#mostly with romance plots with where the partner character is evil

[legitimatesatanspawn]

It's always "age gap" this and "romance plot" that but the real problem is that the Chosen Hero completely ignores how the Immortal Beast of the Apocalypse acts for no explicit reason. The Beast is given a free pass by fans AND author for being hot.

"He literally just murdered a thousand innocent villagers who had nothing to do with the war, even tangentially."

"Oh but he's never killed anyone important so its okay! Besides, the ultimate villain infected him with the Murder Curse. Everything he ever did wrong can be traced back to the Father of Helldemons."

"The curse only lasts for a year. Even if you take it as 'awake time', then it's been worn off for about 3/4ths of that time. Plus the Hero thinks that the Beast did it all willingly from the start and he STILL wants to be with him."

Discourse about whether shipping the Chosen Hero with the immortal Beast of the Apocalypse represents a problematic age gap, and if so, in which direction (i.e., the Hero, on account of the fact that the Beast is ten thousand years old and the Hero is like thirty, or the Beast, on account of the fact that the Beast is only awake for like two weeks once every century and thus has less lived experience).

[bg3sinbin]

Alright so I told myself I wouldn't post anything about it... but I still can't stop thinking about the A!Astarion kisses, Tav/Durge's face during it, and the stupid blow up around it. So here we go

Warnings: This is long and rambly and contains all kinds of spoilers. I am an A!Astarion lover. I will not be responding to discourse on this post. I do not care if you disagree. Make your own vent post.

OKAY so the brunt of the arguments I keep trying to ignore seeing surrounding this are how the expressions are "immersion breaking" for A!A fans, and everyone else clowning on them (sometimes rightfully so tho, ngl) because "the game gives the player expressions all the time! why are u mad now? do u just want ur Tav/Durge to be a blank slate?? lmao idiot" which ??? okay it feels like ur purposefully missing the point.

Yeah, actually sometimes this game gives my Durge some really ooc reactions. And it does, in fact, bother me. That being said, that is to be expected when u take an oc u had for like ten years and try to stick them in a pre-programmed video game. Things are gonna get ooc sometimes.

It also though, is usually smaller moments. Or things that happen Once and then u move on. Conversations where I go "hmmm. he wouldn't say any of these. oh well." or moments where he reacts negatively to terrible things that this evil bastard would normally laugh at. OH. WELL.

Now here's where my frustration actually come in. This game does a really good job, probably a better job than anything else I've played, at letting u play an interesting evil char. Something more than just "I am Rude, Aggressive, and A Dick To Everyone" and thus being punished for it gameplay wise.

I can play The Dark Urge, literal child of the god of murder, a canon necrophiliac, cannibalistic, gore freak that was going to flatten the entire world. There is a whole ass plot line and ending (multiple achievements included!) surrounding doing just that. There's all kinds of nasty interactions/plot options programmed in.

Yet, to the best of my memory, my Durge doesn't look horrified when we choose to slaughter the grove. He doesn't look horrified when we choose to kill the Dame Aylin, or Isobel. He isn't Obviously Distraught when we choose to help Astarion complete the ritual, or when we kill Shadowheart's parents, or become an Unholy Assassin of Bhaal.

To my knowledge, the player character isn't made to look afraid when kissing Dark Justiciar!Shadowheart, nor when they are literally poisoned by kissing Minthara. Sure, u CAN be offended about it in the convo with her after, but its still ur choice as the player.

I mean shit, they even patched in (in that very same patch) a positive, supportive reaction from ur evil partners at the end when u take over the nether brain! (at least for A!Astarion, and Minthara) so now when u do the evil thing that u and ur evil partner have been talking about all game, they don't suddenly change their opinion the second u actually do it.

And I really appreciate that about bg3. I can make evil choices and get interesting outcomes rather than the game just locking me out of all content actually made for that quest. Like ffs u can only get Minthara's romance scene if u slaughter dozens of innocents.

THIS GAME REWARDS U FOR DOING THE BAD THING. And like the evil options do usually have drawbacks and/or are less fleshed out than the good ones, but there are whole ass plots arcs u will never see if u only play good chars. This game makes playing an evil character interesting.

So why is it that I can do all that, and make/have my Durge react (mostly) accordingly, yet the moment the partner I chose acts controlling, now is when my characters feelings are being decided for me?

I can spend the whole game hearing Astarion talk about how spawn are controlled, how all vampires want is power, and I can say to his face "yes! this character wants that! turn me!" and yet somehow... what? the creators think I didn't know?

It just genuinely doesn't make sense to me. Like I can choose, through dialogue, that my Durge is power hungry, and very into the idea of being Astarion's pretty little lap dog. He knew what he was signing up for! And yet he looks terrified when his vampire bf (who has been feeding on him all game) bites his lip?? really?

Idk I just have some really weird feelings on some of the ways they try to Really Emphasize that u made the wrong choice for Astarion specifically, and this just exemplifies that.

Either do the rest of ur characters this service, make all of them (make every choice in the game) a moral lesson for the player to learn, where u hold their hand and say "u didn't listen to what they actually needed :c u could have done the good thing but u didn't :c"

Or let me play my evil bastard. And let me revel in it.

[cassandra-has-moonlit-eyes]

I think the time has come to write a little bit about my Regency AU. Big note: I grew up watching all the Jane Austen Movies one hundred times because my mum loves them so I steal a lot of ideas from them.

I developed this AU when I was quite new in the fandom and I have never written about it so here we go.

Genre

Romance, Fantasy

Worldbuilding

Historical accuracy is not the point of this AU, the regency era serves more as inspiration.

It’s set in the fictional country which I haven’t fought of a name yet, in the fictional village Breitentrepp and the capital city Luardock. Breitentrepp is a village in the countryside while Luardock is a large city by the sea, mostly inspired by London, Vienna and Hamburg.

Even though my AU is inspired by an historical setting it’s 100% fantasy, first indicator is that the people in it are cat people. The society also function differently than in regency era England. All in all society is more open. Same sex couples are treated the same way as heterosexual couples and being polyamorous is a widely accepted form of partnership, even with the option to marry more than one person.

What’s not different from regency era though is the wide obsession with class and belonging to a certain class of people. It’s important to marry somebody who has a good standing in society, a lot of money or is coming from the right family. So while everbody acts very open and accepting and like true love is the most important to them, a lot of marriages and partnerships are descided not by love but by status,  especially in the aristocratic and bourgeois milieu.

Also there is magic. Some people possess magic, there are light and dark magic, as well as elementar magic, such as fire, nature, water and weather magic. People who belong to the higher classes keep their magic hidden, especially fire magic is seen as evil by most people.

There is also a war going on in the west of the country against a mysterious ice giant but I haven’t fully developed this plot line yet.

The first arc: Breitentrepp

The three main characters of the story are three siblings of the Bell-family: Rumpleteazer (22), Pouncival (21) and Electra (20). The story starts in the village of Breitentrepp where they and their family is introduced. Their parents are Jennyanydots (biological mother of Rumpleteazer and Electra) and Jellylorum (biological mother of Pouncival). Jenny comes from a line of nobility but her family has been declinging in society since a few generations and their life is now closer to a life of farmers than nobility. Jellylorum is a doctor and she is the doctor for her own and the surrounding villages.

(Also living in the Village are Asparagus Jr. and Gus. They are the tailors and own the cloth shop. Asparagus Jr. is Pouncivals biological father.)

The Bell-family lives in a farmhouse on lands that are owned by Jennys family. The starting point of the story is spring. It’s quite a warm day and Rumpleteazer and Pouncival are out and about in the surrounding forrest where they meet city cat Mistoffelees, who got lost. He reveals to them that he studies Botanics at the university in Luardock. He was looking for some plants for his doctor thesis but got lost. They help him find his way back into the village and invite him to dinner.

Over spring and summer a friendship forms between him and the family. At the end of summer he  has to return to the city. On the dinner table where he tells them about his soon depature Jannyanydots also reveals that Rumpleteazer and Pouncival will visit the city too during the winter time to take part in the ball season (yeah, here it’s during winter like in Vienna) to find suiting partners for both of them. (Electra already lives in the city because she is studying medcine like her mother Jellylorum). Mistoffelees promises to introduce them to everybody and to find a fitting partner for each of them. It’s the first time he reveals himself as part of the Luardock high society.

Rumpleteazer is not happy. She is not really interested in marrying somebody just because of money and status and would prefer to stay with her mothers on the countryside just marrying some farmer some day but Jenny wants “a better life” for them and convinces Rumpleteazer to go to the city. Pouncival doesn’t have to be convinced because he already developed a crush on Mistoffelees and is very eager to see him again. Though it kind of did hurt him that Mistoffelees wants to find a partner for him and does not consider himself as an option.

So at the end of autumn he and his sister move to their uncle Skimbleshanks, who lives in Luardock to take part in the ball season.

[finishwhatyoustarted-event]

Chapter Champions

Sometimes, no matter how hard we try, there are just too many words to complete in two months. I want to celebrate everyone who posted chapters to ongoing works during this event! You didn’t get to check off that “completed” tic box, but you DID finish a big chunk of work!! Congratulations!

If you made chapter progress and you don’t see your work listed here, send me a message! It may have slipped through the cracks

~~

Infinite Possibilities by ahiddenpath

Chapters 7 and 8 completed as part of this event. 

Digimon - All Media Types, Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02 - Rated T - Chosen Children | DigiDestined & Digimon Partners, Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi & Tentomon, Tailmon | Gatomon & Yagami Hikari | Kari Kamiya, Chosen friendship, Izumi Koushirou | Izzy Izumi/Original Character(s) - Canon Related, Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna, Canonical Character Death, world building - “As more people meet their digimon partners, the challenges of digimon and humans coexisting on earth cannot be ignored. College student Anami Eimi begins her career in digimon research, hoping to help digimon and humans understand one another. When she discovers caged digimon in her new lab, she contacts the Japanese Chosen, setting off a chain of events that force the Chosen and their digimon to reevaluate the dynamics of their partnership.  This fic is set pre and post Kizuna, and is a mostly canon compliant expansion. It's a three phase story, the first starring OC Anami Eimi, then Izumi Koushiro, then Yagami Hikari. It explores the realities, challenges, and politics of digimon living on earth, and the nature of the Chosen/digimon partnership.  Can the Chosen and their digimon find the infinite possibilities that will sustain their partnerships into adulthood?  There are mentions of couples in this fic, but it's action/world expansion/plot driven, not a romance.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/54920815/chapters/139217416

Lifeless Stars by overmore

Chapter 18 completed as part of this event.

NSFW, content warnings: Past Child Abuse, Past Sexual Abuse, Past Sexual Assault, Past Rape/Non-con, Past Incest - 第五人格 | Identity V (Video Game) - Rated M - Luca Balsa | Prisoner/Alva Lorenz | Hermit, Luca Balsa | Prisoner & Alva Lorenz | Hermit, Luca Balsa | Prisoner & Tracy Reznik | Mechanic, Norton Campbell | Prospector/Luchino | Evil Reptilian, Aesop Carl | Embalmer/Joseph Desaulnier | Photographer, Ann | Disciple/Galatea | Sculptor - Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - College/University, Teacher-Student Relationship, Slow Burn, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Cults, Supernatural Elements - “After Luca's father if finally out of his life, Luca felt somewhat free and safe for the first time in his life. He finally got to go to university, he can finally have friends other than Tracy, he didn't need to worry that something bad was going to happen to him when he gets home.  Because his father was finally dead.  But after his first day at university when he finds out that the man he thought his father killed was actually alive and was going to teach him more than just one course that he had, his world once again spirals around, but not in the same way as before.  Alva Lorenz did not seem to like him much, and neither did Luca. But what can he do about it?  Definitely not get himself into situations where he's forced to interact with the said man and find out more about him and himself in the process.  And definitely not start to realize they have more in common than his father ruining both of their lives.”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/45466510/chapters/114397213

the beat of a long-dead heart by HopeStoryteller

Chapter 8 completed as part of this event.

NSFW, content warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death - Bloodborne (Video Game) - Rated M - Iosefka/Maria, Maria & Plain Doll, Gehrman & Maria - During Canon, Fix-It of Sorts, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Major Character Undeath, Dubious Science, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Canonical Character Death, Canon-Typical Behavior, Angst with a Happy Ending - “In the aftermath of what happened to Gascoigne, Maria has some revelations regarding the Doll. With the beginnings of a plan in mind, it's time to return to the clinic, though Maria isn't prepared for what she'll find there. But then again, who would be?”

https://archiveofourown.org/works/57249334/chapters/145622155

[ouchmaster6000]

To all the people in the tags saying that this game hates women because Asterron gets more focus than most of the female characters - I can assure you that the game does this to please it's female (and LGBT) fanbase who want to romance Asterion.

