that Freya would be innocent.

But perhaps the best part about Ellen that makes her my favorite character is how she notices the little details on others. She's the first to find out that Ruby has an eating disorder and it's not out of nowhere either, Ellen and Izeks late mother also suffered from a eating disorder that Ellen witnessed more than once so it gives an explanation on how she can tell what Ruby is going through.

Side characters are treated just as well as the main cast too. From the other guards to the friendly monsters to minor antagonist and even the children are all given attention to be their own beings, it doesn't have to be a lot since most of what I mentioned are minor characters but then you got characters like Ivan who has a life outside of just being by Izeks side.

Out of all the side characters I gotta say the monsters are my favorites. It makes me wish there was a side story where Ruby successfully runs away forever and lives as a little witch with monster companions.

Of course like all media, HTGMHOMS has its flaws but I think I'll chill on this one since the flaws aren't large enough to ruin it and I want to stay positive on something I like for once.

Conclusion: This is a story that does such an amazing job with its commentary. Instead of just saying "Cezar abused Ruby in the past! Feel bad for her now!" For example, we are given actual flashbacks to respect the show don't tell rule. Other characters besides Ruby suffer from their own traumas and they get their own arcs on their hardships and how they recover from it, it handles eating disorders and trauma responses in a respectful way that has an actual effect on the plot. Most of all, it does all of this with the type of protagonist that has been deemed as "weak" before in the manhwa community. Ruby isn't a boss girl who is always successful and smart. She makes reckless decisions, she cries, she isn't always able to one-up her enemies like Freya. She's a human woman stuck in a world that's not her own but she still rises to the task at hand even with all her blunders. Ironically making her more feminist then many of the female leads before her.

[drinkyourvillainjuice]

In-character Q&A - AdVenture (1)

Just a crosspost from patreon!

-

Beth

How did you all meet?

Shauna and I went to the same high school. I met Grant through Shauna; he stopped to greet her while we were hanging out. Prii and I met at a game store, as we both enjoy tabletop RPGs. They also introduced me to [MC], though since we subsequently became coworkers, we actually would have met independently of them.

We all met together at the same time at a birthday party for Shauna.

Who's your favorite of the group?

(for everyone, assume that this flips to MC under any circumstances where they're dating/best friends)

It depends. I'm fond of Shauna, but she can be frustrating. Prii's very charming, but could stand to get their head out of the clouds every so often

Did you have hopes to make it big as urban explorers or was this just a hobby?

The notion of making it big with any kind of video-making seemed farfetched, particularly with five of us involved. Honestly, I was surprised at how popular Urban AdVenture became.

Did you ever think you would have run into anything parahuman-related?

No. Our hometown has a small, low-profile parahuman population, and we had only travelled further afield for videos on a handful of occasions. Encountering any parahumans seemed rather unlikely.

Prii

What was your first job/video in AdVenture? (Prii's fielding this, cause the answer is the same for everyone)

There's this old mall in our hometown that everyone just calls 'the mall'. There's this whole thing with a new development and they were super insistent that the new place is the mall so everyone started insisting on calling the old one—I'm getting off topic.

Basically, we went to the old mall. It's actually somewhere Grant and I snuck into a couple times before and part of how I got the urbex bug in the first place. If you're from the same place as us I don't think it's really that exciting but it made a decent video to an outsider. Though nowadays I see a lot of holes in it.

How did you all meet?

So my older brother is friends with Grant's older sister, and we crossed paths when we were like, preteens, and started hanging out too. I know Beth from our local game shop. Grant knew Shauna from... somewhere, and I met her through him. As for [MC] and I, uh. Well.

We were kind of, both in the ER? They'd been knocked off their bike and I'd done... something dumb, and we wound up sitting next to each other for a few hours in the waiting room.

Who's your favorite of the group? 

Everyone there is a special kind of person to me. Uh, not to sound bigheaded or anything, but I make friends pretty easily, and there's still pretty much nobody else I'd pick to do the AdVenture stuff with. I guess if you twisted my arm for an answer, Grant has tenure, so I'll give it to him.

Did you have hopes to make it big as urban explorers or was this just a hobby? 

I kept it to myself, but I always felt like we could maybe take off. I was starting to get pretty excited at watching the numbers go up, and a couple of our more recent videos were getting noticeably more attention. So yeah, I was hoping.

Did you ever think you would have run into anything parahuman-related?

I figured we might if we kept doing the videos long enough. Always a chance of running into something strange; we'd already had our share of weird stuff. Always thought it'd just be like... signs of past presence or something, though.

Shauna

How did you all meet?

I went to high school with Beth! Couldn't really tell you how we became friends, it just happened at some point. She's coworkers with [MC] and I went by the coffee shop a lot, so I was gonna meet them sooner or later. I met Prii through Grant at a small get together.

And Grant, I met playing pickup.

giggles 

I kinda smoked him.

Who's your favorite of the group?

Aw, do I gotta pick? That's hard.

Um, I do really appreciate Beth's friendship. She can be harsh but I know she doesn't mean it in a bad way. Prii's really nice and encouraging and just generally comfy to be around. 

Did you have hopes to make it big as urban explorers or was this just a hobby? 

I never really think most things I do are gonna make it big...

Um, urban exploration is fun, but I never feel like the face of it or anything.

Did you ever think you would have run into anything parahuman-related?

Yes, absolutely.

Creepy abandoned places are perfect for evil lairs and hideouts.

Grant

How did you all meet?

Oh, I've known Prii since we were kids. They were in the car one time when their parents came to pick up their brother from my place and I guess their brother mentioned my sister had a sibling their age, and they wanted to see who I was, and the rest is history. Beth happened to just like, be around one time when I said hi to Shauna, and Shauna I knew from a couple basketball games. Oh, and Beth introduced me to [MC].

I think as a distraction, 'cause I was annoying her.

grin

Who's your favorite of the group?

Not Beth!

laughs

I guess, Prii? Like I said, we go back. [MC] takes a joke pretty well and doesn't put up with my shit, so points to them.

Did you have hopes to make it big as urban explorers or was this just a hobby?

It was fun, but I didn't really have any aspirations for it. Like... c'mon, be realistic.

Did you ever think you would have run into anything parahuman-related?

Pff, no way.

[shinyrhinestones]

okay so i saw your post about sending in TH requests so i’m gunna send one

so basically reader is georgs little sister (maybe like a year younger that tom and bill but it’s up to you) and she goes on tour with them all the time and georg is really protective over her and constantly babies her and gustav treats her like a sister as well and her and bill are best friends but tom is always flirting with reader and she doesn’t get the hint but one day she is hanging out with georg without the rest of the guys and she just blurts out “i think tom likes me” or something like that and georg is like “congrats you’re the last person to figure it out” and it ends with her going to ask tom about it and they end up kissing and confessing their feelings for each other and georg thinks they’re sweet together but he still does the whole big brother talk with tom and threatens him yk .

wow that was a lot . anyways hope this is okay , just ignore it if you don’t like it .

okay bye-bye bestie all the love 🩷🫶

Hii! Thank you for your request! Anyways let’s get into it.

So as the request says pairing is Tom Kaullitz X (Georgs littlesister) Reader.

(this is acrually so cringe, i'm so sorry. Also so sorry if there's many spelling mistakes and if it’s out of character).

Warnings: Kissing, nausea. (Let me know if I overlooked any)…

———————————————————————

So as always you were on the tour bus with the popular german band Tokio Hotel. Not that you didn't enjoy being on tour with some of your most important people in your life, it's just the motion sickness that sucked.

It almost felt surreal that your older brother was this young and successful. But it was fun. Especially when you were allowed to be around the band so often even on tour.

Since you met the band your brother was in, you became great friends with them. It was a chaotic enviroment to be in that was too funny not to want to be apart of. The only member on the band who you didn't want to call a friend was Tom. Ever since Georg had known the boys and been in the band you were introduced to them right away. And of course Tom caught your eye. He was pretty, goofy and he knew how to play the guitar. But the problem with Tom was that you never knew if Tom meant what he said when he was flirting with you. You always took it like a joke. It was hard to tell. He was all over girls when he could. He was known as the player in the group. It hurt. It hurt just a little bit that you didn't know where you stood with Tom. You never took him seriously.

But you did appreciate how Tom can be caring. He's proved it before and did it once again on the tour bus. You were trying to keep your eyes open as you held your fingertips against your forehead, like you could ease your nausea that way. Tom noticed placing a calm hand on your shoulder.

You felt dizzy everytime the bus rocked to the side. "Are you okay?" He asked and tried to look you in the face, but you looking down at the bus' floor made it hard for him. You sighed before answering. "Yeah". What was Tom gonna do? No need to tell him you were actually feeling like puking. Your eyes were barely open, but you tried to keep them open. Which was hard when you felt so sick but you knew that it could help with watching where the bus was driving and your surroundings. You heard some shuffling before you felt an arm go around your back and a hand resting on top of your left shoulder. "Are you sure?" His voice sounded again. You sighed once again. "Tom, i'm fine".

He wasn't brave enough to keep going. Feeling like he had already crossed a boundary he sat a bottle of water infront of you on one of the tables and left, patting you lightly on your back. Tom isn't scared to cross boundaries. Everyone else on the bus knew that too. Probably why they all shared a look of confusion as if Tom would've pushed you further.

