#thank god for sailor moon fan fiction

[cherrycolored-punk]

take a bite out of these

just an updated list of all of my favorite creators so far! I’m sure there will be plenty more added 🖤

thank you for sharing your talent and your amazing creations!

this is a little long so all recs are below the cut !

can also follow my tag #el’s fic recs

Eddie -

crash + fall by @trashmouth-richie - an ongoing soulmate AU series about my favorite freak that I’m already so very in love with and is written so beautifully.

she fucking hates me by @littlexdeaths - I’m still foaming at the mouth over this bully!Eddie x reader fic. it’s so fucking hot and I don’t think I’ll be over it any time soon (or ever).

after hours by @hellfire--cult - I am fairly new to the omegaverse and holy fuck what an introduction this was. I love a dominate Eddie and oh my god did Roe deliver.

sailor’s delight by @dr-aculaaa - this fic made me YEARN in a way I wasn’t prepared for. Drac is an amazing writer and I just wanna live in this little world they created.

let's go, don't wait by @carolmunson - the fic that has me questioning why none of my online dates have ever been this good. I fucking love this story so much, just wanna live in a world where teacher!Eddie falls in love with.

daylight by @abibliophobiaa - while I tend to stay away from pregnancy!AUs, this one had me hooked. It's cute, sweet, hot. I need a dad!Eddie stat.

twenty-four hours / coffee shop blues by @ghost-proofbaby - ghost is hands down one of my favorite Eddie writers. She writes him in a way that makes me fall in love time and time again. as a bonus, if you're a fan of astarion, she's written the moon will sing (i love you like the sun) which is just as beautifully written as the rest of her works.

the biology tutor by @mrsjellymunson - I binged this in a day, the premise and the smut were so damn hot that I couldn't get enough.

everlong by @andvys - this was my first introduction to andy's work and it has remained a favorite ever since. has so many amazing stories but there's something about a secret relationship behind Steve's back that gets me.

the yes policy / wish you were here by @pinkrelish - the way I lost sleep reading through both of these fics. I love the worlds that Alyson created and the version of Eddie she gifted us with. I've read them over and over again.

to know you’re mine by @blueywrites - I read through this series in a day, losing sleep may I add, because I was that addicted to it. I will admit, at first, I didn’t think it’d be my jam because of the swinger dynamic but holy shit does Bluey make it both tender and hot at the same time. I almost combusted. I seriously couldn’t get enough. She is an amazing writer and I can’t wait to read more of her work.

for your viewing pleasure / shelter from the storm by @rebelfell - the way Sarah has me absolutely on my knees for Eddie every time I read one of her fics…they genuinely leave me UNWELL (in the best way). like for your viewing pleasure? I was a little unsure at first (would I get jealous over a fictional man having relations with other fictional women?) but then I devoured it. it’s so insanely hot and she is one of the best smut writers on here. and shelter from the storm? pllleeeeasseee Eddie show up on my doorstep to check up on me in a storm. Please offer to get me there.

Steve -

we tried the world / she drives me crazy by @upsidedownwithsteve - if there is an author I equate with a character, it's Emmy with Steve. I was a diehard Eddie girl until I read her stories and fell in love with my favorite dork again and again. All her works are seriously a gift that I always return to.

all i really want is you / colors by @loveshotzz - the first author that made me even consider an older!Steve let alone fall in love with him over and over in every way she writes him. I will never be over either of these fics and re-visit them all the time.

we'll call it love by @superblysubpar - I've said before that this is part of my top ten and still is to this day. I revisit it often, falling back into this world. dreaming of this steve. story is so witty, funny and hot while also remaining tender in many moments. Also, simply the best - the title is pretty self-explanatory because the story is already that…simply the best. It’s ongoing but I am already hooked. I love the Spider-Man!Steve AU and Taylor is an amazing writer so I know it’s only going to keep getting better.

asking for a favor by @wroteclassicaly - this struck me right in all the perfect feels and Kristen has a way of doing that. I have a long to be read list but Kristen is all over it. She's an amazing writer and I love all her angst / smut.

Jonathan -

rise and shine by @eiightysixbaby - I hadn’t read a fic for Jonathan before, or really considered it, but man…this fic managed to convert me. Now I need him in the biblical sense.

Billy -

no charge by @hellfire--cult - oh. my. fuck. what a fast conversion this was to a Billy fan. Jaw on the floor, wondering why I don’t have a hot hot hot Billy knocking on my floor to give me the ultimate striptease plus 8 inches extra.

honey honey by @pastel-pillows - speaking of my fast train to a Billy fan, this is the fic that really started it all. He is so sweet in this, and I just ache for a soft Billy since reading this amazing fic.

@boltedfruit

@selineabanto

@xgumiho

@tubesock86

@stervrucht

@toktopus-art

@donttellunclesam

@littleststarfighter

@tellme-astory

@jemmacdraws

@obligatedart

@strangergraphics (graphics / headers / dividers)

@hugdealer (some of my favorites edited photos of Eddie)

@freckledjoes (photos / gifs)

@werewolfnat (formerly kingofscoops)

@djo

@steveharringtondaily

@batty4steddie

@emziess

most, if not all, of these are Eddie coded

you know I can eat you better than he can

getting hate fucked on your crushes bed by his best friend

post campaign pleasure with your dungeon master

your bully finds out you have a crush on him

[sasseffects]

Writer Interview Game!

Thanks for the tag @atsadi-shenanigans!!!

When did you start writing?

God, as soon as I could piece sentences together. I'm pretty sure I still have my first original short story hidden away somewhere. My first fanfiction was in elementary school, though- Sailor Moon!

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I love to write poetry, but not overly much a fan of reading it. I also enjoy reading nonfiction, but please dear god don't ask me to write it I'll die.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

I really enjoyed Diana Wynne Jones' writing growing up, as well as Tamora Pierce's works. If I can possess even a smidge of their writing abilities I'll consider myself successful.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

It's wherever I can plunk down my laptop, though it's usually the loveseat in my bedroom. I usually lean against the arm so I can look outside my bedroom window while I type. My dog and cats will alternate sitting with me or on the bed, depending on their neediness levels.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

It depends on what I'm writing. Poetry? Definitely music similar in feeling to what I'm writing. Fanfiction? Go back and play/read/etc. whatever inspired me to write the fic in the first place. Sometimes I'll read previous chapters of my own fanfiction as well.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

I've surprised myself with my penchant for hurt/no comfort. Sometimes life sucks and it doesn't get better, even in fiction. It's been extremely cathartic.

What is your reason for writing?

Stress relief, and it's really fun! There's a good community out here, and I've really loved making friends. <3

Is there any specific comment or type of comment you find particularly motivating?

Any and all comments are motivating; it means someone took time out of their day to say something to me!

How do you want to be thought about by your readers?

Vaguely competent! I have this issue where if I feel like something isn't perfect the first time then it isn't worth publishing at all. So I just want readers to think that I'm like, semi-ok at writing. Because GOD do I try.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

Emotion and description.

How do you feel about your own writing?

As I wrote earlier, I have this huge issue where if I feel something isn't perfect the first time then it isn't worth posting. I'm usually disgusted with my writing by the time I finish a chapter- when I start posting "Beneath a Shadowed Sun" I will 100% need a beta just so I don't delete the whole file and dive off a cliff.

When you write, are you influenced by what others might enjoy reading, or do you write purely for yourself, or a mix of both?

Initially, I just write for myself because it's what I enjoy and the writing is cathartic. If the writing gets even close to being posted on AO3 though, I start to panic and nitpick.

tagging @bullavellan, @thejessis, @tobuo, and @wick-de-la-vela! In case y'all have any writing projects to share!!

[antiquitea]

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐰𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬!

thank you @john-cleven for the tag! ✨

tagging in @swifty-fox, @trashbag-baby666, @wildbornsiren, @hederasgarden, @blue-aconite, and anyone else who wants to play!

questions and responses under the read more to save your dashboards 😉

how many works do you have on ao3?

thirty-three

what's your total ao3 word count?

167,068

what fandoms do you write for?

i currently write for masters of the air and top gun (86 and maverick).

top five fics by kudos

christmas in brooklyn - bucky barnes / steve rogers (marvel) 430 kudos

these ties that bind - t.j. hammond & douglas hammond (political animals) 317 kudos

you'll find me - bucky barnes / steve rogers (marvel) 246 kudos

let's get tipsy and start a rumour - sidney crosby / evengi malkin (hockey rpf) 217 kudos

under the pretense of yearning - sebastian stan / chris evans (actor rpf) 209 kudos

do you respond to comments?

yes! or at least i do my best to. i always want to respond with something cute and witty, but often can't manage something beyond OMG THANK YOU!!!

what is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

gosh, it's definitely a band of brothers fic, either somewhere, a clock is ticking or you should see me in the rain (both dick winters / lewis nixon).

what's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

a lot of my smut fics have happy endings ifyouknowwhatimean. actual happiest ending may have been leave a light on (simon le bon / john taylor, musician rpf).

do you get hate on fics?

i can't recall ever getting any outright hate (although maybe i did in my younger writing days back on livejournal). the only thing that i can recall was someone arguing with me about the fact that karl urban would say petrol and not gasoline, and i told them something like "yes, he would. but he didn't. it wasn't dialogue. it was a description, and i wouldn't say petrol, i would say gasoline." i still think about that because wtf.

do you write smut?

pretty much exclusively 😂 i try to wriggle some plot in there from time to time.

craziest crossover?

don't do crossovers! at least i haven't in the past. certainly not opposed to it! i did start to write a winter soldier / the man from uncle fic once ... but then armie hammer stuff happened and i didn't feel so compelled to write that anymore!

have you ever had a fic stolen?

not that i'm aware of.

have you ever had a fic translated?

also not that i'm aware of!

have you ever co-written a fic before?

not "officially," but @wildbornsiren write together every goddamn day and have some ideas.

all time favorite ship?

god, i'll always be a sucker for bucky barnes / steve rogers. right now john egan / gale cleven own my ass and probably will for a very long time.

what's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

i am delusional enough to believe that i will finish every single wip i have in the works (i absolutely will not).

what are your writing strengths?

i've been told that i write with a certain cadence that progresses stories forward, so i'm choosing to go with that. i also think i write smut pretty damn well.

what are your writing weaknesses?

sometimes i feel that my writing can be very ... technical and clunky. not enough feeling in the words that i put to page.

thoughts on dialogue in another language?

if it's not a language that you personally speak, keep it minimal. google translate only works so well.

first fandom you wrote in?

pretty soldier sailor moon back in like 1995. i didn't know it was fan fiction, i was just ten years old and wanted to make usagi and mamoru kiss.

favorite fic you've written?

i'm not sure if i have a favourite, but i'm always exceedingly proud of leave a light on - a duran duran rpf fic i wrote that has multiple chapters that i actually finished. anything with multiple parts i often struggle to complete.

[cassraven]

Hey everyone, Just checking in with all of my fellow Hannibal Fannibals, and Sailor Moon Moonie fans, fellow fan fiction writers, authors, and artists of fandoms. How is everyone doing? Safe? Okay? Keeping sane while in your town/city/state/country’s home quarantine?

If anyone here needs someone to talk to or just wants to talk about anything, whether it’s fandom related, writing fan fiction or just needing to let off some stress relief steam due to being cooped up at home because of the Coronavirus, I’m happy to listen if you want to talk. You can find me here on Direct Message via Tumblr or at my Twitter account here: @LeCassieRaven

My old HP laptop age since like 2014-15 era had decided to finally battery inner plug core die. So I had to order a new one online. (It will be arriving via snail mail delivery to my house soon by the end of the month.) Thankfully, I had backed up all my important files, photograph files to digital document files and story files on usb flash drives moving them then to my other backup Toshiba laptop. But since wireless doesn’t work on that laptop no internet access. So I won’t be posting updates on any of my Sailor Moon stories until my new laptop arrives and gets fully 100% set up.

My city in Southern California near Los Angeles has been officially under the polite “please stay at home via self quarantine” orders by our mayor etc. Only being premitted to leave the house for grocery shopping or serious hospital emergencies. Personally, I feel Los Angeles has it worse than we do since their virus infections and sadly death numbers are worse than the low percent here in my city. It’s heartbreaking hearing what’s been happening here and worldwide. I just hate seeing the news pretty much online and on television that I try to avoid it. My family and boyfriend’s families are both safe, doing alright. It’s been strange being home with my parents and older sister with her kids/little family and my adult brothers all together. But we’re making the most of it being civil and polite. My boyfriend’s job related to grocery store counting inventory stocks for a company for all grocery chains has kept him working, but he’s being safe naturally.