I can also assure you the vast majority of the games male player base would love for the female companions to get more focus and screentime. ESPECIALLY Karlach, who is probably the second most popular romantic partner for straight guys after Shadowheart, but some reason is the second least focused on origin character after Wyll.

My party has consisted of Karlach (who I'm romancing), Shadowheart and Laezel ever since Karlach was recruitable, and I never switch them out, because as a guy, I want to avoid having the male characters flirt with / hit on my character as much as possible. I only interact with them in the camp, and do the minimum amount of character interactions necessary to move the plot forward. And when I eventually do an evil playthrough, I will probably kill Asterion during the part where he starts to bite me. No sense keeping him around if I'm not using him.

I point all this out cause tons of other polls on this blog have had people using a piece of mefia sexualizing the female characters as a point towards hating them. I personally think that's bullshit, but I suppose my opinion on that is subjective.

What IS objective is that claiming that, while also claiming this game hates women for putting a disproportionate focus on Asterion when compared to the female characters is extremely contradictory and hypocritical, given that it's mostly being done because the female fanbase likes sexualizing him.

(I'd argue Gale gets similar preferential treatment, just to a lesser extent)

I would like to see Baldur's Gate 3 please if you haven't received it yet

Baldur's Gate 3 (Video Game, 2023)

Explain your reasoning in the tags!

[gizkasparadise]

2021 Drama Recs

This will be shorter than it should be

Genuinely Good Dramas

Monarch Industry/The Rebel Princess. Watching this was so much fun? I am usually SO BORED by palace politics/am hitting that fast forward button like a mother the second I see a sea of ministers, but I was transfixed for damn near every scene. The shining jewel in the garbage pile. 

Beyond Evil. Just fuck me up and then play some piano over it. The cast was out of this world, the plot was twisted, i wasn’t into the first 2-3 eps and then suddenly it hit me like a brick and kept bricking. my blood pressure is still elevated. something about women-directed and written thrillers just hits different

Mad for Each Other. Okay, the ending was a Choice, but the rest of the show is a solid romance healing drama with some comedy that does a way better job at tackling mental health/recovery than the majority of other shows i’ve seen. loved the male lead

Dali and the Cocky Prince. the stealth hit!!! i had no expectations for this, but it turned out to be a pleasant romance story with some melo and comedy. the otp is great and kim min jae is having the time of his life playing the male lead. 

Dramas That Were Good or Okay but Seemed Better than They Were Because 2021 Was a Dumpster Fire

My Roommate is a Gumiho. Fun, mostly light-hearted romcom with fantasy hijinks and a lot of lampshading/trope subversion. Bonus points for a great side couple

Hold On, My Lady. this is a silly stupid little thing, and nowhere near close to a masterpiece, but it made me laugh, and has my favorite trope of criminal lady/upright dude, so on the list it goes.

Squid Game. overhyped? perhaps, and the last episode was awful. but it was still a quick and entertaining watch and I got attached to some of the characters. bonus points for it being the first drama my partner ever watched!

I’m Still Watching This, But It’s Promising

Hometown Chachacha. Still have 5 eps left somehow??? but a solid romcom with a dash of healing and a lot of pretty scenery and people

Rainless Love in a Godless Land. melo, atmospheric, pretty, cool worldbuilding, and from the people who did someday or one day aka my favorite drama ever. slow-paced, so going to binge it all once it’s done/i next have time

Word of Honor. I’m only 6 eps in but everyone on this dysfunctional and thirsty family wuxia roadtrip is making my day

We Could’ve Had It All

River Where the Moon Rises. Awesome premise, great setting. Totally derailed by the scandal and it sucks. Might give it a try another day, since they re-filmed the first eps with the new lead i think?

The Long Ballad. One of my favorite couples in a cdrama....as the secondary couple, and not much else i was into

Doom At Your Service. A prime rib of a main ship with a gross, coleslaw-y love triangle subplot that just wouldn’t go away

Jun Jiu Ling. i was in love with the idea of this and the cast, and the first eps were an entertaining mess because they had jin han as an absolute wreck, but it just fell so flat???? somehow????

Shows That Aired/Are Airing in 2021 That I’m Excited to Watch

Happiness. Zombies and fake married is the combo I never knew I needed

Our Beloved Summer. I LIVE for exes having to work together as a trope, and enjoy then-and-now stories. I love the 3/4ths of the cast I know

The Red Sleeve. I’m not really into concubine stories (despite my watch list saying otherwise lol), but I keep hearing good things and Junho’s a plus

[cocogukkie]

2020 in review: kdramas (the heart fluttering, the disappointing, the saviors of 2020)

it’s december 31st! the new year is quite literally upon us (some of y’all are already in 2021) and my procrastinating self has chosen to upload this today. i’ve always loved these rec lists and I wanted to do one for 2020! this year was a rollercoaster for kdramas with some excellent ones and some not so excellent ones. i watched all of these in 2020 but not all of them were released in 2020.

if you want to use my questions to make your own list please do!! or give your favs in the tags, i’d love to read them. (fair warning, some of these have multiple answers bc i just can’t choose one!!)

drama that made me laugh

When The Camellia Blooms (2019)

i finally got around to watching when the camellia blooms this year and it. was. so. funny. oh my goodness, the comedic timing in so many scenes was pure excellency and im kinda mad at myself that i didn’t watch this last year. this isn’t just a comedy for those who are interested, its a thriller/romance but its also so fucking funny. definitely watch this if you want to laugh (and be touched bc the emotional scenes in this one are beautiful)

drama that made me cry

Sweet Home (2020)

hahah….. um this one is gonna go to sweet home friends. i went into this one with zero expectations and the first couple episodes didn’t really wow me? but i kept watching and holy shit fam. this show really picks up story-wise around ep 4 and makes the viewer love a lot of these initially unlikable characters. all i can say is that the end was devastating for me and i cried quite a bit. (warning, there are a lot of mature themes in this one so make sure you look for trigger warnings or send me an ask and i’ll list them all out for you) 

best OST

Itaewon Class (2020) 

i loved the ost for itaewon class!! the music is just so inspirational and pump up music, its so good. my favorites are ‘you make me back’ by woosung and ‘start’ by gaho.

drama with chemistry royalty (aka the best couple) 

i have three for this one because i just cannot choose one. 

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)

we recognize this one as one of the best things to come out of 2020. go moon young and moon kang tae have some of the best chemistry i have ever seen in a drama couple. i waited on the edge of my seat every single week for the next couple of episode just so i could fawn over these two. they work so well together, lift each other up, and so fucking funny together and support one another. while they’re not the chillest couple (lmao) they’re most certainly one with the most personality. they’re so cute and bicker and they just get each other. who could ask for more.

Flower of Evil (2020)

our badass mom and dad 😭😭. this was another peak drama that came out this year and our married partners-in-crime-but-not-really had amazing chemistry. baek hee sung and cha ji won were so cute as a married couple but they were even more precious later on in the drama after certain things unfolded (no spoilers). they both just get each other and protected one another as well as on the most precious kdrama children this year, their daughter eunha. they were so wholesome, flower of evil is so very worth a watch.

Into The Ring (2020)

this was one of the more underappreciated kdramas of the year but hoo buddy was the main couples chemistry top notch. they were so friggin cute and i just couldn’t. goo se ra is highkey one of the best female characters i’ve ever seen, she’s absolute chaos, lawful chaos, but chaos nonetheless. her other half, seo gong myung is opposite from her as lawful neutral. he’s just along for the ride that is se ra and loves her. they’re both so very fond and protective of each other and back each other up!! very very cute and you’ll definitely replay more than a couple of their scenes together.

most disappointing

Record of Youth (2020)

it’s sad but true… i went into this one with so much hope and excitement (i was riding off that ‘psycho but its okay’ high) and i was vastly disappointed. the plot mostly focused on the male lead, and there wasn’t much characterization for the female lead which i didn’t like. honestly, i only cared about maybe 3-4? characters in the whole drama. the rest were absolutely terrible or plain boring and i ended up skipping eps 14 and 15 and just watched the finale. i would not recommend tbh.

drama you can’t really get through

Crash Landing on You (2019)

this one is absolutely on me, i want so badly to love this one. but i just… can’t seem to get past ep 2? i’ve tried!! i swear, but i just cannot get through it. maybe in 2021, i can try again and i’ll enjoy it more.

drama everyone else liked but was meh

Kairos (2020)

i though kairos was a bit predictable tbh. i know those of us who did end up watching it really liked it but maybe its because i watch so many crime/mystery shows that this one didn’t really do it for me. the writing is quite solid and everything connects well, i would recommend that those who don’t really watch thrillers, to watch this one. (also the friendship between the female lead and her two friends is suuuper cute and worth it alone to watch kairos)

favorite romance

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)

yeah… this one wins again lol. what can i say, i just loved it so much and the main theme of the show is romance (its also a comedy and a mental health/healing drama) all i can say is watch this if you haven’t yet, its definitely worth it!! 

favorite mystery

Memorist (2020)  & Watcher (2019)

i really enjoyed these two mystery dramas. both were super fun to watch and very kinda unique in their own ways. i liked memorist because it was lowkey funny and i liked the relationships between the characters, but most importantly i couldn’t guess the main antagonist by the end! i really thought i knew who it was and then i was completely wrong lmao. watcher was also very good, the main trio had really good chemistry and i really cared about all the characters. (also i’ll never say no to watching seo kang joon) plus the plot twists threw me a bit at the end which is always a feeling i welcome, i love being surprised and wrong (as long as it makes sense)

favorite slice of life

Hospital Playlist (2020)

oh my goodness, i was late to the hospital playlist party and i regret it because this show is so. so. good. its just a slice of life following 5 friends who are doctors and work at the same hospital together but its so much more than that. this is honestly one of the first shows i’ve seen that are optimistic? in the show, every time i thought a plot was going to play out a certain way (usually negatively, as tends to be life unfortunately) it surprised me by taking the more optimistic wholesome route. characters in subplots changed for the better, became more understanding, chose to do the right thing, etc. if you want a feel good drama where the main characters have wonderful platonic chemistry and just care about each other but is also super funny, watch hospital playlist!! (season 2 is coming out early 2021 and im so pumped)

favorite fantasy

The Untamed (2019)

this one is a cdrama but i watched it in 2020, mostly because of how many people on the internet were adamant that the rest of us watch this and ngl they were v right. the untamed was very very good and im really glad i gave it a chance and watched it, its also my first cdrama ever. the chemistry between the male leads is honestly what makes this show and its worth the 50? i think? episodes. to be completely honest the fanfiction for the show are peak and if you do watch this, go straight to ao3 and you will not be disappointed.

dramas that saved 2020

The Uncanny Counter (2020) & Run On (2020)

these two dramas are among those that started airing at the end of the year and will go into the beginning of 2021 and absolutely saved the end of 2020 for me. while neither of these are finished, both have been excellent so far and worth starting. uncanny counter has the best use of the found family trope i have ever seen. i fucking love the four counters and their relationship with each other, how protective they are of one another. they all have amazing chemistry and the actors have amazing chemistry in the making films.

run on has one of the cutest couples that will definitely make my best chemistry list for next year. i didn’t put them on this list bc they actually haven’t gotten together yet but once they do, they’re gonna be freaking adorable, i can already tell. there’s no specific grand events propelling the plot forward, but just following the lives of these unique, interesting and relatable people who have casual yet entertaining conversations with each other. the show is super soft and the main couple are so straightforward and honest (plus theres mutual pining!!)

best dramas of the year

here are my best dramas (and one movie) watched this year, no further explanation given lolol. just watch them and enjoy because these are fucking excellent in the feels department. trust me 💞

It’s Okay To Not Be Okay (2020)

Flower of Evil (2020)

Itaewon Class (2020)

Hospital Playlist (2020)

One Spring Night (2019)

Midnight Runners (2017)

Hot Stove League (2019) 

I hope this gives you some fun stuff to watch!! or convince you to start that drama in your watchlists! 

[roselightfairy]

Legolas/Gimli Fic Recs: Unfinished

All right. In honor of the end of this year’s @goodintentionswipfest, my next Legolas/Gimli fic rec list will be unfinished fics that I read and loved. I’ve decided not to include currently ongoing fics in this (my definition here for this is fics that have been updated in the last year, because I needed some kind of cutoff), so you can largely be pretty sure what you get is what you will get. I know not everyone out there is like me and wants to take a chance on unfinished WIPs, but if you do, these ones will break your heart in the most delicious of ways!

 Land of Light and Shadows by Thundera Tiger

Eomer, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli journey south into Harad. Politics, abductions, assassinations, battles...life as usual. Chapter 38: The race to Haradhur begins! But not without a few false starts...

