#she reminds me of other characters i like to a degree so it’s hard for me to fully dislike her

[arttheclown]

i feel like i need to watch m3gan again sometime to really process what i think of gemma tbh and that in of itself is pretty interesting. i like media that gives us flawed protagonists who aren’t always the easiest to like.

[twig-tea]

GL odds and ends 29 December 2024

The end of the year kicked my ass, but I wanted to get one last one of these out for 2024! The last one before this was 10 November. If you're interested in GL older than that, check out my GL rec list through Feb 2024 and my #gl recs tag for the other odds and ends posts. New series marked with an asterisk*.

Currently airing (with thoughts up to 29 Dec):

The Fragrance You inherit 5/8 (Japanese, Friday/Saturday-ish, no official distribution but fansub on @isaksbestpillow's blog [thank you Siiri!] I have been really enjoying this show and have been writing when I have time (last post was for ep4). At its core this is a gentle show about kind people who love each other doing their best, which is always my favourite thing. Subs are on pause for the moment so you have time to catch up before the finale!

Pluto ep 11/12 (Thai, Saturdays 9:30 AM ET, YouTube) This plot continues to be absolutely wild. There's a lot of discourse around Oom this week, to which I'll just say: Setting a test to see if the people you love will hurt themselves in order to make you feel better is not loving or healthy behaviour, even if your motivations are understandable and sympathetic. Namtan is doing a great job making these twins feel like different people, and she and Film are still gorgeous together. And I have no idea what's up with the messy lesbian sides, but I'm on the side of all of them need a time out! I've been pretty dialed out of this show because it's not my thing, so I'm not that invested in any of the relationships going into the finale, but it's been a wild ride and it seems to be holding together for those who enjoy the high drama of this plot.

*Petrichor ep 5/10 (Thai, Saturdays, 10:00 AM ET, iQIYI) The procedural aspects of this show are unfortunately not well executed, but Engfa and Charlotte have fantastic chemistry. I'm also really loving seeing Na and Max again even though I am very worried about getting too attached to their characters. It's always hard for me when a show is about a police officer trying to do good work in a corrupt system because the only takeaway I can accept is that that is not possible lol but I'm enjoying seeing these two on my screen every week (except this week, because we sadly did not get a new episode today).

*Mate, 6/12 (Thai, Tuesdays, WeTV (uncut version)) This one is hard to describe. It seems to be trying to do for trauma in a GL what Love in the Air and Bed Friend did in BL--show a realistic depiction of trauma in one of their characters and have them fall in love, and be taken care of and healed that way. But that also makes it extremely hard to watch. The trauma flashbacks and trauma responses is rough. The main character is not very likeable but that's kinda the point, I'm not minding that part of it so much. There are a lot of things I like about this show, so I don't want to discourage views. Just go into this one informed, and make the decision that's right for you.

*INTP 1/? (Korean, Fridays (?), YouTube) This is the latest short series from RedQ, who produced some of my favourite GL short series including More than or equal to 75 degrees C, and To the Ex who Hated Me. No info on how long it will be or if it will be weekly, so that Fridays release schedule is a total guess. The setup of this one reminded me of Semantic Error if SangWoo realized he was attracted to JaeYoung at their first group assignment meeting.

Recently Completed:

Apple My Love 6.5 50-min eps (Thai, Oct 12-Nov 16, GagaOOLala and YouTube) I ended up feeling like this one bit off a bit more than it could chew, as much fun as I had with it, it was a wobbly landing. I was ok with the ending at the end but I spent a lot of time watching the finale uncertain about how I felt about all of it. There's a 30 min "episode 5.1" that is an important bridge between episodes 5 and 6 (and also includes a 10-min fingering scene, thank you show) that I think resulted from either poor pacing or realizing they needed to set up the episode better? It was odd but something to make sure not to skip. The show does a lot of what I love about Kongthup's latest BLs: it avoids the worst drama pitfalls and calls them out in the show itself when it uses them, and it is largely about being kind to its characters who are figuring themselves out. Warning for extremely hard to watch secondhand embarrassment in the first couple of episodes lol Kris is such a cringefail lesbian I love her. With the caveats above, if you don't mind secondhand embarrassment and want a comedy GL and are willing to be a little patient with the ending, give this one a try!

The Loyal Pin 16 65-min eps (Thai, Aug 4-Dec 1, YouTube) Anin was the bravest right through to the end. I really liked a lot of this show, but I found the pacing a bit uneven and the finale a little rough. It's hard, because I actually am happy with the way the show ended--it makes perfect sense and was where I was hoping they would get to the entire show. What I didn't like was how we got there. It seemed wild that Pin and Anin didn't at least talk about this possibility before we got there; and didn't feel like we ever resolved the disparity between the two leads, though the show was aware of it the whole time which I did like. And you may have seen the shouting about the prank in the finale, it was in really poor taste. In the end, this show was beautiful, gave a platform for promoting Thai culture (food, clothing, history), and had excellent intimacy. I really enjoyed the slow burn between Anin and Pin, and I loved that every character had and used the agency they had, but that the show was realistic about what was in and outside of their control. If you want a slow-burn and high-heat romance and are willing to be a little frustrated for the sake of the drama, and/or you really like a pigtail-pulling romantic dynamic, you should watch this show.

Red Whisper 8 10-min eps (Korea, Oct 2-Nov 11, YouTube) Honestly this show never got better after what I wrote about it a month ago about how its portrayal of bisexuality and nonmonogamy was upsetting. For the record one last time: Not all bisexuals are nonmonogamous, and entering a monogamous relationship under false pretenses and then acting like your partner is being unreasonable by not wanting an open relationship is shitty behaviour. This one is sadly not recommended.

The Nipple Talk 10 30-min eps (Taiwanese, Nov 8-22, GagaOOLala) I highly recommended the first half, and so I am so sad to say that I can't say the same for the second half of the show. I was really enjoying how much the show seemed to support a mix of monogamy and nonmonogamy, but the second half of the show leaned heavily into 'everyone wants a monogamous relationship when they meet the right person', which disappointed me. The show also tried to introduce some themes that felt very dated in terms of how they handled them (e.g. HIV) and I ended up just not really liking the Pony character as a person by the end. The lesbian relationship was super messy in a way that I did not find fun too. Mama was the best part of this show, and I hope we get more characters like them in future (better) shows!

*Soul Sisters 24 12-min eps (Chinese, iQIYI) This entire show dropped this week so I binged it in one go. The basic setup is a GL version of Meet You At the Blossom, except the gender fuckery lasts for most of the series and they don't actually ever get to kiss. I loved this little show; it is a frenetic, very silly and censored comedy, so calibrate your expectations accordingly. But it walks the line in a way that is palatable (or was for me, anyway). Without giving too much away, it is an open happy ending. The caveats for this one are that there is no wasted tape, so the pacing is rollercoaster fast, and the cuts are sometimes jarring. But it's a surprisingly beautiful show for the budget, and I really appreciated all of the ways they came up with to give these women shippy moments. Also, good lord this main character is so competent, which is a major weakness of mine. I had a great time!

*Whisper Me a Love Song 12 25-min eps (Japanese anime, Apr-27 Dec, HiDive) This started airing in April but there was a delay and the last episode didn't air until yesterday. High school lesbians in a band having embarrassing confused and misunderstood feelings all over the place (with good endings including a kiss for at least one of our couples). I appreciate that this anime is not playing with the 'are they friends who joke about wanting to touch each other's boobs or are they more' line, they outright say they want to be more than friends and then kiss. The music is good too! Recommended if you are feeling like a high school dramedy with good tunes that stays pretty light and is in the 'bubble'.

Recent One-offs, Side Couples, etc.:

My Hot Butch Roommate (actually a 2-parter) aired on bilibili 1, 2) and was subtitled by @douqi7s on YouTube (1, 2) These two are very cute, and this little short does a ton with the very tiny 5 minutes of total runtime it uses. Give the original bilibili uploads a stream so they get views, even if you watch the YT subbed version!

Fufuknows put out a new lesbian short titled The Choices of Two Lesbian Couples in Love on YouTube This was a great short (11 min) film featuring the story of two couples at different stages in their relationship, and the different choices they make about their futures. I really enjoy Fufuknows as queer short filmmakers, and I appreciate that they regularly include lesbian and wlw content in their bi-weekly (as in, every other week) fictional shorts that they produce and release. This one is recommended!

Aim's Lesbian plotline in the new Love Sick 2024 remake concluded (this was not a plotline in the 2014 version and it's one of the changes I really like and that I think works really well) Spoiler: she doesn't get a romance happy ending but her story ends with acceptance from her friends about who she is, which was lovely to watch

There was a brief of-the-week lesbian couple who wanted to marry in Spare Me Your Mercy Spoiler: their story is tragic, which is par for the course in a murder mystery

I am suspecting wlw sides in See Your Love I may end up eating these words but I was getting vibes, and so I'm putting this out in the universe now in hopes I'm right lol

There is a new Korean shorts production company on YouTube called Lovememory (Their first BL ep is out and the GL, First Love, has a trailer)

Mom Ped Sawan started airing but I don't have a source so I can't give any info or links unfortunately. If anyone knows of a subtitled source for this show, please let me know!

My Ex's Wedding came out in Thai theatres waiting for an international source for this too

Korean short film What's In my Bag was uploaded to Matchbox I haven't seen it yet but the trailer is on YouTube if anyone is curious! The film is available now for a small fee on Vimeo (runtime 12 mins).

Sastra film app YouTube channel has several short Cambodian GL series that come out weekly Honestly they are not to my taste but I don't like gatekeeping GL especially from smaller markets. I check in on these time to time and if there are any that I think are great I'll give them a shout-out

Ditto above with JPC media YouTube channel for Thai GL shorts if there are any that stand out to me I'll say so; that being said I haven't had time recently so if I've missed anything good let me know!