I’ve just stayed completely home mostly because of my Lupus being an autoimmune disease, plus asthma I’m considered easy prey high risk wise to catching the virus sooo, I’ve been home at all times. I’m hanging in there; keeping busy with drawing, making bat plushy dolls inventory for my Etsy shop, making medical masks from my fabric sewing stash to donate to the local city medical center and hospitals since their in need of them donation wise. Other than that, I’ve kept in touch with real life friends and family and artist friends via on Facebook, Twitter through my iPhone or just have been watching Netflix or playing with my cats during this time. As for graduation from city college, with how the virus caused all schools to be shutdown or done post online, well, it looks like I’ll be having to resubmitting my papers for graduation application all over again to graduate in the Fall 2020 Semester to walk commencement ceremonies in December instead of Spring 2020 in June if this greatly effects everything for Seniors this year at my college. Meh. Could be worse, I mean this was bound to happen with the virus chaos all happening right now. Hopefully everything will be alright. Take care you guys, Please stay home unless your job requires you to still work, or if you have to go to the stores, and please wash your hands with soap, please take care of yourself and be safe! Xo ❤️❤️❤️

[razieltwelve]

I’m an old reader (I remember Stetsons and Fal’Cie updating) and I know that whispers of the gods has long since been laid to rest, but I was rereading it a while ago and, well…I miiight have lifted and added Lightning’s backstory into my dnd campaign. Corrupted by grief and without Serah’s post-war incarnation to ground her, she became like Caius and her origins have been lost to history. Now she’s the Godhunter. Anyway, I just wanted to say thanks for being an inspiration over all these years.

Hey, there!

Hearing from a long-time reader who has been around since the Old Days is like hearing from an old friend! It's great you were able to slip Lightning's backstory into your campaign. I hope you have a lot of fun with it.

The amusing thing is that I've been around so long that I've got readers from all sorts of places. Most of my original fiction readers are aware that I have written fan fiction, but many have never read any of it.

Then you've got the RWBY readers who know me best for snippets and the like.

And then you've got the FF XIII people who remember when I wrote way more long-form fiction. They can actually remember a time when Diana, Averia, and Claire didn't exist.

And last of all, you've got the OG Sailor Moon fans. I think there's only a handful of them still around, maybe less, but they do pop up from time to time.

One of these days, I'll get around to that Whispers of the Gods-inspired original trilogy (rough first book written years ago). The OGs like you will take one look at it and know where it's from, but the newer fans will be quite surprised.

[caelenath]

The Ascension of Endymion

It's my first Sailor Moon fic! Comments welcome, concrit and otherwise.

Length: ~3000 Warnings: None Summary:

It took two lifetimes before Serenity and Endymion could finally say "forever" to each other, but his fate had been sealed long ago, the day a princess from the moon gazed upon the Earth and fell in love with him.

Cross-posted to FFN.

* * *

I also want to share some of my thoughts behind this piece. Read on if you are interested in author commentary (hidden below the jump because it's kind of long).

This fic began with a relatively simple idea—I wanted a definitive transition of some kind for when Endymion gained the extended lifespan of the Silver Millennium Royal Family. Traitorous as it feels, I happen to agree with the Black Moon Clan's sentiment that such longevity is unnatural for humans, at least in their current state, and so I didn't like the idea that Endymion just stopped aging one day and went about his business as usual for the next thousand years exactly as he is. Along with societal implications (what would retirement age be?), there is some psychological evolution that needs to happen for people to live that long without going insane.

I also didn't like how that longevity was kind of a throwaway detail in the canon, seeming to serve no purpose other than to let our OTP miracle romance it up in an Elysium-esque mineral utopia without having to be dead. It's more common for immortality/extreme longevity to have a sad or sinister tone whenever it does appear in fiction. If only select individuals have it, loss is usually part of the story—loss of those they outlive, or loss of themselves if they went through some kind of transformation (usually into something Other) in order to gain it.

If a whole population is immortal or long-lived, they are usually framed as "superior" in some way to those with normal lifespans—think Greek gods f*cking with mortals all the time, or cosmic beings trying to keep the human race from destroying themselves as a sign of their immense benevolence. Benevolent or not, these populations usually possess some degree of aloofness or empathetic disconnect from the lesser population. That's not to say they are un-empathetic, but just by virtue of being other, they can't fully identify with the lesser population.

Speak of Greek gods, I leaned into the inspiration behind Serenity and Endymion's names—the myth of Selene, goddess of the moon, who loved the mortal man Endymion. Usagi's various forms are pretty explicitly depicted (and named) as a goddess/Savior/Messiah figure, and that goddess/mortal dynamic reminded me of the significant power imbalance that exists between Usagi and Mamoru for most of the series.

Combined with Mamoru's utter devotion to her, which goes unquestioned, it started to take on a darker light. What if, because of that power imbalance and her goddess nature, he was never free to choose otherwise once she had chosen him? To be sure, their love is sincere, but it has taken him completely, and now he is bound forever. (Insert intelligent mumblings about free will, etc., here.)

I've also borrowed some ideas from Christianity, namely the part where Mamoru only has to accept Serenity's love to be one with her, and that in doing so, he will be made like her, e.g. "in Her image." (Note: I have a layman's Wikipedia understanding of such things. I am not and do not claim to be an expert on religion.)

So...yeah. I don't know if what resulted from all that was a confusing, bland mess, or a fic that gave adequate weight and an angsty edge to that throwaway longevity that really should be a big deal.

Whatever the case, thanks for reading!

(If you'd like to chat with fellow Sailor Moon fans and content creators of all types (fic, art, video, cosplay, etc.), check out the Moonlight Legends Discord server! https://discord.gg/Ye6d8rXt7Z)

[sessrinsfanclub]

Dear Followers of SessRin's Fan Club

This morning like every morning I get up at 5:30am to have mommy time. I make myself a cup of coffee and check out my channel and other social media networks, and of course see whats going on in the Yashahime and SessRin world! When I woke up this morning, I was shocked to see I have successfully gained 101 subscribers!! Not only that, but my Yashahime Vlogs! Both Videos have almost reached 1,000 views!! My reaction to the trailer has received so far 892 views and the latest yashahime vlog has received 980 views and counting!! That’s INSANE!!

I’m just a small-town southern girl in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia! I’m a full time Hairdresser, wife, and mother of a wild 2-year-old little girl named Maria. When I started SessRin’s Fan Club 3 months ago, I had no idea what I was doing. All I knew was there were amazing sessrin fan fiction stories that people needed to know and talk about! I had so many thoughts and theories when it came to sesshomaru character arc, his wife Rin, and Yashahime! I was a big fan of Inuyasha when I was in middle school. I would constantly sneak out of my room in the middle of the night, just to catch the beauty of the feudal fairytale. Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon also played a major part of my childhood. I was going through tough times when I was kid, having my parents divorce and move into a new town, and new school was very overwhelming. But not only did God get me thru it but those Anime shows including my all time favorite Inuyasha kept me happy and sane. Like the others Inuyasha helped me escape that world of darkness and made me forget my hardships and life changes. I escaped to world of hot demons, badass battles, core and blood, hardships and a beautiful but complicated love story of INUKAG! My love for the show and most of all Sesshomaru and Rin has always been in my heart and soul as my most favorite characters! With Sesshomaru I learned to be tough and have confidence in myself, and of course he’s so sexy duh!!! Rin taught me to love and respect. Kindness and loyalty in friendships and relationships. I have always believed they were meant to be together forever!

So, when I heard the annoucment of Yashahime Princess Half Demon season 2. I was thrilled and excited! Looking at the twins I knew right then and there our dreams as fans had finally granted our wish! And was officially annoucment on Jan 16th, 2021, they were CANON! My world like yours was forever changed and for the better. My love for fan fiction grew even more and I was so in love with some. I just wanted to climb up these mountains and shout for all to hear! There are writers who are so gifted and so talented. They really should have consider having their works published! Their stories and plots were better than some book on the New York Times Best Seller. So, 3 months ago I decided then and said “Screw It!! I’m goanna do it!” and so here I am!

Now I know I’m not the best of the best on YouTube’s Platform or anywhere as a matter of fact and that’s ok! I know it takes years and a lot of money and challenges. It has and its goanna be a lot of work, and I still have so much to learn and achieve before I can get there. I have recently started saving money on the side to have the opportunity to purchase new equipment but most importantly new software! Since purchasing my editor software ive been able to edit my videos so much better and I really enjoy being creative! So here over the course of the next few months, you will start to notice the channel’s improvements and several changes overtime, so please hang in there with me! My plan for this channel is to start having better opportunities to connect with you thru live streams and have great discussions! SessRin’s Book Club is in the works as well! A place where we can do and discuss our Fan Fic stories of the month. But most of all getting to know the writer and learning about their journey. I'm also getting prepared for Yashahime Season 2!

I really would like to thank the staff, and creators behind SessRin Is Canon for taking a chance with me when I started his Club. Not only did they accept me but helped me out in so many ways. Whenever I had a question, suggestion, and ask for their advice. They were there for me every step of the way! Their constant support and kindness ill forever be grateful for! I would also like to thank YOU THE VIEWERS! Thank you for subscribing to the channel, for liking, sharing, and leaving comments! Every bit of that not only gives me the encouragement to keep going, but it’s what helps YouTube know if my channel is worth putting out there in content searches and outreach! It feels good know there are at least 100 people who like what I do and enjoy my passion for sesshomaru and fangirling over SessRin thru conversations, fan fiction, and art! Thank you, guys, for everything! Its nice to know I have a lot of people who love sessrin just as much as I do, and want to talk to me, and hear what I even have to say!

I love this fandom and community so much! I feel like I’m part of one big happy family and it’s the best feeling in the world! Thank you again for all the love, support, and kindness you have shown to me! It mite just be 3 months in, but its been the best 3 months of my life! Thank you once again and may we continue this journey together! Lets raise our glasses and cheers to the best canon couple in the anime universe, Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Rin of the West!

With Love,

Mrs. Dowdy aka KatyDid

SRFC

[unmaskedagain]

Demon princess

Yesterday someone asked me what anime show I liked. And it got me to realizing that while I like quite a few anime shows; I never did a crossover for with Ladybug. So I got thinking which anime I should use. My first instinct was Sailor Moon; first anime I ever loved. Hell first show I ever loved, I started watching it when I was four-years-old (I have older sisters). Then I briefly considered Death Note. Maybe a pairing with Marinette/light. It didn’t work out my head. Finally it hit me… And then it completely got away from me. Reminding me why I don’t fuck with anime when it comes to fan fiction. Not my best work but its was a neat idea.

             When her mom told her that her grandfather and her great uncle was coming to town; Marinette panicked. In fact, she had a full blown panic attack. There was no way she was going to get out of this.

           Her mother didn’t speak too much to her father. They had a complicated relationship. Sabine had grown up in China with her mother, while her father resided near Japan, having been born and raised there, in a small country he ruled as king. Only demons resided there.

He had been a cold, stoic man with little interests in the affairs of humans. He certainly didn’t understand why his beloved daughter chose to be around them. However, he had been outright furious when he discovered Sabine had eloped with one and ran off to France. They didn’t speak for almost a decade.

           The silence was only broken when Sabine told her Uncle that she was expecting a child. And half-human or not, Sesshōmaru would be there to welcome his grandchild into the pack. Inuyasha had tagged along to keep an eye on his older brother. Though the older Inu Daiyōkai may have become more tolerable of humans but that didn’t mean he didn’t still have few nasty streaks. Honestly, Inuyasha didn’t trust his brother not to just slaughter Tom Dupain as soon as he met him. The demon lord turned King would have to deal with the unfortunate tales of the Princess who ran off with the Baker; as if it was some foolish romantic tale.

           Somehow, Sesshōmaru remained perfectly polite if more than just a bit standoffish. He outright glared at times. However, he remained in France for months while he waited for his grandchild to be born. Subtly hinting to his daughter, that it would be better to raise the pup among their own kind.

           Then little Marinette Kagura Dupain-Cheng with blue locks, slanted bluer eyes, pointed ears, two magenta stripes on each cheek, and a magenta stripe on each eyelid, and a purple crescent moon on her forehead identical to the one her grandfather had. The baby girl was clearly a demon, a half-demon, but a demon nonetheless.

