#she puts so many tiny details showing the development of the characters and their relationship

[class1akids]

Hi, I know you really like Shouto, but I am wondering if you think his story and him overall is objectively well written, and where would you put him among not just MHA characters but compared it to general fiction, writing wise, and development wise. I personally think there could be things that make his development and personality more prominent and make his character stand out more, nevertheless I still think he is above average when I read the story again and again and see the nuances, tiny but important details. It is sad to see when it's MHA, people assume the character is less valuable in every way no matter what manga/show you are comparing it to.

I think people often confuse things like power, fight feats, art panels, fandom appeal, popularity when they think about "well-written". For example, many people think Mirko is "well-written", when she's more well-designed and has flashy fight moments. Several, more underrated female characters are better written than her.

When I think about "well-written", I think about these things:

What is the overall narrative role of the character in the story?

How well and consistently are the character's themes represented throughout the story and how do they connect to the "main plot"?

Does the character have an arc? How is the arc progressed?

Does the character have well developed relationships and dynamics with others?

Does the character get meaningful conflicts and challenges to his/her worldview and grow from these?

So if you translate this to Shouto:

Shouto is a "bridge" character. Because of his dual design, he connects well the different worlds / ideas in the story. He's got the genetic lottery / strong potential like Bakugou, but he's also an abuse victim like Izuku. His personal history and family drama connects the world of pro heroes to UA Class A. He's foiling with Iida on family legacy. He represents change, healing and 2nd chances. The Todoroki family is a microcosm of what is happening in the wider hero society and Shouto is the protagonist of the story, perfectly placed to be able to understand the pov of the heroes and of the family villain, Toya.

In the overall plot, the Todoroki plot becomes prominent in the SF arc and Shouto's part is "frontloaded". We learn his backstory before we know much about Endeavor or Dabi. However, even if his biggest moments come early, Shouto keeps growing. His quirk growth is tied to his emotional healing. Every time he takes a step towards overcoming trauma, he "unlocks" something new in his quirk. Taking steps towards his different family members, peaks in Phosphor which is narratively a perfect culmination of his quirk and journey. But his other themes - figuring out who he wants to be, claiming a part of All Might's legacy, the importance of being authentic, etc. also get important beats throughout the story.

Shouto's arc is foremost a healing journey. It's about overcoming / letting go of his well-justified negative emotions and pour his energy into building bridges with his family and making friends. The two worlds interplay well. The friends Shouto makes remain relevant in saving his family (Bakugou saving Natsuo, Iida taking him to Gunga, etc.), but the steps he takes towards his family also benefit his friends (most notably with Bakugou and Deku interning with Endeavor and learning things from him). I also like that his arc is not linear. He takes steps back (provisional license, JTA), but he keeps growing from his mistakes / failures. His growth as a hero is interwoven with his growth as a person, a son, a brother, a friend.

Shouto has actually a really wide circle of important and meaningful interactions. He has a distinct dynamic with every member of his family. We know more about the Todorokis than any other character's family and Endeavor and Dabi are also well-developed characters. He's most prominent friends are important Class A members (Deku, Bakugou, Iida), and he has good moments with a number of others, notably, Momo, Sero and Kirishima. He's the bridge character between UA and Shiketsu (Inasa). He's got a couple of good scenes with All Might. So he is well built into the core of the story, with diverse and interesting interactions and dynamics.

Shouto is challenged a lot. He is allowed to be wrong, fail, learn, get up and try again, which is crucial for a well-written character. His view of his own quirk and overall goal is challenged by Izuku. His confrontation with Bakugou brings out his flaw of relative aimlessness compared to his main rival. His repeated confrontations with his father force him to learn to see Endeavor as a complex human being and also to try to sift through the bits of his inheritance he wants to keep. The Stain fight gives him an early reality check on relying too much on his quirk. His confrontation with Inasa is crucial in understanding that to become a hero, he needs to process his trauma. The first family dinner allows him to connect later with Natsuo. Tetsu pushes him into a corner from which he learns flashfire and understands why he wants to be strong (to be reassuring). Failing to win his fight make him go for a 2nd internship with Endeavor and stand up for himself and lay down clear boundaries. His repeated confrontations with Touya give him the perspective of wanting to save his family, which helps him unlock his full power in Phosphor.

Overall, I think Shouto is one of the best and most consistently written characters in the manga. I think he's a bit underrated, because a lot of people think of redemption arcs when they think of a well-written character. But all kinds of arcs can be well-written and I feel like Shouto's is quite unique in this kind of medium with how much attention it's given and how well it ties in with his themes.

I mean people may not connect with his character more because he's relatively quiet, plain in tastes, doesn't get the flashiest fights, etc.

I get that it's not everyone's cup of tea, but his story is objectively a well-rounded part of the manga, and I think Shouto's endgame is one of the best parts of the final arc, where all previous threads came together quite satisfyingly, without it needing a lot of explanations.

There are of course parts where Shouto, because in the end he's not the MC, got shoved off to the side, where I expected more. This came mostly in the post-Dabi reveal era, where I think if Hori wasn't in a hurry to cut the story short, we would have had a proper fall-out for Shouto for the scandal, along the lines of what Bakugou got post-Kamino. A kind of emotional peak / release. But post-war, Hori dropped the ball on everyone, I think including Deku (despite having his solo arc).

Now, I don't read a lot of manga, so I can't really judge that well, but I think Shouto is one of the best-written characters of his own kind. If you think wider literature - I mean Horikoshi's writing is decently entertaining and his art is very pleasing, but it's not high literature. I think he excels in character design and in playing with the tropes of shonen. But when he tries to tackle more complex issues, those tend to fall flat. Actually, I think the Todoroki plot is one of the few places, where he does a fairly good job of showing nuances of abuse, trauma, victim responses, but I think it's better written in Acts 1 and 2 than in Act 3.

[adamwatchesmovies]

Titanic (1997)

There’s a reason Titanic captured hearts and audiences in 1997. This is a disaster film done right. Director James Cameron builds up to the spectacle you expect by developing the relationships and characters. The romance is so effective you practically forget you already know the ship will sink until it happens. Wonderfully romantic (and quite erotic), with first-class special effects, excellent performances, a memorable score and dozens of scenes you see once and can never forget; it’s essential viewing.

In 1996, Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton) and his team dive deep inside the wreck of the RMS Titanic. They’re looking for the legendary Heart of the Ocean necklace. Instead of the gem, they find a drawing of a woman wearing it. The woman in question is Rose Dawson Calvert (Gloria Stuart). In 1912, 17-year-old Rose (played during flashbacks by Kate Winslet) is engaged to Caledon Hockley (Billy Zane), whom she loathes. When Rose meets Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a poor artist from the lower deck, she's initially put off by his itinerant lifestyle but in no time, they fall in love. Meanwhile, no one can imagine the danger that awaits the ship.

James Cameron’s passion for this project is clear and that enthusiasm meant no expense was spared, no detail was overlooked. When the decayed remnants of the Titanic are returned to their former glory, you get it. Its enormous engine room, cargo hold full of luxurious treasures, sumptuous Grand Staircase, gigantic dining hall, colossal chimneys and endless corridors are stunning. Then, there are the people aboard. At the top, wealthy passengers for whom the ritzy accommodations have been built. At the bottom, tiny cabins crowded with families dreaming of better lives. It’s the perfect setting for a romance. There’s enough space for our lovers to elope but the “world” is small enough that they can’t escape completely from the realities that await them. The trip is long but it won't last forever so there’s a ticking clock that demands the love story get resolved - even before the iceberg comes into view.

At 195 minutes, Titanic can fully develop its characters. Some may seem a little more plot device-y than others but even the despicable Caledon has tiny moments that make him human. He’s still a complete turd that - like so many of the rich passengers onboard - cares more about what's in someone’s bank account than anything else, but there’s a brief moment where he almost redeems himself. Not by being kind to Jack (he harbors far too much jealousy towards his romantic rival for that) but by trying to comfort Rose. Another character that seems flat at first is Rose’s mother, Ruth (Frances Fisher) when she explains to her daughter why she must marry into wealth. You disagree but understand the thought process, particularly after seeing the luxuries aboard the Titanic. Jack and Rose are a classic archetype that works again here. She's trapped in a period that gives her few options. She feels like the first member of a generation that will usher in a new age of greater equality… but she's also young and a slave to her emotions. Jack is a rascal but an honest one who's had the freedom to wander anywhere. That freedom seems to expand when he receives his ticket for the Titanic, but in a way, it shrinks. He gets closer to the upper crust than ever before, which only shows him there are places where he'll never be accepted.

And then… disaster strikes. Everyone knows the ship will sink. Early in the picture, we’re told the "how" and "when" in detail. It seems like a strange choice initially but it makes sense. Titanic doesn’t want to exploit the disaster. It wants to give those who lived and died onboard a story. They go from being numbers to people. You’ll be watching, looking forward to seeing Rose and Jack’s romance pan out when suddenly, the camera will fade away from the flashback and show us the now 100-year-old Rose telling us the story. Oh right! There’s a disaster on the way! You’re surprised you forgot but that’s the power of this romance. The fact that it is so effective makes the disaster portion of the story crushingly upsetting. Aboard the Titanic, there were hundreds of couples like Jack and Rose, dreamers like Fabrizio (Danny Nucci), elderly couples and young families who thought they were going to America to find better lives. It's been so long the survivors would likely be dead by now but it still makes you upset, particularly when we see how it all went down.

In the years since Titanic, much has been made of the story’s ending. We learn that Jack did not survive. Like so many others, he froze to death waiting for someone to come rescue him. There have been endless comments or posts about how the ending could be “fixed”, how both Rose and Jack could’ve fit on that door. All these criticisms miss the ending's point. No one on the Titanic truly lived happily ever after. While some elements are wildly romantic, possibly exaggerated for narrative purposes, the objective is to make you feel the injustice and tragedy of April 14, 1912.

Titanic is magnificent. You effortlessly get swept up in the romance, the nobility (or perceived nobility) of a bygone era, the drama of the classes aboard the ship, the struggles for survival as the boat sinks, and the tragedy of how it ended. The special effects are marvelous, the sets lavish, the performances excellent. Then, there’s the score. I’m sure you know Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On. Just thinking about it conjures up a wave of emotions. Its melody is found throughout the entire film but we have to wait until the very end to hear the full thing. When you do, it’ll be a challenge to hold those tears back. (On Blu-ray, April 12, 2023)

[bluegekk0]

hey hii helloooo

i've been interested in your feral pk au for a while now, but i've been struggling to get around to reading everything

could you perhaps compress the information and possibly add some little fun facts and details that you think are interesting?

(also little side question, does pk purr, and would grimm be able to purr as well?)

(apologies if you've already answered questions like this)

Hiiiii

Of course, I'm always glad to talk about the AU and I don't mind detailing everything, even if I'm repeating myself! Quite the opposite actually, some details change with time so I think it's nice to sort of "refresh" the general background of the AU.

I'll put it under the "read more" thing, this is likely going to be very long since I'm not very good at keeping things short and brief hahah. Also, I'll primarily focus on FPK as he's the main point of the whole AU, but I'll sprinkle in some additional info about the other crucial characters.

Here's the timeline for the AU, and under the cut you can find the detailed summary of the events.

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I'll start at the very beginning since it's crucial for FPK's later character development. He was born a runt, so from the moment he hatched from an egg he was smaller and weaker than his siblings (and significantly lighter in color due to his leucism). For that reason he built a very close, but unfortunately unhealthy relationship with his mother. She saw him as weak, and so he tried everything he could to make her proud. But as wyrms do with their young, she eventually abandoned him to fend for himself, which gave him terrible abandonment anxiety as he believed that his failure to meet her expectations was the reason why she left.

Along the way, he developed very unhealthy eating habits. Being the weak one of the litter, he always had to fight for his food, otherwise it would be stolen from him. This left a permanent mark on his brain development, and to this very day he eats in a very quick and greedy manner if he feels even a little bit anxious. This plays a big role later in his life when he decides to create a kingdom.

I'll refer to FPK with his name, Vyrm, from now on. It is the original spelling of his species' name used where he comes from, one which he later adapted as his own name, though "wyrm" is the spelling used in Hallownest. FPK is what I usually use for the tags and in posts since I'm used to it, although "Pale King" is not actually part of his name in the AU anymore.

Throughout his early life, he had to constantly worry about being killed and eaten by other members of his kind. Cannibalism was a trait extremely common for wyrms due to lack of prey of their size, a side effect of the mutation that allowed them to stop aging - they outlived the other giant creatures of the region and were left with no sufficient food. This prompted Vyrm to find new ways of defending himself, which led him to learning soul magic from the ancient tablets left by the gods, made to assist any being that manages to decipher their meanings. Around this time, he developed a rising interest in the tiny bugs he often encountered, and seeing their attempts at forming communities, he believed he could become their equal and help them, to show the world and himself that he wasn't as destructive and cruel as the rest of his kind. So after traveling towards the mountains, he used a powerful spell that reduced his form to something that wouldn't frighten them, and eventually created Hallownest after giving many of the bugs in that area sapience.

The White Lady was the first being he encountered that helped him get back on his feet after the mentally draining change of form, and as he got attached to her, his childhood trauma kicked in - he wouldn't figure out that he was gay until much, much later, and since his bond with his mother was the only form of love he experienced thus far, he assumed that what he felt towards The White Lady was love. Unfortunately, this meant that his idea of love was obsessing over making her happy and meeting all of her expectations, a mindset that proved to be quite devastating for his mental health in the long run.

WL is a being that's very cold and distant in nature, at times appearing self-absorbed, and her ideal vision of her marriage to Vyrm unfortunately went against his more shy and emotional nature. He would sacrifice his own happiness so as not to upset her, and she sadly failed to notice how much that stressed him out. He was to attend important meetings, deliver speeches during royal events, and satisfy her needs, and he obliged, no matter how unhappy it made him. Here is a post that goes more in detail about their relationship.

Another very important reason for his continuous anxiety and decline in health was his refusal to eat food. Ever since learning the spell, he sustained himself with soul as opposed to eating, for a very simple reason - he knew how feral he was when eating, and he did not want to scare his subjects. On top of that, he feared being seen as a hypocrite, as he always encouraged the mortals to reject their beastly instincts. For the longest time, it appeared to have no negative side effects, but following his divorce with The White Lady (which was a result of their disagreements over the vessel plan as well as all the built up tension between them), he started showing signs of starvation. His body became very skinny, and he would frequently fall sick. Any attempts at eating food only backfired, as his stomach wasn't used to it.

But to rewind a little bit - some time after he married WL, he met Grimm. Grimm is the brother of The Radiance and one of the children of The Dream Lord, the king of The Gods' Plane. Soon before their father perished in the fight with The Shade Lord, they were both given a share of his domain to rule over - The Radiance was meant to control the dream essence, guard the happy dreams of bugs and give them hope, while Grimm (also known as The Nightmare at the time) looked after the nightmare essence, the bugs' nightmares and fears, and helped the mortals overcome and learn from them. To his sister's disapproval, he did not see eye to eye with her vision of godhood - he did not care for worship, and instead created himself a physical form to spend time with the mortals, whom he gained a fondness towards. They disagreed, she was paranoid about him conspiring against her and overthrowing her, and they eventually fought, which ended with Grimm's defeat and exile from The Gods' Plane. He began calling himself The Nightmare King to spite his sister, though he introduced himself as Grimm in the physical plane. Ever since, he has to periodically replace his physical body as the weakened Nightmare Heart is unable to sustain it indefinitely. He calls that process the ritual.

