#it's not a ship related thing at all! (at least at its core) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lucabyte · 3 months ago

Note

i'm so curious about your character gender reads now tho 👀👀

(You enter the kitchen and see me, eating shredded cheese out of the fridge by the handful)

(I turn around to face you.)

Hi. Do you want me to sell you on amab NB Siffrin? I'm going to try and sell you on amab NB Siffrin. And maybe even a little bit of tranfem siffrin and/or loop. as a treat. just for you.

So, (I put the cheese back in the fridge.)

This read of mine comes from a number of things, a lot of them to do with the game's themes, and to do with Siffrin being a narrative foil to the other characters. And Vaugarde as a whole.

(READMORE WARNING: THIS IS LIKE 6K WORDS LONG. YOU ALL SHOULD KNOW BY NOW I DON'T MAKE POSTS WITHOUT UNCONSCIOUNABLE AMOUNTS OF EVIDENCE AND EXPLANATION. IF ANYTHING I'M BEING RESTRAINED HERE. THUMBS UP.)

(Pre-readmore note: this is in response to me having given an analysis of how I personally percieve Sifloop in relation to asexuality and shipping. Which you can look at here. (x))

It is however, not what my like, no-holds-barred no-rules just-for-me headcanon for Siffrin would be. (which is intersex 'head empty no thoughts' siffrin, for the record). This is instead my close-reading-of-the-text-and-themes interpretation of Siffrin. This is why I'm gonna be saying Read and not Headcanon, to distinguish the two. (Anything I consider a little bit too much of a stretch vis a vis interpretive hard reads I will call a headcanon. But those are for the last bit of this post.)

Unlike *gestures at mass media* All That… ISAT is already packed to the gills with queer rep, to the point where I feel no need to grasp at straws and make overextended reaches into obviously unintended subtext. Like with, y'know, most media. Since here, the subtext isn't unintended. Like this isn't a Transfem Metal Sonic or Aroace Ash Ketchum situation where I know none of the evidence is on purpose and I'm just having fun making a conspiracy theory pinboard out of it. This is like… There's intentionality there. And I want to engage with it on its level, see what the text itself suggests. It's my personal preferred method of expressing deep respect to a text. (Not that it has to be anyone else's, obviously. This is just my way of showing I love a work.)

So yeah, I am, in general, very interested in hearing hard-fought arguments when it comes to interpreting texts. I'm glad ISAT has a lot to pick at here, and so, I will. (and since not a lot of texts ever have anywhere near this kind of depth in this arena, i don't wanna squander it… i'll try and keep my own biases as in check as i can, and already have done by hashing quite a bit of this interpretation out with two people of very different gender identities to mine. To put it mildly, binary-aligned or transfem I am very squarely Not.)

(Now that the cheese bag has been removed from the equation, I drop this framing device, sit you down at the table and begin to dredge up evidence from below it.)

Okay, so. What are my like… Core reasonings here? I think I can split it into three categories. Broadly, with an amount of overlap, so bear with me…

SIFFRIN AS A FOIL AND CONTRAST TO MIRABELLE, ISABEAU AND THE CHANGE RELIGION AS A WHOLE.

SIFFRIN'S HABITS OF CLINGING TO 'KNOWN QUANTITIES', SCAPEGOATS, AND THEMES OF RACIAL IDENTITY INTERSECTING WITH GENDER IDENTITY.

SIFFRIN, LOOP, DE-PERSONING, DEHUMANISING, APATHY AND SURVIVAL.

Okay so up top I'm going to split my argument for Siffrin's gender identity Present and Future here. This means, for now, I'm arguing for AMAB NB Siffrin alone. The transfem stuff is for later (and more for loop, in my mind, too).

I have a few direct observations of the text here that set things up. Here are the things in-game that make me assume that Siffrin, as of the start of the game, has not yet undergone any radical change to their identity in their life. Not on purpose, at least. These are ordered in a messy but logical flow, so uh, try and keep up. I'll synthesise at the end. I Prommy.

SIFFRIN AS A FOIL AND CONTRAST TO MIRABELLE, ISABEAU AND THE CHANGE RELIGION AS A WHOLE.

CHANGE & THE UNIVERSE: PERCEIVED OPPOSITES

When interacting with most objects in the Changing Room in the house, they express a genuine curiosity toward body craft. It seems they are legitimately unfamiliar with it on a deeper level than having simply heard of it.

Despite this curiosity (explicitly stating they've previously wondered about it), they dismiss it as too much work early on in the game. These points combined seem to suggest to me that they have never previously sought out any kind of real change to their appearance or identity. Either for gender reasons, or other body dysmorphia reasons. (Which, despite the dismissal, they do refer to their body as a 'meat prison', which is not particularly positive) However...

This changes in Act 3. In acts 3 and 4 they flatly state: "You're thinking about crafting your body. You seem to have all the time in the world now." While still never spoken aloud, their declining mental state corrosponds with a worn-down, almost nihilistic reckoning with the feelings they masked with the 'meat prison' joke in act 2.

[Image: Interactions with the change craft textbook in acts 2 and 3/4.]

In talking to Mirabelle, they are very self assured that one can stay the same/be comfortable with their born identity. They also seem a little unsettled by the change religion's flippancy in general, which makes sense, as they have been clinging to the famliar (even when painful) to cope with other traumas. (More on this later, section 2)

The Universe Faith appears to heavily disincentivise Wanting for oneself and other expressions of Free Will due to safeguarding against Wish craft. This seems to have impacted Siffrin's mental state majorly, even if they do not recognise it. The followers of the faith are (if Siffrin is to be believed) incentivised to 'go with the flow' and take paths of least resistance, and those that DO make big decisions will tend to justify things as being The Universe's Will. (See: The King's entire Modus Operandi, and the way Loop (and Siffrin) do the same rote actions, constructing worldviews (the play analogy, the Universe's Will) and justify that as what the Universe Would Want (despite a total lack of evidence to prove as such)) As such, it seems as if a follower of this faith as neurotic as Siffrin would be unlikely to act upon any Wants to Change Themselves without a lot of turmoil and backwards-justification. (Of note, Loop's forcible change coinciding with a dropping of pronoun. But that is again for later, section 3) As of the start of the game, they do not appear to have broached this kind of turmoil directly.

[Image: Act 5 interaction with the star journal, emphasis on it being a cautionary tale against reckless usage of wish craft, instilled so deeply to be a children's bedtime story]

Siffrin, in act 5, grows frustrated with both The Universe and The Change God, feeling abandoned by the former. They struggle with simultaneously anthropomorphising the Universe as a cruel onlooker, while also seemingly acknowledging them as a cold, almost scientific fact of nature. This would heavily imply that the 'blame' put upon the Universe by Siffrin in these moments is known to them, at least a little, to be potentially meaningless. It seems that somewhere in Siffrin's belief system is something, be it the core or merely a creeping worry, that the Universe is not a thinking, feeling, thing. And thus that their invocations of "The Universe's Will" are merely rationalisations of random chance and consequence. This is in DIRECT contrast to the Change God, proven to be an emotive sapient entity, who merely refuses to offer a helping hand. (Similar sentiments are, too, spoken by the Change God itself.)

[Images: Interacting with the window in the observatory in act 5, text from the change god meeting]

So. These are the bulk of my observations when it comes to how Siffrin is positioned in contrast to the Change Belief. It would seem to be that Siffrin, inkeeping with their role as an outsider, is a complete fish out of water in Vaugarde's change-centric world. This makes sense! It makes them a compelling foil to the Vaugardians in our cast, and allows the Vaugardians to challenge Siffrin's worldviews merely by existing. It also, more importantly, makes Siffrin an interesting lens through which to inspect our two most Change-driven characters. Mirabelle and Isabeau.

MIRABELLE.

Mirabelle and Siffrin's differing faiths are put on display the most frequently. Interactions like the circle key and the party's disbelief of Siffrin's facts about the stars make this clear. These interactions other Siffrin from the group further, and are another avenue through which Siffrin can ignore their own needs, not communicating with the party and allowing them to dismiss things he deems important.

Obviously, the friendquest is primarily about Mirabelle's struggle with her aromanticism and asexuality. But there's an implicit undercurrent of gender there too. Mirabelle has never made a big change, not like Isabeau. She has never 'changed completely', by her words. And Siffrin distinctly finds this an odd thing to be worried by. Whatever culture he carries has no pressure to explore these avenues, it seems. Siffrin is able to help her by sharing their honest opinions, that he's never felt the need to change these things, and he's happy (allegedly). Why should she?

[Image: Mirabelle's friendquest text] Siffrin is not thinking particularly hard when he first does the friendquests, they are just being themselves. By positioning Siffrin as this unchanged yet confident object, they are in the perfect position to help Mirabelle by being in her almost exact position, both sexuality and transgender status (albeit, with the caveats of potential alloromanticism, and a they pronoun), that they become her ideal foil. (And in fact, the subtle differences between their positions in canon add to this, showing a display of Perceived Genuine Truth, rather than simple in-group camaraderie)

Whereas…

ISABEAU.

When Mal du pays speaks as Isabeau, it says the following;

"I don't want to know someone who won't even try to change, who luxuriates in things staying the exact same like you do."

I don't want to know someone - Shame of being known, that's Isabeau's insecurity. Reflected back at Siffrin, who has become the worst thing imaginable to each of their friends, in Siffrin's own mind. He absorbs their insecurities like a sponge and incorporates them into himself. Empathy turned ill.

Who luxuriates in things staying the exact same - Now THAT'S interesting. This is not Isabeau's insecurity, it's Siffrin's own. But also, it appears as if, Siffrin, whom to Mirabelle was unflappable in that not changing was alright, has internalised some of her worry. That it is MDP's Isabeau saying this, though, shows this is about Personal Change, perhaps even Specifically Gender and Self Image, rather than Mirabelle's spiritual side.

Isabeau and his distinct change in personality and gender, to become someone who he actually likes… Diametric to Siffrin, who has been stagnant for a long time, presumably as far as they can remember. It would seem to imply they have no recourse against this argument. Siffin becomes, in his mind, the opposite to Isabeau, a man he deeply admires the bravery of when told the story of his Change. These are Siffrin's words against themselves, that they consider themselves to have never even 'tried' whatever it is they think Change to be.

So. These are my main points vis a vis: Siffrin as a foil. This reading would posit that Siffrin's He/They status is, well, almost accidental? Which I would imagine befitting of them. They are, at the start of the game, still the mysterious rogue who never elaborates upon anything. They aren't going to be correcting a they/them from a teammate who is likely far more cautious about assumptions.

Notably, Mirabelle excludes Siffrin from the label "man" in the bathroom monologues… But as does Siffrin when in the prologue poem room. Though one needs remember, Siffrin only expresses these thoughts internally.

[Image: Bathroom conversation featuring Isabeau identified as the party's singular man]

[Image: Prologue!Siffrin expressing that they are not a man in very certain terms.]

While I do wonder what Mirabelle's knowledge (or lack thereof, potentially! Did Siffrin actually divulge this to her, once? Or is she making assumptions again?) is here, this is pretty clear evidence that Siffrin doesn't see themselves As A Man. (that, and Adrienne's word of god "fella" comments). I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this… but.

The thesis here is, that Siffrin may want to explore their gender further; doesn't feel connected to Masculinity, and yet, keeps that He pronoun around? Well, the Universe does not, in Siffrin's mind, really allow for personal wants and desires. If their friends start they/themming them, then cool. They like it, but never requested it, so it's the Universe's will. But, asking? Making decisions and requests and rocking the boat? That seems to scare Siffrin a lot. It seems to scare them so much it causes a lot of, if not all of, the conflict in the game. I feel like it's a fair deduction that this aversion to humour their own desires pervades a lot of their existence.

Plus, I think there's meat there. By only allowing Siffrin to reckon with any potential desires to change only after growing closer with the family, you get to explore things like "How does Mirabelle feel that even the person who said she didn't have to change is changing." and the slightly less potentially harrowing (OR MORE, IF YOU WANT IT TO BE? IDK. I'M NOT YOUR BOSS.) "Isa's continued changing allows Siffrin a space to explore it, maybe even just by proxy, or maybe by joining them."