           The moment Sesshōmaru held his grandchild, he was hers, “She is strong, and will only grow more powerful,” He told his exhausted offspring. “You did well daughter.”

“It takes two to tango,” Tom laughed.

           Inuyasha just shook his head, “You’re not dead. Don’t push this.”

           Over the next few years, Marinette spent most of her childhood split between her parents’ and her grandfather’s palace. Thanks to Shippo’s magic, it was only a portal away. She spent a lot of her summers there too. It was different when Marinette stayed with her Grandfather. She was different.

           For starters, she was a princess and was expected to behave like one. She was a daiyōkai and was expected to act like; keep her emotions controlled and her word precise. When she was five-years-old, her grandfather presented her with two swords made from two of his fangs as a birthday present because, yeah, that was a thing demons did. One sword healed, the other destroyed. Though both swords were the same size; sword that destroyed had been too heavy for her to properly wield. She had to work for years to properly know how to use it. It was powerful and could slaughter a dozen foes with a swing. The sword that healed had seemed rather useless in comparison. It took her years to understand it was, by its very nature, the more powerful of the two.

           When she wasn’t training, she was learning to rule. Demons lived a long life but things happened. It was best to be prepared.

           It was at her Uncle’s insistence that Marinette, just recently turned six, be introduced to playmates of her own age. That was when Marinette learned something; everyone in the palace was employed by her grandfather. In addition, they were all lower demons subject to his rule and of any royal standing.

           The demons with royal standing, children who Inuyasha said were Marinette’s equals, to which Sesshomaru pointed out his granddaughter had to equal, behaved different.

           The kids were haughty, arrogant, and sometimes mean for the sake of being mean to anyone of lesser standing in the demon world.

           The first was the son of Prince Koga, a wolf demon and a minor prince who kept his title because of tradition alone; his name was Hyōga. Prince Hyōga, was older than Marinette by a year, with auburn hair and red eyes, and had eyed the smaller girl with interest.

“Heard your father’s a human,” He said the word as if it taste foul on his tongue.

           In the background, Koga face palmed. In youngest son would get their entire pack killed. Inuyasha glared at his old friend; plotting his death.

“Yes,” Marinette said. “I heard you were name after a giant moth.”

           Hyōga sputtered, “What do you know? You’re just a girl!”

“Don’t make me the bug spray.”

           It was the start of a rather tense friendship; similar to the one Koga and Inuyasha had centuries ago.

           The second was a dragon demon named Kagami; an emotionless girl whose bloodline once rivaled Marinette’s. Marinette had tried to be nice, fearing her uncle world bring the wolf prince back, but Kagami didn’t warm up to her attempts. Finally, Marinette noticed Kagami attention to Marinette’s sword. So she led the other girl to training yard, threw her sword, and said, “I win, we have tea-party. You win, I’ll show you grandfather’s war room.” Then the battle was on. Every time, Kagami would visit, they’d have another duel to see what they did for the day. Both families were pleased at this.

           The next was an ice demon from England; a prissy, blond, name Magnolia who was two years older and, who Marinette knew, only tolerated Marinette’s unladylike behavior because she was a princess.

Then there was the playmate that actually required Marinette to leave the palace and venture to Japan. This meant that she had to hide her demon features like she did when she was in public in Paris.

The boy’s name was Izumo, a decedent of Sango, a legendary demon slayer and Inuyasha’s friend. He was very serious, older than Marinette by four years, and seemed to take it as a personal insult a six-year-old, even a demon one, could best him in a fight. Marinette just wondered exactly what her uncle thought “close in age” meant.

However, her favorite playmates turned out to be Shippo’s grandchildren; both half-human. They both lived in France. One was her age, named Juleka, and the other an older boy named Luka.

As Marinette got older and her visits to her grandfather’s decreased to twice a month during the school year and every summer. Her grandfather was under the belief that Marinette went to a school with other demons, and while technically that was true; there were almost two dozen others demons, it was primarily a human school. Strike one. Her grandfather would only be mildly annoyed.

Kwami and the miraculous, both banned from her grandfather’s kingdom, was active in Paris. The banning of the little gods happened after the destruction of the greatest creation Shikon no Tama. A little marble that nearly ended the world and caused great pain for Inuyasha and his friends for years. After they left, no one knew what had happened to Kwami. As long as they never made another jewel, no one wanted to know.

Except they did make another jewel; earrings, a ring, a bangle, a hair comb, a broach, and so many different objects. Two of which had the power that rival the form Shikon Jewel.

Marinette never told her grandfather that the Kwami and resurfaced and apparently didn’t learn their lesson the first time around. Strike two. Her grandfather just went from annoyed to beyond angry.

Finally, Marinette decided to follow in her Uncle’s footsteps, band together a ragtag group, to stop a dark villain hell-bent on united the two most power Miraculous for gods’ know what reason. And she actively dresses up as superhero to defend the lives of humans. It was why she always wore her hair down around the older demons. Strike Three. Grandfather’s snarly mad with blood red eyes, ready to kill. And Marinette? Marinette is so out its not even funny.

When Sesshōmaru arrived in Paris, Inuyasha on his right, he immediately sensed great power. An ancient power. When he arrived at the bakery, his daughter and granddaughter and the man they lived with (“Oh for hell’s sake, His name is Tom,” Inuyasha snapped. “Sabine’s husband. Marinette’s father.”), he raised an eyebrow at the power radiating from the place, stalked right passed his the three, up to his granddaughter’s room, if it could be called that. Marinette right on his tail.

The room looked normal at first, if far too small. However, it took the demon king five seconds to locate the source of power.

He held up the squirming Kwami between his claws, “Explain, now!” Sesshomaru ordered. His eyes flashed red.

Inuyasha looked at the red creature, Tikki, he remembered was the goddess of creation’s name. His claws extended at the memory of all he had been put through and all he had lost because Plagg and Tikki decided to create something that should’ve never existed in the first place.

Sabine and Tom looked confused. Sabine knew what the creature was, had seen pictures of it, but it was centuries before her time. She always assumed the power that radiated came from Marinette.

Marinette glanced down for a moment before steeling herself, and looking up at her grandfather with a proud raised head. She tucked her hair behind her ear and revealed her jewelry.

All hell broke loose.

“AGAIN!” Inuyasha roared, going full demon mode.

“My grandchild,” Sesshomaru snarled at the being, who looked rather petulant, “You dare!”

           Inuyasha’s fist went through a wall, “You don’t learn your lessons well, do ya?” He asked Tikki.

“The world needs heroes,” Tikki crossed her arms.

           Marinette stepped forward, “It was my choice. There’s a villain that holds another jewel, he must be stopped before he destroys us all.”

“Another Naruku,” Sesshomaru hissed.

“No,” Marinette denied. “He’s human. I fought him before. I know that much. The miraculous hide his overall scent but he bleeds like anyone else. And his is human.”

           Inuyasha turned red eyes to his niece, “And then this will be quick.”

[therealcalicali]

Thanks! As a disabled person (not in the same sense that Ivar is), I love the concept of a disabled person recreating what they view as their "weakness" into their greatest strength. So my intention wasn't to make that a focal point for this character. When I envisioned my Warrior character, the first person that came to mind was Alex. That led me to thinking if he should be disabled. My OC and Ivar are similar, I didn't want them to be too similar since it feels like I'm recreating him as Ivar.

You're welcome, sweetie.🍀💖

Don't worry about who or what inspired your OC. Because regardless of the face-claim in your mind, the Character will be new to readers.

Like Vincent Van Gogh said, "If you hear a voice within you say you cannot paint, then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced." I'm certain that works for all mediums of The Arts.

"Fanfiction is what literature might look like if it were reinvented from scratch after a nuclear apocalypse by a band of brilliant pop-culture junkies trapped in a sealed bunker.

They don't do it for money.

That's not what it's about.

The writers write it and put it up online just for the satisfaction. They're fans, but they're not silent, couchbound consumers of media. The culture talks to them, and they talk back to the culture in its own language."

- Lev Grossman, Time Magazine

Famous Writers who gained inspiration from Fanfiction:

Cassandra Clare - The Infernal Devices, Chain of Iron, etc. ( most well known for her Lord of the Rings parody of Legolas and a Draco Malfoy-centric Harry Potter fanfiction.)

E.L. James - 50 Shades of Grey series (was originally published as Twilight fanfiction.)

Marissa Meyer - Cinder, Scarlet, A Tyranny of Petticoats, etc (author of this popular YA sci-fi cinderella retelling, Cinder, has also publicly admitted to writing Sailor Moon fanfiction! And even better, she doesn’t keep them anonymous!)

Neil Gaiman - American Gods, Good Omens, Coraline, etc (Gaiman is the rare author who was actually able to publish his fanfiction without changing character names because of his notoriety! He’s written odes to Sherlock Holmes (A Study in Emerald), H.P. Lovecraft (I, Cthulhu), and C.S. Lewis (The Problem with Susan)

Lev Grossman - The Silver Arrow, Codex, The Magicians, etc. Anyone who’s read Grossman’s “The Magicians” series knows that it’s a mashup of Harry Potter & the Chronicles of Narnia. (Grossman is also a public advocate of fanfiction as well as a writer of How to Train Your Dragon fics).

Links:

21 Writers who write fan fiction

From fan to famous: 8 authors who started out writing fanfiction

George R.R. Martin explains what he borrowed from J.R.R. Tolkien

7 Authors Who Wrote Fanfiction

What Fan Fiction Teaches That the Classroom Doesn’t

The New Yorker: The Promise and Potential of Fan Fiction

[beautyiisterror]

10 questions tag 📚

Rules: answer 10 questions and ask 10 new ones. Thanks so much @therefugeofbooks for tagging me in this, i’m so excited!!!!!

1. What's your favorite cold drink?

if we are talking about alcoholic drinks, caipirinhas are the utimate cocktail, do not @ me!!!!! all flavors, are just *chef’s kiss*, but like in general i love orange juice and ice tea.

2. What's the first thing you notice about a person?

i honestly don’t know??? i mean, if they are goodlooking and not a bad person??? those are literally my two criteria. i like people who are smart and have pretty smiles and kind eyes, just not to sound shallow (which i kinda am lol)

3. Do you have any pets? What would you name if you had one (more)?

I DO!!!!!!! i have two pets acctually, a cat and a dog and they are EVERYTHING TO ME!!!! their names are jake (the dog) and belo (the cat). if i had one more, i would like to have a black cat named luna, because i’m a sailor moon trash.

4. What was your favorite TV show growing up?

i don’t really remember, but i used to love all shows with girls doing stuff? like winx club and totally spies. i used to love those!!! i still kinda do actually. 

5. What's your ideal vacation?

i love travelling with friends, and unfortunately, i don’t get to do as often. so i think my ideal vacation would be like travel to a really cool, unexpected place, with the biggest number of my friends that we can gather to such adventure. 

6. Is there any book that you want to read but by any reason you keep avoiding it?

you mean like, 70% of my bookshelf/kindle library????? hahahaha honestly, i buy books faster then i can read them so is always a HUGE tbr pile all around my room, i’m a chaotic reader, and i take no pride in that. but usually the books i keep avoinding are the classics, and the bigger ones. specially because, from a little time now i’m trying to add diversity to the cultural stuff that i consume, and it doesn’t help that most of the books i have here are from dead cishet white dudes. but i will get around reading them, even if is just to complain about it. 

7. What book do you hope will be turned into a movie or TV show one day?

one of the best books i’ve read this year was my sister, the serial killer by  oyinkan braithwaite, honestly, this book has everything that i love in fiction: complex women, sibilings relationships, FAMILY DINAMICS TO DIE FOR, pretty women comiting murder, humor... honestly five out of five stars, and i would love to see a movie adaptation of it. i would also love a kyoshi duology adaptation, even if i’ve only read the first book yet, i just love avatar universe so much, and kyoshi is my favorite avatar (ALSO A BISSEXUAL WOMAN OF COLOR IS JUST EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) it would be awesome to see a show about her. bonus points if it is animation, but honestly, there are so many great asian actresses around, i would love anyways.

