#never want to see people say this manga treats its female characters well ever again

[kiun]

the main character and narrator turned into a plot device for a male character's pain lmaoooo

[soupthatistohot]

Why do I write primarily mlm fanfic?

This was something I asked myself the other day. I am a girl, I think I'm queer (but I am attracted to men, whatever I am), so why do I fixate on mlm relationships? Why do I never feel compelled to write wlw or even just some good 'ol straight stuff? I brought this up to a few friends of mine who also watch anime. One of them said that it’s because lots of popular media only really focuses on developing their male characters well, and I think this to be a very suitable explanation (as well as the fact that I’m queer and thus gravitate towards queer stories).

Take Sk8 the Infinity for example. I could count the number of female characters in this anime on one hand, and one of them is a robot. The others are supporting roles who only serve to support the male main characters. I love Sk8 very much, and with the possibility of a 2nd season I’d love to see a prominent, well-developed female character (but if they make her Reki’s love interest I will literally stab someone). But as the anime stands right now, there are no female characters that aren't just basically plot devices.

Another show I love dearly, Yuri!!! on Ice, is much the same. While there can be more of an argument made here because 1) competitive figure skating is split up between men and women, and 2) I believe that the story Yuuri and Victor is absolutely meant to be a romance, so having the two men as the focus is somewhat necessary, there's an overwhelming lack of fleshed-out women in the story. All the female characters are supporting members that only exist for the benefit of male characters. Yuuko and Minako support Yuuri, Lilia exists so Yuri P. can improve, Mila is just... kind of there, and Sara's whole character is centered around her brother being overprotective of her.

Okay, so let's look at something a little less... fruity. Horimiya. I've only watched the anime, so if there's stuff I miss from not having read the manga (yet), please forgive me. I still think this is a valid perspective, though, because if there's female development that the creators decided was so unimportant that it could be cut, that still supports my point here. In my opinion, Miyamura is a lot more developed than Hori. He has his tragic backstory of being a loner, and having his secret piercings and tattoos and all that. A lot of the story ends up focusing on his side of things... despite the fact that Hori is the protagonist. The story follows her perspective for the most part, we learn things about Miyamura as she does, yet I feel like she's a bit dull. She has a uncommon home life and has to take care of her younger brother, that's her big bad secret? I get that it's kind of unexpected since she's the pretty, perfect, popular girl, but I still feel like it's a tad anticlimactic. It's hardly ever addressed beyond the first few episodes, too, and it just kind of exists as a fact within the story. Even beyond our main couple, it seems like the other female characters development and stories are all focused on the boy they're interested in (except for Sawada, but she's there for like a couple of episodes and then doesn't really show up all that much again... and her crush on Hori is handled really weird, I didn't exactly love it). Remi's entire character is pretty much centered around her boyfriend, and Sakura and Yuki are basically competing for Toru. Meanwhile, the guys have story beats themed around the girls they're interested in, but I feel like it's not as obsessive or dramatic as how the girls are depicted.

So, we're given these female characters, who are really watered-down and honestly kind of boring, and we're not super compelled to write about them. When we are given flat female characters, there's nothing to work with. It's more fun to use the characters who have had development and play around with the "what ifs" and our own personal headcannons. The characters who get this special treatment are primarily male. And while I commend a lot of shows for developing their male characters in such a way that doesn't exactly fit with society's idea of masculinity (ex: Reki's insecurities and depression, Yuuri's anxiety and femininity, Miyamura's isolation and depression), in the end these characters are still boys, men, males.

I also think mlm is so prominent because of both straight girls and queer people. For straight girls, it can often be fetishization (forgive my generalizing, I'm sure not all straight girls are like that, but an overwhelming amount definitely are). I think one of the best examples I can give for this is Phan. This is a bit different since it's not anime, but instead real people, but if anything that really drives home the point even more. The way Dan and Phil were (and probably still are) treated in the fandom internet space is disturbing, to say the least. Their audience, while much of it was queer, was also made up of an overwhelming amount of heterosexual girls who not only shipped them intensely, but also often sexualized them. And look, there's nothing inherently wrong with being a straight girl and writing smut, but it gets to a point where it can be kind of weird if its excessive. Like, if that's all the relationship is really about, and if the people you're writing about are real human beings, that's definitely overstepping. I will admit that I had a Wattpad and that I wrote Phanfic way back when, and this is something I'm not exactly proud of. Granted, I did not write anything explicit, it was still super weird, whether or not I was queer. And I'm not saying all the problematic aspects of the Phandom were because of straight girls, because what I contributed was arguably problematic, and I did not identify as straight at the time. At the same time, though, there were straight girls who wrote exclusively smut (or "lemons" as they might've been referred to at the time). There were those who analyzed every post, every bit of information they could find about these men on the internet. They obsessed over the fact that they occasionally shared clothes (which is fairly common for roomates of similar sizes to do), and gathered evidence to support the theory that they shared a bed. It was bad. It was invasive, and it got to the point where it wasn't about the people, it was about the fetishized fantasy these girls made up in their heads about these real, actual men.

Dan and Phil's online presence kind of disappeared for a few years... and I don't blame them.

Getting back on track, mlm is prominent for queer people because it's the LGBT representation they so desperately want to see actualized in media. If a show doesn't make their favorite queer ship canon (and they often don't), they'll do it themselves! That's what fanfic is for! I also know that queer people project onto these characters a lot, and that writing about them is almost like a form of therapy. They see these characters as queer, and they see themselves in these characters, so they write about these characters experiencing similar emotions to them. The thing is, the most compelling characters are male, so those are the characters they end up focusing on, even if the person in question is strictly sapphic. My best example is how I project onto Reki. Personally, I end up thinking of him as (and thus end up writing him as) having some internalized homophobia around being bisexual. That's literally what I am currently going through. I can't project this onto any of the female characters in Sk8, because I couldn't see them going through this experience because they're not developed enough to.

Despite all of this, I still enjoy all of the shows I mention a lot. I think it's just an interesting topic that I was thinking about. I'm not trying to bash anything that I used as an example, these were just my personal observations based off of what I know about these shows and their fandoms. I do, though, believe shipping real people isn't super cool, and I stand by that as someone who used to do it. I'm not going to stop you... I just think it's intrusive and inappropriate to pretend like you know enough about influencers to dictate who they should be involved with romantically. Their love life is, frankly, none of your damn business.

So, long story short, we should make anime (and popular media in general) less misogynistic.

(Also, please leave Dan and Phil alone, they deserve privacy)

[sage-nebula]

For whatever reason, I started thinking about what I would want to see from a Yu-Gi-Oh! sequel on my drive home from work today. (Note: I’m specifically talking about a sequel to the original manga; the various anime adaptations, sequels, movies, et cetera will have no bearing on this whatsoever. No hate to anyone who likes them, they’re just not my jam. I’m just invested in the manga and the manga only.) Obviously I’d want a female protagonist, particularly since I think it’s pretty ridiculous that we still haven’t received one in the various anime sequels in all these years, but that train of thought led me to think about what that protagonist’s name would be, and from there what her character would be like and what her story would be, and well, these are the thoughts I have so far, though be warned they’re not the most fleshed out in the world.

— As a sequel series, I’d like this series to take place at a specific point of time in the future from when the original story ends—say, ten years. So by this point, the original cast of teenagers are all in their mid-twenties, Mai is in her thirties, so on and so forth. Should they make any on-page appearances, their designs would be updated accordingly, i.e., no one is going to be stuck in a time loop of looking exactly as they did in the previous story.

—— On that note, everyone who died in the original manga is still dead for this story. RIP, Pegasus J. Crawford. —— Also, since the original series ended ~1997 in-universe, I’d imagine that this series would take place in 2007 as a result.

— So, our protagonist. I imagine she should be a teenager, just like our previous protagonist, and we can make her the same age as he was, 15. Her name would be Kusakabe Yuuna, with the kanji for her given name containing the kanji for “play” as Yuugi’s did, as well as the kanji for “bird cage” for some spoiler related symbolism. (I looked this up in a kanji dictionary, it checks out even if I’m too lazy to copy-paste the kanji here, just trust me.)

—— Since Yuuna is 15, that means she would have been 5 when the original series started, aww. ——  Also, yes, I’m aware that the . . . Zexal? . . . protagonist’s name was Yuuma, which is close, but it’s still not the same name, so let me live. (Unless the kanji match, but I don’t think they should, but also I’m too lazy to check, so this is where we’re at now.)

— Along with having a name that contains “Yuu” in some form or another, YGO protagonists must also have ostentatious hair. For Yuuna, I’ve decided that her hair is something that actually plays into her backstory and therefore shapes her personality. When she was a child, Yuuna was in an accident with her parents (car accident or train accident, something along those lines). Her parents died (since having present parents is also a no-no for most shounen protagonists, not just YGO ones), but Yuuna was left heavily scarred. She has burn scarring all down the right side of her face, as well as along that side of her scalp which prevents her hair from growing in on that side, at least to any real degree. (Like she might have some stubble there but that’s it.) The stress her body underwent as a result of the accident also drained pretty much all pigment from her hair, so while her roots might still be black (or like a really dark grey), her hair looks white when grown out. So it looks like she’s rocking a half-shave with the hair on her left-side going down to her chin, but it’s not intentional. That’s just how her hair has been ever since the accident.

— When her parents died she was taken in by her aunt and uncle. Her aunt home-schooled her through the rest of elementary and all through middle school, because she felt that the scarring was unsightly and would lead to Yuuna being bullied by her classmates and perhaps even her teachers (which isn’t necessarily wrong; bullying is a real problem). Because her aunt impressed upon her that no one would want to see her scarring / would treat her badly if they did (and because Yuuna herself did receive a lot of staring and whispers whenever she went out without some sort of hood to pull up over her head), Yuuna never ventured out to try to make friends. Instead, she stayed inside almost all the time, entertaining herself with a myriad of games (though she had no one to play with), cartoons, comics, and the radio. (Here’s where a past-series cameo can come in: Yuuna loves games, so she likes to listen to Jounouchi’s radio show since he talks about games a lot, and given that his style of broadcasting is so relaxed and friendly she often likes to pretend he’s talking directly to her, even when she knows he’s not.)

— The problem is, Yuuna’s aunt and uncle had an unhappy marriage. There was never any outright abuse, but due to having to take on the burden of running the household, working part-time, and homeschooling Yuuna due to her husband’s apathy, Yuuna’s aunt was unhappy in the home and was essentially counting down the days until she could leave. You see, school is only compulsory in Japan through middle school. High school is optional. So once Yuuna graduated from middle (home) schooling, Yuuna’s aunt packed her bags and left, leaving Yuuna behind with her uncle. And again, there was never any outright abuse . . . but when he wasn’t at his own job, Yuuna’s uncle usually drank himself to sleep in front of the TV. He never abused Yuuna, but that’s because he was never really aware of her presence enough to abuse her. (Never mind that neglect can be its own form of abuse.) So Yuuna was left without a home school teacher, and thus had to enroll herself in a high school if she wanted to continue her education. Which, she did, but . . .

— Yuuna attended high school for a grand total of one (1) day. The staring, the whispers, the stage-whispered name calling — all of it was too much for someone who wasn’t used to it and whose years of insecurities built up by everything her aunt told her could and would happen whenever anyone saw her magnified everything and made it ten times worse. She ducked out before the day was even through and decided she was never going back.

— Of course, games have to be brought back into this at some point, and also there needs to be a plot, so . . . on her way home from school (hood up over her head, probably crying a little) Yuuna sees a little pouch in front of her on the sidewalk. She picks it up and looks inside to find dice — specifically the kind of dice that you use in tabletop games. Yuuna enjoys tabletop games just as much as she enjoys all other types of games, so she shakes the dice out into her palm to examine them . . . and they start glowing as soon as they touch her skin.

— If no one approached her then, Yuuna would figure they were cool trick dice and just take them home with her, no biggie. But at that moment another teenage girl around her age runs up to her, and while Yuuna’s first instinct is to clam up and back away, she doesn’t get much of a chance to do so before the girl is telling her those dice are hers and—oh. They’re glowing? They don’t normally do that . . .

— Long story short, the dice are magic, but they only light up like that when held by someone who has the capability to use the magic within them. So far, no one has been able to get that particular set to light up until now. Yuuna, of course, is skeptical, but the other girl — who tells Yuuna that her name is Kujou — urges Yuuna to follow her to people who can explain everything. Yuuna doesn’t really want to, she’s very much not used to interacting with people, but Kujou isn’t reacting negatively to what she can see under Yuuna’s hood, and Yuuna doesn’t have much else to do, and magic dice sound cool . . . so she agrees.

— Even longer story short, there’s an underground organization dedicated to making change via gaming. They’re made of people from all over the city (perhaps even all over Japan, perhaps even farther than that) who believe in the cause, or have a goal they feel that the organization can / will help them reach, or perhaps have no one else who will accept or have them and so they’ve found a sense of belonging with each other. This organization can and does use magic; Kujou hurriedly tells Yuuna that it’s not cheating or anything like that, but rather, there’s true magic in gaming and that when there’s a special connection between a player and the tools they use, they can draw it out to make a difference. It’s like, Kujou goes on, how certain Duel Monsters specialize in certain cards, like how Mutou Yuugi used magicians and Kaiba Seto relied on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. 

—— “But this is . . . real magic. It glows.” —— “Well, yeah, but have you ever seen the recordings of the Duel Monsters matches from like, Battle City? That was real magic, too.”

— Kujou brings Yuuna to at least one of the leaders within the organization, who sees that she can activate the magic in the dice and, as a result, does a very good sales pitch to lure her into the organization; tells her about the people they help with the winnings they make from tournaments, how they’re all like one big family, how they’ll care for her and help her reach her goals, etc. And since it’s not like her uncle will even notice if she’s gone anyway, and since both Kujou and this leader person are being so kind to her (and Kujou even says her hair looks cool), and since she would like to, maybe, at some point have enough money to get surgery to change her face . . . Yuuna agrees and moves into the base this organization operates out of.

— Of course, unbeknownst to Yuuna, she has just joined the villains, dun dun dunnnnn. This “organization” is actually more of a crime syndicate or cult; think like the Ghouls from the original manga, with perhaps a dash of yakuza thrown in. (Could there mayhaps be a Hirutani cameo at some point? Knowing me, if I can get away with it, abso-fucking-lutely.) For about the first third of the series Yuuna is put into tournaments where she essentially crushes characters who would otherwise be the heroes or protagonists of a more straightforward shounen series. You know how people have commented that in recent Pokémon games it feels like you’re the asshole rival? That’s essentially Yuuna. She’s sent in to sabotage tabletop tournaments (despite how bad she feels doing so because she’s a big fan of Spirits & Sanctuaries, a TRPG created by one Bakura Ryou), collect the winnings from Duel Monsters tournaments, etc. (Dice games are her specialty, given her magic dice, but she can draw magic out of other game pieces as well.) Though she feels bad about doing things like this, she has a real sense of belonging in the organization, a nice room, people who are kind to her and want to be around her. While at the beginning of the series she was very withdrawn, she starts coming out of her shell more and being genuinely happy. We’d get to see this unfold over the chapters, the juxtaposition between her performances in game tournaments and the like and how she is with the other members of the organization.

— So Yuuna pushes away any doubts she has over what she’s doing in favor of how happy she is with her new family, and even resolves to stop listening to Jounouchi’s radio show when he warns people about their organization and their “crimes” on a broadcast, because they’re not criminals, that’s not true, and she knows about his history and how he came from poverty himself, so who is he to judge? But then at some point Kujou, whom she’s grown very close to during this time (spoiler: Kujou is both her best friend and love interest) comes to her and is like, hey, I’ve been suspicious for a while, so I’ve done some digging and I think this whole thing is evil. :/ 

—— “That’s ridiculous. How could you say that?” —— “I’ve got the receipts, on tape, right here on my phone. See?” —— “That’s a flip phone. How am I supposed to see anything on that?” —— “This story is set in 2007. Work with me and let me live.”

— Yuuna still doesn’t want to believe it, so she goes to talk to the leader person about it herself, and whoops, overhears him being evil with other higher-up members in the organization. So she goes back to find Kujou and is like, you were right, they are evil, and Kujou is like, I know, I already packed our bags, let’s bounce.

— So Yuuna and Kujou run away together (perhaps bringing a few other trustworthy teens from the organization with them), and then the remaining two-thirds of the story are spent with them fighting against the organization to bring them down, using their own magic (because Yuuna does still have magic and now she knows how to use it . . . kind of . . . mostly . . . she’s trying) to do so.

And that’s all I’ve got for now, but I think it’d be a cool successor to the original manga, with cameos here and there from the adult versions of the original cast. I’m especially quite married to the idea of featuring many games over the course of the story, since YGO was a manga about many games originally, before it became obsessed with Duel Monsters (though a TRPG did play a big role in the last arc and we will forever stan that).

(Oh, and in case you’re wondering: the symbolism in Yuuna’s name is because the two kanji together bring to mind a playful bird in a cage. It’s symbolism because at the start of the series Yuuna is in a metaphorical cage due to all her insecurities and issues and the circumstances of her life, and then even in the organization she’s still caged by them because they’re using her, but her personal journey is breaking free of both cages to release the spirited (playful) person that she is within, becoming more confident and, yes, never getting cosmetic surgery because her personal growth gets her to a place where she owns it and loves herself, scarring and all.