But mostly, this section is about how Siffrin not having Changed Yet makes them delightfully strong narratively; allowing them to relate to Mirabelle, and get cold feet when comparing themselves to Isabeau. I love this as a narrative strengthener. It's very rare in media that we get to explore a nonbinary character's thoughts and insecurities on whether or not they're "doing enough" to be nonbinary. Even less so Aligned nonbinary people. And reading that alignment and insecurity through the lens of a nonbinary person not fully disconnected from their assigned gender at birth? It's a very compelling exploration of a very common and raw and yet underdiscussed feeling, much like the rest of ISAT. I think this is an extremely potent element should it be read this way, and is only strengthened when taking Siffrin's other themes into account.

Speaking of which.

2. SIFFRIN'S HABITS OF CLINGING TO 'KNOWN QUANTITIES', SCAPEGOATS, AND THEMES OF RACIAL IDENTITY INTERSECTING WITH GENDER IDENTITY.

HOLDING ON TO WHAT YOU KNOW. (OR KNOW THAT YOU DO NOT.)

I explained above many of my thoughts on the Universe Faith, and trying to keep these two sections separate was difficult, but needed to be done for the sake of clarity. But this section and the above are deeply intertwined.

Siffrin… Holds on to the things they know. They do not know much. But man do they fucking hold. And yet, paradoxically, they are also avoidant about it.

It is made clear in the text, to the point where I really don't feel the need to rehash it here, that Siffrin's disconnection from their homeland is incredibly painful, but that they consider that culture utterly and irreplaceably important to them. They cannot face it, it is too painful. They cannot let it go, it is too important.

Knowing what we know of the Island's irl inspirations (though, word of god, the exact location is not supposed to matter, one can infer it from the text (and I did! within reasonable proximity!)), Siffrin is of an indigenous peoples of some description, more than likely. And at the very least, Siffrin carries with them inherent biases and ignorances that show that Vaugarde's conceptions of things don't quite mesh with their own. Bowing to the Vaugardian way of things could very easily be seen as assimilation, in this way.*

And identity? Gender? Presentation? Role? All of that has a cultural element. There's no telling what specifics Siffrin has lost in that arena, and that's the problem. Neither do they. How paralysing, the feeling, to know that should you change yourself you risk unknowingly erasing another piece of home? I wouldn't blame them for locking it off. Keeping their old clothes, keeping what little they can remember of themselves… It doesn't seem to me a conducive or safe mental space to get experimental.

And the Universe makes for a perfect scapegoat. As referenced in the section above, a lot can be justified should you call it "The Universe's Will", because who's there to call you on it? Hardly anyone. Your divine right to Freeze A Place In Time; Your Deserved Punishment for Wanting to be Loved: All of it the Universe-- If you want it to be. And thusly, if the Universe wanted you to be a certain way, wouldn't you already be? Wouldn't it make you so? (Wouldn't it take away your body, that which makes you human? If that is what it thought of you?) So best to put it out of your mind. Wouldn't want to accidentally wish anything.

But as the game itself puts it, personified by The King, you cannot stay mired like this forever. As Loop themselves puts it, they can "get so fixated, sometimes." At some point they need to allow themselves to grow in whatever direction they need, because in the end, they need to live their life. They don't need to abandon their country, their culture, but they can't let it restrain them either.

(* MASSIVE CAVEAT: im white as fuck boyyy. i cant say shit. im like technically Of The Land im like 90% pictish or something ridiculous like that so my particular line has never moved anywhere but. this is notttt something i have input or insight on. this is all gleaned from reading and listening to indiginous perspectives from wherever they may be. i am simply trying to infer from what the game gives us without inserting my own feelings on the matter.)

3. SIFFRIN, LOOP, DE-PERSONING, DEHUMANISING, APATHY AND SURVIVAL.

Alright, here's some less heady and purely-thematic points to round things out. And where we'll also address the fucked up star being in the room; Loop.

My last couple of reading points are the most potentially-transfem to me. Or at least the ones that really hammer home, to me, a seeming lack of want to be masculine-aligned.

ANOTHER NOTE ON THE 'NOT A GUY' THING.

Obviously, there is the aforementioned "Not a man/not that you're a boy" thing. This is rather straightforward, but also still pretty ambiguous. You can be masc-aligned and still Not A Guy. But it does seem to be of note that being a guy very much does not seem to be a goal of Siffrin's. I would posit this in direct contrast to… Isabeau.

But not Isabeau's masculinity. I would instead hold it up against Isa's femininity.

ISAT, as a text, has its characters have genuinely different levels of security in their gender identity, and Isabeau, despite still having insecurities, seems super chill on the gender angle specifically! Their internal strife comes not from their 'not feeling like a man enough' or 'hating being a woman', but instead from their self perception as a friendless nerd! Something that seems to be only tangentially related to Isa's gender, really?

The big dumb bruiser thing is certainly aided by being a dude, but Isa still seems completely comfortable referring to themselves with feminine language, calling himself a "mother hen" (prologue) and having "the heart of a fair maiden" (cookie snack time). (However, they also take being excluded from Mira's girly book club as a surprised compliment, implying they weren't expected to be excluded, and find it affirming.) And even further so, Isa states they want to continue changing further and exploring their identity more, being rather blatant that they might lean back into femininity (and more importantly, let themselves be outwardly smart again), since they're starting to feel hurt by everyone assuming they ARE genuinely stupid.

[Image: Prologue Isa calling himself a mother hen]

And man, this is such a breath of fresh air vis a vis representation. I don't think I really need to explain that. A character who's gender identity is driven by chasing euphoria, even if it started out by trying to drive out misery. Isabeau's character is so damn good. But this essay isn't about him, so get back in the crate, boy.

... So here we have Isa, who is genuinely comfortable reclaiming things about their birth gender, and Mirabelle who loves her traditionally feminine traits to the point where she feels a little guilty that she isn't rejecting them to foster change. And then we have Siffrin… who seems to reject masculine language��? Hrm… (… And then we have The King. A Masculine Title. Someone who Siffrin increasingly sees themselves in and deeply, deeply dislikes this.)

APATHY AND SURVIVAL

It should be clear by now that I see Siffrin's core character as being driven by avoidance and survival. This seems to lead to a lot of apathy, brushing off emotions that are too intense or events and occurences that are too painful. (See: just absolutely everything with Bonnie)

It's all Siffrin really seems to be able to do to Survive. They've travelled, seemingly alone, for what would be around a decade by what the game says about the island's disappearance. They've lived alone on the road as a traveller in a country that so openly welcomes strangers that THE KING and his whole motives can happen. Siffrin is avoidant and refuses to acknowledge problems or strive for help and comfort.

So. That line about the dress. Let's unpack the line(s) about the dress.

THE DRESS LINE, AND THE WAY IT CHANGES BETWEEN PROLOGUE, ACT 2, AND ACT 3.

Good god where to start with this. Full disclosure, the first draft here was way more vague in how I approached this line because I remembered it (and another line, I'll get to it.) way more tame, but going and getting the screenshots..... Siffrin. Buddy. We gotta unpack this.

In act 2, we have "You haven't worn a dress in forever!". This is a neutral, if seemingly a little joyous statement. All we really glean from this is the information that Siffrin at some point, wore 'a' dress. No real inferences there. (Maybe you could say that the singular as opposed to plural makes it more likely that they borrowed/only owned One Dress rather than owned several? But that's a massive stretch...)

Then, act 3/4 shuffles this off into a more general "You wonder if you'll ever wear different clothes again." Which is a more despairing and distant statement. Considering Siffrin seems to travel with only the items they can carry, and owns sleep clothes... It's unclear how many changes of clothing they have. The party seems to consider the cloak a pretty permanent fixture, anyhow. But this line doesn't really say much aside from 'oh god i'm losing myself to the time loop malaise'

NOW THE PROLOGUE. Prologue Sif, buddy, pal, Loop, if I'm allowed to call you that....

Thousands of loops in. We are wistful for specifically dresses. You've forgotten almost everything. You dream about someday seeing the sun again. To be anywhere but here. You want to wear a dress again.

I. Kind of do not know what to do here but point at it. Like I said, my first draft had me half-remembering the progression of this line and as such I was far more vague on what I thought it could imply. Instead this is just straight up yearning.

To, try and segue back to what I had initially written, we'll pick up here...

Siffrin expresses a want to wear other clothes, explore changing their body... But instead, they wear a ratty old form-covering cloak that keeps them warm and safe and is a last reminder of home. They are shapeless, formless, hiding their face under the brim of a wide hat. They do not voice their desire to wear a dress aloud. They once again, keep a desire to themselves, because they do not allow themselves to want publicly. Apathy is safer. Apathy and quiet means you do not risk retribution or hurt.

While I do not think the above is exclusively a transfeminine feeling, it really, really reads like one when taken part and parcel with assuming Siffrin has denied themselves prior exploration.

... And here I have to break my first draft again. I was being, once again, restrained in my reading when writing this. Because I had convinced myself I had maybe straight up imagined one of the lines I was basing my reads on, because I couldn't find it. Because it was a line that read so strikingly desolate to me that my brain had slotted it in during Act Five, meaning when I went looking for it neither me nor my friends could find it.

It's in acts 3 and 4. It's a line I already brought up.

"You're thinking about crafting your body. You seem to have all the time in the world now."

good fucking christ. sorry to break the academic tone but Jimminy Fucking Willikers, Siffrin. What's with that bit. The resignation and despair and guilty comfort we know the timeloop brings them, bleeding into the gender.

This. *taps my finger harshly on my desk* THIS, this feels transfem. this feels so wildly transfem to me. The knowledge that they've never changed before this line lends. The admission that they've been holding back because it's 'too much work'. I spent a lot of time during the game relating Siffrin not to myself but to my friends.

If I'm honest, really, truly, I'm not all too often in Siffrin's shoes. I'm the stable one, of my group. I'm the rock people ground themselves on. And I see so much hesitance, all the time. Denial of joy because what if it's taken away, again? Or futilely out of reach? It hurts more to try, and to fail, than to never try at all.

I wanted to shake Siffrin by the shoulders this whole game. Grit teeth beg them to accept help because for fuck's sake people are clearly offering it get it through your skull--

*coughs* Ah. Ahem. Right. The uh, academic tone.

Right. What I mean to say is, this read as transfem to me because of the way it relates to real-world experiences of denial. And this combo of the Dress line, and the progression of the Meat Prison line, the constant evidence of never having strived for what they want, and that insistance that you're not a man, seem to dislike being percieved as a man, but not being able to shed the outward signifiers?

Individually, yes, these points can be read in different ways. The total opposite ways, even, I'm sure! But as a gestalt it feels really, really transfem. Even if yeah, sure Vaugarde is a magical setting where being transgender is accepted, and this hesitance, specifically, around gender, might not 'make sense' in 'the lore'...

Diegesis isn't everything. Sometimes something that reflects a real-world feeling is important, even if it doesn't 'mesh' with 'the lore' of the world.

TANGENT: DIEGESIS AND READING INTO NON-REAL-WORLD-SETTINGS.

This is a Watsonian vs Doylist spectre that's been haunting this whole argument. In-universe (Watsonian), Vaugarde has seemingly no discrimination between genders, sexualities, and a lackadaisical approach to most things in the arena. Reading our own patriarchal/heterosexual/amanonormative/perisexist society unto it does not make sense, not in this context.

In the real world, however (Doylist), ISAT is a text made in our prejudiced society. A text that is distinctly flavoured by those bigotries which it is kicking back against. Because of this, it is not the whole story to simply read the text while discarding our real-world-informed inferences. Isabeau is a big example of this. While perfectly accepted in Vaugarde, he is very obviously a revolutionary character in our real-world space! He has so much to say, specifically BECAUSE things about him that are not readily accepted here, are accepted there! Same with Mira's struggles, and yes, Siffrin's too.

ISAT was written with the knowledge of how it would play against our real world in mind, we know this, clearly, from many an interview. This is most present in how it engages with asexuality and aromanticism (and immigrant identity), but make no mistake, it influences the Whole Text.