…

Ahh, this story haunts my dreams; I think about it more than most stories out there. A post-canon adventure, this story follows Aragorn, Eomer, Legolas, and Gimli into a breathtaking adventure of political intrigue, hurt/comfort, worldbuilding, and suspense. This author writes some of the best LOTR characterization I have ever read, and getting to explore it in an extremely long fic is such a privilege. The relationship between Legolas and Gimli (always my priority!) really shines in this story, and even though the author doesn’t write them explicitly romantically, the Committed Life Partner feelings are STRONG in this one. The hurt/comfort is impeccable, and the plot is masterfully crafted, with threads and threads and threads of intrigue and action all woven together. It is incredible how well this author stays on top of everything and ensures that no character or plot thread is left behind. I can’t promise that you’ll be satisfied with the resolution of it - it’s not one of those WIPs where the plot is mostly resolved, and it does end on a cliffhanger - but if you’re anything like me, you will thank it for ripping your heart out.

Unravelling the Tale by Nimue

Legolas and Gimli... a friendship of this strength was not easily forged. The Ring will take Boromir, but what trials do the others face being near such evil? A Legolas and Gimli story, & Gollum too. New Chapter!

…

I loooooove this story so much. It’s one of those wonderful Fellowship-era fics that is basically an in-depth character-focused explication of some of those pieces of the pre-broken Fellowship journey that Tolkien glosses over (mmm, one of my favorite genres out there…). This one focuses on the journey from Lothlorien to Amon Hen, a character exploration of the impacts of the Ring on the characters and the strengthening of Legolas and Gimli’s friendship. It’s incredibly sensitive and tender, and it’s gen, officially, but the author has also written L/G romance and some of the lines of this fic dance very carefully along that border. And it’s unfinished, yes, but it’s not like we don’t know what happens, since it’s a gapfiller for the story we all know.

The Obligations of Lordship by hope91

The friendship between the Lords of Aglarond and Ithilien is legendary - so much so that it's rumored they're more-than-friends.

But the duties of leadership beckon and trump all. So it can hardly be a surprise when Gimli is asked to marry for political reasons, right?

…

Man, this story is such a delicious might-have-been. It’s only a few chapters long, but it sets up such a delightful premise – an ongoing friends-with-benefits relationship between Legolas and Gimli, in which Legolas has developed real feelings, and is trying to figure out how to express them. It promised to be a delightful mistaken-identities courtship romp, and while there’s not much out there, if you’re interested in the premise, I invite you to read it and dream with me about possibility!

Love in a Time of Train Heists by notanightlight

I’m just linking the series here – this is a wonderful, delightful Wild West AU, the first part of which I’ve recced on a previous list. The meet-cute is complete, but the second story in the series is not. I highly recommend reading the first (complete) story, then starting the second anyway, just for delightful character interaction, a delicious premise, and the setting, which I can’t get enough of.

An Economy of Scars by errandofmercy

Touched by Gimli's affection and hoping to heal the wounds between Elves and Dwarves before she leaves Middle-Earth, Galadriel bestows a strange gift upon Legolas: the power to spare his companion from an untimely death. Unbeknownst to Legolas, however, the Lady's gift has some harrowing consequences. Hurt/comfort with an eventual happy ending. This story will be concluded in the second chapter.

…

Ah, the promise in that last sentence . . . This fic is a wonderful, wonderful long one-chapter read that I sometimes return to even though I don’t know how it ends, just for the incredible tenderness in the first chapter. It has angst, self-sacrifice, whump, characters weeping over each other’s bodies . . . you name it. It ends on a cliffhanger, but what a delightful torment!

Stone Hearts and Halls by appleapple

Gimli is injured in an accident rebuilding the city of Minas Tirith. When Legolas arrives he finds that not all is well in Aragorn's kingdom.

…

This is some high-quality hurt/comfort, dwarf worldbuilding, and intrigue with a hefty side of mutual pining and tender tender feels. One of the few unfinished get-together stories where they actually do get together before the “/?” of doom – though it’s very close, in this case! I actually dare to think this might be one of those stories where the most pressing issues of plot are wrapped up before the story discontinues, and even if the author had more planned, you should absolutely read what’s there anyway just for the pleasure of it.

The Gift of Premonition by Mawgon

When Gimli was a youth at the cusp of adulthood, his mother vanished under mysterious circumstances. His father was unfazed, and put double the pressure on Gimli to become the fierce warrior he himself could not be. The young dwarf's only solace was a secret relationship with the dwarf his father hired to teach him fighting. His father found out about it, and now Gimli is about to be executed.

The only thing that can save his life now is being bought as a slave - and that is a fate worse than death in the average case. It is worse when it is an elf who buys him.

…

All right, so fair warning, this story does what it says on the summary. It plays with a darker aspect of possible worldbuilding, and it contains a good deal of sexism and homophobia. But if you’re the sort of person who enjoys whump (which I am), this story is very fun to indulge in. It shows a more vulnerable Gimli, which is always a bit of a rare treat in fanworks, and is very very soft and tender and slow and respectful of ideas of consent, which is also something I love. Also plays with the idea of a fully genderbent Hobbit dwarf cast! It’s unfinished, but most Plot Elements were wrapped up and it feels like it’s mostly a characters-coming-together focus – and at very least, the confessions are out of the way. :)

love is brightest in the dark by picapica

A story about beginnings, or: Aglarond wasn't built in a day.

…

GHGHGHKLSJFI if there were ever a fic that makes me go absolutely FERAL, this one is it. It’s set in the early days of Aglarond, Gimli and his little crew of dwarves getting started with the building, and there is a lot of lovely worldbuilding and scenery exploration and ROMANTIC INTRIGUE – my gosh. Gimli is in love with Legolas and he doesn’t KNOW he’s in love with Legolas but all his other companions do and they sort of alternate between teasing him about it and being a little suspicious, all while Gimli tries to pretend he doesn’t know what they’re talking about . . . and then Legolas does show up for a little while and it’s SWEET and TENDER and PLAYFUL and LOVING and no, it’s not finished, and no, they don’t get together, but – look, just trust me, read it, it’s so wonderful and so worth your time.

An Ounce of Perception by stateofintegrity

Legolas and Gimli begin to perceive one another.

…

Ohhhhhhh, this story. This story is so gorgeously-written, so tender and character-sensitive; it has one of those confession scenes that gives me butterflies in my stomach for the characters, and I love so much when that happens! It’s one of those stories that explores a slow-blooming love in the in-between spaces of the canon narrative, letting Legolas and Gimli learn to see and love all that lies beneath the surface, learn to tremble at one another’s touch, learn to fall in love. It’s unfinished, but again – we know how the story goes, and it’s just a wonderful meander along with the characters through that story . . . but with the love made explicit. <3

…

As always, I’m sure this rec list is noncomprehensive – I’m sure I’ll think of some other stories I wish I’d added to it as soon as I’ve posted – so please don’t take it as a complete list of all the stories I love in this category. But please, if you’re someone like me who reads WIPs, do take a chance on some of these – and honestly, if you love any of them, you’re always welcome to come talk to me about it, so we can ease our pain together! :)

And also, as always, please do drop the author a comment if you do read and enjoy them – just because they’re unfinished doesn’t mean the authors don’t deserve love.

[veeranger]

So you want to watch Precure!

Version 1.3

(Google Docs Vers & Changelog)

Maybe you follow people who like it, maybe you just love magical girls and never got into Precure, but there are over a dozen seasons and you don’t know how to jump in. Never fear, this masterpost is here to give you a rundown of Precure, and hopefully by the end you’ll have an idea of where you want to start. 

What Is Precure?

Precure (short for Pretty Cure) is a Toei Animation franchise started in 2004 and has been on the air nonstop since then. It’s a magical girl franchise, y’know like sailor moon or ojamajo doremi or other such shows. The main demographic is children so you don’t have to worry about any weird “fanservice” or panty shots or anything nasty like that, it’s very G rated. 

What Are The Shows About?

In a general sense, Precure is about a team of 2-6 middle school age magical girls fighting bad guys and giant monsters and saving the world on a weekly basis with pretty outfits and big flashy finishers and the power of love and friendship. Each season follows a pretty standard formula (toku fans should be pretty familiar with it for the most part), and each season is around 48-50 episodes long. 

In keeping with this toku-esque formula, most seasons will feature mid season additions to the cast, in the form of new precure heroes. For the sake of not spoiling these shows, these mid season cures will not be mentioned in our plot overviews unless they appear extremely early or something like that. Just know that almost every season will feature an additional cure joining the team later in the show. 

Additionally, every season has at least one movie, these days there’s usually two per season. Usually you’ll find the movies are a standalone self-contained romp, and a crossover movie with the preceding seasons, with a focus on the most recent 2-3 teams. These movies might as well exist in a continuity of their own, and have absolutely no bearing on the plot whatsoever, save for one except which I’ll mention when we get to that season. 

Why Should I Watch Precure?

Because it’s good. It’s a really stellar franchise with a ton of content and genuinely engaging characters and stories. Also this isn’t your mom’s magical girl show, these girls throw punches, and kicks, and big lasers. Precure is pretty well known for being extremely hands on with its combat compared to other magical girl shows, though don’t expect the same kind of fights you’d find in kamen rider or anything. Also a main draw for a lot of people is the amount of gay subtext in, frankly, every season. While there’s only one season with an explicitly confirmed gay relationship between two cures, every season has varying levels of subtext between cures, it’s pretty cool. We won’t discuss the subtext in every season overview but trust us, it’s in there. 

What Show Should I Start With?

It doesn’t actually matter which season you watch, every season is a new setting and with new characters and set in a new world (except for two sequel seasons i’ll explain later), so you’re free to watch whatever you want in any order! We’re going to spend the rest of this post talking about each season to give you, the beloved reader, a glimpse at what each season has to uniquely offer. Don’t worry, there’s no spoilers down there. 

Futari Wa Precure (We Are Pretty Cure) & Futari Wa Precure Max Heart

The original precure show that aired in 2004, and even received an english dub. Misumi Nagisa is a star lacrosse player living a normal life until one day a shooting star she wishes on turns out to be a fairy that careens right into her room, or rather, smacks her right in the face. The fairy, named Mepple, explains he comes from the Garden of Light, another world that’s been taken over by the evil Dark King and his Dark Zone in order to capture the Prism Stones, a number of heart shaped crystals that, if collected, could give Dark King the power to destroy not only the Garden of Light but also the Garden of Rainbows, Earth itself. Meanwhile, Yukishiro Honoka finds a box in her grandmother’s shed containing an item just like the one that smacked Nagisa in the face, and inside is the fairy Mipple, who explains the situation to Honoka. The two fairies, seeking to be reunited, drag Nagisa and Honoka along and the four of them end up meeting up, but are attacked by an emissary of the Dark Zone. Mepple and Mipple grant the confused duo the power to transform into the warriors of legend, Precure. As Cure Black and Cure White, Nagisa and Honoka manage to fight off their attacker and protect their new fairy partners. The girls are then more or less dragged into the battle against the Dark Zone, as the only hope for both Gardens, they fulfill their duty as legendary warriors despite their hesitations and desires to go back to being normal teenagers.

Futari Wa doesn’t exactly have any major themes to speak of, it’s just your standard magical girl vs evil bad guys kind of thing, forgive it for being the first season. What it does have to offer is the relationship between Nagisa and Honoka, as well as the action in fight scenes. The girls don’t start the season as best friends, in fact they barely even know each other’s names when they’re first flung together. It takes a few episodes and a major fight between the girls for them to really start opening up to each other, but soon enough they become inseparable and support each other in everything they do. It’s clear, especially near the end, that the girls cling to each other for support and strength in the face of the increasingly overwhelming odds they face as the Dark Zone gains strength. It’s very compelling to see their relationship deepen in the early season and see how deep their bonds truly go near the end. 

Futari Wa received a sequel show, Futari Wa Precure Max Heart, picking up the story where it left off in the first season’s finale. Honoka and Nagisa are still the main characters, and they’re still fighting the Dark Zone, but this time they’re joined by a mysterious girl named Hikari, who can transform into Shiny Luminous, not a precure but precure-ish. This time the girls are trying to recover the heart and soul of the Queen of the Garden of Light, before the Dark Zone can recover and destroy the queen in her weakened state. Also their precure costumes have changed slightly. 

The first season (that is to say, not max heart) is currently one of the few seasons available with official english subtitles on the streaming platform Crunchyroll

Futari Wa Precure Splash Star

Hyuuga Saki (Cure Bloom), a tomboy who loves playing softball, and Mishou Mai (Cure Egret), a quiet transfer student and aspiring artist, meet each other by chance one day under the Sky Tree, where they discover two creatures from the Land of Fountains named Flappy and Choppy. The two girls transform into the legendary Precure and are tasked with restoring Princess Filia and the Seven Holy Fountains, which were sapped of their power by the evil forces of Dark Fall.