----------

When you arrived at the hotel you would be staying at you had to sit in the lobby for what felt like forever, because the hotel had a mess up and couldn't check you in just yet. You sat on one of the couches resting your chin in your hand. You watched the boys bickering as always. Bill and Tom were being messy with each other. You weren't even listening to what they were arguing about. You just observed how chaotic the boys were. It was entertaining. You guessed that Tom noticed and wanted to tease you. "Like what you see, babygirl".

You furrowed your eyebrows before rolling your eyes at his sillyness. A small butterfly might've visited for a second when he smiled at you. He just chuckled at you. The blush you spotted on his face wasn't fully registered in your brain, thinking that it might just be adrenaline running through his body. Bill shoved Tom playfully as to say that he didn't want his best friend to constantly be flirted with if it wasn't something you wished yourself. Just like Georg looked at him with a disproving look. "Leave my sister alone" He said with a lightly playful tone but it was a mutual understanding that he meant it.

It's not that you weren't fully aware of your own crush on Tom but it just didn't take up a lot of space when you already made peace with the fact that Tom wasn't interested in a relationship.

But your brother had already caught up on it. To be honest he was mostly scared that Tom was just trying to get you into bed and leave it at that. So Georg made sure to stop Tom on the way up to your hotel rooms. You were walking along with Bill and Gustav talking about anything between heaven and earth up the stairs. You didn't even notice Georg had stopped Tom.

"Tom, I mean it. Mess around with my sister and it won't end well for you" Georg didn't actually want to threaten one of his best friends but he also felt a need to protect his family. Tom furrowed his eyebrows. "What?" Tom understood why Georg was being like that. Tom was always covering up his romantic feelings for you with his natural player and flirty personality. "You heard me. Don't hurt my sister. I mean it." Tom just stared at Georg unsure of what to say. So many thoughts and feelings going on at once. "Uhm, sure okay. Yeah.." He said with almost a blank expression, but it was clear in his eyes that something was going on inside of there. Georg went up the stairs leaving Tom at the bottom of them, staring in the air before following behind.

---------------

Later on the evening you were out walking with Georg. Something that felt nice after being hours on the road. You were clutching onto your jacket walking down an unfamiliar street with your brother. It was already dark and stars were already painting the nightsky.

Georg finished a sentence when he felt like you weren't 100% present. Which wasn't completely off. You did have a lot of thoughts on your mind. Especially one thought that clouded your mind the most. "I think Tom might like me" You almost whispered. You stopped walking making Georg stop aswell. He raised an eyebrow at you before he let out a breath. You saw how the cold air met with his warm breath creating a fog. You almost regretted saying it until you saw Georgs small smirk. "Finally. We all noticed." He saw smiled slightly, shrugging his shoulders like it was the most obvious thing.

"Oh..okay" You started to smile yourself. The thought of him liking you like that started to form more butterflies than you felt earlier.

It was hard to focus on the rest of the walk, now knowing that you had to act on these feelings. And even though you had time to confess, you still couldn't wait.

-------------

When you entreres the hotel you felt how vold you had been meeting such warmth embrace you after walking in snow. But you also felt the excitement running through you as you remembered what Georg had given away.

You walked up the stairs of the hotel looking for Toms room. Finally finding his door, you knocked and waited.

Tom was just as surprised to see you standing in his door, just like you yourself were. "Hi Tom" You breathed out, like you had been holding your breath. He studied your face. "Hi".

"Uhm.." You were really starting to regret this. What if Georg was just joking? Or what if you misunderstood him?

"I just...I heard that you like me? Or well.." You looked up at the ceiling trying to think of how to actually form your sentences. You held your palms against each other as a nervous figdet. Toms lips started to slowly curve upwards.

He took a step forward letting his hand fall from the doorhandle. He cupped your face with his hands before giving you a deep kiss. You helt onto his arm, standing a little bit on the tip of your toes. It was hard not to feel all dazed. Like you had discovered something new but it was familiar in a sense that you’ve known Tom for so long. After the kiss he gave you one quick one and let his hands let go off your face. He didn’t need to say no more. The kiss and the look in his eyes was an answer good enough.

[hetafice]

hi hi !! loveee your blog so far, it’s v nice to see more hetalia writers popping up again. if you’re interested in tackling this request, i’d like to see your take on how a yandere romano would deal with feelings of jealousy in regards to his darling getting a little too close than what his insecure brain’s comfortable with to his brother veneziano? 🫶💕

tysm! these are still yandere hcs, but i actually ended up also doing a small character study. i’ve been wanting to do those more recently so if you’re interested send in a request! bonus points if it’s not a super popular character. + this came out a lot longer than intended, so enjoy.

This is something Lovino would not be able to handle.

He has spent centuries trying to navigate the minefield that is the relationship with his brother--with varying degrees of success. One thing that has remained constant, however, is the fact that people overwhelmingly prefer his younger brother.

Romano has seemingly tried everything. Careful imitation, acting the complete opposite, sabotaging from the shadows, acting as right-hand man, you name it. Nothing has seemed to stick.

Even now, he’s invisible. Reduced to the lesser half a whole. Forever shackled to his brother, effectively prevented from exercising his own agency.

It’s never fun to be stuck in someone's shadow, but for the person whose shadow you're stuck in to be so unflinchingly blasé about it? For one to be as stuck as long as Lovino has? Being forcefully denied your own personhood like that often breeds contempt. Hatred like that can simmer under the surface for decades, even centuries before bubbling over and being noticed by others. Holding hatred like that for so long as he has? It’s almost enough to drive someone mad.

But when he gets you and has something of his own for once he relaxes a bit. There’s no need to be on edge, to constantly put on airs, because he has someone in his corner. Someone who has taken the time to know him on a deep, personal level. Someone, who despite his faults, is willing to love him, and in turn trusts him enough to love them back. That alone is enough to satiate him, to quiet his restless mind, and dull the sharp blade of self-hatred that’s been lingering within him for so long.

So when he discovers you calmly conversing with the man who has unknowingly tormented him for so long, he almost does not know what to do with himself.

It’s almost as if he’s on autopilot, mindlessly drifting over to where the two of you stand, immediately trying to assess the situation.

 In your eyes, the conversation with Veneziano was just much overdue. It was impolite to not introduce yourself to someone so close to your partner. Lovino would never say so, but sometimes the refusal to introduce you to his loved ones felt intentional. Whenever you would press the issue, he would hastily arrange a meeting to calm you down. It worked a few times; you got to meet a few of his friends, and even his pseudo-guardian/older brother/ mentor (you never were quite sure of the nature of their relationship), but you never got the chance to meet Veneziano. Occasions where you two were set to meet would mysteriously get canceled due to unforeseen circumstances. You also noticed that he would always get strangely cagey at the mention of his younger brother. 

At first, he would try to covertly sow discord between the two of you, in hopes that you would have a falling-out. In his mind, if he could manufacture situations to make you see his brother’s shortcomings, you wouldn’t want to be around him.

When he discovers, to his horror, that you have grown closer to his brother despite the careful machinations, he would spiral.

To you and Veneziano, your friendship is as right as rain, completely unforced, and a natural progression. After knowing each other peripherally for so long, making friends with you just makes sense.

But to Romano, this is yet another event point, in a seemingly infinite pattern of behavior. Time and time again, Romano finds something of his own, takes a liking to it, starts to cherish it, but only until Veneziano comes along and tries to take it. He always manages, because he is always successful in everything that he does. Afterwards, Romano is then left with nothing but more hatred to swallow and another large bruise on his ego. He can’t let it happen again, not this time, not after cultivating a relationship so pure, not like this, not-

He devises to stop it. Whatever it is between the two of you. Immediately.

Lovino, who has always been romantic, will up the ante. You suddenly find yourself whisked away on trips abroad more often than you are sat at home. How could you find the time to catch up with his brother when you have a date that night, another trip to pack for? To you, it seems as though you have entered a second honeymoon phase in your relationship. Unbeknownst to you, he’s tirelessly working to separate you. He shall get Veneziano away before he tries to take what is rightfully his for the umpteenth time.

Before your increased contact with Veneziano, your relationship was, by all accounts, normal.

You met Lovino by happenstance, and your romance blossomed at a pace that felt comfortable and right. He was nothing but loving and attentive, if a bit temperamental at times. But after you meet his brother, you notice a palpable shift in his attitude. He snaps at people more and always seems to be in deep thought. But he’s kinder in some ways as well. He’s now always concerned about your safety and likes to know where you’re going beforehand, not after the fact like you used to do. He figured out that you love the gifts he gets you, so you now receive way more of them. He’s more appreciative of everything you do as well. So much so that one day, after a particularly elaborate meal, he suggests you quit your job to take care of the home. To his delight, you eventually agree, but any joy is quickly stamped out when he hears you happily explaining your new living arrangement to his brother.

He can’t stand it really, as his mind sails through countless scenarios, unearthing trauma he thought had been resolved (or safely buried) since the early Renaissance. He doesn't know why his mind takes him in this direction, but then again he doesn't know a lot of things. He doesn't know why efforts to separate the two of you don't work, or why nothing he does ever seems to work. Why is it that he is never enough? Why, after so many attempts and failures, did Grandfather never really seem to grow fond of him? 

After yet another night of being forced to confront these long-dormant worries, he decides enough is enough. If you cannot take the hints he has so kindly given you, then he will separate the two of you by force.

Long gone are your days of exploring the city alone. No more impromptu cafe trips, walks around the park, or unsupervised trips to the post office. You are expected to stay at home, and at home you stay.

“Amore mio, it’s too dangerous out there,” he says. “There’s nothing nearby worth seeing, and you know how I feel about you driving.”