Ergo, just because I view certain writing choices here in the context of Our Real World Perspectives On Gender and not Vaugarde's In-Universe Perspectives, it does not make them an invalid read. They are simply a Doylist read.

There's been an admittedly loosey-goosey lack of delineation here between things I'm reading with either lens, because for the most part all of these points have been a vague synthesis of both that I can't quite decouple. Unprofessional, I know, but I'll admit to not having written my thoughts down like this in a good long while. Usually I just hash this out verbally over discord voice to a small number of weirdo literature and classics student friends who are willing to humour me. I'm an arts student too, but animation hardly required I actually write an essay to a literature degree's standard. Lol.

DE-PERSONING. AND LOOP. OH JESUS . LOOP .

Siffrin de-persons themselves a lot. I say de-person rather than dehumanise because, well, there's a subtle difference there. Siffrin doesn't see themselves as vermin or an animal or an object, but they do seem to see themselves as lesser, not requiring the respect they grant others. They aren't, you know, a 'real person'.

People get to have things like thoughts and wants and identities. Siffrin is, at best, Just Siffrin. They have what they have and they don't ask for more and they don't (CAN'T) feel too strongly on what they do have!

When Loop at first offers their pronouns they offer the Royal 'We'. This is at least a little bit, a joke. A nudge toward their true identity, a potential dig at themselves for becoming so understanding of The King. Mostly though, a joke on the first thing…. and a sign that they do not see themselves as a separate entity to the Siffrin stood before them.

When Siffrin rejects this, they settle for they/them. Loop drops the he/him, presumably partially to cover their tracks, but… They just showed their hand with the 'Royal We', and if you wanted to go even further with this, there's no way for us to know whether Loop is treating this pronoun as singular or not. They presumably are, but it is still a potentially plural pronoun.

Loop… Clearly does not see themselves as a person. It's, I would say, a completely reasonable assumption that the form they have taken reflects implicit feelings toward themselves as less than a person, an actor, a monster, a tool, a means to an end. They are rendered inhuman by The Universe, frivolous distractions removed. No mouth, inventory and clothes confiscated, nothing between the legs. Formed roughly in the shape of a person to allow them to do their only job: Help.

Loop's body does not make logical sense, given their continued ability to sleep, dream and their continued habit of deep breaths to self-soothe. It would seem to me, it was made in the image it was, with only the tools it needed to Help Siffrin. Why obfuscate their identity? Because giving the game away too early would likely make them lose hope. Why so deeply, thoroughly star themed? An instant signal, that even if a stranger, they are an ally. They are home.

[Image: Loop saying that they take naps and dream, and evidence of Loop habitually attempting to breathe in the twohats lose-to-loop ending]

And they… Degender themselves. No longer with any bodily signifiers of masculinity, and cruelly disallowed the ability to hide themselves beneath fabric, they are null. The spoiler Q&A (paratext, as it were) states that:

Q. Is Loop: 1. Actually comfortable with both he and they, but only gave the one pronoun to emphasize the distance? 2. Only using they/them because a large life event led to a shift in identity/ how they’d like to be perceived? or 3. time lops stole he from they they :( A. Mostly that first one. But all three of those reasons have a bit of truth to them.

While the 'mostly the first one' comment does imply that Loop would not baulk at being he/him'd (similar to how Siffrin does not), the other reasons, especially the second, having 'a bit of truth' does lend credence to this reading. That Loop's self-perception has shifted, and what I posit, is that this shift is in tandem with a disconnection with humanity. Due, presumably, to the dehumanising experience of the timeloop.

Loop has no biology to speak of, and yet they remain blind in one eye. I take this as an implication that they considered this so core to themselves, to who they could remember being, that it stayed. Even if they had forgotten their own face, trapped in a part of the house with no mirrors, they knew they couldn't see. They kept this, and yet seemingly they, or The Universe, or both of them in tandem, discarded all else.

This isn't like…. Healthy behaviour. That is for certain. But it is interesting that Siffrin and Loop seem to hold on to their masculinity by a thread, and that Loop, when actually given the excuse to make a choice, chooses the Neutral Option. Siffrin might de-person themselves, but Loop, Loop is absolutely dehumanising themselves. From Loop's own mouth (or lack thereof) do they call themselves a Corpse. That's… pretty damn bad.

TANGENT 2: POTENTIAL IMPLICATIONS OF THE JAPANESE TRANSLATION.

Did somebody say 'distance'? Yeah turns out that has some more potential evidence. In the form of First Person Pronouns. See, English, with its third person only pronouns relies on others to gender you. Japanese, you get to gender yourself. And Siffrin specifically has an interesting discrepancy in the way he refers to himself.

(DISCLAIMER: I . DO NOT KNOW MUCH ABOUT JAPANESE. THIS IS SECOND-HAND KNOWLEDGE. SOURCED FROM THIS TUMBLR POST AND OTHER QUICK SKIMS OF WIKIPEDIA)

Loop and Siffrin use the same, very neutral "mostly male but could go either way" pronoun of 僕 boku. Safe, soft friendly pronoun. Used by people on the younger side of adulthood, not so impolite that you can't use it in a formal setting. Such a neutral all-rounder that female singers in japan tend to use boku in their songs to relate to the audience with quiet confidence.

And in their internal monologue? Siffrin uses a completely different pronoun. In his head, for himself, he uses 自分 jibun. Now, this may be an artefact of the monologue's english second-person "You", since jibun can also be used to mean a very neutral "self". A "myself/herself/himself" type 'self'. But when used as a first person pronoun, it has a connotation of being… distant, introspective. Which is… a fascinating implication, if that was the intent.

But I don't know anything about japanese so ! If I'm off the mark, discard this!

LOOP, PART 2: MAYBE NOT A GREAT STATE TO BE IN.

While Siffrin I can comfortably argue that they can like, keep their current gender presentation, whatever you may perceive it to be, once the game is over, Loop, I cannot.

Siffrin's potential issues with their identity are ones that honestly feel like they would best be explored with gentle refinement and searching. They don't need to violently seperate themselves from what they are now, far from it, in fact. They need to learn to grow comfortable in their own skin, and with the people they love. To become open and trusting, with an open mind to where it may lead.

Loop has already lost this battle. They don't get to refine anymore, just pick up the pieces. While I don't necessarily think radical change is Good for Loop, I think they may Need It. For them, resting will probably become stagnation (see: napping all day under the tree, resigned, really, to the idea they're stuck there forever.), they need a shake-up in order to re-find their feet. Even if they end up right back where they started, they still need to do the actual painful process of soul-searching first.

Problem is, they're still rather avoidant. So it basically becomes a question of getting them into a situation where this exploration is forced upon them. At which point, that's a whole new plotline. This becomes fanfiction. Hence, why while I think Transfem-Egg Loop is a Valid Read when extrapolated from Siffrin… I must concede any actual adventures into them acting upon that as headcanon territory. I just do not know how you would get them there without making a whole new Thing, at which point it stops being Just A Read of the text haha. It doesn't help that Loop and Siffrin (grudgekeepers supreme) both have reason to spite the Change God after who was phone.

As for whether this egg-read reflects directly back on to Siffrin? Maybe! They are the same person. But I think that, especially with Vaugarde's lax views, and their actual differences (Loop's general worse mania // Siffrin's incentive to stay a reminder to themselves and Loop of their country) means they could easily go two different routes, along the road to becoming their own distinct individuals. (And in all honesty, growing into their differences is probably the more healthy option in the long run if you're keeping Loop around? But again, we are going so far into the future here this is no longer a read. And I am not here to dispense baseless headcanons without massive disclaimer, so…)

Tl;Dr:

Siffrin's Survival-Apathy and hesitance to change feels really thematic to their being 'what's left' of their homeland

They seem unsettled by the flippancy of the Change Religion at times, clinging to the familiar to cope with the trauma of displacement.

Mal du pays speaks of them that they have not 'tried' to change, showing an insecurity there, even outside of the literal stagnance of the loops.

They are self assured to Mira that one does not have to change, in a very genuinely personal impulsive statement.

They and others exclude themselves from being "A Man", but Siffrin keeps desires to explore their expression to themselves.

The Universe belief, seemingly in Siffrin's view of it, disincentivises Free Will and Wants very heavily. It is not hard to assume they extend this to all elements of their life.

They have self-admittedly never pursued tangible change, likely due to this aversion to choice. Despite this, they express interest in changing, seeming nonplussed with their body, and house at least some desire for more traditionally feminine expression.

Oh Good God. Loop Sure Does Not Treat Themselves Like A Person. Why Does That Come With A Pronoun Change? What Does That Mean?

But most of all:

It makes them such a fascinating foil and lens to Change and characters who believe in it! It makes them eerily similar to The King! It opens up such fascinating debate between characters like themselves and Mirabelle, Isabeau and Loop, on whether or not they want to change in future, or if it truly is okay to never radically change yourself! What genuinely fertile ground for dialogues. And man if I'm not heavily drawn towards dialogues.

(End of essay! Congratulations for making it the whole way! �� I hope this nightmarish deep dive helps with understanding some of the ways I've been writing Siffrin and Loop too. Since while I've not ever focused on the gender side of it (and probably won't in comic form) this does pervade my view of the two, since it would be impossible for it to Not. As you can see, I do think it is pretty relevant to both their themes.)

(Now for some bonus material)

ADDENDUMS:

PERSONAL BIAS NOTE:

Not included in this analysis since this is more a Pet Theme of my own (usually kept quarantined to the realms of my OCs), but something else I see in Siffrin is a reflection of the Dude Issue(tm) of patriarchal irl society disincentivisng Dudes(tm) from ever fucking introspecting ever.

I'm curious about nonbinary/trans characters who have no idea they’re nonbinary/trans because they’ve been disincentivised from thinking/doubting their identity due to societal power structures or simply tradition. I dig around the themes of “a lot of guys are trapped in a societal prison without ever knowing and it makes them miserable but they can’t escape because they don’t even see the cage” like, a lot, in my personal work. It intrigues me. So bleh, cards on the table there. That mode of interacting with nb/trans characters is one I'm inclined to.

This kinda goes hand in hand with the watsonian vs doylist situation i took an aside to mention. But it is so far along the doylist side that I didn't want to include it, since it is a little too assumptive of the text for my comfort. I don't think the game necessarily has much commentary on this specific Societal Bind. But if it does, then hey, there's my thoughts on it.

STRAY SIDE NOTES AND HEADCANONS ABOUT OTHER CHARACTERS (AS A TREAT FOR GETTING THIS FAR):

MID-GAME OBSERVATION ABOUT BONNIE AND ODILE THAT I NEVER WENT BACK TO VERIFY:

I got the impression that Bonnie heavily favours they/them pronouns for Siffrin, and Odile he/him, as a bit of presumed character voice. I don't know that I am right, literally at all, in that observation, because it very well could've been confirmation bias.

BUT! It did give me the impression that one of the things Bonnie was idolising about Siffrin was a degree of "wow!! older person with my gender!! wow!!", which is just like, cute. I like it even if I don't have any solid evidence.

ODILE, WHAT'S HER DEAL?:

Oh she stays just as mysterious as she intends to be, huh? Even with her comments in the Changing Room alluding to knowing things about underground changing operations, you can't draw much of a conclusion about her. I appreciate verily that she's word-of-god unlabelled and also poly. That shit's great. Woman who has stopped drawing lines or caring what she's up against. Nice characterisation flavour I think.

Anyway, I do think that transfem Odile is a really, really nice take. I have no evidence in either direction for her in either direction, and her being a woman of any description makes her relationship with her absent mother something interesting to chew on, but the idea that she pursued womanhood intentionally lends an interesting texture. I've not much to say, but it's a thread to pull on. Makes you wonder what other female role models she had in her life instead. Anyway she's mysterious as fuck I can't extrapolate Jack nor Squat. Shrug! I'm also made curious by the idea of her potentially moving away from womanhood as she feels the weight of her history lifted. This goes either way, really. Diagnosis: mysterious.

HEADCANON NOTE: INTERSEX SIFFRIN

I don't have any in-text support for this so this entire thing is an unbased headcanon to me. but i DO like it because 1. fun and 2. potential for more thematic exploration

haha gotcha its fuckin themes again. its always themes with me.

