#plus it has its appeal which i DO STILL see and enjoy!!!!

[hauntingofhouses]

Very interesting to me that a certain subset of the BES fandom's favourite iterations of Mizu and Akemi are seemingly rooted in the facades they have projected towards the world, and are not accurate representations of their true selves.

And I see this is especially the case with Mizu, where fanon likes to paint her as this dominant, hyper-masculine, smirking Cool GuyTM who's going to give you her strap. And this idea of Mizu is often based on the image of her wearing her glasses, and optionally, with her cloak and big, wide-brimmed kasa.

And what's interesting about this, to me, is that fanon is seemingly falling for her deliberate disguise. Because the glasses (with the optional combination of cloak and hat) represent Mizu's suppression of her true self. She is playing a role.

Take this scene of Mizu in the brothel in Episode 4 for example. Here, not only is Mizu wearing her glasses to symbolise the mask she is wearing, but she is purposely acting like some suave and cocky gentleman, intimidating, calm, in control. Her voice is even deeper than usual, like what we hear in her first scene while facing off with Hachiman the Flesh-Trader in Episode 1.

This act that Mizu puts on is an embodiment of masculine showboating, which is highly effective against weak and insecure men like Hachi, but also against women like those who tried to seduce her at the Shindo House.

And that brings me to how Mizu's mask is actually a direct parallel to Akemi's mask in this very same scene.

Here, Akemi is also putting up an act, playing up her naivety and demure girlishness, using her high-pitched lilted voice, complimenting Mizu and trying to make small talk, all so she can seduce and lure Mizu in to drink the drugged cup of sake.

So what I find so interesting and funny about this scene, characters within it, and the subsequent fandom interpretations of both, is that everyone seems to literally be falling for the mask that Mizu and Akemi are putting up to conceal their identities, guard themselves from the world, and get what they want.

It's also a little frustrating because the fanon seems to twist what actually makes Mizu and Akemi's dynamic so interesting by flattening it completely. Because both here and throughout the story, Mizu and Akemi's entire relationship and treatment of each other is solely built off of masks, assumptions, and misconceptions.

Akemi believes Mizu is a selfish, cocky male samurai who destroyed her ex-fiance's career and life, and who abandoned her to let her get dragged away by her father's guards and forcibly married off to a man she didn't know. on the other hand, Mizu believes Akemi is bratty, naive princess who constantly needs saving and who can't make her own decisions.

These misconceptions are even evident in the framing of their first impressions of each other, both of which unfold in these slow-motion POV shots.

Mizu's first impression of Akemi is that of a beautiful, untouchable princess in a cage. Swirling string music in the background.

Akemi's first impression of Mizu is of a mysterious, stoic "demon" samurai who stole her fiance's scarf. Tense music and the sound of ocean waves in the background.

And then, going back to that scene of them together in Episode 4, both Mizu and Akemi continue to fool each other and hold these assumptions of each other, and they both feed into it, as both are purposely acting within the suppressive roles society binds them to in order to achieve their goals within the means they are allowed (Akemi playing the part of a subservient woman; Mizu playing the part of a dominant man).

But then, for once in both their lives, neither of their usual tactics work.

Akemi is trying to use flattery and seduction on Mizu, but Mizu sees right through it, knowing that Akemi is just trying to manipulate and harm her. Rather than give in to Akemi's tactics, Mizu plays with Akemi's emotions by alluding to Taigen's death, before pinning her down, and then when she starts crying, Mizu just rolls her eyes and tells her to shut up.

On the opposite end, when Mizu tries to use brute force and intimidation, Akemi also sees right through it, not falling for it, and instead says this:

"Under your mask, you're not the killer you pretend to be."

Nonetheless, despite the fact that they see a little bit through each other's masks, they both still hold their presumptions of each other until the very end of the season, with Akemi seeing Mizu as an obnoxious samurai swooping in to save the day, and Mizu seeing Akemi as a damsel in distress.

And what I find a bit irksome is that the fandom also resorts to flattening them to these tropes as well.

Because Mizu is not some cool, smooth-talking samurai with a big dick sword as Akemi (and the fandom) might believe. All of that is the facade she puts up and nothing more. In reality, Mizu is an angry, confused and lonely child, and a masterful artist, who is struggling against her own self-hatred. Master Eiji, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

And Akemi, on the other hand, is not some girly, sweet, vain and spoiled princess as Mizu might believe. Instead she has never cared for frivolous things like fashion, love or looks, instead favouring poetry and strategy games instead, and has always only cared about her own independence. Seki, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

But neither is she some authoritative dominatrix, though this is part of her new persona that she is trying to project to get what she wants. Because while Akemi is willful, outspoken, intelligent and authoritative, she can still be naive! She is still often unsure and needs to have her hand held through things, as she is still learning and growing into her full potential. Her new parental/guardian figure, Madame Kaji, knows this as well.

So with all that being said, now that we know that Mizu and Akemi are essentially wearing masks and putting up fronts throughout the show, what would a representation of Mizu's and Akemi's true selves actually look like? Easy. It's in their hair.

This shot on the left is the only time we see Mizu with her hair completely down. In this scene, she's being berated by Mama, and her guard is completely down, she has no weapon, and is no longer wearing any mask, as this is after she showed Mikio "all of herself" and tried to take off the mask of a subservient housewife. Thus, here, she is sad, vulnerable, and feeling small (emphasised further by the framing of the scene). This is a perfect encapsulation of what Mizu is on the inside, underneath all the layers of revenge-obsession and the walls she's put around herself.

In contrast, the only time we Akemi with her hair fully down, she is completely alone in the bath, and this scene takes place after being scorned by her father and left weeping at his feet. But despite all that, Akemi is headstrong, determined, taking the reigns of her life as she makes the choice to run away, but even that choice is reflective of her youthful naivety. She even gets scolded by Seki shortly after this in the next scene, because though she wants to be independent, she still hasn't completely learned to be. Not yet. Regardless, her decisiveness and moment of self-empowerment is emphasised by the framing of the scene, where her face takes up the majority of the shot, and she stares seriously into the middle distance.

To conclude, I wish popular fanon would stop mischaracterising these two, and flattening them into tropes and stereotypes (ie. masculine badass swordsman Mizu and feminine alluring queen but also girly swooning damsel Akemi), all of which just seems... reductive. It also irks me when Akemi is merely upheld as a love interest and romantic device for Mizu and nothing more, when she is literally Mizu's narrative foil (takes far more narrative precedence over romantic interest) and the deuteragonist of this show. She is her own person. That is literally the theme of her entire character and arc.

[emeritus-fuckers]

The papas (plus sister because she needs more love) - A new ghoul gets summoned but they seem more shy and afraid, how would they react?

Papas and Sister Imperator with a shy, freshly summoned ghoul

Primo (he/him)

He knows what to do, he's seen it once before, but a long time ago.

Sometimes Ghouls just are really shy at first, and scared. Of course they are, the Ministry is a whole different world to them.

You ran straight off and hid. It took Primo a few hours searching to find you hiding in a secluded spot in the garden.

Primo left you there to get used to things and went back to his garden shed. He brewed a very special tea, he wasn't too fond of the smell but that's because it wasn't meant to appeal to him.

He went back to the your hiding place and left a cup just in reach. He smiled as you reached a clawed hand out to take it.

The next day Primo left the cup of tea so it was just out of your reach. You slowly came out to take it and caught sight of Primo.

He smiled and gestured to say it was just him, you looked back at the tea and then to Primo before settling down on the soft summer grass.

"Let me show you around?" Primo says with a kind smile. "I promise you, it will all be okay. And if it ever gets too much you can always come back here. I won't tell a soul that this is your spot and I will bring you tea whenever you need it."

You smiled and swished your tail. With Primo's steadying influence you started to slowly come out of your shell and bond with the other Ghouls.

Secondo (he/him)

You blink open your eyes as you lie on the cold stone and see the most terrifying Papa. His stern gaze and piercing stare had you running for the nearest shadow.

Secondo lets out a huffing sound and orders everyone from the room.

He sits down next to you and to your suprise his expression has softened. "I know its a big change."

You just kind of nod, still very confused by the man.

"And there is a lot to get used to. But there are a lot of exciting things here too and more importantly nice people..." Secondo seems to stop himself saying the rest of the sentence, which would have probably been 'as annoying as they all are'.

You wait for him to carry on and then he says "I will introduce you to my most trusted Ghoul and you will not shy away. In return I can promise you that they will take care of you and look after you, you have nothing to fear. Also, no one will expect you to introduce yourself or talk to them until you are ready to do so."

You nod, still scared but Secondo's gaze is so steady you just trust him, he is Papa after all, the one who summoned you.

Thankfully you settle in well and once you are more relaxed Secondo lets you see his party animal side. Which surpirses you all over again. Who knew he could be like that, eh?

Terzo (he/they)

They really count on Omega in situations like these.

While Terzo has a sort of magnetism that pulls people to him, especially when he flirts like a kindergartener (informing someone about a hole in his shoe, for example), but he also recognizes that a big, strong ghoul might help a new, shy one open up.

And Omega is very inviting unless he's pissed off. Which he never is, if Terzo's in the room. If Terzo's around, Omega is happy. It's a simple equation, really.

And Omega is also very welcoming. You end up feeling safe with their presence pretty soon.

You also end up getting adopted. it's not up for discussion.

Enjoy your new dads, I guess.

Copia (he/him)

Copia has summoned plenty of ghouls by now. He's got experience with the shy ones, too.

Although his previous originally shy ghoul (Phantom) had relatives in the Ministry already, so that was a bit easier.

This time, he's on his own with it.

He just chills in the room, leaving snacks nearby as he just sits in the corner of his room, playing something on an ancient-looking gameboy.

He's just there, not invading your space. It's a bit like with a new puppy.

Eventually, you get closer, stealing his snacks and slowly trying to look at the screen of his console.

And after that, it all goes easy. Yolu eventually get more and more comfortable with him.

You get really involved in the game, too. Copia's not allowed to finish it, watching him play is your comfort source.

Not that he minds, he fucking sucks at that game.

Old Nihil (he/him)

He is just confused, really confused why as to why you are hiding all the time. Normally when freshly summoned, Ghouls have far too much energy and want to see everything.