Grimm and Vyrm's first meeting wasn't exactly what you'd expect. Grimm had a fondness for pleasure, he loved to drink and make love (though his reasons for the latter were rooted in his loneliness and desperation for intimacy). And he saw Vyrm as the next name on his list of casual flings. However, as they talked, Grimm started noticing things about Vyrm that struck him personally. He could see the loneliness and sadness in his eyes, something that resonated with him. He was just as lonely, yearning for a fulfilling and intimate life that he witnessed in his interactions with the mortals, but aware of the fact that his immortality prevented him from finding true love and living that ideal life that he wanted. Hearing Vyrm's passionate rambles about his hobby, and sensing that similar loneliness, he thought that perhaps by helping the wyrm, he could help himself. So they became friends, very close friends, and although Grimm has had feelings for him from the start, Vyrm wouldn't show signs of returning them until after he separated with WL. Unfortunately, Grimm's rare visits to the palace and the return of the infection meant that they were not given a chance to confess their love for each other, as Vyrm disappeared with his palace soon after. I highly recommend reading this post for a more detailed description of their relationship.

I think this is a good opportunity to mention Holly (THK) and Hornet. I'll start with Holly since their relationship with Vyrm is closer to what you might expect. Vyrm tried his best not to get attached to them, as he had to remind himself that the vessels were not meant to be his children, but unfortunately he slipped occasionally. Holly idolized him and wanted to make him proud, but more importantly, they really wanted him to acknowledge them as his child. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to do it until after his hibernation (which I'll mention in a bit). Hornet, meanwhile, was always his beloved daughter whom he was incredibly close with. He raised her on his own, as WL left the palace around the time Holly was sealed away, all the way until his hibernation.

The hibernation was a result of his mental breakdown - after the infection returned, all of his fears and anxiety piled up until his mind was not able to take it, and in the last ditch effort to preserve it, he subconsciously used a spell that took him and his palace into his own manifested dream realm, separate from that of the gods, and started his hibernation. This was meant to erase all of his memories and save his brain from breaking down. The Knight (Ghost) interrupted it and woke him up, and he soon realized that he's been asleep for many, many years. The unfinished hibernation process messed up his brain quite a bit, and while most of his important memories were intact, he forgot a lot about his early life, which included the knowledge of how to use soul magic. Without the powers he relied on, he was forced to eat actual food, and so he began hunting the wildlife and feeding on it, now without the fear of being seen by his subjects. This is where the feral part of the AU name comes from - he's no longer the imposing, royal figure he once was, whenever he hunts, it's easy to confuse him for a beast. An intelligent one, but still a beast. And the big chunk of his character arc is accepting that part of his being, and finding happiness in his new life.

He eventually met with Hornet, who took him to Dirtmouth where he reunited with Holly and Grimm. With Holly, he finally expressed how proud he was of them, and promised to be the father that he never was. With Grimm, he confessed his love and apologized for taking so long to realize how he felt, and the two quickly became partners, and later husbands. With Hornet, his relationship had a very difficult start, as the years of being on her own made her bitter and angry. This is already getting very long, so here's a post I made about her relationship with Vyrm which goes in much more detail that I can reasonably fit here.

This is basically where the AU is at this moment. Vyrm lives with his family in Dirtmouth, returns to his old workshop hobby and slowly rebuilds the town using his skills and knowledge (some of it he had to re-learn from books). He completely rejects his old royal life, sees himself as a failure of a king and so does not want to be referred to as one (instead simply going by "Vyrm" as his name). He deals with many emotional and psychological issues - he lacks confidence, he's paranoid about failing his family and overall he's very anxious and quite emotionally unstable. Of course, he's much happier than he was before, his new life suits his nature a lot more, and even his more wild side is generally accepted by the community. But it's not all sunshine and rainbows, there is still quite a lot of trauma he has to process. And that goes for everyone in the main cast, they all have things they have to deal with. But at least they have each other.

There is an event that shakes their peaceful family life a little bit, and that is an attempt on Vyrm's life in the hands of one of the Grimmkin. Since Grimm decided to stay in Dirtmouth, he always returns to it between each ritual. And, after many years of being able to visit different kingdoms and enjoying what they have to offer, the Grimmkin got used to the relatively luxurious life, so the prospect of being stuck in this small town frustrated quite a few of them. One in particular decided to take the matter into their own hands, and while Grimm was away in the City of Tears, they attempted to take Vyrm's life in hopes that it would make their master leave Dirtmouth behind. They failed as Brumm interrupted the attempt, though they managed to wound Vyrm with a blade. He survived thanks to his family and friends rushing to treat his wound, meanwhile the Grimmkin behind it was caught by Brumm, and then brutally taken care of by Grimm after his return. It had a significant effect on all of them. Vyrm became more paranoid about being left all by himself. Grimm became even more protective of his partner and the rest of his family. Holly grew even more attached to Vyrm, refusing to leave him alone for a long time afterwards, out of fear that someone could hurt him again. And Hornet finally realized that she needed to be more clear about the fact that she cares about her family, in case she ever loses any of them. That's basically how it went, and I think this is the first time I actually mention it (as I debated whether to make this idea actually canon in the AU or not) so hey, I guess you can consider this a fun fact, even if it involves a lot of pain and blood hahaha

Also, I need to bring up the children. Their first child was Lewk. He's the child of Vyrm and Grimm, who hatched from an egg laid by the latter. He is currently 2 years old at the time of the AU (he was born about 5 years after Grimm and Vyrm's reunion). The newest addition to the family are the twins, Milo and Asta, who are currently about 2 months old.

Oh, also, Zote is part of the family as well. Initially Holly simply befriended him, but over time he got assimilated into the household. Here is a post that goes more in detail on how I see him, how he fits into the family and what the other characters think of him.

If you want to know more about the characters, especially the side characters I didn't mention here, you can read this post which has short descriptions for each of them.

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Some more posts that I'll link here instead of adding onto this already ridiculously long summary:

Lurien in the AU: how he survived / on his relationship with FPK

The state of Hallownest

WL's current whereabouts

On gods in the AU (more related posts linked in this one)

(will probably add more over time)

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God, I'm really sorry for the length of the reply, as I said, I struggle to condense this stuff into shorter posts especially since there's a lot to talk about (and I LOVE to ramble about this). There's a chance I missed some details, but if you're interested, just go through the #feral pk au tag on my blog (particularly the #save tag for the most important posts, it's linked in my pinned post), I tag all ask answers and related art with it, so it should be relatively easy to read through. If it's a bit overwhelming, you can always simply ask more questions if you're unsure about something, I'm always happy to answer! ❤

EDIT: I forgot to respond to the second half of the question, i'm sorry 😭 yes, FPK can make purring like noises. It's not exactly like cat purring, it has a bit of a stuffy noise sound to it i suppose? But I'd still call it purring. Grimm can't purr, though, so it's just FPK (and Holly with their purr-like void rumbling).

[skania]

I just binged the whole manga and the anime of onk after I saw a clip of Akane. She is my fav character and I love reading your takes. Like this manga is so nuaced like it's tiny small details you need to look at. Did aqua like Kana? It isn't clear non of his feelings are clear for anbody. It is clear he cares for them, he cares for a lot of people but when it comes to who he loves romantically nothing is clear because most of his actions steem from guilt. At first not letting Ruby be an idol was so he could protect her because he felt guilty about Ai, distancing himself from Kana also steemed from his guilt of not protecting Ai. Because he made Kana an idol and if he got closer to her the same thing could happend to her as it happened to Ai. It's his guilt of not protecting Ai that made him not want to repeat the situation again. This is harder to apply to Akane because while she is in the entertainment industry she doesn't share the traits of the idol life and she is ultimatley the only one tigwther with the director that sees how guilty he feels which adds layers to their relationship. I kinda feel robbed we actually didn't get to see much of them together, they were together for almost a year after all. But back on track it's clear he cares a lit about Akane by breaking up with her to protect her which parallels how he didn't want to hurt Kana either. But spoilers for the latest manga chapters, Akane has declared she is going to stop him and it seems like the feeling he had for Kana really became more platonic or even less. Because while he always was about protecting her he now ropes her in and puts her in center of the danger while trying to push Akane out. It's so hard to figure put what he is thinking but it used to be clear he cared a lit about both of them and now he's gone of the rails and it will be interesting to see if anyone can bring him back. I am worried about Akane as she had been given the white flowers and, I do think ruby will get the role as Ai, if by chance Akane actually gets it would be terryfying to see aqua and akane mirror the love between ai and Hikaru. Even if we don't know much about ai and hikarus love story I feel like it parallels Aqua and Akane in many ways minus the urge to kill part. Sorry this got long but I just really love your takes about Aqua and Akane and needed someone to talk to about the show and quite frankly I just need more Akane and hopefully I'll get that in the upcoming arc as she declared war but also I'm terrified of her actually getting hurt now that the other actress got killed.

I just binged the whole manga and the anime of onk after I saw a clip of Akane.

I love how we're all in the same boat! Akane is just too powerful 😂

because most of his actions steem from guilt.

Aqua's guilt and how it feeds his self-destructive behavior is something I've been meaning to talk about in the context of his relationship with Akane, because there are so many moments when Aqua completely overplays the ways in which he has "used" Akane, and it's all because guilt is such a big part of him that I'm not even sure if he's capable of having a single thought that doesn't end up relating to it lol

I kinda feel robbed we actually didn't get to see much of them together, they were together for almost a year after all.

Me too. Honestly, that sucked, specially because the two or three times we got to see them were fantastic. The way he off-screened their time together actually made me think of his previous manga and how he handled the dates between Tsubame and Ishigami, which doesn't help matters any 😩

Because while he always was about protecting her he now ropes her in and puts her in center of the danger

Honestly, Aqua is such a liar that I wouldn't be surprised if he's just gaslighting himself into thinking that he's okay with using her. I'll believe it when we actually see him have an use for her lol

while trying to push Akane out.

This though is fantastic development and the biggest testament as to how much Aqua has grown to care for Akane. It's so funny how he couldn't help himself so he ended up going to see her anyway 😭 he's such a clown.

I am worried about Akane as she had been given the white flowers

I don't know why, but I'm confident Akane is safe. I feel that if Aka were intending to kill her or put her out of commission, the chapter were she got pushed down those stairs was the perfect time to do so. It had Aqua having a monologue about how much he wants to be with Akane, Akane having a heroic moment, etc. It would have been the perfect lead-in to Aqua losing himself in his revenge too, in fact it would've been better than what we got.

But instead of that, Aka just had Aqua break up with Akane to achieve the same result. So I'm not really worried about her for now. Even less so because it'd be very anti climatic for Akane to be set-up as the L to Aqua's Light only to die right after.

Sorry this got long but I just really love your takes about Aqua and Akane and needed someone to talk to about the show

Nothing to apologize for anon, I really enjoyed reading your thoughts and I get you completely! I'm having tons of fun talking about the show with fellow Akane fans like you.

and quite frankly I just need more Akane

Truer words have never been spoken. GIVE US AN AKANE CHAPTER AKA 😭

[oddgirlsthoughts]

Manga Reviews - ATFYFS Vol.1

The first of many posts of manga reviews! I love reading mangas, manhuas, webtoons, comics, etc and thought it might be fun to share my thoughts on series whilst I read them! So here we are!

Today's is A Tropical Fish Yearns For Snow Volume 1! Being honest, I've read just under half of this series over a year ago, but can't remember anything, so I started fresh again! Let's just get into it:

Note: I will be using acronyms for the main two character's names because they are used so often.

For those who don't know, the plot surrounds Amano Konatsu, a high school girl who has just moved to a seaside town to live with her aunt after her father started working overseas. In volume 1 we follow AK as she starts at a new school (Nanahama High School) and meets the owner of the Aquarium club, Honami Koyuki. We see her adjusting and even joining the club as a way to negate her own loneliness and give company to the sole member of the club, HK.

Firstly I love the cover art of vol. 1 and the chapters being called 'Tank_' with creative titles adds a fun detail to the layout. Amano Konatsu has light hair is often described as a worry-wart, she tends to over-think and stress a lot. Honami Koyuki had black/blue hair and is often described by her peers as 'kind', 'pretty', 'beyond all reach', and 'perfect'. She gets a lot of indirect pressure from her teachers and peers, which she then turn into pressure she puts on herself.

Their first meeting left AK with the impression that HK was good-looking and left her blushing. We see AK reading 'Salamander' by Masuji Ibuse during class. This book is well referenced throughout. In class we also meet Hirose Kaede, AK's desk neighbour. She has long, black hair, and a very bubbly friendly personality.

After school AK sees HK trip chasing cats and a pelican. HK tries to play it off as if she's fine, however, we get to see a really touching moment between the two where AK tells HK that she doesn't need to put up a front and say it doesn't hurt when it does. The scene perfectly reflects how AK is feeling, lonely in a new place not knowing anyone, pretending to be fine.

I loved the personified salamander that would pop up here and there throughout the volume, and learning about different aquatic and semi-aquatic sea animals. It made reading the volume a lot of fun.

HK often gets very shy over AK. We see her getting shy imagining the two holding hands, and being in a delirious state because she's so happy when AK joins the Aquarium club. There was a part where the girls shared an 'indirect kiss' whilst changing the tank water for one of the creatures, leaving HK red-faced and embarrassed.

I loved the reference back to the 'Salamander' book after AK joins the club. She associates HK with he salamander from the book because it was incredibly lonely. We see her thinking maybe she can be HK's frog, a reference to a section in the book were the salamander keeps a frog in it's cave so that it will be less lonely. A very sweet moment.

I thought it was interesting that HK refers to AK as 'Konatsu' (her first name, culturally important in Japanese culture) despite them not being very close yet. It shows that HK already has a desire to get closer with AK. Later we see Hirose getting very physically close with AK and even referring to her by her first name 'Konatsu' also. This leaves HK feeling inferior and out of place near AK.

Okay final thoughts! I'm excited to see the development of AK and HK's relationship. I'm also excited to see how Hirose being close with AK will spark jealousy in HK and how she will work through that. The characters all have great personalities and are written so well. The art is very appealing and has so many tiny details. Once you pick up the volume, before you know it you're already at the end!

Rating: 9/10

ATFYFS Vol. 1 Cover:

[bazwillendinflames]

I’m the anon from before, yes sorry I meant the quarry! radioheads or max and laura would be awesome

My last fic rec lists.

Like last time, I’ve tagged the author where possible but if I’ve missed anyone’s tumblr let me know! 

I'll put the rest under a read more:

AUs

it's sketched into the stars by Wolfarella

Ship: Ryan/Dylan | Rating: E (but nothing explicit till the last chapter) | Multichapter and completed 4/4  

Dylan's working at a coffee shop and crushing on the mysterious regular, Ryan. He finally takes a chance and strikes up a conversation with him. And that conversation somehow leads to more--so much more. And Dylan's just trying his best not to mess it all up.

(A cute little coffee shop au and the beginning of Ryan and Dylan’s relationship once they start talking. All the dates were cute and I loved the background Emma/Abi too. Comfort fic!) 

Hectic Glitter by onlyblood / @holybranches

Ship: Ryan/Dylan | Rating: T | Multichapter 2/? 

"At some point, while Dylan is recounting what Ryan hopes is a mostly bullshit experience with a bear, his eyelids flutter shut. For the first time in a week, soothed by the voice coming from the old speakers, Ryan falls asleep without the silence in his mind enough to drive him to distraction. There’s just warmth, and comfort, and whoever Dylan is."