And if you’re wondering why there’s at least a handful of teenagers in this organization, if not more: It’s because they prey on young kids who come from bad homes or have nowhere else to go by offering them a sense of community and belonging, which is something gangs do in real life, and is yet another way the organization is shown to be evil aside from the Board Game Crimes they commit on the daily.

Anyway, stan a YGO manga sequel with wlw protagonists, good night.)

[naoj-marie]

“Hybrid Child and GIVEN”

Emergent literature has different types of genres and one of it is Manga. In this blog, I’ll be talking about the Manga especially BL or Yaoi Manga. I will be giving you my hundred and twenty percent honest reviews about two manga(s) that was being animated. But before that I am giving you a quick but detail description about what is Manga and what is BL or Yaoi Manga just to enlighten for those people who are wondering.

Manga are Japanese comic books or graphic novels with a twist from Japan. Most manga conforms to the style established in Japan at the end of the 19th century, although the art form has a long prehistory in Japanese literature. The word manga is used in Japan to refer to comics and cartoons. Manga now has fans across the globe in the past, only Japanese people read manga because it’s their artwork. However, nowadays, almost all people read manga, and also there are some good manga(s) that have been adapted to anime where people can see manga in animation style.

BL or Yaoi Manga is a genre of Manga. Yaoi is a Japanese term for a manga that features sexual romance between two men or same-sex relationship between men and usually it’s mainly reviewers or readers are female.

So now, you have already an idea about Manga and Yaoi. I now can proceed to the two manga(s) that will be the highlight in this blog.

Hybrid Child

Synopsis

The Hybrid Child is an amazing android that can grow if it is lavished with enough love and care from its owner. Neither fully machine nor fully human, the various Hybrid Child models develop strong emotional bonds with their owners. This volume contains several short stories of love, sacrifice, and drama: Young Kotaro learns the importance of responsibility when his Hybrid Child’s lifespan runs out. The tragic swordsman Seya learns to love again with the help of his Hybrid Child, Yuzu. The final tale tells the story of Kuroda, the creator of the Hybrid Child designs, and how his lost love inspired their creation.

Hybrid Child is a collection of three short love stories, depicting the relationship between the artificial humans and their owners. It has four episodes and each episode is different story and characters but they have connection with each other. The first time I watch this anime I was expecting that I might not able to finish it even though it has only four episodes. The anime revolves to the Japanese war which chaos, blood and deaths are happening all over the place. The first two episodes are the aftermaths of the war while the two remaining episodes are before and during the war. In every episode you could learn something like the Young master Kotaro treasure so much Hazuki even if he is deflected and anytime his heart will stop beating. Kotaro did not give up and do any means to save Hazuki though Hazuki already accepted his fate but the gloomy Kuroda, the main brain and creator of hybrid child just want to see how strong their bond with each other because in that era unlike Kotaro that treating his hybrid child as a family and best friend some buyers of hybrid child just treating them as slaves or lovers which Hazuki experience before he encountered and picked up by Kotaro. The tragic swordsman Seya he was blaming himself because he was a commander of his battalion during the war but they were sabotage and all his men died and no one left except for him. Seya’s hybrid child Yuzu wants to grow up but Seya could not give the love Yuzu’s wants because he could only gave beautiful things to Yuzu and also he could not forget about his past sins. And because of his failure in the past someone has a grudge to Seya that is why he lost his eyes as a result. Now, Seya is blind he starts to realize things that he used to denied. He realized there is someone who loves him whole-heartedly despite of his sins. He realized there is someone who is willing to stay and wait for him despite of his despicable personality. That is why Yuzu grew up and he accompanied his blind master even afterwards. The third episode is continuation until the last episode and this is also my favourite episodes because this is where I cry buckets of tears and I also wasted many tissues that resulted of scolded by my mother but who cares? This episode is the most emotional episodes in three stories. This is the story how the hybrid child is created. Kuroda the creator of hybrid child has someone he misses so much. He had lots of regrets in his life. The day he took courage to say what he really feels to Izumi his childhood friend and the head commander of their federation, it is also the last he sees him. He was not able to say the three words but he was able to express it through physical but it was only for a night because the next day Izumi surrendered himself to the enemy to save their peoples. He was beheaded and Kuroda is like a living doll to surpass his desire to kill himself. He starts to creates the hybrid child but as years and years passed he forgot what is the purposed of making hybrid child. But he soon realized it again when his own hybrid child that looks exactly the same as Izumi but a younger version suddenly speaks the same phrase Izumi said underneath the sakura tree while holding a branch of sakura. One of the best Yaoi anime and manga I have ever seen and read.

GIVEN

Synopsis

Ritsuka played guitar but has lost interest in the instrument. One day, he meets Mafuyu, who is holding a broken guitar. Ritsuka unwillingly starts teaching Mafuyu the guitar, but when he hears Mafuyu's voice, things suddenly begin to change for Ritsuka.

This is the legendary yaoi for me, why? Simple, I cried for almost two weeks straight every night. When I heard the song in episode nine, it is enough to make me cry. This is a very and super emotional yaoi anime. I know I already said this in hybrid child but I will say this again. I never as in never expected this anime to be this really awesome. Words are not enough to justify how amazing this anime is. When you read this in manga you might just tear up or enough to heat up your eyes but the anime really do a magnificent job well done! If someone asks me to recommend them some yaoi or shounen ai anime or manga I will surely recommended this anime because you won’t regret watching this. Your time is really worth it. The dialogues are really great and the plot is really excellent. Everything in this anime is worthy to get a Grammy and Oscar award. Mafuyu lost his boyfriend Yuki because Yuki committed suicide after they had a quarrel. They are a childhood friend slash childhood sweethearts. They live in a single parent family; they only have their mothers with them. One of their friends used to say Mafuyu is nothing without Yuki and Yuki is nothing without Mafuyu because they need each other. They stand as father, brother, friend, and everything to each other and because of that they tend to stick with each other the whole time that lead them to have a romantic relationship. Their mothers supported their relationship. Yuki started a band because of Mafuyu when he heard Mafuyu humming some random sounds one afternoon while they are having a lunch in their school building’s rooftop. But because of a little argument Yuki decides to ends his life. It was like because of their quarrel it triggers something to Yuki. This may sound ridiculous but Yuki once said whatever Mafuyu said he will do it and while they are quarrelling  in the middle of the train station, Mafuyu accidentally uttered words that he regretted to said.

“Will you die for me?”

After few days of not talking Mafuyu decided to visit Yuki as they are only neighbours but when he went to Yuki’s room. He saw Yuki hanging in the ceiling, lifeless. Mafuyu in Japanese means Winter while Yuki means snow. Winter can go on without Snow but Snow cannot go on without Winter. I also cried when I read the English translation lyric of Mafuyu band song titled Fuyu no Hanashi means A Winter Story. There is a line in the songs says

“Two people who were always together are torn apart. That’s all there is tot his story.”

[teenitinygod]

Hello, Hello, this is the person who did the last submit. Thank you for the offer but I don’t have a discord account, Idon'thaveanyfriendswhouseittowarrantmakingone.

Although, if you liked my previous submit, I thought you might be interested in hearing me out when it comes to mischaracterization since I didn’t go into detail in my previous submit since that’s a whole rant of its own. I’ll be taking inspiration from neutinya’s haikyuu mischaracterization post but give it a BSD twist. My intention isn’t to call specific people out, I’m simply going off what I’ve seen within the fandom. Which in turn leads to diluting or mischaracterizing a character until they’re nearly unrecognizable or portraying them in a bad light that they don’t deserve. There may be a few tw instances, so you’re free to edit this post as you see fit and add any necessary warnings.

So to begin with. Let’s get the big one out of the way real quick.

- Dazai -

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen Dazai being portrayed as nothing more than a twofaced lying bastard, I wouldn’t have to work anymore. Most of these support it by saying that he doesn’t actually trust the ADA since he didn’t tell them about his past and doesn’t inform them of every little thing. Basically, they portray him as being 100% an act who doesn’t care about anyone. And then berate him by saying that they refuse to take his mental health seriously until he’s shown to have a breakdown.

I believe anyone who has suffered from depression or any other kind of mental health issue has felt the need to act happy all the time when in public and then quiet down when they’re alone. That doesn’t make them a fake. They are under no obligation to tell every single thing going across their mind to their friend and that same logic applies to Dazai.

Moreover, we also have to take into consideration Dazai’s past. He simply can’t afford to make himself vulnerable. There’s literally a list of people out for his head. Additionally, of he were to tell everything to the ADA, he would be potentially dragging his new friends into his own mess and put them in unwarranted danger. Sure, the ADA already deals with a lot of dangerous stuff but I doubt he would purposely put them in harms way because of what he would consider his own selfishness.

Now in the terms of romance. A lot of people just mark him as the one who could never be faithful. I believe a romantic relationship with Dazai would be completely trust based. Ergo, a “love at first sight” scenario would definitely lead to it becoming nothing more than a one-time fling. To go off your last Dazai scenario, I actually do believe that if Dazai felt like he was getting too attached to someone, he might try to push them away out of utter self-loathing that he could never give them what they want. Essentially, fearing a scenario like that in No Longer Human where Yozo got together with Yoshiko and she ended up getting raped because of his involvement with her.

Atsushi isn’t just a crybaby. He’s brave simply because of the fact that he’s willing to do his best despite his fear. Moreover, his initial fear of being seen as a burden to the ADA is completely valid when you take into consideration his past treatment. A lot treat him as dull and boring character and go on about preferring his Beast counterpart. It’s fine to have a preference but I don’t think this is a reason to hate on him since the point of Beast was to elaborate on how alike Atsushi and Akutagawa are by putting them in the other’s shoes. And we see in even Beast, Atsushi is just the ultimate good boy cinnamonroll.

In romance, I keep seeing him being forced to portray the badboy roll and being just terrible to whoever is his partner within the story. Do people really think that he would so much as even consider berating his partner after all he’s been through?

- Kunikida -

He isn’t just some emotionless asshole. He cares. He’s just doesn’t show it in the most conventional way some are used to. Perhaps this is because the anime caused confusion by changing the time setting of the Azure Disciple event— But within the novel you can tell that he cares for and eventually starts to think highly of Dazai as the story progresses. He doesn’t express it since Dazai would tease him to the ends of the earth. But there were moments like in the embassy in which he mentally admired how talented he was. Or how elaborated that his way of knowing when something was wrong with Dazai was when he starts acting “normal”. As the novel put it, basically, weird is normal for Dazai while normal is weird. So when Dazai starts acting “normal” that’s his way of knowing that something is up.

In terms of romance… I swear I want to fight someone. The majority of Kunikida content I find usually involves him be pedophilic by having this thing for schoolgirls or just has whoever is his partner constant cry at him that he doesn’t love them since he doesn’t show his affection the conventional way. Then, the story goes on about how the partner keeps trying to change them. For starters. There is nothing wrong with having the thought of an ideal partner. Most of have twisted the idea of him having an ideal partner as him having this list of physical traits he wants them to have or some crap like that. Do people really think he’s that shallow? Having an ideal partner just means that you know what you want in a partner. Like how they treat you, if they’re neat and polite, etc. Moreover, we’ve seen time and time again that despite what he says, Kunikida is still willing to bend a little. Obviously he will hold his ground if you berate his ideals. But it’s possible to change his mind if you respect his ideals and offer alternatives and are willing to work with him.

- Chuuya -

Look. I don’t care what you ship. But Chuuya is way more than just that one guy who is constantly yelling about Dazai. He has every right to be portrayed as his own character without the need to involve Dazai around the line.

He may be angry when Dazai is involved but he’s the nicest grump you’ll ever see towards everyone else. In the spin-off novel, there’s a scene where he talks to Tsujimura, for example. He still kept this badass aura but spoke to her with the dignity and presence of a respectable mafia executive. Moreover, I noticed this why checking. Kyouko really did make sure he drank his respect-women dose every day since I noticed he never actually curses at female characters. With the Tsujimura scene, for example, he kept his usual rude speech but didn’t start to actually curse until Ango was brought up. With the battle against Yosano, he never pulled the “oh, you’re just a woman” crap when they appeared.

In the terms of romance. I swear I feel the need to break someone’s nico-nico-kneecaps for the outrageous amount of fics I find with Chuuya straight up raping his partner. Like, the man didn’t even want to fight against his sheep friends when they literally and figuratively stabbed in him in the back. It’s hard for me to imagine him as someone who wouldn’t treat his partner with the utmost respect in the world.

- Higuchi -

People seriously need to stop hating on her just ‘cause she’s “getting in the way of ships.” The gal clearly cares about Akutagawa and I don’t think it’s fair to hate on her just because of that. On that note, the whole idea of hating on female characters under the pretext of them getting in the way of ships seriously needs to stop. The fact that a female character cares for a guy, be it romantically or not, isn’t an excuse to antagonize them and treat them as an eyesore. She’s funny, she’s goofy, She’s just an ordinary lady who might be momentarily blinded by affection and get carried away. Which surely must happen to anyone who has experienced some kind of crush.

In the terms of romance. I haven’t read much fics with Higuchi as the main love interest. However, I have seen the AkutawagaxSomeoneElse types who just blatantly portray Higuchi as this terrible and wicked woman who is trying to ruin Akutagawa’s partner’s life. Sure, Higuchi may be heartbroken that she couldn’t be the chosen one but I doubt she would stoop as low as to ruin Akutagawa’s potential happiness. The most she would do is perhaps investigate if they’re a spy who intends to harm or use him.

- Yosano -

She’s a strong independent woman, enough said. I feel like a lot of people interpret her dislike for weak men as her either disliking physically weak men or disliking men altogether. Naturally, a strong woman would want and deserve someone who is equally as badass as them. So what I interpret her saying when she says she dislikes weak men is that she dislikes mentally weak men who bend over backwards easily and men who are so petty that they feel the need to look down on women just because of the fact that they’re a woman. The anime did her dirty by sexualizing her during her first introduction. We all know that one scene where she strips off her shirt before treating Tanizaki. Heck, I remember when I first saw that scene without knowing much about BSD I legit thought her healing ability involved her having sex with the guys. It was only until I read the manga some time later that I realized that wasn’t the case.

In the terms of romance. Again, she has every right to have someone as strong as herself. A badass would want someone who is just as badass standing as their partner. Moreover, I haven’t seen it to the degree as Higuchi’s case but I have seen the occasional hate on her under the pretext that she’s getting in the way of ships. To which I say again: We seriously need to stop antagonizing female characters who so much as exist in the same panel as a male character that’s involved in a popular fandom ship.

——–

Well then. Those were the most prominent ones that came to mind, so I surely left out some characters who have been mischaracterized just as badly.

Thank you for your time.

Ok quickly, our discord (dazai simps) is open to having you. We love new friends and meeting people, so an open invite is available.  i couldn’t agree with you more- i hate how Dazai is portrayed sometimes, his emotions are complex and he’s not as simple as an angsty suicidal flirt. Especially went the reader comes into the picture and it turns into a “love at first sight” thing. They may be fictional characters but i care that the characters i write for are as close to accurate as i can

I’ll go deeper into this later but i agree

Also I love when you send me these, i love reading them and you’re so sweet <3

[rasoir-national]

5 male characters I love

So I got tagged by @antirococoreaction​​ to name 5 male characters I love, and as always I asked myself the immortal question : do I pick characters I love as characters, as in, characters I love for how interesting they are, or do I pick characters I love as people ? And for once, I decided to go with the narrowest of the two, the second one, for two reasons.

First, because there’s this latent belief in media that bad is more interesting than good, leading to the pernicious trope that characters who are “good people” are boring. That’s patently false : just as it’s difficult to be a good person, and I think we should highlight characters who demonstrate that.

Second, because there’s this tendency, in tumblr culture, from which I am not at all exempt, to avoid giving focus to masculinity in a positive manner, because mainstream media would do that already. But you could argue that mainstream media is much more focused on toxic masculinity and masculinity as a “default” than on exploring masculinity in its richness and uniqueness. So I want to do that too : to highlight characters whose masculinity is a inherent and essential part of who they are and why I love them. Let’s roll.

Dionysus/Umar from The Wicked+The Divine (Kieron Gillen & Jamie McKelvie)

He is such a good person. That’s what you think the first time you meet him, and that’s what you’ll continue to think, even as the comic goes on and adds nuance upon nuance on every character. The god of wine and parties reincarnated as a young man with rave/hivemind and ecstasy-like powers. And also a kind friend, a sensitive listener, someone who is keenly aware of the limits of what you can do for other people yet will give all he has so people can have at least that, be it one good night amidst sorrow and depression, or a shoulder to cry on. Dio is good to a fault, as in, his goodness is arguably his flaw. He gives himself so completely, to everyone, that it endangers his own sanity, and make other people’s selfishness and entitlement come out. He is a perfect illustration of why putting yourself first is not just a flaw when done in excess, it is at its core a survival skill : if you do not put barriers between you and the others, you will crumble. Dio is a study in true altruism that not many stories have the courage to make. He is also canonically asexual, and strongly implied to be biromantic, although that’s almost incidental in Wicdiv, in which almost every single character is lgbtqia+ and treated with respect. Seriously, read Wicdiv guys.