"Seeeestor, why is the Ghoul broken?" He asks her. She tuts and explains you are not broken just shy.

So Nihil decides to try and help.

He sits near where he knows you hide in the shadows and tells you stories of his youth.

Sometimes these stories are long and rambling and you fall asleep.

Other times they are really interesting and excitng and you find yourself coming out of the shadows to listen.

Nihil grins at you and offers to introduce you to some people he thinks you'll like.

Young Nihil (he/him)

He doesn't really think anything of it, all the Ghouls are odd and different in their own way. Which he loves, all so unique.

He'll just sit with you and offer you a drink or something stronger.

At first you think he is just doing this to help you settle in, but then you realise he has started to rely on you as much as you on him.

It's nice to hang out with him, very laid back and you two can just be yourselves. There is never any pressure to talk or anything.

When you feel a little more confident Nihil offers to teach you the saxophone. He's learning too and thought it would be fun to learn together.

He produces some, err, interesting noises from the instrument at first but he quickly gets better. Partly due to your support, you are the only person he feels comfortable enough to make mistakes in front of.

He also invites you along to parties or his shows or anythin really, but never puts pressure on you to come along. If you do agree he gives you the biggest smile and puts an arm around you showing you all the cool things. He'll keep an eye on you to make sure you don't get overwhelmed.

Old Sister Imperator (she/her)

As intimidating as she can be, she's also a very caring, motherly woman.

She will inform you where you are, who she is and why you're there.

All while calling you "little one", as if you're a child.

And while there's always this slightly unnerving feeling of authority she has over you, you actually like her! She's nice!

She leaves you snacks, small plushies and fidget toys so you can have some nice things that will comfort you in this new situation you've gotten yourself into.

She leaves one of her ghoulettes with you for comfort. She doesn't mind waiting. Take your time.

Young Sister Imperator (she/her)

A lot more intimidating and a lot less motherly than she is later in life, Sister Imperator wasn't the most patient in her youth.

She summoned a ghoul because she needed one now, not later.

Still, she's not cruel, she's not gonna just... abandon you. She can summon another ghoul for the matter at hand and then just... find some use for you.

She checks up on you regularly, just sitting in the room for a bit. it's almost like a break for her, honestly.

Over time, as you both become more and more comfortable with each other, she starts viewing you like a little pet.

She likes playing with your hair and tail. She's always incredibly gentle with you, too.

Perhaps she's already found your function. A companion. A little pet.

Doesn't sound so bad, does it?

~

Papas I, II and Papa Nihil written by Nyx.

Papas III, IV and Sister Imperator written by Nosferatu.

[luffyvace]

Undertaker wants to Court you! ~(Headcanons)~

Can’t wait for the public school arc who’s with me?!

this dude is so silly 🗿 enjoy some hcs of this ridiculous little man

Undertaker is funny. He uses that to his advantage when courting. Well, it actually depends on what type of humor you have- most of his are usually those jokes that are kinda funny but at the same time your like ‘That’s outta pocket! 🤦‍♀️😑😂’ yk?

he always wants to hear jokes. He asks you randomly and no matter what type he laughs at them. Rude humor? Hilarious! Dad jokes? That one really tickled his fancy! 😂 why did the chicken cross the road?? To get to the other side? 🤣🤣💥

now usually I feel he has a specific sense of humor but with you everything’s just kinda funny. It’s that moment when your with someone who you can laugh at the most unfunniest stuff ever and still be cackling at it anyway 😭💕

he’s always telling them as well. Might I say, at the worst times 😏 you just watched someone run over a stray animal? Oh he’s got a joke for that hear him out- LIKE BRO 😭⁉️

HES THE TYPE OF GUY WHO MAKE YOU LAUGH BEFORE EVEN TELLING YOU THE JOKE BECAUSE YOU KNOW ITS GONNA BE STUPID 👍

Let’s also talk about hiiiis…! weird side! (I’m saying ‘side’ like he’s isn’t always weird..) This is pretty much him just being a creep? Ish? Like that scene where he was in the barrel licking salt…🤨 or how he’s always in coffins (which tbh seems more normal for a grim reaper but still..) either way this dudes’ real weird and he doesn’t tone it down, even around you despite the fact that it may or may not (you decide) push you away

He’s a very mysterious dude, so how ever you met him I guarantee it was eerie and somewhat strange. Therefore you were likely intrigued by him, so when you went on your first date it was, well, very interesting! There’s so many layers to unravel with this guy! Ngl even now you’ve only semi unraveled this incomprehensible man but at the least you do learn more as you get to know him :P

his past is….complicated is an understatement- gimme a new word.

literally no one but him knows his full past all the way up to this very day. Looks like no one has stuck around long enough! Since you will I guess you’ll be the first to figure it out! ;)

now I’ll say this, he won’t sit down and just tell you everything, no. That won’t be any fun! 😄 you’ll have to have the intelligent to sit down and decode it piece by piece with the tidbits of information he gives you randomly. Yes! It’s going to be comical seeing you try and put this whole thing-a-ba-jig together! (^_−)−☆ 🤣

his nonjudgmental yet opinionated personality is scary if you don’t like folk who come off too strong. Or if your sensitive- 😄 he’s a ‘tell-it-like-it-is-and-I-don’t-give-a-ship’ type of guy. Buuuut! If your similar to him in that sense you’ll probably understand him a lot more. Him being nonjudgemental is perfect for peeps of all types so that’s a plus!! 💗

ranting about his fascination with humans during your dates comes with the package! ☝️He just does, it’s always one of his topics, and ngl it’s nothing boring either, he’s got quite a few stories to tell with even more jokes in between, which is sure to make for a lovely date <3 plus at some point all species in black butler experienced being a human, and idk about y’all but the study of human nature, psychology and how the brain works is a very interesting thing for me! I’d definitely be able to keep a conversation like that up for some time, me personally.

He puts up a front of a funny weird guy when there’s more to him if you read between the lines. Which, don’t get me wrong that certainly is a part of the real him, he just makes sure to highlight it so you don’t look at the rest 😃👌

he’s a real creepy fellow..even towards you 😭 (on purpose) and whether he’s trying to court you or not there’s no escaping it- if it starts to push you away he’ll find a way to incorporate laughter into it to make it more appealing, but no, he won’t change his ways 😭

WHY DOESN’T HE WASH HIS HAIRRRR

(yes it’s canon 😞)

you force him to wash his hair 😘💋 pls he needs it. or at least do it with him so it’s more fun. It’ll probably be easier to convince him that way

Time to talk about his work as a grim reaper!!! :3 (retired anyway) if you are reaper you get to follow each other around doing tasks! human? You both go your separate ways to work, whatever that may be. A demon? The same as a human really! Just this time you might have a contract with somebody. Buttttt!! A perk of all three is getting to work in the funeral parlor with him ;3 it’s a good disguise if your a demon/reaper and also some good quality time for you and your reaper 😘 (i mean, I hope you don’t mind morbid stuff cuz he’s a mortician after all 😅)

his little Russian roulette with the phantomhives 🕺 (LOL) no seriously I have no clue what type of relationship he has with them besides the fact that he serves them for the price of top notch laughter 🧑‍🍳💋 but you might! I’d say he’s more willing to let you in then anyone if he’s trying to court you! That obviously means he wants to trust you with his heart! So yeah! You likely know a thing or two—more about Ciel than Vincent but any info will do at this point 😭 it’s a start right? 🤷‍♀️

whenever Ciel comes over you get to witness him or Sebastian try to make undertaker laugh, it’s not like they can kick you out, you work there! Perks 😏 You can pretty much tell the one time Ciel made him laugh himself it was just a whole bunch of tomfoolery 😂 (why did it take so long⁉️😭) Sebastian is also able to make undertaker laugh really hard immediately so I wonder what he does 🤪 guess you’ll get to see! 😋

undertaker opening up to you is a process that requires patience. And don’t be pushy!! I mean this for your sake, by the way. You’ll drive yourself crazy since you’ll never get an answer that’s not riddles or straight up jokes. 🤦‍♀️🤷‍♀️

yeah overall his way of courting is really strange but when it comes to making things official he’s poetically blunt. The type of blunt where you have to process for a second like ‘wait what does that mean- oh. OH-’

Anyway I’m gonna talk about the actual dates now cuz I’ve pretty much just been mentioning the madness that comes with it this entire time :3 and yes as I said that’s a way of courting to him. He’s weird and blunt but doesn’t wanna do things the traditional way. So getting you involved in his antics is his way of saying ‘hey i like ya and I want ya to stick around’. And jokes. HAHAHAH 😂

dates with undertaker normally consists of tea, jokes, human psychology and gossip 🗿 ever since I saw ciel in wonderland I couldn’t get over the fact that undertaker was at a tea party and now I headcanons him to like tea LOLOLOL! I mean I know that’s how the plot goes in the actual slice movie and he was just playing the role of the character but, think about it—don’t it kinda fit???? Like?? Okok Hear me out hear me out- imagine sipping on some tea with Undertaker and gossiping on the latest drama from the underworld, ‘I heard a rare case is happening where blah blah blah *giggle* *giggle* chatter chatter..’ ETC! like idk how to explain it but do you see the vision???

I can also see him doing that dramatic anime thing where they sip they’re drink majestically then say something intelligent sounding (☝️🤓) (about psychology, for him) as the wind blows 😂😂 YK? LOLL even worse if your in a outside background and his eyes shows (cuz the character who never shows they’re eyes always show them when they get serious 🤣)

i love how shameless this guy is

why don’t we know this guys’ real name⁉️ Can’t even give him a nickname because ‘undertaker’ isn’t nickname material!! What am I supposed to call him???? Taker’ ⁉️😭🗿

ENJOY @doudouma HERE’S YOUR SURPRISE~ 🤗

[talon-dragonbeast]

misceanimalis identities and alterhumanity

(also called: ✨misceverse propaganda✨)

a few days ago i promised to write a post about the misceverse and how it applies to myself/my identity. so, here it is!