Or: Ryan moves into an old family friend's lodge when his life falls apart. As it turns out, late night radio talk shows are the cure to loneliness.

(This fic is still very early but I am already obsessed with it! Ryan moves into the abandoned Hackett’s Quarry camp, isolating himself and only finding comfort in the only radio show and its host. I love the atmosphere this fic creates and I can’t wait to see the full mysteries of Ryan’s backstory be fully explored.) 

You Send Me by souyoseta / @sh5

Ship: Ryan/Dylan | Rating: T | Oneshot (with a sequel) 

Dylan thought Ryan was a ghost the first time he met him.

That sounds weird. Back up. Dylan had a totally justifiable reason for believing that to be the case.

(This is a really cute college au! I love Kaitlyn, Dylan and Ryan’s friendship in this which is given as much importance as the relationship. There’s so many good character details and I love how he writes Dylan. The sequel is also full of really cute domestic moments.) 

Kaitlyn Ka the Matchmaker by Miss_Valentine

Ship: Ryan/Dylan | Rating: G | Multichapter and complete 10/10

Kaitlyn feels bad for Dylan who is helplessly pining over Ryan. She also thinks there is a chance Ryan might like Dylan back. Determined to get these two together, Kaitlyn must do what she can to lead these two to each other.

(A high school au where Kaitlyn schemes to get Dylan and Ryan. It’s really cute and I love all the friendship moments as the group works together. There’s a bunch of bonus content at the end too.) 

Song of Sunset by orpheus (vulpesreynard)

Ship: Ryan/Dylan | Rating: E | Multichapter 2/3 

“What’s the emergency, Dylan?” “Can’t tell you over this box. Too much —” he produces scratching noises with his mouth, “static. I gotta skitty, but come quick!”

When he hears Ryan’s laugh over the device, his heart skips a beat.

The year is 1982. Dylan Lenivy meets one Ryan Erzahler at Hackett’s Quarry Summer Camp. They spend two months together, until the final day binds them for a lifetime.

(A fic I am obsessed with. This fic retells the summer before and the night of the attack but with an 80s setting. The attention to detail to change the dialouge, tech and every little pop culture reference 80s is so good and well researched, And the way Ryan and Dylan’s relationship develops, with more of a secret romance than one sided pining is so good!)

Pre-canon

Max Brinly's Guide to Surviving Being in Love with Your Best Friend by IceQueen_07 / @icequeen-07 

Ship: Laura/Max | Rating: T | Multichapter 2/? 

Max Brinly liked to tell himself many things that were just really poorly disguised lies.

They were tiny lies. Like...how his mom's cooking was fine. Or dad, your singing voice is great. No, he didn't have any hot wheels cars anymore. Ugh, Laura your bubble pop music is awful. He hated the rain. He loved horror movies.

He wasn't in love with his best friend.

(I really love this take on how Laura and Max were before the events of the game, with them as childhood friends which slowly develops into a crush for Max. There’s so many cute moments in this one!)

Southern Kisses From Your Room by souyoseta / @sh5 

Ship: Laura/Max | Rating: T | Oneshot 

Snapshots of Max and Laura’s childhood friendship and eventual romance.

(Yes I will read a billion different Laura/Max get together fics. This is so cute, I love how their relationship grows and the trans Max HC was great too! They are so dorky and adorable here!) 

I Kinda Wanna Be More Than Friends by Jellyrump

Ship: Ryan/Dylan | Rating: G | Oneshot 

Dylan would never admit it, but- despite how annoying kids could be- he loved being a summer camp counselor.

He got to be this funny, cool, older kid to the youngsters and got to annoy the shit out of people who weren't allowed to beat the shit out of him. There was a schedule that was more for the kid's than counselors, but helped him nonetheless. Mandatory mealtimes, a radio that he was in control of, a really cute guy that he got to see almost daily for two months straight-

All that is to say- yeah. He really liked being a summer camp counselor.

(A few snapshots of Dylan pining after Ryan before the events of the game. It’s a lot of cute interactions, Dylan being painfully oblivious, Kaitlyn being a great friend and Ryan subtly showing his true feelings.) 

Yes, No, Maybe So: Circle One and Let Me Know! by TheIcyQueen / @queenofbaws

Ship: Abi/Emma | Rating: G | Oneshot 

When Abi wakes up one morning to find a note from a secret admirer on the door of her cabin, she's...well, she's at a loss. Who on EARTH would have a crush on HER?! It just doesn't make sense!

What makes it worse is that everyone ELSE at camp seems to know exactly who this mystery person is, but for some reason, they just...they just won't tell her. Is this some kind of joke? A prank? Or...could she really have a secret admirer out there?

Maybe Emma can offer some insight.

(This is a really cute fic! Abi has a secret admirer and can’t figure out who it is, although her fellow counselors have an idea. Loved the oblivious Abi, flirty Emma dynamic and the reveal was so cute.) 

Canon Divergent 

Fighting back by Barely_Vibing

Ships: Max/Laura, Ryan/Dylan, Abi/Emma | Rated: T (canon typical violence) | Completed.

The seven counselors were thrown head first into a situation they absolutely were not prepared for. It's close to the end of the night, half of them have turned and they need to fix this before it's too late.

[Chapter 10 rewrite that fixes plot holes and makes it longer and more exciting]

(This is a really good rewrite of the ending, reuniting all the uninfected counselors, having them face off against all the werewolfs, including their friends, and making the fight against Silas more badass. The action scenes are so good and I much prefer the epilouge here than the actual game. It also has battle couple Laura and Max!)

baby, this ain’t like the movies by coykoi / @coykoii

Ship: Ryan/Dylan | Rating: T | Oneshot 

“You know the saying.” He tries for a weak laugh. “If one of your work friends gets bit by a werewolf…why not join the party. Solidarity…and all.”

“Why not let your other work friend cut off your hand…et cetera.”

“You were the one who didn’t want to!”

“I panicked, okay?! And now I’m…maybe panicking again,” Ryan says, reluctant, and Dylan gets it. He probably wouldn’t go with himself either all the way to the scrapyard.

“If you don’t wanna…you know, tag along in case I bite your hand off before you get a chance to hold mine, I get it,” he jokes, or tries to.

(Ryan and Dylan go to the scrapyard and Dylan turns. I loved the dynamic between them so much and the hurt/comfort vibes were great!) 

his corruption, their salvation by BlueFrogs

Ship: Kaitlyn/Ryan/Dylan (poly) | Rating: T | Oneshot 

The werewolf is tall, massive really, like all its counterparts, but it's hunched over, almost like it’s trying to make itself less intimidating. That, on top of the tattered gray shirt hanging off its shoulders, makes Kaitlyn realize who exactly is before her.

“Dylan?” She breathes, hardly believing it herself.

Dylan gets infected and turns into a werewolf. Somehow, that still doesn’t stop him from saving his friends.

(Dylan turns but uses his abilties to protect Kaitlyn and Ryan. It has a great poly couple moment. The scene where Kaitlyn and Ryan are fighting over who gets to kiss Dylan first was so funny and wholesome!) 

take my hand (too soon?) by CinnamonSeven / @cloudycaffeinatedcryptid

Ship: Kaitlyn/Dylan (it’s a gen fic but there’s pre-relationship vibes) | Rating: Unrated (I’d say T) | Oneshot

Remember how Dylan throws himself in front of Kaitlyn if Emma turns in the van? Remember how they literally say nothing about it? Yeah. I fixed that.

"What were you thinking?" She demands, anger and relief and terror colliding to create a boiling chasm in the center of her chest. "You- You- I can't believe you!"

He has the audacity to huff a laugh, seemingly oblivious to her stress only ticking higher. "Didn't know I had a heroic side?"

(An extended version of Dylan throwing himself between Kaitlyn and werewolf Emma. Again, love the hurt/comfort vibes and Kaitlyn and Dylan’s bond is written so well. The resolution we deserved!) 

A Little Unorthodox by wilddragonflying

Ship: Kaitlyn/Ryan/Dylan (poly) | Rating: M | Oneshot 

What if, prior to the game events, Dylan and Kaitlyn had a couple of enlightening conversations? After all, we know how much these games like the butterfly effect. What might change? 

(Another poly get together fic, where Kaitlyn and Dylan decide to combine forces to try and seduce Ryan. The dynamic between the three of them is very fun and flirty. All the jokes between Kaitlyn and Dylan were really funny.) 

Post-canon

i would come back a thousand times by zoeyclarke / @janelevy

Ships: Max/Laura | Rated: T | Multichapter 2/? 

Laura twists around to see what he’s watching. “Teen Wolf,” she observes. Her head swings back toward him, disbelief written between the wrinkles in her brow. “Wow. Really?”

“What?” Max is the illustration of innocence. “It’s...” He waves a hand helplessly. “... interesting stuff. You know?”

Or: Max and Laura, after.

(This fic explores slice of life Laura and Max after the events of the game as they move in together, get engaged and figure out their future. It’s a nice mix of soft domestic moments and them addressing their trauma after what happened. Really cute!) 

touching your arm at the tow path's end by meowclops

Ship: Ryan/Dylan | Rating: E | Oneshot 

It wasn’t one blood soaked night that brought them together. They had two months to get to know one another.

(This fic covers Dylan and Ryan before, during and after the game. I liked the end half where they reconnect and settle down together years later and all the soft moments that happen. There’s only one E-rated scene and it’s easy to skip if that’s not your thing.) 

Bear with the warmth (And find your relief) by ScorpionMauve

Ship: Kaitlyn/Ryan/Dylan (poly) | Rating: T | Oneshot 

Dylan liked Kaitlyn and Ryan better when they weren't covered in gore. The light, filtered by leaves, falling onto them as they lay in the grass. Sticky trails of ice cream over their fingers. Laughter and joy sprinkled with bitter panic at the memories from a year ago.

This was what life was truly about. This was what life should have been. This was what life would be, from now on, with them.

(Ryan, Dylan and Kaitlyn meet up a year after the game and catch up. They try and figure out their relationship. I loved all the dialouge in this, so funny. There’s a bunch of cool character details too.) 

a good decent grovel by panorama

Ship: Ryan/Dylan | Rating: T | Oneshot 

“Now,” Dylan said, causing Ryan to look up, “wait here for three minutes to give me a head start. We are not walking together.”

“Sure thing, man.”

“Stop smiling. I want a good, decent grovel out of you.”

or, ryan wins dylan back. kind of.

(This is a very fun fic. Ryan tries to win Dylan over again after they finally reconnect at college after the game. It’s a fun reverse to see him doing the persuing and Dylan being the one playing hard to get and sweet to see how they fit into each other’s lives again.) 

[doomstarmagician]

KNOWING YOUR PARTNER WELL CAN POTENTIALLY MAKE WRITING TOGETHER A LOT EASIER. ( REPOST DO NOT REBLOG ! )

NAME: Jenny/Doomy

PRONOUNS: She/Her, Try/Me, Cryp/Tid

PREFERENCE OF COMMUNICATION: Discord. I lurk here too but not long enough to properly answer dm’s in a timely manner.

NAME OF MUSE(S): Doomstar Magician (you are here), Aether (you are here), Silent Magician ( @silentmagician ), Iida (Discord), Gilgamesh (Discord), and a handful of OCs from more obscure fandoms that I won’t detail here.

EXPERIENCE/HOW LONG (MONTHS / YEARS?): I’ve been roleplaying on tumblr since 2012 but I’ve roleplayed far longer outside of here.

PLATFORMS YOU'VE USED: Skype, Tumblr, Discord and other forums long since forgotten.

BEST EXPERIENCE: Probably all the extensive development my best friend and I put into growing Doomstar into his own person and writing his story in a way that let him decide who he wanted to be and how he wanted to live his life. From there he’s had so many opportunities to meet so many other muses and develop relationships and bonds with others that he’s so proud to hold on to. Also, anything involving Atlantis automatically rises to the top for me.

RP PET PEEVES/DEALBREAKERS: Y’all really want me to choose violence huh? Fine.

PEOPLE WHO DON’T READ CHARACTER ABOUT PAGES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE VERSES. Did y’all think we as the writers wouldn’t notice? Did you think it would go over well with us? Do you know how disrespectful it is to the writer? Do better. Once I know you didn’t take the time to do some reading, I automatically start ignoring. You want to interact? Too fucking bad.

A pet peeve of mine… it has no impact on the actual writing aspect but it’s when people have those tiny, over baked Kentucky fried icons. If I can’t see what the icon is? I start losing interest because I can’t see what you want to show me. OR when people have no icon size consistency. Is there any reason you have to use an entire screenshot as an icon? Like why does it take up such a chunk of the page? Do you need help cropping? What’s the major malfunction here?

FLUFF, ANGST OR SMUT: Angst is my bread and butter, fluff is also a preference, but there’s no smut here. For obvious ace muse reasons.

PLOTS OR MEMES: Plotting. There’s something about actual planning and development that really catches my interest and it’s something that we as muns enjoy talking in length about.

LONG OR SHORT REPLIES: I gravitate towards long replies because I like putting in the effort. I can do short replies but it feels like wasted potential. I’m also not a fan of one sentence replies either. If I’m giving effort, don’t hit me with one sentence because I promise I won’t respond from there.

BEST TIME TO WRITE: Night.

ARE YOU LIKE YOUR MUSE(S): Heehee~ absolutely. No question about it.

Tagged by: @game-weaver

Tagging: Did you read this? Then it’s you.

[aeolian-mode]

my grievances with BNHA

(Spoilers below) I’m long-winded today cos I had some Thoughts to get off my chest in regards of how I feel about the storytelling of BNHA.

TL;DR: I don’t think Horikoshi understands the value of ma. Maybe he believes that his target audience would grow impatient, and I have to remind myself that BNHA is a shonen and is made for young people and my storytelling tastes probably aren’t what he’s marketing towards- but I still think there is a lot that could be improved about BNHA if Horikoshi spent a little bit more time in the slow moments, and valuing the emotions and relationships of the characters instead of rushing to the next plot point. He also made way too many characters, which is typical of shonen, but the more characters he has to cover, the harder it is for him to provide content for all the people who have picked a favorite character out of the sprawling cast. Everyone is forced to find satisfaction in table scraps, but if he stuck to a strong core cast, there would be plenty to go around. Long version:

"Ma” is an extremely important storytelling concept. Ma is the Japanese word for 'negative space.' In visual art, negative space is the empty places on the canvas where there's nothing important to look at. After all, if every single square inch of your canvas was filled with something exciting to look at, like character faces or action scenes, your illustration would be very hard to take in at a glance, there'd be no distinction of character silhouettes and nothing would be readable. The same concept applies to storytelling. You need ma to achieve a greater emotional impact when the heavy, loud moments occur.  Let's take a look at how Hayao Miyazaki of Studio Ghibli writes ma. In My Neighbor Totoro, 80% of the film is slow-paced slice of life moments where two sisters explore their new house, and discover supernatural creatures living peacefully beside them. Then, at the end of the movie, something distressing and horrible happens to the two sisters' mother, who has been hospitalized since the beginning of the film. The film's final 20 minutes or so are about them discovering this distressing event, and the emotional climax of the film feels extremely powerful because we were given time to live with these sisters, observe their peaceful daily life, and grow attached to them. Suddenly, something important to them became jeopardized, and we care. 

Miyazaki often uses ma with food. Characters cook for each other, or eat together. The detail of the food in the animation is often exquisite. Miyazaki and the Ghibli animators want us to notice the way light refracts through the glossy surface of an egg on toast, or the lines of fat on bacon sizzling in a pan. He wants us to exist in these quiet moments of daily life.