But yeah. Not much to say here besides drawing a parallel (that I believe I've seen drawn elsewhere in the fandom already?) between ISAT's comments on how a society that values change would view Aroace identities, and how Mira feels about not wanting to change with the real world experiences of Intersex people having alteration and conformity forced upon them, saying the Change Belief would likely be just as bad for them as it is for aroace people.

So, adding it to Siffrin's situation further drags them into the opposition-to-change foil role. Which like I said, think has a lot to explore.

HEADCANON NOTE: A POTENTIAL METHOD FOR GETTING LOOP OUT OF THEIR GOD DAMNED COMFORT ZONE

I think utilising Loop's contrarianism is an effective and funny way to get them to explore their gender. I personally think running with them trying to hide their identity from the party is a hilarious way to do it. Having them try to position themselves in direct opposition to Siffrin to "throw the party off their trail" (not that i think they really need to?), going full feminine-revealing-clothing because it's NOT what a Siffrin would do and accidentally growing accustomed to it. Funny to me. Especially when the party eventually do find out who they are and go . "????? what was the girl stuff about ??? is that something you wanna do now ???".

[Isabeau] "Ohhhh it was a bit! Haha you really are Sif, still a jokester!" [Loop] "HAHA YEAH . JOKES. LOVE THOSE. LOVE TO MAKE JOKES!" [Isabeau] "Yep! Anyway. Tell me if you need anything!"

Bonus bonus:

[Siffrin] "Okay, so, if you're a girl. Does this reflect on like… me?" [Loop] "No doubles. Get your own gender, parasite~!"

#oh my god this is like 6k words what happened. well you can't say my claims are unsubstantiated i guess.#lucabytetalks #fuck dude i sure do !!!!#i have to assume a lot of other people picked up on exactly what i did too but i dont read other peoples meta very often so !!#i am simply shaking hands with anyone else who came to this conclusion. hi. sometimes its just fun to construct a small essay i guess #i have like no goal putting this out here other than like. For The Sport of Writing Out Media Analysis. so if it makes anything click #in peoples minds or actually sells them on this reading then that's just a bonus i suppose #in stars and time #isat analysis #isat meta #isat siffrin #isat loop #isat spoilers #2hats spoilers #lucabytewrites #welp. no idea what else to tag this. be free and into the wild my gigantic ass post.#is some of this redundant? probably! but cmon man its a tumblr essay i can't format it perfectly. sometimes points get repeated #anyway this post is lagging out my tumblr drafts now i have to post it oh god oh christ i hope nothing goes wrong #edit: i forgot i made the lucabytewrites tag a while back for purrgatorio this can go in there too

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kanzakurawrites · 10 months ago

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Random Thoughts I Had While Rewatching Descendants 1

So I'm guessing Auradon is the size of Eurasia? Cause Europe seems too small, and most of the stories take place in Europe.

Are there Isle guards? I'm guessing because how else do the posters of Beast get put on the Isle?

Beast's crown looks so fake

So is that Ben's dorm room? Or is that his castle room? Is he a day student? (Which, considering he's becoming High King would be smart) I'm curious now

How many outdoor string lights do people in Auradon throw out?

HOW DOES THE ISLE HAVE ELECTRICITY? Are there villains dedicated to keeping it running? Actually, that would be hilarious, especially if that means people don't mess with them. OR they do mess with them and there are just frequent power outages. More likely, now that I think about it.

CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT MALEFICENT'S LETTER MAGNETS! Ha, what if Hades left them there and she just never threw them out? He seems more like the one to have letter magnets.

I don't care about the book timeline, the villains and core four all seem a lot more familiar with each other than just a few weeks or days or whatever. I'm saying its been months at least since the core four became a gang. If not a year.

I know its a Dcom, but I kinda wish that the villains weren't treated as comedy relief. Like, its implied that the kids aren't loved, that they are scared of their parents, but the way the parents are written... excluding the end with Maleficent, they don't seem that scary and all.

Seriously, there must be royal guards, right?

Really wish we had gotten to see the limo driver again.

Have to admit, I really like Ben's darker suit jacket. But why, why the yellow pants.

Ugh, I love Mal's D1 hair.

So... where are the magical people. "Most of us are ordinary royals." Yes, but, but, there is a lot of magic is Disney movies. Where have the magical people GONE. This is concerning.

Auradon Prep is FILLED with royal children, including the soon-to-be High King. The museum is filled with priceless magical artifacts. WHERE IS THE SECURITY. WHERE ARE THE GUARDS.

The beginning of Evil Like Me makes me want to hug Mal.

Are there NO SECURITY CAMERAS?? No other alarms??

WHY ARE THEY HAVING REMEDIAL GOODNESS OUT IN THE OPEN. That should be a PRIVATE class.

Ben, how did you not notice Carlos screaming?

How I wish they would have kept Evie's wavy/curly hair

I really wish there had been more Mal-Jay moments

They were in a public area. How did no one notice what was going on with Ben? DOUG WAS RIGHT BEHIND THEM

You know, none of Ben's classmates seem surprised by his love declaration. Or surprised by the "break up" with Audrey. Hmmm.

You cannot convince me that Ben didn't purposefully tell his parents about Mal right then JUST so he could have a picture of their reaction.

Baby Bal is so cute DX

Honestly, the Family Day fiasco was Audrey and Chad's fault KING BEAST

"No son, its yours." EXCUSE ME SIR

I wonder how much magical strength one must have in order to wield Fairy Godmother's wand. And I feel bad that Jane couldn't.

"I want to go to school. And be with Ben. Because Ben makes me really happy." Don't mind me just crying.

This whole scene makes me cry DX

"Gaston should be jealous." Ew. No. Stop. Creepy.

So whatever happened with the Jay/Audrey thing? I CANNOT be the only one who remembers the shipping days for them.

Other thoughts:

Nostalgia hits hard every time

I miss the D1 clothes! D2 and D3 felt more "costumey" if that makes sense. D1 feels more like... teenagers. And, at least for the Isle outfits, more thrown together. Not as polished, in a way.

I have to admit, kinda wish there was more Aladdin related stuff in the movie. You have Audrey and Mal, Evie and Doug, and Carlos and Dude, but no Aladdin-related characters for Jay? Sure, Aziz is mentioned in the books, and Jordan is in Wicked World, but still. Oh well.

#descendants #disney descendants #I was hoping this would help me for the next Fate's Gift chapter #kinda did

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wangxianficfinder · 1 year ago

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In the mood for...

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1. A) Itmf fics where wwx is actually a servant. B) Or has a specialized skill that is not cultivation related, possibly one he's known for?

1A)

The Myrmidon by Basingstoke (E, 33k, wangxian, NHS/WWX, LXC/JGY, major character death, graphic depictions of violence, underage, WWX raised as a servant, spiritual weapons, gusu summer camp, Flirting, they're young, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Behavior, War, WIP) sadly this is probably never going to be finished, but the WIP is great on the concept of wwx actually being raised as a servant to the jiang household

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2. Itmf any fics that readers of this lovely blog absolutely adore. Their favorite fic, and please tell us why! :D Did it have beautiful writing? A plot you think about even ages later? Introduce a new idea or change ur mind about a rare pair? Was it a tearjerker, or make you laugh till you cried? Did it make you warm and fuzzy to read, or scare the bajeezis out of you? Let us know! :D

The Bunnies and The Roomba: A Love Story by Nikki373 (T, 6k, wangxian, modern, Fluff, Humor, Idiots in Love, Getting Together, Happy Ending, Siblings, Siblings Try and Are Trying, College/University, 1 if by phone; 2 if by text; 3 if by mouth, Kisses, Romance, Falling In Love, LXC is the eternal captain of the good ship Wangxian) I adore The Bunnies and the Roomba by Nikki373. It's a hilarious and sweet story that I believe is hugely under-appreciated.

The Fifth Type of Non-Contact Force by Caixx (Not Rated, 83k, WangXian, Modern AU, High School, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Fluff and Humor, Actually Somewhat Canon, Mutual Pining, Horny Teenagers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Non-Graphic Smut) this fic has been on my mind a lot lately!!! i love the yearning and exploring the complexities of their relationship in this setting. i also just love the way the author's prose

ruined me with your regard by laallomri (T, 46k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Slice of Life, Introspection, Epistolary, it is not all letters but there are quite a lot of letters, Discussion of Canon Events, Pining) there's so much lyricism and elegance and emotion and I keep going back to it every time I need it.

Keep Holding On by abCEE (M, 316k, JYL & WWX & JC, wangxian, canon divergence, demonic cultivator JYL, YLLZ JYL, yunmeng siblings dynamics, role reversal, ghost general WQ, sunshot campaign, angst w/ happy ending, established relationship, accidental baby acquisation, PTSD) I’ve always LOVED roleswap AUs, and this one is the most in-depth one for mdzs. I’ve always loved reading WWX in JYL’s role just because I have the inner need to see him doted on and loved like she is, and this has all of that. Even past that, everyone in this fic is very fleshed out and all of the arcs still follow the og mdzs timeline, but have just enough divergence so it’s fresh!

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3. Itmf wwx and wicked musical crossovers. Esp anything that uses/has the vibes of the song "no good deed goes unpunished"

it's not *technically* a fic, but I think the asker would enjoy this song parody

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4. pretty sure this answered this before, but i couldnt find it for the life of me. im looking for fics where jiang cheng (usually its him) makes wwx be forgotten or erased from the timeline and things just go downhill from there. if its bashing or at least not friendly to the other characters its preferably

The Way It Wasn’t by KouriArashi (T, 72k, WangXian, XiYao, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fix-It, (eventually haha), Slow Build, Family Feels, Moral Ambiguity, Eventual Happy Ending)

Ad Oblivione by Baph, HikariNoHimeWriter (M, 70k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Temporary Character Death, Canon-Typical Violence, POV Multiple, Hurt/Comfort, Grief/Mourning, Identity Reveal, Golden Core Reveal, Cultivation World Critical, Not JC Friendly, Abusive YZY, Angst with a Happy Ending)

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5. hello and thank you for all that you do. i was hoping you could help me with the itmf post and share some fics of wei wuxian’s core getting restored, perhaps with a focus on dual cultivation being the cause of it? and if none come to mind then what other fics handle the restoration of wei wuxian’s core well and stand out?

🔒 Truth Will Out (when caught on video) - End_OTW_Racism! by KizuKatana (E, 117k, WIP, wangxian, WN & WWX & WQ, graphic depictions of violence, modern cultivation, canon divergence, YZY abuses WWX , caught on camera, partial core removal, WWX kicked out of Jiang sect, livestreamer WWX, meet ugly, dual cultivation, smut, no war)

these colours fade for you only by doodlebutt (T, 36k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, Fluff and Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Everybody Lives, Golden Core Transfer, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, …eventually, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, bed sharing, Mutual Pining, like really unreasonable amounts of pining, Slow Burn)

The Core Issue by Hauntcats (T, 21k, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Not JC Friendly, Canon Divergence) WWX meditates his core back, not realising he's actually taking his own core back from JC

Golden Core Reveal / Golden Core Fix-It Comp

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6. Hello Mods! 😃 for ITMF I was wondering if there are any fics that

A) have LXC be angry at JGY for everything that happened/he did, or just let LXC be angry at JGY

B) do something with WWX being the Yunmeng jiang head-disciple, like focusing in on that or it being a plot point or something like that

C) show JYL and WWX being close and spending time just with each other, - I can't really find any where get to do that without JC being there and while I like Yunmeng trio I would like to see them have a bond independent of him

thanks! 😃 and have a great day!