Kurama from Yu Yu Hakusho (Yoshihiro Togashi)

YYH is one of the most insidious yet brilliant deconstructions of the shoûnen tropes out there. While some of its material, while groundbreaking at the time (starting with a fleshed-out, sympathetic gay character coming with a critique of japanese homophobia), has aged with the strides made in matters of representation, its commentary on masculinity and especially how it’s usually handled in the typical shoûnen holds up extremely well in my opinion. And one of its centers is Kurama. Created to be a riff on the classic “bishounen” character (to the point that one of the running gags of the manga is Kurama getting increasingly annoyed with the attitude of female side characters around him), Kurama is my favourite kind of good person, the one who is deeply aware that he is capable of horrible things. He is the rare character who begins the story at the tail end of his redemption arc, having already decided to change ; his arc in the manga is about trying to figure out what that means. And the manga does not pull punches with him : he has to reckon with what he’s done, to try and navigate his new moral compass in a world that’s just waiting to use it against him. And it gets... cruel. Kurama is a perfect example of how quickly and often certain traits can toe the line between making you a terrible person or a good one. Everytime he fights, Kurama has to make the choice to do good, over and over. And it’s not easy. It’s not supposed to be easy. And if YYH has one message, it’s that everyone who tells you otherwise is lying.

Father Marcus Keane (Ben Daniels) from The Exorcist series

Memory functions best by association, so reading @antirococoreaction​‘s list immediately got me thinking about The Exorcist and Father Marcus. Just like Cardinal Gutierrez, he is both a man of faith and a mlm. And while his orientation is not the focus of the show, it’s present, layered and realistic in all of it - credit to openly gay actor Ben Daniels who portrays him. It’s especially present in his relationship with the other lead, portrayed by Alfonso Herrera as a young, charismatic priest whom the Church sees as a political pawn, whom I could also have chosen for this list. Just like I could have chosen John Cho as the single foster father of adopted “problem” children who has to cope with the death of his wife. See, what’s extraordinary about The Exorcist series is exactly what I was talking about in the intro : whatever masculinity means, it doesn’t take it for granted. Which is why the second season manages to have three male leads that are all incredible characters, incredibly good people, while vastly different from one another. Marcus is probably the most “morally grey” of the three, but in what that term sholuld mean rather than what mainstream media tends to make of it. Marcus in an unquestionably good person in a world where doing good often means making excrutiating choices. Marcus is someone devastated by these choices, who has to try and find hope again, guided in part by the young Father Tomas. While Marcus roughly fits the “jadded brooding lead” archetype, but in every detail of his character and portrayal he is imbued by a depth that’s rare in the horror genre. I will never forgive Fox for cancelling this gem of a series right as both the plot and the main characters were coming at a turning point. My advice if you want to watch it : don’t read anything, just go in blind.

Jean-Baptiste Adamsberg from the Adamsberg novels (Fred Vargas)

Adamsberg is a cop. I know that’s a dealbreaker for some people, and I respect that. But his profession seems almost incidental to the character. Adamsberg shouldn’t be a cop, Adamsberg is that guy you see in the street who stops all of the sudden, fascinated by something, and it drives you crazy that you don’t see what. Adamsberg is a dreamer, he feels things rather that he knows them, and yet somehow is always right in the end. He’s like a magician. He’s not always kind. He can be violent. He’s not always clever. In fact, sometimes he acts downright stupid. Yet there is always this kindness, this intelligence around him, about the way people are and the way people should be. When I was a kid, the Adamsberg series was the first I read in which, hearing another man using a degrading language to talk about women, the main character immediately shut him down. As I grew up, I came to think of Adamsberg as the way women wished men were, though they weren’t. In reality, there is a lot in Adamsberg that’s exactly how men are, both good and bad. He’s a character who shouldn’t feel real yet does in the strange, poetic world created by Fred Vargas for what is one of the strangest crime series I’ve ever read. If the Doctor was the protagonist of a crime series, they would be Adamsberg. Growing up afab, Adamsberg was one of the few male protagonists I didn’t feel actively disrespected by as I was reading. The first four books of the series, The Chalk Circle Man, Seeking whom he may devour, Have mercy on us all and Wash this blood clean from my hand, are absolute classics I heartily recommend. It’s some of the smartest, weirdest crime novels out there.

Zeno Ligre from The Abyss (Marguerite Yourcenar)

I... God, what do you even say about what may well be your favourite character in all of literature, in what may well be your favourite book ? I fell in love in Zeno when I was fifteen, fell as hard as you could for someone who didn’t exist. Zeno starts the story as a young adult and ends it as an old man. You follow his entire life, from his childhood as the bastard child in a rich belgian family in the 16th Century, to becoming a respected yet feared and misunderstood alchemist, all through the turmoil of religious and political wars and plagues. Zeno is the best representation of what it was truly like to be a man ahead of his time in a time of intolerance and obscurantism. As an isolated high schooler who felt like I had nothing in common with my peers, you can imagine how I could relate. The Abyss is a strange, dense book which I probably read too soon, but which absolutely enthralled me to the point that I refused to even open another book weeks after finishing it because I simply couldn’t bear the thought not to be still reading The Abyss. It made History and Philosophy realer than any of my classes. And front and center of it is Zeno, Zeno you see grow and age, with whom you discover and fear, who utterly captures you with how grand a man can truly be, how extraordinary life itself, from beginning to end, is. Zeno is a man trying to shine a light on the world, trying to live by the precepts of philosophers, and once again is faced by what being a good man means, and whether it even matters to be one in a world such as the Middle Ages. I don’t know what to say except read it, and you’ll see why I’m at such a loss for words. Oh, and you might cry a lot. I know I did, not necessarily because it was sad, but simply because it was over, and I couldn’t read it for the first time again.

Here you have it. Wow, that was way too long.

And of course there’s almost no one left for me to tag, because we’re like 15 people talking in a circle.

[beyond-far-horizons]

The Theme of Love, William Blake, DMC 5 and the fate of the Sons of Sparda

I’ve always loved symbolism and literary references in my favourite stories so I’m ecstatic to see the incredible William Blake join Dante Alighieri as a major influence on the Devil May Cry series. 

Is before the game’s release too early to do some meta? Of course not!

So let’s dig deeper and see what possible plot points or themes we can glean from Blake’s work and other symbolism for what the dev team have said will be the conclusion for the ‘Sons of Sparda’

Spoilers abound - read at your own risk!

William Blake was a 18th Century English poet, artist and mystic who created his own complex religious mythology for his works. Sadly not widely known or respected at the time, he nevertheless had an increasingly powerful influence on the arts. 

The main themes Blake grappled with were the hypocrisy of the Christian Church against what he saw as the natural forces of the imagination and sexuality. He was also very concerned with the effects of the Industrial Revolution on society, especially on the poor. 

So he’s a good guy, but how does this relate to the Sons of Sparda? 

Vergil and Urizen

The big bad of Blake’s mythology as most of you know by now is a god-like figure called Urizen. Blake hints that Urizen is the Christian/Abrahamic God but he is most similar to the gnostic Demiurge figure and represents according to Wikipedia ‘ Urizen is the embodiment of conventional reason and law.’

Now who do we know who puts cold logic above emotions?

‘He is said to represent the Heavenly host, but he experiences a Satanic fall in that he desired to rule. He is motivated by his pride and becomes a hypocrite. When Albion asks for him, Urizen refuses and hides, which causes him to experience his fall. After his fall, Urizen set about creating the material world and his jealousy of mankind brought forth both Wrath and Justice.[4] Wikipedia

Urizen being cast out from Eternity. Book of Urizen

Guys, it even says ‘motivated by pride’, what more do you want? More than this, Vergil does literally fall, unable to accept his loss to Dante and the path of emotion and honour Dante represents - the true inheritor of their parents’ will.

 Despite Vergil’s coldness, he is filled underneath with anger - 

‘What defines Vergil as a character to me is that while he seems like the perfect samurai in his very calm and calculated demeanor, you can always sense the simmering intensity and even rage.’ Dan Southworth

Yet he also exhibits a strange sense of justice such as refusing to stab Dante in the back as Nelo Angelo and pride in being a Son of Sparda TM. 

In DMC 5 Urizen is described as a newly ascendent, powerful demon who seeks to use the Demon Tree to become king over the Demon World and (presumably via his actions in Red Grave City) merge it with the Human World. It’s been pretty much confirmed that Vergil is big bad Urizen in some form - from Dan Southworth’s re-pitched voice, Urizen’s looks - the blue colouring and spiky hair -  and V’s assertion that Urizen is the Cloaked Man who stole Yamato - Vergil’s sword and who also has Dan’s voice and Corrupted Vergil’s looks. Also his scheme the same power grab Vergil tried in DMC 3 and the manga.

This being said, what does it tell us about Vergil’s motivation (sorry) in DMC 5? For this we need to look at the rest of the clues...

The Poison Tree 

DMC 5 starts with the roots of the Demon Tree ‘Qliphoth’ invading Red Grave City and bringing with it a hoard of demons. It also seems to use the population’s blood as an energy source creating a demonic ‘fruit’ at its source that will grant the power to rule the Demon World according to demon Goliath. 

This relates to Blake's poem "A Poison Tree" where, through suppression of anger, the protagonist’s rage grows like a tree and bears a fruit that kills his foe.  

‘The allegory within the poem emphasizes that when a person hides or denies their emotions, they will become poisoned with bitterness and more vengefulness.’

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-theme-poem-poison-tree-thank-you-144241

Again who do we know hides or denies their emotions? Given how closely the dev team are using Blake’s work this implies that Vergil as Urizen in some form has become consumed with bitterness and vengence, something we already saw from him in DMC 3. Added to this is his loss of pride at being the slave and puppet of his mother’s killer (Mundus) and being defeated by Dante a second time in DMC 1. We see this callousness in the way he treats Nero - his only child who he’s never met and Dante again in front of the tree. 

(Interestingly this quote could also refer to Dante as a plot twist. I’d argue that although Dante is a lot freer with his emotions he perhaps hasn’t dealt fully with the rage and pain that life has dealt him - what do you think?)

Another interesting note is the word ‘Qliphoth’ which comes from Jewish mystic branch Kabbalah and means - 

‘literally "Peels", "Shells" or "Husks" (from singular: קְלִפָּה‬ qlippah "Husk"),[2] are the representation of evil or impure spiritual forces in Jewish mysticism, the polar opposites of the holy Sefirot.[3]’ 

The Sefirot are emmanations of the Divine that manifest into this world and the pattern they are depicted in is also like a tree so the evil version makes the ‘Qliphoth’ a metaphysical demonic tree.

If we look at Urizen he looks like tree-like husk encasing another figure, connecting them to this tree. Trailers and promo material have also shown people encased in husks feeding the tree and the theme is repeated with Cavaliere Angelo being powered by Trish.

Does this hint that Vergil’s true nature is being obscured by Urizen or that, like in DMC 3 his pride and lust for power still obscure his caring side like the husks in Kabbalah?

In a Korean interview the dev team said DMC 5 will return to DMC 1′s theme of love (something I’m absolutely crazy about.) Sparda’s choice to protect humanity and love a human woman, Eva’s sacrifice for her sons and Dante and Vergil literally embodying the two human ways of dealing with the pain of that trauma have always been the most captivating aspect for me. Hopefully this means we will finally get the conclusion we lacked from DMC 1 and DMC 3 to that essential dilemma  - is the best way of life via compassion and altruism or domination and control via dispassionate reason? 

Or maybe a combo of both?

Love, Lust and Nero’s Mother

The DMC team have been remarkably coy about Nero’s mother which has always irritated me. It fridges another mother/lover character as well as denying us juicy( and I’d argue) essential story details aka why Captain ‘I Hate Humanity and Repress My Emotions’ would ever deign to sleep with a human.

But since the Korean interview hints at the theme of love perhaps we will get an insight at last, especially if we get the long awaited confrontation between father and son. 

Blake’s writing gives us an interesting hint to this. In his mythos Urizen’s female counterpart is Ahania who stands for pleasure and the desire for intelligence. They have many children including a rebellious son called Fuzon who fights against his father’s repressive ways (Nero anyone?). But the crucial part is Urizen separating himself from Ahania because he believes pleasure is sinful or limiting - just as Vergil separated himself from human desires and emotions because he thought of them as weak. But also like Vergil, Urizen becomes weaker as a result, losing his intuition, for the path to Divine Wisdom accord to Blake was passion and reason - something Dante grew into, becoming more balanced and mature as the series has progressed.

It wouldn’t surprise me if we get some callous remark from Vergil about Nero’s mother at first - was he with her out of lust which disgusted him afterwards (wasn’t Nero’s mother hinted at being a prostitute?), or was it an experiment as someone else has suggested to see if he could recreate Sparda’s power via his connection with Eva or ven some creepy deal with the Order of the Sword to continue Sparda’s bloodline despite his intention to raise Temen-ni-gru and show them ‘this devil’s power’?

Whatever he says it will cause more of a rift, but I believe at the end Vergil will be forced to confront her importance even just as the mother of his child, along with other significant figures like Nero, Dante and Eva.

Nero and Urizen’s son Fuzon

"1: Fuzon, on a chariot iron-wing'd On spiked flames rose; his hot visage Flam'd furious! sparkles his hair & beard Shot down his wide bosom and shoulders. On clouds of smoke rages his chariot And his right hand burns red in its cloud Moulding into a vast globe, his wrath As the thunder-stone is moulded. Son of Urizens silent burnings

Blake

‘As the element of fire, the element symbolizing the energy Urizen wishes to subdue, Fuzon rebels against Urizen...battling him for control of the world’ Fuzon Wikipedia

This sounds much like Nero’s reckless and impassioned battle with DMC’s Urizen for control of the Human World. 

Unfortunately for Fuzon he is eventually defeated by his father and crucified on the Tree of Mystery  - yet another powerful tree symbol.

This is not looking good for Nero...but since Blake’s works develop, the element of passionate rebellion and the quest for the reunion of reason and imaginative emotion continue and I can’t see Nero dying at the end of DMC 5 so perhaps there will be a resurrection of sorts?

Dante and Luvah/Orc

But where does Dante figure in all of this? Can Blake’s mythology give us some potential answers? He does in the double figure of Luvah/Orc (no, not that sort of orc...)

Orc. William Blake

As Luvah - ‘he represents love, passion, and rebellious energy..’ he is also known ‘as the Prince of Love, and his name may be connected to the word "lover". Love is the supreme emotion, and it is connected to all others, including hate...his fallen form is Orc. Throughout Blake's mythological system, he is opposed to Urizen, the representation of reason.’

Orc is also ‘the embodiment of rebellion, and stands opposed to Urizen, the embodiment of tradition...’ He is a ‘"Lover of Wild Rebellion, and transgressor of God's Law"... Orcus is also the Latin word for Hell, and Orc is presented as a rebellious, Luciferian character.’

We can see Dante’s human and demonic aspects in these quotes.

Urizen and Luvah/Orc engage in a complex battle across the cycle of ages as a metaphor for the conflict between reason and the emotions - just like Dante and Vergil. He also gets crucified to a tree (not looking good for Dante either then...) but resurrects in various forms including (Blake being a Christian) Jesus. In this resurrected form Urizen is afraid of the new Luvah  - perhaps in DMC terms this is when we see Dante’s Majin form? Either way I think both Nero and Dante are going to be called on to make some sort of sacrifice fighting Vergil as Urizen, hopefully to bring him back to the light and free him from the evil husk of hatred.

Healing the Division

‘Later in Vala, Orc describes the divided aspects of the soul, which, in Blake's mythological system, God has a twofold essence that is capable of good and evil. This idea parallels Blake's personal belief that there was a division within himself..’.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc_(Blake)

The symbolism of divided aspects of God and the soul within Blake’s system hark back again to the division between Dante and Vergil and Vergil and Nero. In the manga Vergil reflects on Dante and him being one being split in two. The aspects of their all-powerful father were also split between them as Sparda was also known as being calm like Vergil and rebellious like Dante as reflected in his two swords given to each respective son. And of course there’s that ‘pesky’ human nature from Eva.

Nero too has grown into his own, arguably as some have said being more like Sparda than either of his sons, willing to sacrifice his power because of his love for a human and protect other humans for her sake. Hopefully as hinted in both the Korean interview, the works of Blake and the core of Devil May Cry, it will be the theme of Love that will finally bring the family of Sparda together and heal at long last that division.

V and the Poetry of Blake

Despite being the mouthpiece for a lot of Blake’s poetry I’m not going to talk much about V except to refer you to this great post from la-vita which lists alot of his quotes.

https://la-vita.tumblr.com/post/182731950816/two-of-the-poems-v-reads-during-battle

It says that V’s book may refer to the ‘V’ of DMC V, Blake’s Plate 5 he is reading, however...

‘Urizen is described as having multiple books: Gold, Silver, Iron, and Brass. They represent science, love, war, and sociology, which are four aspects of life.’

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urizen

Hmm...

Thanks for reading if you got this far!

[demyrie]

I'm curious but why did you delete JAM? It was one of my favorite JxD fics and I never got to finish reading it.

ahhhh oh dear, yeah, that happened.