And you believe him because why wouldn’t you? He cares for you more than anyone! More than your coworkers, your friends who stopped visiting, or even your family who mysteriously don’t care enough to call anymore…

And just like that, you have been delegated to remain in the domicile. Showering him and only him with your seemingly infinite divine grace for as long as time permits it.

It’s so simple that he regrets not doing it sooner.

As for his ingrate brother, he will do anything to ensure he does not go sniffing anywhere he need not be. 

It takes nothing to ruin Veneziano’s reputation. To oust him as an incompetent womanizer. Someone whose words of concern should never be taken seriously.

To Lovino, it is well worth it. He’ll put an end to the madness, he must. Even if it means making you unhappy, or betraying his own blood, or dirtying his hands with sin, or being at the receiving end of your icy gaze for the rest of eternity.

But you aren’t unhappy, are you now? You’re over the moon, and why wouldn’t you be? You are given everything you need and more. Besides, Lovino doesn't like it when you frown.

“Look happy now. You have no reason not to,” he always says.

[sanjiluvrr1]

GOJO x Oc (College AU!)

Disclaimer: All characters in this story are 18 years of age or older. This story contains „mature“ themes. Please proceed only if you are comfortable with such content.

Warnings: Idk Player Gojo??

„She has that look... like she already knows the ending to a game I haven't even started playing."

𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ

Azizas could feel their eyes on her from the moment she set foot on campus. This was nothing new—people often took notice of her. Her long black hair, calm expression, and the quiet confidence in her walk seemed to draw attention without any effort. But she was used to it. Popularity, as she saw it, was a surface-level currency, and it didn't interest her much. Her mind was set on bigger things, things that no one around her would likely understand.

"Hey, Im Sara! Let me show you around the building," a cheerful girl from her orientation group offered, smiling eagerly. Aziza returned the smile politely, masking the flicker of disinterest she felt.

"Thanks, I appreciate it," she replied smoothly, letting the girl lead the way. The girl chatted easily, pointing out classrooms and study areas, telling her where to find the best coffee. Aziza nodded in the right places, listening just enough to seem engaged, though her thoughts were elsewhere.

These people are friendly enough, she mused, but I wonder if they'd still be this eager if they knew who I really am.

It wasn't just her appearance that drew people to her—it was the subtle, unspoken power she held. Something about her presence hinted that she was more than she seemed, but no one could put a finger on exactly what. And that's how she preferred it.

Across the courtyard, Gojo Satoru watched her with a spark of intrigue. Leaning against a wall with his hands in his pockets, he let his gaze drift over her. The word on campus was that she was new, a transfer who'd arrived only a few days before. Everyone seemed to like her already. She hadn't even been here a week, and she'd already gathered a small group of people eager to show her around, desperate for her attention. It was usually Gojo who got that kind of attention.

His eyes narrowed slightly as he took her in.

She's... different.

Her effortless grace, the way she held herself without trying too hard. And her beauty—elegant and magnetic—was impossible to ignore. He couldn't help but smirk a little.

One night with her, he thought confidently. That was all he needed.

When she walked by, he made sure she'd notice him. He straightened up, giving her the kind of look that usually had girls stumbling over their words. But Aziza didn't falter. She walked past without so much as glancing his way, her gaze steady on her destination. If she even noticed him, she didn't show it. Gojo blinked, caught off guard.

Is she ignoring me? he thought, a bit stunned.

He was used to getting a reaction, even a quick glance. But she just brushed past him as if he were invisible. His interest was piqued.

Aziza felt his gaze linger on her, as unmistakable as it was unwelcome.

Another one of those players, she thought, almost amused.

It didn't take much to recognize the type—she'd encountered plenty before. The ones who saw charm as a weapon, who walked around like everyone else was waiting to fall at their feet. Gojo had that look in his eyes, a certain air that said he was used to getting what he wanted. But she wasn't interested.

A few steps away, Gojo's shock melted into amusement.

If she wanted to play it cool, fine.

He could play that game too. He watched her with a lazy smile, crossing his arms.

She'll come around, he told himself confidently. They always did. It was only a matter of time.

"Who's that?" a friend of his asked, nudging him as they watched her walk off.

Gojo shrugged, keeping his expression casual. "The new girl, I guess. Aziza or something." He said her name as if it were unimportant, though her face was now etched in his mind. It was rare he encountered someone so striking and so... uninterested in him. That was new.

As Aziza moved through the campus, people continued to greet her, welcoming her with smiles and offers to help her with anything she needed. She accepted the attention with polite smiles, but she could feel the weight of their expectations. It was almost as if they wanted something from her without realizing it.

People always want something, she thought.

They see only what they're shown, content to believe in the image without looking any deeper. But she knew how easily those images could be shattered.

Meanwhile, Gojo kept his eye on her throughout the day. He found himself watching her at odd moments—when she was in the library, sitting alone with a book, her dark hair falling over her shoulder, or in the cafeteria, listening quietly to a conversation while barely eating her food. Each time, he half-expected her to notice him. But she never did. He wasn't used to that feeling of being overlooked. And it irritated him more than he cared to admit.

What's her deal? he wondered.

She can't actually be as perfect as everyone thinks.

There's got to be something else there.

He wanted to know what was behind that calm, distant expression of hers. What made her tick? What was she hiding?

At the end of the day, as she walked across the courtyard, he caught up to her, stepping in her path with his usual confident grin. "Aziza, right?" he said, flashing her a smile that had won over countless girls before her.

She glanced up, meeting his eyes with a calm gaze. For a moment, she studied him, and he almost thought he'd finally caught her interest. But then she simply nodded, as if confirming he existed, and looked away.

"Yes," she replied simply, her voice smooth and even. She didn't ask for his name, didn't give any indication that his presence made a difference to her. He couldn't help but feel a strange frustration creeping in, something he hadn't felt in a long time.

"You must be new here," he continued, trying to keep the conversation light.

She nodded again, offering a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "It's been interesting so far," she said, then stepped around him before he could respond.

As she walked away, Gojo stood there, stunned.

Who does she think she is? he thought, half amused, half annoyed.

But as she disappeared into the crowd, he found himself smirking.

Aziza, Aziza... if you're unknown, why do I know your name?

She'd only just arrived, but she'd already sparked something in him. It wasn't love, wasn't even lust—not yet, anyway. But it was intrigue, and it was enough to make him keep watching, keep wondering what was hidden beneath that calm, perfect facade.

And Aziza, for her part, didn't spare him a second thought as she walked away. To her, he was simply another player, another person with no idea who he was really dealing with. A faint smile played on her lips as she walked, knowing that no one—not even someone like Gojo Satoru—would get close enough to see behind her carefully constructed walls.

𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ 𝜗ৎ

What do Yall think? Should I publish it on Wattpad?

[throughtartaruswithyou]

PJO show review (because you care)

hmm I think the time has arrived for me to put my thoughts into words on this bad boy. Ive had some thoughts swirling around since the show finished but i felt like i needed to sit on them before putting them out into the big wide world.

I think the show was mid.

before we get up in arms- mid does not mean bad!! theres countless shows which are worse, and some that are better. honestly, mid means more interesting. lets do a good old fashion pros and cons list:

PROS

LOVED the casting. I think the casting was spot on- uncle rick did not disappoint in that category. age, appearance, demeanour, everything was working for me. I honestly agree with every single casting choice. (even lin-manual miranda ik ik)

Contrary to popular belief, I think the pacing was good. I'm not mad they cut scenes from the book. I think it'll encourage more people to read it. game of thrones did a similar thing (cut a bunch of scenes) and I think it helps preserve the independence of the two PJO mediums. Ya some scenes would've been cool but I'm not totally pissed about any cuts.

Set was good. set design felt authentic without trying too hard. No one really mentions the set when they review the show but like the set was really good?? CONS The biggest con for me is that it felt like they undercut Annabeth ALOT. shes supposed to be the wise girl, but for some reason sally was the one telling percy about the mythology? and hes telling it to annabeth? huh? and grover also seems way more knowledgeable than her. I was really disappointed by this theme- especially because it seemed to come up often. the only scene where she really showed her smarts was in the hephestus amusement park gate-trap thingy. it made her character seem under-powered compared to percy. Also she didnt use her dagger enough imo.

the show vs tell issue. this has been brought up alot so I wont go into it too much but ugh. I understand the show is aimed at kids but kids deserve good media too. kids aren't dumb. they can afford to let the episodes go a little longer to allow some of those plot points to build! give the watchers a sense of mystery then the satisfying feel of discovery! I noticed this especially in the lotus casino episode. I wish they didnt tell us about the lotus flowers right off the bat. the scene could have been so much better with that little change.

The delay on season 2! this isn't even just me being an impatient fan I have a genuine worry they actors are gonna age up too much. they all already look older and I just hope they wont have to age up the characters. esp for season 3- which they should get renewed ASAP since it should take place in the winter after season 2. not so much the teams fault but I hope they wont get too rushed by the timeline. esp since i know it's important to rick to have age-accurate casting.

overall I thought the show was mid to well-done and if season 1 is the worst season we might have a great lil' show on our hands. also disney pls renew season 3!!!! i pinky promise i'll watch it.

[pinksilvace]

Fern guides their mutuals and followers through Cats 1998 as if we're all sitting on the same couch watching it and I'm shouting out stuff (4/?)

MASTERPOST

Character Wiki Pages

On to Bustopher!

