#ppl are saying they put in????? romance???????

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I interpreted the "adaptation from the manga" thing to imply that they'll animate the 3 Yuus (like you said) but my partner proposed smth to me that raised my concerns... what if they only animate Yuuka? or like- default to a female Yuu? I could see that bc it would be probably easier for them to have only one protagonist.

don't get me wrong I like Yuuka and I know a lot of TWST fans are women but since the studio involved is apparently known for shojos I'm scared they'll make it seem like the story is romantic/the game is an otome... Which I mean- we do have SOME fanservice stuff but it's definitely not a romance story. That's why I'm scared 😭 if they do go that path... I much rather prefer the disconnection (?) of having 3 different Yuus than the possibility of this...

Also I'm just 🥲 I'm scared ppl will see that and say ahhh So Yuu has always been a woman!! Because as a trans guy, one thing that rlly made me feel valid in a way was seeing that in the game Yuu has no gender at all... I don't go by they/them but I'd much rather be referred as that than to be misgendered. It's a small thing but it's such an important detail for me (the fact that Yuu is gender neutral/can be whatever u want them to be) that it being erased in the anime would make me pretty sad... even more if ppl take the anime as "confirmation" of Yuu's gender, which it wouldn't be regardless if they end up giving us a girl OR guy Yuu- it would just be another Yuu interpretation different from the game.

But yeah, personal stuff aside, I'm more scared by the possibility of them making it seem like it's a romance story 😭 or ppl calling TWST an otome... which I mean... some people already have that misconception, even some fans...

[Referencing this post and this news!]

I definitely think they're probably leaning towards a new Yuu every season; otherwise, there would be a very uneven distribution of screen time for one Yuu over the others, and that leads into the problem of one Yuu being "more" canon than the rest. Yes, it will probably be easier logistically speaking to keep the same Yuu for the entire anime--but I also said the same thing when we only had the Episode of Heartslabyul manga, and look what happened with that. We ended up getting Yuuka and Yuuta following Yuuken, regardless of the logistical inconvenience of it all. I think if the anime intended to have a singular Yuu to follow for the main story, they would have chosen to adapt the light novel (which has Yuuya across multiple volumes) instead of the manga. The conscious decision to adapt the manga (with changing Yuus) says something to me. So really, I don't think we have to worry about one "kind" of Yuu dominating the anime. I took a look at the portfolios of the two studios collaborating for the Twst anime and didn't see a ton of shoujo myself. There was definitely a handful of them, but overall there was a spread of genres. I think Yumeta Company (one of the studios) has Tokyo Mew Mew New under its belt, which is probably one of its better-known works and maybe that's where the "they're known for doing shoujo" allegations are coming from? Don't quote me on that, though. I'm not someone who closely follows anime studios.

I would, however, like to point out that we shouldn't put all our stock into the studios behind the anime. Yes, they are obviously animating the project and thus have an influence on how the final product is. However, there are tons of other people involved (like the script writer) that will dictate how the anime looks and feels. (In fact, the script writer for the Twst anime, Kato Yoichi, is not known for writing shoujo.) I highly doubt all the staff involved at every possible level of production are conspiring to make Twst a genre it's not. (Related: I blame socialization for this, but it's a little sad that most of us by default think one woman + a bunch of men in a cast must be romantic.)

Now, to your main point. I understand the initial fear of people misunderstanding Twst as a dating sim/otome from how it is presented. Really, I do. I also understand the frustration that comes with people claiming Yuu's identity or gender or what have you is "confirmed". But to that, I ask you: so what? And I don't mean that in a "your feelings aren't valid" way (because your feelings are very valid!) I mean in like... Do these misconceptions others have truly impact your own enjoyment? Do the people believing in these falsehoods erase what you know is the truth? I would wager it doesn't. There has been and always will be those who see Twst or interpret Yuu as something they are not. Lots of us (myself included) thought Twst was an otome game when they first heard of its concept. People claimed Yuuken was the definitive Yuu when the first chapter of the manga dropped. That's fandom, especially the larger they get. If we fixate on those sore spots, it will ultimately make us unhappy because there will never be an end to misunderstandings. I would advise that you try and detach from those worries and just focus on having your own fun in the fandom rather than worrying about how others are consuming or reacting to Twst. Yes, we want Twst, a franchise we've seriously been invested in and love, to be seen a certain way--but I don't think that should come at the cost of your enjoyment. Fandom is meant to be fun, and we don't want to make ourselves miserable by stressing over the "what ifs", you know? Please focus on yourself!!