Splash Star's main theme is the appreciation of nature. The main focus is on the girls rediscovering their relationships with their town and the nature and people in it. You get to meet a whole cast of characters in their community, who have a lot of heart and charm behind their writing and the show does a good job of getting you genuinely invested in their stories.

Unfortunately the romance in Splash Star isn’t much better than Futari Wa's (sorry to any Fujimura/Kazuya fans), but the main girls themselves are so engaging that it's easy to ignore. The villains are pretty goofy, but entertaining if you can accept that the show doesn’t take itself very seriously. There are two villains in the latter half of the season that really stand out, though. Without spoiling too much, I can promise you their character arcs will tear at your heartstrings in the best way.

If you've watched Futari wa Precure, Splash Star will probably feel familiar. Although it's the first "reboot" series in the franchise with completely new characters, Toei overall played it safe and Saki and Mai in many ways still feel like "Nagisa and Honoka 2.0". Splash Star is different in enough other ways to make the show stand on its own merits, but if you watch it immediately after Futari wa you might find yourself feeling some deja vu. Personally, I think it's interesting to see what Splash Star builds on and explores when compared to Futari wa, since it has many of the same themes and character archetypes but they play out quite differently.

Yes! Precure 5 & Yes! Precure 5 GoGo!

Nozomi is a cheerful, carefree girl, but she doesn’t have a dream. One day she meets a hot guy and finds a mysterious item called the Dream Collet, capable of granting any wish once all the fairies known as Pinkies are gathered inside it, in the school library. She discovers that the hot guy is actually a tanuki from Palmier Kingdom named Coco, and that the Kingdom has been destroyed by the Nightmare. Coco’s dream is to restore his kingdom using the Dream Collet, and Nozomi decides to make it hers as well. 

She’s joined by her jock friend Rin, Urara, an aspiring actress, Komachi, a writer, and the rich student council president Karen. Together they form Yes Sentai Fiveranger Yes Precure 5 and work together to prevent Nightmare from obtaining the Dream Collet before they can gather all the Pinkies. They also save Coco’s “”””””friend””””””” and fellow hot guy squirrel, Nuts, and he joins them as the second mascot/handsome love interest.

The theme of Yes is dreams and heterosexual furry romance. It pulls off the dreams part very nicely. The het furry romance is bad, mostly because Coco is Nozomi’s teacher at school and also her love interest. However, Coco and Nuts are fairly gay and if you look past the romance part they have very good dadly relationships with the rest of the team. 

Yespre, like Futari Wa, received a sequel show, Yes! Precure 5 GoGo!. After the defeat of Nightmare some time ago, a new faction called Eternal rises up and starts stealing treasures from various dimensions. When Eternal targets the Rose Pact belonging to the Cure Rose Garden, the precure are called back into action to fight against Eternal, with new cure outfits, a new fairy named Syrup, and a new cure-like teammate named Milky Rose.

Fresh Precure!

Fresh is sort of the defining series for modern Precure, introducing a lot of plot and thematic elements to the franchise that would be used repeatedly later on. 

A concert Momozono Love attends is attacked by a monster called a Nakewameke. When Love stands up to it, she is nearly killed, but is saved when she is chosen by a mysterious power to become Cure Peach. She is joined by Inori and Miki as Cure Pine and Cure Berry, and, together with the talking ferret from the Kingdom of Sweets, Tarte, they have to prevent Labyrinth, a grey world led by Mobius, from taking over the Parallel Worlds and transforming them into identical, machine-like dictatorships, and also figure out the secret behind the Magic Baby, Chiffon, that Tarte is entrusted with. 

Fresh’s themes are happiness and nature/technology and donuts. The donuts are important. Labyrinth operates by gathering misery; the Nakewameke are created from it and their function is to create more of it and fill the Sorrow Gauge. All the girls (and the mascot) have love interests and their familial relationships are explored a lot to bring out the general stakes and emphasise what they’re fighting for.

While Fresh is very strong in characters, plot, and thematics, its lack of budget is very apparent. It looks terrible. Fortunately, it isn’t that difficult to get used to the bad animation once you get into the show, although the lack of means tends to show up at inopportune moments, like new powerups.

Heartcatch Precure!

Featuring character designs and art direction from Ojamajo Doremi’s character designer Umakoshi Yoshihiko, and written by Ojamajo Doremi and Onegai My Melody writer Yamada Takashi, Heartcatch should look and feel familiar to fans of either franchise, especially Doremi.

After having a reoccurring dream about someone called Cure Moonlight being defeated trying to defend the “Great Heart Tree”, the shy and reserved Hanasaki Tsubomi moves in with her grandmother and ends up inheriting the will of Cure Moonlight and becomes the newest precure, Cure Blossom. Finding out her grandmother used to be the legendary Cure Flower, Tsubomi vows to protect the world as a precure and learn to change herself for the better. She’s joined by her new friend and the first person she saved as a precure, Kurumi Erika, a loud girl with a big heart who means well, but doesn’t hesitate to speak her mind. Erika becomes Cure Marine and the two become Heartcatch Precure, the newest precure in the long legacy of those who have stood up to the evil Dune, a mysterious invader who destroys planets and turns them into lifeless deserts. Heartcatch Precure fights against Dune’s minions: the mask wearing Professor Sabaku, his Desert Apostles, and the mysterious Dark Precure. Along the way they meet the former Cure Moonlight, now stripped of her power, and try to help her cope with her defeat.

Heartcatch Precure’s main theme is flowers and flower language. Everyone has a “heart flower” that the Desert Apostles take and use to create their monsters every week. As an interesting result of this, the monster of the week will be the main character in the plot of the week and often their big monster form will vent about their issues which will usually lead to a resolution when the precure return them to their regular bodies. Heartcatch also has a very nice backstory and lore to it. Unlike most iterations of precure, the Heartcatch girls are not the first precure to exist in their world, there are dozens maybe hundreds of precure that came before them, fighting against Dune and his forces for hundreds of years. It adds a lot to the narrative in small ways, especially later on in the season. Also the fight scenes are extremely excellent, especially when Moonlight is involved. 

Suite Precure♪

The musical paradise of Major Land falls under siege by the forces of Minor Land, led by King Mephisto. His goal is to steal the living notes of the “Melody of Happiness” and remake them into the “Melody of Sorrow”, throwing the world into a permanent depressive state. As a last resort, Queen Aphrodite scatters the notes into the human world and tasks Hummy, the cat-like fairy, and the Fairy Tones, to find the notes before the forces of Minor Lands can capture them. In the human world, Hummy meets Hojo Hibiki and Minamino Kanade, two girls who were best friends as children, but drifted apart as teenagers because of their tendency to bicker with each other. The two find themselves thrown together again by fate and transform into Cure Melody and Cure Rhythm to protect the things they hold dear. Not long after, the two rekindle their relationship and become closer than before, despite their bickering. Soon the girls run into the mysterious Cure Muse, a girl who appears to be a precure like them, but hides her face with a mask and refuses to join in their fight, claiming to be neither friend nor enemy. Melody and Rhythm battle against Minor Land and the giant Negatones they create from the notes they gather, as well as Siren, another cat-like fairy who used to be Hummy’s best friend before turning to evil and joining Minor Land. 

Suite Precure’s main theme is music, and it is a very encompassing theme. Hibiki and Kanade bond over their piano practice, the town they live in celebrates music frequently and is aesthetically music themed, and their powers take the form of musical instruments. Harmony is also a large theme for the two girls. Their precure power increases as they harmonize with each other, and the early season is very much about them learning to harmonize with each other. Suite also features several extremely well done mystery arcs, about the identity of Cure Muse, and various other things that I can’t very well talk about without risking spoiling things myself. If you manage to go into Suite not knowing anything consider yourself extremely lucky and be super sure not to get spoiled. The show staff went to great lengths to hide certain things, including leaking fake cure designs, and creating a second version of the second dance ending to further mask the identity of Cure Muse until her true reveal. 

Also something to note, usually precure movies have nothing to do with the plot of the show itself and can be watched whenever but the Suite movie is best enjoyed right after the arc revealing Cure Muse’s identity is concluded, it has a nice resolution to plot elements in that arc and sets the stage for the last few arcs of the show, so be sure to watch it then.

Smile Precure!

Written by Kamen Rider Kabuto head writer Yonemura Shoji, Smile Precure is the second season to feature a 5 girl team after Yes! Precure 5 Gogo!. Running late to her first day of school, resident happy-go-lucky klutz Hoshizora Miyuki runs face first into a small creature called Candy, a fairy from a place called Märchenland. The two are attacked by an anthropomorphic wolf named Wolfrun, and Miyuki transforms into Cure Happy to fight against Wolfrun and the big clown faced monster he summons called an Akanbe. After Candy explains that the legends say there are five precure, Miyuki recruits four new friends: the hot blooded Akane (Cure Sunny), shy artist Yayoi (Cure Peace), responsible older sister Nao (Cure March), and refined student council vice-president Reika (Cure Beauty). The five of them become Smile Precure and fight against Wolfrun and his allies in the Bad End Kingdom, who attempt to revive the slumbering Pierrot by trying to put the world in a “Bad End”. 

Smile Precure’s main theme is fairy tales, in a general sense. The Bad End trio are based off of the big bad wolf (Wolfrun), the oni from Momotaro (Akaoni), and the witch from Snow White (Majorina), and Miyuki herself is utterly captivated by fairy tales. The secondary theme is happiness, and the happy go lucky tone of the series often turns on its head during serious arcs to deliver extremely powerful emotional moments. Smile Precure is light on plot, and most episodes are an ultra happy experience, but the show knows how to get serious when it needs to and Smile is exceedingly competent at pulling off drama when the time comes. Smile knows how to get you invested in its characters and use that to pull on your heartstrings during the big moments. The last 10 episodes of the show are the absolute pinnacle of the show’s emotional drama, and each cure gets her own episode for closure before the finale sets in and emotionally destroys you. Also you get to play rock paper scissors with Cure Peace during her roll call so that’s always fun.

Doki Doki! Precure

Doki opens with Trump Kingdom’s destruction by the Selfishness as Cure Sword looks on, helpless. Switching to our world and brighter topics, we meet Aida Mana, Student Council President of Oogai Middle School, whose dream is to become the Prime Minister of Japan. Whenever Mana sees someone in trouble, she’ll help them out, so when a monster attacks the city, Mana does the obvious and tries to stop it. And when, chosen by the fairy Charuru (Charles? Cheryle? Cherry?) to become a Precure and defend the world, she meets Cure Sword, she has to befriend her and help her restore Trump Kingdom and find her happiness. 

Mana (Cure Heart) is joined by Rikka (Cure Diamond), her studious companion and supporter, and also the immeasurably powerful and rich (in that order) Alice (Cure Rosetta). Together they have to unravel the mystery of the man who gave them their transformation items, the missing princess of Trump Kingdom, the strange, evil girl called Regina, and Ai, the chaotic neutral baby who hatches out of an egg. 

Dokipre’s theme is love and selflessness. It also has Deep Lore, a lot of which is established in extra-series material. The show does try to explore concepts like past cures and manages a very nice repeating pattern effect with the plot, in terms of past and future happenings. There’s a lot of foreshadowing. Compared to most Precure seasons it’s very plot-heavy and even the filler usually ends up being plot-relevant. 

Happiness Charge Precure!

The 10th anniversary of Precure! The Phantom Empire is spreading across the world, and Precure are rising up all over the globe to fight them off. In Japan there are two active cures, Cure Fortune, strong and capable, and Cure Princess, scared and unsure of herself. As Cure Princess, Shirayuki Hime, struggles desperately to do her duty as precure, Cure Fortune refuses to work with her for reasons Hime doesn’t fully understand. Realizing her only hope is to find a partner to work with, Hime bumps into Aino Megumi, a super friendly girl who has a tendency to drop everything and help others any time she sees someone in need. Megumi becomes Cure Lovely, and bolstering Hime’s confidence, the two of them become Happiness Charge Precure, tasked with protecting Japan from Queen Mirage and her Phantom Empire. The two are joined by Cure Honey, and eventually Cure Fortune, and the four of them receive support from Blue, the God of Planet Earth. As the girls continue to fight and defend Japan, they are assaulted by Phantom, the ruthless Precure Hunter who has defeated and trapped countless Precure in his Precure Graveyard, and the Oresky Trio, the Phantom Empire generals who oversee the invasion of Japan. 