8: Bustopher Jones

Everybody is SO MEAN about Bustopher Jones (joking). I love him so much but nowadays when numbers are cut his is usually one of them since he usually shows up once and disappears 🥲

The actor for Bustopher sometimes dons a chorus costume for the opening number, often named Peter. They're also usually the actor who plays Gus later, as both Bustopher and Gus traditionally had operatic moments in the show.

Tom Hooper clearly did not know how to interpret media because could you IMAGINE 2019 Bustopher cleaning up his appearance as a first impression???

When I was little, I was under the impression that Bombalurina, Jenny, and Jellylorum all liked Bustopher Jones in similar ways; it wasn't until I started interacting with the fandom on here that I learned how some people interpret Bombalurina as being completely sarcastic in this song. Art's always up to interpretation, of course, and that's the fun of it, but I never really got that impression, even with Rosemarie Ford's eye rolls. To me, this moment shows Bombalurina as a character that can show others respect. It also cements her as being at the older end of the "not-old" adults.

This is YET ANOTHER song that is PERFECT for examining whatever Pouncival is getting up to at a given moment. I am once again saying that the Pouncival cut in this show is the most fun

Subsequently, this is also the "Skimbleshanks is three wrong moves away from a panic attack" song, which to me means that he respects Bustopher just as much as Jenny does. I like to think that they grew up together.

(For an incredibly anxious Skimble, here's Boston 2007; skip to 28:30):

(While I'm at it, there's this part in Moscow 2005 when the boys are all lined up like they're going to take a family photo, and I think it's very silly and cute; skip to 27:45)

Have you ever watched Cats (1998) and wondered who that cat that's really excited to see Bustopher is? That's George. The George Cut (TM) is probably my second favorite version of '98, after The Pouncival Cut (TM).

No doubt, you'll notice the number of Mistoffelees & Bustopher moments in this number. This is probably where the most popular headcanon about Bustopher originates: lots of us like to think he's an uncle, usually in conjunction with monochromatic siblings (Misto & Victoria & sometimes Alonzo)(Alonzo is like. Y as a vowel). I've also seen some folks frame him as Misto's dad, and in those cases, Misto is usually an only child.

Slightly off-topic, but my friend @thepineconelord likes to think of Mistoffelees as butler-core, and I think they're especially correct in this number.

(Yet another side note: the monochromatic siblings staging is a bit stronger in post-US Revival choreography, especially between Alonzo and Misto. Head to 30:00)(<- pretending to see things that supports the tunnel vision)

(Is it obvious yet that I've watched this number, specifically, many times?)

Okay I only just noticed this one but WHAT is up with Plato in this part. This picture doesn't do nearly enough justice to his posing but. My dude are you okay??? He was built to have an arm slung over the back of a park bench and instead he's here and forced to harmonize

The rare moment when Mistoffelees is peeved by Pouncival (and the altogether common moment where Munkustrap is also peeved by Pouncival)

One incredibly interesting thing about this number is that it's one of the most gendered numbers in the whole show, speaking from a choreography standpoint. When I was younger, I thought it came from a position of "all of the girls have crushes so they're all fangirling together," but that's not true. Only Jenny is shown to have a crush, and Coricopat, George, and Skimbleshanks could all very easily start fanboy-ing with them.

What is it, then? Is it because Bustopher presents as a much more "traditional" character than the rest? Do the things they're describing about him ascribe to him a certain level of masculinity that he can only share with the boys? Are these formations all part of some sort of militaristic protocol? Leading from that, is his appearance at the Ball (and approval) a right of passage thing for the boys? It's not something I've really seen anybody touch on, which is odd to me, because Cats in general tends to have interesting messages re: gender roles, especially with Mistoffelees, who obviously shares some sort of close connection with Bustopher! GILLIAN LYNNE REVEAL YOUR SECRETS

The cats know what golf is. Either that, or Bustopher saw a rich person play it, decided to copy them, and everybody else is amazed for his benefit.

[aeoneris]

for archival reasons, and because rise has officially ended, i'm coping by looking back at the past two years and thinking about the master utsushi rabbit hole. this is based on a long reply i sent to a mutual but i think it deserved to have its own post where others can read it and i can expand further on certain details. or something. i don't know. i have no idea who will read this but if you do, please enjoy...

the ballad of master utsushi.

he was there regardless.

always watching.

waiting.

i wound up getting attached to utsushi-kyokan (master/instructor utsushi), ウツハン/utsuhan (utsushi x hunter) ship, and finding his Japanese fan community late 2021, and i've been chatting with mutuals and friends i made there since. at that time, capcom had opened up pre-orders for his nui (plushie). this plush is lovingly referred to as "Unui-kun", and people love to take him around and bring him places. here's my Unui-kun in new york city lol

fans love to dress him up and make clothing and accessories for him. had i known just how attached i would become, i would not have set my Unui-kun to ship via surface mail delivery because it took about 2-3 months extra for him to arrive... ;;

but anyway, it seemed that his popularity was growing because they continued to make more merch of him. he seems to have more than any of the other characters.

many of these are limited print/pre-order only, or were from specific events like the capcom cafe features. trying to get his merchandise became crazy, because scalpers started to pick up on how badly people wanted goodies of him?!

just how popular is this guy?! what's with the character tax!!

and how did this even happen... we're playing monster hunter, not an idol game! but i think it really speaks a lot for itself how rise had such colorful characters that you could get attached to. it seems he really jives with many female and queer players, so good on capcom for that hehe. many of the japanese fans i've met are either older women, very often mothers, or gnc, which i found to be really cool. the english-speaking utsushi fans are usually the same, too. the solidarity is real...

I found out that a lot of ppl, including myself, shared a similar experience: they missed out on a majority of utsushi's flavor text in base rise bc they didn't talk to him or the other NPCs very much during village and high rank quests, and therefore didn't even think much of him until after the fact. people double-taking when going through the game again and actually catching on to his antics... I think what really got things going was when they released his DLC voice and learned about his, uh, extremely affectionate lines towards the hunter when it comes to mew mew and blowing a kiss LOL. (the "welcome back, master!" line?!?! there's so much art of him in a maid outfit... and the way he says ace/manadeshi in his sleep at the table?!?! scandalous?!?!) even for me, he got my attention only once i saw the official art of him (realizing "hey he's got a cute design actually") and eventually encountering utsushi x hunter fanart on pixiv. another thing that got me noticing him was brian david gilbert's now deleted tweet about how zac efron and utsushi are the same. thankfully, we have the internet archive to save the existence of this post and i have to make sure people experience this lost media.

once i realized how weirdly close he was to the hunter, the gears started turning

i confirmed that ppl really did notice that it was unusual for an instructor character to refer to his pupil as "manadeshi (beloved/dearest disciple)" in the manner that he does, being so close to them in a way that felt so familiar and warm. he was already popular enough that by valentine's day 2022, fans literally sent real chocolates to capcom addressed to utsushi. i knew about this for a while, but i was shook that they wound up officially addressing that this really happened during the last update video.

after they received his chocolates, they immediately got one of the (female) illustrators on board to quickly draw that really cute valentine's day art of utsushi. the japanese tweet for that artwork had even a little bit more text than the english one…

that "i'll always be watching over you" line…

(and while i'm here, i have to mention the valentine's day art we got for 2023- i made a separate post about THAT.)

we started to suspect capcom caught on to this niche community's love for utsushi, and they started to kind of... troll us??? LOL.

throughout the previews of sunbreak last year, they would start obsessively sneaking utsushi into those chibi artworks. and when npc followers were announced, people were scrambling to find out if he was going to be one of them, but there also was some weird radio silence about him for a bit...

in one of the earlier trailers that showed the elgado hub for the first time, there was a very short part of the clip where ppl could see someone standing in the distance at the corner of the screen. all the utsushi fans went nuts because they were taking a magnifying glass and zooming up at there wondering if it was really him, because everyone wanted him to be there in sunbreak LOL.

of course we'd eventually find out that would be his perch for most of the game! it was only during the final preview trailer before the release of sunbreak did they finally announce utsushi as a follower, as if they were saving the best for last. and sunbreak dropped, we got to see him in elgado and enjoy hunting with him. and it didn't end there. he wound up being featured in two of the short stories released last summer, and we would not forget this incident.

when i think about how easy it is to just play through the story and miss out on following specific out-of-the-way flavor texts, let alone know about all this outside of the game, i wonder if utsushi joining the hunter in the battle against amatsu in the penultimate battle was strange, because he has such a spotlight on him, even being the one who allows you to ride an apex which was normally impossible. if people didn't acknowledge him before, certainly people would love him now.

his final line after you defeat amatsu: it's cute and silly in english... but in japanese, his line and delivery was extremely, almost unabashedly... romantic. many people were shocked because it sounded like a fervent confession.