8. Are there any books that are really popular but you dislike?

i can’t really remember many of those, even if i’m really picky with my readings, i’m quite easy to please. but a recent reading that was ABSOLUTELLY FRUSTRATING because i really wanted to like the book, was hanya yanagihara’s a little life. once again, the book covered subjects that i usually fell really drawn to, such as coming of age, found family, FRIEND GROUPS THAT DON’T FALL APART AFTER ADULTHOOD, non white writer/main characters, lgbtqia+ characters. honestly, a nox’s favorites textbook premise. AND YET, I HATED IT SO MUCH!!!! all the unecessary pain that some of the characters go to, that at one point through my reading i just rolled my eyes when something terrible happened/was revealed about the past of one of the main characters. and the identity of the non white characters wasn’t really explored as they should? it honestly felt like just more excuses to make those characters go through MORE PAIN. it was honestly hard to finish it up. and the more frustrating thing is that so many people seem to think this is a great representative book, just doesn’t sit well with me. i also think is impotant to say that there are SO MANY POSSIBLE TRIGGERS IN THIS BOOK, AND I DIDN’T SEE ANYONE TALKING ABOUT THIS BEFORE I READ IT!!! so i’ll leave a list of the triggers i was abble to notice throught out my reading, in case anyone is thinking about give it a go:

content warnings for a little life by hanya yanagihara: self harm, suicidal ideation, attempted suicide, disordered eating, physical abuse of a minor, domestic abuse, abuse of character with a disability, loss of a child, drug abuse/addiction, sexual assault/rape, pedophilia, ptsd, forced prostitution of a minor 

9. When did you last visit a library?

wow it has been so long... i think it was sometime in march of this year, that i went to my college library to pick up some class readings that i had to do, and then QUARENTINE HAPPENED, and i still am with the books i picked up lol. thank god that they lifted up the tax for late books or else i would have to sell my soul to pay it hahahaha i really miss going to college...

10. Could you recommend me a book that you think is underrated?

THIS IS SUCH A HARD QUESTION!!!!!!!!!! as i’ve said, i’m trying to do more diverse readings, and in this time i have come in contact with celeste ng’s work, and it’s honestly SUCH GREAT STORIES!!! i also love some contemporary brazilian authors like vitor martins and lucas rocha (both were translated to english recently, and i really recomend that if you are a english speaker you check their work), i also loved laura pohl’s debute novel, the last 8, she is brazillian as well, but her work is published in the us so no excuse not to check out. also, if like me you are a big fan of avatar universe you totally should check the kyoshi’s novels by f.c yee!!!! i also been meaning to pick up the trilogy of the poppy war written by r.f kuang and children of blood and bone by tomi adeyemi, simply because: WOMEN OF COLOR WRITTING FANTASY!!!!! but it’s not really a recomendation, as i have not read those books, but i am definetly doing it in a near future. 

(another author that i can’t go without mention is olivia pilar, she is a black bissexual woman who writes love stories between black women, and some of her short stories are available in english as well, and honestly WHOLESOME CONTENT!!!!!)

— Here are my ten questions, i don’t really know who to tag, but if you see that, and want to answer it i would love to see your answers, so feel free to keep on the tag! i had a lot of fun answering it, and i hope you guys do to!!!

what is your top 5 literature characters, and why?

are you a tea, coffee or hot chocolate kind of person?

what is your favorite/chosen aesthetic?

if you were the final girl in a horror movie, which song would you like to play in the soundtrack when you got away?

who are your favorite relationships in fiction (of any kind)? 

how do you feel about villans?

what is your favorite boyband?

do you prefer physical or digital books?

what is your favorite type of story?

what is your favorite season?

Looking forward to see your answers ✨

[atimefordragons]

Get to know me tag game

thanks for the tag lovely @queen-of-salt-and-fury! 

Nicknames: lol, I mean, my fake internet name is basically a nickname, also “C”, all the broski, brosauce, etc variations me and my bestie use, speaking of, could also consider Elsa a nickname, or Cristina, because we are stone cold adults to refer to each other as our respective personality double in favourite duos (Elsa and Anna, and Meredith and Cristina) - yeah, we know we are fucking lame. My sister calls me “Titly”, which means butterfly, you may now also refer to me as Your Majesty, because I bought Elsa’s crown as a birthday gift for myself and gave myself a coronation, thereby legally making me Arendelle’s Queen. This is how it works now right? Declaring something online immediately makes it true. 

Real name: Clara, lol, it’s not, it’s just what I’ve been using online for nearly a decade or so now, so what’s the point? But my real middle name is “Taika”, which is a name I share with Taika Waititi, which is cool. 

Zodiac: Scorpio 

Favourite Musicians / Band: Taylor Swift, Dima Bilan, Sergey Lazarev, Anime OST (deep into Code Geass and Bleash OST atm, god they were iconic), OST in general, KAZKA (thank you again so much @pulltheskydown for introducing me to her), Alma, Amir, Rihanna, Polina Gagarina, been in a Britney mood the last few weeks. Idk, I just have music I like, and music I don’t like, and some people I am very thirsty for. Also, also, literally any song from any Shahrukh Khan movie. I always was, still am, and always will be, one of those SRK loving bitches. The man is ICONIC. 

Do I get asks?: Once in a blue moon. 

Favourite sports team: I support the national teams ‘cause Go Canada Go or whatever. Also more invested in the Raptors than I ever thought I’d be, but hey, them winning the NBA last year gave me more serotonin than I ever thought boring sports could give me. It’s still so boring, but I do follow the scores when they appear on CP24 (local news channel), feels good when your city’s teams win. Guess that means by default I also support the Blue Jays and the Maple Leafs, but whatever. 

Other blogs: lol, you are talking to the Queen of Too Many blogs right here. My first ever main was @livesinabluebox (which has gone through a few url changes, namely melanin-monster and moonrxvenge, but it’s 2012 again so I switched back to my og url), I’m trying to clear out all my likes so I’m still posting there, but trying to move to my new main over @moonrxvenge. And I also have 600 million sideblogs for characters and roleplays and resources and whatever. I have so many that I need to keep a masterlist, and yes, it is HELLA out of date. (I still say hella)

Tumblr Crushes: meh, I never really befriended people on tumblr until much more recently, and like all those people are friends I made elsewhere, ie polyvore (I shy, tumblr scary and got far too many stupid peoples opinions). 

Obvs, shoutouts to my loves @kzombi3 / @thots4daze @themadmonarchist @celestialfairies @alittlebitluna @eternalsailorstar @ayzrules @themonsterslut @turquoisesiren @pulltheskydown 

some tumblr people who are v cool and maybe I say things or just do that whole “senpai notice me” lowkey stalking from my main, main: @queen-of-salt-and-fury @daenerys-targaryen  @salty-sailors-unite​ @wellstartled​ and loads of others I’m probably forgetting rn

Lucky numbers: as a kid I considered 7 and 13 lucky, also 735 or something like that for islam reasons I forgot, but I don’t have any now. I think it’s all bull. 

What am I wearing: blue pajamas. my shirt says “happy monday - said nobody ever”, it is thursday. 

Dream holiday: Russia and Japan are definitely my number ones, all the historical places like the Winter Palace and Himeji Castle, and the cities.

Dream car: Tesla, it was a blue Model S, but that was 5 years ago (4? 3? idk, a time ago) and I’m sure there are newer models now that I am too lazy look up

Favourite food: Macarons

Drink of choice: Tim Hortons Ice Coffee with a shot of caramel

Instruments: I technically played the flute for a year (maybe three) in middle school music class, but it was mandated and I don’t remember. I could play the beginning of To Love’s End from Inuyasha back then, but not now. I can play the main tune, like just the first few notes, of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai’s main theme on the piano, but I just memorized the keys. Idk the actual notes. F or G or E I guess? Idk. 

Languages: English, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, technically French, but I didn’t really retain anything from it, like I can read French, but got little to no idea what I’m saying. Straight up surprised when I do understand. I think it’s in there, but barely. Also supposed to be able to speak Arabic, but retained less of that than French. 

Celebrity crushes: Chris Evans, Jenna Coleman, SRK (lol, since I was born probably), Kajol, Bruna Marquezine, Yuki Kimisawa, and loads of others. I’m a hoe for the fictional and the theoretical, what can I say?  

Random facts: Buying notebooks and using them are two entirely different hobbies, and, okay, this isn’t like interesting in the least but I am OBSESSING over the drama that went down between Salman Khan and Zayn over his cover of Allah Duhai Hai - yeah, I know I’m 2 years late to this, but whatever, no fucking told me about it and I can’t find any definitive information and I’m going crazy! Please, someone explain what happened 'cause I am dying!!! I need to know!! (also, salman fans don’t interact, vo kuni hai yaar, tu phagal hai kya?) 

I’ll tag: all of you lovelies  @kzombi3 / @thots4daze @themadmonarchist @celestialfairies @alittlebitluna @eternalsailorstar @ayzrules @themonsterslut @turquoisesiren @pulltheskydown @queen-of-salt-and-fury @daenerys-targaryen @salty-sailors-unite​​ @wellstartled​ + whoever else wants to do it (and ofc tag me and befriend me, I am but a thirsty ass hoe for friendship) 

[untitledtallgeesepodcast]

[TRANSCRIPT] Episode 0: The Anime They Once Saw (Or Didn’t See)

Kat  0:00  

Hello and welcome to the Untitled Tallgeese Podcast, a podcast where four of us will watch Gundam Wing and then tell you all about Gundam Wing. My name is Kat, I write about comics on the internet, and I will be your episode moderator for today.

Mallory  0:17  

And I'm Mallory, and I also write about comics. 

Cathy  0:20  

I'm Cathy, I don't write about comics. I am actually a lawyer, which sucks.

All  0:26  

[laughter]

Caitlin  0:28  

I am Caitlin. I'm a PhD researcher in Tokyo right now working on Japanese film. Yeah. 

Kat  0:33  

Extremely legit. 

Caitlin  0:35  

Are we? 

Cathy  0:36  

and we're all here to talk about the Gundam Wing.

Kat  0:38  

[crosstalk] I mean we might be.

Kat  0:41  

We are here to talk about Gundam Wing, the maybe not critically acclaimed, but fandom, okay, audience favorite anime  that was released in 1995 in Japan and then made its way to the US in March 2000 on Toonami. So, we're going to talk about our fandom history and our history with the show Gundam Wing and I guess I will kick that off. So I-- I grew up watching anime because my dad is a huge nerd. So we were obviously watching Toonami. And the promos blew my mind. My friends and I all got really into it in middle school. Then we discovered fanfiction and we started with Heero/Relena fan fiction. [Caitlin: Ugh.] And then then we realized people could be gay. 

Caitlin  1:29  

Uugh, thank god.

Kat  1:30  

That opened up like, I know it was like the clouds parted. rainbows fell from the sky. We were like, Oh, wow.

Mallory  1:39  

[singing] "A whole new world"

Kat  1:40  

[laughter] And then I don't know. I wrote a lot of fanfiction posted it on FF dotnet, got into fandom and then stayed in fandom. So, Mallory?

Mallory  1:53  

I didn't have cable growing up. So whatever anime exposure I got was like, whatever was on Saturday morning cartoons. So Digimon was my first fandom and I was really into that. 

Kat  2:08  

Hell yeah 

Mallory  2:09  

And that sort of like bled into Gundam Wing somehow, I don't really remember how. But I found my way to Gundam Wing, read a lot of fanfic, hadn't ever really watched the show. And then in high school, my friend had some like random episodes from the first season question mark. I have no idea. So I watched those, and really enjoyed that? But I have no idea what their context was, so I'm coming at this pretty, pretty new.

Cathy  2:44  

So you have never watched it from beginning to end?

Mallory  2:47  

No. 

Cathy  2:47  

Got it. This will be fun. 

Mallory  2:50  

I'm expecting to be really disapproving of all the adults in the room. I find that like, now that I'm watching anime about kids, I'm really protective of these kids like, "Hey, this is really unethical!"

Cathy  3:02  

So I'm like Kat, I started watching anime when I was I think around Middle School. I had a friend who got me into Sailor Moon, then I think it was Dragon Ball that was on Toonami at the time? I can't really remember the chronology. 

Kat  3:16  

Yeah. 

Cathy  3:17  

But then they did the promos for Gundam Wing, so then I started watching that on Toonami. And it was my first mecha series. And my first Gundam series, I think it's a lot of people's first Gundam series in the United States. 