6A)

Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (M, 290k, WangXian, Humor, Slow Burn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Long-Distance Relationship, Epistolary, Love Letters, Family Feels, a-qing lives, teenage romance, Adoption, Romantic Comedy, Happy Ending, Weddings, Case Fic, Parenthood, Politics) in 12 moons and a fortnight verse, there's this lovely scene (and I belive it also is recurring addressed through the series to various degrees of lxc dealing with how he feels about jgy and what jgy had done) where lxc *spoiler alert* has a rebellious breakdown and starts slashing up the Lan rules with his sword *end spoiler*

There's a fic that I can't find yet, its short (tagged angst) where lxc hurts himself with his sword in guanyin temple as leverage so jgy doesn't hurt wwx. he's either angry or cold toward him iirc

6B)

Check out "First Disciple WWX" under The Untamed fandom here

Twelve Moons and a Fortnight by stiltonbasket (M, 290k, WangXian, Humor, Slow Burn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Long-Distance Relationship, Epistolary, Love Letters, Family Feels, a-qing lives, teenage romance, Adoption, Romantic Comedy, Happy Ending, Weddings, Case Fic, Parenthood, Politics) (Link in 6A) literally the opening premise of 12 moons and a fortnight is based around the training that wwx received as the first disciple. He was always intended to be jc's second in command - who could even lead the sect in his absence or injury etc

🔒 Heart's Courage by RighteousInAdversity (T, 19k, wangxian, WWX & WQ, NMJ & WWX, WWX & Yunmeng Jiang Disciples, WWX & WN, Lotus Pier, Sunshot Campaign, No Golden Core Transfer, Golden Core Destruction | Golden Core Melting, WWX has a Golden Core, Genius WWX, Jiāng Family Critical, not Jiang family friendly, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, BAMF WWX, Happy Ending, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Canon JC Characteristics, Jiang Family Has A Redemption Arc, WWX Still Leaves Lotus Pier, not YZY friendly, Bad Parent YZY, not JC Friendly, As for JFM and JYL, not Bashing exactly, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Homophobia)

6C)

it's a long road but we're not alone by Stratisphyre (M, 62k, wangxian, JYL & WWX, LWJ & LJY, LJY & LSZ & JL & OYZZ, Canon Divergence, Not Everyone Dies, Canon-Typical Violence, Parenthood, Grief/Mourning, Family Feels, Reunions, Golden Core Reveal, Getting Together)

Atlas by Folderol (T, 2k, JYL & WWX, JYL & YZY, JYL & SL, JC & JYL & WWX, Child Neglect, Metaphors for living life with a cultivation disability)

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7. Hi!! for itmf, could i ask for ppl's fave canon dynamics authors? (self-recs very welcome!!) i was advised to avoid untagged E-rated fics but then i feel like i'm missing some great fics, so i'd love some help! thank you!! 🙏🏽💙

hi! i asked for 7, and i didn't wanna over-explain, but since it was asked, maybe you could add this to the itmf to clarify, if it's not a bother? 😅 thank you

i do mean top lwj and bottom wwx (only because sometimes the other dynamic can get a little ooc, which is fine, put the blorbos in situations! but not what i'm looking for currently), but /also/ canon dynamics for me means exploring while keeping their personalities: lwj being mean and bitey and awkward, but respectful when it counts, wwx being bratty but confident and enthusiastic. both dom & helpless waif wwx are interesting headcanons rather than canon to me. (also cnc/breeding kink r nice but not obligatory ofc adskjkfs)

tl;dr basically i've been 4+ years in this lovely fandom, and i feel im still not done appreciating the thoughtful way mxtx writes the characters and their dynamics, literally none of her MCs or MLs can be called 'typical' in BL standards

these authors do mostly tag their works but to be sure: 🔒kizukatana, diamondbruise, and saltyfeathers are some of my faves

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8. i’m in the mood for fic where wwx is a talisman genius! @efavs

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 712k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement) This is absolutely *the* fic about WWX being a talisman genius

💖 Lessons relearned by Iamnotawriter (T, 44k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Not Madam Yu Friendly, Time Travel Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Inventor WWX, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, No Golden Core Transfer, YZY Bashing) his main invention is an array but talismans too

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9. For itmf, does anyone have any recs where folks treat wwx gently? Thanks!

🔒 Instead by apathyinreverie (T, 27k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Fix-It, like self-indulgently so, by way of dark(er) gusu lan, manipulative elders, but in a good way, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, of sorts, not Jiang friendly, not really gusu lan friendly either, not particularly friendly towards anyone really, aside from wangxian of course, Cultivation World Critical, Sunshot Campaign, Fluff, Politics, Courting Rituals, possibly implied mpreg, Genius WWX, Talismans, No demonic cultivation, but wwx is still the lynchpin of the war, Possessive LWJ, Protective LWJ) (link in #11) depending on your definition, instead (in #11) counts for #9 as well?

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10. ITMF fics where jiangs are actually a family. Like not that they're only fam in name and are living together like in canon.

The Late Great Custody Debate by stiltonbasket (G, 9k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, LXC/NMJ, JC & WWX & JYL, modern, Domestic Fluff, baby a-yuan, Single Parent WWX, LWJ is a confused rabbit owner, nielan are married, nhs is: xoxo gossip girl, Custody Arrangements, engagement, Confused WWX, WWX voice: if i'm the one with the kid why are you suing ME for child support?, LWJ kills his own love life in the worst way, Happy Ending)

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11. Hi! For itmf, does anyone know of any fics where JC and LWJ find WWX in Burial Mounds after Wen Chao throws him in there but before WWX learns to conduct resentful energy? Like, they scoop him up and rush him to healers and WWX never goes down the single plank bridge?

Hope Dangling by a String by KouriArashi (M, 70k, wangxian, canon divergence, fix-it, everyone lives, angst w happy ending, hurt/comfort, psychic bond, telepathy, communication, emotional/psychological abuse, jiang family feels, lan family feels, canon-typical violence, canon-typical politics, improper use of sacred forehead ribbons, gratuitous hair washing) I'm not sure if this counts or not for 11. Lwj saved wwx just a few days after he's thrown in the burial grounds, but wwx still learns demonic cultivation. He's never alone though, and has support from lwj and his family

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12. Hi!! Is there any fic where Wy is indeed Jfm's illegitimate son?

leading tone by silencemostofall (G, 32k, WangXian, Modern AU, Soulmates, with a lil twist, Eventual Happy Ending, lesbian wq rights, Music, Orchestra, platonic and romantic pining)

~*~

13. For your next itmf I’d like to find fics that focus on wwx’s kindness. It can be any setting except a/b/o. I just want to read stories where we see his kindness and generosity shining through.

Thanks for all your help.

~*~

14. Are there any fics in which wangxian are in military? @constellationdks

囍 | a ghost wedding by sweetlolixo (E, 11k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Ghost wedding, Pining LWJ, Ghost Groom LWJ, Corpsefucking in the most romantic way possible, Angst with a Happy Ending, Non-Explicit Sex, Love at First Sight) probably not quite what OP wants, but LWJ is technically military in this fic

~*~

15. Explicit ITMF! I recently reread the incense burner extra and I would just love to read some more stories where wwx is already soft and open without prep because of their everyday! Thank you lovely mods and reccers (novel dynamics only please!)

To Know, To Be Known series by cqlorphan (E, 38k, wangxian, Cock Warming, Multiple Orgasms, Marathon Sex, Under-negotiated Kink, Porn with Feelings, Aftercare, Dom/sub Undertones, Established Relationship, let LWJ get railed agenda, LWJ Learns Some Things about himself, sex tears, gratuitous use of names, Begging, Kink Discovery, Post-Canon, Bottom LWJ/Top WWX, Top LWJ/Bottom WWX, Switching, Light Bondage, Blow Jobs, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Let wwx get tied up but also let lwj railed, Repressed LWJ, and his journey to sexual abandon aided by, Inventor WWX, Cock Rings, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Dirty Talk, Rough Sex, Dildos, Rimming, Edging) a treat really this entire series, mentions of u what u asked for AND lwj being soft and open w/o prep as a bonus

~*~

16. hello! are there any fic recs or lists about a Lan Sizhui Sect Heir? thank you! @mexicantransman

~*~

17. Does anyone know of any WangXian Sentinel/Guide aus? Sentinels are kind of like superhumans with heightened physical senses, and Guides are like empaths and/or mind readers. The two usually bond with and balance each other.

Hyperprosexia by malkinmalkout (E, 192k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Sentinels & Guides, Sentinel WWX, Guide LWJ, Empath LWJ, Slow Burn, Rivals to Lovers, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, WWX POV, LWJ POV, Tags Contain Spoilers, Telepathy, Marriage, outsider pov, they have a kid, Telepathic Sex, Rough Sex, public exhibition, breath play, Rimming)

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic recs #i'm in the mood for a fic #the untamed #wangxian fic search #wangxianficfinder #long post

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utilitycaster · 1 year ago

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Sort of related to the post about people coming in for shipping but something that’s struck me, as actual play fandom has spread, is that there is a certain lack of genre awareness currently - not just surrounding Critical Role, to be honest; it’s a frustration for me for the conversation surrounding Dimension 20 and Worlds Beyond Number for a while as well.

Take fate, for example. The idea of fate, whether it’s as specific as an ancient prophecy, or as broad as the general concept of destiny, is absolutely at the core of so many classic fantasy series that to be vehemently opposed to it within Critical Role is to display profound ignorance of the genre of fantasy. It’s akin to showing up to a sporting event and getting mad that people are running around in athletic gear; it’s like going to an Italian restaurant in the US and screaming in the face of the waiter when they give you bread and olive oil. There is not, per se, a required reading list. You do not need to read nor watch all of Lord of the Rings let alone consider it a formative work; Sam Riegel and Aabria Iyengar sure haven’t. But if you are not familiar with the genre at all, at the very least you do need to come with a certain awareness that you are not familiar with the genre and be open to its conventions. And to be clear: it’s valid to hate the theme of things being fated. But again, that’s like hating they serve bread and olive oil at the Italian restaurant; you should probably simply not go to Italian restaurants.

Another example that is my personal source of irritation is the obsession with radiation as a factor in Burrow’s End. Setting aside my original irritation at just good old-fashioned lack of reading comprehension with the conflation of the poison and the Blue/the Light, the idea that the intelligence was induced by radiation is really…not genre aware. Like, I recognize I’m coming at this with rather more knowledge than average (from a scientific rather than genre-aware perspective no less) but to get back to genre, I take no issue with, say, radiation in comic books. I know the premise of Spider-Man or of Doctor Manhattan’s origins is absolutely ridiculous; but that’s the genre. Radiation in comic books exists to be an easy origin story so we can get to the point of “here’s a guy with powers”. However, in a show that derives its narrative language from Watership Down and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh, the idea that the magic and the lightning and the source of intelligence are radiation makes little sense. Another example is the weird response to Skip in Starstruck; the idea of an alien brain parasite like that is so genre-typical to space opera it feels like, again, someone going to an Italian restaurant, pointing at the bread, and saying “WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT? HOW DARE YOU!”

I think my particular frustration with both of the above (and when I talk about Worlds Beyond Number) is that those people ignorant of genre and not letting it wash over them a la Sam will often fall back to the real world (although, unfortunately, not when it comes to radiation) when trying to make sense of the narrative without the signposts, language, and tropes of the genres to which they belong. To understand the subversions or deconstructions that are likely to occur in, for example, the upcoming exploration of the Citadel in Worlds Beyond Number, you need to be open to the idea that it is a complicated place and not simply The Evil Empire That Suvi Will Definitely Leave; if you’re utterly suspicious of everyone and refuse to try to understand why this is a place people enjoy let alone will die for, you can’t actually experience the story. We are going into the Citadel arc; these wizards will be humanized, and if you have closed off your mind to them already you have set yourself up to be miserable. I do think it’s great that actual play has found an increasingly large audience, but the medium of actual play also carries a certain lexicon and ignorance of it will skew one’s interpretations. My personal bugbear here is of course interpreting bog-standard tanking strategies as either romantic or self-sacrificial in intent, but in general, any resistance to the mere concept of gaining power, the existence of concrete deities, combat, and the placement of plot above romance in D&D are all signs of this ignorance. And again: ignorance is fine! But with all of the above there also often comes this entitlement to a story that is familiar, in blatant disregard for those parameters of genre and medium, and I have to wonder, again, why people mad that a fantasy story is leaning heavily on fantasy story norms, or why D&D has combat, are still showing up to the fantasy D&D story. To return to the Italian restaurant, which is getting a lot of terrible patrons in this metaphor, it feels like a lot of people are showing up to this restaurant because they heard it was good, but then becoming furious it won’t serve them peanut butter and jelly. People who are not familiar should still be welcome, but that lack of familiarity needs to be accompanied by an openness and desire to learn, rather than the entitlement that is so often present.