[as a disclaimer, im still very much aroace so rest assured this post will be completely sfw. however, im aware that some people can be uncomfortable with this stuff so ill be putting the post under a read more]

so, omegaverse. a few of you may remember my post/essay on how i view gender through draconic lenses, and how my species classifies ourselves not with sex but with how we contribute to society, our Role. well, last week i saw some of my mutuals (shout-out to @/were-bastard and @/professional-jaywalker, the birds ever /pos) reblog stuff about something called the misceverse, which was inspired by omegaverse fanfic tropes, and... well. it piqued my interest. i had read a few of these stories myself when i was younger, so i knew more or less about what it was all about, but i didnt know there was an entire community centered around it!

what struck me the most about these communities was the normalization and celebration of animalistic behaviours, specifically as they relate to relationships, something that, as a nonhuman, is obviously very appealing to me. i struggle a lot to express affection in the expected/"human" way, as my instincts tell me to act more like the creature i am. things like nesting, scenting, giving gifts or having a special language of animal noises to communicate with your loved ones are things i do naturally, and that i fight to suppress every day. upon seeing all this in the misce community, plus the classifications that match so perfectly with my dragon Roles, i was sold.

so, what even is misceanimalis?

also called miscecanis, its a community centered around the omegaverse, that is, a universe where people have secondary sexes as well as the normal ones: alpha, beta or omega. (they were inspired by that one study on wolf behaviour and pack dynamics, which i find really funny bc its considered incredibly inaccurate nowadays). people on this verse exhibit animal behaviours like nesting, forming packs, making animal noises or "subvocals", and, of course, experiencing mating cycles (i will not get into that last part, but basically omegas have heats and can get pregnant while alphas have ruts and can get people pregnant; betas are usually the "normal" ones, but this may vary between verses). also! a very important thing in omegaverse is scenting. everyone has a unique scent, so people can identify your dynamic right away; its used as a way to mark your territory and your mate and to express emotions.

about me!

dynamic: i am bidynamic; both an omega and a beta, also called a gamma or oeta.

for me, this means that im socially neutral (but leaning submissive), i exhibit protective and nurturing behaviours like an omega, and give a calming effect to people like a beta. my presentation though is fully omega: i am very timid, uncertain and introverted, though if im feeling confident enough i can come off as more casual/laid-back.

scent: my scent is vanilla, very sweet as is typical of omegas (funnily, i found that this scent is almost unbearable for most people, but i adore it).

i use vanilla body lotion and perfume for myself, and a soft vanilla air freshener for my den.

behaviours: i am misceavian, which means my behaviours are mostly based on birds (nesting, gift-giving, mating dances, all that stuff). my subvocals are both avian and draconic: purring, chirping, etc. i also experience heats but they are very mild, and are less frequent than for monodynamic omegas.

anyway, i think thats enough for today! wow i rambled a lot, didnt i? i hope you enjoyed reading this, and maybe even fell for my propaganda i mean, considered a misceanimalis identity for yourself! i found that the community is very nice and open-minded, and i think more alterhumans could benefit from joining it!

[bashfullove]

❦Reactions To You Wanting To Draw Them❦

❦Summary: Their beautiful/handsome S/O wants to capture their beauty in pencil

❦Includes: Arthur, Sadie, Javier, Kieran

❦Warnings: none ❦Notes:I know it's very few characters but I tried to write as much as I could. If you want other characters feel free to request it

❦Arthur Morgan❦

"Wait seriously?" It's almost like he doesn't believe you when you ask for the consent to capture his pure bliss and beauty while he fishes. The boat you both sat in rocking very lightly like a mother rocking her newborn's cradle, the fishing rod is in his steady calloused hands while you pinch the pencil between your fingers, etching the features of his jawline on the paper. If Arthur had been so kind before to draw you, why couldn't you return the favour? Plus you never really cared for fishing all that much, you just liked being in the same space as Arthur, breathing the same air, and sharing the perfect silence with a unstressed breeze between you two. And maybe you treated this as an excuse to look at Arthur a little closer than you usually would, admire the finer details of his roughened face. The small scar on his cheek that you never truly figured out the origins of, the small strand of hair that without fault would always end up against his forehead, the bags on his eyes that if they were on anyone else that you wouldn't find too appealing but just because it's on Arthur, your Arthur, its one of those imperfections that turns perfect. His jaw is practically on the floor once you reveal the drawing to him, the details that you've captured in his face that he had only seen as flaws. He wasn't used to this, he was used to capturing the beauty around him, hiding the ugliness away from his drawings, the ugliness which he labelled as himself. Even with a beauty like you beside him he could never find himself all that appealing to look at, let alone put in the work in drawing. He felt flattered thought hat you would take the time to draw him, he knows he's returned the favour more than enough times. Enjoying to draw you when you're grooming your horse, singing at the campfire with Javier, looking so peaceful sleeping beside him, any chance he would take to capture your beauty. And Arthur wouldn't ever admit it, maybe he was too proud or didn't want to look too soft to the others but he would take the drawing you made of him everywhere. That little reminder that even when he thought he was the worst man alive that there was someone back at camp who saw him as perfect

❦Sadie Adler❦

"Draw me? Well if it makes you happy I guess?" She'll pretend that she doesn't care, that it means nothing when you approach her all shy, your leather back journal and pencil in your hands while she's dragging her gun oil soaked rag over her pistol's barrel. Her eyes glancing at you as if its some kind of joke but when she sees your serious, she just shrugs it off and keeps working. She comments that she isn't gonna just sit still for an hour while you draw, she's a busy woman who has work to get done and you understand that. Hoping to get her drawing done quick but with the details you keep getting glimpses of when you pull your vision from the paper to her face make you realise how much more work you'll have to do to get it perfect. But inside, what you don't see, is that Sadie really does care at the idea of her drawing, especially from you. She's always been a secret fan of your little hobby, it was nice to have something that brought you such comfort and calm, she really wished she had something like that before she met you but now she had you, even if she tried to look all tough, she was truly as lovesick as she used to be with her now deceased husband that she is with you. When your eyes aren't on her, she's fixing her hair or clothes, just making sure that you get the best details of her. She doesn't want to look like an outlaw, she wants to look like a normal woman even if she is far from that now. She wants to look normal for you, the contrast between you two was so obvious to her. She could shoot twelve men and not even miss a wink of sleep while you couldn't even shoot a squirrel when you went out hunting with her. She enjoyed your kind heart though, it made her not feel so monsterous for what she's done and all the people she's hurt. She's very patient truly when you need more time to finish, even if before she told you that she wasn't gonna sit still. She knows how much you took pride and patience in your work, she wanted to make sure that your needs were met. And it paid off because when she finally does see the drawing, her heart has swelled holding the leather back journal as she admires your work. She had truly forgotten what she had looked like when she wasn't covered in dirt and blood, the inner beauty of her that you captured physically on the drawing, she just loved you a little more.

❦Javier Escuella❦

"Are you interested in a more intimate portrait?" Don't get me wrong, he is very flattered that you want to sketch him but he has to tease, giving you that sly smirk on his lips while he leans against the tree, his guitar in his lap and you sitting across from him. He sits confidently, trying to get a peak at your work every now and again, making comments at you that almost distract you from your drawing with how much they make your heart flutter. He gives you ideas for the drawing, like how he could look good on his horse, or fighting Micah, anything that makes him look like your personal hero that you already know he is. When you sometimes look up at him, he sends you a quick wink, chuckled at your flustered cheeks and quick change of focus back onto your paper. As much as Javier is teasing and trying to distract you from the work, he has full intentions of sitting right under the tree in the scorching heat until your work would be done to perfection. If you were more than happy to sit with him while he lazily strummed on his guitar, he could be considerate enough to enjoy his time with you while you work on your own hobby. He isn't exactly patient so eventually he leaves his spot, scooting over to you as he rests his chin on your shoulder, looking at your work. His eyes are glued to your fingers which pinch your pencil and move in little scritch scratches on the finer details of his mustache. Careful to keep the strings of his guitar as straight as possible even if there's a little wonky bit every here and now. He thinks it's adorable how focused you are, your eyes glued to the sheet and your tongue sticking out of your mouth every now and again as you concentrate on the proper shading, rubbing your thumb against the paper to smudge the ink

❦Kieran Duffy❦

"I'm nothing special" It makes you frown to hear him say such a thing, turning his back to you when he continues on his chores, not wanting to be a burden to you. Not that he ever was, Kieran was the perfect medium between fantasy and realism. He was perfect to you, since the day you met him in Colter. Sneaking him food when everyone was asleep, on the coldest days when the wind blew harder with every second that burned your exposed skin but it had been worth it to see the small smile on his face when he knew at least there was someone who cared for him. Not many people had ever cared for him, his ma died young and his pa not long after her. He had been alone, every time he met one they would disappear or die around him. Possibly that's why it took so long for him to warm up to you, his fear that the next good thing in his life was gonna disappear. But you refused to take his no or fear for an answer, proving him time and time again that you didn't plan to go anywhere. Even if he would push and push you away, you held on like a tick on a dog, of course a bit more benefitial than a tick for a dog. And maybe it takes a little bit of forcing to get him to just sit down, relax and let you show him that he is a lot more perfect than he thinks so. He's stiff, constantly trying to find an excuse to escape your eyes on him as you concentrate on capturing his finer details. He's fixing his hat to hide his face until you rip the hat away from him, practically begging him to just let you do this and show him in your own eyes, your vision of how perfect the squirmy shy and anxious boy sitting under the tree with you truly is. Once you're finished he's so happy that he has something made by someone only for him, something that he is able to cherish. Even if he will still have his self esteem issues, he will always have his physical representation of the love from his little artist.

❦Thank You For Reading❦

❦Taglist:

❦Bashfullove❦

[t00thpasteface]

i very deeply respect your mashposting and even though im not as enthusiastic about hawkahy as you are i think the content you make for them us delightful and some of the best mashposting on this godforsaken website. that being said, i wanted to know ur takes on the hawkeye & trapper dynamic, and the hawkeye & bj dynamic. Not in a shippy way, just in the World of Hawkahy what role do trapper and bj play in their relationships with hawkeye :3 this because i love that one comic u did where hawkeye is spunchbop and bj is Patrick its one of my fave pieces of mash fanart lol

(⁠๑˘❥⁠⁠ ˘๑⁠) first off, THANK YOU!! i'm soooo crazy about hawkahy and i really enjoy contributing to my fellow shippers, but i'm glad my art can also still appeal to people who are less interested the ship itself.

second, VERY fun question!! i wish i had definitive answers for yall, but you know me... i love to go "well idk it could go either way" ^_^;; really, it depends on what kind of tone and theme i'm looking for. i don't really write heavier stuff (because i have so much fun writing funny fic) so that kind of narrows my options, but there's a lot of potential i'd love to explore— or see someone else explore, if they're so inclined!