"I'll say it once more... You are my pride, my beloved disciple."

finally, during the last update video…

we got this line straight from the director LOL. utsushi wound up being his personal favorite character in rise, and perhaps why we wound up seeing more and more of him in sunbreak.

all in all, if you kept up with the flavor text of rise, and if you followed utsushi's dialogue throughout the base game and expansion, the emotional pay off at the end was even better! and it is a shame when this stuff is mostly optional or you have to go out of the way for it, with so much being missable with every bit of progression. but making a monhun where story and character interactions are pushed more… i think they were on to something. it's probably something that could be divisive, but personally I think they should go all in on it more in the future. Rise proved that they could make charming and memorable (not to mention, named) characters... if they lean into it more in a future entry, then i hope they do it in a way where everyone can enjoy it and not feel like they missed out. but I also hope they would make it so that people don't feel overwhelmed with flavor text... it comes down to taste, but i think i have faith that monhun can try making more character-driven stories while still keeping the core of the series in tact.

here are some more miscellaneous utsushi things that i didn't know how to fit in earlier:

he's been featured multiple times in capcom cafe entrees. here's his matcha latte dango drink:

and for the sunbreak stories: a cake based on his fight with rathalos together with the royal guard, and then a drink that represents his... uh, struggle across the ocean to chase the hunter to elgado. because they will never let him live that down. i won't either.

here's a t-shirt of utsushi and kagami you can pick up on amazon right now. kagami was a very interesting arc when he was first shown- he was introduced as a long time friend of utsushi, training together in the past, but eventually parting ways.

his seiyuu in japanese is a sentai actor who loves monster hunter, so essentially, kagami is lowkey like a self-insert for him lol. he's goofy in english because he's voiced by a certain youtuber, but in japanese he takes a different direction of silly because he has a "chuunibyou" edgelord cringe way of talking. it's such a shame that kagami wasn't really in the game itself besides being mentioned in a few mission descriptions because i would've loved to see him interact with utsushi and the hunter, and i wish the royal knights and many of the NPCs had more cutscenes or something. it makes me think, if it weren't for the pandemic, could rise's story and scenario have been something more because of the DLC voice characters like hibasa/monju/kagami? anyway, a popular headcanon is that utsushi and kagami are ex-boyfriends lol (i personally like this one and adapted it for my utsuhan fanfics). but there are even those who ship kagautsu too (although it is rare because people overseas are a little wary of shipping characters who are based on real people).

and lastly, one of my personal favorites... the diseased kyokan shirt. this is from an online capcom shop, and you can use a proxy service like fromjapan.com to order it.

if you read this all, thank you! happy hunting! with the instructor! we love that guy! the guy of all time!

[metanarrates]

would you say shoujo boys are a Character Type in a distinct manner from the way shounen girls are?

oh, absolutely. while of course the overall character trends present in both genres can be very broad and leave room for a lot of variation, much like how the archetypal shonen girl is defined by her potential romantic relation to the protagonist, the archetypal shoujo boy is perhaps even more so. this is because while shonen absolutely includes romance as a component of its frequently-escapist storytelling, shoujo almost ALWAYS includes romance as a main focus.

(disclaimer that I'm talking very very broadly with trends I've seen in the genres, and not about specific individual works. there's a lot of shoujo with mainstream popularity that deals with telling different types of stories, and the same is true for shonen. it's just also true that it's been very rare for me to encounter a shoujo work that isn't romantically focused, and I spend a LOT of time scrolling manga sites to find shoujo when I want to read something chill.)

for the shoujo boy, the specific archetypes he's drawing off of tend to be what's currently in fashion at the moment, but the common denominators tend to be that he is older, usually more "worldly" than the protagonist, and possesses great social, political, or magical power. if he's in a fantasy story, he is either a duke or a prince. if he's in a more modern story, he is likely considered to be at the top of a social hierarchy. you'll notice that all these factors translate to him being more powerful than the protagonist. this is for a very specific reason! a critical component of shoujo romance stories is that the hero almost always needs to be capable of protecting the heroine in some way.

you could make an ENTIRE gender studies course on this, but I won't digress into that very interesting tangent. here, I'm just attempting to identify the common archetype and the fantasy underpinning that archetype. for now, it's enough to say that the fantasy of having a boyfriend who can protect you is nearly universally shown in shoujo romances. these tropes are usually true of both main male leads and any secondary love interest that the protagonist picks up, btw.

another critical component of the archetype is that the shoujo boy has a wound that only the female protagonist can heal. whether that's physical (guy undergoing a magical transformation into something, guy with rare magical disease, etc) or emotional (usually the guy's got some trauma,) there is almost always something uniquely healing about the protagonist that draws him to her. if he's a womanizer, she can make him faithful to only her. if he's brooding, she possesses the ability to make him smile. he is always thinking about her. it's difficult for him to take his eyes off her when they're in a room together. and if he isn't someone who is usually gentle to others, somehow he is capable of being gentle to the protagonist.

honestly, i would say his actual personality is way less important than his story utility. whether he's a sweet childhood friend, an overbearing romantic pursuer, a brooding loner, or anything else, it's almost always true that a major male character will present some traits of an idealized male love interest as mentioned above. his personality traits outside of that will just appeal to varying and more specific types of fantasy boyfriend.

the shonen girl, by contrast, often requires a very specific personality type to be the object of desire (and usually the object of plot) in her story. while there are exceptions, the most common shonen girl archetype that I've seen is just kind of generically feminine and sweet. if she fights, she often loses. if she tries to be active, her attempts at agency will end with her being damselled. think kairi from kingdom hearts or orihime from bleach.

on that note, that's also a major point of divergence between the two archetypes. while the shonen girl frequently exists as a plot macguffin and object of desire, the shoujo boy is very frequently a driver of plot. whether he's swooping in to save the protagonist from an evil dragon, fighting the protagonist in an academic rivalry, or the protagonist's arranged-marriage husband with a big secret, he usually moves the plot forward with his actions. though the honor of main plot driver either goes to the protagonist herself or to outside forces such as a villain, every major male lead in a shoujo story will contribute to the plot momentum in some way. again, you could write a gender studies thesis on this.

but that's my broad analysis of trends! I'll note that the bulk of both shoujo AND shonen I've read are almost always fantasy, so my perspective of big trends might be a little skewed to those genres. I'm not too sure what usually goes on in shoujo with contemporary settings, for example. feel free to add on with any thoughts of your own, especially if you think I'm off base about something!

[basedkikuenjoyer]

A Tale of Two Hannya: Art Imitates Life

These are always kind of a trickier beast to write because by design the comparison casts a more negative light on a popular character. But they tend to be well received. Living near the path of peak totality for the big US eclipse, had me wanting to finish this one sitting in my drafts because well...we have both sun & moon themes as well as a dynamic of "upstaging" each other. Which is kinda cool. I really do think, when taken together, Kiku & Yamato give you one of the most interesting dynamics in this massive series despite the two faces almost never appearing together.

Let's step back a little though. Why? Why would our author structure so much of Luffy's story in Wano through the top two new faces for the arc? Almost splitting Luffy's story in half with mirror opposites; humble and helpful followed by flashy yet flawed. Pitting organic bonding against the spotlight. A very straightforward and earnest trans woman foiled by a deliberately inconsistent and ambiguous character falling somewhere you'd call transmasculine. Our Crane Wife and our Dragon's King's Daughter, forget the plot of One Piece for a moment...what's the reflection of our world they mirror?

As gross as it is to compare oneself to Doflamingo, I promise I'm going somewhere with this. And, to be fair I can think of a few specific people who'd make that type of comparison about me. I like to think I use my powers for good, but anyone with them would say that. Touched on it a little with the Otohime side story but over the 2010s I had my little strings in just about every corner of LGBT activism throughout a region that's now a solid gay haven in a conservative state. For the first half of that decade, it was thrust upon me because people saw how solid a representative a young, cute, well-spoken lady would be at diffusing old stereotypes. An MA in Political Science helped too.

Because it's currently Ramadan still, I'd like to share one story I feel was a high watermark and how it rippled in a way that is gonna shape my outlook here. When I noticed there was a shift. One I felt trepidation about aspects of initially and today feel vindicated seeing how Gen Z views their elders. It was Ramadan a fair few years ago now, while part of a board for something I got to know a local Muslim leader and his wife. They were used to inviting other community leaders to join them for Iftar, the fast-breaking meal. They wanted to show their young progressive members they were listening and respectfully invite someone trans, remember these are often very sex-segregated places. Even if there were some livid hardliners most of the women really liked me and you could tell it meant a lot to some of the older teen girls who really wanted to square more progressive beliefs with their faith.

Late 2010s, so if I told you there was backlash in queer circles guess who. More or less entirely people who'd fit that college radfem to transmasc mold. "I'd have gone to the women's side in solidarity and liberated those oppressed women being soo radical." "Don't you think what Rhea did was you know, kinda problematic? If I have to explain to you how it's low-key cultural appropriation I don't even..." "They only picked her because she acts like a little Barbie doll." Yes, that last one is peak feminism. They can call me wicked if they want; at least I was called to serve while they were all just rabble-rousers who decided they were the only morally pure enough ones to be local leaders. That's what this was all about, politics.

If you ask me personally about the current state of trans movements? It kinda comes down to that. Most Milennials, trans women, men, & even nonbinary folk, tend to use the community as a temporary safe haven but acceptance has come far enough it tends to stay temporary. Gender is but one aspect of our identity, the hugbox and group chats about pronouns only really feel like they're giving you something for so long. The holdout? In my experience that tends to be trans men or transmasc enbies who took a half-step before coming out in the relative privilege of radical feminist spaces offering a little space within. I don't have a whole lot of animosity towards these guys...it just feels like sometimes it becomes all of our problem when that radfem space pumped you full of a distorted vision of "male privilege" and you feel jilted you didn't get that by waking up one day and saying you are now man.

Was Eiichiro Oda going for all that? Fuck no. I was a longtime leader of a local movement, he's a cis author on the outside looking in. Better way these two make sense is more an author being aware enough (Japan had a similar trajectory over the last decade) these two serve well as standins for the extremes of what a teen today sees about this transgender community. Okama type caricatures just don't work anymore. Transmasc nearing 30 who feels like they don't even know what they want? Playing word games that feel like you never stopped and thought how they'd sound to other people? Chasing an idealized version of masculinity? It's not exactly an uncommon sentiment. It's a side-effect of finally getting that long sought visibility...scrutiny goes hand in hand.