Starting soon:

Us the series, Thai, 18 January 2025, most likely YouTube (as this is a GMMTV show) Caveat that this date is a rumour, see comments

Fragrance of the First Flower s2, Taiwanese, 18 February 2025, GagaOOLala ok this isn't that soon but I'm just so excited we're getting this second season after all!

It is so, so nice that we have this much GL to keep track of, I can't complain! This covers a whole month of content and it was a month I was very distracted from my QL consumption so while I always welcome anyone pointing out stuff I missed, I would particularly appreciate it this round.

[ros-sauce]

Ough my god SPEAKING of Mizuki's hyper-cheerful exterior, I was thinking about something recently!! When you compare her to the other Genki Girls of Project Sekai, there's a certain vibe difference between her and say, Emu or Saki. The vibe difference is, of course, that Mizuki is making an active effort to be as palatable as possible. But I noticed something more specific about that, that is, to me, equal parts cute and OW OW OW OW OW OW:

Mizuki totally acts like a kids' show character. Specifically, a Precure leader. (Which makes sense, given that Precure's almost certainly what MiraMagi Definitely Isn't, in the same way that TrickTrick Definitely Isn't TikTok.) Every kids' show protagonist is going to be niceys, obviously, they need to be good influences. But! There are still differences in the brand of niceys that each little kid franchise character embodies. And Mizuki's mask matches the Precure flavor just about perfectly...

What's most significant to me is that she's like, pushy about doing favors for her friends. Refer to her bullying Niigo into Going Out And Doing Stuff Because It's Good For Them. "Helpful to a fault" is a trait that Toei loves to give lead cures. You will have your pink cure who runs around helping everyone with a smile 24/7 (I am looking directly at Heart and Lovely especially), and you will have one of the other characters off to the side sighing something like "There she goes again, wearing herself thin because she is Just Too Nice. She doesn't know when to quit!".

There's also a second brand of "'helpful' is her one negative trait" cure, and that's the one who continually kills The Grumpy One with kindness, while the grumpy one in question thinks "Wow what a weirdo. Why are you so nice." (This time I'm looking directly at Peach, Heart and Lovely again, Miracle, and Star)

In general, she really often chooses to show her emotions in a very simple way, and it totally reminds me of how characters in anime for younger audiences tend to talk. When she's displaying 'really happy', she often takes a tone more akin to "announcing to the viewer" than "normal happy person". There's like, a lot of energy, and a sort of singsong tone, it makes me think of the recaps that tend to happen at the start and ends of Precure (and baby anime in general) episodes. The like, "Hi, I'm Firstname Lastname! I'm in 8th grade and this is my favorite thing! One day, a mysterious power turned me into a Precure, and now I fight bad guys!" thing. When she's displaying 'sad', she becomes a comical degree of mopey, and then bounces right back after a few seconds (refer to the "WAHHHHH MEIKO HATES MEEEEEE :(((((" card lol.) She also loves herself a good Noise No One Makes In Real Life... the breathy "a-haha..." sort of laugh when she's embarrassed, "Kyaa~!" when something cute catches her eye, drawn-out "Eeeehhhhhh?!" when she's shocked.

There's also a little bit of like, "irresponsible, but so cute about it that you can't get mad at her". Like in the Ena5 aftershow, where Ena's like "I'm glad you're here to make MVs again but don't demand a million drawings from me ok?", to which Mizuki is like "It's fiiine you can just pull an all-nighter for me :) can't you :)?". It reminds me of how half the lead cures are either Bad At Their Homework or Forget About It, and then wetly and pathetically and cutely beg the rest of the main cast to help them.

I dunno I just think it's. Extremely Mizuki to select the type of character whose worst flaw is "annoyingly nice and happy" as the basis for how she presents herself. If the person you pretend to be around others is totally perfect, it's weird and offputting (hi Mafuyu), so she has to display some kind of flaw. But being imperfect also opens her up to harassment, so of course she goes for the most hard-to-hate imperfection she can think of as her One Failing. And I also think it's Extremely Mizuki to have so much love in her heart for characters primarily designed to spread messages like "always be kind", "do the right thing" etc etc.

Mizuki is a little dweeb who likes cute low-stakes anime about peace and love on planet earth. And also she is not doing well mentally and all she wants is the peace and love on planet earth that her animes show. God. I love her

[lastoneout]

Okay, honest question, who is Yotsuba?

OH HO HO ANON I AM ALL TOO HAPPY TO EXPLAIN :3

Yotsuba is a character from the greatest manga ever made, Yotsuba&!(or Yotsuba to! it translates weird, most fans just call it Yotsuba) which is a comedy slice-of-life manga about Yotsuba Koiwai, a five year old girl, and her very strange yet wholesome family and friends!

It's from the same mangaka who gave us Azumanga Daioh, though while that manga is told in a four-panel comic style and doesn't really have much of an overarching plot, Youtsuba is done in a traditional manga style and despite also being very episodic there is a bit of a throughline surrounding Youtsuba getting settled into the neighborhood she just moved to, growing up, and eventually, in the later chapters, getting ready to go to school for the first time. Also, there are storylines that take place over multiple chapters as well! Despite the fact that the manga has been releasing since 2003, the chapters are pretty sporadic and the comic has only really covered about one year of the character's lives, but it never really feels slow or aimless. It feels almost...timeless? I guess. It's really nice.

Anyway, the manga is legit one of the most wholesome, funny, heartwarming things I have ever read. Kiyohiko Azuma is a fucking MASTER of comedy(you may have seen screencaps from a Sailor Moon fan comic he made going around on tumblr in which Jupiter accidentally sends Venus shooting across a pool that made me laugh so hard I cried) and he balances it well with lots of slow moments with GORGEOUS artwork where you can really take in the scenery and all of it is seeped in a wonderful nostalgia for childhood that legit makes me super emotional.

I don't think the manga has ever really taken off in terms of popularity, at least not to the degree that it deserves imo, which is likely in part due to the creator being firm about it never getting an anime adaptation and the sporadic release schedule, but it's far from unknown. There's been an official(I think??) score released and plenty of figurines and merch. It's also birthed a lot of memes, and it def has the same issue as One Piece where if you read it and love it you will turn into a walking billboard and try to drag your friends and family in with you. It's just THAT good!

You may have seen art of or people cosplaying Danbo, a "robot" made of old cardboard boxes that Yotsuba adores (Totally a real robot btw, def doesn't have a middle schooler shoved inside there, that would be silly wdym /s)

And this pose from the back of one of the manga volumes featuring Yotsuba, her father, and their extremely tall friend Jumbo has been redrawn with other characters like 500000 billion times

And you've also probably seen this going around tumblr before (that's Fūka she's my favorite cringe fail daughter I would literally die for her).

Also, I would be doing a disservice if I didn't mention Yanda, who is a friend of Yotsuba's dad and also Yotsuba's nemesis. He's a loser who constantly gets dunked on by a toddler it's fucking hilarious.

But yeah it really is just like, a manga that feels like a hug, or a warm blanket or something, it's so comforting and funny and fantastic, I find myself re-reading it any time life gets to be too hard just bcs it's that good at distracting me and reminding me that live is worth living.

And also given that it's literally my favorite manga, I saved up a bunch of screencaps to use as reaction images after a read one time, and thus now it's my own little joke that if you send me anon hate I'm just gonna send you back a picture of this cutie

Bcs come on how can you be angry when you're looking at this???

Anyway here's some screencaps of the main supporting cast bcs I love all of them so much <3

YOU WILL READ YOTSUBA I AM NO LONGER ASKING

[grits-galraisedinthesouth]

20 minutes of my life I'll never get back. 🤦‍♂️

I must be a glutton for punishment because I actually watched Kinsey Schofield's 20 min interview w/Valentine Low. May this rant save you from making the same mistake:

Valentine Low & Kinsey Schofield just reminded me that the British press is in desperate need of a grief recovery workshop to let go of their palace manufactured PR image of Sparry, "the CONSERVATIONIST," and accept the REALITY: Sparry has ALWAYS been a member of the lost boys who never intend to grow up. He loves drugs, perverted soho house sex play pens, and living a secret lifestyle in San Francisco, CA. As we saw in the South Park Documentary, Sparry has always wanted to be left alone so he can just bang on his drums all day.

The British media needs to accept that they never knew the Sparry aka Prince Harry. Much like Fergie & Andrew: The Meghans are two (2) intellectually below average individuals who married in haste. Both their academic & professional work histories indicate that these two (2) immature adults, lack even the basic skills necessary to function in society without the help of a PR "machine" whose job is to clean up their messes and repeatedly rebrand them into more acceptable members of polite society. It's past time for Valentine Low and other UK journalists to admit that they never really knew Sparry. All their Diana goodwill should now be invested into the future of the BRF (the family of Prince William)

No amount of hoping for the best or "covering up" for Sparry's misdeeds can transform the moral rot in his character. They bought and sold the PR image manufactured by the palace. It was the paparazzi & other "undesirables" who had the misfortune of observing the REAL Sparry. They watched him mistreat drivers, security, staffers, etc long BEFORE he was seduced by MEgain.

V Low believes Sparry flew a helicopter! 😳 Come on! Too many REAL service members have spoken out about Sparry's military character and performance and there's nothing good about it.

Sparry, like his wife is also a liar and a bully. He's not intellectually bright, he never was... He even bullied his grandparents before the "spectacle," he bullied Meghan's father...we heard reports about seeking a left wing wife and his interest in living in the US----all before MEgain.

Low also thinks Sparry loves his children. Has Valentine Low ever seen the invisibles? No. He's transferred a PR image to a couple of never before seen kids and their so called father. A so-called "father" who is willing to destroy his brother's children (and the innocent children of other couples) through the spread of destructive lies, has zero interest in the REAL wellbeing of anyone's kids, least of all his own.