TRAP:

generally the trapper reading i typically default to is that he and hawkeye have a pretty casual FWB thing going on. trapper considers hawkeye a very close friend and hooks up with him at an intersection of bicuriosity and deep platonic affection, but hawkeye catches baddddd feelings and ends up genuinely heartbroken to find out their thing was lopsided. in this case, hawkahy would happen only after trapper leaves— mulcahy has a tough time trying to get noticed before that point :( but at the same time, i don't think mulcahy would pounce at the first opportunity, because i don't think an immediate rebound would be good for hawkeye nor mulcahy... but it could happen for dramaaaaa...

another version of the hawkeye-trapper rapport that i love playing with in my fics is trapper being generally very supportive but nonetheless slightly grossed out. i think there's a lotttt of comedy potential with hawkeye thinking it's okay to fuck a priest but NOT a married woman, and meanwhile trapper is pro-infidelity but anti-priestfucking (for whatever reason), and they squabble and tease each other about it the whole time.

it's also funny to think about is trapper trying to figure out whether mulcahy now gets the "one of the bros" back-slapping beer-chugging dude treatment, or if instead he's now slotted into the "go easy on 'em trap" category that protects hawkeye's ladyfriends from hearing trapper's bawdiest jokes and comments when hawkeye brings them along as a plus-one to the swamp.

trapper seems like he's pretty likely to sniff out that hawkeye and mulcahy are seeing each other even if they try their damnedest to keep it secret. i like to think hawkeye trusts trapper enough that he would go ahead and divulge it it up front pretty soon after it's official. trapper could probably even pick up hawkeye's crush beforehand... maybe even before hawkeye knows about it!

i don't see trapper as being too jealous of hawkeye spending a lot of time with mulcahy, even if it means hawkeye is now exclusive and not sleeping with trapper anymore. if anything i think he'd be pretty stoked that he's got one less guy to compete with for the nurses' attention. pretty sweet deal as far as he's concerned.

i do think there'd be some tricky navigating between how hawkeye acts with trapper and the STARK difference with how he acts around mulcahy, which you can see clear as day in the s1 finale, where hawkeye gets soooo soft and careful while talking to mulcahy. i don't think either one is disingenuous; i think hawkeye contains multitudes. hawkeye's not the type to fake sincerity. and to that end, i really don't think hawkahy should hinge on hawkeye totally giving up all the cruder parts of his personality (especially since mulcahy is really no saint either), so it could be pretty interesting to see that manifest in whether/how he's still maintaining a close friendship with trapper now that he's been seeing mulcahy regularly and trying to make a good impression.

BEEJ:

the direction bj goes in depends on whether hawkahy are already an item before he gets there. he does form that almost instantaneous trauma-bond with hawkeye on his first day, but i think if hawkeye admitted "yeah by the way the chaplain is my boyfriend" as soon it seemed safe, bj would be able to take it in stride as another weird little quirk of the mash he has to get used to. he's too hung up on dealing with all the gore to worry about who's banging who.

by contrast, i think he could potentially get pretty upset/jealous if hawkeye and mulcahy paired up a little while later. i can see him feeling really betrayed, like, "what do you normally do when i'm gone?" "wait for you to get back!!"

if bj still doesn't feel like he's really enmeshed himself into the unit— which i think on some level, he never wants to, because he's banking on dropping everything like a hot potato the second he can— then i can totally picture him just feeling completely lost and isolated when hawkeye is suddenly forgoing their boys-nite boozathons in favor of getting some priest pipe. like, at least trapper could always go find his own cuddle buddy to pass the time and had nurses lining up to volunteer; bj has basically nobody and doesn't seem inclined nor equipped to fix that. hawkeye is his liason to the rest of the camp, and bj isn't so great with people without having hawkeye there to help as both teleprompter and safety net.

basically i think bj wants to keep hawkeye within a very specific arm's-length radius— not too close, but not too far either, and hawkeye having so much private time with someone else could really get under his skin.

you could also have bj think the priestfucking is gross/bad on sheer principle like trapper did, even without the jealousy angle, and it'd probably hold a little more water coming from bj than trapper. however, it'd be funny if he's insisting it's definitely not a jealousy thing and he's being fully objective about it, but you can totally tell he's just jealous. x)

i admit i kinda love seeing bj get tormented, because he's got such obvious buttons to press and yet sternly insists that they don't even exist, similar to houlihan and frank. like, you can't just set that up and not expect me to rub my hands together and SLAM those buttons as hard as i can. ergo, bj getting jealous about hawkahy is supremely funny to me. i'm not too proud to admit that!

[adamnablelittledevil]

I'm excited for Devil's Minion but I hope the Lesmand aspect isn't undermined in its favor. That ship may not be endgame but it's so important to both Lestat and Armand.

I only know Devil's Minion content from what I've seen on the tag, but I share the same feeling! I also enjoy Armand and Daniel's dynamic on the show. I can't wait to see more if it (and any possible duo, romantic/endgame or not, because they're all so appealing) and I hope they did have something in the past as well (and I think it's highly possible), because both Eric and Luke are great. And, well, this chemistry is too extraordinary to ignore.

Sure, this scene wasn't a positive one, but tell me they don't have potential to deliver the romantic content?

So, about the books, I'm still on chapter 5 of The Vampire Lestat (I'm leaving IWTV for last), but so far I don't see how they could reduce lesmand. I guess you could say there is some romantic aspect to them, but there's so much more than that too. Now, I might be interpreting this wrong or things will naturally change over the course of the books, but I believe they have this soul ties/mirrors/foils/two sides of the same coin aspect. It's only been a little over one chapter since Armand was firstly introduced, but their dynamic already feels so important. They're so similar and yet so different, they're fascinated by each other, they see parts of themselves that they don't like on one another, they see things they can't understand but want to, there's empathy, there's protectiveness, they're attracted to one another and not even just in a physical/romantic sense, but there's some genuine curiosity, admiration and magnetism there, but they're still afraid of each other, they still despise one another, they hurt each other, they know it's better to stay way, but don't really want to so it challenges them to the point they also HATE each other... I even feel like it's more frustration and projection than actual hate, but still... They're very INTENSE, in every sense of the word. And it keeps fleeting all the time, sometimes it's warmer, sometimes it's more explosive, sometimes they have similar reactions to one another and sometimes they don't... Which leads to different types of tension that is entertaining to play with. Plus, they have the best conversations and arguments for me. They touch on some really relevant topics about each other's existence, their collective existence as a species and as individuals (which is part of their conflict). Basically, we can call them whatever we want, but they're never boring.

So I can't see them being able to change that even if they want to? Also, because Armand is the first vampire Lestat meets after his maker and fledgling. Magnus kills himself shortly after turning Lestat, Gabrielle and Lestat are almost on the same level when it comes to powers and knowledge about vampirism. Armand exists out of their sphere, has been a vampire for a while, has more abilities/knowledge than them... I feel like you need that in order to 'shake' things up on the flashbacks instead of just being in the bubble of Lestat and his fledglings or using Armand as a small character.

And Assad is one of the main actors, he's paid for main actor screen time, so it would be a waste not to use him as such? And, like you said, it's so important for both Armand's and Lestat's arcs, and this is a main character + main character dynamic, it's not like a side plot with a guest star. It would be killing multiple birds with one stone, because you'd find a way to use two fundamental characters, tell the story in a proper and also engaging way. Not to mention they would be insanely stupid to waste this.

Yeah, I know this is different on the book, but my point is that the enigmatic chemistry they're supposed to have is there and Rolin should make the most of it. Like, I'm still a bit frustrated they didn't play a little more with Jacob and Assad's chemistry too.

So let's not do it again? I mean, this is the first show I watch where everyone has amazing chemistry and good reasons to have lots of scenes together because they live forever and need to have more than just one company, lol. I say let's explore all of it, whether something is romantic/endgame or not.

Anyway, I believe we'll see a lot of Armand in the 1700s flashbacks and that lesmand will be top 2 of Armand's dynamics on season 3. Depending on what they want to do with armandiel, they might even explore more of lesmand next season, since that's 'Lestat's' season and they can have all future seasons for armandiel? I mean, I can see something kind of like season 2, when we had loumand, but dreamstat was still a significant presence and then the big scene at the end. Plus, I'm expecting Daniel to have a lot of screen time with Louis and Lestat, respectively.

Btw, sorry I deflected so much, I just had a lot to say, lmao. Thank you for the message. :)

[sol-consort]

Hmmm...taboos on human/krogan coupling aside, what do you think could potentially draw any sort of krogan, male or female, to feel attracted to humans?

Would it be more of a personality-based thing considering how soft & fragile we are physically?

Looks wise?

Nada, Null, zero out of ten. We are an ugly duckling to them. The looks department has announced bankruptcy and will be shortly shutting down soon.

Well...unless you remember that the asari and humans could wear the same armour in ME1, and their statues at the temple look very similar to us. Then, by accounts, humans should be borrowing from the asari hotness in the eyes of the rest of the galaxy since we look so much alike.

+ we have guys

And Krogans hit on asari an absurd amount. Unless their attraction is solely based on asari's ability to reproduce with them? Then humans are still a zero.

We look so different from krogans that the only way for them to find us attractive would be through a "monsterfucker" kinda of attraction.

With us being the said monster.

Not necessarily an intimidating monster, but not like how you'd be attracted to an elf either, since elves are very similar looking to us.

You could make the argument that being attracted to humans in krogan society is the krogan equivalent of a human furry.

Our thin fragile necks must especially make them feel uneasy.

But they'd like our curves and fat! I'm looking at their physical build, and even male krogans have prominent hips.

Unless those are shells...

I don't think our hair is very appealing. Soft skin, small faces, and hair "fur" remind them of pyjack puppies. We're just missing the tail. Actually, the tail would've made us more appealing since Krogans still have their tail.

