#its all worth it in the end for me cause i live for drama

[thepettymachine]

hiii what romance mods do you use? 👀🤭

Helllooo!

The mods I tend to use for romance in my game are to help have a better criteria for finding spouses/baby makers + allowing autonomous chaos run rapid when they do. Also allows for more interesting gameplay as a player and makes me feel like my sims truly picked their partners.

Nraas Woohooer (+ Scoring, Karma Simtra): I use it more for allowing autonomous try for babies, woohoos, and risky woohoos so that unless my sims wish it, most of their woohoos are autonomous and on their terms.

Returned Attraction System: Me not using EA's attraction system but one that takes zodiac, traits, and moodlets to find better compatibility between sims rather than every townie in a mile being attracted to my sim. I use Easy Variety.

bluegenjutsu's More Romantic Autonomy (registration required): Makes romantic interactions be more autonomous between active and non active sims. (Possibly the mod that makes my sims propose steady + marriage without my interference and probably the one I know my sims like someone cause autonomy be ON).

[nyx-is-missing]

Could u write one for clarisse where she's impressed with femR bc of how good she is at fighting and all and clarisse finds her incredibly attractive bc no one has challenged her the way R does?

And like a bit of pining until the two confess

Thank you!!

Breathtaking or taken

Clarisse la rue x fem!reader

Summary: when Clarisse finds a opponent worth of her, she is breathtaken.

Warnings: none really, just fluff, not a descriptive fight scene on sight cause mama dont know how to write that, so just fluff fluff, and mutual pining fluff

(Do i need to say its not proofread? No? Thank you)

Here is one of the main benefits of being a daughter of Athena, you'll know.

DIfferent from other gods, Athena will let your parent know it is her who they are talking to.

And if letting them know beforehand isnt enough, she will let them know when the baby is brought to them, and if your parent is smart enough to live up to her choice, you'll have time to learn a thing or two before being thrown into this world.

If your parent cares enough about you, you'll have time.

And sure as hell my mom cared.

Always the intelectual woman, historian, researcher, writter, my mom knew many things about ancient greece, she knew all the stories by heart, and she, of all people, knew what she needed to do, to preserve her only daughter, her sacred gift.

She teached me all i needed to learn without compromising myself, stories, languages, art...and fight.

Little girls my age were doing dance classes, were trying to be good enough for drama club, were playing tea party with their dolls or making a mess with their mom's make up.

Well...i.. i was doing martial arts, i was fencing, i had my face in a book every free time i got.

I always asked her about it, why was she so strict about never missing a fight leasson, her answer always made sense, there and now.

"The world is cruel, especially for little girls, someday i might not be all the time with you, someday, you'll fight your own battles, you need to be ready"

Every word, every single word is true.

And that is how i ended up here, in a arena of camp half blood, sparring with Clarisse, and winnig, by two points, yes, but winning.

It is clear nobody expected that from me, neither did she actually, i can see in her eyes.

Understandable, they expect Athena kids to be calm, find a solution, not fight her way out.

Honestly their looks dont bother me, i dont even think much of it, but Clarisse's looks, they got something more to them, like a kid who finally got the dog she really wanted.

"Aaand break time Clarrise, we'll continue this tomorrow, id like to enjoy the rest of my afternoon thank you"

I dropped the sword down and started to undo my armor while walking close to the exit.

"Wait wait wait, now? Already? C'mon i didnt even had time to figure out how do you do that... all of that"

She stood next to me, still holding her sword and honestly.. she was beautiful, yes she was sweaty now and yes she was mean to everyone but.. now...right now, she was beautiful, shining, in her element really, flushed cheeks and a smile she only had when with a sword in hand.

"I practice, ever since i was a kid, everyday, well expect in weekends but yeah, almost everyday... how do you do all that? You are good...-want some water?"

I offered her my bottle also motioning for her to walk with me, both wich she gladly accepted.

"I practice too...and i never said this to anyone but, you are good, great even, and look breathtaking"

We stop walking, we stop all actually.

"I look what, Clarisse?"

"Breathtaken- you look out of breath, do you want the water back?"

Ah.

Weeks later i found myself in the same scenario, sparring with Clarisse again, actually that is all i do when it comes to training, be with Clarisse

"C'mon curls, thats the best you've got? No need to go easy on me"

"Im not going easy, i already told you, you caught me distracted thats all- GIRL WIll YOU SUSH?"

She tried to block you with her sword, thankfully for her, a succeded attempt.

"How could i? You're so fun to mess with, gets all red n all"

"Oh you want to talk about getting red?"

In a moment i was on the floor, Clarisse on top of me, and i couldnt speak, all i could do was stare into her big brown eyes, who looked right into my soul.

"Cant speak anymore huh? Oh if you could see the red im seeing-"

Now this my ladies and gentlemen, this is what i call a shot of faith.

I raised my head a little and just..i kissed her, it was quick but I did it, and her face went blank.

"Now you are breathtaken Curls, how about that?"

"And you are still breathtaking"

Still?

Oh

Oh.

"You...like me Clarisse?"

"You didnt knew?"

Oh.

"....no..?"

"Would you walk away if i kissed you this time?"

"....no."

[jymwahuwu]

I love and think about Emperor Jing Yuan a lot. Like a servant girl getting called in to be the emperor Jing Yuan's Concubine 😋

I love ancient China like the history, art and clothing. when I think about Chinese Emperor Jing Yuan I think of Cinderella Chef (animated version) it's so cute and romantic. I also think about the fic series I used to read in 2020 or 2019 when the reader is the selected tailor for the emperor and the emperor falls in love.

It was such a good story, with many good different story elements to it even though it's was an yandere x reader 😭 and I'm not even exaggerating how good it is. It was slow burn yandere yet sooo good and worth it

I have to read it again cause it's sooo good.

There's sooo many good art of Jing Yuan in ancient Chinese clothing and I love and appreciate it sm 🤤

Jing Yuan kept a servant girl as his concubine, wanting her by his side every moment. As emperor, he faced countless threats and worried constantly for her safety. Yet, he couldn’t resist making her his bride, even though the public and his family disapproved. How could a servant girl from a humble background become empress alongside the emperor? But he paid no attention to their criticisms, choosing instead to live in his Fantasies with her. She was the only woman he’d ever met who cared for him beyond his wealth and title, and he was determined to keep her close forever. 😇

Wow, I also like Chinese palace stories actually!! What you said made me imagine a lot. It turns out that Jing Yuan is so suitable for the palace AU🥰✊

Have you watched "Story of Yanxi Palace"? It was a popular palace drama in 2018, and social media was all about it at that time. The historical prototype of the female protagonist is Empress Xiaoyichun (孝儀純皇后). She first started as a concubine. During her lifetime, she was the "Imperial Noble Consort" (皇貴妃), which was the highest position among the concubines after Empress. The core of its story is about a confident servant woman who starts from the bottom and moves up through the ranks with wisdom and courage.

A negative example is "Ruyi's royal love in the palace". The show still gets a lot of negative criticism in China today (yes, that's happening in 2024) - for its slut-shaming and superiority theories. The lower class people must be loyal to the noble people, otherwise they will be severely punished. There are a lot of torture scenes of women, never criticizing the mistakes of the misogynistic system, vilifying all historical figures just to beautify the female protagonists, advocating that women must be loyal to one man throughout their lives or else they are sluts, vilifying and torturing ambitious women, etc.

Oh, I'm sorry I really hate that TV show so I'm talking too much about it, but to get back to the point, it occurred to me that if Jing Yuan were the emperor, he would be very - very infatuated and dedicated. There was an emperor in Chinese history called "Emperor Xiaozong of Ming"(明孝宗) who insisted on living a monogamous life with only one empress. The same is true for Jing Yuan! Jing Yuan has only married you from beginning to end! You are one of his servants. No matter what your personality is, witty and lively/shy and kind, or even arrogant, Jing Yuan finds you really cute🥰💖He is very happy that you entered the palace and were assigned to serve him. He will sometimes sleep on your lap and ask you to feed him. He was like a big sleeping lion. But no one in politics dares to underestimate Jing Yuan because he always predicts everything.

Jing Yuan built a fruit garden in the palace, as well as a place to raise cats and birds. He got to pet cute cats and birds every day. The kittens purred around him. Maybe you were the servant who took care of the cats here. And he discovered you💖You are so suitable to be the mother of cats. And maybe he's hiding his identity and you care about his health and happiness before his status.

Politics and the harem are closely related. Those ministers petitioned Jing Yuan to marry a girl who matched his status, but he would not marry any girl except you. This is his own business! There was an emperor named "Emperor Gaozong of Tang"(唐高宗) in Chinese history. Despite the objections of his ministers, he insisted on marrying his father's concubine (named "Wuzhao"- 武曌) as his queen and sharing power with her. This is a very real love among emperors! After her husband's death, the queen became the only female emperor of China. The expression of the emperor's love for someone is to give them the best at all costs, including power, fame, wealth, and status. Jing Yuan wants to give it to you. He married you. Based on your status as a maid, you start as a concubine but work your way up. And he will also give birth to kitty babies with you. Those little princesses and princes running happily are all of your blood and his.