[vapolis]

Mara i finished the demo two days ago and i am ILL. i cant stop thinking about this. this THING. (affectionately)

im in disbelief at how anyone can dislike any of the ROs honestly, i get personal preference i mean genuine dislike or 'not getting how others romance them'. i did Echo's route first as im very feral for any character even remotely similar to their almost exact archetype, and was NOT disappointed.

plus, im like 98% sure im gay, and i still somehow ate Orla's route UUPPPP, im a sucker for these fucked up relationship dynamics (dog on a leash, owner loosening and tightening the leash as they please, everyone else fucking terrified).

so this has been occupying alot of space in my brain recently haha. i was literally listening to Brittle Bones Nicky 1,2 and 3 the other day and could not get my Merc's image out of my head. i dont know if im too hyperfixated on this or if the songs really do match Merc alot

anyway yes im gonna! contain my yapping! please let me know if its ok for me to send yappy asks to you more or not, i just enjoy pouring my thoughts out and showing my appreciation that way, am really bad with words otherwise haha. take care!!!

I'm very glad you enjoyed it so much!! I'm always so flattered when ppl say they think about my IF days later like that's so 😵‍💫

I agree, however, that I also never understand ppl that ask how anyone can romance x character. like I actually put thought into their personalities first of all. secondly, everyone's taste differs! which is great!

echo and orla could not be further apart fr but I'm happy you found them both interesting <3

I do think the songs fit the vibe of merc quite a bit! I'll have to give them a proper listen but lyrics wise I can see the vibes.

you're always welcome to send me long asks haha, I enjoy reading people's thoughts quite a lot!

I'm currently working on echo's playlist I'm just... slow. it's hard finding songs that fit their exact vibe to me, but if you have suggestions lmk! glad you enjoy the others as well :)

[khytal]

ASORYUU IN REAL

[redysetdare]

I think i just need to express that the culture surrounding QPRs right now made me think that i couldn't have strong bonds with my friends. Society told me i cant have strong bonds with friends because that was only for romantic relationships. Then i went into aro spaces and this idea was reinforced using QPRs instead of romantic relationships. it was "You can still have strong bonds with people without romance! It can just be a QPR instead!" "QPRs are MORE than friendship so you can have STRONGER BONDS than you would with friends."

it made me think that the relationships i wanted with my friends HAD to be something other than friendship for it to be as strong as i wanted. If i wanted to be the first person in someones life i had to enter some sort of committed relationship. if I wanted someone to care about me as strongly as i did them then it would have to be a relationship that was "more" than friendship.

I thought I wanted a QPR because i was told the only way to get that care and security that I wanted was to enter into a relationship that was "more" than friendship. because friends didn't care that much. because friends didn't live together their entire lives. because friends were never the priority relationship wise. and it took me years to realize that i didn't want any partnership and i shouldn't have to be in one to want these things from a friend. these things CAN be something friends can do. but i found that out on my own. because the aro community kept saying "you want a QPR" when i just wanted a friend who finally saw me as a priority in their life.

[amygdalae]

I think ppl who defend or handwave all of Astarion's evil cunt moments as just being cuz he's a Helpless Victim with Trauma are kidding themselves and not giving him enough credit. He's also a bitchy mean-spirited sicko who lives for chaos and drama entirely of his own volition

(Disclaimer: I like him a lot he's a fun well written character please do not kill me)

[welcometogrouchland]

Babygirl I can concieve of stephcass dynamics you couldn't even imagine (arospec Cass not understanding why "probably bi but has a job so she doesn't have time to think about that" Steph apparently needs a man (she doesn't, it would just be nice) and doesn't want to platonically settle down with cass in their old age)

[samfangalore]

There’s so much depth built into the camps in RDR2 and it’s constant every time you’re at camp something is happening between two characters and depending on which camp you’re at the interactions amongst the crew really sets the tone for where you are horseshoe overlook really feels like a new beginning it really feels like a breathe of fresh air from the cold snow a new start vs shady belle there is a constant tension and fear in the air as everyone waits for the final shoe to drop another one of the things I love is when you’re doing chores the more you do them the more conversations you overhear and the more you see who actually does what around camp I feel like if you don’t spend time at camp you miss a whole layer of story and character development and just general quirks and kookiness amongst your fellow criminals

[thecrabbybarista]