As for the Wife: her ability to earn a college degree as an American teenager/young adult without even the offer of an ACADEMIC scholarship means that she too is mediocre and overrated. Her university commencement program states that she was a candidate for a degree in "communications" NOT some whip smart area of study like biochemistry or engineering! 🤦‍♂️

As a university student, thanks to her dad's brother (mike), she spent a measly six (6) weeks in Argentina on an exchange program (paid by her father) until she failed an exam that would have allowed her to apply for (real) jobs in the States. An intellectual or any hard worker would have studied until she passed the test. Not Rachel Meghan Markle. If no one was willing to make an exception for her low marks, then she would whore her way up a series of ladders until she found someone dumb enough to give her a platform.

No, this is NOT a "smart" couple. This couple is a cautionary tale about how Water seeks it's own level: Sparry's mother and teachers did him a disservice, just as MEgain's father did her a disservice: SPARE the rod & SPOIL the child

Kinsey believes that MEgain is "smart" because she achieved a Duchess title. (What does this tell us about Kinsey's IQ. 🤦‍♂️😳)

MEgain became a "Duchess" because she was a professional "seductress" employeed by Markus Anderson & Soho House. Everything this couple achieves is smoke & mirrors based on TRANSACTIONAL relationships where they bully & harass anyone standing in their way.

They don't even possess good work ethics, let alone above average IQs. Please call a spade a spade (or in this case a spare a spare) and stop gaslighting the public about what Sparry could have done had he not been involved with the wife.

We watched the wife verbally abuse KP staffers over bereavement flowers and feckless Sparry stood by in AGREEMENT. Wicked queen Jezebel 2.0 and traitorous king ahab 2.0. Let them go!

[bookishgalaxies]

Advanced Placement Credit Given to…

☾☼✧☽ summary: the ap classes these different characters would take

☾☼✧☽ type: headcannons, modern au

☾☼✧☽ warnings: n/a

☾☼✧☽ a/n: my ap classes are killing me-

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✧ albedo

chemistry and art history

I think the chemistry part is obvious, as an alchemist he would find this kind of thing fascinating. Obviously he would enjoy the rigor and fast paced layout of the class. CB requires 16 labs to be done throughout the year in ap chem and he would adore this as well. Definitely thinking he’s pulling an A in this class, actually an A+

Albedo’s an artist and a curious individual. I imagine he would find himself interested in the history of art and the different pieces. As a chemist he is always chasing after whys and hows; it only makes sense for him to look for this in art as well. He would also pull a high A I feel in this class due to his commitment to his studies

✧ amber

human geography

Amber isn’t much of an academic, but she appreciates geography I imagine. As an outrider who is exploring and navigating, she would find the history of places and maps fascinating. Amber also, or at least I seem to think, would have a hard time taking an intense ap class. This one is one of the easiest out of the ones CB offers. I think Amber would get an A in this class and I am firm believer that she unfortunately is the one who reminds the teacher when homework is due :/

✧ diluc

macroeconomics, microeconomics, and statistics

Macroeconomics covers the economic of wider areas like regions and nations. Diluc being someone who has a business that is known worldwide would I feel find value in knowing about the economics of not only his country but others as well.

Microeconomics is more focused on the economics of an individual thing like companies. This is a class that would give the insight on the business side of economics.

Business requires a lot of data. Most of the time when analyzing data statistics is involved. Diluc would use statistics I feel to see what kinds of wine tend to sell on what regions and what happens when prices increase and decrease.

Diluc I see passing all of these classes, I think the economic ones with an A and stats with a high B.

✧ jean

comparative government and politics and psychology

Government and politics I feel is self explanatory because of how Jean pretty much runs Mondstadt. She has to contact diplomats from all nations and make negotiations. I think she would also find it kind of interesting about different types of government and how things are ran.

Jean would have to on some level be a people person. To some degree she would have to know how people think and feel. She would find the makeup of the human brain fascinating I think.

Jean is not letting herself get anything less than an A, let’s be real-

✧ lisa

english language and composition, english literature and composition, and latin (or teyvat’s equivalent, maybe Khaenri’ah’s language..)

Tumblr deleted Lisa’s part like 3 TIMES kill me :/. Anyways, I think the language composition and literature composition are obvious. I mean…..she’s a librarian.

The language thing I feel would stem from her wanting to be able to read more books. Therefor she wanted to learn a new language to broaden her selection of books

She wanted to take ap chem but decide to just do general instead. I definitely think Lisa could get an A in all three classes. I just think she gets distracted easily and would need someone to help her focus.

✧ sucrose

chemistry, biology, and computer science a

Obviously she would take chem with Albedo. I think it would take her a bit longer to grasp some of the concepts and Albedo might have to help her out some but she does overall well in the class, I say an A-

She flies through biology without a problem due to her interest in life forms. Is definitely earning an A+

OKAY HEAR ME OUT! So Sucrose wants to study how to manipulate life to make it better and brighter. I think she would be all over the idea of being a bioengineer. Thus, she would learn how to code.

Sucrose would do well in the comp sci a course I believe. I could see her being a really good problem solver and understanding Java well (the programming language you learn in comp sci a)

✧ venti

music theory

Don’t come for my throat, I love Venti I swear. However, I do not think he would preform well in this class. Music theory isn’t really so much about composing music as it is about the rules of composing music. I think Venti would do wonderfully with dictation (where you hear notes/chords and have to identify and write them). As well as sight singing (where you are given a sheet of music and have a certain amount of time to practice and sing it).

We all know Venti is great at composing music…but he doesn’t really like playing by the rules (aka all the figured bass line shit), so I don’t think he’d do so good. Venti can read sheet music sure but he didn’t take the time to memorize all the special symbols when he just knows music.

I’m going to be generous and give him a C considering he can do the dictation and sight singing. Anything where he’s having to analyze and determine cadences or other conceptual stuff he’s kind of screwed

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kaeya does not take any ap classes however he relentlessly bothers albedo while he is trying to study. Also totally tries to convince lisa at least once to bail on writing a paper and come to some party or whatever.

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thank you so much for reading !

stay hydrated and safe !

[leagueofprotagonists]

Your opinion on Izuku Midoriya on the post you made on Stillness-in-greens post is really eye opening

I liked Izuku during Act 1 & 2, but when the Villain Hunt Arc happened I couldn't see him the same anymore

Especially when the conclusion of the final Arc happened

It's then when re reading the story, it becomes a lot clearer the Izuku is someone who expects people who suffer to bear the pain and conform

Him telling Shoto that forgiving Enji makes him a good person was just...

I really don't know what to say

I do agree with you saying he'd make for a good Villain aganist the League

Since he's someone who conforms to the system and protects it (Saying this kinda reminds me of the Matrix movie, Agent Midoriya lol)

Good luck on your AU 😊

Yeah, and the sad part is, is how he proved so many of the early criticisms right, I went into the show/manga liking him. He wasn't my favourite character but I liked him well enough, and I thought most criticisms were unfair.

Yes, he got One For All by chance, but so did everyone else at birth, and he did work to earn it once the opportunity was there.

Yeah, he wasn't working out before that, but most ways would require cash and/ or parental permission, and Japan has an insane bullying problem and is known for taking school very seriously.

Yeah when you're constantly being bullied and no one has your back, it's hard to have a spine because having one typically gets you hurt worse

And then he proved them right. He proved that he is a spineless coward that won't do anything to achieve his goals on his own

I can't even call it character assassination as it's not that this shit is new, it's that he became the worse possible version of himself and canon won't acknowledge it. And yes I am bitter, I am bitter that I was invested in seeing this character improve, only to find out he gets worse and worse as time goes on

---

One early warning sign of Midoriya's character is how right after the battle trials he rushes to partially tell Bakugou about OFA. So it's not in the heat of the moment, and with how it's done it's not to call out Bakugou's main character syndrome. It's that he's placating Bakugou. Bakugou is just the perfect metaphor for Deku and the hero's society issues, that they will not acknowledge that they/ it are just shit. That it is all about the glory, and they aren't going to solve any of it because they are allergic to the idea of accountability. And that once someone has the hero label on them, they can be the shittiest human being imaginable because they won't be held accountable. And this was before the series started constantly kissing Bakugou's ass

---

Also I hate Deku becoming a teacher, but the biggest point for me is that he's only a teacher, and no one else in 1A didn't become a hero, even with them saying oh the need for heroes went down, none of them opted out. As I've put on my main blog, Deku knows Hatsume Mei, and Melissa Shield, both characters who are eager to create support gear, why didn't he contact them in 8 years. Both All Might in his last fight, and Mirio with Overhaul have proven heroes can fight quirkless. So what the fuck was he doing? It certainly wasn't working out. Why the fuck was he waiting for someone to gift-wrap him the opportunity again? He never considered any other career while he was being bullied and told no for being quirkless, so what the fuck. You can't just choose to be a teacher, it does require a degree unless UA is just 100% disregarding that entirely.

And with it being a teaching job specifically, I'm going to say it. DEKU SUCKS AT EXPLAINING ANYTHING. In the whole series the closest we ever see him show any interest in 'teaching' anything is the sports festival when he offers to give Uraraka a plan to beat Bakugou, which she declines so no idea if it was any good. But start of the Endeavor agency arc, he overcomplicates and mumbles what he's trying to do with his quirk. It's not what he's saying that's complicated, it's that he's a shit explainer. When he realizes that concentrating all of OFA in a tiny area is a bad idea he announces a metaphor with zero context, during a meal. If it was just his thought process, I wouldn't care, but it's that he's doing it constantly when he's talking to people.

I actually plan on writing a comparison between the teacher ending of My Hero Academia and Assassination Classroom because holy fuck they did it infinitely better

[fumifooms]

Hi hi! I'm sure you have loads of asks to get through. But if you may, we talk a lot about Chilchuck and Marcille (as we should 'cause they're great!), but since you've mentioned that Laios is your fave char, I would love to hear if you have any takes on Laios and Izutsumi's dynamic. I feel sometimes like she doesn't really like him...? It's funny but I also feel bad for him sometimes. ^^;;

You can’t ask me this and expect me to not drop everything else I’m doing. Little did you know they are my brotp. They are so special. Izutsumi gets along more with literally everyone in the party, but their relationship was so narratively important. They’re a really underrated and overlooked dynamic! I’ve had them as a topic at the back of my mind for a while, seeing someone else interested was all the push I needed gdbdg. This isn’t super long though, their issues with each other and lil arc is surprisingly brief and easy to summarize.