And he also decided to discuss politics and decide national affairs with you, collectively called "two saints" (based on Wuzhao's history haha), and share power with you. Because he knows how smart and cute you are, able to sharpen your claws and handle government affairs💖He is also ready to build a royal mausoleum, where only the two of you are buried together (it may be a bit scary, but this is how the Chinese emperors express their love haha). Even after Wuzhao became the empress, she didn’t build a mausoleum independently because she loved her husband. No matter what, you are always together, with sweetness and honor forever💖

[obanaispy]

More ex hubby eren🌚🫶🏽

cast ! eren jaeger + reader

wc ! 1.6k+

tldr ! house party with your ex = house party with some sex

content ! dirty talk + alcohol + spanking + rough sex + light cunt slapping

a/n ! i took so long.. hope it was worth the wait!

“Its going to be the party of the century”

With an outfit like this? It better be. Y/n had pulled out all the works. A mauve colored spaghetti strap dress with the back cut out– the hem stopping right below her ass. Her neck was coated with a sweet Vanilla scented perfume, an arrangement of silver necklaces complimenting the fragrance. Connie had finally convinced them to leave their safe space by planning “The party to start the summer”. His words. Jean and Connie were the homies so it was hard to turn down their every invitation without feeling a bit of guilt.

Buckling her heel around her ankle, Y/n pulled out her phone to make sure her date for the night was still game. He would be an idiot if he wasnt. “Hello?” his voice rasped from the other end, sending a chill down her spine. “Hey Reiner, are we meeting at the boys?”. “No no.. i’ll pick you up”. Y/n smiled, “right answer.” Hanging up, she did one last round of perfume before going into the living room to wait. Maybe this night would be just what she needed.

At first it was, Jean was in charge of music and the vibe was absolutely right. Reiner had a hand on her waist, swaying along as she rolled her hips– ass pressing against him subtly. Y/n was 3 shots in and feeling right. Not drunk but definitely not sober. “I’m going to run to the bathroom” Reiner spoke into her ear before kissing it lightly, walking away and leaving Y/n to the wolves. “Cuff It” by Beyonce began to boom over the speakers, causing Y/n to holler, “this is my SHIT!”

“I thought that was you..”

She froze. Turning around, Y/n was met with no one other than her worst nightmare– Eren.Her hands immediately became clammy, the dance floor suddenly becoming too crowded. “Hey–” Y/n had vanished before he could even finish his sentence. Rushing into the kitchen, she found a plastered Connie with his face smushed into Sasha’s chest. “You mother fucker” Y/n seethed, yanking him back and pulling him into the pantry before slamming the door. “Woah woah… I didn’t know you liked me that way” he slurred, a drunken smirk on his lips. Y/n rolled her eyes, pinching him– “don’t flatter yourself, Gnomeo. Why the fuck is my ex husband here?”. Connie looked at her confused, frog blinking before clocking in, “oh shit….” Oh shit indeed. Eren and Y/n had a VERY messy divorce, the legal papers somehow not being enough to really call it quits. She had just now stopped responding to his booty calls… as well as stopping all of her own. She was free of him! So.. why did seeing him make her stomach fill with fluttering? She wasn’t 20 anymore, she saw him for who he was. A handsome basket case– unable to correct his own flaws.

“Y/n.. I swear hiccup I had no clue he would be here. He told me he was too busy to come” Connie stared at her , his expression letting her know he was being honest. Connie hated drama and suddenly, Y/n felt like a fool dragging him into his own pantry. “Okay… okay my bad. You know how I get when I see him” she sighed, hugging Connie tightly before opening the door. Walking out, she dragged him back to Sasha, apologizing and giving her a proper hello. After a few words of kindness, she turned to walk out before being blocked by him. “Do. Not. Run. Please.. Can we just talk” Eren asked, voice barely above a whisper, a light hold finding its way around her wrist. She could do nothing but stare at him for a minute, his eyes looked softer, his hair long enough to be pulled back into a sizable ponytail. Looking back at Connie and Sasha who were trying to pretend they weren't eavesdropping by throwing a golf ball into the same red cup. Beer pong my ass. “Fine… fine. You get 10 minutes.” She pushed past him, making her way through the crowd towards the back door. Once outside she scanned the space, spotting the greenhouse where they grew their.. happy grass. She quickly walked in that direction, Eren following close after.

“So..” she stated, arms folded as she made direct eye contact. “Soooo.. How have you been?’ Eren asked sheepishly, Y/n’s response being silence. For a moment neither of them said a word, the silence being filled with the faint of Sza’s, ‘I hate you’ blasting over the speakers. “Listen… I really do mean it when I say I regret how we fell out. You put up with a lot of my shit and.. sighs I'm way too grown to be acting the way I did.” Y/n just scoffed. Eren stared at her for a moment before continuing, “You look.. Gorgeous. See you came here with Reiner’. Y/n could tell he was trying to act unbothered. “Who I'm here with is none of your business” she smirked, biting her bottom lip. Why was she nervous? She should know better but… fuck he smelt good. Looked it too.

“Y/n…” he gruffed, an arm going around her waist to pull her closer before she could protest. “Come on, you don’t even miss me a bit? Don’t miss the way I could.. Handle you? Treat your body like a God? You know.. I still do worship you. I fucked up, I know but–” he was cut off by her lips meeting his, her hands immediately going up to bury themselves into his locks. Eren followed her movements, both of his hand wrapping around her waist, pressing his body against hers almost as if he wanted to fuse into her. Their bodies stumbled into a wall, Y/n’s dress being hiked up, her hands fumbling to unbutton his shirt. Eren’s lips traveled from her lips to her jawline– latching around the skin on the side of her neck. One of his hands found its way between her legs, palming her cunt through her damp panties. Y/n melted in his touch, legs struggling to keep her up as he slid the fabric to the side and pinched her clit in between two fingers– rolling the bud between them. His head came up from her neck to study her face– lips slightly parted to match her own. Y/n sighed out, hips jutting upwards into his touch, “please…”. Eren let out a breath, fingers pooling into her at the singular word.

He quickly found a rhythm, a curl joining each thrust in, his lips smashing against hers. Their tongues swirled around one another, Y/n sucking the tip of his tongue, teeth closing around his bottom lip with a harsh tug. Eren laughed into her mouth, his free hand going to unbuckle his pants while the other one kept busy. His fingers spread deep within her, making way for a third one while he wriggled out of his jeans. “You ready for me?” he said hurriedly, eyes dark with lust and possession. As soon as Y/n nodded, he replaced his hand with his cock– pushing past her folds as a grunt fell from his lips. “Oh fuck..” he growled, pace picking up quickly before she had time to adjust. Eren’s hand quickly went to her thigh, a firm grip bringing her leg up to wrap around him. He thrusted upwards as Y/n loosely wrapped her arms around his neck, eyes struggling to focus with the new angle.

“S-so Reiner huh?” he mumbled, head resting inside of the crook of Y/n’s neck. His thrusts were becoming deeper, balls smacking against her skin with each thrust. “Really thought pulling that shit was funny? Hm? Sorry.. I refuse to give this up” he said between clenched teeth. Before she could respond, Y/n was now flipped around and bent over– Eren’s dick slapping against her bare ass. “Want it?”. She couldnt help but roll her eyes, “yes, cmoon” she whined out. Eren chuckled before giving her a firm slap on her ass. “Youve done better than that in your sleep” he chuckled before cocking his hand back once more, allowing this one to land on her cunt. Y/n let out a yelp, thankful for the sound of the party.

“Please babe.. I miss your dick so much. You know that I feel good around you.. Please fuck what’s yours” she looked back at him as she spoke, cunt drenched at this point. Eren’s dark eyes looked down on her, strands of his hair sticking to his face— lips slightly parted. A smile slowly spread across them before he pressed his tip against her hole. Y/n sighed out in relief, hips going to push back against him— her eyes closing before opening at the feeling of him pulling away. “What did I do now?”

Eren chuckled, shaking his head, “just want you to look at me..”. Placing a firm grip on her shoulder, Eren slid himself all the way in— eyes focusing on the way Y/ns face contorted. Each thrust made it harder for her to focus, a couple of spanks from Eren reminding her of her instructions. “Yeah.. take that fucking dick..” he gritted, body twitching as he slowly started to lose rhythm. Suddenly, both of his hands went to her waist, thrusts becoming rabid as he pulled her back into each one. His rhythm was now completely gone, sloppy thrusts coming to an end as he came deep inside of her.

They both sat in silence for a minute, panting as they struggled to get dressed. Finally, Y/n cleared her throat— “I should…probably tell Reiner he can go home..”. Eren stared at her for a moment before chuckling, “he’s a grown man, he’ll live. Besides..” , he pulled her closer, “I don’t think this was enough to call it makeup sex.. Let me show you how sorry I truly am..”

[sagemoderocklee]

pleas my beloved, tell me more about cats guide and secret liaisons im blowing u so many kissies about it also hi it’s kel

genuinely was like "is that kel?" when i saw the start of this ask cause who else would be callin me 'my beloved' XD

ANYWAYS! i am sooooo excited for both these fics and it's a travesty that SL is still so far out... i NEED to work on Honor Bound T___T but god the editing on Alliance... and just the years and years its been since Alliance and how much my view of like EVERYTHING has changed...

okay so let's start with A Cat's Guide, which is a gift fic for @ghoste-catte (surprise!) that has been sitting for like 2 years now and was prompted by a video of a cat living in an apartment that i saw. this cat was like obsessed with the neighbor and always wanted to visit him, and i thought it would make a cute story from cat!Shukaku's pov as he tries to set up Gaara with his cute, nice neighbor who always gives Shukaku fresh salmon whenever Shukaku slips out of his own apartment to go visit Lee. it's 9 chapters cause you know cats have 9 lives (and i have years worth of gift fics for greyson to make up for) and the chapter titles are structured like a self-help sort of book and im genuinely so excited to work on this fic i just suck at getting anything started. but here's the opening:

---

Step One: Selecting an Ideal Match

Shukaku had been around for at least as long as Gaara had been alive, but for a cat pushing twenty-one he was a surprisingly healthy beast, except for the arthritis that had set in some six or seven years ago. Not that this deterred him in the least.