Our eyes! They must like our eyes. In comparison to most animals, humans have small eyes. But so do Krogans! Small eyes must be a plus. Unsure about the eyelashes and eyebrows, tho.

They have slit pupils, I wonder if they function like cats. Do our round ones make us appear constantly vigilant and focus? Like a predetor preparing to jump at its prey?

-

Personality wise?

We don't have a stick up our ass like the turians, we don't nag them like the salarians, we aren't holier than thou like the asari.

We are digestible. A little daredevil-ly, in fact, would lose an arm to pet a varren.

Let's do a little class exercise, I want you, yes you reading this, to close your eyes for a moment and imagine you're on a bus, sitting next to a krogan.

This is your reality, krogans have existed your whole life. They're rare to see, yeah, but nothing bad really.

What would you do? Realistically.

Mind your business! Duh. 99% of humans would just glance at the krogan maybe once, then go back on their phone. Nothing less, nothing more.

Now this simple act, seems to be lost on the rest of the galaxy's species who absolutely cannot mind their fucking business when a stranger krogan sits next to them. No, they have to make a big deal and either switch seat or feel threatened by the krogan, which leads to an argument.

Humans weren't there for the genophage or the war. Humans are a blank page when it comes to krogans. A new start, they really need like a breath of fresh air because dealing with any other race is too damn suffocating right now.

With time, as the wounds heal and people stop mindlessly discriminating against krogans, bridges will be rebuilt between them and the rest of the galaxy.

But as it stands today, humans are the ones most acting the most normal around Krogans. Leading to us forming the most alliance, friendships, and relationships.

Plus they must enjoy our easily influenced personality. We pick up habits from those around us, we cave under social pressure, we enjoy both the thrill and the softness of life. The same human wrestling with a krogan with little regards to their own easily breakup bones, would be down to cuddling with the same krogan on a comfy bed after they get tired.

Krogans were uplifted from the Stone Ages, and we humans are still running on old stone-age hardware bodies. We hold a lot of the primal urges our ancestors did. Evolution takes an absurdly long time to even make a dent into a species. There is very little difference between us and humans 2000 years ago.

We are feral to an extent, Krogans would absolutely adore that.

-

Culture wise?

We are diverse! unimaginably so. There are humans bound to click with krogan culture, bound to see the appeal they see, to fall in love with Tuchanka's deadly wastelands.

We can easily eat their food, we can eat most alien foods.

We didn't explore the galaxy just so we can nest up in our own cushy planet amidst our own coddling civilisation! We wanna explore dammit! Actually explore and verge into new cutleres, appreciate their customs and see if we can find ourselves a fitting place there.

You'd find humans on Tuchanka, merchants who just decided to stay one day and make this place their new home. Runaways looking for a new chance, tired of the constant social games. Humans who followed their krogan friends back home and found out that this place is pretty neat actually, think they'll stay here.

[play-on-skinners-box]

Others have already been furrying the Raincode characters and doing a phenomenal job, but when I would peruse Danganrompa fanart I really liked seeing different and wildly varying interpretations for the characters' animal choices and now it is my turn, my GOD GIVEN DUTY TO PROVIDE IN THE GENISIS OF THE RAINCODE FANDOM, FOR THE HONOR OF THOSE WHO HAVE COME BEFORE ME.

For all of them I used their pose from the artbook renders. I'll say it's to keep them recognizable but that is actually a lie I'm just lazy.

Secretary Bird Halara:

Halara I did first and they were the one I was most jazzed to do because I love them dearly. I made them a secretary bird and I think it's a PERFECT fit. Ahem allow me to rattle off. Secretary birds are birds, so doomed by the narrative to have to stay away from cats, they are predatory birds and of course Halara would be at the top of the food chain. Speaking of predetory birds, secretary birds are known for their ability TO KICK VENOUMOUS SNAKES TO DEATH, AND THATS JUST TOO GOOD A FIT. They also have plumage that I could easily shape into Halara's kinda smooth swoopy hairstyle, and face markings that could be sort of representative of their glasses! I think the drawing for them is probably the weakest out of the group just because as I went along I improved and started to translate the human designs in less one to one ways, plus the pose Halara has in the artbook doesn't fit perfectly to the really big wing hand things. I still enjoyed making it because H A L A R A N I G H T M A R E but I'm honestly kinda sad at how lackluster it is compared to Fubuki and Viva who got the most interesting details and texture work. NEVER DO YOUR FAVORITE FIRST IT'S A TRAP.

Guinea Pig Desuhiko:

With Desuhiko I was going back and fourth between a few rodents, I just think he kinda looks like one and already had those pikachu cheeks. My first scetch made him a hamster, and while it DID look like him, it felt a little too... Indistinct. Desuhiko's probably my favorite design in the cast just because he looks so distinctive and has a short stocky bodytype I really really love and makes my character designer brain happy, so I swapped hamster for guinea pig. While the guinea pig face doesn't look like him quite as much as the hamster, they are very interesting and distinctive looking which I loved a lot more even with a bit of accuracy sacrificed if that makes sense. Also there are Guinea pigs with spikey wild fur that make it so I could just kinda give him his actual hair and still have it make sense. Guinea pigs are also the perfect size and shape to be thrown like a large softball and out of all the Master Detectives Desuhiko looks like he'd be the most sadisfying to chuck across a room.

Fish Fubuki:

Fubuki was really hard just because it's difficult to anthropomorphize a fish in the same way as a mammal or a avian cause of their structure. She might look a biitttt more like a fantasy creature inspired by a fish than just a fish but she's charming enough I don't completely mind. I got some SOLID advice and looked at some Splatoon NPCs characteristics to try and make her more appealing. So why fish? I got it as a suggestion that I ended up really liking because fish are notorious for their bad memory, live in tanks their whole lives(Fubuki is the definition of sheltered), and they have fins to mimic the shape of Fubukis cloak and hair. I used beta fish for reference, they don't really fit her but just being a fish was good enough for me and at that point I was prioritizing looks. She doesn't even really look like any specific species like the other three to be honest. She's defiantly the outlier of the group but that's fine, she can be special in her own unique way like always. Got a little lazy with making the hair look all that fin-like, but it's kinda the main event of her human design so I wanted to keep it as true to that as possible but looking at it now I think its tooooo copy and paste looking. Her furry design IS my brothers favorite out of the batch so that's gotta count for something!

Flying Fox Bat Vivia:

The vampire looking man was always gonna be a bat, I am but a slave to the whims of fate. I made him specifically a flying fox because they're the largest bat species and therefore can loom ominously. Vampire bat would have been fun too, but they have more of a squished bastard energy that doesn't really fit Vivia. Bats also are known for their weird sleeping habits, ala upside. Viva isn't sleeping upside down or anything like that but he DOES snooze in some weird places so I think comparing him to a bat in multiple aspects is very apt! His drawing and animal design is probably my favorite, I really like the wings, and the bat feet are super weird I loved doing those. I did have trouble incorperating his hair, flying foxes have pretty smooth heads, but they do have sort of a mane thing going on so I tried to put some of his hair texture and shape there instead. Sorry I did not give him is edgy edgy hair cut, I too love it very much but it was simply not to be. I did try to mimic it's vibe with the patterning on his head though, an illusion of his bangs.

I'm very happy with this lineup overall, they're some neat little designs if I do say so myself! I might do more but I have the chronic problem of not being able to sit still for a long time to do a BUNTCH of guys again(though for the record I would make Seth the most delightfully storm drain gutter looking creature). I also kinda wanna do Makoto and Yuma cause someone suggested a REALLY good idea for them, but the concept for Makoto with this idea would be more of an involved design that I wouldn't be able to use all of his normal outfit for so it'd probably take longer than average.

TLDR: Furries amiright?

[rendy-a]

I’d like to request Jade, forest, romantic 

I love your writing, I'm so glad I found your blog. I hope you're having a great day!

Thank you for the kind words!  I have only been writing for a few months and had worried my blog wouldn’t gain any traction.  So, to hear from people who are finding it and enjoying it is so wonderful.  My readers really make my day! So, thank you all!

You are cute as a button, Valentine.

You stared at the Valentine card, feeling a bit confused.  Jade watches you closely, observing your reaction with an interested smile.  “Is there a problem, Prefect?”  You jump slightly and look up.  “Oh, no.  I was just wondering why you drew mushrooms on the card.  It doesn’t match the poem at all.”  Jade puts one gloved hand to his chin, “Why, what do you mean?  These are clearly button mushrooms.  What a shame, Prefect, how will you pass your botany test without being able to identify the local flora?”

You feel a grimace set onto your lips.  You worriedly ask, “Do you think this will be on the test?”  Jade chuckles, “I do believe that was within the scope given to us, Prefect.  Do you find yourself unprepared for this?  Perhaps I can assist such a poor unfortunate soul and remedy this situation.”  Your grimace deepens.  At first, your intimidating classmate had made you rather apprehensive.  Over time, you’d gotten to know him better and recognize that he is, in fact, rather benevolent.  Only not for free.

“Ok, I give in.  What is this help going to cost me?” you ask him with a rueful smile.  “Why Prefect, you wound me to suggest,” Jade begins before you cut him off.  “I know, I know.  You are the soul of charity.  But if I was so moved by your compassion as to want to do something for you in return, what would that be?” you ask waving aside his crocodile tears.  Jade chuckles at how well you’ve managed to cut through his act and get to the point.  “Well I was planning to take a hike later this afternoon.  Alas, the Mountain Lovers Club has but one member.  How lonely it is hiking always by myself.”  At this, he puts his hand to his chin and lets his sharp-toothed grin show.

“Alright,” you begin, “It’s not like I was planning any romantic Valentine’s Day activities.  I’ll change into something suitable for hiking and meet you on Main Street after classes.”  You hadn’t intended to spend the day with Jade but honestly, it wasn’t sounding half-bad.  Nothing was worse than spending Valentine’s Day alone, so spending it on a fun activity with a friend had its own appeal.  Plus, there was something just so interesting about Jade; he was so knowledgeable about everything and, more importantly, he was never boring.