Happiness Charge Precure’s themes are romance and happiness. There are several arcs dedicated to the budding romances of the cures, and the backstory of the show is heavily tied to romance. Happiness might as well be Megumi’s middle name, she makes it her business to spread happiness to as many people as she can, and takes every chance she can to help others. Happiness Charge is also the first season to have form changes for the precure, each cure has a small selection of forms they can change to for different big attacks, and this concept would later be expanded and used as a core concept in Maho Girls Precure. Like Heartcatch before it, Happiness Charge exists in a world where multiple precure exist, but unlike Heartcatch all those precure exist at the same time in the present day. Other precure teams make cameos every so often and the concept creates a great world in which the whole planet is being protected by teenage girls with superpowers, creating a wonderful sense of scale that really makes the big victories of Happiness Charge Precure feel even bigger. 

Go! Princess Precure

The first precure series to take place at a boarding school! Years ago, a young girl named Haruno Haruka meets a very royal looking person named Kanata who gives her a Dress-Up Key, a big key shaped like a dress. A teenager now, Haruka starts attending Noble Academy, a prestigious boarding school, all the while holding tight to her dream of becoming a true princess, in a quasi-literal sense. Not long after starting the school year, Haruka meets Pafu and Aroma, two fairies from the Hope Kingdom desperate to revive the legendary precure to fight back against Dyspear and her minions who steal dreams to create their giant Zetsuborgs. Realizing what her Dress-Up Key is meant for, Haruka uses it and the Princess Perfume to become Cure Flora. Together with student council president Kaido Minami (Cure Mermaid), and Amanogawa Kirara (Cure Twinkle) a fashion model with huge aspirations, they become the new Princess Precure, tasked with learning to become true princesses along with protecting the Dress-Up Keys from Dyspear’s forces. 

Go! Princess Precure’s main themes are princesses (duh) and dreams. Dreams are a driving force behind all of the cures, and most of the plot of the week characters. Dyspear steals dreams to make monsters, and the precure fight to return those dreams. Characters follow their dreams with conviction, pride, and full commitment. This is also where the princess theme intersects, since it’s Haruka’s dream to become a true princess. One should note that princess is used sort of liberally in this series, it’s not that Haruka wants to somehow become someone of noble birth or have political power, she just wants to be strong, kind, and beautiful, the traits of a true princess in Princess Precure’s own terms. Also she wants to wear pretty dresses and such but who can blame her really. 

Mahou Tsukai Precure! (Maho Girls Precure!)

Quite literally putting the magic in magical girls for the first time in the franchise, Mahou Tsukai Precure was the first season to have its cures be actual magicians. Izumi Riko lives in the magical world, a world where magic is real and she attends a magical academy to hone her craft. She leaves the magical world to travel to the “non-magic” world, to search for a legendary item called the Linkle Stone Emerald. In the non-magic world she ends up catching the attention of another girl, Asahina Mirai, who sees her using magic. After trying to show off some magic and messing it up, Riko is attacked by Batty, a servant of the dark wizard Dokurokushe, who is seeking the Linkle Stone Emerald as well. As fate would have it, both Mirai and Riko carry stones that turn out to be the Linkle Stones Diamond, and the two of them use them to become Cure Miracle and Cure Magical, the legendary Mahou Tsukai Precure. Additionally, the power of the Linkle Stones grants life to Mirai’s lifelong companion, a teddy bear named Mofurun. Having discovered the world of magic and become a precure, Mirai is invited to spend time in the magical world learning magic alongside Riko, before the two, joined by Mofurun and a baby fairy named Ha, return to the non-magical world to search for the Emerald and protect it from Dokurokushe and his minions.

Mahou Tsukai Precure’s main themes are bonds and separation. It’s strengths lie in how it shows the relationship between Mirai and Riko. The show takes its time building their relationship in the first dozen or so episodes of their adventures in the magic world, highlighting their similarities and differences as they grow closer and learn to live with each other and fight as precure together. Well before the halfway mark it’s clear how strong their bond is and how deeply they care for each other, and the lengths they would go to for one another. Mahou Tsukai is an emotional ride in so many ways, every emotional moment hits its mark and the more you get attached to the characters the more the show will hit harder and harder with its moments, both sad and happy. Even side characters get satisfying and emotional conclusions to their storylines outside of the episodes they’re introduced in, it’s all wonderfully crafted.

KiraKira☆Precure A La Mode

Another return to the five cure format, Kirapre is also the second season to feature a sixth team member after Yes! Precure 5 Gogo!, as well as the second season to feature high school age precure after Heartcatch Precure. Usami Ichika is in her second year of middle school and loves sweets, especially making sweets. One day a hungry fairy named Pekorin finds her way into Ichika’s kitchen, and after being fed teaches Ichika about Kirakiraru, an energy source that exists in all sweets, and something that can be stolen and used for evil, leaving the sweets gray and tasteless. Utilizing the power of kirakraru in the shortcake she baked for her mother, Ichika becomes Cure Whip, one of the legendary patissiers, Precure. One by one other precure appear, the smart but shy Arisugawa Himari (Cure Custard), the rock band headliner Tategami Aoi (Cure Gelato), the fickle catlike Kotozume Yukari (Cure Macaron), and the responsible and helpful Kenjou Akira (Cure Chocolat). The five of them fight against the evils of Noir and those he has influenced: Julio, the mysterious masked boy who runs “experiments'' using kirakiraru, and Bibury, a mean spirited girl who uses her talking doll to steal kirakiraru and create monsters.

Kirapre’s main motifs are sweets and animals, and it has a pretty general togetherness and happiness theme going on, the standard precure stuff, mostly viewed through the lense of sweets and sweets-making. All the precure work as patissiers for one reason or another and it’s the main way the team bonds early on. The team, as well as the people of their small town, love sweets as a part of their culture and sweets maintain an important role as the emotional tie that binds most things together in the story. Overall Kirapre is a wonderful show with a great cast on both sides of the conflict, and a lot of care has been put into the show to make sure characters have their moments to interact with each other as well as have their own stories , even on a team of six every precure gets more than enough time to shine on her own. Kirapre is at it’s best when it takes two girls and puts them together for an episode, letting each unique dynamic play out in a fun and satisfying way. Kirapre is also noteworthy for the almost inarguably canonical relationship between two of the cures. It's not exactly explicit and it does leave something to be desired, since this is a Toei children's show, but there’s not really any other way to read the evolution of their relationship or their duet song, so I’m more than satisfied calling it canon.

This season is currently one of the few seasons available with official english subtitles on the streaming platform Crunchyroll 

HUGtto! Precure

Precure’s 15th anniversary! This season is in many ways a celebration of all things Precure, bringing together a lot of familiar elements from past shows into one. Hugtto! is another five cure season whose main themes are destiny and future. Nono Hana (Cure Yell) is a thirteen-year-old girl whose dream is to be a "cool and stylish woman," although she worries that others see her as childish. One day, a hamster named Harryham Harry and a magical baby named Hugtan fall out of the sky into Hana's house. They're being chased from the future by an evil organization called Criasu Corporation, who are trying to use Hugtan's power to freeze time forever. Hana makes friends with two of her classmates: the responsible class representative Yakushiji Saaya (Cure Ange) and the reclusive ex-figure skater Kagayaki Homare (Cure Etoile), and together they fight Criasu while taking care of Hugtan and figuring out the many mysteries surrounding her. Expect some light sc-fi elements and an emphasis on modern technology/social media.

Hugtto! explores its themes primarily through the lenses of childcare and the workplace, giving us a look at how each girl comes to terms with the transition from childhood to adulthood. This season does a good job of letting each member of the team shine; you spend several episodes with each girl (or duo of girls) and there's a real sense of a complete character arc for all of them. The romance aspect is, unfortunately, pretty bad: there’s a return of hetero furry romance between Harry and Homare, and Hana’s love interest exhibits some really creepy behavior towards her. There’s uncomfortable age gaps in both of these relationships too so it’s a just a bit…. Yikes. Thankfully, it’s fairly easy to ignore like past seasons, but a warning for it nonetheless.

Something that makes this season stand out is its LGBT subtext; there's a TON of it even compared to the normal amount that Precure is known for. Without giving away too much, two of the cures this season are heavily coded as lesbians (though not with each other per se), and there's a subplot concerning a side character who is pretty explicitly (well, as explicit as Toei dares to be) a gender non-conforming man/nonbinary person in love with another man, and it's all very wholesome and presented in a positive light. Again, this is Toei, so don't expect anything too radical, but I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with how Hugpre handles it.

Finally I'll just say that while Hugpre is a fantastic season on its own, I would personally recommend waiting to watch it after you've seen some other seasons (notably Futari wa). It's not required, but since Hugpre is an anniversary season, there are a few episodes (especially near the end) that will really hit different if you have an emotional connection to the franchise already. Ultimately though this is a fairly minor part of the show, so watching this season first won’t ruin it or anything like that, it’s just something to keep in mind.

Star☆Twinkle Precure

Precure… in space! Our protagonist, Hoshina Hikaru (Cure Star) loves space and cryptids, to the point of drawing her own constellations. One of her constellations is an adorable alien puffball, who warps into Hikaru’s room almost immediately after she draws it. The puffball quickly befriends Hikaru, who names her Fuwa. They are later joined by Prunce, the team dad friend/alien mascot, and Lala (Cure Milky), a humanoid alien who is an adult in her own culture. After our initial duo gets off to a bit of a rocky start, they are joined by the student council president, Kaguya Madoka  (Cure Selene) and a biracial upperclassman who is considered to be the “sun” of the school, Amamiya Elena (Cure Soleil). Together, they explore the universe and befriend all sorts of aliens, while also defending them from the Notraiders, who want to rid the universe of all imagination. On top of that, the universe is dying and the cures need to find the 12 astrologically themed Star Pens to save it and the 12 Star Princesses. This series is notable for attempting to break the “monster of the week” format, instead making it a “fight of the week”.

The major themes of Star Twinkle are space, imagination, and maturity. The cures have to explore the universe to find the Star Pens, and in doing so, visit a bunch of different planets. About half the series is spent on Earth, but the world still feels developed! Honestly speaking, the theme of imagination is forgotten pretty quickly and I’d refer to it more as free will. The theme of maturity is where Star Twinkle really shines. All of the cures have had to grow up too fast in some way, and the series is partially about just allowing them to goof off. Lala is considered an adult on her planet, and this plot point is treated realistically. Well, as realistically as it can be. This is one series I’d recommend avoiding spoilers like the plague for, because part of the fun is in how the plot twists are pulled off. Also Star Twinkle is notable for featuring the first ever dark skinned precure, as Elena is half-hispanic. 

Healin’ Good Precure

The currently airing Precure season, as of this writing. The Byogens seek to revive their king by inflicting viruses on Earth, the Healing Garden sends three medical interns to combat them. These interns, fairies named Rabirin, Pegitan, and Nyatoran, along with a baby fairy princess named Latte, journey to Earth to find partners to become Precure. They end up meeting Hanadera Nodoka, a kindhearted girl who was hospitalized for most of her young childhood. After Nodoka risks her life to protect Latte, Rabirin chooses her to become Cure Grace. Joined by older sister type Sawaizumi Chiyu (Cure Fontaine) and the outgoing Hiramitsu Hinata (Cure Sparkle), they form Healin’ Good Precure, and defend their friends and the Earth from the Byogen’s newest wave of attacks. 

This season is currently one of the few seasons available with official english subtitles on the streaming platform Crunchyroll.

Where To Watch Precure Online

Unfortunately for us, Precure isn’t really a thing in the west. There was a dub of Futari Wa back in the early 2000’s and Smile and Doki both got “adapted” into Glitter Force over on netflix (I don’t really recommend checking those out), but really Precure just doesn’t exist over here.

However, as mentioned above, there are currently three seasons avalible for streaming on crunchyroll. The original Futari Wa Precure, Kira Kira Precure A La Mode, and the current season, Healin’ Good Precure.

Beyond these isolated examples of official releases, you can really only watch precure online on streaming sites or through torrents. You can find precure pretty much on any major anime streaming site, kissanime, gogoanime, the works. You can also try your luck torrenting the seasons, i’ve found that pretty much every season has a working torrent you can find on sites like nyaa.si or the like. For more recent seasons you should have little difficulty getting torrents, and last time i checked every season was on one of the aforementioned streaming sites. What I’m saying really is there’s no single place to find precure, but it’s not impossible to find for sure.

Thanks for reading this post, I hope you decide to check out precure and I really hope you end up loving it.Thanks to my wonderful friend @meltorights​ for writing the sections on Yespre, Fresh, and Dokipre, to @wonderlilane​ for writing the sections on Splash Star and Huggto, and @cure-cosmo​ for writing the segment on Starpre. 