It's a Tale of Two Hannya because it's weaving in the story of one community experiencing a Tale of Two Movements. Two movements that are at times diametrically opposed (foes). That's where the upstaging or "eclipse" aspect comes in. The way beats for one influence the other even without trying. Why Yamato's the one trying to find a place and Kiku's already dealing with average pressures of being a woman. Regardless of how you feel about that personally, you have to at least acknowledge this is the general impression teens today seem to have. Hypothetically, you could get the same effect between a more clear-cut trans man and someone kinda like Kamatari.

Ultimately, Wano is about who we are vs the roles we play. We see other places where themes of just saying you fill a role doesn't mean you are. I've said Yamato's a gentle critique of the extreme "you are what you say your are" side of trans movements. I understand why people would want to see things that way, but gender is a social phenomenon. For the record, I do think it low-key radiates dude energy to not care about shit like cannonballing tits out into the main bath, no one should have to act a certain way and all that. But it's a good pair for demonstrating where we're at in general. The emotions they evoke out of readers are a good reflection of where young men are kinda at on all this trans stuff. And both are still portrayed as cool, friendly people. But I do see where it's coming from when Oda shifts that classic immaturity element from Kiku more to Yamato.

[kmp78]

"He's so awkward with kids"

I have a lot to say, so skip ahead now if you wish.

He's eccentric, quirky, and socially awkward. Everyone on this blog knows it, and he's certainly never tried to hide or deny it. K doesn't think he's an introvert because he doesn't spend his whole existence in a hidey hole all alone and because everywhere he goes he brings people with, but they're typically the same few people and they help to keep his interactions with strangers down to a minimum unless he wants them. Human buffers, so he's not as approachable, and so he has an exit strategy when stopped or surrounded.

He knows both his professions require dealing with a lot of people and interviews. I think that's why he's often robotically rehearsed with what he says and sometimes sounds disingenuous or repetitive. (To be fair, they all ask the same questions.) And it's why most of his social media videos are wordless or are plugs for something or a performance. The random shit he does and says that is often charming or funny to some and completely polarizing to others is what you get when he's winging it. Like Vyrt or the IG lives we love so much! Might even be another reason why he prefers to stay in character while filming. It's much easier to interact in downtime with colleagues and those around him when he doesn't have to BE him.

Just like him saying he'd rather talk in front of a stadium full of people than one on one at a table with someone. It's not like he's not intelligent or wouldn't have anything to talk about. One on one is intimate. It's easily noticeable if something is off or if one person is in their head, etc. On stage, he's talking AT you. He can ignore things yelled from the crowd and choose what he wants to acknowledge. Not that it's an act, he's put his foot in his mouth enough that I believe him when he says he can be himself on stage, but he has some control over the narrative.

And when all else fails- out comes the comedy. Just like your typical class clown, he has to fill the void, change the subject, and release that nervous tension he has with comedy. The tongue and funny faces. The flirting or dirty talk. The karate or dancing or whatever it may be. It's not always part of the 'act', and he's not just being dumb. I also doubt he's intentionally a polarizing ass. Mostly dry humor and sarcasm that get misinterpreted, and he's truly just socially uncomfortable and in a very public facing career. He DID say he always thought he'd be a painter. He might have been a hermit or a wallflower instead of a larger than life icon on a different path.

Being the new kid. Being the weird kid. Being the bullied kid or the kid so upset at the world that they are the bully. Being the kid with no friends. Being the kid into drugs to escape reality. Those all have huge impacts on who we grow up to be. There is a reason he carries SL through life and is constantly propping him up and shining light on him. There were plenty of days when SL was all he had. They were each other's best friend, partner in crime, paternal figure, and confidant. And a part of him will always love and worship his older brother for that. I also think he has feelings about SL being in the shadows while he's constantly in the spotlight. Guilt, maybe? Idk.

I honestly believe that's why he shut down and got so cold with women after CD, too. He was young and either didn't know better or couldn't help himself, and he fully let her in. Thought he had found someone else that he could trust and depend on like SL and CL. It wasn't even about someone not wanting him for him at that point because he didn't have what he has now to offer then. It was about finding someone safe to be his full self with. Unguarded. Where he could be broken and challenging and a misfit and loved unconditionally anyway.

Her cheating and rejection would be damaging and painful to the most popular and confident of 'boys' after several years together. But it'd be completely shattering for someone who doesn't open up and trust easily or who doesn't feel worthy of such love to begin with. I can already hear the snarl about how much he loves himself... but I think some of the most arrogant and pretentious people are just hoping no one else sees them like they see themselves. Has anyone ever given him a reason to think they're around because of him as a person, and not the image and lifestyle he represents? I don't think he dated much before her, and his career exploded after her.

Anyway, I actually think he is quite sweet with kids. He doesn't know what to say to them any more than he does to me or to you, but he's gentle with them. He genuinely lights up and fully focuses on them, tries to make them feel special and noticed. They bring out his lighthearted and playful side, and his smiles and laughs with them aren't fake. He enjoys them! He's never said he doesn't want kids because he can't stand them. He's always said kids deserve more time and energy than he feels he has to give them and that he wouldn't want to be an inattentive or absent father.

Kids have this funny way of filling holes we didn't even know that we had. Guessing how his 'dads' made him feel, and hearing how he talks about SL and CL, I think he would flip his whole world upside down for his child. He'd be a fantastic dad! Husband maaaybe not so much unless someone managed to get past years of walls and could withstand poorly developed habits meant to push people away and bring back out who he once was behind the dick he is to his girls these days... But, dad 💯

"He never said he doesn't want kids cos he can't stand them"

Oooooor... DID HE? 🤔

And interestingly them TAKING HIS MONEY is the 1st thing he mentions, aaaaaaaand then oh also the love. 😂

[shining-scion]

Ok, here’s my thoughts/review on Pirate101 as a newcomer/someone who just beat arc 1.

I wanna start off by saying I did, overall, have a lot of fun with this game. I did. That being said—

The first thing I think is really worth addressing as a problem is just how… culturally insensitive this game gets. I’m not an expert on any of this stuff, and with Wizards I’m not sure how much is noticeable until at least Krok, but I noticed some stuff almost immediately here that I— while not an expert— am concerned about. Perhaps that’s because I’m older. I did start my Wizard playthrough very young.

First of all, the whole class of witchdoctor, the aesthetic… probably needs to go. I can tell it’s being sourced from “piratey” media, (wasn't the plot of one of the POTC movies that Jack Sparrow got tied up with a voodoo doll in some manner?) but it’s outdated and while I can’t speak for the cultures it affects, I’ve seen people speak out against using similar tropes. I’ve personally just replaced the class altogether in my own headcanons, but I don’t think Pirate has the budget or means to overhaul a whole class, and headcanons don’t fix canon, so I’m not sure what can be done here. I’m not an expert.

I can tell that, in general, much like Wizard, Pirate is a melting pot of different sailing/odyssey/pirate pieces of media. “The Road to El Dorado” is literally a movie.

In general, I don’t mind the media inspirations being blatant. It’s fun to see what I recognize and how passing bits and pieces of different stories make their way into the Spiral, and when it’s done well I think it gives the universe this really fun bizarro world vibe. The issue lies in the fact that popular culture is full of stereotypes, and it’s clear that those stereotypes were taken as face value and just seen as “tropes”— which, yeah, a stereotype is often used as a part of a trope, but that doesn’t make it ok. At all. Both games would need a serious rehaul to make some of this stuff passable, I’m sure.

In addition to the witchdoctor class, the whole entirety of Cool Ranch was really just awful to Native people, and so was the literal opening questline in Skull Island. Wizards has this problem at times too.

In general, Spiral worlds have a problem where they don’t take enough creative liberty from their source IRL locations. I wonder if they might have at least a little bit of an easier time with this stuff if they took the time to worldbuild each… well, world, until it’s a distinct thing from its source. They did so fairly well with Dragonspyre, and multiple pieces of fiction do the same, so I don’t see why they couldn’t except for maybe their “one world a year” cycle kind of stopping them from writing things like that as much as they want.

TDLR: KI, YOU NEED A SENSITIVITY READER. “IT’S FICTION” IS NOT AN EXCUSE. THOSE ARE REAL STEREOTYPES AND REAL HARM. YOU SHOULD BE DOING AS MUCH AS YOU CAN TO PREVENT PERPETUATING HARMFUL STEREOTYPES IN THE FUTURE.

I just wanted to hold space for that topic, because it’s important, and it’s probably my biggest worry above all else. I don’t know everything but it seemed worth mentioning.

Transitioning onto the brief background context I do have with this game, since that will affect my view…

I played Pirate101 once as a kid— in 2012, when it launched. My stepsister and I crowded around the home computer and waited with baited breath as we saw another side of the spiral for the first time…

I never got past like, level 3, and that first character currently says she’s “adrift in the spiral” on the loading screen so I can only assume she got shot by the Armada or something horrible. Anyway—

The idea of playing again was something I’d turned over in my mind as I got back into Wizards. Now that I was older, I figured I’d be able to grasp it better than I could as a kid, and I’d be able to pay for my own sub, as well. After a bit of thinking, I went for it. I’d heard a lot of things about the game’s current state, but I decided to try and push that out of my mind as much as possible and meet it on its own terms. I wanted to give it a fair shake and I wanted to experience it with all the unbridled joy I know it would have given me as a kid, without worrying about how the later content would or wouldn’t compare.