I can't tell you the last time My Hero Academia actually had an extended scene of ma. Maybe it was the bench scene, where Eraserhead and All Might share a moment. It was a powerful scene in the manga, and it was powerful because it wasn’t about the plot at all. It was about the intimacy between two characters who have grown close over shared adversity, and All Might struggling to find purpose in his hard life. After this scene, however, the story has been one distressing event after another without any breaks to breathe. And, since it has so many characters, it has failed to prioritize the emotions of significant characters. How did Eri feel when Aizawa was maimed? Who is watching her? How did Inko feel when she saw her son mangled, even after All Might promised to protect and raise him? How much raising has All Might actually done in Midoriya’s life? It seems every time the two of them have a conversation, it’s about One for All, not about Midoriya’s growth into manhood or his emotional development as a suffering teen who’s picked the world’s worst profession. Will we get assurance on the safety and wellbeing of favorite heroes like Fatgum and the Big 3?  Will Mic and Aizawa properly grieve Midnight? What about the rest of the UA staff? How does Nezu feel when UA was turned into a safe haven for civilians? How have the parents of all these students processed all this grief? How has Class 1-A handled their painful struggle? The story has been, instead: >heavy, distressing, lengthy action sequences where everyone is hurt >immediately following that, a prison breakout >immediately following that, scattered moments of characters in a hospital with dramatic flashbacks of their lives and burdens, yet none of them fleshed out to their fullest potential because there’s too many injured characters >immediately following that, heavy and intense emotions all focused on the plot of One for All, yet All Might is a mute ghost and has no actual bonding with Midoriya since they don’t even speak to each other >immediately following that, more heavy and intense emotions as Horikoshi rushes to show that Izuku is gone and has slapped together letters about his departure >immediately following that, more villains attacking heroes and civilians because of the prison break. There has been no ma. We haven't had a single quiet moment that isn’t focused on bulldozing into the next plot point or action sequence. What about a scene like Eraserhead sharing a meal with Eri, or talking to her calmly about life? How about the neglected characters like Fatgum and the Big 3 recovering in their own way? How about the moms of all these hurt children actually coming in and getting involved in their lives? How about the students of class 1-A trying to do something fun to diffuse the tension and show how they have grown close as friends or a found family? Sometimes Horikoshi tries to show ma in tiny snapshots rather than entire scenes; for example, there's a snapshot in one of the earlier chapters of Aizawa putting Eri's hair in a hair tie. This is a single panel. It's not enough to have a single panel. What we needed was an entire scene or chapter dedicated to Aizawa and Eri and Friends. Show her with her found family, show her going out in town or playing with a cat or talking to Mirio or Aizawa for an extended period of time. Show us scenes about nothing particularly important. 

When your story is plot, plot, plot, you're deciding that human moments and human interactions aren't important. And at the end of the day, no one watches a show for the plot. They come to be validated as a person, and relate to the characters. I came to MHA because I relate to All Might, his disability, and his desire to be strong and fight through his suffering so he can selflessly help other people. That character resonated with me. I saw myself on the screen. Unfortunately MHA stopped being what I came to see a long time ago. I’m here because I like drawing my favorite characters, and the fandom has introduced me to a lot of wonderful friends, I’m not ready to give it up. But I wish it had more of what I was hoping to get out of it.  I understand that making a manga is extremely difficult. And I understand tons of people enjoy it and have no issues with it whatsoever- all power to you! I just haven’t gotten what I was personally hoping to get, and this is why. :( ANNNND SEASON 5 JUST STARTED AND IT’S AN ENTIRE SEASON OF CHARACTERS I DOOOOON’T CARE ABOUT AT ALLLLL! HEY WE REALLY NEEDED AN ENTIRE SEASON DEDICATED TO CLASS 1-B CHARACTERS THAT ARE COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY IRRELEVANT AFTERWARDS, THEREFORE WASTING SCREEN TIME ON FORGETTABLE UNIMPORTANT SIDE CHARACTERS INSTEAD OF THE CORE CAST THAT WE DESPERATELY NEED CONTENT ABOUT ALSO THANKS FOR FORGETTING ABOUT DADMIGHT HORIKOSHI  

[ptitelidio]

“Black and White Contrast” a rivetra theory

Hi Rivetra fans, actually this is my first post on tumblr and I hope you will like it. Just to say a few words before beginning my rivetra theory, I ship Rivetra sooo hard but I like and respect other ships. Please if you get to see this post and like or share my opinion, an answer would be so cool! 

PS. Sorry for my English, I’m not a fluent speaker, but I try my best :) enjoy!

First, basically I called this post ‘Black and White contrast’ because I found out that the relationship between Levi and Petra is like this, a contrast, in many fields.

To show this I will use photos of manga panels, of the anime and Petra’s song, the light of two wings.

Let’s begin with the song. The first opposition we can see is in Levi personality; Petra describes Levi like that “Your sterness always stems from gentleness And I felt a warm light behind those harsh words“, basically she sees his true nature, behind the darkness, there is a light, that’s what she says. 

Now the other contrast is between the painful and the happy moments she went through:          “ I recall plentry of painful things.. But I made it to where I am , Free of doubts.. Sharing smiles and laughter along the way “

Now she says: “ Tiny feathers gather one by one Forming a white wing Fragile lives are lost one by one Leaving behind a black wing “

That’s when we get to read something with ‘black’ and ‘white’, here she talks about two wings, a black and a white. The white being composed of feathers (analogy with soldiers lives lost one by one), and apparently she talks about a black wing left behind... we’ll get to see more info about it further on. But it seems to be ralted with death, isn’t it?

“ Though a bird may be born to soar across the skies I’m sure it won’t be able to fly well with only one wing But you will shoulder the determination of all that is white and black And guide everyone to great distances beyond the walls “

She says that a bird can’t fly without two wings, so the black and the white ones. And he will ‘shoulder the determination of all that is white and black’, in other words the determination to fight of the deads and the living is something he has to carry on. She is talking to Levi, and says that he is the one to guide everyone beyond the walls, 

Then, she finally says before dying: 

“Don’t forget that you have the light of dual wings sprouting from your back                                                             And if I were to give a name to the light I felt…yes.. it would be… Hope..“

So once again that the light of dual wings (black and white) shows that he carry the spirit of the deads and the living, I repeat this on purpose because you will see that the symbolism of the contrast has not been chosen by chance, but on purpose. 

The second other point is that she perceives that light as hope, obviously we understand why, Levi is considered as the humanity’s greatest, so he’s the most expected to save the Eldian people. 

Now.. let’s show the black and white contrast elsewhere. 

Do a black and a white wings ring a bell?

Yup... exactly. And I’ll prove that they can symbolise Levi and Petra relationship. They can also show many other relationships in the SC but here, and with the song, it takes a different dimension, like thir relationship was like a black and white wing = black -> death, sadness... and white -> light, hope, or life

Petra is dead and Levi is alive,

Petra sees light inside Levi, whereas he grew up on a dark place (underground) and frequented bad people everyday (criminels etc...)

Now let’s focus on the anime...

What do you notice in this passage? This was when they were going to the former Survey Corps HQ with Eren. 

Petra’s horse is WHITE and Levi’s is BLACK, here Levi’s one does not seems so black but you can check on other photos in the Internet and you’ll see that he’s actually black, but now because of light and shadow it’s a bit light but whatever.

So, you probably notice that nearly every horse is colored in brown but not Levi’s, Petra’s and Erwin’s. Some other horses are colored in light brown but it’s not like them three, the colors are strikely different. And in the manga the horses were all brown basically, so why this change of color? Not for nothing obviously, the great messages remain in little details..

This photos shows that the horse are basically all brown.

Another contrast is Levi and Petra’s physical appearance, they are obviously different. He is black-haired, she is blond (ginger in the anime but the contrast stays with light color and dark color..) even their eyes in the anime are different but that’s not the essence of the theory, that was just a remark.

Now look at the Petra’s and Levi’s scene when she died and he looked down at her:

Isayama pictured the contrast in dark and light, notice how Levi appears in the light part of the grass and Petra in the dark one, she is dead and he’is alive. And bigger than that, there is also Levi’s Wings of Freedom emblem on his cloack, a double contrast where the white one is in the right and the black one on the left. Petra is on the ground, Levi in the air. They complete each other every time.

The contrast is even more striking in this panel:

The position of the panels for comparison, the position of the heads and eyes, Levi looking down and Petra looking up. The contrast in their hair is also emphcised here. Don’t you notice something else? If no, look at the Wings of Freedom emblem I put...

Yes... Levi is at the left (black wing) and Petra is at the right (black wing)... the analogy is here for those who searched for it.

And once again, their life status, one alive but painfully sad and the other dead but with an unfulfilled dream and she didn’t get the chance to confess to Levi, I quote:

“ And so.. I will die.. believing that.. Oh….how i wish this would last… But…it seems like my time is up… I have…one last thing…..I would like to tell you..                                            No… Nevermind…It’s Nothing….  “ (Petra’s song)

Let’s continue. 

Remember, we said that Petra tought Levi was the hope of humanity’s survival (she says it in her song). Now, did you know that Levi thought exactly the same of her? I will show it to you, and that was basically implied on Petra’s last scene. 

We all know how Petra put trust over all other things, work team was very important to her. The sentence that we remember the most of her is “trust us”, in her last scene -- when she and her team were riding horses and the Female Titan was hunting them -- she said that exact sentence to Eren. 

PS: It is written in French, but you can check it in English on your own if you want.

And everybody knows that Levi didn’t know if it was the good choice whether to put his trust on his comrades or to just rely on his own strengh. Well, on that day, Levi had a strong proof that he should believe in his comrades. 

Here: Petra: “Captain?!”, 

Levi: “He’s a real monster, I know that very well, not only because he has Titan abilities... no matter how strong he force with which it is immobilized, no matter how resistant is the cage in whic he is held. Nobody will ever be able to bend his will” 

-> So what does Levi say? He considers that Eren will to fight titans can’t be bend, in other words he is like a monster, ready to do anything to kill his enemies. But basically, Levi’s stance is that NOBODY can’t change his mind. He was sure of that.

And guess what happens? Eren hearing that from Levi wanted to prove that he was not a monster, he had enough. 

Eren “ I had enough. I don’t want to be treated like a monster...”

And the phrase that Petra told him definitely convinced him to do the choice to trust his new squad.

Now look at Levi’s face... he’s startled by Eren’s decision. Yes, he who was so sure that Eren will transform, Petra’s insistence to trust his team proved Levi wrong. That’s why he was so surprised. That scene and Levi’s expression is even on the anime, if you want to check it out.

Well, nobody before succeeded to do this: make Eren change his mind, he’s usually the one to ignore Mikasa’s advices even if he cares a lot for her. Petra, even if she was not so close to him, actually succeeded this task. This startled Levi. Who could change a monster’s mind? Yes, the one to carry hope for humanity. Actually in the anime, EVERY soldier carries that hope obviously, but in that precise moment, Petra was the hope Levi wanted for humanity. 

This reminds us of the song, when she says that she though Levi’s light was hope, actually she was also hope, like every one of her comrades. Now, Petra had that same light, hope. 

Oh and remember that panel from Chapter 112:

Yes. “Hope for Humanity’s survival” and beside what character? Petra. Everything is linked lmao, Isayama is a pure genius.

And now that I read this panel alone, it’s like Petra could have said these lines ‘I did it... because I believed he was the hope for humanity’s survival...” in other words, I sacrificed my life for Levi because I thought he was the hope for humanity’s survival. It could fit VERY WELL, I don’t think this is a coincidence because she said the exact same thing in her song...

PS: The Wings of Freedom can represent many pairs in AOT like Erwin and Levi for example, but Petra and Levi formed the wings of freedom too. That’s not a coincidence if Erwin’s horse was also white like Petra’s one, and we know that Erwin convinced Levi to joined the SC the day Ferlan and Isabel died. That day, Levi developed the Ackerbond with Erwin when the latter stated, with his federator charisma, that we can’t get to know the future etc. So Levi had the Ackerbond with Erwin so that’s quite obvious to justify why they can represent the wings of freedom, but what was Petra for Levi apart of a squad member?

Yes, she was special for him whereas he didn’t have the Ackerbond with her, and that’s why she’s even more significant, his blood didn’t play a role in his relationship with her. The only answer I find is, simply, love.

[canary3d-obsessed]

Lost Tomb Reboot Lewks: Part 12

(Masterpost) (Other Canary Stuff)

Warning: Spoilers for both seasons of The Lost Tomb Reboot

Look 61

The first look is Wu Xie’s road trip outfit, which includes this grey and white jacket. It has a contrasting elastic waistband, cuffs, and neckline, and slanted pockets. 

This is exactly the sort of jacket that my 5th grade science teacher would have worn in 1979, and she would have slayed in it.  She awakened something in me and it wasn’t love of STEM. (Spock was responsible for my love of STEM, and various other awakenings in 5th-grade me) I’m sure it would still look great on her, because she is probably a silver haired foxy granny now, and that’s who this jacket belongs on in the current century.

Wu Xie should never have gotten within a mile of this old lady jacket.

To clarify, I’m not being gender-essentialist here; I’m being ageist. If this jacket had some contemporary detailing or interesting features to offset its last-century vibe, the way Bai Haotian’s green roller derby jacket does, it would be fine even though I’m not a fan of this sort of collar in menswear. But it’s just a nicely-made old lady jacket. Mary Berry could bake a nice cake while wearing this jacket. 

Note: Liu Sang could wear the hell out of this jacket, of course, because that man can wear literally anything and make it look like it’s made of spun pheromones.

(more after the cut!)

Wu Xie eventually improves this look by taking the jacket off and giving the camera operator a nice long look at his ass. He’s wearing dark jeans and a long-sleeve white thermal shirt, which is a great improvement. 

Look 62

The granny jacket is contrasted by the blessed arrival of Huo Daofu’s daddy jacket, and the rest of the clothing that Huo Daofu is wearing with it.  This is a dark green jacket with a nipped in waist, military styling, and invisible stitching that says "obey" You can't see it, but oh, it's there.

He's wearing this jacket of domination with jeans so tight they appear to be made of paint. I approve of these jeans so much that I might need to take a break from writing for a moment. 

Instead of shoes he’s opted for a pair of tall riding boots, just in case anyone failed to get the message.

He finishes off this look with gold rimmed glasses, pomegranate-toned lips, and an air of authority so strong that even Pangzi does what he tells him to with minimal back chat.

Later the jacket comes off, so he can wrap it solicitously around the shoulders of a person who is already wearing a perfectly good jacket.  OP looks up “service top” in the dictionary.

Underneath, Huo Daofu is wearing a grey houndstooth waistcoat. Shen Wei’s tailor would gnash his teeth in envy, if he saw the cut of this vest. This tops off a warm-toned brown shirt worn with a silver-toned watch. The watch is...round, and it tells time. He’s wearing a brown belt with his black jeans. Huo Daofu is great at combining warm and cool, formal and casual, in a single look. 

Look at this dapper bitch. Slaying this hard has got to be against his Hippocratic oath.

This jacket-free look is combined with hip posture so provocative that it sends Wu Xie into a hasty search for the last scraps of his heteronormative assumptions. Xiao Bai does her best to help.

Look 63

The beards. 

OP's family of origin is full of hairy visigoths, so Pangzi's beard is a style I've encountered before, alas. We call this a [US] Civil War beard. This one is terrible and lopsided, but at least it covers a lot of Pangzi’s face.