Quite the contrary, Shukaku spent much of his time climbing things he shouldn't and jumping from places far too high.

Yet however much trouble he managed to get into, Shukaku was a cat of breeding, and he took himself quite seriously. He did not, for instance, protest at the groomers because he liked to be clean; he did not, as a matter of pride, shove his face into his food dish and gobble it up; and he only slept on the nicest, softest cat beds money could buy. He ate expensive food, slept on expensive things, and shat in premium cat litter.

All in all, Shukaku was spoiled, and he liked it that way.

He was also picky, persnickety, and prone to biting for no discernible reason—at least, not as far as his human could tell. If Shukaku had been able to explain himself, he'd have told Gaara he was quite the sensitive soul and sometimes his mood simply got the better of him.

Gaara's brother might not be so sympathetic, having been on the receiving end of one of Shukaku's many fits of fury, but Gaara was understanding despite the language barrier.

(And that's all I have besides chapter breakdowns and chapter titles)

---

and now to Secret Liaisons, which is the third installment to the Allied Nations Saga and at one point was the FINAL part of it back when it was a trilogy, but I knew that there needed to be a fourth fic to that series because there were too many questions left unanswered at the end of SL.

So without spoiling anything for HB, SL continues to follow the ensemble cast with Gaara and Lee being like the main protagonists. This is yet another political drama and it starts off with a blow to Gaara and Lee.

SL is also where GaaLee actually comes into play, but I'm trying not to spoil too much so we'll leave it vague enough. However, I do have lots of snippets for this fic and can share the prologue because I'm just that generous. (Please keep in mind, I wrote this prologue like... 14 years ago and my writing has since evolved):

---

“We await your decision, Kazekage-sama.” The council rose as one, filing out of the room, leaving Gaara to sit with his thoughts, his siblings sharing significant looks over his head.

“Gaara,” Temari began, reaching for her brother.

Gaara rose quickly, stepping out of her reach. “I have things to take care of.”

Temari and Kankurou watched Gaara leave, helpless to do anything else.

***

“You wanted to see me, Kazekage-sama,” Lee said, bowing before Gaara’s desk.

Gaara turned from Lee, rising to his feet and moving to the window overlooking his village. This was his home, it was everything he had fought to protect in the war, it was the most important bond he had. He was the Kazekage of Suna, first and foremost, but that knowledge did little to sooth him.

“Do you miss Konoha?” he asked, not daring to glance at Lee.

“Of course,” Lee said, certain as always. “It is my home and my friends are there, my sensei. But I am happy here.”

Gaara didn’t reply, watching as a child ran past on the street, chasing a ball. It was his job to protect that child, to protect that child’s mother and father. The choice should not have been so difficult to make. He loved his village powerfully, he loved his people and his siblings just as much. They were a part of Suna.

Lee was not.

“I… have no more need of you,” Gaara whispered to the wind, not daring to turn around, almost hoping Lee hadn’t heard.

Silence stretched between them for a minute before Lee found his voice, cracked and uncertain. “I—beg your pardon, Kazekage-sama?”

Gaara closed his eyes, fisting the fabric of his Kage robe above his heart. “I am sending you back to Konoha.”

“Wha—but—why?! Have I done something to upset you? Whatever it is, I will make up for it! I will not do it again! I promise!”

Gaara shook his head. “You are a liability. You cannot stay here.”

“I do not understand,” Lee said, his words shaky and broken.

“It is not complicated: You will return to Konoha. I am releasing you from my service.”

“I—but I swore to stay by your side. I swore to always—you accepted me! Why would you do this?”

“Because I have no other choice.”

Lee was silent save for the heavy breathing that seemed to fill Gaara’s ears, making them ring. He had prepared for Lee to fight him on this, he had known Lee would want answers, but he had not been ready for the obstacle his own feelings created.

“Do you not trust me anymore?”

Gaara turned enough to glance at Lee over his shoulder. Lee’s expression was crumpled, his eyes wet and his lip trembling. In that moment, Gaara understood the power he had over Lee: the power to break him by words alone. He had never known that power and he never wanted to again.

“Kazekage-sama?” Lee asked desperately when the silence went on for too long.

Gaara’s vision swam for a second and he turned away. “With my life. That is the problem.”

“But why? What have I done? Why would you send me back?”

“Because the council does not trust you and my trust in you gives them reason to doubt me.”

Lee faltered, the words he’d been about to speak dying on a choked back sound, as though he were trying to keep from crying. Gaara could not stand to look at him anymore. “This is… temporary, right? Until they see, until you convince them—”

“No, Lee,” Gaara said, his knuckles white against the windowsill. “You will return to Konoha permanently. We are done.”

“N-no, I cannot accept that!” Lee cried suddenly. “Y-you cannot just send me back—I—you are everything to me. I have given my life to protect you—”

“Then honour your promise and leave,” Gaara said harshly, turning to stare at Lee. “If you wish to protect my life, then protect my title as Kazekage and leave Suna.”

Lee reeled, lowering his head. “I did not mean to speak so forcefully, Kazekage—”

“I am not your Kazekage. You are no longer bound to me.”

Lee closed his eyes tight, his hands in fists at his side that shook with the effort Lee exerted to hold his tongue. He took in a shaky breath, his eyes on Gaara’s feet. “I will a-always be bound to you, Kazekage-sama. Even if I leave…”

“You are a fool to think that,” Gaara said. “When you return to Konoha, in time you will forget your loyalties to me.”

“Forgive me, but you are wrong,” Lee said passionately, looking up at Gaara, his eyes hard and wet. “I will never forget this bond.”

Gaara stared, wide-eyed at Lee. “Why are you so determined to stay with me?”

Lee looked away, hiding his gaze. “Because you are important to me. Why should I waver in my affections for you? Why should I deny my loyalties when they mean so much?”

Gaara had no answer, but Lee’s words would not change their situation, no matter how much they both wanted them to.

“You will go back to Konoha. This matter is no longer up for debate.”

Lee closed his eyes, his face still turned away. “…as you wish, Kazekage-sama.”

“Don’t—”

Lee bowed and turned, leaving before Gaara could say more, the door clicking gently closed behind Lee. Gaara let out a shaky breath, sitting back down at his desk and pulling his official statement to the council towards him.

Rock Lee will return to Konoha…

The words blurred for a moment and Gaara blinked several times before his vision cleared, the report now stained with several drops that smudged the ink. Gaara set his brush down, staring at the report, only distantly aware of the wetness on his face and the ache in his chest.

---

I would definitely want to edit this before actually posting. I don't really like how choppy it is from that very first extremely brief scene which is just the like obvious tail end of a council meeting, and i think the actual pros are just… not great. i can def do better. but this is like the main obstacle of the fic and well I'm sure you can guess who these liaisons are between based on that lol

anyways <3 thanks beloved for the ask! hope you enjoyed these and they satisfied your curiosity

[the-real-rain-world-confessions]

I went into this fandom with a guarded but fragile eagerness. I was new, I wanted to share my experience and talk about my ideas. I wanted to sit down and discuss things with people. Answer questions and propose new ones. I created art, I shared it, I put myself out there. I was aware that this fandom could be harsh at times, since I joined at a time where said harshness was being displayed, but I told myself it was a fluke and wouldn't happen again. I told myself that the people involved were awful and righteous depending on the side they took, and that I would never be involved in such a thing. And yet here I am, fast forward a few months, and it happened once again. The crusade never ended, it just didn't have a target. And yet what was their victory? One single server? One single artist? What did they win? Compared in the end to what so many people lost? Do they consider it worth it? Will the people who caused so much harm ever have to face the jury and explain their motives and reasoning behind all the trauma and sadness they soiled to bring about their "justice"? I already know its "no". I'm only sad this I thought it would be different. That I thought I could find a place free of the eternal drama that envelops online lives. The endless tangle of people drawn to creators who are talentless and boring in their own right and find it better to search for a weakness to take down those far more capable than them in order to bring some small measure of temporary victory to their otherwise pathetic existence. Why was I foolish enough to expect people to be different? Why did I think children wouldn't be children? Why did I think a dog wouldn't jump for food given the chance? I trusted and lost everything, I put my faith into a fandom that was too young to care about the destruction it might bring. Others will call me foolish and they are right. Why did I bother with a place that takes anyone who doesn't obey their strict demands and crucifys them? Go ahead and call me mean names, or argue that I "should have expected this" or "I'm awful for agreeing with these people". I don't care. I was never here for anything but to enjoy a place in this internet when so many others have gone sour, and you all, everyone of you, has ruined that with your inability to put down your swords. What words can you say that will compare to the sting of losing a place I trusted with my hope?

.