So, for everyone arriving, I wrote a fic called Just Another Mission for the Jak and Daxter game series, and Jak/Daxter pairing. Yes, the green haired elf protag with the fuzzy orange thing, which btw used to be a human and was a human in fic. I think I started it when I was maybe 14 (yikes omg) and a few years ago, I deleted it, and I don’t delete fics.

Rant and personal history ahead, but tldr; i deleted this particular fic because:

1) I became more and more uncomfortable with the way I’d treated certain characters without giving them respect or resolution (throwing around things like domestic abuse while being too young to properly understand What I Was Doing or How to Answer Very Triggered Friends Who Had the Misfortune of Reading This I’m So Goddamn Sorry, as well as falling into that Not Like Other Girls slash fan ditch of treating female characters like shit/obstacles to the main pairing WHICH IS JUST ******) as well as personally uncomfortable portrayals of obsession and taking advantage of people that turn my stomach to this day (see reason 4)

2) i got way in over my head with my own writing/style which was so obtuse and self-indulgent that I felt a great amount of shame over it, including the attention it had gotten, and the way it went to my head and turned me into an egotistic little shit. I was an asshole peacock and I regret it. There was a break where I got waylaid before the final confrontation in the fic (see reason 4, also a very bad time to get held up in any narrative) and when I returned to the story, i nearly cried because it was such a mess and I didn’t know what I was saying anymore. Finishing it was a struggle and I even remember one JnD fan friend being like “hey this chapter seemed really curt??? short?? not like you” and I was like YEAH THATS NOT ME ANYMORE god i hope

3) there was a sort of ... anti-JxD surge in my little pool from people I really respected and it made me think i was doing something wrong even just remembering it, so I cut off that memory.

4) it coincided with two ugly relationships in my life that marred it, and I just wanted it gone for my own mental health.

So anon, I’m very sorry that you never got to finish it. I had good intentions in mind and gave them a happy ending where they realized they loved each other, even if the journey there was difficult. 

It both touched me and broke a piece of my heart when someone came to me years ago and asked me why I had deleted it, saying the story had given them the courage to come out as gay to their family. In that moment, overwhelmed with how ProblematicTM the whole story was, I was really struck with just ... how subjective our world experience is, and how so many things can mean so many different things to every single soul and how terrifyingly VALID peoples experiences are, no matter how they come by them. We’re all so unique and convoluted, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure -- and one man’s trigger is another man’s key to Becoming. But no matter how inspiring, I couldn’t bring myself to repost it. 

Hopefully this will be the only fic i ever delete with relish. Jak and Daxter will always be a good memory for me, regardless. Thanks for the ask, anon.

(even more) personal stuff below the cut. tw for stalking, harassment, manipulation and emotional abuse.

So.

Im a firm believer in stories living beyond their authors (something that JK rowling doesnt seem to understand iykwim). I don’t normally delete past works, because while I wrote them, I also know that they’ve outgrown me as most narratives do: people are absolutely allowed to enjoy what they want to or need to, not just because I think said thing is reflective of my current work or jives with my current stage of life. 

However, JAM was a particular Thing that Had to Go.

The timeline is hella fuzzy to me because I’ve blocked a lot of it out, but I was coming out of middle school and struggling with my mental health. On the real life side, I was stuck in a situation with a close friend of mine who was very fixated on us being in a relationship and the pining was loud enough to hear from the other side of the country. Wounded people pleaser that I was, I flipped (exhaustingly) back and forth between “i dont like you like that” and “but I want you to be happy so what if I tried liking you like that?” and there was massive amounts of hidden hurt and resentment and tension and abandonment complex activation and just ... a strangling of anything that made our friendship good for either of us. 

Also she was a she. So. Yannoe, gay is difficult.

This definitely burnt me out on the “best friends pining” trope and is probably legit the ONLY reason I’m not equally in the erasermic and erasermight camp haha. That trope feels claustrophobic and draining to me, so I leave it for others to enjoy.

It also coincided with a married 45yo adult man luring me into a “platonic, ecstatic, boundary-breaking, you-are-my-beautiful-young-muse, words cannot express how much I love you” creative type relationship that inevitably turned possessive, domineering and manipulative. Within the bounds of the Renaissance Faire community, I thought he was a safe person and he was not, and his constant reassurance that I wasn’t like other women my age was absolutely hypnotizing to a undeveloped soul who really, really wanted to be special.

We traded poetry and tarot card readings over email. He bought me manga and shared stories about his time overseas and in the service. He made me props to go with my renaissance faire character and showed me where to find cheap leather so I could piece things together myself.

He also stalked me and owned me for the better part of a year and I only realized it once he started harassing a dear friend of mine overseas, whom I was visiting, about a package that he’d sent, which apparently he’d covered in original poetry to let me know how much he loved me But Not In a Hetero or Sexual Way Bro, so of course he didn’t want it to get lost in the postal system. So what is he going to do? Note my friend twice a day asking if its arrived until she inevitably, tearfully spills that this guy is stressing her out and who is he anyway?

My horrible secret was out, which only sounded horrible when I explained it to someone else. I realized this man was trying to follow me wherever i went and I got so fucking angry that he was messing with my friend that I had to stop it.

(He called me a cunt when I broke it off with him on the phone in the dark on the floor of my bedroom in the middle of the night so my parents wouldn’t hear, then sobbed and said he was sorry. I was so dissociated from the rush of anger and helplessness that it took for me to actually MAKE the call that all I could do was wiggle my foot and watch it in the reflection of the mirror on the back of my door, and think maybe I was a cunt but I wasn’t his cunt anymore. So there. 

Afterward I slammed my forehead into the mirror a few times to make sure I’d actually done it and it wasn’t a dream.)

During all of this, I was writing this stupid fic. I think. Honestly, I don’t fucking know, but I can’t think of it without thinking of him and how i was devoured.

The stress of hiding this “totally wonderful but NORMAL PEOPLE DONT UNDERSTAND WHAT WE HAVE!!!!” grooming shit from my parents was gutting me alive, and I was so far gone RE: worthiness/autonomy that I didn’t even consider why I BOTHERED diffusing his petulant accusations over notes on deviantArt again and again as he baited me into shit just to explode over how I didn’t love him and I figured out another way to soothe his engorged and tarry ego without explicitly lying that I loved him too. 

He made me regret my silver tongue and way with words as I used it to defend myself again and again, and crushed my love of writing. I would pace the neighborhood for almost an hour several times a week, claiming I was ‘exercising’ but really trying to understand why i felt so trapped, or where the lines between love and hate lay, or why I wanted to cry all the time, as i low key tried to get hit by a car just to force something to change in my life and jolt me out of his smothering, needy nightmare of constant texting and emails and notes. I couldn’t fucking flinch without him knowing about it, and asking me if I was okay. For this reason, I react very poorly to people fretting over me at length, and loudly. I get angry and feel violated, or just pinned to the floor by someone Performing their love on me with no real regard for my health.

This whole time, I was escaping into fandom. It probably saved my life, in one way or another, because I found friends who supported me and made me laugh in the JnD sphere. Especially the friend whose distress caused me to snap and realize This Couldn’t Continue.

This terrible man was the first one outside of my friend group that I showed my writing to, the first adult as well. It was on the dark side even then, but he said it was wonderful and amazing. He teased me for being stuck up in my authors notes on JAM (one of the reasons I’m just getting over ... talking ...) but said it inspired him to start writing as well. He used that writing to imagine hokey sprawling stories of him being a hot rod racer and me being his sexy girlfriend, Very Totally in Love. Why Couldn’t We have Just Met in a Different Lifetime??? not that its a relevant question for my young 16yo friend lol just something dreamers wonder lol lol here why don’t you take this traditional irish engagement ring aka claddagh i bought for you, lie to your parents and say I bought one for everyone in our renfaire group, and turn it toward your heart, to imply that you’re in love, so that I can keep your heart safe for you until you find a boyfriend?

FUCKER YOU ABSOLUTE FUCKER ok I’m done. Fuck.

JAM was a project of mine that spanned a year or two and is intrinsically tangled in those very bad relationships and very bad lessons. I deleted it because I needed to, for purely personal reasons beyond the fact that it was generally bombastic, over-long, tone-deaf and dealt with very serious issues poorly. Due to these experiences, you won’t catch me in a hot minute writing either best-friends-pining or heavy jealousy/possessiveness fic, but everyone else? Go crazy just tag your shit.

so. anyway. isn’t subjectivity actually terrifying? You never know what something can mean to someone else. So just ask, maybe.

Damn, son. Some fics you just can’t repost.

[ladyloveandjustice]

Fall 2018 Anime Overview: Continuing Series- Golden Kamuy Season 2 and Banana Fish

Golden Kamuy Season 2

If you enjoyed the first season, this is pretty much more of the same, so check out my review of season one to know what to expect.

Though I guess you could say this portion of the season DOES lean even harder into weirdness than the first one did. There’s not many anime where you’ll see two dudes having the time of their lives modeling fashionable outfits made out of human skin, which include...crotch appendages...only in Golden Kamuy y’all.

Interestingly bizarreness tends to overlap with queerness a lot in this season and its hard to know how to feel about it. For instance, it’s definitely an unexpected revelation that dudes are attracted to Lieutenant Tsurumi like whoa. 

IDK apparently he’s a catch. Half of his subordinates are in love with him. It’s handled as comical and of course the dudes are mentally unbalanced weirdos (as is everyone in Golden Kamuy except Asirpa and Sugimoto only sometimes) and one of them dies, but the show is never overtly mean to them either. Nobody acts disgusted about it and when one character observes the attraction, he basically shrugs about it.

 Satoru Noda apparently also REALLY loose with his fixation with dudes muscles with this part of the story, to the point we got the beef-cakiest hotsprings episode I’ve ever seen, which includes an extended fight scene where the male characters were naked throughout. There’s also an entire scene where apparently otter meat is an aphrodisiac that causes the dudes to be really into each other, so they engage in nearly naked sumo wrestling.

This is all clearly supposed to be wacky and funny, but at the same time it’s pretty clear the mangaka must REALLY LIKE drawing these scenes of muscular, naked men, and I support him following his dreams. Also I won’t deny it’s refreshing to see a hot springs episode where not a single woman got objectified, but there was dude oglin’ a plenty. It healed me a little.

I guess while we’re talking about this show and its weird relationship with queerness I should reporting that my prediction was right and the trans woman I mentioned in the previous review did become an ally. Her transness hasn’t been bought up again (though for some reason the subs decided to switch to “he” despite sticking with “she” before) and her role is pretty minor, she does reveal she’s skilled in both cooking and surgery (because she likes dismembering people) and talks about how great it would be to see people murdered every so often, so pretty much more of the same.

And that’s really all there is to say. Golden Kamuy has only gotten weirder and the plot only more convoluted (I’m starting to have a hard time keeping track of the characters tbh), but it’s an entertaining story and there’s still characters with resonance and heart underneath it all (the scene where Sugimoto discusses his trauma from being in the war with Asirpa genuinely tugged a heartstring. These two are still great and have really settled into a kinda of adorable dad-daughter dynamic at this point) and the historical and cultural research that went into this story is still amazing. 

I can tell the anime’s still skipping a lot of the manga (most of volume 7 was completely skipped), but since the English release of the manga is so slow, I’m happy to watch it in the meantime. It helps that the show has a bangin’ soundtrack and and it managed to pull its ginormous cast together for some truly exciting and action packed final episodes that left me eager for more. 

Banana Fish (13-24)

Again, if you read my review for the first half of the show, you can basically expect more of the same, both with the good and especially the bad parts. We do get more downtime with Ash and Eiji’s relationship, and they continued to make me think this show would be so much better if it focused more on these quiet scenes rather than on piling as much trauma on Ash as it possibly can. 

I think this second half did allow me to see what was compelling about Ash and Eiji’s relationship and why it’s stayed with so many people. When Ash explained that he’s finally found someone who will love him without expecting anything in return, so of course he’s willing to do anything for that person, that got me in the heart. Ash is someone who has either been viewed as a threat or someone to exploit- he’s especially used to being treated like he’s nothing more than a body, a receptacle for desires. Eiji isn’t afraid of Ash, or in awe of him, and never asks anything of him other than for him to be okay and by his side. Ash genuinely can just be a dumb teenager with him while he can’t with anyone else. Eiji is an outsider, to Ash’s gang-bangin’ world, to his culture in general, and that allows him to see Ash as he truly is, just a kid who needs to get out of this mess.

The romantic in me really loves that concept, and as an ace person, I especially connect to the underlying implication that Eiji is a romantic partner who isn’t going to demand sex from Ash or try to force him into it. Though Ash’s implied desire to avoid sex almost certainly stems from trauma, I know how he feels in a broad sense. And I think it’s a thing a lot of women can relate to even if they aren’t ace, wanting to find a relationship where they aren’t used or objectified, so it goes back around to how Ash acts as kind of a representation for the anxieties and desires of (likely) the mangaka and many women despite being a male character, and I still find that very interesting. The scene where Ash has a complete breakdown and screams at his rapist while laughing hysterically was really affecting.

So there’s moments of real resonance here, but is it worth the bullshit surrounding it, which includes every single gay man being represented as a rapist, to the point a gay bar is connected to a child porn ring? The nasty implication that gay sex is inherently evil and non-consensual, and Ash and Eiji’s relationship is only okay because they’re not doing it is very strong, and as much as this ace appreciates a romance that doesn’t require sex, I don’t want it THIS way.

There’s also some SERIOUS anti-Semitic bullshit that I can’t believe MAPPA didn’t edit out in a couple episodes. Like it would have been so easy to cut. Also some more pretty rough scenes of black men being murdered (they’re extras this time at least, and the main black dude for this part of the anime miraculously manages to both survive and not be an offensive caricature. Also his name is Cain Blood which is the best name in this story, and possibly ever). 

The second half of the anime also involved some of the more absurd elements worsening. I got REALLY tired of every character commenting on how hot and amazing Ash is like. I GET IT.  Also Ash’s life of being sexually exploited somehow gives him the ability to seduce any man holding him captive, and every bad guy is down for raping a teenage boy, I guess. It’s actually again, a little surreal to see these tropes with a male character. I’m used to seeing hot female characters who’ve been through sexual trauma and have magic seduction powers and are endlessly drooled over...I almost want guys to watch these segments so they can see how uncomfortable it feels when the tables are turned. 

There’s also some really good examples of ACTUAL jarring tone shifts, where the anime really fails to land some of its attempts at a funny, light moment in the midst of really tense and tragic situations. I think it’s possible the manga managed this better, but I can’t imagine the “joke” where Ash has to crossdress and a male doctor gropes him and Ash punches him out cold and his friends chortle and tell him he’s not a gentle woman could ever be done in a non jarring way. Like, I don’t like sexual harassment humor in anime at the best of times, but it’s especially bad when the person who is harassed has been raped more times than he can count.  We’re expected to take that seriously, but not this, because Ash is in a dress? It’s also like, appalling that his friends who are fully aware of his history would laugh about him getting assaulted again. It’s a moment that feels like it comes from a completely different anime. 

So um, yeah. My conclusion is those resonant moments are not worth the bullshit. The ending really cemented this for me. I had an (admittedly overly flippant) reaction that kind of sums my feelings up. Let’s just say I HATE meaningless cruel tragedy for the sake of tragedy, and I especially hate the implication abuse victims can never find happiness. 

I can’t say Banana Fish is an anime I’ll think fondly of or recommend. I do still find the discussion about it interesting, much more interesting than the actual story (as presented in the anime, again, haven’t read the manga), tbh. And I can see the seeds of a good story there, and I can understand why fans would want to see a reboot that truly modernized the story, cutting out the worst stuff and giving it a better ending, while keeping the resonance of the main relationship and the good characters (I really did like Sing, and Yut Lung was interesting. Shorter and Skip both deserved way better. Also Jessica, who at least got to do something besides be victimized at the last minute. One whole female character got a few moments of agency. Hallelujah.) Maybe someday it will happen. 

In the meantime, there’s a bunch of cool articles on Banana Fish that are worth a read. All of the pieces published on animefeminist as well as this post on Otaku, She Wrote are really informative, illuminating, and break down a lot of the issues I found here.

[jewelridersarchive]

Why do we love seeing new versions of the same thing? Is it simple nostalgia? Is it the desire to engage with some sort of content that once moved us in a new and different way? Is it new creators wanting to stamp something they loved from their own childhood with their mark? Or is it all of the above?

I’m not immune to loving reboots. I devoured the new DuckTales on Disney XD, I’m reading the new Rainbow Brite comics from Dynamite, I’m watching the new iteration of Will & Grace, and continue to watch My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Reboots are fun; they not only allow fans who loved something to have a nostalgia party, but also allow potential new fans entry points into what sometimes appears to be never-ending streams of content (I’m looking at you, Transformers). But things seem out of hand when even ReBoot, the mid-90s CGI cartoon, has a reboot on Netflix (ReBoot: The Guardian Code). Have reboots become the “safe,” risk-averse way companies can cash in on portfolio properties that already have known fanbases? It’s the equivalent of an artist only drawing fanart because they know it will get thousands of likes versus hundreds on original content.

And I fully admit some level of fatigue with franchises that just keep chugging along, seemingly forever. Every movie that comes out seems to want to be a tentpole franchise builder. Or a reboot of an existing franchise, or a soft reboot that only takes some elements going forward, or an alternate universe or…well, you get the idea.