Wu Xie’s fake facial hair isn't terrible, but isn't great. You can tell it’s fake because everything about Zhu Yilong is inherently lovely, and this isn’t. 

Also, it's a ridiculous idea for a disguise. Wu Xie's close-trimmed chin patch and mustache are nice style, very typical for a Chinese dude. They let Wu Xie’s lovely facial structure continue to do its thing while they just provide a bit of an accent. But this is a problem, because they don't change his appearance in any meaningful way; his cheekbones are still visible from orbit. 

He’s wearing this facial hair and cap with the same vest he wore earlier to practice slingshot. This time he's accessorizing with a simple tan jacket, with an interesting buttonhole detail... 

...and with an attractive human IV stand.

Doctor doctor, give me the news, I've got a bad case of loving you you loving me.

Look 64

This look belongs to the man that Jia Kezale’s wife has replaced him with. We have to infer his look based on his shoes, and that he is presumably in the same league as the extremely hot Jia Kezale. 

Based on these shoes, which are very nice, if a little weathered, Huarache-style loafers, this other man in her life also presumably wears linen trousers and a guayabera shirt. 

*mentally pictures this person* 

ok, I guess I don't blame her. 

[Image, and shirts, from cubavera dot com]

Look 65

After having his IV fluids, Wu Xie goes for a nighttime motorbike ride, because he apparently needs to go way up on a hill to see that the hotel he’s staying in is circular.

So, what is with the Ultraman motorcycle helmet? Does it have any padding or insulation at all? Why doesn’t it cover more than 40 percent of his head and face?

And shouldn't it have a chin strap?  How does it stay on in a crash?  I mean yes I know this is a show with sentient crustaceans...yeah, never mind. I’m sure that’s a super effective helmet. 

Once the rain starts, his mustache and beard look better. Still not great, but better. Here he looks like he’s cosplaying as Zhou Yunlan.

Now he’s wet and lying on the ground because...oh, hell if I remember. Just look at him, poor moist snookums. He needs a blankie and a hot tea and a hurt-comfort fic about him and his doctor. 

This look gives the newest members of the polycule an opportunity to demonstrate their devotion, as they haul him off the motorcycle and over to a wall, and then continue to stand in the rain, for some reason, instead of going indoors. 

I gotta say, when a producer decides to pour water on Zhu Yilong, they  commit to it.

Speaking of commitment, here’s Huo Daofu holding his hand up over Wu Xie’s face like a tiny umbrella. 

Bonus 1

Look at the yellow duffle coat on that kid. She looks beautiful and classic, and the mustard yellow color just pops so nicely in this scene. 

The mustard yellow also visually marks her allegiance to gold-dragon-wearing Xue Wu. 

Bonus 2

This look is Wu Xie’s antique-scheming outfit, but now he is wearing the Sunglasses of Manpain. They belong to Pangzi, but Wu Xie is wearing them while he waits for Pangzi to collect his angst from the morgue.

These sunglasses are good to wear while contemplating the fact that, despite the many differences in narrative tropes between Chinese and Western media, the one where a female character is hurt and/or dies merely to further a male character's emotional development remains a constant.

That said, this is a nice small signifier of their relationship, as he puts these glasses on Pangzi, allowing him to hide his feelings, while hugging him, allowing him to express his feelings.

[kuinliekkienroihu]

I (crysuzumushi, haha) am working on answering your ask game prompts, you picked two of my very favorites, thank you! I'm gonna ask you to do Kaname too! And Byakuya.

Okay, thanks for the ask!! Sorry it took so long to answer, i wrote a novel. Also sorry for all the spelling and grammar mistakes, English isn’t my first language

Kaname:

1. Favorite thing about them

How he always seeks to act according to his sense of justice. Also he's one of the best written characters in the entire series. He's very complex, which makes him feel kinda like an actual person with understandable actions caused by his past. There are a lot more things, but i'm not good at putting things to words so yeah.

2. Least favorite thing about them

How underutilized he was as a character. I'm really glad there's more of him in cfyow, even though i've only read the first part

3. Favorite line

" I follow the path least soaked in blood. The path I walk is justice."

4. BrOTP

I have many, mostly Shuhei, Aizen, Gin and Sajin

5. OTP

-

6. NOTP

hmm, i don't like him and Aizen romantically at all, same goes for Sajin

7. Random headcanon

He has a plant garden in Las Noches in which he grows, among many other things, the ingredients for Aizen's tea, which is Kaname's secret special mix of herbs. Aizen really misses the tea Kaname made for him.

8. Unpopular opinion

He did nothing wrong, or rather, all he did was (more or less) justified

9. Song i associate with them

-

10. Favorite picture of them

This is my favorite too

Byakuya:

1. Favorite thing about them

Yes. I love every single thing about him. Even the things others would consider as flaws are perfect. I really like how calm and collected he is regardless of the situation, he's intelligent and calculating.

A very well written character with, in my opinion, the best character development. Especially his relationship with Rukia from ignoring her out of pain (since she looks almost identical to Hisana), protecting her to keep a promise, letting her be executed to keep another promise to genuinely caring about her and saving her life in many occasions, clearly regretting what he did to her and trying to compensate for his actions.

Kubo wrote his development extremely well, in the end of the series he's objectively a better person than in the beginning, but his personality didn't change much. He's still the same overly serious, stuck up asshole we know and I love him for it.

Another thing I love the most about him is the fact that he's another walking contradiction. But somehow, these contradictions make a paradox or a perfect harmony without cancelling each other. Kubo did an amazing job making him have many layers in his character. There's this line from a book (had to look it up, the book is called "the chrysanthemum and the sword") that the author used to describe Japanese people, I think I read that in someone's ig story and it got stuck in my head since it reminded me of Byakuya so much, and in my honest opinion, describes him rather thoroughly, especially second, third and fourth ones. His zanpakuto, which is one of the infinite reasons I love him, being fully portrayed by the second one "both militaristic and aesthetic" being combined into the beautiful but deadly weapon Senbonzakura is.

"both aggressive and unaggressive, both militaristic and aesthetic, both insolent and polite, rigid and adaptable, submissive and resentful of being pushed around, loyal and treacherous, brave and timid, conservative and hospitable to new ways"

When you think about it, he has the most fitting zanpakuto for his personality compared to the other shinigami and the way he uses it is one of the tiny details which make him, him.

His spot as a captain and the head of the Kuchiki clan is in my opinion fully earned (rest of the nobles (except Yoruichi) can go fuck themselves) (sorry Tara, ignore this please lol). He is hardworking and precise, almost workaholic, has trained hard from a very young age and puts duty above everything. But he still has a hidden "work mode: off" -side which we see occasionally as cracking a dry joke or the wakame taishi fuckery in general. Latter being, in my honest thoughts, hilarious and adorable.

There is a lot more but i literally can't list everything. This is already a hell of an essay.

2. Least favorite thing about them.

My answer is probably as you can expect: none.

There is one thing i don't really like, but it's about the writing.

!!TYBW SPOILERS!!

In the beginning of the arc i think that immediately releasing bankai, especially when he knew it was gonna be sealed, was out of character and i would have been very upset if he stayed dead, since the action which resulted in that was not something he would do.

3. Favorite line

“If it’s for the sake of my pride there’s nothing I won’t destroy.”

I know it’s from a filler but this line just sums his whole character, personality and motivations up so well.

4. BrOTP

I have so many, i want him to have friends lol. But to point out the most significant ones i'd say Rukia, Renji, Kenpachi, Toshiro and Ichigo

5. OTP

The only one i really ship him with is Nanao. Hisana is kind of “it’s canon and i’m fine with it.” I haven’t seen enough of her to form an opinion about the ship, but it’s obvious how much Bya loved her and it’s so sweet.

6. NOTP

Okay, i have never mentioned this before since i know many of my followers/mutuals ship them. Renji. The only ship I. Can't. Stand.

Like, platonically? Yes, they're bros. But romantically or especially sexually? No. Fuck no.

I don't care if you ship them, good for you, but please tag the stuff so it gets filtered.

7. Random headcanon

He sleeptalks a lot. And it's not mumbling, he talks the same way as when he's awake but it's absolute nonsense.

Byakuya, asleep: Do not eat the drawer.

Hisana, awake: *watches him in utter confusion*

Byakuya, still asleep: Give him a pink tricycle.

Hisana: To whom?

Byakuya: Head captain Yamamoto

Hisana: *trying not to laugh*

Another hc that i have is that he is a closet metalhead and likes especially power- and symphonic metal (this might sound very weird if you know nothing about this kind of music lol)

8. Unpopular opinion

His actions in the soul society arc were understandable. He was put between the bark and the tree (i hope you get what i mean) and had to choose from just letting things happen and going against central 46 and all of soul society (or at least that’s what he thought). Also the line he said to Ukitake, which is still easily in top5 most asshole things he has said/done, in my opinion shows what he thought of Rukia’s execution and why he didn’t do anything to prevent it. “Once you’ve let one of your people die.. ...two or three more make no difference.” Both of his parents are dead, Hisana is dead, Ginrei is most likely dead and he thought for 100 years that Yoruichi was dead too. I think Byakuya thought losing one more person he cares about couldn’t hurt more than it already has and therefore didn’t think it was worth breaking the promise he made in his parents’ grave and trying to save her. And that fucking breaks my heart.

9. Song I associate with them

I have a 6h long playlist which I’m not gonna post. Can’t choose just one lol.

10. Favorite picture of them

*digs through nearly infinite pinterest board, tumblr and phone’s gallery*

This is (one of) my favorite manga panel(s) of him. I love how calm but powerful he looks. The lines representing the heavy spiritual pressure. Like an inescapable doom approaching (which indeed was the case). And for some reason i love it. 

My favorite fanart, which i obviously can’t post since you can’t post others art so here’s the link: https://www.deviantart.com/keelerleah/art/Bleach-Byakuya-Looking-Back-127254804

and then one which I think is official art or at least an edit of it, if I’m wrong please lmk

[lit-in-thy-heart]

you know what, what's the point of being on this platform if you don't get to bellow into the void about your interests in the hope of finding someone with the same interest?

in light of this, let me inflict a lowdown of the victorian literature (mostly novels because poetry is difficult to collate) that i've read for my module this year upon my mutuals

i'll do a separate one for vampire novels and reblog with the link

because what are the victorians without vampires? straight

bleak house (dickens): what a ride that was! yes, it was nearly a thousand pages and, yes, some chapters i was like can we move on please, but that's dickens for you. honestly, i loved it. if you're looking for thinly-veiled lesbianism, this is the book for you (esda all the way, if they even have a ship name). unfortunately i already knew one of the plot twists due to watching dickensian five years before, but there are plenty more to go around! if you can get through the first chapter describing nothing but fog and the law courts, you're in for one hell of a treat -- just don't google anything about it until you've finished because you will get spoiled (or don't share a house with me, where i'll tell you the entire plot as i'm reading it). definitely recommend, but marking it down for the heteronormativity with allan. (9.5/10)

villette (c. brontë): where to fucking start. i, quite frankly, do not care for charlotte brontë, and when reading the earlier novel agnes grey by anne, i could see some more things that charlotte has filched for this travesty. no victorian novel is going to be without problems, but this one was xenophobic, ableist and, of course, racist. the protagonist doesn't really give anything away, which is meant to make her more mysterious, but it just renders her an empty vessel. oh, and she tells you stuff that she's figured out waaaaaay after she says she's figured it out, a bit like she's allowing you to feel smart for making a connection before going 'oh yeah i knew that like twelve chapters ago, keep up'. some of the passages are really striking and there's maybe one character who's likeable but that's about it. i'd say it's more a story of omission than repression tbh. (4/10)

janet's repentance (eliot): wait, have i even finished this? no, no, i have not. it's fine, i wasn't going to tell you the ending anyway. i did get hooked eventually, there were just a LOT of names thrown around in the first few chapters, and a word that i didn't know was used frequently (turns out it was a name for the followers of this guy). i did get strong hester prynne/arthur dimmesdale vibes from some of the main characters, but janet is a very sympathetic character which, after reading villette, was nice. slightly depressing in some places, but a good enough read if you're not cramming it in the day before your tutorial, because it is mildly dense. (7/10)

the wonderful adventures of mrs seacole in many lands (seacole): not what i'd been expecting to read on my module, what with it being a biography, but enjoyable nonetheless. horrible histories lied to me, though, she was in her 40s/50s when she treated people in the crimean war, not in her 20s, but that's minor. it was actually quite funny??? like she was very reluctant to give away to give away her age and almost slipped up a couple of times, and also made some very biting remarks about people who were passing comment on her skin colour. for a biography, it wasn't hugely biographical, in that she was married for what seemed all of five minutes before her husband died, when in fact they were married for several years, but if you want an in-depth depiction of war, this is for you. not what i'd usually read, but some of the descriptions are so vivid that it does read like a novel in places, though sometimes the descriptions were so detailed that i did tune out at odd intervals. (9/10)

the happy prince and other stories (wilde): if you're feeling low, don't read these. don't. especially not 'the nightingale and the rose', because that was honestly heartbreaking. really well-written, some passages were just beautiful, i just wasn't in the right headspace to fully appreciate it. it also has a lot of death, i should probably explicitly say that. (8/10)

agnes grey (a. brontë): chef's kiss, honestly. if i'd read this last year then i think it definitely would have hit a lot harder, what with agnes moving away from home for the first time and struggling with loneliness around people who she is different from. beautifully written, i'm irritated at myself for not reading it sooner, even though i've owned a copy for about four years or so. agnes does come across as a bit wet sometimes, but those moments are rare and far between, she's overall a resilient character who is trying to make her own way in the world. seeing as i managed to get through the whole thing and didn't lose focus on what i was reading, i rate it higher than jane eyre (which is a rip-off of this anyway). we stan anne. though i am marking it down for the underdeveloped romantic relationship that just pops up (9.5/10)

now for some old classics that weren't taught on my module, but i can't not mention them

a tale of two cities (dickens): this was my first dickens book and oh my word what a book. yeah, okay, lucie is a bit of a wet dishcloth and has basically no personality, but there is definitely something there between her and her maid. sydney is my baby and oh so gorgeously dramatic ("you have kindled me, heap of ashes that i am, into fire"), which was perfect for the pangs of unrequited love. the plot is slightly confusing, and you don't really understand everything until right near the end, but i loved finding parallels in the chapters set in france with the chapters set in britain. oh and the showdown between miss pross and madame defarge is wonderful. i had a tradition of reading it on the run-up to christmas, just because that was the period when i read it for the first time, but i haven't done that for the past two years just because of exams and stuff. now, bleak house just pips it at the post, but i still love it dearly. (9/10)

wuthering heights (e. brontë): i couldn't review victorian literature and not include this. there are very strong similarities between this and villette (seems charlotte really drew on her sisters' work), particularly in terms of me not liking a single one of the characters except hareton. everyone is called cathy. literally. and heathcliff/cathy one is a toxic ship that should not be boarded. it is obsession, not love. the second volume is basically a repeat of the first one, thus showing that humanity will never move past its vices and will be caught in a vicious cycle of self-destruction for the rest of time. again, though, beautifully and vividly written. the characters are the type that you love to hate. (8/10)

the tenant of wildfell hall (a. brontë): what. a. book. this was a book that was simultaneously loved and condemned as scandalous when it came out. there's mystery, there's a woman escaping a horrible situation and making her own living, and there's a well-developed relationship! and the characters are likeable (i love rose, she's great, completely goes off at her brother when she has to do things for him all the time), which always puts it onto a winner. there's one chapter with gilbert that i have to skip just because i hate what he does in it. there are quite a lot of religious references, with redemption playing a huge part in the novel, but even the religious views brontë expresses went against a lot of the teachings of the anglican church at the time. do i even need to say that it's beautifully written if it's anne? marking it down for gilbert's behaviour and arguable control of helen's narrative. (9.5/10)

far from the madding crowd (hardy): i love this book. a little more uplifting than tess but still with the drama and murder you'd expect from hardy. maybe my review is influenced by my tiny crush on bathsheba: she's not the best role model but damn what a woman. gabriel isn't quite bae but i love him all the same, i'm so glad he's happy in the end. (9/10)

[life-rewritten]

Tharn Type 7 Years of Love; The problem with Mame

At the beginning of when TharnType the series announced it was going to get a sequel, my thought went urgh sequels. I don't do sequels; because sequels are horrible,  they're not just terrible in this genre, they're awful everywhere, in western dramas, in heterosexual shows etc. This is because sequels are always made with sluggish energy like people just don't respect sequels; they're made to make more money and hound in on the fans love and loyalty and excitement. They're made because of hubris.  With Bls, sequels are even worse because Bls already struggle with writing and following up and showing how couples are when they're established. So when it comes to announcements of sequels I always end up shaking my head and being afraid, I ask the question but do we need this really? Why not just create something new and original? And this is the same thought process I had with TharnType, I wanted to see them again, and revel in their love story, chemistry and plot, but I was nervous because of my past experiences with sequels. 