Laios & Izutsumi : what’s their deal with each other

For me one foundational train of thought for Izutsumi & Laios is, well. I read this awesome smart post deconstructing how Izutsumi’s beef with Laios is because she only just broke free and wants freedom without having someone ordering her around, and that’s sort of her whole character arc, isn’t it?

Isn’t Izutsumi’s picky eating a reflection of just that? In a life where she was a slave, she could at least control what she chose to eat and not eat. But then you might wonder, why did the narrative want her to grow out of that? Simply put, Izutsumi has a contrarian streak, one that is often extremely counterproductive. We saw that especially near the beginning, with how hard it was to make her work with them as a team. The issue is that now that she is free, she needs to not block out others by habit, to not lash out and refuse the healthy things in life, the people who want good for her. And that’s something that’s addressed in the succubus chapter as well as the fight against the ice golem, that she shouldn’t insist that she can do everything alone and fight against any team effort.

I love how onesided the Laios izutsumi dynamic is. He stays away from her generally, like doesn’t interact much, but he wants the cat pats… Which Izu made clear she did NOT want. And Chil is the only one in the party to not really see her as a cat for most of the story really, as shown in the relationship chart. He’s well meaning and wants the best for her, but he crowds her and doesn’t understand her at all. But he reallyyy wants to get along with her.

On the other hand, Izutsumi’s very existence and identity gave Laios an immense amount of hope that Falin could be brought back and still be herself and live well, even if she still had part of a dragon’s soul in her. I think that’s a lovely way to contrast the way that Izutsumi hates herself as a beastkin and her body, while Laios is like "Thank you, your existence as you are is the answer to all my worries" AND he super likes monster bodies and beastkins so it’s like. I think part of her hostility to him, besides feeling like he doesn’t understand her perspective and is maybe dismissive of what his party members want (which would remind her of Maizuru to some degree probably), is that he says all these good things about her being a beastkin, and it’s so jarring with her own version of herself that it raises her hackles and she reacts negatively, especially with how flippant and eager he is about it. But yes like, this is their first meeting!! Beyond his interest in her as a beastkin because of his monster hobby, Laios is just so very grateful for her and chooses to put his trust in her.

That’s interesting too, how one of the first things she asks about upon meeting them is why the hell they would want to rescue Falin even if she were to stay as a chimera-beastkin and still have the dragon soul in her. It’s her asking "Who would want to stick with a beastkin?" thinking that there’s something fundamentally wrong with having two souls and it making you unlovable. And their differing views on monsters do make them clash

But ultimately he chills out about her, which ironically enough shows in the way that they don’t interact much- He gives her space, and accepts that the beastkin may not like him. BUT at the end of the day they have an incredible bond of trust- Laios asks Izutsumi to kill him if something goes wrong with the Winged Lion. Not only is that sort of an intimate request and act, but that means that he leaves it up to Izutsumi’s judgement as well to know if it went wrong and when to act. He doesn’t only trust her skills but also her decision making, despite how tough they’ve been on each other in the past. He’s giving her the ultimate role, the go ahead to make or break their plan and be the difference between saving or destroying the world. And the last tidbit of info we get on their relationship in canon is when she hides behind him because she’s shy- Certified having befriended the cat moment. She trusts him and sees him as a safe person! And by saying that she’s shy, he’s showing that he did end up understanding her and how she is.

No matter the rocky parts of their relationship, they still have a strong foundation to it and were great allies and road companions, one of the few persons that had each other’s back when it mattered the most, both for the world and for their personal arcs. And post-canon, well…

He’s accepted that she needs space and whatnot, and meanwhile she’s accepted his interest in monsters and taken it in stride 😌 They end up having this familiarity with each other and even if there’s still a bunch of emotional distance imo and they never really got into the nitty gritty with each other not like her with Chilchuck or even Marcille, they see each other. They nod in greeting and respect each other from afar……. But also still tease and chat familiarly up close and if she offers him the opportunity for cuddles he will take it. You know, if it’s not her just falling onto him because she’s sleeping she has no respect.

Siblings behavior… If you know my take on the general party dynamics, I love thinking of Laios & Izu’s dynamic as him being an older brother figure where they have a love-hate relationship. Siblings rivalry. I have a bunch of funny little doodles I’ve wanted to make with them for months, the prompts for which are in the screenshot put below. But yeah like you know, they’re protective of each other but in that very critical way as well, truly forged by being stuck with each other for a while and having to come to understand and accept how the other is. Strife with conflict, but ultimately sticking with each other through thick and thin… Siblings siblings SIBLINGS SIBLINGS SIBLINGS. Sigh I just want them to cuddle on a couch and she purrs while simultaneously being snide and mean to him, they are so… Izutsumi is the character ever

Oh, which! While I’m here, I always recommend this fanfic about the two of them interacting and Laios treating her like a cat, it’s just fun and lighthearted. They’re suuuuch an underrated duo

If I find more Laios & Izu moments I think are worth sharing I’ll just add it onto this I think. We shouldn’t be too hard on him he was raised by dogs so cats are a whole other language to him but also, so wild to me that he never tried to engage with her on a cat level properly like where is the hissing at the catgirl and the cat taming moments, he sucks at socializing with cats smh smh.

I want to do an analysis of queerness in Dungeon Meshi with relationships and social norms and stuff and Izutsumi’s arc is gonna be central to that too. Her relationship with EVERYONE is SOOO GOOD AND IMPORTANT AND COMPELLING. But I guess this is where I leave it off for now, I hope I’m not forgetting any point I wanted to make hmmm

[theotherseapancakes]

Psssst. You mentioned no one cares about Philemon, but now I'm curious if you have any thoughts about his role in the games after he disappeared. And for sillies sake, does he have anything to do with the Dance games?

I have been waiting my entire life for this. Anon do you realize how verbose I'm going to get. DO YOU REALIZE? I hope you like read mores. Let me preface this with I am aware and have seen some popular theories, so I'm going to sidestep a lot of them and present one I've built since... well, I became a Persona fan as a teenager. MAJOR PERSONA SERIES SPOILERS LIKE THE ENTIRE THING OK? OK. yes even royal.

The P2 PSP additional scenario is so incredibly important and I think everyone missed the point of it. THE PERSONA 2 PSP ADDITIONAL TATSUYA SCENARIO!!!! It's beyond important, because it reveals to us Philemon can have more than one Avatar we know about, just like Nyarly. (Casual reminder he's like half the shopkeeps in P2. Time Count, anyone? Why was the Time Count so hot. Anyway.) Disclaimer: I'm just a casual fan who has played a LOT of Persona and SMT. I haven't gotten around to all of them, but I've played/finished both paths of 1, 2, 3 (and p3p) as well as 4 and 5. Didn't manage to get my hands on Golden but I've seen enough of it. (It's funny you ask about the dance games, they're the only ones I don't have right now! But my roommate does, and will be gone for a few months soon, perhaps I will take the time to start with p4DAN. I'm atrocious at rhythm games though so more than likely I'll find a video. Anyway.) WHAT is Philemon? If we can't define that, we can't talk about The Positivity Guy Ever.

So let's talk about Phil. He's a fascinating character. His Persona is just a form of Himself, But Cooler. And he seems to HAVE no set shape, not unlike Nyarlathotep. People have various theories about Shadows and their origins etc., but Phil is more like that vote of confidence in people. I think, personally, that after the end of Innocent Sin, Phil's been pretty weak. We see in Eternal Punishment he's fading pretty roughly, and has a hard time talking to the party. Presumably ending Nyarly might to some degree fix things when Deja-vu Boy goes home, but... the problem is, we don't know how fixed they truly ended up being, or the full depth of how much he could/did expend!

In fact, the first time we even see Phil without the dumb mask is when Tatsuya decks him. Pay close attention to that fact. To the mask motifs here. I want you to really soak in Phil's everything. He's a leader. A kind soul. He's the good of people. He wants to believe the best.

Anyway, most of these things overlook what I find really interesting as we've gotten more games worth of lore: he and Nyarly aren't the only eldritch entities walking around like that. Yes, Nyx is one too. Yes, it's probable she may even be their 'mom'. It's possible they all came from Nyx initially, but it's also possible (and should be considered) they too may have been outsiders at one point. We need to ask ourselves how far the human collective unsconsciousness can go. Is that sea infinite? Could it affect other worlds? Think about Aion in Devil Summoner Soul Hackers 2. Yes, I am asking you to think about Soul Hackers 2. Deal with it, I don't care. They're sister series. They share many things. SO! Did the shape of the human mind change a bunch of eldritch creatures and make them interact with us even more after Nyx smacked the moon a gazillion years ago? Is there multiple worlds? Weird bullshit? Just the two? Hmm. Well... I, personally, think so. I think he was touched by humanity just like Nyarlathotep, but in the other way. The reason I bring this up is two-fold. The first is Nodens. Now, we don't know much about the actual Nodens, unfortunately, just some speculation. Which is a shame. (If anyone has more info I'd love to have it, ngl. As a pagan this shit fascinates me.) But what we do get on him in Lovecraftian lore can provide us some intriguing possibilities about Phil's everything, which the games love to keep really rather vague. (And this is putting aside that his human Persona is based off the obviously bogus Jungian Spirit Guide, but we love an old guy in a mask anyway. He probably felt that was more 'friendly' for humans, hah.) I believe that Nodens, and Phil by extension, are just as responsible for nurturing and keeping the collective unconsciousness alive and positive. We see the butterfly symbol everywhere. We see it with Lavenza, too. "This is truly an unjust game." So was the bet Phil made with Nyarly, a game he rigged. Phil made the mistake of thinking the Crawling Chaos wouldn't cheat, a mistake he is never making again, I assume, if he can help it. Shit, you could view his boss fight in P2EP as him trying to train the EP crew to beat the snot out of Nyarly, even. But off topic. If Nyarly is basically the father of all Shadows, and they and Personas are the same coin, it makes me wonder a lot of things. The two have always been portrayed as simultaneously diametrically opposed, but also not? They have identical halls in P2. They have similar powers and talents... I think after Persona 3, Phil's remnants sank into the Collective Unconsciousness, to attempt to rehabilitate humanity from what it lost, from what he himself lost. I think Igor took over the room, because he took a backseat to recover. It would go a long, long way towards explaining why only SOME characters have the tier of the Wild Card, which is similar to the 'original' Persona power. (Having multiple.) He was took weak to remain in his Spirit Guide (Philemon) form, and had to abandon it to return to the depths as Nodens... So. Let me go back to Nodens and make some notes about design.