I love original content. One of the best shows I watched this year was Alex Hirsch’s Gravity Falls (yes, I know I’m rather late to the game). It was a bright spot of originality, something new and not tied to any other content or previous iteration. Many of the anime I watch and enjoy are either original or straight adaptations of an existing manga. I think original content and ideas are important in entertainment. They allow a generation to experience a piece of entertainment in its prime, and have something uniquely “theirs.” Kids of the 60s had Star Trek, kids of the 70s had Star Wars, kids of 80s will always be the original audience for Jem & the Holograms and He-Man/She-Ra, kids of the 90s will always have X-Men TAS and Sailor Moon. (And PGJR, of course haha). No matter if they are rebooted down the road or not, that original experience belongs to the original viewers.

Which is why it’s always hilarious to me when people who hate on the new version of something say “It’s ruining my childhood!” Your childhood is whatever it was, frozen in time. Those original cartoons obviously still exist, and if you have the desire you can watch most of them. A reboot doesn’t destroy the original, no matter how many changes it makes to the original idea. The best reboots can often give us (as adults) what we thought we were watching as children. And often, the reboot can drive traffic back to seek out the original, as adults want to share with children the version they loved at that age.

Which brings us to She-Ra. I didn’t watch any He-Man or She-Ra as a child, for whatever reason. I found He-Man & the Masters of the Universe through the 2002 anime-influenced incarnation (also a great reboot IMO), then went back and watched the 1983 cartoon, followed by the 1985 She-Ra: Princess of Power. I loved it all. Sure, sometimes it was goofy, and there was lots of animation reuse in the older versions, but the core concepts were really strong. They are classic good vs evil, freedom vs tyranny stories, told with engaging casts and crazy creative worlds.

I powered through all 93 episodes of She-Ra during the summer of 2010 while I studied for my board exams. It holds the special place of being the series I turned to to relieve the stress of studying. I love the 80s fantasy girl designs, the color schemes, the powers, the sheer kookiness of the side characters. She-Ra was the OG American magical girl, and I finally understood what all the fuss over this franchise was about. She-Ra feels iconic in the way that characters like Wonder Woman and Sailor Moon do. Yes, she starts out as a spin-off of the successful He-Man franchise, but he makes very few appearances in She-Ra’s cartoon.

But after her initial run, She-Ra remained a virtually dormant property for the next 30 years. He-Man had two different reboots in 1991 and 2002, but She-Ra was stuck in limbo. Only once the Masters of the Universe Classics collectible figure from Mattel released in 2010 did She-Ra finally see the light of day again. Story-wise, the bios on the back of the toy packages gave us a little info about She-Ra’s further adventures, but it wasn’t until the 2012/2013 Masters of the Universe comic from DC that She-Ra comes back, this time in the guise of the villainous Despara. It’s a dark but interesting take on the characters; an exploration of what being raised by the Evil Horde would really do to a person.

Interestingly, this seems to be the jumping-off point for the new “She-Ra and the Princesses of Power” animated series from Dreamworks and Netflix. This show takes as its central theme the relationship between Adora and Catra. When Adora finds the sword that lets her turn into She-Ra, she leaves the Horde – an organization to which she has devoted her life. Almost more importantly, she leaves behind Catra, her best friend. It’s this broken relationship that informs the emotional tone of the rest of the show.

Unlike the 80s version, this time around the Rebellion knows Adora’s identity as She-Ra. It’s an interesting change – shows of the 80s were obsessed with secret identities, and sometimes it could get ridiculous making up excuses for what happened to the other identity of the character every time. Thankfully, that is avoided here, and instead of angst over whether or not you can let people know the real you, we are treated to relationships that ask whether we can accept someone who we know has wronged us before.

Much has been made over this update’s reworking of the body types and ethnicities of the main princesses. While I confess not loving all the updated designs and missing the 80s fairytale warrior goddesses of the original, I understand and fully support the change. Reboots are about viewing something old through the lens of today, and audiences of today want to see themselves in the media they watch or read. We can’t (and shouldn’t) go back to mostly-white casts. The world is a rainbow of colors, and the show feels richer for including them.

Speaking of rainbows, I have to mention the new show’s decidedly queer bent. The relationship between Adora and Catra is somewhere between ex-best-friends and ex-girlfriends in tone. Netossa and Spinerella, long shipped by the fandom, are finally outed in a true relationship this time around. Other characters like Scorpia, Bow, and Entrapta all tap into queer mannerisms and norms as well. The end result is unlike anything else I’ve ever seen in children’s entertainment, and I couldn’t be happier. I wish I’d had something similar as a child, but I’m grateful today’s queer kids have their own heroes.

When we talk about a successful reboot, what are we looking for? Here’s what I think a good reboot need to accomplish.

Bring the characters and concepts of the original property up to date for current audiences.

Explore the characters or world in new and different ways.

Add depth to the original concept.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power does all of these in spades. I think it’s the nicest treatment an 80s female-driven property has gotten in a reboot. The show is full of strong characters with interesting dynamics, great writing, and interesting world building. Yes, some of the episodes can be a bit predictable and the designs are not always my favorite, but everything works together toward a greater whole. I won’t spoil the story for you, because seriously if you haven’t watched this, get thee to Netflix and enjoy!

For the Honor of Grayskull!

Chris

P.S. Can you imagine getting a ✨Princess Gwenevere and the Jewel Riders✨ reboot that brought all this to the table? I’d die!

Read the complete blog at The Jewel Riders Archive! http://www.jewelridersarchive.com/posts/she-ra-the-princesses-of-power-and-reboot-culture/

[tumblunni]

Okay..uhh..man i dont even know what pronouns to use for this character

Like the few posts in their tag call them nonbinary? But it seems thats just because of that one line saying "gender is stupid" which was literally in response to someone saying "stop dressing like a girl, youre a boy". And like every single artwork of this character everywhere forever shows her dressed incredibly feminine and like.. Calling herself a girl. And the series just treats it as "quirky gay man who's lol sooooo gay that he crossdresses all the time" and seriously everyone else seems to call her a man and she calls herslf a girl? Like this really doenst seem like a nonbinary character this seems like an old manga with a poor understanding of trans people that was using kind of offensive language to refer to a trans woman and like.. Now just looking back on it through a a modern lens we'd say it seems like how we talk about nonbinary people.

Cos i mean seriously man this is just a girl who always dresses as a girl and calls herself a girl and loves girly stuff and its just meant to be somehow 'comical' because she's uhh..well..clearly flat chested and the manga makes it clear she was "born a man". And seriously wtf is up with this "comical" slant to all of it?? Like im glad to see trans rep and i understand that its so flawed because its a really ahead of its time bit of representation that was made in a time when bigotry was a lot more overwhelming and LGBT equality had made less strides. But still it seems so weird that even if they think of this character as "a gay man who likes to crossdress" then they'd be portraying "him" as a joke when they'd had other positive gay characters before. And like its not even outright "eww trans women" or anythingits just like they draw her SO exaggerated when she shows her crush on Toya and then he's drawn all..comically disgusted? And everyone is all shocked? And it was really confusing for the first chapter before they had a character staye that she was DMAB cos seriousky it just looked like everyone being weird to this girl for no reason.

And then just.. THERE'S A REALLY WEIRD UNDERTONE HERE

Like i wondered why on earth Toya's crush on Yukito was played so understated and never allowed to be outright confirmed even though its clearly canon and they were able to show Syaoran having a crush on literally the same guy before.

But seriously its starting to become WEIRD in regards to that! Like Ruby Moon is telling Yukito "i'll steal him away if you dont want him" so hey yes confirmation that it IS fuckin canon and they JUST WONT SAY IT. and then they have this really weird dance around conversation where toya is all "ugh gasp you're a-" and like he's...uncomfortabke with her being "a man" (SHE'S NOT A MAN DAMMIT) and she's like "but yukito is also" [suspicious gap in dialogue] "and you" [suspicious gap in dialogue] "him". Its all fuckin weird how much theyre dancing around saying the word gay or even saying a man loves a man yet they SAID IT BEFORE FOR SYAORAN! And then the dancibg around LGBT terms was actually used kinda cleverly here cos it could also mean "yes i'm a clow card and yukito is also not human". And probably the writers could point to that as reasonable denial if anyone accused them of writing a trans woman, i guess...

And uhh.. Yeah.. I think i get why these two situations are considered "different" by the writers.there was just a whole fuckin chapter about Syaoran realizing that her REALLY loves sakura and he only mistook his feelings for a crush on another boy because something something sensing subconciously that yukito had magic in him. And now its presented as CHARACTER GROWTH that he gives up on yukito and goes and has a straight relationship instead. And at the same time in the same chapter Tomoyo also decides to give up on her crush on Sakura WITHOUT EVER EVEN TELLING HER OR TRYING TO SEE IF SHE FEELS THE SAME WAY because she just thinks sakura will be happier witj syaoran. And this is meant to be noble and again be character development. And then looking back we had that whole plot of tomoyo's mom having a crush on sakura's mom and it being played all comical?? And her accusing sakura's dad of being a cradle robber and horrid for LITERALLY FUCKING HIS UNDERAGE STUDENT AND SHE DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL TO MARRY HIM was again played for 'comedy' and she 'learns her lessonc that he's really a good guy and everything is fine.

So..yeah. It seems like a bit of an undercurrent of "gay crushes are a thing for children that you grow out of". Cos seriously the way they play the "comedy" on these older characters is like.. Infantalizing them? Tomoyo's mom is meant to be seen as immature and overreacting. And sakura's mom of course 'grew up' and got a 'real relationship'...

Or like i dunno maybe this was all an accidental implication caused by writers who just didnt realize what itd look like when they make EVERY SINGLE QUEER CHARACTER LOSE THE LOVE TRIANGLE and also refuse to actually confirm the one singular potential actually happy, healthy and recipricated gay pairing.

Also calling a trans woman a man and making everyone act grossed out by her expressing interest in her and making it all so confusing that even actual LGBT people dont really know what to make of it...

And then like there's also some bit where they say "oh well clow card guardians dont actually have gender", by which they mean "biological sex" cos i mean clearly they have genders! And why would "having no biological sex" give them ALL THE BODIES OF MEN??? Like seriously why would "cannot reproduce" mean "male by default"? Why would one of these "genderless" creatures make fun of one of the others for choosing to be female if none of them were born aligned to either of the human reproductive categories in the first place? Like its not "ha why are you being female, we dont have genders" its "why are you NOT BEING A MAN, we dont have genders". That makes no sense!! Also double wtf cos like 90% of all the clow cards look feminine and even half of the ones who don't still use female pronouns and get listed as female in the profiles. Like yes, all of them are drawn flat chested or with barbie doll anatomy but that doesnt make them "men by default"! And nobody's ever mentioned this before, we havent had kero-chan being all "ugh this is the DEVIANT Windy card that PRETENDS to be a girl" or anything. Seriously i cant get over the fact that its her straight up sibling guardian who's the one who makes fun of her for wearing a girls uniform. You are a goddamn talking panther!! What do you care about human cissexism!!

I dunno man the whole thing's got me a bit grumpled.

Also they continue dojng the damn nasty "romance" between a 35 year old teacher and a ten year old girl IN A MANGA AIMED AT TEN YEAR OLD GIRLS, and its presented all wholesome and life goalsy with no criticism whatsoever. Its been getting even creepier and it fuckin STARTED with him giving her a wedding ring! Now theyre really drawing attention to how young she is cos she sews a makeshift teddy bear for him and gives it to him as a good luck charm thatll make their love last. Gahhhhhh

[toonstarterz]

BECAUSE I’M NOT POPULAR, I’LL READ WATAMOTE: CHAPTER #133

This is old news at this point, I adore how this series can take mundane, everyday occurrences, and have them be precursors to something more substantial later on. They did it for moments like Tomoko inadvertently causing the Kyoto trip from even happening or how she just so happened to learn Nemo’s secret from Ogino, and now it’s happening with this lunch date that was planned in the previous chapter. Considering how the previous cafeteria chapters include talking about dicks and “Attack on Kabaneri”, I’m certain there will be no shortage of laughs here.  

Chapter 133: Because I’m Not Popular, I’ll Connect With Everyone

The relationship (if you can call it that) between Tomoko and Okada has always been an interesting one since the latter is probably the closest thing Tomoko envisions as the typical popular, preppy girl. The barrier between them is thick enough that even Nemo has to ask permission to bring Okada along instead of doing that assume-she’s-okay-with-it move she often does.   

Now you see, this is the kind of line that could’ve easily been executed in a way that would paint Okada as a clichéd tsundere. The reason why Pineapple-chan doesn’t fall into this trap is because Okada, unlike a usual tsundere, doesn’t mask who she is. Sure, she expresses discomfort in her explanation, but it’s more of trying to rectify a mistake she’s already admitted to rather than any overzealous denial. 

Ain’t that the class representative of Tomoko’s class last year? Only Nico Tanigawa would make the class rep character inconsequential in a manga. 

Number #182 on the Masterlist of Acceptable Social Etiquette that the Writer of this Review has Fucked Up at Some Point in His Life. 

Perhaps this my Western sensibilities talking, but I don’t see the issue with choosing something cheap when someone is treating you. Most people I know would appreciate the consideration. Now, there have been a few times in this series where being “considerate” is equated with “pitying”, which is understandable if there is a clear social/financial divide between the two parties. But the idea that a simple act of kindness like treating someone is a “trend”, as Tomoko seems to imply, is unsettling in how needlessly grand of a gesture it’s become.

Whether you’re a prep or an otaku, we all love udon. 

See, the fact that Komiyama even bothers to bring up her history with Tomoko says a lot about what her relationship with the latter means to her. Nemo compared her three-year relationship with Tomoko with that of Komiyama’s, but Komiyama actually felt the need to specify that she’s known Tomoko longer than that, as if their relationship were weighted with more value for it. Despite what they say, Tomoko and Komiyama’s frenemy bond has shaped them to an extent that can only be described as friendship.

...er, right?

It’s understandable that Okada would think that, as there’s no evidence that she’s ever had a real enemy before. Now in regards to being in sync. Tomoko and Komiyama are a case of being too much in sync. People with abrasive personalities tend to click well with more mild-mannered people, since they can even each other out. But Tomoko and Komiyama are basically fire fighting against fire, and that unyielding nature often doesn’t produce sunshine and flowers.

But at the same time, fire can also reinforce each other, and I believe this is what Okada is alluding to here. That even if they collide with each other, its a mutual collision that can produce not pure-hearted friendship, but a healthy dislike. Tomoko and Komiyama are long past keeping up appearances in front of others, and it’s that shared understanding that may have actually benefited the two girls in the long run.  

There’s sooo much to pull apart here on how in Tomoko’s fantasy, she’s coding Komiyama as a male while she plays the implied female love interest. I won’t go as far as to say its some internalized heteronormativity, but that her first instinct is to refer to very obvious heterosexual relationships in manga and anime simply because that’s what she consumes. I’d sure like to see Komi’s version of this. 

This leads me to wonder...would Tomoko be friends with Komiyama if Tomoki wasn’t part of the equation? I’d say their relationship would be better, but still not exactly friends.

Nemo at it again with the potshots against Tomoko. But lo and behold, it’s not Tomoko who offers a retort, as we’ve come to expect...

...but the Queen of Quiet Fury, Yuri Tamura.

We’ve only had a couple of glimpses thus far in this manga of Yuri taking the initiative, but past history with her tells us that Yuri is only like that when something she treasures is in danger of being lost. Simply put, the fact that she’s forcing herself in the conversation is more drastic than her using Tomoki as social “warfare”.

Judging from Mako’s I-don’t-wanna-be-here expression, I don’t think Yuri’s being totally honest. My belief is that Yuri kept dropping not-so-hinted hints that she wants to stalk them during lunch, and Mako took it upon her reluctant shoulders to organize the stakeout. 

I like how organically all of the connections (hence the title) are being drawn together. They don’t really take the forefront and occupy any important dialogue. Rather, the realizations that the character experience are all in the back of their minds, acting more as the glue to naturally develop these connections later on, which keeps the lunch from looking like a contrived excuse to force characters to meet each other. 

You asked for this, Nemo. There’s no turning back.

Yuri and Nemo “competing” for Tomoko’s attention was a very obvious development, but to actually see it in motion is another thing entirely. It keeps it fresh because it’s not just two girls constantly ragging on each other. They each have different approaches to this “competition”, with Nemo’s upfront-but-calculated moves having trouble against Yuri’s understated-but-relentless defenses. And especially with Yuri having more ammunition like “knowing Naruse-san”, it’s going to be an intense battle.

For all you continuity buffs out there.

Three consecutive punchlines in one panel? How do you do it, Nico Tanigawa?

Okay, but in all seriousness, I was not expecting Yuri to play the sleeve-grab card. That’s the sort of shit one says to brag about some sexualized non-sexual contact, and Yuri never seemed like the type who’d want to paint themselves in that light. Of course, it could also be interpreted as desperation on Yuri’s part, using any sort of experience she has that Nemo doesn’t, even if it’s something as minuscule as touching Tomoko’s brother.

Mako needs a vacation.

Here we have a rare sighting of the Normie Okada, out of her element amongst the ravenous, mentally-disturbed Non-normies.