If you have questions feel free to drop me an ask I’d be happy to help. I will literally go out of my way to help you if it means getting someone new into precure so please do not hesitate by any means. 

[dramarants]

KDrama Actors Who Caught My Eye

GIF by iamacolor

Ji Chang Wook 

Surprise! Healer is one of my all time favorite dramas and this man has one of my all time favorite faces. He gives the sweetest heart eyes, can handle heavier emotional scenes, and most of the main roles I’ve seen him in are puppies with grumpy exteriors which he does so well. His latest drama choices haven’t been great (older posts in his tag can tell you more) but his swoon factor makes the mediocre ones worthwhile!

Dramas watched: 7

Greatest Hits:

Healer (2014) - action, political drama with fluffy angst romance

Suspicious Partner (2017) - lawyer romcom with a serial killer plot line

Empress Ki (2013) - jcw as a sheltered crown prince, the show guts you

Latest:

Melting Me Softly (2019)

Lovestruck in the City (2020, still airing)

Park Seo Joon

Tumblr was in love with this man when I first started watching kdramas and he grew on me too. He kept showing up in popular recommendations (and in the boba shop across from my favorite study spot on campus lmfao) and his charms work well in bringing warmth to some of the typically “alpha” characters he’s played. What can I say, I’m a sucker for smiles.

Dramas watched: 6

Greatest Hits:

Fight for My Way (2017) - slice of life romcom, a tumblr fave!

Itaewon Class (2020) - slice of life with some punch, great OST*

What’s Wrong with Secretary Kim (2018) - psj fan holy grail romcom**

Breakout Roles:

She Was Pretty (2015)

Kill Me, Heal Me (2015)

*haven’t seen this yet but really looking forward to it!

**ngl this cloying tropefest was too much for me but v cute, great kisses

Kim Seon Ho

Oh man where to begin. When I first saw him on the Start-Up thumbnail, I thought “who casted him, he seems creepy” and good lord was I wrong. By ep 3, I was completely awestruck by his talent, expressions, charisma, dimples, voice - okay I’m stopping you get the point. This man is an insanely wonderful, versatile actor (plus a total dork on season 4 of 2 Days 1 Night!) and I can’t wait for all he has in store for us.

Dramas watched: 7 (in 30 days, whoops)

Greatest Hits:

Start-Up (2020) - tech workplace drama, jipyeong breaks your heart

Catch the Ghost (2019) - subway action dramedy, lead role!

Welcome to Waikiki 2 (2019) - pure comedy, he just looks pretty even when he’s suffering

Breakout Roles:

Good Manager/Chief Kim (2017)

Two Cops (2017)

Im Siwan

I’m cheating with this one bc there’s other actors I’ve seen more of but recently I’ve been obsessed with his absolutely adorable, grounded portrayal of Ki Seon Gyeom in Run On and I just started Strangers From Hell where he plays a much darker role! He’s an idol turned actor I believe, and while I haven’t seen a lot of his work, I’m loving what I’ve come across so far.

Dramas watched: 2, one in progress

Greatest Hits:

The Attorney (2013) - legal drama movie, his breakout role 

Misaeng (2014) - classic workplace ensemble drama, so so good

Run On (2020, still airing) - feel-good slice of life, awkward cinnamon rolls with various burn degrees

Latest:

Hell is Other People/Strangers From Hell (2019) 

Honorable Mentions: 

They stood out in the roles I saw and star in dramas in my watchlist!

Kang Ha Neul - 3, so glad he never got braces for his dorky smile

Jo Jung Suk - 3, hospital playlist is what really sold him to me

Nam Joo Hyuk - 5, didn’t realize I've seen so many of his dramas

Yoo Ah In - 2, secret love affair?? Jesus Christ??

Lee Junho - 1, his performance in just between lovers is exquisite

Jung Hae In - 2, fits the beta lead trope so well if you’re into that

Kim Myung Soo - 3, held his own across shin hye-sun, a cutie

Oh Jung Se - 2, stellar performance as kang tae 

Lee Jae Wook - 2, mostly fascinated by how a man can look like a dinosaur but still... cute? dare I say hot?

Jang Seung Jo - 1, wanna see more after his role in jtbc’s chocolate

Kim Won Hae - 9, one of the busiest drama dads/comic reliefs in the biz let’s be real

Sung Dong Il - 8, another busy drama dad/comic relief/evil historical politician but his role in my drama journey has to be acknowledged

Happy to discuss or get recs for dramas with strong performances or your favorite actors!

[angelicymp]

Perhaps a little coaxing is needed...

Good evening my literary friends,

I am hoping to find a suitable partner for specific cravings and ideas I have in mind.

My introduction will be brief and a bit more to the point than usual. I am quite thorough and detail-oriented when it comes to being a writer, including some of my rules and preferences. However, since I believe it to be quite a hassle to go through every point I’m making, my ad will be a bit more compact.

A brief recap: You can call me Imp; I am in my twenties and a student, striving to become a part-time freelancer as well. My main hobbies are photography, traveling, drawing and of course, the art of writing. Currently, I reside in Europe, so my timezone could differ from yours, unless you are also from a similar region.

Be sure to read through my ad to see if we’re compatible. Too many times I’ve encountered cases where the inquirers skimmed through all of the info and upon messaging me, were surprised to learn that we weren’t a match from the beginning. So if you haven’t properly read my ad, I’ll know. I’d like to urge everyone to stick with it so there won't be any misunderstandings and not waste everyone’s time.

————————


Me, myself and I

(art by: Ayami Kojima)

♦ Nickname: Imp

♦ Experience: 12 years and counting

♦ Style: 1:1 with the inclusion of doubling

♦ Rating: Mature

♦ Roleplaying Platform: Email and Google Docs

♦ Chatting Platform: Email, Google Hangouts or Discord

♦ Pet peeves: Slice of Life


After finishing the game of Resident Evil 8 Village, I was struck by yet another muse.




I am currently looking for either a pre-existing canon inspired roleplay, or, something completely original. Be sure you are above the age of eighteen, preferably 21 and upwards. I will not accept any inquires from minors - this is not negotiable.

What to expect

♢  Content: Mature. I am more interested in darker things like horror, occultism, the supernatural, you can maybe guess where I am going with this. My limits are few, safe for a couple of minor pet peeves that I have, I am pretty much open to some experimentation; such as violence, gore and sexual themes. When it comes to heavy scenes, I will not fade to black, unless it serves no purpose to the story. Not a huge fan of censorship. However, I will not force or push my partner into something they are not comfortable with. If you want to know the extent to how far I am willing to go, what sort of content, or how graphic my writing will be, you can ask me directly.



♢ Rating: I have little to no issues with delving into more sensitive topics. Since reality is often stranger than fiction, it is very interesting to explore all sides of human nature, including the less comfortable subjects such as psychology, crime, etc. But I also like to remind that this is a world of fiction and no one in their right mind would condone such things in real life. The world of adults is not easy to handle, but it sure is interesting to explore. So if you are a gentle soul and can’t take the heat of more serious moments within the roleplay, be it a character going through trying times, etc; this might not be ideal for you.

♢ Writing: My texts are considerably lengthy, detailed, and elaborate. Third-person is usually my preferred way of playing my character unless there’s a special case where an exception can be made. Word count usually fluctuates, though I have a standard form of 400-500+ words per reply. It also highly depends on the given situation.

♢ Romancing: I admit to being a hopeless romantic. There’s nothing more enjoyable than witnessing good and powerful chemistry between two characters. Preferably I go for the usual MxF pairing dynamic but I am also open to FxF and MxM, should it feel more fitting. While doubling, I can write the character/love interest to my partner’s desire, but I always aim to stay true to their personality and character. I hate nothing more than forcing characters into a relationship, especially if there’s no spark, so I won’t respond well to being pressured into letting characters act out of their personality. It’s just not realistic. As for smut, or what have you, I have no issues with adding a few spicy scenes, sometimes even drawing them out of our pleasure. When there is, however, a running theme where sexual themes are taking the focal point of the plot, it can become quite boring. It is never the center of any of my roleplays, so be warned.

♢ Plotting: I am fairly quick when it comes to building new characters, concepts, premises, storylines, backstories, etc. It allows me a certain latitude. Feel free to communicate your ideas and thoughts with me. I am happy to chat, even when it doesn’t involve the roleplay directly. Though this is a hobby, I am still extremely passionate about good storytelling and interesting character arcs. I hope to meet someone who is just as enthusiastic and willing to put in the same amount of effort. If it’s only me who’s pulling all the weight, I will lose interest and feel forced to end the correspondence.

No gos

♦ Won’t do: Pedophilia, Necrophilia, Bestiality, Scat, Vore, Toilet Play, etc. I am sure you can also think of many other strange fetishes that have developed over the years spent on the internet.

♦ Won’t write: The idea of supernatural beings trying to fit into human society. The typical bully x victim storyline. The run-of-the-mill vampires vs werewolf plot. BDSM centred stories. Slice of life. Flawless or excessively flawed characters.

What I expect

♢ Literacy: You should at least have a decent grasp of basic grammar and coherency in your spelling.

♢ Flexibility: Since we all have lives outside of the roleplay, we both need to be flexible. Sometimes our schedules may differ, and if life is currently intervening, we can take things a bit easier. Plus, I can’t always respond every second of every day, either. This should be considered a hobby and not a job. If a hiatus is on the rise, there is no problem with putting things on ice until things clear up.

♢ Experience: And by that, I don’t mean how many years you’ve roleplayed, rather the experience that comes with age and emotional maturity. Especially if you want to write stories with grit.

♢ Open to doubling: Quick explanation. Doubling is when we play two main characters each. The dynamic is as follows; I write your chosen love interest against your main character while you do the same for me.

♢ Long term: Only long-term partnerships.

♢ Sharing the spotlight: Don’t forget, this is all about you too! Let me know all your specific cravings, interests, or wants that you want to be included into the roleplay.

Cravings

♦ Urban fantasy: Supernaturals, demons, spirits, vampires, you name it. I’d be more interested in something original and unique, especially when it comes to vampirism and demonic entities.

♦ Dark Sci-Fi: So this is a bit inspired by Resident Evil. A world where monsters become a vicious reality, generating fear among the people they come in contact with. But as it turns out, these monsters are not supernatural, but rather infected or mutated by a virus that cannot be explained.

♦ History, mythology, and folklore: An interesting take on the historical timeline, where legends and myths were once a reality. However, their existence was greatly misrepresented in the storybooks, sometimes even completely distorted. Our characters could be accidental time travelers who have been sent from the future to see it with their own eyes. Inspirations are mostly Slavic, European, and ancient folklore from all over the world.

♦ Crime with a dark twist: Mafias, organized crime, and corrupted politicians run this town. All of them have one thing in common. A particular drug that grants humans superhuman abilities; but at a cost. The drug will turn force the users to reject their humanity to instead embrace their monstrosity.

Canon & Fandoms

♢ Castlevania: Rather the original games than the Netflix series. But I am also not opposed to tackling the Netflix universe.

♢ Devil May Cry: Every game is game. Except for the reboot. Never played that one.

♢ Invincible: Not so invincible.

♢ Resident Evil: Village is one of the best games I’ve ever played. Periodt.

♢ Harry Potter: Next gen anyone?

————————

If you made it this far, I am glad you managed to hold on, lol. If you found what I wrote, agreeable and have a similar interests to mine, feel free to message me on this email adress.

You can also contact me via DM on my Tumblr blog, though preferably, I would rather be more receptive on Email since I am more active there. And it’s a lot more personal as well.

Email: impish.and.angelic@gmail.com

Hope to see you there.

I wish you all a lovely day my fellow readers!

-Imp

[daresplaining]

Have you ever done a post regarding Elektra and all her love interests in the comics? I know it's done often with DD (and how he is quite the ladies man) but was wondering who she has been romantically involved with in the Marvel Universe.

    I haven’t, and I really should, so thank you for asking! This is one of those questions where the longer I thought about it, the more difficult it became to actually answer, and the reason is this: Elektra tends to be a sexualized character. She is frequently written as something of a femme fatale, and people are constantly lusting after her. This means that in some cases-- especially cases in which Elektra is not the narrator of the story-- it’s difficult to distinguish between Elektra partnering with someone who is attracted to her and Elektra actually being engaged in a romantic relationship. There is a ton of subtext involved in some of her interactions with people, and I will be the first to admit that I’m not the best at decoding romantic subtext. A great example is Agent Garrett from Elektra: Assassin (who I have not included on this list). We are in his head for most of the story, and he is going gaga over Elektra the entire time. On the page, it doesn’t look like she’s reciprocating, but Garrett imagines that she might be, and so you get into this situation where you start to think... maybe they’re being romantic off-panel. Maybe Elektra is actually into him. But since we’re not in her head, and because Garrett is an unreliable narrator, it’s very difficult to parse what is actually going on between them.  