#cr tag #wbn tag #d20 tag #on fandom

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todorsomething · 7 months ago

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How to make a Fankid (Writing not art)

The title is slightly misleading. I will only be covering ONE thing today. I believe this is the most important part of Homestuck characters. Whether they are fanmade or not. Of course you don't have to agree, but I feel like this is a fun way to go about it. Without further ado, let's begin.

Interests

Now you may be like "Tod, why start here?" Well dear reader, I believe interests are the easiest place to start because this alone can say a lot about your character. I mean, just look at Homestuck! The character's interests are a HUGE part about Homestuck early on. Hell, even some of the interests can lead into character development later down the road. For this character I decided that they should be a fan of YTPs. If you don't know what that is, look it up. This enjoyment of YTPs has made them a fan of that era of the Internet as a whole. In fact, we can say they have a fondness for EVERYTHING from this era. This is why I start with interests. This fondness can be anything from Anime to TV shows to books and to even some early YouTubers! Them liking one specific thing can lead to many other ideas for interests. However their base interest is YTPs.

Now how will this interest manifest PHYSICALLY. Well their symbol could be something related to it. Maybe spaghetti?(Iykyk) They can have posters on the wall that reflect this interest too!

Stuff like this could work!(I'm aware that the second one isn't really YTP related but it looks like something from that time period) Get creative, people! An idea I had was that this character liked the Bee Movie but they were specifically obsessed with Vanessa. You can do a lot with something like this. It could just be a simple crush or it could be a representation for many things. If this character didn't have a strong female presence in their life this character could be a representation for this desire. Remember, obsession in this case doesn't have to be a romantic obsession. Maybe their love for this character can be a representation of them being transgender. Their adoration didn't come from loving her romantically but wanting to BEE her(Get it). I'm not trans so if this part is wrong please let me know! If their love for her IS romantic then you can show that easily too. Perhaps they have a shrine of her in their closet or something. Maybe if they're rich they have a whole ROOM dedicated to her. Remember, this is Homestuck. Make it ridiculous.

Now, I have a very important tip for you all. No matter how stupid the interest may seem to others it matters to the kid. Now this may seem obvious but stick with me. We all have at least one thing we love that may seem cringe to others but it holds a lot of value to us. For example, a lot of people love the band Slipknot. Slipknot has always been kind of cringe and ridiculous but to their fans it doesn't matter. Make your character truly care about their interest no matter how stupid and cringe it may seem. Cringe culture should burn in hell, btw.

(Just as a small note, they can like multiple interests from many places. I'm not saying it has to be one specific thing. No characters in Homestuck like only one specific thing. However if you go back and look every character has one thing at their core. For instance, shipping in Nepetas core interest and Fashion is Kanayas.)

This post is at its core about the core of Homestuck characters. This is purposefully barebones because it's the basis for characters. I didn't mention a lot of story related stuff for that reason. The core of these characters is a lot more important than a lot of people think. It can explain everything from how they act to their pesterchum handles to even their classpect.

Remember, make it cringe. Make it stupid. Make it weird. Make it ridiculous. But make sure it matters to your character. Because in turn, it will make the character matter to us.

(Sorry if this post is all over the place, I'm not used to writing long stuff like this but I swear I'll get better with time!)

#homestuck #mspfa #character creation #tod yaps

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number1villainstan · 5 months ago

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How do you feel about Shigg/Overhaul? I'm going over your Overhaul stuff cause I find him interesting and I see your takes but i can never understand why ppl like Kuruno/Chisaki aren't they like raised together as brothers? I know they arent blood but wasnt that his bro? I'm not like trying to make controversy I'm trying to understand and asking two different questions sorry if I come off like mean or something I'm really asking a genuine question I haven't seen season 4 in a while I'm gonna rewatch it soon

Okay so, the questions you're asking are "Why do people like Chronohaul so much, aren't they like brothers?" and "What do you think of Shigahaul?", is that right? I'm gonna tackle the Chronohaul one first, which is a two parter: first I'll tackle aren't they bros and second I'll tackle what do you see in it. Then I'll talk about Shigahaul, because I do have thoughts on that ship. And I'm also gonna put it all under a read-more cuz I can already tell this is going to get LONG.

Okay, so, first: Aren't Kurono and Chisaki like brothers? We know that canon has never stated that they're blood-related, and if they were canonically blood-related it would be stated in canon. However, the yakuza (as I understand it, which may be way off) tends to structure itself in a mimicry of a blood family, with the oyaji as the "father" and patriarch and the men under him as the "sons"/underlings, which would lend itself to a familial interpretation of Kurono and Chisaki's relationship.

However, the yakuza isn't actually a family, as much as it likes to use familial connotations, and I at least very much do not see Kurono and Chisaki as like siblings in any way. I believe the only look that we got in canon at Kurono's childhood was Kurono saying that Chisaki has been very driven since he was a child, implying that he knew Chisaki as a child; however, from Chisaki's flashback, we can infer that he was in his late childhood when he arrived at the Hassaikai, and while the implication of what Kurono says is likely supposed to be that Kurono was in the Hassaikai as a child, it doesn't say that outright, which is something I will liberally abuse if it gets me my angsty gay t4t Chronohaul. Kurono could very well have simply been in a nearby orphanage until well into his teen years, rather than be in the Hassaikai.

My other point to this question is a little bit more controversial, and it is: even if Chronohaul did have weird incest vibes, so what? I'm not into incest ships myself, they tend to squick me out, but I know people who are, and they usually hold the incest and toxicity as a feature, not a bug. These aren't real people, they're fictional characters. None of their pain or drama is real, as much as we like to pretend it is. And shipping is, at its core, creating new stories; maybe someone who ships Chronohaul does it specifically because they want to explore the pseudo-incest dimensions. (Not me--like I said, earlier, I very much do not see these two as 'like siblings'--but different strokes for different folks.) Different people are going to interpret a story differently, and different people are going to find value and enjoyment in different kinds of stories. That's how people work.

But on to the second part of your first question: what do I see in Chronohaul? The answer is a lot of things, so strap down and let me see if I can create a semi-coherent list:

It adds depth to both Chisaki's and Kurono's character, or at least it can if used well. It adds an extra layer of motivation and tragedy onto Kurono's canonical dogged loyalty, and/or it provides a motivation for Chisaki to hold specifically Kurono close. Assuming this motivation rather than other motivations also changes their actions in AU scenarios, especially in interesting ways. And of course, you can also ask the question of what is their relationship like: are there romantic elements? Sexual? What kind of commitment do they have, if any? How do they approach this relationship? What kinds of communication issues do they have, and how do they work (or not work) around them? Could they have a happy ending or is this a relationship--or one-sided crush--that's inevitably going to end up in flames?

It provokes questions to flesh out their environment and characters around them. We get relatively little information about the Hassaikai in canon--what its people think about it, what its internal politics are, names for people outside the 8PoDs, where are all the women (well. I can answer that one: the yakuza is notoriously a boys only club, and women were usually only part of any yakuza clan through being the wife of a member, and they were also usually treated as servants. <-all of this has some SERIOUS implications for what eri's mother is/was like but that's a post for another time). Assuming that there is a romantic, sexual, or otherwise queer relationship between the wakagashira and his lieutenant provokes the questions: are they open about it? If not, why not? If so, how do the people around them react? Is this a 'normal' relationship for the Hassaikai, or are they seen as weird? Are they under the threat of violence? IIRC, yakuza clans tend to be highly conservative, but their homophobia takes the form of "bottoming is emasculating" rather than "all gays should die"--is there an imbalance in which one of them gets targeted? Who attacks them, who defends them?

Canon has enough information to make them interesting characters, but there's still lots of blank space to play around in (and canon doesn't necessarily do a good job with what it does give us). This one is the biggest reason why I get attached to rarepairs and underdeveloped villains in general, if you can't tell from my ramblings on the first two points. Funny story, but I actually got into BnHA because I knew some friends who shipped Dabihaul, so I ended up watching through the Hassaikai arc *specifically* for Overhaul. (Dabi ended up not grabbing me the same way.) (I also ended up dropping it after the Hassaikai arc was finished because I just did not care enough now that I'd seen Overhaul.) So you can imagine my disappointment when I finished the Hassaikai arc and all I'd gotten was an underdeveloped hate sink character who was apparently supposed to be a stereotypical psychopath. Still, I was already attached, and I ended up making a lot of headcanons to flesh out his character through spite, and because I was fleshing out his character it followed naturally that I had to flesh out his environment and his relationships with the people around him. Chronohaul grabbed me in the process, and it became part of the newly-fleshed-out core of the character I had created with the scraps I'd gotten from canon.

It's hot. Being aegosexual, I don't process 'hot' in the same way that most other people do--I don't experience sexual attraction, and don't think that individual people are hot, but sex as a concept (sex as part of a story) still appeals to and titillates me. And there's a lot about Chronohaul that has a lot of potential to be very, very horny. I won't go into much more detail here, since this is a mostly sfw blog, but just know that Le Horny does play a part in it.

And finally: Pure fucking inertia. I've been shipping these two since I got into BnHA several years ago, and I have layers upon layers of headcanons and ideas baked into my head that were created specifically to appeal to myself, and that I can dive into at any time. Potential symbols and themes, AUs and AUs of those AUs, a hundred variations on each of a hundred different story ideas. A well-known but ever-shifting area that I'm free to explore and change at will. You know how it is.

Anyways, those are my reasons, although I'm afraid I didn't express them super clearly. I know other people have other reasons, like a mutual who likes/liked the 'childhood friends' aspect of it, so you could also shoot an ask to other Chronohaul shippers asking them what they like about Chronohaul. I hope this gives you some of the answers you're looking for!

Anyways, on to the final part of this, which is what do you think of Shigahaul? My feelings on Shigahaul are approximately indifference, but approaching it from the positive-feelings side. It doesn't grab me like some other ships do (Chronohaul, Kaizawa, Kai/Fuyumi) but I don't dislike it. I'll read Shigahaul fics if the premise seems interesting, but I generally won't go searching for them unless I'm desperate. Hell, I have at least one AU (which I'm not sure I've ever written down before) where Shigahaul just...happened. I didn't put it there on purpose--it was just a logical conclusion of the way I'd set things up. Funnily enough, the storyline of that AU was mostly Chronohaul, but there was definitely Shigahaul in the AU.

And now I'm going to explain the AU because I have to. And I want to. It's a God AU, in which many of the characters are gods, but they're not gods in the way you're thinking--I'm not borrowing an existing pantheon for this. Instead, here, 'gods' are more like emergent properties, the consciousnesses of universal processes, and more importantly they exist independent of human concepts and perception. There's no god of love--that's a social phenomenon, and a vaguely defined one at best--but there is a god of stellar nucleosynthesis, a god of gravity, a god of the electromagnetic force--you get it. There are also, to get more to the point, gods of Life and Death/Decay, as in the biochemical processes that make things alive and the physical/biochemical processes that occur once something that was once alive stops being alive but still exists. Chisaki is the god of Life here (known for being volatile yet tenacious, much like Life itself), and Shigaraki is the younger god of Death (younger because multicellular life had to evolve first--what is a unicellular corpse supposed to be? It's just a lump of molecules), and when I realized how this was set up, and what their history would be--how they'd be fundamentally inseparable--the Shigahaul was a natural conclusion.

Thanks for the ask, anon! Very long/rambly answer, but really did you expect anything else from me. I hope you enjoyed it anyways (or at least it was illuminating).