I must admit, Komiyama’s diminished screentime as of late has left me with a disappointing void. My theory is that Nico Tanigawa is having trouble furthering the Tomo-Komi dynamic since they’ve stopped actively antagonizing each other. But in a way, it makes me appreciate Komiyama more in the times she does show up since no other character can pull off sexually-repressed nerd-rage like her.

Itou truly is the Yuri-prototype.

Tomoko calling her friends “friends” never ceases to be heartwarming.

One of the most unique things in this frenemyship is that Tomoko has absolutely no scruples with how she handles Komiyama. With her other friends, Tomoko will present herself as socially equal or lesser than them, but Komiyama is only one she’ll interact to with a sense of superiority. That said, splashing water in Komiyama’s face and chiding her like a rebellious cat is a strangely truthful comparison of their relationship. 

It’s a bit hard to notice at times, but Komiyama is a tad more humble now than she used to be. Her lust/crush on Tomoki is unwavering as always, but she does seem to be aware that her more ravenous behavior is usually inappropriate, and will either apologize accordingly or restrain herself from saying anything at all. The fact that the Lottes’ continuous losses play a role in this is a good way to mesh Komiyama’s two core hobbies: baseball and perversion.  

I really do wish we saw more of Itou at times. She’s currently the most “uncorrupted” girl in the group.

If this is gonna be foreshadowing an interaction where Komiyama ends up ruining Okada’s already crushed innocence a second time, I say...bring it on.

And then we have Nemo with the ellipses of amusement.

I’m sure that Yuri coming to terms with Tomoko calling her a friend is something fans have been clamoring for a while, and so it’s oddly refreshing to see it here in such an understated way. But given that this is Watamote and the smallest detail often spiral into something larger, I’m certain this is something Yuri will be internalizing for chapters to come. 

Yoshida treating Tomoki like a child is so ironically precious since Tomoki is probably three times more mature than she is. It certainly plays to a part of Yoshida’s personality that’s been established for a while now, with her fancying herself as someone older, experienced, and savvy when she’s basically a little kid in a teenager’s body. Or to put it another way, her yankee-ish way of speaking is somewhat performative like a twelve-year-old swearing up a storm ‘cause they think it makes them sound grown-up.

It’s funny how moments of intimacy can be entirely undercut based on the person who’s doing it. Wrapping your arm around someone is an act of familiarity that can imply a desire for, well, desire. But Yoshida has the purity of a freshly fallen snowflake, so there’s no sense of attraction to be found here. To Yoshida, Tomoki is just some younger dude that isn’t as “worldly” as her, and any notion of Tomoki as an object of desire is completely lost on her.

Yes, Yoshida may be a violent delinquent. Yes, Nemoto may be a calculating gadfly. Yes, Ucchi is an undeniable stalker (where is she, anyway?). But a pissed off, sexual deviant Komiyama is by far the most dangerous force in the Watamote universe. 

This was, at its core, a setup chapter. A little light on the jokes with more focus on building up the chapters that follow it. But you know, that’s not really such a bad thing, because even at its worst, Watamote is “pretty damn good”, with the subsequent chapters of their respective arcs reaching heights of awesomeness you didn’t think were possible. This may have been a tasty appetizer, but the main course is shaping up to be positively exquisite.

[sage-nebula]

@nerd-bastard replied to your post: “I’m going to make numerous posts about season two of The Dragon Prince...”

well said. i'm still a little raw after vld, and part of me is still upset that the writers deemed it necessary for them to die, but yeah, p much everything you already said. i'm willing to try and trust them based on how clearly important social justice is to their story.

First, I’m sorry this reply is so late! I laid down to rest pretty much immediately after I wrote that post last night and then slept for . . . a long time, haha. But I do want to reply to you, because I have seen a lot of comparisons to VLD ever since The Dragon Prince released, but I really, truly believe we don’t have anything to worry about here. I truly believe there is not even a sliver of a chance that The Dragon Prince will end up anything like VLD. And if I can pass a bit of that reassurance onto you, then I want to (or at least, I want to try).

(Note: This is very long, and also full of VLD negativity / salt / criticism.)

Before anything else, I just want to say that I completely understand being burned by VLD. I don’t know how much you know about my personal feelings on it given that you just started following me recently, but I actually dropped the show after season six because the way Lotor was treated in season six made me so upset that I had to miss work the next day because I was so physically ill from panic attacks. I’m a mixed-race child abuse survivor myself, and so to see Lotor treated the way that he was---to have JDS and LM confirm in a post-season interview that their intention really was to say, “unless you have a good parental figure in your life [like Keith had Shiro, was the example they used], you’ll end up evil and/or just like your abusive parents” was just too much for me. There were already a thousand reasons why I was upset with them for things they had done in VLD and in interviews (e.g. how they used the slur “half-breed” to refer to mixed-race characters, their treatment of female characters such as the generals, and so on), but that was the final straw. I know what happened in seasons seven and eight because it was impossible for me not to hear about it given how big the fandom is, so I know all about the queerbaiting with Adam and what their intentions were with him and Shiro’s sexuality, but I didn’t actually watch myself (outside of select bits of s8 because I couldn’t resist childhood flashbacks for Lotor), and I will not watch anything JDS or LM work on ever again. They have no respect or care for people like me, so I will not have any for them.

So I completely, completely understand still feeling hurt and upset over VLD. Believe me when I say that I am in the same boat, and I have nothing but empathy for you. But I also really, truly believe that we have nothing to fear when it comes to The Dragon Prince and its crew.

To begin with, just some base comparisons:

Voltron: Legendary Defender was produced by DreamWorks Animation, and though both LM and JDS have said that they were fans of the original 80s Voltron series, I think it’s far more believable that they accepted their roles of executive producers for VLD more because of the paycheck and the career boost it would give them than anything else. Surely, DreamWorks decided to create and air a new Voltron series because of the revenue it would bring them, given that it was already an established franchise in the past and it came ready-made with plenty of toy ideas. Likewise, being at the helm of a product that would already garner plenty of attention and exposure for them---and a massive boost to their careers if it was successful---would no doubt be attractive to LM and JDS. I don’t believe that VLD was ever a passion project for any of them. It was a job. It was a job that maybe had the potential to be fun, but it wasn’t something they came up with themselves because of a love for the story or the characters. And keep in mind, I’m not trying to bash them by saying this, I’m just stating what I think are the facts. Plenty of creators in television and even film sign onto projects they don’t necessarily love so that they can get the money and boost to their careers to make the things they do. That’s just how the business is sometimes, and I think that’s what happened here.

But that’s not the case with The Dragon Prince. The Dragon Prince is being created by Aaron Ehasz, Justin Richmond, and Giancarlo Volpe. Aaron and Justin founded WonderStorm in order to make this show (and the game that will tie in to the show). They had the ideas and passion for the story and characters first, before they made their studio. And that’s just it: Their studio of nineteen people exists solely to tell this story. Particularly since we know that Netflix doesn’t have an overhead for the content they air, this means that Aaron, Justin, Giancarlo, and everyone else can do whatever they want with this story. They don’t have executives twisting their arms behind their backs. But more importantly, they’re also telling this story because they want to be. Since they’re a small indie company, this was actually something of a risk for them; they’re not guaranteed more seasons, they’re not guaranteed financial success, and if The Dragon Prince failed, that could mean the end of their company. So they’re not doing this for critical acclaim or money (especially since they all could have gone to other projects being created by major companies like DreamWorks if they wanted more money or exposure). They’re doing it because they have a story they love, that they want to tell, that they want to share with others. All nineteen of them are here because they care, not because it’s “just a job” that they have to do in order to make money or get more exposure and fame.

And that might be all fine and dandy, but just because you’re doing something as a passion project doesn’t mean that you’re doing right by those you want to represent, right? I would agree with that, but I think we can already see massive differences between VLD and The Dragon Prince when it comes to representation.

VLD was originally acclaimed for its representation due to having characters with different racial backgrounds in the main cast. The fact that Shiro was disabled was also critically acclaimed as well, because he was a disabled main character who was still allowed to be a hero. The thing is, however, that VLD’s representation is by and large shallow. They don’t really care about actually representing anyone as much as they care about getting the accolades and praise for doing the bare minimum. As a few examples:

Shiro is disabled, but his disability might as well be a cosmetic difference than anything else. We see Shiro affected by his PTSD a grand total of once (when Sendak was mocking him in season one), and we never see him really impacted by his arm. Keep in mind that I am NOT saying that his character arc should have revolved around his disability. Writing disabled characters with their disability as their only personality trait is horrible writing, and would be even worse than what they actually did. But what I am saying is that while losing his arm and having it replaced with galra tech should have been something traumatizing for Shiro, we never actually see that. We never see him experience phantom pains from his missing limb (which he could do even with the galra arm, as we see with Edward Elric and his automail in the FMA manga). I can’t remember a time when the arm malfunctioned or broke down to the point where he only had one arm in a potentially dangerous situation, and had to cope. Instead, in all honesty, his arm just looked cool and gave him a ton of abilities he wouldn’t have without it. Whereas Edward Elric has phantom pains with his automail, has it break repeatedly, can’t go into very cold or very hot temperatures without risking serious injury and so much more, Shiro’s arm is pretty much there just to look cool and offer convenient solutions to galra problems. He’s disabled, yes, but he’s not shown actually having any of the experiences that disabled people with prosthetic limbs in real life have.

Similarly, we find out in season seven that he had a chronic illness . . . but we never actually see him experiencing that in the show itself. He had a chronic illness as we find out in flashbacks, but in seasons 1-6 he was never shown actually suffering from that chronic illness. The reason given is that Haggar had it removed while experimenting on him (which . . . makes his kidnapping a good thing because he would have died otherwise? What??), but the point still remains that while Shiro could have been excellent representation for people with chronic illness had we seen him have at least some effects of chronic illness on the show (needing medication at the least, or having some fatigue symptoms, or something), he wasn’t, because without being told that he had chronic illness in flashbacks in season seven, no one would have known. I’ve seen people say that he’s supposed to be representative of the chronically ill, but in my personal opinion invisible representation is not representation. It feels an awful lot more like JDS and LM just wanted to slap another representation label on him without doing any of the legwork and call it a day.

They included more female characters, but used them as plot devices or supports for male characters. I distinctly remember a pre-season three interview when LM was gushing about how excited she was for Lotor’s generals, because they were generals now instead of being a part of a harem as they apparently were in the 80s version (I didn’t watch the 80s version, so I couldn’t tell you). But at the end of the day, Acxa, Zethrid, Narti, and Ezor were glorified plot devices or supports for male characters, and other female characters on the show didn’t fare much better. A quick rundown: 

Acxa was defined by her relationships to either Lotor or Keith. She was either Lotor’s most loyal general, wanting to carry through his vision or support him endlessly, or she was so moved by Keith’s sparse interactions with her that she wanted to do everything that he did. It briefly seemed as though Acxa did have her own motivations when she turned on Lotor in season four in order to protect Ezor and Zethrid, but in season six that was wiped away by showing that it was all a ploy and that she never lost her loyalty to Lotor in the first place. Don’t misunderstand, I love her relationships with Lotor and Keith as I write them in my works, but I also take care to give Acxa her own backstory and motivations that aren’t dependent on her relationships with those male characters. In canon, we didn’t get that. Not at all.

Narti was a disabled character who was both blind (unless linked with Kova) and mute. She was also abruptly killed off for no reason other than to give Lotor and the other generals a reason to separate. Narti was never given characterization, backstory, or a real purpose in the narrative. She was apparently trusted enough by Lotor to be given his beloved cat, but that ended the moment he struck her down. I used to think that perhaps this was foreshadowing for how he’d react when he found out about Shireplica, which would in turn set the rest of Team Voltron against him, but that wasn’t even it. Instead, it was just that Narti was seen as disposable by LM and JDS, possibly because since she was blind and mute, they didn’t consider her as worthwhile as the other generals. Disgusting.

Ezor and Zethrid were plot devices. In the beginning it seemed that they surely had motivations and character arcs of their own. Ezor was the most upset about Narti’s death, and was the first to call for mutiny, whereas Zethrid only agreed after the first attempt at the rift gateway failed. But as the seasons continued it became more than clear that they were only there to do as the plot commanded them to do. Zethrid suddenly wanted to conquer things in season five despite agreeing with Lotor’s vision before. Ezor was “glad to be on Lotor’s side again” in season six despite being the most upset over Narti and the first to call for mutiny in season four. I fully believe that the only reason why they were written as a couple in later seasons is because they were the only two remaining generals of Lotor’s who didn’t already have another potential love interest (as Acxa had Keith). I also believe they only miraculously survived in season eight due to backlash to their deaths in season seven. But whatever the case, it’s clear that Ezor and Zethrid were not given consideration as individuals. I can’t even list them individually here because that’s how little consideration JDS and LM gave them. It’s goddamn sad.

Krolia only exists to be Keith’s mom. That’s it! At first it might seem as though she did have her own motivations and goals when she was introduced in season five. It seemed highly likely that she left Keith behind because she believed in the cause and the mission to overthrow the Empire, something that she and her son would end up having in common (because Keith would likely make the same choice). But in season six, this was dashed. No, she was perfectly happy to abandon the mission and war to have a family, and only left because she wanted to protect Keith. Fuck the billions of people who were enslaved and dying that Krolia could have cared about---fuck her friends and found family in the Blade of Marmora that she could have cared about, fuck everything else she had going on in her life before she crash landed on Earth that she could have cared about---no, she only cared about Keith. And her role in the show from that point onward was just to be his mom, too. She did end up leading the galra alongside Kolivan later on in season eight, but everything she did was for Keith. She didn’t have any interests, any passions, any goals or opinions that weren’t tied to him in some way. She wasn’t created as her own character, she was created to be Keith’s Mom and that’s it. Disappointing. More important female characters were able to stand on their own for the most part, but even they were done dirty in similar ways. Pidge’s entire character arc revolved around wanting to find her father and brother, for the most part. She had little brief spots of wanting to connect with nature here or there, but for the most part it was all about her male relatives and how she wanted to find them. Her character was never explored more deeply than that. And Allura just wanted to follow in Alfor’s footsteps. All the choices she made with regards to wanting to be a paladin or an alchemist were all because her dad did it first. Rather than giving her an arc about wanting to carve out her own legacy, or realizing that she should want that because Alfor wasn’t the perfect paragon of goodness she believed he was, she instead just wanted to make him proud and that’s it. She was defined by how well she lived up to his legacy. (And that’s not even getting into the misogynoir of her ending, my god.) At the end of the day, LM and JDS wanted to get props for having Strong Female Characters™ without actually writing female characters in a strong way. It’s shallow representation at best.

And finally, the issue of queerbaiting and Bury Your Gays with Adam and Shiro. Prior to season seven, JDS and LM announced that Shiro was gay and had been in a relationship with another instructor at the garrison, Adam. Fans were promised that we would meet Adam and season seven. They generated as much buzz and fanfare as they could, got everyone excited . . . and then not only was it not evident without knowing beforehand that Shiro and Adam were romantically involved, but Adam died about five minutes after his introduction. What they essentially did was pull a JK Rowling: We only knew that Shiro was gay in season seven thanks to them telling us beforehand (similarly to Dumbledore’s “reveal”), and Adam died immediately so there would be no chance of a reconciliation. Shiro did later get to marry a man and have a kiss and all, which is at least something (though the fact that we didn’t get to see that relationship develop is highkey disappointing), but that doesn’t change what they did in season seven. To make matters worse, JDS admitted in his open letter that they knew they were doing the “Bury Your Gays” trope, but that they (paraphrased) “hoped that the reveal of Shiro’s orientation would overshadow it.” I.e., they just wanted the brownie points for saying, “Hey, Shiro’s gay!” instead of actually showing him in a loving relationship with another man and letting the story tell itself. They didn’t want to actually write a queer character or queer relationship; they just wanted the praise and positive buzz for saying they did.

And that’s the same pattern that almost all of VLD’s representation falls into. With the exception of the racial diversity on the show (and even that fails in some areas, such as the writing hinting that mixed-race galra are treated badly, but never delving further into it, though at least we did have skin color diversity among the human characters), VLD’s representation was shallow and only there for brownie points and accolades. The VLD staff did not actually care about representation; they just wanted the awards for having a diverse show. As far as I can recall, I believe that they only started talking about queer representation once people started pestering them about it on twitter. To that end, we could even surmise that it was never originally planned (which would explain why Shiro did not ask Keith about Adam after first waking up in season one, because even if they had broken up, Shiro had planned on marrying that man; you can’t tell me he wouldn’t have cared or been curious), but that they just slapped it on once they saw it would garner positive publicity after shows like Steven Universe aired. Everything LM and JDS ever did was for their own glory; it was never out of genuine care and consideration.