Now, my mindset changed as I trusted my past experience with this show. I liked the writing, and I liked the structured plot, and the three-dimensional storyline and character developments. I think with Mame; her outlines are fantastic when you look at the overall picture of the plot, her themes and her ideas. But unfortunately with this sequel, I think it falls apart; 

The problem with Sequels

Now there are already three reasons why this was always going to happen:

1. It has a different director. With the previous season, Tee the director helped portray the themes and the story Mame wanted to tell. He brought out the right energy, paced the storyline well, and used the right sound, edits, etc. to show us TT's story. 

2. The book of TT 7 years is actually tiny in detail and plot. Basically, a tv show based on it is not going to be fully in depth because it requires fillers to make it long.

3. It had many new side couples and a lot of side couples in this genre are basically always miswritten and given no screen time, no storytelling or plot with the same energy as the main couple. So with this sequel, unfortunately, it actually ended being the opposite; it's actually the main couple who's screen time was sacrificed for the side couples. 

But even with these worries, I still came into the show knowing there were things I loved about it; I loved the overall themes, the comprehensive real-life representation of long term relationship, the meta I could analyse and the characters and their mindsets as broken and flawed people which they are. From episode 1 and episode I think everyone noticed that the show wasn't going to great because of the new director. We also saw that the show's strength was put on the actors' ability to hone their characters and Mame's writing. However, by episode 3, I had fallen in love with the show again because the one thing Mame is good at is showing a love story even if other people don't agree. Her basis for what love is is what makes me hooked onto her shows. Her love stories are always more in-depth and dimensional every single time; they have more to them than just a typical generic plot. 

The problem with Tharn Type 7 Years

Now one of the reasons I fell in love with this is because of the introduction to Leo and Fiat. Shocking right? But I knew that she had given the same depth, flaws and effort as she did with TT in Season 1. They were meant to mirror a version of TT, and their journey to be together was meant to be just as problematic and dramatic.  As I'm going to be writing about the flaws of this show, I still want people to know; I believe in everything the subtext was showing, she has been building up scenes and clues to letting us know what the overall story was meant to be, and as much as I don't want to because it's also her fault, I think her director failed at helping her show her message as well. 

So when looking at one of the overarching problems with the show, we have the story of Leo and Fiat; they have this deep, dimensional and interesting love story. They're both so in love and devoted to each other, but for some reason, they can't communicate and tell each other how they feel. And this is so important to TT 7 Years because Fiat is the villain of the show. The plot with  Leo refusing to tell him how he feels is a big plotline to unveil because it's the real reason why he ends up breaking up Tharn and Type. Now Tharn and Type already needed to separate and break up because their relationship no matter how strong their love is was always going to reach a pause because they still had to deal with past internal scars. Type wasn't at the beginning fully healed from his past and his trauma, (by dealing with his boss drama, he actually ended up reaching his healing and overcoming his conflict). Because of this, he wasn't ready to cross the line and marry Tharn. However, episode 8, he has now grown and overcome his issues and so is now ready to be onboard with Tharn. 

The problem with Tharn

But the thing is Tharn also had his own internal scars to heal from; he also has his own traumatic mindset that shapes his actions and his views because of season 1's villain Lhong. Now, this is where the issue with TT 7 Years starts; 

It's fantastic writing, because not every BL has dimensional characters that go through character healing and development this way. The problem is this storyline is told in subtext. If you were me, then subtext is a fun way to watch a show, because it leads to the need to find clues and bring them to the surface and fit that with what the show is telling you. But if you can't see or have the patience to understand subtext, then you won't understand certain choices the writer makes. You'll end up feeling betrayed, annoyed and cheated by the story. Especially if the show is different from what you expected it to be because of watching and loving season 1.

 One of the biggest problems people complain about in TT 7 Years is that the TT is not in the show. Tharn especially does not have a lot of screen time in the show at times, the show really revolved around Type's regression to season 1's mindset because of his boss, and there's a reason for why that happened. It was so he dealt with his past and came out knowing why he needed to stay with Tharn forever as we see him in episode 8 and 9 realise. He found out; he couldn't be without Tharn so we'd reached a stage where marriage would have been possible for him in episode 10. Now the problem with this, is now he's grown, and everything is starting to be sorted out, Type has gone through his issues and dealt with them, and so we're all happy and excited, everything is meant to be perfect. But there was one thing Mame forgot and messed up in her writing. Tharn. 

And the sad thing is she started building this up in episode 1 to 3, but it got pushed to the side. She made Tharn stagnant, he was perfection and a supportive system to Type, but he hadn't dealt with his own issues and flaws. He hadn't grown. As much as she was showing with vigour the regression and healing of Type, we were also meant to be seeing the deterioration of Tharn into his season 1 mindset. (this is why they break up in episode 10, the reason he thinks Type would cheat with Fiat). There are still psychologically embedded scars with Tharn and whilst  Type dealt with his biggest fears; coming out to the public, trusting people with his sexuality etc. Tharn did not develop the same, and it breaks my heart because I get why TharnType had lower screen time at times in this season; it's to showcase the distance between them and their desperate need to be together. It's meant to show us how separated they are. It's fine that that's why you're doing this (the whole storyline is about this separation). 

Still, the thing is even if they're not together in the screen, what failed the show is that we saw Type regress and show his growth, but we didn't see Tharn have his own storyline and regression to the point in episode 10. We've been getting so much foreshadowing, so much subtext, so much build-up below the surface showing that this will happen, but we only see that outcome in episode 10.  Do you get the issue?  Now the reason for why Tharn is going to regress isn't going to make sense. 

The problem with break ups

Let's think about the problem with Tharn thinking Type would cheat on him. One they've been together for seven years, it's frustrating because it makes sense why he would think this way if you understood the subtext and you understand his mindset that has never healed from season 1, but if you don't know the subtext it falls apart. A writer is meant to give the audience enough clues properly on the surface as well as subtext, so they understand what's going on in your story.  The reason why season 1 of TT went well is because of the chemistry, intense storyline that was on the surface even then people didn't fully understand the subtext that was going on between the two, they didn't get the deep meanings of the psychological scars that they held, and how it affected their actions. All some focused on is that it was a love story of two people who were incredibly flawed but were meant to be together, but in TT 7 Years they're not given the same screen time to be together, so everyone feels cheated and frustrated when Tharn goes all of a sudden to; Type is cheating on me. When really there's no clues or evidence for you to be thinking this way. 

 Now the reason why this is insulting and upsetting is because when it's time to look at why they're breaking up after everything, the only reason you can say they're breaking up is because Tharn thinks Type would cheat so willingly without listening to an explanation... Really? So you're telling me that the disagreement about marriage, the conversation they've been building up about it, is not even going to be the reason for why they break up, the whole crux of the show since episode 1 -4. This has been built up this marriage dilemma, and we know that Type is finally now ready to get married and give everything to Tharn since he's realised he can't function without him, you're telling us that now that he's prepared for all that, that marriage disagreement theme isn't even the reason for why we get our most significant conflict, but Fiat is who's going to be a problem. 

The marriage disagreement is pushed on the down low, and when we're finally needing it to be the reason for why these two need to separate since that's what you've been hinting at above all things, it wouldn't make any sense to the audience why you've been building this up for so long. The two reasons for why TT was always going to break up since episode 1 with foreshadowings, subtext and hints is Fiat being a villain and coming to the storyline to make Tharn think Type is cheating and because of the marriage disagreement, Tharn is going through regression of his mindset to season 1. But we didn't get to see it. We didn't get to see Tharn show emotions struggling about thinking Type could be unfaithful or that he's really struggling with some psychological breakdown about fear of being left again. 

Instead, Tharn shows up out of nowhere, wants to propose to Type and sees Fiat do something to Type and thinks Type would be unfaithful. It's ridiculous to me from what I'm seeing in the trailer that he just doesn't hear Type out. And the second thing that's even more annoying about it is that it's Type who says they should separate. It makes no sense because we know from season 1 that it's a big thing for Type to say let's take a break or break up. He knows he shouldn't say that to Tharn. They made a promise to each other. It shouldn't have been Type who suggests again the break up it should have been Tharn. The emphasis of the relationship ending should have been Tharn saying I'm giving up on us. I don't feel like we're meant to be together anymore, not only is this painfully ironic because he's the one who's spent the whole season trying so hard to prevent their relationship from ending but we've just seen Type come to the realisation he can't be without Tharn so it'll hurt even more because his regression although irrational is understandable. So again the writing is messed up, and the storyline is cheap because you didn't even remember the immense impact of what breaking up means to TT and the huge meaning and clues in season 1. The audience feels cheated; it feels cheap like as if the story we've just watched was for no reason. 

The problem with subtext

Now I love TharnType with my whole heart. I've been defending and still believe this is written at times amazingly, but the cheating thing doesn't sit well with me when it comes to directors choices and writing. I think we've had three episodes dealing with TT being away from each other in these two to three episodes Mame should have been putting little doubts in Tharns mind building up, so we get the final breakdown of it. We should have seen him see clues or hints that doesn't sit well with him, for example, Fiat liking all of Type's post, seeing a message on Type's phone, hearing someone mention they saw Type with Fiat etc. He questions himself. He shakes his head, but it still lingers. We should have seen Fiat bump into him alone, (since he's manipulative and meant to be a better villain) when he was around and mention something about Type that piques his interest he pushes that down with worry. Then he runs to Type, and he says something like you're never going to leave me, are you?

For foreshadowing purposes. What this does, is that it doesn't blindside the audience into thinking one kiss or interaction would make him immediately regress and think his boyfriend of  7 years would cheat on him. What this does, is that it portrays his mental breakdown and regression as he keeps seeing hints or clues that make him regress back to his season 1 self with Lhong and Tar and we see just as we watched Type break down with the boss, his own decline. In fact other than the marriage proposal, the thing we should have seen him struggle with is doubt after doubt despite fighting it that he's not good enough to keep Types attention. Not that Type would hurt him on purpose, but he's not perfect for Type. 

This way, the conflict is more painful and more understandable when he shouts and accuses Type who is oblivious that he's been having doubts and that they should separate for a while. It should be Tharn that's saying let's end this irrationally. It should be him breaking down and regressing into his petty, stubborn self. That would have been hurtful and made more sense. He has many scars and trauma with people leaving him. It would have been nice that these three episodes when he was away, and Type didn't know he became vulnerable again into that mindset, it would have mirrored Types on regression into his season 1 mindset because of his boss. The two of them would be broken, need to separate for a bit, and we know and understand why and then fix their issues, miss each other, and return strong and confident in love. 

All we're getting is Tharn seeing clues immediately he arrives and making up some story in his head which makes no sense because Type may not be fully always romantic and wanting to marry but Type lets him know he needs him and isn't going anywhere. That being said, we don't know the whole situation, and it could be better explained in subtext next episode, but I am disappointed at how the Fiat villainy turned out. 

The problem with Leo and Fiat

After all the build-up, we should have had in episode 6 in my opinion as Fiat cried, the truth about him and Leo; a flashback to show why he's suffering and making the choices he's making. That way the audience wouldn't be so pulled away from him even in his despicable acts we'd still understand he's broken and thinking he has no other way but this.

Instead, we've gotten the same narrative repeated, and Leo says the same stuff, does the same stuff and Fiat and Leo speak about their feelings in riddles with each other.  Fiat makes no sense when he cries and cries over Leo and rejects his pleas to come to him when all we see is Leo in a sad, positive light as the only person who's genuinely suffering from this unrequited love when it isn't so; it's his undoing for judging Fiat for sleeping around. Fiat sleeps around because that's all people ask of him. He says it to Type that he tried the dating thing but all people wanted from him was his body, and we even see it actually in episode 3 on his date with that randomer why he sleeps around, it's because Leo isn't there or he feels he can't have Leo.

 So yes, you can slut-shame him for constantly wanting love and affection, looking for the right person for him to avoid Leo's rejections that he isn't that person. But he's just looking for a long-lasting relationship with someone who can make him feel better than Leo. Because Leo has adamantly been friend-zoning Fiat even before he started to sleep around, so that's why he doesn't believe in anything Leo says now because he's had to deal with this rejection for so long, I'm upset because Mame should have shown us on the surface not on subtext by now Fiats plight and his mindset.

 Because if I didn't know what was happening in subtext and I just thought Fiat was manipulative and evil and selfish then yeah I'd also be angry that Leo and Fiat keep going round and round in circles with 80% of the screen time. A lot of the reasons why Tharn and Type the show is being so negatively viewed is because of lack of energy from the director in fully helping us see the clues that Mame has left in the show. Because she's not a bad writer she structures plots and she has a bigger picture of why certain things happen but if they're not appropriately shown to the audience then yeah the show will flop and be seen in a negative light. 

So yes I feel by episode 6 we should have had Fiats backstory when he was breaking down crying over Leo the first time when he said something like "all I do is for you. I need to do this for you." Then watching his fight with Leo won't just hurt but it'll make more sense and when you see both of them crying it'd hurt just the same. Leo is an idiot, but I get his own mindset about the sleeping around because he doesn't want to be a fling to Fiat so he'll never confess. But he's just as bad as Fiat. And I wish people understood that. 

The problem with character development

Tharn needed more screen time even if he's not with Type. Him being seen as this perfect boyfriend every single episode only being irrational when it comes to the marriage disagreement should not have been this way. We should have been building up to his spiralling down his regression, his flaws that way when he and Type break up we really have understood why everything fell apart. The issue that I loved about this show at first is that everything is in subtext. Every clue to the plot, the character dynamics and the character mindsets; all of it is hidden in subtext and not fully fleshed out. This worked well in TT season 1 because the other plotlines joined together to form a narrative that was building up and leading us to the plot twist that Lhong was evil all along. But here it feels like every scene on the surface is a waste of screen time and writing when really the clues are just hidden. It's fun to analyse subtext, but when your storyline on the surface is filled with repetition and is going nowhere. The audience would feel cheated and unsure about what your message is. That's how I think many people are feeling seeing Tharn conclude with one clue or one day that Type cheated on him. It feels ridiculous and cheap as plotline because the build-up wasn't there.