[themattress]

Hype and Letdown

Disappointment is a factor in media as it is in life, but it's never worse than when you were actively hyped and excited for the thing that then causes the disappointment. Everyone knows that feeling, and I am no exception, which is why I'm listing examples of it from my life.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep: This first example is a strange one as it actually lived up to the hype for the most part. Good graphics, fun gameplay, stellar music, excellent voice-acting (save for Terra and Aqua), and a pretty solid story overall. The problem is that's all surface level. Beneath that surface, this game marked the turning point where the KH series went from a fun Disney/Square crossover to Tetsuya Nomura's personal vanity project, marred by both increasingly complicated lore and increasingly simplistic characters. I felt gutted after I first saw the game's secret ending video, "Blank Points", for I knew the KH I loved was over.

"Absolute Power": The first season of Ben 10: Ultimate Alien had been testing my patience as is, but I felt it might prove all worth it when Ultimate Kevin came along. I loved the evil Kevin 11 in the original series, so him coming back was exciting and I was interested in what ethical dilemmas might arise from fighting him given the circumstances. And then the two-part finale just shit the bed in almost every way possible: characters behaving like idiots, new plot points being thrown in and promptly wasted, an unpleasant atmosphere pervading the whole thing, and an ending where all problems are literally solved with the press of a button followed by the status quo insultingly resuming as though none of this ever happened. This finale made it official: I hated Ultimate Alien, and it retroactively tarnished my opinion of Alien Force too.

"Team Rocket VS Team Plasma!": This climactic two-parter in the Pokémon: Best Wishes anime series was heavily marketed, but then the day after the lead-in aired Japan was struck by a massive earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear plant meltdown which caused the episodes to be pulled from broadcast and later banned from ever airing due to behind-the-scenes drama. Thankfully, we now have the full scripts and this nifty symphonic short video of all footage.

Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two: I loved the original Epic Mickey for the Nintendo Wii, warts and all, so I was excited for the sequel which promised 2-player co-op and a playable Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Then I played it. And it sucked. Aside from a few inspired moments here and there, on the whole it was one of the worst video game sequels I've ever played. It's so objectively bad, in fact, that it killed both the Epic Mickey series and the studio that made it.

"Endgame": Going in to the first season finale of Avatar: The Legend of Korra, all momentum was going the series' way. And while it wasn't entirely bad - the stuff with Amon and Tarrlok was fantastic, and the battle between Asami and her father was powerful - on the whole it felt like a deflating balloon, with piss-poor wrap-ups to plot threads and character arcs, capped off with a Deus ex Machina that's laughable even by Avatar standards followed by an abrupt, unearned-feeling resolution. Thank God this show got more seasons to improve after this.

Episode N: Team Plasma in Pokémon: Best Wishes lets me down a second time! Ironically enough, I actually like Episode N and hold few objections to its actual content. The problem is that I was hyped up for it being the remainder of the series....not just 14 bloody episodes which is then followed by an island-hopping filler arc to end the series on! As a result, the final episode of Episode N doesn't feel right...the battle with Reshiram at the White Ruins should have been so much more climactic than it ended up being. It's not bad, just...disappointing.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V - Season 3: For the first two-thirds of this series, I was enjoying it. It was the most fun the anime franchise has been since the earlier seasons of Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. But then the third and final season almost impressively managed to flush all that goodwill and potential down the toilet, to an extent where I was officially turned off of any future Yu-Gi-Oh! anime.

The Netflix MCU - Remember the mid 2010s? Daredevil Seasons 1 and 2, Jessica Jones Season 1, Luke Cage Season 1....they were all great, and so for a while it was really looking like the MCU was going to repeat its theatrical success on Netflix. Then Iron First Season 1 happened, followed by The Defenders, and the letdown was palpable to everyone, including me. Only Daredevil Season 3 managed to recapture the magic afterward, while Jessica Jones Seasons 2 and 3, Luke Cage Season 2, Iron Fist Season 2 and both seasons of The Punisher continued this small-screen MCU's downward spiral until it was all cancelled.

"The Final Battle" - Now, I wasn't all that hyped for this since it was the finale of Once Upon a Time's 6th season, which by and large had been pretty wretched and reinforcing my view that the show should have ended at 5 seasons. But this two-part finale still promised to be a conclusion to the whole series up to this point, so I had somewhat heightened expectations. And for the most part, it sadly didn't live up to them. It's not terrible and in some areas it's surprisingly inspired, but ultimately it was only further proof that this show had lost its way.

Love Live Sunshine - Season 2: I adored the first season of Love Live Sunshine, so naturally I was looking forward to the follow-up. And it was good. Sometimes great. But it was a far cry from the subversive brilliance that was Season 1, to the point where what should have been Aqours' biggest moment fell flat in comparison to the more simple victory from Season 1's finale. Mercifully, the Over the Rainbow movie was not only a return to form but retroactively made Season 2 stronger, solidifying Love Live Sunshine as my favorite Love Live series.

Thor: Ragnarok - The title had me hyped, as did the initial trailer. When it came out, critics gave it rave reviews and it made me more excited to see it. But when I actually saw it, I felt underwhelmed. There is a lot of good in it, and the final act set in Asgard is legit phenomenal, but the majority of the film felt like the director and actors doing a SNL sketch loosely based on the Planet Hulk comic storyline, with Thor and Loki often feeling like comedic parodies of themselves much like Luke Hemsworth and Matt Damon played early on, and the poor reception to the lackluster The Dark World used as an excuse to disrespect the traditional Thor mythos. And Thor in Avengers: Endgame and Thor: Love and Thunder is the direct consequence of this, so I'm proud to have never been aboard with it as a creative direction.

Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi - Here's a funny one for you: the most oft-cited reason for disappointment in this movie, Luke Skywalker and the plotline around him, was actually something that really worked for me! That whole plotline was the highlight of the movie for me and I adore it to this day; people just don't seem to appreciate what it was trying to say, but I very much do. My disappointment with The Last Jedi was with everything else, and how rudderless and meaningless it seemed to make the Sequel Trilogy's narrative. These mostly unenjoyable, bumbling heroes fighting against these more enjoyable but equally bumbling villains in a retread of an old conflict just did not interest me. Episode IX had no hook for me.

Voltron: Legendary Defender - Seasons 7 and 8: In a bottle, many of the episodes in these seasons are still enjoyable. But when taken as a whole, this final third of the series was a letdown that seemed to actively betray much of what had been established before. The actual ending in particular was an absurd clusterfuck that did multiple characters all kinds of dirty.

Kingdom Hearts III - So, I had long since checked out from the KH series, but Kingdom Hearts III was a special case. The hype that came from years in Development Hell was such that not even I was immune; I grew increasingly curious in how the game would turn out. Just like Birth by Sleep, it was all good on the surface level but rotten beneath...though in this case, even the surface level was notably cracked and suffering from issues that no game that took this long to make has any excuse suffering. The DLC made things better and worse.

"Cleaved" - Rowdy C. Moore's thoughts are basically my own. God, what a trainwreck!

Frozen II - The initial teaser trailer made it look like this movie was going to be epic. It was not. Beyond Elsa's new songs and plotline of becoming essentially the Avatar, nothing even particularly sticks in my memory. I can only hope that Frozen III and Frozen IV do better.

Steven Universe Future - Another case of something that wasn't bad, just disappointing as it needed more time and episodes to be properly fleshed out into what it should be. There was way too much in here to be adequately explored and delivered in just 20 episodes, with the finale especially feeling anti-climactic compared to Steven Universe's and The Movie.

Higurashi: Gou/Sotsu - Initially marketed as a reboot, it ended up being a stealth sequel to Higurashi....a work that never needed a sequel. Things only got worse when the culprit was revealed to be a character-assassinated good guy, Umineko and Cicconia elements got shoehorned in despite not fitting, the Answer Arcs all being boring retreads of the Question Arcs, and the finale being absolute nonsense. At least the manga adaptation is decent.

The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero - Pokémon Scarlet & Violet, for all their technical issues, had one of the stronger stories in the game series, so I was excited for the DLC expansion to continue it. The end result, however, makes the game feel like a three-act structure where none of the acts gel together as a cohesive whole. "The Teal Mask" has a great setting and featured Pokémon, but the plot is poorly written and it hamstrings you in a way that makes the characters of Carmine and Kieran frustrating and unpleasant. "The Indigo Disk" spends most of its time in a location that feels way far-removed from the rest in the game and engaging in a mostly filler plot populated by under-developed characters before returning to Area Zero in a visit that doesn't remotely compare to the original and making the big treasure be the turtle Pokémon already used and used better in the current anime, all while Carmine and Kieran continue to frustrate as now does Briar. Game Freak, what are you doing?

Joker: Folie a Deux - The most recent example, which inspired this post. I loved the Hell out of the original Joker, which featured Joaquin Phoenix in an Oscar-winning performance as a Joker origin story in a Gotham City by way of Martin Scorsese. I was initially troubled when a sequel was announced since the movie was clearly a standalone and didn't need a sequel, but all of the casting info, production stills and initial trailer made it look like it was going to be a high-quality film even if not as good as the original. What we actually got was a drawn-out, boring, pointless movie that is actively and maddeningly insulting to the original and anyone who enjoyed it. I genuinely do not understand how this garbage was allowed to be made.

[luna-loveboop]

So a take on TOTK’s ending I’ve seen quite a bit of is the idea that it deprived all dramatic weight from Zelda’s sacrifice and that she should have suffered the consequences of her choice (I.e. stay a dragon forever or come back as a dragon human hybrid). Also said take accuses the ending of being cheap, lazy, unearned, and a deus ex machina. This strikes me as a shallow reading of the text and another example of how some people think punishment (or in this case “dying for a cause”) is the only viable ending for someone who made the choice Zelda made. It really rubs me the wrong way given all the development and tragedy she faced in both games. What are your thoughts?