By contrast, The Dragon Prince has given us both representation and care. As another brief rundown:

General Amaya is a deaf character who speaks in ASL and who was created by the crew working with deaf and hard of hearing individuals to make sure she was portrayed authentically. The crew has said in numerous interviews that once they decided to make Amaya deaf, they worked with numerous deaf and hard of hearing people to make sure they were portraying her authentically. They had deaf and hard of hearing people doing ASL in the studio so that the animations were accurate and authentic, too. They didn’t just decide that Amaya was deaf and call it a day; they actually worked with people in that community to make sure that her portrayal would really speak to others in said community, that she wouldn’t be an offensive stereotype or a shallow presentation. And even more than that, we see how Amaya’s disability has informed her character and arc. While she can read lips (and the ability she has to do so is a bit realistic, but that’s been addressed by the creators saying they did a bit of leeway for the sake of the story flow), she still has an interpreter with her in her season one appearances, and we see that her soldiers have learned ASL as well. In fact, it’s because one of the soldiers knows ASL in season two that he is able to tip Amaya---and only Amaya---off to the fact that there are sunfire elves holding him hostage. Amaya being deaf doesn’t define her character, but we do see how it informs her character (and her relationship with her sister, when she and Sarai share a dirty joke that those who don’t know ASL don’t understand!), as well as how it informs and affects the plot.

The female characters are ALL well-rounded, and none of them are dependent on male characters for their arc. Honestly, I have so much to say about the lady characters in The Dragon Prince that I could be here all day if I tried to do a rundown like I did above for VLD, but the simple fact of the matter is that all of the lady characters---even ones we only get glimpses of, such as Sarai---show that they have thoughts, motivations, and character arcs that aren’t dependent on their relationships with male characters in the show. To try to keep it brief:

Rayla was raised and trained by Runaan to be an assassin, and she does want to get Azymondias back to the dragon queen, yes. But she’s also motivated by the sense of shame she has over her parents abandoning their duty as Dragon Guards to flee for their own lives instead. She’s motivated by a deep, internal sense of Right and Wrong that pushes her to hesitate to kill those who aren’t attacking her, and to defy Runaan’s orders once she learns that the egg wasn’t shattered after all. This same internal sense of Right or Wrong has her questioning her job as an assassin in season two, and pushes her to defend the defenseless dragon that Soren and Claudia want to chop to bits. She cares quite a lot about Callum and Ezran, given that it’s heavily implied that they’re the first friends she’s ever had her own age, but she’s not afraid to argue with (or even temporarily separate from) them in order to do what she feels is right. She’s her own character, and even if any of the male characters were removed, she’d have enough to stand on her own.

Claudia was taught dark magic by her father, Viren, and she cares a lot about her brother Soren, yes. However, she also has clear passion and love for dark magic; she considers it “fun” to turn chains into snakes, gets super excited when she has a new breakthrough, and is fascinated by magical ruins and artifacts. She studies magic not because she wants to be like her father or because she wants to make him proud, but because it genuinely fascinates her and she loves pushing her own potential. She’s also impatient and frustrated when her “shortcuts” don’t work out; she uses dark magic for convenience, as seen when she uses it to make pancakes, and she throws tantrums when things don’t go her way. She also has little regard for lives that aren’t human. She’s her own character, and even if any of the male characters were removed, she would still have enough character and motivation to stand on her own.

Sarai was Harrow’s wife, and mother of Callum and Ezran. Lesser shows would have just left her as that. But even though we’ve had hardly any time to get to know Sarai, we see that she was so much more than that. We see little details, like how she had a sweet tooth and felt that dreams that weren’t dirty were “boring.” We also see how she was Harrow’s closest adviser when she was alive, and how she “advised” him through sparring matches. We see how she was passionate that all life was sacred, how she argued against killing Xadians for the benefit of humans, even those humans in her own kingdom. We see how she was willing to stand by Harrow even when she disagreed with him, and that she didn’t let go of her disagreement, but still did what she felt was Right. And we also see that even when she disagreed, she could still see when the success of the mission was more important than anything else, as she gave her life to save Viren’s so that the people of Katolis and Duren would live. Sarai was her own character with her own motivations, and would have been strong even if she hadn’t been Queen of Katolis. These are just three brief examples, but the way that characters such as Amaya, Ellis, Lujanne, and Aanya were portrayed follows these same lines. The female characters in The Dragon Prince are written to be people rather than Strong Female Characters™. Aaron Ehasz and Justin Richmond never bragged about having strong female characters on their show, but they didn’t need to for us to see what a diverse and well-rounded cast of female characters they have.

Finally, the queer representation. In season one it was strongly hinted that Runaan and Tinker Elf from the credits were in a relationship, and I’m of the opinion that Aaron recently confirmed on twitter that Runaan is in fact queer (because when someone asked him if Runaan was the queer character who died, Aaron said “we all know Runaan isn’t dead :)” which would imply that while he’s not dead, he is queer). Unfortunately, they’re not happy together just yet, but I have hope that Runaan will be saved in the coming seasons, that we’ll get to meet Tinker, and that we’ll get to see them happy together. I hope so. Then there’s Aanya’s mothers. I already spoke about this in the post you replied to, so I won’t go on about it at length again, but I will point out that no one on the crew bragged about having queer representation this season (it was a Hypable reviewer who brought it up), nor was their relationship ambiguous in the show itself as Shiro’s and Adam’s was. Moreover, when Aaron addressed the fans, he agreed that fans had a right to be upset that they were, promised more representation in the future, and asked us to trust him. Rather than growing angry at the fans who were upset and liking petty salt posts defending him on twitter the way JDS did before admitting that all he wanted were brownie points, Aaron sympathized with the fans and promised to keep listening. And with the way they improved the animation after hearing fan feedback, I believe that they’ll take this to heart in the future. We already know that Ezran’s choice at the end of this season wasn’t originally planned, but that they went with it because they listened to his character. This tells us they aren’t married to their plot, and are instead writing to character. I believe that they’ll take all this into consideration moving forward.

No show is perfect, because no content creator is perfect. I’m not saying that The Dragon Prince hasn’t or will never make mistakes. But I am saying that we have already seen five billion times more care and consideration from the crew of The Dragon Prince than we ever saw from VLD. All the cards are in place for The Dragon Prince to truly do right by its story, characters, and fans, and that comes right down to the crew and what they’ve already shown us. Any depth and care that VLD had came from the fans rather than the creators or the show itself. With The Dragon Prince, we see depth and care within the first episode or two, and that has never lessened. I completely understand being burned by VLD, because I was, too, but The Dragon Prince is an entirely different project by an entirely different team from an entirely different studio and is on an entirely different (much higher) level. VLD’s sins have no place here, and I truly feel that we have nothing to worry about.

[linkspooky]

with all the backlash mutsuki got after rue island bc of his trauma and obsession i wonder if there will be a similar reaction to hairu once she gets back. Being revived must be one hell of a trauma and learning arima's fate should be enough to make her go in a rampage against kaneki (though hairu once a more popular character so maybe she will be seen in the same way seidou was)

I’m almost positive that the fan reception to Hairu will be totally different than Mutsuki. 

I could use Furuta as an example but Furuta seems more of a fifty fifty character with people so let’s go with Ui instead. 

Ui demonstrates the same kind of “I can’t stop, this is the only thing that will make me happy” obsessive behavior, and possessiveness over an individual who did not feel the same way about them.

I cannot stress this enough, as sympathetic as Ui’s willingness to plunge himself into total darkness for the small chance of seeing the person he loves again might be: 

Hairu did not love him back. 

This is important because Ui is obviously reviving Hairu with the expectation that Hairu in some way might satiate his loneliness. He’s using her, pretty much the same way that Mutsuki intends to use Sasaki. 

Both of them are just using the other as someone to fight for, someone to give them a sense of purpose and security, and also the imagined idea that they were loved. They both want to impossibly return themselves to their own rose filtered idea of the past .

Ui wants to go back to the old CCG where they were heroes of justice and did not suffer such horrible losses in oeprations, Mutsuki wants to go back to the old Quinx squad when they were a closely knit family not dealing with any loss. 

Mutsuki lost two people though, Shirazu and Sasaki, while Ui lost for, Hairu, Take, Arima, and Sasaki. However, the two of them only choose to obsess over one single lost person and deluding themselves into having much greater feelings for the other than they originally did, because this makes the loss easier for them to deal with in a way. 

“Everything would be okay if Sasaki came back.” “Everything would be okay if Hairu came back.”

Accepting that kind of simplified reality is a lie they tell themselves to make dealing with the current harsh reality easier, by almost avoiding it entirely. 

Honestly, to me Ui’s actions read as even more possessive. Mutsuki seems to just want to murder Sasaki, then maybe talk to the corpse?? 114 was weird let’s not get into that. 

Ui is not only disturbing Hairu’s peaceful death, but he’s giving the okay for a man like Kanou to experiment on her (look what he did to Seidou), and he’s injecting her with a ghoul’s kagune making her into a half ghoul Oggai. Which means Hairu will effectively become internally in her own body something she has been trained to hate her entire life as a garden child. Considering the instability of the Oggai surgery, Hairu might be forced to eat human meat too. 

It’s on a level worse than just stabbing her a whole bunch of times. It’s bringing her back from the dead without permission, and then changing her biological makeup into something of that she hates.

In fact it reminds me a lot of what Frankenstein’s monster wanted in Frankenstein, and begged Viktor to creat for him. Another female monster in order to soothe his own loneliness. That the monster after monologueing for so long about how wretched his existence is, could be so self absorbed as to not realize how horrible it would be to bring another monster into existence to deal with the same horrible existential questions he has to deal with… for the sole purpose of being created to love him with the implication that the being does not have a choice in the matter because the reason she was made was just to love him.

Anyway, all of that negativity and his sudden turn away from the hero of justice he once was is read as a natural fall for Ui’s character. However, for Mutsuki it’s always read as a sudden swerve and “Ishida not knowing what he’s doing anymore” with his writing. 

Which is just weird to me. Yes, there is a lot of uncomfortable implications of Mutsuki’s character, and it’s not at all progressive. If you hate Mutsuki’s character writing on those grounds you have every right to. 

It’s just I personally never read it as coming out of nowhere? It makes sense as a logical progression? 

I think part of the bias stems from (1) a fandom bias that has an inability to see Kaneki’s own actions in the wrong light and (2) a misunderstanding of Mutsuki’s original arc. 

People argue that Mutsuki’s violence comes from nowhere, but to me from the start Mutsuki was always the Q who cared the least about ghouls. I always saw Mutsuki’s growing confidence also growing in his ability to kill ghouls as a negative development. 

Entirely because of the second half of that sentence, Mutsuki was not really dealing with their internal issues, he was just simply learning how to fight better. Any confidence he gained at the behest of killing ghouls, was never going to be true confidence. I read that from the start of the manga, Mutsuki felt almost nothing about killing ghouls. He was compared to Suzuya of all people, and of the four he was the most fearful and nervous around the monstrous quality of ghouls. 

It goes along with the kind of illusion that the audience is told at the beginning of :Re. That things are much simpler, the only ghouls we really see in action are the Aogiri ghouls, or obscenely wealthy ones like the Tsukiyamas who attend auctions. We see none of the innocent ghouls who get dragged along like in the Rabbit case. Peaceful organizations like :Re are completely out of focus. The CCG are heroes of justice protecting their comrades and fighting ghouls, and ghouls are almost always terrible weird murderers, (Torso, Nutcracker, etc.). The cracks in this narrative did not really start showing up until the end of the Rose arc, when the CCG continued to pursue the Tsukiyamas because their message of total extermination meant they could not even let one single ghoul escape even when the rest of the family surrendered to them. 

If you add in the details of Mutsuki’s backstory, his turn to violence makes sense. Imagine you are in a horribly abusive household, every day is a walking nightmare and finally you have to act and kill your own parents to save yourself. However, you feel so guilty about this action of self defense you took, because violence on its own disgusts you. 

Instead of having this violent side of you treated through proper child psychology though, it’s the only thing that is encouraged by the people who take you in. You’re encouraged to be violent and to point that violence towards ghouls. 

Then finally, after years of your own parents abusing you, and other caretakers being cold or not caring at all, you get a nice loving dad. He is the best dad in the world, he cooks for you, he buys you poetry books, he is always patient, always encouraging. When you were at your most weak, he appeared from nowhere to save you, then gave you his jacket so you would be warm. 

Then one day your brother dies, you turn to your father to give you comfort but while you’re still dealing with that sadness your father just completely cuts you off without a word. The best dad in the world, and suddenly he’s as cold to you as everybody else in the CCG was. You are kidnapped and tortured, and he seems to barely care about you. You spend all of your time waiting for him to come save you like he once did and he never shows up. 

Then when you finally get home, after having to be violent again (the thing you most hate about yourself), you come home to the news that your father who you were still secretly hoping would return all this time, joined sides with the guys who kidnapped you. 

From Mutsuki’s perspective alone, it makes sense to have a great deal of anger and resentment towards Kaneki. 

I understand people not liking Mutsuki because he is a bad victim of these circumstances, but I at least can see the extremes where he came from and what fueled that reaction?

Once again it also comes from people not really able to see fault in Kaneki. I’m not sure how Kaneki waking up from Yamori’s torture, and the first thing he does immediately is break all of Touka’s brother’s bones right in front of her as a sign of his affection for her. And that somehow reads better than what Mutsuki is attempting right now. The parallels between Kaneki’s violent phase of lashing out and Mutsuki’s violent phase of lashing out are strong. Yes, Mutsuki is implied to be killing a whole lot right now but is that somehow any different than Kaneki’s first action after his introduction being to murder an entire room of 100 people he had just deemed bad without any due process? 

There’s also the fact that Kaneki’s refusal to explain himself after effectively abandoning Mutsuki, when he was the one to take the onus to put Mutsuki’s well being and emotional responsibility on himself is extremely neglectful behavior. It’s not like Mutsuki’s attachment to Kaneki came out of nowhere, this was something Kaneki wanted and fostered, until suddenly he did not with no explanation. Which is why I like to frame Sasaki as Mutsuki’s father in this situation, imagine somebody adopting a child and then a year later after dedicating themselves to nurturing and growing the bond of trust between the two of them leaving them on the side of the road with no warning or explanation. 

Anyway, to me Mutsuki’s character progression makes sense. I can understand totally if other people find it distasteful or even offensive, especially since Mutsuki is not a cis female like Hairu, a cis male like Kaneki, or a cis male like Ui. Writing does not exist in a bubble and there are already different sets of expectations the readers will have going into those characters. 

This is the most I’m ever going to comment on Mutsuki’s character, which is to say I try to make it a personal rule in this blog to only work with the text and sources closely linked to the text. 

Anyway, so as I said, both Ui, Mutsuki and even Furuta have reacted to the lack of love in their lives with obsessive feelings. As @kingkishou said in their own recent ask response about Hairu [x].

Hairu’s crush on Arima may be a cute character trait now, but one sided obsessive feelings have never been framed well in Tokyo Ghoul. Especially incestuous ones, as Arima is either her cousin or her half brother. 

These feelings always turn into feelings of destruction. It happened with Kanae, it happened with Furuta, it happened with Ui, it happened with Mutsuki. I doubt Hairu will be the first one to break the pattern.

Especially since Ui seems intent on only reviving Hairu, rather than both Hairu and Arima. I can hardly see Hairu agreeing with that once she is revived and conscious. 

There’s also a heavily unexplored aspect of Hairu’s character, which is to say her repressed violent side. We only see parts of it during the Tsukiyama Raid, but a revival will probably be the perfect time to explore it. 

There’s also Nico’s prophecy to consider, when talking about the nature of obsessive people.

People either live beautifully, or live for beautiful people. For those who can do neither, they go insane and die. 

There has to be a consequence for Ui violating the laws of nature like this to bring about Hairu’s return, and I can see if Hairu comes back sentient, this side of her desperate for Arima’s praise and willing to kill anything in her path to gain it being that consequence. 

Obsessive love, even in those starved for affection like Furuta and Hairu, and the other garden children has never been portrayed as a good thing in Tokyo Ghoul. The setup in Hairu’s character for it is already there. 

Especially with all of Ui and Urie’s parallels as of late. Just as Urie needs to grow up in order to confront Mutsuki and actually be able to conflict with him as a person instead of loving him from afar I can imagine a similiar arc for Ui eventually. 

[stormears]

Naruto Meme

Nobody tagged me for this. I do what I want. 

-

F A V O R I T E

Female Character - Sakura Haruno.

Male Character - Kakashi, Gaara, Sasori or Madara. 

Team - Team Kakashi. Or New Team Kakashi, since that version doesn’t have Sasuke in it. 

Sensei - Kakashi

Hokage - Tobirama.

Kage - Tobirama! Gaara is a close second. 

Village - I guess Konoha since most of my favorites are from there and it has pleasant and predictable sunny spring weather 95% of the year. 

Akatsuki Member - Sasori has been my fave for years, but I also really love Kakuzu. I have a Kakuzu rubber strap thing on my keys. 

Episode/Chapter -  Shippuden episodes 25 and 26, these are the well-animated Sasori vs Sakura episodes that highlighted one of Sakura’s best accomplishments across the whole story. I also liked that two-minute sequence in 322 where Edo Tensei’d Madara decimates the Shinobi Army. There’s a two-second shot in it of a female soldier holding a cross to her face and praying before the fight begins, which I think is one of the absolute best visual reminders that people are terrified of Madara. It had a much stronger impact than the endless power gimmicks or characters’ repeated poorly scripted exclamations of “wow he/this technique is so powerful.” 

Fight Scene - Sakura vs Sasori! Or Kakashi vs Hidan and Kakuzu. 