The climb was tiring but worth the effort.  Jade was an excellent guide, showing you various plants to sketch for your notes and telling you facts and details about them.  You felt like you were in good hands with him by your side, both on the trail and as a tutor.  As the elevation rose, the views became more and more breathtaking.  You were often stopped by the sight of the nearby town and forest as seen from high above.  Jade never hassled you to move faster but instead appears to enjoy watching you take in the sights; as though he gets more enjoyment from your awe than the scenery itself. 

You reach a bend in the trail and see that above you the greenery is thinning out.  After this point, there are probably no more forests and plants.  Jade sees you pause and asks, “Would you like to see some more interesting specimens instead of moving on?”  You smile back at him, pleased that he was able to read you so well.  Jade leads you off the trail and into the forest until you came upon an old decaying log, in the shadow of which a colony of mushrooms had grown.  You gasp and rush forward, “Look Jade, button mushrooms!”  You climb on the log and do a little pose, “What do you think, am I still cute as a button?”  You laugh at your own joke while Jade looks on amused at your lively antics.

Only, the rotten log wasn’t meant to hold the weight of human anymore.  As you stand happily upon your stage, a sudden Crack! sounds.  In a split second, your merry joy becomes a frantic flailing; your arms windmilling as you fall.  Jade moves suddenly, with all the speed of a striking eel and manages to catch you before you land on the ground and hurt yourself.  You cling to his chest as you pant, the adrenaline making your heart pound.

As you catch your breath, you gaze down and notice and unfortunate sight.  “Jade, the mushrooms…”  In the rush to catch you, Jade had trampled over the mushrooms he so loved.  “I’m so sorry.  If only I hadn’t been so reckless.”  Jade turns to you sharply and asks roughly, “Do you really think I don’t care for you more than some mushrooms?” 

When you had climbed the trail, you had felt a sense of altered perspective when seeing the familiar town from above.  What before had been glimpsed before only a piece at a time was made suddenly whole as it was laid out before your eyes.  You felt that same sense of perspective now, looking at Jade.  He had made no moves to resume his gentlemanly mask, instead leaving his expression unguarded, as you’ve never seen him before.  Suddenly, the paths and trails of his love were no longer glimpsed though small gestures but laid out before your eyes as clear as a map to his heart. 

“Jade.”  You speak his name softly, feeling as though you are saying it for the first time.  “I never knew.  How did I miss it?  All this time we could have been together, wasted.”  Jade carefully sets your feet back on the ground, “It was never wasted when we were together.  You must know that.”  You gaze into his eyes, “So where do we go from here?”  He smiles at you gently, “Well, you never did answer me about being my Valentine.”  You smile a beaming grin and throw your arms around his neck, “Jade Leech, will you be my Valentine?”  He never did reply but, from the way his lips captured yours, you assumed the answer was yes.

[eisforeidolon]

Hey there, I hope you don't mind me dropping in here on a topic from a few days ago and harping on about it (I'm not very well-versed on ask boxes so I'm a bit unsure of the etiquette. If I commit a major faux-pas, forgive me). Apologies if this ends up a little long and a lot sarcastic - I have opinions about this. It's given me a fair bit of grief over the years.

Y'know, I see these 'abusive Dean' takes float across my dash a fair bit (apparently not being into Destiel or Wincest means I must be a Bitter Sam-girl instead and hate Dean, according to Tumblr). The oh-so-delightful 'abusive husband Dean and beaten wife Sam' takes. People calling Sam 'beaten wife coded' in general. One based on a grand total of two instances where he flinched cause Dean made a loud violent noise near him (who the hell wouldn't, you don't need to be 'beaten wife coded' to flinch when someone chucks a chair at a wall, it's almost like Sam has some kind of trauma about various other things and might be generally jumpy...). Or taking the end of S10 out of context and choosing to forget that Dean was nearly fully taken over by a mark of fratricide (which he still managed to overcome, they conveniently fail to mention that). And I just... ugh.

What I never understood about these takes is like... why? There's trying to paint your fave in a good light and a character you hate in a bad one, but then there's making the heart and soul of the show itself into something so ugly it ruins it for other people, like your Anon, and honestly this happened to me too a while ago before I forced myself to stop listening to the greater fandom and find a few I trusted (like you). Even still, it gets all up in my head sometimes. Why are these people finding such glee in making the central relationship so awful? What are you getting out of this show if you think that about it?

Like, imagine looking at the finale through this lens. Congratulations, you turned something sad but ultimately bittersweet into something horrible, the 'beaten wife' dedicating the rest of their life to their 'abuser' then being forced to be with them for eternity, and this is portrayed as a good thing. Why would you ever want to view it that way? Plus, it's rather forced if you take it as a whole - the few times Sam stood there looking contrite while Dean did something stupid pale in comparison to the number of times he calls him out on it, even in the later seasons (14x12 Prophet and Loss, anyone? 15x17 Unity?).

I guess people can take from media what they want, it's obviously not my place to police people's enjoyment, but I just never got the appeal. It seems so counter to what the show was clearly actually trying to do, yet they tout it as fact (now where have I seen that before). Like it's somehow a bad thing to enjoy the show on its own terms. Coming across these takes still kinda bums me out. This goes for people insisting it's the other way around too - I can't stand any brother vs. brother stuff either, it's never anything but bad faith, and honestly kinda misses the point. Some of these people boggle my mind with their lack of empathy.

If there's one thing this fandom is good for, it's honing your ability to roll your eyes and move along. It's full of so much absolute batshit insanity that you'll never survive if you listen to every take. Trust me, I've tried. Do you know which tags to block to avoid this kinda stuff? Cause I never seem to be able to.

Sorry if this was a bit of a rant dump, heh. I'm usually a chronic lurker, but this discourse in particular bothers me immensely.

You're absolutely fine, I mind neither bringing up previous topics nor excessive length (be a bit of a hypocrite if I did, tbh). And yeah, it's one of my least favorite SPN fandom discourses, too.

It does feel like it's pretty hard to find any corner of the fandom where you won't at least occasionally see one side or the other's worst faith not!fave-brother-is-terrible takes. And oh, do I hate the 'beaten wife Sam' half of the 'Dean is an abuser' discourse equation just as much. Like, supposedly they like Sam, so why on earth would they want to pretend this stubborn competent badass of a character is actually a helpless pathetic marshmallow?! Same with Dean on the opposite side of the fandom - it's not just the character they're constantly maligning I can't recognize, the character they "like" similarly bears very little resemblance to the one I'm a fan of!

So far as I can tell, some people just desperately need their favorite character to be the best one who is always in the right. Whether it's over-identification or what, I don't know. They seem to think they achieve it by reframing large portions of the canon as justifying, unfairly attacking, or insulting that character as necessary. Except they don't see how from the outside it very often looks entirely absurd, regardless of if they're doing it in favor of Sam, Dean, or Castiel. Which is not to say there aren't parts of canon which treat all of those characters ridiculously in one way or another? But it's the total fixation on it only being the case with their favorite character in every possible situation where it gets weird.

Every great once in a while, I do manage to come across a take that really annoys me. But for the most part? The extreme ones are just so absurd, so divorced from what anyone even vaguely trying to understand the other characters' motivations and what the show quite obviously intended? I just can't take it at all seriously. Especially when they (as they so often do) get canon details wrong or pointedly "forget" all the canon points that blatantly don't fit their narrative.

Unfortunately, like with a certain ship, when it comes to tagging? You're kind of at the mercy of the self-awareness of the poster about how much other people may not want to see their hot takes.

[daffelreign]

Macbeth commentary. Becuase I’m bored. And judgmental. (Pt. 6)(Finale)

(Act Z: ) (Final Thoughts)

I was absolutely not excited about reading this play after finding very little enjoyment when we read The Tragedy of Julius Caesar my sophomore year. Plus, the most I heard about the story itself was how complicated and disliked it was. So my hopes were not very high.

However, after reading through the whole thing, I can safely say it is one of my favorite stories I’ve read in an English class. Why is it a tragedy is one of my favorites despite the fact that I hate tragic stories? The conclusion I’ve come to is that there is more focus on understanding what is being said (Shakespearean English is not easy) than there is on the weight behind what those words mean. So it doesn’t always give the kind of impact that the story probably did to the audience of its time. But even without it, I enjoyed picking the characters apart as the story progressed.

Speaking of characters, let’s talk about them for a second. The character dynamics in this play are fascinating, especially to me (someone who likes to write and has experience creating character dynamics). Watching how the relationships start out pure and strong, and then slowly falter as Macbeth begins to change is so interesting. For him and his wife, the power dynamic between them shifts as Macbeth’s ambition takes over--- and for his friends, his relationship with them becomes strained as he starts, well, murdering them. It’s easy to forget that they all used to be friends towards the beginning when you look at the very end--- with Macduff holding Macbeth’s decapitated head as a trophy of war and a symbol of revenge.

Macbeth himself is also another fascinating subject--- from his personality change to his role in the plot. Macbeth is our protagonist, our “hero” of the story. But the heroic qualities he shows are snuffed out by the end of the very first act, and our hero becomes something of a villain. It isn’t an instant change--- he may have killed Duncan, but he deeply regrets what he’s done afterwards. But as soon as he realizes that killing people gets rid of his problems, his remorse begins to dwindle. And that change--- from a loyal soldier to a cold tyrant--- is something you rarely get to see in a protagonist.

Placing him as the protagonist also means anyone who opposes him counts as the antagonist, even if their motives appeal more to the audience. It plays with the notion of what we’ve been taught is right and wrong, and which side they belong on. Not only that, but making Macbeth the single protagonist opened the floodgates for there being any number of antonagists--- anyone who stands against him. I couldn’t tell you who is the main antagonist, as many people play important roles in their opposition to macbeth. And that lack of focus is also not something you see all that often--- at least, I haven’t.

I could probably write a whole essay on Lady Macbeth alone, but I’ll keep this short: Lady Macbeth is the best kind of character. I can’t call her a hero or a villain, because I don’t know which side she belongs to. She doesn’t oppose Macbeth, but she does manipulate him. Does that make her an antagonist? Or is she a protagonist along with Macbeth, since they’re technically working together? She seems to be a gray area--- one we never quite get elaboration on. She’s conniving, but sympathetic--- spiteful, yet full of remorse. Lady Macbeth picks out her husband’s weak point in two seconds flat, but does everything she can to console him after the deed is done. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth really do have a complicated relationship, and it’s sad that he wasn’t even there to witness her end. She deserved a better send off, at least--- or we can pretend that she faked her death and she’s still alive and kicking, plotting to take down Malcolm in revenge for her husband. I’d pay to watch that, honestly.