The thing is that she is bound, whether she likes it or not, by destiny. The cycle of reincarnation of Ganon (Demise’s hatred) is NOT over at the end of Totk. Each time he resurrects, it is vital that a warrior with the soul of the hero, and a girl with the blood of the goddess appear to fight him. If Zelda stayed a dragon? Well then the world is doomed, because the goddess’s bloodline ends with her.

To me it’s not even a question of “throwing away her sacrifice” or having a “cheap happy ending”. It’s a matter of the fact that through whatever means it took, she had to turn back from a dragon for the world to have any hope of survival the next time ganon resurrects.

We don’t know if this specific hero and princess will see him again. Botw/Totk Link and Zelda may or may not have just had their last battle with him- we don’t know yet. Totk’s ending is left open to possibilities. Through what she says, we know Zelda will try her best to bring forever peace to hyrule, but we don’t know if she will face ganon again to achieve that, or if she will only be able to simply restore the kingdom, but not stop the cycle.

But no matter what, the next time that damn incarnation of hatred comes back, she or her descendent has to be there. The sword can do a lot, but the hero has always needed someone with the goddess’ power to seal the evil as well.

No matter how much we want a lasting sacrifice, the legend of Zelda is, at its heart, a cycle. A legend that repeats, over and over. And each piece of the cycle must live on, as least until demise’s curse is (hopefully eventually) broken. We have to have a surviving Zelda or the cycle is broken and evil wins.

(Also it does seem a little unnecessarily cruel to insist that the girl who has now been stuck fighting evil and exerting sacred power for a hundred through thousands of years TWICE have a terrible ending. She suffered enough- enough that a dragon shed tears. Let her get her well earned rest- the world needs her as a person. The ending is not unearned- on the contrary getting her life back is exactly what she earned. Don’t insist on a sad ending just for the sake of sadness. There is enough darkness, so why not enjoy the ending rather than enforcing suffering on someone who deserves a chance to live? There is already plenty of drama that can be watched anytime in the memories.)

I think all viewpoints are valid, and I can understand their point. While I do not know everything, I personally prefer to look at the lore- the actual roots of the story that lead to the endings. And the lore of Zelda is pretty clear- those goddess gals gotta live on.

And as far as the emotional part? I love the ending. I don’t like sappy stuff, and I’m not crying happy tears, but that ending is far more fulfilling than leaving the world (and Link) missing a really awesome person.

Anyways that’s my two cents worth :) It’s not a matter of what ending we wanted- she has to survive, or the next time ganon comes around, the world is doomed.

[egg-emperor]

Your analysis has been really interesting to read through, but ngl the whole mess around text interpretation has led me to ruminate on the fandom's doings a little. This probably will turn into disjointed ramblings, so please bear with me.

What I think is causing this cognitive dissonance is exactly that cutesy framing of some of Eggman and Sage's moments. Like, I don't believe that Sage was intentionally made to soften Eggman up or something, I believe that he can play the "family" act to keep her loyal to him. However, I won't deny that during my watch of a friend playing it, this specific framing left a slightly weird aftertaste, which I now see is what can easily cause so many misinterpretations of the scenes. Like, for example, the memo with Sage's pronouns. After seeing a lot of talk around the memos in general, what seems to throw people off from thinking that Eggman could be just using this as yet another play into her view of him as her father to keep her loyal is "why does he suddenly care about endearing himself to his own creation when he freely disregarded his previous creations". It can be interpreted in character, but there's just a smidge of off-ness that can be hard to wash out for some.

Not gonna lie, I kinda envy the ability of people like to at least mostly ignore the majority of the fandom's shenanigans and drama, cause I think that also plays a part imo, specifically this weird need to somehow ingratiate Sonic as a series to the mainstream, generally non-fan crowd. Like, the onus obviously should be on the people who misinterpret the text and see what's not there, yet these people also tend to be the loudest. And most non-fans seeing it just assume that's what the fandom as a whole thinks, and that's what the text actually is about. After all, nowadays Sonic is all but advertised as "its a kids game for babies so don't think about the story too much, it doesnt make sense in the end anyway", even by fans trying to genuinely recommend the series sometimes. And you'd think that there'd be pushback against this sort of mentality, but somehow, a majority of the Sonic fandom remains almost... defeatist? Like, either they can't argue to save their lives or just passively accept the misinformation. The people actually doing the analysis and all get disregarded as no-life nerds and are told that "no amount of analysis can make a product worth the money".

It's just... I dunno how or why or when it all started going like this, but at some point, the way people talked about media in general just caused immensely screwed. Discussions only seem to happen when someone wants to further validate their pre-established biases about a thing and it all just feels wrong.

Thank you, I appreciate you taking the time to read and consider my analysis.

We seem to feel quite similarly. I'm not a fan of the cutesy framing of certain moments because it's not my thing and definitely makes it easier for fans to misinterpret. The casual fan, especially if they don't catch all context in the memos and apply them to the scenes to notice the undertones and understand Eggman's side of the dynamic, or if they're the kind who that stuff can appeal to and affect emotionally/they'd rather ignore the more unsettling aspects in discomfort, they're going to get it wrong.

I think the cutscenes mostly have the issue of focusing too much on Sage's side of the dynamic over Eggman's. A bunch of most important details of Eggman's side comes from the memos, which is great from the standpoint of being right from his personal perspective and words, so we get to know exactly how he thinks and feels- but not so great for those who won't listen or piece together what they learned from them with the scenes for needed context.

But Sage wasn't supposed to soften Eggman up. In the story he's still a bad guy wanting to do bad, wishing he could get out of Cyber Space to, and Sage appeals because of what she can do for him, how she's crucial to his survival, supports his desire for world domination and shows undying loyalty. The way some moments are framed as cute doesn't take away from it, a unhealthy dynamic can appear as cute and wholesome with unsettling undertones.

Ian Flynn pretty much describes it that way by saying you're supposed to feel happy for Sage but Eggman is a bad person and warming up to it for all the wrong reasons. It's intentionally more complex than what the loudest people who love and hate it are saying. I can see what Flynn means because all the pieces are there in the actual game for me to point out and analyze. They just could've been emphasized a bit more.

All you need is the memo where he talks about liking how Sage is loyal and efficient and accepting the father role because it can emphasize his genius and the pride he can take as her creator, then apply it to every interaction and you can see it. Eggman can play the act to appeal to Sage's desire for that dynamic and praise her actions as a way to further encourage her for her loyalty and efficiency, all for those selfish benefits.

It's how manipulation works and Eggman absolutely can and will play up the part with these conditions for the benefits, he's done similarly in the past. It's intentionally not done in the common verbal and physical abns!ve way like he does most commonly with his other creations, it's more emotionally manipulative. It makes the most sense for how he wants to further encourage her good work and loyalty, not lose it.

I can get why you felt that way. It's part of why I had the wrong idea of Frontiers Eggman's at first and it ruined my first experience playing it. The cute framing of certain moments, combined with fans taking these scenes and latching onto the misinterpretations from the moment it dropped and drilling into your head how they think we should think and feel while ignoring key details that disprove it, made me believe it for too long.

But had I not seen the misinterpretation and paid attention and did my usual analysis, which I closed my mind to in my first playthrough in ignorance, I would've caught on a lot faster. Just like how knowing what I know now after properly analyzing it then going into Final Horizon and avoiding what fandom was saying, made my experience more pleasant and let me think and interpret for myself. The fandom is still mostly to blame.

Yeah, the cute moments can give the wrong idea when you don't have all the context. But the context is in the game to piece together and understand why it's happening in a way that works for Eggman's character. I also think while he is of course playing the act, it's also framed cute as it is because we're seeing it more from Sage's side in the scenes, as it's a very different vibe in the memos where it's actually Eggman's side.

Maybe always being able to see the worst in Eggman (positively and affectionately lol 🥰💜) helps but I only see the memos as unsettling now. His creation starts to appear as more of a person to him so he thinks about how he can use it to his benefit by taking pride in his impressive scientific ability to create something so life-like as an artificial creation over the unimpressive traditional organic way he scoffs at and expresses aversion to.

He says if he created life it'd be "loyal and perfectly effective", which is fucked up thing to look for in your child, and says it's specifically because he's the genius creator/father, giving himself all credit and taking pride in her accomplishments as a reflection of his genius. It's selfish, egotistical, creepy, everything a parent shouldn't do. I can see what makes it unsettling in all his words. So many things are wrong with him I love it 😋💘

I really don't have much of an issue with that memo. It's one of the most misinterpreted but it's simply where he starts to realize that almost the whole time he's been calling her a "she" instead of an "it" like the program she was created to be. He actually starts just five after first mentioning her, in memo 13. He subconsciously sees her as a person and refers to her like such that fast due to how human and life-like she is.

Three memos after he's like wait why am I calling it a she? And wonders whether to call her an it like the program she was created to be or a she like he's seeing her as instead. Then another three after comes the disturbing memo about him creating life, so him establishing whether he's going to call her "she" or not leads to him thinking about how he can take pride and credit in her by establishing himself as her genius creator/father.

It's another of those cases where if context is removed it's more likely for people to get the wrong idea, especially if they're the type to be blinded by the cuteness factor but when you have the context of before and after and considering the important terms of why he values her at all with the she's an impressive life-like loyal and efficient creation and her dad is a genius memo, again it makes sense and is in character.