#ask #chronohaul #shigahaul #bnha #anon ask #meta #bnha meta

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scourgefrontiers · 1 year ago

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not to be that guy again

but i also dont fuck with anybody who talks about "anti culture" or anything like that when it comes to how shit's portrayed in fiction. i super try to stay out of "proship vs anti" discourse bc its stupid as shit and i have other things to worry about than internet discourse. but i still cant help but express my beliefs which relate to the core argument

dont make me tap the sign. fictional exploration of pedophilia/incest/abuse/etc at all isnt the problem, its the way its portrayed. if youre out here portraying that shit as bad and inexcusable, then youre fine. if youre exploring it in a way that doesnt defend it, then youre fine. if youre out here saying that a 40 year old man getting it on with a 14 year old is cute or sexy, or that two brothers having a sloppy makeout is hot, then yeah im going to burn your house down with you in it

the thing about the "what about fictional murder??? ppl romanticize that all the time and you dont see people turning into murderers irl!" argument is that. well. people dont groom people with murder fics. ppl dont show others art of their favs getting murdered and then try to use that to justify them murdering someone. that just doesnt happen. what Does happen is that ppl use incest/pedophilic ships and art portraying it in a "cute" or "fun" light and they use that to justify their grooming actions. that does happen. ive Seen it happen.

and no, im not saying that getting rid of this depiction of these subjects in media or fanworks is going to Stop All Grooming. thats silly. i know that if theyre going to groom someone theyre going to find a way to do it anyway, im not an idiot. but all im saying is that this shit makes it easier, makes it more accessible, and may even make it more normalized, which i hope you can agree is a bad thing.

exploration is one thing! lots of gothic media has "problematic" shit like that in it. lots of fiction has gross shit that the author doesnt condone irl, theyre just exploring it through writing. however, romanticization is another thing. portraying it as cute and fun is another thing. trying to excuse it by saying its fiction is another thing. thats when you ascend to freak status in my book.

youre not ~making a statement~ by declaring yourself a Proud Proshipper--at least not the one you think you are. youre giving me the signal that you dont care about how certain subjects are portrayed even if theyre harmful, and youre telling me that i should stay far the fuck away from you.

last thing i'll say on this is that for the record i am also against purity culture. i dont think ppl should be watering down media to be Acceptable and Pure all the goddamn time. i dont think ppl should stay away from "problematic" media entirely as long as they can use their brains and be critical and not excuse or defend said problematic content. everything is problematic bitch lets get you some fruit. yknow? theres nuance and context to everything; things arent black and white. trying to take the problems out of everything is a waste of effort and frankly makes everything boring as shit. having said all this, the way things are portrayed and how you interact with them are still important factors and i will stand by that

aight rant over o7

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heliosthegriffin · 2 years ago

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Remnant isn’t earth

Remnant isn’t Earth, the presence of man eating darkness monsters is evidence of that, and that is a core part of it’s world building, that it has a problem with no real solution, just treating the symptom of the Grimm, not the cause.

That should play a large presence in all the cultures in the world, regardless of where they believe the Grimm originate, they are everyone’s problem, and it’s said, multiple times, they are attracted by negative emotions.

This is known information.

They do nothing with this part of world-building, what should be a major theme of the show is left abandoned.

That is, what is cost of happiness? Or at least, keeping most people happy? How many more people need to be kept happy, or at least not unhappy, over how many unhappy people, to keep the Grimm back one more day?

What would the powers at be do, to keep such a civilization alive one more day?

This brings me back to the title, Remnant is not Earth, it does not have Earth problems, it has Remnant problems.

What philosophy's would spring out, which would be popular, and which would be enforced?

What would the news and literature be like? Movies and plays? Would things that made people upset, like a drama, just not be allowed? Would those be underground, black market goods, just because they can cause a person to have a strong, negative emotional reaction?

Would news relating to things like places being overrun with Grimm be suppressed, just so more Grimm would not be attracted? How much censorship could they exert, and how long before they it fell into pure propaganda?

‘The Huntsmen and Huntresses are your friends, do as they say, for they are the light in the darkness, and the blade that keeps the Grimm at bay.’

‘Remember, citizens of Atlas, do your part to keep our men and women fighting the good fight.’

‘The Mistral Council of Public Affairs approves this message,’

How much would people really know about the world?

Leading to the next question, what type of programs would be put in place to make people happy?

Would certain Drugs just be legal? Like weed and certain uppers, If people are high, they’re not sad, at least for a little while?

Healthcare? Another thing taken care of that people worry about, don’t need to be sad about that broken leg, it’s taken care of for free.

What about prisons? Can’t have places where bad people with negative-thoughts gather, that’s just a disaster waiting to happen. What would they do with Criminals, banish them? Would crimes even appear on the news?

But, in return how much control would the powers that be have over the average persons daily life?

What if the only way out, was to be a Hunter?

The only way to know how the world really is, and be free of the control, in exchange for a life time of endless fighting against a force of enemies that can never be quenched, just slowed down.

Back to the philosophy question, think of the lines of thoughts that would come about because of it? The central motive being, ‘How to be happy in this world of imprisonment and death?’

Like Atlas, it sucks to live there, its got three things really, Dust, Industry, and Ice. No real resources aside from Dust, you have to import virtually everything to keep the place running. What type of life is that, how does a person make it through the day there, what do they think about?

I imagine it’s a very bleak outlook, very dark and Grimm, actually. You would just be depressed all the time, what would make you happy?

Knowing your a part of something bigger, is one possibility, that in your suffering, that you make life better for other people, that your shitty existence is the cog in the machine that keeps it moving, that you might be moving a small part, but still you’re keeping the machine moving, that people still need you, and you’re helping.

That by doing your job, you keep your family fed, the soldier armed and armored, the lights on, and the ships moving.

Or, that when you get home, you’ll be able to score so cheap dope and shoot up at your leisure.

What about Vale, it’s full of mountains and forests, tons of natural resources and is a hub of trade the world over, Atlas to the north, Mistral to the East, Vacuo to the West, and the Faunus to the south. The most culturally diverse kingdom in the world, full of luxurys from every part of the world, and incredibly rich in culture and wealth.

What effect would that have of the people of Vale? Would they be the most spoiled of the kingdoms? The softest perhaps? But, in return they would be the most excepting, wouldn’t they? Everybody is welcome in vale! Your life your choice, find your happiness!

It would be a very optimistic place compared to Atlas, and, ripe for crime too, where there’s money to be had, they’re someone wanting it for free.

The richest kingdom, and it’s full of crime, and nobody talks about it, because no one wants to invite the Grimm inside.

A purse is stolen in broad daylight, and no one says anything, because that’s just how things are. One person is sad they were robbed, one person is happy they got some money, a neutral result, the other people continue on they’re day. It’s Vale, don’t worry about the victim, they’ll get a new purse and more cash than ever before they know it.

Vale, find happiness, however you want, no one will say a word.

What would that do to people, knowing they live right on-top of criminal empire, and they can do nothing about it, less they disturb the status quo?

What would the criminals do, knowing they can push far, but not too far, less the Kingdoms comes down on them like a hammer? And then, how far is too far, especially if you have connections?

Would many just leave the kingdoms just to have freedom? Exchange safety for freedom? How many people would the Kingdoms let go?

When faced with growing populations and limited space, overpopulation is a inevitability. Would a certain number of people have to leave, just to keep the numbers fine? What about refugees, settlements fall, and people need places to live, and they want to live where it is safe and secure.

Is that what the end result of being convicted is? To be exiled, to keep the population steady, how many are falsely accused just to keep the numbers from exceeding the limit?

What if a officially saw that the numbers were too high, but fell in love with a refugee, and then falsely accused a nobody and had them exiled, just so they could have a spot secure for they’re lover?

How would people live, knowing at a moments notice, that all they’re safety and warmth could be stripped away, and made less that person, a statistic, just because someone decided its better that way?

It’s a interesting question, I think, and many missed opportunity. Not all stories need to be about saving the world, the micro events of life can be just as interesting as the macro, you need the small parts of life to build up the bigs parts.

Why would you care about a world, if it only has four people of interest and no reason to care about what they’re trying to save, when you have to context to why it’s important other than generic goodness.

When you could have a world full of people, living they’re normal lives, different from your’s but similar, with a view crafted from living in a unique enviroment, that gives you a reason to root for the four people trying to save the world.

Thanks for reading.

#RWBY

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golbrocklovely · 2 years ago

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What makes you think she will be in another trip or video? sure shes still close to sam and kat but he seems to barely tolerate her when around and that tiktok he did with her, clearly he was drunk based on other stuff posted during that time…i see it as him realizing that unfortunately shes stuck being kat and brennens gf’s friend so she may be around group gatherings, however 4some trips where the other two split off and shes left with him and therefore flirty drunken content ensues is long over… i just dont see that anymore…my issue really is her because its on the verge of being obsessive where anything he likes or does that may have some connection back to her, she automatically likes or glorifies which makes people follow…or she’ll lie and claim she picked out certain things like his costume…her tag is all him and barely any her and kat…her bday sure its the same day as his but there was a good hour or two that night where she was online liking anything and only things that had both of them in it, it honestly (and im not being sarcastic) concerned me, she makes mlp look sane…theres a pattern now of things she does to get her numbers up and it involves him always…for his sake I genuinely hope she calms it down and doesnt use him further seeing as she’s befriending more and more from his inner circle…I dont get how more people dont have an issue with this NOW because when she first started doing it back when she was blond she got called out and now its like people forgot or erased it from their heads and use it to ship them instead…she used to promise content involving them too..shes been like this for a while way before her 2022 move..

well, clearly sam and kat like her enough, and colby tolerates her enough, that she most likely will be in another video. i'll be extremely surprised if she's not in at least one video this coming year. realistically she is still their friend, and that is enough to have someone on their channel. on top of that she's still close enough to kat that most likely if snc do their whole "we gotta go somewhere and we're taking kat too", stas will come along just for the ride and so kat isn't lonely, since that was the whole reason she started being with them in the first place. not to mention, a lot of fans still see them as the core four so to completely exile her like that, i just don't see snc and kat doing.

the thing with colby is that he doesn't like to rock the boat, even if it would benefit him. that's why he tries his best to stay out of drama. that's why he allows friends to use him and treat him like shit until he can't no longer. it would be too much to ask for respect in his mind, and i don't understand why he's like that, but that's just what he's like. clearly stas did something at some point after the europe trip to piss him off just enough for him to be done with her, even if for a small while. that reverberated thru kat and sam too. and then once the waters were calm, she was allowed back in. and while she's kept her distance for the most part, she's still in the group, even if just slightly.

and like you noted, her getting closer and closer to his other friends means she ain't leaving either. but i do think he was able to kind of…. put her in her place, or at least let the general friend group know "hey, i get we're all on good terms again, but that doesn't mean i have to hang out with her just bc yall are" with her and his bday.

granted there was other stuff going on (assumingly) so it's hard to say it was just her that made him do what he did. i also don't personally believe that was his sole reason for not being there.

this is probably where i differ from some of you guys. and bc we don't agree, don't feel like i'm denying what you feel or think you're wrong, this is just a different opinion than yours: personally, i don't think a lot of the connections yall see are related back to colby when stas does some of the shit she does. sure, there definitely are some compelling things that stick out that clearly are related to colby (or assumingly have to be about him bc who else could it be) but i truly don't believe everything she does is her a) trying to start drama or b) are about colby.

the other main issue is that some of you guys (not saying you in particular, anon. just some of the other anons i get) focus WAY TOO MUCH on her. i've said it before and i'll say it again: stop giving her attention. we've all come to the consensus that she likes attention…. why are we still giving it to her?? sure, i follow her, but even then not really. i see her tweets occasionally, MAYBE see a post from her on insta when i go on, but in reality, that's it. i don't really engage with her anymore. i get told via anons what happened or what she did recently. the most recent time i paid attention to her is colby's bday and that was kinda it.

she doesn't win when we ignore her. so… it's kinda best that we start really doing that. stop worrying about her being weird to colby, bc he clearly either doesn't care or doesn't notice. and it's not our job to watch out for him or to feel disrespected on his behalf. he's grown enough to ice her out if he wants to.