I’ll give the game this— I LOVE THE OPENING. Maybe I was just excited to cross the long awaited item off my list, or maybe my inner child was just giddy to start a new adventure in my favorite fictional world, but I could not stop smiling and laughing from the moment the curtains opened to the minute I landed in Skull Island. Escaping the ship was exciting, seeing the Armada was SO COOL— I can see why they’re a fan favorite 101 villain— and the way I got to pick my backstory was unique. When I realized a Swashbuckler was much the same as a Storm wizard, I was really happy to see that picking the choices that seemed to speak to me (in wizards, questions about my personality, here, what I thought would make for a cool backstory) landed me with a playstyle I favored. It’s a small, coincidental thing, but it worked and I settled into things fairly quickly.

…I did also notice that the game was a lot rougher around the edges. Small things, really— the bloom is a little too bright, some models aren’t entirely animated in the face, things like that. I didn’t mind, and honestly? It just reminded me a little bit of classic Wizard, and it grew on me within the hour.

There were a few glitches that have and continue to persist. The dialogue box when Boochbeard is psychically communicating with you, or your companions are talking while you’re doing something, is covered by the crowns shop symbol unless the menu is opened. This was a… mild problem for me, as I have an auditory processing disorder and need that text to understand what’s being said to me. As well, every time I was shown an image, it would be cut off and shown halfway above the screen. I never got to see the face of my mother. That sounds horrible out of context. Anyway—

I really enjoyed the moment you walk up to the dock in Jonah Town and see your parent’s ship. I think my little part of the game was how the chase to El Dorado often felt like you were moving in step with your parents, running beside them and only separated by time.

There’s a weird feeling of legacy and it all feels really grand in a way Wizard doesn’t. They’re both, objectively, stories about growing up and taking your place in the world, but the Young Wizard is not attached to the Spiral in the same way the Pirate is. If I were to name the difference, I’d say Wizard is about Destiny and Fate, while Pirate is much more about Legacy and Heritage. The Wizard is guided by the stars, the Pirate is guided by the echoes of the past. They’re both very different ways of addressing and justifying the great journey, but I think they work in step with each other.

Another thing that I think was done SUPER WELL is the sense of SCALE. Especially, docking at Mooshu made me realize that if anything, I hadn’t explored CRAP of the worlds I was going to. I was basically saying I explored a whole country when I was really just going to the capital. The travel times were boring and a little egregious at times, but I think they were overall needed to give a sense of just how big the Spiral really was. When you look at the illustration of the cosmos, it can almost seem sort of small, but that’s not the case at all and Pirate really wants to remind you of that.

Gear wise, I knew it was gonna be more open ended, but OH GOD. I wasn’t expecting what I got. I was waiting for a waterworks, or the Kane dungeon to be like Darkmoor, but it wasn’t like that at all. The openness was daunting, but eventually I really just pressed into the agility and attack stats, and I came through fine. Managing my companions was a little bit more of a daunting task, and I eventually realized that even on a normal playthrough, you needed to know how EVERY class played so that you could spec your companions accordingly. There’s a lot to keep up with and I don’t think the fact that I was treating it like Wizard102 helped. It took me until about Aquila to really have an idea of what I was doing.

As for Ship Things— coolest part of the game. I am REALLY impressed with how well it plays especially for the engine and when it was coded. The skyboxes are gorgeous, the fact you can run around on your boat and even get a little cabin was a pleasant surprise, and I liked the nods to Wizard’s spells with the ship combat attacks. I did play through the whole game with a partner and often rode with her, so this might not be an issue for others, but my nautical level was severely underleveled almost the entire game. I’m only on Sinbad part 1 now, but to my knowledge, I’m past the part where sailing is useful.

Now, as for purely story stuff…

This was Blind Mew’s game. I’ve heard a lot about him as a writer during my time on Wizblur, and I know he has pretty strong influence in Wizard now, but I wanted to see his writing “in his element”, so to speak.

…I really enjoyed it. I could tell that a lot of story beats were planned out in advance, with an idea of how and when exactly things would tie together. There was a thematic idea through the entire game and it stuck to that— the idea being of freedom, and choosing to seek redemption.

It was really interesting to hear this sort of idea of “redemption is an action an individual chooses to take— and it doesn’t always mean forgiveness or being allowed “back in”— it just means the person tries to do better.”

A lot of redemption arcs in the current day are very… uh… Catholic about it? You must Grovel and Suffer and Atone and only once you have Suffered and Killed All The Old Parts Of You can you be considered worthy. Pirate doesn’t do that. It kind of just says that at any point, someone can decide to turn around and do something different, and you should always give people the chance to TRY.

I know Valencia part two was rushed, but I think even then it was really good. Kane did something I really appreciated with was take the theme and add an addendum:

People can decide to turn around and do better at any point, and they deserve to be offered that chance, but some people will refuse to do better.

Kane SHOOTING HIS OWN HEART really tied a bow on the message for me. You could probably argue “well, could he really be blamed for that if he didn’t have the conscious to tell him it was the right thing to do to accept it?” But I really don’t think the whole nature of AI and how they think thing matters here.

The ending was great. I adored how all the companions sort of came to your side in the end and even explicitly said that they were your family. I’m not sure Wizard ever has a moment where an NPC says something that… close and caring to your PC.

Overall I enjoyed the chase for the map pieces, and chipping at the Armada’s elites was really well done. I wasn’t expecting them to treat the Marleybone war with so much gravity, but they did it about as well and as seriously as a kid’s game could. The finale with Rooke at the end was amazing, the atmosphere was really well done and Rooke died to my partner’s crab, which was just… peak 101 game comedic timing.

I also really loved the “GO GO GO AND GET OUT” way they structured Valencia part 1 and 2. I was genuinely tense and nervous in part 2, wondering if being Spiral Spain’s Attaché was even going work. Being so close to Kane and watching him get SCOLDED for daring to touch me was incredibly satisfying. I wish there was more time for Royal court shenanigans so that I could get to see Kane glaring at from across the room more, but I suppose that’s what fanfiction is for.

In terms of story execution and story execution purely, I’d give arc 1 an 8/10. Every beat was there when it needed to be and early actions affected the long term narrative, which was nice to see. With some Wizard worlds I do feel like they suffer from “this could have been an email” disease, but my time was less wasted in Pirate.

…Now, as for Sinbad…

I have unfortunately noticed the increase in insane difficulty, and an increase in glitches. Last night my partner and I tried to do the tower in Mooshu to find Sinbad, and we were in there for two hours, only to get teamwiped and find no dungeon recall. I understand Pirate was made to be harder than Wizards, but that is just straight up unfair for mainline content, I’m sorry. As well, a promotion quest my partner did had enemies that were almost level eighty. If the level cap is seventy, how in the WORLD is that fair?

It didn’t bother me so much initially, but now in the endgame it really does— how much is locked behind a timer. Oh, you want to level your pet? You have to constantly be starting timers for their training, and logging in regularly to stop their training and start a new one even if you aren’t playing. If your companions get injured they’re unusable until they’ve recovered, which is mostly fine in the early levels, until they need ten hours to recover at level seventy. If you’ve been trying to fight something for ages, and you keep dying, all your companions will be bedridden and you just— can’t play anymore. It reminds me of those really formulaic mobile games where everything is on a timer and progress is so, so slow that you maybe get five minutes to do things a day. Sinbad feels impossible right now because I’ve pretty much run out of ways to improve or maximize a stat to make it easier. There’s no team up either— so am I just supposed to hope I can figure out how to cheese a rigged combat system?

I am still, overall, interested in Pirate101. I want to support the game and allow it to come back to life like the developers have been trying to do. I am interested in what’s next for the story and how they’re going to expand or do something differently from the Armada. I can understand reused assets from Wizard, I can understand a few glitches or bugs, but if I can’t keep up with the gameplay, none of that matters.

It’s possible I just suck at the game. I came for the story and for the most part, I did get to experience that. It was really impressive to see how well it stood up against Wizard— it didn't feel like an aside or lesser, it had its own identity and part of the Spiral.

I’m not sure how to end this review other than… like, I can’t tell KI how to make their games, but please have a little bit of mercy. Wizard is fairly forgiving and I understand wanting to make a harder game, but there’s hard and there’s challenging. Pirate101 is not challenging me, it’s hitting me with a brick inside of a sock. I think it really needs some balancing help.

Adoring the amount of badass coats to pick from, though.

[grizzlyofthesea]

Imagine having your soul shipped to you in the mail.

I got distracted and accidentally bumped it off a table yesterday, so the top portion broke, but I was able to superglue it back together. (For anyone interested, this was made by WTFcharms on Etsy. It's a nice, high-quality, and affordable alternative to the out-of-production official soul gems floating around out there.)

With all that said, I'd like to take this time to gush about the magical girl designs in Madoka Magica. I will be focusing primarily on the original five magical girls; as much as I love what Magia Record introduced to the franchise, there are so many characters. I will share my favorite Magia Record design at the end, though.

Let's get stared with...

Mami Tomoe!

I've always really liked Mami's design. I don't know if I've ever articulated the specific reasons why, but that's what I'm here to do now.

The influences from historical Western fashion, like her corset and boots. They make Mami look classy and fashionable, yet noticeably older than the others.

The plume on her hat. It's a cool detail in general, but it also makes me think of pre-20th century soldiers' uniforms.