So yeh I love TharnType, but I also am getting your frustrations with the plot. I'm also disappointed at some choices made in the show. Could it be better, yes? Is it the worst? No far from it!! But is it TT season 1? No. And so yeah we have another sequel that isn't the perfect follow up. I still think if you watch this show with season 1 together like a binge-watch, it'll be easier to see the subtext and understand the characters' actions. The way the story is being told would make more sense. And it'd be a great show still. Yeah, that's all I have to say. This is really my analysis for this week's episode. I'll just keep repeating the same things over and over again if I write another essay about the subtext. If you want to understand more about the show, you can check my previous analysis. 

[maxwell-grant]

You are your top 5 Shadow agents

I don’t talk about the Agents as much as I should, even though I constantly try to stress their importance, because I’m working on essays for them individually. To be honest, I think about the Agents practically every day to the point I have a hard time separating my headcanons from the actual canon material, but I have to stay true to it, and the lack of material regarding them means that the only way I can truly talk about their characterization is by diving deep into the novels and taking notes, which I don’t have much time to do, and then finding the right books or moments to talk about, which is even more difficult. 

This by no means constitutes my big thinkpiece on them, but it’s a start, and ultimately narrowing it down was a lot harder than I expected. This order is by no means final, if you asked me this question next week or next month I’d probably have a different answer, but it’s the 5 that I find myself thinking on the most. 

Honorable mentions: Jericho Druke and Myra Reldon, who are incredibly awesome characters conceptually and who have great moments each, and whom I definitely think deserve big turns on the spotlight if the Agents ever get put on the spotlight again, but are held back by issues with their presentation and lack of prominence. Margo Lane, whom only just narrowly missed the cut because, as much as I like her and think she gets an underseved bad rep and definitely has great things going for her, I sadly have to concede isn’t as consistently great or well-written as she should be. Clyde Burke, whom I definitely like a lot based on what I’ve read and consider an integral part of the line-up, but haven’t read enough of the novels he’s in to really solidify him as one of my favorites just yet. And Slade Farrow, who is a bit too complicated to talk about superficially.

Allright, so here they are

Number 5: Burbank

As the center of all communications within The Shadow’s network and the only character in the series who is even more mysterious and elusive than The Shadow himself, Burbank is fascinating and the kind of character who simultaneously seems to be both begging for an in-depth exploration and yet who also should be dead last on the list of mysteries about the series we want spoiled, because nobody wants the mystery ruined. He’s a bit of cipher personality-wise compared to the other agents, but he kind of has to be, and I think it helps to illustrate the many forms the agents of The Shadow can and should take, that one of them is this total mystery whom we know nothing about and yet is so vital to the whole thing. And it’s interesting also because, for all the many variations we’ve had on The Shadow’s life and thoughts and feelings and etc over the years, Burbank has stayed more or less the same. Whatever variations he’s had in design aside, Burbank just is. 

The pulps did often have moments where we would get to see moments that told us a little more about Burbank, gestures he did, capabilities he had and didn’t have, little details Gibson would sprinkle in to keep people fascinated. Several scenes with Burbank are almost presented like you’re watching a movie, in the way Gibson keeps describing his face being mysteriously blocked from view by objects or lighting, like not even in your mind you are supposed to know what he is. And it’s all the more fascinating because, unlike The Shadow, as far as we know, Burbank is just some guy who’s good with tech, who was only recruited in the 2nd story but apparently knows The Shadow from before it, and whom The Shadow entrusted with virtually every secret necessary to keep his operations running. 

It’s kind of a sign as to how utterly neglected the agents are that, to this day, few writers who’ve ever touched The Shadow has ever come close to giving us any sort of explanation or backstory or anything on Burbank, and I refuse to believe these people had that much self-control. Of course I have my own ideas for Burbank, but even I would hesitate to put them on a story, because Burbank epitomizes that double-edged sword that comes with a solid narrative mystery. Burbank just is, and hopefully he will stay that way. 

Number 4: Dr Roy Tam

Mention of Dr. Tam meant much to Sayre. He was acquainted with Roy Tam, the Chinese physician. He knew that Tam was a power in Chinatown; one who worked for good

Unrolling a map, Tam showed the entire Manhattan area, studded with tiny dots in districts quite remote from Chinatown.

"These represent my outposts," he said soberly. "They are places, owned by Chinese - restaurants, laundries, curio shops, other places of business. In each of these places, I have a friend."

The Shadow understood. Dr. Tam was the motivating factor among the Chinese who adapted themselves to American ways. His mission was to create good will among races, to put an end to prejudice and superstition.

A newer and more sober spirit had replaced the old and dangerous festivities. Feuds in Chinatown were a thing of the forgotten past. Dr. Tam and his associates had done much to bring about the present sentiment; but there were persons - even among that group - who felt regret at the passing of old traditions.

Dr Tam is a remarkably layered character for one that only appears in about ten stories, and he’s one of the agents I’m most eager to discuss in-depth. He’s another one of those agents that Gibson introduced by tricking you into seeing him as a villain, as a Yellow Peril cliche, until he is revealed to be in fact a good man. Not just good, Roy Tam is presented as a powerful, influential and cunning Chinese man with a lot of assistants secretly working for him, and who is consistently presented as a progressive, pacifistic, benevolent civic leader and ally, even friend, of The Shadow. 

Tam is very much westernized and the stories paint that mostly as a good thing, and this is one of the areas that I think could very much result in an interesting story that looks at the ramifications of his role, because of course not everyone is going to agree with his viewpoints, of course him being an advocate against superstition and tradition isn’t necessarily a good thing (and it’s not how Yat Soon, The Shadow’s other major Chinese ally, works, which puts the two at odds), and of course it’s a complicated situation, but the fact that Tam invites this kind of debate at all I think is something very interesting

Largely because of the movie, Dr Tam is one of the few agents of The Shadow who’s managed to sustain appearences in modern stories, and none of them have ever really went with his original angle as a powerful civic leader. Instead he’s been largely painted as either a scientist, like in the movie, a general practitioner, and a psychiatrist, and his age has been all over the board. 

I prefer him in his original form but I also very much like the idea of Roy Tam being, like the Chinese supervillains he was created to be a subversion of, an incredible genius who’s got skills in all fields that can fit under the “Dr” part of his job and is also an incredibly capable leader able to unify splintered communities under a cause of unity and cooperation, someone who absolutely could be the adventuring genius so many other pulp heroes are, except he dedicates himself wholesale to his community and the fight against prejudice and the betterment of lives, even if he’s misguided or wrong at some of the causes he takes up. I really think this character could partake in really great stories if ever brought back.

Number 3: Cliff Marsland

(Fan-art by @cryptixcreations)

Cliff may have actually been the first agent I really fell in love with based on concept alone, even before I read the stories he was a part of and started loving all of the others. He’s one of the few agents who has prior history with The Shadow and we get ever so tantalizing hints at his background that we ultimately never get to learn about in full. He’s the resident tough guy and underworld contact of The Shadow, which in any other series might have made him the biggest badass and a loner action hero who’s too cool for things like thinking and relying on others for help. But here, trying to be that only gets Cliff into trouble, and circumstances gradually morph him into the series equivalent of a Team Dad. 

He was one of the agents who we got to see develop as a character. As he appears more frequently past his introduction, he grows from a headstrong, careless jackass, mostly interested in the action parts of the job, who “resigned himself to an adventurous career with violent death as its inevitable termination”, into one of the most reliable and capable agents, taking the lead during action scenes but otherwise fully defering leadership to Harry, and being the agent most likely to partake in gunfights and rescue The Shadow out of trouble, joining in missions like infiltrating circuses or high-society clubs and forming very strong friendships with Harry, Clyde & Hawkeye, who almost kills a man with his bare hands when he thinks Harry’s been killed. He’s the hardass, square-jawed ex-con who plays the reputation of a brutal killer, and is in reality a great friend, ally and husband (Arline has sadly only been mentioned in three stories), on top of being an invaluable fighter and secret agent.

Cliff could have easily been the protagonist of a long-running series all his own and that’s one of my favorite aspects of The Shadow’s agents. They are people with agency, goals and dreams and relationships and lives beyond the roles they play, they all have strengths and weaknesses and faults and positives that bring them much closer to us than The Shadow could ever be, with no end to the variety of roles they can take, and Cliff in particular is a character I’m very attached to. 

I do hope that he eventually found peace in a quiet life with Arline once his business with The Shadow was over.

Number 2: Harry Vincent

The Shadow as a franchise has been vastly worse off as a result of Harry Vincent being completely sidelined and mischaracterized in virtually every adaptation since, and the sheer love that Shadow fans hold for Harry purely may be the closest thing to a true universal opinion in the fandom. 

Harry is a lot of things: the audience surrogate, the protagonist of much of the early stories, the leader of the agents in field duty, the dude in distress who gets kidnapped far more than even Margo, a hopeless romantic, an action hero, the one who gets sent to recruit agents because all The Shadow has to do is send Harry on an assignment and wait for him to come back with a new friend. He is a competent, resourceful, strong, extremely kind ball of sunshine who's got the potential for greatness, even if he can't see it. 

And for this post I’m going to highlight this: Harry is, on top of all that, the ultimate embodiment of what The Shadow strives to protect, help and uplift. He is the living proof that The Shadow's mission has a good, positive effect in the world, long after criminals are brought to justice and plots are failed and victims are rescued, purely by the fact that he’s alive and helping others who were once like him. Someone who, despite having so much to offer, could have easily been swept away by the world’s callousness and cruelty, if The Shadow wasn’t there to rescue him and uplift him.

I liked The Shadow pretty much at first sight after seeing the character’s design and listening to episodes of the radio show, and my appreciation for the character grew after reading The Shadow’s Shadow, but it wasn’t until I encountered @oldschoolcrimefighters and her brilliantly informative writings on The Shadow and Harry that I not only fell in love with the series, but decided to do everything in my power to try and get other people to love it too and see the potential it has. I think a lot more people should at least be aware of why Harry matters. 

Number 1: Moe Shrevnitz

I was honestly a bit surprised when I rounded up all of the agents to make this list and Shrevy here ended up in Number One, but in hindsight, it may have been obvious all along. 

My reasonings as to why Shrevy is my favorite agent do get a bit too personal, especially because of something that happened to me as I was writing this post, so I’m putting it on a separate post here. 

[readyplayerhobi]

Favourite Fics of 2019

So...I thought that I’d give you all a list of my favourite fanfic’s that I read in 2019! I’ll include the description that was given by the author and then give a brief commentary of my own! Please make sure to not only read the fic, but give it a like and reblog! Give it some of your own comments and too, and follow/tell the author!!

Authors - I’ve got some authors repeated so you might have more than one fic here!

Readers - ...there’s a lot of fics here lol

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Welcome To The Underworld by @spookitokki​

; Demon/Radio Show Host!Jungkook x  Human!Reader

; Synopsis: In a dark little second-hand shop downtown, stuffed in an alleyway you only stumbled into because you were lost, you found a charming antique radio. When you turned it on, it began to play what would become your favorite radio show, “Welcome to the Underworld”

; My Thoughts: I rec’d this fic very recently but I still remember it well. Demon Jungkook is weirdly caring for her despite her being human and him being demon from the Underworld. The reader...well she has no sense of self-preservation honestly haha. I enjoyed everything about this; the smut, the world building, the characterisation and so much more!

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Matters Of The Heart by @hobidreams​

; Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: it seems not even the passage of half a decade can diminish the hold of Mr. Jung’s charms on your heart. but the rumors that welcome you home speak of his imminent marriage to an heiress, one who bests you in every infuriating, ‘ladylike’ fashion. just how, then, are you meant to interpret the undeniable sparks of desire in his eyes?

; My Thoughts: I maintain that I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH. I think it’s probably like...in my top list of fics all year. It’s just...amazing. The writing feels authentic to the era and the reader is a delightful rebel that we all love from Victorian eras after all. And of course...Mr Jung is just a ridiculously attractive man that I would like very much. Rain is apparently making a follow up drabble AND I AM EXCITED!

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An Abundance of Scrunchies by @jhspetitegf​

; Single Dad!Hoseok x Kindergarten Teacher!Reader

; Synopsis: ❝hoseok is a hot single dad and you’re the new kindergarten teacher that likes to piss him off❞

; My Thoughts: This series of drabbles has completely stolen my heart. Dae is adorable and the reader is delightful in how she loves her kids. And then there’s Hoseok, the grumpy businessman who’s incredibly rich yet adorably dotes on his daughter and doesn’t get mad at her. It’s just...fluffy and angsty softness. I love it so much, and the smut was...oof. I can’t wait to read more!

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Polaris by @junghelioseok​

; Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: somehow, someway, he always returns to you.

; My Thoughts: I MAINTAIN THAT I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH AHHH. It’s so unique and beautifully written, such a delight to read and I enjoy it every time I do. The mixing of the ages throughout the years and how Hoseok evidently has knowledge of their future together but doesn’t tell her. It’s so sweet and yet so organic how they come together. It could be weird and creepy given the difference in ages continuously but it’s not. He’s always a gentleman and it’s just...it’s just wonderful honestly.

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Faded Love by @jamaisjoons​

; Jimin x Reader

; Synopsis: he doesn’t need to say it. because you can feel your husband, park jimin, falling out of love with you.

; My Thoughts: Okay but like, I still feel the pain and sadness when I read this fic the first time :( the reader’s confusion and pain at being abandoned so thoughtlessly despite her efforts is so hard to read. I still hate Jimin for doing it, and I’m glad that he stopped and realised that he was making a mistake. But poor reader will never be able to fully trust him again and always be worried to some degree :(

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Lost And Found 01: Tick Tock by @fortunexkookie​

; Peter Pan!Hoseok x Captain Hook!Reader

; Synopsis: The only hope you had at ending your exile and earning your life back came in the form of an infuriating and uncatchable man: Hoseok. He seemed to love the endless game of cat-and-mouse you two played - so much, in fact, that you were unsure if you were the cat or the mouse. What he failed to realize was that there was a third player, and this one wasn’t after him. The Crocodile hunted you with an intensity that rivaled the way you chased Hoseok, but with one difference: the games he played were deadly.  

; My Thoughts: Okay so like...a lot of my favourite fics ever this year have been Hoseok based. You’re not surprised, I know you’re not. But this fic is just...I cannot WAIT for the second and third parts of it. The world is so richly realised and the characters have such phenomenal characterisation and development in just this one chapter. It’s so...involving to read, you just get lost in it. It’s truly a beautiful work of art that I can’t wait to see how everything goes!

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Jungle Park by @jimlingss​

; Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: The equation is simple. Hoseok needs to hire someone. You need a job. Except like any actual equation, it’s not fucking simple at all! Not when you have to add the fact that he was forced to hire someone he doesn’t want in his office, he has little respect for your job in general, and oh yeah…once upon a time you might have—*CENSORED*.

; My Thoughts: I looooooved reading this fic. Jimlingsss is basically why I made Flower a once a week thing, because when I was reading Jungle Park, I was always SO EXCITED for Monday’s because it meant I got to read a new Jungle Park! It’s such a slow burn romance but it’s so delightful and rewarding watching this cold and moody lawyer warm up to his bright and bubbly HR person. And then you learn the backstory between them and...I just loved it all!

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Magic and Mysteries by @jimlingss​

; Jimin x Reader

; Synopsis: Everything’s okay….EVERYTHING’S OKAY, YOU’RE FINE. Look, you just have one tiny problem. It’s an itty-bitty issue. Not that big of a deal. So what if you don’t have a familiar and you’re about to take on the ENTIRE family business. Oh, you have a name to uphold? Everyone’s depending on you? Great. That’s just fantastic. But it’s fine. You’ll get your familiar and you’ll run the best damn potion shop the world has ever seen. Everything will be fine, right?