Nodens, as seen here, sort of resembles an iron maiden. It really brings to mind the idea of maybe Tatsuya or someone's humanoid form sleeping within it, doesn't it? Fitting for an aspect of Philemon! ... You probably can see where I'm going with this, but let me pull up some screens to finish the point:

That's right! It's Azathoth, Baby! I believe that unlike mythology, he's yet another aspect of Philemon. Eldritch positivity, in too much force, could be used for accidental bad, too. (Reasons Maruki is my favorite Law Hero, haha.) Let me explain. I think Philemon always existed in... let's call it parts. Azathoth is said to be a dreaming god in whom's universe we all just happen to be alive inside, right? "Dream of butterfly" (Philemon) "Or is life a dream? Don't wanna wake up. Cuz I'm happy here." That sure is thematic to what Maki goes through in Persona 1, and what Maruki's beloved suffers, isn't it? ISN'T IT. The "true reality" he creates... would help Maruki create in the additional Semester--would be something most humans would never pass the muster to even try to control. But we have seen Phil test a few people and find them worth passing before! However, that seems like ages ago. Why has he been so quiet? I think because he was spending time conserving his energy. He believed in humanity enough to give Makoto a push when it was needed in p3 (or femc, if you play her), but otherwise trusted Igor while he restored what needed it. But in Persona 5 Royal, he hand-picked Maruki, didn't he? At first, when I played Persona 5 Royal, I really thought it was some part of Nyarly, but I no longer believe this to be the case. The coloration and symbolism in the background (the golds, the whole garden of eden themes, the way his Palace was laid out), the whole sea of soul motifs in P3Re later... mmm. I have a lot of thoughts about this, but this post is already way too long for one simple ask. So let's wrap up by going one step further and looking finally at Nodens' dialogue to the party in the Extra Scenario in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment (PSP). The following is a transcript, you can find a video here:

Nodens: This is the memory of the lost child whom you all seek. Nodens: Memory occasionally brings about much distress and suffering, but it is absolutely vital to distinguish oneself from others and manufacture one's own psyche. Nodens: Ever since it began, life's memory has accumulated unbroken, passing through individual experiences and spanning several generations. Nodens: And so it has given shape to Kadath and the Collective Unconsciousness, thereby becoming a foundation for the next generation. Nodens: Even if the roots of the world are directed by fear and anxiety, never forget that the true essence of life is brimming with joy. Nodens: You must not stop seeking the answer for why life was born in a cosmos progressing towards absurdity and chaos. Nodens: Life brims with joy, bringing about balance in a universe predestined to heat death, and that allows the world to live a long time.

So to answer your question, I think he's taken a much subtler role. I think he's influencing people by pretending to be a Persona for Maruki, because he believes it will help them grow. I don't think he was intending a forever-control vice grip, but rather to prove a point. No matter what, the primordial chaos of humanity will rise up for chaotic good, lawful good, whatever "good" is needed. Azathoth is... interesting. Adam Kadmon is also interesting. But mostly I HIGHLY suspect we may see him again in Persona 6, or at least I'm hoping so. It's my personal pet theory by then he'll be less faded and come back to us in a new form of some kind. He's never had a set one, after all. Now for funsies about the dancing game, well, he's a positive guy, he wanted to just make sure everyone had their fitness regimen checked off. Obviously. (This is a joke.) Did the devs intend this? I'm honestly not sure? Like there's a lot of nods to older Personas in 5 and now 3RE especially, but it's definitely worth chewing on. I could go on and on about things I think he's connected to, but ultimately they have the final say lol. I'm just a crackpot conspiracy theorist on tumblr who really likes Philemon. He and the Room are my favorites. :) Ask me about attendants for additional dumb, sometime, I guess lol.

[chameleon8]

If fablehaven was mermaids this is what I think their mermaid tales would look like: Kendra: Its color changes depending on the temperature of the water, colder is more sapphire blue, lukewarm emerald green, warm gold, and hot is ruby red (I say this because kendra’s favorite colors changes, as we see with the wizenstone, so her tail kinda reflects that). When she becomes fairykind, her scales are laced with some kind of ultraviolet bioluminescent color that only some fish can see Seth: he’d be like a ghost pipefish. They can camouflage very well into their environment and are very hard to spot in the wild. I think he’d blend in with the seagrass very often when he and kendra are playing hide and seek. When he becomes a shadow charmer, he is able to survive in colder water temperatures (ghost pipefish usually live in about 22.1-29 degrees C but don’t quote me on that) Lena: I think she would be a dolphin because they are very playful in nature, and I think that’s what naiads intend to be (though they think drowning people is their idea of fun) plus she goes to the surface a lot as a dolphin Stan: flatfish because he can’t stop making pancakes for breakfast 😭 Ruth: i think she would have a crimson-colored tail, and this is a dumb reason but it’s because I feel like the color red fits her character well. Like it matches her personality (or what I remember of it) Dale: Green like the color of kelp, as he tends to the farm all day Warren: a great white Shark. Probably has some scars because he’s literally a knight of the dawn. Idk what else to say Tanu: some color of koi because they remind me of splashes which reminds me of potions Vanessa: Multicolored betta fish, but her tail color could change depending on who she’s possessing Bracken: Pearlescent, icy blue, or some combination of the two Ronodin: Inky black with flecks of gold and/or maroon Calvin: some species of minnow. I can’t decide what because I don’t get a specific color vibe from him Eve: Midnight blue. She is literally the [Eve]ning Lemme know if I should add any other characters or if you have a different idea for what their mermaid tails would look like!

[licncourt]

hi!!! i'm new to tvc and your blog so im not sure if this has been done yet but :'D i just wanted to ask your thoughts on akasha, even generally speaking? thanks!

Welcome!!! I have lots of thoughts on Akasha, but mainly I think her existence tells us a lot about the author and provides a lot of context for how AR approaches female characters in the series overall. I think Akasha, Claudia, and Gabrielle are a very succinct look at how Anne viewed women and the archetypes she felt existed within womanhood. Akasha is really the final boss of anti-feminist strawmen, written to be the ultimate evil and Bad Woman, but she just kind of ends up being an almost-compelling female character instead.

I think Gabrielle has strong elements of that, but the fact that she was so heavily inspired by AR's mother softens the narrative to her some despite the bitterness there. Akasha is something else though, and the narrative on a meta level does not seem to feel sympathy for her.

AR obviously had a very complicated relationship with her own womanhood and a virtually unshakable "not like other girls" mentality her entire life. It was some truly breathtaking internalized misogyny or maybe even a case of gender dysphoria that turned toxic. I doubt we'll ever know for sure, but that loathing she seemed to feel towards womanhood is very much on display in QotD.

Looking at the book as a female reader, I can't help but feel sorry for Akasha on some fundamental level despite the absolute evil she also commits. She was a queen, but doomed to be subservient to her husband on the basis of gender. Then, through some incredible accident, she's suddenly the most powerful human being there's even been, only to then be tortured and spend thousands of years internally conscious but unable to move, speak, or do anything at all.

It's almost an Eve story, a woman who is designed to be a man's inferior who instead seized knowledge and power (and the narrative), gained autonomy from and influence over her male counterpart, and then was punished for it by the larger forces at play. In some ways she reminds me of Claudia too, driven insane by her circumstances and unable to comprehend her own monstrosity, but she's also more evil than Claudia was ever capable of being due to her age (torturing and ordering the rape of of Maharet and Mekare, forcibly turning Khayman, etc).

If Anne had left it at that and changed her goals to be less grandiose, I think her character would have read better and been a more complex and convincing villain in the evil-but-a-victim-of-circumstance way that so many VC vampires are. That's one of my favorite things about the original VC vampires that was present in Akasha but not executed with quite enough finesse. Instead, I think Anne takes it way too far into cartoonish hatred for feminist stereotypes.

For most authors I wouldn't feel confident saying that was the intention but AR, if nothing else, aggressively involves her personal feelings and beliefs in her work, often to the detriment of the story. VC is just the fictionalized inside of her head and we know that. Combined with her other female characters and her own public statements, it's hard not to eye roll at the climax of QotD when Akasha decides she's going to kill 90% of human men and turn the Earth into a new Eden with her as the goddess for the human women (and male human chattel).

In that sense of her character, it seems like foreshadowing to Blood Canticle Lestat reprimanding the audience directly, just Anne finding something to be irrationally angry about and writing it into her book. I've said before that QotD is a step below IWTV and TVL because the cracks in her writing really start to drag the book down like they would for the rest of the series to a rather extreme degree. Knowing this was her last book with an editor, I'm curious how much of the overall readability of the book can be attributed to that/how far gone Anne already was at this point.

In spite of all that, it is kind of fun to go balls to the wall and take a Hell Yeah Get Them mentality when Akasha goes scorched earth because despite it all, it's sort of cathartic to watch a overpowered female vampire go on the warpath and scream all the deepest frustrations with patriarchy that many women struggle with. At the same time, it's hard to fully enjoy it knowing authorial intent (and reading it all within the context of the sexual violence Akasha perpetrated with Anne's usual lack of nuance). That's kind of par for the course though, most things in VC are Almost Good and that's what keeps us on the hook.