Fanfiction -  I love so many fanfictions. I’ve been creepily attached to fanfictions since I was 12. If I had to pick a favorite I gueeeess I’d go with He Had No Fingers by Gleam. Kyuubi is a monstrous, conscious-less god whose influence eats away at child Naruto easily. He takes over Naruto and then Konoha and the world is next. Made me woozy reading it the first time, I’ll never forget. 

Story Arc - Rescue Gaara Arc, I guess, but I don’t enjoy whole arcs as much as I do small, separate moments or scenes or even just manga pages in the story. 

Filler - Aren’t the movies filler? I kind of enjoy the third movie where Lee, Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi act as bodyguards for a fat, lazy prince, his son, and the son’s saber-toothed circus tiger. 

What is your…

OTP (explain why) - I’m a crackshipping freak who builds 30k+ long stories and worlds to support romantic scenes of my weird ships, don’t ask me this. 

NoTP (without being a dick, explain why) - I do not like like Sasuke or Karin, and seeing them romantically together is not any improvement to me. I think that Sasuke never went through emotional growth or recovery and only changed his loyalties near the end of the war because Kishimoto was desperate, overworked, and weakly reaching for finish line, and many characters and story events reflected that reality. I waited years’ worth of manga chapters and episodes for him to change and by the time he did, I was long past buying it. Karin was a screechy, annoying brat from Day 1 and never improved her attitude or personality, but I didn’t enjoy seeing her used as a meat shield by Danzo, either. In short, two bad characters don’t make a good pairing. 

Crackship/s - My worst and favorite offenses are probably SasoSaku, since 2007-ish and MadaSaku since 2010. 

BroTP - This is barely present in my writing, but, kinda, Ino and Sakura. Maybe Kakuzu and Konan. 

OT3 - I don’t know what this means besides 3 characters I want to see having an orgy or engaged in a polygamous relationship? I guess I could be coerced into reading/liking those but there’s none in particular that I like consistently or remember offhand.

Crossover ship - I don’t crossover ship. Not opposed to it, the examples I’ve seen talked about briefly on tumblr (mostly in anime confession blogs) are intriguing, but I don’t have a ship like this myself. 

M I S C E L L A N E O U S

Do you have any headcanons? All sorts of assorted things. Ino’s mom is a civilian. Itachi WISHES he was a civilian or could retire and live a peaceful domestic life. Shino likes art and would read art/art criticism magazines if Naruto-land has those, and could be friends with Sai. Kisame loves boardgames and is a good sportsman in any game or sport he plays. Sakura likes to read non-fiction/informational books more than novels. Tenten loves horses. Kiba is really close to his sister but doesn’t want people outside the family knowing that because he’s scared other guys will make fun of him. Civilian children stay in school till roughly age 16, compared to the Ninja Academy graduating age of 12. 

Are you happy with the ending? Would you have done things differently? I’m not happy with it, but I’m also not invested in it enough to really care. It was always the characters, not the story, that drew me into Naruto (maybe just the basic skeletons of the characters at that, skeletons I could build onto and “fix” in fanfiction). To “do things differently” I would fix a lot more than the ending, though if I could erase ONE thing from the ending it would be the sudden prevalence of modern-day technology like skyscrapers, laptops and handheld video games. 

How do you feel about the Next Generation? Shrug. Boruto and Himawari are cute and remind me of me and my big brother a bit. I kinda liked the first few weeks of the manga’s ending, when there was still confusion about whether to call him Boruto or “Bolt,” because I was rooting for Bolt.  

Say something about your favorite character. Sakura Haruno had huge expanses of room for improvement in her ninjutsu, tactics, and respect given to her by other characters and by viewers and all of this was squandered by an author who had many other, bigger problems to deal with and was probably indifferent to her at best. She is safer in the hands of fans, of artists and writers, who treat her better and create better content about her than her creator did. She has been adopted by several thousand loving moms and a few dads and will be well cared for. 

What would a child between your OTP look like? Going for my crackships here again. SaoSaku child has red hair, but Sakura’s face and her mom’s outspoken attitude and a talent for musical instruments. MadaSaku child, lord, I don’t know. I like to think the pink or at least reddish hair would prevail but all laws of the universe say Uchiha black hair always wins. The child would, at least, have the thickest and most gorgeous head of hair in town. 

Say something genuinely nice about your NoTP.  Some people out there really like it, and it and content about it makes them happy in the way that my favorite ships make me happy, and that’s good stuff. Glad for them. 

Say something negative about your OTP. They’re groundless nonsense pairings that I would be embarrassed to ever acknowledge outside my tiny internet circles and both the men involved in those two pairings are canonically horrible people who ought to be stabbed.

Is there any way you could be convinced to ship your NoTP? I would need a fanfic, 5k+ length minimum, but I could go up to 20k, allowing time and space for them to calm down and recover from their respective traumas and get over their respective dumb bitch attitudes, and then slowly build a friendship that becomes a romance, ideally with a storyline and theme and a writing style that I could get behind. Not to mention the time of day to read a doorstop novella like that. 

What makes you mad about the series? The War Arc’s need to make every important character as powerful as possible crushed any sense of threat or disbelief. The constant upping of the stakes was annoying and came off as desperate (though I strongly believe that behind it was an overworked zombie Kishimoto mindlessly trying to fill that week’s page quota and wondering if he would ever have an actual life again).

If you could see anything happen in the series, what would it be? The final arc is the Akatsuki invading Konoha with the intention of kinapping/killing Naruto, but the entire village has rallied and is prepared to fight. The story cuts between three or four fights between Akatsuki and Konoha ninja till all Akatsuki are defeated. Maybe reveal Madara as the secret leader of the Akatsuki and defeat him here, too. During the conflict, Naruto has proven himself for the final time, is adored by the village, crowned Hokage within a year or so, happy ending. Pairings left undetermined or hinted at vaguely. Fin. (Other possible ending at bottom of post)

What would you say to Kishimoto if given the chance? I’m so sorry for the hardship and stress you endured all these years, all that time away from your family. I still have to thank you for all the joy your story brought to me. It allowed me to get closer to my friends, make new friends, even start to tap into my own writing ability. You did all that for me without even knowing it. I’ll always be grateful to you! 

In your opinion…

Most attractive male? Sometimes I think it’s Madara, and sometimes I’ll see some screenshot of a poorly animated episode and think he looks awful and I’m embarrassed that ever liked him. Sasori has this unjustly beautiful face that I love but definitely a few shots in is episodes where he looks kinda...off. Kakashi’s pretty unarguably attractive, though, so he’s a safe bet for most attractive. 

Most attractive female? Lol depends on the fanartist, I’ve seen gorgeous art for almost all female characters. In the manga or anime, I don’t really find any of them attractive. 

Most overestimated? Plenty, especially given the war arc. Sasuke or Itachi? At least years ago when I actually followed forums and manga review blogs (not on tumblr) there seemed to be a consensus that Sasuke could do anything, by kicking up enough notches on his Susano’o, and later some said that for Itachi, and then Madara showed up and could rarely be actually overestimated, and then Kaguya was a literal god and, ugh...

Not appreciated enough? Tobirama! 

What is the greatest thing about Naruto? It’s brought me a lot of personal happiness.

The worst? How the quality of its writing drifted from “meh” to “ugh” over the years. 

The saddest moment? There’s a few pages in the manga that show Naruto slowly gaining more friends as he gets older while Gaara stays alone in a space of empty desert that gets wider and wider as he goes to his knees. A strong and painful reminder that while one person may be smiling and enjoying life, simultaneously another is being strangled by the crushing misery of their own life. I’m so glad for Gaara finally fixing himself and finding real happiness. He’s the character who went through the best development and most change in the story, bar none. 

The most defining? The Chuunin Exam Arc is what most people remember, in my experience. But to me the first opening song of Shippuden “defines” it in my mind. 

Rant about anything…

GO! I never once imagined that this could happen in canon/reality, but I think the greatest way to end the story would be for Naruto himself to have to kill Sasuke. This would hammer in a message to the story that I think it could really use: despite Naruto’s hopes and good intentions, despite all his hard work, he cannot save everyone. And it would give a real sense of consequence. I never once felt that the main cast was in danger from all the fireballs, summoning animals, 10-ton rocks that hit them in the fucking face and never left more than a light scratch or dust mark on their steroid Hercules bodies. Even in a war the likes of which Ninjaland has never seen, bringing more and more godlike charcters together whose powers could end thousands of people in seconds, Neji seems to be the only notable casualty (lol bye Neji) and for all the good guys to make it out of such a conflict alive and well is absolute horseshit and not worthwhile storytelling of a war. Somebody important has to lose a battle, or lose someone they love, or lose a limb, something! Let me believe that any of these fights matter! Let me really feel that this conflict, this battlefield is dangerous and people are scared for their lives and hurt but fighting anyway, let me see something besides this gross, hollow shonen movie poster of good guys overcoming bad just by virtue of being good guys with dumbshit magic powers that the author-god gave them for free. Let me take these characters and put them in the hands of some fanfic writers who could write better fights than these in their sleep. Let me read fanfic instead. 

[kelekiahshadya]

Valentine Fandom Meme

I’m eternally late to the game since Valentine’s Day was a week and a half ago, but I saw this ask meme, and I couldn’t help myself. Since I never get asks, I’ve decided that I’m going to treat it like a meme on its own. Taken from courierhawk’s reblog; original questions from thevirdirthara. Also, apologies in advance. I use a mix of dub/sub names.

Yu-Gi-Oh

Your favorite non-canon ship?

Considering there’s only one, maybe two ACTUAL canon ships, just about any of my ships are valid, though there are slightly more canon ships if you look at the anime instead of the manga. That being said, Polar (MaiXJoey) is probably my favorite non-canon ship. I know, I know, age difference and it’s not present in the manga and blah blah blah, but I don’t care. I love Polar to death.

Is there a ship you didn’t like at first but ultimately started shipping?

Thorn (AnzuXYamiMarik) is a ship I never would’ve considered ever because I don’t ship Yami Marik with anyone, but one fic on fanfiction.net caught my attention, and my secret love for Thorn was born. Honestly, though, it has to be extremely specific circumstances for me to ship this—pretty much only if Yami Marik is human.

What is the rarest rare pair (that you ship)?

Probably Timid (SerenityXYugi). I’m not certain I’ve ever seen content for this ship anywhere. I’m surprised I even know its name. But if I think about it too long, it becomes super cute. A close tie might be Soft (SerenityXRyou) because it is also quite cute. I like cute things.

Name a popular ship you don’t get the appeal of.

Death (YamiMarikXRyou) and Puppy (SetoXJoey). As I said before, I can’t pair Yami Marik with anyone (except Anzu under special human circumstances), and even if I did, Ryou would be one of the last people I’d choose. Under certain circumstances, like years later when they’re both adults, I can maybe see Seto and Joey EVENTUALLY getting along, but as far as I’m concerned, Puppy is not a ship that would ever work. Just, no.

What is your most fluffy + happy ship?

With the power of fanfic, I can make any ship fluffy and happy. As far as pure canon is concerned, I don’t think one exists. So, with the power of my fanfic abilities, I declare that the fluffiest and happiest ship I have is Sibling (SerenityXMokuba). There might be a little angst in this relationship just because their brothers don’t get along, BUT! These two are precious fluffy babies.

What is your most angsty ship?

With the power of fanfic, I can make any ship angsty XD AUs are a particular specialty of mine in this case. Combining both canon with possible AUs, I’d have to say Manipula (AnzuXMarik) just because, canonically, there’s a lot of potential bad blood between them because of what Marik did to her and Joey and Yugi, and Marik’s not exactly a goody-two-shoes either.

A non-canon ship that should be canon?

Sibling because I consider Peach (AnzuXYugi) almost canon, and Sibling is almost the next best thing. I mean, I do ship her with Duke and Tristan, both of which are kinda canon if you look at the manga and anime respectively, but I love Sibling too much to ignore it in this question.

Your oldest ship; the one you’ve shipped for the longest time?

Peach was my first OTP in the YuGiOh franchise, and I still ship it to this day.

What ship represents the kind of relationship you’d love to have?

Peach again. I think the most important part of a romantic relationship is friendship. If you’re not besties with your significant other, then I don’t believe the relationship will work out as well. I want to be able to be myself around my significant other, and I want to be understood by them. I feel like Peach embodies this well.

Is there a ship that makes your skin crawl?

I have never been nor will ever be super comfortable with yaoi and yuri ships, but they’re not so bad as to make my skin crawl, but incest will forever make me sick, and so will pedophilia. NO THANK YOU.

What is a character you can only imagine in one particular ship?

Surprise, surprise, it’s Joey. Blame it on the lack of female characters available in YuGiOh, but I have only ever shipped him with Mai. The only way Joey gets any love in my writing/headcanons is if there are OCs involved, assuming he’s not already paired with Mai.

What is your favorite canon ship?

Rose (CeceliaXPegasus). I’m super sad that it ended so badly in canon because they are adorable, and one of my ultimate favorite YGO pairing fanarts is for this ship.

Name a ship that deserved more content.

Peach if only because I want to see them actually get together. I think that because friendship is a super focus of YuGiOh as a whole, we got a lot less romantic content than we otherwise might have liked, but that’s okay with me. That’s why fanfiction/fanart exists XD

Is there a ship you feel gets undeserved hate in fandom?

Depends on what corner of the fandom you’re in. I personally hate it when people hate on Anzu, no matter the ship she might be in, especially when they hate on her in favor of their yaoi pairings. That’s super unfair to Anzu as a character since she’s awesome and one of my favorite female characters of all time.

What is the first ship you had?

I already mentioned this in the oldest ship question, but I’ll say it again—Peach.

Is there a ship that made you realize something about yourself?

I don’t know if I can cite a specific ship, but shipping in YuGiOh is what made me realize that I like character/ship potential almost more than I like ships themselves, hence why I multiship. Because of this realization and multishipping in YuGiOh, I’ve been able to extend that to other fandoms, especially Harry Potter.

Is there a type of ship you always go for?

Depends on the situation. I’m a sucker for strong female characters who could be paired with lots of guys because I’m such a multishipper, and I love cute fluffy pairings. I do like ships with interesting conflict, but the fluffy ones always get me.

Is there a ship the writers have ruined for you?

Not that I can think of. I mean, almost no ships are canon in YuGiOh, so rather than “ruining” ships, it’s mostly just unknown for the various potential ships.

Is there a ship the fandom has ruined for you?

Not really. I already had my reasons for not shipping certain ships, and I’ve never been turned away from a ship I already shipped. I will say, though, that I wish people would tag their freakin’ ships so that I don’t have to see stuff on my dash that I don’t ship.

Have you ever created fan created content for a ship?

Yes. I’ve never drawn any of my YuGiOh ships, but I have written a couple oneshots for Peach and one for Polar. I’ve also referenced/included the following ships in stories focused on OC ships: Peach, Polar, Ardent (SerenityXTristan), Kiddy (RebeccaXMokuba), Half (MihoXRyou), Tie (MihoXTristan), Azure (AnzuXSeto), and Sedate (SerenityXMarik).

Favorite thing you’ve ever created for a ship?

Do children count? Or grandchildren? My YuGiOh OC story has an entire second and third generation to follow. I have children/grandchildren for the following ships: Peach, Polar, Ardent, Kiddy, and Half.

Is there a ship you’ll never admit you have?

No. I’m not ashamed of my ships. I admit that I don’t talk about some of them as much, but that doesn’t mean I don’t ship them or that I’m afraid to admit it.

Have you ever started shipping a ship because of the fans?

Yes. It wasn’t until fandom hit really hard in recent years that Sibling joined my roster of ships.

What is one scene you want to see happen for all your ships?

A proposal. Is that cliché? I don’t care XD

Is there a ship you wish you didn’t know existed? 

Any incest ships. I don’t know why they exist or if there are people who ship them, but I wish they’d never been conceived (the ships, not the people).

Name a ship that ended like you wanted it to.

Considering both canon ships ended in death, I’m gonna say none of them. All my ships end nicely in my head.

Name a ship that deserved better in the end.

Rose and Mizu (KisaraXSeth). Both of these ships ended in tragedy, and it makes me so sad. I NEED THEM TO BE HAPPY.

Is there a character you have several ships for?

Oh yes. Many of them. I’m a multishipper XD I have Anzu in the most ships. My Anzu ships are Azure, Host (AnzuXRyou), Manipula, Peach, Persevere (AnzuXDuke), Thorn, and Vex (AnzuXYamiBakura).

What is the ship you ignore 98% of canon for?

I don’t ignore canon, I bend canon *coughAUISMYFRIENDcough* Okay, okay, maybe my two Miho pairings, Half and Tie. Not much info is given in the manga except that Tristan/Honda has a crush on her and that she’s kinda shy, and she doesn’t exist in DM. I ignore season 0 super hardcore when it comes to Miho. To be perfectly honest, she almost feels more like an OC most days.

Is there a ship you like but you dislike the fandom?

Not really. It’s usually the other way around ’cause I love my YuGiOh friends, but most of them ship stuff I don’t.

If you’re curious about the bajillion other ships I ship that I haven’t mentioned, or if you’re wondering what het ships I don’t ship (since I’ve already ruled out all yaoi, yuri, and incest), or if you want to rant about ships we share, feel free to drop me an ask! I enjoy talking about my ships~