Cathy  3:31  

I have attempted to do similar projects to this multiple times where I go back and I rewatch, and I haven't really had the opportunity to actually finish those rewatches. But my memory of it is still kind of stuck of when I was in middle school slash high school. I did get into fandom, so I expect to remember a lot of inaccuracies about what happened. [laughter] Because a lot of what my facts have with this series are have now mutated and changed. But I was a huge Gundam Wing fan, I think it still remains my favorite of the Gundam series just because I have so many memories of it? But I really excited to talk to Mallory, about what you feel and your experiences because it's been so long since I've talked to somebody who actually has never seen the series and doesn't know the story. So I'm super excited about this.

Caitlin  4:24  

Yeah!

Cathy  4:25  

All right, Cait, tell us about your family history.

Caitlin  4:27  

Yeah, so similar to all of us, I guess, I watched anime growing up. I got into Sailor Moon sort of through an accident of just happening to see a very specific episode on Toonami in like 1999, 1998 maybe. So after that, I got really into anime and really into the internet. I think I was very depressed as a child. [laughter] So I spend a lot of time online. I believe that like my my first memories of Gundam Wing are when it was on Toonami: Sailor Moon was on first and then Dragon Ball Dragon Ball Z, and then Gundam Wing. And then they also were showing like the quote unquote unedited versions late 

Cathy  5:09  

Yes!

Kat  5:09  

Yes, the midnight run 

Cathy  5:11  

The midnight run Right. 

Cathy  5:12  

Yeah. So very specific memories of like, I think I was mainly attracted to the, like, team format of Gundam if that makes sense? [Cathy: Yeah yeah yeah!] where it was used to sailor Sailor Moon where you have a team of color coded characters. And I'd, at a younger age been really into Power Rangers, where you had a team of color coded characters. So the marketing of Gundam Wing really appealed. You know, cuz I was just a kid watching on TV, I never really, I don't know if I watched the whole thing as a kid, but I got really into the fandom. And by 2000, 2001, I already knew about gay stuff online.

Kat  5:48  

Wow. Look at you early bloomer.

Caitlin  5:50  

Yeah. So So I got really into the various Gundam Wing pairings, I think it was mainly, I was mainly a 3x4, I think as a child. I went through some, 1x2, and then 2x5 phases. [laughter]

Caitlin  6:09  

I still am a big advocate for 2x5, I think it's underrated.

Kat  6:12  

I'm a big 2x5. 

Cathy  6:13  

2x5 is a good pairing, it definitely is. 

Kat  6:16  

Yeah.

Cathy  6:16  

It's a better pairing as an adult. 

Kat  6:17  

So okay, I think that's actually a pretty good bounce off. So these are the things we remember about Gundam Wing. It was marketed, like, I remember the Toonami marketing 'cause I was really hype for this show. They had like these really extreme commercials. 

Caitlin  6:34  

Yeah. 

Kat  6:35  

Um, and I thought the voice acting was good. I don't know, maybe we'll revisit that during this watch, to see if it still is, 

Caitlin  6:43  

[crosstalk] Was it dubbed?, 

Cathy  6:44  

[crosstalk] It was dubbed, yes.

Kat  6:44  

But I was ready for it. It was dubbed. 

Caitlin  6:46  

It was dubbed. One thing with the with the Japanese voice acting though, is that it's every single famous voice actor from the 90s. And so you can, you can use Gundam Wing is like a six degrees of every single voice actor from the 1990s. 

Caitlin  6:59  

Oh, that's cool.

Mallory  7:00  

I mean, there are a lot of big American or like, dub dub names on the dub side, too.

Cathy  7:06  

One of the things that I remember very strongly about Toonami is that they had what I think we would now call anime music videos, AMVs. 

Kat  7:16  

Yeah 

Cathy  7:17  

But they would play

Caitlin  7:18  

Yeah, 

Cathy  7:18  

These montage trailers, where they'd stich together all their different series. And as they accumulated more anime series, these became really, I think, cinematic and gripping tales, where they would kind of try to tell a story to be about, like bravery or honor or like, 

Kat  7:36  

It's like, plugged directly into my little 11 year old brain like, Whoa,

Cathy  7:40  

Yes. And one of them was, I remember was called, like, "technological development" or something like that, that featured a lot of the Gundam Wing clips. 

Kat  7:47  

Oh, yeah, cuz you only download them from like, KaZaa,  or whatever horrible thing I was putting into my computer. 

Caitlin  7:52  

Yeah. We gotta see if we can find those. [crosstalk] They must be online somewhere.

Cathy  7:56  

They are online. And I think they actually came out with like, I think somebody had either like hand by hand remastered them.

Kat  8:03  

[crosstalk] Oh sick.

Cathy  8:02  

Or they created a remastered version of it. They're wonderful. But that's I think one of the things about Toonami that I remember really strongly was Gundam Wing kind of is one of their, like epitome of like, Cool Anime that I feel like Toonami did and what it did was like they stiched together all these different things Outlaw Star and Tenchi Muyo and all these other stories to create a story about teenage growth, which is kind of strange and also weirdly fitting at the end of the day about like where Gundam is in the whole universe. 

Kat  8:07  

I think that's one of the reasons it blew up so much here because the marketing was really intense. Like Toonami, like it sort of right at the beginning, like people were into Sailor Moon, Dragonball Z was getting big. And like the manga boom was sort of happening in bookstores. So contextually, I think, Cartoon Network knew what the hell they were doing. They were like, "We can market the hell out of this."

Caitlin  8:55  

And also objectively speaking, Gundam Wing was one of their cooler series. Like, Sailor Moon is cool. Tenchi Muyo is not cool. 

All  9:04  

[laughter]

Kat  9:06  

Yeah. 

Caitlin  9:07  

Even even if you love it, it's not really cool. Dragon Ball. Love it. I don't know if it's really cool. Gundam Wing had like a very strong -

Kat  9:14  

[crosstalk] like the chad of animes

Caitlin  9:16  

- adult aesthetic to it, even though it was like, relatively, well, relatively appropriate for like 12 year olds. 

Kat  9:23  

And they swore during the midnight show.

Caitlin  9:25  

Oh yeah, 

Kat  9:26  

They swore and there was blood. 

Caitlin  9:27  

So it was very cool. And so I felt very adult watching it even though I didn't really understand what was going on because it's all this fake politics crap.

Kat  9:35  

Yeah, I was gonna say I did do a rewatch in like, like, right after college, so it was probably around 2010 ish, maybe? And I don't think we finished the series, but it was like, wow, I used to think this was very deep. [laughter] And I thought all the people in it who are the adults like Mallory, you were mentioning earlier, like they're actually like 17 and 19 

Cathy  10:01  

Yes! 

Kat  10:01  

in this show. So watching it at the age of 21, I was like, "Ooh no, don't give these people anything."

Cathy  10:09  

I was actually thinking about that. Because when you said Mallory, "oh, well, I become very protective of the children. I disapprove the adults," in my head of thinking "what adults?" [crosstalk, Caitlin: yeah what adults?] because actually, in Gundam Wing, there's a funny thing where people are either 15, 25 or like 70. And there's no in between and nobody really makes adult decisions. So it, That was one thing that really shocked me because as I go back to revisit it, I think, "Oh my god, I'm actually older than almost everybody in this series."

Caitlin  10:39  

How old, how old is Treize supposed to be? 

Cathy  10:41  

He's like 23, or 24. 

Kat  10:42  

He's 19.

Cathy  10:43  

No, Zechs is 19.

Kat  10:44  

Oh, Zechs is 19. Right. 

Cathy  10:47  

I just the idea of giving people who, you know, would have either been in college or just graduate college in my worldview, huge robots. 

Kat  10:58  

I think the ages of all the characters gets obscured by the anime art style, you know?

Cathy  11:03  

Yeah. 

Kat  11:03  

In a lot of anime fandoms.

Mallory  11:04  

And when you're watching this, when you're a kid, you want to see yourself as the protagonist. So it makes sense that, you know, a 17 year old seems like old and cool, and I want to be that person. And then when you're 30, you're like, the 17 year old should not be at war. 

Kat  11:23  

Relevant is that we definitely watched Evangelion. That was our last series.

Caitlin  11:29  

I don't know, I think, I think Heero Yuy is doing fine in war. I'm gonna, I'm gonna be honest, as a 30 year old, I think these kids are much better at war than I would be. 

Cathy  11:39  

Well, so that's what I find kind of interesting, is that I think this series actually... I don't, I know this wasn't the point but when I rewatched it recently, or just like the first couple of episodes, it seemed, it made a lot of sense, because they were like 15 or 24. Like the series, actually stitches together... 

Caitlin  11:58  

Yeah. 

Cathy  11:58  

...really well, because of how young they are, and kind of like the purity of feeling that they have, which I think is 

Kat  12:05  

Yeah, it is, like 

Cathy  12:06  

only maybe 

Kat  12:07  

like that [indistinguishable?] 

Cathy  12:07  

which I think is like only really, truly possible because I have to think of them as like 15 or 21 or 19 year olds. that is not at all when I took away when I was watching in high school. Right? 

Mallory  12:21  

Well, I mean, right.

Caitlin  12:22  

Part of the ideology of Gundam in general is like trying to restore a form of hope, and youth to, like, young people growing up in Japan, who are the target audience for this, and this idea that, like, you still have the power to change the world, you still have the power to bring about peace in a way that you want, even though you're being manipulated and oppressed by all these crazy adults who make you pilot giant robots. So I think there's a significant, like part of the series is the fact that they are kids who have been recruited into child warfare, and now have to find some way out of that. And like my memory of the series is that even though most of, most of the decisions made are very bad, the kids in general are not making terrible decisions. They're making pretty good decisions.

Kat  13:12  

Yeah, the pilots themselves... 

Mallory  13:14  

[crosstalk] Yeah 

Kat  13:14  

...are like doing the best they can be doing in that circumstance. 

Cathy  13:17  

[crosstalk] Exactly, exactly

Kat  13:19  

But I think it's sort of interesting, 'cause it's like, to me Gundam Wing is definitely like a fandom era, because I think a lot of stuff exemplifies like...there's like a lot of tropes cycling through it. But also like, the series itself, is so perfectly...like, I think of it as a series that are so perfectly set up for fandom because there's a lot of like, here's my one episode mission, and we have to be at a safe house, I guess. And it's just like, a long interminable war. So there's like, a big, a lot of world building. Yeah, that creates all these spaces that sort of separate from all the political machinations of the series.

Caitlin  13:58  

And that's also I think, a lot of what it was meant to be when it was created within the Gundam franchise like it was it was designed to have sort of a BL appeal to girls writing for comic market and that sort of thing. So it had like the setup of five hot guys who you could combine in various forms. And then also like Gundam itself, in general, it's designed to be and a sort of open universe that you can step into at various points, which also facilitates fandom engagement 

Mallory  14:28  

[crosstalk] literal fandom bait. 

Caitlin  14:29  

usually in the form, yeah, usually in the form of model collecting, which is like one of the main Gundam forms of fandom which we probably won't talk about too much on the show. But you, you kind of

Kat  14:41  

Uh I've definitely built some Gundam models. 

Caitlin  14:43  

Yeah. Well, you will be the expert on that because I've never touched a Gundam model in my life. But that is like the big thing where you can you can get the model you can construct it, you can learn a little bit more about the, like, the technology and the different like details of the models and stuff like that. And it just gives you like a slight, like Little bit more of these like tiny narratives and that sort of what the fans are consuming rather than an overall plot that makes sense, which is not what Gundam has really.

Kat  15:11  

So Gundam [Wing] has like the cool robots but also these hot boys in them.

Caitlin  15:15  

That's what I want. 

Mallory  15:16  

I mean Well, that's exactly what I want to show right now. So it sounds perfect?

Kat  15:21  

Honestly, yeah.

Mallory  15:23  

I think Evangelion, sort of, because, Kat, you and I just finished -- or are almost finished with -- Neon Genesis Evangelion [Kat, crosstalk: we haven't done all the movies yet] which was also it was my first time [Cathy, crosstalk: Congratulations, laugh] watching the whole series...wow, grim 

Kat  15:40  

I also only consumed 

Mallory  15:42  

[crosstalk] grim 

Kat  15:42  

[crosstalk] I consumed it like piecemeal too 

Mallory  15:44  

And depressing

Kat  15:45  

It was great. 

Mallory  15:46  

Very good but um grim.

Kat  15:50  

Yeah it's pretty grim.