The "she's the best" line is one of the only parts I'd change, he's far too egotistical to say that about anyone else. It doesn't make sense because the whole reason he values her is what she does for him and the pride he can take in her, literally because he sees himself as the best person ever lol. Just specifying what she's the best of, like of his creations or something would've worked, not making it sound like he's saying in general.

But guess what? Apparently it was changed in Japanese in the translation I saw, to say she was just doing great or something lol. It's a case where I can make sense of it in English as her being the best in a specific area can again give himself credit as the creator as he's intentionally supposed to but the word choice was poor. But every time I felt a line should've been changed a bit, the Japanese version had me covered. XD

Back to the point- it's also important to consider that he's praising her in this memo with the important preface of saying that Sage has been crucial to his survival in Cyber Space and listing the ways she has served him well. It's on the condition of him getting something out of it every time. And in memo 19 we know he wants to take pride in her skill and accomplishments and take credit as her creator, so any praise is self praise.

So I can't be mad at the game, I think even in moments that had some level of cuteness factor to appeal to those into that which certainly worked on them, there was established context that made it work and in character, enough to piece it together and understand it. But some people's minds go blank with the "aww so cute" reaction and desire for it to be simply pure and wholesome so they don't think about it any more to do so.

I've been learning to avoid it just by stepping back from fandom because I'm less interested the more I see the drama and bad takes. Now I only see things if I'm forcibly subjected through someone else putting it on my dash/it's recommended/etc. A large majority of fandom is anti canon and literally admit it so I feel like I don't belong in it as a huge fan of it that enjoys celebrating it in my fan creations and discussions.

It suffers from the simplification and sanitization that modern fandom tends to do now, so they can fit all characters and stories into certain boxes and use them as bases to project fan character traits and concepts onto instead of celebrating canon. It makes it more appealing and mainstream and easier to consume by the crowd that stuff succeeds in appealing to. It's to the point it replaces people's memory/idea of it.

So of course from the outside looking in especially, non fans are going to believe that's what the text actually contains, especially since they get exposure to the fandom's twisting of canon and it's drilled into their heads how to think and feel about it by them, before they've even seen the games themselves. Then they find it hard to shut that out and look at the games alone for what they are. That happened to me with Frontiers.

Then of course you have people acting like the series "is just for babies and inconsistent and not good anyway you shouldn't think too hard about it", as if Sega JP especially haven't shown themselves to be incredibly passionate about the stories and characters they write. It is supposed to be that deep lol. And thinking that deeply is a good thing, as if it's better than just shutting our minds off and consume product.

That's why I've allowed myself to think as deeply as I want about Frontiers. I love analyzing every moment and line down to the last word and detail. Regardless of opinion on the concepts and how they were executed, it was intended to be thought about. I don't think it should be considered micro analyzing and thinking too hard about something ever. I'm looking at it in ways official writers have described it to be anyway.

The mentality is popular so there isn't much pushback. Plus I'm starting to see it in both people who say they don't like the games and those who say they're fans so I feel alienated for wanting to think deeper and seeing there can be more than meets the eye with characters and scenes. While clarification can be important so things aren't misinterpreted quite as easily, it's nice for there to be stuff to think about.

Nobody really wants to debate and discuss now. A majority intentionally oppose learning more about the media or hearing out other people. They take the challenging of one's perspective or a disagreement as an argument and act like it's intended as hate from the other person when that's not the case. They're like "I don't want to change my opinion, nobody can convince me, let me enjoy things how I want", etc.

I myself was a bit ignorant at first on the topic of Frontiers. I was convinced I didn't like Eggman's portrayal but it was all based on what fandom was telling me it was and how to feel when the actual game was actually way different. When I finally took suggestions of new perspectives, then shut fandom out and focused solely on canon with my mind open and willing to analyze it again, I saw it in a new light and enjoyed it.

Now some certainly think I'm a low life nerd, as I've been told "it's nice to be a fan until it "becomes serious" and by people saying they don't care what I have to say as if I have to do exactly what they want- because it's bad to be passionate and wanting to think deeply about something I guess. :P I'd rather be doing that than shutting it down. Canon is cool, analysis is good, being passionate and thinking about stuff is fun.

You really hit the nail on the head with that. I've always enjoyed being open minded, analyzing media carefully, hearing out different perspectives, and having discussions. But I made the mistake myself at one point with Frontiers and I regret it because as soon as I realized I almost became what I was against and changed it for the better, it became a lot more enjoyable again. It's always good to stay open minded!

[mhacentral]

14 Days of MHA - Day 14 (August 5th): Anything you want

So my thoughts on MHA..... yeah this series had its good points, but there was also a lot of garbage and the rushed ending really hit this into the ground. Honestly from the get go of this series, I was worried how Horikoshi would meld a Hero Story and a School Story together.... it COULD have worked, but Horikoshi is not a good writers, sorry but he isn't. I kept reading cause I was hopeful it could work but also because I fell in love with a few characters..... sadly everything ended in disappointment. Honestly I did this 14 days thing like a month ago EXCEPT for this one post, had I waited until now, I wouldn't have wasted my time.

Problems

ALL THREE major villains die and the three heroes trying to saved them failed.... wtf kind of ending is that. I don't care if you are someone like positivity nanny.... THIS IS BAD STORYTELLING TO HAVE YOUR MAIN HEROES FAIL. And one of them made NO FUCKING SENSE even in anime logic.... Bakugo lives after being struck in the heart, but Toga dies from Blood Loss

See the last chapter with Aizawa and Deku's talk about strictness with students, along with the kid Dai... The "NEW" ranking system is still shit as before, as Popularity and Strength are still all people are focused on, which of course isn't going to cause future problems...............

Shoji getting an award for being a good Heteromorph - this plotline got like maybe 2 chapters worth in the entire series.....

Deku gets a support item to help be a hero, but it takes 8 years..... like drama for nothing at the end

Then over the course of the series there were some MAJOR downfalls

Lack of planning - this is a major downfall of many shonen series due to the insane work schedule and forcing authors to write certain things in certain ways so its super popular, such as shortening the training camp arc, cause Japanese fans didn't want to see more villains, thus screwing up the traitor plotline

Introspection - the series did START off with this and it was well done, but then Horikoshi just stopped doing this and it really made character development take a huge hit

Character Dynamics - this goes in both good and bad, cause it did START OFF really well done, but after Kamino….. many interactions just felt short or didn't happen. One major interaction we didn't get in the main series was a scene with Shoto and Rei….. like how did we not ever get a scene with these two in the main series (there is one in the light novel)

Students were stuck in school and were only allowed out for the war, this caused a major issue, with not being able to explore a lot of themes

The middle of the story was meh and there were TOO MANY characters for Horikoshi too handle. We didn't didn't need three villain groups either

The Overhaul Arc - yep gets a special mention. This arc pulled focus away from the main cast, instead focusing on more new students and a new villain group. Even Oda mentioned in an interview about him having too many characters lol. Then to top this off, the arc was very rushed towards the end. Also the theme of the Yakuza felt old school and didnt fit with MHA, would have loved the MLA to be here at this time instead

Meta Liberation Army - Cmon don't tell me there wasn't supposed to be a MAJOR storyline after the Endeavor internship arc with focus on the MLA, cause 110% something was supposed to happen but got cut and War #1 happened and the MLA may as well never have existed just like the Yakuza... oh yeah next points:

Lets end with some of the good:

Characters and characterization- all very unique in personality and design and made you want to follow them

Character Dynamics - like relationships between characters. Absue, bullying, friendship, romance.... though this could have been done better with some more introspection and interactions between characters

The beginning arcs

Quirks and power system - each power is very unique and really compliments the character well

Superheroes and Villain society - we've had stories with these, but this is in present time where almost everyone has a power, so powers really arent as "special" as in another series and creates a new dynamic of sorts

[lunatic-fandom-space]

Ludwig (1973)

I went through so much trouble to watch this stupid film and it took me so long to watch it because its four hours long and I kept getting headaches while watching and had to keep taking breaks, but it was all worth it because this film was so unbearably unbelievably good, its my favorite thing in this whole marathon so far by a long shot

Its so good Im actually having trouble talking about it because I truly have no complaints, but I cant just talk about what I liked either because its basically everything. The pacing was great, it could get slow at times but it was never unengaging and if it werent for my headaches I wouldve definitely been able to watch the whole film in one sitting, which is high praise coming from my low attention span-ass. I feel like I never really mention the cinematography in these posts because its usually just fine in a very unremarkable way, but it was absolutely amazing in this one, the framing and composition of every scene felt so deliberate, its like every shot was a painting.

The acting was incredible, I was a little unsure about some of the performances initially because this is an english-language film mostly starring actors who are very noticeably not native english-speakers and I thought it would interfere with their acting because idk, some of the early line-deliveries had that kind of stilted kid-having-to-read-something-outloud-in-english-class quality to them, but that ended up not being the case at all. Helmut Berger as Ludwig was especially great, he did such a good job capturing him, both in the very beginning when he's this naive romantic/idealist and later in the film when he becomes more disillusioned and unhinged. He was also very babygirl, similar to the actor who played him in Ludwig — Glanz und Ende eines Königs (1955), so I liked that. Romy Schneider of the Sissi-trilogy played Elisabeth here as well and I really liked her too, she's still very charismatic and I think she did a great job with this more flawed and less romanticised portrayal.