    In any case, here is a list of people with whom I’m pretty confident Elektra has been romantically involved (in roughly chronological order). 

Matt Murdock 

[ID: Elektra and Matt seen from the shoulders up, kissing. Elektra has her arms around Matt’s neck.]

    Obviously, number one on the list is this guy, the college boyfriend, Elektra’s first love, the one that accidentally got her father killed which caused her to become so disillusioned with life that she dropped out of school and became a ninja assassin got away. Elektra is very much her own character and has been for a long time, but she will always-- to some degree-- be defined by her relationship with Matt. This is partly because Matt was a significant player in her origin story, but it’s also because their relationship embodied a happier time, and is something that Elektra has continued to cherish through all of the chaos that she has been through in the years since. Matt serves as a bit of an ideal for her; she will occasionally compare other men she meets to him-- particularly men who she is considering involving herself with. If you want to play Elektra bingo, “Thinks About Matt” should be the free space because it happens at least once per run.  

    I tend to think of Matt and Elektra’s relationship as one of a connection that transcends their actual interactions. Their lives are so intensely paralleled, and their college-era time together was so important to both of them, that they are always present in each other’s lives even when they aren’t physically together. Elektra will frequently show up when Matt needs help-- sometimes in person, sometimes psychically, sometimes just in his imagination. They have shared a lot of closeness and are very important to each other. But they haven’t actually spent that much time together. Elektra was interested in resuming a romantic relationship with Matt immediately after her resurrection, during Chichester’s Daredevil run, but Matt wasn’t in the right emotional place for it. They tried, briefly, to date during Elektra volume 1, but that fell apart right away. Now, in the current DD run, they have started up a relationship-- which is hugely significant after years and years of pining and angst and near-misses. I’m curious to see where this will take them moving forward.     

Tekagi

[ID: Two panels showing Elektra and a burly man embracing in a stream in the moonlight.]

Tekagi (caption): “My past with Elektra? Is that what really troubles you, Genkotsu? It was exotic and intense, yes... but it is also long over!”

    In Elektra: Root of Evil, we learn that during her time training with/infiltrating the Hand, a lonely Elektra had a passionate but brief relationship with one of her teachers, an ambitious (and ultimately bad news) Hand warrior named Tekagi. While they both end up with fond memories of their time together, they also both treat it as being very much in the past. When they meet again as enemies, years later, Elektra doesn’t suffer too much angst about killing him. 

Wolverine

[ID: Elektra and Wolverine, both in costume, are sitting together on a low wall with a Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters sign on the front. Wolverine looks sad; Elektra is embracing him from behind. They are surrounded by green trees.]

    When Logan has the Adamantium ripped out of him and the trauma causes him to revert to a feral, animalistic state, Stick sends Elektra to help him find his way back. This comes at a time when Elektra is also struggling to re-find herself after returning from the dead. Together, the two go on an emotional journey of self-discovery that turns them into very close friends. Since then, they have frequently stepped into each other’s lives for team-ups and to provide emotional support. I have to admit a little ignorance on this one. While Logan’s appearances in Elektra-focused comics appear platonic, I haven’t read many Wolverine comics, and I've gotten the sense through my general Marvel reading that there is a romantic element to Elektra and Logan’s relationship that I just haven’t come across yet, which is why he’s on this list. If any of my followers can clarify this one, please do!

McKinley “Mac” Stewart

[ID: Elektra (in a jacket) is leaning down toward Mac, a beefy guy with a mustache and a ponytail. Her hand is on the side of his face. The scene is tinted dark blue.]

Elektra: “Stop talking. The answer is yes, Matt.”

Mac: “You mean... Mac.”

Elektra: “That’s what I said.”

    Elektra’s first solo series takes place soon after her resurrection, and is centered around her attempts to put her life as an assassin behind her and start anew (spoiler: she fails spectacularly). One of her projects in this new life is a dojo that she founds and funds to give local kids a place to go to receive training and support. Elektra brings in two guys to help run the dojo: a martial artist named King Lau and a heavyweight boxer named Mac Stewart. Mac quickly develops an attraction toward Elektra, and while she at first hesitates to accept his advances for personal baggage-related reasons, she eventually ends up engaging in what seems to be a mostly physical relationship with him. However, this relationship doesn’t receive much development. Most of their interactions happen off-panel or in the background of the main plot, Elektra almost ditches him for Matt at one point, and when the series ends, Mac is in a coma thanks to an attack by the Hand and (to my knowledge) never appears again.       

Frank Castle

[ID: Elektra and Frank are sitting across from each other at a diner-style table, drinking out of the same cup with straws. They are pointing weapons (sai and gun) at each other under the table.]

    Elektra and Frank have tended to run in the same circles, kill the same types of people, etc. and through encountering each other and learning each other’s reputations, they end up developing a healthy admiration for each other. Frank asks Elektra to train him, in recognition of her superior skills. This blossoms into a romance that lasts throughout their time working together on the Thunderbolts team (she gives him the heart of a mobster she killed and he gets it bronzed... it's very sweet). They end up having a (verbal and physical) fight and breaking up at the end of the run, though they still seem to be on fairly good terms.

Stephen Strange 

[ID: Elektra and Doctor Strange, both in costume, are kissing in front of the big window in the Sanctum Sanctorum. A full moon is rising over the buildings behind them.]

    This is new! Elektra and Stephen are currently working together on Conan-related shenanigans in Savage Avengers, and a few issues ago they slept together. For the moment, they both seem to be treating it as a casual one-time thing, but time will tell if that remains true.   

[hamster4wheel]

I'm gonna start a series called: How aroace friendly are pieces of media?

I will start with book series, that I read when I was younger and then switch to movies and shows, that I watched more recently.

I'm trying to explain everything so that everyone is able to understand my point without having to have read/watched it.

Please correct me if I say something offensive, ignorant or factually incorrect! And of course you can suggest me things to add or what I could judge next.

Let's start with the reason I got the idea:

Harry Potter

-10000/10

-

Miss Terf is an awful person for a lot of reasons and the books are full of shit

Obviously no canon representation

The main villain’s (Voldemort) backstory is that his father was under the influence of a love potion when he slept with Voldemort's mother

A lot of people (me included before anon corrected me) interpreted that as him being born without the ability to love, which made him evil

In canon he grew up without love (mostly because his family is shitty) and thus became evil

Love potions in general (even though they don’t make “real” love)

The main message the author wants to bring across is: Love always wins

= all main plot points are solved because of love (platonic, romantic, family)

Romance serves as solution for people's problems & internal struggles (e.g. Remus Lupin & Tonks, Draco Malfoy & Astoria Greengrass)

Every main character ends up with a romantic partner at the end

Even characters that didn't got a romantic plot in the actual series got one on Pottermore (Wiki where the author sometimes adds facts and stories) later (e.g. Minerva McGonagall, Albus Dumbledore, Luna Lovegood)

Don't even get me started on Snape (teacher at the school the main characters attend)

He's an awful person who projects his own problems onto literal children's and makes their life hell

But suddenly he's a good guy because he was in love with main characters mum

These quotes: "Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and above all, those who live without love."- Albus Dumbledore

"The old argument," he said softly. "But nothing I have seen in the world has supported your pronouncements that love is more powerful than my kind of magic, Dumbledore." -Tom Riddle

+

Romantic relationships are not portrayed as more important than the friendships

It’s for children so there is no sex

[drivingsideways]

k-drama rec list

Prior to 2020 I’d maybe watched 2 k-dramas in my entire life, but this year I got sucked in, thanks to some great recs, and y’know, *gestures * everything.  

I think I’d held off watching kdramas because my impression of them was limited to romances that I didn’t enjoy at all. But this was the year I discovered the equivalent of “gen fic” kdrama- dramas that had wonderful ensemble casts, strong story lines that weren’t entirely romance focused and also a variety in terms of themes and styles. A big plus was that I found so many of these dramas had women leading the writers’ room, and seeing the effect of that in the story telling. (Notable exceptions: a certain “star” writer who should please stop inflicting her badly written, formulaic crap on the world, yes Kim Eun-Sook, I mean you, and whoever wrote that trashfire Flower of Evil)

So here I am with my own rec list! Caveat- these are mostly not the dramas released in 2020, I’m still playing catch up! :)

Under the cut for length

My Mister/ My Ahjussi  (2018, Written by Park Hae-Young, Directed by Kim Won-Seok, starring Lee Sun-kyun and Lee Ji-eun aka IU) 

This was definitely my absolute favourite of the shows I watched this year across western/ asian media. It’s a story about the thread that binds us all and the ineffability of human connection. It’s also a story that deconstructs ideas of masculinity and honour and shame in a non-western context, but with an extremely compassionate touch.  It’s a story that doesn’t shy away from showing the consequences of material and spiritual poverty; and how one can so easily feed into the other. It’s a love story that isn’t a romance, except that it’s a Romance. It’s about finding salvation in one another and in the kindness of strangers.  It’s about choosing life, and picking yourself up off the floor to take that one last step and then the next and then the next. The one quibble I have with the series is that it could have been better paced, it does get extremely slow after the half way mark. But god, do they land the ending. Both Lee Sun-kyun and IU turn in absolutely heartbreaking performances, and fair warning, be prepared to go through an entire box of tissues watching this series. 

Life  (2018,  written by Lee Soo-yeon  and directed by Hong Jong-chan, starring Lee Dong-wook, Cho Seung-woo, Won Jin-ah, Lee Kyu-hyung, Yoo Jae-myung and Moon So-ri.)

Medical dramas are very much not my thing, and I wouldn’t have taken a chance on it except that @michyeosseo said I should, and she was right! It’s a medical drama in the sense that it’s set in a hospital, but rather than a “case-fic” format, this is actually a sharp commentary on the corporatization of health care, and the business of mixing, well, money and what should be a fundamental human right. Writer Lee Soo-yeon was coming off the global success of Stranger/Secret Forest S1 when this aired, so I understand that expectations were probably sky-high, and people were disappointed when this show didn’t give them the adrenaline rush that they wanted. On the other hand, I thought that this outing was really much more nuanced in terms of the politics and also how the ending doesn’t allow you the luxury of easy-fixes. This show has a great ensemble cast, and while it took me a while to get used to Lee Dong-wook’s woodenness (i ended up calling him mr.cadaver after watching this and was surprised to learn that he’s very popular?), in the end I was quite sold on his version of angry angst-bucket elder-sibling Dr.Ye Jin-woo. His best scenes were with Lee Kyu-hyung who turns in a lovely, achy performance as the paraplegic Dr. Ye Seon-woo who just wants to live a normal life. The love story between the two brothers is actually the emotional backbone of the story, and I think they landed that perfectly. 

My one quibble with writer-nim is that she ended up writing in a forgettable and somewhat (for me at least) uncomfortable romance between the characters played by Won Jin-ah and Cho Seung-Woo. I think part of my uncomfortable-feeling was that I got the strong sense that the writer herself didn’t want to write this romance, it was as if she was being made to shoe-horn it in for Studio Reasons, and she basically grit her teeth and did the worst possible job of it.  I do wish we could have absolutely had the OT3 of my dreams: Moon So-ri/Cho Seung-woo/Yoo Jae-myung like, c’mon TV gods MAKE IT HAPPEN, just...look at them!!!! 

Anyway, that apart, I think this was a very engaging series, and by engaging, I also mean thirst-enabling, see below. 

 Stranger (aka Secret Forest  or Forest of Secrets) S1 & 2 : (2017-, Written by Lee Soo-yeon, directed by 

2017′s smash hit aired a much anticipated second season in 2020, and I managed to catch up just in time to watch that live, so that was thrilling :D . Writer Lee Soo-yeon  mixes up thriller/office comedy/political commentary in an ambitious series. I think S1 is more “exciting” than S2 in terms of the mystery and pacing,  but S2 is far more dense and interesting in terms of political commentary because it takes a long hard look at institutional corruption and in true writer-nim fashion doesn’t prescribe any easy solutions. Anyway, please enjoy public prosecutor Cho Seung-woo and police officer Bae Doona as partners/soulmates kicking ass and taking names in pursuit of Truth, Justice and just a goddamn peaceful meal, along with a stunningly competent ensemble cast. Also yes, Han Yeo Jin is a lesbian, sorry, I don’t make the rules. 