#ask #personal #tc4

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mejomonster · 2 years ago

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I watched all of Kabe Koji in 1 day and I 100% recommend if:

You like BL genre stuff that both references yaoi erotica manga (and comedy manga) roots, while also telling a quite grounded realistic story (it balances direct manga panel shots and comedy with a more realistic tinge including more realistic looking actors, who act more toward real people behavior versus fiction and with a core theme about an inferiority complex rather than about romance)

You liked Absolute BL (again that Manga-tropes-crash-into-reality comedy style) with more of a realistic core

You liked My Beautiful Man, particularly the more messy realistic themes and behavior, intertwined with some BL tropes (but want something more Lighthearted a bit)

I'd say Kabe Koji is doing a variety of things, wrapped up in one singular unique experience. It's really nice. As a manga comedy lover it brings that silliness to life, but it's so realistic in certain ways that screams dramas much more like Japan Sinks or Alice in Borderlands almost (while still remaining slice of life optimistic). The romance doesn't actually rely on BL tropes mostly. For example the wiping food off the face of a crush is one of the much later scenes and one of the only BL fluff tropes that gets used. The characters driving goals/personalities are the main focus of the plot, resulting in a very grounded feeling romance (and individuals) you want to root for, rather than feeling you're going through the usual motions of X fluff trope = ship them.

And of course, as a fan of shows that use certain references but subvert them or do much more, this was really satisfying. It's one of the only things I've ever seen to treat Idol career as fairly serious (they work, they're employees, they're stressed over work stuff, they have paparazzi, they aren't glamorized even though other people certainly idolize them). The mangaka works hard and is often frustrated WITH drawing (a reality of doing what you love for a living is sometimes it IS work and frustrating), the characters who are gay are aware of the society they live in (I related to our mangaka SO much, how many of us were queer teens then one day ran into yaoi online and realized hey! There's people like me! That aren't treating people like us like freaks - at least, that's what I felt like over a decade ago finding yaoi and learning boys can like boys girls can like girls, when adults told me they couldn't, and I was in fact not rhe only one but tons of fictional stories and real people like me did exist and it was perfectly ordinary). I think Issei has balls to come out at a concert and it was very in line with his straightforward honest unapologetic well intended personality. I think their relationship was simple and GOOD, and yet still compelling dramatically because yes our Own internal doubts do affect if we can even admit we like someone, accept their love, believe their love, hope to share our lives with people we admire, and this story really captured that.

It was just lovely. As a story on its own merit. An experience.

And the theme song, the reaching out hands. Hands as queer romance. You get it.

Anyway I wholeheartedly recommend.

#kabe koji #lb #rant #it felt grounded in a way cherry magic doesnt quite (tho cherry magic feels emotionally trounded)#i mean just like. in kabe koji people dont Look polished snd perfect #they make plenty of good intentioned but realistic mistakes #they just Exist and Try and it all feels very grounded. even with it being comedy #very much felt like a mix of Absolute BL and My Beautiful Man but way less use of tropes #so very much its own unoque thing

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swirlzberry · 1 year ago

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Please stop spreading misinformation because of your own bias. Proshipping does not and never has exclusively meant just shipping problematic ships.

Proshipping's core foundation is the respectful acknowledgement that nobody should be harassed or pursed because of their ships, and that shipping is not strictly a 1:1 reflection of someone's real life morals, values or desires.

So essentially; "even if you ship something I disagree with, I'm not going to send you death threats about it. You do you, I'll do me."

Over time as fandom spaces have become more widespread, accessible and as media content and availability has changed, yes, a lot of available ships and pairings do feature things like incest. And again, the only way that proshipping relates to that is that I don't care if you ship an incest ship. Even if I disagree with it, its not my place nor my purpose to harass you over it, try to make accusations, ect.

Its perfectly fine if you disagree with that value, but trying to manipulate other people into having an incorrect, negative opinion of what proshipping is, frankly is just wrong and childish. Its like me saying that all antis send death threats and child pornography and doxx people. Not all of you do, but some of you do, so is it fair for me to tell people that's the widespread quality?

Proshipping is not and has never been shorthand for problemating shipping. Its actual format is pro-shipping. As in; pro enjoying ships. Pro supporting ships. Not problematic.

Proship actually evolved from SALS. Ship And Let Ship. As in; I have my ships, you have yours, I don't need to nor do I have the right to tell you that yours are wrong.

Thank you for reading. And again; you absolutely do not have to agree with the concept of proshipping or certain types of ships that fall under the umbrella of it, but please at least be accurate when you're taking on the responsibility of educating someone.

Omg im so sorry?? I didnt know. I used urban dictionary for the definition 😨

@binch-i-might-be heres it better explained

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starlight-time-machine · 8 months ago

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Week in Review

03/24/2024 – 03/30/2024

Sunday

Week 7 of missing Cipher Academy

WORK IS FINALLY FINISHED GOD FINALLY I CAN READ BOOKS AND MANGA AND WATCH MOVIES AND TV SHOWS AND ENJOY LIFE WITHOUT THE SWORD OF DAMOCLES HANGING OVER ME

Undead Unluck with another amazing chapter as always. I like how Lan contrasts Beast by being motivated by her own personal grudges, and I like how this loop’s Ichico bucks so hard against the previous narrative of her dying for Nico’s gain. With Fuuko so far away, I really hope Nico and Ichico figure out a creative way to take Lan down by themselves.

Okay yeah, I think I’m going to drop RuriDragon. It’s a cute manga, but the translation voice is annoying me too much and I can’t comfortably get into the groove of the story. I wish the mangaka all the best, though, and I hope their new schedule works out for them.

It’s so funny seeing Oshi no Ko just carry on like normal as if they didn’t just drop a grenade in the last chapter lol but oh boy let’s give some characterization to Melt, who I honestly don’t really care about. The bit at the end was funny at least, and I hope the god child beefs it at acting.

Aghhhgh it’s hard to enjoy these cute heartwarming moments of Momo and Zuma bonding when it’s so obvious that it’ll never go anywhere because all signs point to Momo ending up with Otarun… I wish the mangaka wouldn’t introduce secondary love interests unless they were serious about giving them a shot at “winning” by the end… (Fruits Basket you’ll always be famous for this.)

Chainsaw Man!

Woah literally everything is happening in One Piece right now… First off, thank you Oda for the drop of Lucci/Kaku sustenance, I did vaguely ship them ten years ago when I watched Enies Lobby for the first time. It’s always cute seeing Luffy’s Looney Tunes fighting style, and wow now that ancient giant armor thing is arriving…

I’d been saving the Undead Unluck season finale for when I was done my work thing, and I’m so glad I did… This was the chapter that got me fully hooked on UU, and seeing it adapted so beautifully and as the end to the whole season was so incredible… Not only was the action fantastic and fluid, but they really nailed all the emotional beats… Anno’s voice acting was amazing and I cried basically the whole way through his monologue and the ENDING AND THAT FIST BUMP AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I cried so hard I literally gave myself a headache… The ending of this arc and knowing what Anno means to Tozuka gives this story so much more weight and meaning to me… Anno’s desperation to be known and heard and understood may have some more life or death stakes in this context, but I think his feelings are relatable to anyone who’s ever wanted to convey something through their art. And to have the whole crux of the arc and the fight’s success on his sacrifices and message is so moving, and that perfect title drop of “To You From Me” gets me every time. This episode was just so so so so perfect, and I really hope that the anime will get more seasons after this. It’s definitely been a bit of a bumpy ride in terms of quality, and Tozuka’s ambitious ideas don’t always translate well to a weekly anime production, but I think at its core, the team always knew when and how to hit the big emotional moments and I really appreciate them for that. I’m just glad that the anime has such a distinct vision, and isn’t just another soulless carbon copy shounen adaptation. I have Undead Unluck as a whole ranked at a 9/10, but the anime by itself will be a 8/10 for me.

Monday

The new Game Changer episode was interesting, but truth be told I found it a little boring. There were a few funny moments, and I liked all the prop design and how they found new art-themed challenges for them to do, but in terms of comedy there wasn’t much there (not that I was expecting much from people who are professional artists and not comedians).

I finished reading Downton Abbey – A Celebration, and it was perfectly mid. Just a little companion book to the show where you can get some extra details about the characters and how their actors perceived them and some interesting details about the historical period and the set design. If I cared about Downton as much as I did Succession I’d probably devour this book, but for what it is it’s just fine.

Played a little itch.io game called Flesh, Blood, & Concrete and it was pretty fun. The Soviet atmosphere and the meat aesthetic were all on point, and it even got me with a jumpscare, but I appreciated that the tenseness of the horror was punctuated with some moments of levity with Nika (who I found super cute). I think it communicated its themes clearly for such a short game, and I had a fun time exploring each apartment and collecting an ungodly amount of little trinkets. 7/10.

Felt nostalgic about Undead Unluck after finishing the anime so I decided to reread some of the manga since I sped through it so fast the first time through. I remembered most of the key hype moments, but I was surprised to see just how many smaller plot elements I completely forgot. Seeing Feng and Shen’s fight with more context makes it so much more compelling, and also funny when you think about 101 tsundere single father Feng. I think I was so shocked at my favourite character dying that I’d forgotten most of everything else in the Summer arc, but this time I could really appreciate Shen and Mui’s bond and Mui coming into her own as a Negator. But the real highlight of this readthrough was seeing Fuuko’s growth as a fighter and a character – her world’s opened so much after meeting Andy, and now she’s out there being social and getting to know and love people and expanding her own understanding of her ability and it all feels so natural but satisfying. She really is one of the best protagonists I’ve ever read in manga…Tozuka has the “emotional beat heightening a climactic action moment” thing down to a science. I also appreciate the humanization of the UMAs – they’re creatures being used by God, too, and if they could turn against him in Ragnarok then that could really turn the tide. But regardless, I like that they have their own personalities so that each quest can feel unique and not just a monster of the week situation. The competing strategic moves between Union and Under are fun, Andy and Fuuko independently coming to the realization that they’re in love is fun, the Spring fight is soooooo so much fun; once UU hit its stride it’s just been peak after peak. Dang I actually teared up at the end of the Spring fight…Spring is just so cute and sympathetic.

Tuesday

I really did blank out most of the early parts of the Ragnarok Arc from my mind because oh my godddddd I remembered that Rip and Latla tragically die but this was so… Because Tozuka imbues all of his characters with so much pathos, the Negator vs Negator fights always have such insane stakes and tension. I’ve really grown to like Rip on this readthrough…Akira was so right, he’s a nice guy who’s had to kill that part of him in order to achieve his selfish goals, and seeing him fall against Andy was genuinely heartbreaking…

Wednesday

Andy vs Nico was less hype for me – the momentum of the battle felt a little start/stop as Nico has to painstakingly explain just why he’s doing all this and why he’s so tragic, only to turn on Ghost relatively easily in order to grant Andy the win. It’s one of the lesser Negation reveals for me, but it was still decently enjoyable to read. Billy vs Ruin though ohhhhh my godddddddd Billy’s tragedy is a lot easier to understand and empathize with for me, even without the dead wife and kid stuff. The strength of his powers relying on people hating him means that he was always fated to be a villain…doomed by the narrative, one could say… But this coming into conflict with his genuine affection for the others and how it made the fight harder for him was a fantastic story beat, as was Ruin finally seeing him as a threat and giving him the upper hand because of it. And Billy promising to stay alive long enough to see Tatiana die…I haven’t talked about her much, but Tatiana is also another favourite character of mine (this manga is just filled to the brim with good characters) for the strength she’s exhibited in the face of incredible difficulties. It’s both cute and sad to see her behave like an adult when she’s so young…

Thursday

Went outside and got pho with my friend

Friday

Leftover pho tastes sooooooooo good. It’s too bad that today’s DunMesh episode wasn’t food focused, but of course I still enjoyed watching it a lot. The sight gag of the label rolling along with the dragon meat was amazing, and Chilchuck being forced to admit his human emotions for once was so cute.

Drag Race was just fine, as usual. I always get nervous for makeover challenges because my favourites tend to go home on them, but I’m glad to see Nymphia get by. I’m a little worried that she’s fading into the middle of the pack, and that she’ll have to lip sync against Q next episode… I really hope she can win the next challenge so that she can stand toe to toe with Plane and Sapphira in terms of track record.

Saturday Went outside again. When will it end

#week in review #2024

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