To be honest, I was really expecting Elisabeth to play a bigger role in this film, I think the synopsis that I read gave me the impression that it would show both of their lives and sortof parallel them or something, but that wasnt the case, it was really just Ludwig's life, from his coronation to his death, and Elisabeth was in it sometimes because theyre important to each other and like to spend time together. They have some romantic tension and they even kiss each other on the lips in one scene, which suprised me, but it wasnt really elaborated on, it causes some drama between her and Sophie when she's engaged, but after they break it off the film mostly focuses on Ludwig's relationships with men while focusing less on Elisabeth as he starts to isolate himself. Also, speaking of his relationships with men, I am very disappointed to tell you that there was not nearly as much sexual tension between him and and Richard Wagner as in the other film. for shame.

Anyway, I cant really think of a way to organically transition into the next section, and theres really only one last thing that I wanted to talk about, so Im just gonna talk about it. I said earlier that this was an english-language film but it also has a lot of sections in italian and bits in german. Now, the german bits are like, theres a scene where Sophie sings a song from a german opera and whenever theres large crowds shouting stuff theyre shouting in german (like at the very end when theyre all looking for Ludwig after he went outside with his doctor), which I like because I feel like it adds a certain authenticity to those scenes, but the italian parts are just kinda confusing to me. The film has these little talking heads segments where its characters from the film, usually right before they take an active role in the story, talking about like, Ludwig's downfall is how I'd describe it (except for Richard Hornig, hes just like "Ive been his confidant for 10 years and thats all Im gonna say" which is cool), and the first few of those segments are in italian while the rest of the film is in english, so I initially assumed that those would be the only italian parts, but then we get a scene of Ludwig and Elisabeth talking that starts in english but then in the middle of it, theyre just suddenly speaking italian. And thats something that keeps happening throughout, sometimes theres just random italian scenes or scenes that randomly switch into italian, and some of those talking heads segments are inexplicably english, its very strange and honestly pretty jarring, I had to keep switching between the raw film and a version with english subtitles to properly keep up. So I guess that would be my one complaint for this film, but honestly Im not even sure if it was meant to be viewed that way ?? Like, the wikipedia page doesnt mention the fact that this movie was filmed in two languages even though I feel like that would be worth mentioning, and the italian parts all have this dubbed-in quality to them, like the audio quality is a bit different and Ludwig's voice sounds completely different when he's speaking italian vs when he's speaking english, its weird. But I mean, it didnt disturb my experience watching this, its basically just giving me an excuse to make my very own subtitles which Im looking forward to because itll give me the chance to rewatch it

So yeah, that's it. In conclusion, this film is really great and you should definitely watch it if you have four hours to spare and no headache

[celestie0]

so it’s been hours since I read chapter 11 and idk why I’m a mess like I genuinely don’t know ;-;

it didn’t even end sadly and gojos SAUR PRECIOUS I wanna die

at least she didn’t leave the place I would of screamed but she’s always leaving him and I love how you’ve written that pattern but I just want him to beg her to stay and she has to take care of him :(((

Yh I see I just desperately need that lovemaking scene lol

like idk they just love each other sm without saying it and its sickening and it hurts that their two seperate people like how’s that fair that it’s impossible for them to be completely and utterly together bc their two people

;-;

like I can’t. nothing no icky sticky ew ew bitches NOTHING can get between them

But obvi gojo can’t just quit soccer and she’d never want that and that would be so fkn sad but like they both have sm other stuff going on in their lives apart from eachother and it’s just ;-;

they can do all that but just get married and have lots of sex n babies and love eachother forever and ever already ugh

mm I think I’m emotionally overstimulated and I have no idea what brought this on lol

I’m also just IRKED at my luck like I check every mf night if you’ve updated and the one night I choose to watch some random Italian drama

;-;

I was suppose to be the first to like and read not the 255th ;-;

anywho I’m glad the bitch wasn’t shoko cause like I had a lil idea in my head if you may humour me

Anyway I’m mentally pooped rn though so I’m just gonna read the abundance of fluffy sexiness in this chapter and ignore the angst cause I’ve clearly gone soft

use to eat that shit up but I just care too much for the happiness of these two :(

the rest was so worth it though I’m so grateful like them just humping eachother in heat while talking n shi 🫶 peak bonding activities

btwwww what sneak peak of ihm lazy morning sex?????? Ya girls in need of some solace ;-;

-spinster anon

aka kickoffs no1 fan btw 😒

awww yeah you're right there is a bit of a pattern of kickoff reader leaving him plsdfkjsdkfl dont blame her for that, that's just me being incapable of ending a scene xD i promise when they're officially dating they will have soft comforting moments tho <3

yesss you're right they've got a lot of stuff going on in their lives apart from each other :'') i hope that makes the moments where they're together all the more meaningful for that reason though!! oof it's tough to think about what their life will be like after graduation omg i havent given it much thought yet

same i just wanna dry hump gojo on a couch n talk to him at the same time like kickoff reader living my fantasy fr HAHAH they will be in love and happy for sure soon bb <3 but there's still a lot of angst to come tho even after they start dating sdjfsdjkfh just mentally preparing youuuu :((

ah yes i wrote like a lil scene for ihm gojo morning sex n posted a couple teasers here !!

thanks sm for reading the chapter n sharing your thoughts my love you're too sweet!! <3

[meljwrites]

btw are you the type to like angst and issues on the romance stories you like, kind of, neither or what kind of plot? 'cause while sometimes i like angst, sometimes there's a weird side of me that it's too sensitive to the emotions of fictional characters and would rather watch vanilla slice of life romantic fluff without any issues because i dont have the emotional stability to handle the ups and downs even if its fiction lmao like how this episode ended today, now i cant stop empathizing and thinking about how bad Lucas must feel after he was willing to say 'i love you', and what if things escalate and now Lucas does something to make things even worse and so many ifs

that sounds a lot like spiralling

Personally I am very much a sucker for angst - like i adore getting sucked into a fic and reading the most heart wrenchingly angsty situation that is my jam.

My favourite novel literally includes the protagonist being killed by his almost boyfriend who is being haunted by visions of him. And my favourite movie has a character who knows that her child will die before she even dates the future father. I live for angst.

I do like a guaranteed happy ending though. and I do get very attached to characters but i don't think i would put down a story bc it has too much angst.

At the moment i'm not really worried about them breaking up, more anxious to see where they take the characters in the coming months.

does it help to think about how angst and conflict is at the heart of all drama and story and that without it the story would not be worth telling?

[weaselbug]

Godzilla and "non-meaningful" media

now this is coming from a person who use to be like "no, everything that you ever experience should have value and make you think" which was odd cause i like dragon ball. but anyway, i think the idea that everything that you ever experience should have to be meaningful, and full of artistry, is kind of dumb. sometimes things can just be a little painting of a mountain.

that being said, i have been watching the heisei era Godzilla movies, and I'm almost done, only space Godzilla and Destroyah left, and honestly, i really love them. they are really fun movies, and a lot of hard work came from the effects, costumes, and sets.

while i find that some godzilla movies have a hard time splitting between the godzilla action and the human drama, i feel like these get the right ratio, where all the problems are the people dealing with godzilla or something like that. but i think thats what makes these movies great, im watching a godzilla movie, everything about them should be about godzilla. i want the humans to be dealing with godzilla if godzilla isnt on screen.

but let me get to the point of this train of thought in this video made by mothers basement (here is the video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwRGw9QRMj4)

and honestly, i quite disagree with this video so much, as someone who has delt with a lot of worthlessness, depression, and suicidal ideation. the only thing i agree with in this video is that you shouldn't replace your life with media. but that being said, the idea that you should optimise your life to be the most jam packed with only good experiences is quite frankly not what you should do, yes you should TRY to do that, but its like a dog chasing a car, what the hell are you going to do if you do end up catching that car?

i hate the idea that people cant watch and enjoy things that have no meaning, (these heisei godzilla movies have meaning) because it causes people to unfun sticks in the mud. like yes, the movie would be better if it had great characters and great theming. but it doesn't have to have those things to be worth while.

i think a piece of art/media/culture just needs to be enjoyable for someone to find meaning in it, even if the artist was like "oh yeah, that doesnt mean anything" it means something, sorry! if you found your self enjoying something, thats good. and dont let anyone take that away from you.

also, side note, the people who have only experienced good things in their lives, dont tend to be the best people. i find. like, yes try your best to do good things and experience things that make you feel good, but like try the hard thing. get dirty in the mud.

[dwreader]

qotd might be worth it but you can also just skip the chapters that don't interest you

i'll be honest the idea of this show pivoting from interpersonal family / romantic drama to world-ending supervillain plots fills me with pure dread. also the lestat propaganda of it all is lost on me, white louis is not my louis and armand is like a creepy 15 year old i'm weirded out by. its just not my thing i'm sorry alksjflksjfsl

also i like that the show is engaging with history and politics in a real way which the books pointedly avoid to their own detriment like these vampires live through so much interesting shit and the books just don't wanna engage with it much of the time. maybe cause they're all white guys and history is just a hobby to them while it actually matters to everyone else.

[wavesmp3]

hi! I read your 8000 layers of inyun yesterday. so it took me a whole day to digest it. Originally i was going to comment but realized i have too much to say so i went ahead and just did an ask, i hope you dont mind! This left me so breathless so i hope my review makes sense. I also apologize for the length but to be fair, your wonderful writing did this to me! i havent seen the movie yet but after reading this i just might. i was initially worried this will turn to something like a cheating situation or close but wow it went deeper than that. even if y/n is in a happy and healthy marriage, theres that grief over that inyun and wondering if a little more time with jeonghan would have been 8000.