Search: WWW  (2019, Written by Kwon Do-Eun, directed by Jung Ji-hyun & Kwon Young-il, starring  Im Soo-jung, Lee Da-hee, Jeon Hye-jin)

GOD. Where do I start? +1000 for writer Kwon Do-Eun saying “fuck the patriarchy” in the most grandiose way possible, i.e. absolutely refusing to acknowledge that it exists. Yes, this is that power fantasy, and it’s also a fun, slice-of-life  tale about three women navigating their way through work, romance, national politics and everything in between. It’s true that I wasn’t entirely sold on the amount of time spent on the romance, and I really wish they’d actually had a textual wlw romance, though the subtext through the entire series is PRACTICALLY TEXT. But still, it maintains that veneer of plausible deniability and I think queer fans who are sick of that kind of treatment in media have a very valid grouse against the show. On the other hand, personally I felt that the queer-platonic vibe of the show is very wonderful and true to real life, and it was only reinforced by the ending. This is a show written by a woman for women (like me), and it shows. 

Hyena  (2020, Written by Kim Roo-Ri, directed by Jang Tae-yoo & Lee Chang Woo, starring  Kim Hye-soo and Ju Ji-hoon )

Those of you who’ve been watching hit zombie epic Kingdom are probably familiar with Ju Ji-hoon’s brand of sexiness already. I had not watched Kingdom and got hit in the face by Mr.Sexy McSexyPants’ turn as a brash, privileged-by-birth, up and coming lawyer who gets completely runover by the smoking hot and incredibly dangerous fellow lawyer/competitor from the other side of the tracks in the person of Kim Hye-Soo. When I say they set the room on fire, I mean it, ok. Every single scene between these two is an actual bonfire of sexual attraction and emotional hand grenades, and they’re both absolutely riveting to watch. “Flower of Evil” wishes they had what this show has- an actual grown up romance as opposed to a thirteen year old twilight fan’s idea of an adult romance. 

The “lawyer” shenanigans and the “cases” are hit or miss, and I think the occasional comedy fell flat for me. But that’s not why I mainlined like 6 episodes of this series overnight like a coke addict, and that’s not why you’re going to do it either. It’s so RARE, even in these enlightened days to find a female character like Jung Geum-ja: hard as nails, unapologetic about it, and not punished by the narrative for it. The best part for me is that she feels like a woman’s woman, not a man’s idea of what a Strong Female Character should be. Anyways, when I grow up I want to have what Kim Hye-soo has ok?

Other dramas that I watched this year, quickly rated:

The King: Eternal Monarch (3/10 and those 3 points are only for the combined goodness of second leads who deserved better- Jung Eun Chae, Woo Do Hwan and Kim Kyung Nam. Please head over to my AO3 and read my attempts to fix this garbage fire and rescue their characters from canon)

Flower of Evil (-10/100, dont @ me)

Tale of the Nine Tailed (5/10, I think it succeeds at what it set out to do, which is a light hearted, sweet fantasy-romance-melodrama, plus “second lead” Kim Beom will make you cry as the hot mess of a half human/ half fox spirit ALL TEARS character. I think if you’re into kdrama romances as a genre, this is probably a good bet?)

Signal  (7/10,  This was the first full kdrama I watched this year and would definitely recommend. It’s a police procedural with time travel shenanigans and has an engaging plot, good pacing, texture and compelling performances. My one disappointment with it was the way they wrote Kim Hye-soo’s character. As literally the only female character to survive in any way, she was given short shrift, and toward the end it really began to grate on me.)

Six Flying Dragons - (7/10, also would recommend if you’re interested in Korean historicals. It definitely already feels a bit dated in terms of styling and production values, and even scripting and acting choices. But it has a good balance of fantasy and history and political commentary. I was not a fan of Yoo In-Ah’s performance in this series, but it’s not anything that would make you want to nope out of the series. It’s GoT , if GoT was thoughtful about politics and characters and not the misogynist, racist trashfire that it became.)

My Country: The New Age - (3.5/10, and that’s 3 points to Jang Hyuk’s fan and 0.5.points to Woo Do Hwan’s heaving bosom. If you like your historical drama/fantasy with very pretty men, very gay subtext -seriously RIP to show makers who thought they could hetero it but didn’t account for Woo Do Hwan’s Tragic Face- lots of blood and tears and very nonsense plot, this is right up your alley. I probably would have enjoyed it more in other circumstances, I think? But this one just annoyed me too much at the time! 

I have a couple of more dramas to watch on my list, that’ll probably carry me over into 2021, so see ya on the other side! :D

[kirbyspits]

ok but what I will always wonder about makorra and zutara is why bryke would write characters with such compelling love-hate-but-really-love dynamics and sustained development (both individually and as a team) over multiple seasons and just ... not... follow ... through??? make it make sense

The biased part of me desperately wants to say logic doesn't apply when it comes to Bryke's romantic plots. However, as a novelist, I know I should be as objective as possible 😩.

Unfortunately, I can't speak too much on Zutara since I'm not as involved in ATLA's fandom, nor have I done an in-depth analysis of the show. So this will be more of a general overview. Zutara stans, please feel free to add on, especially if you know the ins and outs of the development!

There's also so much to unpack with Makora and TLOK, but I'll give you a TLDR. My follow-up posts will have all the deets! My commentary has become monstrously long, and since we're talking about two ships in two different shows, my metas will be much more digestible in parts.

For starters, I'm not sure how involved Byke was in writing Zutara's scenes, but it's important to understand that ATLA had several other writers, unlike TLOK B1&2. I also had to accept Zutara did not have a chance of becoming canon after rewatching the show last summer. ATLA is your typical hero's journey narrative, and who does the hero get? The girl. I'm not saying the formula never changes, Harry Potter, being an example of this, but the writers set viewers on a Kataang endgame trajectory in the very first episode. It's love at first sight.

One anime that does a fantastic job of setting up one pairing before throwing viewers off is Princess Tutu. I'll try not to spoil anything, but halfway into the series, the writers develop a love square that wasn't frustrating to watch. Ahiru, the protagonist, remains at the center of the story. Even if shippers didn't get the ending they want, the show made it clear early on what fate had in store for everyone. As if that wasn't enough, we have an additional scene where the characters acknowledge that they might not get their preferred ending, but they'll continue to support each other when it's all over. Zutara was not set up in the same way.

There are a few hints of Zutara in Book 1, but it didn't seem to take off until the season finale of Book 2. However, while I was one of many who hopped on Zutara the moment Katara touched Zuko's scar, the previous episode covers Aang struggling with the idea of giving up Katara to master the Avatar state. ATLA would need significant changes to continue to fit the Hero's Journey stages. Letting Katara go aligns with the trials stage, which is right before Aang reaches his lowest point, the belly of the whale/the abyss stage.

There was no way the Bryke would let Katara end up with anyone else after this. She's Aang's reward for his sacrifice and perseverance. It makes perfect sense from a storytelling perspective. Seeing this play out as a woman? Not great. Unfortunately, no one seemed to account for how popular romantic tropes are, and for some reason, Katara's attraction to Aang is barely present. 

Of course, audiences love unrequited romance subplots, but there's always going to be a trope that people resonate with more. ATLA revolves around Aang while Katara is mostly on standby witnessing Aang become a worthy partner. Enemies to lovers offer much more agency for Katara than Aang's unrequited love. With Zuko, there's more tension, more emotional capacity needed to hate and then forgive. Watching Katara forgive Zuko while Zuko, in turn, change is one reason why Zutara continues to be one of my favorite ships.

The ATLA writers knew people enjoy enemies to lovers, and that's why they wrote it. Developing a connection between Zuko and Katara was to maintain a continued interest in the show. Maybe the writers underestimated how many people would connect with Zutara and downright prefer it. They also made the mistake of not having Katara display strong romantic feelings towards Aang. She was very affectionate, yes, and they have some great scenes together (I adore their dance), but there's hardly any romance, at least the shippable kind of romance I prefer to see in my pairings.

Then I question where would a Zutara ending leave Aang as the protagonist? How much time did the writers have to change the romance without compromising the story's integrity? Pretty much every episode centers around Aang, and if he's barely present, the episode sets him up for more character development. The Southern Raiders is also about Aang. We essentially learn how he feels about killing someone regardless of how evil they are. Katara's quest for revenge was the perfect segue into Aang's struggle with how he should defeat the Ozai.

Got to be salty for a hot second: I wish they did clever episodes like that for Korra in Book 4. We fans know how horrible it is to see creators push their main character aside. 

In the end, I think it was just an oversight and not knowing a significant portion of their audience. Rather than switch everything up, the writers decided to keep things simple and stick with the original ending. While the audience, I'm sure has some influence back then, I highly doubt the call for Zutara affected viewership to the point where the writers felt compelled enough to make the sweeping changes they needed without compromising their overall vision. By sticking to a tried and true script for creating an epic action/adventure story, it's little wonder how ATLA became known as one of the best-animated television series.

Now for the Makorra tldr: TLOK is one beautiful hot mess. There was an extreme amount of production issues, which affected the writing. Bryke utterly destroyed Mako's character. Viewership tanked. Asami remained well-loved, and Bryke made a choice.

[rueshe]

Hi! I saw your repost, and was wondering if we could please get the directors commentary for "Bleach is Good for (Blood) Stains"? It's such an interesting story, and I wanted to know what your thoughts were and if there were parts you wanted to add and couldn't or how you felt about certain parts written

hello! thank you for this ask :D

this is kinda broad, and I have a memory like swiss cheese, so no things immediately jumped out at me to talk about, so I'll just ramble a bit, okay?

Firstly, this ask made me go open the old google doc that was the start of Blood Stains. It's titled "I like it when you love me" because of that song by Oh Wonder (?) and I tend to just title fics with lines from whatever I'm listening to and then change them later to match better.

Here are some lines from that document:

Atsumu also works alone BECAUSE--HEAR ME OUT his last partner died because of him

Osamu’s like no it’s okay this one won’t die on u cause he’s v strong because Sakusa [is fae etc] [and ripped] [and hot] [oh no atsumu]

Atsumu’s last partner was Hinata (cry :,( )

and

Sakusa almost kills Atsumu, he’s probably in a coma idk who knows

and

Broke up because Hinata thought Atsumu didn’t take anything seriously--thought the jokes and laughs were bc he didn’t care, not because he was uncomfy.

okay, so. these are reminding me of some things I had planned. First off, Kageyama was originally going to be a part of the story. I had this idea that maybe he and Hinata were starting to get to know each other (even while Hinata and Atsumu are exes but still bounty buddies) and after Hinata died, Kageyama went off the rails a little bit. He was going to be a necromancer (like Kenma) and try to bring Hinata back, but it wasn't going to work (for obvious reasons haha). I think I just didn't quite know where to put that in the story, or something. I'm not sure why I didn't write it.

Another aspect I was going to develop more was the Hinata/Atsumu background dynamic. Ems and I had a long phone call about how maybe Atsumu was emotionally unavailable, or wasn't able to give Hinata the emotional realness/depth he wanted in a relationship. I ended up not going into this because BECAUSE I actually probably have the same problem and I was having trouble writing that conflict in a way that made sense to me because Hinata's criticism of Atsumu would have applied to me, too, and I'm still not sure in which ways I'm emotionally unavailable or apathetic or too-guarded with jokes and lightheartedness. So basically I didn't understand the nuances of this conflict well enough to actually write it. Oopsie :)

this is turning into a long response, i hope you don't mind <3

One thing I was never sure of was how dark and graphic the story was. On the one hand, it deals peripherally with institutionalized racism/bigotry/marginalization of specific groups. ( Actually, not “peripherally.” It deals directly with that. But it’s the subplot, not the romance plot, I suppose.) On the other, it was meant to be a fantastical world-buildy fun universe. So I have parts where Sakusa is captured, where I didn't want to go into detail, warring with the part of me that has always wanted to explore the darkness/evil/gruesomeness/gore of fantasy. Does that make sense? I didn't want to make it too dark, but dark things can be fun, but I didn't want to wrap up "fun violence" with issues that tie into the real world, like what it's like to hide parts of yourself when in public for fear of hate crimes or judgment, like Sakusa does with his mask to hide his mouth and the longer hair to hide his ears. So I had all that running commentary in my head, and mostly the way I dealt with it was trying to make it clear in the notes and tags that this wasn't supposed to apply to real life, while also giving the characters the intensity and gravity of their own stories?? Shit, I hope that makes sense. haha.

The part of the story/world I'm most in love with is actually bokuakakuroken. I've hit a bit of writer's block, but I finished the kyouhaba sequel in the same universe and I'm working on the Osasuna one. But AFTER that, I want to explore Akaashi SO MUCH and Kenma, and their magical plants, and Kenma's trauma as a necromancer, and all those fun things.

Alll right, this was a novel! I hope this answered your ask -- if not, don't hesitate to send a more specific one that I'll be happy to answer. I love these asks, and I love talking about the worlds in my head. Thanks for interacting <3 <3