Can they put out a new nightmare time puzzle so the hatchetfield fandom can talk about something besides shipping for 10 seconds

[dnangelic]

like it's just the way that outside of the BATB/POTO 'love what's ugly and ostracized' narrative itself cocteau was gay and everybody hated his gall about it, howard ashman was gay and had to conceal it and died of aids after finishing his work for disney's batb.... rather than have dark be homophobic and spitting in the face of his inspirational roots (the sole canon detail i can't stand) it's much much much more interesting for me to both read and write not someone who's meant to be a pervert (in humor) and an agape lover (in serious contextualization) only to turn and say 'no homo' to the crowd every single time but rather, instead of all that, someone who, simultaneously taking daisuke into account, is both extremely firm yet simultaneously insecure in the struggle to establish their identity not only in regards to themselves but also around others.

that applies to a lot, but i've been considering it especially in regards to dark's gender and daisuke's attractions. dark in my portrayal (while overall 500% nonbinary) is closer to someone bi-gender rather than agender; the feminine aspect to him isn't just theatrics, it's actively also part of his entirety to him, (compared to daisuke's passivity; the ten thousand canonical princess allusions,) and even if nobody ever recognizes it in a cognizant way, it is always, always there, the same way that erik blurs and obscures gender in leroux's novel (my second enormous inspiration, sugisaki's outright admitted primary) and sakurai occasionally discusses his relationship as both a performer and a person as well (my third enormous inspiration and sugisaki's secondary,) (see 1, 2.) simply put, the tragedy of (my!) dark does not ever derive from his being able to choose and sit comfortably and confidently with this sort of identity (in fact, it's one of the few things he can stubbornly, viciously decide for himself [alongside daisuke] as essentially a non-human, autonomous 'angel',) it's instead the way that his personality is so strong and 'anti-feminine' in the eyes of convention that said aspect of himself often gets disregarded for strictly masculine (and regardless, further self-contradictory and therefore isolating,) expectations.

dark himself alone does not care if others do not understand him; this is meant to be one of his far more admirable and impressive traits. he's staunchly independent: he knows who he is, what he's supposed to be, and he knows that if he actively presented himself more femininely (crossdressing to 'pass' essentially,) then people's behaviors WOULD be very likely to change around him, but he doesn't even do that because it goes against his overwhelming sense of pride. he never contorts, he never twists himself, what matters to him is that he and he alone understands himself and knows what he is, what he isn't. but he is, without proper support or acceptance, still alone. even bearing a strong character, the stifling loneliness and inherent, underlying self-sense of broken/wrongness of the 'other,' (god's luciferean problem child, the black sheep, the black-leather wearing punk,) is still inflicted on him. dark exists solely for himself, he exists solely for daisuke, which is simultaneously wherein the inversion and insecurities lie: if dark is canonically the live metaphor for all the aspects of daisuke's self that he attempts to and yet cannot possibly, conceivably repress, from his loves to his faults to his shames and his criminal sins as a thief, then the likes of daisuke's own personal confusions in regards to himself and his attempts at intimacy/socialization with others is the other, hidden side of dark's absolute self-confidence; it's every fear of perpetual isolation, misunderstanding, and abandonment for things outside of daisuke's own control.

queerness in relation to the self (transgender allegory) queerness in relation to others (non-hetero-romanticism) mental illness (depression, anxiety,) etc, etc, dark's thematic basis may at its most general simply be "a secret that feels wrong and that you feel you can't really tell anyone or else you'll get in trouble/won't be as liked as much" but it feels much better to give due respect to each of these primary roots.

[hecksupremechips]

Shinjiham is cute when it’s romantic but tbh I think i vastly prefer the idea of them being best friends instead. Like, neither of them really saw it coming and weren’t really looking to get another best friend (Shinji has Akihiko, Kotone has Junpei and Yukari respectively) but it happens anyway. Kotone takes a liking to Shinji much faster than she does anyone else and I’d say a big reason is just the fact that he’s so reserved that it allows Kotone to do most of the talking while he just listens and they love this arrangement cuz Kotone doesn’t get to talk about her own interests very much. Though I think some of her needs to talk to Shinji stems from this insecurity that he isn’t happy in the group and she has this people pleasing problem and wants everyone to be happy so she makes a much bigger effort to talk to Shinji. And it’s very unfortunate because Shinji intentionally acts cold and distant because he doesn’t want to form any attachments because he wants to die soon, but aaaaaaaagh dammit this girl just keeps talking to him and being sweet and encouraging him to engage in his interests and share them with the others and he just can’t seem to say no when she’s got those damn puppy eyes. And Kotone is just able to get him out of his shell by being persistent but not in an overwhelming way, she’s very cheerful and supportive of him. And Shinji is able to offer her support by encouraging her to talk about herself and by making sure she’s taking care of herself. They just click really well and make such a positive dent in each other’s lives and it’s all about basic acts of kindness going a long way you know?