Finally (probably not finally), Fleance. There was no point in letting him get away if there was no explanation as to how he would connect Banquo’s descendants to the king. He’s just there to fulfill that end of the prophecy--- a part that wasn’t even necessary from a plot hole standpoint. It was used as motivation for Macbeth-- to get him to kill Banquo and fall further down the rabbit hole. But other than that, Banquo’s part of the prophecy isn’t elaborated on. I’m mildly bitter that this play made me care about Fleance after I thought he was insignificant, and then said ‘lol wait nevermind’. Like. Tie up the loose ends--- give an epilogue of Fleance getting adopted by Malcom or something. I demand answers.

You know what? Murder board update:

Duncan, Banquo, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth, Malcom

Malcolm is dead because I killed Malcolm. Fleance can be king now. The world is set right again. (I’m only a little petty)

And for the actual finally, I think I could dissect Macbeth for hours. The amount of story conveyed through dialogue alone (at least for our purposes, since we can’t watch the play and have yet to watch the movie) is thoroughly impressive. I marvel at stories that are displayed in such a simple fashion, yet hold a more complex storyline than you could ever imagine. From the repeated lines, to the callbacks, to every poetic death and mournful soliloquy--- Macbeth is a masterpiece. For once, I can finally agree that this story is (and should remain) a classic that students should experience at least once in their life. Even if the words aren’t always the easiest to understand, the story is captivating, well written, and even a little silly. It’s a good play, a great story, and a wonderful experience.

[autisticempathydaemon]

hi hi !! I was wondering if I could have one of the redacted match ups? it's such a cool concept to be putting on ^^

What song are you fixated on at the moment? What lyric or verse, and why?

I believe the song I would go with would probably be Francesca by Hozier, or Unknown/Nth by Hozier. The Bridge to Unknown is probably my favourite because it's such a like emotional lyric. It depicts the story of someone willing to do anything for someone who doesn't love them back.

"Do you know I could break beneath the weight/Of the goodness, love, I still carry for you?/That I'd walk so far just to take/The injury of finally knowin' you?"

Do you love gargantuan Youtube video essays, and if so, which is your favorite and why?

I wouldn't mind listening to a video essay, but I don't purposefully go looking for them! If the topic seems interesting I might click on it tho ^^

What is your go-to way to fall asleep?

Usually cuddled up with a teddy and listening to a sleep aid ^^ there's only a few times that I pass out a few minutes after laying down/with no help. My favourite sleep aid to go to is Ollie's gaming sleep aid where he's playing MK (I have trouble with the "traditional" sleep aids because its too quiet)

If you had to change your name, what would it be, and why? (In tandem, if you have changed your name, why did you pick that one?)

I won't say what name I chose when i first found out I was Enby because it would (potentially) give me away but the reason I chose it is because it tied multiple parts of my interests together. It felt fitting for that reason. Plus, when ppl hear my name they can usually see that I picked it myself and know that I'm queer as hell so.

What is your favorite of Redacted’s audios, and why?

I adore Milo's "getting ready" video (getting dressed up for your feisty werewolf boyfriend), it always makes me feel very special ^^ I also just adore Milo in general (probably my top fav). I also really enjoy the imperium series as it gives us a different side to the boys we love sm.

What Redacted boy holds no appeal to you, and why? Like, not the one you hate but the one who you don’t get the hype for. (I won’t judge, I promise.)

I think that one of the boys I don't understand the hype for is Lasko (though, he's slowly growing on me now). I don't know what it was about early Lasko but he just didn't scratch that part of my brain for the longest time.

Tell me about that one book/movie/tv show you know all the words to.

Oh gods I could go one about this. I would have to say the percy jackson series (and Heroes of Olympus) as that is a series that has stuck with me since middle school. Though honourable mention to Tangled (the movie) because oh how I love it so

Which Redacted boy are you platonically attracted to? Like- forget dating, which dude do you want to be your best friend?

Guy, honestly. Like don't get me wrong i would date him too, but if we're talking friendship he seems like a pretty cool dude.

Do you have a go-to thing you ramble about when you’re tired, and if so, what is it? (For example, my boyfriend knows I’m ready to sleep when I start talking about space.)

The ancient greeks, my ocs, sometimes also space. I never really get to a point where I ramble all that often while tired, but if I'm tired and thinking about something you will hear about it.

Tell me your go-to gas station and drink combo.

Probably Circle K because it's the closest to my house and I usually go for a cherry slushie or orange crush.

Tell me about your favorite playlist at the moment. 

Probably the playlist where I compiled all the Epic: The Musical Songs, or one of my many oc playlists. I will say I do often listen to my spotify Daylist though, that usually brings me a great vibe

What’s your guilty pleasure media, and why?

Bear in the Big Blue House, because it was the show from my childhood. Also Grey's Anatomy because sometimes I like getting lost in the dumb drama on that show

And whatever else you think tells me about who you are!

ummm lets see, maybe that im a reader and creator. I love creating things and indulging in others creations so much its insane. I also don't have a strict like association with foods only being for certain meals. like pancakes/eggs and bacon are an any meal kinda food kinda deal. I'm also more of a night owl, though if I get enough sleep I don't mind being up at 5/6 am if its needed/gives me time to chill before the day "actually starts".

Thank you !!

So Avior went through HELL, a whole-ass hell, and made the tragic, Byronic hero’s choice to drag his lover back into that hell. That’s so Unreal Unearth-coded. That’s, like, textbook Hozier; that’s your man.

That’s half of it; the other half is that Avior is so Greek mythology, classics, Socratic coded. Like, he gives so much dark academic vibes, and he really rocks it. That’s a man who has strong opinions about Marcus Aurelius and Stoicism in the best way. Avior loves hearing you talk about Greek myths and philosophy and would be the kind of partner where you’d have lots of lively discussions on translations and interpretation of their literature.

Every day with him would be so lively; Avior is the type who’d be such a fantastic beta reader when you’re in need of him. He’s thoughtful, analytical but not cruel or harsh. The two of you just devour books, reccing things to each other constantly. Avior’d also be so fun to watch Grey’s Anatomy with in that he fucking hated it at first but he’s obsessed now. He would have a big crush on Dr. Yang, and who could blame him?

Song:

My feet are aching/ And your back is pretty tired/ And we've drunk a couple bottles, babe/ And set our grief aside/ The papers say it's doomsday/ The button has been pressed/ We're gonna nuke each other up boys/ 'Til old Satan stands impressed/ And here it is, our final night alive

I love this song and how fantastic, longing, romantic, and tragic it is. It’s a little more Imperium than Prime-coded but no matter the universe, the vibes of holding onto one another as the sky falls to pieces around you will always suit you and Avior. (This is my favorite version but I also recommend the Matt Maltese original.)

Runner-Ups:

Anton is a runner-up because he also gives tragic academic vibes but not as fun for you, you know? He reads all the same classics but doesn’t have as many strong opinions about them. Blake is your other runner-up because he’s also incredibly Hozier-coded to me but like in a derogatory way.

note: thank you for waiting and submitting 💌

Read this post and send me an ask if you’d like a match-up of your own! 💌

[madeitlate37]

Midwest Angelica by Team AQ

Onto our second series, now, Midwest Angelica is significantly more recent than Gemini Home Entertainment, but has a lot of backing within the analog horror community. If one was to check out the main subreddit and peek at a few of the many tier-lists that came out around a certain point, Midwest Angelica tends to rank fairly high.

I will be honest and say that this didn’t end up being one of my favorites for reasons I’ll elaborate on in the more in-depth analysis, but I do see the appeal of it, and the hook at the beginning really caught my attention.

As before, some spoiler free qualities:

• Cosmic threats that aren’t just straight alien invasions.

• End of the world scenarios with a lot of fighting to prevent it.

• A threat that is way too smart for its own good.

• Hive-mind-threats.

• Rural settings, if isolation is your jam, Midwest Angelica has it covered.

• On-screen payoff, though this does come at the cost of having a cinematic shot in the middle of security recreations.

• Twisted security, not to the extent of Gemini necessarily but Midwest doesn’t just present footage as a way to convey important information/events.

• Not safe at home, this is done in regular horror a lot, but analog horror tends to make home invasion scenarios much mire real and scary, Midwest Angelica nails that in Act 1.

•Religious symbolism/literal representation, not necessarily a demon, which is rare to see with this kind of horror.

Now here’s the more in-depth look, again, more prone to spoilers:

Midwest Angelica, as I mentioned before, got my attention because it had an amazing dramatic hook, if you go to the YouTube channel, it’s right in the description. To be as spoiler-free as possible, if you enjoyed The Thing by John Carpenter, you’re likely to enjoy this one, too.

This series is good at developing the threat and making you recognize it as a threat despite showing it in the first episode. It overwhelms you with a chaotic situation and pulls you in to want to know what’s actually happening. Throughout this as well, the actual footage is broken up by digital simulations of events. The first episode alone is an excellent example of careful setup and payoff.

It also does a good job at demonstrating the spread of the threat, first it’s being observed by a space program, then it unexpectedly crashes and a team of researchers is sent after it, and when that doesn’t go well, we immediately see a family being attacked by it at their remote home. It’s a common setup for threats of this kind, but the analog format paired with how Team AQ actually handles it made it a lot more visceral and engaging.

The reason I didn’t end up liking it was because I’m personally less of a religious horror person, and because I felt disappointed at how the actual threat differed from what I imagined based on the hook. So it’s nothing the series itself did wrong and is just a preference issue on my end. I did end up being slightly broken from emersion because, as stated above, there was a well-done but out of place cinematic shot which included complete focus on a 3D model with not enough effects to cover the flaws in it. Again, it’s a preference thing for me, and the 3D is used to good effect in other areas of the series.

All of this being said, lots of people still love this series, so I will still recommend it. It has a large audience, updates frequently, and seems to know exactly where the narrative is going. And as we’ll see with other series’, the effects may be bad, but they might be able to be ignored if the concept is good and executed well enough.