[ai-the-broccoli]

lawlight, told through taylor swift songs: a non-exhaustive list

no really, why do so many taylor swift songs fit Death Note (and sometimes especially Light and lawlight) so perfectly?

many others have already made pretty good posts on this topic before, but the parallels are truly kinda crazy, so here's my take on it. the rankings within each tier are not super fixed or meaningful, like honestly everything within each tier is pretty much the same degree of fitting to me.

(yes, I double-checked basically her entire discography for this. no, I still don't think this is a fully comprehensive list.)

Tier S - every single line is a fit

1. my tears ricochet (<- category C: "I Knew You'd Miss Me Once The Thrill Expired")

post L's death lawlight, from L's perspective: the song. nearly every line fits what the hell man. one of my favourites here

-> Full Lyrics

2. hoax (<- category C: "I Knew You'd Miss Me Once The Thrill Expired")

@kiyomitakada pointed this out and... yeah, every single line does fit! it's very lawlight from Light's perspective.

-> Full Lyrics

Tier A - the whole song fits well

3. Blank Space (<- category A: "Let the Games Begin")

we probably all know this one lol. while the idea that it was actually written as inspired by DN is a myth, it very much does fit.

-> Full Lyrics

and GOD did the MV imagery not help. like, I mean...

the MV uses a colour scheme of red/blue/black/white/green-ish, I think, which doesn't NOT look like the first OP of Death Note anime to say the least.

apple imagery. yeah. the above is literally something Light does in said OP. both song videos have close-up shot of biting a very red apple.

the character Taylor Swift plays in this video (who is supposed to be a satirical caricature based on media perception of her as a crazy obsessive jealous 'serial dater' women iirc) is depicted doing a lot of voodoo to torture her lover.

in one scene she seems to be in a great and dramatic frenzy with mixed emotions (sadness, desperation, manic, anger, hate, etc.) over the boyfriend character's... unconscious body? I'm not super sure if it's supposed to be unconscious. but it's like this:

and then after a while of this, we see a shot of her sneakily winking at the camera. but anyway so yeah this entire part weirdly actually reminded me of L's death scene for some reason lol

at the end of the MV there's a short B-T-S trivia clip. there's a freaking black notebook there:

it's titled "My True Loves" and the content has nothing to do with lawlight, because it just contains pictures of her cats... is what I'd say, but actually, if you stretch it a bit, there's a comparison to be made about the fact that J-Drama Light Yagami's actor is a cat lover who actually has a cat named L

anyway this isn't exactly a T-pose but it's not too far from one either

I think I've made my point.

4. Getaway Car (<- category B: ''Now This is An Open/Shut Case")

this is very the end of the Yotsuba arc to me, specifically from while they are catching Higuchi to after they catch him and Light regains his memories. man...

-> Full Lyrics

Tier B - largely/mostly fitting

category A: "Let the Games Begin"

the mind games begin.

1. Ready For It

Knew he was a killer first time that I saw him Wondered how many girls he had loved and left haunted But if he's a ghost, then I can be a phantom Holdin' him for ransom, some Some boys are tryin' too hard, he don't try at all though Younger than my exes, but he act like such a man, so I see nothing better, I keep him forever Like a vendetta-ta

and

Knew I was a robber first time that he saw me Stealing hearts and running off and never sayin' sorry But if I'm a thief, then he can join the heist, and We'll move to an island, and And he can be my jailer, Burton to this Taylor Every love I've known in comparison is a failure I forget their names now, I'm so very tame now Never be the same now, now

+ the repetition of "Let the games begin". pretty self-explanatory

2. LWYMMD

I've got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined I check it once, then I check it twice, oh!

...and more. also you know how she T-poses at the end of the bridge in the MV, as she stands over many many other past version of herself?

very lightcore pose. (and this isn't even to mention how she kicks off other, "weaker" versions of herself off the giant T in the same scene, which is... arguably also a symbolic parallel to when Light screams in the helicopter as he regains his memory, if you see it that way.)

3. cowboy like me

And the tennis court was covered up With some tent-like thing And you asked me to dance But I said, "Dancin' is a dangerous game."

Oh, I thought This is gonna be one of those things Now I know I'm never gonna love again

I've got some tricks up my sleeve Takes one to know one You're a cowboy like me

this one even has the freaking tennis mention of all things it could've included

4. Mastermind

So I told you none of it was accidental And the first night that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me I laid the groundwork and then saw a wide smirk On your face, you knew the entire time You knew that I'm a mastermind And now you're mine Yeah, all you did was smile 'Cause I'm a mastermind

honestly though, this one is more like the perfect Kaguya-sama Love is War Kaguya/Miyuki song. every single line fits them perfectly. but since lawlight also do mind games and all, the song also can be seen through a lawlight lens, although I maintain that it is still the perfect kaguprez song instead of a fully lawlight one.

5. Suburban Legends

I had the fantasy that maybe our mismatched star signs Would surprise the whole school When I ended up back at our class reunion Walking in with you You'd be more than a chapter in my old diaries With the pages ripped out I am standing in a 1950s gymnasium And I can still see you now

I didn't come here to make friends We were born to be suburban legends When you hold me, it holds me together And you kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

I know that you still remember We were born to be national treasures When you told me we'd get back together And you kissed me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever

idk the vibes here kind of make me think of the entrance ceremony scene lol

category B: ''Now This is An Open/Shut Case"

the Kira investigation.

1. I Can See You

I can see you in your suit and your necktie Passed me a note saying, "Meet me tonight" Then we kissed and you know I won't ever tell, yeah And I could see you being my addiction You can see me as a secret mission Hide away and I will start behaving myself

the MV is important context here again, because actually, the official video for this love song depicts one person watching/"seeing" another person through - guess what - surveillance cameras. in reference to the title which is also a line repeated in the chorus. so that explains it I think. also it's implied to be about a workplace relationship

2. I Think He Knows

He got that boyish look that I like in a man I am an architect, I'm drawing up the plans It's like I'm 17, nobody understands No one understands

[...]

He got that boyish look that I like in a man I am an architect, I'm drawing up the plans He's so obsessed with me and, boy, I understand Boy, I understand

Light's pov. the title line "I think he knows" keeps getting repeated in the song which if you view it through a lawlight lens that might be about Kira lol

3. willow

Now this is an open/shut case I guess I should've known from the look on your face Every bait-and-switch was a work of art

The more that you say, the less I know Wherever you stray, I follow I'm begging for you to take my hand Wreck my plans, that's my man You know that my train could take you home Anywhere else is hollow I'm begging for you to take my hand Wreck my plans, that's my man

L pov-ish.

4. The Tortured Poets Department

You're in self-sabotage mode, throwing spikes down on the road But I've seen this episode and still loved the show Who else decodes you?

And who's gonna hold you like me? And who's gonna know you, if not me?

and also:

Everyone we know understands why it's meant to be 'Cause we're crazy So tell me Who else is gonna know me?

...as well as more lines in the song that expresses the same sentiments, like: Who's gonna hold you? Gonna know you? Gonna troll you?

in any case, "who else decodes you?" is definitely a lawlight thesis. imo. in fact I may have even actually started an essay on it in fic format with that thesis. or not? who knows! maybe one day you'll see...

anyway, this song is post-Yotsuba arc-ish to me, sort of.

category C: "I Knew You'd Miss Me Once The Thrill Expired"

L's death and Light's grieving, eventually.

5. Haunted

from Light's pov, especially in anime canon probably.

12. My Boy Only Breaks His Favourite Toys

My boy only breaks his favorite toys, toys, oh I'm queen of sand castles he destroys, oh, oh 'Cause it fit too right Puzzle pieces in the dead of night I should've known it was a matter of time Oh, oh, my boy only breaks his favorite toys, oh, oh-oh-oh

[...]

My boy only breaks his favorite toys, toys, oh I'm queen of sand castles he destroys, oh, oh 'Cause I knew too much There was danger in the heat of my touch He saw forever so he smashed it up Oh, oh, my boy only breaks his favorite toys, oh, oh-oh-oh

which is quite fitting. moreover, there's this...

He was my best friend Down at the sandlot I felt more when we played pretend Than with all the Kens

...as well as the the original version below:

He was my best friend and that was the worst part I felt more then, in brief moments Than with all the Kens

L's pov. the "Kens" mention here is kinda like Light apparently having like 6 girlfriends in college and not caring about any of them despite being significantly bad at getting over L etc etc I think

8. Hits Different

I actually didn't think of this song in association with lawlight at all before I saw @selfdigestion bringing up the connection, and.... YEAH this is pretty lawlight-coded as well

I trace the evidence, make it make some sense Why the wound is still bleedin' You were the one that I loved Don't need another metaphor, it's simple enough A wrinkle in time like the crease by your eyes This is why they shouldn't kill off the main guy Dreams of your hair and your stare and sense of belief In the good in the world, you once believed in me And I felt you and I held you for a while Bet I could still melt your world Argumentative, antithetical dream girl

and also:

I used to switch out these Kens, I'd just ghost Rip the band-aid off and skip town like an asshole outlaw Freedom felt like summer then on the coast Now the sun burns my heart and the sand hurts my feelings

which is what the song is overall about. (there sure are a lot of Light pov songs in this category man)

and on the topic of "Kens", as it is with the previous time song, in Light's case it makes me again think of all his college girlfriends that he doesn't care about. I'm not going to comment too much on the gender-reverse implications this has for the narrator "I" in the song, but I would think that the original lyrics "bet I could still melt your world / argumentative, antithetical dream girl" with echoing repetitions on the phrase "dream girl" should've already done it for me. anyway. moving on.

10. Would've, Could've, Should've

If you never touched me I would've Gone along with the righteous If I never blushed then they could've Never whispered about this And if you never saved me from boredom I could've gone on as I was

[...]

God rest my soul I miss who I used to be The tomb won't close Stained glass windows in my mind I regret you all the time I can't let this go I fight with you in my sleep The wound won't close I keep on waiting for a sign I regret you all the time

I don't know how to explain this one, but it's... something. I think it only makes more sense as a lawlight song if you want to place emphasis on the age/maturity difference angle, although even without that it would still partly fit.