Cathy  15:52  

Yeah, it's interesting to me because I feel like Evangelion doesn't make a lot of sense as a cultural product unless you've consumed a series like Gundam or its ancestors before watching it and yet Evangelion is a lot of people's introduction to giant robot series. So I always find that kind of interesting...

Caitlin  16:13  

[crosstalk] It's very weird.

Cathy  16:14  

because it, it is subversive, and I think it's subversive even if you don't know the tropes of the giant robot series, of which Gundam is perhaps a prime example. Gundam Wing...

Kat  16:27  

So I was gonna ask that and like, would you say, since Evangelion is definitely a like the subversion of this genre, would you say Gundam Wing is like the type of series that it is subverting? Or do you think it's in a different place?

Caitlin  16:41  

Gundam Wing and Evangelion came out the same year? Gundam Wing is in some ways a, it's already like a parody form of the original iteration of Gundam. 

Kat  16:55  

Okay, so it's--is it like, um, like the pure essence of teens-robots.

Caitlin  17:02  

It's, it's more like, I feel like by the time of Gundam Wing, the tropes of the original Gundam series are so well set that a lot of things in Gundam Wing to, like the fans who watched the original Gundam or like later Gundams, seemed like a rehash but it was designed to bring in new fans. So something like Zechs Merquis is very clearly like a Char Aznable character. It's just sort of a reiteration of that.

Kat  17:29  

So is it like a Star Wars, like a Star Wars sequel?

Caitlin  17:33  

Like how the Force Awakens is kind of a rehash of yeah, of A New Hope. And then, but it still brings in a lot of fans and has appealing characters and good aesthetics

Kat  17:43  

Right, yeah, I guess I think of them, the two shows, as sort of like, splitting the take on... like, what would you say is like the ur-mecha show? 

Cathy  17:52  

The original Gundam 

Caitlin  17:54  

Original Gundam? 

Cathy  17:54  

Yeah, Mobile Suit Gundam. 

Caitlin  17:56  

I mean, they're, they're older iterations, there's other robot shows. But I feel like when people think of mecha, the first thing they think of is Mobile Suit Gundam. 

Cathy  18:06  

So the way like I now think of Gundam Wing after the fact of experiences I have now is that like Gundam Wing is actually a perfect like K-Pop boy band way that they built it and so if you can kind of think of it like that, like it's, you need enough of the tropes and symbols, so that everybody watches it and immediately knows it's a Gundam series.

Cathy  18:30  

Like the colors of Wing Gundam are so obviously 

Kat  18:34  

Yeah.

Cathy  18:34  

a Gundam Mecca and you need that you can't get away from it. And same thing with like Zech's having a mask it the reason I think of it as being in in the Kpop industry is like there's a derivative sense. And that's animated by both like Merchandising, and advertising and what audiences want but at the same time, it's like this incredibly pure understanding of what makes us like things? And like when you get that when you really get it, like, it doesn't matter how like, quote, unquote manipulative or exploitative it can seem like you love it. And that's enough, right to make it like a thing that we all want to keep coming back to.

Mallory  19:12  

And there's basically like, an archetype right? In  all of the different characters like you have the more

Kat  19:18  

Yeah, you have the serious one. 

Mallory  19:20  

That's what I was thinking.

Kat  19:21  

Like, the goofy one.

Mallory  19:23  

Yeah, the goofy one, the sort of mess 

Kat  19:25  

the ugly one, 

Mallory  19:26  

like really cute one.

Kat  19:29  

Yeah, that's why I was thinking American boy bands cuz they all have to have like a type of heartthrob. Yeah, I'm a bad boy. I love death.

Caitlin  19:38  

One of them's, one of them's a rapper.

Kat  19:40  

Okay, so we talked a little bit about how we got into it. We talked a little bit about fandoms. And we touched on pairings, do we want to go into pairings at all? Or like our fave characters, or who we think our fave characters will be Before this rewatch?

Cathy  19:54  

You know before we do that--Mallory, can you try to tell us what you think this series is about? I'm actually really curious, like before you do a complete viewing, like what? what is what is your understanding of what happens in Gundam Wing?

Mallory  20:08  

Um, there's a long interminable war. These boys are recruited by some shadowy government whatever. And they're piloting these mecha. Uugh, I just remember Duo being really annoying.

Caitlin  20:28  

[loud gasp] [laughter] [crosstalk] Oh my god.

Mallory  20:29  

I mean, not annoying, like, being sort of... 

Kat  20:32  

Wow. 

Mallory  20:33  

...the one the pushy one like, he's the challenging one to Heero's "I'm serious and dour." Literally, I have the most broad strokes impressions of what this show is. I just know it looked really fucking cool every time I saw it in, like, a commercial and couldn't watch it.

Cathy  20:55  

Fascinating.

Caitlin  20:57  

Honestly, even having seen Gundam Wing, I'm not sure I could explain it much better. I don't remember who recruited them.

Mallory  21:03  

Okay. Okay, that does make me feel better. Because I was like, Oh, I don't? Do I actually know what the show is? What am I getting myself into? 

Caitlin  21:14  

There's there's a lot of weird politics. 

Mallory  21:17  

Well, I'm really excited for that. And I don't mean that sarcastically. Like, I'm really excited to, to see what this world is like, because I remember, like images or impressions. But everything is like out of context. So it'll be cool to see what that context is. Like deja vu? Oh, I remember that. I've seen that in AMV.

Kat  21:48  

I remember this from fics that just rewrite scenes from this show.

Mallory  21:55  

Yeah, like, what do I know? What do I know of Gundam that is from fanfic only, or is actual canon? I'm curious to figure out.

Kat  22:10  

I think everyone's a lot less obnoxious in canon.

Caitlin  22:14  

That's true. 

Mallory  22:15  

Okay, okay. 

Caitlin  22:16  

This was a this was a really good fandom for the the fandom phenomenon of, you take a character's most, like, annoying trait, and you emphasize it like times 10 in your fanfic.

Cathy  22:28  

Yes.

Kat  22:28  

Yeah 

Caitlin  22:28  

Just so everybody knows you know what that character is like.

Kat  22:31  

Heero's gonna threaten to kill everybody all the time, constantly.

Caitlin  22:34  

"Omae o korosu."

Cathy  22:36  

[laughing crosstalk] And so, it's funny that you guys mentioned safe houses, because actually, there are very few safe houses in the original series. In fact, I think there's like maybe one or two scenes ever, where they are all in a safe house provided by one of their allies. And it's a really fascinating trope, because it like pervades the fanfic? But I remember, that I remember was like a big deal, like, I went back and I was like, actually, these people spend very little downtime with each other in the actual series and I find that fascinating.

Kat  23:12  

Right? So you have to fill it all in. 

Mallory  23:13  

Oh, wait, what?

Caitlin  23:14  

They actually barely know each other.

Cathy  23:16  

Yeah, they truly barely know each other. [crosstalk]

Mallory  23:18  

Wait. Oh no, I thought, I thought this was going to be like..

Kat  23:23  

[crosstalk] They actually never interact. 

Mallory  23:24  

we're going to get together and become like a team 

Caitlin  23:26  

No, no.

Cathy  23:26  

Absolutely not, 

Caitlin  23:27  

They don't fight together; It's 50 episodes of them not interacting. 

Cathy  23:31  

They, they literally have like, they like, there's probably one or two scenes in which all five of them are on the same battlefield at the same time. And almost every single one of those scenes involves them fighting with each other because like, 

Kat  23:44  

[crosstalk]Oh, yeah, they fight each other alone. 

Cathy  23:45  

What's going on? And this was the thing that I'm sure we'll come back to when I came back to this is when I was rewatching. It in college, I realized that of the two people who spend the most time with each other, it's like Trowa and Heero. Because, yes, it is what arc where they actually go on a road trip, which like, 

Kat  24:03  

it's great. I wrote a thing 

Cathy  24:04  

like wiped it from my memory when I was thinking about the series, but it really drives home. You know, again, to your point like what of this series do I did I remember that was just from fanfic, and was just what like the fanfic I read very specifically. And so that was one of the things is like, when you come back as an adult, I was like, all of this stuff is so much more interesting to me because like, I actually, like, I don't get me wrong, I still have shipping opinions. But like, I'm older and I have I I'm famous for this. And Kat knows this. I like don't have OTPs. And I'm like not very good about actually being very loyal to pairings. And so as an adult coming back to this, I was like, Oh, this is actually really interesting because the permutations that fandom came up with also came from, like,  non-canon material, because there's a lot of non-canon material, like promotional images that bear no resemblance whatsoever to canon. 

Kat  24:54  

Okay, I would,  I would call those extra canonical, right?

Caitlin  24:58  

No, they're, they're extra canonical, they count in some form. 

Kat  25:02  

Right? 'Cause they're official.

Cathy  25:04  

I guess so. I mean, sure, we'll talk about that as time comes but like.

Caitlin  25:08  

Listen, a canon is not just the story. It's the entire media mix around it. It's those, it's those things that you can collect. It's the extra manga. It's Frozen Teardrop, 

Cathy  25:18  

Like, Gundam Wing actually, I think is one of the few franchises I know where like "pair the spares" was a real merchandising tactic. 

Kat  25:26  

Yes, it was. 

Cathy  25:27  

And so, so everybody had somebody... gay, I mean, like, not like, 

Kat  25:34  

Wufei had two! 

Cathy  25:35  

They had a gay and a straight interest that they were paired up with. And so, um, so it's like, fascinating to me to come back and be like, actually, the canon is a lot more flexible and interesting than I remembered it.

Caitlin  25:49  

The canon for me is like, remarkable in its commitment to not officially putting anyone together. Like it was, it's very good at balancing out all of the different pairings that it wants to support. 

Mallory  26:01  

Mm hmm. 

Caitlin  26:02  

Um, it's interesting to see which ones got picked up as the main two in fandom, which for me, were always 1x2 and 3x4 dominated the fandom, because they're both like, friendly, maybe talkative, personable guy and like silent, brooding, weirdo, 

Kat  26:22  

Warrior. 

Caitlin  26:22  

What fandom loves! Fandom loves that exact dynamic in every form. And so like, what 1, 1 and 3, were never going to work together because they're both silent and brooding. Fandom was never gonna pick that up. It's too It's too boring. It's not dynamic enough, right?

Mallory  26:37  

Like, you can't fight. There's no banter,

Cathy  26:39  

Which is actually weird, because if you go back and watch the episodes, you'll see it. Heero actually is not that quiet. And Trowa is like a nutcase. And so 

Kat  26:48  

they're really funny together, 

Cathy  26:49  

when they are together, they're actually incredibly dynamic in ways that in fact, the canon doesn't establish 1x2, or 3x4 to be. And so it is really fascinating, because I do agree with Caitlin. What came out of this canon is very different from what I think the show gives. And I don't know the show was like, open minded because it wanted to sell as much merch as possible or

Caitlin  27:13  

It's that.

Cathy  27:13  

Yeah, so I don't know.

Mallory  27:14  

Capitalism.

Kat  27:16  

I am gonna say I think the show is a 3x4 shipper. Like I think if the show had a pairing, it would be a three, it would be 3x4, like from my recollections of the show

Mallory  27:26  

Yeah

Caitlin  27:26  

I always thought that was true. But now 

Cathy  27:28  

I disagree. 

Caitlin  27:29  

I feel like I'm gonna go into this and and be like, they never

Kat  27:32  

Nobody else has a musical interlude.

Cathy  27:34  

But the but the thing is, here's Okay, so not to, like, make this too much about the pairing... But I also think 1x2 and 3x4 become established. I put that in quotes early in the series. And so it becomes entrenched and people assume that that's the pairing. But actually, I just remember so strongly when I went back and rewatched that I was like, there really is not that much evidence for Trowa and Quatre's like instantaneous connection because Quatre has that with almost every other pilot, and Trowa's relationship with Heero is like so much more interesting when I come back to it, even though I definitely think they would never work. They would like killing each other and instead as an adult.

Kat  28:12  

And I mean, I love that pairing. And like the one thing that came out of my rewatch a million years ago was I wrote a 1x3 fic cuz I really love those episodes, and fandom didn't do anything with it. But I feel like, I feel like Quatre and Trowa are framed slightly differently than all the other potential pairings so that they could be together.

Cathy  28:33  

Even up until Endless Waltz like, I really just feel like that that was an early series thing. And then as you go on into the series, that relationship while still important, was not really emphasized any more or less.