The layers of this story is so beautifully laid out in details and the legend of inyun. As someone who had moved countries alot, i am so glad you captured the complexity of leaving home. From not understanding why y/n liked tompkins square park initially, the statue of liberty, and being that person that was always meant to "leave". The way jeonghan poses questions and seems to both understand y/n and also not is such a good take on long distance friendships. I like how its jumping between knowing each other so well but also knowing that you may not bc of the distance and the fact they havent spoken in years. I love how reading this story made me feel melancholic, hopeful, and also satisfied. Melancholic because of the what could have beens, hopeful because sometimes the differences and distances won't fully sever ones connections with each other (in this case inyun if im understanding it correctly) and satisfied because each character had their own maturity and understanding over each other. That mattered to me cause well, drama is very prominent nowadays, no? Is it weird to say that they acted the way 30 year olds should? jhgkdf so this was great! My favorite parts: you don’t remind him to do so once you finally find your keys. instead you slip off your old, faded sneakers, drop your keys on the counter in the lime green dish you made in a pottery class two years ago, and greet him in the kitchen, kissing the side of his chin and reaching over his head to turn the exhaust fan on. he kisses your forehead as an apology, or at least he tries but you’ve already moved and his lips end up catching on the corner of your left eye.

i love the tiny details that are a testament to a marriage.

but beneath the straightforward request feels like a million subliminal ones. like he wants you to prove to him that you’ve made a life worth living here. like he wants to gallivant around new york telling you about a country that used to be home and asking you what would have happened if you didn’t go all those years ago. 

ngl, this hits close to home again bc when you leave home, people will always wonder the same thing.

there used to be oceans and countries and cultures and decades standing between you and him, but somehow now, all of that has compressed into four squares of broken concrete. you were never very good at maths. jeonghan, the one who comforted you whenever you cried over it, knows that best. but even you know that there is no way 20 years can turn into 20 feet.

this was just so damn poetic, i actually had to pause and BREATHE.

and the call ends in 4 minutes. 

this was really short but captures how your world can turn upside down in just a few minutes.

“i came to see you.” 

you don’t take your eyes off his. what is it they say about eyes again? windows to the soul?

“but you and joshua.”

you flinch. 

“you guys have those layers of inyun.”

“all 8000,” you whisper back to him, like the world might burst if you spoke any louder.

its like toeing between a confession or congratulation sdkjhfdkjgh

“how many layers do we have?”

a number hangs off the tip of your tongue. but the world will burst if you say it outloud. so you don’t. for the world, for yourself, for joshua. 

y/n was very real for this and honestly not everything has to be said. i really love this part because it shows y/n's integrity and also her wisdom.

“you’re it for me.” joshua tells you quietly. “you make my life so much bigger.”

my gosh, the way i nearly cried here. WHY SETTLE FOR I LOVE YOU WHEN THERE'S THISSSSSS???!!!

“but i-” he hesitates here, mouth opening and closing like he can’t decide what kind of conversation he wants this to be. “it’s like there’s this whole portion of your brain that will always be out of reach. like i can see it there in the distance, but i can’t get to it.” 

this makes total sense but i cant explain it. its like you want to know every version of someone before they came to be what you know but you know you can't but theres still that grief.

“i didn’t think liking your husband would hurt this much.” (almost). “i can tell he really loves you.”

bc how can you not like him? it def hurts to like him bc that means he's already won anyway.

“yesterday, you asked me why i didn’t try to keep talking back then.” jeonghan continues. “the truth i learned here is that it wouldn’t have mattered how hard i tried even if i did. you were always going to leave because you’re you. and i liked you because you’re you. and who you are is someone who leaves.”

THIS DID MAKE ME TEARY EYED. I was told the exact last sentence before. And i understand how you can't really help it..life is so big and for some, life outside your home country is even bigger.

“but for joshua,” jeonghan says, eyes scanning across the bar, staring at every bartender and every customer before finally, finally, landing on you, “you’re someone who stays.”

no words. really. you blew my mind.

“i haven’t been that kid for a long time now,” you frown, watching jeonghan’s pupils dart back and forth between yours, “but they still existed. they were still real.”

this is very important bc connections and who you once were in the past are very much real...they just don't die because its past. This does circle back to the inyun theme too.

he smiles. and you feel something break apart in your heart.

“i’ll see you then.”

in another life, jeonghan is more than just a series of goodbyes. but in this one, he gets in the uber, and you don’t imagine seeing him again. you don’t think you will. because for the first time in this life, you're not the one that left–he was.  

In another liiiifeeee, I would be youuuurrr giiiirrllll

“i’m sorry,” you finally say, before falling into his arms. the sob that’s been waiting in the bottom of your soul for the past 20 years comes bursting out of your throat. you cry into your husband's shoulder. you feel the weight of all your past lives and all your future ones like they aren't in the past or in the future, like they're now beside you begging you to imagine what could’ve been and what was. 

joshua holds the back of your head. he doesn’t say anything. he doesn’t need to. it’s all been said before. instead he kisses the corner of your eye and takes you home. 

at this point i posted the whole fic. this ending? damn. I really had to take a break from my phone. This was wayyyyy to fitting of an end. I loved joshua's response and the corner of the eye? way to circle back! It's the grief over something you can't truly control but also the happiness of where you are now. I'm not sure how you wanted the end to be if its like a missed connection between jeonghan and y/n or if its grieving over what could have been, or the hope that maybe in the next one its them, or that joshua had always been it but theres that almost with jeonghan. Or it could be all of the above, still this was beautifully written. I apologize for the long review but i just had to express my awe and love for what you've written! Please don't feel obligated to reply just as long or at all! I just wanted to let you know how much your work stuck with me. Thank you for sharing this with us <3 I hope you have the bestest day ever! P.S This unreleased song of woozi fits too! What Kind of Future

i don't mind you leaving this ask at all and the length is more than fine, it's encouraged even!! when i got this ask, i started scrolling and gasped when i saw how long it was. and not in a bad way but in a-i can't believe anyone would take the time to write all this out-way. so thank you thank you thank you!!!

i am going to put the rest of my response under the read more :)) (warning my response is very long lol)

when i was watching the movie/the trailer for the movie i also had very similar concerns that it would be a cheating plot, and i don't really enjoy cheating plotlines much so it was such a pleasant surprise when it was the opposite almost?? i was in awe. and the last sentence of your paragraph here, really hits the nail of what i was trying to do with this piece and what i think the film was doing as well. the sadness over what could have been but what isn't, while also appreciating and enjoying what is. you should most definitely watch the movie though! especially since you also immigrated countries. the story of the movie is based off something that actually happened in the director's life and it's just such a raw beautiful story that is so so real and authentic. i have never actually migrated to another country before, so everything about that was either from the movie or just me imagining what that would be like based on either my background (my parents are immigrants) or other media. anyways, im being extremely wordy, but basically, the experience of the main character here isn't one that i share with them, but the director of the movie does! so you should check it out !

i really liked how you brought up the tompkins square park part and how main character doesn't like it anymore because it almost feels like another reflection of them leaving a place they used to call home and not really feeling like they belong there or like they're that person that lived there anymore. kind of a mirror of how they feel about their home country.

everything you've said here is just sooo spot on!! you understood this piece wholly and completely.

and it's not a weird thing to say at all that they acted like 30 year olds haha in my head i actually imagined them as around that age lol, like early 30 somethings

and what you said about drama... yes! i think this piece would be considered a drama but it's not dramatic. it's such an understated and subtle drama that feels like it's happening in the silences of conversations. (this holds true for the movie especially. i think in interview or something the director said that this story is told mainly through by what isn't being said, it's told through the silences)

abt your fave parts:

i love adding little details like that in, details that make the characters and their lives feel like they go off the pages of the story,, so im really happy that you liked that

abt the line that goes "there used to be oceans and countries..." -- im so so so glad you liked it, i put a lot of effort and made a lot of different versions of this line. so im glad it hit for you the way i hoped it would

and what you said about toeing between confession and congratulation... yup! yeah! exactly!

the line that goes "you're it for me... you make my life so much bigger" was a mash up of a line from the movie and something someone said to me irl :) and it was indeed a very beautiful way to confess love

dang someone actually telling you that exact sentence before is absolutely insane!! im starting to think that maybe you should be the one to write this piece seriously! but also, you have GOT to watch this movie

im so glad you enjoyed the ending!! it's my favorite part as well!! the corner of the eye thing!! so happy you picked up on that. as for what i wanted to the end to be like.... i am a sucker for an open ending and although this ending is less open than others i have written it still is pretty vague... so to your answer your question, the ending is whatever you want it to be. honestly, i don't even know what the ending should be like. but the options you listed (missed connection, or grieving what could have been, etc.) are all ones that were also bouncing around in my mind as i watched the movie and wrote this piece. (for me, i think its mainly grieving what could have been, but also just a mesh of all 4 of the ones you said. emotions can be quite complex huh?)

again, pls don't apologize for the length of this review. it's a dream come true. thank you again for reading this piece, thinking so highly of it, and taking the time to leave this review for me. it makes all the brain rot i had over this film worth it. jk but again thank you. this review made my day and put the biggest smile on my face :))) i hope you have a wonderful day