17. Guilty as Sin?

My boredom's bone-deep This cage was once just fine Am I allowed to cry?

I dream of cracking locks Throwing my life to the wolves or the ocean rocks Crashing into him tonight, he's a paradox I'm seeing visions, am I bad? Or mad? Or wise?

This, plus the fact that it uses similar imagery (dying in a hedge maze, crashing over graves, etc.) as Saltburn (2023), which... has that infamous grave scene that reminded every Death Note fan watching it of Light Yagami on L's grave.

13. cardigan

A friend to all is a friend to none Chase two girls, lose the one When you are young, they assume you know nothing

[...]

But I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss I knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs The smell of smoke would hang around this long 'Cause I knew everything when I was young I knew I'd curse you for the longest time Chasing shadows in the grocery line I knew you'd miss me once the thrill expired And you'd be standing in my front porch light And I knew you'd come back to me You'd come back to me And you'd come back to me And you'd come back

yet another post-L's death lawlight song, this time with L+Light switching povs. with the final line I think of the anime scene when Light sees a vision/ghost/whatever it is of L on the stairs:

And when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone's bed You put me on and said I was your favorite

Tier D - honourable mentions

The Prophecy

I got cursed like Eve got bitten Oh, was it punishment?

lightcoreTM

False God

self-explanatory title

You Are In Love

You kiss on sidewalks, you fight then you talk One night, he wakes, strange look on his face Pauses, then says, "You're my best friend" And you knew what it was, he is in love

Mr. Perfectly Fine

So dignified in your well-pressed suit So strategized, all the eyes on you Sashay away to your seat It's the best seat, in the best room Oh, he's so smug, Mr. "Always wins" So far above me in every sense So far above feeling anything

lightcore #2

You're Losing Me

doesn't fit that well lyric-wise, but it sure has got a heartbeat sound effect (sampled with her own I believe) in it referencing the stopping of a heart that sounds a lot like the one used to signal cardiac arrest in Death Note anime.

The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived

Were you sent by someone Who wanted me dead? Did you sleep with a gun underneath our bed? Were you writing a book? Were you a sleeper cell spy? In fifty years will all this be declassified? And you'll confess why you did it And I'll say, "Good riddance" 'Cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden I would've died for your sins Instead I just died inside And you deserve prison, but you won't get time You'll slide into inboxes and slip through the bars You crashed my party and your rental car You said normal girls were "boring" But you were gone by the morning You kicked out the stage lights, but you're still performing And in plain sight you hid But you are what you did And I'll forget you, but I'll never forgive The smallest man who ever lived

lightcore #3

Anti-Hero

I'll stare directly at the sun, but never in the mirror

lightcore #4

Clara Bow

"The crown is stained, but you're the real queen Flesh and blood amongst war machines You're the new God we're worshipping Promise to be dazzling"

there is a joke I can make here about how "dazzling" is "kira-kira" in Japanese

lightcore #5

(man that's a lot of lightcore songs)

Other songs

...that grieve the loss of a lover,

or mentions a lover being a friend/not a friend;

songs with ghost/death/grave/tomb/cemetery imagery,

songs where the self or the lover is compared to God or a god,

songs that mention a difference in age or has the lover looking down on the narrator's maturity (e.g. illicit affairs, All Too Well),

songs where love is characterized as a game of cat and mouse;

and so on.

taylor swift seems to write about those motifs a lot, so there really are a lot of other examples to pull.

and that concludes my list, I think. there may actually be even more comparisons if you look into her album liner notes and such, but this is what I've got for now

[barrenclan]

Not sure if you know about The Exlied by Katterpies, but I want to hear your opinion on 3 Mama's boys: (WARNING: long)

Rainhaze, Rockfall, and Fallenscar

You already know about Rain, he's,,,, like yours,,,, BUT I can't help but feel like Rockfall and Fallenscar are different degrees of Rain? #mommyissues gang

(not)quick review of each lad

Rockfall: Half-clanned, protag's littermate (Fishwhisker) to an asshole of a mother (and a deadbeat dad) but despite that Rock still hangs out with her? He's never verbally against or for her actions and just cowards or looks away when she speaks. He does everything she says and lets himself be baby-ed by her, maybe out of fear (of her or his clanmates) or familiarity. Protag calls him out on his bullshit after he ask her to help "HIS MOM." Rock tries to say something but doesn't fight and just walks away. From his friendliness to his clanmates, Rock seems well-liked if not a bit of a baby. So....I guess if his plan was to be a pushover so people would like him, it worked. But his sister him and he still helps his mother, even after she disses her own daughter for not being a warrior. Rock is a good guy, but in the hopes to be liked, whether by his mother or clanmates, he becomes an cowardly asshole.

Fallenscar: Fallen is a different kind mama's boy. Fallen's relationship reminds me of Dustfeather to Rainhaze. I don't think Fallenscar's mother (Crowstar) was a bad mother, Fallen seems like a good guy. Crow is a war criminal and a bloodthirsty killer, while she says she doesn't like killing children, she'll 100% kill everyone else. Despite the murder, Crow made sure he'd be taught to the clan's most pacifist and well-respected cat (Cloverfall), Fallen grew up to be a kind and caring cat, if not a bit spinless. He had Crow who loves him so much she made him deputy (maybe because it's hard to kill people in power), Whisperleaf his paternal uncle who loved him despite his hate for Crow, and Cloverfall, a sister figure and his former mentor. Crow could have easily pushed Clover and Whisper away and kept Fallen for himself, but she let him (maybe made him), be ANYTHING but her. This brings us to the big reveal, that Fallen knows TO SOME EXTENT what Crow has done. It's probably skewed but instead of being against the killing of others, Fallen blames Crow's former leader, Autumstar, for all the trouble with the other clans (there was a long-ass war btw). This ignores the fact that Crow is heavily disliked for killing old clanmates for trying to stop her from more killing, possibly continued the war after Autumstar's death, albeit briefly, Crowstar killing the leader of the other clan with no remorse, and later manmining Rockfall's mother. Like dude. Fallen was alive for 3 of these events and still loves his mother. I don't think he's stupid enough to say 'mommy did nothing wrong' but it's crazy and INESTERING AS HELL I LOVE IT IT'S SO FROSTPAW AND CURLFEATHER.

In conclusion,,, I just wanted to talk to you about this 'Mama's boy' trend and tell you I LOVE complex grey people giving birth to nice kids only for them to become complex grey people because they love their parent. I love Rainhaze and he's just as grey as Fallen and Rock FOR COMPLETELY DIFFERENT REASONS. bro i love both PATFW and TE I'm so mad for them thank you for making it I'm just so hyped

@the-exiled-comic GET OVER HERE KATTI THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT YOUR GUYS!!

I love these in-depth analyses on Rockfall and Fallenscar. :D Well written! Sandywing and Dustfeather definitely share a lot of parallels, and I can see Rockfall and Rainhaze interactions proceeding very simiarly to each other. It's a fun type of character to write!

[birdmitosis]

alright kit one voice of the paranoid pretty please with cherry on top 🥺

[ask game here]

(Thank you for re-sending this ask, IDK why Tumblr hated my last attempt so much-- 🥺💕)

HELL YEAH MY #1 BLORBINA!!!!!

First impression

Haha, okay, that vocal delivery is great and I love that paranoia of the "what if He hears us?" followed by "shit!" Paranoid characters can be really hit-or-miss, though, and this particular shtick could get old really fast; I hope it doesn't.

Impression now

My favorite darling who I love and adore, my most beloved of current blorbos, the reason my STP hyperfixation is so so strong, bird of my heart 💖

Favorite moment

This is such a hard call! I'm especially torn between two moments: Of course the initial "Heart. Lungs. Liver. Nerves." is amazing and holds a special place in my heart because it's the moment I knew I absolutely adored her. But also, despite loving absolutely everything about both the Wraith and the Moment of Clarity and the transitions into both of them… "Oh right, yeah, fuck this guy. Don't trust Him." all by itself makes me love freeing the Nightmare in her Chapter II just as much. (Not that there aren't other great lines in that path, like the delivery of "I thought you needed me to run the autonomic nervous system?" which is just hysterical to me! But that line… It just won me over even more.)

As an honorable mention, let me pour one out for the cut Paranoid moment in Apotheosis:

I carry this moment, and Paranoid's thoughts about listening to others' lies having value, in my heart forever. It's just such an interesting touch and I'm incredibly sad it's gone!

Idea for a story

I have so many unbaked, half-formed idea snippets and NO details to go with them:

Paranoid running into trouble when her overpreening habits leave her without the ability to fly in a key situation, when she'd been able to (with increasing difficulty) up to that point since getting out of the Construct.

The world outside the Construct being some post- or mid-apocalypse survival horror situation and somehow Paranoid's body winds up warping in ways that remind her unpleasantly of Nightmare, primarily a bunch of eyes beginning to open up all over her body, especially her wings.

Either post-Construct or a mundane AU, bird-people or human or just human-looking, where Paranoid figures out she's trans (and slowly gains in confidence) due to drag.

Something that explores the idea of the beta voices actually turning into some of the current voices (Doubting becoming Skeptic, Flinching becoming Cheated, Meek becoming Paranoid, and Obsessed becoming either Stubborn or both Hunted and Stubborn -- and Smitten splitting off from the beta's Hero too actually!). I actually do really like the idea of the beta voices being their own individual people out there somewhere, but Paranoid reverting to Meek for a while under some circumstance could be fun to play with! And only Hero, Broken, Cold, and Contrarian would even possibly remember Meek…

Unpopular opinion

Paranoid really is not helpless and I think some people forget that sometimes! She's also got wonky morals. I'd argue that the voices you can get in other voices' Chapter IIIs often says something about them; while getting Paranoid in Apotheosis is more her going "That's Enough" and getting Skeptic in both Eye of the Needle and Den is kind of the same, the way Cold and Opportunist both show up in Wraith-from-Nightmare feels more… simpatico with how Paranoid operates? Paranoid can be fucking ruthless and also seize any opportunity she spots, especially if she doesn't trust a person (and the only people she trusts are the Long Quiet and the other voices).