The feminine yet down-to-earth feel. She's girly and optimistic at heart like Madoka, but the relative lack of frills makes her feel more mature and veteran-like in comparison.

The purplish coloring to her hat and stockings. It's just a bit of complementary color goodness.

The very slight change in her hair color. For Mami specifically, she gets a slightly brighter, more saturated shade of yellow. All the original girls have this characteristic, which I think is pretty cool.

Now, on to my favorite character...

Sayaka Miki!

The cape. Whether you want to compare her to a superhero or a knight, it's fitting for her heroic ideals.

The multilayered gloves. They're unique, and the deep navy blue of the longer gloves varies the color scheme a bit.

The armor-like breastplate on her otherwise soft cloth corset. It's another point for the knightly aesthetic, but it also plays into her personality. Her heart (emotions, not actual blood-pumping heart) is vulnerable. She's expressive, but she keeps her true feelings well-guarded no matter how much it ends up hurting her.

The gold trim on various clothing pieces. It's cool, it's flashy, and it reflects Sayaka's pride in being a magical girl who fights for justice.

The angled skirt. Even if it doesn't prove to be especially practical, it looks athletic and good for combat.

The belts holding up her stockings. I just think they're neat.

The fortissimo hairpin (shown in the gif). It ties into her wish and reflects her bombastic emotions.

Sayaka's hair shifts from a muted cerulean to a bright sky blue. This is pretty in-line with her cheeriness and idealism.

Here, we have (arguably) one of the sanest members of the cast...

Kyoko Sakura!

Though somewhat simple at a first glance, Kyoko's outfit has quite a bit going on.

The fleur-de-lis like pattern under her soul gem. The fleur-de-lis is often used to represent Christian saints; Kyoko grew up in a Christian family.

The long dress/coat over a shorter skirt. One may compare the coat to a priest's robes.

The boots. Kyoko is the only one of the main cast to not fight in heels, complementing her pragmatic nature.

The detached sleeves exposing her shoulders. They make her look powerful and tough.

The white accents on her otherwise dark outfit. It adds variety, but it also alludes to the selfless reasoning behind her wish.

Kyoko's hair changes from a crimson shade to a lighter, brighter burgundy. Where civilian Kyoko lives in the shadows, magical girl Kyoko fights openly and aggressively.

Now, let's look at the ever-popular...

Homura Akemi!

Homura's design may not be super flashy, but it's still super cool in lots of ways.

The stockings. Solid black stockings would have worked well enough, but the purple diamond print going down the sides adds some flair.

The practicality. Ignoring the fact that she's sprinting around in stilettos, Homura's magical girl outfit looks pretty comfortable and easy to move in.

The subtlety. Whether we're discussing the past or the present, Homura was never one to desire the spotlight. Her subdued design and color scheme reflect this aspect of her personality.

The resemblance to a school uniform. She's got the classic bow and sailor collar, but she also borrows a unique element from the Mitakihara uniform specifically: the cut of the shirt. It has two downward points in the front and one in the back, though it is more exaggerated on her magical girl outfit.

Homura's hair changes to a darker shade of gray/black. It's incredibly minute, but it plays up her "dark, mysterious transfer student" persona.

Of course, we can't forget the one and only...

Madoka Kaname!

She has a lot in common with your stereotypical magical girls (think Sailor Moon and Mew Ichigo), but that doesn't mean there isn't a lot to admire about her design.

The yellow on her dress' bodice. It breaks up all the pink and white while still looking good in the overall color scheme.

The points on her overskirt. They look like flower petals, specifically those of a cherry blossom.

The frills and bows everywhere. Super genre-typical, super cutesy, super Madoka.

The darker pink ribbons on her gloves. They add a bit of pizzazz to what would otherwise be one of her plainer accessories.

The crossed laces on her shoes. It isn't that important of a detail, but it's a unique approach to making her already-detailed outfit even fancier.

Madoka's hair changes from a watermelon pink to more of a bubblegum pink. This just adds to her sugary cuteness and makes you feel even worse when she suffers.

And finally, as promised, my favorite Magia Record design...

Kanoko Yayoi!

I couldn't find a good, clean design sheet for Kanoko, so I chose to use some of her card artwork--one that offers a look at the front detailing (3-star), and one that gives us a good look at her shoes (5-star). So, what exactly do I love so much about her design?

The Victorian influences, like her top hat and corset. I'm a sucker for mid-to-late Victorian Era aesthetics.

The overall "cute but classy" vibe. The gold and emerald green accents on her accessories, the black-and-white color scheme, and the long gloves make her look quite a bit fancier than some other magical girls; but her frilly shorts, Mary Jane-like shoes, and cropped jacket balance everything out so she still looks like a magical girl rather than, say, a lost Black Butler OC.

The stitched detailing on most of her accessories. It really fits her fashion designer theme.

She wears shorts instead of a skirt. This isn't a horribly rare thing in the genre, especially when accounting for other Magia Record characters, but it's still pretty unique.

The holes in her cuffs. They look like the eyes of sewing needles, looping back to her wish/theme.

Aaaaaaand she may or may not look quite a bit like me. Not identical, but enough to make me do a double-take when I first saw her. That gave me the happy brain tingles. :)

Also, can we just talk about how sick her Doppel is?

Her name is Broderie, and she's the witch of torn seams. She can destroy anything, even concepts...but she's only really interested in destroying Kanoko's work. And of course, despite being labeled as a thread trimmer, she looks like a mushroom. ^^' But yeah. My girl finally got a Doppel. I'm so proud of her. :')

Anyway, thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[quicktimeeventfull]

Hi I noticed you have been in the deathnote fandom for a long time. Do you know some changes the fandom/ships went through? I already know that the misogyny towards misa used to be terrible

hi! absolutely! for context i got into death note around 2006 and have spent most of my time on livejournal, deviantart, youtube, gaiaonline and then of course tumblr; i've used LJ, deviantart, quizilla, ao3, fanfiction.net and independent websites/forums for fic. i have been involved more broadly in anime/manga fandom since 2001. i say all this because people's fandom experiences will vary dramatically based on their platform of choice. broadly speaking: death note was a HUGE phenomenon with massive international popularity, and was very critically acclaimed -- it was often discussed as the most accessible series for beginners due to its high quality and its lack of fanservice. it was generally seen as being very somber. it was also well-known for being difficult to write for on account of its dialogue-heavy nature. for the most part i think the ships themselves have remained stable -- lawlight has always been the most popular by a large margin, and mello/near and matt/mello followed behind. there were a lot more fans in general, though, so mello/near and matt/mello were massive - 25% of 100 000 is a lot more than 25% of 100. the way people ship has changed dramatically, however. people used to care a lot about whether or not something was canonically viable, so there'd be loads of posts proving that lawlight was 'real.' ship wars ime used to be a lot more aggressive but were also less moralistic. people also cared a LOT about who was the seme/uke in a relationship. this was of course partially because of the lack of awareness around how real queer couples function, but it was also because of the relative popularity of doujinshi; seme/uke indicated a character's personality, not just their position. (i should say this was not at all universal, and there's plenty of content from that era which does not follow these conventions, as well as a myriad of queer people who objected to this.) because algorithmic content distribution was nonexistent and sites explicitly for fic (ff.net, ao3) hadn't yet taken over, fic rec lists were a HUGE part of the fic economy. personally i think they should come back; they're great for niche content and lesser-known artists, and they foster community. you will often notice older fans using names like raito, mero, or nia. these are holdovers from scanlations, as the official english spellings weren't available until late in the series (for mello and near) or the official translations (for light) as a point of note, you'll sometimes see people saying that 'eru' was the name used for L, but this just isn't true; L's name was spelt with the roman character even in original japanese. early scanlations are still widely available, so you can see all this (plus tonal changes re: the dialogue) for yourself. tbh i don't actually think the misogyny towards misa is worse; i think the language surrounding it has just gotten more intellectualized. i feel this way about a lot of problems in fandom. also ok here's some linguistic trivia i find very interesting but which got long enough that i decided to put it at the end, please ofc feel free to skip this:

ships used to be tagged with / \ | or & to indicate the type of relationship. how they worked were: / and \ were for slash ships, | was for het ships, and & was for platonic ships. why do all this? partially it was because it was much easier to scan if you're on a site that displays only titles. it was also used to avoid censorship on sites that cracked down on gay or sexual relationships, as the terms were less obvious and also wouldn't get picked up by automods. \ | in particular were useful in roleplaying context where users wished to request straight or gay rps; since fic and rp often involves the same people, there's crossover in the terminology. / and \ were used to indicate seme vs. uke. for example: L/light means L is the seme, and L\light means L is the uke. (the idea was that the slash pointed to the receiver.) you could also show seme vs. uke by ordering the characters. in this case, L/light indicates that L is the seme and light/L indicates that light is the seme. the \/ distinction was already falling out of popularity by the time death note hit its stride, so the latter was the much more common way of doing things. eventually we got sites with tagging systems which required consistent ship names, so the whole top/bottom naming distinction fell away, and combined ship names (ex. lawlight) became more popular. seme vs. uke were then explicitly indicated via bang paths. (seme!light.) this kind of happened concurrently with the shift from seme/uke to top/bottom. if you have an interest in early fandoms, i would highly recommend both 'everything i need i get from you' by katitlyn tiffany and 'because internet' by gretchen mcculloch. 'everything i need i get from you' focuses largely on the social and technical factors behind fandom, and 'because internet' is about linguistics.