; My Thoughts: Again, another Jimlingsss story but honestly, they’re always golden. I particularly remember this fic because I read it when I was in Korea. It’s so delightful and fun, reminding me a lot of Kiki’s Delivery Service. Jimin is a little rascal but I love that he teases her because he genuinely cares. It’s all just a truly wonderful fic and story put together in one delightful package.

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Love, Guaranteed by @gukyi​

; Taehyung x Reader

; Synopsis: with the celestial ball quickly approaching, kim taehyung is horrified to find out that you, his best friend, are dateless. to remedy this, he initiates The Match Project, a matchmaking service designed to find the most optimal date. to you, it’s an opportunity to meet someone else so you can stop pining after your clueless best friend. to him, it’s an opportunity to finally, once and for all, tell you how he feels.

; My Thoughts: I do quite enjoy reading Hogwarts fics, and I particularly enjoying reading Hogwarts fics with BTS as students as long as there’s no smut in it. Gukyi’s Hogwarts series was such a delight to read and I remember reading this fic with a smile on my face. Wanting to scream at reader because POOR TAEHYUNG OBVIOUSLY LOVES YOU. Poor guy trying so hard despite everything :(

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Lovers’ Fuck Rule by @prolixitae​

; Jungkook x Reader x Hoseok

; Synopsis: jungkook is still new to your established relationship with hoseok, which means he needs a little help feeling competent sometimes. especially when it comes to sex. alternatively, the span of a poly relationship over inaccurate amounts of fucking.

; My Thoughts: Okay look, I don’t do shipping or anything but Junghope is one of the best friendships/combinations there is. And this fic encapsulates why. Jungkook is so nervous with her whereas Hoseok is just...so unbelievably calm and dominant about it all. He knows exactly what gets his girl off and it’s sweet how amused he is by Jungkook. You can feel the slight insecurity almost off Jungkook because Hoseok has been with her for years but you can also feel the genuine love the reader has for him, along with the friendship Hoseok obviously has too. I really enjoyed it all!

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Get Wet by @prolixitae​

; Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: sitting in on your boyfriend’s dance practice is probably your biggest kink. it’s also the reason you asked to be so shamelessly fucked in the locker rooms of his dance studio, in spite of the pending consequences. note: this is not an idol-verse fic

; My Thoughts: You know I love Hoseok, and this smut was just...oh my god wow. Bizarrely, I explicitly remember reading it while in the cinema waiting for a film to start haha. TNS Hoseok is amazing though and I really love him. In this fic he’s even more amazing though and I just...god I want him so badly. Urgh, 10/10

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Eating For Two by @park-moomin​

; Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: He’ll have a Large

; My Thoughts: ARGH GOD I REMEMBER READING THIS. URGH, what is it about Hoseok that makes the idea of oral sex with him just so...amazing? Actually just any sex. Any at all. I love the idea of him being so...eager and desperate to go down on his girl, particularly when she’s pregnant so that she can still get some pleasure and fun out of it. Also, him cumming in his pants is just...the cherry on top haha

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The Devil In His Details by @park-moomin​

; Jimin x Reader

; Synopsis: Evil comes in many forms. In this instance, it's a 5'8" pretty-boy with an even prettier dick. And you're the form you want him to come in.

; My Thoughts: Lawd, I remember this being one of the hottest smut’s I’ve read in a while and I still stand by that statement. It does make me laugh that this was supposed to be a 1k drabble cos...girl...this length reminds me of me haha. Still, I think Jimin got the blowjob of his life...probably every man’s life here. Well done Jimin, go back for more.

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Hot Rod by @kinktae​

; Greaser!Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: a 1950′s inspired fic where greaser hoseok can’t keep his eyes, or hands, off the new waitress at his and his boys’ favorite diner.

; My Thoughts: The whole Rewind series that Rose has been doing but you all know I’m a Hoseok hoe and HOOOOO BOOOOOY GREASER HOSEOK IS SOMETHING ELSE. Everything about this fic was just...wonderful and it felt delightfully 1950s. The lingo and outfits, the cars and everything. It was hot and Hoseok deserves everything. I still kinda hope there’ll be a drabble or something in the future but either way, read this as it’s soooo good!

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The Boyfriend Concept by @kpopfanfictrash​

; Pornstar!Jimin x Reader

; Synopsis: Win a Date with a Porn Star! You saw the sign when you walked in, of course, but you had no idea your friend dropped your name into the raffle. Fast-forward to later that day, when you actually win. You are horrified, of course, with no intention of accepting and setting yourself up for embarrassment. But then you meet Jimin, and decide this might be worth a shot. 

; My Thoughts: Shanna always writes some of the best fics on tumblr and this is definitely one of them. You’d think with it being a ‘win a date with a pornstar fic’ that he’d be a little weird or something about it (there’s nothing wrong with pornstars but you can imagine it’d be odd) but Jimin is just...so sweet and kind and polite! He’s just...the perfect boyfriend honestly. It just so happens he does porn too...I honestly loved this so much!

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Beneath The Boughs by @gimmesumsuga​

; Dryad!Namjoon x Reader

; Synopsis: For almost as long as you can remember, the tree stood opposite your apartment has been a part of your life. Countless memories have been made under the shade of its supple branches, but when its existence comes under threat, you soon discover that your favourite tree is more special to you than you ever could’ve known.

; My Thoughts: I still maintain that this fic is just basically Steph gushing about her love for Namjoon all over the page. It’s just...so sweet and soft. Namjoon makes the perfect dryad and I can easily imagine him being one. He’s such a delightful character who you just want to protect and teach about the world because he has that kind of delightful innoncence. I loved it so much!

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Sweeter Than Sweet by @gimmesumsuga​

; OT7 X Reader

; Synopsis: You never would have expected someone like Park Jimin to notice you. As handsome and beguiling as he is deadly, you’re enthralled from the very moment you meet. Addicted to his kiss and his bite, Jimin opens up your eyes to a whole new world of love, lust and seduction.

; My Thoughts: This is like...the OG OT7 fic. The one that EVERYONE should read. It’s so close to finishing and I’m kind of mind boggled that it’s going to finish. It’s just...perfection. Jimin is delightful and Yoongi is sweet, it’s just so perfect, I love it all. Namjoon is still a dick, sorry Steph. I also maintain that I’m secretly marrying Hoseok. Everyone go read it and strap yourselves in for a long ride!

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Bump In The Night by @fortunexkookie​

; Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: You’d spent countless nights terrified of the beast that lurked in the shadows, but as it would turn out, the monster haunting your home wasn’t a monster all. He was just a boy, and the only crime he’d ever committed was daring to love a girl from a different world.

; My Thoughts: Arrrrghhhhonaeouthnoetahnouenth this fic is just....perfect. I love it SO MUCH. Hoseok is a genuine monster in this, not just someone who thinks he is. He looks like a monster. But he’s a monster who gets a best friend in the reader and who slowly falls in love with her. I SWEAR MY HEART DIED WHEN THE THING HAPPENED :( Poor Hoseok, my sweet boy. But then...the end! And I was like ‘waaah’ I mean, I don’t know how she’s gonna live there but...I have hope for this odd couple because their love survived a lot <333

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One Thing Right by @hobios​

; Jungkook x Reader

; Synopsis: “i’ve been wrong about a million times, but i’ve got one thing right.”

or, desperate to get your ailing mother into the best care possible, you ask your childhood friend turned enemy to marry you for his health insurance benefits. the only problem is it’s illegal. and he’s the sheriff. and you swore to hate him since the day he broke your best friend’s heart.

; My Thoughts: Ahh...this is such a well written fic and I enjoy it so much. Jungkook has such good characterisation in it and you can feel that the readers heart is in the right place! I really like it and it reads so well, like it actually reads like a legitimate novel tbh!

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Wall To Wall by @winetae​

; Pornstar!Hoseok x Pornstar!Reader

; Synopsis: Temporary popularity is the biggest threat to your career right now. Without a solid core fan base you’re doomed to be forgotten. If not now, then in a month or two, and if not then, surely by the end of the year. That’s how quickly the adult film industry cycles through their actors, especially when you’re a woman. Your agent comes forward with a proposition to help put you back on the map.

; My Thoughts: Okay look...this fic is just great. I’m eagerly anticipating the second part because the first was just written so well. It’s so unique in that the readers already has a boyfriend, Jimin, who is not only okay with her being a pornstar but is the one who films her! But then you’ve got Hoseok, the new guy on the block who’s ridiculously good. The sex is just...it feels so realistic and like it’s two people in a relationship having sex and not just being filmed on camera. God I want them together lol

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Club Zombie by @floralseokjin​

; Seokjin x Reader

; Synopsis: In a world overrun by zombies, you’d think everyone was a goner, but the reality is much different. A steady diet of brains lets a zombie exist as a fully functioning human. Just ignore the part where they’re technically dead… In fact, these days, the amount of zombies outweigh the humans. A lot jump at the chance to be turned. Beg for it.

Kim Seokjin controls the underground of Seoul. No one would dare cross him. That’s how most of the world goes these days. You wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of a zombie now, would you? However, you don’t quite see it like that. Spending most nights dancing at the club he owns, you catch his eye. It’s never the wrong side if you’re underneath him, right…?

; My Thoughts: Look...I still can’t believe I read a fic with zombie sex and that I actively WANTED to read a fic with zombie sex lol. But disregarding that, it’s still phenomenally written and the world is built up so well! I loved reading this and it didn’t feel as long as it’s word count. The characters were interesting with little tidbits being thrown out there that made you a little more interested in their history.

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Defining Heaven by @akinnie75​

; Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: “If I try to fly, will I make it to heaven, or will I fall straight down? But what exactly is heaven?” It’s a question that’s been in Hoseok’s mind a lot after cutting ties with his parents and ending his relationship with his ex-girlfriend. Dreaming is his fear, but you tell him that it’s not as scary as he thinks it is. Even in the depths of his own despair, you reach your hand out, but will he take it?

; My Thoughts: At this point, I think I just love anything by this author. But this fic was so...real and beautiful. The connection between two people who want more from life and deserve from life, who are both stuck. Hoseok’s story is heart breaking and getting to see him slowly come to life and learn to care for himself again was beautiful, while seeing the reader getting to care for herself by caring for him was just beautiful as well.

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Florescence by @jincherie​

; Hybrid!Taehyung x Reader x Hybrid!Seokjin

; Synopsis: Okay, so maybe you’re lonely, and maybe there is something missing in your life, a void that you maybe want to fill with a companion that may or may not be of human origin… You’re perfectly content not doing anything about it though, until your best friend calls you in desperate need for your help and you suddenly end up coming home with not one, but two hybrids that may or may not have been on the way to the chopping block had you not taken them in. They’re more than a little rough around the edges, and the situation is less than ideal but… maybe the best things don’t always come in perfect, shiny packages. Maybe they just need a little time to bloom.

; My Thoughts: I love this story so much :333 it’s such an interesting twist on hybrid’s in that there are ones who get discarded because they’re ‘defective’. It’s horrible to think about and I just want to love both of them. Jin is so...sweet and he tries so hard, being the one to put himself out there with the reader because Taehyung is just a sweet and shy bub. Seeing them come to life slowly is so rewarding!

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 Moon Magic by @jincherie​

; Merman!Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: You’ve never paid much mind to the moon, but you quickly learn that even though you’ve never really thought of the her, she has always watched over you. What better to heal an grieving heart, than the luminous, rippling magic of the moon? And maybe a merman, or two. You know, for good measure.

; My Thoughts: I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH AND I KNOW THAT YOU WROTE FOR ME AND I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT I STILL LOVE IT. Hoseok is such a sweetheart and it’s adorable that you can see he’s falling in love much faster than she’s falling in love with him :333 the world is so realised, even though it’s just an island and everything is just...so perfect!

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We Float by @lamourche​

; Massage Therapist!Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: Might as well get this over with. You sigh and raise your hand to knock, steeling yourself for patchouli and shell necklaces. The door opens. A face peers out at you. There’s no beard, no long shaggy hair. For a moment, you wish he did walk around shirtless. He’s handsome. He’s taller than you, with brown hair that almost falls into his eyes and undercut on the sides. Warm brown eyes and a cute nose. It’s fucking cute his nose. He’s wearing cargo shorts, a Hawaiian shirt and white crocs. Well, that’s better. He’s still handsome and his kind eyes make you want to confess some prior sin, but it’s easy to scowl at a guy in white crocs.

; My Thoughts: This is still such a wonderful and beautiful fic. Hoseok’s agoraphobia is dealt with tactfully and he’s not magically cured by the end, but it’s so lovely to see that he’s willing to try and combat it a little more because he loves her. And she loves him, accepting him as he is and not pushing for more than he’s willing to give!

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Tip 143 by @minflix​

; Hoseok x Reader

; Synopsis: Even though he is everything you find attractive in a man, your friend and co-worker Jung Hoseok is just exactly that - a friend and co-worker. For some reason, you have never found yourself attracted to him even though all the girls and guys around you go absolutely crazy for him.But that all changes for you one night while scrolling through Heart2Heart, a sex live cam website…

; My Thoughts: AHHHHHH I LOVE IT SO MUCHHHHH. THIS IS ONE OF MY FAVOURITE HOSEOK FICS ON THIS WHOLE SITE. It’s so wonderfully written and I adore reading it, even re-reading it. Hoseok is so funny and just...so light hearted. He’s not hugely bothered about anything and the way he goes along wtih the reader and even helps her to film her videos, even going so far as to...well going for her ;). And yet they both just think that they’re friends when nope, you’re idiots because you LOVE EACH OTHER. I genuinely love it so much, always a favourite and will remain close to my heart <333

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See Both Sides Like Chanel by @minflix​

; Namjoon x Reader x Hoseok

; Synopsis: You, Namjoon, and Hoseok are inseparable. Three best friends that grew up together since you were all in diapers.But lately, Namjoon has been drifting away…

So on his birthday, you and Hoseok remind him just how inseparable the three of you really are.

; My Thoughts: This couple...is perfect. I love them so much, they’re so well suited to each other. Rich brats who despite being rich and snobby, all genuinely love each other so much. Poor Namjoon when he felt like he’d been left out. <333 it’s okay Joonie, they both love you. I read this while I was in Korea and it just...made an impact. I want them all to live happily ever after with each other x-x

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Euphoria by @btssavedmylifeblr​

; Jungkook x Reader

; Synopsis: At the end of your life, you are given one day to live again with the man you loved. A lifetime’s love story told in a single day. 

; My Thoughts: THIS IS THE SADDEST YET SWEETEST FIC EVER. Oh my god, it’s just...it’s so unbelievably bittersweet. Their love for each other and how she KNOWS that she’s dying and she’ll never see him again. How much she throws herself into the day with him and how much he clearly loves her. She knows they have their whole life set out for them and it’s just...wonderful...honestly.

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Off The Deep End by @boymeetsweevil​

; Merman!Yoongi x Reader

; Synopsis: Your new mermaid friend, Yoongi, helps you navigate the treacherous waters of love, sex, and National Geographic.

; My Thoughts: Ngl, the main thing I remember from this? It’s beautifully written and also fish dick lmao. But seriously, it’s a great fic to read and watching Yoongi get to experience the human world is a delight. It’s very unique in how it’s written and the biology and culture of merfolk. A definite recommendation for everyone!

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