She is also totally willing to abandon or murder a woman and the only one she seems to feel at all bad about at any point to any degree is the Wounded Wild. She's also also super dedicated to coming out unharmed and surviving, but she will do things like advise slitting our own throat when she thinks it's a good idea, and she is prone to panic but also remarkably self-aware about it and knows her own paranoid tendencies aren't always good, and both of those things can be easy to forget but I love them!

Finally, I want to note that people sometimes seem to forget that she doesn't actually get along as badly with Opportunist as you'd think she might! Maybe it's because when you get Opportunist in Wraith, it's specifically via doing exactly what Paranoid is advising (or would advise) you to do in that situation. Cheated and even Hero are more snippy with and disparaging of Opportunist -- even Smitten is to some degree -- and Paranoid is more snippy with Hero and Broken, and Skeptic is the one who seems most disparaging of her. The dynamics being different from what you might think fascinates me, really, and I'm curious about how both new and old dynamics might end up looking in the Pristine Cut.

Favorite relationship

I MEAN…

Much like last time, romantically speaking I love her dynamic with Cold. But platonically, I'm fascinated by her dynamics with Broken, Opportunist, and the Narrator, love her dynamic with Hero, and would be interested to see more (or any) of her dynamic with Hunted, Skeptic, and/or Smitten in the Pristine Cut.

Among the vessels, I also think she'd have interesting dynamics with Damsel, Prisoner, Spectre, Stranger, and Thorn, and would actually love to see more of her dynamic with Nightmare, Wild, and Wraith. (Looking forward to those new Chapter IIIs, too, and I'm very curious about the expanded Apotheosis chapter!)

Favorite headcanon

Well, hands down my favorite headcanon is transfem Paranoid!

But I am also super attached to her having major difficulties with getting her own body: She overpreens to the point of not being able to fly, she has all sorts of trouble sleeping (nightmares, night terrors, insomnia, even sleepwalking), and worst of all she has a harder time trusting the others to the same extent that she used to, at least at first. They're still parsing as us but they're also parsing as other and it fucks with her a bit. She also can panic due to not being able to protect the others or sense the pain/injury/illness/etc. of the others the way she'd have been able to if they still shared a body...

Like, overall she does like having her own body, it's quieter and she has more control over herself, but there's a lot that's difficult about it for her too.

[animeomegas]

You saying that Neji is one of the most requested characters actually reminded me of an angst plot line I thought about a couple weeks ago.

I don’t usually think about Neji dying (because he shouldn’t have but that’s besides the point) but it does have really good angst potential.

I imagine an alpha who’s a bright person, kinda like Naruto but to a lesser degree and they have a huge crush on Neji. I’m talking ginormous crush on him. They meet Neji when they both enter the academy because they’re also a shinobi but they don’t interact with him very often because he’s Neji.

During the Chunin exams when Neji reveals what the Hyuga clan has done to him they make it their mission to help Neji get out of the clan. They go to see Neji after his match (they lost in the previous matches) to make sure he’s alright and then they promise to help him be free from his clan. Neji being Neji denies the alpha at first because he’s stubborn and doesn’t want the help but as they get older he can’t help but think about the promise the alpha made to him.

During the war the alpha almost dies and when Neji comes to check up in them they tell him that they refuse to die so easily because they made a promise to him and they intend to keep it for when the war is over. I like to think it would reflect when the alpha first made the promise to him with the alpha being hurt instead. Neji is the tiniest bit less stubborn and while he doesn’t directly accept the alpha’s words it’s clear by his body language that he is more accepting to the alpha now that he’s older. Then he dies :D

The alpha basically falls apart when he does. They feel like a failure, like an awful alpha, their chest hurts so much they feel like they’re dying. They don’t understand why it had to be Neji (I’d change his death to an accidental one honestly because his canon one is bad) he just wanted to be free and live how he wanted but instead his life got cut short at 18 with him still being a prisoner.

When the war ends the alpha can barely do anything. They can’t eat, can’t go anywhere, can’t get out of bed and can barely sleep because they see Neji is their dreams. In said dreams Neji often blames the poor alpha for not protecting him like they promised they would. Their friends come to see them to comfort them but it doesn’t work because they can’t bring Neji back to life. Their friends are super worried about them because it’s been almost 4 months and the alpha hasn’t had any improvement and just keeps drowning further and further into their grief.

I had 3 ideas for the ending 1 angst, 1 bittersweet, and 1 hopeful. One was that the alpha dies from the heartbreak of losing Neji. They weren’t mated but they loved Neji so much that they just couldn’t take it.

The second one is that the alpha decides to just give up and waste away. They’re friends stop them and get the alpha help but they will never be the same. Yes they have their friends with them but they don’t have Neji. They appreciate their friends but they just wanted to be with Neji again. The alpha keeps living as a husk of what they were before but at least they have their loved ones to help them.

The last one is that the alpha decides to live for Neji. To help make the change Neji wanted in the Hyuga clan. When Hinata becomes head they help her fight for the side branch members to be treated equally to main branch members and they adopt a child from the Hyuga clan. They don’t mate or court anyone else but they are content with their child and other loved ones.

Also Hinata treats them like family because I love found family and she knows how much the alpha loves Neji. She also is their biggest supporter both while they are grieving and after because I said so.

I swear this is the biggest idea I’ve had in a while. My brain has been legit empty ever since. Neji both fills my brain with many thoughts and empties it all the same. I wanted to make this into a story but seasonal depression hit hard so :\

This broke my heart in the best way, anon, thank you so much, but also how dare you 🤧 No thoughts, only Neji. Seasonal depression is rough, and I hope you're doing okay. If you do ever write this though, please tag me, I would love to read it, even if it would probably make me cry :(((

I adore the idea of the alpha dedicating their life to living in a way that honours Neji. They help fix the Hyuuga clan with Hinata, they adopt a Hyuuga orphan, they look after his old team and make sure all his friends are doing well. It's bittersweet, but 🥺

[amber-jinx]

Me again (:

Your posts always make me feel better, particularly the ones on Rachel. I need it due to the recent loss of a family member which is why I haven’t been around as much. That said, thank you for being so positive and supportive. ❤️

A question that has been lingering in my mind is why do you think Rachel is hated so much in the fandom? She was flawed, but I seriously doubt she was this monster that others make her out to be. To some degree, I can relate to her. Not on the daddy issues per se, but more so of being misunderstood.

Hey! Apologies for the delay in answering, really hope you're healing up well. And your GIFs are always so goofy they bring a smile to my face. Thank you so much for your kind words-- they remind me that my posts about Rachel aren't meaningless 🧡

Now getting to this very valid question-- why is Rachel, & by extension, any flawed character without a crystal clear definition like her, hated on so much??

1. Because she is ambiguous. Rachel is viewed in the 3rd person perspective-- either Max's or Chloe's; We never got to know what Rachel was actually thinking, how she felt and what lead to her decisions. All that we've seen in the game are after-the-fact and through varying third perspectives talking about the Rachel Amber, without actually knowing 100% who she really is.

This leaves room for the truth to be bent so severely that people barely scratch the surface of Rachel, and are basically blaming & hating on someone that is not her.

I bet if we got to play her version of the story from the start & experience all the mess from her pov, some players might just choose to hide from Chloe in order to protect her before anything comes to fruition, which can be very much justified in her position imo. Who knows? We could very much be jumping for Jeffersht's trap of an opportunity to get cash so that we can leave town with Chloe. It's all about the context & the framing.

2. As mentioned before by other bloggers, some fans focus too much on Chloe & her narrative that they judge Rachel solely based on Chloe's very biased narrative. I've noticed that quite a lot who appreciate/like Rachel played BTS first without much impression of who this girl is, which offers a very different experience as compared to playing the OG then BTS.

Chloe's outburst after finding out about Rachel's involvement with Frank (the words she used, "lied" "betrayed" etc) left such a deep impression in people's minds that after years of having played the game, continued to influence their perspectives.

Instead of taking account into other details where Rachel cared more for Chloe & was always prioritising her over Frank, and particularly due to the lack of major evidence of her being loyal to Chloe (which is mostly present in the unseen/untold, besides Joyce's remark that they were "joint in the head" and "chloe could never piss Rachel off"), folks now have a magnified impression that all Rachel ever did that's worth noting is her "betrayal", is her supposed plan on leaving Chloe without telling her, which could very well not be the case, but is kinda made harder to argue given Chloe's rage & us not knowing Rachel's side of the story (aka, in her defense), especially with her missing/out of the picture.

Therefore it's so easy for many to simply jump on the Rachel hate train in their almost blindsighted sympathy for Chloe. They might also:

- ignore that Rachel's a victim & instead assume 100% autonomy in her choices, when she was under influence & potential coersion / "it's too late to back out now" state

- ignore her age & circumstances, judge her like a grown mature adult who has good parents to guide her & wise friends to consult with

3. Inspired by your earlier comment! Most people who played the OG did it when they were pretty young & immature without much life experiences -- & so judged with their idealistic expectations, perhaps from the comfort of their homes/lives.

It can be hard to change your own views that's been set from so long ago. Takes some effort to replay the game, re-examine the evidence & admit to oneself that they were probably wrong. Understandable, I've been through the same.

And I've also seen those who have gone through their own messes, met their own supposed "Rachel Amber" irl and proceeded to project the toxicity & hurt they've experienced onto this teenage video game character, when in fact they're not 100% Chloe Price and the other, not a Rachel Amber and more of a subjective projection.

This isn't fair for the character, but then again like I've said, there's a thousand Rachels in a thousands eyes. We just have to keep in mind that whoever they're hating on is not the same as the character we adore 🤍

Thanks for this! I gotta try finding all your asks & make a master list at some point xD they're so good they can form a thread on their own 🌛 psst I am customising a Rachel plush, will see how well it goes & if more can be put out for orders. Unconfirmed stuff, more of a bonus if you've read this far ;)