Plus, this series is much shorter and less daunting to watch than Gemini.

So, if any of this seems interesting to you, it’s on YouTube as well.

As for next week…

[dojae-huh]

Inkigayo in Tokyo, Day1, part 2

I stopped on Doyoung's solo. Ateez were next.

It is important for a group to have its own colour. This way it can stand out and avoid rivalry with other groups by attracting their own audience (that won't be interested in others anyway) or by providing a change (for multistans). I remember Ateez' debut video with their pirate concept. And the MV with hats, of course. Can't say they continued the success of catching my attention with anything else.

Looking at their performance on this show, I can see the appeal for their fans (the group has "a vibe", certain members stand out). However, they still feel kind of middle level, like the groups from Kingdom. Maybe it's the lack of money and expensive choreographers. Maybe because of self-producing? (Do they do it?) To be honest, I can't really compare because I didn't see a lot of SuJu, but that's the group that came to mind. I don't know, the vibe of animators/idols from variety shows? They entertained but didn't command the stage. I know SuJu are kings of the stage, I compare with the colour of the way fans are entertained... if it makes sense.

Ateez got a bigger ovation after the first 2 songs than when they appeared (as there were more NCTzens than anyone else in the venue). The audience liked them.

Hm, Ateez are only 2 years younger than 127 as a group (debuted in 2018). There is a big difference in how they bear themselves on the stage though. Less like seasoned pros. And they did a lot of tours, as I understand. On the other hand, I guess it makes them more relateable and "approachable", more cozy for the fans.

Oh, it was not the smartest move for their main vocal to sing during their ment after Doyoung, heh. He did OK, but the difference in level was felt well. Non-fans weren't too impressed. Maybe the 3d, most challenging, song would be enough. Looks like it was his birthday, so he was given the spotlight by his group. Ateez left the most energising (and well known?) songs for the finale. They also brought out backdancers. Which was "loud party" smart. Still, you need to like the guys to give them some slack and enjoy the performance as that of friends and not professionals. The Japanese gg was more impressive in that regard for me personally.

Finally, the ending the show artist - NCT 127.

One thing SM does reeeally well is mixing music and preparing special entrance tracks for shows. 127 stepped on the stage like bosses for real, heh.

What SM isn't very good at is stage clothes. The brown outfits for this show were meh. Took points off the star appeal, made neos sweat too much (most took off the jackets in the end). Doyoung also had to re-pin the hems on both legs of his pants during the ment several times.

The swag was ON.

Award shows and music live shows are becoming pretty important, I think. With fans watching everything on YT, ignoring anyone who isn't their group of choice, only award shows allow for other groups to have a chance to show off themselves, for a viewer to make comparisons, decide be impressed or not. We are used to quality in NCT (even have the audacity to nitpick), but it becomes even more apparent when 127 performs side by side with others. Then you get comments like "I had the show on the background but then that one soloist started to sing and I had to tune in. What's his name?".

Plus, it is not hard to hide behind an MV or even a music show performance. Make up artists and directors with cameramen will do their magic. Being on the stage and projecting energy to a whole venue is different. Strong groups look even better, more impressive.

Heh, hyungs know better how to control their breathing than Wishies. 127 were not as out of breath during the ment.

The ment was, as usual for all groups, slow paced and not too entertaining, however neos were relaxed (which is attractive, reads as confidence) and were good at cheering each other, giving reactions and exclamations. Such small things make a ment livelier, at times funnier.

Used Inkigayo to advertise all their solos, fashion appearences and concerts, heh. Flex.

"Sunny road" didn't get into any of Japanese albums (as there has been zero since Awaken), it still found its place and role. It's not just a gift for Japanese fans, it also a good number for shows in Japan as well. It's very good mood inducing, upbit. And neos go around the stage to cheer everyone in the audience as well.

Doyoung didn't forget to leave final comments for the audience before the next song, like "if you know the words, sing along" and "it's karaoke section now, isn't it?". It really helped to make smooth transition, keep the contact with the audience. It's why fans say 127 turn award shows into 127 shows (it's not just their inner NCTzens talking in them), they really capture the attention of the venue.

It was funny, how on the backtrack Mark said "TY!" (here goes TY) and then rapped Tae's part, heh.

Three very energy-demanding songs in a row is impressive. And Jaehyun really takes care of his arms and sharpness of movements now. He didn't do Tae's swirly fingers when he was in the front of Kick It formation, heh. The motion was created and copyrighted by Taeyong.

[twistedtummies2]

I'm the anon who recommended the Alice in Wonderland themed otome games.

I haven't played The Fate of Wonderland myself, although I've been meaning to. I just don't like its character designs, which I'm particularly picky about. The game in general never looked promising to me for some reason. But I still decided to include it for you just in case.

Now your words got me interested to check out A Villain's Twisted Heart. Do you have any other recommendations for Genius Inc. otome games?

Ikémen Revolution is my personal favorite. It takes a completely different approach with the Wonderland theme in a world where a war is brewing between the Black and Red Armies. At the beginning it made me think that it was totally irrelevant to the plot and it was just another method of appealing to the Japanese audience with their favorite fairy tale. However, as I delved deeper into the story with every route, I realized it has a great world-building, intertwined fates of the characters and an overarching plot. While it's less popular in the modern Ikémen Series because the game feels lighthearted on the surface, it has a solid storyline that's darker than it looks, in my opinion. Unfortunately it got discontinued without ever releasing the route of the most crucial character to uncover the entire lore. Ikémen Villain was announced right after, which indicates Ikémen Revolution was sacrificed to make way for another title with fairy tale theme. As a result, I decided not to play IkéVil. Not gonna lie though, the villain, fairy tale and especially Wonderland concepts do tempt me to check it out. But I feel so bitter because IkéRev didn't get a proper closure when I was so invested in it and eagerly waited to put together the whole picture of their history.

Taisho × Alice has 3 main installments, each one contains 2 character routes. All the 6 love interests are actually the genderbend versions of the heroines from various fairy tales. It's suggest to play the routes in order (as in Episode 1, 2 and then 3) because it's the best way to enjoy the plot. Surprisingly, the routes are all alternate universes where the characters' roles also change. The story gets progressively darker with each Episode. Then in the Epilogue you get to play genderbend Alice's route, which I heard connects all the previous routes together. There's also Taisho × Alice All In One to avoid the hassle of buying them one by one. I've only played 1 route from Episode 1 and 2 each, because I'm not into the other 2 love interests, plus I couldn't wait for the dark elements since Episode 1 is too light-hearted. Episode 3 is next in my list. As much as I'm eager to find out all the mysteries of the game, genderbend Alice is a huge brat so his route is gonna be a pain in the ass for me. XD

Sorry for writing an essay here. I got too excited to find another fan of Alice in Wonderland based otome games.

First of all, sorry to hear that, regarding Ikemen Revolution. That truly is a shame. Having stated that, when/if I get around to looking into the franchise, I'll probably still look at both titles, because I'm curious about both. I'll just have to keep that info in mind when I get to IR (if I ever do).

Second of all...huh. Not sure if I've heard of a game of this type that does something like that, regarding Taisho X Alice. FULL DISCLOSURE: I'm actually not the absolute biggest fan of Otome games. I've never actually played any, and the ones I've looked into have been because the subject matter of the story/characters interested me. With the "Alice" games I've taken a peek at, I looked into them not because I was looking for hotties or otomes, but because I'm a huge fan of "Alice" and I wanted to see how those characters were treated. The fact I could then form crushes on some of the characters was just an added treat, so to speak. :P I say this because I have no idea if the gimmick for Taisho X Alice is especially unique or not, but either way, it sounds different to me, and that's usually interesting. :) Third of all...so, Genius Inc. is kind of the bargain bin of otome games, from what I've looked at from their library. They make their games fast and cheap, and they're available for free. To make up for that latter fact, making certain choices involves ad breaks and/or currency spending to get through. So, as far as games THEMSELVES go, I wouldn't recommend them. In terms of the characters and stories...to say they are hit or miss is an understatement. Most of the Genius Inc. games I've looked into I tend to lose interest in, because they get so focused on the side of "these characters are hot and you will fall in love with them, dang it!" that they forget to actually tell a well-structured story, or they make choices that I feel don't quite match the characters as I imagine them.

WITH THAT SAID...there are three I would recommend potentially looking into. First, there's the one I mentioned here, "A Villain's Twisted Heart," which is by far my favorite I've seen. The characters in the game are all reimaginings of antagonists from classic fairy-tales/fantasy: Captain Hook (he needs no introduction), Grimm (The Big Bad Wolf), and Hisame (a genderbent version of The Snow Queen). It's the best written, in my opinion, and even though it isn't perfect - again, made fast and cheap - it's the one that I feel tells the best overall story. I would legitimately like to see that game transformed into a manga or an anime, if such a thing were ever possible. Next, there's "Lullaby of Demonia," which seems to be one of their most popular titles. That one's story is admittedly flawed, but I think the premise of it is very unique, and I genuinely like all of the major characters. I honestly think it COULD have been on par with "A Villain's Twisted Heart" with a little tweaking. And third, there's a more recent title, "Sherlock: A Rose Among Thorns." This is a Sherlock Holmes themed game, where your dating options, as it were, are Holmes himself, Dr. Watson, Professor Moriarty, and an original character named Sebastian Blackwood (whose name is a combination of "Sebastian Moran" from the books and "Henry Blackwood" from one of the Guy Ritchie movies). This is a game...I WANT to like more than I actually do. Because there are definitely things I find admirable or just fun in it. But there's also a lot of stuff that annoys me about it, both as a Sherlock Holmes fan and just from the perspective of storytelling. So I'd say consider it as an option and perhaps consider giving it a try to see if it works for you. There are lots of other Genius games (including one inspired by "Beauty and the Beast," one inspired by "Phantom of the Opera," one inspired by Universal Monsters, and more generic romance games about restaurants, monsters, demons, and mafia masterminds than you can shake a stick at), so...see about finding their website and looking to see if anything looks interesting to you. Just be aware anything you look at won't be Shakespeare...or...whatever the otome-game-equivalent to that would be. 'XD