Kat  28:47  

But I mean, if it, if it comes out of the gate strong, [laughter] like

Caitlin  28:51  

That's all that matters

Kat  28:52  

I still think that the show was pushing that one if it pitched. Like if it was giving the most evidence to any one of them, I think the early stuff was really like, ~look at this beautiful pairing.~

Caitlin  29:04  

So wait do we all want to, maybe to end this episode, we should all go through and predict what are OTP or pseudo OTP for Cathy will be by the end of this rewatch. 

Kat  29:16  

But also tell me your fave character because that's what I asked like, 15 minutes ago.

Cathy  29:21  

Okay, Kat you first.

Kat  29:23  

Oh, well, my favorite character has always been Duo Maxwell. And I'm predicting that he's still going to be my fave character. And I am going to stake my flag on Duo/Wufei, 2x5.

Cathy  29:36  

Mallory?

Mallory  29:37  

I think from what I remember, I really liked Trowa, I thought Heero was too dour, but I also think that I might relate to him a lot more this time around. So I'm going to say that Heero is going to be my favorite character. And I've always liked...see, I don't know about fandom pairings. I want to say it'll be...well it was Duo/Heero before? No, but I've-- I really like Duo/Wufei so, like, I think that's just always gonna be my Gundam Wing ship.

Cathy  30:20  

So when I was a kid watching it my favorite was Duo Maxwell, but I know from my prior rewatching, or attempts to rewatch the series, that as an older person coming into the series, I actually like the girls a lot more, like Relena and Dorothy and Noin became my favorite characters and I did not give them the credit they deserved when I was watching it as a younger person. 

Cathy  30:41  

I also was 1x2 shipper but again, I know that what I came out of the series really shipping was disastrous Heero/Trowa, and then Duo/Wufei.

Caitlin  30:56  

Okay, I see we are all Duo/Wufei fans now.

Kat  30:59  

[crosstalk] That's why this is going to be the superior Gundam Wing podcast.

Caitlin  31:02  

Yeah. I feel like so, my favorite character when I was originally watching as a kid was Quatre. I think probably because like I always liked like, the friendly blondes in boy bands? 

Kat  31:13  

That go apeshit? 

Caitlin  31:15  

When I got older, I was more into Duo and Duo is was probably still my favorite character. I was into Duo/Wufei for a long time. I just think that they are funny together and terrible. And I actually really like Wufei a lot. I sort of admire that fake honor sort of thing. But I, since everybody said Duo/Wufei, I feel like I should say something else, which is that I think that I will get more into 3x4 again after this rewatch, because it's a comforting pairing, in some ways. It's a return. And we're all very full of anxiety right now. [laughter] And so we just need Quatre and stupid, crazy Trowa, you know, having their pure love connection that fandom imagined for them from the beginning.

Kat  32:02  

It's real.

Mallory  32:03  

I look forward to it. 

Cathy  32:04  

I do too. I also look forward to hating Treize because that's what happened the last time I rewatched this. He's such a fuck boy.

Kat  32:12  

I'm excited to love Dorothy and Relena.

Cathy  32:14  

My god, they're so good. Yeah, they're so good. That's what I should have said is my favorite pairing.

Kat  32:20  

Fandom definitely ruined me for a little bit, like, "urgh, Relena!"

Caitlin  32:24  

When I was a kid, part of the appeal of Gundam Wing fandom was in some ways that it was so sexist, and so I could like act out my own internalized misogyny at the time. And so like, I like I was definitely participating in that of like a group breaking up the boys, whatever. And then in later iterations, I like love Relena. So.

Kat  32:45  

Yeah, she was just such an easy reason for them to get together, right? For 1x2, but in the show, she's way more than a plot device. So that was kind of frustrating.

Caitlin  32:56  

In the show, she's easily the most one of the most interesting and active characters for sure.

Kat  33:02  

As podcast Daddy, I declare Episode Zero officially over. Thank you everyone for your time and catch us in two weeks with Episode One: The boy whose wings killed adolescence.

Caitlin  33:16  

Byeeee [laughter]

Transcribed by https://otter.ai

[animepopheart]

As the Spirit Moves You: How Studio Ghibli Films Leave Room for A Range of Religious Interpretations

Today’s guest post is by Kaitlyn Ugoretz, a PhD student in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara whose research focuses on the globalization of Shinto through popular and digital media and the growth of online Shinto communities.

Since childhood, my life has been suffused with an appreciation for both anime and religion. Saturday mornings were dedicated to the weekly ritual of watching cartoons with my father (Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sailor Moon, Mobile Suit Gundam Wing—if it was on Toonami or WB Kids, we watched it!), and Sunday mornings were spent listening to him preach the gospel as the minister of our small Presbyterian church.

As a child, I never really thought about how anime and religion might intersect, but all that changed after I watched Miyazaki Hayao’s Spirited Away. Something about the heroines, spirits, and grand narratives about relationships between humans and the environment spoke to me and inspired a fascination that continues to shape my adult life. And thanks to social media and blogs like Beneath the Tangles, I know that I’m far from alone in feeling that there is something deeper—something that goes beyond what we might think of as “mere” entertainment—to be found in many anime. Today, I study the variety of religious/spiritual responses to anime as a scholar of Japanese religion, popular culture, and digital media.

Ghibli—Global Giant

Shinkai Makoto’s 2017 blockbuster animated film Your Name has given Spirited Away a run for its money in the box office, but Miyazaki Hayao’s 2001 masterpiece reclaimed its status this past June as the highest grossing anime film in the world after its long-awaited release in China. Studio Ghibli has produced an impressive 10 out of the world’s top 50 highest grossing animated films, including beloved favorites My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke, and Ponyo.

Box office earnings are not necessarily an indicator of the spiritual depth of Studio Ghibli’s films, but they do demonstrate their enduring global appeal. Scholars of Japanese religion and popular culture, most notably Jolyon Baraka Thomas and Katharine Buljan and Carole M. Cusack, have shown that Miyazaki Hayao and Isao Takahata’s anime films resonate with audiences from a wide range of religious and cultural backgrounds and even inspire religious responses.

What is it about Ghibli films that continues to capture the hearts of people from all walks of life and allows for such a diversity of religious interpretations? Considering how Miyazaki represents his filmic intentions, in addition to how scholars and different fan audiences have interpreted the meaning of Studio Ghibli films, I find that it is the mixture of familiar and foreign religious elements that inspire us to reexamine our own beliefs and seek out those messages that resonate with us.

Miyazaki’s Mixed Messages

What Miyazaki intended to communicate to his audience through his films? After all, he is well-known for addressing moral and social concerns, including adolescence, good and evil, humanity’s relationship with nature and technology, modern anxieties, and nostalgia for the past. Given his tendency to populate his fictional worlds with spirits or gods (typically referred to as kami in Japanese) and other supernatural creatures who are closely related with nature, like the river spirit in Spirited Away and the Forest Spirit in Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki is often asked whether his films are meant to foster Shinto beliefs.

Cleansed river spirit

Shishigami-sama, the Great Forest Spirit

Shinto is a difficult tradition to define, as it has meant different things to different people throughout history. Some classify Shinto as a religion with clear beliefs and practices, while others characterize it as an essential part of everyday life in Japan which can only be understood experientially. In any case, most can agree that—at its core—Shinto is a ritual tradition which centers on the worship of kami, divine entities that inhabit extra-ordinary natural phenomena and man-made objects and whose favor grants benefits to one’s life in this world.

While this definition may seem to suit Miyazaki’s films well, the creator himself explicitly rejects Shinto as the source of his inspiration. Miyazaki grew up in the midst of WWII and his understanding of Shinto is informed by the legacy of what scholars call “State Shinto,” the modern Japanese government’s takeover of Shinto shrine affairs in order to promote imperialist and nationalistic ideologies. The filmmaker has given ambiguous answers to the question of whether his films are influenced by religion. In one interview, Miyazaki elaborated:

Dogma inevitably will find corruption, and I’ve certainly never made religion a basis for my films. My own religion, if you can call it that, has no practice, no Bible, no saints, only a desire to keep certain places and my own self as pure and holy as possible. That kind of spirituality is very important to me. Obviously it’s an essential value that cannot help but manifest in my films.

Through his consistently vague characterization of his personal brand of spirituality, Miyazaki—like any masterful storyteller—leaves room for his audience to draw upon the rich imagery, relatable characters, and familiar themes to create their own meaningful interpretations.

Scholarly Interpretations

Scholars of religion and media have interpreted Miyazaki’s works from a number of theological perspectives. Some argue that the kami characters and environmental ethics which Miyazaki employs are clearly drawn from Shinto, despite his claims to the contrary. Others have offered Christian interpretations of Miyazaki’s films. For example, Prince Ashitaka (Princess Mononoke) and Princess Nausicaä (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind) have been analyzed as messianic mediators between the profane and sinful realm of humanity and the sacred realm of Nature/Creation, as well as messengers of the gospel, promoting love and nonviolence.

Ashitaka goes into exile to restore harmony

Nausicaä is healed by the Ohm

Fan Interpretations

Scholars aren’t the only ones interested in the spiritual underpinnings of Ghibli films—fans around the world gather on- and offline to discuss their personal interpretations. These conversations are more than intellectual exercises; Thomas and Buljan and Cusack have shown that popular media like anime can inspire religious responses in audience members as well as entertain. That is, Ghibli films may influence viewers’ worldview and behavior, even if these viewers do not consider themselves to be religious. Thomas’s survey of Japanese fans shows that this influence may take many forms, such as a “belief in an immanent spiritual bond existing among all living things,” a pilgrimage to a special site like Yakushima forest (supposedly a source of inspiration for the sacred forest in Princess Mononoke), or a reenactment of the acorn-growing ritual portrayed in My Neighbor Totoro.

Erika Ogihara-Schuck examines how Miyazaki’s films have been translated into English and German in such a way as to secularize the spiritually-charged elements, referring to kami characters as “spirits” rather than “gods” and their powers as “magical” instead of “sacred” or “divine.” In some cases, this translation project has succeeded; some fans view Miyazaki’s films as ‘simply entertaining,’ while others read them as uncomfortably morally ambiguous, superstitious, or explicitly opposed to Christian theology. Still others in the Christian blogosphere—including contributors on sites such as Beneath the Tangles and Christ X Pop Culture—have found plenty of food for thought in Studio Ghibli films, prompting discussions of how anime narratives might productively challenge and affirm their core values as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Some audiences, as I have discovered in my own research, draw upon Studio Ghibli films as a source of Shinto spiritual instruction. In my study of the growth of predominantly non-Japanese online Shinto communities (OSCs) on social media, I find that anime plays an important role in the fostering of interest in Japanese religions, as well as participation in OSCs.

In interviews, surveys, and posts, several of the leading, active members of OSCs have noted that their early exposure to Ghibli films are what inspired their further study and adoption of Shinto. In community discussions, members share their interpretations of religious elements in anime. These conversations often focus on the relationship between humanity, kami, and nature and affirm the importance of moral character and gratitude. In similar fashion to other online religious communities, OSC members will comment on posts and keep the discussion going, negotiating interpretations, sharing links to blog posts and video clips which they find informative, and posing further questions.

In response to new members’ requests for more information about Shinto, each OSC has created its own list of recommended resources, which often include anime films and series in addition to books and blogs. As such, Studio Ghibli films like Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke have become, in effect, ‘required reading’ for OSC members. In this way, Ghibli films function as an important introduction to Japanese spirituality—particularly Shinto—for international audiences and a resource for the construction of personal and community beliefs.

Language Games

How can Studio Ghibli films spark so many different religious responses and interpretations—Christian, Shinto, and otherwise? The answer lies with two key concepts: Jolyon Baraka Thomas’s theory of “playful religion” and Leonard Primiano’s theory of “vernacular religion.”

Thomas argues that the distinction we make between religion and   entertainment is artificial; entertainers can playfully use religious symbols to create an engaging story, and viewers can derive spiritual meaning from popular media, regardless of whether the creator intended for them to do so.

“Vernacular religion” refers to religion as it is lived—not what religious authorities say religion ‘should be,’ but how religious concepts are translated into a particular culture and actually practiced by people.