[skunkes]

doing figure drawing studies because i know thats what i should be doing right now but also ive been in a very insane deranged state for the past 2 months that leaves me like this whenever i look at a man for too long

[selfinflictedgunshotwound]

trying to finish reading dungeon meshi now that it's done and just seeing everyone in the comments talking about ships. gun to my head

[wammyhoe]

When will you update the fanfic whiskey in a teacup🙏 Its well missed

I'm surprised (in a super good, heartwarming way) that you guys still ask about it. It's been on hiatus for about 6 months now, and I'm really sorry for the delay.

I've been incredibly busy, but I'll try to find time to update it soon. The story has become more demanding than I originally expected, and I don't want to post just to "keep it going" with endless fillers that would detract from the story.

Mello is trying to reach his goal but is conflicted about his feelings for the reader, and she has her own challenges to overcome as well. They both need to resolve their individual issues to be together, and I want to execute this well. I aim to keep him as in-character as possible, which is really challenging in a romance story. I've accepted that the Mello I’ve developed might be a bit out of character, which leads to a lot of asks (that I frankly just delete bc ugh, get a life?) criticizing my portrayal, as if those commenters know him personally.

Anyway, my experience in the fandom has been mixed lately, which is unmotivating and mostly disappointing. But I appreciate your support and interest, and I hope to post the next chapter soon!

ily!!! take care 💜💜

[highfantasy-soul]

People saying that those who think The Stranger has a point are dumb women who only can think with their sex drives just make me want to make a shit ton of thirst content defending him just out of spite.

Like, my actual view is that he's a super interesting character and we haven't seen enough of his philosophy/reasoning/full actions enough for me to have come to a decision about whether one might call him 'justified' or not. I think it's very purposeful that we HAVEN'T been given all that info about him, we've just been left to sit with our preconceived notions about what he MIGHT believe and I'm more than willing to ride this train to the end to see what the narrative is going for.

But just to spite what feels like super misogynistic takes about dumb women just forgiving a guy (for fighting back against an oppressor?) because he's hot, and we're just dumb dumb dummies who are so stupid and can't think critically about media at all, we just see pretty man and go googly eyes and ignore (imagined) sins of the character that apparently only the smarty smarts can see, I do kinda want to just go whole hog on "The Stranger has done nothing wrong, will do nothing wrong, and I'm going to woobify the shit out of him".

Even the comments trying to keep in the misogynistic takes' good graces by saying 'Look, we know he's evil! We're just having goof-ums!!' are a bit annoying because....it's again not showing a lot of openness to storytelling that doesn't follow the 'norms' or the 'tropes' you expect to see.

Genuinely, (as of episode 6), I don't think we've been shown enough about The Stranger to be able to decide if he's a justified dissenter of the Jedi Order or if he's against the order for more nefarious reasons - and I think that was purposeful on the part of the writers! Maybe he is a sith who wants to subjugate the galaxy!! Maybe!! But maybe he's not! The point is, we don't know yet and just because he wears black and is a bad ass who killed your faves doesn't mean you know everything there is to know about the character! Might I point you in the direction of Cassian Andor and Luthen as examples of ppl who kill not-always-evil ppl but we don't label them evil or fascists!

But red lightsaber always means evil, right? That's good media literacy, right?!?!

[foreverppl]

Moodboard for Amais Rena (he/they), lead singer of alt rock band Way Way Downers @infamous-if

Playlist

[llycaons]

when finding posts abt the double I ran into a lot of users who are still on the 'cql is a story at its core about BROTHERS' train and being obnoxious about it and while of course the family drama is important and jc's relationship to wwx is one of the most significant in the show, it's a bit funny to pretend like the show is not equally if not moreso as importantly a romance. its about several things 'at its core', actually wwx has multiple extremely important relationships! like lwj is in literally almost every single episode and wwx's story arc and journey of healing and finding joy and support again heavily involves him, and his happy ending is WITH lwj but sure keep telling yourself that