One way anime creators like Miyazaki manage to both entertain and inspire their audiences is to ‘play’ with the ‘languages’ of religion. These language games are a lot like playing Mad Libs. The storyteller chooses from among a variety of popular religious images and themes from different traditions—our collective religious vocabulary bank—and removes them from their original context. These religious elements are then recombined within a familiar narrative framework to create new images and stories that are compelling because they are both familiar and foreign to us. It is left up to each of us as audience members to make sense of these disassociated religious elements by translating them back into our own vernacular of faith.

Understanding this process of translation we all participate in as Studio Ghibli fans is important for two reasons. First, it reminds us that the meaning or significance of an anime is not defined by any one person’s vision, even that of its creator. No one has the ‘right’ answer. Our personal interpretations and those of others are just as meaningful, because they are grounded in our beliefs and thus have the power to affect the way we look at the world and live our lives. Second, the fact that the same images and themes can resonate with people of different faiths and backgrounds speaks to values we have in common, as well as a common desire to be spiritually engaged, as well as entertained, by the media we consume. Ultimately, the genius of Studio Ghibli films lies in their rich assemblage of religious symbols and grand narratives, which audience members are—if they are so inclined—free to interpret in a way that affirms their beliefs and feeds their soul.

Kaitlyn Ugoretz is a PK (Pastor’s Kid), anime fan, and PhD student in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her research focuses on the globalization of Shinto through popular and digital media and the growth of online Shinto communities. Kaitlyn runs Digital Shinto, a site where anyone can learn about and participate in her ethnographic study of Shinto’s development outside of Japan.

—

Recommended Reading:

Buljan, Katherine and Carole M. Cusack. Anime, Religion, and Spirituality: Profane and Sacred Worlds in Contemporary Japan. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing Ltd., 2015.

Ogihara-Schuck, Erika. Miyazaki’s Animism Abroad: The Reception of Japanese Religious Themes in German and American Audiences. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., 2014.

Park, Jin Kyu. “‘Creating My Own Cultural and Spiritual Bubble’: Case of Cultural Consumption By Spiritual Seeker Anime Fans.” Culture and Religion 6.3 (2005): 393-413.

Thomas, Jolyon Baraka. Drawing on Tradition: Manga, Anime, and Religion in Contemporary Japan. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai’i Press, 2012.

[johnny-boy-17]

STAR VS THE FORCES OF EVIL or The Art Student’s Awakening (A Review)

Oh hey, it’s another review by me that nobody asked for! Ok, this one is actually gonna mean a lot to me since this show is pretty much the reason I even started posting things on this site to begin with (thank you and curse you Tumblr), so I need to get it all off my chest. 

Short version: It’s really fuckin’ good, and y’all should check it out. The ending could have used a little more finesse, but it’s still pretty damn good.

Long version: *gasps for air*

Ok let’s start with the story. Yeah, it’s certainly a rollar-coaster. What starts out as a fun little-romp-of-the-week type of story...

...becomes this tale of power corruption, racism battle, and a tale of trust in one another and unity among the people.

Whether or not it handles that well seems to be half and half. On one hand, grace under fire this show is not. It does seem a little rushed in the last season, and you can really tell it wanted to be a bit longer, flesh out ideas, but didn’t have time for it (I blame the Mouse on that). 

I mean I dunno about you, but a show that introduces time travel right the fuck out of nowhere in a medium never seems to end well, this show is no exception.

That and they reeeeeaaaaaally try to knock you unconscious using a hammer with all the prejudice allegories.

On the other hand, good characters can make a shit story seem like high-class art. And good characters this show has in spades (no eclipsa-related pun intended).

Firstly, Star Butterfly herself. It seems stupid not to start with her. And... yeah she’s a really fun protagonist. Not only is she basically Sailor Moon hyped up on too much nose candy, but she has an incredible story of growth to go with. She starts as a fun-loving monster battler that’s too eager to run away from her problems to this teenager facing the looming shadow of adulthood head on and ready to ditch her past of monster-ism(?) for good, never to let such discrimination see the light of day again. Not to mention Eden Sher just absolutely brings this character to life, even if it’s just little things she says like “yeah totally totally totally” or “we got burger juice on the wall rug.” Something in her performance just absolutely friggin’ works wonders. I’d say she’s probably one of my favorite protagonists out there that “the big D” has come up with, but my favorte character they’ve created in a looooong time? That award... 

... goes to mother-fuckin’ Marco Ubaldo Diaz. I cannot BELIEVE how much they won me over with this guy. I think it’s because I saw so much of myself in this guy to the point where I am convinced he’s my long-lost brother. This B0I starts out as this paranoid play-it-safe ‘nother brick in the wall type who just wants to get through his teenage life without any kind of trouble, and by the end is a guy who’s ready to shrug off getting impaled by an evil unicorn being ridden by a corrupted version of Star’s half-demon ex just to get him to snap out of it (it just now dawns on me how fuckin’ batshit this show is). I just love how as he’s easing up on his paranoia, he learns to stop taking himself so seriously and let loose every now and then. Adam McAruther deserves praise for playing this guy, and I don’t know who could ever play this guy like he did. If no other takeaways for this show were to be, it’d be that Marco is in a lineup of my favorite fictional characters of all time.

Now I sense some ears (ok fine all ears) are waiting for me to talk about the two together, so I’ll touch on it once, and make an entire post on it later: It’s great. It’s pleasing to the eye, it’s wholesome for the soul, it makes them both into better beings, the opposite attracts thing is done beautifully, the chemistry could make Bill Nye proud, and I think their ending was as good as it could be for them... though I do hate how long it took to get there. 

OK LIGHTNING ROUND GO (can’t get ‘em al, so sorry):

-Tom: I like the guy, definitely a more relatable and visible character arc and his design is neat.

-Jackie: I wish my lesbian venice beach girl got more appreciation, but I luv her none the less.

-Janna: I luv my strange bisexual filipino witch-wannabee (you know what I said is true don’t deny it)

-Moon: Never really gave her full trust, but was not disappointed by her in any way, despite various actions in the end.

-River: I liked him in the beginning season, sorta trailed off by the end.

-Kelly: Not sure why she was there, but she was cool.

-Eclipsa: We stan that queen! Loved the fact that her motives were so grey, and you every could tell if she was going to turn out to be truly bad or not.

-Globgor: We stan that king! I adored how he actually was a threat back in his day, but now regrets everything he ever did then (plus him size shifting in fights is creative as hell), wish we could have had more of him, but it’s cool that we got any at all really.

-Glossaryck: I loved him, true chaotic neutral god. He was such a troll, and he has my respect (and to think all he wanted to do was die).

 -Ponyhead: I hope that sack of shit gets donated to a glue factory.

But what is a good story without good villains? Well, this show wants to have a ton of good ones, but nothing really sticks to the wall too well, though they do leave an impact.

LUDO: This is how to do  a comedic villain right. You have fun with him in the beginning, and then you make him into a legit threat the next, and by the end give him a redemption arc so as to let him go back on his old ways without soiling his actual good moments as an antagonist. He was the one who surprised me the most.

TOFFEE: Ooooohhhhhhhhh everybody loves this lawyer-lizard B0I and so do I. This guy’s plan was 1: not evil at all, 2: his methods were borderline black and grey, and 3: it was still going on in the background of the story of the entire show since his arival. His personality was cool, suave, persuasive, manipulative, downright terrifying sometimes, and he was just so good at it. While everyone certainly wishes we had more of him, what we got and how long le lasted just cements him as probably one of my all-time favorite villains ever really.

Ms. HEINOUS/METEORA: Oh shakespeare where art thou? Such a wondrous work this tragedey is. Heinous just starts out as a villain who pushes the patriarchy so you can say “fuck that shit,” tries to steal youth for herself, wants to kill Marco for ruining her perfection, y’know yahoo. But the moment you realize her name is Meteora, and what her past has been like... yeah, this is a fuckin’ shakespearian villain for certain. It gets to a point where you begin to agree with what she’s doing, and you’re glad thing turn out all right for her in the end, but god-damn she was such a captivating force to go up against. Scar can suck one compared to this.

MINA LOVEBERRY: I wanna say this was a good attempt at an Aku-type villain (humor and terror in perfect balance), but yeah she could have been handled better. For what we did get with her though, I’m content with it. It’s just funny to see hobo-usagi here just hulk out and talk with a southern accent about what is essentially senile racism n’ shit. There are hints to a tragic past that led to this, and that was nice, but overall not exactly a swan song.

In fact, that’s kinda how the whole ending was wasn’t it? It was serviceable, but nothing big to write home about. I could have definitely used a little more polish to flesh out some things, but we got left with enough to tide over I suppose, though I so wanna see more. 

I mean, look at this new world we were left with! Could you imagine a new season just exploring that? It sounds like so much fun! However, the crew have this “leave them wanting more mentality (ha! hope you were paying attention to that foreshadowing!),” not to mention I have seen the creator Madame Daron Nefcy encourage all the creative fans this show has to do all sorts of stuff (of which we seemed to have wasted no time and not even waited for the show to end to start doing *glares at the fan-made-starco kids everywhere*).

Really, at the end of it all, I’d compare this entire series to a friend doing a cannonball from a high-dive. First, you’re amazed that they decided to climb the ladder. Second, you’re in awe of the guts their showing to prepare for the jump. Third, you gawk as they actually did jump off into the water from the height. But fourth, you see them underwater and watch them un form the ball and into a weird janky zero-gravity water thing swimming up for air, not to mention you remembered they didn’t swan dive. But that doesnt mean the plunge was all that bad, you enjoyed watching all the steps to it, didn’t you?

Overall, the score I shall leave it at would be... 7.5/10, and an easy thumbs up approval. It’s ending and other aspects have a lot to be desired, but the story and characters are too good to ignore. 

Check it out if you haven’t already (probably binge it), and to Madame Nefcy (if by some stroke of a miracle you see this) thank you so much for creating this show. I am so glad I saw it despite my gripes, and I’d gladly see it again.

[aurora-the-kunoichi]

Based on the post you reblogged, id like to ask ☺️ I was wondering when and how you got into the tmnt fandom. Also how you decided and started to write fan fictions? Thank you ❤️❤️ have great day!

Oh sweet nonnie, thank you for the ask!

I have been in love with the turtles since I first saw them in the 80’s cartoons. I loved a lot of boy driven cartoons like Transformers, GI Joe and TMNT. But those green mutants were the bees knees for this chick. Donnie stole my heart from the very beginning. When the 90’s movies came out it only solidified my attraction for them (god they were cute). Each incarnation came and went and I loved every one of them (Except for the singing ones, those were horrid) But when the Bayverse movies came out Leo stole my heart from Donnie. Don’t get me wrong I will always love Donatello but there something about Leonardo that get my motor running. I love them so much I have a tattoo of them on my forearm which I get compliments on all the time.

 As for fanfic I’ve been writing it for years, I think my first fiction I started in Jr High and was of Sailor Moon. I had a sailor moon note book with pictures glued in and I’d write my story in it at school (probably not the best idea when you’re trying to learn). What sparked my stories was my vivid imagination thinking about new ideas for episodes and how I could write better ones so I’d day dream them. Eventually I figured it would be better to write them down and out of my head. And of course when Serena and Darian would kiss I’d want more to happen and the only way to do that was to write it. I’ve done several fictions since then; Mighty Ducks, Ronin warriors, Hellboy, Batman, Avengers and of course TMNT. My current story that I’m writing I have been writing for almost 2 years, I have 25 chapters posted but I have 47 written and I have no plans on stopping.  

[faeriexqueen]

Tag Game

Rules: Tag nine people you’d like to get to know better.

Tagged by @coppercogsworth.  (Thank you! <3)

Favourite colour: God god THIS QUESTION.  I like several. XD  Really, I love pale, soft colors like light pink, champagne, cream, and rose?  (Yes, I use the fancy names. XD)  But then I like rich tones like lapis lazuli blue or burgundy.

Top 3 favorite ships: Yulma (DGM), Tyki x Alma (DGM), Haruka x Michiru (Sailor Moon).

Lipstick or chapstick: Lipstick.  I like those bold colors. :3

Last song: “High Adventure” from the Aladdin Broadway Soundtrack.

Last movie: The Incredibles 2.

Currently reading: Various fan fiction. XD  I was just recommended “The Night Circus” though, so that’s up on my list!

Tagging: @kitty-bandit @silentium-nightshade @pineapple-skulls @a-q-d @superbadlydrawnallenwalker @izadreamer @strawberrieninja @candy-crackpot @tykipomme (Anyone else who wants to too!  Just say I tagged you XD)